Magic_Smithing
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Ch: 5 Rewrite
🕑 Added 2023-03-07 08:18:46 +0000 UTCIt's been a whole year since I was reborn, but notice how I say year instead of twelve months. That was because time on this planet was measured differently than back on Earth. Not only were the months a few days longer, but a year was considered fifteen months instead of twelve.
I knew it had been exactly a year today because it was my birthday. After all, everyone stayed home and was fussing over me more than usual. That, and the lockout screen that pops up every time I try to distribute stat points, ticked down to 135 cycles this morning.
Plus, the parents acted a similar way five months ago for my brother, where Dad didn't go off to work outside, and Mom made a bigger meal than usual. I still needed to learn to count in their language, so I wasn't sure how old he turned, but I was sure it was Brother's birthday because he had received a present. He got a wooden sword from Father, which he loves to swing everywhere.
Similarly, I also received a gift today, but it wasn't much of a surprise because I'd watched Mother fuss over it the last couple of months. But while Richard got a cool sword for his birthday, I got a dress. It wasn't frilly or flamboyant by any means, but it was undoubtedly a dress, one that Mother forced me into and ensured I kept on for the entire day.
No matter how much I struggled and whined, I couldn't escape the breezy garment. Thank god my birthday was at the beginning of fall, so I wouldn't be forced to wear it for long.
We got all types of weather where we live, though it was mostly sunny. Summer took up a third of the year, taking up five whole months. Fall, which was where we were now, lasted only two months, with the second month being mostly rainy. After that, the temperature dropped rapidly as the seasons shifted to winter.
It snowed on and off again for four months straight during my first winter here. And the last four months were spring, where the sun melts all the snow.
It was difficult to track the weather, as I could only do it by sneaking glances out the window. But it's become easier the bigger I get. And as I previously stated, it was currently the beginning of fall.
It wasn't exactly cold yet, but I still spent most of my time sitting on the ground in front of the fire. I briefly considered shuffling out of the dress I was forced to wear and throwing it into the flames, but I knew that would break Mother's heart. She worked really hard on the plain white cotton gown, and reluctantly it was more comfortable to wear than the other clothes she's made for me, albeit more drafty.
I still felt like a fool in the dress, but it wasn't like rebelling against my gender would change anything. At least I wasn't overly panicking about it anymore, it still caused me to lose sleep, but that couldn't be helped. The simple fact was I spent twenty-three years as a male in my past life, so spending fifteen months as a baby girl didn't automatically change how I saw the world. I was still me, just with some different plumbing. At least, that's what I was repeatedly telling myself.
I had nothing against women, but I never considered what it would be like to be one. If I were back on Earth, therapy would be an option, but that wasn't exactly an option here. Instead, I had to deal with the mental ramifications of swapping genders by myself, as I couldn't formulate the words to tell my new parents, let alone explain why I wasn't comfortable in a dress.
I've slowly come around to the idea that I was female now, but that didn't just make everything easier for me. It was a good thing I was reborn as a baby because if I had been transported to a new world as a woman outright, without any time to come to grips with what happened to me, I might have gone completely insane.
I might actually be insane now, as insane people don't often realize they're insane.
Shaking my head, I try to clear those dark thoughts from my mind.
"Aww, **** you **** up, Aaliyah?" My brother Richard frowns, mistaking my head shake as me complaining about his outstretched hands.
He looks so sad I start to feel bad. So, I stretch out my little chubby toddler arms and say, "Up," childishly.
Richard's sad look instantly disappears as he reaches out and gently grasps my smaller hands with his bigger ones. Then, ever so carefully, he helps me to my feet and helps me balance in place.
As I wobble, for the first time, I consider the possibility that my previous life memories were doing me more harm than good. For example, If I didn't remember being a male, I wouldn't have this gender identity crisis. I wouldn't have to pretend to be a baby around my loving family. And I'm pretty sure a normal baby would be walking by themselves at this point.
I had the leg muscles to do it, but balancing in this new form was so different from my past life I kept overcompensating.
Behind me, I hear the parents clap; like me, standing was the greatest achievement they've ever seen. It was even more embarrassing, considering I wasn't even standing on my own yet.
"Gooo," I slur the word go, which was code for 'let me go.' Having done this a thousand times now, Richard understands my command and slowly retracts his arms, so he's no longer supporting me in any way. However, he keeps his hands near in case I trip or fall over, as an excellent big brother would.
Tentatively, I turn around and step away from Richard and the fireplace. Then another, followed by a few rapid steps as I leaned too far forward and almost tripped. Luckily, I find my center of gravity before toppling over.
"Go, Aaliyah," Dad chears.
"You, *** ****, Honey," I catch half of what Mom is trying to say, but I know it's inspirational.
It was nice that I was finally becoming able to understand everyone. I knew a few dozen words and even used a few of them regularly to communicate what I wanted.
Crap, I lost my concentration!
Flailing my arms, I try to stop myself from falling over. Brother moves to catch me, but he's not swift enough, and I fall backward onto my bottom.
My instincts tell me to cry, but I refuse to tear up over nothing.
"*** you, ok?" Brother sits down next to me on his knees with a concerned look.
Acting reminds me to look sad, which isn't hard due to my frustration. Brother tries to cheer me up, but I ignore him and instead pull up my status page, hoping to see at least some improvement.
LV: 16 Experience: 1,428/2,807
Health: 100/100 Stamina: 17/80 Mana:69/90
Vitality: 10
Endurance: 7
Strength: 7
Dexterity: 6
Senses: 12
Mind: 27
Magic: 9
Clarity: 14
Status Points: 150
Skills: Sense Mana (LV11), Acting (LV8), Meditation (LV10), Expel Mana (LV1)
Nothing new since I checked it yesterday. But it wasn't like I earned a skill every other day.
Overall though, if I look at my status page and compare it to what it was a year ago, heck, even eight months ago, there was a drastic change.
Biggest of all, Sense Mana passed level 10. Until that happened, I wasn't sure if skills were capped out at that point or not. My current theory was that skills didn't have a level cap, but I had no way to verify that. After all, my three skills have leveled up a lot, but not that much.
As a toddler, I still didn't have any responsibilities yet. And while Mother or Richard was almost always around me, I could still pretend to fall asleep to meditate and practice my various skills. That's how I unlocked Expel Mana.
When Sense Mana passed level 10, I could better feel the mana inside my body. And once I could reasonably feel it, I naturally tried to control it. If I wanted to cast magic in the future, I would obviously need to practice controlling my mana.
Originally, I tried to control it as a whole, but when that didn't work out, I started focusing on the mana in my hands because that was where my mana network was closest to my skin. In my fingers, specifically.
And while I was focusing on the mana in my fingers, I could get it to seep through my skin which was how I unlocked Expel Mana. Of course, the mana dissipated as soon as it left my body, but I was confident I was on to something and would be able to throw fireballs in a few years' time.
So far, Expel Mana doesn't do anything other than let me dump my mana pool rapidly, but that could be useful by itself. Since I unlocked the skill a week ago, I've been using it to deplete my mana pool every night, hoping it increases it overall. Other than video game logic, I had no evidence that that would happen, but it was something at least.
"**** ** try again?" Dismissing my status page, I face Brother, who's holding out his hands again, expectingly.
Not one to give up, I take his offered hands, but I don't tell him to let go this time. Instead, I point at Mom, sitting in her sewing chair, watching us with a smile. "Mmomm," I purposely stretch out the word cutely.
Brother understands me, and this time, holding my hand so I can balance better, he walks me over to her. Then, when I'm only a few steps away from her, I let go of Brother's hand and take the last few steps by myself.
I'm so proud of myself when I reach mothers legs; I don't even need to fake smile up at her.
"***'** so cute," Mother's smile is brighter than the sun. And god help me, I giggle in joy from how much love I feel towards this woman.
"Up," I wave my hands, saying I want to be picked up.
Mom bends down, effortlessly sweeps me off my feet, brings me up, and begins kissing me all over my face, causing me to laugh even harder.
While struggling to breathe from laughing so hard, I feel a familiar sensation in the back of my head. A week ago, I felt the same sensation when I successfully unlocked Expel Mana. Did I get another skill; for what?
I conjure my status page again and gasp at what I see.
LV: 16 Experience: 1,978/2,807
Health: 100/100 Stamina: 9/80 Mana:69/90
Vitality: 10
Endurance: 7
Strength: 7
Dexterity: 6
Senses: 12
Mind: 27
Magic: 9
Clarity: 14
Status Points: 150
Skills: Sense Mana (LV11), Acting (LV9), Meditation (LV10), Expel Mana (LV1), Charm (LV1)
Wow, I got 100 experience for unlocking that skill, just like I did with Sense Mana, putting it in the second category of skills I've discovered. And for added bonus, Acting leveled as well.
I didn’t get as much experience as I did when I unlocked Expel Mana, that skill seemed to be a cut above he rest and awarded me 150 experience. Which is surprising, because it’s the skill I’ve found the least uses for.
I’ve only had my new skill for a few seconds and have a feeling I know what it does and how useful it could be, but it's hard to keep my eyes open. My Stamina was now below 10, meaning it took everything I had from falling asleep in Mother's arms.
Whenever Stamina or Mana fall below 20%, it's like all the energy is sucked out of you. The result is the same between the two, but it's easier to endure low Stamina than it is, Mana. Another big difference is their recharge rate. I'll take a nap in a moment and regain most of my Stamina by the time I wake up. In comparison, I emptied my Mana Pool to 20% last night, and it still hasn't fully recovered. However, sleeping does help, if only a bit.
Speaking of which, I can no longer keep my eyes open, and while in Mother's arms, I drift off into blissful sleep.
**********
Was my bed moving? Opening my eyes, I awake in Father's big strong arms as he's carrying me over to the kitchen table.
I was confused because I specifically remember falling asleep in my mother's arms, not my father's. Looking around, I quickly see why I changed hands.
Mother was standing in front of the fireplace, preparing dinner. Richard was also in the kitchen, setting the table, which left only one other person to hold me.
Man, I must have been out if I didn't notice Dad was holding me. That wasn't me complaining about him holding me or anything. Over the last few months, he's grown more confident handling me. It's just Dad's arms are super muscly and about as comfortable as laying on cement. I didn't know how long he held me, but it was probably a while if Mom was almost done with dinner.
Even if I'm not the most comfortable at the moment, I still smile up at Father. He could've placed me in my crib if he wanted to, but he chose to hold me instead.
Behind his bushy blond beard, Dad smiles down at me as he puts me in my highchair—the highchair he made specifically for me. I'm strapped in with a piece of leather across my lap, but Dad doesn't take any chances and sits beside me until Mother tells him she's done.
Dad then gets up and moves the hot pot full of porridge to the center of the table for Mom while she moves next to me.
Dad recites this world's version of a prayer. I hear it every night, but he recites it so quickly that picking out individual words is hard.
Dinner time flies by quickly as Richard happily chats with our parents while mother shares her porridge with me. She mashes all the vegetables before spoon-feeding me and even gives me small chunks of mystery meat. I was teething all the time, which sucked, but at least I wasn't being breastfed anymore.
While eating, I note how my new family might not live an extraordinary lifestyle, but everyone is obviously happy, including me.
At the end of the day, no matter how I feel about being a girl or my worries about the future, I only need to look at Richard's and our parent's smiling faces to feel better about the second life I was given.
Our night continues like any other; two people clean the kitchen while the third watches over me. Of course, the family takes turns in who gets to watch me, and tonight it's Richard who has the pleasure of sitting back and watching the parents clean while trying to keep me entertained.
It didn't take long for the parents to have the kitchen spotless, but it was almost dark outside by that point, meaning it was time for bed.
For my first birthday in another world, today was pretty nice.
I don't even make a fuss when Mom uses her medieval toothbrush to brush my eight teeth, and soon I'm laying in my crib in Brother's room. The whole house was soon silent, which was good for me. Everybody else's day was done, but thanks to that nap not too long ago, I was wide awake, and now was the perfect time to work on my skills without drawing any suspicion toward me.
Plus, it was rare not to hear the parents having 'fun' through the walls. You would think at the rate they were going, they'd have a dozen children by now, but surprisingly it was just Brother and me.
Either way, I relax and clear my mind. Activating Meditation, I try to better feel both the mana around me as well as the mana inside me.
I spend what I think is an hour in that state without feeling any of my skills leveling up. Oh, well, it was a marathon, not a sprint, and I'd already unlocked a new skill today.
I'm about to call it a night and discharge the mana I've regained until now when I hear what sounds like drums in the distance.
Why would someone be playing the drums this late at night?
I don't have long to ponder that thought when another drum starts playing closer to our house. Now I was starting to worry. The noise wasn't enough to wake Richard, so I did the only thing I could. I cry.
Richard groans in the dark, but he's soon up, and if the shuffling I hear in the nearby parent's room is any indication, they are too.
Richard pulls me out of my crib as Mom bursts into our room, holding a light candle and a knife in a sheath. Thanks to the light, I can clearly see down the hallway and catch Dad running for the front door, holding his largest woodsman's axe.
He shouts something as he runs, which has Mom looking like she'd seen a ghost. Then, after ordering Richard to do something, Mom rushes after Dad.
Richard places me up against the wall farthest from the door and window. Outside our room, I hear the tell-tale sound of our front door being flung open before being shut and locked.
Mom rushes back into our room and closes the door behind her. Then, with Richard, she and he push his bed against the door like a makeshift barricade.
Mother then directs Richard to sit down next to me. He pulls me into his lap and protectingly wraps his arms around me.
Meanwhile, Mother is standing in the middle of the room looking between the barricaded door and the shutter sealing the window in the room closed.
My anxiety spikes as Mom carefully unsheaths the dagger she's carrying.
All manner of horrible thoughts fill my head. The way she was acting, we were under attack, but by what.
Bandits? Monster? This world had magic, so I couldn't rule anything out.
For thirty agonizing minutes, Richard and I stay huddled together, watching our mother, until the three of us flinch hearing dad calling mom's name from outside the house.
Mother visibly relaxes hearing Dad's voice, and with help from Richard, they move his bed away from the door, and mom runs out of our room.
Richard picks me up and runs after Mom. The two of us find her crying while hugging Dad in the middle of our living room. He was sweating and covered in green paint.
Only as we got closer to them did I realize it wasn't paint. Instead, Father was covered in green blood. The stuff was dripping from his axe and pooling on the stone floor.
Mom soon realizes this and rushes to grab a bucket of water and a rag.
Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep that night.
**********
Author's Notes:
Ok, I ended up rewriting this entire chapter. It has the same information as the old version, but this is 100% different.
I recommend reading the old version, which you can find here, and see how different they are.
Please tell me what you think; thank you.
Comments
Lorraine V
Often authors do this with tags
Kosnik4
Thanks for the catch. I'll rework it.
Kosnik4
I'm posting them sporadically after giving Patreons enough time to go over them.
Richard David Reily
Ricard -> Richard
Hamfist
I'm not familiar with the interface for creators, but is there a way to separate the base story and the rewrite? Some of the other creators I support have multiple stories and the posts for the stories have tags applied and there is a filter on the feed to select one or the other tag. It's not an issue right now, but in the future when there's over a hundred posts from each "story" and they are all mixed together it's going to be a PITA for readers.
heh
Samina and Mana -> Stamina and Mana
Xabotx
Charm is a tier 2 not tier 3 skill so it gives only 100exp not 150
Ironwolf
I really like this chapter rework. I think this shows Aaliyah’s emotions better than the old version, and the scene with Aaliyah walking feels a little more natural too.
Tyler Machado
When do these rewrites get posted on RR? Also you messed up stamina once. Keep it up.
Kireina
[bigging->beginning] of fall
