Chương 11: The Shape of Things

He had promised himself he wouldn't rush this. He broke that promise approximately four minutes after waking up. In his previous life, before starting a new RPG run, he would spend hours browsing forums and guides about balancing classes, races, and skills. Now he no longer had that luxury. A bad choice here could shape the rest of his life. In a game, he could always start over.

"Mom, Arien froze again!" Sari's voice pulled him out of his thoughts. She had apparently been talking to him for a while.

"Sari, I'm making dinner. You're twelve years old, take care of your brother," came their mother's reply from the kitchen.

"Arien, if you don't start cooperating, I'll take you out to the Whispering Forest at night."

"No, not night," he replied, trying to add a hint of fear into his childish voice.

"Then sit still, or I'll never put those shoes on you." Oh, so that was it. He looked with interest at what could only be described as a combination of a burlap sack, a few strings, and poorly tanned leather—apparently his new pair of shoes. They would at least match the shirt made from some unidentifiable scratchy material that had so far constituted most of his wardrobe. Sometimes Arien genuinely wondered what he had done to deserve this. Rough clothes. Monotonous food.

An outhouse that required an escort every single time he needed to use it. Everywhere, the smell of sweat, food, and animals. Then again, a few months earlier his family had spent an entire evening excitedly discussing the exorcism of a girl from a nearby village who suffered from frequent fainting spells and uncontrollable seizures. He could endure bad shoes.

"Shoooes!" he said happily, clapping his hands. The word came out more mangled than necessary. Maintaining the illusion of being an ordinary child required his constant attention.

"Yes, shoes, little brother. Once we put them on, maybe we'll go to the pond. What do you think?"

"Pooond?" he asked in surprise, forgetting to distort the word.

"Yes, we'll go a bit farther from the house. You'll see, you'll like it." He couldn't have asked for a better gift. A trip beyond the hated fence! For two years, he had been staring at the same view over and over again. He gave her the warmest smile he could manage, which immediately brightened her mood.

"Just be back before lunch!" their mother called after them as they stepped outside. Arien didn't wait and dashed toward the gate in the fence, scattering chickens pecking at the freshly greening lawn and drawing the irritated attention of a rooster, which only Sari's light kick managed to dissuade from chasing him. The heavy bolt of the gate slid open, and finally, he could see the world beyond his home. In the light of the early spring sun, barren fields stretched in every direction.

Tiny figures moved across them, plowing the soil in preparation for the first sowing. Only a few used horses or oxen, more often, they themselves were harnessed to the plows. Slowly but steadily, they covered the land meter by meter. The monotony of the fields was broken by scattered clusters of trees, small ponds, and larger puddles, with the forest wall looming in the distance, as if waiting to reclaim the land stolen from it.

Flocks of birds were everywhere, either soaring overhead or following the farmers, feeding on insects exposed by the plowing. The landscape was punctuated by the village standing on a nearby hill, surrounded by a small palisade. He could count several dozen buildings, constructed like his own house from thick logs, their steep roofs partially shrouded in smoke rising from every chimney. One building in the center stood out from the rest. It was not only much larger, but its walls were made of stone.

A tower crowned it, holding a large metal bell. It was undoubtedly the Temple of Sul, the pride of Three Meadows. Arien already knew from Mari's frequent boasting that people from smaller neighboring settlements came here as well, having no temple of their own.

"Alright, little brother, if you've seen enough, let's go on. No one will wait for us with lunch. You know how much your brothers can eat," Sari laughed. He knew, so without delay, he rushed after her, moving away from the village. After running around, Arien quickly grew tired and had to be carried by Sari. She didn't seem to mind. There was far more strength in her slender arms than one would expect. Along the way, she explained which fields belonged to whom and how large they were.

She pointed out where boys liked to ambush others when they were not working with their fathers, "hunting" younger children or girls and bragging about their "victories." Sari considered it childish and stupid, though Arien caught a faint smile at the corner of her lips, suggesting she had probably fallen victim to it herself more than once. She also showed him various plants, explaining their properties: which were useful and which were not.

He wasn't sure whether she was simply bored or actually believed a two-year-old could understand any of it, but he didn't intend to waste the opportunity and listened carefully, occasionally responding with "yum" or "bleh," which made her burst into laughter.

"Oh, Arien, I gained a Skill level thanks to you!" she said suddenly, stopping in surprise.

"You really do understand something!" Arien stared at her. What Skill? His expression must have shown his confusion, because Sari quickly stroked his head reassuringly. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"Don't worry, little brother, it's good news."

"Skill…?" he asked, deciding to risk it.

"Yes, Skills. But you don't need to worry about that for a long, long time, and then mom and dad will help you with everything."

"Why?" he said, trying to process what he had just heard.

"Because frogs have feathers," she replied, laughing.

"Come on, the pond is very close. Maybe I'll throw you in it, and if you don't drown, you'll learn Swimming. Most boys have it early. Some can even swim against the current in the Winder Creek during spring." The pond appeared after they passed a nearby cluster of trees. Sunlight filtered through the leafless branches and glittered across the water. The pond was large enough that Arien could barely make out the opposite shore.

A small pier extended from the reed covered bank, its old boards creaking beneath their feet. Arien had to admit it was a good choice as the first place to show a child in a new world.

"So, do you like our pond?" Sari asked with a knowing smile.

"Good pond," he replied, sitting down on a dry spot in the middle of the pier, staring at the scenery. They sat like that for a while, enjoying the view. Arien watched the water. The pond stretched calmly beneath the pale spring light, its surface almost motionless, as if the world itself had paused to breathe. From time to time, a thin wind passed across it, sending faint ripples outward in slow, patient circles. Even from here, Arien could see how alive it was.

The water didn't simply reflect the sky, it seemed to hold it. Pale light fractured across its surface, bending and shifting with every tiny movement. Where the wind touched, delicate wrinkles formed and disappeared again. It was strangely peaceful. A stillness that wasn't the absence of motion, but harmony between countless invisible currents. He imagined that if he watched long enough, he might learn its rhythm. A stronger gust swept across the pond.

The surface tightened, ripples spreading outward as the reflected light broke apart. Then, almost as quickly, everything smoothed again. Arien narrowed his eyes. It felt like remembering something he had always known. Water yielded instead of resisting. It flowed around force, carried it outward, and softened it until the disturbance faded. Even when disrupted, it returned to itself. Never identical, but never truly changed. Beneath the calm surface, currents moved within currents, endlessly connected.

Water was flow. Soft, continuous, always moving and always returning. Then the System stirred. For the first time, one of the countless variations of mana around him had stopped being merely a color or sensation. It had a meaning. He had identified his first Aspect. They started back toward home, each lost in their own thoughts. The weather was beautiful, the first flowers were beginning to appear in the soil, and buds were forming on the trees. He was still smiling to himself. He had discovered an Aspect.

Maybe he really could become a proper mage someday.

"Arien, hop into my arms." His sister's voice cut in, sharper than usual, and he looked at her uncertainly. He could still manage a bit further on his own. Sari, however, didn't wait for an answer and scooped him up. Only then did he hear the sound of hoofbeats and rolling wheels. Sari stepped off the narrow path, hissing softly as a hidden nettle stung her among the weeds growing thick along the roadside. She shook her hand once, annoyed.

A carriage appeared from around the bend, drawn by two broad, well-fed draft horses whose glossy coats immediately set them apart from the animals Arien usually saw around the village. The carriage itself was sturdy rather than luxurious. It was built from solid hardwood painted a faded rusty red, with reinforced wheels for rough roads and simple leather benches behind high wooden sides. Even so, compared with everything Arien had seen in Three Meadows, it looked expensive.

"This is our Lord, Sir Samwell. Behave yourself," Sari whispered to him in a tone that sounded more like she was reassuring herself than speaking to him. Three passengers sat inside. A middle-aged woman held a sleeping boy only a few years older than Arien, while beside her sat the broad-shouldered man Sari had identified as Sir Samwell. Opposite them, a teenager on the cusp of adulthood watched the road with an openly bored expression.

"Kreft, slow down for a moment," the man called to the driver as he noticed them. Kreft, who looked more like a soldier than a coachman, barely tightened the reins, his attention more on the trees than on them.

"Child, are you from Three Meadows?" Lord Samwell's tone was firm, yet still relatively kind.

"Yes, my lord."

"Is everything all right in the village? Has anything happened since we left?"

"No, my lord."

"You see, husband? Nothing ever happens there. Can we go straight to the estate? Will is already half asleep," she said, in a tone suggesting the discussion had begun long before Arien overheard it.

"Very well, Heli. I will take you to the estate first, and only then will I visit Varix. Kreft." The coachman gave a barely noticeable nod.

"Thank you, child," Lord Samwell added. A metallic jingle followed, and something flashed in the air. Sari, somehow still holding him with one arm, reached out with the other in a catching motion.

"Look, Arien! A copper coin!" she said as the carriage disappeared from view, placing him on the ground.

"Lord," Arien repeated, as if trying out the word.

"Yes, yes, our lord. They say he's not the worst. Actually way better than the previous one."

"A good Lord. Big horses."

"Yes, yes, big ones. Good for long journeys. Apparently, the lord took his older son to the capital so he could study magic. The whole village was buzzing about it half a year ago."

"Magic?"

"Yes, like in father's stories. I wish I could use magic too. Then I could leave Three Meadows and see the world." There was a longing in her voice that Arien recognized all too well.

"Maybe you'll manage it someday, little brother. Would you like to become a mage and fight monsters?"

"Mage, yes. Monsters, no," he stated. Sari snorted with laughter.

"Maybe Mother is right. Maybe you're suited to be a priest." They walked back in silence. Arien could still feel the impression the pond had left on him: the water, the flow, the sense that something in this world had structure. He couldn't stop thinking about it. Sari shifted him higher on her hip as they reached the house.

"Just in time," she said. The moment the door opened, the usual noise hit them, then abruptly stopped. The table was almost empty, with only a scraped clean pot, a few bread crumbs, and a bowl holding what little remained of the stew. His brothers didn't even look guilty. They just looked full.

"… You're late," Dod said without looking up. Sari sighed. Arien looked at the table for a moment longer, then turned away. His brothers could have the stew. He had something far more interesting to think about: water, Skills, and magic. For the first time, he was beginning to understand how they might fit together. Once everyone was asleep, he opened his Status to examine the reward that had been waiting since the pond.

New skill available to assign: Water Aspect (uncommon) - A single drop may wear through stone; an ocean may consume entire kingdoms. When assigned, increases your understanding, control, and efficiency when using water magic.