When I wasn't used to my own body, my movements were more awkward than I wanted them to be. During the first few weeks, I managed to adjust. Even with the memories from my past life, I still didn't feel like this body was truly mine.
Which was very strange, considering I had lived five years in this body, and when my memories came back, I simply couldn't move like I used to.
Now, after two years, I don't feel any difference anymore. I feel like this body belongs to me. It's a strange feeling, just one more among many I've experienced.
Now I also feel like I belong to this family. Jasly felt like a sister to me, a sister I never had. Actually, I had three sisters and two brothers in my past life, but they were distant. No, they weren't distant, I was, because of the isolation my family forced on me. From an early age, I was pulled away for my Demon Lord training, so I couldn't blame my siblings for not treating me like their brother.
I wasn't completely isolated, though. I always had my companions by my side, and that helped me, at least in some ways.
Now I wonder where they are. I don't know if it was just me who ended up in this world, or if they came too. For now, all I can do is train and grow stronger. Maybe one day I'll see them again. But what I can't do is stand still and let things just happen.
I learned more about how mana works. I also learned how to maximize magic and how to increase my mana, but that takes time, so it requires a lot of patience, as well as a great deal of mental effort.
Silas is very helpful, not just with me but with all his students. Thalya was helpful too, but she treated me like I was the villain from some romance novel, only when we were training, though, so I managed to get along with her, even though she had already broken two of my ribs. Even with a wooden sword, she managed to injure me in ways I had never experienced, not even with the finest blades. I don't know if she's that good, or if this is just what's expected of a swordsman in this world.
In my world, even the best would have a hard time with her. I think even the great hero would struggle. That scares me, and also reassures me. I've learned a few things that would definitely help the demons. Though honestly, I'm not even sure it would be possible to replicate some techniques back there, because I feel my body is different. Even though I've gotten used to it, it still feels different from the one I had, despite being the same age, so maybe people in this world are stronger and more resilient. That's just speculation, though, something I don't like to do, but can't help myself from doing anyway.
The training was paying off, until the day a family friend asked to spend a few days at our house. She was a bit strange. When she saw me training with swords, she asked to be my tutor. Thalya agreed, she seemed like she needed a break, so she left me alone with her friend.
She was sadistic. She didn't let me rest or attack. She was fast, very fast. Even with a wooden sword, I was almost getting killed. I found a small opening, but she did it on purpose. She struck me, and with that blow, a few bones were broken. She had a smile on her face, she seemed to have enjoyed herself. She placed her hands on me, and slowly, I was healed. She was gentle. When I got up, she pulled on my cheeks and gently laughed.
"You'll get used to it soon, you'll be able to keep up with me, but it takes time," her voice was calm, which clashed with the personality she had just shown. And her movements, she wasn't even out of breath, despite all those repeated strikes. Her lungs were incredible.
When I got up, she resumed the attacks, and her sadism took over entirely. I lost count of how many bones I broke. I mean, how many of my bones she broke. When she healed me, her voice and expression were kind, but during training, she was the embodiment of all evil. It was, at the very least, intriguing. But I understood, showing compassion on the battlefield only gets you killed. Still, I was a kid, and she was just supposed to train me.
We kept training until I was completely physically and mentally drained. Silas managed to convince her to let me rest. If it were up to her alone, I think she'd have killed me.
I used to think Thalya was strong, but this woman was far stronger. She didn't seem human. Her movements and magic were astounding. My eyes couldn't even keep up. I quickly realized, it's better to have her as a friend than as an enemy.
After a few days of training, I found out her full name, Bedelia Gideon, daughter of a baron to whom my family owed a fortune. Luckily, she believes I'm just an illegitimate child, or someone Silas and Thalya adopted. I hope it stays that way.
But what impressed me the most wasn't that, it was the position she held. She's an SS-rank adventurer, which makes her one of the strongest people in the entire Kingdom, possibly the whole continent.
I was hit by a strike that made me feel like my neck had been cut. Darkness came, and when I woke up, Silas and Bedelia were staring at me.
I was lying on the ground, covered in blood.
"You're still too weak," Bedelia said, helping me up.
"What happened?"
"I cut your head off, and you kind of died, but Silas brought you back. My mana's too low to cast that spell."
"What do you mean I died?"
"She was careless and accidentally cut off your head, like she said. You really did die. But it's possible to resurrect someone, as long as you know the right spell and the body's still in good condition."
At first, it felt strange, especially because of how long it took me to get back up. Later, Silas said that the first time, I took a while to wake because I was too weak, and he was right, in a way. Now, I was relatively strong, and my body recovered quickly.
Days went by, and Bedelia stayed in the village. She eventually moved into the house and sometimes dropped by my room to see if I was still in one piece. The way she treated me made me happy, it was like having a violent mother who actually cared.
She started taking jobs in the city and eventually got settled here.
Time passed, and before I realized it, I was almost twelve, and had died more times than I could count. But that helped me. It made me stronger and less afraid of combat. Not that I was afraid, but when you're fragile, avoiding fights is the smartest choice.
One day, Silas showed up with some new books. He handed them to me and asked me to study all the content.
My desk was full of papers, ink, and a pen. It had been years since I'd sat at a desk to study. It felt nostalgic, but also a little upsetting.
Later, I understood why. Jasly was studying too, Silas, Thalya, and Bedelia wanted us to enroll in Altharieth Academy, the biggest magic school in the Kingdom, and one of the best on the continent. The school was expensive, but if you had talent, you could get in for free.
Somehow, Silas didn't seem worried about that. I didn't have a single coin. And while he looked like he had money, I didn't think it was enough to pay for my studies at the Academy.
I still had a few months to improve my skills in magic and swordsmanship, and enough time to study, which was necessary. You couldn't get in just by knowing magic, you needed actual knowledge.
I had been considered a scholar in my past life, so I figured I could be smart enough to pass an exam that twelve-year-olds could pass.
That was my thinking, but studying was more exhausting and annoying than I remembered. It had always been boring, but I'd had motivation in my past life. Maybe I need to find some motivation in this world. It's not like I don't have any, I'm just not sure if what I want can be achieved just by getting into a magic school.