Seeing him stretch that bow, pulling back the string and then slowly letting it unbend back into place was a surreal sight. Why, you ask? Because it was a freakin’ steel bow! It reminded me of the Odyssey and the bow of Odysseus… At first, he could only use it with aether enhancement, but after I suggested that he reduces the intensity of the enhancement over time in order to train his body he managed to do it without any aether. It took about two years, but still. It was an impressive sight, one that reminded me of how much more powerful people here could be compared to earth. It was not just compared to modern humans but compared to the humans of any period of time. This strength did not only come from aether, sure the extra energy had a play in this, however its source came from the far more unyielding spirit of the humans here.

  “I’m back!” I said happy to have escaped the torment of all that polishing and sharpening.

  “Oh, there you are Cato. How was your day?”

  “Mostly boring… Had to sharpen and polish about one hundred and sixty plow blades. Tiresome and at this point unrewarding… I’m happy to be back, I’m tired. More mentally than physically, but it doesn’t feel pleasant either way.” I said still feeling the iron dust cling to my nostrils and it’s stinging smell, the slight smell of burnt metal and the vibration of the blade on the grindstones in my hand… The grindstones used a pottery wheel mechanism so tiring… And I had to change between 3 of ‘em…

  “You asked for it, you know? And shamelessly so.”

  “I’m complaining ‘cause you asked. I have my reasons and will persevere. No need for you to rub my displeasure with certain aspects in the face.”

  “It’s good you think like that still. We’ll see for how long. Smithing is no easy thing.”

  “I have the strength, the ability to ward off the heat and the understanding necessary for it. This is merely me needing to perhaps reassess how long it will take to reach what I want. And you need not worry about me giving up and this resulting in a waste of time.”

  “All good words.” He patted me on the back and led me inside. Once we entered he went to the fireplace and rested the bow on the racks next to it. Mom was cooking standing next to the stove, placed on the other side of the fireplace.

  “So you’re back. I trust you did not cause trouble.” My mom asked me.

  I hesitated a little my mind jumping back to the moment Fjorn scolded me a little for all the questions, so I answered a little guiltily.

  “No trouble indeed.”

  “Bhwaaa…” my father guffawed. “You little rascal. What did you do? I can see the guilt on your face from a mile away.”

  “It’s really nothing… But, Fjorn did scold me a little for asking too many things and for hurrying him along with the explanations…”

  “Ah so you did do something. Well that much was expected. Now that I think about it… Isn’t this the only kind of trouble you cause? Why are you even so hurried?” Asked my mom after a moment of deliberation.

  “Well… I’m not really hurried… It’s more about excitement and ideas swirling in my head that make me too impatient to listen to long winded explanations…” I said slightly uneasy. I did not know if they could understand this feeling I had.

  “I can’t say I understand. You are very composed usually so your explanation sounds ridiculous. But I believe it’s something that you truly feel since you rarely lie. But this is no excuse. Temper yourself. Nobody is going anywhere, just wait and listen patiently. Questions and idea go nowhere, but if you listen well, you may gain better understanding unexpectedly. It is the way the mind works…” A bitter expression adorned his face “My father was pestering me with this, unfortunately only this late did I truly listen to it and understood what he meant…”

  I was not aware of what happened between father and grandfather. I never met my grandfather, and the mood of my father soured each time he remembered him. He would not say anything and would not talk anymore after. I didn’t want to intrude in it either. Just like I had my reincarnation as a secret, hanging down on me and how I did not know to approach the subject, my father did not know how to deal with his past.

  “Try to be more understanding. Not everyone can just learn as fast as you. Nor can you expect others to be teaching you in a pace suitable to yourself when they have other students as well.”

  “I know… I just can’t help it. Either I listen and bombard with questions or I lose interest. That’s my problem. I’ll… work on it…”

  “Now come help me prepare the table. I made your favorite stew.”

  I did not answer. I myself did not consider any of these foods my favorite. After the brilliant flavors my past life with various condiments with the aroma enhancer that salt is and the various other chemical stimulants, the food here was bland. Don’t get me wrong I instinctively felt it was better. The ingredients felt richer in taste, but it couldn’t compare. As such he was left wanting. I had yet to find a way to secure money in this place. The reason? The villagers did not really rely on money. With so many aether users gathered a lot of essential tasks were solved effortlessly which made the differentiation based on economic power useless. Especially since all of them were retired and uninterested in further progress.

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  As for why salt wasn’t taken from the relatively nearby ocean water? First and foremost, the villagers weren’t used to it and didn’t know its impact. We had no noble cook retired here or something of the like and there seemed to be no one in the area with the knowledge needed for extraction anyway. I mean I did know, but the salt had to be treated to remove impurities and other contaminants from the ocean water and I wasn’t clear on those after all if aether nourished humans it could nourish microorganisms too… I did not want to find out what would happen if I didn’t treat the salt appropriately… So stuck on natural harvesting…

  No money. This was the state in which we were. Not exactly since, as I thought some time back, Aldric was the one holding on to the funds of the settlement. But salt or spices did not sound to me like essential needs. As such how could I bring myself to ask for them to be bought? It wasn’t like I worked for them. They were a communal effort and were to be used to buy things that could not be done locally like grains and pottery. So, I had to wait to be taken to a magic academy to be able to obtain money to cook my own food at the standards close to what I was used to.

  Of course I couldn’t complain to my mom, first because there was no logical way for me to know about those things, second because she was working hard every day to prepare good food that would be enough for my needs. I was eating twice as much as regular kids my age due to all the heavy effort I subjected my body to… So, I took out 3 of the wooden bowls and 3 spoons and placed them on the table.

  Mom came and poured from the stew in all three bowls. Steaming hot, with an aroma wafting out and around. Previously with the lid put it was not this strong. While the taste fell behind, the smell sure didn’t. With fresh ingredients and longtime, low fire simmering to make the broth, the smells were stronger than in my old world. It truly made my stomach rumble. But I wasn’t alone. My father was in the same state while mom was always happy to hear it, as it meant her food was good and well liked.

  I went out, my father followed, and we washed our hands. We had two barrels outside that were suspended. These were used to wash our hands or ourselves. There were weighted corks along with a lever and pulley mechanism to allow the water to flow or to stop it. An ingenious system that I’d have taken a long time to think through, even though I’m pretty sure it was used on earth as well...

  Returning inside we all got seated and started eating. We didn’t pray. There was this divide in mentality between people. Generally, those that had aether sense wouldn’t be very religious. Of course, there would always be exceptions and fanatics, but we weren’t in such a situation. There was a church, and there were actual miracles performed by it. However, aether users argued that a strong aether master’s could do any of the miracles proclaimed and done by the church which led to a general divide between the two entities. The general practice method was also different apparently as they received bestowments which raised their power based on their contributions, unlike us normal people that were cultivating normally.

  Due, to the earlier mention of my father’s family, the dinner was eaten in silence. After dinner we played chess. I pretty much just made up some excuse for it. I wasn’t good with chess nor was I happy to play chess, but it was a systemized game that could be popularized widely after I grew older and could be turned into deluxe items if I hired a jeweler to make the pieces. Not much of a complicated scheme but it was the foundation for a business that could grow to sustain the needs of my family and of the village without much trouble, especially if I added some other board games.

  At first, I was of course dominating my parents in gameplay after all I had some experience with it. But soon my mom overtook me as the undisputed chess master of the house. Perhaps it was because I always tried to keep my pieces and didn’t use strategic sacrifices… I didn’t like that concept at all. But I think I simply can’t avoid it. When it comes to wars or battles sacrificing something or someone for a greater advantage is common and inevitable…

  After night approached father would tell us stories from his days as an adventurer. I knew he only had about five years of such work under his belt so most probably he was turning hearsay into stories for us… It was still interesting how ‘dungeons’ existed and were formed out of abandoned fortresses, magic lairs or from large cave systems supported by an aether spring. My mind wandered thinking about the fierce beasts, stinking undead or the formidable dragons. They were all stories that made my thirst for power grow. Unfortunately, here I had no one to spar with and even though I had delayed a lot my advancement children with my level of aether cultivation were few and far between at the same age or even older.

  This meant no sparring. Aside from the small lessons I got from my father and Hale, I had no way to grow into a stronger combatant. I was partly at fault. If I didn’t run around so much to learn… I could have ventured deeper into the forest and could have fought against magic beasts, gaining experience from battles deciding life and death. Well, I could also just use quantity crushing. Perhaps I wouldn’t be able to fight above my realm, but in my realm… I could exhaust anyone to death and even do it against multiple people one by one… Truly immense was the capacity of the dan tian. If others knew how much aether could be amassed… But my dreams of might were cut short by my father ending his story.

  “… and so, we managed to seize the artifacts within the dungeon.” He paused for a little then looked at me. “Time to sleep. It’s getting late.”

  Yeah sure. You just want more time with mom… Oh well I’d be the same too, how can I complain?

  “Yes… I’m going to bed then…” I raised on my feet and went to my room. The thought of mischievously turning around right before closing the door to say ‘Have fun!’ did cross my mind but in the end I decided against it.

  I rapidly closed the door and climbed into my bed. Perhaps I was being mean, after all no one would feel well with something like that… Embarrassment would overcome them, but I felt it was fine… I had to say I was envious of my father for finding such a nice person like mom. In my past life despite all my efforts both on my self-improvement and on looking for the right person I was still alone… Anyway, I shook off all lingering thoughts and sat there, letting myself sink in meditation. After about, what I thought was, two hours I went to sleep. My lingering thoughts were on the happiness that this family brought me… Too bad that I was to leave this happy life behind in just a few months.

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