Chapter 2: Early Years
In the blink of an eye, three years passed...
After arriving in a new world, with a hazy understanding of how he had died and ended up in this magical realm, Vicente gradually adapted himself to a new, unfamiliar reality.
The initial phase had been excruciatingly dull for him. Even though he retained all his memories from his time on Earth, he had to endure the tortuous journey that every infant would have to go through after birth.
For months on end his life only consisted of eating, sleeping, pooping, and finally, pissing himself.
The occasional experience of waking up in the middle of the night with his private parts and sometimes even his back smeared with poop was simply terrible!
His honor and dignity seemed to have evaporated during this dark period of his existence.
Meanwhile, an infant's routine does not contain many adventures. He already understood how many things worked, so there were very few discoveries which he hadn't experienced.
At most, he would find some mild amusement during the occasional times where he had seen people using magic before his eyes.
Initially, he couldn't really grasp the nature of that power. Still, the more time he spent in this world, the more he began to realize that the fantastic powers the people wielded were similar to the magic he had often heard about in fictional tales.
Through this revelation, he came to a realization that he was no longer on Earth but in a wonderful place!
This was Polaris Realm, a world where magic really existed!
After enduring those initial monotonous months in Polaris Realm, Vicente gradually acquired knowledge regarding his surroundings, the language spoken by his new parents, and that wonderful discovery.
By the age of seven months, he had already learned to speak a few words, but it wasn't until he reached one year and five months that he achieved enough to form some sentences and comprehend what people were saying to him.
At this point, he had also begun to understand the bedtime stories his mother narrated to him whenever he went to sleep.
Polaris Realm was a marvelous domain full of possibilities. Here, terrible monsters lurked in the forests or even were concealed in the shadows. At the same time, there were humans who were capable of learning magic and had the potential to walk unique paths in their lives. Through the magic, they could strengthen their bodies and souls.
Their lives could be extended as long as they continued to strengthen themselves, and the word "impossible" held little sway over these specialists.
As he learned to speak, he eventually learned these things of the world and gained a basic grasp of how this society worked.
Nonetheless, he was still a child with a lot to learn.
At the age of three, he remained ignorant about the intricate hierarchies of magical cultivation and the differences in status from family origin.
Was this a realm like the Earth where wealth was more important than everything else?
He had yet to uncover the answer to that question.
At most, his understanding was limited to his own family.
His father, Andrew Fuller, was a relatively successful merchant. This man could be described as a person who was kind, good-looking, and had a very sharp intellect.
His mother, Kate Hogan, basically lived to tend to the needs of her husband and children.
She hailed from a wealthy bourgeois family in the same province as Andrew, where they had met five years ago.
Andrew, although of common origin, had achieved success through his business activity, a path he had embarked on since he was adopted by a wealthy merchant about two decades ago.
From this union, two children had emerged: Lauren and, more recently, Vicente.
Lauren, for the moment, remained Vicente's only sister. Nevertheless, considering how deeply their parents were in love with each other, he did not doubt that one day they would get more brothers and sisters.
Lauren harbored no jealousy and got along very well with him. So Vicente naturally viewed her favorably.
Given his previous life on Earth, Vicente might not have initially connected with this family. However, after three years of living with them, receiving nothing but boundless love from everyone, he embraced this family and wholeheartedly accepted them into his life.
Thanks to this good relationship, he enjoyed his time with them, learned numerous valuable things, and gained a profound understanding of their reality.
His father might be considered financially successful, but this was a society where just one's prosperity was not enough to secure their basic needs.
This was a world consisting of magical prowess; as such, one could only achieve a good social standing through their magical power.
While having resources held some significance, but only if these resources had the ability to sway magicians.
This was something his father could not do!
So, even though they could be considered affluent by the standards of this world, they would still have to bow their heads to certain groups wherever they went.
Within this world, nobility existed, they were people who usually belonged to heaven-blessed families and possessed good magical talents among their members since birth. But besides them, there were also few individuals who were of common origin and could rise to high positions just based on their talents, and the rest of this society would have to be careful in dealing with them.
As someone who lacked power and was unable to move relevant magicians, Vicente's father had no choice but to be humble.
Vicente had learned this recently and was slowly trying to adopt a humble and discreet lifestyle for himself, which was necessary for his survival and success.
He had often heard stories from his father on how putting his head down on the right occasions and taking a few steps back had proved to be advantageous for him.
As someone who had experienced betrayal on Earth and was striving to learn to live in this new world, Vicente had taken this lesson to his heart and tried to act like his old man whenever possible, a mindset that was shared by his mother and sister as well.
Perhaps for this reason, in the three years he had lived here, they had never experienced a desperate situation.
Currently, Vicente was in his family's primary residence in the Seidel Kingdom, Scott Province, Martell Village.
This was a relatively small settlement with less than three thousand inhabitants, where no members of the nobility resided.
Martell Village was surrounded by a large forest, mountains, and sprawling agricultural fields that stretched for hundreds of kilometers.
Given its remote position in the province, this was usually a quiet place that typically did not have to deal with much significant problems.
That was the driving factor for the head of the Fuller family to establish his residence there.
And precisely at this moment, Vicente was running after his mother.
...
"Mama, when will I be able to learn magic?" Vicente inquired in a rather childish, swallowing lethargic language, still struggling to articulate himself properly.
In his mind, Vicente could form words, read, and understand what people were saying, even when they used slightly more complex words. However, strangely, he couldn't speak or write as well as he thought he should be able to.
Kate once again heard her son asking her about this and smiled as she hung some laundry on a clothesline.
"Vicente, this is no time for you to worry about that. I already told you that before. First, you must learn to write and fulfill your lessons with your sister."
Vicente heard her response and thought it was highly unfair for her to hold the truth about this from him.
"But I'm trying my best. When are you going to talk to me about it?"
She stopped what she was doing, letting out a sigh. "All right, I'll tell you about it then," she paused for a brief moment, feeling that she might hurt her little boy, but it would be better to tell him immediately.
"Vicente, magic is something you can train by using your perseverance, luck, and connections. In short, there are many ways to improve a person's magical abilities." She started in a positive tone but gradually it grew more serious. "However, regardless of how many ways there are available to improve as a magician, none of them can compensate for a bad natural talent.
In the world of magic, a magician's fate is already decided before they even embark on their magical journeys.
No matter how hard a magician with bad talent perseveres, they will never be able to reach the same level as a well-born slacker."
...