It's been a day since the book burning incident. I was currently sat at the dinner table waiting for Silvia to serve me whatever was on the breakfast menu today.
Every morning, as a family, we would talk about whatever recent events we'd heard about the surrounding towns or villages. I say we but more accurately it was Glyffe and Silvia, since I hadn't been told a thing by old friends or neighbours.
Admittedly, it didn't bother me much that I had nothing to contribute. That was because I never really paid attention to the talks anyways. I was simply too focused on learning to read that sneaking books under the dinner table had become somewhat of a bad habit.
Today though, the conversation wouldn't be about any town gossip. Instead, it would be about something far more interesting - magic.
"Good morning mam! Good morning dad!" I called out from the dinner table to Silvia and Glyffe. Glyffe was outside in the field swinging a relatively heavy looking sword. His figure was drenched in sweat and the convenient rays of light really accentuated his muscular physique from this angle.
The door was left open so both me and Silvia - who was in the kitchen - could see him clearly. I had a feeling Silvia was going to cook her signature breakfast today.
"You're in good spirits today Reno. Is it because you're going to have your first magic lesson today?" Silvia smiled sweetly, as she walked towards the dinner table with a wooden pot in hand.
"Of course!" I could barely contain my excitement. I mean it is magic after all - every kids dream. I couldn't help but get excited knowing from today onwards I was going to learn magic properly. I was already dreaming of becoming a misfit of a certain academy or an irregular at a magic high school.
"Atta boy!" A deep voice echoed from the direction of the door. It was Glyffe back from his routine training session. He was especially sweaty and made a move towards the dinner table, where Silvia was about serve breakfast.
His appearance earned him a few disapproving glares from Silvia. She hated it when Glyffe was sweaty on the dinner table. Today, however, it seemed like she would overlook it.
Silvia had begun to serve breakfast, and with a single glance, I could tell what she had made. Tears of joy welled up in my eyes, and a wide grin spread across my face – it was, without a doubt, Silvia's signature breakfast.
""Silver oat porridge!"" a deep voice and a high-pitched voice exclaimed in unison. Silvia's silver oat porridge was a breakfast classic - definitely a personal favourite. Yes, even over pancakes.
Apart from its beautiful look and sublime taste - it was quite nice on my baby teeth, which was an added bonus.
"Like father like son." Silvia commented while laughing to herself at our clear overreactions. With joyful smiles, me and Glyffe both picked up our wooden spoons in anticipation. We would only start eating once Silvia had sat down though. That was only right.
"Thank you for the food!" After waiting until Silvia had sat down, me and Glyffe said our customary thanks.
"My pleasure!" And Silvia replied with her customary response.
In this world that's how one shows respect and gratefulness to the cook. Or maybe it's just a Frostworth family tradition. It might not be Earth but good manners still went a long way.
"So Reno, what type of magic do you want to learn first?" Glyffe asked curiously. I made sure to swallow my food before answering.
"What type of magic... well what types of magic are there dad?" I replied equally as curiously.
I mean, I didn't even know what the different types of magic in this world were. How many types were there? Could some of them be grouped together? Is there a correct way to learn them? If I didn't even know the options, how could I choose any?
"Good question. There are many types of magic but the main types include: Elemental, Summoning and Healing. Elemental magic uses the five elements. Namely: Wind, Water, Earth, Fire and Light. However, Light magic is functionally extinct." He followed up.
"Light magic is functionally extinct?" I probed inquisitively. I mean how can an entire element be functionally extinct?
"Yes. It's because it has no role anymore. It's still taught in magic high schools and universities, but it's incredibly weak. It was supposedly very effective against ancient monsters, but now it's very weak against the florons of today. Light magic definitely has some uses, but it's very situational."
So, schools specifically for magic really did exist in this world.
"Because it has no uses in today's day and age, it's basically extinct. It's still learned and taught, but it has very situational applications, so fewer people want to learn it and fewer are willing to teach it - hence, functionally extinct."
That made sense. I guess it was a similar idea to how older languages, like Latin in my old world, slowly died out.
"What happened to those ancient monsters? And what's a flora-on?" I couldn't help but ask. By ancient monsters did they mean demons? Was there some sort of human-demon war in the past?
"Not a flora-on Reno but a floron." Silvia corrected tactfully from opposite me on the table. "A floron is a plant monster - the only type of monster which exists anymore."
What? This world doesn't have any monsters that aren't... plants? That's strange. Then would these 'florons' behave similarly to plants on Earth?
"As for ancient monsters - they're also extinct. Not functionally extinct - completely extinct." Glyffe added to fill in the gap Silvia just missed out.
"Apparently ancient monsters weren't florons. They were monsters with a dark attribute which were very weak to light magic. But..." Glyffe continued, trailing off at the end.
"How did they go extinct exactly?" I followed up, curious as to why he stopped where he did.
They both looked at each other awkwardly, and a strange silence enveloped the room.
"Well... it was so long ago that no one can really tell you anything for certain, Reno. Though I'm sure some historians out there might be able to give you a valid answer. I would guess they evolved into florons?" Silvia answered somewhat exasperatedly - probably just an educated guess with the hope it'd hit somewhere close to home.
Evolved? Then the people here must have some sort of understanding of biology. I wonder just how much they know about it - and if it's on the same level as Earth.
"There's that train of thought, but it's not the only one. Some sightings of ancient monsters have been reported in dungeons, but they're quite rare. Some people believe they escaped into dungeons, and the florons that remain are just a small tribe descended from those ancient monsters. What could've made them escape or inhabit dungeons—no one knows," Glyffe added with a solemn tone, offering a theory quite different from Silvia's.
"Inside... dungeons?" I asked, still trying to process everything.
To think this world had dungeons too – I really wasn't expecting that. At the same time though, I wasn't surprised. Maybe it was my turn to try and answer that age old question: Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?
Glyffe promptly nodded, as if he anticipated my question. "Mhm. Reno, do you remember the forbidden lands the Paladin Hero went through?" Glyffe questioned, somewhat off topic.
"Of course. Like the abyssal forest and the bloodstone desert?" By now I knew all of the forbidden lands mentioned in The Heroic Tales of The Paladin Hero.
Yep, those! For now, just think of dungeons as being as dangerous as those forbidden lands. Dungeons are places with monsters, treasures, and opportunities—just like those forbidden lands." Glyffe spoke enthusiastically, tying my knowledge of the forbidden lands to the mystery of the dungeons seamlessly.
He always got this pumped up when talking about The Heroic Tales of The Paladin Hero. It made me feel slightly guilty knowing what I did to his copy of it. I had to change the topic quick before the conversation got to the book burning incident.
"Ah, okay. I'll think of dungeons just like those forbidden lands. Hmm, so even though there are different theories about the ancient monsters, no one really knows what happened to them?"
"Exactly," Silvia added, completely clarifying my doubt.
"Well, okay." I set aside the topic of ancient monsters for now, but I'd definitely return to it later. For now, I wanted to get back to magic since we'd gone slightly off course. "Could you explain the other two types of magic a bit more, Glyffe?" I asked, seamlessly changing the subject.
"Healing magic can heal injuries, cuts, bruises and things of that sort. A great healer can even restore broken bones or torn limbs. Stories tell of a legendary healer who cast a resurrection spell!" Glyffe followed up, clearly very eager to share his knowledge.
"Resurrection!" I exclaimed excitedly. That seemed a little too overpowered to be used with no consequences.