Part 1
It took me four days to be able to move again, though some of the pain still haunts me. While I recovered, I've learned plenty of things about this world with the help of Remus' knowledge.
After recovery, he'd bring me to sit in a large garden of a special barracks stationed in the capital city of the Tyrus Kingdom, though the barracks looked more like a well-kept manor. Not to mention a fair number of maids.
In the center of a garden sits a large marble water fountain with multiple beds of water pouring into one another. The marble at its very peak carved into a miniscule lion with water shooting out of its mouth.
Curious, I walked over to the fountain and peeked inside. Despite the horrors I've experienced so far, I haven't quite jumped like I did seeing myself.
When I leaned over the fountain, I saw a young teen's face, certainly around the age of 16, with long, unkept curly hair that touched his shoulders.
After touching myself, I became certain that this face is mine.
My body isn't just younger, it's anew.
It still feels creepy suddenly living in a different body after so many years, but…
I think I'm handsome? My skin is fairly smooth too.
In my previous life, I wasn't a sight to see nor was I ugly. I was average in nearly every metric.
Remus often boasts that this barracks belongs to one of the kingdom's finest High Knights.
From what I could gather, the 'High Knights' are a collection of the kingdom's strongest knight squadrons who're handed heavier tasks than the standard knight.
It's mostly composed of knights who're ranked Class 3 and above, the highest rank a Knight could achieve being Class 5 and the lowest being Class 1.
Remus explained to me that in order to become his squire, I'd need to attend a page school, where we learn how to be of service as a squire and mostly how to serve as a knight.
The idea of going back to school didn't daunt me as much as the terrifying task Remus gave me. Although I've gained some numen, it's not enough numen. So, he's asking me to gather more.
How could he, after seeing what it did to me? Even though I'm mostly recovered, my mind refuses to let me forget about that shredding pain!
There were times I wished death would take me, but it didn't, and I was stuck in a seemingly unending loop of my muscles, nerves, and bones feeling as if they're contorting and bursting.
The suffering of achieving numen far outweighs my desire for numen.
Speaking of numen, I learned some more about it. I'd like to crack it down to a magic system, but it hardly feels like it, at least from what I've heard.
All life has numen, but not everyone can do special things. It all comes down to race, or even species.
As a human, numen only enhances my physical abilities, such as strength, speed, and even instinct. Though, Remus told me I might be a special case, since I gathered numen which defies logic in this world.
Maybe that explains Captivum, but that explanation doesn't sit right with me. It's as if somewhere in my mind knows the answer, but I can't find it. It's like trying to remember an old classmate's name after graduating.
However, other races' numen are supposedly special in their own way. Remus imitated drawing a bow, and explained that elves can conjure powerful bows.
When I asked him questions such as "what is each race is capable of," and "how many races are there", he'd do his annoying sneer and told me I'd learn firsthand in page School.
Ah, to add to his already rage-inducing demeanor, he'd like to berate me for not knowing simple things like these.
"Idiot!" "Idiot!" "Idiot!" I can't get his stupid voice out of my head. It's like having to hear the chorus of a hit song for the 50,000th time!
The only thing stopping him from being my 99th reason is the information and resources he's giving me.
A few days ago he gave me some books, mostly on geography, history, language and some mathematics in preparation for page school. Apparently they have some general education too.
I'm starting to question whether my life is really worth the suffering of putting up with school again. Damn this kingdom.
Of all the kingdoms in the world, Tyrus is supposedly the most diverse. Our neighboring kingdom, Kingdom Vis, is the biggest landmass kingdom in the world.
The history texts tell me that although Tyrus and Vis trade with each other, they seem to be on very unfriendly terms. Lately Vis has been very expansive despite its already large landmass, and there's been a few run ins between Tyrus' and Vis' forces.
These books aren't very up to date, so I'm not sure what's really going on in the world right now.
The barracks is almost smack center of the city, but its tall structure lets me see over the entire city.
There's no question, this city is huge and strange, but when I watch from the roof of the barracks, it feels so small yet alive.
The sight of people passing feels like ants. The voices of vendors and buyers sound so distant. The scents of freshly baked bread and meats make me hungry, even after a meal.
Ever since I've arrived here, the uncertainty of everything makes it hard for me to sleep. But amidst it all, I'm starting to feel a way I haven't felt in a long time.
There's so much of this world and my body that I don't know about. Maybe there's finally something in store for me!
Part 2
I lean against the fence of the roof, peering below at the pretty maids.
"All the maids I've seen here so far are kind of pretty. This couldn't be a coincidence…" I mumble to myself.
Behind me the door to the roof swings open, its Remus.
I hope he didn't catch me looking at the maids, because he'd probably just call me a pervert or something along those lines, even though I like to look at good looking people.
Remus isn't so bad looking either, he's just really fucking annoying.
"Alright, you've got about a month to gather enough numen before we send you off to the nearest Page Academy!" Remus shuts the door carelessly behind him before leaning on the railing beside me.
"A month?! Just how much more numen do I need?"
"I'd say…" He rubs his chin, his eyes assessing my form. He raises both of his hands to my face, showing all fingers. "About ten times more than what you have now!"
"Eh?" I give him a dumbfounded look, not pleased with his jokes.
His tone is almost always the same, so it's hard to tell whether he's joking or not.
He pats my head, though I feel it's more mocking than comforting.
"I'm serious! So… get to it!"
It feels as if someone threw a truck on my shoulders, and if I had already eaten lunch, I'd probably vomit on Remus or the pretty maids below. Thankfully, I didn't even eat breakfast.
"Right now?"
"Yep!"
I sigh before sitting down and crossing my legs, forming a meditative stance. I'm not sure if sitting like this will help, but it's worth a try.
I grit my teeth and try to zone in somewhere in my mind, attempting to replicate how I successfully gathered numen like last time.
Seconds feel like minutes, and minutes feel like hours.
Remus looks to the sky before turning his attention back to me.
"It's been an hour, what're you waiting for?"
"I'm trying!"
"Well try harder!" He smacks my head.
I rub the spot he open-palmed my skull whilst looking at him furiously.
The time I spent trying to replicate my success before, I came up with some possible reasons as to why I'm unsuccessful now.
"Look, I don't think this is going to work. Maybe the only reason it worked last time is because my life was in danger."
Remus looks at me curiously for a few moments.
"Alright, then if you don't gather numen in the next minute, I'm going to kill you."