Chapter 4 : Childhood (4)

“Same as usual today?”

“Do you have any good meat from the new stock?”

“For us, it’s always the same.”

“Then I’ll take the same.”

I took the meat, tucking it under my arm, and left the shop.

Pulling my robe deeper over my head, I walked down the street.

The surroundings were noisy. 

The kids who played as the “alley boss” were always loud, no matter the place or the world.

I caught sight of a blonde kid holding up a sword made from a roughly broken tree branch, then moved on.

Kelton would be getting hungry soon, so I needed to hurry.

As soon as I arrived home, I glanced at the rocking chair in the yard.

Kelton wasn’t there.

Resting his old body in that chair was part of his daily routine—where had he gone?

Did he go out for a stroll?

Oh well, it didn’t matter.

He always came back when it was mealtime anyway.

Without worrying about it, I went into the kitchen.

I cooked a stew with the meat and tended to the vegetable garden while I was at it. 

By the time I finished, Kelton had returned.

“Why were you outside?”

“I was watering the herbs.”

“Let’s eat.”

I glanced at the leather bag Kelton was carrying before serving the stew at the table.

And then we ate.

As always, the meat stew was delicious.

After making herbal tea and handing it to Kelton, I sipped my own.

The warmth chased away the early December chill.

It was already December.

Time passed so quickly.

It had already been over a year since I met Kelton.

A lot had changed in that time.

For one, the whole village knew about me now. 

That kid in the black robe is the wizard’s apprentice, they’d say.

I’d also grown taller.

Maybe it was thanks to a year of proper nutrition—I had grown about 10 cm.

I was originally quite small, so I was still far from average height, but that was fine. 

At this rate, by the time I reached adulthood, I could fulfill my dream of becoming a 3.5-meter-tall muscular tank.

My cooking skills had improved a lot, too. 

Most of the recipes I used in my past life had been sealed away due to the Happy Medieval Land limitations, but after a year of cooking, I had learned how to make do with limited ingredients.

Well, calling it “limited” wasn’t exactly right.

Kelton had spent years as a mercenary wizard, so he had plenty of money. 

But no matter how rich you were, the ingredients available in a rural village were still limited.

It was odd how, even in such a remote place, salt and pepper were everywhere. 

It seemed magic had advanced in some fields more than others.

That’s why I called this place Happy Medieval Land—not just Medieval Land.

Oh, I didn’t mention magic among the changes because… there was no change.

Even after a year, my magic skills were still at the first level.

But that was fine. 

It normally took a year to reach the second level, anyway.

So I was still average.

For now.

Rustle.

As I was washing dishes, Kelton pulled something out of his bag.

It was a flat board of some kind.

I kept my ears open while I focused on the dishes.

Thud. 

Kelton placed something on the board. 

Thud. 

He did it again.

What was he doing?

Curious, I finished the dishes and approached him.

On the desk was a checkerboard with strange pieces placed on it.

It was clearly a board game.

“Are you no longer satisfied with the rocking chair?”

“It’s hard to sit in it during winter.”

“Sounds like you learned your lesson last year.”

“Being stuck inside all day was miserable.”

I examined the board game.

The pieces looked like different types of soldiers, and just as I was thinking, Is this some kind of otherworld chess?—

Kelton suddenly moved a black piece and transformed it.

The soldier piece changed into a knight in full plate armor.

“A transformation!”

“Why are you shouting all of a sudden?”

“This looks fun. 

What’s it called?”

“Arcana Battle Board.”

“That’s a pretty stiff name.”

For a board game with transforming pieces, it sure lacked flair.

“How do you play?”

“Sit down, and I’ll teach you.”

Kelton taught me the rules of Arcana Chess.

The game followed the framework of a strategic board game but had a unique feature: 

You could spend turns to evolve your pieces to a higher level.

Additionally, once per game, you could evolve a single piece into its ultimate form, making it a game with a lot of strategic depth.

“Checkmate.”

“I’ve been wondering—does this world have regular chess?”

“Yeah. 

Arcana Chess is actually a variant of chess.”

I knew it. 

No wonder “chess” was in the name.

Still, it was interesting that this world had chess.

Maybe another Earthling had reincarnated here and introduced it?

“Checkmate.”

A second checkmate in a row. 

I blinked.

“This is hard.”

“I’ve been playing it my whole life. 

Of course you’re not going to beat me on your first day.”

“Let’s play again.”

Each piece had a different transformation, which made evolving them fun.

It reminded me of those ‘transforming robot toys that dads like even more’ that sometimes popped up on YouTube Shorts.

The pieces were clearly made with intricate folding mechanisms, which meant—

“This must be expensive.”

“That’s why I never bought one. 

I always borrowed it from the pub.”

“You’re such a cheapskate.”

If it was expensive enough for the pub to keep a set, it couldn’t be that outrageously priced.

And this guy, who made so much money, was only buying it now?

Or was he rich because he was this stingy?

It was the classic chicken-or-egg dilemma.

“Checkmate.”

“There are clearly some pieces with terrible evolutionary efficiency. 

It seems better to save up evolution points and upgrade the stronger pieces first.”

“That’s called the Royal Gambit.”

“Let’s play again.”

I neatly arranged the pieces on the board.

“How’s your magic coming along?”

Kelton asked casually as if it were just an afterthought.

I moved my soldier forward and slowly answered.

“That’s some impressive nonchalance—you’re asking so I won’t feel bad about my lack of progress, right? 

You’d make a great father.”

“……So? 

How’s it going?”

“It’s the same.”

“Are you sure that’s okay?”

“Of course.”

There were plenty of things in life that didn’t work out no matter how hard you tried. 

Even if you had talent, without luck, things wouldn’t go your way.

Getting stuck for just a year wasn’t something to stress over.

I’d get there eventually—there was no need to rush.

And what if I got stuck for years instead of just one?

Well, I’d deal with that when the time came.

Fwoosh. 

A flame ignited in my hand.

It was a perfectly round flame—this was the characteristic of the Flame of Equilibrium that I had discovered.

The mana was evenly distributed, forming a stable shape.

And what was the benefit of this?

It looked pretty.

I wasn’t joking—that was literally it.

Then again, most first-level magic spells were like this.

Only at the second level did magic become useful in practical situations.

“How did you reach the second level, Kelton?”

“Haven’t I told you before? I—”

As I asked, Kelton evolved his soldier into a knight and conjured a flame.

His fire flickered, casting a radiant glow across the room.

“I became second-tier when I realized that an exchange doesn’t have to be strictly one-to-one. 

Just because I give one, doesn’t mean I can’t take two in return, right?”

“Unfair transactions are unethical.”

“It’s just a metaphor.”

Kelton had told me about the moment he reached the second level multiple times, but it didn’t help much.

The path of a magician was full of abstract concepts that were hard to explain in words.

Sure, he could describe what he went through, but that alone wasn’t enough.

Besides, every magician’s experience was different—hearing too many explanations could actually make things more confusing.

That’s why there was only one universal piece of advice that all magicians gave.

Understand the elements.

Use the elements as tools to understand the world.

It sounded vague and philosophical, but as a fledgling first-tier magician, I knew—

There was no better way to describe magical training than that.

In the end, to use elements as tools and understand the world, I had to delve deeper into them…

But how?

How?

“It’s cold.”

Kelton stood up and lit the fireplace.

Fwoosh. 

The logs caught fire.

And suddenly, a light bulb went off in my head.

“I got it!”

“Did you just reach the second level?”

Ignoring Kelton’s words, I dashed to the workshop.

Inside were countless tools, but I grabbed a lantern and lit a flame.

I held it close to my chest like a precious treasure.

“What are you doing?”

Kelton looked at me with an exasperated expression, puffing on his pipe.

I answered.

“If I want to get closer to the elements, I should keep them close to me.”

“You’re planning to carry that around all the time?”

“Is that a problem?”

“It’s not wrong, but I doubt it’ll do much.”

Kelton exhaled a plume of smoke.

Judging by his reaction, plenty of people had tried this method before.

If it had actually worked, every magician in the world would be walking around with a flame or a jug of water by their side. 

The fact that they weren’t proved that this wasn’t an effective shortcut.

“But there’s no harm in trying, right?”

“Well, do as you like.”

Kelton responded nonchalantly, taking another drag of his pipe.

Seeing how bored he looked, I spoke up.

“Want to play another round?”

“Sit down.”

Two more years passed.

“I did it!”

“Took you three years. 

That’s three times slower than average.”

But in the end, I had finally reached the second tier of magic.