"Ryuji, did you know that I also don't have a mana core?"
I had doubts. I've read a large amount of books related to mana and mages of all types. Both my mother and my father have never once, in my entire 6 years of life, used magic in front of me.
'So it was true…my parents could never be mages. Guess it explains my sack of shit talent with mana.' I thought.
"So you guys lied about being adventurers and how you named me?" I asked, I felt a slight sinking feeling in my chest even though my tone and expression didn't show it.
It felt like my chest was getting tighter. Why was I feeling so hurt from such a lie?
"Not entirely, we were adventurers and back then we did have mana cores. We were strong, stronger than just about anyone!" My dad argued.
I began to think. Around the house there weren't any pictures of them as adventurers. They never showed me anything from their time as young adults or teens. I've never met any of their friends, I don't seem to have any relatives either.
They never mentioned any schools they went to, any advantures they went on, any treasures they found. NOTHING.
It was as if my parents were just here in existence and I could only believe in what they said, because there was no way for me to investigate.
"Yuji, there's something I have to tell you, but you can't tell your mother. Got it?"
I looked up at him and wiped my blurry eyes.
"Yuji, maybe about 20 years ago, me and your mother were legends amongst adventures. We were the S rank duo 'Smashing Light'! Pretty corny right?" He chuckled.
"We were strong, but the fact that we never showed our identity was unsettling for a lot of people. We enjoyed being adventurers. In the forest, hunting for our own food, making our own shelter and living by our own means. It was lovely really."
"Maybe 5 years into living that type of life, our legend changed. People claimed that were terrifying nomads or whatever and that story floated around and changed into us being some type of humanoid beasts."
I interrupted.
"How could they not notice you guys were human?" I asked.
"Well after some time we figured wearing pelts and stuff taken from stronger monsters were better than our own equipment. Not to mention the masks we wore had an enchantment on them as well." He explained.
"But yeah, for some time we just didn't care too much. It was fun pretending to be the monsters in the legends while we were actually just living happily. But then, the legend got popular enough that the kingdom got involved."
Just from his tone, I could tell this is where it gets bad. His expression was one of annoyance.
"I guess, looking back, we should've at least confronted the rumors and set things straight. There was a party picked by the king with a few royal knights that ambushed us one day. Burned down the shelter we made, destroyed all the things that made it feel like a home and when we got back they attacked us from nowhere." He sneered and continued.
"They were strong, but they wouldn't listen to reason even after we removed the masks. I don't know what it was, but after revealing ourselves it seemed like they fought harder."
"In the end we killed everyone in the party and only one Royal Knight was left alive. Fast forward and we were brought before the king and cleared everything up, but instead of being angry with the killing, he felt we should be given something to make amends"
"Just because you were a strong duo of S ranks right?" I asked.
"More likely than not, but instead of something grand we just asked to be able to live a quiet life with each other. We didn't want that legend around anymor and we didn't want to be knows as S ranks anymore. Once we said that it was like his whole mood changed. He kept trying to change our words like we were abandoning the kingdom and wanted to run away from an S ranks responsibilities or whatever." He released a long sigh.
"At some point, I just yelled out that he could lock my core up forever if that made him feel better. I'm not gonna lie like I wasn't being condescending and that's probably what made him actually do it." With another sigh, he took off his shirt and closed his eyes.
On his body, runes and other inscriptions began to appear everywhere and my dad groaned as he clinched his teeth.
"T-these markings! These are what the king used to keep us chained. Your mother was a white core mage, so she had to get more and stronger chains placed on her. I'm a bit different!" He cackled.
Turning his back to me, I marveled at the huge inscription I was staring at.
"You see, your dad wasn't the best with mana and I was stuck at the Light Orange stage and even absorbing mana from beast cores did nothing for my advancement, but I got strong!" He gestured towards the huge inscription and turned his head towards me with a smile.
"They knew even without my mana core I'd still have incredible strength, so they used this seal and blocked my body off entirely from absorbing mana. With a restraint on my mana core and chains on my ability to take in mana, I was reverted back to a regular person."
His smile as he said that looked so calm. So unbothered and happy. All of the rewards he and mother got from their hard work was completely cut off from their access, yet he's smiling.
Very faintly, I could hear a sniffle coming from the house. My mother was listening and probably crying.
"How could you be so fine knowing everything you worked hard for was for nothing? You lost all the strength you were seeking and now you're an average man living within the kingdom that placed shackles on you! Aren't you mad or at least frustrated!?"
I hadn't realized I was yelling nor did I know what expression I wore. It was just annoying, how he could just accept that and go on with life.
"Well, I didn't really lose anything. Hell I gained more than I lost. Me and Jhena finally got to settle down here in a nice and quiet community. We don't struggle for food or anything and even though it was fun using mana and being able to devistate mountains with a punch, it's even better having a family." He said with a content smile.
"It was just our lives as Adventurers that ended. Now we're living our second life as good parents. Well, hopefully, we're doing good." He muttered as he scratched his cheek.
"Your mother was really worried the other day about how she was doing as a parent and you know it gets hard on her too since we're both first time parents. If you're going through something you can talk to either of us, but I understand if it's something you want to get over yourself. You're my son after all."
He placed his hand on my shoulder and I suddenly pulled me into a hug.
'This is so cheesy…' I quietly enjoyed the hug, but most of all, I decided to live this life to the fullest!
….
That same day, we all got everything that we needed for the picnic together and got ourselves dressed to leave outside.
"Mom, should I pack some nut mix too?" I asked as she packed a blanket into my dad's backpack.
"Yeah, we can throw them out to the birds and squirrels! They always looked so cute if they weren't scared away."
I nodded and brought one of the bigger bags and packed it into my own bag.
"Guys let's go. The line to the gate will be packed by the time we get there." Dad rushed.
"Eh? Aren't we catching a ride?" I asked as I was sure we wouldn't be walking in such clean outfits.
My father wore a black shirt with matching pants and a straw hat as he carried the bags over his shoulders.
Considering that the sun wasn't on our side in terms of temperature, black was an odd choice.
My mother wore a pure white sundress and wore a ponytail with her bangs being braided together and left to hang freely. If I hadn't said it before, my mother was a 10/10 beauty.
She was everything elves wanted to be and then some in my eyes.
Just looking at her, made me glance back to my dad. I had to say, if you could get past the mane of locs he had and the small scars, then my dad is pretty handsome.
I'd say I looked pretty nice too, my features were sharp and my jawline was becoming really clear. I was 6 years old, but when my arms moved and my muscles contracted and retracted, it was noticeable.
I chose to go with something different from what I would usually wear. I wore some light grey shorts with a short sleeved, button up shirt. The shorts had straps that went over my shoulders and tightened up, but I had a belt so I let the straps hang.
I wore black socks that went just past my ankles and some loafers of the same color.
As I said, black was an odd color for this heat, but it just felt so classy. I had my locs styled in a way that had my front locs pulled to the back and into a ponytail while the rest of my hair stayed down.
"Ride's here, let's get going." Dad said as he walked through the door.
"Mom, your bag." I gestured for the duffel bag she carried on her shoulder and she chuckled.
"Don't drop it, sweetheart~" She said rubbing at my cheek.
"You're so cute~" She added as I just awkwardly laughed.
With the bag slung over my shoulder, I left the house behind mom and we got into a wagon as we began our trip to Xyrus.