After multiple hours of tilling the soil using the hoe, I finally finished; thanks to my wish for energy, I didn't feel exhausted at all, though, to be fair, I hadn't really pushed myself that hard. "Hmm, maybe it was the wish for an enhanced physique?" Shrugging my shoulders, I headed back to the shed to return the hoe, though I saw Dad using a sickle to harvest the already planted crops on the other field along the way.
Putting the hoe back in the shed, I glanced at Dad. "I finished, Dad!" I yelled loudly, gathering his attention as he looked at me with a sweaty face. "You're done already? You tilled the entire field?" Dad asked me with a surprised expression while I proudly nodded before pointing at the field I had just tilled. "Yes, you can check it, Dad. I'm going to eat!"
Leaving the fields behind, I entered the house, only to see my Mom working as she was in the kitchen preparing lunch. "Hey, Mom! I finished helping Dad in the field!" I said with a smile as I ran up to her, causing her to smile before squatting to eye level and pulling my cheeks, which always annoyed me, but I liked being praised by her, so I remained quiet.
"Oh, you did!? You're such a strong boy, Cooper! Momma is super-duper proud of you!" Mom said with a large, infectious smile that also caused me to smile while butterflies flew in my stomach. "Here, a super strong boy like you needs to eat if they want to continue to grow." Added Mom with a smile as she picked me up before placing me on a table chair.
Mom placed a plate with a sandwich on the table a minute later while rubbing my head and kissing my cheek. "Eat up, Cooper. Then you can play with the other children in the village." Mom said with a smile as she wiped her hands on her apron before returning to the kitchen while I began to dig in, devouring the sandwich quickly as I was decently hungry. "Thanks, Mom!"
Once I finished eating, I ran and hugged Mom's leg before turning around and leaving the house. "Bye, love you, Mom!" I said while closing the door behind me and running toward the village, as our home was a bit further away from everyone else.
Speaking of villages, ours was small, with only roughly sixty people, and we didn't even have a name; we were also located on the forest's edge near Oshibana Station, whatever that was. I didn't know much about this new world I was reincarnated in, but one thing I did find out was this place had magic, and people who could control magic were called mages.
Most Mages joined these things called Guilds; as for other things regarding Mages and magic, I didn't know much; as a matter of fact, most of my knowledge didn't come from my parents but instead from an old man who lives in the village, and that's who I was going to right now.
As I ran through the village, I saw a few kids playing together; all of them were older than me as I was the youngest, but even so, I was the strongest child, excluding teenagers. However, I wasn't here to play with the other children; instead, I headed toward the end of the village, where a lone, slightly shabby house resided. Approaching the door, I knocked on it a few times, though after I got no response, I began trying to break the door down, slamming into it repeatedly until it finally opened, prompting me to fall into the house.
"Ugh, what do you want brat?" Hearing that voice, I looked up, eyeing Cho, the old man who taught me everything about magic and mages, which wasn't much. "To learn magic!" I said eagerly as I leaped onto my feet and looked at Cho, who just scoffed while closing the door behind me.
"I'm barely a mage myself; what makes you think I'd be able to teach you? Besides, I don't feel like it." Said Cho as he turned around and walked deeper into the house, causing me to frown as I followed behind him.
"Just teach me something, old man; it's not that hard." I said in annoyance as I eyed Cho, who smirked before suddenly stopping and facing me, causing my red eyes to shine. "Fine, you want me to teach you? How about this, then? Control your mana and circulate it through your body." Said Cho with a smirk, one that caused my expression to falter as I had no idea how to do that.
"How do I do that?" "Heh, see, I told you, it's not easy to teach. Now just shut up and leave me alone, brat." Clicking my tongue in annoyance, I glared at Cho while he laughed before turning around, leaving me alone in the front of the house.
Kicking my feet in annoyance, I quietly cursed that useless old man while deciding to search the house, hoping to come across something magical, yet, after nearly an hour of flipping this house upside down, I found nothing.
"Tsk, what the hell; don't old people horde stuff? Why doesn't he have anything?" I muttered in annoyance while removing myself from underneath Cho's bed before throwing a pillow at the ceiling, only for a hatch to suddenly reveal itself while a ladder hit me in the head, further angering me.
'Fucking hell!' The ladder hitting me didn't hurt, it was just annoying, but after I got over it, I didn't hesitate to climb into the secret attic. Once inside the attic, I was expecting to find some hidden magical staffs or something extraordinary, but it was just dusty boxes and whatnot, stuff you'd expect to find in an attic.
"The hell, man? Was that old man actually a mage?" I find it hard to believe he was actually a mage in his youth, considering I saw nothing, though just as I was getting ready to slam a box onto the ground in frustration, a glowing golden crystal the size of my finger hit my head before falling onto the ground.
'Hmm, what's this?' Picking up the glowing golden crystal, I closely inspected the it, only for me to turn around when I heard the floorboards squeak. "What are you doing trying to sneak up on a kid, old man?" I said while staring at Cho, who was looking at me with a concerned expression.
"Listen, brat, put that crystal down. I found it in some ancient ruins beside a golden skeleton." Said Cho softly as he nervously looked at me while I held the crystal in my hand, prompting me to smirk. "So, this is something magical?" I asked with a grin as I looked at Cho, who nodded before suddenly leaping towards me with strength unbefitting of an old man far past his prime.
Seeing Cho lung at me, I had no time to react as I would've never expected that from him, and instinctively, I tossed the crystal into my mouth and swallowed, purely out of spite for Cho not teaching me magic; however, the instant I did so, knowledge about 'Indestructible Magic' suddenly flashed through my mind, causing me to grab my head while Cho forcefully pride open my mouth.
"You stupid, stubborn brat! Do you have any idea what you just did!?" Yelled Cho as he stuck his grubby fingers down my mouth, causing me to bite his hand while he winced in pain before retreating. "Ugh, maybe you should've taught me some magic instead of brushing me off, you frail old man!" I said while rubbing my tongue, trying to rid myself of the taste of Cho's fingers.
"Argh, you stupid brat!" Yelled Cho angrily as he suddenly lunged at me and picked me up, holding me firmly as he took me out of the attic before tossing me out through one of his windows.
Rolling across the grassy ground, I quickly stood up and brushed off the grass stuck in my shoulder-length white hair before eyeing Cho, who slammed the window shut with a scoff. "If you end up dropping dead, that's on you! Don't come crying to me!"
"Hmph, you probably wouldn't help anyway." Muttering in annoyance, I dusted myself off before walking to my secret spot, which wasn't very secretive, just a place no one but me could reach.
Approaching the tallest tree near the village, I climbed up it, leaping between branches until I reached the top, where I then began to mull over the information I had gained about Indestructible Magic. 'Hmm, since Cho found this at an ancient ruin, would this be considered Ancient Magic?' I was really just guessing; I didn't even know if there were different kinds of magic, but it would make sense.
Shaking my head, I focused on learning Indestructible Magic, which didn't take long, as it was relatively straightforward, but I couldn't help but smile.
'So with Indestructible Magic, I can infuse my body with magic to further enhance it? That's freaking awesome!' I thought with a grin as I imagined myself punching a hole in a boulder. However, that wasn't all the magic offered; it also seemed I'd be able to infuse my magic into things to strengthen them as well.
From what I could see, though, the only downside to this magic was it required great control over your magic, which was a problem for me as I didn't know how to use magic, and it didn't say in the knowledge I received.
"Well, I should start practicing today then!" I said with a confident grin as I climbed down the tree before returning home, wanting to practice in the comfort of my home.
(Note: Alright, I'll say this in advance, but Indestructible Magic isn't just about strengthening oneself; there is much more to it.)