Chapter 3 - Family
Once their mom had left, Nailah and Lylla came over to where Maxmillan stood with an incomprehensibly dazed expression in his face.
"Maxie, are you sure you are okay now? I don't want anything to happen to you again." Nailah, the older of the two girls, asked in a caring tone.
"I am fine." Maxmillan said.
This time, he didn't say it in the odd way that he said it before.
As a veteran soldier who had been trained to quickly adapt to every situation that he would find himself in, Maxmillan was quite swift in adapting to the unexplainably weird preternatural situation that he unexpectedly and inexplicably found himself in.
Once he gave that reply, Nailah nodded her head in happiness.
But Maxmillan at the moment, was having many thoughts flash recurrently within his head.
Had he just transmigrated to a new world?
Did his soul upon total annihilation on earth, reformed in the void and pierced through the interdimensional layer that separated their two alternate worlds to possess the body of a little child?
What sentient primal force or cosmically intelligent ancient power was responsible for his soul's transmigration to a new body in a new world?
Was it a chance to do better and be more purposeful than in his previous life? Or was it only a gift from anyone of the universe's monarchic gods that oversaw the firmaments and everything else beneath it?
Maxmillan who was one of many that fully believed that there was no other world apart from earth, couldn't help be strongly fascinated and awed.
"Hmm. How wrong I was." Maxmillan said and shook his head.
Then he remembered his family back at home. They would have either turned to zombies or probably killed off by the gigantic explosion that would definitely encompass many other neighboring cities and reduce them to vast barren lands riddled with countless holes, cracks and fathomlessly deep craters.
Although his heart became filled with both sorrow and agony at the thought of his parent turning into zombies or wiped off by the city-wide annihilating blast, he however tried not to show it in his face, or the girls standing before him and were mentioned to be his sisters, could suspect that something was wrong with him.
Huuuu!
He took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly to calm his thoughts.
Since he was now in this world and he was sent to this family, then they would be his family. Although it was hard to forget about the family he grew up with, as it was practically impossible to erase the sweet beautiful memories that he had with them. But he knew that with time, while adventuring in this strange new world, he would slowly forget about them.
Not very long, Lenna came in with food. It was rice, vegetable and little pieces of roasted meat. This what they could afford. They weren't wealthy to eat king-class food or anything like that.
As hardworking people, it was the money they got from toiling the soils as farmers and selling their farm harvests that they used in raising money to buy food materials and pay for other things.
The world Maxmillan crossed over to, was a world where there were countless possibilities. People could enter into harmony with Astra Mystralis; a boundless arcane energy that allowed them to perform all sorts of magical feats including invoking snowfall within a room on a bright sunny day, manifesting heavy globular spheres of water around them, changing their silk clothes into lustrous metallic armors, etc.
Virtually everything was possible in this world, but it totally depended on the individual's degree of harmonization or attunement with Astra Mystralis; one's level of understanding and knowledge of Astra spells; and ultimately one's talent and creativity.
The levels of attunement with Astra Mystralis were divided into three stages, with the stages being Low Attunement, High Attunement and Peak Attunement.
Anyone having Low Attunement with Astra Mystralis were called Astra Spellcraft Commanders, and as implied by its name, were people that could lead a company or small army of average Astra Mystralis-effect casters into war against ruthless foreign invaders, havoc-wreaking terrorists, evil-scheming kidnappers, brutal marauders and so on.
High Attunement achievers were called Astra Spellcraft Lords and were people that could become founders or directors of institutions, organizations and establishment that trained Astra Spellcraft Commanders.
Then Peak Attunement were called Astra Nexus Paragons and were highly revered people because they were seen as gods due to their ability to perform astonishing god-like feats, such as instantly casting Astra-powered spells that could pull hundreds of towering mountains out of the earth and cause them to float as high as ten thousand feet above the ground. They were extremely powerful and were the only ones given the rights to become governors of cities.
Anyone that couldn't use Astra Mystralis in this world, according to their belief, was a bearer of misfortune and was totally avoided. In fact, they could be sought for and exterminated, since their aura of misfortune was believed to be able to infect many other people and severely limit their abilities to perceive Astra Mystralis, speak more of entering into a harmonious state with it to evoke things only possible through magical mean.
After they finished eating, Nailah the oldest of the two girls, packed the plates to go wash. While Lenna came over to Maxmillan's side and asked. "Son, about your illness. Please, don't hide anything from me. Do you still feel it?"
She was really worried that his illness might recur.
Once she asked that, Maxmillan pretended to feel if something was wrong with his new body.
But since he felt nothing, he believed that he was alright. He then shook his head and said, "I don't feel anything. I think am fine now."
Lenna nodded her head elatedly. Then she began to sing for him. The other girls immediately joined in and smiled adorably at Maxmillan as they sang, since that was their little brother favorite song.
Maxmillan who was rapidly adapting to his new environment and the situation that he found himself in, nodded his head and rhythmically moved his body to the song that Lenna and his two older sisters, Nailah and Lylla were singing which made them, including their dad, Taryell who was watching them have fun, all laugh happily. The atmosphere was indeed a beautiful one where there was no cause for worry except contentment, gratitude and gladness.
As for Maxmillan, he was quickly accepting this people as his family. Since he had crossed over to this world, then this people that loved him would be his family in this world, even though he wasn't their true child. Therefore, he would definitely love them as they loved and marvelously treated him.
Besides, that overwhelming feeling of strangeness and bizarreness that instantly blossomed within his heart when he first opened his eyes to see his new world, had dwindled greatly and was at the verge of entirely fading away. Since he felt accepted by these people, then he would accept them too and enjoy the treatment he was given.
- Night -
Maxmillan was in his room with his mom, Lenna who sat by his side on the bed and held his small hands in hers with an inexplicable expression written all over her face as she gazed adoringly at him.
"Maxie, if you start to feel anything, please don't hold back in telling me. Know that if you have any problem that you won't be able to tell anyone else, you can always come to me. You know I love listening to you. Okay?"
Maxmillan nodded his head with a broad smile emerging from his small lips.
"Yes, Mom. I definitely will." He answered.
Lenna smiled back.
"Alright. Go to sleep now. We'll see in the morning. Good night son. Sweet dreams."
Lenna then stood to her feet and made way for the door to leave Maxmillan's room. And as soon as she walked out through the door, she gently jammed the wooden door behind her before walking off to the large room that she shared with her husband, Taryell.
Maxmillan's eyes were fully open. There was no hint of sleepiness in them. Instead, they shone with full perplexity. Earlier, they were filled with strangeness. But that had now been replaced by curiosity, which was a characteristic that could be attributed to him. He was simply a curious individual.
What exactly was this world? He wondered.
He still couldn't understand or figure out why his soul leapt from earth into this alternate plane of existence. And from the look of the world at several thought angles, it seemed like it wasn't a technologically driven world. He could see no electrical or electronic equipments anywhere. Neither could he hear any buzzing, humming or whirring mechanical sound.
He put this particular thought away and went to sleep, as he felt that he would discover more things about his new world tomorrow.
- Morning -
Tap! Tap!
Someone suddenly knocked on the door of his room and caused Maxmillan's eyes to immediately snap open.
He then hurried down from bed to go open the door for whoever was knocking.
As soon as he did so, he saw Nailah standing before his door with a smile in her face. She then entered without invitation after brushing him to a side.
"So, if I didn't knock on your door to wake you, you would still be fast asleep, right? You tiny sleepyhead. Anyways, it's time for your bath. I have fetched water for you. It's time to go have your bath and be sparklingly clean for the rest of the day." Nailah smilingly said.
Then without waiting for any reply from Maxmillan, as she felt that his opinion wasn't important, she dragged him by his small arm to where the bathroom was.
"Alright Maxie. Take off your clothes. It's time for your bath." Nailah said authoritatively. She was the big sister and her orders couldn't be questioned by any soul lower to her in rank in this house.
"No big sister, I can bath myself. There's no need for that." Maxmillan hurriedly said.
This was damn crazy. He was twenty-seven and this young girl in front of him that looked fourteen or fifteen would be bathing him? When he was not a cripple or someone paralyzed. So Maxmillan thought with shame encompassing his whole being.
"What? You think you are matured enough to bath yourself? Oh, you have started developing consciousness about your body, right? Mtcheew! I don't want to hear any more word of your silly utterances. Take off your clothes now or I would spank you." Nailah said in a serious tone.
She could be really sweet, likable and approachable when happy or glad. But when she was serious, she could be really mean.
Maxmillan's face twisted due to embarrassment. This was really embarrassing. But he had no choice than to remove his clothes. Then when he pulled down his underwear, he quickly put his hands on his private region to conceal it.
Nailah's eyes widened with astonishment.
Why was her little brother behaving like this?
She had always been the one to handle his bath. But now, with the behavior he was intentionally exhibiting, he seemed strange.
However, not thinking too much about it, she grabbed him and poured water on him. Then she began to scrub his body with a soft silky sponge soaked with liquid body wash.
***
"See my son, looking so cute and striking." Lenna said with a smile when Maxmillan, accompanied by his oldest sister, Nailah came over to the dining table.
Maxmillan greeted his mom before seating on a chair that he pulled out from under the table to eat any of the steaming, pleasantly smelling delicacies served in numerous dishes and placed on trays.
"Mom, where's dad?" He asked sometime later after looking around.
"Son, have you forgotten? Your father leaves so early to the farm to water the plants. He has gone since, but he will be back anytime soon." Lenna replied.
"Oh. Okay." Maxmillan replied with the slight nod of his head.
Of course, he wouldn't know all that since he didn't inherit the memories of the previous owner of the body he was currently inhabiting and had become his.
Immediately he finished eating, he left the dining table and headed towards the door.
"Maxie, where are you going to?" Lylla, his second sister asked curiously.
"I am going outside to play with my friends." Maxmillan quickly replied in a smart way that won't blow his cover or ruin his scheme.
"Alright love. You can go out to play with your friends. But remember not to go too far with them, okay?" Lenna inputted hurriedly.
"Yes mom, I will do well to remember that." Maxmillan obediently nodded his head and instantly dashed out of the house to appear outside.
He just couldn't wait to see how his unprecedented new world would look like. His only hope was that it was an exciting world full of enthralling voyages and long adventurous journeys, like in relatable movies that he saw back on earth in his previous life!
Chapter 4 - Old Man GarrettAs soon as he appeared outside, he couldn't help but be shocked.There was no sign of technology anywhere, it was just small houses where people lived with their families and reared either cattle or livestock. Even the roads weren't tarred. They were just bare brown earth that were blackened by some substances that he couldn't really identify what they were.He however believed that this was so because it was a town, it would definitely be different for the cities which he believed would be a hundred times more advanced than the towns.After looking around for sometime, he climbed down the long wooden stairs to their house that was elevated far above the ground and was made from well-baked solid bricks.After climbing down the stairs made from some type of hard tree wood, he headed towards their gate in the distance. And as he did so, he looked around him and saw that his parent also reared cattle and livestock, which provided them with limited supply of me
Chapter 5 - Astra Spellcraft CommanderOnce Maxmillan got home, Lenna and her two daughters were surprised that Maxmillan had quickly returned."Maxie, you didn't find your friends? Or why is it that you quickly returned?" Nailah, Maxmillan's older sister asked."Not really, big sister. It's just that I saw something. Then I returned home to inquire about it from you, instead of my friends." Maxmillan replied."Oh. Okay. So, what's it that you want to inquire about, dear son?" Lenna gently asked with a beautiful smile in her face."Mom, there is this old man I saw at the beginning of our street. He was performing magic. Who is he?" Maxmillan asked, while Lenna and her two daughters looked at one another with a bewildered expression in their faces before looking back at Maxmillan who fixated his gaze on them with an innocent look appearing in his face."Maxie, that old man is your favorite performer. You are always there to watch him perform. Have you forgotten?" Lenna asked with a smi
Chapter 6 - Magical Feats!Immediately Maxmillan asked that, Lenna couldn't help but look at him with surprise in her face, as he was speaking too intelligently for his age.Was this another miracle because he awakened? She pondered without revealing anything on her face.Before the real Maxmillan in this world died, all he cared about was play, eat and sleep. But now, she felt that things have changed monumentally, since her son was beginning to sound much more intelligent than his peers, and seemed deeply curious about things that he shouldn't be contemplating about at his age."Son, I can produce magical effects. But not up to the level of old man Garrett who is an Astra Spellcraft Commander. I am only an average caster of Astra Mystralis. So, comparing me to old man Garrett is like comparing a burning charcoal to the sun. We are worlds apart." Lenna said.She then continued with a slight smile in her face, "Everyone in this town are capable of producing magical effects. But many o
Chapter 7 - 13 Years LaterMaxmillan had grown into a fine young man with an admirably impressive physique. However, he had a problem that kept him awake most night since he was a child. And this was because of his inability to sense Astra Mystralis and enter into a state of harmony with it. So, not being able to harmonize with Astra Mystralis, greatly bothered him a lot that he couldn't leave home to go anywhere else, since almost all the kids in his particular neighborhood who had grown into good-looking adults, had become talented casters of Astra Mystralis. Besides, Maxmillan felt really bad that he couldn't make his parent in this world proud of him. Although they loved him deeply, regardless of whether he was a caster of Astra Mystralis or not, he still however felt bad and terrible. So, these thoughts filled him with nothing but sadness and caused him to feel very useless and worthless. One day while sitting outside in the verandah of their home, where he was lost in his ble
Chapter 8 - Worries and Fears"I understand mom." Maxmillan said with a smile in his face that made his mom develop a bleak feeling in her heart.He then said further, "Mom, I am going to my room to rest. We'll talk later." As soon as he said that, he left his mom's presence and headed for his room to ponder more about the next line of action that he planned to take.But not quite long, while seated on his bed and lost in deep thought, he suddenly heard gentle knocks rap against his door.Immediately understanding that this person could be anyone of his sisters, he produced a smile in his face and said, "Come in."The door creaked open to reveal Maxmillan's younger sister, Lylla. Then accompanying her into the room was Nailah with a mean look in her face, which caused Maxmillan to be befuddled.'Hope my older sister hasn't come to make trouble with me?' He asked himself internally."Sisters, what brings you to my room? Are you both here to grace this dashing majesty?" Maxmillan asked
Chapter 9 - Going for the entrance exam.In the early hours of a particular day in which the entrance exam was fixed at a venue in the Floating Lotus academy, Maxmillan, with the help of his sisters and mom, had finished packing all that he needed for his tiring journey to the faraway city."Maxie, remember. If anything goes wrong over there, immediately return home." Lenna said with a gloomy expression in her face, which anyone could tell that she was really worried."I understand mom." Maxmillan said with the nod of his head.Then he went forward to hug his mom who embraced him back with a tear bead rolling down her left cheek from her glistening left eye. She wished she could dissuade Maxmillan, her only son from going to the city. But since he had fully made up his mind, there was no point in doing so. Besides, she wanted him to be happy and didn't want to get in his way, or he might get furious at her as time goes on for causing him to be absent at the exam venue and therefore r
Chapter 10 - Exam Begins!'This is really amazing. How I wish I could sense Astra Mystralis and enter into harmony with it, I will surely do a million and twelve hugely amazing things with it.' Maxmillan said within himself and heaved a deep sigh.'Well, I am here now for the exam. Let me see the kind of fate that is waiting for me at the Floating Lotus Academy." He said further and deeply exhaled . Then he began to look around for where he would take a carriage that would convey him to the Floating Lotus Academy.Without needing to ask anyone, since he simply followed the kids that got into carriages that would convey them to the Floating Lotus Academy, he got into one which drove off after it was filled with passengers.As the carriage moved on the way at a high speed, along with many others that could number in the hundreds, Maxmillan was able to take in more sights of wondrous and marvelous things in the city. 'This is one hell of a grand city.' Maxmillan said within himself and
Chapter 11 - HumiliatedImmediately Maxmillan climbed up the floating square-shaped platform, he walked to a spot where he would exhibit his own ability.So, with his eyes closed and fully ignoring the cacophonous sounds of various magical effects manifesting around him, Maxmillan tried to sense Astra Mystralis.He had a theory that he wanted to test, which was that since about sixty people were on the platform and made use of their Astra Mystralis harmonization ability to produce astonishing magical effects around them, then him sensing Astra Mystralis should be much more easier. The energy which he felt was absolutely imperceivable by him because he wasn't from this world, should be made much more easier to detect because of the users of Astra Mystralis who surrounded him and continuously casted myriad magical effects. Therefore, that alone should have a great influence on his seemingly inexistent perception ability, so he thought. After ignoring the loud and disharmonious sounds