"On this day, I hereby name thee Jared of the house of Leonard Alphonse Sereth."
Yep, you heard that right!
At this moment, I'm currently at the cathedral within my family's estate. The pews are well arranged, and my dearest mother, being the only parent around to witness this historic day is standing on the altar, holding me in her bosom.
The priest was facing me directly, wearing his blindingly white robe and golden scarf. Two of his assistants, who bore an uncanny resemblance with each other stood a couple of distance behind him, while staring at the clergyman with hope and adoration in their eyes.
As for the audience, many strangers were currently piercing me with their gaze. One would think that I would be used to attention, given the nature of my past life. However, as a baby who was just two weeks old, it was a little nerve-wracking.
Why? Because… in the presence of so many witnesses, this priest was about to perform something known as the 'Quickening' ceremony, where he would inject his mana into me and activate my latent mana.
Yes, it's a method I developed in the past to help form a mana core early. It has received a lot of popularity, and even in this age, it appeared that they still used this method, though it has now become an elaborate event.
Still, the reason I'm so nervous is because of one crucial fact…
I have already 'Quickened' myself!
[Let's rewind a bit]
*
*
*
I began forming my mana core 10 days after I was born, some days after the whole attempted assassination issue.
Of course, since I was stuck and constantly watched, I had to pass the time.
Usually, after a child receives a 'Quickening', it takes them a few years for their mana core to develop. This is because, though the latent mana has become active, they automatically begin to converge in a single spot to become a core within a magic user's body.
Babies, and even little children, who have no experience in sensing their mana or directing the flow have to wait for years while things take their natural course, and after this occurs, they Awaken.
The usual time for a core to fully form is five years, though I have heard cases of geniuses who formed theirs at four, even three years old.
How scary… I envied those lucky chumps!
'Hehehehe, but now… it's my turn to shine!' I grinned internally.
You see, I had already Awakened mere days after my birth, way faster than most children, and I also possessed the ability to sense my mana and direct the flow since I had my awareness intact.
The perks of being a brilliant mind, I suppose.
Though my mana capacity seemed to barely qualify, there didn't seem to be too much of a problem. If I began guiding my mana particles to form a core myself, without waiting for them to gather on their own, that meant my speed would be way more than others.
'I might not have talent, but by using this method, I won't be left behind!'
So, at 10 days old, I began my first trial.
Ah, it was difficult. It was hard enough sensing the little fragments of mana that dwelled within my body, but gathering them in a single spot was another thing entirely.
For a child, whose mental strength was incomparable to an adult's, it took quite a monstrous amount of concentration to gather 10 particles in an hour.
When considering the fact that there are nearly infinite number of particles within a person's body, and it takes a minimum of a hundred thousand to form a stable core, 10 particles an hour was a far cry from what I had in mind.
Even in this new life, it appeared that life would not be easy for me.
Still, I persevered!
On my first day, I managed to gather 50 particles before losing strength and drifting to sleep.
My second day was better since I had somewhat gotten the hang of things.
'70, uh? Not bad, not bad!' I thought to myself, smiling excitedly.
It seemed the more I practiced gathering daily, the more I improved.
By the third day, I was already able to gather 120 particles, nearly two times the amount of the previous day.
'At this rate… maybe…'
However, my hopeful thoughts were dashed by the sudden realization I had after hearing the conversation my mother had with her handmaidens.
"Is everything set for tomorrow?"
Tomorrow? I had no idea there was anything special going on during that time.
"Yes milady. The guests will be arriving very early, as stated in their letters, but we are nearly done with all the preparations." One of the maids answered her.
Guests? Now I was even more confused.
'What in the blazes is going on? Why doesn't anyone tell me anything? Oh, wait…' I grumbled internally, hoping someone would shed more light on the commotion.
"Tomorrow is my baby's naming ceremony. Ah, I can't wait till I hear my sweet child's name for the first time." My mother finally said, beaming with pride and excitement.
"… E-eh?" I let out with my baby voice.
Apparently, a baby was supposed to undergo a naming ceremony two weeks after birth. I didn't know anything of the sort prior to my mother mentioning it.
Perhaps it was because of my commoner heritage in my past life, where no such practices were held. Noble culture differed from that of the masses, after all.
But, if that was the case, wouldn't I have noticed it at later points in my life?
I had many noble friends, after all. And a lot of them had children, yet I never saw anything of the sort.
'Welp, it could have been as a result of my fixation on magic that I failed to notice such details…' I laughed in embarrassment.
Or, the more reasonable option would be that it was a new trend in whatever era I was reincarnated into.
Of course, based on the slight difference in the language everyone spoke, plus the dates I saw around, as well as the books my mother read to me, I already deduced that quite a few hundred years had passed since my death.
528 years to be exact.
During that time, quite a lot had changed, such as the Magic Detecting tool I saw in my parent's room. It looked more advanced than what I knew of in the past.
Since many things weren't the same as what I knew, the naming ceremony was no exception.
'Now that I think of it… I don't even have a name yet. Everyone just calls me the young master, and my mom calls me her baby… it won't be bad getting a proper name…' I had thought to myself with a bit of anticipation.
*
*
*
How could I have known things would turn out this way?
A 'Quickening' Ceremony after hearing my name… how was I to get out of this predicament?
"This boy shall be the pride and joy of the Duke household of Leonard Alphonse Sereth. Thus, as the child, Jared, is brought forth, I shall perform the 'Quickening' ceremony." The priest said.
Crap! O crap!
My mother smiled, giggling excitedly under her breath as she took a few steps forward. As her body swerved elegantly while approaching the priest, my mind went into overdrive as I began to think of ways in which I could escape from my predicament.
'If he finds out I have already been quickened, what's going to happen then?'
Most likely, I would be labeled as a genius or something, and the news would eventually reach far and wide. As one who nearly got assassinated a while back, such attention was not something I desired at the moment.
'Until I'm old enough to protect myself… I can't let anyone know about my secrets!'
The priest brought his hands closer to me while giving me a happy smile. He must have had good intentions, but from my perspective, he appeared to be a personification of evil.
'No, stay away… stop it!' I wailed internally.
"Don't worry, young Jared. It won't hurt at all." The priest spoke in a soothing tone, stretching his hands towards me.
He must have sensed my unease and thought of what to say in order to console me. This man was… a Liar!
'As one who invented the technique, I know it is painful. Why would such an esteemed man of such status tell a lie? I don't trust him!'
Of course, I knew this was just my irrational mind speaking. He didn't seem in any way malevolent. Plus, my parents would never employ someone with suspicious intentions to perform such an important ceremony, especially after my attempted assassination.
>HUMMMMMM<
I felt a vibrating sensation as the priest placed his hands on my body. My skin tingled, and I could somewhat sense the faint mana on his palm.
>Gulp<
There was nothing I could do, so I merely waited while accepting my fate…
Suddenly, an idea sparked into my head.
'Yes! That's it!'
As the Priest began materializing his mana, preparing to insert it into my body, a small smile formed on my face. I closed my eyes and became in touch with my body, as well as the little mana particles within it.
'Once he inserts his mana, my particles will be in a state of excitement for a moment. This will allow me to absorb more particles and form my core faster!' I beamed.
There was nothing I could do to hide the fact that I had already been 'Quickened', but at least I could obtain some benefits from this Priest inserting his mana into me.
"Be quickened, little one… and obtain the power of mana!"
>ZTTTZZZZZZ!<
My body buzzed as I felt the strange mana entering my very being. As expected, my particles glowed brighter and became larger in mass.
'Thanks for the meal!'
Instantly, I began attracting the excited particles into the spot where my core was forming. The tiny light fragments rapidly rushed toward the spot, nearly flustering me.
'Incredible! To think it would be this effective!' I beamed internally.
I kept doing the best I could to concentrate the particles and draw all the particles into the position of my forming core.
50 particles… 70 particles… 130 particles… 200 particles… 300…. 450… 540… 650…
The particles kept rushing toward my core, all within minutes. I surpassed what I would normally be able to achieve in an entire day within mere minutes!
As expected, the merits of meditation even during this ceremony were worth it.
The Priest's faint glow of mana suddenly ceased, and he removed his hands from my body. I could feel his eyes looking at me with surprise, but I kept mine shut to avoid any scary gaze I would find.
'Ah, here it comes… I'm busted!'
"The Quickening… is successful!" The Priest suddenly remarked.
"Your child has mana. Congratulations, Milady."
'E-eh?'
I was stunned by the statement of the Priest, but before I had any chance to think this through, my head was bombarded with deafening sounds of hands clapping.
The noise was so much that I was forced to open my eyes. What I saw was amazing.
The whole guests present were standing, clapping their hands together and looking at me with wonder and pride in their eyes.
I did see some disgruntled faces and some stoic ones, but the majority expressed genuine happiness about what had just occurred.
'Is the 'Quickening' ceremony that special?' I asked myself.
>Sniff… Sniff< A sudden sound came from above me.
'No way. Is that…?'
I raised my head and saw my mother's face. She had tears rolling down her cheeks as she looked at me with pride. Her joy was overflowing, appearing to be boundless.
Why was she looking so excited and happy? Wasn't this just a normal ceremony among nobles? Was there something significant in this?
'The Priest didn't even seem to notice that I had already been 'Quickened', so there should be nothing special about this…'
"My child, you have magic. Finally… we have a Magic-User in our household." My mother smiled at me, drawing me even closer to her as she hugged me.
I felt a light tap on my face as her tears dropped on me. Her body trembled, and I heard more sniffs coming from her.
'Oh boy… I wasn't expecting this!'
"Jared Leonard Alphonse Sereth has successfully been 'Quickened', thus marks the birth of the first Magic-User of the Duke Household in over two Centuries. Truly, a star has been born."
At this point, silence filled the hall, and the priest stepped back from the stage, leaving the middle area vacant.
My mother began walking to the center, carrying me with elegance. Since I wasn't used to the new customs of these people, I merely went with the flow as a baby should.
Once she reached the center of the stage, my mother tightly grasped me and raised my tiny body up, showing me to everyone present.
It felt weird, looking at everyone present from a high pedestal and being lifted by my mother's slender arms. I was a little embarrassed.
"Cheers to my beloved son, the pride and joy of the Leonard Household! Cheers to Jared Leonard!" She declared.
Instantly, the audience gave a roaring response, nearly blowing my eardrums.
"CHEERS TO JARED LEONARD!!!"
And so, held up in the air by my mother, watched by the guests, maids, and priest, even I became overwhelmed with emotion.
Even though I knew it was impossible, my body moved without prior thoughts in order to render my gratitude to everyone present.
Thank you, everyone. I'm happy you came.
Thanks, Priest. I'm sorry I ever doubted you.
Thank you, mom, for always being with me.
Thank you, maids… for making life easy for me.
And thank you, universe… for allowing me to be reborn!
Things will definitely be different this time!
With quivering lips, my mouth flung open, and words came out to address everyone that had moved my heart.
"Gueng Gu Guegywan!" (Thank You Everyone!)
My loud baby voice echoed across the cathedral, and for a moment everyone was stunned by my unintelligible words, myself included.
'Oof… what did I expect to sound like?'
My face turned red with embarrassment as I wished the earth could swallow me at that moment.
However, the response of everyone made me feel the shame even more. Yep, that's right. They all said—
"Awwwwwwwwww!!!"
You may also Like
Paragraph comment
Paragraph comment feature is now on the Web! Move mouse over any paragraph and click the icon to add your comment.
Also, you can always turn it off/on in Settings.
GOT IT