27th King, Laurance day 14649

  The calendar system in this world has always bothered me. It only keeps track of who the king is and how old they are. It does nothing to tell the changing of seasons and it also isn't universal. If there are other continents in the world, they wouldn't want to adapt to a system based on our king.

  I slowly let the dull wooden training sword slide across my left palm as I let out an exhale. Across from me Roman has also picked up a sword and has an excited look on his face. Undoubtedly, he must be getting excited at the hope of possibly beating me for the first time. Around us a couple other students are taking a break from their practice to watch our duel, but most people don’t bother watching, turning a blind eye to Roman’s despicable behavior.

  We both take our stances ready for the duel to start, only waiting for the instructor knight to tell us to begin. With the snap of his finger the duel begins. I lunge forward striking my wooden sword against his making a sharp cracking sound. To my surprise, he easily holds his own, blocking my strike. It seems the body aspect can really make anybody strong.

  I scoff and swing my right leg at his shin to make him lose his footing. This is one of my favorite tactics. Even though I practice swordplay, I have a particular fondness for fighting with kicks. Because of this I've had boots specially made with metal tips and soles to make them more effective. A sharp grotesque sound fills the air as my foot connects with him.

  This is the moment I'm waiting for. Now he will fall to his knees just like always and I can bring the wooden sword down on him and teach him a lesson. Already reveling in my own victory, suddenly I feel a full pain erupt from my chest.

  His fist drives into me at full force, sending me falling to the rough dirt floor. My back scrapes against the floor for a moment before coming to a halt.

  Looking up, I see Roman’s outstretched hand and scheming smile looking down on me. He must feel so full of himself now that he has a body aspect. I can't stand that mocking look he gives me. Ignoring his hand, I get up off the floor on my own. After dusting off my clothes I look around the room. The spectators are smiling and some are even whispering to each other…

  Why...

  Why do they look at me like that? Why are they happy that I lost?

  It's been two weeks since Roman has awakened a body aspect. He still duels me every day at the knight’s school. This wouldn't be an issue normally but now it's different. I've lost every duel. In the mirror my skin is bruised and cut, my body wrapped in bandages. I can't even tease my maid anymore like this. I can't let anyone see this!

  It keeps getting worse every day. My body hurts more and it's harder to fight and I keep getting more injuries I have to hide. It's unbearable! Why does Roman get to be from a family with access to such remarkable healers and I have to suffer like this. I'm the protagonist. I'm supposed to be the strongest.

  Just one more day Roman. Only one more day of tormenting me like this before I turn 15. Let's see how you squirm under my boot once I awaken my body aspect.

  Ahhhh, just thinking about it gets me excited. I've had to bear with looking at your stupid smile for two weeks now you know. I can't take it anymore!

  I need to calm down… It's my birthday today. I don't have to go to knight's school. I just need to compose myself and have dinner with my family. When I go to bed tonight, I'll become powerful again. It will be like this was all a bad dream.

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  I wonder what my awakening dream will be like. There is no doubt it will be a body aspect awakening. Maybe I'll be dueling a famous knight in my dream? I can picture myself crossing swords with the famous Lord Arthur. He's the man who pioneered the path of the paladin that I'm pursuing. It wouldn't be strange for him to show up and teach me the sword since I'm the protagonist. Or maybe I'll hold up a massive pillar showcasing my unmatched strength.

  Knock knock

  The sound on the door pulls me out of my delusions.

  “Master Heath. Your family is waiting for you in the dining room.”

  “Understood.” I reply through the door.

  I looked at my bruised body one last time before quickly slipping a shirt on. Normally, a noble child would have a party on their 15th birthday and dress up but my family's situation won't allow that apparently. It will be fine once I'm in control of the barony. I can apply all my knowledge from my past life and turn around the whole situation.

  It's called a family dinner, but it will only be my father, Baron Ashton, and brother, Keith Ashton. It's a little annoying how similar my brother's name is to mine but I can forgive my own brother. He didn't pick the name after all, and it only makes sense that my father would want him to grow up to be like me.

  As for my mother, I don't really expect her to be at my birthday dinner. Even though turning 15 is a big occasion that will dictate my life, she is almost surely at another noble ladies party or who knows what. She always wanted a daughter and after having two sons she basically lost all interest in family matters. From what I've heard, she used to be quite capable in helping run the barony.

  At this point however, she's almost never around. She's probably done more to raise her friends’ daughters than her own two sons. I know Keith feels a need to prove himself to her to gain her affection, but he doesn't understand that she will never notice him no matter how much he studies. Although it wouldn't be unreasonable for me to feel quite bitter towards her, I don't particularly care. This is my second life after all. I don't need a parent's affection or something silly like that.

  I check myself once more in the mirror to make sure all my injuries are hidden under my clothes before heading downstairs to the dining room.

  “Brother come sit down! The staff made all of your favorite foods to celebrate”

  Kieth greets me with a warm smile while my father wears his unchanging serious expression as always. I'm quite thankful for my younger brother. His cheerful mood is contagious. Although I wouldn't tell him, his positivity has definitely helped me work harder over the years. Even the protagonist needs encouragement sometimes.

  Sitting down at my seat, my plate has already been prepared with the food I like. Although my brother said it was my favorite, it really isn't. Compared to the food from Earth, I really don't like the food here! The seasoning and ingredients just don't taste as good as the food in my memories. Some people would reincarnate and immediately introduce new cuisine to the world and change high society dining, but I haven't done anything of the sort. Partially because doing so might expose me as a reincarnated person. Mainly though, it's because I never learned how to cook in my last life. It would be embarrassing to challenge the head chef to a cooking duel and then burn the food. So basically, I've learned to live with the food here. Black forest lizard with fey nectar is my favorite meal now. I like it because it's expensive and it doesn't taste bad either. It tastes a bit like honey ham from my past life, but much tougher. It's expensive because all the ingredients are from black forest, a place that dangerous criminals hide out in. As for fey nectar, it's not from fairies like the name suggests. It comes from the fey tree which is not something that grows locally.

  The dinner is awkwardly quiet, I simply have nothing to do but get lost in my own thoughts. Although Kieth likes talking to me, he's quite reserved in front of father so he won't talk at dinner unless someone talks to him. My father doesn't talk unless it's important basically, only calling me for dinner to respect tradition. As for me, I certainly won't start a conversation in this awkward atmosphere. Just enjoy my lizard and awaken my body aspect tonight. My mind can't help but drift back to thinking about my awakening tonight. I wonder what my dream will be like?

  “Heith, make sure you come see me in the morning so I can see what aspect you awaken.” My father says as he stands up from the table.

  “Yes father.”

  Him leaving the table is the sign that dinner is over. I can also now leave and go get in bed. I'm not quite tired yet but the sooner I fall asleep the better. If I sleep early, I can wake up earlier and test out my new strength before visiting my father to show him. It's hard to even calm myself down but eventually I drift off to sleep.