I trained day in and day out. I had become somewhat obsessed with it. I would not stop recasting the same spells over and over until I could do them all in under two seconds. I have no idea how many times my mother had yelled at me to take a break, but even when I was forced to do so, I would still be thinking of faster and easier ways to cast spells. My goal to instantly cast spells was something I truly wanted to reach. This way, if I ever felt danger, I could quickly cast a protection spell. Even a fraction of a second was a dance between life and death when it came to magic or any attack for that matter.

I had already died once, and I refused to do so again. At least until I got to live a fulfilling life. Even now, after spending seven years in this world, I still think back to that day. I still think back to the time when I rushed out in front of that speeding truck to save my best friend. I will always remember that moment. Although a lot of my memories from that time are starting to fade. Sadly this was just how the brain worked. I am sure they are still there, hidden deep within the memories banks of my brain, and one day I may recall a scene or two from that time when I run into a similar situation, but for now, I guess it is okay for some of them to fade away.

I have been working hard not only to become strong but so that I could finally adventure out of my yard. I have learned three protection spells. One that is called earth armor. This encased the user in a thick layer of earth, protecting them from harm. Then there was water shield. Although it was named shield, it was more of a bubble of water that surrounded the user from fire-based attacks. And lastly, there was my personal favorite, mana shield. It was a much more practical shield, and I actually learned this one in secret. Because it was a shield that would lower one’s mana based on the damage they took so, basically, with this shield alone, I would be invincible. It was not widely used due to the fact that it consumed mana, but because I seemed to have an endless amount of mana, it was like it was a magic tailored-made for me.

No matter the attack, no matter the element, mana shield would block the attack with ease. It was as simple as the water spell with how its magic circle was created, which made my cast time for it less than a second. Although not instant, it was pretty close to being instant.

For attack spells, I have learned all the basics that my mother would allow me to learn…. At least the ones she knows I have learned. I won’t go into detail, but I have learned a lot of magic that my family would never believe was possible for a child my age.-.

For two long years, I have created a magic circle for every magic spell possible, and thanks to my high intelligence, I can remember them all as if I was looking at the book while practicing them. I never actually casted the spell itself as I knew it would not be good, but I have created many magic circles in under five seconds, even for the most advanced tiered spells.

And so now I was standing in front of my mother with eyes full of hope as I opened my mouth and asked: “Mother, please allow me to go outside the yard and explore!”

“Faith….” My mother looked very apprehensive right now. But there was no way she could say I was not ready to leave the yard. Or that I was unable to defend myself. She saw for herself my growth.

“Mother, I will stay by her side. Faith has behaved and worked hard learning magic so she could meet your demands, and I hate to admit it as her brother she excels in not only magic but also swordsmanship.” Ah, my most handsomest brother has come to my rescue!

It was true what he said. I have also been learning how to use a sword on top of magic. My brother would learn from the town guards and then teach me. And recently, I have been slowly catching up to Eric in regards to swordsmanship. I am not sure why, though. I have never used a sword in my life, but it seems to be coming naturally to me.

My mother stared at my hopeful eyes before letting out a long, drawn-out sigh. “Okay, but you need to be back before sundown. And Eric, you need to protect your sister no matter what. Do not let others bully her. Even if it is the village elder’s nasty grandson, just teach him a lesson. Your father and I will take care of the rest.”

I almost burst out laughing at my mother’s comment. This was because she had chased that brat many times over the past few years for saying mean things to me. But now, if I met him on the outside, I could finally beat him up!

But what was most important of all was that my mother said yes! She had said yes, that I could go outside! I once again began jumping for joy. I couldn’t contain my excitement. I guess seeing my excitement made my mom happy because those stern eyes from a few seconds ago quickly turned soft. She patted both me and my brother on the head before sending us on our way.As soon as I stepped foot through the gate of our fence, I felt like a bird who was just released from its cage. I happily skipped a little ways forward before stopping and turning to look at my brother. As always, he had a helpless, pampering smile on his face. He has always treated me like a gem, and I love him for that. He works hard to help out the family and even trains in the sword so he can teach me. He does so much I can never thank him enough.

He walked up to me and grabbed my hand to keep me from running forward. I know after living sixteen years in my past life, I was truly acting like a little kid at this time, but I couldn’t help it. I had been looking forward to this just as much as I was looking forward to casting magic. “Faith, I know you are excited, but we must be careful. We will head the long way to the cliff so you can finally look out over the valley.”

I turned my eyes up towards him. He was now twelve years old and was very tall for his age. I felt so short standing next to him, but I guess that’s just how it is. My father was also a very tall man. And he takes after my father in some aspects. You could say he was a mini version of my father. Except he had the same bleach white hair like myself. With how kind and caring he was, I knew he would definitely have a wonderful wife and family in the future.

We made our way along the rocky dirt road. I looked down at my new boots that my mother made for me that were red in color and matched the scales on my tail, and smiled. It was my first pair of boots, after all. Since I came to this world, I have always been barefoot, running around. To be honest, it felt weird to be wearing anything on my feet after seven years, but I am sure I would be complaining about the rocks if I did not have them.

We made our way to down the road towards Auntie Finna’s house. I had seen her a few times over the fence, walking down the street. She seemed to be a nice lady who always smiled and waved at me. She did not seem to be someone who despised demi humans like myself. She even once gave me some cookies. It was people like her that still gave me hope that being a demi human would not be so bad.

“Oh! Faith!” I heard a familiar voice call out to me to find Auntie Finna walking over with something in her hands. I already knew what it was because I could smell the freshly baked cookies from where I was standing. I let go of my brother’s hand and ran over to Auntie Finna.

“Hello, Auntie!” I smiled sweetly at her. She was a widow who lost her husband due to a plague that had once run through the village. She was lucky and never caught it, but a lot of people from the village died during those dark days. She never had children, but she was always nice to those around her. Even my mother and father said she was a caring lady who was well liked throughout the village. She made her living selling baked goods in the village center. My father and mother would also help her out during harvest season, giving her some supplies to last her a few months. It seemed my father was her husband’s friend.

“You seem to have finally gotten your wish, huh dear?” Aunty Finna smiled brightly at me as she patted my head before pushing a cloth package in my hands. It was warm to the touch, so I already knew they had just come out of the oven. “Take these and snack on them while you look around. And if anyone dares to pick on you, you tell me, and I will give them an earful.”

“Hehe… I will be sure to tell you if anyone picks on me.” I smiled and bowed my head as I said my thanks. “Thank you for these. I will be sure to share them with my brother.”

“You’re a good girl, I know. Tell your mother to come over to visit sometime, or I can go over there. We haven’t talked much since you were born.” Auntie Finna’s expression turned a little sad and lonely. I felt bad for her. She was all alone, working hard to keep herself alive.

“I will be sure to tell her. Thank you again!” I said my goodbyes, and Auntie Finna waved us off as she returned to her house.

Now with freshly baked cookies in hand, I took my brother’s hand and continued towards the cliff.