Tales of a Dimension Traveler

Chapter 3

Six months after my father had taken me into the main family, I finally discovered the reason for his sudden acceptance. He wanted to use me as a shield. My father's family was pressing for his marriage but my father was bent on getting married to a woman from a smaller noble family because of 'love'. I didn't care much for his plans but he used me as a shield to keep the other noble ladies away from him. Although my mother was mentally unstable, she was still a member of one of the great clans and very few people were willing to offend the Poison Clan more so the mentally unstable daughter of the Patriarch. My status as a grandchild of the Poison Clan helped my father in keeping away most marriage candidates. I didn't believe in my father's love story and I felt pity for the poor woman from a lower noble family that he was about to swindle to marry him. My pity was short lived. The moment I met her I knew things were about to get troublesome.

Frieda Ghent was as plain as her name. She had dull grey eyes and even duller brown hair. One would think that with her unimpressive appearance she would at least have a redeeming quality. Unfortunately she was more of a snake than my father, a spiteful one at that. The worst part was her white lotus persona that I could see through at a glance. She was able to play the perfect mother in front of anyone else and with her seemingly meek personality and meager looks it was hard to imagine her vile nature. I could smell death on her, she had probably taken many lives to get to where she was. Her family had gotten their noble title from her family producing three generations of B-rank hunters. She had also awakened as a hunter but didn't explore dungeons, instead she ran a hunters guild and lived leisurely as a high society flower.

Through my father's plans they were able to end up together and today, on my fifth birthday, the whole estate was celebrating the news of my stepmother's pregnancy. The moment I was no longer needed for his plans my father couldn't cast me away any faster. I sat alone in a far corner of the forest that surrounded the estate and prepared to activate my mana.

...

The people of this world could only use magic in one instance. When it is awakened. They make use of a stone that can be discovered beyond the portals to stimulate their mana. However, without skills they were unable to utilize mana properly and would spend years and years or training to get one skill. However, one day The System appeared. Many believed it was a divine gift to alleviate their sufferings and indeed it was. The System was a game-like interface that allowed humans to learn skills faster and quantify their strengths. However, to gain the system one must first be awakened. My method was a little different. In my old world, to use magic one must first collect essence from the world, process it through the heart, circulate it through the body and once again in it's return to the heart it forms a circle. It usually takes years to form one circle, especially the first as you had to use mana to strengthen every cell so the body can be a strong enough container for the circle.

I sat in a lotus position and began to enter a meditative state. I cleared my mind and for a moment all I could see was darkness. I began to see a light in the corner of the darkness and I moved towards it. The moment I came in contact with it, the outside world felt like it had come to a standstill and only the air around me continued to move. Suddenly, I felt a force enter my body and I began circulating it from my heart, through my cells to my every organ. However, there was something strange. The more I circulated essence energy the more a mass under my heart began to grow. I couldn't stop circulating it for fear that my body will break from the force of the essence energy going out of my control. The mass continued to grow steadily until another heart grew in its place.

I was amazed, worried and even scared. I had never heard of humans or any other life form that grew two hearts on absorbing essence energy. Although, there were memories I didn't have access to, I still felt that the situation was abnormal. After checking my body and noticing no other changes I continued to circulate essence energy. It was twice as fast now and before I knew it my first circle which should have taken at least two years to make, began to form.

The moment my first circle took shape I felt a pang of hunger. I stopped training and moved to the kitchens for lunch. What I failed to notice where the bright glow my red eyes gave and the minuscule growth of two canines.

...

The celebration of Freida's pregnancy was still in session but I couldn't care less. The party was now in full swing after the four hours of my absence. I moved quietly through the halls and made my way to my room where I saw a suit and tie on my bed. One of the maids was waiting for my arrival and informed me that my father wanted me to attend the event taking place. I let her dress me and followed her to the garden where the party took place.

"Noah, where have you been?" Freida called out to me with a smile. I began to greet the guests around me as politely as I could. They began to praise me for my manners, however something was wrong. I could suddenly feel all the emotions of the people around me and even read the minds of some others. It was disorienting for me. My brain was overloaded with a barrage of information and in the middle of my greetings, I passed out.