Beginning after the end |VOLUME ONE|; Early years

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THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MANA                             MANIPULATION
                           ____________

I WAS A KING. In my former life I could have had my country's army assembled and kneeling at my feet with the snap of a finger. I'd outdueled competitors from other countries as well as my own people to settle disputes and maintain my position. In terms of swordsmanship and controlling ki, I was second to none, for in my previous world, personal strength was essential to being a ruler. Yet I couldn't think of a moment in my two lives when I'd been prouder than I was now.

I can crawl!

Until now, although I was thirsty for knowledge about this new world, I'd had to make do with the stories Mother would tell me while trying to make me fall asleep, and I often grumbled in complaint when she stopped too early. My father would sometimes sit me on his lap while idly talking to me about his past exploits, which gave me some hints as to what kind of world this was and what it was filled with.

From what I had learned so far, this world seemed to be a fairly straightforward one filled with magic and warriors, where power and wealth decided one's rank in society. In that sense, it wasn't too different from my old world, except for the lack of technology and the slight difference between this world's magic and the ki, or life force, of my previous world.
My father, Reynolds Leywin, was a former adventurer—which was apparently a viable occupation in this world—and had quite a lot of experience in his field.

He had taken part in several expeditions to search for treasure and fulfill missions he and his team acquired from the Adventurers Guild. He'd eventually settled down when he met my mother at the kingdom's border in a city called Valden. He proudly told me how my mother, Alice, had fallen head over heels for him at first sight when he had visited the town's Adventurers Guild Hall, where she had been working, but I suspected it was the exact opposite considering how my mother slapped him across the back of the head and told him to stop telling me lies.

I'd learned my full name by now: Arthur Leywin—Arthur after my great- grandfather, from the days when the Leywin house was far more powerful. My parents called me Art for short; as a former king I thought that sounded a little too cute, but after getting a glimpse of myself one day in the metal sheet they used as a mirror, I had to admit my physical features would make anyone think of me as 'cute.' I had my mother's glowing auburn hair, while my eyes were a bright azure color, inherited from my father. I couldn't know how my facial features would turn out as I grew older, but as long as I kept myself in good fighting shape, it should be okay.

I'd spent weeks attempting to crawl but had achieved only an uncoordinated scuffle in place. When I finally succeeded, I managed to sneak into the family's library while my mother was hanging the laundry out to dry. Once she noticed I was gone, it took her only a few minutes to find me. It wouldn't have mattered even if I'd had hours inside the room, though, because once I opened up a book I realized that, while I understood the spoken language, I couldn't read.

I felt as frustrated as my out-of-breath mother sounded when she scolded me with a sigh, saying, "I swear, you're going to be as much of a handful as your father."
By the end of the week, I had picked up enough words from my mother's nightly story-reading to do some studying of my own in the library.

Within a few weeks, Mother had grown used to finding me holed up in the corner of the library with books around me. Whether she was suspicious, I didn't know, but she did let me stay there as long as she was close by and the door was open.

I'd spent the afternoon finishing up the fifth volume of an encyclopedia of Dicathen, my new world. I closed the encyclopedia and situated myself more comfortably on the ground. Basically I just lay on my belly, because crawling and sitting upright were so damn tiring.