Doevm screamed his lungs out. He hadn’t eaten or drunk anything in days, not counting “breakfast” which he threw up. He was getting a headache from how much energy he was expending. ‘Why is no one coming?’ he thought. ‘Since I’m now an orphan, I have no one to depend on. When someone finds me, they’ll put me right where I want to be, in the Virility household. After joining, I’ll work my way up to become a guard so I can learn how to fight with weapons. I have it all planned out so why isn’t anyone coming? I’ve been screaming for hours! Screw this, I’m going to get a drink from the river before I die of dehydration.’ He stood up and slid the boards off. When he held the side of the crib, he tried to pull himself up.

Normally he would just pull and be out. Now his arms were shaking for some reason. It felt like they were on fire when he put pressure on them. He sat back down and inspected them. He knew he had the strength to hop out, he had done it before. ‘Why am I struggling with this?’ With his little mana, he couldn’t even blast the bars open with a wind spell or fly out. After thinking for a few minutes he realized why and facepalmed. ‘I forgot that I was human. Since I’ve never worked out, I forgot humans get fatigued. With all of my moving around, bleeding, and starvation, I’ve been getting weaker. As a Lich, all that stuff was solved with a simple spell. I don’t have healing magic. I’m trapped in here.’

He took a deep breath: “Help! I’m trapped! I can’t get out! Help!” It was useless. None of the famers had spared a second look at his house before. Why would they rush over now? Doevm’s voice faded. He resorted to banging on his cage. When his arms got numb, he kicked. ‘Am I going to die here?’ Lying down, he felt a cold take over him. He glanced at his puke in the corner of his crib and licked his lips. It already had flies around it. It still looked delicious, but he had no choice. Pulling himself over, the smell put him off. ‘I have to do it.’ When his tongue was inches away from the vomit, he sensed a magician in the crowd of farmers. He cursed and sealed his own mana away. ‘I wanted help but not that kind of help. Of all of the worst things to happen, this is it.’ He waited for the inevitable.

A pair of heavy footsteps grew louder. Someone knocked on the door: “Is someone in there?” the mage’s deep voice boomed. As Doevm held his breath, he found he could no longer resist the fatigue. He fell unconscious.

…

Doevm felt the same warmth as when he set himself on fire. ‘Oh, I’m dead,’ he thought as he waited in darkness. Death’s hand stretched out for the second time. Doevm relaxed and let his soul drift to the afterlife, but then he felt a tug. He looked away from the gates to a golden thread attaching him to the earth. Death squeezed but Doevm slipped right out of his grip and was pulled back to the world of the living. He opened his eyes. Above him was a massive figure in a brown robe. It only took one of the man’s massive hands to wrap around Doevm like a blanket. In his black eyes, a golden glint flashed. His bald head matched with his incredibly bulky framed made him look like a slab of meat. The warmth faded, and Doevm felt all the pain and hunger return.

“Who are you?” Doevm asked.

“I am but a simple passing monk.” the burly man replied.

‘Simple my smooth buttocks. You’re a war monk.’

War monks, Doevm had plenty of run-ins with them in his previous life. Since they served the goddess of good and Doevm had been a Lich, they had often attacked his home. While they were based in the Acrin Kingdom, they were not loyal to it. It was best to consider them as their own nation that served the hero whenever he reincarnated. They preached about peace and then commit atrocities left and right. The public, of course, only knew about their pretty words. The only reason they were still in power was because they took anyone with magic and assimilated them into the sect. Their organization and the Acrin Kingdom’s Magic association often butted heads.

The war monks do not follow the arts of Buddhism. They developed their own martial arts through embracing the path of blood. Their fists can develop as tough as mithril and can bend blades. Their secret techniques are only known to the oldest and wisest of the sect. In the last five hundred years or so, they developed a way to integrate magic into their techniques to physically enhance their bodies and toughen their fists even further. Wherever a war monk goes, he leaves a pile of corpses. Doevm had long since learned their magic but refused to use it after seeing the results. Just from a basic spell, with Doevm’s mana, he quite literally moved mountains.

Doevm thought as he put on a fake smile. His fatigue was gone, and the wounds were all healed, leaving scars all over his body. The crusted and infected scabs fell off like a lizard shedding its skin. The war monk held out a water pouch and some dried meat to Doevm, who immediately stuffed his face.

“You must have been hungry, you poor soul,” The war monk said as he lifted Doevm out of his crib. “My name given to me by the war monks is Ashtehar.”

“My name is Doevm,” Doevm said in between bites.

“What happened to you that you ended up like this. If I arrived a second later, you wouldn’t be here.” Ashtehar took off his hood, displaying his shiny dome in all its glory. Doevm had to squint, as all the sunlight in the room seemed to reflect off it straight into his eyes.

“I’m waiting for my mommy.” Doevm lied. “And I don’t know where my daddy is. He’s usually home by now.”

Ashtehar’s eyes went wide: “Are you sure you’re the only one here? I thought I sensed… nevermind. How long have you been waiting my child?”

“Two or three days.” Doevm smiled like it was some proud accomplishment. He pointed to his crib, which he had been using as his bathroom for proof. Ashtehar paled and picked Doevm up.

“I’m going to meet with the lord of this place. I’ll bring you with me and see what he can do. How does that sound?”

“Woah, you know the lord?” Doevm gasped as dramatically as he could. Inside, he was smiling. Rena should be found by now. His fate would be to serve the lord anyway. This was only speeding up the process. Now he just needed to get away from this damned monk. They walked out of the house and down the gravel road. Since the Virility household was a long walk outside of town, they had a lot of time to talk.

“By the way,” Ashtehar said. “Does your town have a magician?”

“No.” Doevm enjoyed looking down at all the pedestrians from the top of Ashtehar’s shoulders rather than looking up at them from the ground. ‘Pretending to be a kid is awesome. I can get away with so much. I don’t have to give explanations. I get special treatment!’

Ashtehar frowned: “You’ve never had anything inexplicable happen to you? You’ve never seen anything floating around?”

‘He’s persistent.’ “I think something like that did happen once.” Doevm put a finger to his chubby cheek. Ashtehar yanked him off his head and held him at arm’s length. In his beady eyes burned a religious dogma. His massive hands squeezed, making it hard to breath.

“Tell me child.” He nearly shook Doevm to death.

“Y-you’re scaring me.” Doevm tried to squirm out of his grip, but the monk was firm.

“I know, it is scary, but you must tell me so I can take them to my monastery. We must spread the word of our cause.” His eyes were practically glowing with self-righteousness. In a second, he transformed from a savior to an interrogator. “Tell me! Those born with magic are blessed. We must take them in no matter the cost. They are chosen, and we are the prophets that must train them.” His hands shook as if he was carrying a great burden.

“My mommy, she’s the magician.” Doevm spat out. The grip lightened, letting him breath a little. “She took her hands. She put them in front of my face,” he began.

Ashtehar leaned closer: “And then what did she do? Act it out.”

“She put her hand on my face like this.” Doevm did as he described on Ashtehar’s face.

“Then what?” Ashtehar’s grip tightened again. He stared at Doevm like a predator staring at its prey. Farmers stopped their walking and stared at the duo.

“And then, she pulled my nose off!” Doevm pulled his hand back and gripped around his thumb. He laughed and pointed to his thumb. Ashtehar stared at him. “Get it?”

“No, what happened next?” His grip kept tightening and loosening. Doevm had to time his breaths. If this kept up, he would puke up the meat.

“That was it.” Doevm repeated the act and pointed to his thumb again. “She grabbed my nose off my face by making me think her thumb was my nose.” ‘I���m breaking my act a little, but I doubt he cares. He only wants answers. It was a mistake to mess with him. With war monks, even jokes can be blasphemy.’

Ashtehar dropped Doevm: “You’re walking from now on. I have no respect for someone who cannot see the value of our sacred arts. Trickery is not tolerated in our sect. If you were my disciple I would have you whipped. I sensed mana when I neared your house. Where is your town’s magician?”

“We don’t have one!” Doevm shot back. He stood straight up, which was a little ridiculous because he was as tall as the monk’s knee, and said, “We are poor. Even if our town had a magician, no one here can afford to pay for a magician’s services. We all work in the flower fields every day. If we mess up or get injured at work, we die instantly. That’s what happens in the rose fields.” Doevm thought back to his old life and to his darkest moments. Fake tears poured out with his frustrations. “And that’s probably what happened to my mommy and daddy! They’re dead, I know it. Who leaves their child for days on end without food or water?”

Ashtehar picked Doevm up and put him on his shoulders again: “You must have been scared. I’m sorry I treated you poorly. One of our teachings is mercy to those who are ignorant. You deserve my mercy. Let’s go to the lord. I’ll lay down my name for you. Don’t worry, when the night comes, you’ll be in a new home.” They walked down the gravel path and passed the rose field. A crowd was standing around where Doevm dumped Rena. They didn’t even look sad. They just stared at her like it meant something to do so.

“What would you do if you found someone with magic who doesn’t want to learn your ways?” Doevm asked. He already talked with advanced grammar levels, so he ditched his four year old act when in front of Ashtehar.

“What a foolish question,” the monk said. “Crush him. He who ignores the gift of the goddess is a madman. Even if he refuses, we’ll beat our beliefs into him.” The two passed the rose field and found themselves at a large metal gate with two guards. “We have arrived. This is where you will stay.”

Doevm smiled on the inside. ‘This is my new beginning. This mansion is the first step to strength.’