After arriving in Agartha there was a long period of laziness. We had done so much that we all felt like resting. There were many problems regarding the fertility of the lands and the water sources getting thinner, but we weren't necessarily being forced to resolve them the instant we arrived here. In fact, it was a problem that can only be resolved over several years of working hard. Because of that, I've spent the majority of my days, weeks, months, and over a year doing little things here and there.
Trying to… wind up a little bit. To relax. Mother told us that we had to relax. We went through way too much, and now that we finally had a place to settle down and just do as we pleased, we did. I began to not be so workaholic as I always was and relaxed, practicing a tiny bit of magic each day and doing some passive enhancement of my magic circle and physique with mana.
I used this time to, instead of focusing on growing stronger and nothing else at all, to spend time with people, to know them. This entire village was filled with people everywhere, and I wanted to know what they were up to, and how they were living their lives. The nobles and the chief visited the house most of the time almost daily, and with mother, they were always working hard to improve everything.
My mother was dead serious about improving this village, and slowly began to design new ways to improve farming, waterways, and also used her magic with everyone else's help to pave most of the city, and a wall building project began just recently too. She was working hard, but we advanced step by step, and mother never asked for my help in anything, so I most of the time was sitting over the grasslands looking at the sky in a relaxed manner, playing around with Aquarina, Zack, Mist, and Celeste, and hunting beasts for food and material collection, but nothing too serious either.
The wilderness was actually very far away, it would take days by foot to get there, so we have ignored it and I've decided to live a life of simplistic things while slowly trying to improve my own self and also to know the people of the village. I've already memorized a big amount of them. I know of Lady Cecilia that sells fruits and vegetables in the market and always gifts me something, of the young boy that goes around the city selling newspaper named Tony, about the stern and often silent guard of the gates of my house Henrick, about the jolly and passionate chef of our kitchen that loves to make pastries, Helias, and more.
These people I only occasionally met grew inside of my heart. Meeting them each day, seeing what they were up to, and looking how they lived their own lives kind of made me… happy. I wanted to meet more people and see what they were up to. I wanted to see what they were doing of their lives, so I could better learn what I wanted to do with mine as well.
And just like that, in the blink of an eye, as I spent my days having a good time, cooking, hunting, knowing people, and being with my family, over two years passed. And guess what? My birthday is just today! I will be 12 years actually! Really, time goes fast when you're so busy.
About my strength? I can't tell much, my stats never change, but I can tell my physique has become stronger, in this time it has increased by six ranks, and my magic circle by six as well! I guess I haven't been slacking off, right?
Well, maybe… but not so much! Tier 4 is still far away from my grasp, but my parents say it actually takes many years to even reach Tier 4, and it is often reached when people is around the age of 30… even talented ones like my father took until the age of 15 to get to Tier 4. I'm sure I'll get to Tier 4 for both physique and magic circle earlier than him, so there's no need to rush it and stress myself over it.
I have been practicing more of the basic elements of magic. I was concentrating my magic studies with mother on both alchemy and also fire, wind, water, and earth magic, which are the pillars for more complex compound magic. Through this time, none of my skills had reached max level yet, but that was honestly the least of my concerns. I know that they tend to grow stronger quicker when I go through life-or-death situations, so I would prefer to just advance slowly than to risk my life every time, I am too young for that to be honest.
And well! Because my birthday is today, people was preparing a lot of stuff. Aquarina's birthday was also in a month and half from now too, so I was preparing my own gifts for her. I had been saving the materials I had gathered and was going to make her a beautiful set of accessories. Over these almost two years, she has gotten so pretty it is quite crazy. She's dazzling! I don't know why but… as I've grown older, my heartbeat faster and faster when I see her.
Is this what finally reaching my teens is all about? I suppose I completely skipped that part in my previous life due to all my traumas and the things I had to go through, but in here, it is like a second chance to go through the bloom of my life. I have to appreciate it after all!
My Familiars had been steadily leveling up, although none had reached level cap, they have become stronger. Their skills had leveled up more though, as some of them have nothing much to do than to practice them relentlessly. Others had concentrated into mastering magic more, and Alice has been preparing a gift of her own for this day too.