While having breakfast with my parents, I asked if they could teach me to read; if I couldn't read, the huge expense we had incurred would be a waste.
"Of course, Sam. It's about time I taught you something new. Magic classes are over. The next thing you learn must be on your own and be creative. We'll start today, and of course, we'll use the books you bought," my mother replied.
I felt very happy. My parents supported me in learning new things, defending myself against adversity in my own way, and also paving the way for me to be more free.
While I was studying with my mother, my father continued doing the farm chores.
Mom was focused on getting me to learn a lot of the vocabulary they used in the book, but there was still a lot to study. Although I already knew most of the language, learning all the shapes and forms of the letters would be a bit difficult. The letters were like the Latin alphabet, but they had many more combinations; they could be combined in many ways, resulting in a mess when writing.
We continued practicing for a long time, having made quite a bit of progress in reading the book. I've learned a lot, and now I know I've been saved from many dangers. There are extremely dangerous animals in the forest. Some can control only one element, but others can control up to four elements, although they are rare and hard to find.
Mom says I shouldn't be afraid of everyone; it's better to respect nature, know how to behave in it, and also how to help.
One of the animals that caught my attention was the first to attack me. It's called Ribeyan. It's a type of small rodent dog with a strong bite and can be poisonous when adult. Apparently, it can also handle two elements: one common, while the other less so. The first is water, which it uses to spread its poison. The other is darkness, but it's rare for them to learn how to handle it, so I don't think there's one near the forest that would have learned to handle it. The problem is that they are sometimes found in packs. If you're so unlucky as to encounter them, it will be very difficult to get out alive.
Another one I found is the small puma. As shown in the book, it's a skilled hunter, but they have a varied diet if time allows. In the book, it's known as a Lirak, and it's one of the rarest in the forest; it can learn three elements, and if it's lucky, even four. According to the book, they're good climbers, can make very long jumps, and run long distances very quickly.
I was already tired of reading, and the smell of my mother's cooking made me starve. The last few days, with the food I brought, none of the three of us have gone hungry. I've noticed we're eating more. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who always ended up unsatisfied. After lunch, I rested for a while.
Since I had set my sights on improving my skills with the saber and daggers, I planned to train and try to gather some wood from the forest entrance. I spent some time thinking about what I needed before setting out on my journey again.
Before approaching, I was trying to find the straightest trees I could find. The straighter they were and the smaller their diameter, the better for what I wanted to do at home.
The more I looked, the more complicated it became. The trees, although straight and well-looking, were very tall. If I cut them down, they'd make a huge racket.
"I think I'll have to start climbing and cutting in sections. It'll be easier to carry anyway; logs two meters high or a little taller will be enough," I thought.
After choosing the best trees, in my opinion, I began climbing. The first one was over 20 meters tall; the idea was to reach where the trunk becomes thinner and start cutting from there.
When I reached the desired part, I took a moment to look around. The view from this point was very good; I could see some inner parts of the forest and, in the distance, the small lake where I had been fishing.
After admiring the view for a while, I began to cut down the tree. With the mana -coated bone saber , I made a quick, diagonal sweep above my head. I thought that cut would be enough, but no; the cut barely reached halfway through the trunk. I pumped more energy into the saber; I didn't want to damage it, and I also didn't want to run out of mana so far from the ground. I aimed, and a loud sound came from the tree; the crown began to fall.
The tree, which had once been over 20 meters tall, was now only almost 15 meters tall. I began cutting side branches from the trunk itself to leave only what was needed so that when it fell it wouldn't make as much noise. After a long time, I was almost halfway there. I had about seven meters left to reach the ground, but the trunk was already too wide for what I needed. I decided to go down and start clearing the area.
I gathered all the logs and some of the best-looking branches. If they weren't good for home improvements, at least they would be good for firewood or for Dad to use on the farm.
Since I was out of the forest, I decided it was best to meditate for a while to regain some energy. Carrying all that load will be difficult, and it's best to be in top condition.
After a while, I felt like a new person, but I was facing something I hadn't fully understood. How was I going to move all the logs? Moving them one by one wasn't an option. Making a pile and rolling them isn't appropriate either, I don't think.
Mundatus ' spell on one of the logs, the one with the most even diameter, imagining it without the outer bark, something I could use as a pair of tires. It worked less badly and didn't drain me of energy. The spell had worked perfectly, and what was left of the log was going to be the solution. I began cutting sections about 30 centimetres wide. With my mana-coated saber, I stabbed them in the centre; I was trying to make a triangle or something similar so they would fit together, to act as an axle between the two wheels.
I made six wheels, all of which had axles in the centre to hold the bottoms together. I'd also drilled three holes in a couple of longer logs so the axles could fit through that space. I'd tried cleaning the hole smooth with the same cleaning spell, which it did, but it used up a huge amount of mana and left me with a headache, so I decided against it, as doing the spell five more times would just leave me stranded on the floor. Instead, I decided to use ' Ignis .' I'd just have to burn the hole a little, and the axle would roll just fine. Now I had three pairs of wheels with bodies.
I started loading the vehicle I'd made, and at least it could handle the full weight of the logs. Now all that was left was to push it to the house. I tried, but it was too heavy for me to carry on my own.
One advantage is that the road to the house was flat, so you wouldn't have to think about how to climb hills; once the vehicle starts moving, you just need to maintain the direction.
I thought about it for a while. Since I needed to get moving and maintain it, I decided that with the earth spell ' Terra ' I would create a slope in the ground near the tires, and with water the tires would slide on their own in some mud.
After planning it, I executed it; I had high hopes for what I had done and conceived. When the vehicle started moving, due to the small incline I had made, I felt fantastic. Now all that was left was to carry that little boost home.
We started to approach the house, but by that moment, the smile on my face had vanished. The idea had worked so well that the vehicle had picked up speed; now the problem was how to stop it.
I started running and yelling at my parents to get out of the house so that if it crashed, at least they wouldn't get hurt. While I was thinking about how to stop it, something occurred to me. I'd dig a little with the earth spell and use water to get the wheels stuck.
It was the most creative and effective solution I could find. I started gathering mana and imagining where the ditch would be so the vehicle would get stuck, then I sprayed it with a little water so it would fill with mud.
The braking idea worked excellently, so much so that the vehicle stopped almost dead in the ditch.
Now my mother and father looked at me with a mixture of anger and mockery, because what I had brought to fix had damaged part of the house. When the vehicle stopped, the logs, which hadn't been tied down, flew out, leaving the front of the house completely destroyed.
"Sam, what are you thinking? If you wanted to surprise us, you could have done it another way. Why go to the extreme of destroying the house?" my mother said, while trying to keep a straight face.
"Mom, I just wanted to bring something to renovate the house. It wasn't my intention," I said, a little sadly.
-"Ohhh, so you did it on purpose. You brought that strange carriage and stopped it right in front to make the destruction easier?" Although my mother wasn't serious and it didn't seem like she was really scolding me, I felt guilty for having partially destroyed the house.
"Mother, don't worry. I assure you I'll fix everything and it'll be better than ever. I promise," I said, and started walking toward the house.
I collected the logs that had been stuck in the ground, and some that had crashed against the house. I arranged them in piles, the old and the new. I also cleaned them with the spell so the work wouldn't pile up.
By the time I had everything ready and stacked, at least two hours had passed. Night was falling, and now I had to think about how I wanted my parents' new room to look. I wanted it to have at least a running shower and a more comfortable bed.
My mother called me to lunch, so I quickly went and returned to work.
Although part of the house was destroyed, this made the remodelling easier, as it was no longer necessary to remove certain pieces to replace them. I started with the exterior walls of the house first and worked my way up from there, as the logs I brought weren't enough for the entire new section. I began cleaning up the old logs that were still good enough to use as well.
After a very long time, the new outline of the house was finally ready. I had made it more spacious so that the bathroom and bedroom wouldn't be cramped and the living room would be a bit larger. For the shower, I would have to find a way to collect water on the ceiling so it would fall by gravity, for now, because doing it all the time with spells would be very tiring.
I was very tired, and for the first time in years, I went to sleep without my meditation routine. I'd been through a lot today, and I felt terrible. My parents were still angry with me for partially destroying the house, and even more so now that they were sleeping in my room, since I'd asked them not to sleep in their room, as it would be a surprise.
When dawn broke, I set out to train, since I hadn't done so the night before; I only finished when my mother called me for breakfast. After seeing how the house was turning out, my parents were amazed and congratulated me. Even so, they said I had to be careful. Remodelling is one thing; destroying and rebuilding is another entirely.
After all, I would have to hurry up with the arrangements, winter was already approaching and it was better to be completely ready.