1.1.06 – Big Brain Energy

I could feel Marta’s tears soaking through my shirt by the time that she had calmed down. Her arms were still looped around me tightly, as if she was afraid I would run away. I had no idea how she could stand the smell of me after I had been so intimate with the boar; I could barely stand the smell of me.

I told myself to give her a moment, or as long as she needed. She was scared, probably thought I was dead. Well that one is on me… I thought she would have needed more time but she pulled back just a moment later. Oh boy, here it comes.

“Asher… Do you have any idea how worried I was?” Marta said with a cracking voice. “I thought that you were taken by the Royal Inspectors! Or that something might have happened….”

Royal Inspectors? I wondered if those were the military recruiters she mentioned some time back, something I would have to watch out for. “What were you doing? And how did you get that boar? Don’t tell me you…” Marta continued her incessant line of questioning.

“I was hungry” I quickly cut her off. A flash of guilt appeared across her face. “I know Branwen sends back what she can, I was trying to help…”

“Oh honey…” Marta said in a low voice, her anger finally subsiding. Our conversation was not exactly hushed, I could see the other kids poking their heads through the second floor window of the orphanage as they wondered what happened outside.

“I know we barely have enough. I want to learn magic so I can control it better, so that accidents don’t happen. So I can hide better.” I added. “I know we can’t afford to buy any books, so I thought this might help to solve both problems at once”

Marta tilted her head slightly as she gave me a puzzled look.

“We can keep the meat for ourselves and sell the pelt and tusks” I explained. “I was hoping that with enough we could buy some books on magic” I tapped on my inner Asher as I gave her my best puppy eyed look.

“The books can also help the others when they awaken their core, it might give them a head start so they can land better apprenticeships once they leave” I continued with the rehearsed response that I prepared.

“You should have told me…” Marta said. “I would have worked something out. But I also know that I can’t just keep you in the house either. Don’t think I didn’t realise you were sneaking away every now and then to practice your magic” I did a double take. Dang, I thought I was low-key enough.

She placed her hands on my shoulders and looked me in the eye. “Can you promise me two things? First, you need to tell me what you’ll be doing if you plan to be away for an extended time in the future. Second, I need you to promise that you’ll take all the precautions you can or take the lowest risk possible”

I quickly nodded. I could see her eyes soften a little. “I know you probably would not listen anyway if I told you not to practice your spells or to stop hunting. I just want you to stay safe” Marta added.

“Come, let’s get you cleaned up and then I will take a look at your wounds. Then I need you and Gallum to help me hang the boar and drain the blood. I’ll get the butcher to come tomorrow morning to help us dress the boar” Marta said.

I was thinking she might have forgotten that my early awakening was supposed to be a secret so I asked “How will you explain how we got the boar?”

“I’ll say one of the hunters dropped by after a very successful hunt but had some minor wounds. I helped to patch them up and they left one of their hunts as a thank you after taking pity on us” Marta said.

“Ahh-ssss” I hissed as we made our move. I never realised how bad my bruises were earlier, probably from all the adrenaline from the fight. I was finally paying the price for my recklessness. Marta quickly bent down and pulled up my shirt.

“Let me close the cuts first” she placed her hands on the open wounds and cast Knit. I could feel my wounds closing like Wolverine. Even though Marta always felt bad she could not do more for us with her low life affinity, I was still always amazed by the healing powers of life magic. It is one of the few branches of magic that could not be used to harm others.

“You would need to let the bruises heal on their own. None of your little adventures until you’re all healed up” she added in a stern voice.

I followed Marta back to the orphanage as she helped me to carry the boar. Even though I could not wait to have some bacon, I knew that it was too late to have any boar tonight.

It took me three days to make a full recovery. I can’t quantify how much it helped, but I definitely thought being able to eat meat regularly also helped with my muscle recovery. I was looking at my own reflection in the wash basin, the face of a dark haired boy with bright blue eyes looked back at me.

I knew I was looking at my own face but the disassociation of a new face still felt out of place despite it being two years. I did not feel sore from the bruises anymore so that was good. I lifted the hem of my shirt to look at my abdomen to check for bruising.

Wait a minute, I had to do a double take when I looked at my abdomen and realised I had a six pack. I had not been paying attention as much when I was recovering over the last few days but I definitely felt stronger. I thought it was just me recovering from my fatigue.

This felt like when Peter Parker woke up after being bitten by a radioactive spider. Holy shit, I must be the most ripped seven year old on the entire western continent. This kind of recovery and development was definitely not normal. Could it be my soul mutation?

I pulled on the Weave and navigated to my latest soul mutation’s description.

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I now finally understood what the description of the mutation meant. I did not really understand what it said when I first read it three days ago. This means that I would never have to work out a single day ever to stay jacked. Man, every gym bro would have killed for this

But the caveat here was that I needed enough nutrition, and I already ate more than a typical seven year old. This meant that I needed to start hunting boars again considering that we had devoured quite a bit of the meat that I brought in three days ago.

I could see the early morning sun shining through the little window in the room as the other boys were snoring away. I got dressed before heading downstairs to grab a quick bite and inform Marta that I would be heading out today.

I had revised my ambush tactic and hoped to be able to test it out today. Having a stronger body would also definitely help, a bonus I had not accounted for yet.