Me, My Spirit, And I [Book 1 Complete]

Time marched forward on the planet Sierrallas as Shada focused his efforts on crafting and business while Luca focused on self-improvement. Luca may not have had access to the System, but he still had an Awakened Core and innate Traits from his Precursor heritage that impacted his development. Luca and Shada's minds were separate, but the interconnections were growing alongside Luca. Anything Shada learned bled over into Luca's mind, albeit in a diluted form.

Luca didn't need the System-granted Skills to access his Trait abilities and was learning to use them as he grew. Using his innate talents strained his body and lacked refinement, but he practiced them frequently. In private, Luca changed his appearance with Shapeshifting for purposes both practical and fun.

As a half-giant, Westlin's physical development greatly exceeded a normal human child's but kept pace with Luca's enhanced growth. Their rapid development made it hard to relate to and interact with other children. Westlin was too tall, his shoulders were too broad, and he was too strong to play fairly with anyone his own age except Luca. Due to starting out with a Physical Cultivation stat of five, Luca was tall for his age but slender like his elven father. He had tough, wiry muscles and was quick on his feet. Their isolation made the two boys turn to each other for friendship and companionship. It was a rare sight indeed to see one without the other nearby.

Sierrallas was a world deeply affected by the arrival of the System, which had steered the culture towards placing a strong emphasis on education and training. For Luca and Westlin, this meant private tutors and highly structured days. Their education exceeded most local children's before they were even of age to start school.

"Boys, listen up. It is important that you always maintain a minimum level of physical fitness as you grow. It won't be long before you turn 12, your Guides will unlock, and your real training will begin, but these early efforts will not have been in vain," Mina told the boys as they ran, leaped, and rolled through the woods. Mina followed along without strain due to her own stats and heritage.

Luca's gender remained ambiguous, and his family called him a boy for convenience only. He was hermata, and the Wylderfolk tongue lacked a proper set of words for someone that was neither male nor female that didn't sound awkward on most people's lips.

Being neither male nor female, Luca chose his clothes and appearance based on his mood and personal preferences. The local Wylderfolk had less gender-specific clothing than Shada saw on Earth. Some of Luca's choices were quite jarring for the old man turned spirit.

Many people wore outfits that would have been seen as blurring the lines between genders on Earth but were perfectly acceptable on Sierrallas. It was the cut, not the specific clothing items, that determined gender. For example, men's clothing favored darker colors and straighter lines while women's were brighter and more flowing.

Ignoring the local customs, Luca wore whatever he felt like. Some days that meant straight-cut men's clothing, sometimes flowing women's clothing, and more often than not a mix of the two. With his long hair, soft elven features, and willowy body, he could pass as either gender with ease, which often led to a great deal of confusion among strangers.

Westlin, even at a young age, had very masculine features with a strong jawline and broad shoulders. He favored masculine clothes in dark colors, which created an interesting contrast to the more brightly dressed Luca.

During their daily training sessions with Mina, both boys favored loose, comfortable clothes. Anything restrictive would have been easily damaged by the rough physical training, like today.

They ran with youthful vigor down a well-trodden path through the woods surrounding the cottage. It had been modified over the years to form a natural obstacle course. They ran, jumped, climbed, and rolled through the forest with great energy. Where Luca danced through the forest, Westlin stomped like a storm: steady and inevitable.

Their morning run through the forest ended at a clearing near the Mound. After a short break, they descended into the underground chamber where Raelis awaited them.

"Welcome, young masters. Are you ready to experience your own personal hells once more?" Raelis asked cheerfully. Raelis and Mina pushed the boys hard during combat training, which involved personalized golems controlled by Raelis.

"Greetings, teacher!" The boys said simultaneously. Westlin's deeper voice provided counterpoint to the higher-pitched musical voice of Luca.

"By your clothes, it appears you decided I needed half the woods in my training rooms. Let's fix that," Raelis said. He waved his hand with a flourish while banishing the dirt and debris from both boys. "Please start with your stretches—you should know them by heart now!"

Luca bent and contorted his body in ways that really shouldn't have been possible. Westlin was stiffer, but his young muscles flowed smoothly from one position to the next. Both knew that the stretches were necessary, and no one wanted to explain strained muscles to Shinobin.

Shada was a frequent visitor during the lessons. He wasn't a physically inclined person back on Earth, so he enjoyed living vicariously through Luca. On Earth, he enjoyed intellectual challenges, games, movies, and other sedentary forms of activity. Luca might be another branch of John, but he was not limited by his past.

With his speed and agility, Luca favored light weapons while the larger, strong Westlin favored heavy weapons. Luca's training involved shortswords, daggers, throwing knives, and the bow, whereas Westlin worked with broadswords, shields, throwing axes, and a crossbow. Westlin was practically made for frontline combat while Luca was a rapid striker.

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They trained with weapons and in unarmed combat. Their progress was rapid but not exceptional. As preteens, they still had a lot of time to grow into their own styles. With their precocious minds, they kept their trainers busy adapting to their rapid progress.

Shinobin had been against the heavy emphasis on combat practice at first, even if it was hypocritical of her. She had been taught how to fight before she found her Path, but like many mothers, she didn't like seeing her precious child bruised and beaten on a daily basis. Healing the boys once they left the Mound and headed into the city was part of her daily routine now. Mina was the one that convinced her that it was necessary and that Luca needed to be able to protect himself. He wouldn't be growing less special as he got older but more so as his own abilities grew.

Neither Luca nor Westlin realized the privileged position they grew up in. They were trained like noble children and enjoyed far more personalized attention than other kids their age. The golems they were currently fighting against were a good example of this privileged upbringing.

Luca darted around his golem, making precise surgical strikes. He never stopped moving and dancing around his partner. Westlin bore down on his opponent with an avalanche of heavy blows. They shouted encouragement to each other and worked as a team as often as they did apart.

"They are really coming along quite nicely, don't you think, Raelis?" Mina said, watching the boys practice.

"Indeed, madam. I am quite impressed with both of them, but don't tell them I said so. We do not want them to become arrogant once they reach the Academy. I imagine there are a few noble children who are more dedicated to martial pursuits to compete against," Raelis responded as he controlled the golems effortlessly. He stood with his hands clasped behind his back, the very picture of a gentlemanly butler.

"I know, but I have helped train noble brats before. Most are nowhere near this good and don't have the advantages of these two. I almost dread to see what they get up to after their Awakening Ceremony," Mina replied while holding her large hands out helplessly.

"Never fear, madam. They are good children. It is hard not to be, with someone always watching over them, as it is rather hard to learn bad habits when you end up having another self tell on you," Raelis said with good humor and a goat-like smile.

"That is true. Poor Luca gets so annoyed when Shada tells on him, but what is worse, he ends up being able to learn the exact reason why through their link. So he can't stay mad," Mina said with a laugh that shook her broad shoulders.

"Indeed, madam. I do feel sorry for a child that is being watched over and taught lessons by his older self, but I also envy them for their bond and unique experience," Raelis said wistfully while stroking a single horn in consideration.

As Luca danced around his golem, his arms lengthened to strike from unexpected distances. He covered his skin in protective scales to deflect blows and even grew claws to try to strike with. Shapeshifting was natural to him, and he exploited it readily.

Luca avoided strikes from the golems by reading their Essence patterns and focused on multiple things at once to choose his next move. His Traits gave him unfair advantages, and he exploited them whenever possible.

Westlin wasn't without his own tricks. He surged with extra strength and hit with far more force than his body should allow. He used his ice and cold affinity to slow the golems before hitting them with a heavy overhead strike.

Their natural abilities were subtle but powerful, and those watching wondered at what they could do when they Awakened.

Endurance and weapons training was followed by academic lessons once the boys' bodies had been tired out and healed. The former nursery was now set up for more scholarly pursuits with Wylderfolk-style tables, chairs, and bookshelves. It was here at the Root clinic that the boys would meet their non-family tutors.

"Westlin, please be mindful of the verb conjugates; they are more prevalent in Eastern Imperial compared to the local Wylderfolk tongue," Scholar Eclasius said while pointing out a mistake in Westlin's work before turning to Luca. "Luca, have you finished your Ancient Imperial translation work yet?"

"Yes, it was a rather boring text on grain prices in the Ancient Imperium before the System emerged. It was one of the driest things I have ever read in my life. I transcribed a copy in modern Eastern Imperial," Luca said while rolling his eyes.

"Your grasp of languages is a gift, Luca, and not every text can be interesting, but as you know, all historical information can be interesting in the right hands. This particular text provides historic context to a war that happened around that time due to an increase in grain prices," Scholar Eclasius explained primly.

"Well, I would have rather read about the war than about how much grain was grown in every hole-in-the-ground settlement in the Ancient Empire," Luca said waspishly.

"I don't think I like that attitude, but you will be happy to know the next text is a Dwarven one about a war they fought with the Ice Giants of the Ice Fang peaks. A complete translation isn't available, but your gift should sort it out in time."

"Of course, Scholar Eclasius. I apologize. Which Dwarven language will I be working on?" Luca asked in a more polite tone.

"Ancient Rockhold, if I remember correctly," Scholar Eclasius responded promptly.

Luca was unaware that his name was going to appear on the translations he was penning for the not-so-subtle Scholar. As a polyglot, Scholar Eclasius was an excellent translator, but Luca's abilities were downright supernatural. The Scholar had been lured out of retirement to teach such a promising student, and he was of course also going to be publishing the translations, but was not so greedy as to not acknowledge Luca on the covers.

After language studies, Scholar Eclasius switched to history.

"Today we will continue our review of local history. Westlin is a rather unique city due to it being controlled by the Eastern Imperium and the Wylderfolk nation of Gloddus as a semi-independent city-state. It was founded to take advantage of the Dungeon below the city and prevent the two nations from fighting over the Delving rights. Last week we discussed the early founders, including…" Scholar Eclasius continued his lecture.

The boys had their days packed with scholarly pursuits of all kinds. In addition to lessons on history and languages, there was another tutor that taught math, logic, and accounting. For the more esoteric and magical topics, Vanestra, Alexzandrous, and Shinobin took turns teaching the boys. During the lessons, Shada often provided his own unique insights and perspective, which both boys loved as it had a tendency to derail their teachers by distracting them.

All the training, the lessons, the tutors, and practice were for the boys' future when they would go through their Awakening ceremonies and become eligible to attend the Eastern Imperial Academy where Alexzandrous was once headmaster. The entrance examinations were highly competitive and varied. Only rare geniuses ever attended without significant preparation.