Chapter 5:

A Sense of Accomplishment

The thought of going outside was scary.

Sure, I looked outside and thought it was pretty. You'd have be blind to not think so. But I never left the yard. When I tried to take a step outside, memories flashed through my mind. Thoughts of the torment I went through, thoughts of the assault I narrowly avoided. If not for the kindness of Paul, I would have been terrified of men.

I simply wanted to pretend that my past wasn't there. But it was, and it haunted me every single time I looked at the kids playing from outside my yard. In my past life, all I wanted was to be accepted. But I had thrown that away in favor of staying locked within the four corners of my room.

But this world, it was a place better than reality, that was reality. Yet I still couldn't do it. No matter how much I told myself it was fine, the fear never went away,

It was so frustrating. I was so upset at myself.

The graduation exam was going to be somewhere on the plains outside of the village. Couldn't Roxas understand how afraid I was? I had looked up to him for so long yet he was forcing me to do this.

"O-outside?" I asked hesitantly. "Yes, just outside of the village. If we try to cast a Saint-tier spell here, we'd probably destroy a house or two. Please understand."

I was at a loss. There was nothing I could do here. I could tell him why I was so afraid of the outside. Tell him this wasn't my first time living life. But I was scared that Roxas would tell my parents. I wanted to do everything in my power to protect the life I had now, so that was out of the question.

"Why? What's the matter, Lumi? Something wrong?" Roxas pestered. "Um, well…" I couldn't come up with a good excuse. "Right, your parents mentioned the fact that you've never left home. You've got nothing to worry about, and there aren't any monsters near here." That wasn't the problem. I shot him a look.

He guessed again. "Are you afraid of the horse?" I gave him a deadpan, "No." He sighed, and said, "Don't be like that now. What happened to the bubbly Lumi?" Bubbly? Well, I guess that's how you'd describe my personality in this life.

"She went off on a business trip. Anyways, can we please not go outside?" Roxas picked me up, and plopped me on the horse. "Hey! What happened to consent is key?" Roxas rolled his eyes. "There's no point in arguing. What was the point of me tutoring you for so long if I couldn't even teach you a Saint-tier spell?"

I pouted. I really didn't want to go, but a part of me told me that if I wasn't forced to do it, I'd become a shut-in just like my last life. "You know, Lumi. Sometimes you really don't act your age. It's like you've lived several decades already. Is that just me?" I diverted my eyes and chuckled. "W-what are you saying?" Roxas gave me an odd look and shrugged, and tugged at the reins to get the horse moving.

As we started getting closer to the gate, I started sweating. I desperately kept hold of Roxas. I looked behind me as we left the house behind. We started to move through a dirt path that was connected to a few homes and wheat fields.

I buried my face in Roxas' back and tried to hide myself from the eyes of the villagers. Oh, god. They were staring. So many villagers were staring at…Roxas? "Hey, Rox! Thanks for the help the other day! Here's a little extra." "Roxas! Nice to see you, man." I saw a few even bow to him. I opened my mouth in amazement. Just how well known was he?

Because I stayed inside all the time, I had never bothered learning what Roxas was up to when he left home. He was respected, and most of all, trustworthy. I knew I could rely on him. I didn't have to be scared of him, let alone anything when he was around. He was a good person.

I smiled at him. "Are you still afraid, Lumi?" He said, breaking me out of my thoughts. I warmly said, "No. I think I'll be okay now."

Now that I was composed, I could finally take in the landscape in its full beauty. I had visited Mount Fuji once in junior high, but even that paled in comparison to this view. Rolling hills covered the horizon. I could see fields as far as I could see. This was something I would have never imagined that day in the rain, which felt so far away now. I let out a gasp. We came near a forest. It wasn't one of those dense, scary ones, but one that really put one at peace.

It was really nice. I hadn't yet appreciated this village, and this was a breath of fresh air. I felt so alive while traveling outside. The birds were chirping, and there were dogs running around. "I've become quite fond of this village. It really puts me at ease." Roxas said, with a smile on his face. "Now that I'm seeing it for the first time, I really want to look at it forever. Live in a tent or something out here." I said.

We continued on. "Mister Roxas, what kind of animals are people keeping here?" I said, to break the silence. "Hmm, mostly Fittoan Buffalos and Asuran sheepdogs. I've tried the buffalo meat before, and it's pretty good." I'd assumed that the wildlife was different from Earth's, but it seemed to be pretty similar.

I had a thought. What if this place wasn't just "another world." What if it was an alternate version of Earth, but with magic? "I mean, it kinda doesn't follow the laws of physics…" I murmured. "What was that, Lumi?" Oops. I wouldn't want to go down that rabbit hole just yet. I'll wait until I get a hold of some star maps or something.

Roxas began to recount his story of how he picked up the job. He mentioned the Asura kingdom a few times. Now that I have nothing else to think about, I gave it a little thought. Medieval politics were nasty. I remember hearing that before. Assassinations, defamation ploys, kidnapped children, you name it. I really didn't want to be involved with all that. I'd end up dead or turned into a slave or something. Doesn't sound very good for a "second chance at life."

The conversation turned to Paul. I knew that he was a knight, but that was just about it. He had been deployed from somewhere to protect the village from stray monsters, and to clear out the neighboring dark forests which harbored a number of dangerous creatures. He was basically the village mayor. That was news to me. So my father was just about the most powerful person in the settlement? I subconsciously made a goal for myself that I would one day surpass Paul. I doubt I'd be able to beat him in a fight right now, though.

The conversation grew still, and we were left in silence for the remainder of the ride.

We arrived at a lone tree in a sparse, empty grassland. There was nothing but grass as far as the eye could see. Err, I take that back. There were mountains in the far distance. They must be ginormous for me to be able to see them from here.

"Right here should be fine for the exam." Roxas said, as he tied the horse to the tree. "I am going to cast the Saint-tier wind spell, Violent Storm." Roxas continued. "It releases gale force winds over a large area, so hold on to the tree as much as you can." I nodded. "Try to memorize the incantation while I say it. It's a demonstration for now, so I'll cut off the mana after a minute. For you, however, If you can keep it going for thirty minutes, you pass."

Gale force winds, he says. I remember watching videos of typhoon devastating cities, so I understood why we went all the way out here.

"Now then. Oh, Spirits of the Air, lend your aid to me now. I pray and kneel before the magnificent winds of calamity. Grant my wish above all else and give thy servant a mere glimpse of your power. Let the winds spin, and the sky tremble. Come now, I speak the words of thy glory as you wipe away all of the mountains and rivers with your grace–Violent Storm!"

Roxas chanted with determination in his eyes. It took an entire minute just to say the incantations. The words coming from his mouth left me awestruck.

A moment later, I could feel the air thinning. It became a bit hard to breathe, but it was tolerable. The skies shined, and all of the clouds slowly grew closer. They began to spin around due to the wind that was picking up. The clouds turned into something resembling a whirlpool, and the wind almost knocked me off of my feet. I grabbed a hold of the tree, and put all of my strength into not letting go. The typhoon's eye became prominent, and all of a sudden, all of the momentum from the extreme winds ceased, and they were forced right–

Through the eye. The tree began to be uprooted. Roxas yelped in surprise. The gusts of wind ceased, and the tree was left with no leaves. "Oh, crap!" Roxas said, rushing towards me. I had scratches all over my body. But frankly, I was more focused on how amazing that spell was to focus on the pain.

Roxas picked me up, and chanted, "Oh, goddess of motherly affection, close up this one's

wounds and restore the vigor to their body—X-Healing!" All the scratches healed, and I stared at Roxas in astonishment. "Whew! I'm sorry about that. Could we keep this a secret?" he said sheepishly.

Roxas really gave off a gentlemanly aura. However, he was a total klutz. He was always stumbling, and near misses and scrapes like this were commonplace for him. Still, he did a lot for me. He planned lessons for me every night, and tried to put on an air of dignity so no one would make fun of him for looking the way he did. It was admirable.

I really liked that about him. I'd totally propose if I was his age, but I had no such luck. "You don't have to worry, I won't tell my parents."

"Thank you." He said hesitantly. Roxas slapped his cheeks, and got up. "Alright, Lumi. Go and give it a shot. Don't let me down, now." I smiled, and got up as well. Roxas uttered an incantation, and created an earth fortress to protect the horse and himself. Why couldn't you have made one for me?

All right, it was go time. What was the incantation? Err…

"Oh… Spirits of the Air, lend your aid to me now... I pray and kneel before the magnificent winds of calamity. Grant my wish above all else and give thy servant a mere glimpse of your power. Let the winds spin, and the sky tremble. Come now, I speak the words of thy glory as you wipe away all of the mountains and rivers with your grace–Violent Storm!"

I speedran the incantation, and breathed a sigh of relief when the spell started forming. Having done it myself, I could understand some of the basics of the spell now.

The dense air from the clouds was separated from the moisture within. Said moisture evaporated and created warm air, which created an air current. Mana from the caster guided the current and made it into a typhoon-like structure, and then forced all of the energy through the eye of the windstorm in one, continuous gale.
This was all great, and I understood it. However, having to cast for ten minutes straight was going to be a pain in the ass. I could find a way to keep the air circulating, could I not? I browsed through my 34 years of memories and recalled something about how weather patterns work.

"Force the air into an area with…low pressure, and keep the amount of air in an area of high pressure at a minimum to keep it circulating?" Yes! So taking meteorology in my second year of high school wasn't a waste after all!

In doing all of that, I burnt through my mana reserves. I prayed that they would stay for ten minutes before dissipating.

I met eyes with Roxas. He walked over to me, his clothes flapping because of the wind. "This dome will disappear in about a half an hour," Roxas said confidently, "So we'll be alright over here." I replied, "Okay!" Roxas raised an eyebrow. "Well, if everything's 'okay!' then get back to casting, kid. You need to control those winds for thirty minutes, remember."

Roxas looked at my puzzled expression. "What's so strange about that? A Saint-tier spell needs constant monitoring and mana, otherwise it'll disintegrate. We've been over this." I responded. "Yeah, I did that. It probably won't go away now."

"Eh? What do you mean…" He looked into the sky. "Woah! I see now! You're crazy, Lumi, I could have never pulled this off!" He said excitedly. I smiled in satisfaction.

"Lumi, you pass." He said hurriedly. "Huh? It hasn't been thirty minutes yet though." Roxas shook his head. "No kid, you gotta understand. That's some amazing stuff you just pulled off. If you can do that, you're more than worthy of passing." He replied. "Well, you can dispel it now." He told me. "Er, right. It'll take more than just a sec, though, so just wait." It took a bit, but I calmed the winds back to normal. Once I was done, Roxas told me, "Congratulations, Lumina."

"You are now a Wind Saint." He said, hair messy and clothes wrinkled beyond belief. He had a sheepish grin, one of which I hardly ever saw.

I remember all the opportunities I let pass me by in my past life. But now, standing here in front of Roxas, an unfamiliar emotion welled up inside of me. Yet, I knew what it was. It was a sense of accomplishment.

For me, this was the biggest step I had taken in my entire existence. And I only had Roxas to thank.

The following day, Roxas was standing right outside of the gate of our home. It wasn't all that different from the time I met him for the first time. I was a little more grown up, but my parents didn't look too much older. But Roxas looked the same.

"Roxas, you're welcome to stay, you know? I could teach you a few more things about adventuring before you depart." Pleaded my father. My mother followed up with, "Even if your time tutoring our Lumi is over, the village still owes a debt to you. We'd be happy to have you here."

My parents and Roxas had become close friends during the time he was tutoring me. "I really appreciate the offer. However, teaching your daughter taught me that I myself have a long way to go in terms of my magic. I plan on roaming the world to try to improve my magic for a few years."

"I see now." My father said sullenly. "I'm sorry our daughter caused you to lose your confidence." Hey, couldn't you have put it differently? "Oh, no, don't get me wrong. Lumi is an amazing student and I really am looking forward to what she can accomplish in a few years' time."

Roxas pet me on the head. "I really wanted to do my best to teach you, but I fell short." I shook my head. "That isn't true, Mister. I learned so much from you and I'm so grateful that you took me outside." He gave me a puzzled look at that last part, but smiled and said, "I'm happy to hear that from you."

"Oh, right. I wanted to give this to you to commemorate your graduation." He handed me a pendant strung with a leather cord. It was made of a metal that shone with a green luster, fashioned in the shape of three interlocking spears.

"What is it?" I asked. "It's an amulet from my demon tribe, the Migurd. If you ever visit the demon continent, show this to a demon if they give you a hard time. They might let up… maybe." I took it from him, and said, "I'll take good care of it, Mister." I started to tear up.

Roxas had done so much for me. Putting aside all of his hard work, he brought me outside. He managed to pull me through my trauma and help me get over it at last. If I hadn't met him, I'd probably still be fooling around inside, never to leave home.

He took me outside. That was just it, such a small act. And yet it meant so much to me. Yesterday, after we'd gotten back home, I'd turned to look at the front gate and taken just one step beyond it. And right there was the ground. Just the ground, and nothing more. My anxieties had left me.

I could go outside just fine now. Because of him. I owed him a debt that I could never repay no matter how long I lived. He's worthy of my undivided respect, and a man that I will forever and always trust.

As he walked away, I grasped the amulet. Everything he taught me, I was grateful for it. So, I decided to muster up my courage. I ran, and yelled, "Thank you, Mister!"

He took a step towards me, and said, "Let's meet again."

I respected him so much, in fact, that I stole a pair of his shorts. Hope he doesn't need those.

Author's Notes:

Thank you again for reading! I decided to write more of Lumi's impressions of the world around her, as per some feedback I had recieved.

To answer DegenerateWeeb's question, I'm not sure how I would go about making Orsted part of Lumina's harem, but I'll entertain the idea. Thanks for commenting! if you have any more questions, I'll make sure to answer them in this section.