Chapter 23 - Birthday (1/2)

It was finally my 5th birthday; this birthday was different from all the others because this one is going to be celebrated. The reason for celebration isn't actually because I had become five years old, but rather it is due to the implications that come with me being this age.

Most kids would learn how to read and write but I already knew all that so the only thing I would get was the power of being able to go outside without my parents watching me. This did not only mean that I could now not have my parents watching every step I take outside the house, but it also means that at this age I'm expected to learn how to become slightly dependent on my power rather than relying on others

For me, however, it meant I could finally have a practical use for all the abilities I had gained over the years of practicing magic, the months of me practicing spells, and the year of me practicing weapon mastery.

For my birthday celebration, a sh*tons of people I had no idea existed had come to celebrate it with me. My parents and Aroura had found my presents that I, for some reason, had to open in front of all the guests. It's a cultural thing within this world and even if I don't get it, I'm not going to embarrass my parents and sister for no reason. My neighbors weren't invited though but we were forced to invite the Flemings.

After we had a 'family dinner' with more than 20 people, Aunt Elaina and the Flemings included, it had become time for me to open my presents and for some reason, everyone seemed as tense as I was to find out what was inside, even my own family.

They had not told each other what they had brought me, which I find stupid because they might bring me the same thing, but oh well.

As I shrugged all my thoughts off, I started to unwrap my presents. All of them were wrapped in a thin cloth that covered a box. Within the box would be the present. The first one I opened was clearly from Aroura. I could tell before I even opened the present from the mana signatures left on the box. Well, it was obvious to me it wasn't to everyone else.

There was a note inside that said ”This is something forged on the final day of class for you, I hope you like it. It will both protect you from harm and also look nice on you. It should also remind you of my eye color so whenever I am not home you can just look at the crystal whenever you miss me.

Love, Aroura”

Within the box, there was a blue and green crystal that got progressively cyan within the middle and had a long rope coming out that could be extended or shortened. It truly did remind me of her eyes and was just a little less beautiful than hers. The warmth that her eyes had whenever we talked or played together was not transmitted into the crystal, but the vibrant color and the implication/ reason it was created made up for the lack of warmth.

Since it was the last year of the academy for her, this must have been her last project and why nearing the end of her school days she wouldn't come home on Saturdays.

I got up and gave my sister the biggest hug I could give while kissing her on the cheek before letting go and wearing the necklace.

-”wow it's beautiful”-

-”she is truly talented to have created something so beautiful for her own sister”-

All the comments I heard were complimenting her work, yet it pissed me off. It reminded me that humans, no matter what they do, will judge all of their actions without prejudice. Only those you truly love will not judge you and even then, those you truly love might betray you the moment you become useless to them, just like my father.

I went back and opened the present that seemed to be my mom's from the mana signature on it. I could tell whenever someone had used magic on something recently by just looking at the mana exuding from the object. My mom used a cleaning spell on the thing within the box and since I'm around my mother all the time, it was easy to recognize.

When I unwrapped the box and opened it, what I saw inside really shocked me. It was a Gauntlet, well that's what they called it, but it looked more like a glove to me. The audience's mouth was agape with a few gasps yet nothing was said, therefore not allowing me to know why everyone was so shocked.

The one thing that allowed me to guess wasn't the item itself, but rather the gemstones that were embedded on the pair of gloves, backhand, and wrist area. The gloves were both long enough that they would reach an adult's middle forearm. They were black and had no fingers, making them closer resembling a finger glove rather than a gauntlet. The crystals and runes engraved on the wrist area were something I recognized from my sister's books as transformation/ disguise runes which only could see due to my 'Mana Vision' meaning everyone recognized the gloves for another reason

”Those are the Gauntlets I used when I was a royal mage. They are able to shrink and increase in size. You are able to change their size and shape as long as they keep their weight. They may be a little heavy for you since you're still young but they should be useful when you are older.” My mom spoke out

Now the people who didn't know what they were looking at either gasped or stared at me with envy. Yet I was too happy to care and immediately put them on.

When I peeked up, I could see my once-shocked sister look at me with the most genuine smile I've ever seen, making me feel like the luckiest man/ woman on this planet. One thing I had a problem with getting accustomed to was my lack of male features, or more accurately, the addition of all my womanly features which were most likely going to become a hassle in the future.

I'm never going to need my breasts to breastfeed since I'm not planning on getting a family, especially with a man. Becoming homosexual was simply out of the question in this world too and I'm not one to complain about gender but I don't feel like I'm able to love a male the same way I could appreciate and love a female. Plus, even if I change my mind, I'm not sure if I'm able to become impregnated either, since my body/ anatomy doesn't work the same way as other humans, therefore, making everything from periods to a large chest not worth the hassle.

Back to the present, however, I looked around a bit more to see Zack look pissed off and glaring at my mom while Zarch, the quiet one, was looking at me with the same envy as everyone else, just a little less than those who aren't my family. I don't deserve to have a sister like Aroura and parents like my mother and father.

When I finally put the gloves on my mom looked a little hesitant and worried if it might be a little too heavy for me but when she saw I was fine she stopped worrying and just enjoyed my joy with me.

I changed the fingerless gloves that had shrunk down to the size of my hands into a bracelet made of silver with a blue gemstone within the middle of it and a red gemstone on the other side parallel to the blue one on my right hand.