Being led through this dark and musty hall unbecoming of a place supposedly used for curing the sick and injured, I can't help but observe the inside of every room that we pass. There were no doors and the entrance of any of these rooms were arched entryways that showed some people within the chambers who are supposed to be patients being attended to by a priest. The patients seem to be lying down on some stone bed while the priest reads something in his hands that I can't help but notice to be rather bright, blurry, and also somewhat translucent. Anyway, my uncle eventually lead us into one of the chambers that were no different from the ones we passed by earlier.

"Alkef, come here and lie down on this stone bed"

Reluctantly, I followed what I was told to do and can't help but be reminded of the first time I went to the dentist during my life as Samuel. Those were one of the rare moments where I allowed someone to inflict pain on me without retaliating. It was painful, and I've been very serious with my dental hygiene ever since. It's a good thing that despite this world's seemingly confusing technological advancements, some smart fellow still managed to develop a toothbrush and toothpaste which I thought was natural at first, only to then remember that dental hygiene wasn't really a thing during the medieval ages; well I can't say that the era I'm in right now is the medieval age either.

This makes me wonder whether there are others like me here. The probability of it was very likely since that wooden "car" existed. I wonder how much money the 'inventor', Tyrian, managed to rack in by selling these things? Can I do the same? But if this was a thing, then this meant that there might not be anything left to invent. If patents exist here, he might have already written down whatever invention mankind the previous world had managed to release. I don't even know how old he is, so he might've already had enough time to invent a lot of things, and by the time I can start inventing, he might've already done everything. And who knows if there are others like him. Supposing that reincarnated people here are no different from the ones in my previous world, then greed would play a large factor for their actions involving the release of technology. They might already be living luxuriously right now, swimming in money.

As I lie stiffly in the stone bed, my "uncle" put his hand on my shoulder.

"You don't have to be nervous, you can relax, this won't hurt a bit"

And then a translucent circular screen appeared in front of him. I couldn't help but stare in amazement at what I am seeing for the very first time. Was this actual magic? This looks so strange and surreal as if I was watching a first-person perspective movie with very realistic graphics; like those shooting games my nephew liked to play and scream at a lot. Thinking about that reminded me how movies gradually changed back then. From black and white shows with no sound to the then high-quality three-dimensional graphics all those young people liked to gush over. I've certainly watched a fair share of those modern movies and those who say that old people can't appreciate new things are ignorant! We don't like them because their new, but rather we don't like them because those flashy scenes in those movies hurt our eyes and make us feel dizzy! Or it might be true that some just hate new things and I'm just a rare case.

The translucent screen then went through every limb of my body then finally going through my torso and head, then finally returning in front of Uncle Terpet. As he was reading through the screen, I noticed his facial expression change from astonishment to bewilderment. He then decided to comb through the side of my dark-brown hair and observed my ears and later touching it as if he was trying to examine something very vital.

I then hear my mother asking, "Why are you examining his ears? Is there something wrong?". I could tell from the tone of her voice that she was very worried.

"Alkef… is human, right?", my uncle then suddenly asked.

'What kind of question is that? Do humans look different here than they usually are?'

"He's my son. I've watched him come out of his mother and carried him in my own arms", my father then replied with a rather irate tone. Mother no longer decided to reply in this case and looked at father while nodding, signifying her agreement to his statement..

"Sorry, but I have to conceal whatever discussion we will be having from now on"

My uncle then decided to approach the entryway of chamber and a mist-like wall suddenly appeared blocking the view of the hallway.

"You don't have to be angry. Looking at him personally, I also see him as a human child, in fact even most of his organs is that of a human."

'Most?'

"Most?", both my parents asked simultaneously.

"That's right. His flesh, muscle, bones, and most of his organs are of a human child's. But his brain, heart, and blood are of the Elven race"

'Elven Race? Those pointy-eared fellows from that old book, The Hobbit? They exist here? So this definitely is a fantasy world! You've redeemed yourself a bit, Notpil!'

I then see my parents look at me in shock. Is there some social stigma against elves I'm not aware of? More importantly, elves exist here in this world? Huh, this really is some kind of fantasy land! I'll definitely have to start reading through whatever material I could find back in the house. Who knows what I've actually been missing by staying cooped inside and lazing around waiting for the right time I can go outside on my own. Hopefully, this uncle of mine could solve the problem with my body now.

My father then stared at my mother as if he realized something. mother noticed this and decide to rebut.

"I haven't cheated on you! You could see that he even has your hair and eyes!"

Father then looked at me for a while and decided to calm down. He then hugged mother and said a very long apology. He then gestured that I come towards him to hug him as well. I looked at my uncle to ask permission if I could get up from the stone bed and he nodded. I hugged father as he requested but I felt nothing of it. My mother then decided to ask.

"Do you know of a reason why my son's body is like this, and if him having that kind of body is the reason why feels so weak?"

"I can answer that, but I have to warn you to never to tell anyone you don't trust to keep the secret of what Alkef is like."

The translucent screen then floated towards his hand and enlarged, thus showing what was written on it. There I see a silhouette of my body and details that I can't seem to be able to decipher.

"As you can see here, what is being shown here is the Elven language. This is what showed up when I was analyzing each major part of Alkef's body. Everything else was depicted in human language but only when I started to analyze his blood, heart, and brain did it appear in Elven language. This [Sphere of Truth] was an [Arcane Tool] developed since the [First Era] and can be used by any race and would immediately cater to the language of the person being examined as it was originally used for self-diagnosis. Only through the further efforts of the Great Scholar Andraxia Strotaman was this later developed into something that can be used to diagnose others, thus even allowing people to see the conditions of those who are unconscious. However, there is one flaw in her researching and development of this Arcane Artifact. She could not remove the translation feature of the original [Sphere of Truth]. Thus if the Elven language is showing when analyzing these specific parts of Alkef, it means that it is Elven in nature"

"So, is our son a half-human-half-elf?"

"Yes and No. If you put it in a certain way, he can be called as one but what he currently is, is not human. Although he looks like a human, his brain, heart, and blood are of an Elf, so he is technically an Elf that looks like a human"

"But aren't the rest human?"

"Yes. But you can't say that a person whose body has been taken over by a demon is still that person, right?"

'What? There are demons here too? So demonic possession like those mentioned by aa particular faith in the old world happens here as well'

"What makes an individual is not the flesh that holds it but the soul within. Since the heart, brain, and blood are the parts of a body that is believed to hold the soul, he is technically an Elf."

'Souls huh? If I were originally unaware of these supernatural things, then I would be skeptical of what this man is spouting but since these other mystical things also exist, I can't really refute his claims'

My mother then decided to question further.

"But Terpet, neither of us are elves, neither is Norford one"

"I was wondering that too, but then I remembered that our great-great-great-grandmother on our father's side was an Elf"

"Now that you mention that, I also remember grandpa mentioning that in one of his stories! So even after all these years, the traits of an elf could still be inherited despite how diluted the bloodline is?"

"I'm not really sure myself, but that's the only rational explanation I can come up with, but either way, his current constitution is still a huge mystery… also"

The things written on the [Sphere of Truth] then decided to change. It was turned into the human language I am somewhat knowledgeable of and then I couldn't help but notice ten bulleted phrases that seemed to be jumbled up with different letters.

"What is this?", my father then decided to inquire.

"I'm sure you're not aware of this but between the other churches, these are called [Blessings]. These are rewards that certain gods have given to people for the supposed Karma they have sown during their past life"

'Ah, now this I'm sort of familiar with. I remember Notpil mention these back then in that strange room. So, these are the restrictions, probably. But it's strange to call them [Blessings] as I do remember that he described them as shackles, or maybe these are different to the actual shackles he mentioned.'

I then felt a grip on me getting tighter, but it wasn't painful. I didn't bother checking who it was, but it was surely either father or mother.

"H-He has ten!?"

"Yes, I'm as surprised as you. Whatever he had done during his past life, it must have been truly astonishing and wonderful that the gods would reward him with so many. In fact, there has never been a moment since the [First Era] when this many had been given to someone"

'Huh? I'm being rewarded for the atrocities that I have committed? What?'

"As you can see, all of them are undecipherable but if records of phenomena like these are true, then they will become legible once the holder performs a certain task"

"What are these tasks?"

"I can't really say, but it is said that they will eventually be unlocked once certain prerequisites only known to the holder have been fulfilled"

Mother then decided to get back on topic.

"This is fine and all, but this doesn't explain why Alkef's body is so weak. With all these blessings, he shouldn't be suffering from weakness then"

"Oh that, his weakness is a minor thing. I just wanted to explain to you something far more important"

The [Sphere of Truth] then changed its contents once again and it showed my body's silhouette but this time the layers were blinking with a bluish color.

"He's currently suffering from [Arcana Intoxication]"

'Arcana? I remember those Keeper fellows mention that this is supposedly a world within the Realm of Arcania'

"[Arcana Intoxication]? Does this mean-"

"Yes. Arcana is generated by the mind, then is transferred all throughout the body by the blood and then being regulated by the heart. Since all those vital organs that control the [Arcanaflow] are Elven that also are known to have an abundant amount of Arcana, his body, being of a human's, couldn't cope with it and has started to suffer physical stress"

"Then wouldn't that-"

"I'm not done with my explanation", Uncle Terpet decided to stop mother once again. Noticing how uncle was sort of teasing mother like that, father then started to sigh. Just like me, he might've realized that the situation isn't as serious as mother had initially worried.

"[Arcana Intoxication] may be serious if it is unnatural, but since this was caused naturally due to his constitution, then it wouldn't be much of a problem. As Alkef is still very young, his body still hasn't matured enough to handle this much arcana, but he will eventually adapt to it. This is common for those gifted children who somehow started generating arcana before the age of eight. There was even an incident ten years ago when a newborn infant was already capable of generating and manipulating arcana"

No one further responded to Uncle Terpet. It seemed that mother was still waiting for further explanation. Uncle then coughed and continued.

"So, there are only two solutions to this. He either has to be blessed with [Stamina Boost] or drink a Stamina Potion every time he has to do any strenuous activity until his body gets used to the arcana he generates. Sis, I'm sure you are capable of doing the former at least since you were once a priestess"

Mother then nodded.

"How long would this routine have to continue?"

"I can't provide an accurate estimation, but there will surely come a point in time when his body stops collapsing due to fatigue caused by doing minor tasks."

Mother then sighed in relief and father decided to place his hand on top of my head. I really hate it when people do that. Abusing the fact that they are taller than me right now. My parents then decided to thank uncle and I did so as well.

"Since it's getting late, you should go and head towards the Moonchaser's Inn in the next block. I advise you not to go traveling at night."

My parents nodded and agreed with his advice, left the church, and got inside the "car". We then head to the inn suggested to us.