Being in the hands of the treacherous Madam Stone was surprisingly mild. All she did was cast a spell that seemed to wash his body over with a blue light and do some physical checkups before declaring him fine and going to bring his family in.

Max waited in the orange room that still had a lingering heat in the air that made one feel comfortable and stared at the white door that led outside the room. There were no windows in this room and it was lit up by lightbulbs attached to the sealing that basked the room in a yellow glow.

'My family... Guess I got to get used to it now.' Max thought to himself before the doorknob to the room he was in turned abruptly.

In a matter of seconds, he was surrounded by the loving embrace of his father while his sister and brother stood a respectful distance away. His grandfather stared deeply at him from a distance and a small smile graced his face after seeing the condition Max was in.

"Maxwell Blacklock! You have worried us so much though I suppose a lightning strike couldn't have been planned nor executed by you." His father said while finally releasing Max from his bear-like hug after Max let out a light squeak

After stepping backward a small distance Max got a fresh look at his father. He was a startling tall man who stood at about 6 foot 2 inches and had short brown hair that was neatly combed to the side, though a few defiant hairs stood out from the crowd and made themselves very pronounced. His black eyes stared deeply into Max's eyes and seemed to be trying to bore holes through him as he was trying to gauge the condition of his son.

'Will they know I'm not their son?' Max thought to himself in alarm before smiling brightly and going forward, attempting to hug his father once more which his father reacted to by chuckling lightly and hugging him back, this time more gently than the previous time.

"My little Max. You seem in perfect condition thanks to Madam Stones' delicate care." Father said before stepping backward and finally allowing the rest of the family to get a good look at Max.

Max's brother and sister stood at the same height at around 5 feet tall. They had the same grey hair and black eyes and even wore similar styles of clothes. They both had simple black clothing adorned with grey belts, shoes, and buttons. The only difference was that his sister wore a simple skirt and his brother wore dress pants and a vest.

'Twins! I remember now.'

'Saph and Rube!' Max recounted fondly at the various times in which his siblings had bickered between each other and the other times where they held firm behind each other's backs.

"Family at last..." Max whispered gently before going to hug the both of them with tears welling in his eyes.

Saph, his sister, grasped him dearly while Rube stood to the side gazing at him warmly while scanning him for any signs of injury.

After a few seconds of hugging his sister, he went in for a hug from Rube who looked startled at the sudden physical contact before he smiled brightly and hugged back.

"If only you had magic now Maxy. You would have been able to take that lightning bolt on head-on!" Rube said while patting his head.

Saph scoffed sarcastically before adding "Don't be fooled by him, Max. Magic is hard and even I haven't gotten to that level let alone Rube."

Saph stuck her tongue out at Rube before crossing her hands and staring back at max while a warm smile graced her face.

"Settle down children." An old and commanding voice echoed out.

Max, startled, looked around the room and found the perpetrator. His Great Grandfather. Onyx Blacklock. The Head of The House of Blacklocks and the most powerful magic-user in the family.

His Great Grandfather wore a formal suit that was simply black with no great details yet his clothes were immaculate and though not necessarily fancy they still held an air that commanded respect.

"Neither of you will be taking on lightning bolts any time soon seeing as even myself would have trouble tackling one."

"Yes, Grandfather!" Saph and Rube said in unison as they both quieted down and stepped gently away from Max.

"Now come here, Max!" His Great Grandfather said before bending down on one knee and opening his arms to the little Max.

Max, feeling his fear disappearing by the second, ran forward into his gramps's arms and hugged him as hard as possible.

The grey hair on his grandfather's face gently scratched Max's face and Max giggled with happiness at being with his Great Grandfather once more.

"You had me worried kiddo... I'm glad your back Max. I mean it. I missed you."

"Gramps... How long was I out?" Max asked in a childish voice that came naturally.

"... 2 months."

Max felt surprise well within him as his jaw dropped.

"T-Two Months? That means... My birthday..."

"Yes Max, your Birthday has come and passed. Much has come of late and you're very behind in your studies. Your 5 years old young man and that means you need to start acting like one though I know for you it seemed like mere minutes ago you were four."

"You can do it, Max. I believe in you." Gramps said before gently patting Max on the shoulder.

---

Two months had come and passed and Max felt like he had finally gotten accustomed to his life here in the Blacklock Manor. It was in a secluded portion of some forests near a large city called Ghalith. It was supposedly one of two port cities on their continent and were places focused solely on the export and import of goods as well as national relations.

Max's family was seldom near but when they were he spent his time entranced in the stories they had to tell and the adventures they had gone on and these times were times that Max held close to his heart.

But now was not one of those times or at least not yet.

Max stared intently at a rubber bouncy ball that lay a few feet away from him on the ground. It wasn't too far or too close, perhaps just out of arms reach, but something about it was so infuriating to Max about this stupid rubber ball. And that was the fact that it wouldn't move.

Max had delved into his studies hoping that his Father and Gramps would give him more information on magic but the word or even the act of magic seldom happened around the house and when it did it was done simply almost as if without effort.

The only information Max had been getting in his studies was of simpler things. He learned the ins and outs of etiquette and what was appropriate for him to do in any given situation. It could be anything as simple as how to eat or how to hold himself when he stood or sat to as complicated as how to dance in a ball or how to address people of different titles depending on the situation. It was tedious but necessary for a Blacklock to have ingrained into them from a young age.

He also learned things like Math and English which Max rather liked. It was boring and repetitive but it held a sort of simplistic charm that made it feel good to learn.

Now history... history was the worst. He learned about long-forgotten wars and the names of people who did little to contribute to society except for their atrocities or fixing of said atrocities. It was boring and he wished he could have skipped it all together but understood it as something that needed to be learned thoroughly. I mean without it he wouldn't even know the name of the continent he was in. Even though the history of Lockthar was boring it was essential.

But magic was nowhere to be found. It seemed like magic was something only the children of the household spoke of and even then they didn't know much about it.

A sudden knock threw Max out of his thoughts and his gaze that had lingered on the bouncy ball in front of him quickly turned to the open door that led into his room.

His brother stood at the door wearing formal wear. Max gave him an inquisitive look before he noticed that Rube wasn't smiling whatsoever like his normal self usually did.

"Maxy... Come here and give your brother one last hug." Rube said before kneeling to hug Max.

But Max didn't come. No instead he stood there and stared at Rube with confusion in his gaze.

'Last hug? What the hell does this idiot think he's doing? Going to war? I mean really.' Max thought before voicing out his confusion.

"Last hug?"

Rube nodded gently as a reassuring smile washed over his face.

"I finally had my magic awakening. It's been 4 months since I turned 10 but I finally have had it. Saph also had it. On the same day as I actually, a funny thing with twins is we usually awaken at around the same time. "

"Magic Awakening?" Max said with interest yet his voice spoke more of anxiety than anything else.

"Yeah kiddo. Magic Awakening. You probably haven't have learned about it yet seeing as you are only 5 and all but it's what happens that lets people cast magic. It's what really starts all of our lives. After you awaken you... have to go to school. Go to a place to control and monitor your power. So you can get better at using it and become someone of worth someday though I know we have no worries of being of note seeing as we are Blacklocks."

"And don't worry. We will visit frequently it is just that we have to learn more about magic and grow as people. We had to leave the nest eventually and I guess that time was just sooner rather than later."

After some more talk with his brother, Max was left alone with his studies.

'I couldn't even tell Saph goodbye. She was too busy packing...' Max thought to himself as he turned his gaze from one of the lengthy books on mathematics to the rubber ball.

"You wasted two months of my life only for me to find out that I can't even use magic until I turn 10" Max said as his voice got progressively more angry by the second.

"Two. Whole! MONTHS !" Max shouted as he raised his hands and slammed them down onto the bouncy ball in a stupid attempt at releasing his anger.

But something strange happened. Max felt something well up inside of him similar to the time lightning came out of his fingers. It was the feeling of a balloon expanding in the pit of his stomach. The feeling of inflation. Of being filled with energy. It poured out of every pore of his body as he slammed his fists down against the rubber ball yet when contact came nothing happened.

Instead of a heavy bang, all he could hear was gentle pop as his fist made contact with the ball. Max immediately turned his gaze to the ball but all he could see was a smooshed mess of rubber.

"Wait that means!" Max said out loud before taking a sharp inhale of breath. 'Calm down Maxwell. You need to be calm and rational.'

'I did something. That means I can do magic before I have my magic awakening. But obviously, this isn't a known fact. Or perhaps it's because I transmigrated or reincarnated or whatever here.'

'But that means one thing. No one but I can know this. Or else...' Max's thoughts started to turn down a not-so-healthy path. He shook his head before clearing his mind once more.

The pain started to resonate through Max's temples and he moved his right pointer finger to the side of his forehead and began gently massaging it.

'I have plenty of time to practice while alone though most of my days are spent with my teachers. I should be able to dedicate the majority of this private time to magic while being able to stay ahead in my studies. It's not like I'm a kid mentally after all.'

'But how do I replicate that feeling?' Max pondered as he thought back to the almost high feeling that had overcome him when he began casting his magic.

He felt as if his head was in the clouds and as if energy itself was overflowing his body, releasing through every inch of skin he had on his hide.

Max smiled as he remembered the feeling. It felt good, no great. It felt magnificent.

Max continued to rub his temples as he rose his other hand to the ball and attempted to focus.

'Perhaps I can replicate it with focus?'

'No no that wouldn't work or I would have been able to do it in the last two months of practice.'

"Hmm"

'Perhaps focus on that feeling? It was worth a shot.'

Max put his hand out once more and focused on the sensation he had felt mere moments before.

'As light as a ballon. As high as air.' Max repeated in his mind over and over again as he stared intently at the ball.

Nothing seemed to happen for minutes yet Max persisted. After nearly three minutes had passed but he was still staring intently at the mushy rubber on the ground.

Then something came over him. A light buzz filled his body as his eyes flashed with a glint of energy. The ball began to move. Not in a deflating matter as before but instead it started to float.

It slowly rose through the air and made about an inch off the floor before falling to the ground once more.

"Aaagh" Max let out a small shout as his headache grew stronger. He felt something hot run down his face and as he raised his hand from his temple to his face he looked down to see fresh blood.

'A nose bleed. How classic.' He thought and went to get something to stop it with.

'Progress...' Max thought to himself as the blood flow finally stopped.

'All someone needs is progress and they can go farther. All they need is to see improvement... to know they are not stagnant. And that alone is motivation to move on.'