A week passed by, and Matthew finally bothered to learn the names of some of the other children. The energetic seeker was Carl, and although Matt tried to learn the other participants’ names he forgot them the next day and didn’t bother relearning.

The stoic boy was Nicholas, and the noble girl was Elizabeth although she always told everyone to call her Beth. Something about her mother saying not everyone deserves to say your full name. Also both of their last names were overly complicated so Matthew decided to forego memorizing them.

As Matthew arrived in the classroom Carl waved him over to his table. “Oh great it’s filled with those children whose name I’ve forgotten.” Matthew sported one of the fakest smiles of his life and said “Hey guys!” A quick glance around the room and one would notice Beth isn’t here.

“Guys have you seen Beth?” asked Matthew. All of the surrounding boys gave him a queer look, but Carl and the other boys at the table showed Carl’s infamous shit eating grin.

“Oooo Matthew likes Beth!” shouted Carl. Everyone in the room, including Miss Williams, stared at their table.

“What have I told you about yelling in the classroom Carl...?” Miss Williams gave an overdramatic sigh and walked to the center of the classroom. The surrounding kids except Matthew and Dylan laughed at both Carl and Matthew, while the victim rolled his eyes and the offender turned beet red from embarrassment.

“Alright settle down everyone I have an important announcement to make. It saddens me to inform everyone that Elizabeth will be leaving school from now on.” This news was welcomed by a chorus of boos and confusion. One girl who seemed to be close to her even started crying.

Another boy suddenly shouted “That’s not fair!” but was quickly subdued by the glares of fellow female classmates.

“Now settle down please children! It’s important not to overreact in situations” A quick shift of her glasses and Miss Williams continued “Elizabeth was recruited into the Valkyries. I know all of you are too young to understand what they are, but just know she’s one of the few boys and girls who will grow up to serve and protect us.” As she finished you could see a gaze of worship and admiration on Williams’ face.

However Matthew’s face was filled with confusion. “What the hell are Valkyries? I’ve never heard of this group or association…The fact they’re recruiting children to serve and protect is concerning. I thought we already saved the world, but are the remnants of the Demonic Army providing that much trouble? How far have we fallen…” Matthew’s somber soliloquy was interrupted by the shouting of Carl.

“Miss Williams how come we didn’t get into the Val-cries?” Carl had an indignant look on his plain face. His short brown hair made him look like a typical commoner.

“Even I don’t know the answer to that. However don’t let that make you feel any less special than you all already are!” To exaggerate her point Miss Williams raised her first in the air. The whole class erupted in a cheer, while Matt felt his headache increasing by the minute.

“It looks like I may not be having such a carefree life after all. I need more opportunities to train.” The rest of the day passed by like a blur, and Matthew stared at his father before reaffirming himself.

As Evelyn and the rest of the maids placed the food on the table, Matthew finally asked what has been on his mind all day.

“Dad I want to be strong like you.” Eric halted the beef that was going to enter his body, and with his mouth still open he stared at Matthew. In fact everyone in the room stared at Matthew, but the only one that mattered was Eric’s. He was trying to pressure him with his aura, perhaps see how strong his conviction was. Although testing the seriousness of a normal five year old raises questions in itself, Matthew was no normal five year old.

What seemed like minutes passed until Eric sighed and continued eating his food. “Alright son although you’re more mature for kids your age the road you’ll be walking in will be a long and arduous one. I’ll give you one chance to back out now.” His only response was silence and so he continued “I don’t know what brought this up, but I can only assume it’s the appearance of the Valkyries.” Eric gave another long sigh.

“What are the Valkyries?” Matthew asked. Surprisingly it was his mother who answered “A joint group of elites and geniuses from the Griffin and Elven Kingdoms. Normally some forces from the Dragon Dynasty would've been included, however circumstances led to their exclusion. The seven heroes led them in battle against the Demon King 300 years ago.”

“Huh? We never did that? We were chosen by the Guardian Goddess herself. What the hell is going on here...” Matthew couldn’t help but make another confused face. Eric noticing this gave a hearty laugh and said “Of course you wouldn’t understand all of this right now. When I enroll you in the Academy you’ll understand eventually.”

After dinner Matthew excused himself from his family and went back to his room. His headache was coming back in large strides. “I assumed I reincarnated in the same world due to the portions of the Great War I’ve heard, but is that really the case? This world’s heroes have the same name, but the history surrounding the war is different. I won’t figure this out anytime soon that’s for sure.” Matt sat on his bed and started increasing the width of his mana veins. Once they finally get to [Ethereal], Matthew’s veins will become part of his soul and will no longer be in his body. He’ll still get all of the benefits without having to worry about crippling them in battle.

With more questions than answers the pain accompanying the training soon drowned out his thoughts. Matthew would begin his training with Eric tomorrow afternoon, instead of going to the Bakery. Few youth trained in either Mana or Aura in the single digits, and those that did usually became legends or died trying. Matt sure wasn’t planning on trying, as he has done it once and damn sure can do it again.