27th King, Laurance day 14648

  My name is Heath Ashton. I’ve decided to start a journal. As the protagonist of this world, I should leave something behind for my fellow countrymen to follow in my footsteps. It has been 14 years since I arrived in this world. In this world, children do not dream. Dreams grant power. Everyone has their first dream on their 15th birthday known as their awakening. Soon I will have my first dream and become an adult. Among my peers I have trained harder than anyone in order to awaken a body aspect.

  Since being born here I have dedicated my time to two tasks. Understanding the world, I am in and training my body. As the oldest son my father, Baron Ashton, has raised me to be the heir to the Ashton family. My father became a Baron through his military achievements serving under the 26th king. To follow in his footsteps, he has raised me to awaken a body aspect.

  In this world, how you live your life dictates what aspect you will awaken. Nobles have done lots of research on the awakening in order to awaken the best aspect for their children. Although it's not completely understood, some aspects are easier to force an awakening for than others. The Beginners Guide to Awakening describes it better than I can.

  “There are nine known aspects. After awakening an aspect, it is recommended that you follow a known, safe path to higher ascensions.

  Knowledge, the pursuit of wisdom and the truth. Often awakening in those who dedicate themselves to school and study

  Faith, the unwavering faith in a higher being. Often awakening in those who routinely worship in the church.

  Body, the rigorous training of oneself. Often awakening in athletic children, especially those who practice sword combat.

  Beast, the primal instincts of the mind. An unfavorable aspect, awakening a beast may cause you to be heavily monitored as many paths are dangerous. Often awakens from excessive isolation and uncivilized lifestyles.

  Blood, the whispers of taboo corrupt your mind. Often awakens from severe trauma, uncured mental illness or those who indulge in sin. Depending on the region, they are heavily monitored or even killed on sight. If you fear you might awaken a blood aspect, it is recommended to see a therapist or priest immediately.

  Fantasy, the naive hope for more than the world has to offer. Appears in those bored with the monotony of life who lack ambition.

  Craft, the pursuit of perfecting your work and leaving behind your legacy. Often awakening in those who create, innovate, and theorize new products and ideas.

  Nature, the love of the world and its creations. Tends to awaken in those with joyous childhoods. Tests done to force a nature aspect to awaken often ended in awakening the beast aspect. It is recommended that you don't actively seek out this awakening, only letting it occur naturally.

  Observer, the impartial spectators of the world. a rare aspect for those who do not align with the other aspects. Any attempts to force an observer aspect to awaken ended in fantasy, beast, or blood aspects awakening.”

  My father has set his expectations on me to become the heir. Most noblemen pursue a body aspect or a knowledge aspect. While I pursue a body aspect, my younger brother will most likely gain a knowledge aspect since he spends most of his time studying.

  Despite reincarnating as the protagonist of this world, I haven't been lazy in my training. At the knight’s school I'm the strongest among my age group gaining the admiration of my peers. Once I turn 15 and gain my body aspect, I can begin my knight training until I have my first vision.

  In this world there are three types of dreams. Awakenings, visions, and ascensions. At 15 everyone will have their awakening and gain an aspect. After that you must follow a path to ascend higher. If you follow a path well, a higher being will grant you a vision instructing you on how to ascend. After completing their ritual or task, you will have your ascension dream gaining more power.

  The school I attend is for becoming an ascension one knight, a very popular path that is well studied. After gaining a body awakening, the school helps teach you sword play and honor until you have your first vision for the knight ascension. After becoming a knight, the most well studied path is to become an ascension two holy knight and then an ascension three paladin.

  The higher ascension you are, the closer you come to being a higher being. Someone who is ascension eight would seem like a god compared to someone who never had their first ascension. Because of this, it's widely accepted that following a popular well studied path is the safest and fastest way to gain power. The path I am taking is well documented and sets me up to become a powerful figure in this world if I dedicate myself to it properly.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Setting the book down onto my desk, I arise and study myself in the mirror. A strong defined body with chiseled abs that would make me from my past life seethe in envy. My face is adorned with blue eyes and a pronounced jawline, with flowing grey hair that is shared by everyone in the Ashton family. To be honest I've become a bit narcissistic because of this. Because I'm pursuing a body aspect, my training has formed my body into a work of art. Tall, fit, beautiful, my entire body is perfect. I'm not oblivious to the stares of my peers or the maids in the barony who gossip about my looks.

  Knock knock

  The light knock on the door brings me out of my admiration as I let go of the pose I was striking in the mirror.

  “Master Heath, I've come to help you get dressed.”

  “Come in.”

  At first, I was apprehensive about letting the maids assist me. After all, it was a bit embarrassing to be changed by a woman and let her see my body after living independently for so long. Naturally, I've come to realize that it is simply the way of the world that others will serve me. As the protagonist, I was born into a noble family for a reason, and they were not.

  This maid is one of my favorites, so I requested my father to make her my personal maid. I particularly like that every time she sees my exposed upper body she can't help but blush and avert her eyes. Because of this I always make her help put my shirt on in the mornings. The way she keeps her eyes downcast to the floor while she buttons up my shirt, and how she has to stand on her toes and reach up to fix the collar of my shirt is a wonderful feeling. Her arms always rest against my chest for a moment, and I can tell she is hesitating to pull away after. Her face flushes as she tucks my shirt in, her small hands quickly move across my hips, careful not to rest in one place for too long. She leaves the room in a hurry after finishing her task, closing the door behind her. It's wonderful being the protagonist, isn't it?

  Giving myself one last glance in the mirror, I put my coat on and left the room. The Ashton Barony isn’t as fancy as some other noble houses but I’m sure that once I take control of the house things will change. It is important for the protagonist to have humble origins and a tragic backstory after all. Grabbing a scone from the kitchen, I head out of the large double doors of the barony. I always chose to walk to knight’s school instead of riding the carriage. Originally this was a chance to train my body more, but my intentions have changed. The gazes that linger on me as I walk through the streets fill me with confidence. Comparing myself to the men who glance at me makes me feel so powerful. My height is taller, my clothes are more expensive, my face more handsome, and my build stronger.

  I stride into the knight’s school with a confident smile ready to practice and duel my peers. Of course, as the protagonist I always win these duels. There is one person in particular I love to duel. Roman Blythe, the son of the duke. His defiant attitude really pisses me off. Even though I am obviously stronger he always seeks out dueling me to test himself against me. I suppose he is something of the school bully in this story. Even when I break his wrist, bruise his face, and humiliate him he still shows up to challenge me as soon as he is better. His relentless bullying gets shamelessly overlooked by the knight instructors since I am able to handle it on my own. He always starts his bullying by throwing his filthy glove in my direction challenging me to a duel. Last time his glove even touched the sleeve of my coat when he carelessly tossed it at me. I of course had the coat burned as soon as I returned from school that day.

  It’s quite typical of the protagonist's story, isn’t it? Just because my father is a baron and Roman’s is a duke, he thinks so highly of himself. Sometimes he smirks when we fight as if he has any chance of landing a hit on me. Quite frankly it’s embarrassing. I made sure to knee him in the face last time he did this to knock out his stupid ivory white teeth. Unfortunately, his family has access to quite good healers so no matter what I do he always shows up the next day ready to duel as if nothing happened. If I wasn’t so much stronger, it would be me who ended up with injuries ruining my perfect visage. Although I am from a noble family, If I broke a limb or lost my teeth it wouldn’t be as simple as showing up tomorrow perfectly fine.

  Of course, Roman is well aware of this, otherwise he wouldn’t relentlessly challenge me to duels that he always loses. His envy of my beauty makes him endure the pain in the hope that he will win one duel, or land one hit in order to bring me down to his filthy level. Roman is just the early game villain in the academy arc meant to antagonize the protagonist in a sense. Decent looks and stronger than most but he can’t get over his obsession with me, unable to be content with living in my shadow.

  There he is waiting for me as always excited to bully me again today. He waves at me from across the training hall as soon as I enter.

  “Heath! Let’s spar again today. I awakened a body aspect last night!” He shouts cheerily.

  He threw his disgusting spotless white glove at me again today, flashing his flawless smile as always. His indistinctive brown hair makes him look like a dirty commoner in comparison to my Ashton family’s beautiful gray hair. His bright green eyes and clear smile always make him look excited and happy. I just wish today I can finally beat him badly enough that he realizes the difference between us and stops his fruitless attempts to challenge me. When he loses to me today despite being a body awakener, he will realize the difference between the protagonist and the villain. It will only be more humiliating than normal for him to lose to someone who hasn’t turned 15 yet. I can’t wait to see the way his face contorts in fear as he realizes he still can’t beat me.