2 Chapter 2: My Strange New Life

I can only tell you one thing, and that is the fact that being reborn sucks! It's been a month since I woke up and since I tried my best to interact with the kids and caretakers in the orphanage. They were all kind and caring, but it also somewhat annoyed me because I was being treated as a child.

Yeah, that's my problem. As an adult, it was difficult for me to understand the relationship that children have. Plus, there was also the fact that I didn't have too many friends aside from a couple from college. Socially, I was absolutely unsure of how to interact with these kids.

Though the greatest problem for me were the caretakers. There were two caretakers: one was a young lady in her 20s named Chloe, and the other was an old lady named Ava. When I saw a person who was around the same age as me treat me like a child, it sort of triggered me. I know it sounds childish, and I would have thought the same before, but now that I'm experiencing it in person, all I can say is that it is cringe.

My rant is now over. I can get started with the important things I've learned in the past month. I was adopted here as a one year old when a lady (probably my mother) left me at the entrance of the orphanage. According to what I've learned, the orphanage home is located somewhere in Italy, and we are most likely under the jurisdiction of the Vatican Holy Church.

From the looks of things, this orphanage is just a place to train kids to become exorcists. From my memories, I can definitely tell that the adults were preaching quite a lot about the Bible and practically grooming us to become exorcists.

The caretakers told us that when we turned 7, we had to go to the Vatican to start our normal education and combat training. I certainly wasn't looking forward to it because, in my previous life, I wasn't exactly an active outdoor guy; I mostly spent my time inside messing with my computer. In addition, I was an atheist who believed in humanity's progress and the power of science and technology rather than in gods.

Still, joining the church is the best option because, without sufficient strength, I'll just end up dying early in this world.

The only issue now is the fact that I still have a year till I can officially get into the Vatican as an exorcist trainee. I'll have to somehow make use of my time this year to prepare for my enrollment.

…

"PLEASE TEACH ME HOW TO FIGHT!"

"Pardon me, what did you just say?" Grandma Ava inquired, her face betraying her confusion.

"I want to learn how to fight!" I repeated myself once again.

This was something that everyone in the orphanage knew, but Grandma Ava used to be a former exorcist who retired as she grew older, so I thought that asking her was the best option if I wanted to get started.

"Haahhh... "Now why would you want to do that now?" She sighed in exasperation at my response.

"I want to become strong enough to help people and serve the Lord." I "innocently" answered, with determination showing in my face.

"You will go to the Vatican next year anyway, so I think you should just enjoy your life now," Ava reprimanded me.

"What why? I want to learn now! Pleeeease!" I pleaded as I demonstrated my ultimate technique, puppy dog eyes.

"Urrgghh… fine… I teach you the basics, but it will be very difficult." Grandma Ava relented as she succumbed to my ultimate technique.

That was what started my hellish training. Just like Grandma Ava told me, training was very difficult. She prepared a jam packed schedule for me to follow every day. Just as she had promised, she taught me how to use a sword, taught me how to feel and use magic power, and had me do tons of exercise every day.

Frankly, if a child my age did all this training, it would be more harmful than good, but for some reason I felt stronger and better than ever as I continuously did these exercises. Perhaps it is anime logic, which transcends what I previously considered normal.

…

"Okay, now start."

It's been pretty much a year now, and I'm currently sparring with Sister Chloe, who was also an exorcist but retired early.

*Ting*

I swung my short sword at Sister Chloe, who easily blocked it with one hand. I backed off to reposition myself and swung my sword again at her side. Seeing my sword, she moved to block it, but I suddenly weakened the force of my sword and swung it in a different direction. Realizing that my previous move was a feint, she leaned to the side to avoid my sword and stepped back.

"Nice move, kid."

Then, as I was left open after my swing, she took the chance and tried to strike me with her sword. Knowing I couldn't completely block, the only thing I could do was use the handle of my blade to block it and redirect the strike to the side.

Using that split second, I charged straight forward with my sword gripped in my hand. Just as I thought it was my victory, she somehow avoided me, swerved around me using her agility, and struck me with her sword.

"Do you yield?" she asked with her sword at my neck.

"Yes, ma'am," I surrendered as I dropped my sword.

"Alright, nice job, Tristan. You have improved quite a lot in just one year." Sis Chloe praised me as she patted my head.

"How was that nice?" "I still lost to you in the end, and you probably didn't even go all out." I shot back with a rather dismal tone of voice.

"No, she was right." Tristan None of us could compare to you when we were your age. "You are much more talented than you think," said Grandma Ava as she walked over from the sidelines where she watched our fight.

"I guess so," I muttered, but I was still very dissatisfied. Knowing that all these monstrous individuals exist in the world just made me nervous and made me want to train harder.

For the past year, just like how I practiced using my sword, I also practiced using the power I got when I came to this world. The Mystic Eyes of Death Perception is basically a power that allows our eyes and brain to "perceive death."

It was an ability that seemed very overpowered at first glance, but once you look at it closely, you'll realize it has its own weaknesses, like all other abilities.

The first time I used these eyes, I had a splitting headache and fever, and I couldn't move for a week. But as I kept practicing, I learned to keep it active longer, and the pain also lessened.

One troublesome issue with this eye was that it was extremely hard to find things to test it on. So, during one of my breaks in the afternoon, I got permission to explore the woods in the back of the forest, where I used my eyes to cut down branches and trees to train myself. So after that, every time I got a break, I went to the forest and kept practicing. The result of my training was very successful. It only took me about 9 months for me to start using the Mystic Eyes somewhat proficiently.

Overall, all I can say is that this past year was just extremely busy, and it is probably going to get even busier once I finally join the Vatican.

…

The day finally came when the kids were taken to the Vatican. We met with a priest and got a brief overview of what we were getting into. What surprised me the most was that we actually got to choose whether we wanted to join the Vatican as exorcists. If we didn't want to, we could get a different job in the church or go back to the orphanage to pursue a normal career.

I was definitely sure that they were going to force the kids into becoming exorcists, but it seems that they aren't as bad as I thought they were. As most would know, I obviously volunteered to become an exorcist, and a few other kids also did the same. Most of the other kids were too immature and couldn't exactly make a proper decision yet, so they decided to stay at the orphanage and get a normal education.

It was early in the morning on a Monday, and I was told to gather at the training grounds. We were assigned some dorm rooms yesterday, and we will officially start our combat training today. There were many kids, roughly around 30 or so kids my age, gathered for training. I stood at the back of the crowd, observing all the kids while waiting for our instructor to arrive.

It only took a few more minutes until a woman wearing a nun outfit walked up to the front. She had curly blonde hair and light amethyst eyes, and had a smile on her face, creating a friendly atmosphere around her.

After looking at the audience for a few seconds, she opened her mouth and said, "Hello everyone, my name is Anna, and I'm going to be your instructor for the next few years."

She paused and looked at the audience's reaction before she continued, "Okay, so for the first day we will start with a test."

…

The so called test was a way for Instructor Anna to gauge our current abilities and possible talents. It basically consisted of running around the field, doing some exercises, swinging around weapons, testing our talent in magic, and such things. This whole event lasted until late at night. The instructor wrote down a lot of things and kept nodding at me whenever I was tested, which just made me particularly nervous.

As we were finishing up and heading back to our dorms, I was told by Instructor Anna to wait behind.

"So your name is Tristan, right?" Instructor Anna questioned me.

"Umm, yes, it is," I replied, my nervousness visible on my face.

"There's no need to be nervous; I didn't call you out for something bad," she reassured me with a smile.

But for some reason, seeing that smile made me even more nervous. I mean, who wouldn't be nervous when they were singled out by a teacher.

"So, I wanted to ask, did you have some prior training before this?" She directly questioned me, which just confused me. Wouldn't most people ask this more discreetly, or am I just lacking in communication skills.

I immediately replied by saying, "Granny Ava in my orphanage just taught me some basics."

After a few seconds of silence, I heard a small gasp from the instructor. I was absolutely confused at this point, and I just wanted to get out of here.

"I see… "Was the granny's name Ava Garcia?" she questioned me again with a rather suspicious smile on her face.

"Ahh...I believe that was her name."

After my reply, I saw the instructor's face bloom. She had a full on grin at this point, which made me wonder if she was someone who knew Grandma Ava.

"Well, this is almost fate, I would say," she laughed brightly.

"Uhh… "Do you know Grandma Ava?" I was still doubtful about this situation.

"Yeah, I knew her quite well. "She was the one who raised me and trained me as an exorcist," she said, her face filled with nostalgia.

"I guess that sort of makes me your big sister," she said, looking at me with a gentle smile on her face.

"Huh…w-what?" I stuttered, not understanding this sudden development. It was almost as if I was living in a manga plotline.

Oh wait! I totally live in one.

"From now on, you can call me Big Sister Anna in private," she said with a smile.

"Ah, okay, I guess," my mouth responded automatically, while my mind was still in disarray.