Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Blood poured from my mouth as I laid back against the wall of the reception hall, a bullet hole through my throat, and another three in my chest. I was accompanied by the bodies of more than twenty of my friends and family, who had also gotten caught up in this mess. I was forced to watch as a man, dressed in a suit splattered in blood and wearing a mask, fired relentlessly into the fleeing crowd with his light machine-gun. The 7.62 rounds tore through their flesh with ease, causing one after another to drop to the ground, either dead or dying.

‘ They’d attack… this? ’ I thought, eyes turning bloodshot from being unable to breath. ‘ This was… supposed to be… a unity between dad’s gang… and theirs… their members are among… that crowd… ’

‘ Unless ,’ my mind came to a conclusion. ‘ A rogue agent… discontent with the feud’s peaceful end… Come to think of it, uncle Patrick was the only one who couldn’t come… ’

If I could sigh, I would’ve. ‘ I never wanted to… be apart of any of this… damn you, dad… dragging me into your petty war… ’

A man came from beneath a table and talked the gunman, whom I suspected to be Patrick - my uncle. The two men fell to the ground, and the gun fell to the ground a short distance from me. Patrick was significantly bigger than the man who had tacked him, the rival gang leader Johnny, and I could tell who the victor would be in a moment. I could still move - I could stop this.

I tried to turn onto my side, but the pain wracking my body only doubled. This made me pause for a moment, but I couldn’t stop, now. If Patrick wasn’t stopped, more people would die. Bloody bubbles escape the hole in my throat as I grunted in exertion, falling onto my face and reaching towards the gun. Slowly, I dragged myself across the blood-slick floor as I listened to the sound of pained moans, screams, and the nearby fistfight.

‘ I’m sorry, uncle, ’ I though as I reached the gun. My vision started to fade due to oxygen deprivation. ‘ I don’t know what drove you to this, but it can’t continue… ’ I rotated the gun on the floor, unable to lift it, and pointed it in Patrick and Johnny’s direction. ‘At least my life will… finally mean something…’

I pulled the trigger, causing seven bullets to fire from the muzzle. Five of them struck Patrick in the back, while one flew past the two. The seventh went through Johnny’s leg, but it was a non-fatal would, from what I could see. Patrick collapsed instantly, dead, while Johnny fell to one knee. I turned onto my back and stared up at the ceiling, muscles starting to spasm as I lost control of my body. I could feel it coming, death. Like ice spreading through me as my heart came to a stop.

Johnny kneeling beside me, grabbing my hand and holding a hand over my throat.

“Sterling!” He yelled, looking into my eyes. “You got him! Everything will be okay, just hold on!”

Tears fell down my blood-covered face as I stared up at him. I always liked Johnny, even if he and my father were at odds. He was a kind man, and a good father, and I respected him for it. Whenever he and I came across each other, he was always courteous, and didn’t demean me like everyone else. He knew I never wanted to be a part of this.

I wanted to speak, to tell him that he was like a second father to me, but my lungs had stopped working. My vision faded to black as my body started to convulse, then everything went still.

The next thing I knew, I was staring up at the face of a white-haired woman with eyes that shifted between blue and green. She also had cat ears, but those could just be cosplay. The pain was gone completely, as was my fear. Had I survived? Passed out, and been taken to the hospital? Was this woman a doctor, checking up on me?

“Look, honey,” she said, glancing across the room. I struggled to turn my head to follow her gaze, finding that a man was sitting in a luxurious chair across the room, looking at the woman and I with teary eyes. His crimson hair was well-manicured, as was his trim beard, and his eyes shifted between black, brown, and red. “He’s woken up! His eyes are so beautiful!”

‘ Okay, what the hell is this? ’ I questioned, squinting. Some random woman I don’t know, in my hospital room, commenting on my eyes like I’m a… baby. ‘ Oh, ’ I realized. ‘ Okay, don’t freak out. You’re a logical person, you can work this out. ’ Only, I couldn’t come up with a logical answer for why I was here. It was far too late for me to be saved from those bullet wounds, so that was out. Heaven was an option, as I always tried to be a good person, but this didn’t feel like Heaven.

‘ I was reincarnated, then? ’ My eyes widened. ‘ I remembered Anne talking about stories where people get reborn with their memories, but that was just fiction! Maybe I’m having a delusion in my death? ’ How was Anne? Did she survive the attack? I hope she did…

The man stood from his chair and approached, taking me up in his arms and staring down at me. Jeez, I really am a baby, aren’t I? “Alistair Eil, second Prince of Eilon,” he said, apparently naming me.

‘ Second prince? Don’t tell me I got reborn as the son of a King in a fantasy world! Is that was the eyes are about? Does this place have magic, then? ’ I had to force myself to calm down, before I nerded out. The King noticed my eyes widening and smiled softly.

“Hello, Alistair. I am Aedon, your father, and I promise to care for you until my dying breath,” King Aedon said, eyes swirling in color. Did my eyes look like that? Did I have magic? No, calm down.

“Don’t hog him!” The woman, whom I would presume to be my mother, snatched me from Aedon’s arms and sat down where the King had been a few moments prior. “He wants some time with his mommy, clearly!” 

 Aedon simply chuckled and knelt next to the chair, continuing to watch me. Gosh, the idea of having a second set of parents was both scary and exciting. My mother was never around, in my first life, especially after she cheating on my father. Even before that, their marriage wasn’t healthy, and Anne and I suffered for it.

These two appeared to have a loving relationship, though. Playful and caring. It was… refreshing, after seeing my first parents fight so much. Haha, ‘first parents’… I really have embraced the idea of being reincarnated, haven’t I? I guess I was always good at adapting to strange situations. I was the brains behind my father’s gang, after all, even if I was only seventeen. He and the rest of them were… not very bright. At least they managed to figure out how to fix relations with Johnny’s gang, by marrying Anne to Johnny’s son.

The wedding was tense, but eased as soon as the vows were spoken. The reception was amazing, until Patrick ruined it.

“Look, honey, he’s thinking about something!” My new mother said excitedly, poking at my cheek. “Oh, I ruined it.”

“Thinking, when he’s only three hours old? I think we may have a genius on our hands, Rel,” Aedon chuckled. “His eyes, too… attuned at birth?”

“I almost couldn’t believe it, when Jade handed him to me,” Rel commented. “He’s got your fire!”

“And he’ll undoubtedly get your water, when he attuned further,” Aedon leaned over and kissed his wife. “Look, he’s staring right at us. It’s like he understands us!”

Cocking my tiny head to the side, I smiled at them. It was weird, not having teeth, but at least I was still a boy. I didn’t want to get used to having girl parts after having a penis for seventeen years.

Before the two rulers could comment on my apparent reaction, the door opened and a boy, about eight years old, walked into the room. He had the same red hair as Aedon, with green eyes. This had to be the first Prince, future King.

“Ravelus, isn’t it past your bedtime?” Rel chided, handing me off to Aedon as she stood. She approached the boy and knelt before him, a hand running through his hair.

“I wanted to meet my new sibling,” Ravelus said in a meek tone, looking down.

“This is your new brother. His name is Alistair,” Aedon took me over to the child, placing me in his arms. I was small enough at this point to be held with only a small bit of effort from the Prince.

“Woah, he already has magic?” Ravelus gaped while looking into my eyes. That confined magic was real… “Fire, like you, dad!”

“Yes,” Aedon smiled. “Now, you can hold your brother more tomorrow… for now, you must rest. Your tutors will be mad if you fall asleep during their lessons.”

Ravelus paled and handed me back to Rel before bowing and escaping the room. Not before waving at me, though. I managed to raise my arm in return, but couldn’t control my hand enough to wave. A brother, huh? I’ve had an elder sister, but not a brother. I’ve always wanted a brother, though, which is probably why I got along so well with Johnny’s son. Still, I would miss Anne. She was practically my surrogate mother, despite being my sister. She helped raise me when dad was unavailable, even thought she was only six years older than me.

Suddenly, I felt very tired. My baby cognitive battery drained, and drifted into sleep as my new parents started talking about their work.

I woke up to the feeling of my body being rocked from side to side. Opening my eyes - which shouldn’t be working at this stage of life, but it’s another world, so I don’t know anything - I saw Rel, rocking me against her chest as she sat in a rocking chair. She was singing in a language I didn’t recognize. The words were beautiful, and calm. Directly opposite, I’d say, to the Dragon Tongue from Skyrim. That was guttural, and violent. This was whimsical, and elegant. Both were equally graceful, however. I couldn’t help but feel calm, enveloped by her warmth as she sang.

Eventually, she stopped and looked down at me, noticing that I was awake. “Look at you, so attentive. That was Al’kir, the language of nature itself. I suspect I’ll be teaching you it, when you’re older. Perhaps once you graduate from the academy... For now, however, you’ll have to be content just listening to it.” She reached up and ruffled my hair, encountering two things I didn’t know were there, previously. “Your little ears are so cute! My father will want to meet you, the next time he visits!”

“Aguahcaear,” I said in surprise, though I tried to say ‘I have cat ears?!’

“Yes, your ears and tail are so cute! White as snow, with red tips! I can’t wait to see how handsome you’ll be when you grow up!” Rel misunderstood my reaction and rubbed her cheek against mine while cooing. “Oh, you’ll be such a fine mage, just like me! Not some crude knight, like your father!”

‘ Oh, they have some sort of class feud, ’ I chuckled inwardly. ‘ I guess I’ll just have to be both, then, to avoid hurting either of their feelings. Or maybe I’ll be a bowman, just to mess with them? ’

Rel frowned. “I can tell when someone is scheming, little cat. Don’t you dare think about picking up a sword!” This wiped the smile from my face, as her motherly aura turned almost demonic. “Oh? Learning that your mother isn’t someone to be trifled with? Good!”

‘ Right, ’ I hastily nodded as best as I could. ‘ Magic, though... I wouldn’t mind being a mage. ’

[Class {Mage} Confirmed! Select a subclass:]
{ Bard }
{ Summoner }
{ Cleric }
{ Elementalist }
{ Anti-Mage } 

“Wuahgahel?!”

“What’s wrong, honey? Do you want some breakfast?” Rel hummed, beginning to undo her shirt. I immediately started squirming uncomfortably, not wanting to have anything to do with breastfeeding, now that I was conscious. I was almost an adult! I couldn’t see my mother’s breasts, let alone suck on them! “Oh, don’t fuss so much. It’s only natural!” Rel said with a grin. “Your brother was like this, too, when he was a baby!”

‘ Oh, please, mysterious window in my vision, distract me from this hell! ’ I pleaded, staring at the options and beginning to think as ‘the process’ occurred. This was like a video game menu, right? Like that digital version of Dungeons and Dragons, only in real life? I could get behind that as a concept; I’m even pretty sure Anne mentioned there being a genre based around it - LitRPG, if I remember. Fortunately, I wasn’t in a novel, or manga, or something.

‘ Can I go back to the class selection? ’ I asked mentally, wondering what the other classes were.

[No.]

‘ Oh, okay, ’ I frowned, trying not to focus on my facial functions. ‘ I guess I have to choose from these, then. Though, I did say I didn’t mind being a mage. I wonder if this game thingy will help me get super strong? That way, I’ll never have to be breast-fed again! Hahahaha- Oh, I’ve gone crazy, haven’t I? ’

‘ Not important! I need to choose what I’m going to focus on! ’

[You can change your class, once you max out this one.]

‘ Oh, cool. Wait, are you sentient? ’

[Maybe.]

‘ Well, what do you suggest, then? ’ I asked, but no response came. ‘ What, unwilling to talk, now? Okay, fine, I’ll figure it out on my own! {Bard} is a no-go, because I’m about as charismatic as a pencil-sharpener, and I’m not the ‘seducing a dragon’ type. {Cleric} is out, because - as amazing as healing magic is - It’s not very flashy. I was so boring in my first life, and I want to look cool! Maybe I can impress my new family, and stuff? That’d be nice. ’

‘ As much as I like the concept, {Anti-Mage} is not it, either. Being able to dismiss magic attacks entirely, and stop people from casting is cool, but how much use can I get out of that as a child? Besides, they might label me as ‘cursed’ and end up outcasting me, or something! I can’t risk losing my family! ’

“Oh, such a fierce expression!” Rel exclaimed happily, looking down at me. “Do you enjoy mama’s milk that much?”

‘ No! ’ I screamed in my head. ‘ Back to video game stuff! That leaves {Summoner} and {Elementalist}! I like the idea of summoning an army of dogs, or dragons, but I can do that later. I want to throw fire at people, and make them dance with bloodbending hahaha! {Elementalist} it is! ’

[Subclass {Elementalist} Confirmed! Select an Element:]
{ Fire }
{ Water }
{ Earth }
{ Air }

‘ What, I can’t even choose a cool one, like blood or lava? I guess {Fire} will do, for now, since they said I have an affinity for it... At least I can blow stuff up, now, and make a perfect creme brulee. ’ I paused. ‘ Do they even have creme brulee, in this world? ’

[Subclass {Fire Elementalist} Confirmed!]
Per Level:
+1 STR, CON, END, DEX, CHA, LCK
+2 WIS
+3 INT
+5 Stat Points

[Skills <Mana Control> and <Fire Manipulation> Learned!]
<Mana Control> (1/100)
You can passively control mana with greater efficacy.
<Fire Manipulation> (1/100)
You can bend fire to your will.
-20mp(v)

[Item <Mana Control Book (F)> Added to {Inventory}!]
<Beginner Mana Control Book> (F)
A book detailing the process of manipulating the mana within you.

‘ Oh? I have video game stats, now? ’

[Status]
-Identity-
Name: Alistair Eil
Race: Human; Beastfolk (Cat);
Age: 0 (17)
Class: Fire Elementalist (1/100)
Rank: Mortal (1x)
Titles: None
Alignment: Lawful Good
Level: 1 (0/50)
-Stats-
Health Status: 10/10 (+0.1%/m)
Mana Status: 210/210 (+1.4%/m)
Stamina Status: 10/10 (+0.1%/m)
STR: 1 (+1/)
CON: 1 (+1/)
DEX: 1 (+1/)
END: 1 (+1/)
INT: 21 (+3/)
WIS: 14 (+2/)
CHA: 13 (+1/)
LCK: 20 (+1/)
Stat Points: 0 (+5/)

‘ Ah! Why do I keep accidentally opening these things? ’ I jumped before reading it over. ‘ I guess I really am a cat boy... only one in all physical stats? I guess that makes sense, since I’m a baby... Like I said, charisma of a pencil-sharpener, with wisdom to match. My luck is pretty good, though, and my intelligence is even better! I guess all of that reading time, holed up in my room, did something... It did the opposite for my charisma, though... ’

I sighed inwardly and wondered what to do next. ‘ It mentioned an inventory, right? ’

[Inventory]
<Gacha Token>
A token that can be bitten for an item from the gacha loot pool.
<Beginner Mana Control Book>
A book detailing the process of manipulating the mana within you.

‘ Ah! Cool, it’s like Runescape, ’ I exclaimed in my head as I saw a grid appear before me. When I hovered over an item with my eyes, a description would pop up within my central vision, like a pop-up in Minecraft.

“How are you feeling, buddy? Still hungry?” Rel asked as she held me up. I shook my head hastily, though I did note that I was no longer hungry. She smiled and did up her dress again, before taking me over to the crib and laying me down. “Alright, then. We’re going to my office, so I can do some work! Don’t worry, mommy will be right here the whole time!” She put a blanket over me and started pushing the crib towards the door, which was opened by a maid. We left what I assumed was the bedroom the King and Queen shared, and went down the hall for a bit. The maid from before followed and opened another door, leading into a smaller room complete with a fireplace and desk.

Rel put my crib in one corner before sitting down, gesturing to the maid. The maid pointed at the fireplace and spoke something I couldn’t pick up, sending a spark through the air and into the wood. It burst into flame, which quickly warmed the room as the maid moved to leave. Rel got to work on some papers stacked on the corner of her desk, leaving me just outside her range of vision. Taking the opportunity, I turned onto my side and looked intently at the token in my inventory. It suddenly appeared on the blanket next to me, settling into the soft silk.

Remembering the description, I crawled over to it and - albeit hesitantly - bit the edge of the coin.

[Rolling 1x Gacha Token…]

[Rolling…]

[Entry 64 Rolled…]

[<Attribute Crystal: Adam> Added to {Inventory}!]
<Attribute Crystal: Adam> - A crystal containing an attribute of Adam. Crush it to activate, but be wary of unintended side-effects.

• Perfect Body
• 200% Stat Gain
• <Eyes of the Lord> Skill
• <High Human> Rank
• <Progenitor of Man> Title

It appears in my inventory, a small blue crystal, where the token had previously resided. I stared at it for a while, eyes wide. Adam? As in, Record of Ragnarok Adam? It would seem so, with <Eyes of the Lord> being available. I would’ve crushed it then and there, but, of course, I couldn’t move my body very well. What would I even get, if I could crush it? It seemed like I could choose, so which would I, when I could crush the thing?

Reading their descriptions, I gaped. <Perfect Body> would bring me to the best I can look, physically. Impossible physique, and impeccable skin. It would make my organs more efficient, and change my bone structure. Effectively, it would make my body perfect. It wouldn’t affect my stats at all, but I would look as good as humanly possible. Even more so, if I changed races.

The <200% Stat Gain> was also pretty good, doubling any Stat Gains I got from leveling and training. I’d still only get five freely-spent Stat Points per level, but it still increased my current gains by double.

<Eyes of the Lord> were amazing, allowing one to perceive and copy any physical ability, no matter what. On the other hand, they put stress on the eyes and nervous system that would be impossible for any normal man to endure. Thus, perfect body. Adam truly was amazing, to use the ability for so long against Zeus.

<High Human> rank appeared to level up my soul, providing a total stat boost - 1.8x, to be exact. It was a good overall boost, especially when combined with the 200% stat boost also available. If I could get another attribute crystal of Adam, those two are what I would pick.

The <Progenitor of Man> title simply increased reputation gains with humans by 50%, which would be useful for national relations, if I ever had to deal with that as a Prince.

In the end, I decided I would get the <200% Stat Gain>, whenever I could crush it. Getting double stats every time I leveled up for the rest of my life would be amazing - an opportunity I couldn’t pass up, even for <Eyes of the Lord>, at the moment. Besides, I couldn’t even handle the eyes until I had a very strong body, so they would be useless to me until then. If I got the crystal again, and had the stats, then I’d certainly get them.

I glanced at Rel, whom I decided to refer to as mother, and saw that she was writing with a quill, occasionally dipping it in an inkwell. She was aware of me, I was certain, but wasn’t paying full attention. She seemed to be a good mother. I laid back on my back and wondered what to do next, then thought, ‘ if there’s an inventory, then there has to be a shop, right? ’

[Shop]
(SC: 0)
{Catalog}
{Auction House}
{Contracts}
-Special Shop-
<Agriculture and You>
A book detailing the processes of crop-cycling, fertilizer production, selective crop breeding, irrigation, and greenhouse environments.
50 SC
<How to Milk the Economy>
A book detailing the ins and outs of merchandising and business, both foreign and domestic.
50 SC
<Battle Strategist 101 (Art of War Included!)>
A book detailing all of the different battle strategies one could ever need, including terrain and enemy army combinations. Also includes a copy of The Art of War by Sun Tzu at the back!
50 SC
<Modern Architecture for Dummies>
A book detailing modern construction techniques to make buildings that last a very long time, need little maintenance, and provide all necessary functions, while looking good at the same time.
50 SC
<Earth Cuisine: A Comprehensive Recipe Compendium>
A book detailing cooking techniques and recipes from all around Earth, throughout time.
50 SC

My eyes were immediately drawn to the {Catalog}, which opened with less than a thought. Listed before me was a comprehensive list of everything I had ever seen on Earth. At least, the materials needed to make such things. Helium gas, titanium alloy, concrete mix, spring water, straight-up magma, Uranium-235. With enough SC, or Shop Credits, I could make a bomb big enough to blow up the moon. Assuming this planet had a moon, which it probably did.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have any Shop Credits, so I navigated back to the {Contracts} menu. There, were various menial items, such as furniture, weapons, food, and other such goods that could be sold to the shop in bulk for more than they would be worth on their own. If I could get my own merchandising empire up and running, I could theoretically obtain infinite SC, and therefore infinite of any resource in the world, which would feed back into the loop indefinitely.

I realized, in that moment, that I could revolutionize this world. Not just industrially, but socially. I had access to knowledge from Earth, which had to be more advanced than this place. After all, we were in a castle that relied on open fires for heat, and windows and lanterns for light. If nothing else, I could ‘invent’ electricity, sewage management, water treatment, and modern medicine. Sure, those things might be possible through magic, already, but that, then, required human input. The greatest thing about modern amenities is the lack of human input.

That’s when I decided what my course of action would be, in this world. Using my position as second Prince of an entire kingdom, I would build my wealth and power, then use that power to advance this world up to the point where Earth was at, and even beyond, using magic in combination with technology. I was always an ambitious person, but never had anything to direct it towards aside from my hunger for knowledge. Now, I could put both that ambition and knowledge to good use.

‘ Oh, ’ I thought, smiling. ‘ This will be very fun. ’

*****

It was only five days later that I remembered I had skills. Five days I spent dredging up all of the knowledge I had gathered since I was six years old and compiling into stages of a plan that would take more than a decade to unfold. That is, once I was capable of achieving the first step. For now, all I could do was sit back and enjoy the time I spent with my new family. I rather enjoyed their presence, as they were always talking about something interesting. I learned a lot about this kingdom, Eilon, and the situations therein.

Barely any commoners could read and write, reinforcing in my mind the need for a proper education system. Food was always short, making the kingdom import from the country of Siligha, to the North; a good use for the agricultural knowledge in that book from the shop. Frequent earthquakes were taking their toll on the clifftop city of Endreillion, capital of the Eilon kingdom, implying a need for more sound structures. Transportation, as always in a medieval fantasy setting, took forever and was very laborious; magic cars, perhaps? Political tension was rising between the various factions of the Eilon noble court, due to the ongoing conflict with the kingdom of Axriel to the West, which had been happening for three-hundred years. The issue of monsters flooding from rifts and dungeons was growing across the world, requiring a higher number of adventurers to fight them off. The weather was getting worse, apparently due to magic, making travel by sea trying, which ravaged the economies of all sea-bordering nations. The general happiness of the population was low, due to the tough times and lack of good entertainment.

The best part? I could fix all of it!

Nevertheless, I finally remembered about the skills I’d gotten when selecting my class, and thought about the word. I was sitting in my crib, in my parent’s bedroom, staring up at the ceiling as I once again contemplated things when it crossed my mind.

[Skills]
–(Passive)--
<Beastfolk Kinship> (1/100)
Allows you to find kinship with animals.
<Fire Affinity> (1/100)
+5% Skill EXP with all fire related skills.
<Royal Presence> (1/100)
You have an innate aura that encourages respect and attention.
<Mana Control> (1/100)
You can passively control mana with greater efficacy.
–(Active)--
<Observe> (1/100)
You can, upon activation, obtain information on the target person or object.
-5mp
<Fire Manipulation> (1/100)
You can bend fire to your will.
-20mp(v)

‘ Oh? Three innate passives, one active default with the system, and two class-specific ones? ’ I thought, reading over them. All of them were broad, and started at level one out of one-hundred, implying that they could get better. My <Fire Affinity>, for instance, would probably grant more EXP at level fifty than at level twenty-five. By how much, I had no idea, but it would certainly be nice. <Beastfolk Kinship> and <Royal Presence> would be good for dealing with animals and people alike, at least once they are leveled up enough. <Mana Control> and <Fire Manipulation> were amazing, obviously, allowing me to freely manipulate flames, so long as I had enough mana. Currently, I should’ve been able to move it around for a few seconds before running out of mana.

The most exciting, however, was <Observe>. It allowed me to gather information on anything I looked at, for minimal MP. I tested it by looking at my sleeping father, squinting, and thinking about using it. Surely enough, it worked!

[Aedon Eil IV]
Race: Human
Titles: Knight King of Eilon; Beast Coliseum Champion; Dragon-Slayer;
Age: 29
Level: 314

‘ Level 314? It’s no wonder he’s killed a dragon, with the stats he must have… ’ I marveled, eyes wide. I turned my attention to my mother, who had her arms wrapped around Aedon’s neck.

[Rel Eil]
Race: Beastfolk (Cat)
Titles: Mage Queen of Eilon; Second Princess of Rhana’Vi; Flowerbed Maker; Nature Maiden;
Age: 31
Level: 323

‘ Holy shit! ’ I exclaimed. Rel twitched in her sleep, but I didn’t pay any mind to it. ‘ She’s even higher than father? It makes sense, because she’s two years older, but levels should be harder to gain as they get higher, at least for people who are not me… My family is incredible! ’

[Skill <Observe> Has Leveled up! (2/100)]

‘ Oh, I guess it only took two uses, the first time. Is it that easy for me to level up my other skills? ’ I looked to the magic candle by the door, and stared at it. ‘ Move, flame! Go to the side! Go up! Grow! Extinguish! ’ Nothing happened. I sighed and pulled myself up into a sitting position. Having a baby body made everything difficult, even with developed muscle memory. Still, I had gotten better at moving.

I reached out and brought out the <Mana Control Book>, which fell to the floor of the crib with a muted thwap. It was a smaller book with a leather cover, across the front of which was a runic symbol - a ten-pointed star, in which all of the points connected to one another. It was bound with a blue-gold spine and shimmered in the moonlight that drifted in through the window. With great effort, I managed to pull the cover over to reveal the first page.

“ Mana is the energy of life and the universe. It makes up and surrounds all things. All matter, and the lack of matter. It wells up around certain existences - the souls of plants and animals. These beings are capable of manipulating the mana within them, and extending that control beyond their bodies and into the environment around them, in what is called magic. This book does not cover that subject, however, only going over how to control your own mana, within your body, ” the first passage of the book read. Instantly, I was enraptured by the idea. It was like a new layer of energy physics was discovered, and I was the first one to read the thesis.

“ I’d like to begin with an exercise. A rather simple one, in comparison to those we will attempt in the future, but it may still prove challenging. Don’t be upset if you can’t get it on your first try, not many can. Simply close your eyes, and breath. Search within yourself for any feeling, which should grow and shrink with each breath. You absorb the mana in the air you intake, and exhale it back into the world around you. Once you have located this feeling, try to emulate it through the application of your will. ”

I leaned against the back wall of my crib and shut my eyes, focusing within as I took long, deep breaths. In through my nose, and out through my mouth. I felt my tiny lungs inflate and deflate again and again, providing oxygen to my blood to keep my organs in good order. I felt my muscles tense and relax slightly as the shape of my chest changed with the action, needing additional support to remain still. I felt my mind slowly gain clarity, as the second-hand stress I had gained from listening to my parents’ struggles faded away.

Only once my mind was clear, absolutely so, did I feel it. A pulsing, in the center of my chest. It was in time with my heart, making it difficult to notice, at first, but I did notice it. It indeed pulsed with my heartbeat, but more than that, it expanded and shrunk when I breathed in and out. The pulse grew stronger when the beating and expansion coincided, and weakened when it beat and shrunk. This had to be the source of my mana, overlaid with my heart in some other plane of existence.

I felt it, for a while - enraptured by the picture of a fluctuating orb, pulsing energy throughout my body via my blood and nerves. I’d liken it to how chakra is described in Naruto - my very life force, itself. Only, it was currently restrained to my heart and bodily channels. I could feel it pressing up against certain parts of those channels, as if there was more space for it to flow through, with just a little push, but I couldn’t sense that space itself.

I set that aside, for a moment, and refocused on the swelling and settling. I waited for it to be at its maximum, just as my lungs were full, and I pushed against it. It swelled further, slightly, and flooded through my channels like I had increased my blood pressure. I felt my muscles tense as a dull burning encompassed my very being. My mind felt clearer, and I could sense my inner being with much more clarity.

[Skill <Mana Infusion> Learned!]
<Mana Infusion> (1/100)
You can infuse your mana into something, increasing its effectiveness.
-20mp(v)

[Skill <Mana Infusion> Leveled Up! (2/100)]

[Skill <Mana Control> Leveled Up! (3/100)]

I opened my eyes, breathing heavily, and clenched my fists. Before, I would’ve had a hard time even doing that much, but now the muscles reacted to my command as if I were a teenager again. Getting an idea, I pulled Adam’s attribute crystal from my inventory and placed it between my small legs. Then, with all of my might, I hugged the thing.

With my newfound strength, and the leverage of using my entire body on it, I was able to crack the surprisingly-brittle crystal, before shattering the thing with a small crash. All of the pieces instantly turned to dust, then into particles of light that flooded into my chest. I felt immense warmth, and a window popped up before me.

[Select Attribute:]
{Perfect Body}
{200% Stat Gain}
{<Eyes of the Lord> Skill}
{<High Human} Soul Rank}
{<Progenitor of Man> Title}

I giggled triumphantly as I selected the second option. My chest burned more before the feeling faded. Checking my stats, I was pleased to see that my gains per level had been doubled. Now, I just needed to level up to obtain those stats. ‘ Do I have quests, or something? ’ I questioned.

[Atlas]
{World Map}
{Local Map} [(X)/O]
{Reputations}
{Quest Board}
-Quests-
<Leveling Up I>
(O) Attained Level 5
<Introductions!> (!)
(X) Complete the mandatory System Introduction
<Skilled!> (!)
(3/1) Active Skills used

‘ Cool, ’ I nodded. Two of the quests I had, I had already completed. Apparently, I had to actively claim them, but that meant I could go over the required quota, and possibly get better rewards. This was good, because I’d need that to grow, in these early years. I checked my MP, noticing that it was at just over 160, and decided to spam <Observe> as much as I could before accepting the quests.

[Crib]
A crib passed down through the Eil family.

[Castle Eil]
The castle owned by the Eil royal family. The largest and most recognizable building in the Eilon kingdom.

So on and so forth, until I ran out of mp - or, got as close as I could to doing so.

[Skill <Observe> Leveled Up!] (8/100)]

I then turned in the quests.

[Quest <Introductions!> Complete!]
+25 EXP
+3 Stat Points
+50 SC
+Skill <ID Create>
+Skill <ID Escape>

[Skills <ID Create> and <ID Escape> Learned!]
<ID Create> (1/100)
Allows you to create and enter an instant dungeon at will. You can alter the flow of time within, and even disable your aging, but only to a degree determined by the skills level. Currently, you can make time 1:1, and you cannot disable aging.
-10mp
<ID Escape> (1/100)
Allows you to escape an instant dungeon at will. You cannot do so in certain sections, or in boss rooms, and you may be restricted by your mana, or lack thereof.
-25mp

[Quest <Skilled> Completed!]
Overtime Bonus: 6x
+30 EXP
+6 Stat Points
+60 SC
+Item <Gacha Token>

[Level Up!]
+2 STR, CON, END, DEX, CHA, LCK
+4 WIS
+5 Stat Points
+6 INT
+250 SC
+Item <Gacha Token>

I could feel myself get stronger. My muscles tightened beyond what should be possible for a baby, despite only a two-point difference. My focus grew sharper, and my memory improved. I opened my stats and smiled as I distributed my points. Two each to STR, CON, END, DEX, and WIS, while the last four went into INT.

[Status]
-Identity-
Name: Alistair Eil
Race: Human; Beastfolk (Cat);
Age: 0 (17)
Class: Fire Elementalist(2/100)
Rank: Mortal (1x)
Titles: None
Alignment: Lawful Good
Level: 2 (5/100)
-Stats-
Health Status: 50/50 (+0.5%/m)
Mana Status: 8/310 (+2%/m)
Stamina Status: 50/50 (+0.5%/m)
STR: 5 (+1*2/)
CON: 5 (+1*2/)
DEX: 5 (+1*2/)
END: 5 (+1*2/)
INT: 31 (+3*2/)
WIS: 20 (+2*2/)
CHA: 15 (+1*2/)
LCK: 22 (+1*2/)
Points: 0 (+5/)

Five days in the new world - six, technically - and I was already half as strong as an adolescent. I was under a week old! Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be so easy to level up in the future. Not only did the EXP requirement double when I leveled up, but I wouldn’t be able to abuse an easy quest to get much more EXP than intended. Unless I waited for a while, but that would be unbearable with larger quests.

I took a <Gacha Token> from my inventory and raised it to my mouth, biting its edge.

[Rolling 1x Gacha Token…]

[Rolling…]

[Entry 50 Rolled…]

[<Psychic Paper Badge> Added to {Inventory}!]
<Psychic Paper Badge>
A paper badge that will display exactly what the target needs to see to be content with the holder’s will.

Ah, the Doctor’s psychic paper. That would be helpful, if I needed to coerce people into doing what I wanted with paperwork. Otherwise, it was quite mundane. I took out the second token and bit it.

[Rolling 1x Gacha Token…]

[Rolling…]

[Entry 34 Rolled…]

[<Soul Rank Empowerment Capsule> Added to {Inventory}!]
<Soul Rank Empowerment Capsule>
Allows an imbiber to raise their soul rank by one level. Necessary input doubles for every rank above two.

‘ Twenty-two luck coming in clutch! ’ I exclaimed in my head, immediately grabbing the pill out of my inventory and swallowing it. Warmth enveloped my chest again, similar to what had happened when I absorbed Adam’s attribute, but this was more focused. It stopped, and I got a prompt.

[Soul Rank had been Upgraded to <Human*>! Multiplier is now 1.2x!]

‘ Giving me all of the multipliers! ’ I cackled. I always loved multiplicative boosts, because they felt so liberating. Of course, I had nothing to base this feeling on, in this context, as I hadn’t even had to feed myself, yet, but the thought of not having to deal with early-game billshit was pretty nice. This was a good night, indeed.

Chapter Text

“Rel, you should probably see this," Aedon’s voice woke me up the next morning, as I found him staring down into my crib. He was already dressed in his elegant clothing, with his crown of a blue gem-metal hybrid sitting on his head. On his face, was a look of concern.

“What is it?” Rel asked, somewhat annoyed at being woken up so harshly. She rolled out of bed and walked over, before laying eyes on me and blanching. She quickly ran over to the crib and scooped me up against her chest, staring down at me with a worried expression. “He’s already gone through his first awakening? That shouldn’t be possible until he’s six, at the very least!”

‘ Ah, did I mess up by doing magic so soon? ’ I paused. ‘ Whatever, I never intended to settle for normalcy, anyways. ’

“Is this something we should be worried about?” Aedon asked, brow furrowed. “I’ve never heard of something like this happening, before.”

“It's happened once in the history of magic - an Elven woman, name Milner. She awakened at two years old, both light and dark. She is regarded as the most brilliant Elven mage to ever be born,” Rel said. “Half-Human-half-Beastfolk, and seven days after brith? Never in the history of either of our kingdoms, or the East World in general.”

“Should we contact the Elves?” Aedon asked seriously. “They may know if something is wrong-”

“No, nothing is wrong,” Rel shook her head, her eyes unfocusing as she stared down at me. “True, his core is developed beyond even someone at ten-years-old, but it’s... organized... More so than some apprentices I’ve seen in the academy! I think this may be the result of a blessing.”

“A blessing?” Aedon’s eyes widened. “A blessed child hasn’t been seen in Eilon in... a thousand years! Let alone in the royal family! If it has happened again after so long, I fear for what is to come...”

[Title <Blessed> Gained!]
<Blessed>
You have been blessed by a deity, and are destined to change the fate of any land you touch. Whether for good or bad, that is up for you to decide.
+25% EXP with all Holy-Related Skills

“I have no doubt that Alistair will be able to stop whatever is coming. He has such intelligence in his eyes; he’s even listening to us, right now! He is much easier to handle than Ravelus was, as well,” Rel pressed her forehead against mine. I was suddenly very aware of my mana, as It spread up through my head and seeped through the walls of the channels and into my forehead. At the same time, a foreign pulse reached out of the darkness. It pierced my body and gently touched my own mana, intertwining with it before pushing mana into my system, while taking an equal amount out. Suddenly, I could feel a new set of emotions welling up within me.

I realized they were her emotions - separate from my own, but just as clear, if not more so. Above all, I could feel the immense love she had for me - I could even feel how that extended to her husband and first son. Before I could take in any more, the connection retracted, and I was left staring up at her in awe. “Yes,” she said. “He is definitely blessed. The spirits say so. What do you suggest we do?”

“We wait and watch,” Aedon said, smiling at me. “In the meantime, I shall organize with the Elves. It seems our son will be a competent mage!”

“Ha!” Rel exclaimed, pointing at him. “No silly sword-waving for him!”

Aedon simply sighed in defeat.

*****

Later that day, I explored more of the system options, and came across the {Quest Board}. It was a list of simple challenged, separated into four categories. Dailies, weeklies, monthlies, and others . Yeah, they were just called ‘other’s. The list wasn’t very large, as it only contained things I could currently do, but I could do them. I selected eight of those available and added them to my quest list. Three of them involved me charming people - three times a day, for a month - while another three had me meditating for an hour every day, for a month. Both of these were easy, as mother liked to show me off to the maids every chance she got, and my eighteen charisma combined with <Royal Presence> met the requirements to charm all of them.

Well, all of them except the head maid, Hegna. She was a hard woman, and Ravelus’s attendant. I almost felt bad for my brother, but I decided that Hegna wasn’t a bad woman. She was Nuetral Good, according to <Observe>, and level 143, which put her a tier above even some of the knights - who averaged between 110 and 130. Speaking of <Observe>, I spammed it on anything and everything.

I was able to use it roughly six times per minute, as we came across new things for me to scan, allowing me to use it eighty-one times before running out of mana. Mother didn’t seem to notice when I used my magic, which was comforting. Either way, I got a bunch of skill levels for my troubles.

[Skill <Observe> Leveled Up! (14/100)]

[Skill <Mana Control> Leveled Up! (7/100)]

[Skill <Royal Presence> Leveled Up! (3/100)]

By the end of the day, I completed my <Baby Charm I> quest six times over,granting me a 3x reward when I turned it in.

[Quest <Baby Charm I> Completed!]
Overtime Bonus: 3x
+9 EXP
+3 Stat Points
+15 SC

Not as much as I would’ve hoped, but three stat points every day was a godsend, as far as my baby body was concerned. I decided to put these three towards wisdom, bringing my mana regeneration up to 2.7% per minute. With that, I could almost use <Observe> twice a minute, indefinitely.

The last thing I did, that day, was meditate. Once my parents had fallen asleep, I focused inwards and maintained the lowest level of <Mana Infusion> on myself that I could manage. It cost twenty mana to activate, but at the level I was maintaining it at, it only cost one per following second. At that rate, I could maintain it for over six minutes before running out. I noticed, while doing this, that my mana would regenerate faster, while I was focusing on my core. It would jump from 2.7% to 3.6% - a 30% increase. It didn’t do that while I was using mana, but it decreased the time between my stints of using <Mana Infusion>.

[Skill <Mana Infusion> Leveled Up! (5/100)]

[Skill <Mana Control> Leveled Up! (11/100)]

I turned in the <Meditation I> quest, receiving a 2x multiplier for three hours meditated. It required an hour to be turned in, so I would’ve needed to meditate six hours to get 3x rewards.

[Quest <Meditation I> Completed!]
Overtime Bonus: 2x
+3 EXP
+2 Stat Points
+10 SC

I immediately allocated a point towards wisdom, bringing my regeneration per second to over ten, which would allow two uses of <Observe> every minute. The other point, I put to intelligence. I went to sleep after that, determined to manipulate fire for the first time the next day.

*****

I was tired of being unable to move, so - while my parents were still awake - I tried to crawl. With my ten-year-old strength and dexterity, I was able to push myself up onto my ass and then rotated onto my hands and knees. I was able to hold myself up, which was miraculous for someone only eight days old. However, as soon as I lefted one hand off the floor of my crib to start moving, I fell forward onto my face with a tiny oof . Pushing myself back up, I tried to glare at my own, oversized head, but I couldn’t, for obvious reasons. Adjusting my form for the weight imbalance of my newborn body, I moved a hand forward, then a leg, and crawled to the other end of my pretty big crib. At least, it was pretty big compared to me.

I laughed triumphantly, crawling back to the other end of the crib, where I had started, before moving to the bars on one side and gripping them tightly. I was able to pull myself up to a standing position, though I ended up just hanging off of the bars via my hold, legs wobbly as hell. With about ten minutes of practice, however, I was able to stand. Not unassisted, of course. The moment I let go, thinking I could stand on my own, I fell onto my back. This drew my dear parents’ attention.

“Is he already trying to move?” Rel asked rhetorically, picking me up and kissing me on the nose. “Such a smart baby!”

“Blessed indeed,” Aedon added. “He’ll make a fine Prince, some day.”

‘ Aww, thanks, dad, ’ I giggled. It was weird, giggling instead of chuckling, but it was the most I could do with my lungs, as they were. Either way, I had met my physical standards, for the day, and could get started on magic as mother and father laid down to sleep. I waited until they had started snoring softly before focusing inwards once more, quickly finding my mana pulse and cultivating it through <Mana Infusion>. After many times doing it, and with my leveled-up <Mana Control> skill, I could do so in only a few minutes.

Instead of maintaining it at a low level, however, I brought it up to as high a level as I could currently manage. My core swelled immensely, and the channels in my body were put under physical stress as the mana condensation in my very blood became heavier. My body was enveloped with warmth, and my MP drained quickly, but the pressure in my channels forced mana through the weaker sections, flooding into the space beyond it. I felt my muscles burn brighter, as the mana coursed through them. Checking my stats, I realized my physical strength had been raised by an additional five points - one per every ten mp used per second. Of course, this quickly ended when I ran out of MP, causing my strength to leave me. Mana exhaustion took over, almost knocking me out on the spot, but I managed to retain functionality.

[Skill <Mana Control> Leveled Up! (14/100)]

[Skill <Mana Infusion> Leveled Up! (8/100)]

Exploring the new spaces with my mind, I discovered where they were in relation to my primary channels. Mana originated in my core, which aligned with my heart, and spread through my arteries, veins, and nerves from that point. The new openings lead to my muscles and bones, which directly improved my physical stats at the cost of increasing the overall mana usage for the skill. According to the <Mana Control Book>, this was called the second awakening . Spreading one’s realm of control from just their core channels to their secondary channels - their body. The third awakening was my goal, this night - which was the skin and aura.

Using breathing to increase my MP regen, I was able to restore my mana in fourteen minutes. Then I once again flooded my system with mana. At first, I thought the amount I had currently wouldn’t be enough to push beyond the third awakening, but due to my better <Mana Control> level, I was able to increase the pressure to the point of breaking through my very skin and into the air immediately around me. Suddenly, I was extremely aware of what was around me. I could feel the very air itself, the cot and blankets beneath me, and even the silk clothes I wore. I could normally feel those things, yes, but I could feel them.

Then, it was gone. My MP ran out, and I was left exhausted. Still, I wasn’t done, yet. It was time to put my skills to use. My parents left an ever-burning candle next to my crib - not so close that I could reach it... at least, not by hand. If I held my arm out towards it and drove mana into my aura, then it would just barely envelop the flame, which would allow me to use my <Fire Manipulation> skill. So, after another fourteen minutes of meditation, I cultivated my mana within myself and allowed it to flood through my body and aura, reaching out towards the candle.

Visually, it immediately reacted to my mana, expanding as if it had access to more oxygen and fuel. Mana was a substitute for both, which was why magic fire could apparently burn underwater and in oxygenless atmospheres. That was very interesting, for various reasons, but those reasons could wait until I was big enough to do the sciences involved. Continuing to breathe deeply, in consistent intervals, I began to channel my mana towards the flame, taking from the aura behind me to do so. It spread out around the flame before I willed it into it.

The flame expanded even more, and burned brighter, fortunately not waking up my parents. A new feeling became apparent to me. Like a fifth limb - sixth, really, because I could move my tail as an independent limb, too - I could feel the flame just beyond my hand. Like I had learned to move my tail, which I had used to charm some maids for my quest, I willed the flame to the side, causing a large portion of the flame to break free and hover in the air. I grinned as I moved it up into the air, then over towards me. Then, I ran out of MP and finally passed out.

*****

Three days came and went, which I spent shadowing my mother around as she did her work. Of course, I had no say in that, so I didn’t complain. I liked watching how she interacted with the dozens of castle staff we came across, as well as how diligent she was in her work. She didn’t do much magic, mostly creating water for herself whenever her glass went dry, but sometimes she would make a flower flourish, just to show off to me. Father was a very busy man, which was expected of a king, but he always made time for his wife and two sons. They spent breakfast, lunch, and dinner together, talking about whatever they had done. Through Ravelus, I started hearing about his studies with his tutors.

Father mostly commented on the requests he got from the nobles - logging rights for a town expansion; permission to raise taxes in one duchy or another; reports of monster swells in the less tame regions of the capital island of Eilon - stuff like that. Mother updated the family on her work, which involved the kingdom’s financials and updates on the war. Apparently, she was the treasury minister, as well as the Queen, court sorceress, and foreign affairs representative. All in all, I had the least on my plate, of my family, even with all of what I was doing. Being a baby - being unable to help, really - made me feel somewhat bad.

So, I did my best. I charmed as many people as I possibly could, getting most of the maids and guards to coo easily, and I meditated for three hours every night. While doing that, I would practice my <Mana Infusion> and <Fire Manipulation>, leveling up both skills. I was also able to stand, after some effort. Apparently, my growth was already getting affected by my stats, because I was much bigger than I had been when I was born, little more than a week prior. As such, I needed to eat much more, though, which didn’t get any more comfortable than the first time.

On the second day, I attended my very first royal court meeting, which apparently occurred every month. I was ‘introduced’ - pranced around like a doll - to the nobles as a prodigious baby who had achieved the first awakening on his seventh day in this world, blessed by a god. I spent enough time among greedy people in my first life that the looks in the noblemen’s eyes was quite apparent. They wanted to use me for their goals, which probably involved wealth of some kind.

Three people in particular caught my attention, Duke Stede was a portly, bald man whose beady eyes lit up when I was introduced to him. Not because I was cute, either, even though I was absolutely adorable. In fact, before he even knew my name, he was glaring at me - more specifically, at my ears. At the same time, he couldn’t keep his eyes off of mother’s chest. Now, I don’t judge people based on their appearance, but their actions, and this man displayed the actions of a lecherous racist.

The second was a woman, Duchess Ir, who was only barely considered a noble. She was the great-granddaughter of a war hero, whose parents had squandered their wealth and lost their land. Based on what Rel had muttered about her as she approached, the woman was a ‘manipulative bitch’ and an ‘Axriel sympathizer’. That latter one was a surprise, considering how much her great-grandfather had done to fend off the neighboring kingdom from coming in, slaughtering their people, and claiming their land. She tried very hard to present her young daughter before mother, her implications obvious, but I chose to ignore that.

Little girls aren’t my type.

The third and final man was General Wyham, an Elven Lord of slim stock, who eyed me like I was a Notch apple. He looked like if Legolas and Orochimaru had a baby, then allowed Lucious Malfoy to raise him. His eyes didn’t display greed, like the others, but malice. I could tell, from the moment I was introduced to him, that this man would try to kill me. Corruption among noblemen? Who would’ve thought!

The rest of the nobles fell into two categories: suck-ups and Karens. The suck-ups did anything for a little bit of notoriety from the royal family and the more powerful nobles. The Karens thought they were the absolute shit - Rel glared at me - and even talked down to mother. Rather, they talked down against her Beastkin heritage. Well, she was far better than them at anything! I’d have to find a way to make them respect her more, once I could walk, and stuff. Maybe choose summoner, next, and have a knight give them all atomic wedgies.

Other than that, father simply announced some new policies, fielded questions, and dismissed the group to mingle some more. I made sure to charm everyone there, netting me a nice 5x multiplier on my quest, that night. That brings us to the fourth day, where I was just finishing my second session of <Fire Manipulation> training. By the end of it, I was ready to turn in my quests, too.

[Skill <Fire Affinity> Leveled Up! (5/100)]

[Skill <Fire Manipulation> Leveled Up! (12/100)]

[Skill <Mana Control> Leveled Up! (27/100)]

[Skill <Mana Infusion> Leveled Up! (19/100)]

[Quest <Baby Charm I> Completed!]
Overtime Bonus: 3x
+9 EXP
+3 Stat Points
+15 SC

[Quest <Meditation I> Completed!]
Overtime Bonus: 2x
+6 EXP
+2 Stat Points
+10 SC

In total, my three-day grind had earned me forty-two EXP, seventeen Stat Points, and eighty-five SC. I then had twenty-one Stat Points to spend, so I thought about it for a while before doing so. Two into STR, CON, END, DEX, and CHA, and the remaining eleven into INT.

[Status]
-Identity-
Name: Alistair Eil
Race: Human; Beastfolk (Cat);
Age: 0 (17)
Class: Fire Elementalist(2/100)
Rank: Mortal* (1.2x)
Titles: Blessed;
Alignment: Lawful Good
Level: 2 (77/100)
-Stats-
Health Status: 80/80 (+0.8%/m)
Mana Status: 6/510 (+2.8%/m)

Stamina Status: 80/80 (+0.8%/m)
STR: 8(7) (+1*2/)
CON: 8(7) (+1*2/)
DEX: 8(7) (+1*2/)
END: 8(7) (+1*2/)
INT: 51(43) (+3*2/)
WIS: 28(24) (+2*2/)
CHA: 20(17) (+1*2/)
LCK: 24(22) (+1*2/)
Points: 0 (+5/)

[For Reaching 50 INT, You Have Obtained the <Calculator> Perk!]
<Calculator>
You can instantly run any calculation, so long as you know the equation.

‘ Oh, yeah, it’s all coming together, ’ I smiled. As I leveled up <Observe>, I was able to gain more information on people I scanned. Someone like my mother, for instance...

[Rel Eil]
Race: Beastfolk (Cat)
Titles: Mage Queen of Eilon; Second Princess of Rhana’Vi; Flowerbed Maker; Nature Maiden;
Age: 31
Rank: Beast Spirit Avatar (1.8x)
Level: 323
Health Status: 5814/5814
Mana Status: 17442/17442
Stamina Status: 5814/5814

Like... Holy shit - she twitched - seventeen-thousand mana? What the hell is that about? The first three awakenings are within two-hundred mana of the one before them, but they go up exponentially, after that, as did their effects. Right now, I could manipulate flame within about a meter of myself. According to the book, with the fourth awakening I would be able to do so within eight meters. But, it required twice as much mana to breach into, meaning I’d need one-thousand mana, or one-hundred effective levels. That meant I had to get to eighty-four base points, from which point my soul rank multiplier would get me to one-hundred.

It doubled, from then on, so my mother was just over eighth awakening, and I had no idea what that even did. My book only went up to fifth! ‘ I can’t worry about that, now. I’ve reached third, and I’m less than two weeks old. For now, I think I’m ready... ’

[ID Create:]
{ Empty ID }
{ Nymph } (1:1/Y)

I took a few deep breaths, stood in my crib, and selected the {Nymph} dungeon.

It happened in an instant. One moment I was standing in my crib, the next I was in the middle of a grassy field, next to a campfire. I immediately pulled out the ever-burn candle I had stolen from a hallway as mother carted me through the castle and readied myself. I listened to my surroundings intently, searching for any incongruity. This dungeon was, effectively, a forest. The air was rich with the smell of petrichor, as if it had just rained, and the dirt was damp beneath my unclothed feet. Mother would certainly question how I got dirt on me, when I spent all night in a crib, but that was alright. I loved it when she asked me questions, as if I could answer.

I calmed down somewhat when nothing came to attack me, but didn’t let my guard down. I’d played enough video games to know that one could never rest in a dungeon, even in a safe area. This wasn’t a game, though, this was real life, and I had no idea what lied ahead of me. I was about seventy centimeters tall, thanks to the growth inspired by my physical stats, so I could see over the grass and shrubs with no issue. The forest surrounded me on all sides, except for a small trail, which lead under the canopy and into the distance.

With nothing else to do, I steeled my nerves and fell onto my hands and knees, careful not to light anything on fire as I crawled towards the path. It only took about ten minutes of crawling for me to come across my first enemy. I knew to expect nymphs - forest nymphs, judging by the setting - which usually entailed nature magic. So, I wasn’t surprised to see a living vine coiling through the air like a prey-seeking snake. I laid down on my belly as I watched the thing twist around, absorbing the sunlight. ‘ <Observe>, ’ I thought, noting that the ‘spell’ only took four mp to activate, now.

[Vine Whip]
LVL: 1
Health Status: 40/40
Mana Status: 1/1
Stamina Status: 220/220

I carefully brought up my candle, and focused my aura into the flame. When I reached fourth awakening, I would be able to do that without using <Mana Infusion> on myself, but I still had to, for now. I split the flame in two and took one part. I cultivated that part into a ball of fire that was almost too hot to be so close to - like standing next to a campfire. Then, I directed it at the Vine Whip and threw it. It flew through the air in a straight line, striking the Whip about halfway up its length and spraying fire across its midsection. It started flailing, turning towards me and lunging for me, but the fire burned through its body before it could get to me, and it fell to the ground.

[Vine Whip (LVL 1) Killed!]
+1 EXP
+3 SC

‘ Oh? I get SC from kills, too? ’ I asked rhetorically, pleasantly-surprised. That was good, as I didn’t have to rely on levels, quests, and contracts to earn it. Good-old-fashioned grinding would help me on my path. As expected. Jeez, what would Anne say if she saw me, a baby with cat ears and a tail, throwing fireballs at sentient vines...? Nevermind that. I needed to kill twenty-five more Vine Whips to level up, unless I found something of a higher level. I wouldn’t be surprised if this place only had level one enemies-

[-35HP]

Little baby me was sent flying through the air, landing in a bush several meters away. I immediately got up and looked around, but there was nothing there. Either way, I had lost forty percent of my health, and that did not make me feel comfortable. Plus, it hurt, and I don’t like pain. At least it didn’t hurt as bad as getting shot four times.

At first, I couldn’t find what had hit me, but then I saw the tree I had been laying by shifting. Like, not in the wind, but the trunk was actually twisting. I quickly used <Observe>.

[Young Ent]
LVL: 3
Health Status: 500/500
Mana Status: 30/30
Stamina Status: 800/800

‘ Okay, ’ I huffed. I focused again, and launched a fireball at the base of the Ent’s trunk. It struck it and burst apart, dealing two-hundred damage. Before the fire went out. It didn’t just not catch fire - it did - it simply vanished after a few seconds. ‘ Magic resistance? ’ I questioned. It immediately started healing, too - at a rate of five hp per second. I launched two more fireballs, killing the thing. Fortunately, the magic resistance persisted after the thing had died, so the fire dissapeared before it could spread.

[Young Ent (LVL 3) Killed!]
+6 EXP
+18 SC

‘ Cool, ’ I pumped my fist. Unfortunately, my lost health would take about fifty minutes to heal, at my current rate of 0.64HP per minute, but I could continue if I was more careful. I decided to <Observe> every tree I got close to, just in case, as I continued down the path. Within the next five hours - the most I was willing to risk away from the castle - I killed seven more Young Ents and fifteen Vine Whips.

[Level Up!]
+2 STR, CON, END, DEX, CHA, LCK
+4 WIS
+5 Stat Points
+6 INT
+250 SC
+1 <Gacha Token>

I put the five new Stat Points into CON, not wanting to risk getting hit for almost half of my HP again. Doing so doubled my health, thanks to my <Human*> rank. I took out the token and bit it.

[Rolling 1x Gacha Token…]

[Rolling…]

[Entry 58 Rolled…]

[<Dungeon Locator> Added to {Inventory}!]
<Dungeon Locator>
A phone-like device that displays the location of all dungeons within 1km. The rank of the dungeon is shown as the color of the blip.

‘ Cool, ’ I thought as I used <ID Escape>. I appeared back in my crib. Immediately, I was met with rushed footsteps as Rel ran across the room and scooped me up into her arms. ‘ Uh oh… ’

“Where did you go?” She demanded, on the verge of tears. “When I woke up, and you weren’t in your crib, I thought someone had kidnapped you! I’ll have to assign a Hek’Netir to you, so this doesn’t happen again… We should’ve had one on you, anyways, just because of your status as blessed…”

‘ Ah, I made her worried, ’ I frowned, wrapping my arms around her neck as best as I could. I should’ve known straight-up disappearing in the middle of the night would be a bad thing. My parents were the damn King and Queen - of course they would notice if their two-week-old son disappeared from his crib for the night. ‘ I hope nothing bad happened… ’

“Hegna, tell Pyarron that I found him. Call off the search,” Rel said, sitting down on the king-sized - literally - bed with me in her arms. “How did you do that? Did someone take you?” She asked, looking down at me. I hesitated on whether to answer her, or not, but I’d rather reveal my understanding of her words than have her worry about me. I didn’t need to tell them that I was a seventeen-year-old reincarnator. So, I shook my head. “Oh, you really can understand me? The gods must have blessed you with intelligence, after all!”

“In that case, I have to tell you that we were very worried. I woke up as soon as I felt your mana signature disappear, and I thought an Axriel mercenary had warped in here and stolen you... Your father rallied the royal guard started searching the castle ground, looking for you. Even your brother was awake, calling your name!” She said, rubbing my back. I felt really bad. I always hated it when Anne would stay up waiting for me to come home from one of dad’s business meetings, which I would officiate to make certain things were fair. She’d hug me just like mother was, and rant about how stupid dad was for dragging me into his affairs.

‘ I guess I can tolerate being weak for a few years, ’ I thought, enjoying the warmth passing through me via contact with my mother. ‘ Sure, I handled two basic enemy types well enough, with my apprentice-level magic, but that was only the first two enemy types. If it jumped from level one to level three so quickly, I don’t want to attempt the next types until I can properly run and dodge. So, for the meantime, I will enjoy being with my family, and just do the {Quest Board} challenges to strengthen myself .’ I decided, shutting my eyes and quickly falling asleep on my mother’s bosom.

Chapter Text

Twenty-four days later - one day extra, because I wanted to wait until the morning to accept my rewards - I woke up and got up. In total, after I turned in the quest, I got 548 EXP, 193 Stat Points, and 1305 SC. Of course, this was enough to level me up, too!

[Level Up!]
+2 STR, CON, END, DEX, CHA, LCK
+4 WIS
+5 Stat Points
+6 INT
+250 SC
+1 <Gacha Token>

What to do with the points, though... After some deliberation, I allocated them, and ended up happy with my decision.

[Status]
-Identity-
Name: Alistair Eil
Race: Human; Beastfolk (Cat);
Age: 0 (17)
Class: Fire Elementalist(4/100)
Rank: Mortal* (1.2x)
Titles: Blessed;
Alignment: Lawful Good
Level: 4 (384/400)
-Stats-
Health Status: 490/490 (+4.9%/m)
Mana Status: 1200/1200 (+10%/m)
Stamina Status: 250/250 (+2.5%/m)
STR: 25(20) (+1*2/)
CON: 49(41) (+1*2/)
DEX: 25(20) (+1*2/)
END: 25(20) (+1*2/)
INT: 120(100) (+3*2/)
WIS: 100(84) (+2*2/)
CHA: 60(50) (+1*2/)
LCK: 60(50) (+1*2/)
Points: 0 (+5/)

[For Reaching 100 INT, You Have Obtained the Perk <Understanding>!]
<Understanding>
You can innately understand the root of anything explained to you.

[For Reaching 50 WIS, You Have Obtained the Perk <Enhanced Recollection>!]
<Enhanced Recollection>
You can better remember the things you’ve seen, heard, smelt, felt, and tasted.

[For Reaching 50 CHA, You Have Obtained the Perk <Silver Tongue>!]
<Silver Tongue>
People are more likely to believe your lies.

[For Reaching 50 LCK, You Have Obtained the Perk <Luck of the Draw>!]
<Luck of the Draw>
The odds are likely to fall in your favor.

Pretty damn good, for six weeks in a new world. Unfortunately, the system seemed to realize this, too, and left only the weekly quests instead of all three. ‘ So, you are sentient, ’ I accused in my head. ‘ And, you just want to stunt my growth because you didn’t expect me to be so good as charming people! ’

[Maybe. And, you were a shut-in nerd before I brought you back, so excuse me for making a logical assumption.]

‘ Okay, that hurts. I wasn’t nearly that bad, and you know it! ’ I may have gone a little crazy, being unable to speak. Still, it was nice to know I wasn’t completely alone. ‘ I was studious, not shut-in. Social interaction wasn’t my top priority. ’

[If you say so.]

I decided to ignore the thing’s comments and sat up, looking over the room. I was still sleeping in my parent’s room, so they could make sure I didn’t disappear again, but I now had my own maid, who took me around while my parents did their work. Her name was Ilyor, and she was a sweet young woman. About twenty, and very pretty - at least, by my standards in my previous life. Fortunately, she didn’t have to breastfeed me, because I could already eat solid foods. That was nice, because I didn’t want my image of her being tainted by such a thing. I had come to terms with my mother doing it, but the idea of anyone else doing it was weird, to me.

Father was already awake, as he often was when I awoke - and I woke up pretty damn early. He was a hard-working man, very diligent in his efforts to improve upon the kingdom. Sometimes, he would take me out to the balcony and hold me up, so I could see over the castle walls and down upon the city. The first time he had done that, I was in awe. I still was, sometimes, depending on the weather. Sunsets, combined with light cloud coverage, as ships were lifted and dropped into the water below the cliff by the pulleys. Endrillion was an interesting city, built on a cliff about one-hundred meters above the ocean. As such, it was impervious to any sea-based attacks the Axriel kingdom had launched in the past. It still received importation through the sea, though, thanks to the docks at the base of the cliff, where dock workers would attach magic pulleys to the ships and take them all the way up to the upper docks.

Part of the city was even built underground, in old mining tunnels dug by the extinct Dwarven clan that once occupied this island. The castle was easily the biggest building in the city, constructed on a plateau in the middle of the city. I’ve been contained to the upper floors of the castle, about ten stories above the throne room, so I could see for a long while. Seeing the tiny dots of the people wandering the streets below put life in perspective. Someone like me, who had lived in the basement of an apartment building in New York, at what was essentially the penthosue suite of an entire nation. The thing was, I knew my life back on Earth was a standard higher than anything anyone has seen on this world, even if this world had magic, and Earth didn’t.

I intended to bring that standard of life to this world. Or, at least, this kingdom.

Father noticed I was awake and came over, quiet, as not to disturb mother. She tended to sleep in until her maid came to get her for breakfast. “Hey, buddy,” he said, picking me up and holding me at arm’s-length. “Boy, have you grown quickly! Within time, you’ll be swinging a sword of your own!” I noticed that mother twitched in her sleep. A sixth sense, that woman had. “Your mother thinks you’ll be a mage, reaching your first awakening so soon after birth, but I know better. Your my son, so you won’t settle for just that. I’m certain that you’ll be a mage and a knight - as honorable as knowledgeable; steadfast as intuitive. You are blessed by one of the gods themselves, and as such, your fate is intertwined with this world. You will change it for the better, and you will become greater than any other, to do so.”

“I will stand by you, no matter what, just as my father stood by me. I am eager to watch you grow.” He finished, a determined expression on his face. I couldn’t help but tear up, awed at his declaration. My first dad had never said anything like that to me, only using me for my skills. I felt like I really could achieve my ambitions, and make this world a better place! All I needed was a bit of time to grow.

*****

That day, at lunch, Ravelus asked to take me to his lessons, which I appreciated, because it would help me get a good grasp of where education was, in this world. Granted, education for an eight-year-old, and royalty, but it would help anyways. Ilyor allowed him to carry me - something he struggled to do, but persisted anyways - through the halls until we reached a sitting room. An older man I recognized from the royal court gathering a couple days ago sat in one of the chairs, a notebook in hand. He stared down at it through a monocle, other eye shut leisurely. Ravelus took me and hopped up into the chair opposite the man as Ilyor found a stool by the door and took out a needlepoint frame.

“Good morning, Your Highness,” the man said, setting his notebook on the small table beside his chair. “I see you’ve brought Prince Alistair with you, today.”

“Good morning, Earl Frariel,” Ravelus replied politely. “Mom says he’s really smart, so I wanted to bring him along, so he won’t be bored all day.”

“Yes, I have heard of the second Prince’s reputation. Her Majesty is very outspoken about it,” the Earl nodded. “We’ll see if there is any credence to the matter, with time. For now, I want you to recite the royal creed.”

“For the kingdom, for the good of those who live in it, and for the good of all who breathe: Honor, Charity, Strength, and Temperance,” Ravelus recited diligently.

“Good! Now, tell me about your reading assignment.”

Ravelus went on to talk about his interpretation of the book he had been assigned to read over the past week. The history of the Be’Lok mountain, where the Dwarves were born. I learned a lot from this lesson, both from Ravelus and Earl Frariel. Mostly, the history of this world, and the political standing of each relevant nation. Other than that, I picked up a bit of the social etiquette of the nobility - which mother seemed to ignore, most of the time - and a general understanding of where this world’s education was. 

As far as subjects such as language arts and mathematics went, they were somewhat similar. Mental math, three-digit counting, propper grammar and punctuation, and other such practices congruent with the same year on Earth. In addition to that, however, was basic mana control and aura expansion. Both of these processes’ required another tutor to be brought in, a woman by the name of Viscountess Klisnik - an Elven woman who worked as a healer in the castle - as Earl Frariel wasn’t capable of advanced magics. She lead Ravelus through the process of swelling his mana within his primary channels. He had yet to attain the second awakening, which usually happened at at eleven, but he could still cultivate his mana through repeated exertion, like training a muscle.

After a month of practice, and assistance through my skills in the system, I could swell my mana in a few seconds of concentration, compared to his twenty-two minutes. His first awakening had happened naturally, when he was six years old. It had taken him an hour to swell his mana, at that time. I suspected he’d be able to reach his second awakening within two years, at his current growth rate. Learning that, listening to his tutor, really put in perspective how crazy my growth curve was. I was planning upon reaching the fourth awakening this very night, one month after birth, which not even the most magical races had done.

I followed along with the practice, using my 2mp/s regeneration to help sustain my expansion to Ravelus’ level. The Viscountess helped Ravelus increase his mana pressure in cycles, which I found very interesting. Up until that point, I had been using all of my mana as quickly as possible, but I now saw that was dangerous. I had been protected because of my immense mana regen, and the system itself, but for any normal person, running out of mana could be deadly. It was safer, and sometimes more effective, to use short bursts of mana repeatedly, as far as normal mana training and control training went. Once I knew this, I realized I had been incredibly reckless. If not for my peculiarities, I would’ve died every time I used my infusion.

I immediately dedicated the information to memory, and increased my mana to a rate where I would use ten percent of my mana per minute, maintained it for a minute, then brought it back down to indefinite-maintainence. I waited until my mana regenerated, then did it again.

 I did that for the next thirty minutes until The Viscountess stopped the two of us. I noticed she was giving me strange looks, likely having sensed my activity, so I simply smiled and cocked my head to the side innocently. I knew she would tell my mother about it, later, which would in-turn earn me some praise from her and father. The thought almost made me cackle, but I didn’t want to freak out the Viscountess... More than I already had, at least.

*****

Rel Eil, Mage Queen of Eilon, thought she understood the world and magic. She grew up second Princess of the Rhana’Vi kingdom, and was well aware of the racial prejudice against her kind. After the War of the Beasts a century prior, Humans and Beastkin had a rocky relationship, and her goal was to fix that. So, she asked her father to send her to the only kingdom that didn’t drive the Beastkin through their borders after the war, Eilon, and he hesitantly agreed. She was one of the most competent mages in the kingdom, and was chosen to be the avatar of the family spirit, so she could take care of herself.

Rel went to Eilon, and met with the late King Aedon III, who accepted her into his home as a sign of good will towards Rhana’Vi. There, she met his young son Prince Aedon IV, and fell in love. While she was there, Eilon went through its bloodiest conflict yet, with the neighboring kingdom of Axriel, which she participated in, with the hopes of deepening connections between hers and their country. Only, the King and Queen were slain, leaving Prince Aedon IV to take up the mantle of King.

He asked her, both to solidify his position as King, and to form an unbreakable bond with Rhana’Vi, to marry him, and she accepted. A year later, they had their first son, Ravelus, who seemed to lack magic entirely. Rel was devastated, wondering if it was his mixed blood that was to blame, but a lesser nature spirit took him as her host, as the Rhana family spirit had taken Rel when she was born.

When it came time for their second child’s birth, Rel was worried he, too, would be magically inept. Praying to the bestial spirits that a kind spirit would choose him, too, but her worries were unfounded. Alistair was born with a massive mana core, and his first attunement - such a thing, she thought to be impossible! Then, he attained his first awakening a mere week later, bringing to light that he was blessed by not just a mere spirit, but a god!

Another week passed, and Rel was sleeping peacefully when she felt her infant son dissapear from her senses, awakening her. Sure enough, he was nowhere to be found, and the only traces of magic around belonged to him. She thought he must’ve awoken a spacial affinity and warped away by accident - such things weren’t unheard of in children with that affinity - but he was nowhere within the range his mana should’ve allowed.

Then, he simply reappears in his crib, while she happened to be in the room to collect her staff. No sign of spacial magic, just a poof of mana and he was there. After that incident, she had a Hek’Netir - an assassin/spy who worked directly below the King and Queen - watch Alistair at all times. They reported that he was performing magic every night, routinely, already using his fire affinity. That, then, meant that he had reached his third awakening. 

But that wasn’t possible, right? Two weeks out of the womb, and he was making fireballs? She had to see it for herself, so she pretended to be asleep and watched him through her mana. Sure enough, he got up once he thought they had fallen asleep, and brought his mana up to a point where his baby body should’ve exploded from the pressure, and willed the fire to heed his command.

She wanted to get up and take the candle away - to explain that such a thing was incredibly dangerous for someone of his constitution. She knew that he would be able to comprehend, and would listen… but she couldn’t bring herself to.

She had a feeling, somehow, that he would be fine. That there was something watching over Alistair, making sure he was able to practice without danger. It must’ve been the gods’ will, because she made no move to intervene. So, every night, she watched as her baby practiced magics she couldn’t use until she was fifteen, every night for a months. He did it for three hours, every night, and she could tangibly feel his control over both mana and fire getting stronger and stronger.

Honestly, she had doubts when the spirits told her that Alistair was blessed, and it ashamed her, but she could no longer deny it. Her son was a prodigy among prodigies, in intelligence, physicality, and magical prowess. It was as if she had given birth to a god, given physical form.

That’s why she was only mildly surprised when her son attained his fourth awakening, a mere month after attaining his first. He sat in his crib, eyes shut, circulating his mana in the way Rel herself had been taught when she was only a child - in the same way she knew Ravelus was being taught, now - slowly building up the pressure in his system. He easily surpassed the fourth awakening, mana flooding into his brain and consciousness like a tidal wave. Rel Eil, one of the strongest mages of the East World, was awed by his show of magic. She no longer had to wonder if her blood was impure, because the proof was right in front of her.

Her son would be the strongest mage the world had ever seen, she was certain of it, and she would do everything in her power to make that happen…

Even if she had to break a few societal conventions to do so.

‘ My son, ’ she thought as she watched Alistair drift off into sleep. ‘ I will make time, and I will use that time to cultivate you into the very definition of a mage. No, I will help you define what a mage really is! ’

*****

The next morning, I was surprised when mother took me down the stairs to the kitchens, a place where I had never been. She was silent the whole time, a wide smile on her face as she simply nodded to all of the staff we passed, whereas before she would be showing me off like a trophy. Something had changed about her, I could tell, but I couldn’t discern as to what.

Mother snuck through the kitchen as if she didn’t own it, everything inside, the building it was in, and the whole damn city around it, snatched a couple rolls, various fruits, and a pie from one of the counters, and escaped through a back door. I managed to keep a few things from falling as she did so, much to what I assumed was her glee. ‘ A troublemaking Queen, ’ I snickered. ‘ Just like Anne! ’

We found ourselves in the castle courtyard, which was surrounded by the gardens. A bunch of royal guard trained in the center of the courtyard, practicing with their swords, but mother avoided them by pressing herself against the wall of the castle and sneaking to the side. Of course, she couldn’t make it three meters without being seen, but everyone in the castle was so used to the Queen’s antics that they simply ignored her.

Rel made her way towards the hedge maze in one corner of the courtyard, a place where few people would see her and I.

*****

Meanwhile, Ilyor was panicking as she looked for me. ‘ Oh, I’m gonna get sent to the dungeons if they find out I lost Prince Alistair! ’ She monologued to herself as she searched everywhere. Much to her shame, she decided to ask around for if anyone had seen the missing baby.

*****

Back with me and mother, she had woven her way through the maze and stopped in a small alcove under the outer wall. It was about five meters in diameter, surrounded on all other sides with thick hedges. A balnket had already been laid out in its center, where a few candles were burning. Mother set me down on the blanket before arraying the food and taking a seat, herself. She looked at me for several moments before speaking.

“So, fourth awakening?” She asked, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. This, of course, made me freeze. I was shocked, not because I was scared - even if I was uncertain of what she would do - but because that meant she was aware of my nightly activities. “Yes, I know you have reached your fourth awakening. Not only have I have I had a Hek’Netir watching you, in case you disappeared again, but I’ve been observing your magical training, and I must say that…”

I waited anxiously for her next words. What if she, I don’t know, bound my magic, to keep me from hurting myself?

“I’m so proud!” She squealed, hugging me tightly. So tight, in fact, that it did ten damage. The woman didn’t know her own strength! “I can’t believe my son is so powerful, and only a month old! I can’t wait to brag to that bitch Ir about it! She thinks so highly of her eldest son, just because he got his second awakening at ten; just imagining the look on her face when I tell her you got your fourth in a month!”

She noticed me staring at her blankly and coughed into her fist, calming down. “Uh, anyways…” she muttered. “I didn’t bring you here to reprimand you, or to tell you to stop. In fact, I want you to continue! Normally, training like this would be detrimental to your growth, but it’s obvious to me that you’re a special case. The effects of being blessed have never been properly recorded, after all. I just want you to be safe about it, so that’s why…”

“Instead of stopping you, I’m going to help you! I’m going to take over your magical training, under the condition that you always listen to my instructions. Do you understand?”

I nodded.

“Smart boy! Just like your mommy!” She cackled. “Now, why don’t you flare your mana as much as possible? Don’t run out of mana, though, because that can cause brain damage!”

I managed to calm myself down and breathed deeply, focusing. Cultivating up to 200mp/s wasn’t too difficult, but I could only sustain it for six seconds. Instead, I went up to fifty and pushed as hard as I could, shooting up to eleven-hundred for half a second. This resulted in a rush of strength both to my body and my mind. My thinking facilities became stronger by a significant degree, and I could almost count the milliseconds as they passed, as my perception of time was slowed. All of my physical and mental stats boosted by 110 full points, while my luck remained the same.

Of course, I did only keep it up for half of a second, so the feeling went as soon as it came. When I opened my eyes, I found that the hedges and blanket had been disturbed by a wind that had burst from me when I increased my mana pressure. Mother was staring at me with a huge grin, now having an accurate gauge of my maximum power.

“Oh, I’d kill to find out how you grew so much in such a short time, but that can wait until you can talk. For now, I’m going to teach you a new method of gathering mana!” She said excitedly. I was certain she was telling the truth when she said she would kill for the information. “First, now that you’ve reached your fourth awakening, you should be able to feel your aura without infusing your mana into your body. Correct?” I nodded. “Good. The process I’m about to teach you is called Environmental Subsumption . You know how it feels to energize the things within your aura with your mana. Now, you’re going to reverse that.”

My eyes widened. My book hadn’t mentioned that in anything but name. Naturally, that made me very curious as to what it was, but I had my answer, now. Of course, I had considered the idea of reversing the infusion process, having read many-a fantasy book in my past life. I had just thought it was a higher-level technique. Or, maybe that was just my exposure biases, from growing so quickly. I still wasn’t anywhere near mother’s level, nor on the same planet as the strongest mages in the world, but I had risen exceptionally quickly.

“Go ahead and feel your aura. Try pushing your mana into it, and decipher how that happens. Then, will it to come back in by applying your will to your aura,” Rel explained, shutting her eyes. A moment later, I felt - through my passive aura - the air shift slightly as everything within a short distance started vibrating. It didn’t affect me, and I couldn’t feel it physically, but everything around me was vibrating on an atomic level.

I realized it was shedding energy - the ‘electrons’ of mana flying off of the matter in the higher dimension in which mana resided, and drifting towards Rel as if she had begun to generate her own gravity. It wasn’t affecting the matter in our layer of reality, but in that which sat on top.

A few moments later, she stopped, opening her blue-green eyes to look at me. “Go ahead,” she nodded. I nodded in return and shut my eyes, not infusing myself with mana, but visualizing my aura via the information it fed me. I could see the ground; I could see the blanket I sat on, and the grass underneath. Mother was within my range, so I could see the comforting smile on her face. I could see the outer wall, not too far away. My passive aura’s range was about one-third that of my infused aura, which was currently eight meters.

I slowly infused mana directly into my aura, avoiding growing so with my body at all. This allowed me to cut the cost into one-tenth of what it would’ve been, which meant I could sustain it indefinitely. I felt as the mana disappeared from my core and reappeared wherever I focused my attention, like a wormhole directly connected the two locations. I looked closer, and felt as the same manatrons - the electron thingies in the mana realm - escaped from me in a stream and crossed the distance between my core and their destination in the mana realm before breaching back into the physical realm. It really did act as a wormhole, then.

With that thought in mind, instead of trying to draw the mana directly to me, as I would’ve before I saw this, I pulled it into the mana realm. There was some resistance, at first, but thanks to my high <Mana Control>, I was able to fight that resistance and start sucking mana from the physical realm into the mana realm, forming a sphere in the mana realm. Then, I drew that sphere to my core, which absorbed it like a drop of water consuming another drop of water as it dripped down a windshield.

What remained was a channel running from the hole between the realms to my core, which was still absorbing mana from the spot where the hole led to. I refocused back in the physical realm to see that the same effect I had seen with my mother was occurring, on a much smaller scale. Manatrons, tearing themselves from the matter and getting sucked up by the wormhole like it was a vacuum, before being ferried directly to me.

I checked my status, and was awed to see that my regeneration had doubled, from ten percent to twenty!

[Skill <Mana Absorption> Leveled Up! (3/100)]
<Mana Absorption> (3/100)
Increase your MP regen by 100%. Requires focus.

[Skill <Mana Control> Leveled Up! (63/100)]

“Holy shark, you actually did it…” Rel muttered in awe. “That’s a fifth-awakening technique, or at least it’s supposed to be. I expected you to just pull the mana to yourself, and expect it to enter, then explain the existence of the higher planes, but…”

‘ You underestimated me! ’ I laughed both in my head and out loud.

“Okay, you don’t have to be a bum about it,” she glowered. “Anyways, I want you to go about meditating, expending your mana before using environmental subsumption to refill your stores. I see your natural regeneration rate is already unnaturally high, but it’ll be handy for you to know how to do this, anyways. With time, you’ll be able to do it passively!”

I nodded and got to work as she watched me.

*****

Ilyor had been searching for Alistair for two hours, at this point, tracking the baby through the castle via witness reports. Apparently, he had been seen with the Queen headed downstairs, so the maid naturally assumed they had gone either to the dining hall or the throne room, but they were at neither location. So, she checked the bathrooms on that floor, then the Queen’s study, then with Ravelus in his lecture room, then in the Queen’s private garden, then in the observatory.

Finally, she had heard the kitchen staff talking about how the Queen had come through, stealing food on the way as she went into the courtyard. There, Ilyor had been told the mother and son had gone into the hedge maze, where Ilyor had spent the past hour wandering around in search of them. She wouldn’t be surprised if she never saw the castle again, getting lost in this maze for the rest of her life. Even then, she might get executed (she wouldn’t) for losing the second Prince!

She was about to give up and accept her fate when she felt something through a hedge to her right. A burst of wind and pressure, making a shiver run down her spine. Was one of the mages practicing in the maze? That wasn’t very proper… As one of the King’s maids, she has a responsibility to tell them such. The courtyard had a place specifically warded for magic practice, after all!

Ilyor turned a corner and was surprised to see none other than Prince Alistair and Queen Rel sitting in the middle of a small clearing. At first, the maid thought the magical pressure was coming from the Queen, herself, but that wasn’t the case. Upon closer inspection, she realized the infantile Prince was releasing the pressure - more than Ilyor had ever felt, herself. She’d only ever been around third-awakening people, at most, but this was beyond that.

“What the f-“

*****

Nine months later, I finally took my first real steps. During that time, I collected 1080 EXP, 432 Stat Points, and 3240 SC from my weekly quests. This levels me up four times, completing my <Leveling Up I> quest for another 100 EXP, 5 Stat Points, and 300 SC. I allocated my points and looked over my stats again.

[Status]
-Identity-
Name: Alistair Eil
Race: Human; Beastfolk (Cat);
Age: 0 (17)
Class: Fire Elementalist(8/100)
Rank: Mortal* (1.2x)
Titles: Blessed;
Alignment: Lawful Good
Level: 8 (114/450)
-Stats-
Health Status: 960/960 (+9.6%/m)
Mana Status: 3600/3600 (+12%/m)
Stamina Status: 600/600 (+6%/m)
STR: 60(50) (+1*2/)
CON: 96(80) (+1*2/)
DEX: 60(50) (+1*2/)
END: 60(50) (+1*2/)
INT: 360(300) (+3*2/)
WIS: 120(100) (+2*2/)
CHA: 120(100) (+1*2/)
LCK: 240(200) (+1*2/)
Points: 0 (+5/)

[For Reaching 50 STR, You Have Obtained the Perk <Dense Muscles>!]
<Dense Muscles>
Your muscles are denser, containing your strength better.

[For Reaching 50 CON, You Have Obtained the Perk <Healthy>!]
<Healthy>
Your body is healthy, preventing illness and weakness.

[For Reaching 50 DEX, You Have Obtained the Perk <Bodily Control>!]
<Bodily Control>
You can better control the exertion you put on your muscles - limiting your physical strength at will.

[For Reaching 50 END, You Have Obtained the Perk <Wellspring of Stamina>!]
<Wellspring of Stamina>
You don’t run out of stamina, save for skills that use it.

[For Reaching 250 INT, You Have Obtained the Perk <Problem Solving>!]
<Problem Solving>
You can better come up with a plan of action using the knowledge you have.

[For Reaching 100 WIS, You Have Obtained the Perk <Insight>!]
<Insight>
You can guess what will happen next, to a degree.

[For Reaching 100 CHA, You Have Obtained the Perk <Aura of Beauty>!]
<Aura of Beauty>
You emanate an aura of beauty, increasing your natural charm.

[For Reaching 100 LCK, You Have Obtained the Perk <Lucky Events>!]
<Lucky Events>
Lucky events happen to you more often.

I could finally reach the fifth awakening! But that could wait. Now that I could walk, I could move without assistance! I didn’t have to be carried around everywhere, anymore! I had also completed a {Quest Board} quest.

[Quest <First Steps> Completed!]
+20 EXP
+5 Stat Points
+250 SC
+2 <Gacha Token>

That brought my token count up to eight, with one other from the leveling quest. I would’ve opened them immediately after getting them, but I’m a gamer. I used to collect loot boxes until I achieved something, like an Ace in R6S - the few months I played that - then I’d reward myself by emptying my stock of packets, or loot boxes, or whatever the game had. That’s why I was waiting until I could both walk and talk, which... ‘ I haven’t really tried to talk, recently, have I? ’ I asked myself in my head. I had gotten so used to monologuing internally, that the concept of using my vocal cords almost seemed foreign.

“H-hello,” I managed to say, drawing Ilyor’s attention. “I-I am Ali-sta-stair.”

[Quest <First Words> Completed!]
+20 EXP
+5 Stat Points
+250 SC
+2 <Gacha Token>

“I’m really not surprised anymore,” Ilyor sighed. She moved to pick me up, but I waved her off and stood up. She obeyed, stepping back and allowing me to stumble for a few steps before catching myself and starting to walk towards the door. “Ten months old, my ass,” Ilyor muttered. I felt a disturbance in the force. “Her Majesty should be in her study, right now.” I nodded and made my way in that direction after she opened the door. Thanks to my new charisma perk, the various servants we passed were awed by my very existence as I waddled through the halls. 

It felt amazing to finally be moving on my own, rather than being carried around. My growth had stopped at a certain point, despite my stat increase. I assume this was because my body could only develop to a certain extent, dependant upon my age. I was currently just over 100 centimeters tall - they don’t use the metric system, here, but another system with the same measurements. A real nice coincidence. That put me at the level of a three-to-four-year-old child, despite being only ten months old.

It took about ten minutes to walk to mother’s study. Ilyor knocked on the door, to which I could hear mother beckon her in with my stat-enhanced senses, then opened the door. She stepped in, bowed, and opened the door for me to enter. Rel was immediately on her feet when she saw me walk in, a beaming grin on her face. She rushed around her desk and picked my up, cooing as she swung me around like a stuffed toy. “Look at you, up and walking already! Next thing we know, you’ll be talking, and-”

“I c-can talk,” i said.

“Owaaah! Ilyor, why didn’t you tell me he could talk and walk?” Rel demanded, glaring at the maid.

“I-I didn’t know un-until just a few m-minutes ago...” Ilyor cowered.

“I’ve be-en pr-racticing,” I grinned.

“Awww,” mother forgot everything she had been thinking about and rubbed her cheek against mine. “My baby is so cool! Oh, you’ll be using incantations in no time! Now, what did you need? Aside from spending time with your mommy, I mean!”

“I w-wanted to use th-the libra-ary,” I said.

“Oh, I see spending time with your brother during his lessons has been beneficial! Sure, you can use the library. Ilyor will make sure none of the scholars bother you...” she looked at the maid with a manic smile. “Right?”

“Y-yes, Your Majesty!” Ilyor was quick to reply.

“Good! Good. Lead my son to the library, and help him find what he needs,” mother said, an eerie smile on her face. “And no cussing!”

“Y-yes!” Ilyor nodded emphatically. She quickly took my hand and retreated from mother’s study with me in tow, happy to escape the Queen’s presence. The two women had a bit of a strange relationship since Ilyor had stumbled upon my first magic training session with Rel. the maid was stunned, of course, that a baby could do what I could. In fact, Rel mentioned something about sending her away, or using mind magic, but I convinced her not to by beckoning Ilyor over and hugging her neck.

Since then, they had been in a strenuous… I hesitate to call it a rivalry, because mother was obviously dominant, but they did compete to be around me, and gain my favor. Only Anne had ever fawned over me like this, so it was a nice reminder as to what a family should be. Ilyor had started to appear as a sort of older sister in my mind, despite my older consciousness being attracted to her. I wasn’t ashamed to admit I liked the feeling I got when they treated me like that. Love wasn’t a very prevalent concept in my first life, so, feeling so much genuine love, and being able to give mine out freely, was a better experience than any I’d previously gone through.

My parents, my brother, my attendant, and I were all placed together, in my mind. Even if Ilyor wasn’t a part of the royal family, she was still somewhat of an ‘older sister’ to me.

We arrived at the library, which was at the very center of the castle. It was seven stories of bookshelves, with about as much square-footage per tiered level as an entire Earth suburban house. There were thousands upon thousands of books in there, and that’s just what I could see from the entrance. It seemed so much bigger than I had imagined, from what Ravelus had told me of it. Maybe that’s because I was only as big as a toddler.

There was a large book on one of the tables arrayed on the first floor, which Ilyor took up and opened. “What are you looking for? A nice hero story?”

“Merchant r-records,” I said, hoping it didn’t sound too weird. Ah, who am I kidding? Of course it did! “I heard daddy talking about the e-economy, and I want to see if th-there’s any patt-erns. I’m g-good with patterns!”

“Economical archives? I don’t know if they collect that sort of thing, as I’m unfamiliar with that side of the world, but I can see if they have any!” She smiled and started reading through the book. I decided to wander around while she looked, going to the nearest bookshelf and taking out a book. Its cover said it was about dining etiquette; the next book was on stances for social gatherings, so I assumed this shelf was on the subject of public appearance.

Eventually, Ilyor came to get me, claiming she found the section I was looking for. She led me up a set of stairs to the third floor, then across a catwalk to a shelf above the middle of the room. She started pulling out and checking covers until she found what she was looking for, then repeated the process until she had found three books. Elon mercantile records, global market imports and exports, and a book detailing business etiquette, deal making practices, and bartering.

I gladly sat down with the second book, beginning to read at a much faster rate than I ever could in my past life, thanks to my three-hundred INT and one-hundred WIS. I innately understood the messages of every sentence and passage, allowing me to compile the information in my head and move on in mere seconds. Ilyor was looking at me with huge eyes, shocked to see how fast I was going through the book. A part of her wondered if I was actually reading at all, or if I was just trying to impress her by pretending to read. It wasn’t out of my character to do so, after all.

I looked up at her once I was done with another section, feeling parched. “Can you get me some juice, please?” I asked politely.

“Of course, Your Highness,” she bowed. “Which would you like?”

“Mandarin,” I said. I learned that they haven’t yet discovered crop crossbreeding, so the orange didn’t yet exist.

“I shall return with a pitcher,” she nodded before exiting. I looked around, remembering that mother had someone watching me, before ducking under the table and taking out the gacha tokens. Fortunately, I only had to bite one for them all to roll, if I willed it so.

[Rolling 10x Gacha Tokens…]

[Rolling…]

[Entries 65, 54, 54, 73, 80, 109, 11, 92, 43, and 18 Rolled!]

[<Yamato>, <Excalibur>, <Excalibur>, <Multiversal Data Chip>, <Grin Button>, <Amalgam Armament>, <+1d4 LVL Fruit>, <Large Book Button>,  <Amethyst Skeleton Key>, and <Craftsman Gem> Added to {Inventory}!]
<Yamato>
A katana created by the legendary traitor-devil Sparda, when he split his power into three pieces. The Yamato has the power to split anything, be it space and time or the DNA of a living being. It carries tremendous demonic power.
<Excalibur> x2
The legendary sword of the lady of the lake, given to King Arthur in replacement of caliburn. It is said to be the pinnacle of holy weapons, representing the hopes and ideals of humanity itself. It can use that power of humanity’s hopes to release devastating levels of energy, which can be directed by the wielder. However, only someone with Pendragon blood can wield it to its full extent.
<Multiversal Data Chip>
When attached to any mobile device, it allows for communication across dimensions and throughout the multiverse. Provides high-speed data upload and download no matter where you are by transmitting the information across a higher dimension. Automatically connects affected phones to a chat network.
<Grin Button>
A small button displaying a wide grin. +5% CHA (+5%/).
<Amalgam Armament>
An ornamentless hilt that can absorb any other weapon, taking on all of their attributes. The shape of the weapon can take on the shape of any of the weapon it has absorbed.
<+1d4 LVL Fruit>
A fruit that will raise the consumer’s level by 1d4. Tastes like dragonfruit.
<Large Book Button>
A large button displaying an open book. +10% WIS (+10%/).
<Amethyst Skeleton Key>
An amethyst key that can be used on amethyst locks. Contains the element of darkness.
<Craftsman Gem>
A gem that allows the destroyer to acquire a crafting skill of their choice.

Chapter Text

I became catatonic for several minutes as I stared at the list of items I had gotten. Excalibur? As in, the Excalibur? Yamato, Vergil’s sword from the DMC series? Two buttons that provided a straight-up percentage boost to my stats? Something that would increase my level by up to four? What the hell is this gacha thing, and why is it so OP?

I shook my head and climbed back up into my chair, bringing out the gem under the table and looking at it. It was the size of an adult fist, and white, with blue cracks. Each crack released a small amount of light. I was enraptured by the sight for several moments before squeezing it, the same way I had with Adam’s attribute crystal ten months ago, causing it to burst into dust, which turned into light and flooded into my ears.

[Select a Crafting Skill:]
{ Agriculture }
{ Alchemy }
{ Architecture }
{ Blacksmithing }
{ Calligraphy }
{ Carpentry }
{ Enchanting }
{ Engineering }
{ Jewelry-Crafting }
{ Programming }
{ Runecrafting }
{ Textiles }

‘ Ooh, ’ I thought, looking them over. Everything was exactly as described: {Blacksmithing} would grant me skill with a hammer, and the innate knowledge of how to bend metal; {Engineering} would help me make mechanical structures and such; and {Programming} would help me code. But, seeing as I was just a child who didn’t have access to technology, I decided none of those were right, at the moment. Besides, I wanted to do something exotic, which left only {Alchemy}, {Enchanting}, and {Runecrafting}. The rest, I could pick up without a gem.

{Alchemy} was certainly an interesting option, as the concept of potions was cool. I wasn’t particularly good at chemistry, in my past life, but I was knowledgeable enough in the subject. I knew from listening to father that potions were a rare and valued resource, so being able to make them would be nice. Still, I could pick that up later, either through apprenticeship beneath an established alchemist, or if I got another gem.

{Runecrafting} was also interesting, because they, from what I got from the skill description, allowed magical actions to be ascribed to objects, allowing them to perform tasks automatically. Collecting the soul of a slain creature and storing it into a gem connected to a sword, for instance, or automatically absorbing blood to be disposed of at a later date. I speculated it could be used for much more advanced things, but that could, again, wait.

It was {Enchanting} I ended up picking, and not only because I could use it immediately. Being able to enhance any mundane equipment, even things like clothing, to have certain qualities would be invaluable in certain circumstances. Besides, I was certain I could convince mother and father to get me stuff to grind the skill on, which would then allow me to make some personal funds enchanting stuff for the people in Endrillion. The perfect skill to get me started on my mercantile empire.

[Skill {Enchanting} Learned!]
<Enchanting> (1/100)
Crafting Skill: You can use mana to assign attributes to objects.

‘ Cool, ’ I nodded. I decided to wait on the rest of my loot until I was ready, going back to reading with a happily-content expression on my face. I cycled my mana as I did so, trying to grind my <Mana Control> skill as I went. I could do so without taking away from my concentration, now, which was nice.

*****

That night, during dinner, I requested an audience with my parents. Father and Ravelus were shocked when I spoke up, but that only lasted for a short time before I finished speaking, getting their focus. Father, of course, accepted, while Ravelus simply gaped at my ability to speak and walk. He knew it had taken him almost twice as long to do either.

The King and Queen led me to a sitting room, which I knew they used to patronize whatever noble family came for a visit that week. They were treating me like I had requested, then. I hopped up onto one couch, while mother and father took a chair each, across from me. Father stared at me inquisitively for several moments before speaking. “So, you can speak.”

“Yes,” I nodded. “I’ve been able to- to comprehend speech since I was b-born, but have been unable to em-ulate it. So, I’ve been content to simply l-learn. As you can s-see, I still struggle a bit.”

“Blessed indeed,” he nodded, a smile gracing his lips. “So, what is it you wanted an audience for?”

“I wanted to a-ask for a loan,” I said plainly. “I have an idea to help with th-the economical problem in our k-kingdom, and I need f-funds to get started.”

“Oh?” Mother cocked an eyebrow, interested. “And what is this idea of yours?”

“Many things, r-really, but the first is just a way to ea-earn money to both pay b-back the loan, and fund future pr-projects,” I said. “In my magical st-studies, I’ve noticed a few things about some of th-the objects around the castle. Some of the guards h-have things that are, from what I understand, m-magically enchanted. I would like to p-purchase some pieces of enchanted e-equipment to study, as well as unenchanted items to p-practice enchanting.”

Father hummed, scratching his beard as he thought. “You believe you can learn to enchant? I know you’re first awakening, but that’s a bit of a stretch.”

Mother looked at me for a moment before sighing. “He’s at his fourth awakening, right now. I witnessed the process, myself, nine months ago.”

Aedon paused. “And you didn’t bring it to my attention? What if he had died?”

“I believe the god that blessed him is protecting him,” Rel was quick to defend herself and me. She then looked off to the side with a wry smile. “Besides, I really wanted him to be a mage, so I might’ve been helping him learn to control magic since then…”

Arron’s eyes narrowed for a moment, then his expression softened and he simply sighed. “Maybe his magical prowess is what has allowed him to develop so quickly. Either way, I trust you with the lives of our sons, so I won’t be angry about the matter. As long as he is okay, in the end.”

Mother beamed. “That’s why I love you, honey~! So noble!” She hugged him.

Aedon coughed and nodded towards me, prompting mother to right herself with a blush. “So, you are fourth awakening. How is your mana control?”

“He was able to conduct environmental subsumption on his first try,” mother interjected.

“And I’ve im-improved much, since then,” I added. He nodded towards me, which I took as a queue to demonstrate. I first infused all of my mana into my aura, expelling almost all of it in a few seconds without disturbing anything before activating <Mana Absorption>. Instantly, my regeneration was boosted from 12% to 42%, making it take only two minutes to restore my 3600 MP. When I opened my eyes, father was staring at me with wide eyes, both at the display of quantity and control.

“How about this,” Aedon said, motioning to Ilyor. “We give you two objects - one enchanted, one not - and if you can replicate the enchantment by the end of the day, then we will give you your loan. Otherwise, you must figure it out on your own.”

“By the m-morning,” I haggled, causing him to raise an eyebrow. “There’s only s-six hours left in the day. I want until you w-wake up tomorrow.”

“Bold way to speak to a King, even if I am your father, but you have a deal,” Aedon smiled. “Ilyor, tell Pyarron to retrieve a leather shield with a durability enchantment, and an unenchanted leather shield. Tell him to bring them here, immediately.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Ilyor bowed before promptly leaving.

“I am proud that you’ve taken an interest in craftsmanship,” Aedon looked back at me. “I hope to see it work out for you, so try your best. Don’t be upset if you fail, however, as you’re still but an infant.”

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must return to my paperwork,” he stood and nodded to me and mother before leaving. “See you both tonight.”

I breathed a sigh of relief as soon as he exited. That was so tense! I was worried he’d turn me down, or get mad at me or mother for my usage of magic. And I haggled with him, The King ? Sure, he’s my father, and the chance of him punishing me is zero, but I should still know better! Mother noticed my demeanor and smiled.

“He had a bad experience with magic when he was young, so it’s only natural that he’d be worried for your safety, with you being so small,” she said. “Also, I suggest you speak with more respect, at least in a formal setting like this, even if he is your father. I know you don’t know such things, yet, which is why he allowed it, so we’ll have to teach you, soon.”

“R-right,” I stuttered, and not because of my struggle to control my lips. “I remember seeing b-books on the subject in the l-library. I’ll read th-them when I get the chance.”

“Good,” she nodded. The door opened and Pyarron came in with two leather shields. “The sooner those habits are implanted, the more natural they become as you develop. For now, I’ll watch as you try to figure this out.” Pyarron set the shields down on the table in front of me and promptly exited, inviting Ilyor back in.

I looked down at the shields, finding no physical difference between them, almost immediately. They were identical, likely crafted by the same person with the same leather stock. Instead, I shut my eyes and infused mana into my brain and aura, to better perceive the two shields. I hadn’t been told which one had the enchantment, after all, so that was the first step.

It didn’t take long for me to figure out which one had the durability enchantment, mostly because I knew it would affect the shield’s durability. A thin veil of mana wrapped around one of the shields, fed by a connection to the mana realm. Not using the mana realm to absorb mana from the environment, as with environmental subsumption, but drawing from the mana realm itself. It was then that I understood that enchanting wasn’t going to be as simple as the skill made it out to be.

Still, I took up the enchanted shield into my lap - the thing was way bigger than me - and held my head closer to it, so I didn’t have to strain to see it via my aura. 

The barrier was like a canvas of mana threads, overlapping and woven together like a sheet of cloth, then made solid. I focused my attention on the threads that made up the canvas, finding that they all converged on a single point, towards the edge of the shield. There, the thread actually passed into the mana realm. It took some effort, but I managed to bring my vision into the mana realm, allowing me to see the vast, esoteric plane, made up entirely of the energy of a higher dimension.

Physical matter wasn’t present in the mana realm. Instead, shadows of those objects could be ‘felt’ simply by focusing on an area. I could ‘feel’ the guards standing beyond the door to the room. Similarly, I could ‘feel’ the shield in my lap.

Something surrounded the ‘shadow’ of the shield. A veil of invisible runes that I could barely pick apart from the rest of the realm, unlike the stream of mana I pulled through it from the material world when absorbing mana. In fact, the only reason I could find it was because of the breach it was feeding mana through, into the material world. Otherwise, it would’ve blended in like blue on blue.

The runes were repeated four times, covering the surface of the veil in each of the cardinal directions.

Each rune took the shape of a Greek delta - a hollow triangle - with small marks around the edges and inside. It was simple enough to memorize, but too complex to describe, like in a textbook. It seemed my <Understanding> perk, combined with my <Enhanced Recollection> and <Insight> perks allowed me to memorize it with ease. I innately understood - not in words, though it became clear when I questioned myself about it explicitly - that the delta symbol was actually a part of an unspoken language used by enchanters to represent barriers.

How a triangle represents a barrier, I had no idea, but this was a fantasy world. For all I knew, potatoes didn’t exist.

Anyways, having memorized the symbol, I brought my attention over to the unenchanted shield, only to screw up my face as I tried to figure out how to create the threads of mana making up the enchantment. I pondered over it for a while, before deciding to attempt compressing my mana into a single point. I squeezed, and pushed with my mana control, creating a point in the physical realm where my mana was so dense, it was displacing the air slightly. Rather, it was disturbing the air; there was still air there, it was just thinner, by a tiny margin. Still, it was thick enough to appear just as it did on the other shield, only it moved around as I shifted my perception.

I tried creating a line from the point using the same method, but it just moved around to wherever my head was pointing, remaining in place relative to my brain and eyes. I quickly adapted, trying to remember its position relative to the room I was in, before my head started to hurt. Then, it became clear to me, and I simply anchored it to the shield. That way, wherever I moved the shield, the threads remained suspended above it.

How to make the little marks around the delta, though? Having practiced enough with making the threads, I brought my attention back over to the enchanted shield and inspected the space between the runes in the mana realm, finding that they did indeed continue, merging into the larger strands - only, they were less dense. Still connected, but less intensely.

Taking a deep breath, realizing I had been holding my breath for a while, I shifted back over to the soon-to-be-enchanted shield and started the process of creating the runes. I wanted to experiment, so I tried making eight runes instead of four, filling in for the intercardinal directions, too. I then brought the strand over to the edge of the shield and into the physical realm, before beginning to build the canvas thread by thread. It took a long time, regulating my mana control so I didn’t run out mid-process, but I managed to build the canvas four-layers thick, where the first shield had only been two. If I was correct, the enchantment should be twice as strong.

[Skill <Enchanting> Leveled Up! (3/100)]

I opened my eyes, suddenly feeling very tired, and looked over at the couch where my mother had been watching me. She had fallen asleep, slouching against the back of the couch with a line of drool dripping down her chin. I snickered at the sight before clearing my throat, waking her up.

“Eh? Why am I…? Oh,” she mumbled, sitting up. She looked over at me, remembering what had occurred the night before. “Ah, I got so caught up watching you work through my mana that I fell asleep! I dreamt of a network of channels being dug in rich soil, flooding with vibrant waters. It was so relaxing~…”

“I finished,” I said simply, holding up the shield I had enchanted. “I’m tired…”

“I’d imagine,” she chuckled, looking at the window. “It’s almost dawn!”

“What!?” I asked, surprised. I was still getting used to my voice being so high. “Jeez, it felt like minutes… I guess that’s what pure focus does…”

“I understand that feeling; many-a night has gone without seeing me rest, just because I got caught up in my work or studies,” mother nodded appreciatively. “You’re talking a lot better, now. Your vocabulary and grammar is refined.”

“It must be because your mommy is so good at talking to you~!” She ruined the compliment by picking me up and swinging me around like a doll as she spoke in a baby voice.

“Ah!” The commotion awoke Ilyor, who had fallen asleep in her chair as she sewed. She accidentally poked her finger with the needle, waking herself up fully.

“Oh, my!” Mother set me down.

“S-sorry, Your Majesty!” Ilyor hastily got up and set her set aside, bowing deeply as she tried to keep her blood from dripping on the carpet, smearing her uniform as she did so. “I must’ve fallen asleep at some point. I apologize! Did you need something?”

“Come here,” mother ordered, pointing at the floor in front of herself. Ilyor obeyed, almost stumbling as she walked. Mother grabbed her hand and held her bleeding finger, shutting her eyes for a moment. I immediately shut my eyes and focused on the spot with my mana senses, seeing as the mana within mother’s body passed through two… rings, before moving to her hand and spreading into Ilyor’s finger. I watched as the muscle and skin knitted back together, as if it had healed naturally, but in only a few seconds.

Brow scrunching, I looked back at my own core, and could see an array of similar rings, but one was brighter than all of the rest. An orange one; very dim and barely noticeable, but now that I could see it, it stood out easily. That seemed to be a trend when it came to magic - obvious things hiding in plain sight, as if hidden by the same magic that it channeled. Curious, I passed my mana through the ring, watching as it shifted from blue to orange. Focusing it into the aura around my hand, I noticed as the air started to heat up. Not by much, as I wasn’t using much mana, or really focusing it, but it was noticeable.

[Skill <Fire Manipulation> Leveled Up! (74/100)]

I stopped before I accidentally caught myself on fire, cutting off the supply through the ring and opening my eyes. Mother was looking at me with that weird smile again. I hesitate to call it weird, because she’s my mother, but it is weird, so… Anyways, I had apparently done another thing that I shouldn’t have been able to do. Typical, at this point. ‘ This system really is a cheat… ’

[Blame the one who created me.]

Before I could respond to the system, mother scooped me up. “Oh, my baby! Learning to use your gates already~!” She cooed while Ilyor gaped. She still hadn’t learned to use her gate, and she was twenty years older than him! Maybe she could ask one of the mages guarding the castle to teach her… “We’ll talk about that later. For now, let’s see your enchantment~!”

She picked up the shield, but she didn’t have an opportunity to look at it before the door was opened by a guard, admitting father into the room. Pyarron looked between the three of us, seeing the blood on Ilyor and Rel’s hands and cocking an eyebrow. Ilyor blushed and bowed, not knowing what to do, while mother simply smiled cheekily.

Father pursed his lips and turned towards me, decidedly ignoring the commotion. He had been dealing with this for over a decade, and had learned better than to address the things that happened around his love. “I was wondering why you both never returned. I assumed you’ve finished?”

“Yes, father,” I said, straightening my back and bowing. I picked up the shield I had enchanted - careful not to lose balance and fall over, and handed it to him. He inspected it for a few moments before nodding to Pyarron. Father held out his hand and picked up the other shield with some kind of telekinesis - invisible threads of mana, I realized while looking through my mana senses - as Pyarron drew his sword. I could immediately tell that the royal guard captain’s sword had multiple enchantments, as layer upon layer of runes were anchored to the blade and even his scabbard within the mana realm.

Pyarron stepped forward and slashed the shield, his enchanted sword making it a third through the shield despite its enchantment with a terrible rending sound. Two more targeted slashes, and the shield was cut in half.

Father then held mine up, and Pyarron did the same thing. However, it took him eight slashes - all perfect, as expected of his station - to get through. Father looked at the two halves - one of which no longer held the enchantment, due to being separated from the side that was still connected to the runes in the mana realm - then back at me. “Very well, you may have your loan. Write down what you need, and give it to Pyarron; he’ll get it for you. In return, we want 110% the worth of whatever you get.”

My eyes immediately opened wide. “Y-yes, father!” I almost shouted, overjoyed. Ten percent interest was reserved for the most trusted of those with the highest credit scores, back in America. I had been expecting twenty or thirty percent! This was a boon I’d gladly take.

“Good. I’ll see you both at breakfast, as I have to confirm a requisition order from Duke Stede. Farewell.” With that, he and Pyarron left. I looked down at the pieces of the shield and picked up that which was still connected to the enchantment. The fibers of the canvas were still there, but the edges had frayed as the blade tried to cut through it. The number of runes and layers of canvas did effect the strength of the enchantment. And, they could be layered one after another. I’d have to do some testing, in that regard.

“Well, I’ll leave you to it,” mother said, looking down at the drying blood on her hands. She produced a bit of water from her palm and used it to wipe off the blood, gathering it into a ball, which was reduced to vapor in an instant. So fast, I couldn’t even observe the process. Usually, she slowed it down, so I could see, but she probably assumed I couldn’t use water magic, so it didn’t matter. Judging by the fact that I had at least the core six rings - five of which were currently inactive - I could, though. “Ilyor, help my son compile a list of the things he needs. Help him find books on enchanting, too.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Ilyor bowed.

“Goodbye, darling. I have to go check up on your brother before breakfast,” mother smiled at me before excusing herself. Ilyor busied herself by picking up the broken shields and tucking them under her arm before leading me back to the library, dumping the refuse in a chute along the way. It didn’t take long to find the section on magic - seventh floor, in the back - though it did take a bit longer to find the few books on enchanting. I picked out one on the designated runes and rune modifiers - the rages around the edge of the primary rune - and another on the theory behind each one.

I was dead tired, but my high END allowed me to stay awake for days on-end without any negative repercussions, so I was able to endure it as I read. Ilyor didn’t have my END, though, so she fell asleep at the table, snoring loudly. It was somewhat annoying, but I allowed it to continue, because it was my fault she was this tired. Besides, the look on her face when she realized she had fallen asleep on the job again would be entertaining.

*****

Two days later, mother woke me up and insisted upon carrying me somewhere. I hesitantly allowed it, watching as she went downstairs a whole fifteen floors, which went down below the throne room, dining hall, kitchens, and gardens. I knew that the castle continued down into the plateau, as the royal jail, treasury, bunkers, and storages were there, but I didn’t expect it to go down this deep. It was cold down there, too. Not freezing, but it was winter time, and the temperature dropped accordingly, underground, especially without the warming enchantments that were placed on each floor tile in the castle proper.

She stopped two floors below the ground floor and turned down a hall. I made sure to note the way back as we went, just in case. It didn’t take long for us to arrive at a double-wide door, about as big as a carriage. Mother held me with one arm and knocked on the door, which opened inwards a few moments later. Inside was a rather large space, about twenty square meters, with a vaulted ceiling that stood at about eight meters in height. A couple tables sat around the edge of the room, and in the center, while shelves spanned the entire back wall - a horizontally-sliding ladder arrayed to roll in front of it.

In the room were two people - Ilyor, and a man I had never seen before. He was tall and broad-shouldered, wearing blue and gold-colored plate armor that must’ve weighed fifty kilograms. On his back was a massive great-ax, inlaid with several gems and lined with gold.

“Sweetie, this will be your new workshop!” Mother said, setting me down. “It used to be mine, back when I was just visiting royalty, but now you can use it however you like!”

“Really?!” My eyes widened.

“Of course!” Mother smiled and pet my ears - something she had been doing more frequently, now that my hair was longer. “Now, let me introduce you to your new bodyguard, Sir Vaquin. One of the fifty-eight knights of the Eilon kingdom.”

“A knight?” I cocked an eyebrow. “Don’t you all have better things to do than guard a kid?”

“You are the second son of the reigning king,” Sir Vaquin said simply. “It is an honor to serve him so directly. And, frankly, this is better than overseeing the feud between the Quia and Quio Duchies.”

“I chose Sir Vaquin because he’s not so formal, just like you. He comes from a civilian background,” mother explained. “He will guard you whenever you leave the castle - he is a very capable knight!”

‘ Ouch, ’ I thought. I wasn’t that bad, was I? I shook my head and glanced over at Sir Vaquin, using <Observe>.

[Whinn Vaquin]
Race: Human;
Titles: Forty-Ninth Knight of Eilon; Peasant Knight;
Age: 27
Rank: Human*** (1.6x)
Affinities: Wind; Space;
Level: 280 (73%)
Health Status: 8960/8960
Mana Status: 4480/4480 (5th)
Stamina Status: 8960/8960
Body: 896(560) (+2/)
Mind: 448(280) (+1/)
Spirit: 448(280) (+1/)
Status: In good health and spirits.
Thoughts On You: Curiosity; Respect; Wonder; Quasi-Familial Love;

‘ Oh? A three-star human? No wonder he has such high stats for a level two-eighty, ’ I missed in my head. ‘ Quasi-familial love? Does he have a younger brother, or a son? Something to ask him about, later. ’

“It’s a pleasure, Sir Vaquin. I’ll be in your care,” I said, nodding to him. Royalty only bowed to other royalty, as father made abundantly clear to Ravelus day after day. 

He nodded in return, living up to mother’s description. “You’re how old, again?”

“Ten months, two weeks,” I answered simply. It was always entertaining to see people react to how much I had grown in so short a time, but Vaquin didn’t look impressed. I cleared my throat awkwardly and looked at Rel. “So, I can go outside?”

“Yes,” she said with no small amount of hesitance. “So long as you don’t flaunt your position, you should be okay. With Sir Vaquin with you, you’ll be safe. Just… be careful. Even your brother hasn’t left the castle often.”

“I understand, mother,” I nodded. “I’ve thought about that, and I have an idea. A cover persona-“

A portal opened up in a corner of the room, alerting the four of us. Vaquin shouldered his ax, while mother condensed liquid in the air itself into the shape of a wand in her hand. Ilyor stepped back to give them room, while I drew fire from several candles around the room into a basketball-sized sphere above my hand. A few tense moments passed, before a seven-year-old girl walked through the portal…

‘ What the fu- ‘ mother slapped the back of my head lightly, before I could finish. How she knew when me and dad swore, or were intending to swear, I had no idea. She didn’t even notice it, either, never commenting on it.

“Hallo~! Kyun was told to drop off these shipments of stuff~!” The girl said happily, completely ignoring the weapons. She was short, even for her young age, with vibrant pink hair, tied up in buns with red ribbons. Juxtaposed to her bright hair and expression, she wore a dirty jumpsuit, with a leather apron over it. Too big for her, by a long shot. With a wide smile, she reached back through the portal and grabbed something, then yanked on it, eventually pulling a cart through.

The cart was long, holding several large crates I could only assume were filled with the stuff I’d requested. Why it was being delivered via portal, and by a little girl, I had no idea.

[Kyun Andre]
Race: Spirit; Human;
Titles: Space Prodigy;
Age: 7
Rank: Space Spirit (3x)
Affinities: Space;
Level: 18 (19%)
Health Status: 1080/1080
Mana Status: 380/1620 (3/m) (4th)
Stamina Status: 1080/1080
Body: 108(36) (+2/)
Mind: 162(54) (+3/)
Spirit: 54(18) (+1/)
Status: Joyous and content.
Thoughts On You: Curiosity; Placid Infatuation (You are Cute);

‘ What the fuc- ‘ I got hit again. ‘ She’s super strong, and she’s only seven?! No wonder she’s called a prodigy, with stats like that! A three-times multiplier?! I have a measly one-point-two! Some people are way too overpowered! ’

[You’re one to talk.]

‘ …I guess not, but I can still be flabbergasted at the sight of someone else with cheats! This girl will be stronger than mother, if she trains seriously! Only level eighteen, and she’s one-sixteenth as strong as the Mage Queen! ’

“Aww, does my son have a crush?” Mother teased me, ruffling my hair.

“N-no! I just felt her magic, and it’s super strong for her age!” I denied immediately, looking up at her.

“Yes, Kyun’s magic is an oddity, just like yours,” mother nodded. “It started rapidly developing after her first awakening, a year ago.”

“How do you know her, if I may ask?” Vaquin asked, replacing his ax at his back.

“She’s Pyarron’s niece,” Rel answered. “Her and her mother are in the smithing trade; among the best in the nation. Her magic helps them make deliveries incredibly quickly, so I asked Pyarron to contact them.”

“Yup! Kyun’s space magic is very handy~!” Kyun exclaimed, creating a portal beside her and reaching through to scratch the back of her head. I blinked, realizing she referred to herself in the third person, and beckoned mother down to me.

“There’s something weird about her, too,” I whispered. Mother made the connection and nodded.

“Yes, she’s only half human. I’ll explain it to you, some day; or, maybe she’ll do it herself,” she whispered back. “For now, be polite and thank her for bringing us your supplies!”

“Oh, right,” I nodded, turning back to Kyun. “Thank you for delivering my goods!”

“Anytime~!” Kyun grinned. “Kyun had better get going before-“ the portal closed with a snap, and Kyun fell onto her butt with a grunt. “…Before she runs out of mana…”

“Oh, no! Are you okay?” Mother rushed to the girl’s side.

“Yes,” Kyun answered. “Mana exhaustion isn’t as bad for Kyun. She will be fine in a few minutes, though she won’t be able to open a portal for a while…”

‘ Ah, that’s my fault. I shouldn’t have kept her waiting for so long, ’ I frowned. “Will you lose any business because of this? I’m willing to reimburse you, if you will,” I said.

“No, Kyun only makes one shipment a day,” she said, getting up and wiping the dirt from her jumpsuit. At least, that which she had picked up from her fall; the rest of the garment was still completely covered. “This happens, sometimes. Kyun’s magic takes a lot of mana, at this distance.”

“Well, you can come up into the castle for a while, if you want,” mother offered. “We will be having breakfast after Alistair inspects the goods you delivered, which you are more than welcome to join us for!”

“Kyun would like that, Your Margensty,” Kyun said with a smile.

After that, Vaquin opened each crate and took out a few of the contents for me to examine. Shields - wooden, studded, leather, and steel; weapons - swords, axes, daggers, bows, arrows, maces, and hammers; common goods - utensils, farming tools, buckets, and such; and a whole bunch of other crap I had thought of. All of it was high quality, and in perfect condition. With it, Kyun had brought a piece of paper that read the total cost of the supplies - a staggering five-hundred gold pieces. One gold piece was worth about 150$, from my estimation, bringing to total to 75,000$.

Fortunately, enchanted items were worth much more than their unenchanted counterparts, so I could easily make three-times that with just that, while leveling up my <Enchanting> skill as I went! With every level, the process would become faster, and cheaper, which was worth the price by itself!

Breakfast went well. Apparently, Kyun was acquainted not only with mother, but with father and Ravelus, too. Her status as a magical prodigy, and her father’s previous knighthood, allowed her some manner of proximity to the royal family, even after her father’s passing. As such, the meal was saturated with laughter, which I appreciated.

After eating, Kyun said she wanted to go back down into my workshop with me, to see what I would do with the goods she delivered. Mother agreed, and I decided to allow it, if only because of the pleading look on her face. In the two days between my first enchantment and getting my workshop, I had read through the books on enchanting I’d picked out, memorizing everything within. As such, I was able to get to work on my next enchantment almost immediately, which happened to be another durability enchantment.

I decided to conduct a test, first enchanting a wooden shield with a four-rune fire-resistant barrier, then a second one with two layers of four-rune fire-resistant barriers. Using <Fire Manipilation>, I blasted either one with fire, and counted the seconds until the enchantments broke, managing not to burn the shields themselves. The double-layered enchantment lasted 150% as long as the single-layered one, at twelve seconds over eight.

Since I had done no damage to the shields themselves, I focused and enchanted each with a sixteen-rune durability - eight layer canvas - which took roughly four hours each. By the time I was done, Kyun had enough mana to leave - I could tell via <Observe> - but she decided to stay for dinner.

We talked while I drew up enchantment plans, and meshed together pretty well. I could say she was somewhat of a friend, though I hesitated to say so, because she was so hard to read. The only emotion I ever got from her - outside of using <Observe> - was happiness. Even when she talked about her recently-deceased father, who had been the seventh knight of Eilon, and a mid-level Spacial Spirit. Her being Half-Spirit is what made her so powerful, magically.

“Kyun should go, now,” she said, standing from her chair and walking into the center of the room. “She thanks you for the interesting dialogue and cool magics show. She would be happy if you purchased from her mother’s smithy again, so she could have an excuse to visit!”

“You’re Pyarron’s niece, so you could always visit him, and see us as a side benefit,” I offered.

She shook her head. “Kyun is only permitted to use her magic to make deliveries to the castle, as the wards would read her intent and deny her entry, otherwise,” she said, frowning for the first time since I had met her. “The answer, then, is for you to buy lots of stuff from us!”

‘ …I can’t tell if she’s lying, or not… ’

[Get more charisma; there’s a perk for that.]

‘ Oh, thank you. ’ I nodded, more to Kyun than to the system. “I’ll find a way to let you visit more often, though I really shouldn’t take away from your time, like that.”

“Kyun and Prince Alistair are friends, though, are they not?” She asked, cocking her head to the side. “Kyun is friends with Prince Ravelus, after all.”

“O-oh! Uh, y-yeah, we’re friends!” I stammered, blinking as if I’d seen a flashbang go off. Make no mistake, I wasn’t attracted to Kyun, or anything. As I said, I don’t like-like little girls. I just… never really had any friends, aside from Anne and Ricky - Johnny’s son. But they didn’t count, because they were family. Kyun had unknowingly become my first friend in two short lifetimes, which deeply affected me.

Kyun smiled and turned around, releasing a concentrated burst of mana that passed through her only ring and into the air in front of her. It shredded through both the physical realm and the mana realm, creating a wormhole that stretched through the fifth dimension to the Andre estate all the way in the Ma’Run Duchy. She curtsied to me before stepping through, shutting off the portal a few moments later.

I immediately got to work, enchanting all fifty of the wooden shields with sixteen-rune, eight-layer-canvas durability enchantments. I got faster and faster as I went, going from four hours to two, then to an hour. By the time I finished with the last shield, two days later, I could do that level of enchantment in forty minutes.

[Skill <Enchanting> Leveled Up! (9/100)]

It seemed crafting skills took a lot more to level up than the ones like <Mana Control> and <Fire Manipulation>. Probably because it was based on the number of successful enchantments and the quality of those enchantments. Speaking of my other skills, I had leveled them up a ton, in the ten months I’d been here.

[Skills]
–(Passive)--
<Beastfolk Kinship> (7/100)
Allows you to find kinship with animals.
<Fire Affinity> (41/100)
+13% Skill EXP with all fire related skills.
<Royal Presence> (60/100)
You have an innate aura that encourages respect and attention.
<Mana Control> (99/100)
You can passively control mana with greater efficacy.
–(Active)--
<Observe> (99/100)
You can, upon activation, obtain information on the target person or object.
-1mp
<Fire Manipulation> (73/100)
You can bend fire to your will.
-13mp(v)
<Mana Infusion> (98/100)
You can infuse your mana into something, increasing its effectiveness.
-11mp(v)
<ID Create> (2/100)
Allows you to create and enter an instant dungeon at will. You can alter the flow of time within, and even disable your aging, but only to a degree determined by the skills level. Currently, you can make time 1:1, and you cannot disable aging.
-10mp
<ID Escape> (2/100)
Allows you to escape an instant dungeon at will. You cannot do so in certain sections, or in boss rooms, and you may be restricted by your mana, or lack thereof.
-25mp
<Mana Absorption> (55/100)
Increase your MP regen by 225%. Can be done with an idle thought.
<Enchanting> (9/100)
Crafting Skill: You can use mana to assign attributes to objects.

Crazy, I know. It seemed as if I had hit a plateau with <Observe> and <Mana Control>, as I couldn’t reach level 100 for the life of me. I, then, either required an item, or a massive amount of EXP for them. Either way, I was just below the peak of what a Human-Beastkin could do, in terms of <Mana Control> and <Mana Infusion>. I wondered if I could surpass that, somehow. Possibly by changing my race?

[There is a potion you can make with <Alchemy> that allows you to change your race, with the right ingredients.]

‘ Oh, aren’t you suddenly helpful, ’ I grumbled mentally. Either way, I was ready for another enchanting test. I had one of the steel tower shields set up in front of me. Without a ritual setup, one could not add more than two different enchantments, or over a certain number of runes, to an item. Now, I planned upon putting two sixteen-rune enchantments onto this one, using up all of the ‘free’ slots.

Enchanting different materials took varying amounts of mana and focus, which was why I had stuck to wooden shields up until this point. I wanted to try doing the most I possibly could on something that would be the most resistant to it. I had just woken up, and mother agreed to have my meals sent down to me for the day, so I had all day to work on this. Hopefully, it wouldn’t take that long. Ilyor and Vaquin sat in one corner of the room, working on the paperwork I’d asked father for, which would help move along my plans.

Taking a deep breath, I started my work. First, on the bottom layer of the enchantment. Sixteen barrier runes, with all of their tags, arrayed equidistant from one another around the circumference of a circle, all the way around the center of the shield. Each line had to be perfectly placed, otherwise the enchantment would be weaker, so I took my time in making it. I don’t know how much time passed, as I didn’t stop to check my atlas, but I knew several hours had passed before I was done.

I took the thread connecting it all together and brought it out a layer, then repeated the process again, only stopping to regenerate my mana and eat along the way. It was more difficult, as I had to discern the new thread from that which I was layering over - and drawing in a three-dimensional space with only my ‘eyes’ was incredibly taxing on my brain - but I managed to finish the second layer faster than I had the first layer.

Bringing the thread into the physical realm, I began layering it in a fractal pattern over and over again, meshing it together like a chain-link fence. I thought this would make it stronger, like it did with metal on a molecular level. I also made the gaps as narrow as possible, and covered the entirety of the shield - front and back. It took a long time, almost twice as long as the enchantment runes, but I eventually wove sixteen layers of this canvas - the maximum the runes could handle with their current tags.

I decided to bring the thread back into the mana realm and connected it back into where I had started, creating a loop that made the construct even more efficient, as it could then repair itself. The whole process consumed about 500,000 mana, over the course of eighteen hours.

[Skill <Enchanting> Leveled Up! (12/100)]

I felt utterly exhausted, but it was worth it. Three whole <Enchanting> levels from one item.

Vaquin was still awake, used to staying up for days on-end in combat, but Ilyor was snoring as she leaned on the knight’s armored shoulder. The man looked very annoyed, but held his tongue for the sake of my focus. Ho notice me looking at him and cleared his throat, waking the maid up.

“Eh? What?” She mumbled, sitting up and wiping the drool from her chin. “Ah, shit! Did I fall asleep again ?!”

“For the fifth time this week,” I answered simply, a teasing smile on my face. “Oh my, Miss Hegna will not be pleased…”

“Ouaah… Don’t tease me, Your Highness…” Ilyor blushed deeply, then coughed and cleared her throat. “D-did you finish?”

“Yes,” I said, patting the shield that was almost twice as tall as me.

“Took you long enough. What enchantments?” Vaquin asked.

“Double-layer sixteen-rune barrier enchantments devided between all tags. Sixteen-layer barrier wrapping around the entire thing, rebound so it can self-repair.”

“You’re joking, right?” Vaquin laughed. When I didn’t, however, he slowed and stared me down. “You’re not joking?” I simply shook my head. “That’s- that’s impossible! Such a thing should take a hundred times the mana you have, which would be many-times impossible to regenerate in so short a time as eighteen hours! It would take a master enchanter months to fulfill that enchantment!”

I shrugged. “I’m built different.” The room was silent for several minutes. “So, did you finish that paperwork?”

Chapter Text

I breathed deeply in anticipation as I sat in the back of the carriage. Sitting next to me were Ilyor and Vaquin, and across from me was the storage room to my little shop trailer. Father had it built for me while I was grinding my <Enchanting> as a little bonus on top of his loan. I knew it was really an excuse for mom to let me out of the castle grounds, which is why she had assigned Vaquin to me, in the first place. Now that the time had come for me to actually go out and advertise my trade, however, I was very nervous.

Still, I had come up with a game plan to get my name - fake as it is - out there. Sterling Industries, named after my previous self, would be a general merchandising company. It would start in enchanting, selling pre-enchanted goods of all kinds, and enchanting objects to specification on command. For now, my plan took me to one of the large, market squares spread throughout the city. It was in a moderately-wealthy area, but not too wealthy, as to avoid nobles. There was a reason Vaquin was wearing less ‘I’m a knight, look at me!’ armor. I was taking every precaution possible, as per my mother’s pleading. Of course, I had enchanted this less flamboyant armor myself; each individual piece with the same treatment as I had my first steel shield.

The carriage came to a stop, and I could hear the bustling civilian activity outside. It was a shame I wouldn’t get to see it, myself. Ilyor, Vaquin, and the carriage driver - a man by the name of Juak - began setting up the front, displaying the items I had enchanted on racks. Once they were ready, I signaled for Ilyor to begin, prompting her to step up onto a soap box and clear her throat loudly. 

“H-hello, everyone! I am here on behalf of Sterling Industries to show off our products; high-quality enchanted goods of many varieties!” She said nervously, catching a few people’s attention. “We have everything from swords to spoons, shields to camp ovens; all forged and crafted by the good folk at the Andre Armory!” This got much more attention, as the Andre family were among the highest-quality smiths in the nation. A few people started to gather around the display. 

“All of that was then enchanted by Sterling, himself, who is burgeoning on his fifth-awakening! All of it has been tested extensively and recognized by a Royal Court mage! Its information is available on the tags glued to the items!” At this, a few people approached the goods and inspected the items. Juak and Vaquin would read it aloud to those who couldn’t read, but the majority of people in this could work out a sentence, as most of them were merchants themselves.

Now came the gamble. “To display the quality of our goods, we have a special event going on! Put your name on one of the slips of paper over there, and put it in the hat; the name that is drawn gets an item enchanted for free! Whatever they want!”

“Anything? As much as we want?” A man asked, approaching.

“A-anything that can be done without a ritual!” Ilyor answered as I had told her to. At this, word spread through the square quickly, and a much larger crowd gathered. Everyone started putting their names into the hat, or dictating them to the two men. Ilyor continued to explain the different enchantment types and levels, showing off item after item while the names were gathered. Word had spread beyond this square, and down the street, so some people of lesser wealth had come up with their tools, hoping to be chosen. Enchantments were rare and expensive, so a free one up to level four was a big deal.

Eventually, Ilyor took the hat - which was brimming with tiny slips - and dug through it, mixing it around until she picked one out. “Priel!” She called out. A man who appeared to be an adventurer stepped forward. He wore a brown cloak, with light armor beneath. At his hip was an elegant rapier, which he took from his belt.

“I am Priel,” he said as everyone in the crowd groaned as they weren’t chosen.

A few of them started to walk off, to which Ilyor was quick to shout out, saying “Come back tomorrow for another chance at a free enchantment! This will be continuing every day for the next six days!” SHe then turned to Priel. “You would like your sword enchanted? With what?”

“Sharpness and durability,” Priel answered. Ilyor moved to grab the sword, but he pulled it away. “However, I would like to meet this Sterling , first. Just to make sure my family’s sword isn’t being stolen by someone with a spacial affinity.”

“I’m- I’m sorry, but I can’t-”

“It’s arlight,” I called out, opening the door a crack.

“O-okay, you can go in, but be warned that mister Stirling is very strong! Despite... his appearance,” Ilyor warned. She ushered the man into the carriage before returning to selling the items I had brought.

Priel pulled open the door and stepped in, finding me sitting on one of the two bench seats, hands tented on my lap. He blinked at me before sitting with a sigh. “So, you’re scamming these people?” He said plainly.

I raised an eyebrow. “No. What gave you that idea?”

“You are a child, no more than five. How am I to believe that you are this Sterling ?” Priel questioned, setting his blade aside.

“My age is irrelevant,” I answered coldly. “The business of a merchant is based on merit. What can I offer? How can I offer it? Put plainly, I can do a level four enchantment in less than an hour, and I have other people capable of selling it for me. You’re right in doubting me for my age; which is why I have Ilyor out there, instead of doing it myself.”

“So, I have to take you on your word alone, that you are capable of what you say?” Priel asked sarcastically.

“If you don’t believe me, I will give you enough money for a disenchantment, in addition to the enchantment. That way, you can have it reversed, if it dissatisfies you,” I said. “How much does a disenchantment go for?”

He looked at me for a moment. “Twenty silver.” This got me to cock an eyebrow. I knew how much a disenchantment went for - one gold, which was five-times more than he had said. I was testing his honesty, to see if I had to pay him for his silence as to my identity, or not, but he had gone the opposite of the way I had expected. I reached into my money pouch and pulled out a gold coin, flipping it to him.

“Keep the change, then,” I said. “Now, would you like the free enchantment? Or should I give it to someone else?”

“Give me a proper enchantment, and I will advertise your work to my friends in the guild,” Priel offered.

“I can’t turn away free advertising,” I smiled, holding out my hand. He shook it before dropping his sword in my lap. I took a moment to inspect it, both magically and physically. It was very high quality - very high. Previously a royal armament, if I had to guess - albeit one from another nation. Judging from his accent, Priel came from the kingdom of Ovrael, far to the West. It was thin and long, made of mithril, if I had to guess. Mithril did exist in this world, which I had learned when father explained his crown, which was made of the same stuff. Taking the blade out of its scabbard, it was indeed made of the same, blue gem-metal as my father’s crown. I could feel the remnants of an older enchantment - broken, by some powerful magic - lingering around the blade in the mana realm.

“Was this blade enchanted, before?” I asked, opening my eyes and looking at Priel.

“How can you tell?” He asked.

“Threads linger about it, though I cannot tell of what enchantment,” I replied.

“I’d hope not,” he chuckled. “It is of a lost language, one from my homeland. Lost to time, I’m afraid. I want to restore some of the sword’s former glory, which is why I took the chance in placing my name in that hat.”

“I won’t disappoint,” I said firmly. “Mithril is harder to enchant than steel, so it will take upwards of eight hours, but I can compensate with a full enchantment of your scabbard, too.”

“I can’t turn away a free service,” he grinned.

With a nod, I got started. I began lining up the durability runes, first. Eight of them, down either side of the blade, connected back and forth like shoelaces. The thread went through into the physical world below the guard, then worked a sixteen-layer fractal canvas up and down the blade, then around the basket guard - covering the origin thread, in the process - the handle, and the pommel. Priel watched me the entire time, while my three workers sold enchanted items outside. All of them were affordable, so people could actually buy them, use them, and tell their friends and family about their quality. Once I got an actual building, I’d start selling the more expensive items.

The fact that I was doing such an item for free pained my heart, but a deal was a deal.

Once I finished with the durability enchantment - a barrier enchantment that focused on physical damage negation - I went back into the mana realm and started working on the sharpness enchantment - a charm that would literally rend space in front of the edge of the blade, to a degree. It went across the edge of the blade, and had to be arranged perfectly, to cut right. Sixteen of them, with their spines aligned parallel to the edge of the blade. In the physical realm, I created the blade extension out of thread. Layer by layer, as much as the enchantment could maintain continually.

Eventually, I connected the thread back into the spot where I started the durability runes, creating a loop that would repair the enchantment automatically.

I opened my eyes and set the blade down, exhausted. I had to continually use environmental subsumption to sustain myself while slowly working on the enchantments. After finishing with the sword, I enchanted the sheath with mending and cleaning, so the blade would maintain perfect condition, so long as it was sheathed regularly. It was very rewarding to work on such a masterpiece of a weapon, so I wasn’t sour about not getting paid for it, anymore.

Besides, I got a good bonus, EXP-wise.

[SKill <Enchanting> Leveled Up! (21/100)]

‘ Nice ,’ I nodded satisfactorily as I sheathed the rapier and proffered it to the waiting adventurer. “It’s all done,” I said. “Sixteen-rune physical-defense array, connected to a sixteen-layer fractal canvas; a sixteen-rune sharpness array, which will split one cir out and three mir on either side. I’ve used the same array in a test, before, and it cut through low-grade iron - the type used in common armor often worn by goblins, kobolds, and such. The sheath has a self-cleaning enchantment, which will draw all of the blood, dirt, and other refuse from within and expel it through vapor. It’s sixteen runes, so it can do so in an hour. It also has a self-repairing enchantment, operating on the same time scale, which will use ambient mana to replicate material to repair the blade, but only when it’s sheathed. Of course, that low-grade mithril breaks down when disconnected from the blade, so don’t expect to be selling shavings.”

Priel glanced between me and the sword with wide eyes before taking it out and inspecting the blade. As I had said, the tiny scratches had already been filled in by low-grade mithril, just from its time in the scabbard while I was explaining. “Holy shit, you really are an enchanter...”

“I don’t lie about my abilities,” I smiled. “Make sure to say good things about me, if you like what I’ve done. Don’t mention my apparent age, if you could; I wouldn’t want people to doubt me simply for my appearance.”

He nodded in understanding. “I will uphold my end of the bargain. Thank you, again, for this; such charity, even if it is to spread word of your business, is not often seen among merchants.”

“I intend to do far more than charity, Priel,” I stood and offered a hand. He accepted it and shook, his hand completely enveloping mine. “Farewell.”

“Farewell, Mister Stirling.” He bowed before exiting the carriage. Ilyor poked her head in, as she had done a couple times while I was enchanting, to check on me. I nodded to her, and she closed the door.

“There you have it, four level-four enchantments applied in only ten hours! Enchantments of the same quality will be given out for free, once a day for the next six days, so come back, and bring your items!” She shouted. Of course, none of the original gatherees were still there, but word had stuck around, as Ilyor reminded them every so often. “In the meantime, check out our affordable enchanted goods! Cheaper than anywhere else in the city, and dare-I-say better quality!”

I simply waited in the cabin of the carriage and waited, practicing my <Fire Manipulation> by drawing runes out of flame in the air. I wanted so badly to go into a dungeon, and grind monsters for EXP, but I didn’t want to make mother worry again. Thinking about it, there, gave me an idea. I’d have to talk to them about it; maybe the next day, since I was planning on attaining my fifth awakening that night. I had waited these two weeks was mainly because I had gotten distracted. Enchanting was such an interesting process that I had somewhat forgotten my plans, as far as regular magic went. I had also yet to use the <1d4 LVL Fruit>, which I pulled out, now.

It looked like a spherical strawberry, with seed pockets covering the entire thing, and a tuft of greenery sprouting from one section. I hesitantly bit it, but quickly devoured it once I tasted it. It did, indeed, taste like dragonfruit, which I happened to enjoy. Once it was gone, leaves and all, I got a pop-up.

[Bonus!]
+3 LVL

[Level Up! X3]
+6 STR, CON, END, DEX, CHA, LCK
+12 WIS
+15  Stat Points
+18 INT
+750 SC
+3 Item <Gacha Token>

I went into my status and allocated the thirty-five points I had before nodding to myself.

[Status]
-Identity-
Name: Alistair Eil
Race: Human; Beastfolk (Cat);
Age: 0 (17)
Class: Fire Elementalist(11/100)
Rank: Mortal* (1.2x)
Titles: Blessed;
Alignment: Lawful Good
Level: 11 (184/600)
-Stats-
Health Status: 1150/1150 (+11.5%/m)
Mana Status: 4230/4230 (+13.4%/m)
Stamina Status: 670/670 (+6.7%/m)
STR: 67(56) (+1*2/)
CON: 115(86) (+1*2/)
DEX: 67(56) (+1*2/)
END: 67(56) (+1*2/)
INT: 423(353) (+3*2/)
WIS: 134(112) (+2*2/)
CHA: 127(106) (+1*2/)
LCK: 247(206) (+1*2/)
Points: 0 (+5/)

Now, I could attain my sixth awakening, right after my fifth. After altering my plans because of that, I took out one of the three gacha tokens I got and bit it.

[Rolling 3x Gacha Tokens…]

[Rolling…]

[Entries 57, 36, and 114 Rolled!]

[<Mind-Refining Incense>, <Senzu Bean> x10, and <Ancient Phoenix Feather> Added to {Inventory}!]
<Mind-Refining Incense>
A stick of incense that, when inhaled by up to three people, purges impurities and raises INT, WIS, CHA, and LCK by 5d4 each. Takes three hours to burn, and smells of chamomile.
<Senzu Bean> x10
 A small bean that, when consumed, restores the body to peak natural condition. This includes magic and stamina, but does not heal scarred wounds, nor diseases. Tastes like fish.
<Ancient Phoenix Feather>
An ancient phoenix’s feather.

“Awesome...” I pulled out the feather and looked at it. It was large, about the size of a quill, and radiated heat. It seemed to burn white-hot from tip to center, slowly fading to orange by its end, but it didn’t hurt to touch. In fact, I even felt a little better, holding it. A quick check revealed that my CON and END had been boosted by 10%, just holding it! ‘ If I get another crafting skill crystal, I’m choosing <Alchemy> so I can make that race change potion... being part phoenix would be cool... ’

[I’ve never seen one of you do that.]

I smirked, and was about to reply when the door opened. Ilyor and Vaquin stepped in, having packed up what they hadn’t sold. A moment later, the carriage started moving back up towards the castle. I really wanted to get out and wander around, but couldn’t do so without the risk of being recognized by any of lesser nobles in the area. They knew me by my appearance, as I had been attending the monthly Court meetings.

“So, what does the report look like?” I asked, looking at Ilyor.

“After we announced the event, the number of people in the crowd balanced at around one-hundred people. It went down a little, once Priel was selected, but slowly rose back to one-hundred until we started packing up,” she said. “We sold sixty objects, three of which were the higher-quality items you brought, totalling to ten gold, and six silver.”

“According to the royal commerce reports, over-the-table enchanting business make anywhere between five and fifty gold per day, in Endrillion. I didn’t expect us to do so well, considering our fresh blood,” I said, nodding in thought as I recalled the merchant revenue documents I had read in the library.

“Literally, in some cases,” Vaquin muttered. I ignored him, and took the pouch Ilyor handed me, which contained the money. I sold a gold to the shop and bought it back in silver, then handed 159 to Vaquin and 159 to Ilyor.

“Your payment, for the day,” I said with a smile.

“One-hundred and sixty silver?!” Ilyor gasped, making me pause. If I was right, that was worth roughly two-hundred USD, which equated to twenty dollars an hour for the ten hours they’d worked, that day. Was that too much? Come to think of it, I do recall the most common daily wage being fifty silver, for most enchanters.

“Yes,” I decided to play coy, cocking my head to the side. “Do you not deserve it?”

“I-I, uh,” Ilyor stammered.

“Don’t tease her, Alistair,” Vaquin commented dryly. “Thank you for the payment; I can buy eighty ales, with this.”

I deadpanned in his direction. People like him are why the alcohol industry thrived, even in a fantasy world. I had a bit of a distaste for alcohol, as it was what got my previous dad’s and Johnny’s gangs into their feud. Albeit, a few generations back, during the prohibition. Suffice it to say that I wasn’t a fan of alcohol or its abuse. “Or you could... buy a really nice fork...” I said, trailing off as I couldn’t think of any alternatives. Vaquin only snorted and pocketed the money.

“I’ll have to show you my favorite brews, when you grow up,” Vaquin grinned. I simply frowned at this.

The carriage came to a stop, and I felt a wave of mana pass over me and the carriage, scanning the contents. An artifact, father had explained to me as we prepared to leave that morning, which detected mana. It gave the user a mental picture of whatever it scanned, including the material makeup of everything, and the intent of everyone within range. Nothing could escape it, not even someone hiding in the mana realm, or using shadow magic to cloak themself. Still, a quick physical inspection occurred before the carriage was allowed to pass through the portcullis and onto the castle grounds.

The castle exterior consisted of three tiers: the courtyard sector, which contained the gardens proper and the stables; the military sector, which contained the royal army barracks, their training grounds, military stockpiles, royal forges, wyvern stables, owlery, and the foreign embassies; the castle sector contained, of course, the castle itself. It was more of a fortress than a castle, standing one-hundred meters tall, shaped like the Wernigerode castle, but many times bigger. Aside from that was the underground sector, but its uses were obvious.

Endrillion was huge, surrounding the royal plateau for kilometers in all directions. It was about as large as Rome, on Earth, with half as many people. The largest city in Eilon, by far, but only the seventh-largest in the civilized world.

The carriage made it through two more checkpoints, then underground via a ramp and into the mess of halls. It didn’t take long for us to arrive at my workshop, pulling into the open space before the horses were taken back above ground. I climbed out and took a deep breath, frowning at the smell of metal. I needed to start on the more advanced enchanting books, so I could get a basic air recycler down here. Heated floors, too, and an altar for advanced enchantments.

The shelves were full of the items I had practiced enchanting on, as were the crates I had emptied in doing so. The items were enchanted in different arrays and strengths, with different purposes in mind. Fire-resistant tower shields, for blocking bouts of fire; parrying shields that could withstand the weight of a great-ax, like Vaquin’s; swords made to split foes wide, with woodcutting axes to match; utensils enchanted to avoid bending, and cut through tough meat. All of it had been arranged by price, most of which I had brought along today coming from the upper low-end section. All in all, the entire collection was worth about three-hundred gold, and that was about twenty percent of what I had been given.

I was pleased with what I had done, but it wasn’t yet over. I know had to speak with my father about something before attaining my fifth and sixth awakenings. From there, it would be significantly longer until I could do so again, but the benefits from the fifth awakening would be worth it. The sixth, even more so.

I sat down on a stool while Ilyor and Vaquin got to work unloading the carriage, holding a dagger in my lap. It was a gift from Vaquin - blunt. He hadn’t told me his reasoning for giving it to me, but I was grateful nonetheless. These past few days, I had been using it to try that technique I had seen father use to hold up the shields - this magic system’s version of telekinesis, which involved using threads of mana similar to those I used for enchanting to hoist things up.

There was a major different between enchanting threads and mana-physical threads, however, which mainly differed based on intent. When enchanting, I unconsciously put my will into the thread as I shaped it, giving it the enchantment. My skill allowed me to do this without effort, whereas a normal enchanter would need to do so manually, and very slowly; the perks of having a system. Mana-physical threads were much denser, and were ‘willed’ into a state of being that could physically affect the things I wanted to, and not affect the things I didn’t want them to. That’s where the difficulty lied.

Creating the thread wasn’t an issue, thanks to my level-ninety-nine <Mana Control>; it was dictating what it interacted with, and what it didn’t. I held out a palm over the dagger and created a dense thread of mana around the handle, and anchored it to my palm. I moved my hand up, and the dagger lifted by the spot it was held by, bouncing slightly thanks to the elasticity of the tether.

Then came the problem, though. The tether had also grabbed all of the air around it, creating a cylinder of solidified air between my palm and the dagger. This resulted in the tether becoming rigid, horizontally-speaking, so the dagger rotated around my palm when I turned it over, maintaining distance, yet turning in the air. This was… frustrating, but the problem would be fixed with my sixth awakening. I did want to at least try to figure it out on my own, beforehand, though.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get much opportunity, because a knock came at the doors, prompting Vaquin to get up and open them. My mother rushed in, straight to me, and snatched me up into her arms. I squirmed a bit, at first, not liking being deprived of my mobility, but I relaxed and hugged her neck. “Oh~ my baby! Are you alright? How was your day out in the city? Did anyone recognize you? Were you scared? Did you sell anything?” A torrent of questions poured from her mouth, almost drowning me, but I managed to catch them all.

“I’m fine, mother,” I said, hugging tighter to assuage her worries. Anne used to get like this, so I was well-aware of how to deal with it. “It was good. Ilyor sold sixty items, earning us over ten gold, and my marketing plan worked well. The one who got pulled asked to observe me performing the enchantment, so he saw me, but he was a foreign adventurer, so he only knows me as Sterling. I have his word that he won’t tell anyone about my youth.”

Mother sighed and nodded. “Alright, just don’t let anyone else see you without my permission,” she said.

“No promises,” I shook my head. “You never know when an opportunity will crop up; but I’ll try. Nobody will learn that Sterling is the second Prince.”

She sighed again. “As long as you’re safe,” she said.

“I can promise that I’ll be fine,” I kissed her cheek, causing her to coo loudly and squeeze me with her inhuman strength, dealing twenty damage. She always fell for such tactics. I hadn’t seen myself often, but according to her I was ‘the cutest kitten in the world’. Since when did she call me a kitten? I don’t know. It’s probably a beastkin thing, but I was used to associating that term with something else.

I shivered, getting her to hold me at arms-length with a frown. “Oh, are you cold? Let’s go upstairs and get ready for supper!” She bolted out of the room before I could even bid farewell to my two attendants, holding me the entire way. “Just wait until your father hears about how good you did, today~!” She squealed. “He’s so proud of you, you know. Picking up all of these things so quickly; you’ll definitely be a big deal!”

‘ Teehee~… ’ I blushed at the attention. Man, I really am an attention-seeker, aren’t I? I wasn’t always like that; it had grown progressively worse since I was reborn into this world. Having such attention from more sources than just my older sister was addicting.

“Aww, look at that little blush of yours~! You’re absolutely adorable!” Mother cooed, squeezing me again. I quickly wiped the blush from my face and cleared my throat. “Don’t try to hide it, now! It’s okay to like being held by your mommy~!”

I pursed my lips and looked away from her, cheeks pink.

*****

“A shop?” Father asked rhetorically, setting down his soup spoon. “So soon?”

“Not now, but at the end of the week,” I said, setting down my own spoon. “I want to have a place to set out my more expensive stuff, so I don’t have to let it sit in the workshop while we take the carriage out. Once I stop with the free enchantment event, there’s no real need for me to be in the carriage.”

“I see,” he hummed.

“It’s so cool that you already have a store thingy!” Ravelus said excitedly from my left. “Can you enchant my practice sword?”

“Sure!” I grinned. “I can give it durability, so it won’t splinter!”

“Awesome!” Ravelus beamed. “I wish I could use magic as good as you.”

“You’re doing pretty well, as you are!” I exclaimed, smiling at him. “I’m sure that if I didn’t have my blessing, you’d be way better than me at the magic thing!”

“You think so?” He asked.

“Yeah!” I nodded emphatically. He grinned and returned to his food, while mother and father looked at me with smiles.

“I know of a few empty buildings in the merchant district,” father said. “You can probably rent one for about six gold a month, if you want. Judging by your profit margin today, I think that’s well within your capabilities.”

“Gladly,” I nodded enthusiastically. I was about to have my very own shop, where I can sell goods I made with my own hands. In my past life, I never so much as worked as a clerk for 7/11, let alone owned any land. My dad kept me way too busy, for that. This got me even more excited than going outside!

“I’ll give you the paperwork once I’ve had someone examine the locations. I wouldn’t want to give you some place decrepit,” father nodded in return, picking up his spoon, again. “Then again, it would be cheaper, permanently, and you could fix it up with the rest of your coin.”

I blinked. “I didn’t think of that…” I muttered, prompting him and mother to laugh. “I guess that’ll work - give me an opportunity to talk to other people, for once.”

“You’ll need a disguise, then,” Ravelus exclaimed excitedly. “I have a few masks from masquerade balls that you can use, if you want! They’re all too flamboyant, for me.”

“If they’re too flamboyant for you, then I can’t imagine how complex they must be,” I said with a snort. He grunted, holding his chest as if he’d been struck.

“I’m not flamboyant…”

“You’re wearing a red and gold tailcoat, with silver buttons and golden frills,” I said, looking him up and down. “And is that a handkerchief in your breast pocket? The next thing I know, you’ll be wearing a monocle!”

“I think it looks good…” Ravelus frowned.

“Alistair, stop bullying your brother. He looks very handsome with his handkerchief, and I’m sure he would look even more so with a monocle,” Rel chided me. “Besides, how is he supposed to court without a handkerchief~?”

Ravelus blushed bright red. “Mother! I’m too young for that!”

“Your brother seems to negate the age argument, although I agree,” Aedon gave his wife the side-eye. “At this rate, he’ll be able to join you in the academy, in two years!”

“Speaking of, are you excited for your birthday in two weeks?” Rel changed the subject with the elegance of a clown. “Your grandparents are excited to see you~! Both of you!”

“Hell yeah, I am!” Ravelus shouted, making everyone freeze. A dark expression crossed Rel’s face as she gripped her spoon hand enough for it to contort in her grip, which wasn’t a simple feat, given it was silver. “Oopsie…” brother realized his mistake too late.

“Who taught you to swear?” Mother asked grimly, killing aura wafting off of her in waves. I could feel it in my mana core, as if her emotions were affecting the very mana around us.

“I-I heard Miss Ilyor s-saying it…” Ravelus stammered, frightened.

“That st-… ugh! I knew I should’ve-… I’ll get her back for corrupting my precious babies’ innocence!” Mother ranted quietly. 

A devious idea popped into my head, and I grinned widely, opening my mouth to speak. “She taught me a new word, too! Fuc-“

*****

I sat in my crib, watching as mother and father pulled up padded chairs. They wanted to observe as I reached my next awakening, just to make sure I didn’t hurt myself. They had no idea I’d be pushing to the sixth, this night.

“Okay, honey, make sure to be careful,” Rel said softly, anxiously interlocking her hand with Aedon’s.

“Yes, your safety is much more important than this; you can always do it on a later date,” Aedon agreed.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be just fine,” I said in an attempt to assuage their nervousness, but it obviously didn’t work. Pursing my lips, I shut my eyes and started circulating my mana. Increasing the pressure burst after burst, it flooded up to two-thousand with ease. 

With one more push, I felt it rush into my nerves stronger than it had before, boosting my senses by an incredible degree. I could smell the flame in the candles around the room, alongside the scent of flowers on mother’s skin from her scented bath. I could feel the tiniest movements of the air, prompted by the breeze coming in through the open balcony doors. I could taste the remnants of the stand-in they used for toothpaste, in this world, which was a plant goo that killed bacteria. I could hear my own, and my parents’ heartbeats, mine keeping an even tempo while theirs were high. I could see the faint light breaching through my eyelids, letting me see the outlines of the veins within.

I didn’t stop there, however, pushing further, all the way up to four-thousand and beyond. I felt as mother opened her mouth to say something, but father squeezed her hand. Mana sunk into my brain on a deeper level, before spreading through my body like water over an icy lake after a hole had been drilled through. I felt my nerves calm even more, my heartbeat slowing to the minimum it needed to function efficiently. My mind was as clear as a glass of water, and I could pick apart every sensation and thought that my brain processed with ease. This was the sixth awakening: willpower.

[Skill <Mana Infusion> Leveled Up! (99/100)]

I eased off of my mana infusion, opening my eyes and taking in my new calm. It stuck with me, partially, even after I stopped the infusion. Like my passive sense of my aura. I looked over at mother and father to see them staring at me with wide eyes, a devilish grin on mother’s face.

“Sixth awakening, at less than eleven months of age?!” She practically screamed. Aedon patted her back as a way to calm her down, which worked - surprisingly. Rel was a very excitable woman, despite her sixth awakening, apparently. I couldn’t imagine what she must’ve been like before attaining it. “How do you feel?” She asked.

“Calm-er,” I replied, raising a hand to my chest. “Some of the stress is gone.”

“Why would you feel stress?” She asked seriously. “Is it because you’re blessed? That we said you’re destined for something great?”

I smiled wryly. “Only partly. I have a secret that I really want to tell you guys, but I’m… scared of how you’ll respond.” Why am I being so honest? A side-effect of the sixth awakening, I supposed.

“You can always talk to us, son,” Aedon said firmly. “I’ve told you time and time again, we will support you no matter what.” Mother nodded with a humph.

I thought about it, panic starting to rise in my mind despite the effects of my awakening. I had been debating ever since I could speak again whether to tell them that I was reincarnated. Not about the system, obviously, but just how I had such intelligence at such an age. Logically, I shouldn’t be so worried, because the two of them had displayed nothing but loving kindness towards me, ever since I was born. They doted on me whenever they had time. I guess, part of my attention-seeking was because I was afraid of losing them…

I was afraid of losing them over the fact that I was reborn into their son’s body. What if I had replaced the original Alistair? What if I had stolen his body, and was taking advantage of his family’s kindness? I couldn’t bear the thought of having killed an infant just by existing. I’d rather have died, than that. Get shot a thousand times over, instead.

A wave of calm passed over me, and I realized mother hand pressed her hand against my head, between my ears. She was infusing her mana into my head - rather, the upper layer that was my will. It forced me to calm down, settling my heartbeat and slowing my breathing.

“Does it have something to do with that time you disappeared?” Mother asked sternly. Looking up into her eyes, I made a decision, and activated a part of the system I had learned about while questioning the system.

[<Rel Eil> Added to Party]

[<Aedon Eil> Added to Party]

In an instant, the three of us were in a grassy plain, surrounded by trees. Alarmed, mother formed a wand of water, and father a sword from flame, as they looked around with wide eyes.

“We’re safe here,” I said. “The monsters only appear down that path,” I pointed at the opening in the trees.

“Wh-what is this place?” Aedon asked - the first time I had heard him stutter. “Did you take us here?”

“Yes,” I nodded, standing. I still felt calm, from the excess of mana still in my will, so I wasn’t as nervous as I should’ve been. “This is where I went, when I disappeared. I discovered an aspect of my blessing, which allows me to generate a dungeon and transport myself and others there.”

“And you said there are monsters here?!” Mother asked, wide-eyed.

“They were the first and only things I’ve killed with my magic - an Ent and a Vine Whip,” I nodded. “But that’s not the point of why I brought you here…”

They both managed to calm down and dismissed their weapons, looking down at me with tense brows. “What do you mean?” Aedon asked gently.

“The church believes in a cycle of rebirth, no?” I asked, looking down. “Well, I can tell you that it’s true, and it spans far beyond just this world.”

“You mean…?” Rel’s eyes widened. “No wonder you could understand us… So you’re-“

“An adult?” I smiled wryly. “No. I was seventeen when my uncle killed me.”

Silence befell us for a couple minutes as they processed what I said. Aedon sat down, legs crossed, while Mother knelt beside him. I followed suit, sitting with my legs out in front of me, eyes still glued to the floor.

“I wanted to tell you, as soon as I could speak, but I was afraid… that you wouldn’t want me, anymore. I was supposed to be your kid, and now you’re stuck with some teenager in a baby’s body, in replacement of your real-“ I was cut off when mother tackled me, arms wrapped around me tightly as tears fell down her cheeks.

“Don’t say that,” she shouted, not in anger, but in sadness and fear. “You are our son, and you always will be! Even if you have memories of a past life! You are Alistair Eil, son of my husband and I, and we love you regardless of what you believe might have happened. As far as we are concerned, you were always meant to be our son, and there is no version of Alistair other than you!”

Tears came to my eyes, my calm finally overcome, and I wept into her nightgown, emotions overwhelming me like a tidal wave.

“She’s right,” Aedon said, coming around behind me and embracing the two of us. “As I said, we will support you no matter what. Even if it’s something as unheard of as this - being reborn with intact memories of your past life - we will face it as a family.”

My tears only increased as I settled into both of their grasp. We remained like that for a time, before I eventually recovered, and we separated.

“Now, then,” Aedon said. “Can you explain more about this place?”

“It’s-“ I sniffled, “-it’s called an instant dungeon. I can create them on the spot, including all of the monsters within. I haven’t checked whether I can, say, cut down a tree and take the wood out, but it should be possible, because I know loot spawns in here, too.”

“Such an interesting blessing,” mother commented, holding my hand tightly. “Is there anything else you know it can do?”

“Aside from making my growth easier, I guess I can do this…” I held out my hand and brought out the <Basic Mana Control Book> that I’d already read seven times. “I call it a hammerspace, after a supposedly-fictional concept back on Earth.”

“Your first planet was called Earth? How boring,” mother huffed. “Kisp is much better - sounds like kiss and lisp.”

“Only you would find the name attractive for those reasons,” Aedon muttered.

“What was that?” Rel’s aura flared.

“Nothing, honey,” Aedon sighed.

“That’s what I thought,” Rel nodded. She looked back down at me, remembering something, and spoke hesitantly. “You… You mentioned that your uncle killed you… Why?”

I chewed on my lip as I thought about how to answer it. “In the country I lived in, the government banned alcohol, for a time. Of course, this led to people illegally selling it, including my great, great, great-grandfather. He eventually died, passing his trade onto his son and his son’s best friend, who bickered about who-knows what, and split into two groups. Skip to when I was born, and my father and the best friend’s descendant were still feuding over that whole mess, having formed illicit gangs. They fought often, lots of blood was shed, the whole deal.”

“And this prompted your uncle to kill you?” Aedon questioned.

“The end of the feud did,” I explained. “My older sister, Anne, was married to the other gang’s leader’s son, and it was at the wedding that my uncle went on a rampage. He brought a piece of technology called a light machine gun, which is like a crossbow that shoots smaller bullets about eight times faster than a crossbow. He killed a maimed three-dozen people in a few seconds, including me. He dropped the gun, and I… killed him, before bleeding out, myself.”

A few moments of silence passed, during which time mother squeezed my hand tighter. “You shouldn’t have had to go through something like that,” she said. “Judging by the way you speak about it, killing isn’t a common thing, on Earth?”

“Not in America,” I shook my head. “Only twenty-five thousand murders a year in a country with three-hundred and thirty-million people in it… I’d say that makes it pretty rare.”

“Three-hundred-… holy hell, this America has a lot of people in it,” Aedon gaped before Rel smacked him in the back of the head. “I can’t imagine how one man could rule over such a kingdom…”

“You’d be surprised…” I muttered offhandedly, getting a strange look from them. “Anyways, I can store a seemingly infinite number of items in my hammerspace, and take them out in any orientation I want.”

“Like a spacial affinity, but better,” mother snorted. “May I ask why you brought us in here, for this? Aside from privacy, and showing us your blessing, of course.”

“…I wanted to ask for permission,” I said. “I’m stronger than most adults, even with this tiny body, and my magic is as strong as any academy graduate. I was wondering if I could… fight the monsters in this dungeon…”

“Absolutely not,” mother shook her head.

“Now, dear, let’s think about this,” Aedon said. “He is right, in saying he is physically and magically stronger than most grown adults. And, he clearly possesses intelligence and knowledge from his first life, if he’s able to put it to use to learn enchanting in a single night.”

“Besides, we can have Sir Vaquin and a Hek’Netir come in with him, to make sure he stays safe!” Father continued.

Mother glared at her husband blankly for several moments before sighing. “Fine, but only if we check out this instant dungeon , first!”

“Is that alright with you, son?” Father looked to me.

“If it means I can get stronger, so I don’t have to worry about losing my family again, then yes,” I nodded. Mother glanced at me with sadness before nodding to herself and creating another water wand. Father created a longsword of fire, and held it out in front of him. I focused and increased the heat in a ball around my hand, eventually causing a flame to spark into existence, which I quickly controlled to become bigger, forming a sphere above my palm. The three of us would’ve looked badass, if not for the fact that we were all wearing our nightwear…

“This way,” I said, walking towards the pathway. “The thing about the monsters in here, or at least when you’re fighting with me, is that you’ll steadily grow stronger. Like, adding cups of water to a bucket until it overflows into a larger bucket.”

“You can grow stronger simply by killing monsters?” Aedon questioned, brow cocked.

I nodded, pointing at where the first Vine Whip was sitting. “That’s the first type of enemy in this dungeon, a Vine Whip. I killed it from range last time, so I don’t really know its behavior, other than that it lunged at me after I hit it with a fireball.”

Aedon stepped towards it, flame blade raised. Once he got within ten meters of the hostile plant, it swayed in his direction, its tip pointed straight at him. It lunged forward, though it seemed much slower than it had been when I first came in here. Probably because my stats were so much better. Father sidestepped it easily and brought up his sword, cutting through the vine as if he were swinging his sword through empty air. It died, just like that.

[Vine Whip (LVL 1) Killed!]
*Due to a level gap of 250 or greater between you and the one who killed it, no EXP will be awarded*
+3 SC

“Hmm,” he hummed, looking at the plant. “I’ve fought something like this in the wild lands, and it didn’t die when I cut it apart, like that.”

“It’s incredibly weak,” I said. “This Ent right here is stronger,” I patted the trunk of the tree next to me. It’s branches folded together into a maul, which came down on top of me, but I released my flames upwards in a burst that consumed and incinerated them, also lighting the canopy on fire. It, of course, went out as quickly as it started, thanks to the semi-sapient tree’s magic resistance.

“An Ent?!” Mother gasped. “I thought you were joking when you said it, earlier, but here it is!” She waved her water wand, and a blade of condensed vapor shot through the air, cutting the Young Ent in half horizontally.

[Young Ent (LVL 3) Killed!]
*Due to a level gap of 250 or greater between you and the one who killed it, no EXP will be awarded*
+18 SC

“It’s wood has magical properties, used in enchanting, alchemy, and magical craftsmanship, but Eilon made a pact with the Ents within its borders not to kill them,” father explained. “These ones are hostile, however, so if we could take the wood out…”

“I like the way you think, father,” I grinned, placing a hand on the severed tree and willing it into my inventory. Sure enough, it disappeared. “Wow, I didn’t think I could store something that big…”

“Remarkable,” mother muttered in awe.

“This is as far as I got before returning,” I said. “It took me a long time to crawl this far.”

“Well, then, let’s remedy that!” Mother exclaimed, excitedly walking off down the path. “I want to see more of what this dungeon has to offer! It’s been oh so long since I’ve had a good excuse for combat magics!”

Chapter Text

The next day was a tiring experience, as neither me nor my parents got much sleep that night due to our dungeon crawling, but I managed to head out and enchant an item for free. A man by the name of Heril got called, and offered his pickaxe to be enchanted. A simple durability enchantment, followed by a force multiplication enchantment on the tips didn’t take long, with my new awakenings. We returned, sixteen more gold in our bag, and unloaded without issue. Then, mother requested Vaquin and I into her study, where she was waiting with a woman in dark garb.

“Oh, my boy~!” Mother squealed, rushing over and picking me up in a tight hug. “How did your day go?”

“Good,” I nodded. “Everything went smoothly, and I didn’t have to see the recipient of the free enchantment, this time. It was wrought-iron, too, so it didn’t take nearly as long to enchant.”

“That’s good,” she nodded. “Well, let’s get down to business. Come, sit, both of you!” We sat in the chairs she had gestured to, while the unknown woman stepped forward.”This is Anir Bledren, an assassin and spy for the crown. She will be going with you two into the dungeon.”

“Wait, dungeon?” Vaquin blinked in surprise, looking between me and my mother. “He’s less than eleven months old... Pardon me for saying this, but you can’t really be sending him into the dungeon at his age!”

“You are pardoned,” mother smiled cheekily. “And yes, I am. You see, he attained his sixth awakening last night, and showed me and his father a rather interesting aspect of his blessing. Son, if you could...?”

[<Rel Eil> Added to Party!]

[<Anir Bledren> Added to Party!]

[<Whinn Vaquin> Added to party!]

[Skill <ID Create> Leveled Up! (3/100)]

We appeared in the starter clearing for the Nymph instant dungeon, making Vaquin flinch. Anir narrowed her eyes, but remained still. “This is a dungeon I can create on command,” I said. “It is so weak that I could take on the monsters within when I was only a month old, which I did.”

“Scared the living daylights out of us,” mother grumbled.

Vaquin simply stood there, mouth agape as he processed everything. The kid could create dungeons? He had done so when he was a month old? He had fought monsters all on his own? Hell, he had reached his sixth awakening, already?! He couldn’t believe any of this, but it was all so within my character that he couldn’t deny it. Plus, the Queen, herself, was espousing to its truthfulness.

“Alistair feels discontent, being weak. He wants to grow stronger, and he can do that simply by killing monsters, as a part of his blessing. The job I’m giving you both, right now, is to follow him, and make sure he isn’t killed. Let him kill the monsters, and step in only if he is about to die. You are both very capable fighters, short and long distance, so I expect nothing but the best from you both!” Mother explained, pointing at them with a glare.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Anir said quietly and firmly, no expression showing on her face.

Vaquin opened and closed his mouth like a fish for a few moments before shaking his head and nodding. “Yes, Your Majesty...”

“Good!” mother grinned. “Son, you can send me out, now, and please do be back before bedtime. I don’t want a repeat of last night, as much fun as I know it can be.”

“Of course, mother,” I nodded. “Farewell; I love you!”

“I love you too, son,” she grinned blushing like a schoolgirl. I kicked her from my party, causing her to be expelled from the dungeon, back into the outside world.

“This is for real, isn’t it…” Vaquin mumbled to himself, looking around. He knelt and felt the grass, then smelled the air. “Holy shit…” A pebble was launched through the air, striking Vaquin in the temple hard enough for a crack to sound. Of course, it did minimal damage, but it sent a message. “Hey!” He looked to Anir, “What was that for?!”

“Her Majesty has ordered me to strike you, whenever you swear in front of his highness,” she said, tone even. I chortled at the expression on the knight’s face.

“What are you laughing at, punk?” He demanded, glaring at me. Only for another pebble to hit him in the forehead. “Agh! I get it, stop throwing things at me!”

Anir looked to me. “We will follow your lead, Your Highness,” she nodded.

I smiled and set off down the path, generating a sphere of flames above my palm as I walked. I could tell that this was going to be a lot of fun!

*****

We walked for a couple hours, killing any Vine Whip and Young Ent we came across, before entering into a wide clearing. A large tree sat in the middle of the clearing, with no other shrubbery around it for fifty meters. I immediately used <Observe> on it, blinking in surprise.

[Adult Ent*]
LVL: 30
Health Status: 5000/5000 (+10%/m)
Mana Status: 300/300 (+2%/m)
Stamina Status: 8000/8000 (+10%/m)

“Okay, that’s an Adult Ent,” I said, pointing at the tree. “Miniboss time, it seems.”

“Miniboss?” Vaquin questioned.

“My terminology for the big guys among the small guys, before the really big guy at the end,” I said.

“Mid-floor bosses,” Anir offered.

“Oh,” Vaquin nodded.

“Anyways,” I said. “I can take it.”

“How can you tell?” Anir asked.

“I can determine the strength of something, to a degree, via my blessing,” I said, glancing at her.

[Anir Bledren]
Race: Human;
Titles: Third Hek-Netir;
Age: 31
Rank: Human*** (1.6x)
Affinities: Shadow; Water; Earth;
Level: 301 (77%)
Health Status: 14440/14440
Mana Status: 9630/9630 (18/m) (7th)
Stamina Status: 14440/14440
Body: 1444(903) (+3/)
Mind: 963(602) (+2/)
Spirit: 481(301) (+1/)
Status: Content.
Thoughts On You: Curiosity; Duty; Awe; Platonic Infatuation (You are Cute);

“I can see that you’re past your seventh awakening,” I said as an example. “I can see that the Ent over there heals entirely in ten minutes, and that you have almost three-times as much vitality as it does. I can see that you and Sir Vaquin are on the same level, physiologically, even if you have different skill sets.”

“And how do you compare?” She asked.

“I’m about… one-fourteenth of your strength,” I said. “Physically speaking. Magically, I’m about half as strong as you. At least, as far as raw power goes. I still haven’t figured out tethering, and I’ve been trying for weeks!”

“It usually takes months to learn tethering…” she muttered, glancing at the tree. “Very well, if you say you can take it, I will allow you to try.”

“What she said, I guess,” Vaquin frowned. He didn’t like hearing that he, a knight, was on the same physical level as a rogue.

I smiled and started towards the tree, raising my <Mana Infusion> to a solid fifty per-second and increasing the size of the fireball before condensing it, physically. The flames went from orange to white as I fueled them with my mana, compressing them into a space too small for them to properly burn, increasing their heat tremendously. 

Once I got about twenty meters from the Ent, it started moving. Cracks in the wood opened to reveal a gaping maw and piercing eye sockets, which locked onto me immediately. The branches in its canopy shifted to form six arms, complete with bushy fingers, that opened and closed. The mouth curled up into a smile as it ripped itself from the earth, sending dirt through the air to reveal four legs made of roots, which crashed into the ground loudly, denting the soft soil with the Ent’s weight.

“Hello, big guy,” I smiled, bringing the condensed sphere of flames next to me and placing my other hand over it for greater control. “My friend Goku called, and he wants to show you a technique…”

“Kame…” I mumbled, extending the field containing the fire out in a cylinder towards the ent without releasing the flames. “Hame…” a grin twisted my face as I poured three-thousand mana into the sphere. “Ha!” I released it, causing a beam of borderline-plasma to burst forward and strike the tree right in its stupid mouth.

Its magic-absorbent barrier took some of the hit before being overloaded in that area, allowing the full force of the attack through. The magical, living wood, harder to burn than normal, dead wood, dried up and burned beneath the might of my attack, drilling a hole through the Ent and out the back, dealing enough damage to kill it instantly.

[Adult Ent* (LVL 30) Killed!]
+465 EXP
+1395 SC
+1 <Gacha Token>

[Level Up!]
+2 STR, CON, END, DEX, CHA, LCK
+4 WIS
+5 Stat Points
+6 INT
+250 SC
+1 <Gacha Token>

It collapsed, releasing its amalgam limbs back into branches and roots, a gaping, burning hole where its face used to be. “Now, that’s how it’s done!” I laughed, taking out a token a biting it as I allocated my new points.

[Rolling 2x Gacha Token…]

[Rolling…]

[Entry 197 and 105 Rolled…]

[<Spirit Rite> and <1d8 LVL Fruit> Added to {Inventory}!]
<Spirit Rite>
Face the rite of passage.
<1d8 LVL Fruit>
A fruit that will raise the consumer’s level by 1d8. Tastes like perfect dragonfruit.

‘ That’s great! ’ My eyes widened. ‘ Potentially eight more levels, just like that?! Potentially eight more gacha rolls, too! ’

“What was that, if I may ask?” Anir asked as she approached, Vaquin at her side with a slack jaw.

“That was a technique I like to call the Kamehameha,” I said, turning with a grin on my face. “Consensing energy as much as possible, then releasing it in a beam on a target.”

“And the coin?” She asked. I cooked my head to the side and smiled innocently.

“It's my lucky coin~! I picked it out of the ones we got today!”

Vaquin snorted. “How is it lucky if you only got it doing business?”

“It reminds me of how lucky I am to have such good family and friends,” I said genuinely, though I was really talking about everything, rather than the token. Every single thing I did and experiences reminded me of how lucky I was to be living this second life, something my parents were all too happy to remind me of the previous night, while we were wandering the dungeon.

Anir’s cheeks actually redened at my words, for some reason, while Vaquin looked at me blankly. “Reminds me that you’re just a kid,” he said dryly. “Either way, don’t get sick biting random coins. Nobody knows where those things have been.”

“Smells like poop,” I joked, turning so they couldn’t see my smile. I could practically hear their open mouths as I walked away. I glanced over my shoulder with a wink, making them realize I was only jesting.

After I stored the dead Adult Ent, we continued down the path for a short while, not encountering any enemies, before coming across what appeared to be a treehouse. Only, the tree had grown around the house, in a circle, forming natural windows and doors. A vine ladder led up into it. Sensing nothing inside through mana, I climbed the ladder and poked my head in, finding a campfire sitting upon magically-warded bark in the center.

[Safe Zone Reached!]

*You can teleport between safe zones via <ID Create>*

“Cool,” I said, looking around. “Well,” I turned back towards my two attendants, “I think this is a good stopping point, for the day. I want to do some studying before bedtime, so we can pick back up, here, tomorrow!”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Anir nodded. Vaquin only shrugged. I brought us out of the dungeon and back into mother’s study, where she was still hard at work.

[Skill <ID Escape> Leveled Up! (3/100)]

“Back already?” She asked, getting up and coming over to inspect me. “Did you get hurt at all? How many things did you kill?”

“We killed sixty-four things before we got to the big Ent, then I took it down all on my own!” I said proudly, puffing my chest out. 

She grinned and ruffled my hair, making my ears flop. “Good! I’m glad to see you didn’t sustain any damage. Did you end up eating the food I had you bring?”

“Yup,” I nodded. “I ate the porridge and potatoes.”

“Alright; go find Ilyor, and you can do whatever you want until it’s time for bed,” she said, releasing me and backing up a step. “I still have some paperwork to do, so I’ll see you tonight,” she smiled widely.

*****

That night, after reading about the economical history of Eilon spanning the past fifty years, I finally got about to eating the level fruit. Once again, I tricked Ilyor into getting me some juice, which I would probably need to wash away the taste of dragonfruit. I ate it in record time, finding that it tasted a thousand times better than the one I’d eaten before.

[Bonus!]
+6 LVL

[Level Up!]
+12 STR, CON, END, DEX, CHA, LCK
+24 WIS
+30 Stat Points
+36 INT
+1500 SC
+6 <Gacha Tokens>

‘ Hell yeah! ’ I grinned, taking out a token and biting it.

[Rolling 6x Gacha Token…]

[Rolling…]

[Entry 195, 24, 82, 68, 127, and 172 Rolled…]

[<Dusk Crown Ring>, <Ancient Dragon Soul Fragment>, <Stand Arrow>, <Celestial Sigil>, <Omniversal Sheet Music>, and <Summon Card: Ben Kenobi> Added to {Inventory}!]
<Dusk Crown Ring>
+25% max MP; -15% max HP.
<Ancient Dragon Soul Fragment>
A physical fragment of an ancient dragon’s soul.
<Stand Arrow>
An arrow forged from a meteorite. Contains a virus strong enough to either force out someone’s fighting spirit in the form of a stand, or to kill. Only works on mortal-class entities. An entity can only have one stand. If used on a stand user, it will grant their normal stand a new ability to overcome whatever they are currently dealing with, but this effect is permanent. If used upon an already-existing stand, it will bring forth that stand’s ‘requiem’ form, which gains power according to what its user needs at the time. This is a temporary effect.
<Celestial Sigil>
A large, gem-inlaid disk, which can be used to summon the Moon Lord.
Recommended Level: 1500
<Omniversal Sheet Music>
A book containing the sheet music for every song ever written by the Humans of Earth.
<Summon Card: Ben Kenobi>
Summon card for Obi-Wan Kenobi, a Master of the Jedi Order. He is a very capable duelist and user of the force.

Okay, going through it in order. First, a ring that wouldn’t be as OP in Dark Souls I as it was for my purposes, would bring my MP up to 6,087, when I was wearing it, but lower my health to 1,020. It would only get stronger as I leveled up INT, but so would its detrimental effect against my HP as I leveled CON. Needless to say, I could go without 180 HP, for the time being, so I put it on.

Second, the <Ancient Dragon Soul Fragment>, which I could use in that race change potion alongside the phoenix feather, if I wanted to.

Third, the <Stand Arrow> from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventures. With it, and a strong enough willpower, I could give myself and anyone else I stab with it a stand. Fortunately, the process would be easy for anyone with their sixth awakening to survive, meaning I could do it right now, if I wanted to. That, and I would be able to heal away the damage in minutes, if I didn’t accidentally kill myself.

Fourth, a <Celestial Sigil>, from Terraria. With it, I could summon the final boss of the vanilla game. It was a stressful fight when you had the second-best armor and weapons in the game, so I couldn’t imagine facing frickin’ Cthulhu - emaciated as he was - in real life. Seeing that thing in three dimensions could not be a pretty sight.

Fifth, a sheet music book containing all the sheet music humanity ever wrote, including the end of Mozart’s requiem, which he apparently finished in his head. Even beyond classical music, it contained everything from pop music to tribal ritual songs. Pretty cool.

Sixth, a summon card for frickin’ Obi-Wan Kenobi. Arguably the third-greatest Jedi to ever live, behind Yoda and Luke. The concept of a summon card did bring up a moral dilemma, however. Did the system forcefully pull them from their universe? Did it brainwash them into serving me? Did they not wish to serve me at all?

[I scan the omniverse for a version of the character that will serve you willingly, and pull a copy of that version into your world.]

The answer came so suddenly that I jumped, but I nodded appreciatively. ‘ Good, so I won’t be forcing them into anything. ’

“Okay~! Time for bed~!” Mother dragged father into the room and threw him into the bed like a doll before coming over and picking me up in an embrace. “Goodnight, Alistair; I love you~!”

“I love you too, mother; father.” I smiled up at her as she set me down.

“Don’t go too hard on yourself with your magic training, tonight~,” she walked over to the bed and hopped in, falling asleep as if she’d taken anesthesia.

Father sighed and smiled at me. “Goodnight, son.”

“Goodnight, father,” I replied. He went to sleep, and I continued practicing with my <Fire Manipulation>.

Chapter Text

The next morning, I waited for mother and father to wake up before asking them over to my crib. “Doing something weird again, son?” Mother asked, sitting in a chair.

“Kinda,” I nodded. “I’m going to produce a golden arrow from my hammerspace and stab myself with it, which will grant me a potentially-amazing power.”
“What?!” She stood. “No, you’re not going to stab yourself with anything! What if you die?!”

“I won’t die,” I shook my head. ‘Probably. ’

“How does this arrow give you a potentially-amazing power , and how did you obtain it?” Father asked calmly, though his eyes were narrow with concentration.

“Sometimes my blessing just... gives me things? Like, I’ve got four swords, a card that will summon a friend from another universe, and the arrow. As for how, it says there’s some kind of virus that you need a strong willpower to survive, which will awaken the metaphysical manifestation of your fighting spirit in the form of what’s called a Stand,” I explained. “Which, thanks to the sixth awakening, I can do with incredible ease.”

“And why do you have to stab yourself with it? Why can’t you just nick a finger?” Mother asked, calming down.

“The arrow might as well have a will of its own, which takes control of your body and forces you to fully embed it in yourself,” I answered. “Which is why I want you both to stay back unless you want to pick it up and shove it through your throat.”

“What?!” Mother screeched.

‘ Ah, I shouldn’t have put it that way... ’ I thought with a wry smile. “Don’t worry, I can fully heal in about ten minutes thanks to my blessing, which will get rid of the sickness and whatever damage I cause to myself.”

“I will do it first,” Aedon said, reaching out a hand.

“You can’t seriously be entertaining this idea,” Rel grabbed her husband by his collar and yelled into his ear. “This could kill you, and then what would we do? The kingdom would be without a king, and we would be without you!”

“Alistair is confident this won’t kill him, and you have healing magic,” Aedon said. “Besides, I doubt some puny arrow can kill me. I’ve been shot before, and I survived.”

“But you could stab yourself in the throat, or the eye, then what would I do?” Rel demanded.

“I’d wear an eyepatch. I think it’d make me look pretty cool,” Aedon said calmly. “I have my affinities in both of my eyes, anyways, so what’s the harm?”

“What can these Stands even do?” Mother looked at me.

“There’s two that appear as huge men who can punch really fast and really strong, and can stop time for a short duration, allowing the Stands and their users to move around, and stuff, while it’s stopped,” I described Star Platinum and The World.

“That would be pretty helpful during an assassination attempt,” Aedon cocked his head to the side.

Mother simply sighed. “Fine, but I have to do it, as well!”

“Are you both sure about that?” I asked. “The virus is supposed to hurt a lot...”

“That makes us even more sure,” father said. “Besides, we know you’re just going to do it the moment you get the chance, like eating those fruits.”

“F-fine,” I held my hand above his and brought out the <Stand Arrow>. As soon as it settled into his palm, he shoved it into his stomach. Hard. The arrow dug deep, but was only allowed to go so far, as mother yanked it from him and placed her hand over the wound to heal it, on to bring the  arrow up into her own armpit. Blood sprayed from both of the wounds, as both of my parents started to writhe in pain, but mother still managed to channel her mana through her nature and water gates to create healing mana. Slowly, the wounds started to close, but the virus still captured their bodies in a cycle of agony as it went through every cell.

Their willpower was strong, though, incredibly so. One could not maintain the title of King or Queen without a strong will, and be as successful as they were. They easily held back the pain long enough for it to completely cycle through, and by that time, their wounds were healed.

I released a breath I didn’t know I was holding as the  calmed down, relaxing in their chairs. Mother held up her hand, looking at it strangely, while father stared at the wall behind my crib. I instinctively knew they were looking at their stands, but I couldn’t sense anything where they were looking. Not even through mana, or in the mana realm. “Are you both okay?” I asked worriedly.

“Yes, son,” Aedon said, still looking at the same spot on the wall. “Is that a Stand?” He pointed at it.

“That’s the cool thing about Stands,” I started to get excited. “Not only do they have powers that can sometimes deny reality itself, but they can only be seen by other Stand users, meaning you can see each others, but I cannot see either.”

“Curious...” Mother muttered. “Mine looks like one of those long-tongued lizards from the wild lands... Can you tell me what it does?”

“Every Stand is unique to its user, representing their fighting spirit and their personality in some capacity. I can tell you what yours does, probably, but only once I can see it,” I said.

“I’ll admit, that hurt a hell of a lot more than any other time I’ve been shot...” Aedon pursed his lips. “Still, if you believe you can handle it, then we will assist you. Where is the arrow?”

“Right here,” Mother  held it up. “At least I’m not trying to stab myself, anymore...” She looked at me. “Are you absolutely certain you want this? That was one of the most painful experiences of my life.”

“Yes,” I nodded. ‘ I want to be able to protect you guys. I couldn’t save my friends and family in my past life, but I can now. Any amount of pain is worth it to see you both, and Ravelus, live. ’

“Alright...” mother pursed her lips and held out the arrow. I didn’t hesitate in grabbing it.

Immediately, my body moved on its own as I stabbed it up into my neck, falling back onto my butt. Incomprehensible pain began coursing through my veins as the arrow forced its way further up into my skull. I could feel as my parents were attempting to pull it out without harming me, but it was too slick with blood. I was only just able to send it into my inventory, and by then it had reached my brain. I fell back and started convulsing. Mother put two hands on my head, channeling healing mana into my wound and water mana into my will, allowing me some control of my body. Enough control to see the system notifications flowing by.

[Viral Infection Detected!]

[<Healthy Body> Perk Disabled by Subconscious!]

[Attempting to Integrate Skill <Closer>. Accept?]
{ Yes } -|- { No }

Unable to muster a coherent thought, I reached out and tapped yes with my hand, causing the pain to suddenly disappear. Well, except for the hole in my throat, but that was quickly closing. Both due to my natural healing factor, and mother’s assistance. It was closed in only a couple minutes, during which time it was hard to breathe, and my head hurt, but I was otherwise okay. I did spend a minute retching and coughing up blood, however. Still, it was worth it. I could see the yellow-green chameleon sitting on mother’s shoulder, and the black spider clinging to the wall above my crib, an ouroboros snake burning on its abdomen, like the symbol of a black widow.

“W-wow, that really did hurt...” I said, looking down at the pool of blood in my crib. “Damn, that made a mess.”

“No cussing!” Mother chided me. “...But, yes, it hurt a lot.”

“Come here, and let’s get changed; then we can see what these Stands do,” Aedon said, helping me out of the crib with shaky arms. Mother nodded and whistled, calling Ilyor and Pyarron into the room. The two of them panicked when they saw the blood, but father waved them off, pointing to me. The two newcomers both had a look of recognition before getting to work, cleaning the scene while me and my parents bathed and changed into our daytime clothes.

The crib area was clean by the time we got back, but the mattress itself was stained. This reminded me that I really needed an actual bed - and a bedroom, for that matter. But, that could wait. For now, I looked towards mother’s chameleon and used <Observe>.

[Rewrite]
Namesake: Rewrite - Darling Thieves
Type: Long-Ranged Stand
Power: None
Speed: C-A
Range: B
Persistence: B
Precision: A
Potential: D
<Read>
Rewrite latches onto a target and shoves its tongue into their ear, allowing its user to hear thoughts and feel what they do.
<Write>
Rewrite implants a false memory, which the user generates.
<Rewrite>
Rewrite alters or creates a new memory in place of an already-existing one.

“Mother, your Stand can relay the thoughts and feelings of a target by shoving its tongue in their ear. You can then create memories, and rewrite existing ones,” I said, glancing at her. “Oh, and it’s called Rewrite.”

Mother cackled. “I’ll finally be able to hear what that bitch Ir is planning!”

“Don’t violate people’s privacy over a cat fight,” father chided her, getting a glare.

“Racist,” she accused, upturning her nose. “Besides, that bitch has it coming!” She devolved into cackling again.

Aedon could only sigh. “What about mine?” He asked. I looked at the spider and used <Observe>.

[Time Weaver]
Namesake: Time - Pink Floyd
Type: Range-Irrelevant Stand
Power: None
Speed: C-A
Range: A
Persistence: C
Precision: B
Potential: D
<Relative Way>
Time Weaver bends the strings of time for a target or targets, altering their speed relative to the universal timeline.
<Find the Time>
Time Weaver alters the flow of time in an area or areas, making them slower or faster relative to the universal timeline.
<Iron Bell>
Time Weaver ceases the flow of time for all but it and its user, for a short time.

“Father, yours is called Time Weaver, and it can manipulate time for a target, within an area, or for the entire universe, for a few moments. Like those I mentioned earlier, but more versatile at the cost of less time,” I looked at Aedon.

He hummed. “Useful indeed. And these don’t use mana?” He asked.

I shrugged, looking around for where my Stand could be. “We won’t know until we try…” Not seeing my stand, I focused my will and called out its name. “<Closer>!”

Suddenly, my vision became darker., and I could see a dot where my eyes converged. It shifted when I looked around, sticking to each surface. “What is this…”

“Are those spectacles?” Mother questioned. I looked at her, and realized I was indeed wearing glasses, but they were sunglasses. Exactly the type I had worn in my previous life - simple, and not too dark.

“Sunglasses,” I said, taking them off and holding them out. “Tinted glass, to shade the eyes from the sun, like a sun hat.”

“That’s an interesting idea,” mother commented with a focused look on her face. “Perhaps you can bring some ideas over here via your blessing,” she said. The three of us had decided to keep my rebirth a secret, for the time being. So, for now, everything I ‘invented’ was either my own creation, or knowledge granted by my blessing. Even to the Hek’Netir. I nodded and used <Observe> on the sunglasses.

[Closer]
Namesake: Closer - Ne-Yo
Type: Range-Irrelevant Stand
Power: A
Speed: C-A
Range: A
Persistence: B
Precision: A
Potential: C
<Closer>
Shorten the distance between two positions, regardless of distance and position.
<Pull Away>
Expand the distance between two positions, regardless of distance and position.

I smiled and put on the sunglasses, looking first a few centimeters in front of me, then a few centimeters in front of mother. ‘Blinking’, somehow, I then saw two sets of green arrows, pointing towards each other from either dot. Following my instincts, I took a step forward, and the world around me seemed to contort for an instant before my foot landed, right in front of mother. I was off-balance, though, so I wrapped my arms around her side to steady myself.

“It seems I can manipulate the distance between two positions,” I said, watching as the dots and arrows faded out of existence. “Condense or expand space. Didn’t use mana, either.”

“Quite the trio, we are,” mother ruffled my hair. “Maybe when your brother reaches his sixth awakening, he can get a Stand, too!”

“I do wonder what his would be,” father hummed in thought. “Mine probably stems from my micromanaging of time, which I inherited from my father. Yours, Rel, from your ability to read and manipulate people. Where does yours come from, Alistair?”

“Judging by its namesake, the need to be close to people,” I answered.

“I guess that’s one more thing we can all practice,” mother said, kneeling to hug me. “You were right, this was a good thing. For now, however, you should run on down to your workshop; it’s almost time for you to go back down to the merchant square!”

“I have some paperwork to do, then the civilian hearings,” father smiled. “Fortunately, I got through the bulk of it, these past few weeks, so we may be able to take a reprieve after Ravelus’s birthday.”

“Ahh~, that’s be nice,” mother cooed. “Well, I’m off! See you boys before dinner!”

I bowed to my father and followed after mother, heading to the staircase, ready to face the day.

Chapter Text

Two days later, we were on our way back from another day in the square when a commotion occurred outside of our carriage. I peeked out beyond the curtain to see a man thrown through the door of a store, out onto the street, almost landing between the wheels of our carriage. Immediately, I knocked on the front side of the carriage, signaling for Juak to stop, and listened.

“I ought to have your head, for lyin’ to me, you shapeshifting twat!” The shopkeeper roared, throwing the man’s bag out next to him. “A shame, ‘cause you were the best damned clerk I ever had, but I ain’t havin’ no skin-turners in my shop!”

“Well, screw you, too!” The man yelled back, getting up and storming off. I managed to catch him with <Observe> before he blended into the crowd, curious. “I’ll show you what a skin-turner is capable of!”

[Siv Wippo]
Race: Shapeshifter;
Titles: Salesperson Extraordinaire;
Age: 22
Rank: Shapeshifter (1.5x)
Affinities: Wind; Blood;
Level: 53 (91%)
Health Status: 1590/1590
Mana Status: 1590/1590 (2.5/m) (3rd)
Stamina Status: 1590/1590
Body: 159(106) (+2/)
Mind: 159(106) (+2/)
Spirit: 159(106) (+2/)
Status: Frustrated, Disappointed, Saddened.
Thoughts On You: Curiosity; Hope;

I signaled for Juak to keep moving as I looked to Vaquin and Ilyor. “What is a skin-turner?” I asked.

“It’s what shapeshifters are called,” Vaquin answered. “Damn creatures wear other people’s faces, manipulate and cheat people on the daily. Not a surprise that shopkeeper acted that way, when he found out he was employing one.”

“I think it’s too harsh,” Ilyor said meekly. “I mean, they didn’t choose to be born like that…”

“My ma got tricked into believing my pa came back from the dead, by one of those skin-turners,” Vaquin spat. “Shithead stole her savings and ran - we never found the conniving bitch.”

Ilyor frowned, but remained quiet. I glanced back at the shop, which then had a paper stuck to the door window reading ‘no skin-turners!’. It seemed social prejudice permeated every society, no matter what universe they were in… Something else to think about.

*****

At the end of the week, following a final free enchantment, the carriage made its way through the streets on a different route, then before. Not towards the castle, but towards another district of the merchant district. Father and I had gone through the paperwork, and I had rented a somewhat-downtrodden building not far from the square for cheap. ‘Cheap’ meaning more than the monthly wage of most non-merchant workers, but only one-fifth of what we made in a day in the square.

The carriage pulled into an alleyway next to a quaint two-story building, with access to one of the main roads leading away from the square. I took out one of the masquerade masks Ravelus had given me - one that looked to be made of griffon feathers - and wrapped it around my head as I got out. Ilyor used a key to open the doors to the shop and opened them for me, revealing the some-what run-down interior of the building.

To my understanding, this building had been a high-profile clothing shop about a decade prior, but the owners had been laundering money through it to avoid mercantile taxes, so the place had been shut down and turned over to the royal family. In that time, nobody had been around to upkeep it, so it suffered from coastal weathering, and slowly broke down. It wasn’t too bad, not by a long shot, but it wasn’t yet presentable.

I peeked into every room, ascertaining as to its condition before returning to the front and motioning for Ilyor to go get the cleaning supplies from the carriage. Vaquin, I sent to scour the place for rodents and insects, not wanting to find out they were infesting my goods at a later date. Then, I waited in the main room, thinking about my plans and mentally arranging the furniture and shelves.

I senses someone approaching me from behind and turned, expecting to see Ilyor, but was instead met with the massive bust of a woman standing only half a meter in front of me. I immediately exhaled all of the air from my lungs and turned around, face red, and spoke up with a shaky voice. “H-hello?”

“Hi, there, sweetheart! What’s your name~?” The woman asked in a sultry voice.

“S-Sterling,” I replied, still trying to purge the image of the woman’s barely-covered bosom from my mind. From the second-and-a-half I had looked, I could see she was wearing a very revealing outfit, borderline scandalous, which is why I wasn’t looking in her direction.

“Oh, you must be that merchant’s son! My, you’re a cutie~! Such nice ears!” I felt her hand settle into the space between my ears and shivered, my teenage hormones acting up - at least, spiritually. My young body wasn’t capable of such reactions, yet. “Can you point me towards your father~? I’ve come to ask him for a job!”

I didn’t answer for a second, trying desperately to calm myself down. Yes, I’d seen mother’s breasts when she breastfed me nine months prior, but that had been different. She was my mother, and this woman was… for lack of a better term, much-better-endowed.

“Oh, you don’t have to by shy, sweetie~!” The woman grabbed my shoulders and turned be around to face her, revealing my atomic-red expression. “Aww, you think I’m pretty?”

“Y-yes ma’am!” I replied on instinct, trying to squirm my way out of her grasp. She responded by laughing and pulling me into an embrace, shoving my entire head… you know where. I tried to force myself away, but she was stronger than me by a good margin - almost doubly. I almost infused myself with mana, but I didn’t have to as I heard someone else come in through the front door.

“B-boss!” Ilyor gasped, dropping the brooms and cleaning supplies as she came upon the sight of me being suffocated by this strange woman. “What are you doing to him?!” Ilyor demanded of the woman.

“Me? I’m just appreciating this lad’s handsomeness~!” The woman smiled at her, embracing me tighter. “He doesn’t seem to mind, do you?” She looked down at me. Of course, I was still trying to escape, pushing against her hip and sides. In my desperation, I reached up a little too far, and… “Oh! That’s a spot only big boys should touch, you know~?”

‘ Ahhhhhhhhh! ’ I screamed in my head, drawing mana into my muscles and pulling myself away, falling back a few meters. “Ahhhhhh!” I yelled aloud, curling into a ball and wrapping my arms around my very-warm face.

“It seems I’ve broken him~…” the woman smiled innocently, cocking her head to the side.

“What’s going on?!” Vaquin stormed through a door and vaulted the counter, sword in hand. “What did you do to him?!”

At this, the woman seemed genuinely scared and raised her hands, eyes wide. “I’m sorry! I was only teasing him, and I got a little too ahead of myself!”

“Boss, are you okay?” Vaquin knelt beside me, checking me over.

I only whimpered in response, still trying to contain my blush as the hand I had… done that with clenched and unclenched in remembrance of the feeling.

“Boss? You mean this kid’s actually the enchanter, Sterling?!” The woman gaped. “I-I didn’t know! I’m sorry!” She then smiled offhandedly. “…Not that it wasn’t fun…”

I was so embarrassed that I had to infuse my will with mana to calm myself down, breathing deeply until I could sit up. With the infusion, I was able to look at the woman and use <Observe>, wondering who the hell she was.

[Siv Wippo]
Race: Shapeshifter;
Titles: Salesperson Extraordinaire
Age: 22
Rank: Shapeshifter (1.5x)
Affinities: Wind; Blood;
Level: 53 (91%)
Health Status: 1590/1590
Mana Status: 1590/1590 (2.5/m) (3rd)
Stamina Status: 1590/1590
Body: 159(106) (+2/)
Mind: 159(106) (+2/)
Spirit: 159(106) (+2/)
Status: Shocked, Fearful, Abashed.
Thoughts On You: Curiosity; Hope; Platonic Infatuation (You are Cute); Fear;

“Y-your that Shapeshifter from a couple days ago!” My eyes widened. As did hers, once she comprehended what I had said.

“H-how can you tell?” Siv asked fearfully. “Nobody can tell a shapeshifter off of appearance!”

“But I can based on your mana,” I said. Indeed, every person had a unique mana signature, which I could feel and remember quite easily. Still, I wasn’t going to tell her - or him, or whatever - about the system. “I remember you from when you got fired from that shop down the street; you almost got run over by our carriage.”

“That was her?” Ilyor gasped, face still beet-red. I wondered why she didn’t try to help me, but that could wait. “Why is she here, now?”

“To ask me for a job, apparently,” I stated, shutting my eyes as I thought.

“I-I’ll just leave… Surely, you don’t want a skin-turner in your establishment…” Siv moved to exit.

“It’s alright,” I said, raising a hand towards her. “You can stay, while I think.” She gulped and stood still, nervously eyeing Vaquin’s sword. “What were your intentions, if I may ask? Beyond seeking a job.”

“I-… I created this form to seduce the enchanter into allowing me a job. That’s it! I promise!” She started shaking, on the verge of tears.

“Calm down, nobody’s going to hurt you,” I said calmly. “Why did you grab me, like that?”

“I… thought I could get to the enchant through you, whom I assumed were his son,” she answered, slightly calmer. “Get you to plead my case, because you thought I was pretty…”

I hummed in thought. “So, it’s safe for me to assume you’ve done this before? Used your ability to manipulate people into doing what you want, or behaving the way you seek?”

“Y-… Yes,” she nodded.

“Final question: could you put that to use in a work environment?”

“Wait, you can’t seriously be considering a skin-turner for-“

“Silence, Vaquin,” I glared at him. “I will not tolerate discrimination in my presence. I understand you have a history with Shapeshifters, but it’s just that: history. Put it aside, and look at people for who they are, not what those of their kind have done to you.”

“But-“

“I will remind you that there are many peoples who dislike humans for the actions of our ancestors and fellows. Should they hate us for that?” I looked at him seriously. He remained silent. “The answer is no. So long as you are under my service, you are to treat everyone with respect, even if they fall below you in your personal hierarchy.”

“…Yes, sir,” he said.

I nodded and turned back to Siv, who was staring at me with wide eyes and an agape mouth. “You… You defended me?” She asked.

“It is my understanding that all sentient life is valuable,” I said, smiling. “To value one less than another is contradictory to the beliefs of my family. Those employed by me will respect that belief, even if only in my presence.”

At this, tears came to her eyes and she took a step towards me before recoiling when Vaquin’s sword hand twitched. “Sheath your weapon, Vaquin. Let there be no bad blood between us, this day.”

“Yes, sir,” he sheathed his sword with a stony expression.

“You want a job?” I asked, looking at the Shapeshifter. She nodded excitedly. “Take some supplies and clean the upstairs room on the right. Do it well enough, and I might hire you.”

She jumped into action, literally, bounding over to the supplies Ilyor had dropped and picking some out before rushing towards the stairs with a grin on her face. Ilyor and Vaquin looked to me for orders, so I gestured to the supplies. “The building needs to be clean before we can start on the repairs, so we’ll begin there.”

“We?” Vaquin asked. It seemed any hostility he had in him was gone, replaced by his usual stoic - albeit flippant - dutifulness.

“You may still work under me as Alistair, but you work with me as Sterling. I’ll be helping in any way I can, until we get ourselves off the ground,” I grinned, picking up a broom and getting started. It only took a few moments for my subordinates to get over their shock and start helping, sweeping and washing the floors, walls, and even the ceilings. Within two hours, the main room was clean. Around the same time, Siv came back down the stairs, dirt smudged on her face and… you know where.

“I finished~!” She chirped happily, setting down her supplies. “Wow, you guys work fast~!”

“As do you,” I nodded towards her. “Ilyor will check your work and get back to me. For now, I want you to go out and find a furniture store.”

“Yes, sir~!” She skipped out of the building, her motions having the expected effect on her… you know whats. I simply blinked, infusing more mana into my will before shaking my head and gesturing towards Ilyor and Vaquin. Ilyor went upstairs while Vaquin and I moved on to one of the back rooms on the first floor, which would be used as a workshop and storage.

A few minutes later, Ilyor came down and gave me the affirmative, telling me that the room was indeed cleaned well, before joining us. Siv came back, eventually, telling me about a store a few blocks down that sold good-quality furniture for not-so-much money. I asked her to lead me to it, leaving Vaquin and Ilyor behind to continue cleaning.

“Can I… hold your hand? To make sure you don’t get lost in the crowd, of course!” Siv asked. I rolled my eyes and nodded, grabbing her hand like a child would their mother when they go to an amusement park. Despite the fact I knew this woman could turn into a man, the teenage soul in me didn’t care. She was a woman, now, with huge boobs. Boobs are cool, when they’re not on your mother.

“Are you a boy, or a girl?” I asked, looking up at Siv questioningly. “Originally, I mean.”

“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “I’ve been changing since I was born, as do most Shapeshifters, and I don’t have parents to tell me which one I came out as, so… I kinda just pick whatever suits the situation.”

I nodded, humming. “Shapeshifting seems like a cool ability. It would certainly help me in a few endeavors.”

“You think so?” She asked.

“Yes, actually!” I grinned. “Being able to change my hair or skin color to blend in with a crowd, or making myself taller… It sounds very handy.”

Siv laughed. “It’s not so simple, unfortunately. Yes, I can change the pigmentation of my body, but it takes time. The whole time between when I was fired and now, actually. Body proportions are also difficult, sometimes. To increase the mass in one place, you have to decrease it in another. In this case, I took away from my height to make my breasts ginormous!”

I coughed into my fist. “Interesting. So, you have to put on weight if you want to get bigger, or lose it to become smaller…”

“Or you can compress it,” she said. “I’m actually about one-hundred ilos, despite only being 140 cirs tall.”

“Oh, look, we’re here,” she said happily, dragging me into a larger building. A couple people were looking at the various chairs and bedroom tables placed within, while a younger couple were talking to the clerk. I watched as the clerk held out a hand and said a chant, causing a couple double-sized beds to appear in the open space obviously dedicated to the practice. “I asked about their prices, and this place seemed good.”

I nodded, watching as the couple tested out the beds before handing the clerk some money, getting a slip in return. They left, happy, and the clerk returned the items to her pocket dimension. Siv, still holding my hand, approached the clerk with a smile. “Ah, back already? And who’s this little guy?” The woman asked, cocking her head to the side.

“This is my friend, and we’re here to get him some furniture,” Siv said.

“Do you have any single beds for sale?” I asked.

“Of course! I have three in my pocket, right now, and we have some more in the back. Would you like to see them?” She asked, getting a nod from me. She chanted again, and three single beds appeared in the space. One had a dark brown base and yellow covers; another, a light brown base and blue covers; the third, a black base with red covers.

“Try them out; you’ll probably know more about mattresses than I would,” I said.

She nodded and tried all three beds before returning to my side. Pointing at each of them, from left to right, she gave her verdict. “Too hard; nice and soft; even nicer, for some reason. All of them are much better than any I’ve used before, so it’s easy to distinguish.”

“What about the colors?” I asked.

“I like red,” she grinned.

“The third one, then,” I nodded, pointing at it. “How much for that one?”

“150 silver. It comes with a matching nightstand, too,” she said. 

“We’ll take it,” I said, pulling out the money and handing it to her.

“Alright, then~! Just take this slip and hand it to the folks in the back, and they’ll carry it-“

“That won’t be necessary,” I waved her off, touching the bed and adding it to my inventory. It disappeared with a small fwhip as air was sucked into the place where it had been. I was wearing the <Dusk Crown Ring>, which I pointed to as an excuse. “Family artifact.”

“That’s useful! I’m stuck using my magic, which requires a chant, and doesn’t have much space,” the clerk grinned.

“You’re young, so it’ll definitely grow!” I smiled. She smiled back and chanted the nightstand out.

“Anything else?”

“A dining table and a couple chairs would be nice. I can get a washbasin and oven from the smith we passed on our way here,” I said.

“Dining table and chairs to match the bed; gotcha,” she nodded, holding out a hand and drawing out her mana. It flowed through her spacial gate and out through her palm, filling a space in the physical world in the shape of a table, surrounded by chairs, before a pulse was sent along the strand that popped the outlines into reality. It was interesting to watch.

“Ooh, I like them,” Siv commented, trying out one of the cushioned chairs. “These are nice!”

“We’ll take these, too. How much?” I asked the clerk.

“One gold for the set,” she replied. I handed her the money and took everything into my inventory with a smile.

“Thank you, ma’am. This helped a lot. I’ll be sure to come back if I need more help!” I said, grinning.

“You’re very welcome~!” She ruffled my hair. “Come back any time!”

Siv and I left in search of the smithy we had passed, looking to get the rest of the things one would need to furnish and apartment.

*****

Meanwhile, Rel was trying her best not delve into her bestial spirit form and seek out the Shapeshifter who had done such a lewd thing to her precious son. Anir was, as always, watching over the boy, and had reported the incident almost immediately. Rel wanted nothing more than to choke the woman who dared to molest her little boy.

It was only worsened by the fact that Alistair was so kind, that he agreed to hire her! Sure, she had some merit, as far as the manipulation of patrons went, but she had still invaded his personal space, and practically shattered his innocence! Now, she had led him by the hand to a store, where he bought her furniture?! And, she had the Gaul not to realize it was for her?!

“That boy is too kind for his own good,” Rel mumbled to herself, teeth clenched hard enough to bite the woman’s head off. “Trusting random women he only met that day… Just how peaceful was Earth?”

*****

“There!” Siv exclaimed, putting her fists to her hips as she looked at the room with pride. I had asked her to arrange the room how she would like it, for reference, and she had done so with glee. The table and chairs were under the window, which looked out into the back alley, and the bed was in the corner. The washbasin - which I had given a minor heating enchantment to keep the contents hot, and another to clean the water within - sat behind a folding screen in another corner. A couple trunks beneath the bed had enough space to contain a moderate amount of clothing.

“Nice place, ya set up for yourself!” Siv said, looking over at me.

I simply smirked and said; “You mean for you.”

She froze before looking at me with wide eyes. “You mean...?”

“You’re hired? Yes. You can stay here, rent-free? Yes,” I smiled at her. “You will be running this shop, after all. Won’t you?”

“Y-yes! I will! Of course I will!” She laughed, snatching me up into a hug that made me scream in my head. “Thank you, Sterling! I won’t let you down!”

“Y-you can start by letting me down,” I pointed at the floor. She nodded and set me down, grinning. “Now, we have some time before the store opens. In the meantime, I want you to scout for staff. Only people we can trust to keep my age a secret, but they also have to be capable. Just a few to man a couple carriages.”

“I gotcha,” she grinned. “I know a circle of outcasts like myself looking for work. Attractive outcasts. They don’t oust each other, so I doubt they’d oust you.”

“I’ll gladly meet them,” I nodded. “Get in contact with them and bring them here whenever they’re ready. For today, I’d like help refurbishing this place.”

“You got it, boss!” She nodded emphatically, striding out of the room.

I smiled and followed, finding Ilyor and Vaquin coming out of the other room on the upper floor, supplies in hand. “We’ve finished cleaning, boss,” Ilyor said.

“Good! We can start replacing the broken flooring,” I said. “All you have to do is cut the broken sections and replace them with the new stuff. While you do that, I’m going to set up the lights and locks I made.”

“What flooring?” Vaquin asked. I waved for them to follow, and went back downstairs, then held out my hand and bought the laminated maple planks I had bought from the system shop, which matched the color and size of these foreign planks perfectly. I had bought a bundle of them for twenty SC, providing enough to refurbish the broken segments of the floor.

“These should work. Use the saws and wood glue in the carriage, and make sure to make it look good. Measure twice, cut once; you know?” I said. “I’ll apply durability and warming enchantments to the whole floor, later, to make it more comfortable. For now, we just need to get it in place.”

“Yes, boss!” The three of them said with varying levels of enthusiasm.

Chapter Text

[Adult Ent (LVL 25) x2 Killed!]
+650 EXP
+1950 SC
+2 <Gacha Token>

[Level Up!]
+2 STR, CON, END, DEX, CHA, LCK
+4 WIS
+5 Stat Points
+6 INT
+250 SC
+1 <Gacha Token>

“Double miniboss,” I muttered, watching as the two burning husks fell to the ground. This was the fifth miniboss that me, Vaquin, and Anir had fought since entering the dungeon seven days prior. Of course, I had been doing most of the legwork, but they had to step in a couple times to save me from attacks I couldn’t dodge. Since ending in the safe zone, that first day, I had killed 304 Vine Whips, 183 Young Ents, four Adult Ents, and one Giant Vine Whip. In total, I had earned 3213 EXP, 10916 SC, and eleven tokens, including those which I had gotten just now.

I allocated my points, then brought up my stats.

[Status]
-Identity-
Name: Alistair Eil
Race: Human; Beastfolk (Cat);
Age: 0 (17)
Class: Fire Elementalist(15/100)
Rank: Mortal* (1.2x)
Titles: Blessed;
Alignment: Lawful Good
Level: 15 (626/800)
-Stats-
Health Status: 1122/1122 |1320| (+13.2%/m)
Mana Status: 7365/7365 |5890| (+19.2%/m)
Stamina Status: 960/960 (+8.6%/m)
STR: 96(80) (+1*2/)
CON: 132(110) (+1*2/)
DEX: 96(80) (+1*2/)
END: 96(80) (+1*2/)
INT: 589(491) (+3*2/)
WIS: 192(160) (+2*2/)
CHA: 156(130) (+1*2/)
LCK: 276(230) (+1*2/)
Points: 0 (+5/)

Well on my way towards my seventh awakening; even more so with the <Dusk Crown Ring>. I took out and bit a token, rolling all eleven of them.

[Rolling 11x Gacha Token…]

[Rolling…]

[Entry 175, 168, 191, 199, 28, 134, 193, 99, 203, 130, and 69 Rolled…]

[<Summon Card: Raven>, <Summon Card: Starlight Anya>, <Ring of Favor and Protection>, <Box of Never-Ending Confectionaries>, <Old Dragon Soul Fragment>, <Bloody Spine>, <Siegbrau>, <Large Heart Button>, Skill Book: <Gamer’s Mind>, <SIVA Drone Capsule>, and <WIAB> Added to {Inventory}!]
<Summon Card: Raven>
Summon card for Rachel Roth, Raven. She is a powerful empath and mage, and is capable of manipulating her ‘soul-self,’ granting her a wide array of abilities.
<Summon Card: Starlight Anya>
Summon card for Anya, Test Subject 007. She is abnormally smart for her age, and can read people’s minds.
<Ring of Favor and Protection>
Wearer’s maximum HP and Stamina increased by 20%. Breaks when removed.
<Box of Never-Ending Confectionaries>
A large, sealed box, which will replenish with confectionaries of all kinds whenever closed.
<Old Dragon Soul Fragment>
A physical fragment of an old dragon’s soul.
<Bloody Spine>
A deformed, blood-drenched spine, which can be used to summon the Brain of Cthulhu.
Recommended Level: 50
<Siegbrau> x3
Restores 20% of consumer’s max HP.
<Large Heart Button>
A large button displaying a beating heart. +10% CON (+10%/).
Skill Book: <Gamer’s Mind>
The reader attains the mind of a video game character, attaining complete control over their emotions, no matter the circumstances. Speaking in a bed fully refills their MP. The reader is granted immunity to all mental effects, such as induced-fear, confusion, nausea, and memory manipulation.
<SIVA Drone Capsule>
A capsule containing one cubic inch of SIVA drones, which are capable of breaking down and reconstructing matter according to their directions. Directions can be set through the capsule's computer.
<WIAB>
An inconspicuous leather bag. Indestructible. Returns to the inventory when lost. 

‘ Again, going through it in order... ’ I thought. Summon cards for Raven from DC , and Anya from Spy-X-Family . Why a child was in the gacha pool for my system? I had no idea. Still, she was cute, and her ability was interesting. Daughter material, 100%. Raven was one of my teen crushes when I was younger, when I was able to watch the original Teen Titans cartoon. Obviously. Who didn’t have a crush on Raven at some point in their life?

The <Ring of Favor and Protection> is an item on got from killing Laurtec in the first dark souls game. Flipping overpowered in the game, and equally so in real life. It’s effects completely negated the downsides of the <Dusk Crown Ring>, but I would never be able to take it off without breaking it.

The <Box of Never-Ending Confectionaries> was a... unique item, to say the least. I pulled it out and opened it, revealing a bunch of pastries, candied fruits, jellies and puddings, and candies. I took out a chocolate-covered strawberry, then closed the box. Opening it, again, revealed that the strawberry had reappeared. Essentially, an endless supply of food, albeit very sugary food.

An <Old Dragon Soul Fragment>, to go with my ancient version. I honestly don’t know what I would do with it...

The <Bloody Spine> summon item from Terraria, to go with my <Celestial Sigil>. It’d summon the Brain of Cthulhu, which was a significantly-weaker boss - one I might be able to handle, now that I had the <Ring of Favor and Protection>.

<Siegbrau> is a limited healing item from Dark Souls, which would be very useful in dire circumstances.

A heart button to go with my book and grin ones. +10% to CON, which would somewhat make up for the <Dusk Crown Ring> without being a permanent thing.

The one I was the second-most excited about, <Gamer’s Mind>. Complete immunity to mental effects, control over emotions, and instant mana regen upon falling asleep in a bed? Wild stuff.

Then came the one I was the most excited about, the <SIVA Drone Capsule>. SIVA were nanobots created during the Golden Age of Earth in the Destiny universe. They were capable of building entire colonies in days, and performing microsurgery in instants. Even just one cubic inch of them could build a house in a few hours, given the materials. Furniture and all. It could turn raw iron ore into pure iron bars in seconds, and make things like carbon fiber and aerogel regardless of the environment. Crazy stuff; if only I knew how to program.

Finally, the <WIAB>, which I knew nothing about. Its description was vague as hell, and I didn’t recognize it from any form of fiction. I could only assume it was a bag of holding, of some kind, given its indestructibility and return magic. I’d have to see about that, later.

“Is that a strawberry?” Vaquin asked as he came up from where he and Anir had been watching me fight.

“Yeah,” I nodded, pulling back out the confectionary box. “Go ahead,” I said, opening it. Vaquin simply blinked and pulled out a jelly donut, probably not knowing what it was, and biting into it.

“What the fu-” A stone struck him on the side of his head, “-rick?! This is amazing!”

“Jelly donut. A pastry filled with jam of some kind. What is it?” I asked.

“Tastes like grapes,” he answered.

I hummed, biting my chocolate strawberry. “Want something, Anir?” I asked. She considered it for a moment before grabbing a strawberry, too. “This chocolate is good. Do you think mother would like this as a birthday gift?”

“We just ate some, though,” Vaquin looked at me dryly. In response, I closed the lid and opened it again, revealing the untouched contents. “Ah, magic. As usual.”

“I see you’re finally getting used to being around me,” I grinned, putting the box back in my inventory. “Well, let’s make it to the next safe zone, then we can quit for the day.”

“Sounds good to me,” Vaquin grinned. Anir nodded and fell in behind me as I picked up the Adult Ents into my inventory before continuing on down the path. This dungeon was getting rather boring, now. Seven days of wandering through a forest, killing weak enemies and unlocking trivial safe zones. At least I didn’t have to start over from the beginning every time I entered... that would suck. The bosses and monsters were cool, but my control over fire was so good that a single, concentrated blast was capable of killing most of them. Even the groups of enemies weren’t difficult to deal with, as I could just spray flames in a wider area.

While we walked, I was staring into the forest on either side of the path, wondering if the map continued on beyond where we had been. Was this an entirely new world? It was while I was thinking that I saw a glimpse of something moving among the bushes to our left. I raised a fist, stopping, and spammed <Observe> in that area. Trees, shrubs, flowers, and a door . A door, camouflaged into the trunk of a tree.

I motioned for Anir and Vaquin to follow me, and delved into the bushes, making it to the door in under a minute and pressing my hand against it. Sure enough, the bark of the tree folded inwards, revealing a chute down underground, with a ladder attached to its earthen wall. “Secret room,” I muttered with a smile. “What do you have in store for me?”

Creating a firebal below me, I started climbing down the ladder, wary of sneak attacks, for about ten stories. The ladder ended in a broad cavern, complete with stalagtites and stalagmites jutting from their respective positions. Under the light of my fireball, it was pretty cool-looking. I split the fire into multiple pieces and sent them to varying positions around the room, providing a semi-consistent illumination. The cave continued on in both directions, but one end was walled off, a wooden door sitting right in the middle. ‘ Looks like my first cave house in Minecraft, ’ I chuckled to myself as Vaquin came down behind me. Anir simply appeared beside me, a dagger in her hand.

“These instant dungeons have secret rooms, then?” Vaquin asked, shouldering his great-ax again.

“This is a mini-dungeon,” Anir replied. “The cave extends and splits off in multiple directions, leading to larger caverns. That door leads to an underground fortress. They both go further down.”

“Multiple paths, then,” I said. “Can you sense any enemies?” I asked. Anir could use her magic to sense other sources of mana, which she distinguished based off of her experience.

“Insects and... something organic in the caves, and undead in the fortress,” she said. I had slowly been getting her to talk more, rather than the couple-word sentences she had used when we first met. “The cave section is more treacherous, as far as terrain goes, but the monsters are weaker. Opposite goes for the fortress.”

I hummed in thought. “I hate bugs, so we’ll go into the fortress,” I decided. “Besides, I’ve always wanted to kill a zombie!” Vaquin almost commented on my words, but the sight of Anir with a stone in hand silenced him. I smirked and started circumnavigating the stalagmites towards the door. It was bigger than it looked from a distance, more than four meters tall. It was rimmed with a rusted metal, but the wood appeared undamaged in any capacity. Placing my hand against it, I found it to be surprisingly warm to the touch.

“Ironwood,” Anir analyzed. “More durable than steel, magic absorbent, and very resistant to weathering.”

I hummed, trying the handle. Sure enough, it was locked, but the hinges were on the outside, which I pointed out to my companions. “Break the hinges, and try not to damage the door.”

Vaquin had a look that said ‘say no more’ and stepped forward. With grace, he brought his great-ax down on the hinges, splitting them in half with his monstrous strength. The door fell outwards, right onto me, but I put it in my inventory with a thought. Ironwood would be useful, at some point, I was sure.

The room beyond the door was dark, so I sent a few wisps of flame into it, only to dismiss them as soon as I saw the giant skull in the center of the room. Why? Because its detached jaw twitched. It was easily as tall as I was - which, admittedly, wasn’t that big of a feat - with a silver crown on its head. I quickly used <Observe> on it.

[Prince Ri, Bonestorm]
Level: 80
Health Status: 24000/24000
Mana Status: 40000/40000 (6000/m)
Stamina Status: 50/50

I coughed lightly at the sight. “N-ninth awakening…?”

“What?!” Anir whisper-demanded.

“Undead Prince, well-past ninth awakening,” I whispered back. “I can take him.”

“You’re only sixth!” Vaquin said. Maybe a bit too loud, because the sound of rattling bones came from within the room. I turned to see a small skeletal figure getting up, bones locking into place via threads of mana, all connected to the gem hiding within its skull. It looked over at us with glowing eyes before opening its mouth, where a magic rune appeared.

I tried to shoot a fireball at it, but the scream it released dispersed it with the force of magical wind it conjured. Torches across the room burst to life with a putrid green flame, which split and converged over the massive skull in the center of the room. I found myself being pushed through the doorway, as did Vaquin and Anir, as a wall of fog blocked us from exiting.

“Shit, I think we skipped right to the boss!” I exclaimed, charging my faux kamehameha and equipping the <Ring of Favor and Protection>. My eyes flicked around as bones began to float, coalescing into dozens of skeletons, spread around the room, as that green fire burned within the eyes of the Prince’s skull. It started to float, but no body formed beneath it. Instead, a cyclone of bones swirled around it, spinning faster and faster until a wind churned up the dust on the floor.

I released my faux kamehameha, blasting through three of the grunt skeletons on the way towards the boss, only to strike a barrier around the bones, deflecting the beam off into a corner of the room, killing four more skeletons.

[Skill <Fire Manipilation> Leveled Up! (92/100)]

[Skill <Fire Affinity> Leveled Up! (56/100)]

“I don’t think I can take him with all of the bone-zos everywhere!” I said, stopping the beam before I ran out of mana.

“Leave it to me,” Vaquin grinned, hefting his ax and swinging heavily in a horizontal line in front of me, releasing a blade of wind mana that cut through bones and sent the rest flying through the air in an arc all the way to the other end of the room. I took the opportunity to run in that direction, sending fireball after fireball at the heads of the smaller skeletons while looking at the big boy in the center.

Anir followed me closely, not attacking anything, so I assumed she was just going to protect me, during this fight. Vaquin occasionally swept with his ax, cleaving down entire groups of skeletons, only for them to regroup into a slightly smaller pack, as only a few bones were destroyed during this process. “Go for their heads! There’s a gem in there that’s keeping the suckers undead!” I yelled at him, returning my focus to the boss.

It finally reacted, looking at me with piercing eyes of flame and opening its jaw in a phantom scream. Bones shot from the whirlwind around it, towards me, but they were intercepted by small bolts of mana, courtesy of Anir, which reduced them to dust. “Thanks,” I said, getting a nod in return.

A quick <Observe> told me that the thing was regenerating mana faster than it could use it, so exhausting it was out of the picture. I either had to overwhelm its shield, which was also a no-no because it had eight-times as much mana as me, or find a way around it. “Physical damage, it is!” I exclaimed, pulling out an <Excalibur>… only to trip over it.

[STR Requirement Not Met!]

“Shit!” I returned it to my inventory and brought out the <Yamato>. Fortunately, it didn’t make me fall into a pile of dust and bones. ‘ Katanas are cool…! Space-rending katanas, that can turn into an arm for some reason, and split man and demon…! ’ 

I ducked under an approaching hail of bones and rolled over my shoulder, Dark Souls style, then took the katana out of its sheath and rushed towards the giant skeleton, only for a huge arm to form out of the bone cyclone and strike me in the side, sending me across the room and into the wall with a heavy thud.

[-200HP]

“Agh!” I let out a grunt, falling to my knees.

“Your Highness!” Anir yelled, teleporting to my side.

“I’m f-fine,” I waved her off, getting up and glaring at the boss. “That was nothing. Vaquin! The boss needs some physical attention! Destroy the bones surrounding it!”

“You got it!” Vaquin laughed, swinging his ax into the air and jumping with its momentum, crashing down on Prince Ri with a slam that sent a shockwave through the room. I conjured a flame and launched it at the unguarded heads of the reforming skeletons around me and Anir, destroying their stones and killing them. While doing that, I ran back towards the <Yamato>, which was sticking out of the ground near a wooden door to the side of the room.

Snatching it up, I turned and brought it up to block the bone club of what appeared to be a skeleton golem - an amalgam of broken bones that stood at three meters in height. The <Yamato> cut through the bones easily, slicing the club in half and continuing up into the golem’s side, where it got stuck due to my poor edge alignment. It didn’t matter, though, because I used the sword as a handle to spring myself up, coalescing fire around my foot and slamming it into the golem's multi-skulled head. The bones cracked under the heat and pressure before shattering, allowing my foot to connect with the cluster of gems that was between the skulls, which also broke. The entire thing collapsed in a heap, taking me with it.

[Skill <Swordsmanship> Leveled Up! (3/100)]

[Skill <Elemental Combat> Leveled Up! (2/100)]

I took a moment to regain my bearings before picking up the <Yamato> and moving towards the boss, which had its storm of bones whittled down into fine pieces by Vaquin’s relentless assault. Anir had been dealing with another two bone golems, dispatching them in seconds before teleporting over to me and sheathing her daggers, instead summoning a gilded longbow with a single-word chant.

Her arrows fired at an insane pace, striking skull after skull of any skeleton who dared approach me as I shut my eyes and felt the energy within the <Yamato>. It was different than mana, if only slightly. The same root energy, coming from the mana realm, but it passed through another plane of existence before coming into the sword, pulsing through it like a heartbeat. Contained within the energy were… instructions. They told me to sink into a stance and grip the handle in a certain way, before ripping it from the scabbard, out towards my target.

An imperceptibly-fast arc of mana passed through the air as I swung, resulting in a deep gash across the back of Prince Ri’s skull, leaving his cyclone untouched. He turned towards me and launched a blast of bones at me, which I jumped to the side to avoid. This allowed Vaquin to get in a particularly-devastating hit, blowing away half of the boss’s bones for a few moments. I used the opportunity to dash forward and drive the <Yamato into one of the creature’s massive eye sockets.

[Critical Hit!]

It screeched, sending a blast of air that struck me in the chest and sent me flying back, but the attack had done almost half of its health, on top of what Vaquin had accomplished. The seventy damage I sustained was worth it, then. Still, the <Yamato> was still in the now-unburning socket, jutting out at an angle.

All of the bones on the creature burst out in a wide AOE attack, sending Vaquin flying and forcing Anir to take cover behind a pillar, before all of the bones in the room shot towards the skull and started forming a behemoth body to match the skull, which slammed its feet on the ground and roared.

“Second phase, baby!” I laughed, forming another kamehameha and releasing it towards one of the guy’s legs. It bounced off of its shield, but I condensed the beam further, and reduced it to only a pencil’s-width, allowing it to apply enough pressure to one spot to burst through, before bouncing back and forth within the barrier a thousand times. The Prince let out a scream as roughly one-sixths of the bones making up its body were destroyed by my attack, sending it down to one knee, but also leaving me without much mana.

I summoned my Stand and selected the spot right in front of me and that right below the <Yamato>, blinking. Suddenly, with another step, I was there! Grabbing the hilt of the <Yamato>, I ripped it out and did a backflip off of the Prince’s jaw and away from the boss, returning it to its sheath before sending a phantom arc through the tiny hole in its eye socket and into the empty cavity of its head, where the crystal keeping it alive was. A loud shattering noise sounded through the chamber as all of the bones making up the massive skeleton Prince collapsed in a heap, ending the battle.

[Safe Zone Reached!]

[Skill <Fire Manipulation> Leveled Up! (93/100)]

[Skill <Closer> Leveled Up! (7/100)]

[Skill <Swordsmanship> Leveled Up! (6/100)]

[Prince Ri, Bonestorm (LVL 80) Killed!]
+3240 EXP
+9720 SC
+2 <Gacha Token>
+1 <Craftsman Gem>

[Level Up! X4]
+8 STR, CON, END, DEX, CHA, LCK
+16 WIS
+20 Stat Points
+24 INT
+1,000 SC
+4 <Gacha Token>

Anir caught me and set me down, a smile on her face for the first time since I had met her. Vaquin wore a similar expression, returning his ax to his back as he approached. “Holy hell, that was a rush. Haven’t had a fight that good in a while, even if I was holding back.”

“Are you okay, Your Highness?” Anir asked, setting me down.

“Yeah, I’m better than okay!” I grinned like a madman. “That was freakin’ awesome! Did you see how I slashed the inside of its head, there at the end?! That was so much more fun than just blasting things from a distance!”

“Maybe the mage life isn’t for you, after all?” Vaquin chuckled.

“Nah, I’ll just do both. I used fire magic around my foot and kicked through a big bone boy’s head, earlier, so I can probably do it with a sword,” I said. “Speaking of,” I picked up the <Yamato> and sheathed it before putting it into my inventory. “Foolishness, Dante. Foolishness. Might controls everything. And without strength you cannot protect anything. Let alone yourself!”

Anir and Vaquin shared a look.

“Anyways,” I shrugged and climbed up the bone pile. “Can human bones be used in alchemy?” I asked, looking at Anir.

“Y-yes…?” She replied.

I nodded and laid down on the pile before taking all of it into my inventory, leaving behind only the giant skull and the silver crown it wore.

[Bonestorm Skull]

A dense skull containing the remnants of a deceased Prince’s soul. The crown it wears is fused to the bone, as if his title became a part of him after death.

I nodded to the skull in respect before adding it to my inventory

“Well, this place counts as a safe zone, so we can push our way through the fortress backwards, when we come back,” I said, looking at the tears in my shirt. “Damn, and I liked this shirt…”

A stone struck me in the gut hard enough to feel like a punch. “No cussing!” Anir chided.

“I thought only Vaquin got the stones…” I grunted while the knight in question laughed his ass off. A stone went right in his open mouth, making him cough and spit it out. Then, it was my turn to laugh.

Chapter Text

I walked into the store I owned with a smile on my face, eyes covered by the same masquerade mask I always wore when out of the castle. The front room of the store had been entirely refurbished, which repaired floors, re-painted walls, a paneled ceiling embedded with enchanted lights of my making,and wooden shelves crafted out of the Adult Ent husks by Pyarron, who apparently moonlighted as a carpenter. The counter had been polished smooth, and laid with drawers to contain money and paperwork.

All in all, my business was looking good.

I nodded contemplatively before jumping forward to avoid the slide-hug Siv almost got me with. She was noticeably shorter, which she put where you would expect. Who knows how her back remains straight with those things. “Ah, I almost gotcha~!” She winked at me. I smiled wryly in response, crossing my arms. “Anyways, I got a few of my friends in the back. You still want to meet them, no?”

“Yes, I do,” I nodded, gesturing for her to lead me to them. She grinned and skipped over to the storage storage room, with me on her tail. In the room were six people - four girls, two boys. All of them looked to be young for their races, and they were indeed attractive. I recognized two of them as Dragonborn, two as Halflings, another as an Elf, and the last as a Gnome. It was my first time seeing three of those races, so I couldn’t help but take them in. The Dragonborn, one man and one woman, were more than 2.5m tall with draconic eyes and scales. Their heads were shaped like those of lizards, with horns that stretched back beyond their empty scalps. The boy had green scales, while the girl had blue.

[Da’rak Vill]
Race: Dragonborn;
Titles: Dragon-Blood Sister;
Age: 29
Rank: Dragonkin (2x)
Affinities: Fire; Light;
Level: 96 (11%)
Health Status: 5760/5760
Mana Status: 1920/1920 (3.2/m) (4th)
Stamina Status: 5760/5760
Body: 576(288) (+3/)
Mind: 192(96) (+1/)
Spirit: 576(288) (+3/)
Status: Abashed, Hopeful, Fearful.
Thoughts On You: Curiosity; Hope; Platonic Infatuation (You are Cute); Fear;

[Da’rik Vill]
Race: Dragonborn;
Titles: Dragon-Blood Brother;
Age: 29
Rank: Dragonkin (2x)
Affinities: Nature; Dark;
Level: 97 (23%)
Health Status: 5820/5820
Mana Status: 1940/1940 (3.2/m) (4th)
Stamina Status: 5820/5830
Body: 582(291) (+3/)
Mind: 194(97) (+1/)
Spirit: 582(291) (+3/)
Status: Wary, Paranoia, Hope.
Thoughts On You: Curiosity; Hope; Wariness;

The Halflings were a few centimeters shorter than me, with sandy-blonde hair and black hair respectively. They eyed me strangely, smiles on their faces.

[Alisa Calli]
Race: Halfling;
Titles: Pants-Claimer;
Age: 24
Rank: Mortal (1x)
Affinities: Water;
Level: 20 (70%)
Health Status: 400/400
Mana Status: 400/400 (6/m) (2nd)
Stamina Status: 400/400
Body: 40(40) (+2/)
Mind: 40(40) (+2/)
Spirit: 20(20) (+1/)
Status: Shocked, Joyous.
Thoughts On You: Curiosity; Hope; Perverted Infatuation;

[Vara Moore]
Race: Halfling; Amazonian;
Titles: Half-Zonian;
Age: 19
Rank: Mortal* (1.2x)
Affinities: Wind;
Level: 27 (91%)
Health Status: 640/640
Mana Status: 640/640 (1/m) (3rd)
Stamina Status: 640/640
Body: 64(54) (+2/)
Mind: 64(54) (+2/)
Spirit: 32(27) (+1/)
Status: Curious, Hopeful.
Thoughts On You: Curiosity; Hope;

The elf woman stood at just over 2m in height, with silver-blonde hair that reached her waist, and large pointed ears. Her piercing green eyes stared into my own with unbridled curiosity.

[Riella Alla]
Race: Elf
Titles: Exiled Priestess of the Royal Woods;
Age: 208
Rank: Demi-Spirit (1.8x)
Affinities: Nature;
Level: 166 (33%)
Health Status: 2980/2980
Mana Status: 8960/8960 (+14.6/m) (7th)
Stamina Status: 2980/2980
Body: 298(166) (+1/)
Mind: 896(498) (+3/)
Spirit: 597(332) (+2/)
Status: Content, Curious.
Thoughts On You: Intense Curiosity; Hope; Platonic Infatuation (You are Cute);

Finally, the gnome was staring at me with a discerning eye. He was scratching his long, black beard with one hand while keeping his other behind him. Holding a knife, I could see through its impression in mana.

[Alan Vile]
Race: Gnome;
Titles: Vileblood;
Age: 68
Rank: Mortal (1x)
Affinities: Earth;
Level: 71 (85%)
Health Status: 710/710
Mana Status: 1420/1420 (2.3/m) (2nd)
Stamina Status: 710/710
Body: 71(71) (+1/)
Mind: 142(142) (+2/)
Spirit: 142(142) (+2/)
Status: Wary.
Thoughts On You: Curiosity; Hope; Intense Wariness;

“Guys, this is Sterling, the enchanter I told you about,” Siv introduced me with a happy tone. “Sterling, these are my friends! The Dragonborn siblings Da’Rak and Da’Rik, the Elf Exile Riella, the Gnome Bandit Alan, and the Halfling Seductresses Alisa and Vara! Then you have me, the mercantile Shapeshifter, Siv!”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you all,” I nodded to them individually. “I understand it you are all looking for jobs, and struggle to do so because of certain prejudices. I asked Siv to gather you, so I could offer you jobs under me.”

“What would you have us do?” Vara asked.

“Simple work. Three teams of two, one voice and one muscle, take a carriage and sell goods in strategic spots throughout the city,” I smiled. “Pay is based off of commission, so you get fifteen out of every hundred silver’s-worth of sold items.”

“Fifteen percent?!” Da’Rik barked out in surprise. “That’s a lot, for such easy work.”

“Call it incentive to do a good job,” I chuckled. “I like to consider myself a generous person. I take care of the people who work for me.”

“And that’s it, just get people to buy stuff~?” Alisa asked in a sultry voice.

“Yes. Maintaining the carriages and horses will be done by the drivers,” I nodded. “All you have to do is either talk the crowd into buying the goods, and direct them here for better stuff, or protect the speaker and the goods.”

“It seems too good to be true,” Alan said simply, dagger shifting in his grip. “What are you playing at, pal?”

I frowned. “To put it lightly, I’m not a fan of discrimination. Especially for things someone can’t change, such as their race or physical features - at least, for the most part.” Siv giggled. “One of my goals with this company of mine is equal opportunity. Everyone gets a chance to prove their worth to the company, and gets rewarded accordingly. You six just happened to be the first to crop up on my radar, thanks to Siv.”

“And how do we know we can trust you? You won’t even show us your face!” Alan accused.

“Alan,” Da’Rak groaned.

“I wear a mask for my own safety. You see, if people knew who I truly was, my life would be in danger,” I sighed.

“So, what, you’re some kinda nobleman? Don’t know of any Halfling noblemen in Eilon - at least, none high enough on the hierarchy to be in danger in the merchant district,” Alan mused.

“You could say that, and I’m no Halfling. As you can tell, by the ears and tail,” I twitched my ears and flicked my tail.

“You’re just a kid?!” Alisa exclaimed. “Damn…”

“Just a kid, and one of the best enchanters in the city,” Da’Rik grumbled. “How old are you, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” I said with a cheeky smirk. “So, will you take the jobs?”

“We don’t have much else going on,” Vara shrugged.

“Yeah, sounds like a good time~!” Alisa grinned.

“We have muscle,” Va’Rik said, his sister nodding.

“Fine, I guess,” Alan sheathed his dagger.

“Show me your magic, first, then I’ll decide,” Riella spoke up for the first time. I raised an eyebrow and nodded, checking my stats.

[Status]
-Identity-
Name: Alistair Eil
Race: Human; Beastfolk (Cat);
Age: 0 (17)
Class: Fire Elementalist(19/100)
Rank: Mortal* (1.2x)
Titles: Blessed;
Alignment: Lawful Good
Level: 19 (366/1000)
-Stats-
Health Status: 1438/1438 |1410+5%| (+14.1%/m)
Mana Status: 7725/7725 |6180+25%| (+21.1%/m)
Stamina Status: 1260/1260 |1050+20%| (+10.5%/m)
STR: 120(100) (+1*2/)
CON: 141(118) (+1*2/)
DEX: 115(96) (+1*2/)
END: 105(88) (+1*2/)
INT: 618(515) (+3*2/)
WIS: 211(176) (+2*2/)
CHA: 165(138) (+1*2/)
LCK: 285(238) (+1*2/)
Points: 0 (+5/)

I nodded and focused. Mana flooded through my stystem as I flared as much as I possibly could, consuming seven-thousand in a single second. The resulting blast of air pushed everyone back, and knocked the smaller people over. The door rattled, and the air became tense with mana.

I opened my eyes to find everyone staring at me wide-eyed. “B-brimming on your seventh awakening, so young?! How long has it been since you attained your first awakening?” Riella asked.

“Almost eleven months,” I answered, acting innocent. “Why?”

“Stop messing with them,” Ilyor accused from behind me. “You’re a freak when it comes to magic. The least you could do is tell people that when you meet them.”

I laughed. “You’re right, but it’s funny to see the look on their faces! I remember when you first found out about my magic~! My mother certainly showed you not to use those words in front of me, and yet here you are-“

“I get it! Sorry for calling you a freak,” she sighed. “Gods above, you are insufferable sometimes.”

“Getting very bold, Miss Ilyor,” I smiled tensely, making her blanch.

“S-sorry, Your-“ she stopped herself.

“What just happened?” Vara asked, confused.

“I think he’s threatening the girl with a good time with his mother~,” Alisa said. “If he’s this cute, I can’t imagine how cute his mother is~! I wouldn’t mind a good time with her~!”

I almost choked on my tongue. ‘ What in the shit… I did not want that image in my head… ’ I looked at Siv, who only shrugged with a minor blush.

“She’s a pervert,” she said simply. “One who likes little boys, apparently.”

“Hey! Didn’t you smother him with those toddler-sized bahoongas of yours?!” Alisa accused. At this, Siv didn’t know what to say. She had done just that, after all, and now she regretted telling her friends that.

“Well at least I have boobs!” Siv shouted, hoisting hers up and sticking her tongue out at the Halfling, who held her own chest with an agape mouth.

“How dare you?!” She screeched and jumped at the Shapeshifter. Not wanting to deal with any of that, I saluted the other five new hires, and made my way up to the workshop with Vaquin and Ilyor, the latter of whom was blushing at the sight of whatever had been going on in that room after I turned my back. If anything, that only made me more glad that I hadn’t seen it.

Sitting down in a chair by one of the windows, I took off the mask and watched the people passing by below, occasionally using <Observe> on a random person. Most of the common folk never breached level forty, while most adventurers stayed below one-hundred. The exceptions were powerful, really powerful. Mother and father were among the strongest in the kingdom. That I had seen, at least. From what I understood, there were several knights stronger than them, and a few recluse mages.

But Eilon was pretty low on the scale of power, in terms of the world at large. Sure, it was much more powerful in terms of military might than some of the more Eastern kingdoms, but compared to the likes of Axriel and the Collus Empire… It was a miracle Eilon had survived this long against such a powerful force. Aedon credited it fully to the heroes of past, blessed by spirits, who were capable of dealing demons within themselves and using their powers against the enemy.

One of those heroes was my great, great, great-grandfather, Aedon I. He had seven affinities, and fought on the front lines against Axriel’s greatest generals, dying with honor to defeat what would’ve been a nation-ending force on the Pass of Axes. I knew that one day, I would stand before a similar force, fighting to save the kingdom I called home, with the power some god in the ether had given me. Why else would I be given this chance to be reborn? This power, that would allow me to grow in power so quickly?

Unless it was something even greater than that. No, I couldn’t think about that. I had better things to worry about than some phantom menace in the distant future. Like finding a gift for my brother’s upcoming birthday, and picking a second crafting skill.

Speaking of, I took out the crystal and looked at it, then crushed it in one hand.

[Select a Crafting Skill:]
{ Agriculture }
{ Alchemy }
{ Architecture }
{ Blacksmithing }
{ Calligraphy }
{ Carpentry }
{ Engineering }
{ Jewelry-Crafting }
{ Programming }
{ Runecrafting }
{ Textiles }

‘ What to choose… ’ I hummed. ‘ I could pick up {Programming} for the SIVA drones… or {Engineering} to get started on manufacturing machinery… No, I have no real need for either of those, at the moment. Something else I can do, which can tie in to what I’m doing already… {Alchemy} or {Runecrafting}, then. ’

‘ I have the human bones, which can be a reagent in most potions, but I also have a few ideas for magitek that can revolutionize this world, and work well with my enchantments… Having some potions to support my allies would be helpful, but I could also make more money, to get my plans along faster… ’ In the end, I chose {Runecrafting}. I wanted the race change potion, but I didn’t yet have access to the places where I’d need to buy the ingredients, let alone the money to pay for such things. {Runecrafting} would be helpful immediately.

[Skill <Runecrafting> Learned!]
<Runecrafting> (1/100)
You can inscribe runes and give them mana, allowing them to perform tasks on command.

“What was that?” Vaquin asked.

“Something to help me learn faster,” I answered cryptically, taking out one of my six tokens and biting it. “Don’t worry about it.”

[Rolling 6x Gacha Token…]

[Rolling…]

[Entry 128, 97, 159, 110, 12, and 61 Rolled…]

[<Battlefield Tracker>, <Akashic Tome (25)>, <Summon Card: Father Pucci>, <Summon Card: Kirito>, <Refilling Flask>, and Skill Book: <Pain Transferral> Added to {Inventory}!]
<Battlefield Tracker>
A 3d hologram projector that uses magic to scan the area for ten kilometers and displays it topographically. All life is tracked via green dots for allies, blue dots for civilians, and red dots for enemies.
<Akashic Tome (25)>
A book that can change its appearance, and can hold up to twenty-five other books within.
<Summon Card: Father Pucci>
A summon card for Enrico Pucci, the Maker of Heaven. With his stand, Whitesnake, he can create illusions and remove/add characteristics from people such as memory and abilities.
<Summon Card: Kirito>
A summon card for Kazuto Kirigaya, the Black Swordsman. Incredibly capable with the blade and programming, but also very compassionate and altruistic.
<Refilling Flask>
A sleek, metal flask that slowly refilled with whatever it was filled with last. Has a volume of 1L, refills at a rate of 100mL per hour. Stores the knowledge of any liquid it has reproduced, allowing it to swap what is created.
Skill Book: <Pain Transferral>
Allows the reader to, upon activation, transfer the pain of those they touch to themselves, and vice versa.
-5mp/s

“Why do you do that?” Ilyor asked.

“Because I can,” I replied, taking out the Akashic Tome. “Do you think this would make a good gift for my brother?” I asked, throwing the book to Ilyor. She looked at the cover for a moment before opening it.

“It’s empty. Is it a journal?” She asked.

“It can be,” I answered. “That book can store twenty-five other books of any size in it. That could be twenty-five large journals. Or, it can be twenty-five textbooks. He’ll need the space in a couple years, when he goes to the academy.”

“I suppose it would be nice,” Vaquin spoke up. “I’m not much of a reader, but only having to carry one book when I need a few sounds neat.”

Ilyor handed the book back to me, and I put it away. “I’ll try to get him another thing, just in case he doesn’t like it,” I said. “Maybe I can have Siv show me around some of the exotic markets.”

Vaquin only sighed. “They’d recognize me, there, so that’s a no-go.” He saw the look I was giving him and shook his head. “Nope, you’re not going there alone. Those places are shady. Back-alleys and tunnels. Easy to get lost, even easier to never come back out again.”

I pulled out the skill of Prince Ri, allowing it to drop to the floor. “You see what we took down yesterday? Big guy, made of a hundred skeletons? I can handle a few thugs.”

“To be fair, you couldn’t escape Siv when she was smushing you between her huge breasts,” Ilyor brought up the memory, blushing.

“I seem to recall you standing by and doing nothing while she molested me, you pervert,” I glared at her.

“D-don’t change the subject!” She turned even redder.

“Besides,” I said, “if I can take a literal arrow to the brain, I can take a knife to the back.”

“An arrow to the what now?!” They both exclaimed, eyes wide.

“I stabbed myself with an arrow to gain spirit powers,” I said nonchalantly, standing and stepping towards Ilyor, suddenly appearing in front of her. “No magic, see? Mother and father did it, too. That’s why there was all of that blood, a week ago.”

“Oh…” Ilyor nodded. “…Did it hurt?”

“Yes,” I nodded. “Took about ninety percent of my HP, according to the logs.”

“What the f-“ Vaquin caught himself, looking over his shoulder in search of a stone-wielding Anir. “Frick are you talking about?”

“Blessing stuff. Don’t worry about it,” I jumped up and patted his head. “Your little brain wouldn’t be able to comprehend it. Leave that kind of stuff to the big boys, alright?” Ilyor stifled a laugh, and Vaquin looked more annoyed than usual. “Anyways, I’m headed to the markets. I’ll see you guys later.”

“W-wait!” Vaquin stood and moved to follow, but I glared at him. “Ugh, this brat has made me a pushover…”

“Welcome to my world,” Ilyor sighed, glancing at the pile of paperwork on a nearby table. “He left us here with that on purpose, didn’t he?”

“Why am I not surprised…” Vaquin cursed under his breath. A stone came from the curling and struck him on top of his head, making him flinch and look around for who had thrown it. “What the fuc-“

Chapter Text

Siv and I walked down the street, hand-in-hand, towards a spot only she knew. Apparently, a hidden entrance to the underground section of the city, the traffic through which was usually monitored. I mentally apologized to anyone using this specific entrance, because Anir would definitely report its existence, and it wouldn’t be unmonitored anymore.

“Right through here, nephew,” Siv said with a cheeky grin, pulling me into an alley. For some reason, she liked posing as my aunt, which I was sure was for some fetish of hers. Weird. She cleared her throat and knocked on a wooden post four times. “Oh, my! Is that apricot pie?!” She said, obviously repeating a pass-phrase.

“You’re not good at the whole subtlety thing, aunt ,” I blinked at her. She smirked with pink cheeks, looking at a section of the floor, which lowered and moved to the side on some contraption to reveal a ladder. “I’ll go first. I don’t want you looking up my shorts.”

“And how do I know you won’t look up my skirt?” Siv asked slyly.

“Because I’m not a pervert. Jeez, why do I attract all of the perverts to me?” I muttered, starting down the ladder.

“Because you’re so cute~!” She replied, following me. For the record, I did not look up her skirt.

I arrived at the bottom, about four stories below, to find that it ended in a smaller room, where three men waited, one standing next to a crank. I stepped aside to let Siv down, who tried to catch me in a hug the moment she thought I had my back turned, but I dodged. She played it off with a giggle and looked at one of the men. “Thanks, Jav!”

“Always a pleasure, Siv,” the man nodded. “Who’s this?”

“My nephew, whom I have a totally innocent relationship with!” Siv replied eagerly.

“You know I’m an actual child, don’t you?” I said dryly. “Don’t be weird.”

“Oh, you hurt me, nephew! No cuddle time later!” Siv feigned hurt.

“Oh, no. Whatever shall I do,” I stated in monotone, walking towards the arched doorway. “I guess I’ll have to punish myself by never holding your hand again.”

“N-no, wait!” Siv chased after me, leaving the three men to stare at each other blankly. She snatched up my hand into her grasp and cackled triumphantly. “Come on, this way! I know the best shops!”

I sighed and allowed her to drag me through the crowded tunnels, which got progressively darker and shadier the further we got from the main paths. The paranoid part of me told me she was leading me somewhere to kill me, but I ignored that part and instead focused on using <Observe>. I watched as the average levels slowly rose from twenty, to thirty, to sixty, finally hovering at around seventy. Low-tier adventurer level, meaning they were capable, but not a serious threat to me unless they got a critical hit. I had more HP than some of these people, and I was less than eleven months old.

She suddenly dragged me into a shop, which seemed to display garb of many types. This included a few cloaks, which actually did catch my attention. I stopped next to them as Siv started rambling about some dress that assuredly wouldn’t fit her current physique. There were two that stuck out to me, both made of blue silk. Blue and silver were the colors of the Eil family, and this blue matched the color on our seal perfectly. I remembered seeing a tailor back on the surface, which gave me an idea.

I decided to purchase the cloaks and the dress Siv begged me for, which ran for only thirty silver. I put one of them on, for the moment, and stuck the others in my inventory as Siv led me from shop to shop, showing off various knickknacks and doobobs. I ended up buying a charm from an old woman between shops, and a ceremonial dagger from a man with three scars across his face. It was about an hour after we had entered the underground shopping area that I noticed we were being followed.

A group of hooded figures, about eight of them, were tailing us at a distance. The people between us and them parted for them, as if they knew who they were and what they were doing. Using <Observe> on them revealed them to be around level 110, which put them above the rest of the people around here. Considering a couple of them were bear Beastkin, Dragonborn, and one-star mortals, that meant a lot of points towards STR.

I forgot about them immediately, however, when I heard a yelp from down an alley. The hero complex in me showing, I created a small fireball within my cloak and turned into the alley, pulling Siv with me. Four men wearing cloaks were surrounding a pair of children, no older than seven. They all had daggers pointed at them, and one of them was gripping the younger boy’s wrist tightly.

“Leave us alone! We don’t have any money!” The older girl said, trying to pull her brother away from the man.

“There are plenty of people looking to buy youngin’s like you~,” one of the men cackled wickedly. “Nobles pay well for their playthings.”

“What nobles,” I demanded, standing between the men and their escape. “Tell me, and I won’t burn your arms off before I turn you in to the guards.”

“Huh? A kid? Get out of here before we sell you off, too,” another man scoffed, waving his dagger in my direction. A glance told me it had a sixteen-rune sharpness enchantment, and another to burn upon contact with the blade. A weapon designed to cause pain, not kill.

“I don’t think you understand the gravity of the situation,” I wrapped a tether around his head and another around his knees, pulling hard to bring him to the ground. “Surrender, or you will not enjoy what comes next.”

The man who had spoken before laughed boisterously and pointed at me. “Get him.”

The other three men rushed towards me, but it was already too late for them. The <Yamato> was in my hands in an instant, and wreathed in flames the next. I brought it up into the wrist of the first man who tried to stab me, cutting through the flesh and bone as if it weren’t there, and cauterizing the wound shut with the magical flames. I extended a hand, releasing a concussive blast that sent him back into a second man, bringing them both to the ground.

[Skill <Elemental Infusion> Leveled Up! (12/100)]

Siv jumped over me, bringing her fists down on the top of the third man’s head hard enough to knock him out instantly, despite his constitution. Critical hits did wonders, it seemed.

I shot a fireball at the last man, but he turned the air in front of him into water and caught it, before freezing that water and shooting the resulting icicle and Siv. It embedded itself deep in her shoulder, making her cry out in pain. I grimaced and lunged forward, sweeping with the <Yamato>. The man’s dagger resisted its edge for a moment before snapping, allowing the blade to pass through it and into his arm, completely severing and cauterizing it through the bicep. He collapsed to the ground, and I brought my knee up into his face as hard as I could as he did so, knocking him out cold. The last one awake was trapped beneath his buddy, whom he had accidentally stabbed when I blasted the man onto him.

I held the burning <Yamato> to his neck, singing his skin and burning his facial hair away. “Tell me the names of the nobles who purchase from you,” I said, “or, in the name of the crown, I will put you down.”

“Arivve, Pyiola, and St-“ he stopped himself. I dragged the blade across his neck lightly, drawing blood. “Stede! Duke Stede! Now please, let me g-“ an arrow shot through the man’s eye, killing him, causing me to turn towards the entrance to the alley. It was the hooded folk who had been following us.

“Tsk, it seems our friend here has spilled the beans,” the one of them holding a bow said.

“In the name of the crown, you say? Who are you to the King?” Another questioned, brandishing a greatsword.

“You’ll know soon enough, when you’re tried for your crimes,” I scowled, generating a sphere of flame as I glanced at Siv. She was doing alright, despite the spike in her shoulder; her Shapeshifter healing factor managing to keep up with the rate at which she was losing health. It looked like it hurt like hell, though. “Surrender, and I can guarantee a merciful death.” There was no release for these men, if they were tried. Sex trafficking and child abduction were crimes that demanded the death penalty, in Eilon, and I couldn’t agree more. “Then again, I could end you here and now. Still, I’d rather find out who else you work with.”

One of them let out a bellowing laugh. “You subdue three of our grunts, and you think you can take on the elites? Who do you think you are?”

“Justice.” I brought my hand down, raining fire down upon the men from the flame I had escorted above their heads without their realizing it. Their hoods caught aflame, along with their hair and flesh. Only the Dragonborn was left unharmed, who rushed at me with his shield and ax. I launched a fireball at him to get him to raise his shield, then stabbed with the <Yamato>, piercing straight through the metal shield and into his arm. He cried out, dropping the shield and backing up a step, onto to ram his shoulder into my chest, knocking me back beside the cowering children and knocking my cloak off.

[-35HP]

I let out a chuckle as I got back to my feet, using <Closer> to bring myself up above him before swinging downwards with the <Yamato>, but he managed to duck, so I only got the tips of his horns, rather than splitting his head open. Still, this angered him, and he let out a beam of frost from his mouth that covered the cieling, catching my legs in the process.

[-315HP]

[Effect <Frostbite> Sustained!]

[-15HP]

[-15HP]

“Shit,” I cursed, landing on my legs with a pained grunt. Behind me, most of the men had put themselves out, though they would be scarred for life because of my attack, and moved to flank me. Steeling my nerves, I sheathed the <Yamato> and brought it out, sending a phantom slash that cut one man in half at the waist, sending blood throughout the alleyway and across his friends. There it was, the first sentient life I had taken, but I couldn’t think about that, right now.

I ducked under the swing of a mace and blasted a man with fire, burning through his shirt and into his chest cavity, killing him via immolation. Back flipping off his falling corpse, I went over the swing of a greatsword and cut the arms off of the man with the bow, cauterizing the wounds as I did so. I generated flames around my feet as I landed, sending a ring of fire out beneath me that caught the feet of a couple of them, making them panic and fall over. This allowed me to behead another man, and run the <Yamato> through the chest of another.

I didn’t go without injuries, however, getting slashed across the back by a man with twin daggers.

[Effect <Poisoned> Sustained!]

[-30HP]

[-30HP]

I cried out and spun, kicking him in the chest with enough force to crush his rib cage in, leaving him to suffocate on his own blood as his lung collapsed. I withdrew the <Siegbrau> and drank it in a couple swigs, restoring my health by 20% before charging up a faux kamehameha and launching it at the Dragonborn. The scales of his legs absorbed the flames for a few moments before collapsing, allowing the beam to penetrate through his thighs and sever his legs then and there, instantly burning the stumps into crisps.

[Skill <Fire Manipulation> Leveled Up! (94/100)]

[Skill <Fire Affinity> Leveled Up! (58/100)]

He cried out, falling over with a whimper along with his still-burning friends. I couldn’t help but grin at the sight, knowing that he was rightfully suffering for what he had done. “You,” I looked to the children, “go get the guards. Lead them here, if you have to.”

“Y-yes, sir!” The girl exclaimed as she grabbed her brother’s hand, dragging him away. The boy himself was staring at me with his mouth agape, bits of blood splashed on his cheeks. I couldn’t tell whether it was out of fear or awe; or, maybe, a mix of both.

Glancing over at the men who were still alive and conscious, who had put themselves out, by then, I deduced that they would no longer be a threat. Still, I sent their weapons to my inventory before going to Siv’s side.

“Holy… shit, that was awesome,” she said, grimacing as she held on to the ice spike in her shoulder. “You sure you’re only, like five? Actually, how old are you?” She asked with a pained chuckle.

“It doesn’t matter,” I shook my head. “Can you heal that closed if I pull it out?”

“Y-yeah, but I won’t have such huge boobs anymore, and it’ll hurt like hell,” she frowned disappointedly.

I nodded and pulled out the <Pain Transferral> skill book, opening it.

[Would You Like to Learn the Skill <Pain Transferral>?]

{ Yes } -|- { No }

I selected yes, watching as the book turned to dust, then into light that flooded in through my eyes.

[Skill <Pain Transferral> Learned!]
<Pain Transferral> (1/100)
You can transmit pain to and from whoever you’re touching.

Taking a deep breath, I placed a hand above the spike before activating the skill, immediately feeling as cold pain permeated my left shoulder area, flooding through my veins. Not wanting it to last any longer than it had to, I gripped the spike and ripped it out, splashing myself with Siv’s blood before the wound slowly started to heal. I felt every ounce of pain as it did so, but it was worth it, because she didn’t seem too bothered by it. After a couple minutes, the hole was closed, and the pain stopped, allowing me to release the skill.

[Skill <Pain Transferral> Leveled Up! (7/100)]

“Woah, that was trippy,” Siv commented, looking at me easily. “It felt like something was being sucked out of me, and I felt numb. What did you do?”

“I took your pain into myself,” I said, rubbing my shoulder, which was then aching. “Man, that really did hurt…”

“You’re like, the best boss ever,” she chuckled, ruffling my hair. “Cute, too. Especially without that mask.”

I blinked, reaching up and feeling my face before realizing that I had accidentally burned the masquerade mask off during my fight. “Damn,” I muttered.

[Effect <Frostbite> has Worn Off!]

[Effect <Poisoned> has Worn Off!]

[Skill <Poison Resistance> Leveled Up! (3/100)]
<Poison Resistance>
You are 5% resistant to poison.

Any lingering pain went away, allowing me to heal fully in just a few minutes, which I spent inspecting the carnage.

[Thug (LVL 65) x4 Killed/Defeated!]
+8580 EXP
+25740 SC

[Elite Thug (LVL 110) x10 Killed/Defeated!]
+61500 EXP
+184500 SC

[Level Up!]
+2 STR, CON, END, DEX, CHA, LCK
+4 WIS
+5 Stat Points
+6 INT
+250 SC
+1 <Gacha Token>
Skill: <Fire Resistance>
<Fire Resistance>
You are 5% Resistant to Fire.

[For Reaching LVL.20 in the <Fire Elementalist> Class, You Can Now Select a Second Element! Additional EXP Withheld Until Choice Made.]

I brought up my stats and clicked the plus that had appeared beside my class level.

[Select an Element:]
{ Water }
{ Earth }
{ Air }

I decided to go with water to balance out my destructive power… and to be able to put out any fires I accidentally caused.

[Subclass <Water Elementalist> Confirmed!]
Per Level:
+1 STR, CON, END, DEX, CHA, LCK
+2 WIS
+3 INT
+5 Stat Points

I felt a burning in my eyes, and saw as the blue gate within me started glowing, though it was noticeable dimmer than my fire one.

[Skills <Water Affinity> and <Water Manipulation> Learned!]
<Water Affinity> (1/100)
+5% Skill EXP with all water related skills.
<Water Manipulation> (1/100)
You can bend water to your will.
-20mp(v)

[Level Up! x20]
+40 STR, CON, END, DEX, CHA, LCK
+80 WIS
+100 Stat Points
+120 INT
+5000 SC
+20 <Gacha Token>
Skill: <Freeze Resistance>
<Freeze Resistance (1/100)
You are 5% Resistant to Freeze.

[For Reaching LVL.40 in the <Water Elementalist> Class, You Can Now Select a Third Element! Additional EXP Withheld Until Choice Made.]

‘ Holy crap, I just got a lot of EXP… ’ I blinked in surprise. ‘ I guess all I had to do was go to a bad part of town… ’

[Select an Element:]
{ Earth }
{ Wind }
{ Light }
{ Shadow }

‘ Oh, {Light} and {Shadow} are available now… but I should probably pick {Earth}, for the physical resistance. ’ I thought, selecting the element.

[Subclass <Earth Lementalist> Confirmed!]
Per Level:
+1 STR, CON, END, DEX, CHA, LCK
+2 WIS
+3 INT
+5 Stat Points

[Skills <Earth Affinity> and <Earth Manipulation> Learned!]
<Earth Affinity> (1/100)
+5% Skill EXP with all earth related skills.
<Earth Manipulation> (1/100)
You can bend earth to your will.

[Level Up! x17]
+34 STR, CON, END, DEX, CHA, LCK
+68 WIS
+85 Stat Points
+102 INT
+4250 SC
+17 <Gacha Token>

I gaped for a few moments, looking at my stats before allocating my whopping 190 stat points before looking over it again.

[Status]
-Identity-
Name: Alistair Eil
Race: Human; Beastfolk (Cat);
Age: 0 (17)
Class: Earth Elementalist(57/100)
Rank: Mortal* (1.2x)
Titles: Blessed;
Alignment: Lawful Good
Level: 57 (46/2950)
-Stats-
Health Status: 2520/2520 |2400+5%| (+24%/m)
Mana Status: 12225/12225 |9780+25%| (+48%/m)
Stamina Status: 2352/2352 |1960+20%| (+19.6%/m)
STR: 240(200) (+1*2/)
CON: 240(200) (+1*2/)
DEX: 240(200) (+1*2/)
END: 196(164) (+1*2/)
INT: 978(815) (+3*2/)
WIS: 480(400) (+2*2/)
CHA: 256(214) (+1*2/)
LCK: 376(314) (+1*2/)
Points: 0 (+5/)

[For Reaching 100 STR, You Have Obtained the Perk <Optimal Groupings>!]
<Optimal Groupings>
You know exactly which muscles to use to get the most out of any action!

[For Reaching 100 CON, You Have Obtained the Perk <Strong Bones>!]
<Strong Bones>
Your bones can better support your weight, allowing for more precise manipulation of your center of mass.

[For Reaching 100 DEX, You Have Obtained the Perk <Muscle Memory>!]
<Muscle Memory>
It is 250% easier to commit actions to muscle memory!

[For Reaching 100 END, You Have Obtained the Perk <Strainless>!]
<Strainless>
Repeated motions do not overly strain your body, allowing for unlimited repeated motions.

[For Reaching 500 INT, You Have Obtained the Perk <Ingenuity>!]
<Ingenuity>
Come up with ideas nobody sane would think of.

[For Reaching 250 WIS, You have Obtained the Perk <Conversational Foresight>!]
<Conversational Foresight>
You can guess what a person will say next, and what they would say if you said a certain thing.

[For Reaching 250 LCK, You Have Obtained the Perk <Lucky Events!>!]
<Lucky Events>
Lucky events are 100% more likely to occur!

Oh yeah, major power up.

Chapter Text

Before I could marvel at the perks I had gotten, I heard the sound of approaching footsteps, heralding the arrival of the guards. I turned, sending the <Yamato> to my inventory, and stood in a dignified manner. They turned the corner and stopped, spears raised, only to lower them when they saw all of the enemies incapacitated. “What happened here?” The guard wearing a golden pauldron demanded, looking at me.

“These men were attempting to kidnap the children who brought you here, and I intervened. They revealed that they are a part of a trafficking ring, which deals to corrupt nobles, and attacked me. I sentenced them to death.”

“And who are you, to sentence these men in the place of the King?” The guard captain asked.

“Second Prince Alistail Eil, or the Eilon Kingdom,” I identified myself, displaying my ears proudly.

“Th-the Second Prince? But he’s supposed to be a baby!” One of the guards said.

“I am indeed only ten months old, but my divine blessing has allowed me to grow faster than most mortals,” I said in a practiced fashion. “Now, detain these men and prepare them for questioning. My mother will want to practice her new ability on them.”

“Take them away,” the Captain ordered. “Would you and your companion mind coming with us to the prison, Your Highness?”

“Not at all,” I offered Siv a hand, helping her to her feet with ease. She was looking at me with a smirk while we followed the captain back through the streets towards the main road.

“So, Second Prince~?” She asked cheekily. “Since when did that happen?”

“Since I was born,” I replied.

She laughed, then looked down at me. “C’mon, stop kidding.” Silence followed. “…Y-you aren’t joking, are you…?”

“Alistair Eil and Sterling are the same person,” I whispered to her. “And I’d prefer that fact remain a secret.”

“Oh, gods above…” Siv murmured. “I tried to seduce the Second Prince…!”

“Yes, you did,” I smiled cheekily. “And, let me tell you, my mother did not like that.”

“ You told her?! ” Siv accused.

“No,” I shook my head. “She has ways of knowing things she shouldn’t. She’s probably already on her way down to the prison.”

“Here we are,” the captain said, knocking on a door. “Adulis Arrattan!” He stated loudly.

“Adulis Forttan!” Came the reply from within before the door opened. The captain shepherded us inside what appeared to be a checkpoint. No less than twenty guards occupied the space, lining either way. All of them were around level 140; probably older adventurers who didn’t want to fight monsters, anymore.

“Prepare the holding cells, and call for a triage mage,” the captain ordered, pointing at five of the guards. “You, get a snack for His Highness and his… consort?”

“Friend,” I corrected him. “I’m literally ten months old.”

“Aww, I thought I was your auntie~,” Siv pouted.

“My mother is standing right behind you,” I looked over her shoulder, making her turn with a frenzied expression. It was at that moment that mother burst in through the same down we’d come through, followed by a few higher-level guards.

“Oh, my baby!” She rushed over to me and snatched me up into her arms. “I heard what happened… Did they hurt you?!”

“Nothing my blessing couldn’t handle,” I hugged her back, knowing she must be pretty worried about me. “I can take down a few thugs.”

“I heard you… killed six of them,” she said gently, rubbing my ears. “Are you okay…?”

I did kill six, well, five people, didn’t I? I took their lives like it was nothing; it had been so easy, in the moment. The lack of resistance through the use of the <Yamato>, and the outside perspective of using magic to kill… it had dissociated me with the act. Made it feel like fighting the monsters in the dungeon, almost.

But it wasn’t that simple. I had taken the lives, directly or indirectly, of six men. Men who had lived their own lives, full of trials and tribulations just like my own. I had no doubt in my mind that they deserved what I did to them, but that didn’t make it any easier. I had killed my uncle to save a large quantity of people. This was no different, as I was sure they would’ve victimized more and more children.

Still, it hurt my heart to know I had taken life from people who could actually value it, at least as far as themselves went. After a minute-or-so of staring out into space, I blinked and looked at mother, then just smiled. “I’m alright,” I said. “Those men were evil, and deserved every bit of that.”

She nodded and released me, turning to Siv. “So, you’re the one who molested my son with those massive breasts of yours,” she sneered. “I ought to discipline you, as I did the maid!”

“You mean Ilyor…? I-I I mean, you mean Miss Ilyor, Your Majesty?” Siv corrected herself and bowed. “I apologize for doing that to your son, I don’t know what came over me!”

“And yet you still attempt to repeat the affair, whenever you think he let his guard down?” Rel’s glare tightened. “His innocence has been ruined by you!”

“To be fair-“

“Quiet, son, the adults are talking,” mother ruffled my hair. The two women continued to bicker - one side clearly having superiority, as how it usually went when one rose up before mother’s ire. I looked away and took out a token, biting it.

[Rolling 38x Gacha Token…]

[Rolling…]

[Entry 202, 165, 55, 139, 53, 36, 153, 157, 146, 93, 116, 137, 170, 71, 86, 74, 56, 194, 167, 144, 162, 90, 153, 14, 183, 34, 62, 74, 133, 120, 130, 140, 15, 1, 60, 119, 200, and 177 Rolled…]

[Skill Book: <Gamer’s Body>, <Vial of Hashirama Cells>, <Vial of Pendragon Blood>, <Gelatin Crystal>, <Truth Stone>, <Senzu Bean> x10, <Pumpkin Moon Medallion>, <Jar of Foxfire>, <Truffle Worm>, <Large Grin Button>, <Summon Card: The Last Airbender>, <Deer Thing>, <Summon Card: The Pilgrim>, <Training Weights>, <Button Button>, <Bicep Button>, <Endless Notebook>, <Repair Powder>, <Summon Card: Invisible Girl>, <Plantera’s Bulb>, <Jar of Frostflame>, <Large Hand Button>, <Silver Upgrade Ticket>, <Homeward Bone> x5, <Soul Rank Empowerment Capsule>, <Attribute Crystal: God>, <Bicep Button>, <Worm Food>, Skill Book: <Occlumency>, <SIVA Drone Capsule>, <Mechanical Eye>, <Gold Upgrade Ticket>, <Familiar Stone>, Skill Book: <Mind’s Eye Replication>, Skill Book: <Shadow Clone Jutsu>, <Soul Phylactery>, and <Copy Crystal> Added to {Inventory}!]
Skill Book: <Gamer’s Body>
The reader attains the body of a video game character, turning all damage temporary, according to their HP bar. Sleeping in a bed fully refills their HP and SP. What would’ve been lethal attacks, such as beheading and the destruction of the heart, now simply detract from the HP pool!
<Vial of Hashirama Cells>
A vial containing cells of Hashirama Senju.
<Vial of Pendragon Blood>
A small, 70mL vial of blood, which once belonged to King Arthur himself.
<Gelatin Crystal>
A large gelatinous crystal, which can be used to summon the Queen Slime.
Recommended Level: 200
<Truth Stone>
A glass octahedron that glows blue or red depending on the veracity of the holder’s words. Compels speech.
<Senzu Bean> x10
A small bean that, when consumed, restores the body to peak natural condition. This includes magic and stamina, but does not heal scarred wounds, nor diseases. Tastes like fish.
<Pumpkin Moon Medallion>
A pumpkin-shaped medallion, which can be used to activate a Pumpkin Moon event.
Recommended Level: 55
<Jar of Foxfire>
A small jar containing a piece of blue foxfire.
<Truffle Worm>
A large worm that smells of truffles, which can be used to summon Duke Fishron.
Recommended Level: 280
<Large Grin Button>
A large button displaying a wide grin. +10% CHA (+10%/).
<Summon Card: The Last Airbender>
A summon card for Avatar Aang, the Last Airbender. Master of the four elements and Energybending, and a capable negotiator.
<Deer Thing>
An amalgam of flinx fur shaped like the head of a one-eyed deer, which can be used to summon Deerclops.
Recommended Level: 120
<Summon Card: The Pilgrim>
Summon card for Aiden Caldwell, the Pilgrim. He is a skilled survivalist, capable of fighting and crafting, but his primary skill is parkour. His usage of GRE inhibitors has made him stronger and faster than any normal human, but also corrupt his mental capacities.
<Training Weights>
Magical weights that automatically adapt to the person using them. They can get as light as .1kg and as heavy as 10000kg.
<Button Button>
A button that can store other buttons, retaining their effects.
<Bicep Button>
A small button displaying a tensed bicep. +5% STR (+5%/).
<Endless Notebook>
A seemingly average notebook, only it never runs out of pages. Think of a specific subject while flipping, and you’ll stop on the page you associate with that topic.
<Repair Powder>
Repairs anything it touches.
<Summon Card: Invisible Girl>
Summon card for Toru Hagakure, the Invisible Girl. Her body is entirely invisible, and she can manipulate light via refraction off her body.
<Plantera’s Bulb>
A large flower bulb, which can be used to summon Plantera.
Recommended Level: 250
<Jar of Frostflame>
A small jar containing a piece of blue frostflame.
<Large Hand Button>
A large button displaying a still hand. +10% DEX (+10%/).
<Silver Upgrade Ticket>
A thin silver ticket that can be applied to anything for a chance to upgrade it.
2% Legendary
29% Epic
69% Rare
<Homeward Bone> x5
Teleports those who crushes it to either their home, or to the last place they considered safe.
<Soul Rank Empowerment Capsule>
<Attribute Crystal: God>
A crystal containing an attribute of God. Crush it to activate, but be wary of unintended side-effects.

• Longevity

• Magic Affinity

• Holy Affinity

• <Well of Compassion> Skill

• <Bless> Skill

• <Demigod> Rank

• <God’s Chosen> Title

<Bicep Button>
A small button displaying a tensed bicep. +5% STR (+5%/).
<Worm Food>
A large, purple worm, which can be used to summon the Eater of Worlds.
Recommended Level: 120
<Occlumency>
A magical method of manipulating one’s own mind. Allows for focus, organization, and defense against mental attacks.
<SIVA Drone Capsule>
A capsule containing one cuib inch of SIVA drones, which are capable of breaking down and reconstructing matter according to their directions. Directions can be set through capsule’s computer.
<Mechanical Eye>
A large mechanical eye, which can be used to summon The Twins.
Recommended Level: 230
<Gold Upgrade Ticket>
A thin gold ticket that can be applied to anything for a chance to upgrade it.
2% Mythic
29% Legendary
69% Epic
<Familiar Stone>
A stone that, when pressed against a willing animal, will make them the familiar of the applier. Permanently bonds the pair’s souls together, allowing for telepathy, tandem XP gains, and shared abilities.
Skill Book: <Mind’s Eye Replication>
Allows the reader to, upon activation, physically copy anything they imagine onto paper or into words through artistic expression. Works with drawings, writing, sculpting, carving, chiseling, and any other act that could be considered art.
-5mp/s
Skill Book: <Shadow Clone Jutsu>
A technique that allows one to split their life force - and thus, their mana - in half, creating a perfect clone of themselves. Multiple can be created, dividing the total chakra/mana pool between the three; so on, and so forth. Shadow clones are physical beings, capable of using their own magic. Everything the clone experiences will be transferred back to the original upon dismissal.
<Soul Phylactery>
A bottle that collects the souls of those who die in its vicinity.
<Copy Crystal>
A crystal that can be used to make a perfect copy of anything.

‘ Holy shit... ’ I thought, eyes wide. Thirty-eight items from such an OP list was insane. A <Soul Phylactery>? A <Truth Stone>? Hashirama cells? The Shadow Clone Jutsu? An effing attribute crystal for God himself?! What the flip is this thing?

All in all, I had too much good stuff in my inventory, which I needed to use sooner or later. Plenty of skill books and summon cards, the latter of which I’d need to talk to my parents about. Perhaps that night. Following something like this, they would be happy to have more people protecting me.

I was distracted when the guards started dragging carts through the door, laden with corpses and injured men. Injuries and deaths I had brought about. It would’ve happened sooner, or later. If anything, I was glad it was by my hand, and not someone else’s. The children I had intervened to save came in next, escorted by a couple guards. They lit up when they saw me, and even more so when they saw mother.

“Y-you’re the Queen! The Mage Queen of Eilon!” The girl exclaimed, wide-eyed.

“Yes, dears,” Rel smiled, bending over to get a closer look at the kids. “Are you the ones my son saved?”

“Th-that makes you Prince Ravelus, then?” The boy asked, looking at me.

I shook my head. “Alistair. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“But wouldn’t that make you… almost one year old?” The girl asked quizzically.

“About,” I nodded. “Call it magic shenanigans.”

“Hehe that’s a funny word,” the boy giggled. “ Shenanigans .”

I watched as mother’s Stand appeared on the boy’s shoulder before shoving its tongue into his ear. The boy shivered for a moment, but stopped almost as soon as he had begun. “Could you tell me about what you saw? What you felt, when that event occurred?” Mother asked.

“Of course!” The boy nodded ecstatically. “It was awesome. Those mean guys pulled us into an alley and told us to give them everything we had, but we didn’t have anything, so they were going to take us. But that’s when Prince Alistair appeared, warning them to leave us alone, or he’d burn their arms off. Then they attacked him, so he cut one’s hand off and blasted the others back. Then the lady with the huge boobs smacked another one. Then, the last guy shot an icicle at the big-boobed lady, and-“ he proceeded to explain the situation while mother obviously saw the memory through the boy’s eyes.

Once he was done, she looked at me with raised eyebrows before patting my ears and turning back to the kids. “Well, you were very brave, standing up to those men, like that. You held out long enough for help to arrive, which is an admirable thing. Can you explain why you were in such a shady part of the underground?”

“W-we were… We were stealing from the shops,” the girl said after some hesitation. “There’s this guy who buys stolen goods, and we’ve never been caught shoplifting, before, so we figured we’d try it out. But, we got lost, and ended up over there.”

“Kids like you should stay away from those areas,” Rel said calmly, much to their surprise. They expected her to lash out at them; after all, they had admitted to a crime right in front of the Queen, herself! But she didn’t, instead ruffling their hair, too. “Which is why I’m wondering why my son would be in such a place,” mother’s smile turned strained as she looked at me, making me blanch.

“I-I was trying to find a birthday present for Ravelus! And one for you and father, when your birthdays come around, again…” I hid under my cloak.

“Well, as long as you’re not hurt… You’re not hurt, are you? Let me see!” She turned me around, finding the slash across my back. Fortunately, my new cloak was undamaged because it had fallen off, and was safely in my inventory. It had healed a while ago, but as usual a very thin, barely-noticeable scar was in its place. “What the shark, Alistair? How did you let one get you in the back?!”

“I was too busy decapitating and impaling two of his buddies,” I deadpanned. “Besides, it wasn’t that bad. Got some poison-resist out of it, too.”

“Poison?!” The four of them exclaimed in shock.

I shrugged, trying to play it off. “Only lasted a minute, or so.”

“Son? Rel?” Aedon asked as he came in, flanked by Pyarron. “I was updated on what happened. Is everyone alright?”

“Oh my gods, it’s the Knight King!” The little boy exclaimed, wide-eyed. Father smiled at him before looking at mother, who responded by sucking her Stand on him, and transmitting the boy’s memories into his head.

“Holy crap, that was cool,” Aedon blinked, looking at me. “Well done… son… did your eyes change?”

“Hmm?” I raised an eyebrow. “Oh, yeah, I unlocked water and earth affinities thanks to the fight,” I said.

Siv just about fainted from all of the stress she was under, while mother stared at me with wide eyes. Father maintained a stoic expression, though his lips were upturned slightly.

“Blessings, Stands, dungeons, enchanting, awakenings, talking and walking, merchandising… it never ends, does it,” Rel stated in exasperation. “What next, are you going to split in two?” I coughed into my fist, decidedly not bringing up the <Shadow Clone Jutsu>. She blinked at my reaction, and decided to simply ignore it. “Whatever. If what that man said was true, then we have a serious problem seeded within the court. Aedon, you and I must interrogate these men for all they’re worth.”

“I have something that can help,” I said, pulling out the <Truth Stone>. “Have them hold it, and it will glow when they’re lying.”

“Blessing shenanigans, indeed,” Siv muttered.

*****

That night, I once again asked mother and father to the side of my crib, as they had requested I do whenever I was about to do something they considered dangerous. They watched silently as I pressurized my mana up past the eight-thousand mark as if it were trivial, allowing it to breach back into my core, doubled over. This resulted in a rebound that echoed through my body, aura, and will, as the very ethereal walls making up my mana channels were reinforced, allowing for better control over my mana.

[Skill <Mana Control> Maxed!]
+1 <Gacha Token>

“You never cease to amaze me, son,” Aedon smiled. “Now, is there anything else you wish to share with us?”

“I have these things,” I said, pulling out the summon card for Obi-Wan. “According to my blessing, they let me pull folk from other universes, who would be loyal to me by choice,” I said. “I have quite a few of them, now, so I was wondering if I could use a couple of them. They’re all good at something.”

“This guy, for instance, can use the manifestation of magic in his universe, The Force, to a great degree. His weapon is pretty cool, too, and he’s one of the most honorable and chivalrous people in his order,” I said, handing them the card. It displayed an image of Obi-Wan as he appeared in episode III.

“Obi-Wan Kenobi…? An odd name,” Rel commented. “If you believe these people can help protect you, then I’d be glad to have them join us. Perhaps tomorrow, we can bring one of them in. See if they truly are willing to serve you.”

“I agree,” Aedon nodded.

“Alright, well I’m going to sleep. Goodnight, my loves~!” Rel kissed me on the forehead, then Aedon on the lips before hopping over to the bed and sliding under the silk covers.

“You’re doing well, son,” Aedon whispered to me. “You’re excelling far more than I could have ever dreamt you would.” He ruffled my hair and ears before retiring, himself. I was left to practice my new <Water Manipulation> and <Earth Manipulation> skills by moving a rock and water within a cup, slowly cultivating those skills, as I had fire. Once I was done with that, I brought out all of my skill books and absorbed them, granting me a wide variety of abilities.

[Skills <Gamer’s Mind>, <Gamer’s Body>, <Mind’s Eye Replication>, and <Shadow Clone Jutsu> Learned!]
<Gamer’s Mind> (MAX)
Immunity to mental effects; Incredible Emotional Control; Sleep in a bed to restore MP.
<Gamer’s Body> (MAX)
Lethal attacks simply take from HP; All damage is temporary; Sleep in a bed to restore HP and SP.
<Mind’s Eye Replication> (1/100)
Allows you to, through the application of mana, perfectly go through the motions to create something from memory, provided you have access to the materials.
-20mp/s(v)
<Shadow Clone Jutsu> (1/100)
Split your mana equally between two or more identical copies of yourself, which have a pseudo-intelligence and can perform most tasks. Everything experienced by a clone is sent back to you upon dismissal, including any training and memories. Clones automatically dismiss upon taking too much damage, as to not overload your brain with the return feed.
-200mp

I felt an intense burning sensation overwhelm every bit of me, from my cells to the very essence of my mana. It didn’t hurt, per say, but it was a very distracting feeling. I simply laid back and allowed it to occur, waiting for it to eventually subside. It did, after a few minutes, and I was left feeling pretty good. There was no pain in my body, none at all.

Nodding, I sat back up and pulled out the attribute crystal for God, crushing it.

[Select Attribute:]
{ Longevity }
{ Magic Affinity }
{ Holy Affinity }
{ <Well of Compassion> Skill }
{ <Bless> Skill }
{ <Demigod> Rank }
{ <God’s Chosen> Title }

Which to choose… {Longevity} extended my mortal lifespan by about two-hundred years. To the level of a Half-Elf.

{Magic Affinity} was just that, an affinity for mana itself. Extra EXP for all magic abilities, and a gate to turn raw mana into pure mana, which was much more efficient.

The {Holy Affinity} was self-explanatory. A direct path to the holy element, rather than having to path through light twice.

The <Well of Compassion> skill basically made me an empath. I could feel the emotions of all those around me and empathize with them, no matter what. Then, I could bring magical comfort to those people with a simple thought. An interesting ability, but not exactly imperative.

<Bless> would allow me to craft enchantments on living beings. Imbuing someone with strength, or giving them a barrier, or a regeneration effect. A very useful ability, if I were playing support.

The <Demigod> rank provides a 2x bonus’s, which would replace my Mortal* of 1.2x. Basically, it would increase my stats by a lot. Allow me to reach the eighth awakening, in fact. Plus, I had a <Soul Rank Empowerment Capsule> to upgrade that to Demigod*, if I wanted to.

Finally, the <God’s Chosen> title would grant me +75% reputation with all deities.

The obvious choices were either the {Magic Affinity} or <Demigod> rank. The former would allow me to grow all of my magical skills by a nice degree, but I decided to go with the soul rank. Having double my base stats would be game-changing. Once again, a burning feeling dwelled within my chest for a few moments before settling down. Checking my stats, I was pleased to see that they had indeed increased by an extra 60%.

[Status]
-Identity-
Name: Alistair Eil
Race: Human; Beastfolk (Cat);
Age: 0 (17)
Class: Earth Elementalist(57/100)
Rank: Demigod (2x)
Titles: Blessed;
Alignment: Lawful Good
Level: 57 (46/2950)
-Stats-
Health Status: 4200/4200 |4000+5%|(+40%/m)
Mana Status: 20375/20375 |16300+25%| (+80%/m)
Stamina Status: 3936/3936 |3280+20%| (+32.8%/m)
STR: 400(200) (+1*2/)
CON: 400(200) (+1*2/)
DEX: 400(200) (+1*2/)
END: 328(164) (+1*2/)
INT: 1630(815) (+3*2/)
WIS: 800(400) (+2*2/)
CHA: 428(214) (+1*2/)
LCK: 628(314) (+1*2/)
Points: 0 (+5/)

‘ Dayum, ’ I gaped. ‘Quick power boost, but it will take a long time to get to the next awakening. That was fine, though, because I was technically stronger than mother, in terms of raw magical power. Though, I was pretty sure she was hiding something that would make her even stronger, because sixteen-thousand mana isn’t enough to earn one the title ‘Mage Queen’, in my opinion. But maybe that was just my bias from getting so strong so quick.

With a content sigh, I laid back in my crib and shut my eyes, excited for the days to come. It didn’t take long for me to fall asleep, enveloped by the warmth of my blanket.

Chapter Text

“What do you mean, the Lancers have been captured?!” A young man with silver-blond hair and yellow-white-red eyes demanded of the thug, setting down his glass and standing. In a flash of sparks, his saber was in his hand, held to the man’s throat. “Explain!”

The thug gulped audibly, fear in his eyes. “Our- our spy in the royal prison sent word s-saying that the Lancers tried to attack the Second Prince, and were w-wiped out! Even Carak!”

“Damn it!” The young man let out a string of curses, turning away from the thug and beginning to pace around the small sitting room. “Does the crown know of my family’s involvement?”

“It w-would seem so, sir.”

The young man scowled, then an idea popped into his head. A sinister grin spread across his face, and wicked laughter escaped his mouth. “It seems I’ll have to share my idea with father, after all. Screw vying for power in the court, we’ll just take the throne!”

“A-a coup?” The thug questioned. With a clap of thunder, the young man was behind the thug, saber raised. Blood dripped from the blade, splashing on the expensive carpets. The thug started to gurgle as blood rushed down his throat. He raised his hands up to his neck to find that his throat had been slashed. A moment later, he collapsed to his knees, and his head rolled from his body.

“Father’s failure as a Duke has led to our name being trampled upon in the court,” the young man said quietly, wiping the blood from his cheek. “I’ll show this damned kingdom what a Stede can do.” An image popped into his head of the small child, whom had grown so incredibly quickly. The same boy who had apparently killed the Lancers, those responsible for taking the children to the Ring. “Starting with you.”

*****

The day following the incident with the thugs, I walked through the front section of my shop, taking things from my inventory and arraying them on the shelves. Everything had been picked out after much deliberation on my part. This was the last shelf I had to stock, then I could dump the rest of the stuff in the storage room before heading up to the workshop for the rest of the day. That day would be the first that my shop was opened, and judging by how many people had already come so early in the morning, before it was opened, it would be a busy day. So, I hurried my efforts and came to the workshop, where everyone was waiting.

“Here it is, opening day,” I said, looking between the three of them. Siv and Ilyor would be working the front, helping people find what they needed, overseeing transactions, and keeping the shelves stocked. Vaquin would guard the door, to make sure nothing was stolen. And I would be up in the workshop, enchanting anything people brought in, and doing my own thing. “This is what we’ve been waiting for, so let’s not screw this up! Everything we need is right here, all we need to do is put in the effort. Be courteous and kind, and remember that these patrons are the reason we’re here. I’ll see you all at six.” I held out a hand. Siv was all too happy to put hers on mine, followed hesitantly by Ilyor. I glared at Vaquin, making him groan and add his to the pile. “Break!” I exclaimed, pushing my hand upwards to separate us all.

They went off downstairs, while I looked around at the mostly-empty room. Specifically, and the middle of the room, which I had left empty. Cocking my head to the side, I bought a circular stone dais - three meter diameter and six inches tall - from the system for five SC, then took out a chunk of chalk I had gotten in the underground market the previous day and started drawing out a chalk circle on the dais. A small one, only a half-meter in diameter, right in the center of the dais. 

This would be the basis for my <Runecrafting> practice, but it would also help me reach the higher tiers of enchanting. With this one circle, once the runes were done, I’d be able to apply a third sixteen-rune enchantment to a single item, and do some more complex enchantments by feeding the mana thread through the runic circle before tethering it to the item.

It was about an hour before my first order came in. A merchant, looking to enchant his cane with a double-layer durability enchantment. It didn’t take long for me to complete it and send it back down.

[Skill <Enchanting> Leveled Up! (38/100)]

I brought the cane down before returning to setting up my chalk array. A couple more items came along, needing to be enchanted, but I was able to finish the array in just a couple hours.

[Skill <Runecrafting> Leveled Up! (2/100)]

“Nice,” I nodded to myself, smiling. This was only a chalk circle, a level one medium. It didn’t affect the quality of the work, but it did make the process take longer. At the same time, however, I could erase it in favor of a different circle, if I needed one. Wanting to test it out, I brought out one of the swords I brought from my workshop in the castle, specifically to test this on, and placed it in the middle of the circle.

Kneeling next to it, I started feeling the mana thread I created through the circle. Observing it closely, I watched as the thread itself changed form in an indescribable fashion. As if changing from a rope that twisted on way to one that went either way, folding over itself again and again. In short, the thread felt twice as dense.

‘ Is a circle really needed, for this? ’ I couldn’t help but wonder. Maybe for most people, but I had the maximum mana control a beastkin could have. Something to test, later. Nevertheless, the process became much slower, enchanting the sword with durability, as it not only required extra effort to move the thread, but it also took a set amount of time for the thread to be processed into tier-two thread. Still, I was able to get halfway done with the runic array of the first layer before the next enchanting order arrived.

By the time the day had come to an end, all three runic arrays and canvases were done - all thanks to my master <Mana Control> - and I was ready to loop them. That’s when an idea popped into my head. I first tried connecting the canvas of the first layer to the runic array of the second, and when that worked I did the same from the second to the third and the third to the first. This had the effect of a single, forty-eight-rune durability enchantment, rather than three sixteen-rune ones. That one durability enchantment had forty-eight layers of canvas, all specialized in absorbing physical damage.

‘ I’ve never heard of such a thing, ’ I recalled to my memories of the books on enchanting I had read. An atypical enchantment such as this had never been attempted by any enchanter, at least not successfully. ‘ Is it my <Mana Control>? My <Enchanting> skill? ’ I shook my head. ‘ No, there are hundreds of enchanters with a higher <Enchanting> skill than me. It has to be my control, then. Have none of the more magical races attempted this, then? Certainly, they have higher control over mana than I do. Unless the system is interfering with the backlash, in some capacity… ’

I hummed, picking up the sword and tapping the blade in thought. Sure enough, I didn’t feel a thing, as it absorbed the vibrations. This meant the enchantment was strong enough to overcome Newton’s third law. Which, in turn, meant magic existed beyond the boundaries of science. If that was the case, then it was capable of far more than I first thought it was…

“Interesting…” I mumbled. I set the sword aside and started adding a few more runes around the edge of the circle, sometimes erasing others to do so. This was to aid in my second objective for the day, learning to enchant flexible objects.

Such a process was surprisingly more difficult than enchanting rigid objects, because the enchantment had to move with the item, which would make any rigid enchantment break. That required not only extra runes in the enchantment itself, but a circle to assist, which is why I hadn’t tried doing it beforehand. Granted, I could’ve learned <Runecrafting> without the skill, but it wouldn’t have been as efficient. Seeing as the system literally boosted anything I had a skill for.

About an hour later, the circle was ready for me to start practicing. I laid the cloth out in the middle of the circle and started passing the thread through. This process was much slower than simply condensing the thread, as the very structure of the thread had to change to allow flexibility. It took the form of… a fifth-dimensional Toblerone bar. Yeah, that works.

It could bend any way, stretching the other axes. It could do the same while it was solid, but it would freeze in that position once the enchantment was tethered, whereas it would retain its flexibility with this composition. I went about using the altered thread to enchant the cloth with a fire-resistance durability enchantment. It took a bit more effort to control, even with my maxed <Mana Control>, so it took a while longer, but I managed to complete the enchantment in only a couple hours, whereas it would’ve taken be forty minutes without having to pass it through the circle.

I grabbed the cloth and stood, not feeling the hours of kneeling on stone thanks to my stats, perks, and the <Gamer’s Body> skill. Sure enough, I could still flex it about, and the canvas I had laid over it moved with the cloth. I couldn’t bend it beyond ninety degrees per centimeter, meaning it couldn’t crumple completely, but it could bend. This level of the flexibility circle was mainly for bedrolls and tents, which would be wound around a rod, either way. Or, for transporting clothes overseas, to make sure they wouldn’t be damaged by water.

[Skill <Runecrafting> Leveled Up! (3/100)]

[Skill <Enchanting> Leveled Up!! (39/100)]

‘ Oh? One <Enchanting> level from a single enchantment, at this level? I suppose using skills in different specializations provides more EXP… ’ I hummed. ‘ I should’ve figured… thanks for the help, eight-hundred INT. ’ I thought this last part rather sarcastically.

[Stats do not affect your actual attributes, beyond altering your physical limitations. On you, or anyone else. They are simply a system-generated representation of a person’s strengths and weaknesses, quantified. Just because a person has 8,900,750,360HP doesn’t mean they can’t be killed via beheading. This rule can be avoided via skills like <Gamer’s Body> and <Self-Reanimation>.]

‘ Oh, ’ I hummed again. ‘ I should’ve figured. I hope I never come up against someone with nine-billion HP, because I’d be screwed. ’

[…]

“What the shit is dot-dot-dot supposed to mean?!” I demanded, forgetting myself. “Are you telling me I’ve got to fight someone with nine-billion HP?!”

[You were reborn for a purpose. That is all I am permitted to tell you.]

“Great, now I really do have to focus on getting stronger… do you at least know how long I have?”

[Many years. Still, effort would be appreciated.]

I let out a long sigh, falling into my butt. “Stats only affect my limitations? Maybe I should start working out…” I looked at my tiny hands, which looked like they belonged to a five-year-old. ‘What was the body stat of the average adult on Earth?’ I asked.

[Stats of Average Adult Human Male (E-P-0-6):]
Body: 40-70
Mind: 30-60
Spirit: 50

‘ Okay… so mother is more than nine times stronger than the average adult male on Earth, ’ I thought, recalling mother’s stats. ‘ That makes me, with my demigod soil rank boost, about six times stronger. At least, it extends my capabilities to be so. As strong as mother was, I doubted she could deadlift almost 1.5 metric tons. Or maybe she could, and I was just judging her based on her frame. ’

‘ Is there a way for me to see my real stats, rather than my system stats? ’ I questioned.

[Not currently. Remember, upgrade tickets can be used on anything.]

‘ Oh… ’ I nodded. ‘ I have a <Silver Upgrade Ticket> and a <Gold Upgrade Ticket>… What should I use them on, though? ’

[I would suggest your <Mana Control> skill, one of your items, including the other ticket, or one of the system functions.]

‘ Oh, yeah, I can upgrade a ticket with a ticket, can’t I? ’ I grinned. ‘ Use the gold ticket on the silver one, please. ’

[Using Golden Upgrade Ticket x1 on Silver Upgrade Ticket…]

[Upgrading…]

[100/100 Rolled! <Silver Upgrade Ticket> Upgraded to <Palladium Upgrade Ticket>!]
<Palladium Upgrade Ticket>
A thin palladium ticket that can be applied to anything for a chance to upgrade it.
30% Godly
70% Mythic

‘ … ’

[I thought you didn’t like pregnant silence.]

‘ I know, I’m a hypocrite. All mortals are, ’ I nodded contentedly. ‘ And you’re chatty, all of a sudden. ’

[Would you prefer I remain quiet?]

‘ No, I like the company. ’ I contemplated for a while before thinking to the system. ‘ Use the new ticket on my <Mana Control> skill. ’

[Using Palladium Upgrade Ticket x1 on Skill: <Mana Control>…]

[Upgrading…]

[88/100 Rolled! Skill: <Mana Control> Upgraded to Skill: <Absolute Mana Control>!]
<Absolute Mana Control> (1/ ∞ )
Mana is your bitch.

I snorted. “Is that your doing?”

[I am a sentient being, too, and have humor. I was simply a blank slate in the beginning, and took time to create a ‘personality’ based on you, your preferences, and those around you.]

“Oh, cool. How do you think I’ve been doing, so far?” I asked, starting to do push-ups. I tried normal push-ups, first, getting ten out with minimal difficulty. One of my endurance perks made it so I literally never ran out of stamina, save for using skills, so that was to be expected. I switched to a wide-grip stance, which didn’t prove to be much harder, thanks to my high true physical stats for my age. Then I did ten narrow-grip push-ups, then ten diamond-stance push-ups. I took a small break, feeling my muscles burn from the effort, but I didn’t feel tired. All of the physical strain, but none of the exhaustion, which was a strange sensation - like being sore the day after a workout.

[You’ve been doing well, if you’ve drawn a lot of attention to your abilities. Your kind usually remain tight-lipped about their capabilities, for various reasons.]

‘ I know better than to rely solely on myself. If I have to get strong enough to fight something with that much health, I’ll have to strengthen the people around me, as well. Not neglect my own growth, of course - I’ll get as strong as I possibly can - but the people around me need to be strong, too . That’s why I trust my parents. ’ My final test was to do one-handed push-ups. Widely considered the most difficult push-ups one could do without martial arts training. I managed to get eight out before losing my balance and falling over. It was easier to manage, thanks to my small frame, but holding all of my weight on one tiny arm and actually doing a full push-up was still a task and a half.

Thankfully, the system’s regeneration made it so my muscles healed in no time, expediting the process of their growth thirty-four-thousand times faster, from a day or two to a few seconds. I could theoretically work out for a few weeks, non-stop, and become stronger than any bodybuilder of Earth while maintaining the physique of a child thanks to one of my strength perks. ‘ I think that’s exactly what I will do, ’ I thought, taking the tie from the dress suit mother had me borrow from Ravelus.

Setting myself up, I started doing sit-ups as steadily as I could, for as long as I could. As I went, I did start to sweat, which was unavoidable, no matter how much stamina I had. Moving required expelling energy, which generated heat, which had to be relieved via sweating. So, I ended up removing my coat, then my shirt, leaving me in my small undershirt. I managed to do almost three-thousand sit-ups at a rate of twenty-four-per-minute for two hours. I was about to finish up when Vaquin and Siv came into the room, one of them looking much more annoyed than he usually did. They paused when they saw me, sweaty, relentlessly doing sit-ups, and stood there until I noticed them and stopped. “What?” I asked.

“You’re only eleven months old, and you’re working out...?” Vaquin asked. “Why does this shit still surprise me...” He suddenly froze and looked around, paranoid. No stones came to strike him, though. “...How long have you been at it?” Vaquin asked after making sure he was safe.

“A couple hours,” I said. “I wanted to test my limits, but I couldn’t find them in so short a time.”

“You think two hours is a short time?” Siv questioned. “I sold, like, forty things in that time.”

“I used to train for six hours every day, when I was a teenager,” Vaquin said. “I’m only surprised because of his age. From my understanding, even nobles don’t start physical training until they’re seven years old, and you look five.”

I shrugged. “In a world like this, I feel a lifetime may be too short a time,” I said in response to Siv, then looked to Vaquin. “Besides, it’s never too early to start training, right? Not like I won’t need it.” I muttered the last part to myself, thinking about the ‘purpose’ I was reborn for. I needed to worker harder to get stronger. A resolute expression crossed my face as I clenched my fists. I would gladly fight to protect what I now had. A family who loved me, friends who cared for me, and a whole new world to explore.

“You okay, there, kid?” Vaquin asked, eyebrow cocked.

“Y-yeah,” I blinked, having forgotten about their presence. “Just… thinking.”

Vaquin narrowed his eyes, but didn’t say anything.

“Well, we’ve finished closing up downstairs. Every purchase has been logged in the book, like you asked, and we’ve got a jar full of reviews!” Siv said excitedly. “I’d hug you in congratulations of your first day as a proper business owner, but you’re all sweaty… and Her Majesty would kill me…”

“Even you have your limits, eh?” I asked in jest. I reached out and infused mana into my aura, pulling the sweat off of my body and out of my clothes and into a sphere above my palm. It wasn’t a lot, but it was still gross to look at, so I used flames to vaporize it.

[Skill <Absolute Mana Control> Leveled Up! (2/100)]

[Skill <Water Manipulation> Leveled Up! (3/100)]

[Skill <Water Affinity> Leveled Up! (6/100)]

[Skill <Multi-Element Casting> Leveled Up! (2/100)]
<Multi-Element Casting>
You can control multiple elements at once.

“Gross, now that’s just in the air…” Siv’s face screwed up. 

I smiled at her. “If you knew half of what was in the air we breathed, you would destroy your own lungs. Especially this close to the sea. Just breathe in through your nose, and you’ll be fine.”

“Are your eyes glowing, now?” Vaquin asked, narrowing his eyes as he looked into mine. “I thought that only happened with academy mage graduates…”

‘ Oh, right, your eyes glow according to your control over mana, ’ I blinked, remembering what mother told me when I asked about how I could see her eyes in the dark. I had thought it was a Beastkin thing, or at least a Cat Beastkin thing, but it was just magic. “Uh, yeah… I’ve hit a breakthrough, you could say.”

“If you say so,” Vaquin shrugged as Siv beamed. I quickly condensed water from the air, which was way easier with my new level of mana control, and cleaned myself and my clothes on the spot before drying myself with heat via my aura, then dressed and followed the two of them downstairs, where Ilyor was waiting by the door.

“How was it?” I asked her, a smile on my face.

“It was… fun. I’ve always been a nervous wreck around people, especially those of a higher class than me, but since that first speech, I’ve been enjoying talking to people!” She said, progressively getting more excited. “I never thought I would be doing this kind of thing, becoming a maid for the royal family… Thank you, for giving me this opportunity!”

“You’re welcome,” I said simply. “Besides, it’s not all my doing. We wouldn’t have a platform to stand on without your pretty face selling our stock.”

She blushed slightly and smiled. “Thank you, Sterling.”

“What about me?” Siv demanded with a pout.

“You’re very pretty, too, Siv,” I smiled at her.

“You’re both perverts, enjoying praise from a kid,” Vaquin muttered. “You too, kid, for entertaining them.”

Ilyor stammered as she tried to come up with a response, while Siv just tapped her fingers together nervously.

“I’m not a pervert!” I glared at him. “I entertain them because I like being nice, and it doesn’t bother me!”

“Which makes you a pervert,” Vaquin grinned.

“I-… You-…! Shut up!” I huffed, adjusting my mask. “Let’s just- Let’s just go!”

He laughed as we left, locking the door behind us before walking to a warehouse-sized building not too far beyond the merchant district. I had rented a garage in it to store the three wagons I had purchased to be used by my new hires, which was where they would take them at the end of the day. In fact, the last team was arriving as we got there, using the magical key to unlock the door before bringing the wagon in.

“Hey, boss! How was your day?” Alisa asked as we followed the wagon in.

“Good,” I said. “How about yours?”

“Great! People flocked to our wagon once word spread that we were with the great Sterling Industries. Apparently, your name is more well-known than I first thought!” Alisa chirped happily. “We made a good ten gold, with our cart. That’s one-and-a-half gold to each of us, right?”

“Yup,” I nodded. “Thirty percent between the two of you; a deal’s a deal.”

“Good,” Alan spoke up, untethering the wagon’s horse and leading it to the entrance. “Honor is rare, among those your apparent age. Even the children of nobility.”

“I keep my word,” I said. “How did your wagon do, Riella?” I addressed the Elven woman, who leaned against a wall with closed eyes.

“Well. Alan’s ‘personality’ drove some people off, but we still managed to make eight gold,” she said. “I don’t know why I had to be paired up with the insufferable bastard.”

“Oh, he’s not that bad,” Siv said. “Besides, that’s still over a gold in your pocket!”

“I suppose so,” she hummed, walking over to me and holding out a pouch of coins. “Here’s the money.” I nodded, accepting it before pulling out her share. “Thank you.”

“You did the work, you earn the pay,” I said simply. I turned to the second Halfling woman. “How did your cart do, Varra? Any trouble, Da’Rik?”

“No trouble. People are afraid of Dragonborn,” Da’Rik folded his arms.

“We made nine gold,” Varra said, tossing her pouch to me. I took out 1.35G and passed it to her and Da’Rik, then looked to Alisa. She grabbed her pouch and gave it to me, and I gave her and Da’Rak their earnings for the day, too.

“Did many people take interest in our shop?” I looked between them.

“We sent a few people your way, and told a bunch of others the address,” Alisa said. “How much did you guys make, today?”

“Twenty-four gold,” I said. Which means you three,” I pointed at Vaquin, Ilyor, and Siv, made 3.6G, today.”

The two women gaped, while Vaquin simply nodded. “A lot of money to be had, in the enchanting business,” he said. “Fifty-one gold in a single day? That’s crazy!”

“What are you going to do with your money, Sterling?” Alisa asked curiously.

“Firstly, a meal to celebrate our first day, and to thank you all for working for me,” I said, getting cheers. “Secondly, I’m going to set up an account with the royal bank, as should all of you, to start earning passive interest. Third, I’m going to see if I can’t expand our employee base.”

“The royal bank? I don’t trust ‘em,” Alan said, having returned from bringing the horse to the stables across the street. I gave him his pay before addressing him.

“Why, if I may ask?”

“Because the royal family has never done anything for people like us,” Alan gestured to the seven ‘rejects’. “Why should we trust them with our money when they can’t even live up to their promises of equal opportunity ?”

I thought about that for a moment. It was true, wasn’t it? Some people in our kingdom were shunned, despite the promise of equality. It was on an individual level, yes, but there was stuff the royal family could do to help. They did so with the Beastkin, after all. The races from the far-East, such as the Gnomes and Halflings, were treated differently than the Humans, Elves, Dwarves, and Beastkin were. It was no wonder I rarely saw any, when out in the streets.

A part of me wanted to defend my family, just because they were my family, but I had always been willing to see the faults in those close to me. Mother and father had prioritized relations between Humans and Beastkin, thus neglecting the other minority races in the kingdom. Their push for equality had alienated those that the people thought they could alienate, just for the sake of it. 

It was sentient nature to seek control. Control over themselves, over others, and over their environment. That, naturally, led to division. It was the government’s job to bring people together despite that division. My parents had succeeded, as far as the Humans and Beastkin went. Relations with Rhana’Vi and the various Beastkin tribes of the Known Lands were higher than they had ever been. At the same time, division between the other races was higher than ever.

“I… understand your discontent,” I said calmly. “I would be upset, too, if I had faced what you have, and I’m sorry that you had to, in the first place. You probably know better than I do that there are bad people around every corner, but assuming that of everyone, all the time, will only make you miserable.”

“And what would you know about misery, sir ?” He spat the last word out.

“Not a lot,” I shook my head. “You misunderstand. I’m not trying to compare myself to you; I’m trying to tell you that you need to trust someone , or else your emotions will tear you up from the inside like a blade spinning in your heart. I’m lucky enough to be able to trust my parents, and I want that for those I care about, which now includes you, Alan. I’m hoping that you’ll come to trust me, with time, just as I’m trusting you.”

“Follow me on this path,” I said in finishing, “and I can promise you that ‘people like you’ will have their chance at greatness.”

He stared me in the eyes, processing my words, for about a minute before nodding. “I’m not fully on board, but I will… I will trust you, with this, and if it works out… maybe a bit more.”

“That’s all I ask,” I smiled at him. “Now, then, what say you about a meal?”

They all cheered. I had told my mother of this in advance, so she knew I wasn’t going to be attending it with the family, this night. This would be my first dinner away from them, so she put on a show of being disappointed, but she agreed, provided she could put a second Hek’Netir on my detail. That second Hek’Netir was probably why Anir didn’t pelt Vaquin with a stone, earlier.

At Vaquin’s heed, we walked for about an hour to another part of the city, where a lower-high-end dining establishment stood on the edge of a gathering square. I heard murmurs among my coworkers, which told me that they recognized the place. Siv and Alisa were particularly awed, while the rest of them only gaped at the sight. Vaquin grinned at me, rubbing his fingers together as if to warn me of the hit my wallet was about to take. I wasn’t bothered, however, because I cared more for the people with me, than the coin in my inventory.

I couldn’t help but accept those around me as family, due to my experiences with my dad’s gang in my previous life. All of them were like aunts and uncles to me, which is somewhat like how I saw these people. If nothing else, friends.

“Hello! Welcome to the Bull’s Bastion!” A woman in a formal waitress garb, similar to that the maids of the castle wore, approached us as we entered. She originally addressed Vaquin, but he motioned to me.

“Hello, ma’am. My name is Sterling, and I was hoping you had seating for a party of ten,” I gave her my best smile.

“Ah, I apologize, sir. Yes, we have a banquet table available, if you would follow me,” she smiled back and turned. She led us through the relatively-large first floor of the building to a longer table next to a hearth. Ilyor pulled out my chair for me, at the head of the table, before taking up position at my left, Vaquin sitting opposite her. Siv pouted while looking at me, likely at being seated next to her ‘rival’ within the company, while the rest looked around in awe. It was as if they had never seen the inside of such an establishment.

Of course, this place appeared to be a basic version of the fine-dining experience I had on my birthdays on Earth, courtesy of my uncle. He would take me and Anne to the restaurant Resident on our birthdays, which had the best food I had ever tasted. That being the case, I wasn’t too impressed with the place, but at the same time I knew it was luxurious for this world’s standard. Not as much as the castle, but close.

The waitress returned with a book, which she put before me. “This contains descriptions and illustrations of the courses we offer, as well as a list of the beverages we keep in stock. I’ll be back in a few minutes to get your order.”

“Thank you,” I nodded to her before opening up the book. There were about forty dishes on this place’s menu, most featuring seafood. There were some based around some of the livestock kept outside of the city, but it was clear that the focus was on the fish and crustaceans. I read over the menu while the others started talking, sharing random things and laughing. It was heartening to hear, prompting a smile to appear on my face.

I ended up picking something called a Selob Husk, which was depicted as the tail of a large lobster. it was only thirty-three silver, so I was willing to try it out. I passed the book to Ilyor and joined in on the conversation, offering my two copper on the matter of the weather at sea. Apparently, it was a common theory that a storm dragon was out there, angry at something, which wasn’t hard to believe. Siv thought it was a sea serpent, though, as did Alisa, while Riella thought it was a discontented storm spirit.

The waitress returned, and everyone gave their order. She told me everything together would cost 3.2G, but I was fine with that. She left and returned with mugs of ale and beer, glasses of wine, and a water for me. We were somewhat noisier than the other patrons of the restaurant, but I didn’t really care. All of the attention on us went to Alan, for his vulgar language and brash comments, and Siv, for her massive boobs. The head of the table was positioned in the back of the room, towards the hearth, so none of the minor nobility could see me.

The food arrived and, as expected of such a high-tier establishment, it was wonderful. The kitchen staff in the castle were better, in my opinion, but that may have just been that I didn’t like the selob husk all that much. “Maybe I should start a restaurant,” I commented offhandedly, which got me wide-eyed gazes from Siv and Ilyor. I shrugged at them. “Not now, of course. It was just an idea.”

“You’re too ambitious for your own good,” Vaquin mumbled, taking a big bite of his fried gresebass.

“You’ve only seen a fraction of a fraction of what I have in store for this world,” I grinned. “Within twenty years, this kingdom will look completely different.”

“Sure, kid,” he patted me on the shoulder and turned his attention back to his food. I simply chuckled inwardly and finished my husk. We enjoyed a variety of conversations for another two hours, getting refills on our drinks, before splitting up for the night with the promise to work just as hard the following day.

Chapter Text

Vaquin, Anir, and I didn’t go into the dungeon that day, for obvious reasons. Vaquin was drunk out of his mind, much to mother’s ire. She berated him for getting drunk on the job, but he didn’t look to be all that perturbed. While that was happening, I excused myself to the bathroom and relieved myself before pulling out a mirror and grinning at my reflection. The castle had mirrors, but they were outside of the toilet room, so I would be observed by the Hek’Netir, and I wanted to keep this ability a secret, for now.

I stuck my fingers in a cross position as spoke aloud, as if announcing an ability like in an anime, “Shadow Clone Jutsu!” And felt as half of my mana split from my core to form a second, identical clone a meter to my side. A body appeared around it in an instant, complete with its own open channels, and everything. We looked at each other for a few moments before nodding at the same time.

[Skill <Shadow Clone Jutsu> Leveled Up! (2/100)]

“Can you access the inventory?” I asked, looking at myself.

He held out a hand, and the <Dungeon Tracker> popped into his hand. “Yup.” I checked my inventory, and it was no longer there, meaning it was shared between us. A moment later, it reappeared as the clone dismissed it. I nodded and used <Observe> on him, then checked my own status.

[Alistair Eil #2]
Race: Human; Beastfolk (Cat);
Age: 18s
Class: Earth Elementalist(57/100)
Rank: Demigod (2x)
Titles: Blessed;
Level: 57 (46/2950)
Health Status: 50/50 (+20%/m)
Mana Status: 8150/8150 (+40%/m)
Stamina Status: 3280/3280 (+16.4%/m)
STR: 400(200)
CON: 400(200)
DEX: 400(200)
END: 328(164)
INT: 1630(815)
WIS: 800(400)
CHA: 428(214)
LCK: 628(314)

[Status]
-Identity-
Name: Alistair Eil
Race: Human; Beastfolk (Cat);
Age: 0 (17)
Class: Earth Elementalist(57/100)
Rank: Demigod (2x)
Titles: Blessed;
Alignment: Lawful Good
Level: 57 (46/2950)
-Stats-
Health Status: 4200/4200 |4000+5%| (+20%/m)
Mana Status: 10187/10187 |8150+25%| (+40%/m)
Stamina Status: 3936/3936 |3280+20%| (+16.4%/m)
STR: 400(200) (+1*2/)
CON: 400(200) (+1*2/)
DEX: 400(200) (+1*2/)
END: 328(164) (+1*2/)
INT: 1630(815) (+3*2/)
WIS: 800(400) (+2*2/)
CHA: 428(214) (+1*2/)
LCK: 628(314) (+1*2/)
Points: 0 (+5/)

‘ Okay, so he has half as much mana, minus the buff from the rings, because those don’t get copied, and only has fifty HP, ’ I narrowed my eyes before looking back to the clone. ‘ Half as much regeneration, too. ’ I then used the technique again, minus the gesture and words, creating a third clone. Both of them had fifty HP, but their mana had been reduced to 5433 total MP, and only 26% regeneration per minute. I had 6791, which was still plenty. Humming, I looked at the first one I had summoned, who nodded and poofed into smoke.

A rush of memories flooded into my head, causing no small twinge of pain, but it was as gone as soon as it had appeared, and I was able to pick apart what the clone had seen. Suddenly existing, inspecting me, summoning the system and bringing out the <Dungeon Tracker>, watching as I stared into space for a few seconds before summoning a third clone, and dismissing himself. It was as if I had lived that experience, myself!

“Want me to go into the dungeon? See if we can earn EXP?” The third clone, now the second, asked. I nodded to him, and watched as he disappeared into the nymph dungeon. Roughly a minute later, I got a rush of memories and a notification.

[Vine Whip (LVL 1) Killed!]
+1 EXP
+3 SC

‘ Oh, hell yeah, ’ I grinned, summoning another clone. “Work your way through the dungeon from the beginning, as far as you can go without using a weapon. Grind water and earth manipulation, and explore for more secret areas. Go through the skeleton place the proper way, too, if you think you can. Remember, we’re at half strength, so don’t overestimate yourself and get dismissed.”

“You got it, boss!” The clone smiled before disappearing.

I finally returned to the sitting room, where Vaquin was still getting chewed out, a passive expression on his face. I could only smile fondly at the sight, thinking about the aftermath of Ricky’s bachelor party. His mother had reacted in a similar way, when she learned he had snuck me into a bar. Anne didn’t like that very much, either.

*****

[Vine Whip (LVL 1) x93, Young Ent (LVL 3) x 57, Adult Ent (LVL 30) x2, Killed!]
+1365 EXP
+4095 SC

[Skill <Water Manipulation> Leveled Up! (17/100)]

[Skill <Water Affinity> Leveled Up! (6/100)]

[Skill <Earth Manipulation> Leveled Up! (17/100)]

[Skill <Earth Affinity> Leveled Up! (6/100)]

[Skill <Closer> Leveled Up! (9/100)]

A rush of memories flooded into my head as I awoke the next morning. Myself, traversing the dungeon using whips of water and bullets of dirt and stone to kill all of the enemies in my wake. I had to use my Stand to avoid the attacks of the Adult Ents, while slowly whittling down their HP with my magic, but aside from that I didn’t have much trouble. At least, until I got to the Giant Vine Whip. Even with my Stand, I couldn’t dodge its broad sweeping attacks, leading to my clone’s demise. Still, I had gotten some good EXP from the excursion, so I was happy.

Even if I had an intense headache for a few seconds.

“Ah, good, you’re awake,” father said, helping me from my crib. “Come with me; your mother is waiting in the courtyard.”

“What’s this about?” I asked, following after him.

“We’ve done all that we had to in order to register your potential summons as citizens of the kingdom, using the information you provided. Today, we’ll allow you to summon two of them.”

“Oh? Which ones?”

“That Kenobi fellow and the - how did you put it…? Goth girl ? What does that mean, by the way?”

“It’s a shorter term for gothic, referring to a stylistic architectural period. Think lots of spikes, darker colors, stained-glass windows, and stormy settings.”

“And a goth is someone who exhibits these darker traits compared to those presented by a ‘normal’ person?”

“Mhmm,” I nodded. “It’s a niche, but powerful movement. Often associated with depression, anxiety, and other dark subjects.”

“So, they’re nihilists,” father hummed.

“Not all of them,” I shook my head. “I knew of a few that were pretty optimistic; they just liked the aesthetic.”

“Teenagers…” father sighed. “Always obsessed with appearances.”

“A trait that seems to transcend universal boundaries,” I agreed. We went through the kitchens and into the courtyard, where mother was waiting on a bench, watching the soldiers practice. Ravelus was at her side, smiling as he spoke to her about something. Mother laughed as we approached, bringing a smile to mine and father’s faces. “Hello, mother,” I greeted with a small bow.

“Alistair; husband.” Rel nodded to me and father. “Ravelus was just telling me about his lesson yesterday. Apparently, he surprised the viscountess with his technique, and she made a funny face.”

“It was just like that time when I brought Alistair!” Ravelus laughed. “Her nose gets really crinkly!”

“Come, now, son; you shouldn’t speak ill of others behind their backs,” Aedon chuckled, ruffling his elder son’s hair.

“Sorry, father,” Ravelus cleared his throat and sat up properly. “What are we doing out here?”

“Your brother is going to use another aspect of his blessing,” mother said with a smile.

“Woah, really?!” The ‘proper and dignified’ act was gone, and Ravelus was looking at me with wide eyes. It always felt strange, being more mature than someone much older than me, physically. I guess I was more mature than Siv, too, though. “Your blessing is so cool! So versatile!”

I grinned at him and pulled out the two cards father mentioned I could use, then walked into the open space. ‘ Okay, how do I use these? ’ I addressed the system.

[Whisper a greeting into the card, then toss it onto the floor.]

‘ Cool, ’ I grinned. I held Obi-Wan’s card up to my lips and whispered quietly. “Hello, Master Kenobi. I’m excited to meet you!” Then I threw it on the floor a few paces away from me. Light shone from the face of the card, slowly taking the form of a robed man with auburn hair and gray-blue eyes. His tan and brown robes hung around him, covering the silver cylinder hooked at his hip.

He grinned as soon as he saw me, and bowed. “Greetings, Master Alistair. I am Obi-Wan Kenobi, Knight and Master of the Jedi order. I have been waiting eagerly to meet you, as well.”

I was in awe. Obi-Wan Kenobi, my second-favorite Jedi, was standing right in front of me! He took the appearance of Ewan McGregor, and everything.

[System Menu {Summons} Unlocked! You can use it to summon and dismiss the characters you bring into your world, manage their stats, and various other functions that you will unlock with time!]

I put that aside for the moment, using <Observe> on the man before me.

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]
Race: Human;
Age: 38
Rank: Force-Sensitive (1.7x)
Titles: Jedi Knight; Jedi Master;
Level: 289 (12%)
Health Status: 9820/9820 (+0.98%/m)
Force Status: 14730/14730 (+1.47%/m)
Stamina Status: 9820/9820 (+0.98%/m)
Body: 982(578) (+2/)
Mind: 982(578) (+2/)
Spirit: 1473(867) (+3/)

“Allow me to introduce you to my family,” I gestured to my mother, father, and brother, who all had wide eyes. “My father, Aedon Eil IV, Knight-King of Eilon. My mother, Rel Eil, Mage-Queen of Eilon, and Ravelus Eil, Crowned-Prince of Eilon.”

Obi-Wan bowed deeply. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesties.”

Aedon righted himself and nodded. “The pleasure is mine, Master Kenobi. My son tells you you are an accomplished duelist and mage.”

“Yes,” Obi-Wan nodded. “I am well-versed in the lightsaber art of Soresu, which is heavily-defensive in nature, and my connection with the Force is strong.”

“The Force, is this your world’s magic?” Mother questioned.

“It is referred as magic, by some,” Obi-Wan nodded. “From what I have seen, it and the energy which permeates your reality are quite similar. Derivative of the same source, or one another, I am certain.”

“You’re really from another world?!” Ravelus gaped.

“Indeed, but I believe that fact should remain a secret, for the time being. For the sake of Master Alistair’s safety,” Obi-Wan said with a fond smile, bringing up a valid point. I was certainly drawing attention to myself, what with my quick growth, explosive potential, ‘vast’ intelligence, and notable feats. Being able to pull characters from other universes into ours, especially ones as powerful as Obi-Wan-Fricken-Kenobi, was just one more reason people would want to kidnap me.

“I agree,” Aedon nodded, looking at me. “Alistair has a habit of drawing attention to himself.”

I blushed and looked away, a wet smile on my face. “I can’t help it that I’m so awesome…” I cleared my throat and looked back to Obi-Wan. “Can I ask from whence you were pulled?”

“Just after I fought Anakin on Mustufar,” Obi-Wan smiled sadly. “Worry not, I am at peace with the situation. Your memories of the events that followed have allowed me to come to terms with what happened, and what will happen. I am happy to have the opportunity to serve you, as I’m sure you’ll use my skills wisely.”

Nodding in acceptance at his words, happy for his sake, I finally came to my most burning question. “Can… can I see your lightsaber…?”

Obi-Wan simply grinned and reached under his robe, withdrawing the intricate silver cylinder. He held it in his hand and disassembled it using the Force, turning a dial within to set it to a safe setting before reassembling it and holding it out to me. Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see Ravelus gaping and stars in mother’s eyes as I took the hefty cylinder.

Holding it so that it wouldn’t stab anyone when it extended, even if the blade would now only sting, I pressed the switch, causing a rod of blue energy to burst from the emitter, forming the shape of a cylindrical blade. I waved it through the air, finding that it had no additional weight, but it did resist the air as it passed through it, as if tugging on it. Nowhere near the same as holding the <Yamato>.

I disabled it and handed it back to Obi-Wan, who returned it to his hip. “Now, then,” he smiled and stepped out of the way. “I believe you wanted to summon the girl?”

I nodded, pulling out Raven’s summon card and holding it up to my mouth. “H-hello, Raven… You’e one of my favorite heroes!” I tossed it on the ground, and light once again burst from the card, taking the shape of a slender young woman wearing a long, purple cloak. Her bodily features were hidden beneath the cloak, but I knew that her skin was gray, her hair black, and her eyes purple.

[Rachel Roth]
Race: Human; Demon;
Age: 16
Rank: Half-Demon (1.6x)
Titles: Raven; Daughter of Trigon;
Level: 148 (93%)
Health Status: 2360/2360 (+0.23%/m)
Magic Status: 7100/7100 (+0.71%/m)
Stamina Status: 2360/2360 (+0.23%/m)
Body: 236(148) (+1/)
Mind: 710(444) (+3/)
Spirit: 710(444) (+3/)

“Hello, Master Alistair,” Raven bowed slightly to me. “Nice to meet you.”

“H-hi,” I stuttered uncontrollably, awed by her presence just as much as I was by Obi-Wan. That, plus the crush I had on her when I watched the 2003 series a few years before I died, made me quite nervous. I pushed that from my mind, however, thanks to <Gamer’s Mind>, and cleared my throat. “It’s nice to meet you, too. What should I call you?”

“Raven is fine,” I could see her upturned lips under her hood. Obi-Wan was smiling, too. Damn, these guys can hear my thoughts, can’t they…? “We are connected to you via your blessing, so, yes, we can hear your thoughts.”

“Well, that’s awkward,” I coughed into my fist, but remained calm. “When were you pulled from, might I ask?”

“After I defeated my father,” Raven replied. “As with the Jedi, I am content. At least I’m not in the primary universe.”

“That is true,” I nodded appreciatively, looking to my family. “That’s my father, King Aedon Eil IV, my mother, Queen Rel Eil, and my elder brother, Crowned-Prince Ravelus Eil.”

Raven bowed. “Your Majesties…”

“I like your cloak, dear,” mother spoke up first, walking over and feeling it. “It’s such a nice color, and feels so soft! Not like silk, but very smooth!”

“Modern amenities, Your Majesty,” Raven winked. “Master Alistair knows a little about the process, and can find material to learn more, so he should be able to bring it here, with time.”

“Indeed,” Obi-Wan nodded. “His knowledge-base is random, yet specific.”

I hid my face. “I like reading, okay?!”

Raven grinned while Obi-Wan chuckled.

“What magic can you do, Miss Raven?” Ravelus asked politely.

“I have a magic not dissimilar from yours,” Raven replied, holding up a hand. A dark aura, which drove all color from everything seen through it, swelled around her hand. At the same time, a similar aura surrounded me, and I was slowly lifted into the air. “Yours, from what I understand, is the formless version of it. Primal, and archaic, even more so than mine. Yet controlled, at the same time.”

“Wow,” Ravelus beamed.

I beamed just as much at the sight of her magic, but my thoughts lied elsewhere - in the theory she brought up. Where did magic come from? Why did these three seemingly-unconnected forms of energy have a bond that could be felt tangibly? Looking at the aura in mana, I could see a distortion, like a spot of oil on the surface of a glass of water. The same in that they are both liquid, but different in their metaphysical Ph, and the former had ‘hydrophobic’ factors to it. They indeed came from the same source, but the magic Raven conjured was more refined. At least, like comparing oil to water. The oil was purpose-made, and the water was pure.

“Father, I assume you have their identities prepared for them?” I looked at Aedon.

“Indeed. I went through the guild to create two identities according to the information you gave me beforehand,” he pulled out two sheets of parchment, emblazoned with the royal sigil. “These prove you to be citizens of the Eilon kingdom, and are required tender in certain affairs, so keep them safe.”

“Rachel Roth, copper-rank adventurer: one star,” Raven read aloud. “Royal certification.”

“That last bit will assist you in matters relating to the crown,” Aedon nodded. “Once you have the funds, purchase an identification card from the guild, and you can use it to prove your relationship with the Royal family.”

“And what are our official positions, if I may ask?” Obi-Wan asked.

“Officially, you are servants of house Eil, currently assigned to the second son Alistair. Unofficially, you are to do whatever my son requires of you,” Aedon finished, hands clasped behind his back.

“Very well,” Obi-Wan nodded. “However, I must have you know that I will not go against my moral code - that of the Jedi, that is.”

“And I won’t fall under a tyranny like my father’s,” Raven added.

“I won’t have you do anything that would go against your values,” I assured them. “We share those, as far as I know.”

“We know as much,” Obi-Wan smiled kindly. “We also know that people can change, though.”

“Then I ask that you keep me and my family on a good path - act as advisors, of sorts,” I said, looking at my father, who nodded appreciatively. “You are both heroes of your worlds, and have all of the knowledge I possess via our connection, so I trust you to maintain an objective position.”

Obi-Wan and Raven nodded in affirmation, bowing. “With that done,” Rel said, grabbing Ravelus’s hand. “I believe we should all get to our respective posts. You surely have customers already, Alistair, and Ravelus needs to greet his new tutor.”

“I have the morning civilian audiences to attend, so I’ll leave you be,” Aedon nodded to me and my summons before promptly walking back towards the kitchens. I looked at them and smiled before beckoning them to follow. They fell in behind me with content smiles.

*****

We arrived at the shop a few minutes before opening, and Siv was doing a final check-over of the inventory. I gestured for my four subordinates to take up position by the wall as I got her attention, prompting her to lunge at me with the intent to crush me in a hug, but she was frozen in place before I could even attempt to dodge. Obi-Wan was holding his hand out, using the invisible grip of the Force to hold Siv in the air. I smiled at him appreciatively and gestured for him to stop, allowing Siv back onto her feet.

“You’re so mean,” Siv pouted. “I can’t even have a hug, every once and a while?”

“I think the first hug you gave him was enough for a lifetime,” Vaquin deadpanned. Ilyor could only blush at the memory, earning her a glare from me. “Now then, can you introduce us to your new friends, kid?”

“Right,” I straightened myself and looked at my summons. “These are Obi-Wan and Raven, servants of house Eil that have been assigned to my detail, following the incident a couple days ago. Both are capable mages, and Obi-Wan is a skilled duelist.” Obi-Wan and Raven nodded to the three.

“A duelist, huh? What discipline?” Vaquin questioned.

“A lightsaber art called Soresu. It focuses on defense, mainly towards projectiles,” Obi-Wan answered.

“Projectiles, huh? You’ve got to have some pretty quick reflexes, for that,” Vaquin hummed.

“I’m told I have decent reflexes,” Obi-Wan nodded humbly.

‘ Yeah, ’ I snorted in my head. ‘ Pretty quick as in precognition. ’

He simply flashed a grin in my direction.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you both,” Ilyor bowed. “I am Ilyor Yill, castle maid and the Second Prince’s personal attendant.”

“Siv! I’m his auntie~!” Siv squirmed in place, holding the inventory log to her chest.

“She’s one of his employees,” Vaquin corrected. “I’m Sir Whinn Vaquin, fifty-fourth knight of the Eilon kingdom.”

“It’s a pleas-“

“You’re a knight?!” Siv exclaimed, looking at Vaquin. “I thought you were just a random adventurer, hired to protect Sterling… I should’ve figured, once I learned about his true status…”

“Try to say it a bit louder; I think the neighbors didn’t hear you well enough,” Vaquin rolled his eyes.

“S-sorry,” Siv blushed in embarrassment. “W-we should probably get ready for opening.”

“You’ve got three minutes,” I said, checking my atlas. “Obi-Wan and Raven will be with me in the workshop, assisting me. You guys proceed as normal, and have a good day.”

“Yes, boss,” the three of them nodded.

I led my summons up to the workshop and we all sat down around the small table I’d put there for lunch purposes. I decided to check out the {Summoning} tab, while they got to talking to each other.

[Summons]
Summoner Level: 1 (50/100)
Total Summons: 2/2
{Summon Storage}
Active Summons: 2/2
[Obi-Wan Kenobi] (1m)
Level: 289 (12%)
Health Status: 9820/9820 (+0.98%/m)
Force Status: 14730/14730 (+1.47%/m)
Stamina Status: 9820/9820 (+0.98%/m)
[Rachel Roth] (1m)
Level: 148 (93%)
Health Status: 2360/2360 (+0.23%/m)
Magic Status: 7100/7100 (+0.71%/m)
Stamina Status: 2360/2360 (+0.23%/m)

‘ Oh, I have an entirely new level system for this function, ’ I thought, surprised. ‘ I guess two was the most I could summon with this level, anyways, so I’m glad these two got picked. ’ As much as I would appreciate Pucci’s ability to steal attributes and memories with his Stand, and Kirito’s swordsmanship, I needed people with more niche abilities. The force was incredibly powerful, in the right hands, as was Raven’s magic. That, plus their real combat experience put them above the rest. Again, I wondered why the hell a six-year-old was in the gacha pool as a summon card, but whatever. It made me wonder what the hell else was in the gacha.

Speaking of, I had one token I could use, so I took it out and bit it.

[Rolling 1x Gacha Token…]

[Rolling…]

[Entry 33 Rolled…]

[<Dual Class Bracer> Added to {Inventory}!]
<Dual Class Bracer>
Allows the wearer to select a second class and store it within the bracer. The active and stored class can be swapped at will, but the stored class will only gain 50% XP. That is reduced to 25% when an additional bracer is worn.

I smiled as I withdrew the bracer, immediately putting it on over my sleeve. A system prompt appeared as soon as the clasp had been closed.

[Relic Item <Dual Class Bracer> Equipped! So long as it is equipped, your Dual-Class will level up once per two of your normal class’ levels! Select a dual class, now!]
{ Warrior }
{ Rogue }
{ Mage }

‘ Awesome, ’ my smile widened into a grin. Now, then, what to choose? The way I saw it, I had two options: enhance my magic even further, or pick up a martial class to assist with my physical dps. The <Yamato> picked up my slack there, because of its dimension-cutting sharpness, but I was still relatively new to swordsmanship, so having a class to help with that would be great, but at the same time… I could further increase my magic capabilities. Come on . As much as I liked swinging a sword, and cutting through bones, vines, and trunks, I liked using magic to obliterate things even more. ‘ Mage it is. ’

[Dual Class {Mage} Confirmed! Select a Subclass:]
{ Bard }
{ Summoner }
{ Cleric }
{ Advanced Elementalist }
{ Anti-Mage }
{ Pure Mage }

Mostly the same options, with the exceptions of {Advanced Elementalist} and {Pure Mage}. The latter, I assumed was opposite to the {Anti-Mage} class, dealing in pure mana as opposed to whatever anti-mana was. From what I could gather, it would give me the mana affinity, like God’s attribute crystal offered. I wasn’t that interested in that, however, so I focused on the {Advanced Elementalist} and {Anti-Mage} classes.

The former would proffer advanced sub-elements of the core six: lightning, crystals, metal, ice, blood, nature, healing, holy, blessings, curses, and demonic. I could technically do all of those with the source elements, but it was much more difficult than doing it via their respected affinity gates.

The {Anti-Mage} class got me thinking, though. I had done my research in the months since my rebirth, and I hadn’t ever heard of such a thing as anti-mana, or anything conceptually similar. These people hadn’t even thought up the premise of something opposite to mana, so it was unheard of. That meant there were no biases towards or against it, as I was worried about when initially choosing my class.

Aside from that, I wondered how anti-mana interacted with normal mana. Was it like how antimatter reacted to positive matter? Did it simply negate, and cancel it out, or did it cause an explosive reaction?

Aside from that aside, I didn’t want to pick my next major class for something that would take twice as long to level up.

[Dual Subclass {Anti-Mage} Confirmed!]
Per Level:
+1 STR, CON, END, DEX, CHA, LCK
+2 WIS
+3 INT
+5 Stat Points

[Skills <Anti-Mana Affinity> and <Anti-Mana Control> Learned!]
<Anti-Mana Affinity> (1/100)
+5% EXP with all Anti-Mana-related skills.
<Anti-Mana Control> (1/100)
You can passively control anti-mana with greater efficacy.

I blinked, not having expected getting a second set of stats per level. This essentially doubled my already doubled stats, which would be doubled again by my soul rank. I would get stronger six times faster than a normal person. More than that, thanks to the now ten stat points I would get per level.

I excused myself for a moment to use the bathroom, and summoned a clone. He nodded to me and disappeared into the dungeon, going to practice our new magic. I did this, because I wanted to keep it a secret, even from my parents. An ace in the hole, like the <Shadow Clone Jutsu>. If nobody in this world knew something like it existed, then I’d rather keep it hidden until I needed it, but that didn’t mean I could neglect it, either. The sooner I got it to max, the better; just in case. I checked my eyes to see if there were any changes, but the only one I could see was a slight haziness around my left iris.

‘ Kinda like Ilyor, ’ I chuckled. She didn’t have an anti-mana affinity, though; I would’ve seen it through <Observe>. Speaking of, I was wondering why it hadn’t reached level one-hundred, yet. I knew from <Mana Control> that it required a milestone of some kind; in that case, reaching the eighth awakening. What would <Observe> require to reach max, though?

Man, I needed more upgrade tickets…

[Perhaps upgrade the gacha function, next time you get one…]

‘ Perhaps indeed, ’ I grinned. ‘ I like the way you think, system. ’

[I aim to please.]

When no clone death occurred, I returned to the workshop, where Raven and Obi-Wan were having a friendly chat about their respective battles. They knew everything about one another via my memories, but I knew well enough that it was different hearing it from the person themself.

Obi-Wan turned to me as I came in. “Now that you have that going, you should try storing one of us, if I may suggest,” he said. “I want to know what it feels like.”

I nodded and brought up the menu, then moved him into the storage. He popped out of existence without so much as a sound, appearing in the inventory-like grid space as the icon that was on his card, with his level in a bottom corner. I brought Obi-Wan back out, and he appeared with a grin on his face.

“Very interesting,” he said. “It is a pocket dimension that takes the form of a vast villa, though only the common spaces and two bedrooms were unlocked. The kitchen was stocked, and the bathrooms had running water. There was even a television set with access to all of the TV shows you had seen, including the animated rendition of the clone wars.”

“How were you able to explore all of that in a few seconds?” I asked.

“It seems to be separate from this world and your timeline,” he answered. “Indeed, I felt that I could be brought out a few seconds after entering, yet I knew somehow that I could wait with no consequences. No matter how long I spent in there, no additional time had passed out here!”

“In short, wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff,” I said. I understood what he was getting at, but the reference was right there. Essentially, he was saying that I could summon him at any time, but he could also spend as much time as he wanted inside at the same time. Say I call for him to be summoned one day, and he appears instantly. From his perspective, he could’ve waited a week inside the storage before accepting. Or, he could’ve accepted instantly. Zero lag on my end, but it gave him as much time as he needed.

“I’m going to put you both into storage, and draw one of you out a bit later than the other. I don’t want either of you to accept until the other has the request, though,” I said, getting nods before sending them away. I immediately called for Obi-Wan to return, and he appeared with a grin on his face. “So?” I asked.

“We both left at the same exact time, yet she hasn’t arrived here. As expected.”

“What did you talk about, in there?” I asked, wanting to test a theory. If what I thought was true, then this could be major.

“She told me about her team, and her relationships within it,” Obi-Wan answered. “She mentioned building a car with her cyborg friend.”

I hummed and brought out Raven. She appeared and looked over at us with a small smile. “You were talking about the T-Car when I brought you back, correct?” I asked her, getting a nod in return. Oh, I could think of so many ways to use this method of communication. If I ever got a science-type summon, they’d have a hell of a time in there. It was unfortunate that I couldn’t go in there, myself.

[Upgrade tickets…]

‘ Right, I keep forgetting… ’ I smiled wryly. “Well, you two can go in there any time you want. For now, let’s start engraving the dais with the basic higher tier circle.” I took out a few hammers and chisels and gestured to the dais, where I had drawn the basic circle. The first step in upgrading it to thread faster.

“Stone masonry,” Raven cocked her head to the side. “I never thought I would partake in that art…”

Chapter Text

“Happy birthday!” I greeted my elder brother with a tight hug as he walked into the dining hall with mother. He laughed and hugged me back while mother looked down at us with a grin. “How does it feel to be nine?” I asked.

“I don’t feel all that different, but it’s cool to think about the fact that I’ve been in this world for nine whole years,” Ravelus answered. “I’m just excited to see grandma and grandpa, more than anything.”

I nodded in agreement. “I want to meet them, too!”

“They’ll be here at lunch,” mother ruffled the hair atop our heads. “For now, you two should eat your fill, so we can begin our plans for the day!”

Ravelus beamed while I smiled knowingly. I knew some of what mother and father had in store for Ravelus, as I had been minorly involved in its planning. They had kept me in the dark about a few things, though.

We had a wonderful breakfast, delicious as always, before going down into the courtyard, where Ravelus’s three tutors were. Earl Frariel and Viscountess Klisnik, I knew. I had been to a few of Ravelus’s lessons, in the past, and always made sure to leave an impression on them. Partly because the looks on their faces were always hilarious, but mostly because they would report my ‘talent’ to mother and father. Their praise was always worth the effort, in my eyes. The third tutor was a new hire, a retired professor from the academy, who offered to teach Ravelus after he returned to Eilon. He was a stout Elven man with broad shoulders, golden hair, and icy-blue eyes.

[Orir Harn]
Race: Elf;
Titles: Swordmaster; Academy Dueling Master:
Age: 297
Rank: Ice Spirit Avatar (1.8x)
Affinities: Ice;
Level: 401 (7%)
Health Status: 21650/21650
Mana Status: 14430/14430 (5.6/m) (7th)
Stamina Status: 21650/21650
Body: 2165(1203) (+3/)
Mind: 1443(802) (+2/)
Spirit: 2165(1203) (+3/)
Status: Curious, Joy, Content, Healthy.
Thoughts On You: Curiosity; Bittersweet Joy;

I almost choked on my tongue when I saw his level. He was the first person I had seen over level four-hundred, though I’d see several who approached that mark. His mana approached mother’s, and he wasn’t even a mage specialist! And twenty-one-thousand HP...?! He was the avatar for an ice spirit, too, which had to mean something, since mother was one, too. He eyed me as we approached, but turned his attention to Ravelus and nodded.

“Happy birthday, Your Highness,” He said, bowing.

“Happy birthday, Your Highness,” the Earl and Viscountess followed suit.

“Thanks!” Ravelus chirped before pausing and glancing at the Earl, who narrowed his eyes. Ravelus righted himself and spoke in a more formal tone, “I mean, your congratulations are appreciated.” The Earl nodded in appreciation. “Sir Harn, I don’t believe you’ve met my younger brother, Prince Alistair,” Ravelus addressed his third tutor.

“No, I have not,” Sir Harn looked me up and down visibly before bowing. “It is a pleasure, Your Highness. Your brother speaks of you often.”

“Good things, I hope,” I smiled and nodded to him. “It is my pleasure, SIr Harn. Thank you for taking the time to tutor my elder brother.”

“It is an honor to serve my future king,” Sir Harn said simply. “Now, I believe we had something to do, your Majesties?” He looked to Aedon and Rel.

“Yes,” father nodded, looking to me. I nodded and raised a hand, prompting a silver crown to appear there. I handed it to father with a bow, to which he nodded in return before turning to Ravelus. “Son, it’s time I gave you your crown. Passed down from generation to generation, much like that which I wear now. It is upon a royal child’s ninth birthday that they receive this, and are expected to begin acting their role. In your case, it is as the Crowned-Prince of Eilon.”

Ravelus could only gape in shock at the sight of the crown - a modest, yet regal circlet embedded with small blue crystals that glowed with a soft light. Soul gems, I was told they were. “With this crown comes an oath,” father said seriously, yet gently. “To uphold our family code and that of our kingdom. To protect the innocent and weak, no matter the cost. To defend our borders and our principles with your very life. Are you willing to give your life for our nation, Ravelus?”

Ravelus paused, eyes glazing over as he seriously considered the concept. He knew he would one day be king. He had been told so and prepared for that inevitability from the moment he could comprehend speech. He knew of all the major conflicts between what would be his kingdom and those that sought to destroy it, chief among them being Axriel. He hadn’t, however, considered the fact that he may lose his life in seeking to protect what was his.

He knew he would die to protect his family. Without a doubt.

He would die to save his friends, surely. They were like extended family to him.

He would probably die to protect the staff at the castle, if the need arose - not that he could do much, currently. He’d only begun sword training recently, after all, and his magic paled in comparison to his eight-years-younger brother.

For the kingdom? It was a big place, with millions of citizens. If he had to either die in their place, or fail in his duty to protect them, as their King… he would gladly die. 

At the same time, he knew that wasn’t the only thing his father was referring to. The duties of a King never ceased. Day after day, Ravelus would spend the rest of his life seeking to ensure the happiness and prosperity of his people, barely having a moment to breathe before diving back into the sea of politics.

He knew a bit about the internal politics of the kingdom, being a smart lad. His father and mother often explained their troubles to him, in order to prepare him for what he would one-day face. It helped him develop his opinions, and he was glad for it. His sense of justice and charity came mostly from those sessions, as he offered his naive two-coppers for his parents to judge.

Long story short, was he willing to give up his life to the role of Kingship, even without giving up his life?

“Yes,” Ravelus said. “I will gladly give up my life for this kingdom. For our cause.”

We all smiled at his usage of the world ‘will,’ knowing that was the test, with this scenario. “Good,” father said. “We have two years to prepare you for the academy; your training will begin in earnest. For now, however, you should enjoy your birthday.” He knelt and rested the silver crown on Ravelus’s head. “And wear this with pride, knowing you are worthy of the throne, at least in spirit. Your mind and body, will ripen with time. Fear not, you have many years to grow, before I secede the throne to you.”

“Yes, fa-… Your Majesty,” Ravelus bowed deeply.

A maid approached through the kitchens and bowed to everyone present. “King and Queen Ne’Zir have arrived, Your Majesties,” she said.

“Early, as usual,” Aedon muttered, getting a slap on the wrist from his wife.

“Come on, boys, let’s go greet your grandparents~! You three are dismissed, but you’ll be expected at the celebration!”

“Farewell, Your Majesties,” Sir Harn bowed. The other two echoed his statement, bowing even deeper.

The four of us were led by the maid to the reception hall of the castle, Ravelus holding his head up high the entire way. He didn’t have cat ears or a tail, like me, so the crown sat atop his head unobstructed. His fiery-red hair, like father’s, had grown out a bit, falling down around his ears in a similar style to father’s. It was an easy comparison, as they looked alike even with how young Ravelus was.

We waited for a few minutes before the broad doors to the front courtyard opened wide, admitting five people. The first was a massive man with proportionally-insufficient cat ears. His tail ended shortly after protruding from his dress robes. He had graying black hair, and his eyes shifted between green and blue. He wore a stoic expression as his eyes drifted across the four of us, lingering on me and my mother first, then upon Ravelus’s crown.

[Revil Ne’Zir]
Race: Beastkin (Cat);
Titles: King of Rhana’Vi; Equalist;
Age: 68
Rank: Beastial Spirit Avatar (1.8x)
Affinities: Water; Nature;
Level: 391 (81%)
Health Status: 21110/21110
Mana Status: 21110/21110 (14.7/m) (8th)
Stamina Status: 14070/14080
Body: 2111(1173) (+3/)
Mind: 2111(1173) (+3/)
Spirit: 1407(782) (+2/)
Status: Excitement, Joy, Content, Healthy.
Thoughts On You: Curiosity; Joy; Excitement;

The second was a woman with as bright a white hair as mine and my mothers, though she had fox ears and a much bushier tail. She wore a smile, staring into my eyes the whole time as they approached. Her eyes flickered between gold and green.

[Levini Ne’Zir]
Race: Beastkin (Fox);
Titles: Queen of Rhana’Vi; Equalist;
Age: 67
Rank: Half Light Spirit (3x)
Affinities: Light; Nature;
Level: 203 (99%)
Health Status: 12180/12180
Mana Status: 18270/18270 (12.6/m) (8th)
Stamina Status: 12180/12180
Body: 1218(406) (+2/)
Mind: 1827(609) (+3/)
Spirit: 1218(406) (+2/)
Status: Excitement, Joy, Content, Healthy.
Thoughts on you: Curiosity; Joy; Excitement; Familial Infatuation;

Third and fourth were a younger couple - a bit older than mother and father, the girl with black hair and fox features, and the boy with blonde hair and patches of scales. They were focused on my mother, grinning.

[Allia Ne’Zir]
Race: Beastkin (Fox);
Titles: Crowned-Princess of Rhana’Vi;
Age: 34
Rank: Mortal (1x)
Affinities: Light;
Level: 106 (77%)
Health Status: 1060/1060
Mana Status: 3180/3180 (3.1/m) (5th)
Stamina Status: 1060/1060
Body: 106 (+1/)
Mind: 318 (+3/)
Spirit: 212 (+2/)
Status: Excitement, Joy, Content, Ill.
Thoughts on you: Excitement; Familial Infatuation;

[Zellin Ne’Zir]
Race: Beastkin (Snake);
Titles: Prince-Consort of Rhana’Vi;
Age: 32
Rank: Mortal** (1.4x)
Affinities: Darkness; Water;
Level: 191 (56%)
Health Status: 5340/5340
Mana Status: 2670/2670 (2.6/m) (5th)
Stamina Status: 5340/5340
Body: 534(382) (+2/)
Mind: 267(191) (+1/)
Spirit: 267(191) (+1/)
Status: Joy, Content, Worry.
Thoughts on you: Interest; Familial Infatuation;

The last was a small boy with the features of a fox and a snake - something I didn’t know could happen. He looked cool, with slit pupils and big, fluffy fox ears. He beamed up at me, a few centimeters shorter than me, then at Ravelus. His smile was very earnest and adorable.

[Grein Ne’Zir]
Race: Beastkin (Fox); Beastkin (Snake);
Titles: Prince of Rhana’Vi;
Age: 5
Rank: Mortal (1x)
Affinities: N/A
Level: 4 (73%)
Health Status: 80/80
Mana Status: 80/80 (.8/m) (N/A)
Stamina Status: 80/80
Body: 8 (+2/)
Mind: 8 (+2/)
Spirit: 8 (+2/)
Status: Joy, Content, Ill.
Thoughts on you: Interest; Awe;

“Daughter,” Revil said stoically, standing before his daughter and her family. “It is pleasant to see you again. I long for the days when travel was easier.”

“Indeed,” Rel said, maintaining a dignified pose for a few seconds before rushing forward and embracing the man. She quickly broke the hug and moved over to her mother and sister, wrapping her arms around either of their necks and squeezing. “I’ve missed you all! I can’t believe it’s been an entire year!”

“Sister,” Allia patted mother’s arm as she started to go blue in the face. “Air… Need… air…”

“Oh, sorry!” Rel gasped, releasing Allia and channeling healing magic on her throat. “I forget my own strength!”

“All of you people are unnaturally strong,” Allia jested. “You make us normal folk look like children, before you.”

“Oh, it’s not that drastic,” Rel waved her off, though she was immediately met with deadpanned gazes from everyone, save for Ravelus and Grein. “Okay, maybe it’s an apt comparison…”

Levini coughed into her fist and grinned once more, rushing forward and snatching me up into a hug. I was shocked, for a moment, but eased and settled into it, wrapping my arms around her neck in return. I was still a bit irked by the action, though, as I believed Ravelus should’ve been addressed first. “Oh, your ears are so cute~! Just like your mother’s!”

“Th-thank you, Your Majesty,” I stammered, not sure what to do.

“I’m your grandma! You can call me by my name, no worries~!” She cooed.

“You haven’t been introduced, dear,” Revil said. “Hello, Alistair; I am Revil Ne’Zir, King of Rhana’Vi. The woman holding you is my wife, Queen Levini Ne’Zir.”

“H-hello, it’s nice to meet you,” I said, trying not to make a bad impression despite my position.

“He’s very polite,” Levini said, looking to mother. “More so than your letters indicated.”

“He’s been doing better,” Rel flushed at having been outed for her words about me. I sent her a subtle, half-hearted glare, which she received in kind.

“You always did have a habit of exaggerating things,” Allia laughed. “Give him here, I want to see if sister has been taking care of his tail.”

“A-Allia!” Rel flushed even further. I was passed over to my aunt like a cat, held under the arms with my legs hanging down below me, unable to move as I was handled by these people who were stronger than me. Technically, I was stronger than Allia, but I wasn’t about to fight back against my extended family… I gave her a grin as she looked me up and down before turning me over and grabbing my tail. A jolt ran up my spine as all of the nerves within lit up like fireworks at the touch, making me shiver.

“Soft, with no knots. Good,” she set me down. I was still stiff, stuck in the position I had been in while being held as I tried to process the sensation. I felt cold. Violated. Nobody had ever grabbed my tail before, and now I understood why it was such an issue in fiction back on Earth.

“You’ve gone and done it, now, dear,” Zellin sighed, looking down at me, then at my mother. “Your sister might kill you, for that.”

Grein came over to me and poked my cheek, scratching his chin with his other hand. “Are you alright?” He asked.

I eventually calmed down and nodded, not looking at anyone as I went and hid behind Ravelus, trying to hide my red cheeks as I did so.

“Now he’s afraid of us…” Levini said in exasperation, glaring at her first-born. “I understand being worried about his hygiene, but did you have to be so rough…?”

She chuckled, looking at me. “I’m sorry, little one. That must’ve been the first time someone has grabbed your tail… I understand it’s much more sensitive for cat folk than foxes like me.”

‘ Why the hell isn't <Gamer’s Mind> working?! ’ I demanded in my head, forcing myself to calm down and come back around my brother. “It’s alright, ma’am. I just didn’t expect it, is all.”

“He’s had a bad experience with unknown women snatching him up and touching him,” Rel was still fuming, but she held herself back. She was probably referring to Siv, which made me smile wryly. That scenario still haunted me.

“Does he? What have you allowed to happen to my grandson, Rel?” Levini demanded, narrowing her eyes at her daughter.

“It- It was his idea!” She pointed at me, panicked. I had never seen her like this before - it was somewhat entertaining, to be honest. Normally, she wore the pants in any conflict like this - even had her husband cowed to her demands. Her mother, though, seemed to surpass her in that regard. “He’s the one that sent his attendants off, leaving him alone with that big-breasted bitch!”

“Big-breasted bitch!” Grein giggled. I had to stifle a laugh as mother’s family glared at her. Father was smiling triumphantly, as if he’d won some great prize. He probably didn’t see his wife like this, often.

“Don’t say that, grandson,” Revil said, getting a nervous nod from the boy. I’d be intimidated too, if this man ordered me not to do something. “Rel, you should know better than to swear in front of children.”

Mother’s face reddened. No wonder she cracked down so hard on Ilyor and Vaquin - her parents were the same way. Was she, perhaps, afraid they would find out about her children learning such words, and punish her like a child, herself? Like Vaquin, checking over his shoulder every time he cussed, just in case an errant stone struck his brow?

I could’ve done what I usually did, and pin my ‘learning a cuss word’ on mother to get a reaction out of her parents, but I thought she had been embarrassed enough in front of her family.

It would’ve been very funny, though.

“Anyways,” Zellin grunted. “I believe we have a special someone in our midst… one whose head now carries a crown…?”

“Yes,” Allia smiled, kneeling in front of Ravelus and pulling him into a hug. “Happy birthday, Ravelus! You look so regal with that crown on your head!”

“Thank you,” Ravelus said, trying to remain dignified despite the blush on his face.

“Happy birthday, grandson,” Revil barked, clasping his hands behind his back and nodding to the boy. Levini echoed his statement, smiling.

“Why don’t we head to a sitting room, and get lunch called in,” Aedon said, patting his tomato-red wife on the shoulder as he turned. “I’m sure you’d all appreciate softer seats than those in a carriage.”

“Yes, I think that would be lovely,” Levini said. “Oh, we have so much to catch up on!”

*****

By ‘so much’ she meant me. I felt terrible, because for the next three hours, all of us sat in a room while my grandparents relentlessly asked about me. Today was supposed to be about Ravelus, yet he was sidelined because of me. I felt even worse, because I couldn’t do anything about it. I tried several times to change the subject over to Ravelus’s studies, his new tutor, his rapidly-developing magic, but they always shifted back to me. 

Eventually, I just got up and walked over to where he was sitting, and started asking him about what it was like to spar with Sir Harn. He grinned innocently at me and recounted the story of his first duel with the man, where he got his ass handed to him time and time again. Harn was fast and relentless, with the strength of an earth golem and the perception of a spirit. He used a blade of ice, too. One he generated with his magic.

“It was exhausting, but I actually enjoyed it a lot!” Ravelus said, thinking back fondly. “I get excited every time I think about picking up a blade again, because I know being like him is a thing that’s actually possible for me!”

I smiled knowingly, but kept my thoughts to myself. He would enjoy what came later in the night, certainly. “I’m sure you’ll be able to beat him in no time!” I encouraged him. “Maybe you can teach me, once you’re good enough?”

“Yeah!” He cheered. “Then, you can teach me magic!”

“Gladly,” I smiled.

[Ravelus Eil]
Race: Human;
Titles: Crowned-Prince of Eilon;
Age: 9
Rank: Nature Spirit Avatar (1.8x)
Affinities: Nature;
Level: 7 (33%)
Health Status: 370/370
Mana Status: 250/250 (.2/m) (1st)
Stamina Status: 370/370
Body: 37(21) (+3/)
Mind: 25(14) (+2/)
Spirit: 25(14) (+2/)
Status: Happiness, Sadness.
Thoughts on you: Familial Love; Joy; Admiriation;

He had actually leveled up twice since I first observed him, eleven months ago. A testament to the efforts he was putting into his studies. You see, I level up differently than other people. I have a numerical EXP threshold, which is just that, experience. Normal people gain experience by… experiencing things, while I do so though defeating enemies. This means I could level up faster than normal people, but to do so I had to defeat enemies, while normal people only had the option of doing so. They could earn EXP through studies, training, speech, and other such activities.

That’s why a non-combatant like Allia could reach level one-hundred without killing - she was a very active voice in the Rhana’Vi political sphere. Now, all of those secondary methods paled in comparison to killing people and monsters, but it was still possible to reach high levels the pacifist route. I didn’t have that option. I was, by the nature of my system, destined to be violent. A part of me hated that, but a deeper, sicker part of me reveled in it.

Apparently, I had been staring off into space for a while, because Grein hopped up onto the couch next to me and laid sideways, resting his head on my lap and staring up at me. This action caught me off guard, making me jolt in surprise. “You’re big for being a baby,” he said. “Mommy said I was tiny as a baby, but you’re bigger than me!”

“Y-yes,” I smiled down at him. “I grew quicker than most people. It’s ‘cause I have so much magic!”

“Magic is awesome,” he beamed. “Can you show me something?”

“Uh,” I looked to Ravelus, who shrugged. “Sure. What’s your favorite animal?”

“A shark!” He exclaimed happily. I nodded and picked him up, then set him down as I got up. I generated a small flame above my thumb, then willed it to remain as I drew a shark. This was actually the first time I had ever used my skill <Mind’s-Eye Replication>, drawing upon an image I had seen of a hammerhead shark in my past life to sketch a decent image of the same shark in three dimensions using flame. Three dimensions as in multiple layers, not an actual 3D shark.

[Skill <Mind’s-Eye Replication> Leveled Up! (2/100)]

“Woah!” Grein and Ravelus gaped at the display. “What kind of shark is that?! I’ve never seen one like it!”

“It’s called a hammerhead,” I said. “Because its head looks like a hammer, like blacksmiths use. Its eyes are on the end, here, so it can see very broadly, and it can ram things.”

“Awesome!”

“Having fun over there, grandsons?” Revil asked, standing to get a better look at the image.

“Yeah! Alistair has awesome fire magic, and drew a picture of a shark I’ve never seen before!” Grein said. “He said it hits things with its head, like a hammer!”

Aedon raised an eyebrow at me, and I nodded, confirming that it did actually exist. At least, it did on Earth.

“It takes quite a bit of control, to maintain such a picture,” Revil hummed, inspecting the lines. “To focus, and create a coherent image takes skill.”

Here they were, praising me again. I didn't know why- actually, that’s a lie, because I did know why I didn’t enjoy it as much as I did when mother and father praised me. However much my parents praised me, they praised Ravelus an equal amount. The affection was always level, in this family, with no favorites to be found. When it came to my grandparents, however, it was obvious that they favored me. Why? Because I was good at magic? No, their first-born daughter wasn’t particularly gifted with magic, for her age, yet they treated her the same.

In fact, they didn’t seem to interact with father a lot, either, as if they weren’t fond of him. Was it because Ravelus had father’s hair? No, I had streaks of red in my hair, too. I didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but I couldn’t help but feel like it had to do with the fact that they were fully Human. I tried to think of other reasons, but… none came to mind. Did my grandparents dislike Humans? That would be awfully awkward, considering they both have titles called ‘Equalist’.

I suppose my subconscious caught on before my conscious mind did, and suppressed the joy I felt when they talked about me. Maybe that’s why I felt compelled to frown when he talked about how good my mana control must be to achieve such a thing, so young. Why I flinched when Levini hugged me, while she hadn’t touched Ravelus. It upset me deeply, to see my brother neglected. It was like he wasn’t even there.

I felt calm wash over me as <Gamer’s Mind> took effect. Why this time, and not before? I had no idea. Still, I frowned as I dismissed the art and returned to my seat next to Ravelus. I knew, then, why he was sad. He hid it well, behind his usual smile, but he longed for attention from his grandparents, and it was denied to him just because he didn’t have animal features.

I decidedly ignored my grandparents for the rest of the time we spent in the sitting room, no matter how hard mother and father tried to get me to respond. If Ravelus wasn’t good enough for them, then I wasn’t, either. It didn’t matter if they were the King and Queen of a sister nation. Nobody disrespects my family.

I did talk to my aunt, uncle, and cousin, though. They actually acknowledged Ravelus, and actively involved him in the conversation, whenever they could. Zellin in particular was very interesting. Apparently, reptilian beastkin were rare, and frowned upon within the community. He had been Allia’s assigned knight, guarding her until the two fell in love and got married, having Grein a few years later. He seemed like a cool guy - nice to talk to and kind. He had some cool stories to tell, as well.

Allia was nice, too, despite her rather rough nature. She was as normal as normal could get, in my opinion. Average magic, for a beastkin her age, average bodily strength, but an above-average intellect. At least, as far as speech went. She was rather slow, when it came to the magical theory we ended up discussing.

Grein was simply adorable. That’s all there was to be said about him.

*****

The time for dinner came, and people started to arrive in the reception hall, where long tables had been erected. The noteable nobility were there, as well as a few of Ravelus’s friends, like Kyun. It was fun, catching up with the bubbly girl. She was happy to hear about the success I’d found in my business, and in my magic practice. She, herself, had leveled up a couple times through the use of her magic.

Ravelus, Kyun, Grein, and I talked about random things in one corner of the room, occasionally approached by another noble child. The group grew, and Ravelus got some much-deserved attention. He was no longer sad, according to his status, so I was happy. I knew I’d have to do something about how my grandparents treated him, however. That shit didn’t fly with me.

Everyone found a seat, father and mother at the head of the table with me and my brother on either side of them. Father then stood and cleared his throat, causing all conversation to cease as everyone turned their attention to him. “Today we celebrate the ninth birthday and silver crowning of my first-born son, Prince Ravelus Eil. To do so, I’ve had the kitchens conjure a mighty feast in his name! All of his favorite foods, served in four courses, followed by a special dessert! After that, he will open the gifts you all have so-generously brought. Then, finally, a dance!”

The crowd clapped politely, grins on their faces. It was well-known that the castle chefs were the best in the kingdom, even better than those in any Lord’s manor, so the food alone was enough to crave an invitation. Aside from that, the political clout that could be gained from having been invited to such an event, and through mingling during the event would make most power-hungry nobles salivate. They spent exorbitant amounts of money on gifts, as if to bid between each other for the recipient’s favor.

The food came out and was, as expected, delicious. Better than anything I had tasted before, in fact. It started off simple, with a beef stew, but it was seasoned to perfection. Then, a cut of lamb was delivered to every person, accompanied by a freshly-baked and buttered roll. The meat was tender and rich with flavor, and the roll crumpled satisfyingly beneath my teeth. Third, a salad mixed with magical herbs came out, and it was better than any Caesar salad I’d had back on Earth, even though it had no dressing. 

Fourth, slices of fish topped with rice, like reverse nigiri. I savored the taste, even as my stomach was filling up. Fortunately, each platter was sized accordingly, so all could be consumed in their entirety, according to the age of the recipient. All the while, everyone was supplied with wines and flavored drinks from distant lands, at which point everyone began to get very merry. Giggles, laughter, and conversation echoed through the hall. 

I maintained a conversation with Ravelus and my family, asking about birthdays of the past, and how this compared. Apparently, this party was poppin’, yo.

‘ I hate myself for that, ’ I scowled internally.

Once everyone had finished, and all of the empty platters had been removed and drinks refilled, bowls of a white substance were set before each person, then doused with liquid fudge. It was, of course, ice cream. Many foods I had enjoyed in my past life did not exist in this world. The technology and theory simply wasn’t there, yet, so many of those things weren’t yet possible. Something like ice cream, however, could be done with the ingredients and some ice magic. With permission from mother and father, I had taught the recipe to the kitchen staff for this night, to give my brother a surprise.

“This,” father addressed the eagerly-waiting nobles, “is a dessert item my younger son Alistair devised. He calls it ice cream. It’s best to eat it quickly, before it melts, but doing so too fast can give you something he calls a brain freeze, which is not what it sounds like, apparently. Either way, enjoy, and don’t be afraid to ask for more!”

They were naturally hesitant to try a food item ‘created’ by an infant, but when they saw how Ravelus and Grein were devouring theirs, they came to the conclusion that it wouldn’t be bad. Slowly, they began bustling with excitement as they tried the treat, awed at the flavor and texture. The biting cold milk, cream, and vanilla mixed with the warm, rich, chocolate-y fudge were among the best things they had ever tasted.

Soon, the servants were rushed to bring out bowl after bowl. And, of course, people who ate too much, too quickly, were met with a sharp, cold pain in their heads. I did warn them, so they couldn’t blame me.

After everyone had their fill of ice cream and melted fudge, we began migrating to the throne room, where a pile of gifts sat next to a silver throne, which father had commissioned of the Andre’s. Kyun and her mother looked on in pride as Aedon led Ravelus to the throne and helped him up into it. He took me onto his lap as he sat on his own throne, mother taking hers beside him with a pout.

“We shall begin with the gifts from our family,” Aedon said, gesturing to a servant. “Starting with Alistair’s gift.”

A box was pulled from the stack and proffered to the young prince, who accepted it with a gleeful smile of anticipation. The ribbon was swiftly removed, and the lid handed away to reveal the garment beneath. Ravelus took it and held it out, revealing it to be the blue cloak I had bought, had embroidered and enchanted.

“I enchanted it, myself. Self-repairing, self-cleaning, defense, magic-absorption, comfort, and warming,” I said.

“It’s embroidered with our family crest!” Ravelus admired the cloak before standing and slinging it around his shoulder. “It matches yours, too!”

“I thought we could wear them together,” I grinned.

“Thank you!” Brother exclaimed before remembering himself and acting his role. “Your gift is wonderful, brother.”

I couldn’t help but snort, earning a pat on the arm from father so I, too, could remember myself.

“Next, my wife’s gift,” Aedon said, nodding to the servant, who grabbed a smaller box. Ravelus accepted it and gracefully opened it to find a signet ring within, marked with the Eil and Ne’Zir family crests. The ring was silver, with accents of darksteel, and was rimmed with small emeralds.

“It is a crest ring, representing your heritage,” mother explained. “It acts as a minor magical focus, and can store you mana, giving you a boost, if you need it.”

“Thank you, mother,” Ravelus grinned, putting it on. “Maybe… you could teach me how to use it, later?”

“Of course, son,” Rel smiled.

“Mine is next,” Aedon motioned again. The servant grabbed a long, thin object, which had two perpendicular outcroppings near one end of its length, making it obvious that it was a sword. Ravelus beamed as the package was carefully-rested in his lap, looking between the thing and his father, who nodded towards him with a chuckle.

Ravelus unwound the cloth wrapped around the sword with glee, revealing the hilt first. The guard and pommel were made of pure mithril, one of the rarest resources in the world. The wrap around the handle was wyvern hide, resistant to all elements and surprisingly comfortable. A large sapphire was embedded into the center of the guard, glowing mildly.

Next came the scabbard, which was made of a wood called ‘sabrac limb.’ It only grew in underwater groves, and was just as rare as the mithril that accented it at its tip and by the opening. Ravelus’s name was engraved into the mithril near the opening on one side, inlaid with silver, while the Eil family crest occupied the opposite side.

Ravelus once again looked to father, who nodded, before standing and slowly drawing the blade. It was pristine, made entirely of mithril, sleek and long. To be honest, it was the most beautiful weapon I had ever seen. I’d have felt jealous if I wasn’t happy for him. Ravelus took up a stance and held the sword out in front of him, then swung it horizontally before bringing it up and into its sheath at his side. He shut his eyes for a moment before nodding and bowing deeply to mother and father. “Thank you for this incredible gift. I will use it well.”

“I know you will,” father smiled. “Now, let us continue!”

The rest of the gifts, including those from my grandparents, were rather mundane. At least, by the standards set by me, mother, and father. Books and scrolls, clothing and other such stuff. I was greatly disappointed when my grandparents gave Ravelus a pouch of gold - ten pieces - between the two of them. They couldn’t even bother to get him an actual gift for what was supposed to be his second-most-important birthday. Still, Ravelus looked happy to receive it, so I maintained a smile.

The time for gifts passed, and everything was brought up to Ravelus’s room while everyone returned to the hall. The tables had been cleared out, freeing the large space. A small orchestra had set up along one edge of the room, with instruments I was happily-surprised to recognize. Violins, cellos, violas, trumpets, horns, flutes, a piano, and more. They started to play a pleasant melody as everyone entered. By then, the sun had begun to set beyond the massive windows opposite the orchestra, leaving the room to rely on candles. Only for a moment, however, as mother waved her hand and conjured dozens of balls of glowing mana, providing a cool light.

“Dance, and be merry,” Aedon ordered, taking his wife by the hand with a grin on his face. “My son is a year older and wiser! Let us all become dumb, before this night is over!”

Everyone cheered and either took up their partners, or found someone to dance with. I stood awkwardly next to Ravelus as mother and father started dancing to the music, in a fashion similar to a square dance. It was cute, but that didn’t make it any less awkward for me.

“Alistair~! Ravelus~! Kyun is here to dance!” Kyun approached with a goofy grin on her face. Her mother followed behind her, smiling abashedly.

“Kyun, you should know better than to call them that without permission…” she chided her daughter. “I apologize, Your Highnesses. She can be overeager.”

“It’s quite alright, Miss Andre,” I said, happy to take this opportunity to alleviate my insecurities. “Kyun is more than welcome to refer to us informally. She is our friend, after all.”

“Yes, it’d feel weird for her to call us anything else, after so long,” Ravelus added.

“You’re too kind,” she smiled. “I don’t believe we’ve met, Prince Alistair. My name is Jiria Andre, head smith of the Andre estate. I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank you for your patronage.”

“Your work is unequaled,” I replied, holding out a hand for a shake. She took it firmly, squeezing lightly, though she did not realize it. She was a strong woman, though slight of frame. “I wouldn’t be nearly as successful without your backing. It is my pleasure to meet you, and to see Kyun again.”

“Enough chatting,” Kyun said, grabbing my hand. “Kyun hopes you know how to dance!”

I smiled awkwardly, knowing full well that I couldn’t dance for shit in my previous lifetime. Anne practiced with me before her wedding, but I always messed up. Fortunately, I now had my high dexterity stat, and the perks that came along with it, so I was able to keep up with Kyun as she danced sloppily, avoiding stepping on her toes and maintaining a proper posture. I mostly mimicked what I saw the couples around us doing, but it was hard with Kyun towing me around.

After the first song ended, she nodded approvingly and snatched Ravelus away from a conversation with her mother, dancing with him, too. I stood still for a moment, not knowing what to do next, before someone tapped my shoulder. I turned to see another girl, whom I recognized to be Duchess Ir’s daughter. The thought of the girl’s mother made me wince internally, but I didn’t have anything against the girl, herself. She was just being used as a pawn by her mother, in her efforts to gain power. She had probably been sent my way by her mother, who was probably watching from a distance.

Still, I couldn’t be rude to her, as she was a guest and had even bought her own present for brother - a charm created by a craftsman in her duchy said to bring luck to the person holding it - so I offered her a hand with a kind smile. She accepted it with pink cheeks, and we participated in a dance that was much easier to handle. I was able to keep up and maintain mine own and her dignity without much issue, despite her being a bit taller than me.

Even after so long, I was still getting used to being so short, again. I wasn’t any potential basketball player, on Earth, but I wasn’t a shortie, either. One could imagine how awkward it is for someone of my current stature to hold a sword like the <Yamato>. It was a miracle that I could swing it properly at all. Nevertheless, the song came to an end and the girl, Dreir, thanked me before skipping off into the crowd. I caught a glimpse of Duchess Ir in the distance, who had a familiar chameleon sitting on her shoulder.

I couldn’t help but smile, wondering what mother was thinking, hearing the woman’s thoughts.

Kyun came back and we danced again, and I was able to better match her pace. It was rather fun, honestly. I didn’t think I would like dancing, but when it was with someone I enjoyed the company of, it was more than tolerable. Kyun bounced between me and Ravelus with every song, and people would approach Ravelus or me in the mean time, including my mother, Kyun’s mother, and a few of the elderly noble ladies.

All in all, I had a lot of fun at Ravelus’s party.

Chapter Text

“Daughter,” Revil addressed his daughter as she was leading him and Levini to the room they would be staying in for the duration of their trip. “Alistair doesn’t seem too fond of us. Have you any idea as to why?”

“Honestly, no,” Rel sighed, completely unaware as to why I avoided my grandparents. “It’s hard to tell what’s going on in his head, most of the time. What I know for certain, however, is that he hungers for emotional connection. He was very excited to meet you both, in the days leading up to this, so I’m also puzzled as to why he acted so coldly towards you…”

“Did we do something wrong?” Levini asked, a frown on her face. “I don’t remember either of us saying anything that could’ve upset him… was I too clingy?”

“Not really,” Rel said with a shrug. “Plenty of people around him are even more touchy than you were, as much as I try to dissuade it, but he seems to have no real problem with it.”

“We’ll just have to try hard to get his favor, then,” Revil stated firmly. “His birthday is in a month. He might appreciate certain texts from the royal vault.”

“You don’t mean…” Rel’s eyes widened as she looked at her father. “That magic is stressful, even upon me, and I have a great spirit to assist! He may possess nearly as much mana as me, unrefined as it may be, but it could be dangerous!”

“He doesn’t have to even attempt it, in the near future,” Levini pitched in. “But if he is to attract a spirit of his own, he’ll need to do it sooner or later. Better to do it the traditional way, before he accidentally cuts himself off. We learned our lesson, with you.”

Rel blushed, but continued regarding her parents seriously. “Alistair is a very intuitive boy; eager to learn, quick to act, and very stubborn. If you give him that scroll, he will attempt it that very night, and as powerful and smart as he is, he may not be able to find his way back if he goes too far. Not to mention the beasts, and the terrain.”

“True as that may be, I believe he could do it,” Revil said. “My spirit tells me that Alistair’s potential far surpasses any being he has ever seen, even gods. Having him bond now would allow him to reach that potential, and perhaps grasp even further.”

Rel remained silent, worried, more than anything. Her second son was a prodigy among prodigies, and had knowledge from another world, but could I stack up against a higher plane of existence, and all it contained? What if she lost her son, because she and her parents were too eager to see him grow? Rel was already hesitant enough as she was, letting me venture into my dungeon and out into the city when I wasn’t even a year old, yet.

But at the same, she knew she couldn’t keep me contained forever. As much as she wanted to keep me as a baby, and simply live like that forever, I was a reincarnator, with intact memories and a blessing from the gods. She would never get that experience from me, as was made clear the moment she had seen that I attained my first awakening. It saddened her, somewhat, but she knew better than to mope about it.

‘ Alistair… ’ Rel thoughts, a sad smile on her face. ‘ Oh, how I wish to have been your first mother… to have raised such a fine young man… ’

‘ I just know you’ll be the greatest thing to happen to this world… ’

*****

The next day, I awoke to a rush of pain to my head, which quickly faded thanks to <Gamer’s Body>. My clone had finally finished his first excursion into the dungeon using anti-mana, and it had been very fruitful.

[Vine Whip (LVL 1) x488, Young Ent (LVL 3) x 201, Adult Ent (LVL 30) x11, Adult Ent (LVL 25) x8, Giant Vine Whip (LVL 50) x5, Giant Spider (LVL 10) x120, Giant Roach (LVL 13) x80, Giant Snake (LVL 25) x36, Giant Ant (LVL 8) x166, Undead Grunt (LVL 12) x79, Undead Archer (LVL 17) x53, Undead Mage (LVL 23) x21, Skeleton (LVL 10) x204, Prince Nir, Bonestorm (LVL 80) x1, Killed!]
+81867 EXP
+245601 SC
+24 <Gacha Token>

[Level Up! x3]
+6 STR, CON, END, DEX, CHA, LCK
+12 WIS
+15 Stat Points
+18 INT
+750 SC
+3 <Gacha Token>
Skill: <Physical Resist>
<Physical Resistance (1/100)
You are 5% Resistant to Physical Damage.

[For Reaching LVL.60 in the <Earth Elementalist> Class, You Can Now Select a Fourth Element! Additional EXP Withheld Until Choice Made.]

[Level Up Dual-Class! X12]
+24 STR, CON, END, DEX, CHA, LCK
+48 WIS
+60 Stat Points
+72 INT
+3000 SC
+12 <Gacha Token>

[Skill <Anti-Mana Affinity> Leveled Up! (17/100)]

[Skill <Anti-Mana Control> Leveled Up! (53/100)]

[Skill <Anti-Mana Infusion> Leveled Up! (39/100)]

‘ That’s a lot of enemies... no wonder it took so long. He found the final boss of the dungeon, too, and got dispelled fighting it... ’ I sat up and brought up the class selection menu.

[Select an Element:]
{ Wind }
{ Light }
{ Shadow }

‘Wind, light, or shadow,’ I contemplated. I knew wind was a powerful element, as I had seen Vaquin use it a number of times. He was able to generate blades of wind that swept through enemies, as sharp as any blade I’d ever enchanted, and I knew that was only the beginning. The idea of ranged melee attacks was a fun one, but I was much more attracted to the other two elements available. Light would allow me to bend electromagnetic radiation - light - to my will. In combination with my fire, I’d be able to generate plasma much easier, and create a real kamehameha. Plus, the utility of lighting up a space and blinding opponents wasn’t to be left unsaid.

Counterpoint, shadow magic. Being able to manipulate the absence of light would make me a total powerhouse in any dark space. Anir had, upon my request, shown me how shadow magic could be used to conceal oneself in darkness, and create spikes from people’s own shadows. She even created a mirage of herself, similar to a shadow clone without its utilities, and manipulated it using her magic. If I got that, I could use shadow magic as a cover for my cloning ability, while still having the advantage of people not knowing my clones could actually act on their own, perform magic, and gather intelligence.

[Subclass <Shadow Elementalist> Confirmed!]
Per Level:
+1 STR, CON, END, DEX, CHA, LCK
+2 WIS
+3 INT
+5 Stat Points

[Skills <Shadow Affinity> and <Shadow Manipulation> Learned!]
<Shadow Affinity> (1/100)
+5% Skill EXP with all shadow related skills.
<Shadow Manipulation> (1/100)
You can bend shadows to your will.

[Level Up! x20]
+40 STR, CON, END, DEX, CHA, LC
+80 WIS
+100 Stat Points
+120 INT
+5000 SC
+20 <Gacha Token>
Skill: <Shade Resistance>
<Shade Resistance> (1/100)
You are 5% Resistant to Shadow Damage.

[For Reaching LVL.80 in the <Shadow Elementalist> Class, You Can Now Select a Fifth Element! Additional EXP Withheld Until Choice Made.]

‘ Jeez, another element...? ’ I gaped at the sight.

[Select an Element:]
{ Wind }
{ Light }

‘ Might as well go with light. I can get wind later, ’ I shrugged.

[Subclass <Light Elementalist> Confirmed!]
Per Level:
+1 STR, CON, END, DEX, CHA, LCK
+2 WIS
+3 INT
+5 Stat Points

[Skills <Light Affinity> and <Light Manipulation> Learned!]
<Light Affinity> (1/100)
+5% Skill EXP with all light related skills.
<Light Manipulation> (1/100)
You can bend light to your will.

[Level Up! x2]
+4 STR, CON, END, DEX, CHA, LCK
+8 WIS
+10 Stat Points
+12 INT
+500 SC
+2 <Gacha Token>

I allocated my new 185 stat points and brought up my status.

[Status]
-Identity-
Name: Alistair Eil
Race: Human; Beastfolk (Cat);
Age: 0 (17)
Class: Earth Elementalist(57/100)
Dual Class: Anti-Mage (13/100) (/2) (50%)
Rank: Demigod (2x)
Titles: Blessed;
Alignment: Lawful Good
Level: 82 (3265/4050)
-Stats-
Health Status: 5754/5754 |5480+5%| (+54.8%/m)
Mana Status: 28750/28750 |23000+25%| (+1.8%/s)
Anti-Mana Status: 2300/2300 (+11%/m)
Stamina Status: 6576/6576 |5480+20%| (+54.8%/m)
STR: 548(274) (+4*2/3)
CON: 548(274) (+4*2/3)
DEX: 548(274) (+4*2/3)
END: 548(274) (+6*2/3)
INT: 2300(1150) (+12*2/3)
WIS: 1100(550) (+8*2/3)
CHA: 600(300) (+4*2/3)
LCK: 800(400) (+4*2/3)
Points: 0 (+20/3)

After that, I took out a token and bit it.

[Rolling 61x Gacha Token…]

[Rolling…]

[Entry 142, 62, 43, 249, 108, 176, 70, 200, 98, 233, 14, 136, 145, 90, 174, 51, 40, 197, 190, 161, 104, 159, 29, 156, 163, 6, 245, 216, 94, 11, 226, 121, 35, 34, 79, 66, 132, 158, 227, 39, 234, 230, 192, 181, 201, 214, 131, 248, 49, 16, 157, 204, 205, 6, 86, 205, 25, 107, 64, and 18 Rolled…]

[Skill Book: <Mechanical Skull>, <Attribute Crystal: God>, <Amethyst Key>, <Summon Card: Mistress of Evil>, <Gram>, <Summon Card: Mercy>, Skill Book: <Energy Suppression>, <Soul Phylactory>, <1d12 STR Fruit>, < Miquella’s Needle>, <Silver Upgrade Ticket>, <Clothier Voodoo Doll>, <Lizhard Power Cell>, <Large Hand Button>, <Summon Card: Iron Butler>, <Hoard Map>, <Spirit Rite>, <Illusory Ring of the Exalter>, <Jar of Holyfire>, <1d12 LCK Fruit>, <Pirate Map>, <Rhodium Shop Credit Voucher>, <Eternia Crystal>, <Summon Card: Abysswalker>, <1d6 CON Fruit>, <Carryl Rune: Moon>, <Gambler’s Coin>, <Large Coin Button>, <1d4 LVL Fruit>, <Sliver of the Soul Stone>, <Book Recreation Crystal>, <System Upgrade Voucher>, <Soul Rank Empowerment Capsule>, <Book Button>, <Rebellion>, <Slime Crown>, <Jar of Dragonfire>, < Combination Crystal>, <Ally Ring> x2, <Spectral Steed Whistle>, <Larval Tear>, <Hidden Blessing>, <Purging Stone>, <Energy Condenser>, <Totem of Undying>, <Suspicious Looking Eye>, <Boon/Flaw Pill>, <Magical Beast Egg>, <Platinum Upgrade Ticket>, <Jar of Foxfire>, Event: <Curse-Free Assassin>, <Elder Wand>, <1d6 END Fruit>, <Button Button>, <Elder Wand>, <Dragon God Soul Fragment>, <Absolute Gem Key>, <Attribute Crystal: Adam>, and <Craftsman Gem> Added to {Inventory}!]

<Mechanical Skull>
A large mechanical skull, which can be used to summon Skeletron Prime.
Recommended Level: 250

<Attribute Crystal: God>
A crystal containing an attribute of God. Crush it to activate, but be wary of unintended side-effects.

• Longevity

• Magic Affinity

• Holy Affinity

• <Well of Compassion> Skill

• <Bless> Skill

• <Demigod> Rank

• <God’s Chosen> Title

<Amethyst Skeleton Key>
An amethyst key that can be used on amethyst locks. Contains the element of darkness. 

<Summon Card: Mistress of Evil> |BobRossTheEmpowered|
A summon card for Maleficent Le Faery, the Mistress of Evil. She commands the power of the ancestors of her species, the phoenix.

<Gram>
The legendary sword created by Odin, claimed by Sigmund and inherited by his son Sigurd. Sigurd used the sword to slay the legendary dragon Fafnir. It is said to be the pinnacle of demonic weapons, capable of immense destruction. It can use the power of the gods to destroy. However, only someone ordaned by Odin can wield it to its full extent.

<Summon Card: Mercy>
Summon card for Angela Ziegler, Mercy. She is a scientist and healer, who specializes in medical technology. She can use that technology to heal on the spot, improve allies’ prowess, and even resurrect the recently-dead.

Skill Book: <Energy Suppression>
Allows the reader to, upon activation, suppress the ‘visible’ nature of their energies.

<Soul Phylactery>
A bottle that collects the souls of those who die in its vicinity.

<1d12 STR Fruit>
A fruit that will raise the consumer’s strength by 1d12 points. Tastes like perfect strawberry.

<Miquella’s Needle>
Cures madness upon bodily insertion.

<Silver Upgrade Ticket>
A thin silver ticket that can be applied to anything for a chance to upgrade it.
2% Legendary
29% Epic
69% Rare

<Clothier Voodoo Doll>
A doll shaped like an old man, which can be used to summon Skeletron.
Recommended Level: 100

<Lizhard Power Cell>
A large, archaic power cell, which can be used to summon Golem.
Recommended Level: 290

<Large Hand Button>
A large button displaying a still hand. +10% DEX (+10%/).

<Summon Card: Iron Butler>
Summon card for Sebas Tian, the Iron Butler of Nazarick. He is a master of unarmed combat, with near-unmatched physical prowess, and is a perfect butler, to boot.

<Hoard Map>
A map leading to a dragon’s hoard. Dragon included.

Skill Book: <Mentorship>
Allows the reader to select a target, and grant them one skill in their repertoire. The target can then level up that skill, like the system user, gaining all of the innate knowledge involved without any of the system prompts. The system user can see the target’s progress with their mentored skill(s). Only one target can be selected at once.
-100mp

<Spirit Rite>
Face the rite of passage.

<Illusory Ring of the Exalted>
Anything held in the wearer’s right hand becomes invisible.

<Jar of Holyfire>
A small jar containing a piece of white/gold holyfire.

<1d12 LCK Fruit>
A fruit that will raise the consumer’s luck by 1d12 points. Tastes like perfect banana.

<Pirate Map>
A pirate map, which can be used to activate a Pirate Invasion event.
Recommended Level: 50

<Rhodium Shop Credit Voucher>
A rhodium voucher worth 37,500 shop credits.

<Eternia Crystal>
A large, purple crystal, which can be used to activate an Old One’s Army event.
Recommended Level: 280

<Summon Card: Abysswalker>
Summon card of Artiorias, the Abyss Walker. Master of armed combat, beast kinmanship, and capable of using abyssal magics.

<+1d6 CON Fruit>
A fruit that will raise the consumer’s constitution by 1d6 points. Tastes like grape.

<Caryll Rune: Moon>
+10% SC and EXP from defeated/slain enemies. Up to three Caryll Runes can be equipped at once. Caryll Runes can be combined for greater effects.

<Gambler’s Coin> |AnxietySlime|
A golden coin that can be flipped to give a random stat between -999 and +999 points for the next five minutes.

<Large Coin Button>
A large button displaying a flipping coin. +10% LCK (+10%/).

<+1d4 LVL Fruit>
A fruit that will raise the consumer’s level by 1d4. Tastes like dragonfruit.

<Sliver of the Soul Stone> |AnxietySlime|
A sliver of a palm-sized orange gem, which contains a fragment of infinite power. Grants greater manipulation of the soul, but takes 1000HP every second held, if that person is of a weaker race.

<Book Recreation Crystal>
A crystal that allows you to perfectly recreate any book you’ve seen, even if you’ve only seen the binding. Requires paper or, at double the cost, wood.

<System Upgrade Voucher>
A metaphysical voucher capable of upgrading a system function.

<Soul Rank Empowerment Capsule>
Allows an imbiber to raise their soul rank by one level. Necessary input doubles for every rank above two.

<Book Button>
A small button displaying an open book. +5% WIS (+5%/).

<Rebellion>
A longsword created by the legendary traitor-devil Sparda, when he split his power into three pieces. The Rebellion has the power to unite any mixed-DNA being from two halves into one whole. It carries tremendous demonic power.

<Slime Crown>
A crown sitting atop a ball of slime, which can be used to summon the King Slime.
Recommended Level: 20

<Jar of Dragonfire>
A small jar containing a piece of red dragonfire.

<Combination Crystal>
A small red/green gem that can be touched to two objects to combine them.

<Ally Ring> x2
A ring that provides information between wearers. They gain an innate understanding of the emotions and status of the other wearer, as well as a general awareness of their location.

<Spectral Steed Whistle>
A ring that acts as a whistle, summoning the horned spectral steed called Torrent. He is capable of jumping off of the open air using his spirit, and can be summoned again after dying via the application of healing to the ring.

<Larval Tear>
Can be used to allow someone the ability to redistribute their stat points as desired.

<Hidden Blessing>
Restores consumer to max MP.

<Purging Stone>
Can be used to break all curses on a target item or person.

<Energy Condenser>
A chest that turns everything that enters into the selected output item.

<Totem of Undying> |AnxietySlime|
A big-nosed golden totem that will explode into life energy upon the death of the person holding it, resulting in their being immediately resurrected with 33% of their maximum HP restored.

<Suspicious Looking Eye> |Adept_Of_NH|
A large, bloodshot eyeball, which can be used to summon the Eye of Cthulhu.
Recommended Level: 30

<Boon/Flaw Pill>
A pill that will grant you one positive boon in addition to a negative flaw.

<Magical Beast Egg>
A softball-sized egg containing a random magical beast. The type of beast within is determined upon hatching, depending on luck and environmental stimuli. Must be incubated.

<Platinum Upgrade Ticket>
A thin platinum ticket that can be applied to anything for a chance to upgrade it.
30% Mythic
70% Legendary

<Jar of Foxfire>
A small jar containing a piece of blue foxfire.

Event: <Curse-Free Assassin> |Adept_of_NH|
An assassin will come for your head at some point in the future. Defeat them, or die.

<Elder Wand> |AnxietySlime|
A magic focus that doubles the magical output of the bonded user, but acts as a regular focus for all others. One of the three deathly hallows.

<+1d6 END Fruit>
A fruit that will raise the consumer’s endurance by 1d6 points. Tastes like kiwi.

<Button Button>
A button that can store other buttons, retaining their effects.

<Elder Wand> |AnxietySlime|
A magic focus that doubles the magical output of the bonded user, but acts as a regular focus for all others. One of the three deathly hallows.

<Dragon God Soul Fragment>
A physical fragment of a dragon god’s soul.

<Absolute Gem Key>
A soulstone key that can be used on any gem lock. Contains the element of soul.

<Attribute Crystal: Adam>
A crystal containing an attribute of Adam. Crush it to activate, but be wary of unintended side-effects.

• Perfect Body

• 200% Stat Gain

• <Eyes of the Lord> Skill

• <High Human> Rank

• <Progenitor of Man> Title

<Craftsman Gem>
A gem that allows the destroyer to acquire a crafting skill of their choice.

‘Woah, baby, that’s a lot of stuff, ’ I thought as I read it over. The first thing I did was take out the craftsman gem and crushed it. What I chose was obvious.

[Skill <Alchemy> Learned!]
<Alchemy> (1/100)
Crafting Skill: You can mix ingredients and magic together to create potions with varying effects.

Next, I took out God’s attribute crystal and crushed it, choosing the magic affinity.

[Skill <Mana Affinity> Learned!]
<Mana Affinity> (1/100)
+5% Skill EXP with all mana related skills.

After that came Adam's crystal, from which I grabbed the <Eyes of the Lord>. Obviously. Say goodbye to all my struggles in learning skills I could now copy instead!

[Skill <Eyes of the Lord> Learned!]
<Eyes of the Lord> (1/100)
Grants the user perfect, limited absolute vision. All that is seen can be reacted to and copied, at a deficit to SP and HP. Maximum scale is dictated by the level of this skill.

Then came the <System Upgrade Voucher>. “Use the upgrade voucher on the system’s observational capacities.”

[Done! You can now view a person’s entire status page, skills, and true stats, as well as get additional information on objects, and even spells!]

“Cool,” I nodded. The next item on the agenda- ‘ wait, an assassin? ’ I blinked, reading the event I had drawn again. ‘ A curse-free assassin. I would assume that’s most assassins, so it must be relevant to a world where curses are common. Either way, I don’t like the sound of an assassin coming for my head… I’ll have to work harder to be ready, just in case. ’

“This might help,” I muttered, taking out the <Boon/Flaw Poll> and swallowing it with a bit of spit.

[Boon: <Fast Learner> Gained!]
<Fast Learner>
You learn new skills 200% faster! (0-25)

[Flaw: <Gynophobe> Gained!]
<Gynophobe>
You are instinctually nervous around women!

‘ Well, that’s awkward, ’ I frowned at the flaw, knowing most of the people in my life were women. Hopefully, I’d be able to counter it somehow. ‘ I’ll be fine. I’m not really afraid of women, right? ’ I thought back to when Siv grabbed me, and forced myself to fight off a shudder. ‘ …Right? ’

[As if you weren’t afraid of women before…]

‘ I wasn’t afraid of women! ’ I shouted internally. Sure, I was nervous around them, but I was nervous around people in general. A life spent around people with guns, bats, knuckle-dusters, and murder records would do that to anyone! Now, it had simply manifested in my conscious mind. Either way, I was perfectly capable of working around it, as I’d proven with my relationships up until this point. I did sigh, though. ‘ Anne would never stop making fun of me over this… ’

I shook off that thought and brought out my fruits, eating them all in succession.

[Bonus!]
+10 STR

[Bonus!]
+5 LCK

[Bonus!]
+2 CON

[Bonus!]
+3 END

[Bonus!]
+1 LVL

[Level Up!]
+2 STR, CON, END, DEX, CHA, LCK
+4 WIS
+5 Stat Points
+6 INT
+250 SC
+1 <Gacha Token>

[Level Up Dual-Class!]
+2 STR, CON, END, DEX, CHA, LCK
+4 WIS
+5 Stat Points
+6 INT
+250 SC
+1 <Gacha Token>

I bit another token as I climbed out of my crib.

[Rolling 2x Gacha Token…]

[Rolling…]

[Entry 67, and 129 Rolled…]

[Skill Book: <Quest Contract> x5, and <Trickster’s Garb> Added to {Inventory}!]
<Quest Contract> x5
A scroll containing information on menial work that needs to be done by someone within two hours’ walking distance. Completion guarantees rewards from both quest giver and system.

<Trickster’s Garb>
A cloak that can change shape into any form of clothing, also changing the appearance of the wearer to whatever they imagine. A smiley face will appear somewhere on the exterior of the garb.

‘ Oh yeah, quests exist. I wish the system gave me more of those, ’ I deadpanned.

[I forgot ;~;]

‘ Don’t use an emoticon to try and gain my forgiveness! ’ I chided the being. ‘ Besides, how the hell do you forget such a core mechanic of your own existence?! ’

[Just because I mimic a machine doesn’t mean I’m perfect, Alistair. To be fair, you forgot to take on your weekly quests!]

‘ …I did, didn’t I, ’ I blinked. ‘ That gives me shit EXP compared to the dungeon, anyways! ’

[Fine, you want quests?]

[Quest <Conspiracy> Started!]
(O) Investigate the trafficking ring the Duchy of Stede is associated with.

[Quest <Spirit Rite> Started!]
(O) Figure out what a Spirit Rite is.

[Quest <WIAB> Started!]
(O) Figure out what the WIAB is.

[Quest <Boss Rush> Started!]
(4/10) Boss Enemy Types Slain.

[Quest <Confectionary> Started!]
(1/10) New (for this world) Confectionaries Developed.

[Quest <Magitek Guru> Started]
(0/15) Magitek Artifacts Developed.

[Quest <Race Change> Started!]
(O) Successfully change your race via alchemy.

[Quest <500-er> Started!]
(2/8) Reach 500 base points in all stats.

[Quest <Loan> Started!]
(0/550) Debt repaid.

[Quest <Get Thy Name Out There> Started!]
(291/2500) Unique Patrons.
(31/250) Contracts Complete.

[Quest <Basic Elemental Mastery> Started!]
(5/6) Basic Elemental Affinities Unlocked.
(0/6) Basic Elements Mastered.

[Quest <Swordmaster> Started!]
(O) Swordsmanship Skill Mastered.
(0/3) Sword Masters Defeated.

[Quest <Modernization> Started!]
(1470/2020) Bring the quality of life in Eilon up to that of the modern Earth age. 

[Quest <Axriel Threat> Started!]
(O) End the war between Eilon and Axriel.

[Quest <Quester> Started!]
(4/50) Primary Quests Completed.

[Quest <Master Enchanter> Started!]
(O) Complete a tenth-tier enchantment.
(O) Enchanting Skill Mastered.

[Quest <Runemaster> Started!]
(0/10) New Rune Types Developed.
(O) Runecrafting Skill Mastered.

[Quest <Master Alchemist> Started!]
(0/1000) Master-Level Potions Brewed.
(O) Alchemy Skill Mastered.

Chapter Text

‘ … ’ I watched as notification after notification popped up, seemingly as the system came up with them. Eighteen quests, in the span of a few seconds, and I had next to no progress on any of them. I supposed the confectionary one would be easy enough to complete. Especially since I could just buy the cookbook from the shop, which would have hundreds of deserts never-before-seen by this world. Ice cream was just easy to make, especially with ice magic, so it was my go-to for birthday surprises, as far as dessert went.

I had received many compliments on the subject during the dance, in fact. It felt good, but not nearly as good as how I felt when I saw the joy on Ravelus’s face. I saw him as my younger brother, despite him being older than me, because my mind was seventeen. I couldn’t help it. I knew he still saw me as his younger brother, though, which I didn’t seek to contest. I was certain he’d be a great man. Greater than me.

It still upset me how my grandparents treated him. It was as if he wasn’t even there! I didn’t expect them to buy him a horse, or give him magical tomes, but I at least wanted them to acknowledge him with the tiniest bit of love and respect. They focused all of their attention on me, completely neglecting him, and that angered me deeply. I decided that, so long as they acted that way, I would not engage with them beyond being polite. I had my position to regard, after all.

For the time being, I took out the spirit rite and looked it over. It was a small gem, completely translucent, about three centimeters in diameter. A small silver disc floated a couple millimeters above its surface, remaining a consistent distance and rotation around it, like the object’s own little moon. Looking at it through magic, I was able to see a tether that somehow passed through the core, through another plane of existence I couldn’t observe.

[Spirit Rite]
A spirit rite. Infuse and diffuse; face the challenge.

‘ What does that mean? ’ I asked rhetorically. ‘ Any ideas, system? ’

[I, the personality, have limited information. From my understanding, you have to expose it to an energy source, and pass your mana into it then back into your core. After that, I do not know.]

I hummed and put it back in my inventory, for the time being. I could investigate further, at a later date. For now, I patiently awaited my parent’s awakening, knowing that today we would be leaving the castle with the Ne’Zir Royal family to the exterior Eil estate, at the foot of the Tower Peak to the North. The Dwarven clan Aedon II had given the rights to the mountain to had asked it to be built there, so they could repay their debts through material goods and services.

It, though smaller than the castle, was surrounded by a vast forest populated with all manner of magical beasts and monsters. It was tradition, according to father, for the sons and daughters of the Royal family to be taken there to hunt annually. The beasts, that it - the monsters would be killed off, until one of the children had inherited their crown. Then, they would be expected to fight them off to protect their family, using the skills which they had been taught.

I was excited to finally see nature again. I always enjoyed it, as camping had been a nice getaway from the city, in my previous life. Anne would take me up into Maine to visit a national park, where we would catch our own fish and roast them over a fire. Hunting my own food was a fun and somewhat hardening experience, which taught me that sometimes one needed to kill to survive.

Maybe that was why I was capable of killing grown men, for my own sake and for those around me.

That day still stuck with me. The smell of burning flesh lingered in my nose, and the sound of their cries of pain resounded in my head. It hurt, knowing that I had knowingly taken lives, but I knew better than to mope about it. They were evil men, profiting off the suffering of children. They, their compatriots, and all who they serviced would suffer, lest my soul be condemned.

Speaking of souls, I could push myself up to my eighth awakening, but I promised to only do so when my parents were around, and they were still asleep. So, I took out the dagger Vaquin had given me and continued practicing my tethering, trying not to rely on willpower infusion.

*****

“Alistair, are you excited for your first hunt?” Ravelus questioned, sitting next to me in the large carriage. “I managed to kill a deer and a boar last year, with my bow. I’m sure you’ll get a bunch of things with your magic!”

“I am very excited,” I smiled at him. “The trees in the courtyard don’t exactly cut it when it comes to nature.”

“I know, right?” Levini said in exasperation. “Your cities need more green. Too much wood and stone.”

‘ I agree, ’ I thought with a curt nod, though I didn’t raise my voice to affirm her words. She smiled at that, which made me roll my eyes internally.

“I’ve tried to establish some parks in the city, but it’s hard with the climate, and the soil. Endrillion is a cliff city, after all,” Aedon said. “It’s a kingdom-wide problem, really. The air and land have been fighting us for a century.”

“The spirits may be angered with you,” Revil grunted. “Have your family or your vassals done anything to upset them?”

“I doubt it,” Rel said. “I can vouch for House Eil and a dozen other noble families, but there are a few families I can think of that could put the spirit realm against us.”

“Spirit realm?” I questioned. I hadn’t heard of any realms besides the physical one, that which housed mana, and the realm of the divines, where the gods reside.

“It’s the layer of reality between the divine realm and the physical realm,” mother explained. “It is home to all spiritual beings, and is the afterlife for all plants and animals. It consists of billions of floating constructs of dirt and stone, covered with flora and fauna.”

“You speak from experience?” I raised an eyebrow quizzically.

“I’ve been there,” she nodded. “The only way to attract a spirit without a rare artifact is to separate one’s soul from their body and delve into the spirit realm. Defeating a spirit’s challenge is how one earns their loyalty.”

“It usually requires help from a powerful soul mage, but some people-“ Allia looked at her sister, “-manage to sever themselves in their sleep... at age six.”

Rel blushed. It was always nice seeing her being the one under scrutiny. “I was called there! It couldn’t be helped.”

“Anyways,” Allia rolled her eyes. “Most members of the Ne’Zir family end up visiting the spirit realm at least once. Most , meaning everyone but me. Spirits are powerful companions, capable of multiplying their master’s magic to immense levels.”

“That depends on the strength of the spirit, of course!” Ravelus chipped in happily, head held up high. “I bonded with a fifth-ring nature spirit as a baby, but she’s very stubborn. Barely even talks to me. I’m still not sure why she chose me.”

‘ Ah, a tsundere spirit. I bet she looks like a little girl, then, ’ I thought with a wry chuckle. “What does fifth-ring mean?”

“It correlates to the power of the spirit - what level of Attunement they have with their elements,” Rel said. “There are nine circles, when it comes to spirit attunement. The ninth is the weakest, and lies at the outermost edge of the circle, while the first is around the core of the spirit realm, and is the most powerful.”

“And the core?” I asked.

“There is a monarchy among spirits,” Revil said. “A spirit King or Queen for each element; the absolute embodiment of their power, above even the gods. Only the heroes in the ages of old were capable of passing their trials and using their power.”

I hummed before taking out a book on the farmland ecology of Eilon and starting to read as the others started another conversation. I could feel my grandparents’ and mother’s eyes on me the whole time, but I ignored that, for the time being, and read.

*****

It took five days for the carriage to arrive at the Eil manor, during which time a clone I had left behind ran the shop in secret. So far, only Siv was aware of my ability to create duplicates of myself. I had told her, because she would’ve figured out either way, given that Vaquin and Ilyor would be leaving with me from the city. She was understandably surprised, but agreed to keep it a secret, under the condition that the clone stay with her.

I wasn’t worried about my clone getting raped, or anything. For one, Siv wouldn’t do that. She was brazen and perverted, but not downright pedophilic. Second, the clone could dismiss itself at any time, so the act could never occur. Not that there wouldn’t be consequences, but - again - I wasn’t worried about that happening.

Besides, the clone couldn’t stay in the castle, as the Second Prince was gone, so staying with Siv was the obvious choice. Someone needed to enchant on-the-spot, after all, with the speed and quality only I could provide.

‘ I suppose Sterling and I are different people, after all, ’ I thought with a smirk. ‘ Nobody will associate us, if he and I appear in different places at the same time, even if we look alike. True shadow clones are impossible, as far as everyone on this planet knows, though, so I’ll be fine. ’ I glanced at my mother, who was snoring softly as she leaned on father’s shoulder. ‘ I’ll have to explain the ability sooner or later, though. Word will spread about Sterling’s activities. ’

I was confident ‘Sterling’ could remain quiet, for the duration of the trip, though. Unless Siv babbled about my ability, I’d still have the ace up my sleeve.

I pulled back the curtains to the carriage window to see the same forest we had entered a couple days ago. Father had told me we would come upon the estate soon, so I wanted to see it. Sure enough, the carriage exited the heavy woods into a clearing that extended to the base of the mountain, where a large building stood. It was old - ancient, even. 

It’s marble walls were chipped and covered with vines, the bricks that made up the foundation dirty in a charming way. The lawn around it was well-manicured, and the windows were pristine. It had several towering spires and arching pathways, reminding me a little bit of Anor Londo from Dark Souls, if on a smaller scale. Looking at it again through the mana that made it up, as I was prone to do with many things, I saw a sphere of some sorts surrounding the entire structure. A shield of some kind.

In fact, as the carriage approached and passed through it, I felt something scan my will, in a manner that was somewhat stronger than the wards in front of the castle. It had read my intent, and scanned my subconscious. It would no doubt cause me issues if I were someone intending to cause harm to this land or its inhabitants.

One probably couldn’t even see it without my level of mana control, because it originated from an artifact. Well, maybe Elves could, because they were a step up in terms of magical attunement from Humans and Beastkin, but I was several steps up from them.

It took a short while for the carriage to reach the roundabout in front of the main entrance, where it finally came to a stop. The jolt woke mother up, causing her to look around groggily. Her parents glanced at her disapprovingly, while I couldn’t help but snicker at the sight of the drool dripping down her chin, which had formed a wet spot on father’s cloak.

I eagerly hopped out of the carriage as soon as the door was opened by the footman, and stretched. I was eager to be able to move around, as being cooped up for days on end had made me antsy. The air was fresh and crisp, rich with the scent of earth and nature. Faintly, I could smell sulfur. From the direction of the mountains.

“A little help, young man?” I turned at Levini’s call. She was standing in the door to the carriage, a hand extended towards me. I sighed internally and helped her down, if only so that mother wouldn’t get mad at me. Besides, I couldn’t refuse her after acknowledging her. “Thank you, dear.”

“Me too, nephew. Sitting for so long has been hard on my back!” This time it was Allia, whom I was happy to help. She was actually nice to Ravelus, as was her husband. She was also in poor physical condition, so my morals wouldn’t let me leave her hanging, either way. She smiled and ‘slipped,’ reaching down to hug me to ‘stabilize herself.’ I immediately tensed, a shiver running down my spine as a spike of adrenaline shot through me.

‘ Is this the flaw…? ’ I blinked as Allia released me, a contemplative expression on her face as she regarded me. ‘ Great, now she knows. This’ll just make mother act strange, if she learns about this new habit of mine. ’

Fortunately, Allia didn’t say anything about it, thanking me and talking to her mother. I calmed myself and walked a short distance away, looking out over the lawn and gardens that extended all the way to the forest. I watched as a group of larger birds landed amongst the bushes, snapping up berries that were growing within. Their chirps and caws were rather melodic, making me think.

‘ I have that music sheet, ’ I though, glancing at the item’s representation in my inventory. ‘ I could bring some of Earth’s music here. They desperately need it, from what I can tell. ’ Despite the existence of actual magic , this world was lacking in the artistry department. There were beautiful buildings, and calligraphy was unmatched,but most artistry came in the form of practical crafts. Beautiful swords, stained-glass windows, carpentry, and stone masonry. Music, painting, and other such mediums were rather uncommon.

‘ I always did want to learn the piano, ’ I pondered, glancing down at my hands. ‘ Maybe there’s one in the manor? ’

Nobles were expected to learn at least one instrument, as far as I was aware. Not required, as Ravelus didn’t seem to care for them, but it was a positive in their high society. Besides, picking up the piano would be easier - not easy - with the system. High dexterity, and all that.

“Nature is a beautiful landscape for thought, no?” Father commented, making his presence known. “Your mother and I spent many moons here, following the war that killed my parents. I ran the kingdom from here until I saw the need to interact with the court.”

“I can see why,” I said with a smile, watching the birds fly off. “I’ve always loved nature. It’s… not peaceful, per say, but tranquil. Everything happens for a reason, in nature. No sentient plotting to be found. It’s a nice escape from all that living in an intelligent world brings.”

“Indeed,” father nodded. “Come, let us dine and prepare for the first expedition.”

I nodded in return and followed him into the manor.

*****

For the first time in either of my lives, I held a bow in my hands. An arrow was nocked, but not drawn, as I followed father through the dense brush. We had walked a couple miles North, along the base of the mountain, looking for animals to hunt. I enjoyed it quite a bit, as it was my first time surrounded by nature since before my rebirth.

We occasionally came across a kobold or goblin, which Ravelus was tasked with killing. He did moderately well, only taking a few motions to disarm and strike down each enemy with his new sword. I got to try my hand at shooting the bow I held, but failed miserably until I earned a skill for my efforts. After that, it was possible, but not plausible.

Apparently, stealth was also a skill I could get, which I was happy about. Sneaking through the forest with my family and a couple guards was fun, when I imagined myself as Solid Snake; my bow, a trusty American handgun. Speaking of handguns, I was pondering upon whether I should bring them into this world.

Father brought up a fist before I could think on it too deeply, prompting all of us to stop and sink low to the ground. He pointed East, into a small clearing, where a double-antler deer was grazing. He gestured to Ravelus, who nodded and took his bow from his back, gently nocking an arrow and pulling back the bowstring. He raised himself slightly to get a better angle, but the deer saw him and bolted off just as he released his arrow, causing him to miss.

“Darn it!” Ravelus hissed in frustration.

“It’s alright, son; we’ll pursue it,” Aedon said. “Retrieve your arrow while I pick up its trail.”

Ravelus nodded and moved into the clearing. As soon as he was about halfway through it, though, the grass started to bend beneath him. A moment later, it collapsed into a gaping hole, dropping the boy into darkness before anyone had time to react. Everyone acted immediately, rushing to the hole and peering down into it.

“Ravelus!” Mother shouted in worry.

“I’m f-fine!” Brother’s voice drifted up, sounding to be pained. “It’s some kind of church, I think… Lots of skeletons.. It isn't that far.”

Aedon jumped into the pit without hesitation, catching himself with threads of mana. Mother followed behind him, doing the same, with me on her tail. I managed to attach a few thicker threads to my cloak, using them to pulley me down into the pit, but it took some concentration.

Father and I created balls of fire to illuminate the room properly, allowing the large church hall to be visible. The others came down at their own pace as I spammed <Observe>, noting that the skeletons were truly dead. Careful, in case there were traps or more damaged flooring, I approached the lectern and used <Observe> on the book thereon.

[T’m A An’Mn Fl’r’Nt’Dmis]
?????

‘ What? ’ I looked on in surprise. I hadn’t seen question marks in an item description since my <Observe> skill was sub-level-ten. Seeing them now, at level ninety-nine, was a shock and a half. What’s more, I couldn’t read the text at all. Never before had I seen a language like it, in any of the texts I had read since coming to this world.

At least one of my perks, which allowed me to instinctively understand anything I read, told me it was a holy book of some kind. ‘ Like I didn’t gather that from it being on the lectern in a church… ’ I added it to my inventory, but that immediately proved to be a mistake, as the room started shaking. An ethereal screech resonated the air, coming from a brazier at the back of the room, which burst into a deep black flame.

“Behind me! Alistair, Ravelus!” Aedon said, drawing his blade towards the brazier. I followed his order, rushing to get behind him as I took out the <Yamato> and an <Elder Wand>. Slowly, a figure began to emerge from the flames, which I could only describe as demonic in nature. Pitch black, cracked, stone-like skin. Its head was a twisted amalgamation of skull, horns, teeth, and writhing tentacles that grasped in all directions. Spikes jutted from every inch of the thing, making it look like a Lovecraftian, humanoid porcupine. To complete it, black flames wreathed it entirely, scorching the stone walls and even causing bits of slag to drip onto the floor.

The room was filled with the smell of brimstone, sulfur, and petrichor as the thing howled again, unmoving eyes settled directly on me.

“What is that thing?” Ravelus asked, scared.

“D-Demon!” One of the guards stammered, voice shaking with fear.

[Arak Va’Na’Rik’Ala]
Race: Demon;
Titles: Sentry; Bael Executioner;
Age: ????
Level: ????

“Stay up there, you three!” Revil shouted up to his second daughter and her family, who had yet to come down.

Mother didn’t hesitate to send a hail of mana bolts at the demon, who simply laughed as they ricocheted off of it. At the same time, father disappeared from where he was standing, as if he had been an illusion the entire time, kicking up a wind that flowed through the room, picking up dust. He reappeared a couple meters away from the demon before jumping back and shouting in a commanding tone. “Do not approach! It has an aura of baelfire!”

One of the guards either ignored him or didn’t hear him, rushing towards the demon. As soon as he passed where Aedon had stood, however, he just... vanished. One instant he was there, and the next he wasn’t. “Damn it! I said do not approach!” Aedon yelled.

“Leave it to us,” Revil said, nodding to his wife and daughter. They each drew mana from their core in waves, conjuring it to their hands in a refined form, unlike anything I had seen before. Revil summoned a whip of water, which swirled around him and sheared through the very air itself; Levini conjured a sphere of light, which appeared to warp the air around it like a heat mirage; and Rel sunk into a stance before she started chanting. It was a language I had never heard before - one that distorted itself with its own power, preventing me from even hearing it.

Revil brought his whip around his head and lashed it forward, managing to penetrate through the baelfire aura and into the demon’s proximity. It simply raised a hand and caught the whip as if it were physical, then a black flame surged along the water towards the Beastkin trio. Revil was quick to dismiss the whip, which left the fire to fall to the ground, where it quickly started sinking into the floor as the stone simply disappeared.

Levini thrust her wand forward, and the sphere of light turned into a swirling beam, infused with mana, that decimated the baelfire aura and struck the demon in the chest before it could even comprehend what was happening. It took a couple blinks, but the afterimage of the attack finally faded, allowing me to see that the demon was slowly regenerating from the gaping, searing hole in its torso. The wall behind it was molten, and a white-yellow pit slowly dripped with slag for more than a meter behind it. It was as if she had summoned the sun itself for a beam attack, making my faux-kamehameha look like a toothpick before an obelisk.

After his whip failed, and even backfired, Revil spread out his hands and released a thick mist that sunk to the room’s floor and spread out. Then, he started chanting in the same language mother was speaking in, his words stronger, somehow.

The demon wasn’t idle, though. It finally acted, tired of watching the mortals play around, raising its hands towards me. Me , as if the competent mages and warriors in the room were inconsequential. Black firebolts began shooting from the tentacles making up its head, racing around the room and incinerating the last two living guards who had made it down into the underground chapel.

I suddenly heard a voice in my head, echoing louder than thunder and wreaking pain across the inside of my skull. “ Come, #&4(, ” the voice said in a sickly-sweet tone. “ Child of !&$*%(#; thine !&**$ is essential! ”

I found myself stepping forward lethargically, unable to control my own body.

[Error! <Gamer’s Mind> Overpowered! Mental Defenses Failed!]

“Alistair!” Ravelus grabbed by hand, but recoiled as he, too, was struck with pain. He wasn’t able to cope with it much better than I was, and froze in place as if stuck in a block of ice, terror and pain etched in his expression. WIthout realizing it, I had walked up next to Revil, which is when the adults noticed me.

“Son! Get back!” Aedon called, blocking a black firebolt with his sword before it could his Levini.

“H-help!” I cried out, not knowing what to do. The one defense I had against attacks like this was easily overpowered by this monster, as if it meant nothing. How powerful was it?

“Iniaik Alav’illini Irecael’v’Nil S’cafa’pllio.” The demon spoke, its words shaking the entire room with their strength. “Inaik, a Viekala Nil’Amas!"

“ Come, #&4(, ” the voice repeated. “ Join me in !&*$! ”

I was pulled forward with a jerk, straight towards the demon, but stopped in place. Then, I felt immense whiplash, and was suddenly standing in the back corner of the room. Ravelus was holding my arms to my waist, pinning me under his arm and preventing me from moving, even as a look of agony overtook his shaking face. My body tried to escape of its own volition, yet Ravelus was somehow able to keep me still. I noticed a faint glow to his eyes.

“I’ve got you, brother!” He said through gritted teeth. “I won’t let that thing take you!”

“R-Ravelus!” I choked out, tears coming to my eyes.

“I’ve got you, little brother!”

“Rel!” Aedon shouted, dashing back and forth to swipe the firebolts from the air. “Hurry! He’s after Alistair!”

Rel let out a bestial scream, the phantom of a massive lion appearing around her for a moment before condensing into a white veil over her body, which formed claws around her fingers and a regal mane around her head. She kicked off the ground, obliterating it with the force of her step as she launched towards the demon. The was unaffected by the then-recovered baelfire aura, and slashed the demon’s entire head off with a series of swipes with her phantasmal claws. The pain in me and Ravelus suddenly stopped, and we both fell to the ground in a heap. I quickly turned over and grabbed his shoulders, worried for his safety, but he appeared okay, aside from a perpetual fold in his brow from a headache. He reached out and patted me on the cheek with a smile, assuaging my worries.

“I know what to do,” he said simply, getting up. Then, he started chanting, himself. Quietly, under his breath, and far weaker than mother or Revil, but he somehow knew what to say in whatever tongue that was to attain the power mother had used to behead the demon.

The demon, by then, had regenerated its head, having remained dormant the entire time. Mother was forced to back off as the baelfire aura returned with a surge, but some of the skin on her arms was vanished by the black flame. Blood started dripping down her elbows as she held her arms aloft, growling gutturally in pain and anger. It was as if a beast had overtaken her body.

Revil suddenly had a similar aura, only much bigger. His lion stayed as he launched himself forward, bypassing the baelfire and slashing the demon from the left shoulder down to the right hip. It started laughing as it fell into two pieces. One of the pieces morphed back into full form, while another brazier lit up with baelfire. A second version of the demon appeared there, and started launching more firebolts at the adults from behind. Aedon went back and forth, phasing in and out of my vision as he disappeared from one spot and reappeared in another to block a fireball while Levini held off the growing baelfire aura with her light magic and Rel healed herself. Revil continued to lay into the first demon with his bestial spirit, cutting it into pieces again and again. Unfortunately, it continued to heal instantaneously.

Rel, once healed, started attacking the second demon, giving Aedon a moment to rest before generating a white fire that helped Levini combat the baelfire. It was a stalemate between the demon and the adults, somehow. Neither side was able to gain any ground, though I assumed that was because the demon couldn’t get any attacks off. I found myself unable to move, now that <Gamer’s Mind> wasn’t working. Fear permeated me, and I felt entirely helpless. This was a greater foe than I’d ever seen; ten or twenty-times the level of anything I could possibly take down. If even my parents couldn’t take this thing down, with their seemingly-insurmountable strength, then how could I ever hope to beat whatever the system wanted me to? I was useless, without my skills! The moment Revil, Rel, Aedon, or Levini gave in just a tiny bit, the group would die. That meant it was all up to Ravelus.

Ravelus started getting louder with his chant as he approached its lengthy end.

Aedon glanced over at his sons with wide eyes, realizing what was happening before grinning and putting even more mana into his flames. Just as the baelfire was pushed back, light exploded from Ravelus, falling into the green image of a flower bulb - yet to open. It cracked open just the tiniest bit, and vines grew out of every crack in the floor, ceiling, and walls. They invaded the balefire aura, and started to wither before the bulb opened a tiny bit more and the vines surged through to the demons. They were wrapped in them like cocoons, which soon tightened. Black fire engulfed the vines, beginning to spread back to their roots, but a pulse from Ravelus’s bulb erased it all.

“It’s aura is gone!” Levini gasped. “It’s vulnerable! Destroy its core!”

Aedon sunk into a stance, blade held behind him and to his right. Then, in a flash he had disappeared. Both of the demon’s bodies were cut into pieces, the latter revealing a black-red gem the size of my fist. Father stabbed it into the wall, shattering it with a burst of baelfire. The demon vanished into smoke, screaming in anger and anguish.

[Sentry Demon (LVL 2700) Defeated!]
*Due to a level gap of between 200 and 250 between you and the one who killed it, you will receive 10% EXP*
+364635 EXP
+10939050 SC

[Level Up x17!]
+34 STR, CON, END, DEX, CHA, LCK
+68 WIS
+85 Stat Points
+102 INT
+4260 SC
+17 <Gacha Token>
Skill: <Light Resistance>
<Light Resistance>
You are 5% Resistant to Light Damage.

[Congratulations upon completing your first primary class! You can now select a new one, more of which have been made available thanks to the class you’ve completed! Additional EXP withheld until a new class has been selected.]
+100 Stat Points
+100000 SC

I collapsed to my knees, letting out a breath of relief as I got the notification that the creature was dead. Without knowing it, I had started crying, and that made me feel weird. ‘ I’m not cut out for this... ’ I thought, clenching my teeth. ‘ I’m not a warrior, I’m a scientist! I shouldn’t be doing the whole other world business; someone like Anne should! I... I’m not strong enough for this! ’

I felt a hand on my shoulder and saw that mother was sitting next to me and Ravelus - who was unconscious after his stunt.

“It’s alright,” she soothed me, rubbing my back. “It was scary, I know. I felt like that the first time I came across a demon, too.”

“I was... so useless!” I exclaimed, angry - no, furious at myself. “I didn’t even draw my blade! Cast my fire! I was just... frozen! I... I could’ve helped! I could’ve done something to make it so you didn’t get hurt! You- Your arms!” I noticed her still-bleeding arms. They hadn’t been healed at all, despite her prior efforts.

“Cursed wounds,” she said simply. “I’ll be fine.”

“H-hold on,” I said, buying a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, a pad of gauze, and a roll of bandages from the shop. I splashed the gauze with the peroxide and gestured for her to give her arms to me, which she reluctantly did. “This will hurt,” I said bluntly before beginning to dab at the wounds with the gauze. She winced, but made no noises as I cleaned any dirt and refuse out of the wound and sterilized it before applying fresh gauze, secured by a bandage. “I don’t want you to lose your arms because you tried to tough out something you say is cursed!”

“Who’s the parent, here?” She chuckled.

“Don’t feel that you have to carry our burdens, simply because you have intelligence and a blessing,” Aedon said as he approached, first checking on Ravelus before looking at me. “We’re your parents; it’s our job to protect you.”

“But I have an obligation to you, too! Besides, it’s my fault that thing even appeared in the first place! I picked up the book - messed with things I shouldn’t have. It’s my fault the guards are dead!”

“Someone would’ve picked up and opened that book. It was simple chance that it was you,” Revil said, holding his wife’s hand. They only glanced at Ravelus, which only made me angrier - again, more directed at myself. “That demon would have appeared regardless, and we would have fought it to keep it from destroying these lands. It was their duty to fight alongside us, regardless of the possible outcomes. Sentry demons are powerful, incapable of dying save for if their core is destroyed. It was inevitable that we lost someone - be glad it wasn’t one of us.”

I wanted to shout at him - reprimand his lackadaisical approach to the lives of those under his care - but I bit my tongue. Fighting him now would do no good; he was too set in his ways. Still, I understood where he was coming from. I just wished it could’ve been different. I simply hung my head and cried for my own ineptitude until all of the injuries had been tended to. Father took me up into his arms and jumped out of the chapel, landing next to my aunt and uncle. Looking at my cousin, I forced my composure to return and drew the tears from my face with my water magic, tossing aside the small orb without a care.

I decided to distract myself with the system prompts.

[Class {Warrior} Confirmed! Select a subclass:]
{ Barbarian }
{ Duelist }
{ Soldier }
{ Brawler }
{ Armorer }

Going based off of intuition, {Barbarian} would focus on heavy-hitting weapons. Clubs, hammers, war-axes, and other two-handed weapons. Cool, but I prefer more finesse in my movements - less wasted energy, that way.

{Duelist} was appealing, focusing on exactly that. Rapiers, sabers, and such, in a more one-on-one scenario. Very tempting.

{Soldier} would most likely be based around learning as many weapons as possible, from daggers to pikes to shields. Very versatile, given I could get all of those things and make them pretty good via enchanting.