《Reincarnated! The Blind and Deaf Boy》 1 The Pitiful Creature 1 @@ The boy never needed, never wanted anything with his life. Not that he knew what his life, nor what his world really was. He couldn''t see, he knew not of beauty, nor of atrocities. He couldn''t hear, he knew not of spite, nor words of tongue. He needn''t think much, for he knew no words or images to think with. The only attachment he may have was the occasional fluffy touch of an animal, calming water, and enjoyable sensations along his tongue. "What a pitiful creature." Those were the words that changed his life, or maybe it is more accurate to say that they really started it. Unaware of the words said regarding him, he continued to sit in constant silence, his eyes still closed as usual. Then, the boy was suddenly startled, he put his hands over his head as he rocked back and forth in a chair. Something was wrong. Something was different. Something made his skin crawl, as if a million ants were grooming each individual strand of hair on his body. It made him extremely uncomfortable because it was new, unknown, and potentially dangerous. Every instinct told him to be worried, to kick out, to fight back. They boy flailed his body around, as if he was a fish out of water. He made feral noises, as if he was a mother wolf warning other animals to stay away from her pups. He spat, growled, kicked, and shed his own blood as he destroyed the room around him. Then he was gone, leaving a tattered room and another person in his place.@@ 2 Have Fun ''Silence. Silence. Silence. Feeling. Danger. Pain. Fight. Nothing.'' Those were a rough interpretation of my thoughts a second ago. Now, not only am I thinking in full sentences, but I have an odd amount of knowledge about myself that I never knew, or cared to know a moment ago. Name, Shiro Okami, or White Wolf. Age, 14. This is... odd? I mean, could I even really call my situation odd? Is it in my right to do such a thing? Darkness. It can drive a man mad. And, yet again, I am still being soaked in it. I don''t like the dark. I want to see everything there is to see. I wish to hear all the curses there are to be wished upon a person. I want to live long enough to experience it all. [Acknowledged.] [Generating skills... and ] [Generating Traits...] [Acquired : ~Tainted Blood~] [Acquired : ~???~] I''ve always been driven by desire, but now I''m ignorant to even desire. I want a purpose. I want to make a purpose. I want to understand... why I exist. [Acknowledged.] [Generating skill... ] [Insufficient.] [Generating skills... ] [Simulating the application of skills...] [Completed.] [Passive Trait ~Tainted Blood~ has been affected by the skills and ] [~Tainted Blood~ has become ~??? Blood~] [Processing... Confirmed.] [Applying skills and traits...] [Completed.] [Confirming creation of appropriate body...] [Destroying previous body...] [Transferring soul to the new host body...] [Completed.] ============================ [Admin''s Status Menu] Name : Undecided Title(s) : [Pitiful Creature] [Blessed] [Orphan] Age: 0 Race : Demi-Human (Fox-Wolf) Skills : Magic : Traits & Resistances : ~Divine Blood~ ~???~ ============================ "Have fun..." HUH?! 3 Ism... a baby? @@ HUH?! That thought resounded throughout my mind as I heard a voice. I HEARD a voice! I mean, at first I thought that was strangest thing to ever happen to me, but then bright light flooded my eyes as the darkness retreated. Eh? That was all I could manage to think as an impressively tall woman with fox ears swooned over me, tears in her eyes. Her swooning only lasted a moment as I was torn from her arms by two tall men, both fitted in some type of armor. I desperately want to know why they are so tall, but my consciousness fades as an eerie fatigue washes over me. *** I''ve fallen asleep again and again, only waking up to an intense feeling of hunger and then a hearty "meal" of warm... milk? By now, even an idiot could tell I was a baby... Why though? Has god given me some kind of new chance at life? The voice that had told me to enjoy myself would support that idea. Well, I can''t really talk or move, so no use trying to stress over it. *** An ear-piercing scream startled me awake, followed by a bath of some type of warm and red liquid... blood?! The two armored men lay on the ground beneath me, framed perfectly by two wooden wheels, and only then did I realize I had been on a carriage the whole time. Just what is going on?! Honestly, I was oblivious to being in motion the whole time I was on this carriage. Maybe they had stopped every time they had fed me? Wait... where did the milk come from? That milk better have been bottled milk... Wait... WHY DO I EVEN CARE ABOUT MILK RIGHT NOW? TWO PEOPLE WERE KILLED IN FRONT OF ME. Am..am... am I next...? Yet again, an unfortunate wave of fatigue overwhelms me, while a group encircles me as my consciousness fades.@@ 4 A Short Five Years I remember waking up at the foot of what seems to be a church, falling asleep, then waking up again only to be greeted by the wails of other children. Then, a woman cared for me and breastfed me. She had a few visitors everyday, whether they be tired travelers or patrons of some type of night job she may have, I am not sure of. After a few days, I had decided to tune into the woman''s conversations more often. Of course, I can''t understand her. [Would you like to activate the skill for the first time? YES/NO] The moment that thought crossed my mind I was greeted with that message spanning across my vision. Woah! This is a... skill? From what little information I was given about my old life, nothing about skills came up. Maybe this is a new world, not just a chance at a new life in my old world...? Yes! I called out in my mind. Immediately some type of... progress bar(?) appeared in the bottom-middle of my vision. After listening in to the woman for about 10 minutes, a few notifications popped up as the progress bar filled. [Success! Results : ] [ UP! ] [Level Up! +2] Not only did I gain knowledge of a new language, but a name appeared above her head that read out as "Nana | Level 25." I tried to talk to myself after learning a language, but it seems my infant body can''t talk regardless. I then decided to use every chance I got. Eventually, a notification told me it turned into a passive skill, so I didn''t need to call out its name. I did this for 2 years, but never figured out how to see if I had skills other than and the ones I got from using the skill. I also got something called a title, [Impossible Growth]. Here are the other skills I got from : - On top of gaining a general understanding of something with , allows me to gain an in-depth understanding. It seems to make up for ''s faults. For example, I only understood the spoken Turanian language before I gained . Now, I could read and write if I had the chance. Over all, it makes me feel like a genius. - This combo skill came naturally, which makes me believe it''ll let me recreate and change things I observe. Apparently, it evolved from, and replaced, one of my previous skills, called , which I became aware of as I was starting to be able to form words with my maturing vocal cords. Anyways, we also had an occasional group story and bath from Nana. By group story, I mean I am not the only kid taken care of by Nana. While sometimes their cries sound like the crying of a million kids, they are actually the cries of only two other kids. Nana calls me ''Ruto.'' One of the other kids is a cat-girl, Nana calls her ''Asuna.'' The remaining kid is a human-boy, Nana calls him ''Erin.'' The stories she tells us are usually about great adventurers and powerful magicians. As we got older, she''d tell us to get ready to become her brave little heroes. ************ Suddenly, five years had passed since my arrival in this new(?) world. We had long since, sadly, evolved from breast-feeding to solid-foods. Our eating habits aren''t the only changes. Two years ago, Erin and I, instead of just being told stories, we started to create our own with sticks and rocks that we find in the forest, honing our "professional" sword-play. Well, at least I was truly attempting to, which ended up making me the superior sword-wielder. I only lost a fight when Erin did dirty-tricks like trip me or throw sand. He is a tricky little piece of crap. But... I''ve never bled before. It... it is a little odd. Erin ends up with cuts and bruises, but nothing really ''harms'' me... What about Asuna? Well, she usually just watched and giggled, always following Nana around like a little chick. The forest we gathered our "swords" from surrounds the entire church, meaning we are probably far from a city. Noted. While I don''t really know much about the world, if I do decide to go out into the world I''ll have to venture a good bit away. * Nana has called us to the kitchen. She told us, "It is time to say goodbye." What...? Just like that, she tossed me, a bag of gold, and two other distraught five year-old kids on a carriage. Honestly, I don''t mind that much, because the other two had stopped listening when she had said they would have to be separated, instantly breaking down. I, however, heard clearly that she said we would be going to school. A school for magic. ============================ [Admin''s Status Menu] Name : Ruto Age : 5 Money : 500 G | 0S | 0B Race : Demi-Human (Fox-Wolf) Racial Effects/Abilities - +5 STR/AGI Per LVL Increased spirit affinity. Heightened sense of danger. Level : 14 Title(s) : [Pitiful Creature] [Blessed] [Orphan] [Impossible Growth] Title Effects - [Blessed] +2 To All Stats Per LVL [Impossible Growth] Skills are easier to obtain/level. [Orphan] Relationships are easily formed. (+??? Charm, Hidden Effects) [Pitiful Creature] Effects Hidden. Class : None Stats : Strength/Vitality - 116 Agility/Dexterity - 116 Intelligence/Wisdom - 52 (+35) Charm - 26 (+???) Skills : Magic : Affinities : Spirit (Inherent) Lv. ? Holy/Divine (Unknown) Lv. ? Unholy/Dark (Unknown) Lv. ? Fire/Lightning (Unknown) Lv. ? Water/Ice (Unknown) Lv. ? Earth (Unknown) Lv. ? Wind (Unknown) Lv. ? Traits & Resistances : ~??? Blood~ (Unawakened/Hidden) ~???~ (Unknown/Hidden) Recently Unlocked : Classes, Stats, Effects, Skill Status'', Affinities, Affinity Status'', Trait/Resist Status'' ============================ Extra Information : Note : Stat Increases. All stats, except certain hidden stats and charm, naturally increase by +2 per LVL without the effects from someone''s race, titles, traits, and skills, so factor that in if you wish to check whether the stats are accurate. Note : "Recently Unlocked:" and . "Recently Unlocked:" means these are things Ruto would be able to now see if he could access his [Personal Status Menu]. His new skill, , has widened his understanding of himself, and the things around him. is still too weak to reveal anything about Ruto''s unique traits, skills, and resistances, other than that they have not been awakened. Oh, also, not every skill has a level! Note : (Unknown), (Unawakened), (Revealed/Hidden). Abilities/Traits with the (Unknown) status are simply things Ruto doesn''t know about, or hasn''t tried before, but they are in effect and can be seen in his [Personal Status Menu]. If he needed the ability, but didn''t know about, the system would prompt him to ask him to use, like with . They would lose this status if Ruto viewed, heard about, or used them, except if they were (Hidden) or if the knowledge he has on them is incomplete. (Unawakened) status'' are abilities/traits that are not in effect because he has not met the requirements, and cannot be seen in his [Personal Status Menu] if he was able to access it, unless they were (Revealed). Note : [Personal Status Menu] , [Admin''s Status Menu] , [Status Editor]. The [Personal Status Menu] is what the individual and other mortal''s can view, and statuses like (Hidden), (Revealed), and (Unawakened) cannot be seen using it. The [Admin''s Status Menu] is accessible by higher-beings, like gods, and by extremely high level skills, and it allows the viewer to see all skill status''. It is being used right now for the sake of allowing the reader to keep track of Ruto''s progress. The [Status Editor] has never been accessed by living-beings, save for through the process of reincarnation, thus there isn''t much information on it. 5 In The City 1 "Hey, Ruto?" Asuna probed cutely, while rubbing her now red eyes. It''s only natural, she had been crying a lot. Her blonde hair seemed to shine in the moonlight. We had been on the back of the carriage for a few days now, fortunately the driver fed us occasionally. "Yeah?" I responded carefully. She was hurt the most when Nana tossed us aside, as Asuna hardly talked to Erin and I, and was attached greatly to Nana. "C-can I sleep closer to you...? T-t-this hay doesn''t really keep me warm..." She looked at me with pleading eyes, their azure gleam grabbing my full attention. "Eh, why not?" With a gentle smile, I motioned her towards me. She broke out into a bright glowing smile as she cuddled up to me. I wrapped my arms around her, welcoming my dreams to wrap me in their embrace as well. I will protect this smile. ** The sun greeted us not long after. Erin ended up beating me to being the first awake. "Morning Erin..." I mumbled as I strategically slipped away from the sleeping Asuna. Erin rustled his light-brown hair, looking over at me with his jade green eyes and a teasing smile as he said, "You sure had an interesting pillow last night, didn''t cha''?" "Ehehe..." I calmly laughed it off before noticing that the carriage wasn''t moving. Wait, there aren''t even trees around us. We... we are in a city?! Erin must''ve noticed the confusion on my face as he informed me, "We got in the city about an hour ago. The driver said he didn''t have the heart to wake you two, but he had some business to attend to, so he told me the directions to the school and to take you guys there after you both wake up." ** Now that we were in the city, Asuna began caring about how she looked. We had already walked a few blocks in the direction of the school when she began to get flustered. "I-I-I don''t w-wanna look like this in front of other kids!" she whined adorably as her hair was sticking up due to the bumpy carriage ride. ''We could use a change of clothes, a bath, and definitely a proper meal...'' "Alright, alright. I think I see a clothing store over there go pick somethings you like and then we can find a place to bathe- aaand she has already run over there. Can you find something for me while you watch her?" I sighed while tossing Erin most of the gold coins we had. "I got it dude. Go look for a place to wash or something, then we can meet back here." Erin called out to me, as I had already started walking away. I turned to nod in agreement, then went to where I had heard something interesting. Apparently, I had exceptional hearing. I could hear Nana back at the church from deep in the forest, so picking out something in a bustling city wasn''t too hard. "Bet any amount, then put it in a cup! After that, I''ll shuffle the cups around, and if you choose correctly, I''ll triple it! Every time you choose correctly, I''ll multiply it by one more!" a narrow-faced weasel of a man called out on the street-side. It wasn''t hard to hear him, I even heard him from the carriage a few blocks down. ''This will be easy with ...'' "Hey, Old Man! I''ll play your game, here is 250 Gold Coins." I said as I ran up to him, placing the coins on the table. A lot of people walking on the street gave me greedy glances, though most of them continued on their way except for a suspicious group of fiercely grinning men. If they try anything, I''ll have to find a way to deal with them. "A-alright kid..." The ''weasel'' squirmed as he placed 10 of the coins in a cup and left the rest on the side of the table because they wouldn''t fit. ''He is actually quite talented with his hands. Unfortunately, he is playing against me.'' The cups, 6 in total, darted around the table, as if they had legs of their own. It is basically a blur for any normal person, but with the eyes of a demi-human, I could barely keep track, and with , I could close my eyes if I truly wanted to because a small pop-up would hover over the cup with my money in it. As his hands came to a stop, he looked back at me with a toothy grin, "Heh, alright kid. Don''t cry if you lose all of that money." 6 The Pitiful Creature 2 "Why did god give us such a mistake for a son!" A vulgar woman spat in the face of a clueless 14 year-old boy, whose ribs could be seen through his torn shirt. The environment surrounding the boy was a cold, damp, stone room. The rough and grainy texture of the stone floor made him very uneasy. He let out a few cries occasionally, causing the well-dressed, yet vulgar, woman to smack him across the face. Although he has long since learned that succumbing to the tight feeling in his chest would cause him more pain, he still struggled to withstand it. After all, he is just a boy. "Now, now, don''t bruise him dear. The press already feeds on how little he seems to be fed, a bruised face would do us no good." A similarly well-dressed man criticized the woman. The scowl on the man''s face seemed to show that his malicious intent wasn''t aimed towards the young boy. Color seemed to drain from the woman''s face as she panicked to make amends, "Ah... of course. I''m sorry, I wasn''t thinking clearly honey, please forgive me." The woman hung her head for a moment before spinning around to a corner of the room where a person with far more gentle features than her and the man was standing. Spit slipped from her lips as she yelled an order to the gentle-looking person, "Take him to his room now! Hm... and make sure the stupid fucking cat is still in there, it''ll keep him from crying." The gentle person in the corner mumbled a few words, earning her a glare from the woman, before they bowed their head and lifted the boy''s hand. Used to this string of events, the boy stood up without the need for the ability to see a signal or hear an explanation, only proceeding based off of the soft touch of the gentle person. He calmly allowed the gentle person to guide him up the creaking stairs that led into the kitchen''s cupboard. Before opening the door, the gentle person lovingly rustled the boy''s white hair, causing him to open his dull pink eyes, but he soon closed them once more. The gentle person then touched the cold door knob, which made them reel their hand back for just a moment before they actually turned the knob and walked out into the kitchen. They guided the boy past the living-room, where a few small girl''s looked at him with a trained hate in their eyes, then finally reached the boys room. In his room was the sound of water from a running aquarium, a cat lounging on a table next to his favorite rocking chair, and a simple bed with mounds of fluffy blankets. After seating the boy in his rocking chair, the gentle person seem to shine with an almost angelic aura as they mumbled a few words laced with pity and endearment, "What a pitiful creature." 7 In The City 2 ''I think I went a little to far...'' I guiltily thought to myself as I gazed at the seemingly hollow shell of the foaming weasel-man. The weasel-man had tried a few tricks to con me out of my money during the short-time we had been playing the game, but I simply called him out on the tricks, earned an apology, and continued to get win after win. Eventually, I think the unrealistic situation became too much for the weasel-man as he began to practically foam at the mouth in anger and sorrow. Even the greedy group of men began to drool entire oceans as they gazed at the many large sacks of gold in my possession. ''If only I could store this easily-'' I was interrupted by a message. [Would you like to activate the spatial-storage skill for the first time? YES/NO] ''What?! I''ve had this type of skill the whole time... convenient. Whatever this space is, will this really fit though?'' I questioned as I decided [YES] in my mind. Immediately, the wooden table that threatened to give way to the weight of the coins was relieved of the pressure. [Gained : 500000000 Bronze (1000) -> 500000 Silver (100) -> 5000 Gold (10) -> 500 Platinum] ''Platinum? Wait, does this mean my can convert currency into forms of the same or different currencies?'' I wondered. The reason I asked myself this was because I was paid in Gold, but the system says it has been stored as Platinum, which is a conversion of 10G per platinum coin. Sure enough, I tested it real quickly by willing a platinum coin to appear in my hand, and it worked. It also worked when I tried to call out bronze, silver, and gold coins as well. This saves me from having to approach a bank and explain to them why a kid has so much money in the first place... Nana taught me well in economics. ''As for converting it into currencies of different countries, I''ll have to leave that for later because I have to figure out a way to get away from the group of greedy looking men, then find somewhere to wash up-'' As I was thinking about what to do next, and how I''d do it, a scream escaped from someone that saw me store the gold using the skill, "SPATIAL MAGIC?!" A crowd of shocked and skeptical people formed around me very fast... the perfect cover to slip away from the sight of the suspicious and greedy looking group of men. ** [Erin''s POV : Just outside of a clothing store.] ''Whew.'' I exhaled as Asuna and I walked out of the store. Asuna went all-out on buying clothes for us three, insisting, "We have to present ourselves well," and, "Ruto did give us ALL of this gold to buy clothes..." I tried to convince her not to, as two 5 year-olds using all of that gold to buy clothing would attract attention, but her stubbornness and innocence kept her from accepting that this may cause problems. I guess Ruto and I are pretty mature and independent for our age... uh-oh. The first thing we see as Asuna and I walk out of the store is a large crowd of people screaming, "Spatial-Magic!" and, "There is no way a normal kid can use Spatial-Magic! It has to be the apostle of Laxyus, the God of Magic!" And the one person I see slipping out of, andaway from, the crowd was Ruto. Ruto looked around, to make sure no one noticed him slipping out, then made his way quickly to Asuna and I. "Hurry! Let''s get away form here..." He ushered us away. "Huh, whats going on Ruto-" the adorably clueless Asuna tried to probe Ruto for questions, but she was met with a "SHHH, hurry!" from Ruto. * After a few minutes of running, Ruto stopped in front of us and signaled us to stop. "Alright, we should be far enough away, so no one will recognize me here..." Ruto said this, then explained what had happened, "Although, I don''t know why they said it was Spatial-Magic... it was a skill." Asuna looked on in blissful ignorance, but I... I don''t even have words for how I am feeling at the moment, "Spatial-Magic in and of itself is practically extinct, save for in magical artifacts, which are only possessed by rich noble families... The only ''Modern'' Spatial-Magic is the kind used by the ARCH MAGES ASSOCIATION! PEOPLE THAT CAN WIPE ENTIRE PROVINCES! And now, you are telling me you have skill that can replicate that kind of magic without mana cost?" Ugh, I could feel a headache coming on. Ruto nonchalantly responded with a nod, while Asuna held onto Ruto''s arm shaking. Ah... I probably shouldn''t have yelled, but the situation is ridiculous... and the only reason I know anything about this is because Nana would read to the loser of our sword fights books about magic, and I was usually the loser. Maybe she knew this would happen and that I''d have to keep Ruto from getting in deep trouble. 8 Sponsored? 1 [ Asuna''s POV : Outside of a Changing Room. ] ''Hehe, I''m so glad I went all-out on our clothes!'' I can''t help giggling like this to myself! I mean, I did such a good job picking out our clothes after all, even though I did have to ask the old cashier to help me choose, and all of our clothes fit together well! Ruto has always liked hoods, he said it helped during his sword fights with Erin because Erin couldn''t see where Ruto was aiming to swing. So, I got him a black collared shirt with a golden dragon-pin on the cuffs and white accents decorating the cuffs and collar, which was called [Rogue''s Formal Shirt]. It probably got its name because it has a magical hood that can only be seen when the wearer wants it to be seen, and it is made of strong ''stuff''. I also picked him out a pair of pants called [Rogue''s Formal Pants], which looked like a normal thing of black dress-pants, but it is also apparently made out of super strong ''stuff'', along with the accessories and foot-wear of the [Rogue''s Formal] set. Erin got a similar outfit, but his shirt was white with black accents and had a pin of an owl. However, he also had an invisible hood on his shirt, and it was called [Mage''s Formal Shirt]. His pants, [Mage''s Formal Pants], where similarly inverted like his shirt. He also got the accessories and foot-wear of the [Mage''s Formal] set. And now for mine. I got a surprisingly bubbly white and black dress. Despite to mellow color scheme, it was surprisingly cute and bubbly. The base color of the dress was white, while black vines climbed up the skirt of the dress. Magical add-ons gave it the ability to emit light depending on the will of the wearer, and it had the hidden hood. The dress was called [Support''s Formal Dress]. Ruto said, "The old man who picked these out may have been hinting at something," but what could that mean? That old cashier just helped me pick them out... hmph. [ Ruto''s POV : Outside of a Changing Room. ] ''Maybe that old man was a veteran...'' I silently thought to myself. ''I mean, I''m pretty sure he just foreshadowed every role in our party of three...'' ''Everything has been giving me a headache lately. I''ll just leave thinking about this for later...'' I said as I spun a dagger between my fingers. Oh yeah. I guess I forgot to say that, when unfolding my clothes, I found a dagger. I guess I should use . [Attempting to use on an Unidentified Dagger... object resisted.] [Try Again? YES/NO] ''Huh? Wait... things can resist my skill? Well, I guess it would be a little ridiculous if I could use it on people many levels and ranks higher than me, so it its good that I found out now.'' I eventually reached a logical explanation, then decided to try again. [Trying Again.... Success!] [Would you like to bring up the information? YES/NO] ''[YES]'' I chose in my head. [Object Inspection Menu] Name : Dusk Tamer Class Type : None (AGI/DEX Class Recommended) Rarity : Priceless (Divine Existence) Description: The 7th apostle of the God of Smithing''s first weapon. Despite it being their first creation, they were able to obtain attribute bonuses higher than 2, and hidden bonuses aswell. Attributes : STR/VIT : + 3 AGI/DEX : + 5(?) INT/WIS : + 2 ============================ [Congratulations! You are now an owner of a divine priceless object.] [You''ve been sponsored! You have been gifted : Title(s), Soul Info, Weapon Info] ''Sponsored...?'' As I read through the last notification, a blinding pain went through my head, then my vision faded into a hungry darkness that ate away at my consciousness... 9 Sponsored? 2 ''Huh... where am I?'' I probed my memory to see if I could remember where this place is. I had lost consciousness, and just now regained it, only to be met with a sight I don''t recognize. A vast open field was spread out before me, and scattered about were many flowers, all of varying colors like red, white, violet, rainbow. I had pulled myself up into a sitting position before I realized what I had just observed. ''Wait, rainbow?'' As if to tell me to stop being shocked, the ding of a notification caught my attention. [You''ve been successfully summoned by your sponsor!] ''Sponsor?'' I questioned my memories. ''OH! I do remember seeing something along the lines of a sponsor before I passed out... what it is a sponsor?'' "A sponsor is someone very powerful who has become interested in, or has already been intertwined with, your fate. Due to their interest, they either want to simply help you out a bit, or take on the taks of properly guiding you through your life." A feminine voice answered my thoughts, but I couldn''t tell from where. ''Huh? I must be going insane...'' I attempted to rationalize hearing a voice with the possible onset of insanity. "You are not going insane, I simply answered your thoughts."The feminine voice sounded out once again, but this time I could tell it was coming from behind. I suddenly stood-up, then turned to look up at whoever was behind me. What greeted me when I looked up was the most gentle and dazzling beauty I''ve seen, although the only beauties I''ve seen are Asuna, Nana, and a couple of "street-girls." The woman had the voice of a maiden, the lips and hips only a dream can produce, the pale skin of deafening purity and silent desire, and the eyes that seemed to be a lush green forest captured inside of two shimmering crystals. Her golden hair, which flowed over her pointed ears, reached from what seemed to be a about a modest five feet of height, all the way to the flower littered ground. And she answered my thoughts like an scholar- "WAIT YOU CAN READ MY THOUGHTS? Hold up... nono, that isn''t the most important question. Who are you, and where am I?" I lost my cool for a moment, but quickly collected myself. This may be a bit of a ridiculous situation, but losing my cool will do me no good. She must be a goddess, or this has to be a dream, as those are the only viable explanations for this situation. "Oh, you don''t remember me? Well... my name will do you no good, but just know I will be guiding you and mentoring you from here on. As for this place, this is one of my worlds, Toruna. I''ll stop reading your thoughts for now, so just talk out loud to me." She once again answered my questions. "We know each other?" I asked, ''I really don''t think I would forget meeting a beauty like her. If my body was more developed I''d...'' I sleazily thought to myself. "Yes...but it doesn''t really matter now. Perhaps I could... No, I''ll tell you at a later date, I''m sorry." She replied, and it was obvious she was having an internal debate as to whether she should tell me or not, but as she said it probably doesn''t matter. ''I''ll just drop that subject then...'' "And... what did you mean when you said this is one of your worlds?" I said, while thinking she must really be a goddess. Immediately after asking this, my vision momentarily went black, obscuring her from view, before it once again returned to normal, allowing me to view her once more. "Ah... it seems the time for the first summon is already over. I''m sorry I can''t explain more to you, but next time I promise we''ll have more time." She hurried her words as she gave me another lacking and rushed explanation. ''Is there a reason she isn''t telling me too much?'' "I''m truly sorry Shir-, Ruto. Please do be safe... and make sure to put the information and title you''ll receive once you wake up to good use." She apologized to me once more, then said a few more things that didn''t make much sense to me. ''She knows my old name?! Even I only knew very few things about the old me, and some random woman or goddess knows my old name?'' I would''ve asked more, I really would have, but my vision was once again enveloped in darkness, and my mind felt groggy... damn. 10 Orientation : Arrival 1 A slight movement chased the darkness away from my vision, allowing me to look up at an unfamiliar ceiling, one that was much higher than even the church''s. I was also greeted by the sounds of many high-pitched voices, and as I started to sit-up, I realized the voices belonged to a large group of kids. I had been laying in the middle of a very large room, probably meant to fit up to 1,000 people, although there were only about 400 people, some the height of teenagers, and others just barely above the height of the average toddler. About 7 or 8 meters ahead of me is a decently sized platform, which is about 1 meter up from the floor I''m currently sitting on. Most of the platform was kept from view by a large white curtain, which would probably be hiding a few props or people if there was a play going on. ''Am I in a school auditorium now? I thought my body moved to that other world, but I guess it was something like my soul or mind that moved...'' I tried to make sense of how I had gotten here, and the best I could come up with is that I was carried here while unconscious. As if someone knew I was confused about where I was, a familiar high-pitched voice called out to me as it moved closer, and the voices waving tail soon came into view, "Ruto, your finally awake! We got scared after you suddenly collapsed like that... so we took you to the school! I was so worried about you..." ''Aw, Asuna~'' I swooned over her cuteness in my head as she fell into my arms, crying out her worry and relief laced tears. "Eh, the teacher''s said you''d be fine," Erin said calmly, as he came up from behind where Asuna was previously standing before she had given in to her cute and childish tendencies... "Wait, did we miss the orientation?" As I was still patting Asuna''s head, and rubbing her soft cat ears, I got worried, as we may have been late because of me... "Hm? Oh, nah, the Principal is late, so we haven''t really missed anything. Apparently they saw a child using spatial-magic, and wanted to scout them for the school, but lost track of them..." Erin, though a little nervous that the Principal had seen me, assured me that we haven''t missed anything, which took a big weight off of my shoulders. ''Hehe, that just means I can spend more time cuddling with this little cutie,'' I thought to myself, as I looked at Asuna with mischief in my eyes. [10 Minutes Later] ''I feel like I''m forgetting something...'' I thought to myself as Asuna slipped out of my arms, and we both got on our feet to stand next to Erin. [10 More Minutes Later] As authority filled foot-steps sounded out from the stage, the room began to become quiet, mainly due to the hard work of the taller kids that shushed the shorter, younger kids. Suddenly, the lights cut out, making Asuna let out an adorable yelp. The only thing that we could see in the Auditorium was a mesmerizing white glow coming from the stage. If you looked closely enough, the glowing was coming from a floating crystal-like shard, about the size of an adult hand, in the middle of the stage. The glow from the crystal grew, as it allowed us the see the person standing on the stage. "Hello! My name is Tyr Breigner, a retired adventurer, as well as the head-principal and advanced magic theory instructor of this school." A feminine voice sounded from the stage, as a small line of text appeared above her head, [Tyr Breigner (Nickname: Tear Bringer) Lv. ???]. [Observed A Legend! Level Up! +2] ''She is the real deal...'' I thought to myself, FINALLY making use of ''s ability to see a bit of information on other people. (Alright, here is a status update for those who want to bother reading that mess. I promise it''ll be shorter soon.) ============================ [Admin''s Status Menu] Name : Ruto Age : 5 Money : 500 P | 0G | 0S | 0B Race : Demi-Human (Fox-Wolf) Racial Effects/Abilities - +5 STR/AGI Per LVL Increased spirit affinity. Heightened sense of danger. Level : 16 Title(s) : [Pitiful Creature] [Blessed] [Orphan] [Impossible Growth] Title Effects - [Blessed] +2 To All Stats Per LVL [Impossible Growth] Skills are easier to obtain/level. [Orphan] Relationships are easily formed. (+??? Charm) [Pitiful Creature] Effects Hidden. Soul : Unknown Class : None Stats : Strength/Vitality - 144 (+3) Agility/Dexterity - 144 (+5) Intelligence/Wisdom - 64 (+37) Charm - 26 (+???) Skills : Magic : Affinities : Spirit (Inherent) Lv. ? Holy/Divine (Unknown) Lv. ? Unholy/Dark (Unknown) Lv. ? Fire/Lightning (Unknown) Lv. ? Water/Ice (Unknown) Lv. ? Earth (Unknown) Lv. ? Wind (Unknown) Lv. ? Traits & Resistances : ~???~ (Unawakened/Hidden) ~???~ (Unknown/Hidden) Recently Unlocked : Soul ============================ 11 Orientation : Soul 2 [???''s POV] "The woman on the stage, Tyr, exudes the calm and overwhelming aura of the sea, as if to match with her azure hair. She calls a few other people up to the stage, introducing a few more teachers, all with distinct auras coming from them, but none of their auras can withstand the overwhelming pressure of the sea. Well... I say none, but one of their aura''s are struggling against the Tyr woman''s aura," the gentle woman observed the "aura''s" of the people on stage. [Margaret Bastia (Nickname : Margarita) Lv. 69] "Indeed, the person who''s aura was contending with Tyr''s was conceived due to one too many margaritas. It''s in her character description, but I''ve decided I shouldn''t peek too much at person''s character description. Not after what happened with the late Hero of this world, a Hero being an adventurer who has reached Hero-Class strength without the help of a sponsor, and has vowed to protect their home world... that damned lolicon. Of course he''d receive ample judgement after I discovered such a thing, after all, I''ve reached God-Class. His strongest attack as a Hero-Class would barely reach an ordinary punch from a God-Class," the gentle woman stated matter-of-factly, as if we- as if I was supposed to know what the words "God-Class" meant. "Ah, I''m sorry... this must be very confusing, as you''ve only just awakened a little over a year ago, and haven''t been able to go far from that pitiful boy, Ruto. I''m sorry, the boy still hasn''t noticed your existence even after I gave him information on the soul... the experience of his first summons must be interfering. Here, I''ll provide you with the information on souls directly, maybe it''ll awaken the knowledge I gave on souls to Ruto too," the woman formed a small orb on her finger, which eventually floated into what I think is my "forehead." "#%%^#@$@," strange symbols flashed into my vision, which is barely above the vision of Ruto''s, sending a blinding stinging sensation into my "eyes." And then... [Opening Prompt...] ======================= [Soul + Status Menu Info] (General Definition) The consolidation of a person''s knowledge, experiences, skills, and abilities, given an ethereal form. The class of their soul commonly acts as the persons title, like King or Queen (see soul-class). (General Info) Inside the body, the soul cannot function without the brain, establishing the connection called the . Outside of the body, the soul can still be connected to the brain, thus being controlled by , but that is only if the person had enough experience, and if their body was in perfect condition. Otherwise, the soul would only leave the body in small portions during the use of skills, or if the person died, but the latter often results in the soul dispersing. The , the connection between the brain and the soul, is the only place personalities reside. This does not hold true for King-Class, and souls with mutated progressions. (Soul-Class) System-Class : It is thought that the system, which aids and limits development, has a soul. One theory suggests that someone once reached something above God-Class, with the desires to aid all life, but maintain their absolute strength, the existence known as the system. God-Class : Peoples/Beings at this class have become very specialized. They have pioneered their own paths to dominance, destruction, and/or creation, usually forfeiting control to their Soul Guide. Emperor/Apostle/Imp-Class : People/Beings with souls at this class possess strength and/or knowledge that ranges from the ability to threaten planets, to threatening galaxies. Their Soul Guide has most likely affected their personality to the extreme. High King/Hero/Trickster-Class : People/Beings with souls at this class possess strength and/or knowledge that ranges from the ability to threaten continents, to threatening entire planets. Their Soul Guide''s personality usually starts to noticeably affect their main personality. King/Legend/Venerable-Class : People/Beings with souls at this class possess strength and/or knowledge that ranges from the ability to destroy cities, to toppling entire countries. Most nobles would now claim the title of King, Adventurer''s of Legend, and Scholar''s of Venerable. They now have access to their soul guide, which can slightly alter their personality. Noble/Adventurer/Scholar-Class : People/Beings with souls at this class have a skewed balance, and have abilities that range from destroying a boulder to a town. Noble''s have a balanced, but inexperienced, soul. Adventurer''s have an unbalanced, but experienced, soul. A Scholar''s experience and balance varies greatly. Peasant-Class : Everyday people, who don''t seek out strength or knowledge, possess soul''s at this class. They possess very weak magical and physical prowess due to their lack of observation and/or training. Morphing-Class : The Morphing-Class, sometimes called a pseudo Enlightened-State, holds no definite shape or strength. Due to its loose form, it reaches out for anything it can get, making the person an extremely fast learner. The natural Morphing-Class lasts about 9 to 12 years in humans/demi-humans, spanning their childhood. An artificial recreation of the Morphing-Class, or an enlightenment, has no estimated time-limit, as not many people undergo it more than once in their lifetime. (Soul Guide''s) A separate personality, only developed by King-Class and above. Occasionally, soul''s with mutant progression, which are soul''s that have strange shapes and growth, develop soul guides without reaching King-Class. Soul Guides are sometimes thought to be the person''s desires and beliefs, boiled down to their purest aspects, as the moment a person develops one, they experience minor personality changes. (Status Menu) The status menu is... ======================= "Oh... So, I''d be his soul guide," I eventually reached that conclusion after going over the information on the soul. [Ruto''s POV] "Would anyone like to be first-," Tyr was asking all of us something when I suddenly remembered everything about my encounter with my "sponsor", and the information she gave me on the soul. "I KNEW I WAS FORGETTING SOMETHING!!!" I screamed out. All the eyes in the auditorium looked back at me, well, of course they were. I''m the idiot who just yelled out in the middle of Tyr''s question. ''Fuck, she isn''t mad is she,'' I prayed that Tyr wouldn''t be upset as I slowly looked towards her on the stage. "Ah, I''ll take it you want to try first? Alright, come on up kid," Tyr''s tone sounded a bit annoyed, butI avoided a disaster... I hope, because I fail to remember what I was about to do. "Pssst, Erin! What does she want me to do? I kinda spaced out..." I whispered to Erin as I shuffled around to make it seem like I was getting ready to go up. "Hm? O-oh, uh, you are just going up their to see your status," Erin replied to my question. ''Oh... that weird information bomb had pretty good timing, because I know what that is! It was oddly tucked in with all the stuff about the soul. Convenient! I must have a Soul Guide... I''ve been getting excited very easily, and it has been a bit difficult to act serious,'' I continued to think over the information as I walked up to the stage. The closer I got to Tyr, and the teacher''s standing off to the side, the tighter my chest felt. It kind of felt like my head was under water. ''What do I do now?'' I thought, looking up to the woman, Tyr, while tilting my head. After noticing me look up at her without doing anything, just standing around, she instructed me, "Just touch that modified Magic Crystal. Oh, er, the floating glowy thing." "Oh! What does it do?" I asked. "Oh, yeah, you seem like quite the curious kid, so uh, let me think of something simple... Okay, this one lets you see things like your name, but others usually help you use magic!" Tyr explained to me, but it was obvious her excitement was forced. 2 A Short Five Years ''Silence. Silence. Silence. Feeling. Danger. Pain. Fight. Nothing.'' Those were a rough interpretation of my thoughts a second ago. Now, not only am I thinking in full sentences, but I have an odd amount of knowledge about myself that I never knew, or cared to know a moment ago. Name, Shiro Okami, or White Wolf. Age, 14. This is... odd? I mean, could I even really call my situation odd? Is it in my right to do such a thing? Darkness. It can drive a man mad. And, yet again, I am still being soaked in it. I don''t like the dark. I want to see everything there is to see. I wish to hear all the curses there are to be wished upon a person. I want to live long enough to experience it all. [Acknowledged.] [Generating skills... \u003c???\u003e and \u003cEnhanced Hearing\u003e] [Generating Traits...] [Acquired : ~Tainted Blood~] [Acquired : ~???~] I''ve always been driven by desire, but now I''m ignorant to even desire. I want a purpose. I want to make a purpose. I want to understand... why I exist. [Acknowledged.] [Generating skill... \u003c???\u003e] [Insufficient.] [Generating skills... \u003cScan, Observe, Mimic, Inventory\u003e] [Simulating the application of skills...] [Completed.] [Passive Trait ~Tainted Blood~ has been affected by the skills \u003c??? Eyes\u003e and \u003c???\u003e] [~Tainted Blood~ has become ~??? Blood~] [Processing... Confirmed.] [Applying skills and traits...] [Completed.] [Confirming creation of appropriate body...] [Destroying previous body...] [Transferring soul to the new host body...] [Completed.] ============================ [Admin''s Status Menu] Name : Undecided Title(s) : [Pitiful Creature] [Blessed] [Orphan] Age: 0 Race : Demi-Human (Fox-Wolf) Skills : \u003c??? Eyes\u003e \u003cEnhanced Hearing\u003e \u003cScan\u003e \u003cObserve\u003e \u003cMimic\u003e \u003cInventory\u003e \u003c???\u003e Magic : Traits \u0026 Resistances : ~??? Blood~ ~???~ ============================ "Have fun..." ''HUH?!'' That thought resounded throughout my mind as I heard a voice. I HEARD a voice! I mean, at first I thought that was strangest thing to ever happen to me, but then bright light flooded my eyes as the darkness retreated. ''Eh?'' That was all I could manage to think as an impressively tall woman with fox ears swooned over me, tears in her eyes. Her swooning only lasted a moment as I was torn from her arms by two tall men, both fitted in some type of armor. I desperately want to know why they are so tall, but my consciousness fades as an eerie fatigue washes over me. *** I''ve fallen asleep again and again, only waking up to an intense feeling of hunger and then a hearty "meal" of warm... milk? By now, even an idiot could tell I was a baby... Why though? Has god given me some kind of new chance at life? The voice that had told me to enjoy myself would support that idea. Well, I can''t really talk or move, so no use trying to stress over it. *** An ear-piercing scream startled me awake, followed by a bath of some type of warm and red liquid... blood?! The two armored men lay on the ground beneath me, framed perfectly by two wooden wheels, and only then did I realize I had been on a carriage the whole time. Just what is going on?! Honestly, I was oblivious to being in motion the whole time I was on this carriage. Maybe they had stopped every time they had fed me? Wait... where did the milk come from? That milk better have been bottled milk... Wait... why do I even care about milk right now? Two people were MURDERED in front of me! Yet again, an unfortunate wave of fatigue overwhelms me, while a group encircles me as my consciousness fades. *** I remember waking up at the foot of what seems to be a church, falling asleep, then waking up again only to be greeted by the wails of other children. Then, a woman cared for me and breastfed me. She had a few visitors everyday, whether they be tired travelers or patrons of some type of night job she may have, I am not sure of. After a few days, I had decided to tune into the woman''s conversations more often. Of course, I can''t understand her. [Would you like to activate the skill \u003cObserve\u003e for the first time? YES/NO] The moment that thought crossed my mind I was greeted with that message spanning across my vision. Woah! This is a... skill? From what little information I was given about my old life, nothing about skills came up. Maybe this is a new world, not just a chance at a new life in my old world...? Yes! I called out in my mind. Immediately some type of... progress bar(?) appeared in the bottom-middle of my vision. After listening in to the woman for about 10 minutes, a few notifications popped up as the progress bar filled. [Success! \u003cObserve\u003e Results : \u003cTuranian Language Lv. 5\u003e] [\u003cObserve\u003e UP! \u003cObserve Lv. 2\u003e] [Level Up! +2] Not only did I gain knowledge of a new language, but a name appeared above her head that read out as "Nana | Level 25." I tried to talk to myself after learning a language, but it seems my infant body can''t talk regardless. I then decided to use \u003cObserve\u003e every chance I got. Eventually, a notification told me it turned into a passive skill, so I didn''t need to call out its name. I did this for 2 years, but never figured out how to see if I had skills other than \u003cObserve\u003e and the ones I got from using the skill. I also got something called a title, [Impossible Growth]. Here are the other skills I got from \u003cObserve\u003e : \u003cInterpret\u003e - On top of gaining a general understanding of something with \u003cObserve\u003e, \u003cInterpret\u003e allows me to gain an in-depth understanding. It seems to make up for \u003cObserve\u003e''s faults. For example, I only understood the spoken Turanian language before I gained \u003cInterpret\u003e. Now, I could read and write if I had the chance. Over all, it makes me feel like a genius. \u003cReplicate/Modify\u003e - This combo skill came naturally, which makes me believe it''ll let me recreate and change things I observe. Apparently, it evolved from, and replaced, one of my previous skills, called \u003cMimic\u003e, which I became aware of as I was starting to be able to form words with my maturing vocal cords. Anyways, we also had an occasional group story and bath from Nana. By group story, I mean I am not the only kid taken care of by Nana. While sometimes their cries sound like the crying of a million kids, they are actually the cries of only two other kids. Nana calls me ''Ruto.'' One of the other kids is a cat-girl, Nana calls her ''Asuna.'' The remaining kid is a human-boy, Nana calls him ''Erin.'' The stories she tells us are usually about great adventurers and powerful magicians. As we got older, she''d tell us to get ready to become her brave little heroes. ************ Suddenly, five years had passed since my arrival in this new(?) world. We had long since, sadly, evolved from breast-feeding to solid-foods. Our eating habits aren''t the only changes. Two years ago, Erin and I, instead of just being told stories, we started to create our own with sticks and rocks that we find in the forest, honing our "professional" sword-play. Well, at least I was truly attempting to, which ended up making me the superior sword-wielder. I only lost a fight when Erin did dirty-tricks like trip me or throw sand. He is a tricky little piece of crap. But... I''ve never bled before. It... it is a little odd. Erin ends up with cuts and bruises, but nothing really ''harms'' me... What about Asuna? Well, she usually just watched and giggled, always following Nana around like a little chick. The forest we gathered our "swords" from surrounds the entire church, meaning we are probably far from a city. Noted. While I don''t really know much about the world, if I do decide to go out into the world I''ll have to venture a good bit away. * Nana has called us to the kitchen. She told us, "It is time to say goodbye." What...? Just like that, she tossed me, a bag of gold, and two other distraught five year-old kids on a carriage. Honestly, I don''t mind that much, because the other two had stopped listening when she had said they would have to be separated, instantly breaking down. I, however, heard clearly that she said we would be going to school. A school for magic. ============================ [Admin''s Status Menu] Name : Ruto Age : 5 Money : 500 G | 0S | 0B Race : Demi-Human (Fox-Wolf) Racial Effects/Abilities - +5 STR/AGI Per LVL Increased spirit affinity. Heightened sense of danger. Level : 14 Title(s) : [Pitiful Creature] [Blessed] [Orphan] [Impossible Growth] Title Effects - [Blessed] +2 To All Stats Per LVL [Impossible Growth] Skills are easier to obtain/level. [Orphan] Relationships are easily formed. (+??? Charm, Hidden Effects) [Pitiful Creature] Effects Hidden. Class : None Stats : Strength/Vitality - 126 Agility/Dexterity - 126 Intelligence/Wisdom - 56 (+35) Charm - 26 (+???) Skills : \u003c??? Eyes (Unawakened/Hidden)\u003e \u003c??? (Unawakened/Hidden)\u003e \u003cEnhanced Hearing (Passive)\u003e \u003cTuranian Language MAX (Pas.)\u003e \u003cScan Lv. 1 (Unknown)\u003e \u003cObserve (Pas.)\u003e \u003cInventory (Unknown)\u003e \u003cReplicate/Modify Lv. 1\u003e \u003cInterpret Lv. 8 (+35 INT)\u003e Magic : None Traits \u0026 Resistances : ~??? Blood~ (Unawakened/Hidden) ~???~ (Unknown/Hidden) Recently Unlocked : Classes, Stats, Effects, Skill Status'', Trait/Resist Status'' ============================ 3 In The City "Hey, Ruto?" Asuna probed cutely, while rubbing her now red eyes. It''s only natural, she had been crying a lot. Her blonde hair seemed to shine in the moonlight. We had been on the back of the carriage for a few days now, fortunately the driver fed us occasionally. "Yeah?" I responded carefully. She was hurt the most when Nana tossed us aside, as Asuna hardly talked to Erin and I, and was attached greatly to Nana. "C-can I sleep closer to you...? T-t-this hay doesn''t really keep me warm..." She looked at me with pleading eyes, their azure gleam grabbing my full attention. "Eh, why not?" With a gentle smile, I motioned her towards me. She broke out into a bright glowing smile as she cuddled up to me. I wrapped my arms around her, welcoming my dreams to wrap me in their embrace as well. I will protect this smile. ** The sun greeted us not long after. Erin ended up beating me to being the first awake. "Morning Erin..." I mumbled as I strategically slipped away from the sleeping Asuna. Erin rustled his light-brown hair, looking over at me with his jade green eyes and a teasing smile as he said, "You sure had an interesting pillow last night, didn''t cha''?" "Ehehe..." I calmly laughed it off before noticing that the carriage wasn''t moving. Wait, there aren''t even trees around us. We... we are in a city?! Erin must''ve noticed the confusion on my face as he informed me, "We got in the city about an hour ago. The driver said he didn''t have the heart to wake you two, but he had some business to attend to, so he told me the directions to the school and to take you guys there after you both wake up." ** Now that we were in the city, Asuna began caring about how she looked. We had already walked a few blocks in the direction of the school when she began to get flustered. "I-I-I don''t w-wanna look like this in front of other kids!" she whined adorably as her hair was sticking up due to the bumpy carriage ride. ''We could use a change of clothes, a bath, and definitely a proper meal...'' "Alright, alright. I think I see a clothing store over there go pick somethings you like and then we can find a place to bathe- aaand she has already run over there. Can you find something for me while you watch her?" I sighed while tossing Erin most of the gold coins we had. "I got it dude. Go look for a place to wash or something, then we can meet back here." Erin called out to me, as I had already started walking away. I turned to nod in agreement, then went to where I had heard something interesting. Apparently, I had exceptional hearing. I could hear Nana back at the church from deep in the forest, so picking out something in a bustling city wasn''t too hard. "Bet any amount, then put it in a cup! After that, I''ll shuffle the cups around, and if you choose correctly, I''ll triple it! Every time you choose correctly, I''ll multiply it by one more!" a narrow-faced weasel of a man called out on the street-side. It wasn''t hard to hear him, I even heard him from the carriage a few blocks down. ''This will be easy with \u003cObserve\u003e...'' "Hey, Old Man! I''ll play your game, here is 250 Gold Coins." I said as I ran up to him, placing the coins on the table. A lot of people walking on the street gave me greedy glances, though most of them continued on their way except for a suspicious group of fiercely grinning men. If they try anything, I''ll have to find a way to deal with them. "A-alright kid..." The ''weasel'' squirmed as he placed 10 of the coins in a cup and left the rest on the side of the table because they wouldn''t fit. ''He is actually quite talented with his hands. Unfortunately, he is playing against me.'' The cups, 6 in total, darted around the table, as if they had legs of their own. It is basically a blur for any normal person, but with the eyes of a demi-human, I could barely keep track, and with \u003cObserve\u003e, I could close my eyes if I truly wanted to because a small pop-up would hover over the cup with my money in it. As his hands came to a stop, he looked back at me with a toothy grin, "Heh, alright kid. Don''t cry if you lose all of that money." * ''I think I went a little to far...'' I guiltily thought to myself as I gazed at the seemingly hollow shell of the foaming weasel-man. The weasel-man had tried a few tricks to con me out of my money during the short-time we had been playing the game, but I simply called him out on the tricks, earned an apology, and continued to get win after win. Eventually, I think the unrealistic situation became too much for the weasel-man as he began to practically foam at the mouth in anger and sorrow. Even the greedy group of men began to drool entire oceans as they gazed at the many large sacks of gold in my possession. ''If only I could store this easily-'' I was interrupted by a message. [Would you like to activate the spatial-storage skill \u003cInventory\u003e for the first time? YES/NO] ''What?! I''ve had this type of skill the whole time... convenient. Whatever this space is, will this really fit though?'' I questioned as I decided [YES] in my mind. Immediately, the wooden table that threatened to give way to the weight of the coins was relieved of the pressure. [Gained : 500000000 Bronze (1000) -\u003e 500000 Silver (100) -\u003e 5000 Gold (10) -\u003e 500 Platinum] ''Platinum? Wait, does this mean my \u003cInventory\u003e can convert currency into forms of the same or different currencies?'' I wondered. The reason I asked myself this was because I was paid in Gold, but the system says it has been stored as Platinum, which is a conversion of 10G per platinum coin. Sure enough, I tested it real quickly by willing a platinum coin to appear in my hand, and it worked. It also worked when I tried to call out bronze, silver, and gold coins as well. This saves me from having to approach a bank and explain to them why a kid has so much money in the first place... Nana taught me well in economics. ''As for converting it into currencies of different countries, I''ll have to leave that for later because I have to figure out a way to get away from the group of greedy looking men, then find somewhere to wash up-'' As I was thinking about what to do next, and how I''d do it, a scream escaped from someone that saw me store the gold using the \u003cInventory\u003e skill, "SPATIAL MAGIC?!" A crowd of shocked and skeptical people formed around me very fast... the perfect cover to slip away from the sight of the suspicious and greedy looking group of men. ** [Erin''s POV : Just outside of a clothing store.] ''Whew.'' I exhaled as Asuna and I walked out of the store. Asuna went all-out on buying clothes for us three, insisting, "We have to present ourselves well," and, "Ruto did give us ALL of this gold to buy clothes..." I tried to convince her not to, as two 5 year-olds using all of that gold to buy clothing would attract attention, but her stubbornness and innocence kept her from accepting that this may cause problems. I guess Ruto and I are pretty mature and independent for our age... uh-oh. The first thing we see as Asuna and I walk out of the store is a large crowd of people screaming, "Spatial-Magic!", "He didn''t even use a magic-crystal, or a chant!" and, "It has to be the apostle of Laxyus, the God of Magic!" And the one person I see slipping out of, and away from, the crowd was Ruto. Ruto looked around, to make sure no one noticed him slipping out, then made his way quickly to Asuna and I. "Hurry! Let''s get away form here..." He ushered us away. "Huh, whats going on Ruto-" the adorably clueless Asuna tried to probe Ruto for questions, but she was met with a "SHHH, hurry!" from Ruto. * After a few minutes of running, Ruto stopped in front of us and signaled us to stop. "Alright, we should be far enough away, so no one will recognize me here..." Ruto said this, then explained what had happened, "Although, I don''t know why they said it was Spatial-Magic... it was a skill." Asuna looked on in blissful ignorance, but I... I don''t even have words for how I am feeling at the moment, "Spatial-Magic in and of itself is practically extinct, save for in magical artifacts, which are only possessed by rich noble families... The only ''Modern'' Spatial-Magic is the kind used by the ARCH MAGES ASSOCIATION! PEOPLE THAT CAN WIPE ENTIRE PROVINCES! And now, you are telling me you have skill that can replicate that kind of magic without mana cost, or with the help of a magic-crystal?" Ugh, I could feel a headache coming on. Ruto nonchalantly responded with a nod, while Asuna held onto Ruto''s arm shaking. Ah... I probably shouldn''t have yelled, but the situation is ridiculous... and the only reason I know anything about this is because Nana would read to the loser of our sword fights books about magic, and I was usually the loser. Maybe she knew this would happen and that I''d have to keep Ruto from getting in deep trouble. 4 The Pitiful Creature 2 "Why did god give us such a mistake for a son!" A vulgar woman spat in the face of a clueless 14 year-old boy, whose ribs could be seen through his torn shirt. The environment surrounding the boy was a cold, damp, room lined with seemingly ancient stone. The rough and grainy texture of the aging stone floor made him very uneasy. He let out a few cries to express his dislike for the texture occasionally, but that only resulted in the well-dressed woman smacking him across the face. Although he has long since learned that succumbing to the tight feeling in his chest would cause him more pain, he still struggled to withstand it. After all, he is just a boy. "Now, now, don''t bruise him dear. The press already feeds on how little he seems to be fed, a bruised face would do us no good." A similarly well-dressed man criticized the woman. The scowl on the man''s face seemed to show that his malicious intent wasn''t aimed towards the young boy. Color seemed to drain from the woman''s face as she panicked to make amends, "Ah... of course. I''m sorry, I wasn''t thinking clearly honey, please forgive me." The woman hung her head for a moment before spinning around to a corner of the room where a person with far more gentle features than her and the man was standing. Spit slipped from her lips as she yelled an order to the gentle-looking person, "Take him to his room now! Hm... and make sure the stupid fucking cat is still in there, it''ll keep him from crying." The gentle person in the corner mumbled a few words, earning her a glare from the woman, before they bowed their head and lifted the boy''s hand. Used to this string of events, the boy stood up without the need for the ability to see a signal or hear an explanation, only proceeding based off of the soft touch of the gentle person. He calmly allowed the gentle person to guide him up the creaking stairs that led into the kitchen''s cupboard. Before opening the door, the gentle person lovingly rustled the boy''s white hair, causing him to open his dull pink eyes, but he soon closed them once more. The gentle person then touched the cold door knob, which made them reel their hand back for just a moment before they actually turned the knob and walked out into the kitchen. They guided the boy past the living-room, where a few small girl''s looked at him with a trained hate in their eyes, then finally reached the boys room. In his room was the sound of water from a running aquarium, a cat lounging on a table next to his favorite rocking chair, and a simple bed with mounds of fluffy blankets. After seating the boy in his rocking chair, the gentle person seem to shine with an almost angelic aura as they mumbled a few words laced with pity and endearment, "What a pitiful creature." 5 Sponsored? 1 [ Asuna''s POV : Outside of a Changing Room. ] ''Hehe, I''m so glad I went all-out on our clothes!'' I can''t help giggling like this to myself! I mean, I did such a good job picking out our clothes after all, even though I did have to ask the old cashier to help me choose, and all of our clothes fit together well! Ruto has always liked hoods, he said it helped during his sword fights with Erin because Erin couldn''t see where Ruto was aiming to swing. So, I got him a black collared shirt with a golden dragon-pin on the cuffs and white accents decorating the cuffs and collar, which was called [Rogue''s Formal Shirt]. It probably got its name because it has a magical hood that can only be seen when the wearer wants it to be seen, and it is made of strong ''stuff''. I also picked him out a pair of pants called [Rogue''s Formal Pants], which looked like a normal thing of black dress-pants, but it is also apparently made out of super strong ''stuff'', along with the accessories and foot-wear of the [Rogue''s Formal] set. Erin got a similar outfit, but his shirt was white with black accents and had a pin of an owl. However, he also had an invisible hood on his shirt, and it was called [Mage''s Formal Shirt]. His pants, [Mage''s Formal Pants], where similarly inverted like his shirt. He also got the accessories and foot-wear of the [Mage''s Formal] set. And now for mine. I got a surprisingly bubbly white and black dress. Despite to mellow color scheme, it was surprisingly cute and bubbly. The base color of the dress was white, while black vines climbed up the skirt of the dress. Magical add-ons gave it the ability to emit light depending on the will of the wearer, and it had the hidden hood. The dress was called [Support''s Formal Dress]. Ruto said, "The old man who picked these out may have been hinting at something," but what could that mean? That old cashier just helped me pick them out... hmph. [ Ruto''s POV : Outside of a Changing Room. ] ''Maybe that old man was a veteran...'' I silently thought to myself. ''I mean, I''m pretty sure he just foreshadowed every role in our party of three...'' ''Everything has been giving me a headache lately. I''ll just leave thinking about this for later...'' I said as I spun a dagger between my fingers. Oh yeah. I guess I forgot to say that, when unfolding my clothes, I found a dagger. I guess I should use \u003cObserve\u003e. [Attempting to use \u003cObserve\u003e on an Unidentified Dagger... object resisted.] [Try Again? YES/NO] ''Huh? Wait... things can resist my \u003cObserve\u003e skill? Well, I guess it would be a little ridiculous if I could use it on people many levels and ranks higher than me, so it its good that I found out now.'' I eventually reached a logical explanation, then decided to try again. [Trying Again.... Success!] [Would you like to bring up the information? YES/NO] ''[YES]'' I chose in my head. [Object Inspection Menu] Name : Dusk Tamer Class Type : None (AGI/DEX Class Recommended) Rarity : Priceless (Divine Existence) Description: The 7th apostle of the God of Smithing''s first weapon. Despite it being their first creation, they were able to obtain attribute bonuses higher than 2, and hidden bonuses aswell. Attributes : STR/VIT : + 3 AGI/DEX : + 5(?) INT/WIS : + 2 ============================ [Congratulations! You are now an owner of a divine priceless object.] [You''ve been sponsored! You have been gifted : Title(s), Soul Info, Weapon Info] ''Sponsored...?'' As I read through the last notification, a blinding pain went through my head, then my vision faded into a hungry darkness that ate away at my consciousness... 6 Sponsored? 2 ''Huh... where am I?'' I probed my memory to see if I could remember where this place is. I had lost consciousness, and just now regained it, only to be met with a sight I don''t recognize. A vast open field was spread out before me, and scattered about were many flowers, all of varying colors like red, white, violet, rainbow. I had pulled myself up into a sitting position before I realized what I had just observed. ''Wait, rainbow?'' As if to tell me to stop being shocked, the ding of a notification caught my attention. [You''ve been successfully summoned by your sponsor!] ''Sponsor?'' I questioned my memories. ''OH! I do remember seeing something along the lines of a sponsor before I passed out... what it is a sponsor?'' "A sponsor is someone very powerful who has become interested in, or has already been intertwined with, your fate. Due to their interest, they either want to simply help you out a bit, or take on the task of properly guiding you through your life." A feminine voice answered my thoughts, but I couldn''t tell from where. ''Huh? I must be going insane...'' I attempted to rationalize hearing a voice with the possible onset of insanity. "You are not going insane, I simply answered your thoughts."The feminine voice sounded out once again, but this time I could tell it was coming from behind. I suddenly stood-up, then turned to look up at whoever was behind me. What greeted me when I looked up was the most gentle and dazzling beauty I''ve seen, although the only beauties I''ve seen are Asuna, Nana, and a couple of "street-girls." The woman had the voice of a maiden, the lips and hips only a dream can produce, the pale skin of deafening purity and silent desire, and the eyes that seemed to be a lush green forest captured inside of two shimmering crystals. Her golden hair, which flowed over her pointed ears, reached from what seemed to be a about a modest five feet of height, all the way to the flower littered ground. And she answered my thoughts like a scholar- "WAIT YOU CAN READ MY THOUGHTS? Hold up... nono, that isn''t the most important question. Who are you, and where am I?" I lost my cool for a moment, but quickly collected myself. This may be a bit of a ridiculous situation, but losing my cool will do me no good. She must be a goddess, or this has to be a dream, as those are the only viable explanations for this situation. "Oh, you don''t remember me? Well... my name will do you no good, but just know I will be guiding you and mentoring you from here on. As for this place, this is one of my worlds, Toruna. I''ll stop reading your thoughts for now, so just talk out loud to me." She once again answered my questions. "We know each other?" I asked, ''I really don''t think I would forget meeting a beauty like her. If my body was more developed I''d...'' I sleazily thought to myself. "Yes...but it doesn''t really matter now. Perhaps I could... No, I''ll tell you at a later date, I''m sorry." She replied, and it was obvious she was having an internal debate as to whether she should tell me or not, but as she said it probably doesn''t matter. ''I''ll just drop that subject then...'' "And... what did you mean when you said this is one of your worlds?" I said, while thinking she must really be a goddess. Immediately after asking this, my vision momentarily went black, obscuring her from view, before it once again returned to normal, allowing me to view her once more. "Ah... it seems the time for the first summon is already over. I''m sorry I can''t explain more to you, but next time I promise we''ll have more time." She hurried her words as she gave me another lacking and rushed explanation. ''Is there a reason she isn''t telling me too much?'' "I''m truly sorry Shir-, Ruto. Please do be safe... and make sure to put the information and title you''ll receive once you wake up to good use." She apologized to me once more, then said a few more things that didn''t make much sense to me. ''She knows my old name?! Even I only knew very few things about the old me, and some random woman or goddess knows my old name?'' I would''ve asked more, I really would have, but my vision was once again enveloped in darkness, and my mind felt groggy... damn. 7 Orientation Updated-Full A slight movement chased the darkness away from my vision, allowing me to look up at an unfamiliar ceiling, one that was much higher than even the church''s. I was also greeted by the sounds of many high-pitched voices, and as I started to sit-up, I realized the voices belonged to a large group of kids. I had been laying in the middle of a very large room, probably meant to fit up to 1,000 people, although there were only about 400 people, some the height of teenagers, and others just barely above the height of the average toddler. About 7 or 8 meters ahead of me is a decently sized platform, which is about 1 meter up from the floor I''m currently sitting on. Most of the platform was kept from view by a large white curtain, which would probably be hiding a few props or people if there was a play going on. ''Am I in a school auditorium now? I thought my body moved to that other world, but I guess it was something like my soul or mind that moved...'' I tried to make sense of how I had gotten here, and the best I could come up with is that I was carried here while unconscious. As if someone knew I was confused about where I was, a familiar high-pitched voice called out to me as it moved closer, and the voices waving tail soon came into view, "Ruto, your finally awake! We got scared after you suddenly collapsed like that... so we took you to the school! I was so worried about you..." ''Aw, Asuna~'' I swooned over her cuteness in my head as she fell into my arms, crying out her worry and relief laced tears. "Eh, the teacher''s said you''d be fine," Erin said calmly, as he came up from behind where Asuna was previously standing before she had given in to her cute and childish tendencies... "Wait, did we miss the orientation?" As I was still patting Asuna''s head, and rubbing her soft cat ears, I got worried, as we may have been late because of me... "Hm? Oh, nah, the Principal is late, so we haven''t really missed anything. Apparently they saw a child using spatial-magic, and wanted to scout them for the school, but lost track of them..." Erin, though a little nervous that the Principal had seen me, assured me that we haven''t missed anything, which took a big weight off of my shoulders. ''Hehe, that just means I can spend more time cuddling with this little cutie,'' I thought to myself, as I looked at Asuna with mischief in my eyes. [10 Minutes Later] ''I feel like I''m forgetting something...'' I thought to myself as Asuna slipped out of my arms, and we both got on our feet to stand next to Erin. [10 More Minutes Later] As authority filled foot-steps sounded out from the stage, the room began to become quiet, mainly due to the hard work of the taller kids that shushed the shorter, younger kids. Suddenly, the lights cut out, making Asuna let out an adorable yelp. The only thing that we could see in the Auditorium was a mesmerizing white glow coming from the stage. If you looked closely enough, the glowing was coming from a floating crystal-like shard, about the size of an adult hand, in the middle of the stage. The glow from the crystal grew, as it allowed us the see the person standing on the stage. "Hello! My name is Tyr Breigner, a retired adventurer, as well as the head-principal and advanced magic theory instructor of this school." A feminine voice sounded from the stage, as a small line of text appeared above her head, [Tyr Breigner (Nickname: Tear Bringer) Lv. ???]. [Observed A Legend! Level Up! +2] ''She is the real deal...'' I thought to myself, FINALLY making use of \u003cObserve\u003e''s ability to see a bit of information on other people. [???''s POV] "The woman on the stage, Tyr, exudes the calm and overwhelming aura of the sea, as if to match with her azure hair. She is calling a few other people up to the stage, introducing a few more teachers, all with distinct auras coming from them, but none of their auras can withstand the overwhelming pressure of the sea. Well... I say none, but one of their aura''s are struggling against the Tyr woman''s aura," the gentle woman observed the "aura''s" of the people on stage. [Margaret Bastia (Nickname : Margarita) Lv. 69] "Indeed, the person who''s aura was contending with Tyr''s was conceived due to one too many margaritas. It''s in her character description, but I''ve decided I shouldn''t peek too much at person''s character description. Not after what happened with the late Hero of this world, a Hero being an adventurer who has reached Hero-Class strength without the help of a sponsor, and has vowed to protect their home world... that damned lolicon. Of course he''d receive ample judgement after I discovered such a thing, after all, I''ve reached God-Class. His strongest attack as a Hero-Class would barely reach an ordinary punch from a God-Class," the gentle woman stated matter-of-factly, as if we- as if I was supposed to know what the words "God-Class" meant. "Ah, I''m sorry... this must be very confusing, as you''ve only just awakened a little over a year ago, and haven''t been able to go far from that pitiful boy, Ruto. I''m sorry, the boy still hasn''t noticed your existence even after I gave him information on the soul... the experience of his first summons must be interfering. Here, I''ll provide you with the information on souls directly, maybe it''ll awaken the knowledge I gave on souls to Ruto too," the woman formed a small orb on her finger, which eventually floated into what I think is my "forehead." "#%%^#@$@," strange symbols flashed into my vision, which is barely above the vision of Ruto''s, sending a blinding stinging sensation into my "eyes." And then... [Opening Prompt...] ======================= [Soul + Status Menu Info] (See Auxiliary Chapter for Full-Explanation) (General Definition) The consolidation of a person''s knowledge, experiences, skills, and abilities, given an ethereal form. The class of their soul commonly acts as the persons title, like King or Queen (see soul-class). (Soul-Class) System-Class : It is thought that the system, which aids and limits development, has a soul.... God-Class : Peoples/Beings at this class have become very specialized. They have pioneered their own paths to dominance, destruction, and/or creation, usually forfeiting control to their Soul Guide. Emperor/Apostle/Imp-Class : People/Beings with souls at this class possess strength and/or knowledge that ranges from the ability to threaten planets, to threatening galaxies... High King/Hero/Trickster-Class : People/Beings with souls at this class possess strength and/or knowledge that ranges from the ability to threaten continents, to threatening entire planets... King/Legend/Venerable-Class : People/Beings with souls at this class possess strength and/or knowledge that ranges from the ability to destroy cities, to toppling entire countries. Most nobles would now claim the title of King, Adventurer''s of Legend, and Scholar''s of Venerable... Noble/Adventurer/Scholar-Class : People/Beings with souls at this class have a skewed balance, and have abilities that range from destroying a boulder to a town. Noble''s have a balanced, but inexperienced, soul. Adventurer''s have an unbalanced, but experienced, soul. A Scholar''s experience and balance varies greatly. Peasant-Class : Everyday people, who don''t seek out strength or knowledge, possess soul''s at this class. They possess very weak magical and physical prowess due to their lack of observation and/or training. Morphing-Class : The Morphing-Class, sometimes called a pseudo Enlightened-State, holds no definite shape or strength. Due to its loose form, it reaches out for anything it can get, making the person an extremely fast learner... (Soul Guide''s) A separate personality, only developed by King-Class and above. Occasionally, soul''s with mutant progression, which are soul''s that have strange shapes and growth, develop soul guides without reaching King-Class... (Status Menu) The status menu is... ======================= "Oh... So, maybe I''d be Ruto''s soul guide," I eventually reached that conclusion after going over the information on the soul. "Perhaps... " [Ruto''s POV] "Would anyone like to be first-," Tyr was asking all of us something when I suddenly remembered everything about my encounter with my "sponsor", and the information she gave me on the soul. "I KNEW I WAS FORGETTING SOMETHING!!!" I screamed out. All the eyes in the auditorium looked back at me, well, of course they were. I''m the idiot who just yelled out in the middle of Tyr''s question. ''Fuck, she isn''t mad is she,'' I prayed that Tyr wouldn''t be upset as I slowly looked towards her on the stage. "Ah, I''ll take it you want to try first? Alright, come on up kid," Tyr''s tone sounded a bit annoyed, but I avoided a disaster... I hope, because I fail to remember what I was about to do. "Pssst, Erin! What does she want me to do? I kinda spaced out..." I whispered to Erin as I shuffled around to make it seem like I was getting ready to go up. "Hm? O-oh, uh, you are just going up there to see your status," Erin replied to my question. ''Oh... that weird information bomb had pretty good timing, because I know what that is! It was oddly tucked in with all the stuff about the soul. Convenient! I must have a Soul Guide, a separate personality inside of my soul... I''ve been getting excited very easily, and it has been a bit difficult to act serious,'' I continued to think over the information as I walked up to the stage. The closer I got to Tyr, and the teacher''s standing off to the side, the tighter my chest felt. It kind of felt like my head was under water. ''What do I do now?'' I thought, looking up to the woman, Tyr, while tilting my head. After noticing me look up at her without doing anything, just standing around, she instructed me, "Just touch that modified Magic Crystal. Oh, er, the floating glowy thing." "Oh! What does it do?" I asked. "Oh, yeah, you seem like quite the curious kid, so uh, let me think of something simple... Okay, this one lets you see things like your name, but others usually help you use magic!" Tyr explained to me, but it was obvious her excitement was forced. [Ruto] As my hand got closer to the Magic Crystal, the light from it began to shine with a greater intensity. I could feel something stir up inside me, followed by a pale blue light coming from my hand and being absorbed into the crystal. It was mana. I could tell this much because it matches the description in the story books Nana read. With most people, when they first interact with mana, it''ll be a gentle sky blue. [Accessing Summarized Status Menu...] ''This notification or system thing really is involved with everything...'' ============================ [Personal Status Menu] Name : Ruto Race : Demi-Human (Fox-Wolf) Age : 5 Level : 16 Money : 500 P | 0G | 0S | 0B Title(s) : [Pitiful Creature] [Blessed] [Orphan] [Impossible Growth] Soul : Morphing-Class (Mutated) Class : None Stats : Strength/Vitality - 144 (+3) Agility/Dexterity - 144 (+5) Intelligence/Wisdom - 64 (+37) Charm - 26 (+???) Skills:\u003cEnhanced Hearing (Passive)\u003e \u003cTuranian Language MAX (Pas.)\u003e \u003cScan Lv. 1\u003e\u003cObserve (Pas.)\u003e\u003cInventory\u003e \u003cReplicate/Modify Lv. 1\u003e\u003cInterpret Lv. 8 (+35 INT)\u003e Magic : None Affinities : Spirit, Holy/Divine, Unholy... Traits : ~???~(Hidden)... ============================ [After experiencing opening the [Status Menu] once, you can now replicate it at will, without a Modified Magic Crystal. No one can see it without your permission.] The "[Status Menu]" didn''t just come up in-front of my eyes, it was shown as a hologram floating above the crystal, and it was a lot to read for it being "summarized." It was too small for anyone other than Tyr and I to see, so I looked over at her to see if the results were okay- "Uh... Why are you just staring like that?" I was a little concerned. She just kind of stood there, mouth gaping open, ''Um...'' "I-is there something wrong with my [Status Menu]?" Alright, she was starting to freak me out. Tyr.exe eventually restarted, then she collected herself and said, "Ehem... uh, there must be a defect with this crystal. Margaret, please get another Magic Crystal!" Margaret, with hair the color of blood, immediately ran off into what looked like a storage room door at the side of the stage. The moment she came back out, Tyr threw the defective crystal towards her. Margaret flailed around, trying to catch the crystal, eventually stabilizing with a flash of light, which I assume is magic. "Phew..." Margarit- Margaret let out a sigh of relief as she began to walk towards me. Her feet only came to a stop inches away from where the first crystal previously was. She bent over, placing the newer crystal in its place, a familiar glow emanating from it. "Ehem, er, uh... go ahead and try again," Tyr cleared her throat, and probably her thoughts too, as she told me to try once more. I gulped inwardly. Of course I did, I''m nervous that something is wrong with me or my [Status]. Anyways, listening to her suggestion to try again, I lifted my hand slowly to the crystal. A recognizable stirring welled-up the energy, mana, inside of me, before it escaped from my hand as a familiar pale blue light. The light wrapped itself around the crystal, causing the crystal to shine intensely, before being absorbed by it like before. [Accessing Summarized Status Menu...] ============================ [Personal Status Menu] Name : Ruto Race : Demi-Human (Fox-Wolf) Age : 5 Level : 16 Money : 500 P | 0G | 0S | 0B Title(s) : ... Class: None Soul : Morphing-Class (Mutated) Stats : Strength/Vitality - 144 (+3) Agility/Dexterity - 144 (+5) Intelligence/Wisdom - 64 (+37) Charm - 26 (+???) ... ============================ ''Uh... I think I broke Tyr,'' I thought to myself, as Tyr began to foam at the mouth. * [???''s View] ''Oh, she rebooted. '' Tyr took in a deep breath, the calm of the ocean once again returning to her. The other teachers looked confused, but if they had seen Ruto''s stats, who would blame her for such a reaction? Completely undermining the fact that his INT/WIS increased by four stats each level, both STR/VIT and AGI/DEX increases by a total of nine each level. Ruto''s potential for growth is abnormal, to say the least. "Do you have no common sense...? No, wait, you are just a kid, of course not." Tyr was struggling to make sense of such a genius. It takes scholars many years of magical study to reach level 50, gaining them base stats of 100. This is excluding the additional buffs a scholar may receive from magic spells, classes, and equipment, which may even raise stats to the 200''s. This is all dependent on the magical aptitude and financial situation of the scholar. Even adventurer''s take a couple years of monster grinding to grow to level 50, but newbies usually don''t even fight monsters their starting years. Tyr had tried to convey similar information to Ruto, although she watered it down even more due to his young age. Ruto, however, was able to get the gist of his unique gift(s) despite that. ''I am a cheater. '' Yes, that seems to be the ''logical'' conclusion that Ruto has come to. Ruto twitched his ears in mild curiosity as he asked, "So... what is a class? " Ruto had heard about these once before, when had obtained a priceless object. It had recommended the use of AGI/DEX classes, though Ruto didn''t know what it meant for him to do. Try took another deep breath, formulating the words to explain classes to a child, when Ruto said, "Oh, don''t bother simplifying it. I''m a ''genius'' after all." "Well... " [Ruto] Tyr decided to finish with the remaining students and explain our living arrangements, before giving me an answer. Asuna, Erin, and I would share room 207. Now, about classes: A class is kind of like your job. Having a class makes you naturally more talented in whatever the class pertains to than those that don''t. That isn''t to say a swordsman can''t become a master without starting with or acquiring the class, but the system will most likely gift a fighting class to anyone who has true talent in swordsmanship, making classless masters practically extinct. It seems the system promotes the growth of those with talents. That is also why it recommends agile classes to use light weapons, like daggers, while it recommends stronger classes, with STR/VIT based builds, to use heavy weapons, like great swords. It aims to support people. Although, I am not sure how far the support extends. If I were to come close to its power, would it attempt to stunt my growth? This is a question for another time, for now, I need to catch up with my party, find my dorm room, then explore my [Status]. 8 Exploring : My Goal? 1 [Name: Ruto (Shiro)] [Class: None] ''Well... I don''t really need to worry about my class right now. I dunno what I wanna do anyways. '' [Name: Ruto (Shiro)] [Name: ...(Shiro)] [Name: ...] To be able to will this information to appear is very empowering. ''And I only desire more. If I''m not careful, I might get lost in it.'' My thoughts are broken by the rustling of bed sheets, and the slight movement of two little bodies. I couldn''t help but smile while looking at the resting faces. I tangled my fingers in Asuna''s golden hair, and gazed at Erin''s gentle face. Looking around the room, I see the golden hue of the morning sun break into the room through a slightly open window. We were in the room assigned to us three, as Tyr decided we would be an official party in the future anyways. ''I won''t get lost in something like desire... I do not want to lose these two.'' After orientation, I had a serious talk with myself. There is a lot of talk about power, and its growth, but do I really need to progress on the path of power? While I do not know why someone needs power, I have decided I''ll be fine doing anything, as long as it is with or for these two... I was lost in the drowsy atmosphere, when the following messages spread across my vision, and played through my mind: [Sufficient data compiled. System-Build Access altered: 0.1% -\u003e 0.3%] [Unlocking: Achievement System 2.0, System-Provided Perks, System Diagnostics, System Recommendations.] [Yo$(-# --- You''ve begun to become more aware of your ''precious'' bonds. \u003cRelationships-1\u003e is now accessible! As you gain a cle$-$7 --- clearer goal for the future, more functions to assist your growth will become known to you.] ''Huh? Why is it spazzing like that?'' ''Now this is odd. The system has never talked to me this directly, and what the hell is a perk...?'' ''Is this thing evolving?'' Thought after thought flashed through my mind before the system answered in a similarly direct fashion, [Correct. You are the sole player possessing access to un---unreleased builds, and have gained many add-ons to reward you for participating as a tester. Perks are one of the additions, along with exclusive title acquisition system for you and your companions.] ''Player is an odd way to address me...'' [It is the default term used to address reincarnations sheltered by the core-system.] ''Reincarnations? So... this really isn''t my world. '' [Correct.] I silently sighed, something in me slumped over in defeat. I don''t really understand why, but I can only appreciate that I am with these two even more... [But it could be ''your'' world.] ''What do you mean? '' [You have not met the requirements to access this information.] ''Well... why bring it up? What should I be doing...? '' [The system recommends you to explore your new perk and unused skills on your own time, while focusing on your education. This will assist you in your current goal to enjoy life with you friends, and help you adapt to any future changes in goals.] [However, how you proceed is your decision. Your sponsor called for your summons during the orientation, but the system believed it to be detrimental to be unable to meet Tyr, so the summon was denied automatically. Would you like to request a summons? ] It seems I would be able to see that pointed-ear beauty once more. Of course, I had been hoping to meet her again. One, because I still have a few questions about our relationship. Also, because I am missing something she said I''d receive when I woke up... ''Yes,'' I told the system my answer in my mind. And for me and my party''s sake, I want to know my place in the world, and more about how it works. [Request sent... Accepted!] [Please prepare. Player will fall unconscious during the summon. ] 9 Exploring : This Feeling... 2 Everything was blank. Nothing to hear. Nothing to see. ''This feeling... is familiar.'' I can feel something swelling inside of me. It is... a sense of complacency, as if this is how I should be. Despite the dulling of my senses, I can feel the world around as if it was my own body. The mana gathered in my body, trickling in from the world, and a faint warmth hovering in the middle of my chest. It is shapeless, without a designated form. The warmth branches out from the hot center, waving with intelligence as if they are tentacles. ''My soul...?'' I ''gazed'' at this warmth, an image of it forming in my mind, before a chill ran down my back. Focusing back on the world around me, I realized sounds were rushing towards me, and light was flooding into my opening eyes. "Welcome back." For a moment, I laid on the lush green ground as I stared at the woman before me. Feeling the warmth move to my eyes, I noticed that every detail was visible, the dimples indenting the form of her pale cheeks, every pore on her gentle skin. "NO! Please... comeback..." I could feel a weak protest form on my lips, as a suffocating chill washed over my body, and the warmth pulled away. It feels as if someone has a hold of my heart, rubbing ice along my arteries. [Your mental state is deteriorating.] [You are experiencing...] [Please remain...] [Gentle Woman''s POV] "Hello...? Shiro... I-It''s not polite to stare at a woman like that you know, at least try to hide it," I puffed out my cheeks at Shiro, feeling warmth gather on the surface of my cheeks. ''I would reprimand him more seriously but...'' Shiro''s eyes are noticeably shaking, and his pupils are expanding and contracting, as if they were camera lenses from his old world that were being readjusted. "\u003cLesser Diagnose - SM\u003e." I grimaced for a moment, feeling the unnatural hands of the system tug and pull at both my mana and soul. Normally, I''d avoid using the system because it is less effective and the spell process is invasive, but it is much faster than my own casting speed. Especially when it comes to using magic skills, which call for the use of both your soul and mana. [Condition of ''Player'' undergoing analysis...] [Results : Anomaly: Target is currently experiencing both Minor Mana and Minor Soul Shock. There are many viable reasons, like extreme stress, so no single reason can be determined. The negative effects, such as temperature fluctuations and paranoia, will dissipate shortly, but the stress of such an experience for the first time may result in extended periods of unconsciousness.] "Obviously," I sighed with relief. These symptoms are obvious signs of both Soul and Mana Shock. If I look a bit closer... his pupils are shining like someone placed a light behind them. However, the shine is very dull. In a serious case, the light would be shining similar in intensity to a... car headlight? ''I''ll probably just leave him to rest... Pitiful child...'' ** ''This feeling...'' I fished around in my mind, following the small tie using the instinctual knowledge that it controlled my arms. ''Upsy daisy...'' Pushing gently into the tie, my body swayed upright, but my eyes refused to open. I tried to listen for the sound of the gentle woman''s voice, but the harder I focused on doing that, the louder my ears rang. I could feel the fleeting sensation of a chill. [\u003cEnhanced Hearing\u003e has counteracted the negative effects the player experiencing due to shock.] ''Fortunately, \u003cEnhanced Hearing\u003e has stopped the ringing for now...'' With the pain from my ringing ears gone, it is probably best to figure out where I am, even if I can''t open my eyes. Pushing gently on another ''tie'', I moved my hands around beneath me, feeling the soft fabric of what may be a blanket, and hearing the gentle rustling as I push against its soft linings. ''I''m in bed?'' That seems to be the case. So, there is no point in trying to get down only to bust my ass. ''Should I check out that... perk?'' It seems the system peeked at my thoughts, because it seems to have interpreted my intentions based off the sudden influx of information and self-awareness flooding into my mind. ================ [Perk Interface] Offensive - Close/Melee : (Locked) Offensive - Ranged : (Locked) ================ Taking note of my out-of-commission vision, the system provided the information to my head directly, so I had to sort through the information by myself in my mind. I decided to save the ''best'' for last, starting with the category I''m most wary of. ''Offensive? Well... I am bound to fight someone or something,'' I thought to myself, fully aware of the chance for conflict, especially with the existence of people similar to those greedy men in the city. ================ Defensive... Defen... Support... Supp... ================ I continued to read through the sea of information, rapidly flicking the ''eye'' of my mind across the words of my memory with increasing speed. Similar to me at the end of a chapter of my favorite story book, Omniscient Raider, my eyes slowed and excitement grew as I attempted to savor the final teaser. ================ Support - Faction : (Partially Unlocked) \u003cRelationships - 1\u003e ================ 10 Exploring : Myself. 3 "\u003cRelationships - 1\u003e" [Endowing perk...] ================ \u003cRelationships - 1\u003e [Player : Ruto (Shiro)] [Faction : None] [Faction Points : None] [Relationship Points (CHR) : 26 (+???)] [Current Goal : Enjoy life with your friends.] Description : [Welcome to \u003cRelationships 1\u003e! The system has created this perk in order to assist you in current and future goals. At the expense of your charisma (CHR) stat, you can improve your party''s impression of you and enable certain effects/perks during certain event/actions. For example, the [Commander] perk allows you to easily orient yourself and your party with each other in activities. You can also use this perk to check your relationship with those you have interacted with before.] ================ ''Relationship points? So, I can get perks and effects at the expense of a permanent decrease in my stats. Also, can I improve these perks?'' [Correct. In the future, if you require the aid of an offensive or defensive perk it will require the use of combat oriented stats. Using the [Commander] perk as an example again, these perks can be upgraded at your leisure or as a reward for special feats, similar to how you were rewarded for "observing a legend."] ================ Store : [Commander - 1] Cost : 1 Point Description : The mark of a new leader. Effects : Improve party orientation and relations. [Primal Temptation - 1] Cost : 1 Point Description : Everyone needs to cave to their desires every once in a while. Effects : Cause those of the opposite sex to see you as a potential source of pleasure. [Time Management - 1] Cost : 1 Point Description : There are many missed opportunities as a result of poor time management. Effects : Low chance of being informed about opportunities and access to a calendar + clock. ================ ''Woah woah woah. This is all... a bit much for me right now. [Primal Temptation], I''M FIVE YEARS OLD! Well... I''m not complaining, but...'' "Purchase [Time Management - 1]." [Processing order... confirmed!] [Enjoy your new perk, and make sure to never miss a chance to improve it!] ''[Time Management - 1] is obviously the best choice for me right now. I''m going into school, so this is the best perk for my current situation.'' "This is really too much," I sighed. I once again turned my attention to the room I was in. I couldn''t quite see anything, but I could hear the creaking of what I assumed to be an old wooden floor. ''Well, I shouldn''t move around. I don''t know where anything is in this room,'' with that thought on my mind, I eased back on the mental tie I had used in order to push myself up into a sitting position, laying back down on the soft bed. "Talking to yourself, are you?" a familiar gentle voice entered my ears. "Huh? Big booby lad- gentle woman?" I pointlessly turned my head in the direction of the voice. "Ehem... well, I''m happy to see your doing okay and that you''ve already woken up even though you have only been asleep for a few hours," she said after clearing her throat. "I wouldn''t say I''m okay..." my voice became faint. "W-what do you mean?! Are you in pain, where does it hurt?" she questioned in an overly worried toned. I heard her light feet tap along the floor of the room before she placed her hands all over my body. "H-hey stop, that''s not what I meant," I said as I hurried to get away from her surveying hands and eyes. Unfortunately for me, this bed is quite small. In my hurry to get of her grasp, I fell face first onto the floor directly beneath her feet. "O-ouch!" "I''m sorry! I shouldn''t have assumed anything," she apologized while she lifted my small body back onto the soft bed, putting my in a sitting position once more. "Hah... its okay. I meant that I can''t quite open my... eyes," I said shifting my head where I thought she was. "That''s odd. Nothing like that came up in the diagnosis... do you mind if I pull apart your eyelids for a moment?" the gentle woman said as she had already cupped my face in her hands. "Go ahead, I guess..." I consented. "Very well." Time seemed to slow in that moment. Once again, a sense of complacency began to well up inside me as the warmth returned to my body. As my eyelids parted, I saw the smooth face of the gentle woman once again. [Gentle Woman''s POV] "Hmm..." There is nothing odd this time. His pupils have assumed a normal dilation and the light behind his eyes seems to have faded. After opening them once for him, he seems to be able to control the function of his eyelids normally any negative effects of shock have faded. "There is nothing wrong with you, you must''ve just experienced a slight loss of control over you eyelids. It''s similar to that saying that your eyes can stay crossed if you cross them for an extended period of time." Of course, I made sure to confirm this with a sneaky diagnosis on him. As his sponsor, I can''t allow his abnormal symptoms to left up to speculation. Also, as a reincarnated person, anything regarding him can be considered to be unexplored territory. Even then, reincarnated persons are extremely resilient, so I don''t have to be that worried. Its not impossible that his past life is interfering with his ability to comprehend or use his senses of hearing and sight. That light behind his eyes could as be chopped up to an exclusive skill as its nature was different than that of normal shock. He said that when he opened his eyes before passing out that he could feel a moving sensation of warmth throughout his body, then, when it moved to his eyes, he could see the world and my face in extreme detail. It is very likely the system had some kind of effect on his sight. However, if it was a true use of a skill then the system should''ve told him he used to skill. The shock must''ve temporarily activated some kind of hidden or unawakened skill, so of course he would have no idea about it even after seeing his [Status Menu]. It appears to be a simple visual enhancement skill, so I''ll just ignore its implications for now. However, I think it is time to get around to the reason I called him here in the first place. "Ruto, ask me anything," I said. Yes, the reason I called Ruto here was to answer any questions he may have now. Whether it be why I decided to sponsor him or why he has such abnormal status. After the situation during orientation, I feel it is best I answer these. "Well, I really only have a couple of questions then. What did you mean when you said that this place was one of your worlds? Does it have anything to do with your soul-class?" "W-what? Is that really all you wish to know? What about why I chose you, or about your birth?" "Well, I know that I''m a reincarnated person. The system actually told me that I am. Although I wanna know a bit about the strange situation around my birth, I''d rather find that out on my own. What''s life without a little exploring?" he explained to me that he''d rather reserve the job of exploring himself to, well, himself. "O-oh, it did? Well, I suppose I can just answer those two questions. When I said that this was one of my worlds, I meant it quite literally. I can control the conditions of this planet and allow as well as deny access to it. Yes, it does have something to do with my soul class. It is generally very stressful on a soul to control a planet at anything below hero-class, of course there are exceptions like with the soul of a reincarnated individual, but it is unlikely anything below a hero-class soul will be able to control a planet even if someone''s soul is exceptionally powerful." "The whole soul-class system in itself is honestly an over simplification of many complex factors. However, it is one of the most education ready explanations out there, even if it is still hard to digest the information. Not every soul can be held within the soul-class hierarchy due to the strange definition of the classes, but they still are categorized into one regardless. For example, it is possible for an apostle to overcome a god simply due to superior soul constitution and control, even if the apostle doesn''t meet the definition and conditions of the ''superior'' god." "Although that FUCKING lolicon of a hero could never have reached my type of strength, he was a hopeless-" 11 Heading to Breakfast 1 [Time Management - 1 : First Opportunity (Summary of Student Itinerary)] [This is the month of Lax, otherwise known as August, and the day is the 19th.] [7 minutes have passed on this planet since being summoned, so the time is now 6:27 AM, breakfast starts in about 3 minutes.] [From 6:30 AM to 8:00 AM, students are expected to prepare for their first school day : eat, shower, get dressed, and look over their schedules.] [This is the hot season, so make sure to wipe yourself down well after showering in order to avoid the negative effects of sweating.] The moment I was returned to my room after being summoned by the gentle woman, I was greeted by a message from the system. My newly acquired perk, Time Management, made its presence and usefulness known. ''So, only several minutes passed here while I had been in the other world for hours?'' I made a mental note of the potential for such a time difference. Putting the time difference aside, we''ve got about an hour and a half to get ready for school. Asuna''s golden hair was still sprawled across the bed and her beautiful azure eyes gleamed towards me as they slowly blinked open. I couldn''t resist the urge to cup her face with my tiny hands, causing her fluffy ears to flick adorably above her cute little head. I could practically feel the heat spread through her cheeks and into my hands as her face flushed. Continuing to relish my healthy dose of Asuna''s cuteness, I lifted up my hands to play with her rapidly twitching ears. "W-w-what arrrre you doing meow~?!" Asuna rolled over her r''s purring as she was overwhelmed by my sudden assault. As a demi-human myself, I recognize the sensitivity of our ears. That is exactly why it is the best place to attack when trying to draw out as much cuteness as you can. "Hrm..." Erin groaned. Of course, her cute protests also work as a method to wake-up Erin. [The time is 6:47 AM.] On the bed, melted into a pile of yellow fluff and white frills, laid Asuna. "Whoops, it looks like I did teased her for a good bit, huh..." "Hell yeah, you did," Erin said groggily as he attempted to stretch out his weariness on the hard wood floors of the dorm room. "Hey, c''mon, we gotta go eat and get ready," I said as I shook Asuna. "Mr-mrrrow~," Asuna meowed, clearly not in the condition to leave the room on her own. ''Man, I don''t wanna end up having to carry her all the way to the mess hall...'' Erin seemed to have read my thoughts as he gave me a thumbs up saying, "Go ahead, we will catch up with you when she is... back to normal." "Thanks, I guess I''m heading to breakfast," I left Erin with words of gratitude as I made my way out of the one bed dorm room. I slipped on a bland black pair of shoes, then put on the [Rogue''s Formal Pants], with the Dusk Tamer hooked into its belt loop by the hilt, along with the [Rogue''s Formal Shirt]. Apparently, besides supposedly being made of a very strong material, these garments also wash themselves. That way, I don''t have to worry about stinking them up before I get into the shower. Just before I left the room, I decided to look back one more time at the scene of Erin trying to coax the golden cutie to stand up. With a smile on my face, I turned the knob then stepped out into the hall. What greeted me was a long hall way filled with chatting students leading all the way to the mess hall at the end of the wing. These students ranged all the way from shy young new arrivals to bold adolescent seniors. I was slowly making my way through the crowd of students before a brown-haired person bumped into sending them stumbling back onto the ground. I had turned expecting this brown-haired person to be new like me because how easily they fell down, but they were actually one of my seniors! "What where you are going you little fucking brat!" spit flew from the buff seniors lips as he stood up to glare at me with his dark brown eyes. Many curious gazes turned towards the commotion in the hall. Sighs spread throughout the hall as I overheard someone say, "Roku is at it again, huh? This kid is out of luck. I''ve heard that Roku ranked up to the 2nd year classes on his first attempt at the physical rank up exam, and with a perfect score at that!" "Well, if that''s true, how''d he just get knocked over by just brushing past a 1st year...?" "What? You were the one that bumped into me retard," I said as heat began to course through my body. Gasps escaped from the crowd as many people whispered things like, "He really fucked up now," and, "Who does this kid think he is?" "Huh?! Fucking twerp better learn some fucking manners-" Roku''s words were cut off midway. He reached out the grab me with his right arm, his arm vibrated and twisted around using a weird technique that would''ve been hard to follow for most people, but it was almost as if he was in slow motion, because by the time his arm came close to my body my left arm had already replicated the same elusive movement. [Would you like to use the skill \u003cReplicate Lv. 1\u003e for the first time? YES/NO] ''Yes.'' [Your skill \u003cReplicate\u003e was successful : Gained the skill(s) \u003cTuranian Gale Grasp Lv. 1\u003e!] Vibrating back and forth at a blurring speed, my left arm began to twist his hand backwards. A look of shock appeared on his face as I easily overpowered him, but it is only to be expected considering I have the stats of a person at around level 50. Unable to bear the pain of a lesser form of his own technique, his seemingly tall stature fell below my modest three feet. [You''ve performed a feat of strength : Gained the skill(s) \u003cHand-to-Hand Combat Lvl.1\u003e!] "I would''ve asked if you were alright and helped you up since it was an accident, but I can''t stand a pretentious senior trying to act like his lame ass falling on the ground is somehow the fault of his underclassman," for some reason, a voice far more intimidating than my normal high-pitched tone escaped my lips. Rotating my body towards the back right side of his body, I yanked his right arm as hard as I could while also vibrating it at a speed difficult to see, but still very much discernable. A loud popping and crackling sound could be heard throughout the hall as the sound of his muscles and tendons being torn and ripped from his bones like the skin off of a chicken wing silenced all of the chatter throughout the room. [Personal Status Menu] Name : Ruto Race : Demi-Human (Fox-Wolf) Age : 5 Level : 16 Money : 500 P | 0G | 0S | 0B Title(s) : [Pitiful Creature] [Blessed] [Orphan] [Impossible Growth] Soul : Morphing-Class (Mutated) Title(s) : [Pitiful Creature] [Blessed] [Orphan] [Impossible Growth] Title Effects - [Blessed] +2 To All Stats Per LVL [Impossible Growth] Skills are easier to obtain/level. [Orphan] Relationships are easily formed. (+??? Charm, Hidden Effects) [Pitiful Creature] Effects Hidden. Class : None Stats : Strength/Vitality - 144 (+3) Agility/Dexterity - 144 (+5) Intelligence/Wisdom - 64 (+37) Charm - 26 (+???) Skills/Perks : [Time Management-1] [Relationships-1] \u003cEnhanced Hearing (Passive)\u003e \u003cTuranian Language MAX (Pas.)\u003e \u003cObserve (Pas.)\u003e \u003cInventory\u003e \u003cReplicate/Modify Lv. 1\u003e \u003cInterpret Lv. 8 (+35 INT)\u003e \u003cTuranian Gale Grasp Lv. 1\u003e \u003cHand-to-Hand Combat Lv. 1\u003e (???''s Begone!) 12 Heading to Breakfast 2 [\u003cObserve\u003e was relatively successful!] [Showing Partial Status of Target : ] [Observation Status Menu] Name : Ruko Race : Human Age : 13 Level : 12 HP : 10/25 Status : Injured (More susceptible to damage and intimidation) Title(s) : [Bully] [Youthful Warrior] STR/VIT : 24 (+1) AGI/DEX : 24 (+1) INT/WIS : 24 (-5) CHR : 5 (-10) ''Looks like VIT translates directly into your HP,'' I thought to myself in the crowded silent hall. Twisted faces and wide eyes were seen all throughout the room. Seeing people so shocked is honestly kind of funny, however the dull eyes of the 2nd-Class Student and puddle of red blood reminded me that the atmosphere of the hall is incredibly tense. ''Luckily, my hand-to-hand combat and that weird technique are skills I only just acquired. Otherwise, I might have accidentally killed him..'' I thought to myself grimly. I would have regretted killing him given that he is the perfect guinea pig to study the effects of stats like VIT. For now, I can only assume the STR stat is the peak amount of HP a physical attack can do to a target. Stats like agility and dexterity are clear on their effects, but it is harder to tell the difference between a mere 1 or 2 point stat difference. I have never seen HP before, I didn''t even know it was possible to turn a persons life into a simple value like that. Maybe its an effect of both \u003cInterpret\u003e and \u003cObserve\u003e. "What''s going on here?" a loud masculine voice resounded throughout the crowded silent hall. [3rd Person] Upon hearing the familiar voice, many people within the room turned towards its origin, and an explosion of voices responded to the masculine voices question. Due to his role within the school, many were excited and relieved to see his face. The man was walking calmly down the hall, noting the most important and informative responses, along with a few random comments. "Sir, there was a fight between a 1st-Class student and Ruko right up there!" The man picked up his pace, heading towards the location that seemed to be the center of attention for all of the students in the hall. After all, like always, he''d have to clean up the mess that his younger brother had made. Hopefully, Ruko had listened to his advice to show some restraint this time. He''d rather not have to explain to another poor family why such a young child had their future stolen from them. Those parent''s angry voices and distraught faces are one of the worst things he had ever had to look at and be responsible for. "Someone needs to get a healer!" However, no matter how stupid his brother is, Ruko is the only family this man has left. He''d much rather die or kill than see the last responsibility his parents left behind for him slip through his fingers. Even if Ruko tested his patience on a frequent basis, he is the best thing this man has. "Damn, I feel bad for this dude..." "Ruko, eh? That poor 1st-Class, to have run into my stupid younger brothe- WHAT?!" words flowed casually from the man''s lips before the shock of seeing his younger brother mangled on the ground resulted in a sudden outburst. Staring blankly at the feet of the crowd around him, Ruko''s broken body laid on the ground without any close enough to immediately be identified as his opponent. His right arm loosely sprawled itself across the ground to the left of his toned body, twisted as if it were a wet rag being wrung out. ''The bones in his right arm have been turned to mush and the deltoid muscle in his right shoulder is completely unraveled, as if his muscles are a thing of noodles softening and breaking up in a bowl of bloody water,'' the man assessed the body of his defeated brother. Ruko''s lips twitched as his eyes lightened up when he saw his older brother kneel down to check on his tattered body. No matter how hard he tried to speak his mind, the most Ruko managed were a few tears and pitiful whimpers. "For a 1st-Class student to be able to do this to someone who ranked up to a 2nd-Class student on his first attempt... Get a healer here immediately!" ''So this is how those parents felt, huh,'' the man thought to himself, his chest tightening up with grief and anger. While his younger brother Ruko is practically fine everywhere else on his body, its unlikely that the low-level healing magic and primitive diagnosis skills available nearby will be able to repair and assess his right arm to a fully-functional level. Even if the man could somehow get someone with decent healing magic to the school in time, there is no way his mind and body will forget what happened today in this hall. "And... WHERE IS THE OTHER PARTY INVOLVED IN THIS INCIDENT?!" The hall was filled with an oppressive aura as a crazed look filled the eyes of the man. A few people fell to the ground in fear, while some others shuffled away silently into one of their friend dorm rooms located within the hall. Although the man expected this, it still caused his body to shake in anger as he looked around the room in search of someone who would answer his question. His eyes landed on a familiar face, so he looked deep into the eyes of the person that previously referred to him as sir, forcing them to speak up about what they heard and saw, "W-well, he kinda just said that he was heading to breakfast with his friends, then he, well he walked off." 13 Odd. "Whew..." Ruto let out a sigh laced with the mental exhaustion from his first real ''fight.'' Well, it was more like a one-sided beat down, but it doesn''t change the fact that this is the first instance he has ever gravely injured someone before, in both lives. It also gave him clarity on how drastically his strength outweighs that of the average student, despite the education they may have received before. Also, the remarks made by the students around him during the fight helped him realize that the school is not simply meant to facilitate the growth of magical prowess. Given that there seems to be an exam to become a second class student, and that there seems to be a physically-oriented exam, it seems that the school tackles a variety of subjects within its walls. His main objective at the moment is to lay low and wait for Asuna and Erin to show their faces inside of the cafeteria. Ruto couldn''t help but smile as the pale tender face of the blonde cat-girl he aimed to make happy appeared in his mind. Thinking of her in the situation he had gotten himself into only made him affirm his aim as he now vowed to himself to protect and comfort her... along with Erin. ''Ah, there they are!'' Ruto began to run up to the familiar faces of Erin and Asuna, of which he spotted at the complete opposite side of the cafeteria. ''Is it just me, or are there a lot of people looking at me,'' Ruto thought to himself ominously noticing that the room had slowly been getting quieter as students shushed each other. He had hoped to escape the focus of the school by not sticking around in the same location immediately after the incident. If he could simply keep his appearance from circulating too much, he''d be fine, right? Well, even if his identity were to spread, he was sure he''d be able to reason with the school given the fact that Ruko had instigated the conflict. Ruto had simply seen it through. *Ding!*, a small bell rang in his ear before something popped up in his field-of-view, as if to mock his naiveity. [Relationships-1] : (+) indicates a bond can develop further with a little effort. A person''s ''score'' shows their level of positive and negative interest in you. These values can be further understood by the small phrases next to their score. Unknown individuals only appear when they harbor extreme emotions towards you. [Asuna] : 99 (Sibling Love?(+)) [Erin] : 99 (Best Friends(+)) [Tyr] : 60 (Intrigue) [Ruko] -99 (Fear, Anger(+)) [Unknown] -??? (Hostile, Hate) [Gentle Woman] ??? (Pity, Motherly Love?(+)) [Nana] (Decea... Before he could finish reading the notification, Ruto quickly realized its was a naive sentiment as his instincts as a demi-human began to alarm him of a hostile presence approaching him. His body seemed to react to the fear that began to seize him as his body went rigid, but his body''s reaction became a secondary concern as an adult-sized fist buried itself with practiced precision into his gut. "Huuuu-" a wheeze escaped Ruto''s small body as it was knocked across the cafeteria. Coming to a violent stop, his body crashed into the wall ten meters away from where he had been. "Ugh," a small groan escaped Ruto''s mouth as he tried to reoorient himself by standing, but he collapsed back against the wall. He could''ve sworn two high-pitched voices screaming his name, but the ringing in his ears made him unable to be sure. "Oho...?" an exasperated sigh escaped the lips of Ruto''s assailaint as a more gentleman expression appeared. ''Odd. The small amount of strength I put into that punch should have been enough to incapacitate an experienced adventurer around level thirty, let alone a small commoner child that couldn''t possibly muster up strength surpassing a level 10 citizen. The only way to have survived that hit would be that either that kid has hit level fifty, maybe through skill training, or maybe he''s still a low level but has been put through some intense physical training with the help of elixirs. Even then, what commoner could possibly afford to spend time doing such training or gaining enough experience to level-up at such a young age? There is no way this kid only gained stats through leveling, I feel kinda bad for the hell he must''ve been through to have that kind of physical endurance.'' (A/N : Ruto currently has the physical strength to easily break bones of low-leveled people and, with some effort, shatter large boulders. His magic capabilities match that of a level fifty every-day person that has had no physical or magical training, meaning they only gained stats through leveling up, so he''d be able to cast simple magic like \u003cFireball\u003e a few times, but he could never contest with most well-trained individuals above level 25 either way. The potential for stat growth through training is way more than that from natural increases during leveling, but the more stats gained per level is definitely indicative to natural talent. Level 25 and under is considered to be the level of most apprentice adventurers, Level 26-50 is considered to be the level of an average professional adventurer, while anything above 50 is considered to be levels where a person begins true mastery of their talents and skills.) 14 Route B The Blind and Deaf Boy "Whew..." Ruto let out a sigh laced with the mental exhaustion from his first real ''fight.'' Well, it was more like a one-sided beat down, but it doesn''t change the fact that this is the first instance he has ever gravely injured someone before, in both lives. It also gave him clarity on how drastically his strength outweighs that of the average student, despite the education they may have received before. Also, the remarks made by the students around him during the fight helped him realize that the school is not simply meant to facilitate the growth of magical prowess. Given that there seems to be an exam to become a second year student, and that there seems to be a physically-oriented exam, it seems that the school tackles a variety of subjects within its walls. His main objective at the moment is to lay low and wait for Asuna and Erin to show their faces inside of the cafeteria. Ruto couldn''t help but smile as the pale tender face of the blonde cat-girl he aimed to make happy appeared in his mind. Thinking of her in the situation he had gotten himself into only made him affirm his aim as he now vowed to himself to protect and comfort her... along with Erin. ''Ah, there they are!'' Ruto began to run up to the familiar faces of Erin and Asuna, of which he spotted at the complete opposite side of the cafeteria. ''Is it just me, or are there a lot of people looking at me,'' Ruto thought to himself ominously. He had hoped to escape the focus of the school by not sticking around in the same location immediately after the incident. If he could simply keep his appearance from circulating too much, he''d be fine, right? Well, even if his identity were to spread, he was sure he''d be able to reason with the school given the fact that Ruko had instigated the conflict. Ruto had simply seen it through. Of course, Ruto realized its was a naive sentiment as his instincts began to alarm him of a dangerous presence approaching him. His body seemed to react to the fear that began to seize him as his body went rigid, but his body''s reaction only seemed to scare him more. ''Why can''t I move?!'' Ruto''s mind began enter a state of panic as he realized he had lost the ability to move his body. Not only had he lost the ability to move his body, his senses similarly began to fade. For some reason, a terror far worse began to seize control of his mind as his ears began to ring as if to protest the foreign existence. Abandoning him once more, his vision began to fade in response to the fear that hindered his ability to control his body. As if the world had ceased to contain heat, an odd numbness spread from the center of his chest to the rest of his body. However, unlike his initial fear from being unable to move, Ruto felt like he heard someone call out to him as he calmly allowed the strange numb feeling to spread. The numbness followed an almost planned path as it slowly spread towards Ruto''s extended right arm, resulting in a sudden chill to permeate throughout his petite body. However, as the feeling spread towards Ruto''s head, his consciousness faded into a dark abyss. [You have failed to resist the abnormal status effects \u003cFear\u003e, \u003cParalysis\u003e, and \u003cDrowsiness\u003e.] An ominous stone fortress stood tall on a cliff-side overlooking a Cyrul Family estate within the Kingdom of All, one of the only countries that allow both demi-humans and humans to live together in harmony. Outside of this Kingdom, demi-humans are forcibly enslaved and believed to be lesser or even evil according to human religion. The Cyrul Family was headed by a long-eared elf with the title Duke of the Wailing Woods because of his achievements in quelling the sudden chaos caused by monsters emerging from out of a newly emerged dungeon. Not only was he granted control of the Wailing Woods, he was given authority over the ominous stone fortress which is known as the maximum-security prison, ''Siren''s Edge.'' "Status," a raspy voice echoed within a silent cell surrounded by four aging stone walls, scarred by ancient stains so vile that it makes one wish not to think about their origins. Unlike other intelligent creatures, this voice couldn''t conjure up this well-known screen, ''Status.'' The voice had that ability ripped away from him the moment he was shackled by curse-ridden chains. It was a consequence of his inability to properly perceive the world around him, his failure to acknowledge the differences between the people of the world simply because one was called a commoner and another called a noble. He foolishly attempted to claim a peaceful life as his own when he didn''t even understand the rules of the world he lived in. Why do people practice their skills in this world? Why do the people of this world need magic to survive? The answer is simple; the world is dangerous. Much more dangerous than the voice had known before it ended up in the cell. The voice had been in this room for ten years before... Before his human self passed away. This voice had been a reincarnated individual, his soul escaping the confines of his original body as well as his original world. However, now that his soul had been moved to a new world, it not longer showed the same luster it had when he first had been chosen as a reincarnated individual. Therefore, his soul did not move to a new world once more, for that would strain his soul too much now. His human self is dead. His cell was ''cleaned,'' which meant his body was simply freed from the cursed chains before he was tossed over the side of the cliff that supported the cell he was previously confined within. What of the secrets he held within his body, but never discovered? What of his origin, his birth in this world? Was it all just a meaningless prologue? "Such a shame," a woman muttered, her words scattering into the winds of another world as if they had never been said. Indeed, a shame, but life must go on. Deep within the cavern-type dungeon of the Wailing Woods, a small white bundled wire-like creature bared its single fang at the viscous barrier that confined it within its first home. Despite being fed and protected by this barrier, the small bundle couldn''t help but feel as if it had tricked this barrier thing into nursing the small bundle before it inevitably turned on the unsuspecting barrier. Of course, this was only the beginning of the the tricks this bundle would play. It would trick the world into submission. Soon, the bundle tore a long straight line across the barrier, creating an opening large enough for it to slither its way out. The bundle pushed itself through this opening, dim light rushing into its ruby-red eyes as it took its first breath of fresh air. Within the dim light of the crystals glittering throughout the cavern, the form of a snow white snake with red-eyes was revealed. "SsSsssSss~" the snake hissed pleasantly, as if it were purring to itself in pleasure from its successful escape. Why shouldn''t it feel so good about itself? It was obviously the greatest snake around, although it really wasn''t quite sure what the criteria for that title was. However, as it was thinking something along the lines of that, the snake began to truly take in its surroundings. Beneath the hatchling were many more eggs, or retarded barriers as the snake may have you call them, but it made sense for them to be there since it was probably a bit odd for a snake to have only a few eggs. Wait, where did these eggs come from again? For some reason, the snake''s scales began to quiver as an ominous thought crossed its tiny snake mind. It could ''feel'' the dangerous creature looming behind its small body, its yellow eyes eyeing the tiny snake curiously. The tiny snake may have been both blind and deaf, but true snakes are all about trickery. If the snake couldn''t see or hear, it would simply trick itself into believing that it could. The curtains are beginning to part as the opening act to a confusing tale about a blind and deaf ''boy'' begins. 15 You Have Much To Learn "Ssssss~?" a curious and crisp hiss came from Mama-Snake, a much more refined and pleasant hiss compared to the inexperienced and crackling sounds from the Boy. A deep warm breath washed over the Boy, but that failed to prompt movement as he was frozen with indecision. To the Boy, many long strands of pulsating deep red and yellow light made up the length of the 6 meter long beast. This light was mana, and if the Boy remembered anything from its previous life, it would know this is abnormal. After all, was mana not described to be some shade of blue? The Boy, however, had no memories nor reason to know of this bit of information though. The eggs beneath him were dull, as the creatures inside were not close to developing mana circuits in their bodies for the Boy to sense, but that was only if they were even lucky enough to develop them since magical beast are not exactly common. Still, the Boy could ''see'' their small forms in their retarded barriers since mana was naturally released in waves from both the Boy and Mama, which then bounced off objects while also piercing through them. So, while he could sense mana bounce off the rounded edges of the barriers, he could also sense the creatures inside and the organs inside the creatures as it passes through them. The Boy did notice that when he ''looked'' at himself, his mana appeared to be a mix of sickly purple with a few black wisps scattered about his flow of mana. If the white bundle of indecision knew this was unusual, it would think, ''Perhaps these varying colors are the traits of great snakes?'' Instead, it was wondering if it should run from Mama or ask it for food, because right now it really needs how to satiate this intense hunger that seems to be clawing at its currently not-so lengthy innards at moment. Mama, however, seemed to notice his pleading eyes as she displayed her fierce fangs while lowering her head to his level. causing the Boy to slowly slither back before he realized what she was doing. ''Shhhhck,'' a sound similar to that of a piece of paper being ripped sounded out as she tore open one of the retarded barriers below his tiny scales. This particular species of snakes is very intelligent and can only reproduce if they develop mana circuits in their bodies. While neither blindness nor deafness is a common trait, as long as a snake has mana circuits it will be given a feast of as many of its less-fortunate siblings as it desires. At the sound of the tearing egg, a flood of snakes with varying scale patterns poured into the dimly-lit cavern from crevices in its walls, but they all were making sure to maintain a relatively spacy distance away from Mama as a sign of respect. To ensure the survival of its kind, the inert snakes either serve as warriors or as food to the more fortunate snakes that develop mana circuits. To ensure the survival of its kind, they''ve hidden below the surface in a dungeon for many years. To ensure the survival of its kind, they will emerge once more, but now united as a family. "Eat up, young one," Mama gently commanded him. "You have much to learn." 16 Monster The Boy, no matter how tiny his brain was, realized that a feast had been prepared for him. Without a moment of hesitation, he began to greedily slurp at and engorge himself on the contents of the retarded barriers. If he were to have been human, perhaps he would be disgusted and appalled at the thought of eating his kin. He, however, felt it was only natural that he had tricked the snakes to feed him. "My my~ look at how hungry you are my sweet little boy..." mama-snake chided pleasantly. Despite his inability to hear, the Boy could sense the intent behind her words and actions like there was a small voice in the back of his mind narrating the events around him. If she had meant to harm him, he would have already made a miserable attempt to flee. Now, however, the Boy himself couldn''t spare the time to care about anything other than the feast laid out before him. One-by-one the plethora of eggs laid out below him were drained of their contents and the scraps were stuffed into the albino snake''s long body as mama-snake could only look on in surprise at the sight of over a hundred of her inert spawn being devoured by a single white-bundle. ''By the Gods...'' mama-snake said, rather overwhelmed with the sight. "Yes... I know what I will call you, young one..." And then the Boy paused. *Ding!* [Your name has been registered as...] ======== "[Dolus Adder]!" Level : 1 (0/10) Monster Rank : P (Pest) Unused Experience : 136 Species : Albino Deceiving Serpent (Magic-Beast) Status : Blind , Deaf STR/VIT : 2 AGI/DEX : 2 INT/WIS : 2 DOMINANCE : 0 Skills / Mutations : \u003cMana Perception Lv.1 (0/10)\u003e This skill grants the user an active ability \u003cEnhanced Mana Perception\u003e which gives the user the ability to perceive anything within a 10m radius. This ability relies on the presence of mana, and as mana holds many properties the user can perceive anything from the inside out as long as it is within range. Passively, the ability can extend as far as 100m to sense the rebound of mana but cannot pierce through an object. Active : \u003cEnhanced Mana Perception\u003e CD : None Req : Restricts perception to 10m. \u003cMana Core Lv.1 (0/10\u003e This mutation is the physical center of mana within the body of any magical beast. The uniqueness of each magical beast''s mana core makes them wildly unpredictable, often being forcefully taken from magical beasts until they reform. As a magical beast, the way you practice magic and allocate your experience points directly affects the growth of your core. ======== The way in which a monster progress through life was different than that of the progress of enlightened creatures recognized by the gods. Monsters have never had any access to the system as that was determined to be too dangerous by both the system and the gods. Monsters become stronger easily if given the right conditions, the addition of the system would drastically tip the scale of power. Monsters with a system use ''experience points'' to directly control their evolution and skill development. Another difference is a monster''s rank, a direct correlation to the threat level assigned to a monster when an adventurer may request information about a monster. S - Superior; a target that demands the cooperation of both the military forces of a country and the adventurers as well as prominent figures in the guild. This target is recognized as a threat to the world as their strengths stretch from the ability to tear a part a country to the ability to wipe all intelligent beings off the face of the planet. A - Advanced; a target that may require the presence of experienced adventurers to be subjugated. This target is recognized as a threat for cities and a disaster for small towns and villages. For example, a young drake can spew out volatile attacks imbued with the mana-type they are naturally inclined towards since birth. A fire drake would raze villages and destroy ecosystems while an ice drake may cause unnatural cold weather patterns and freeze villages, making areas influenced by its presence unfit for most life. B - Beginner; a target able to be handled by inexperienced adventurers. This target is recognized as a threat for small towns and villages. For example, a pack of the monster-variant of intelligent dire wolves requires careful preparation of a newbie group of adventurers as they tend to have sub-human levels of intelligence and high agility. C - Common; a target able to be handled by a group of everyday people. For example, a monster-variant of a brown bear can be handled by a decently sized group of 1-5 untrained adults, the size of the group depending on their physical strength and available weapons. P - Pest; a target able to be handled by an everyday person. For example, a monster-variant of a sewer rat that are found in cities can usually be dealt with by a simple stomp of the foot from a child. Ranks aren''t only used as a threat ranking system since they have a very real effect on the monster''s themselves and their hierarchy. A lower ranked monster may feel an intense flurry of emotions when in the presence of a higher ranked monster, fear and intense paranoia being a common experience. Some monsters are submissive to higher ranked monsters while others may see higher ranked monsters as a chance to grow. This is seen in enlightened creatures through the influence of ''aura,'' or power of the soul, but the monster equivalent is a stat called Dominance. Dominance increases with monster-rank and level as well as various other factors, for example environment. A fire-focused creature may exert heightened Dominance in environments filled with the element of fire and lessened Dominance in environments made up of the element of water. Of course, the Boy had no way of truly knowing this information in such detail, but he instinctively understood that he was quite weak after ''reading'' his status. No, perhaps even weak wasn''t a fitting enough word to describe the pathetic white bundle''s miserable fighting capabilities.