《The Reincarnated Prodigy (OLD)》


 Volume 1 - Prologue : Dead but Alive

    Prologue : Dead but Alive


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    "AL!"


    My head spun as I caught a glimpse of her body. Based on her horrified face and tone, I assumed that something was terribly wrong. Her left arm pointed at something behind my body. My entire upper body turned towards that direction, but it was too late. My chest began to erupt in pain as I pathetically staggered a couple of feet backwards.


    I placed my right hand over the source of pain. When I pulled it out, a clear crimson red liquid greeted me. My gaze fell on the 8 mm hole in my torso. Trickles of blood fell from the tiny cavern on my chest as I jerked my head upwards. My peripherals caught a man with a handgun pointed directly at my head. In less than a second, the last bullet flew from the gun. It''s tiny whistling sound was drowned by the loud gunshot. I tilt my head and saved my brain from popping out of my skull. But, the lightning bullet tore a piece of my ear. A flurry of pain appeared on my ear as blood fell from it, the horrible smell made me lose balance, causing me to trip on my own foot.


    I crashed on the concrete road, upon colliding with the floor all the muscles of my body relaxed. The blood from my pierced chest and bloody ear bathed the rough surface as the light on my eyes began to fade. Screams erupted here and there resulting in mass pandemonium. The woman who screamed my name a while ago ran towards me as tears flooded her eyes.


    "Albert! Al! Don''t die please! Al please!" Reena begged.


    Her formal attire was stained by the puddle of my blood. Suddenly, my cold left hand was bathed by the warmth of both her hands. My head tilted and I saw the person that shot me, he was pinned down to the ground by a duo of tuxedo-wearing men. Dark sunglasses covered their eyes as their stares pierced the pinned man. These two well built men were my bodyguards, they were supposed to stop cases like these, but I guess there isn''t a point now that I''m dying. Atleast they caught the bastard who shot me.


    With the miniscule amount of energy I had remaining, I turned my head towards Reena. Who knew I was going to die beside my childhood friend. I just hoped she''d live her life to the fullest, even without me. I stare towards her eyes as the never ending river of tears dilute her beautiful green pupils. Her short black wavy hair bounced here and there as she scanned the surroundings screaming for help.nI don''t know if I''m an idiot or not, but why is it only now that I really see Reena''s beauty? Why is it that when I''m dying I realized that Reena was the perfect woman. Was I blind because of work? Is it because of stress?This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Just like me, at a really young age Reena was exceptionally gifted with knowledge. But what sets us apart was that her beauty was unparalleled, people her age went head over heels for her, except for me. Moreover, she was incredibly charismatic and friendly. But why is it now that I really see her dazzle? Ugh, it is as the saying goes; you only find the importance of something when you lose it. In this case, I''m going to lose Reena when I''ll die.


    "T-Thank you for everything R-Reena." I said my final words as I managed to muster up a faint smile.


    "N-no no no no! Don''t say that! I''m going to get you h-help!" her words were filled with panic, but they were drowned with sorrow.


    She stripped herself of her blazer and used that to stop the bleeding, but that attempt proved to be futile. The bullet stiked my lung perfectly so my death was now set in stone. Each passing second my breathing became harder and my body felt weaker. Finally, a brilliant light dazzled infront of me as I felt all the worries I had in the world wash away. So that was the "light" that people see when they die. I closed my eyes and plunged into the eternal darkness.


    "Al don''t leave me please!" those were the last words I heard from Reena.


    Now, there was nothing. No screaming. No pain. No Reena. Just me, alone, floating in a dark expanse. I tried to move my limbs, but nothing responded. I had no body, it seems I am now just, nothing. I feel nothing. Forever floating into the pitch black void. So this is what it feels like to be dead?


    Although I was an atheist, I still respected the beliefs of other religions. I would never try to debunk the religion of another person even if they would be disrespecting me as an atheist. But, it seems strange that I''m not in Heaven nor in Hell. There wasn''t a council of men to judge me in the underworld. A dog-person wasn''t here to take my belongings. Were all those religions, wrong? I questioned the beliefs of people even though it completely opposes my morals. Then, something felt odd, I felt a tiny tug But, I was so deep in my thoughts that I just left it as it was. Then, I felt more tugs. Each new one was stronger than the last. The tug eventually transitioned to a pull, a strong one at that. And yet, I found myself still doing nothing.


    After seconds of being slowly dragged, I felt something. My arm, then my torso, then my head. I opened my eyes and gasped for air the moment I escaped the nothingness. I stared at where I came from, it was a black portal of somesort. Then, my gaze fell on the golden string attached to my waist. I was being pulled from the nothingness.


    When my last foot finally escaped that dark space, the portal vanished into thin air. The moment I laid eyes on the area where I was, I nearly forgot to breathe. It was truly breath taking. The entire region was pure white as far as the eye can see. I''ve been to many places before, but I''ve never been to a place as empty and as white as this. I spun my head as I scanned my surroundings to see if there was some thing else that dwells in this vast space. When my head was about to stop it''s spin, my peripherals caught a figure, female. A woman standing 10 meters behind me, facing my back.


    "Welcome Albert Neilman. I am Era, the goddess of the planet ''Erevus''." the woman spoke in a light tone as her mouth bent, forming agentle smile.

 Volume 1 - Chapter 1 : My Situation

    Chapter 1 : My Situation


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    I pulled my entire upper torso upwards as I pushed my pair of legs downwards. With one swift motion, I stood up and turned around facing the woman. Without wasting precious time, I carefully studied my strange predicament. It seems my previous thoughts about divine beings where false, they do exist. Assuming that this woman in front of me is truly what she says she is.


    Although Era is admittedly beautiful, her overall appearance was odd. The main reason why I think so is because of her eyes. Her left eye was normal, the pupils was a black onyx color. But her other eye, now that was a different story. First of all, the color is a beautiful shade of imperial gold. It emitted a strange royal vibe, but it felt like the stare of that golden pupil pierced through my soul. If she was had some sort of x-ray vision with that eye, I wouldn''t be surprised. Second, instead of the usual round pupils we all have, her right pupil was shaped as a diamond.


    She was clad in a long white robe, the robe that Greek Gods would usually wear. Her long shiny hair which covered both her long pointy ears was a majestic color of yellow. Finally, the top of her head was veiled by a small white crown. Due to it having a similar color to the white room, I had to squint my eyes just to remind myself that the crown existed.


    After scanning her appearance, I realized then that there was an awkward silence between us. Although her tall demeanor didn''t even budge, I panicked in the inside thinking of a way to remove the awkward silence. Like what any normal person would do when they find themselves in an unfamiliar area, I decided to start with a question.


    "How do you know my name?" I asked her.


    She chuckled in a way that made me think that the answer to my question was really obvious.


    "I may not be of Earth, but I am aware of your existence as the first of the ''Great 5''. I am a Goddess after all."


    I shivered at the thought. It seems she not only knows who I am, she also knows the existence of other four. It looks like I''ve underestimated the abilities of this Goddess.


    "Albert Neilman, the Modern Da Vinci." she began speaking again. "At the tender age of 2 years old, you''re already capable of reading and talking. At the age of 5 you''ve learned how to speak and write using 33 different languages. At the age of 7 you''ve not only learned, but mastered advanced mathematics in less than a day. At the age 10-"


    "Ok ok, I get it. No need to tell me what I know." I cut her.


    "Since you contain a lot of information about me and Earth, why don''t you tell me about you and whatever planet you come from?" I asked her.


    "Going straight to the point are we?" she asked as her lips gently curved.


    "Well, of course. I have a lot of questions that need answering."


    She waved her hand then a chair materialized behind her. With one quick motion, she sat on the seemingly comfy chair.


    "Take a seat." she waved her hand again, but this time a seat materialized a couple of feet in front of her.


    I walked towards the seat as the sounds of my black leather shoes echoed throughout the area. With a couple of steps, I reached the chair and sat on it. I instantly melt on the chair due to it''s unsurprising comfyness, causing me to sigh with relaxation. I hear the small yet audible giggle of the Goddess making me jerk my head towards her face.


    My cheeks turn red as I faced down, trying to avoid the gaze of the woman. I quickly slap my cheeks as the red from my face flush out. I stare back at the Goddess as I returned back towards my calm demeanor. Without wasting time, I quickly asked her another question.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    "Am I dead?"


    "Yes." she calmly said.


    So I really am dead... Well, no point in being a sour loser about it. The woman said she was the Goddess of the planet "Erevus". I''ve never heard nor have any information about the planet. But I am sure about one thing; it isn''t Earth. Plus, she also said she wasn''t from Earth. This means that she isn''t here to judge me of my sins or something.


    So with that aside, what is my purpose here then?


    "Why am I here?" I asked her.


    "I''m willing to give you another chance-" she paused "At life."


    "The world I govern is a planet that is far different from Earth. It is called Erevus." she began waving her hand once she finished her sentence.


    Suddenly a blue transparent sphere materialized right in front of both of us. The hologram of what I assumed to be Erevus slowly floated upwards as it slowly spun around, revealing the numerous chunks of land etched across it.


    "Erevus is twice the size of Earth hogging a total amount of 8 continents."


    "These continents are inhabited by numerous races, but six of them reign supreme. Humans, Halfmen, Elves, Dwarves, Drageons and Dameons,"


    "Although all of them are different in almost every way, there is one thing in common between these people." she paused "They heavily rely on magic."


    Without warning, the entire room went from a pure white color to an obsidian black. The only thing that stopped the room from being shrouded by the darkness was the faint light emitted by the blue hologram of Erevus hovering slightly above us.


    "Not going to disprove the existence of magic?" she asked as her lips curved.


    I sighed before saying my reply "Well, if Gods and Goddesses exist, anything fictional can be real life. Even magic."


    Although I never believed in magic, I was still fond of reading certain fictional books about it. In my free time, I find myself reading novels about things that I could never be possible. Just months ago, Reena recommended me a couple of Japanese light novels that she adored. It was ironic that someone who was a maniac with machineries read books about people doing magic while on another wo-


    Then it hit me, this Goddess said she was going to give me another chance at life. She then began talking about her planet without even talking deeper about my second chance. Does that mean, my second life is going to be on her world? I decided to go with that and ask her a question. Although that idea seemed to be very stupid and was highly influenced by fictional light novels, it was a step forward.


    "Do you want me to defeat some sort of Demon Lord?" I asked her with a straight face.


    At first, the Goddess stared at me with a dumbfound face. Then, I quickly realized my mistake when she began to laugh. Her laughing continued on for a couple of minutes while all I could do was curl up in a fetal position on the chair as I tried to hide my red face. That was a serious question and her reply came as continuous laughing, I regret asking that question and wanted to die from the embarrassment. Well, I am already dead, but I want to die again.


    Finally, her laugh began to die out. She wiped a tear out of her face as she stared directly at my face. She returned back towards her calm and respectful demeanor, but, she flashed a toothy grin as she said her reply.


    "Sorry about that, but you were very far away from the main reason why I brought you here."


    I didn''t even bother to reply to her. It wasn''t because I was mad at her, it was because I was mad at myself for asking such a moronic question. I can''t believe I, the very first member of the Great 5, I who was revered to as the "Modern Da Vinci" due to my inhumane learning speed, asked such a silly question in a very important situation! I can''t believe I Iet those silly books influence me, a well-known genius.


    I wanted to remain in this curled up position for the rest of my time here with this Goddess. But no matter how many times I try to convince myself that I want to stay like this, I still needed to hear the rest of the things she has to say. This isn''t because of my curious mind. This isn''t because I wanted to have another life. This is because I wanted to escape this place as quickly as possible. I never want to remind myself of that idiotic question, and this place will always remind me of that stupid question.


    So, I finally mustered up enough courage and escaped the confines of my isolated body. I faced the grinning Goddess and began with a question, again.


    "What is my purpose then?"

 Volume 1 - Chapter 2 : Purpose

    Chapter 2 : Purpose


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    "Well, I can tell you for sure that you aren''t tasked with defeating the king of an incredibly passive kingdom." she giggled "And, those horned goth people you call ''Demons'' are called ''Dameons'', like I said they are one of the six major races in Erevus."


    I transfer my gaze towards the hovering hologram, trying to avoid the laughing face of the divine woman.


    "You''re tasked with something much more important." she returned to her calm demeanor.


    My gaze fell from the blue transparent planet above, towards the serious face of Era.


    "Like I said, my people rely on magic."


    "With a snap of a finger, anyone who has an affinity with magic would be able to conjure up a ball of flames. While anyone with enough experience, materials and knowledge with magic would be able to destroy a city overnight."


    Suddenly, the entire room was engulfed in flames. My heart dropped at the sight of the conflagration around us, but I was quickly relieved to find out that the fire was just some sort of illusion. The heat that I expected from seeing all this fire was non-existent. I sighed with relief as the Goddess stared at my reaction with a smile on her face. But, her smiling lips curved downwards as she continued.


    "But, my people have been far too reliant with magic." she frowned.


    "It is both a blessing..."


    Suddenly, the entire room turned from a raging sea of flames, to a peaceful and beautiful forest. Groups of bizarre animals I''ve never seen before appeared from their respective homes. A horned white rabbit hopped from it''s hole and bathed under the dazzling rays of sunshine. Water peacefully flowed onto a nearby river emitting a lullaby-like sound that nearly put me to sleep.


    "... And a curse."


    Then, the forest''s calm aura was shrouded by pandemonium. The entire area went dark as the blood red fire that ate away the bark of numerous trees pushed away the pitch black darkness of the night. The burnt corpses of numerous animals were scattered throughout the burning sea of flames. The horrible crackling sound the conflagration made was absolutely horrid and disgusting. I swear I could smell the odor of death even though all of this was an illusion.


    After a couple of seconds, the Goddess waved her hand and the entire scenery began to crumble, returning back towards it''s better white emptiness. Who knew I would be so happy seeing this place again. I rejoiced in my head now that the horrible scene disappeared, but that parade of happiness was quickly shot down. I was reminded of the embarrassing moment that happened. I wanted to curl up due to embarrassment, but no matter how much I want to do that, I cannot allow myself to do that. Information is crucial, and this woman in front of me was pouring it like a waterfall. I can''t miss a single thing she says.


    "Due to magic, my people rely on false rituals and unanswered-" she paused as her face strained "... Prayers to heal others from plagues and diseases."


    "They believe natural disasters such as earthquakes, typhoons or even the eruption of volcanoes are due to either the wrath of Gods or someone with incredible magical prowess caused it. And the majority believed the latter!"


    "We can''t even directly affect the mortal world! If we set foot on the physical world, then the mana of the world would overload causing it''s own demise!"


    "Besides, why would I cause mass destruction towards my people?! That''s like telling yourself to go and pull off your own nail! It is an arduous painful task and you would gain nothing from it!"


    The Goddess massaged her temples as the onslaught of words finally ended. I stare at the divine being and quickly began thinking for a reason why she would summon me here. Clearly magic is somewhat the problem here. She said from her speech that her people have been really reliant on magic. They relied on it so much that they lack some scientific development and depended on ritua-


    Then, just like the truck that kills the main character in every Japanese light novels, the realization hit me. Without wasting any time, I shot up a question.


    "You want me to develop the science of Erevus?" I asked.


    It seems I was right, the Goddess'' face suddenly lit up as she her gleeful gaze met mine. She swiftly opened her mouth and I quickly guessed what she was going to say; "You got it!".


    "You got it right!" Eh, close enough.


    "My people desperately need scientific developments. I mean, they''ve been stuck in the medieval age for the past 3000 years!" she raised her arm and slammed it on her own leg.


    "And you know the biggest problem here?" she asked.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    "They think they''re at the peak of their technology?" I quickly replied


    "Correct! They think they''re at the peak of their technology!" she said with a large grin etched across her face.


    "I do love my people, they may wage wars here and there, but sometimes I really wish I could give them more brain cells! Oh wait, they don''t even know what a brain cell is..."


    "Ok, so what particular gain do I receive from helping you?" I asked her.


    The Goddess just stared at me for a second and calmly said her reply.


    "You''d receive a second chance at life. You will retain your memories and your 17 year old body. You would be able to do things you didn''t do on Earth once more!"


    Would I be able to say a proper goodbye with Reena? No. But, I didn''t say that.


    "How am I supposed to achieve the dreams I had back on Earth when nearly all of them required something that isn''t here. Some people that isn''t here."


    The Goddess raised her index finger and opened her mouth as she was going to retaliate, but the words wouldn''t come out of her mouth. She slowly pulled back her hand and placed it at her chin, clearly thinking of a different approach on this matter.


    But, what she doesn''t know is that she no longer requires a different approach to this predicament. My mind wanted to jump at the task instantly, another chance at life to do things I didn''t do in Earth? And in a magical world?! Imagine the possibilities! Even though I didn''t have the materials and people to do the things I wanted to do, I am still capable of creating and finding replacements!


    Although I wanted to accept, I wished for another thing. Although a second life at a magic planet was nice, I wanted something every main characters in light novels have.


    "I want a cheat ability." I smiled at the Goddess.


    Even though the Goddess was deep in her thoughts, her ears managed to caught the word "cheat ability". Thus she faced towards my direction and wanted to make sure that what she heard was right.


    "What?"


    "I accept your task with developing the science of Erevus. But, I want a powerful ability that would help me in your world."


    Era thought about my demand, after minutes of thinking, she opened her mouth.


    "I agree with your terms, but there will be a slight problem."


    "Carry on." I replied.


    "The ''cheat ability'' you said is what we call a ''Divine Factor''. These Divine Factors can only be given to ''Heroes''."


    "Then aren''t I a hero? After all, I am going to save your planet from the destruction of underdevelopment."


    "That isn''t what I meant" she sighed "Heroes are people with the title "Hero". This title is can only be attained from a God or Goddess."


    "Then give me the title so we can go on with what we were doing."


    "It isn''t that simple" my suggestion was quickly shot down by four words.


    "You see, there are 2 types of Heroes."


    Suddenly, the white room turned pitch black. Once again, the trusty hologram of Erevus illuminated the area, keeping us from being completely veiled by the darkness.


    "Chosen Ones are people given the title ''Hero'' by a God. They would receive a Divine Factor chosen by the God."


    Then, to her right. A white silhouette of a person instantly materialized. The silhouette seemed to hold what looked like an incredibly large sword. While their other hand held what seemed to be a large shield.


    "Hmm, if you are able to give me the title ''Hero'', then you could''ve given it to me a while ago. But you didn''t. That means you can''t give it to me right?"


    "Yes. Chosen Ones can only come from Erevus. Since you are of Earth, you can''t become a chosen one."


    My shoulders drooped once she finished her sentence. It seems I can''t gain a cheat ability or "Divine Factor" because I don''t have the title "Hero". I admit, I don''t really want a cheat ability, I need it. If I, a person who came from a world where magic was fiction, jump into a world where magic is the norm. Then I''d be completely destroyed by some kind of magic related being. If I had a cheat ability, I''d at least have some sort of edge against them and I might be able to survive their encounters.


    "So, what is the other type of hero?"


    "Summoned Heroes."


    My eyes lit up when she said "summoned". But the light was quickly crushed due to two factors. One, I wasn''t "summoned", I was reincarnated. Two, the Goddess should''ve been able to grant me a Divine Factor if I was a summoned hero, but because of the topic of this conversation right now, I doubt I was a Summoned Hero.


    "I''m not a summoned hero am I?"


    "No."


    "Is it because I was reincarnated? Being reincarnated is far from being summoned after all."


    "Well... That is one reason."


    I tilt my head at her reply.


    "You see, I don''t summon my heroes. My people do." she paused. "And when my people summon heroes from another world, four heroes will always be summoned."


    Then to her left, four different colored silhouettes of people materialized. The red one at the bottom held a sword. The yellow one towards it''s upper right held a bow. The one next to the yellow silhouette was blue, it held a staff of some sort. Finally, the Green one on the top held a large cross, but with a diamond in the intersection of both the cross'' lines. All of them were very different, but each one of them stroke a pose that made me think these silhouettes were fighting an enemy.


    "I guess that''s some how your trademark. The diamond in your right eye?" I said.


    "Correct. Four people as in the four points or sides of a diamond." she proceeded to point towards the direction of her right eye.


    "The diamond is my symbol in this world after all. So why not take advantage of it and make them summon four heroes? Like the saying goes: The more, the merrier." she began to laugh lightly.


    "If we assume that I am a summoned hero, then that would be impossible. I don''t see three other people beside me." I sighed


    "So, no cheat ability then?" I added


    The Goddess paused as she thought about her response.


    "Well, there is one Divine Factor that I am able to give you." the Goddess smiled, but I could see a faint feeling of fear from her smile.


    My eyes lit up once again.


    "But?" I warily asked.


    "But, you have to promise me one thing. Do not tell anyone I gave you this Divine Factor and do not tell anyone that you are from another planet."


    "Alright, I am a man of my word. But if it is ok to ask. Why?"


    She sighed "Numerous Gods and Goddesses are trying to pull me from the throne. I don''t want to deal with the trouble that follows once they found out I gave a Divine Factor to someone who isn''t a Hero."


    "You mean other Gods and Goddesses can take that pretty white crown of yours?"


    "Yes. And if they do, Erevus would undergo a massive upheaval. Killing billions of people. I do not want that to happen." she ended her sentence with a serious tone, opposite to her laughing demeanor a while ago.


    "Besides, I like my job." she smiled


    "Okay... What is this cheat ability?"

 Volume 1 - Chapter 3 : Im On My Way

    Chapter 3 : I''m On My Way


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    <table style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">


    Skill


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">


    Element Creatia (Era''s Divine Factor)


    Rank : Divine


    Difficulty : Expert


    Description:


    Certain elements in the summoned hero''s world are inaccessible in the medieval world of Erevus. The ability to produce these elements would greatly contribute in the swift creation of machineries the summoned hero had in their previous world.


    Effect:


    Grants the user the ability to create elements the user had in their previous world. Due to the fact that the user has numerous dangerous elements in their previous world, the user will be immune to the negative effects of certain elements for 1 day upon the beginning of the creation process.


    Range : User''s Hands


    Mana Cost : Dependent


    Cooldown : None


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The blue screen materialized inches beside my thinking body. This skill was the only Divine Factor that Era would give me and I had only one thought about it.


    "This is exactly what I needed." I grinned.


    I no longer needed to go and search for the elements of the periodic table in Erevus. The fear of wasting precious time in searching these elements are non-existent with this skill! It literally is a god-send.


    "But..." Era paused.


    "But?"


    "But, this skill is incredibly dangerous. It requires incredible amounts of concentration and knowledge about the elements. Numerous summoned heroes died due to the skill failing." she paused "But, this is an fixed version of the original. It hasn''t been tested yet, so I want you to use it."


    "So I''m going to be your Guinea pig?"


    "Something along those lines." she smiled.


    "So, this is the only skill you can give me because you want to test it on me? Why can you give me this dangerous Divine Factor yet you can''t give me other safer ones?" I frowned


    "I did not choose to give you this particular skill, but I am forced to."


    "There are over thousands of Divine Factors that each God and Goddess has access to. But, out of those thousands of Divine Factors, there are some destructive ones. We call them ''Broken Ones''. Element Creatia is an example of a Broken One."


    "We remove these Broken Ones from the list of Divine Factors and destroy them. But, I hid this particular skill due to the fact that I believed it is incredibly useful when the time comes."


    Well, she did have a point there. I find it weird that these Divine beings aren''t so different from us. We believed them to be omnipotent, but it seems they also create mistakes like us. These Broken Ones are a great example.


    "Alright, I get it." I placed my hand over my chin and thought about the flaw of this ability.


    "Is there some sort of Appraisal skill in Erevus?"


    "Yes, numerous appraisal skills exist in my world."


    "Then they can appraise me and see my skill right?"


    "Well, yes bu-" she stopped "Where are you going with this?"


    "When people appraise my skill, then wouldn''t they know it''s a Divine Factor?"


    The Goddess went silent, clearly thinking about a way on how to fix this strange predicament.


    "Can''t you fake the information placed on the skill?" I asked


    "No that would take too long. Fixing this skill took me centuries, Just editing the information on the skill would take years- No, decades to complete." Era sighed, she was cornered here.


    "If you can''t fake the info on my skill, why don''t I do it?"


    The Goddess stared at me with curious eyes.


    "There should be a skill that would make me fake the information on my skill right?"


    "Yes there is!" her eyes lit up due to my idea.


    She clapped her hands two times. The sound of her palms slamming onto each other echoed throughout the white area. Suddenly, the sound of wood breaking and bending flooded the area. Out of nowhere, wooden planks with a light brown color appeared. They bent and produced impossible curves as they filled the floor, ceiling and the walls.


    From the wooden floor, numerous cubical bookshelves started to appear. Not a single shelf had an empty spot, all of them were filled o the brim with all sorts of books with all sorts of shaped and sizes. The white room was transformed into an incredibly large library.


    Some bookshelves were stuck to the ground while others hovered on the air. The blue hologram of Erevus began to levitate towards the upper-center of the room, it abandoned it''s blue body and transformed into a white ball of fire. All the bookshelves that hovered in the air revolved around the white ball of flames.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    She waved her right hand in an eerie pattern as one book from the nearest bookshelf started to slowly levitate towards my direction. The small book landed on my lap as I could feel it''s smooth surface. The cover was white in color, no particular decoration was placed on the white cover. The only decoration on the cover was the drawing of a black mask. Written below the it were the words; A Grimoire for the Lost Art of Status Falsification.


    "I cannot directly give you the skill since it doesn''t coincide with my line of work" the Goddess said.


    "Well, its just a minor setback." I sighed


    "Now that you have everything you need, would you like to enter the world of Erevus?"


    I released myself from the comfy chair and stood up with my two legs. I held the Grimoire with my right hand as I stared at the Goddess.


    "I need another thing."


    "Continue."


    "Information. I need deeper information about the planet, it''s people, magic, etc."


    "Interesting, not a single summoned hero I met asked for information about Erevus. They just listen to my speech, choose a Divine Factor, then they leave."


    "Well, I''m not a summoned hero aren''t I?"


    Era chuckled "No you aren''t"


    "Don''t worry about information, I''ll tell Larry to give it to you on the way to Erevus."


    "Larry?"


    "Don''t worry, you can trust him. He''s my right hand man."


    "So you aren''t transporting me to Erevus?"


    "No, like I said. My mana would overload the planet. Larry is assigned to transfer all summoned heroes towards Erevus. He may be part-god but his mana won''t overload the planet." she replied.


    "We just have to make sure that the other Gods and Goddesses won''t notice the fluctuation of Larry''s mana." Era said as she fiddled with her hands, creating gestures I don''t understand.


    "Do you need anything more?" the Goddess asked.


    "No, you''ve given me enough."


    "Will this be the last time we meet?" I asked the Goddess.


    "No, I feel like we will meet again soon." the Goddess smiled.


    "It has been a pleasure meeting you Albert Neilman."


    "Pleasures all mine Goddess Era." my lips curved as I gently bowed in front of the Goddess.


    Suddenly, a circle of light emerged from my foot. The light enveloped me as I disappeared from the Goddess'' colossal library.


    When the light died out, I found myself in a temple of some sort. I stood on a circular platform as I scanned my surroundings. The ceiling of the tall room was a dome with numerous murals and writings which I couldn''t understand. In the center of the dome was a large opening which made the beautiful warm rays of sunshine illuminate the circular room.


    In one end, there was a large closed door. The walls were etched with numerous drawings similar to the murals above. Again, there were writings which I could not understand. After seconds of waiting, I could hear a beautiful melody echo throughout the cylinder room. I twist my head here and there to see where this amazing music was coming from. I found out that the source of the melody was from the large opening above the dome.


    From that very opening, a person flew down. Actually, I think he fell down. No, he is falling down. I quickly jumped away from the platform as his body smashed onto the area were I previously stood. A loud thud echoed throughout the room as his groans of pain eventually drowned the thud.


    He chanted using a strange language and his body was enveloped with a green soft light. After the light died out, he sighed of relaxation and stood up. As he was dusting off any foreign object that was on him, I managed to see his appearance.


    Just like Era, this man had long pointy ears. But, instead of Era''s blonde hair, this man had pure black hair. He hade 6 white wings sprouted from his back as they began flapping, removing any dust he caught in his fall. He was draped with a white shirt and his legs were veiled by gray shorts.


    If one were to remove his wings, change his long pointed ears to small rounded ones, and take away the small crown that hovered directly above his head, then this man would look completely normal.


    "Oops! Wrong clothes." the man snapped his fingers as white light enveloped his entire body. When the brilliant light disappeared, his clothes completely changed. His black obsidian-colored armor no longer deemed him as normal. He stared at his armor then his gaze fell on me.


    "The names Michael Evelgous Dicratus III, you can call me Larry." Larry said with a big grin on his face.


    How does one go from Michael Evelgous Dicratus III to Larry? I thought to myself.


    "I''m Albert Neilman, Modern Da Vinci." I bowed in front of the man.


    "So you''re the guy that''ll help Erevus'' technological problems? I''ve heard a lot about you!" Larry said


    "You do?"


    "Well, Miss Era did talk a lot about you a couple of months back. She was like ''This is him!'' and ''He will save our planet!''." the man''s grin became even bigger.


    "Its amazing that you have the guts to demand two skills from the Goddess. Miss Era loves familiarity, the summoned heroes that she would meet are too stiff!" he said.


    "Miss Era would really need time to just laugh like that, these days she''s been to stressed out. You know, with those Gods and Goddesses trying to kick her out of the throne." Larry finished "Oh, and please keep your promise with Miss Era, I don''t want to see her pulling out her hair again once the other divine beings find out about you." the man ended with a sad yet serious tone.


    "Of course, Era would risk her own throne to save her people. She earned my respect." I proudly said.


    "Thank you." Larry gently bowed.


    "Now, you''ll need information right?" Larry began to walk towards my direction.


    The man''s towering height dwarfed mine. I stuttered a bit when I replied to him due to hid large body.


    "Y-yes, I need info about your planet."


    "Then here you go!" the man placed his hand over my head.


    Although I was confused at first, that confusion instantly disappeared. I learnt basic information about Erevus, it''s months, it''s languages, deeper information about the six major races, etc. Although all the information was being placed on me, I couldn''t feel any form of information overload.


    After seconds of transferring information, the job was finally finished. In less than an minute I learned a lot about the planet. When I stared at Larry with a smile across my face, I was surprised to see his gaping mouth. Then, he grinned once mire.


    "That''s amazing! Usually when I transfer that amount of information to a mortal, it would take them at least 10 minutes. Sometimes an entire hour! I guess that''s because of your monstrous learning speed?"


    "I don''t really know much about magic, but I guess that''s the case here." I flashed a smile with my mouth.


    "Even though you aren''t a hero, you clearly top them all! You''ll definitely shake the entire world of Erevus with your crazy existence!"


    "Thanks, so you''ll transport me to Erevus?"


    "Yes! But I''ll also help you while you''re on Erevus!"


    "What do you mean?" I tilt my head because of his response.


    "Well, I won''t be physically there. The Gods would think Era is up to something when she finds out that I''m with a mortal."


    "I would answer any question you have from this realm. Using a finger, just draw a diamond symbol on your right hand and tap the middle." Larry demonstrated as he drew a diamond on his right palm with the use of his left finger. Once he was finished, he tapped the diamond with the same finger and suddenly, a gold diamond-shape appeared on the palm of his hands. Then a diamond-shaped holographic screen appeared inches in front of his body.


    He tapped the gold diamond on his hand once more and the large screen in front of him disappeared.


    "Now, you try." he said.


    I did the same thing he did with his hand, once I was finished, the same diamond-shaped screen appeared inches in front of his body. I tapped the diamond on my hand and the screen in front of Larry disappeared.


    "Just speak to the diamond on your hand then I would hear everything you say. If you want to talk in secret, we can talk telepathically using the same method."


    "So it''s like a phone?" I asked.


    "Yes. But more magic-ish." the man proudly said.


    "If you have any questions about Erevus that need answering, then you can call me."


    "Alright, thanks!"


    "No problem, now you best be going before we get caught here." Larry said "Stand on the platform and we can commence teleportation."


    I walked towards the platform and Larry began chanting using the same unknown language he used before. This time, the entire platform glowed a pitch black color. After continuous chanting, the black light transformed into a white light.


    "See ya around Al." Larry said once he finished chanting.


    "See you too." I replied before the white light enveloped my body. I was now on my way towards the magical world of Erevus.

 Volume 1 - Chapter 4 : Strange Turn Of Events

    Chapter 4 : Strange Turn Of Events


    <hr>


    Both of my eyes flew open as my black pupils moved towards each corner of my eye, scanning my surroundings. I jerked my torso upwards as I sat cross-legged on the green luxuriant grass which danced in repetitive motion. I was located in a large yet small clearing surrounded by fairly tall trees. The whistling winds carried numerous leaves which in turn, carried the faint smell of dew.I transferred my gaze towards the large ball of fire etched on the clear blue sky. The sun''s rays of sunshine bathed my black tuxedo as I began to think for an answer towards my crucial question.


    What time is it?


    The reason for this question was due to the fact that I wanted to avoid night in this densely packed forest as much as possible. Not only will I be forced to battle the night''s cold and the starvation which follows, but I will also be forced to face creatures that co-exist in these groups of trees. I will be forced to face "Monsters".


    Monsters are creatures that were programmed to do one thing, destroy any other creature it comes across with. A human like Al wasn''t exempted. These creatures bathe mana and due to the fact that mana could be found in every corner of the world, these chaotic creatures exist everywhere.


    These monsters come in numerous races; slimes, goblins, kobolds. The typical monsters found in a basic RPG game or fantasy story. But, you can''t just find these races splattered across the continent in a random fashion. Just like every animal, each race of monster lives in highly specific areas. Slimes live in moist biomes such as swamps while Kobolds, due to their thick fur, live in cold places such as the snowy mountainous areas. Goblins are a special case since they adapt to any environment, thus they would be able to live anywhere so as long as they have access to food and shelter.


    Another thing to take account for about their shelter is the density and quality of mana. Although at first, the two may seem similar, they are actually incredibly different. The more dense the mana is, the longer the lifespan of the monster will be. Examples of these monsters are the nearly immortal undead such as skeletons, dullahans, etc. Meanwhile, higher quality mana would lead to stronger monsters. Areas with high quality mana would shelter monsters such as High Dryads, Sentient Golems, etc.


    Another thing to think about these monsters are the food they eat. Although monsters can gain nutrients through mana, it won''t be enough to sate their hunger. These monsters aren''t creatures that would kill off others for no particular reason, they kill to protect their shelter and to gain food. Luckily, monsters can also be classified as herbivores, carnivores and omnivores. Thus monsters that are herbivores are passive creatures and won''t attack unless provoked. Just like cows, pigs and chickens, most herbivore monsters can act as farm animals.


    It seems my focus was lost and I began thinking about information I already knew. I eventually caught up with my mistake and began to proceed with what I was supposed to be doing. I stare at the sun''s position and began to think what time it was. The duration of each day in Erevus isn''t identical to that of Earth. Compared to Earth having 24 hours each day, Erevus has an additional of 4 hours meaning each day would amount to 28 hours.


    But, their difference doesn''t end there. Compared to Earth''s 12 months, Erevus has a total of 13 months. Each month contains exactly 34 days compared to Earth having the confusing pattern of 31 and 30 days. And I''m not even talking about February were it goes from 28 to 29 every 4 years.


    The only time where the time of both planets were analogous is on the duration of each hour and minute. Each minute in Erevus has 60 seconds and each hour has 60 minutes. Speaking of time, Era did say that the people in this world were stuck in the medieval period for 4000 years right? If each year has 14 months and each month has 34 days and each day has 28 hours... God, they''ve been stuck in the medieval era for a long time! They really do need help.


    And, I got lost in my thoughts again. This time, I shifted my focus towards finding out what time it is. Due to the fact that the sun was at it''s highest peak, I can assume it is noon. Somewhere around the beginning of the 14th hour.


    Not wasting anymore time, I stood up and escaped the confines of the grassy floor. I wanted to ask Larry for directions to the nearest village or city. But, I didn''t want to rely on the big guy too much. I walked towards the densely packed forest and stopped one meter in front of the tree.


    I assumed that monsters lurked these forests and decided to scout for a path of some sort. I continued my walk along the trees while making sure that I was at least one meter away from it. Suddenly, My nose caught a faint odor which drowned the smell of nature. It''s strong scent didn''t captivate me in the least, but it made me curious.


    It was a familiar scent, but for some reason, I couldn''t put my finger as to what it was. I crept towards the source of this strange smell and stopped meters in front of the densely packed trees which blocked my way. I narrowed my eyes as I stare deeper in the forest, I transfer my gaze upwards to see a tall tower of gray clouds. I quickly realized what the smell was.


    "Fire." I mumbled as I heard the distant shriek of a woman coming from the tall column of smoke.


    Unconsciously, my legs began to move as I leapt towards the forest. For some reason, a strange feeling was lit deeply in my heart. It kept screaming, telling me and my entire body to run towards that direction. No, it kept telling me to save whoever was in trouble. This weird feeling of heroism suddenly popped out of nowhere and I couldn''t do anything about it.


    I told my body to stop and go back to the clearing as I swore I could see faint but slight movements in the trees here and there. I saw a group of tiny green men which I assumed to be goblins hunting down a white ball of fur. The horned rabbit was killed as a low quality arrow was pierced through it''s head.


    Although seeing the poor bunny''s blood gush out, I didn''t even take another glance at the bunny''s dead body. Instead, I continued to race across the forest. A large tree laid down on the grass, blocking me of my path. With one swift motion, my body leapt and landed on the laying tree. I leapt again, but this time, I landed on a tree branch. Seeing that jumping through the branches would be a more efficient way to travel, my body didn''t even stop to think as it jumped towards the nearest branch.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    My body continued jumping on tree branches one after the other. Eventually, I was running out of tree branches to jump on. Using my hands, I swung on the next tree branch, propelling me forwards a couple of feet as I safely landed on the ground.


    My body was incredibly tired, but I couldn''t feel it. My heart went faster, my breathing became faster, my eyes saw more detail as I ran towards the nearing pillar. I didn''t know why, but my adrenal gland was pumping adrenaline like no tomorrow.


    One might ask why I was capable of easily jumping from branch to branch while I was navigating towards my destination. This is due to the fact that when I was on Earth, I decided to learn Advanced Military Parkour. My trainer wasn''t even slightly surprised when he saw me learn those swift and precise movements in just 3 days. I was known all over the world due to my monstrous learning speed, so no one would underestimate me.


    After seconds of running, I finally reached my destination and my adrenaline finally stopped. I wanted to climb a tree to see a bird''s eye view of the area, but doing so would blow my cover. Besides, I had no energy to spare for a task that ardous. Instead, I decided to lay down on the ground with my stomach facing down as I stared at them through a bush''s tiny opening.


    A group of 17 strangely clothed individuals were surrounding a large wagon with two horses. Fire was littered everywhere as signs of battle were clearly evident. Half of these armed individuals were sitting on crates while the rest stood nearby another group of people.


    This secondary group were tied together as white cloth covered their mouths. It didn''t take a genius to find out that these people were being taken as prisoners as these "bandits", the 17 strangely clothed individuals, were stealing the contents of their cart.


    I did not know how react to this dangerous predicament. I had literally nothing in my hands. I had no form of weapon to use against these people. Suddenly, I receive a feeling that I was forgetting something.


    Ring


    A small, yet audible rig emerged from my right hand. I stared at the source of this sudden ringing as I pulled my palm from the ground. I stared at my palm as a gold diamond was suddenly glowing from it. Written in the center were the words;


    "Larry..."


    I wished those bandits didn''t hear the ringing. If they did hear it, I need to make sure they weren''t hearing more ringing. I gently tapped the golden diamond with my left index finger as the ringing abruptly stopped. In it''s place was familiar voice.


    "Hey Al, how are things going down there?" Larry''s cheery voice emerged from my palm.


    I didn''t want my voice to contribute to the noise so I began to talk to Larry telepathically.


    Dude, now is not the time


    "Hmm? Oh you''re busy? Sorry for butting in but I need to tell you something."


    Yes?


    "You left your book at the shrine, A Grimoire for the Lost Art of Status Falsification?"


    I paused the moment Larry finished his sentence. I tapped my chest gently to see if I tucked the book in there, but it was impossible to hide that thick book inside my tuxedo.


    Oh shit.


    If I was able to send a telepathic facepalm to Larry, then that would be the first thing I would do. My mind erupt in a fury of flames as I smashed my fist onto the ground. I quickly realized my mistake as pain shot up my poor hand, luckily my hand seemed to be okay.


    But that didn''t stop me from releasing my anger. I began swearing in my mind as the barrage of swear words reached Larry. I failed to realize that my thoughts were being transmitted to Larry since I was still talking to him telepathically.


    Although Larry was part-god, he still found Al''s reaction amusing. Actually, he was expecting this reaction, this was why he was maniacally laugh in the inside. Due to Larry''s age, Al''s conflagration of swear words were like a child''s tantrum towards the part-god.


    "Well, if you need the book make sure to call me." Larry said in a cheerful voice. I was sure the man was wearing a large grin on his face.


    As to why I was so mad, in reality, I was more annoyed. The book was important for my plans. Without it, people would know I have a Divine Factor. Eventually the other Gods would find about Era''s deal. The last thing I wanted was a large political problem between me, Era and other Gods.


    Actually, scratch that. The last thing I want is being caught by these bandits. And that was what happened.


    "Who goes there?!"


    I was surprised, well it isn''t because they knew I was here, that stupid ringing blew my cover so I wouldn''t be surprised If they saw me. No, I was surprised I was able to understand his language perfectly. He spoke in strange syllables which clearly weren''t in English. The language sounded more Japanese, but with the hint of German. Actually, never mind, I can''t explain what their language was.


    Suddenly my heart began to beat faster once more, my sense of heroism came back. My legs began to push my body upwards as I revealed myself towards the men. My body wouldn''t respond to me so I had no choice but to go with the flow. I quickly deduced a plan when all the gazes of 17 bandits shifted onto me.


    "Who are you?" the nearest bandit gave me a strange look.


    "My n-name is Albert, I was j-just passing by t-the area when I c-came across your g-group."


    I faked my constant stuttering. By showing them that I was weak and afraid, they would think that I am weak and afraid. They would either try to kill me or take me as hostage, the latter seemed to be the situation that would usually happen.


    "Tie him up like the rest." the biggest one with the most scars, tattoos and the biggest sword ordered. His bald head reflected light like a mirror. His large muscular physique was veiled by a large dark-blue mantle so I couldn''t see anything else.


    I tried to run away but tripped on my own shoes. I heard the laughing of all 17 of them as I tried to stand up, but failed to do so every time. They didn''t seem to notice me faking it as the nearest bandit walked over me. They clearly took my bait.


    He pulled my by the collar as I began Phase 1 of my plan. As I regained my feet, I swiftly turned around and punched the man''s chin. He went weak as his brain bounced around his skull, giving the poor man a concussion. I took advantage of the his unbalanced body and with the use of my right hand, held him on his nape. I used his body as a meat shield as my hand reflexively went for a section of his belt, but I realized I was in a medieval world. The handguns they would usually have attached to their belts are non-existent.


    Adapting to the situation, I reached for the dagger on his lower left leg. I attempted to placed the dagger over his neck when all of a sudden, I felt a massive force stopping me from doing so. My hands felt weak as I saw my supposed "hostage" had stopped my hand with his own.


    "Ugh, that hurts!" the man groaned.


    Using his other hand, he rubbed his chin as I staggered backwards, releasing the man from my shackles. No, wait. The man was never shackled in the first place. The moment I walked backwards, he was still standing. I swore I hit his chin with the perfect angle and perfect force, yet the man who was supposed to be unconscious was obviously... Conscious.


    The man twisted his head around as I felt his glares were implanted onto my body. With blinding speed, the man ran towards me as he slammed onto me. His running didn''t stop until my body smashed onto the nearest tree. All the air in my lungs left my mouth as my weakened body fell on the ground. I gasped for air the moment I felt the dirt path on my face as the man who slammed me on the tree took me by my head.


    His large hand was big enough to squeeze my head and crush my skull, but it seems the large man that ordered him to get me interjected right before he was even given the chance to.


    "Don''t kill him" the large man said.


    This guy may not be as bad as he seem.


    "We need his body parts intact to sell him." he followed with a grin.


    Never mind.

 Volume 1 - Chapter 5 : Elina Liliwood

    Chapter 5 : Elina Liliwood


    <hr>


    My name is Elina Liliwood, adopted daughter of Valerius Liliwood. I''ve spent my entire childhood at the bottom of the barrel, occasionally stealing both food and money just to perform those actions the next day. I would steal from both commoners and from fellow thieves like me.


    Usually, I would steal 3 loaves of bread, when I''m lucky I''d steal 5. But, there are certain days when I would be beaten up by the people whom I steal from, those are my unlucky days. Sometimes, I would save one loaf of bread, most of the times I would have none.


    Those people up there, the nobles, the royals, the very gods and goddesses which granted us everything we prayed for, they never cared about us, they never cared about me. No matter how much I prayed for help, no matter how much I begged, no matter how many stars I wished upon, I would never live the life I longed for.


    I would sleep on a comfy woolen bed tucked by my soft warm blanket, only to be waken up by the beautiful voice of my mother. Everyday, I would be draped with dazzling clothing that would sway as I moved throughout the town. I would laugh alongside other children as we play numerous games throughout the town. I would eat countless loaves of bread, only to be stopped by my parents when our budget is at risk. I would be scolded, but I know that my parents would continue to love me. That was the life I longed for, the life I would never achieve. Or so I thought.


    It was one cold evening. The bright crescent moon stood at the peak of it''s position, bathing the entire town with it''s soft moonlight. I lay on a pile of crates awkwardly placed at the corner of one alley. The thin rags which draped my small body could barely be called "clothes". I shivered from even the slightest wind that would blow towards my direction as my belly yearned for food. It''s excessive groaning would only stop when I would eat so I jumped off from the stack of crates in search for any edible object.


    I trekked towards the backdoor of a nearby inn. Littered across the dirt were the numerous unwanted objects the innkeeper threw away, one of them were leftovers. I placed my hand over the heaps of trash, searching for anything that would put an end to my stomach''s continuous growling. In the corner of my eye, something caught my attention.


    A man laid down on the dirt beside the backdoor. As to why I didn''t see him before, I don''t have a single clue. But one thing was for sure, he wasn''t a beggar like me. His eyes were tightly shut signifying that he was in slumber. His hair -which was as black as the night- was slicked back, revealing his small forehead.


    He wore a tight gray long sleeve which was padded with white-iron armor. One eye-catching symbol was engraved on the right side of his chest plate, it was a large bird. It''s wings were spread wide revealing it''s large beak and equally large talons. Using it''s talons, the bird carried a small hammer.


    I recognized the symbol, but I didn''t have the luxury to think about it. My gaze fell on the man''s legs, he wore brown pants which were also padded armor. Attached to the right side of his belt was a sword safely tucked in it''s hilt. Meanwhile, on the other side of his belt were numerous pouches, each were dyed in a color different from one another.


    One was green while the other was red. But out of all the pouches, one pouch caught my interest, a pouch dyed in a bright shade of yellow. The sounds of coins slamming onto each other reverberated throughout the small area around the man, signifying that this yellow pouch contained money.


    I abandoned my search for leftovers as my body loomed over the man. I bent down and carefully reached for the yellow pouch. I quickly untied the pouch and pulled it from his belt. I could no longer remember the last time I touched money, thus I silently celebrated and faced my back towards the man''s snoring body.


    Suddenly, I felt a force slam onto my back as I skidded across the dirt. I released my grasps on the pouch causing all the coins to scatter throughout the surface. My face slammed onto the dirt floor causing pain to flourish on my nose.


    "Who are you?!" the man said.


    I turn around to see him fully awake. A strange feeling emanated from the man, telling me to stop moving. But, I just shrugged this strange sensation off. His blood-red eyes pierced my frail body as I scrambled on the floor, taking the nearest coins before I ran away. I managed to take in an incredible amount due to the fact that the man just stood there.


    Before I took a turn towards the nearest alley, I looked towards the direction of the unknown man. His face wasn''t angry, annoyed, it wasn''t even baffled. His face was similar to that of someone who was surprised. It contained tiny bits of curiosity and, for some unknown reason, hope.


    After numerous minutes of running, I realized that I created a fair distance from me and the man. I stopped and hid in one corner after I took a glance towards the direction I ran from. No one was nearby so I took out the shiny coins from a make-shift pocket I made and began counting. Although I never received proper education, I was still able to perform basic reading, talking and counting.


    "35 copper coins and 19 silver coins." I mumbled to myself.


    "Actually, its 36 copper coins." a familiar voice echoed behind me.


    I twist my head only to find the man whom I stole money from standing meters in front of me. He blocked my only exit as he pointed a stray coin between us. Just like before, I felt a strange sensation course through my veins. I didn''t know what it was, but I knew that this strange feeling emanated from the man. Without hesitation, I swiped the coin out of the ground as my eyes pierced his. I wasn''t going to give up this money to him.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    It was odd that this man was able to follow me without me realizing it. Judging from the armor and sword he proudly wore, this man was an adventurer. Mercenaries hired to perform dubious tasks such as subjugating the monsters outside the walls, escort people over large distances, etc.


    I was aware of this due to the fact that when I would steal food, adventurers would sometimes stop me. Some are sadistic bastards that would endlessly beat me up whilst others were righteous people that would either leave me alone or give me money.


    "How did you do that?" the man asked me.


    "W-what?" I asked with confusion.


    "Two times..." the man paused "Two times I''ve released bloodlust imbued with mana directly at you, that bloodlust would- no, should be enough to kill a kid like you. Yet, you still managed to survive."


    "At first I thought you were sent by some organization to assassinate me. But, as I continued stalking you, I realized that you were just some hobo brat that stole some money."


    "Its surprising that you managed to not only survive the bloodlust of a highly ranked adventurer, you also managed to steal something from him as well."


    I admit, I had no idea what "bloodlust" was. Was it that small sensation I felt before? If so, why was it that big of a deal? I could barely feel it yet this man seemed proud about it. The man slowly walked towards me, and stopped directly in front of me. I flinched when he started to move from that position, but I quickly realized that he just took a knee. His eyes were at a level similar to mine.


    "Kid, do you have a name?" he asked


    I hesitated to tell him my name, but when I realized his intention wasn''t bad, I began to introduce myself to him.


    "Elina..." I said when suddenly, he placed a hand over my shoulder.


    I didn''t flinch nor did I try to escape. He didn''t feel disgusted when he touched me. Unlike him, other adventurers would feel disgusted that they would touch even my clothes, even those righteous ones.


    "Elina, you have a gift. I have no idea why no other people are aware of this, but you are special. You have unlimited potential, something not any normal person could attain."


    "I will give you two choices, you would remain here as a street child, begging and stealing from other people. But, I would leave to you those 36 copper coins and 17 silver coins." he pointed towards the coins on my hand.


    "Or, you would be adopted by me. You will sleep on a bed under a roof, free from the harsh environment of the outside world. You will eat 3 meals a day, receive proper clothing. But, not only will a take those 36 copper coins and 17 silver coins, you will train everyday. I will mold you into the perfect warrior. With your gift, you would easily rise in rank and you would be an unstoppable force that would be feared even by high class warriors like me."


    The man stood up facing me with his red eyes.


    "I would take the second choice." I proudly said.


    "But, I don''t want to give you these coins." I placed the coins in my make-shift pocket.


    "Hahaha! Stubborn just like I was! I like it! My name is Valerius Liliwood, from now on, you shall bear the surname ''Liliwood''!" the man said with a large grin.


    Ever since that night, I''ve lived inside the small manor of Valerius. Turns out that not only was he a high ranking adventurer, he is also an influential member of the Smithing organization "Whitesmith Legacy." There was an uproar when his friends found out he adopted a slum girl. But, their anxiety faded away when they saw my potential.


    In day, I would train with Sir Valerius in swordsmanship and occasionally, magic. But, when the sun sets and the moon takes control, I would increase my knowledge. Slowly, not only was I getting stronger, but I was getting smarter. Eventually, when I reached the age of 14, I followed the footsteps of Sir Valerius and became an adventurer.


    With my ability, I put an end to numerous underground illegal organizations and services. I also performed numerous subjugation quests and saved countless lives from the hands of both monsters and from fellow people. Thus, my popularity soared like no other.


    I''ve met numerous people in my ardous life. Some were friends and rivals that I would constantly come in contact with whilst others were enemies that would relentlessly target me. Eventually, I managed to make a name for myself. I recieved a title


    This was due three reasons. The first reason is a bit cheesy. Due to the fact that I''ve saved numerous people, I was revered to as a saviour. To them, I seem like a star in the night, contributing from keeping their entire world from being enveloped with complete darkness.


    The second reason was because when I engage in battle, I rarely recieve any damage. None of my attackers would be able to even slice of a strand of my hair, thus to them I may seem unnatainable.


    The other reason was due to my party.


    "You should really tone down your violence! Breaking all the guy''s fingers isn''t humane!" Rick said.


    "Eh?! That guy was about to grope Elina''s behind! I cannot allow anyone to dilute Elina''s purity!" Kiara retaliated.


    James didn''t want to say anything about the matter so he continued walking along side me.


    "Elina is already 17 years old! She doesn''t need to be protected from everything! She knows how to protect herself from molesters!" Rick angrily replied.


    "You know Elina is incredibly dense! That old fool didn''t even bother to teach her commo-"


    Their petty argument continued as we continued our search for our target. Recently, a high ranked monster attacked a party of aventurers in this forest. Out of 6 of the amateur adventurers, only one survived to warn the authorities. He described the monster as a large gray bear-like creature with four arms portruding out of it''s sides, each hand having a set of white claws. Large similarly colored spikes emerged from it''s large back extending down towards it''s waist.


    The guild immediately labeled this monster as the "Mountain Bearcupine", judging from the report of the survivor. Although they didn''t question as to why a monster that only lives on mountains would come down to the forests, they do know that it was a danger that should be subjugated. The guild immediately filed a quest for subjugating the monster and we accepted it. Well, there were problems such as that incident where Kiara broke one guy''s fingers on our way out of the Guild Hall. But it was a trivial matter.


    As the argument between our healer, Rick, and our archer, Kiara, began to slowly die out. I managed to smell the faint scent of smoke. Without hesitation, I used my skill [Penta-up] which heightened my five senses. I immediately picked up the distant sounds of swords slamming onto each other and spells being released. My ears also caught of a shriek and eventully, the fighting began to stop.


    "What do you kno- Hey Elina! Where are you going?!" Kiara instantly caught me as I quickly sprinted towards the direction of chaos.

 Volume 1 - Chapter 6 : One-sided Slaughter

    Chapter 6 : One-sided Slaughter


    <hr>


    Realizing that the sounds of battles have now completely died out, I subconsciously activated my low-level skill [Sprint]. My body was enveloped by a faint blue light as my mana began to concentrate towards my two legs.


    Adventurers often fight against creatures that threaten their lives. The smallest of missteps would be a major setback towards the adventurer, often leading them to their own demise. Although the knowledge in fighting is an incredibly important factor when it comes to being an adventurer, learning when to run away is equally important.


    Thus, along with three other basic skills, [Sprint] was a requirement to become an adventurer. Although it''s purpose is opposite to what I''m doing, going towards the problem doesn''t mean that [Sprint] isn''t being used incorrectly. Not only is [Sprint] a tool used to run further away from the problem, it is also a tool used to go towards the problem. Such occasions are when you wish to lend a hand towards victims in life-threatening situations, such as this.


    A 3 minute run was thinned down by one minute, thus, I''ve reached my destination in atleast 2 minutes. Although it may not seem much, but even a second of time would greatly change the situation. The moment I laid my eyes upon the destination, I''ve already realized what was going on.


    This road connected a nearby village to the city. It seems that the residents of said village decided to traverse this road to sell their numerous products such as crops, animal hide, etc. But, they''ve underestimated the capabilities of bandits causing them to dig their own graves.


    Bandits are without a doubt, the lowest level of scum. They would steal hard-earned objects from others and would kill those who stand in their way. Once their lustful gazes land on a particular beauty, they would begin to ravage said beauty to the point that they would break.


    But, that isn''t their most horrible trait. The moment a bandit would get their hands on people, they would either sell them as slaves or take their body parts and sell it in the black market. The former seemed to be the more prominent situation due to the fact that slaves were legal.


    Fearing that these innocent civilians would lose their right to be called a "person", I decided to make my move. By using [Detect], another skill that is required to become an adventurer, I found out the amount of bandits and their location.


    [Detect], like [Sprint], is self-explanatory. By sending a tiny wave of nearly undetectable mana, I would be able to locate anyone so as long as they are atleast 10m near me. Although there are certain objects that could interfere with the wave such as thick walls, mana-absorbing objects, mana-blocking objects and barrier skills, nothing of the sort seem to be present in this situation. Thus, [Detect] is appropriate and should be accurate.


    I managed to locate 18 bandits and 6 villagers. 17 bandits were huddled up near the cart while one bandit laid low in one of the bushes. I assumed that the one that hid in one of the bushes was the scout of the bandits. It was strange that a scout would stay low inside bushes rather than a more advantageous spot such as on top of a tree, but seeing as one of the bandits shouted towards the direction of the hidden person, I began to believe that my doubts about this person were correct.


    The hidden person stood up from the bush, causing it to violently rustle. One questionable trait this person had were his black clothing. One would think that this man were to be a necromancer due to his black clothing, but his red eyes and snow white hair said otherwise.


    The white haired man began his attack on one of the bandits was at a close distance. He attempted to take the bandit as hostage, but his weak attack wasn''t enough. As the bandit slammed his body towards the tree, I begin to make my move.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    I stood up from my own hiding place as I used [Sprint] to quickly shorten the distance between me and my target, the 2 bandits near the cart. With the use of the skill [Feather Feet], a skill that decreased any sound I made from running by 50%, I silently arrived at my destination.


    Without the existence of a scout in this group of bandits and with all of them concentrated on the white-haired man, began my attack. I pulled out my longsword from my sheath and with one swift motion, I decapitated the two bandits. Their deaths were so quick that they never had time to let out a shriek nor did they have the time to react. The mouths of their decapitated heads were still open due the fact that they were laughing. The white-haired man''s failed attempt to attack seemed to be funny for them, but, they were foolish to even think that they had the time to laugh in a forest as dangerous as this.


    As their heads fell to the ground creating a faint thud, I quickly guided myself towards my next targets when all of a sudden, I heard the shriek of one of the bandits.


    "I-It''s the Star-girl!" the bandit furthest from my area screamed as he pointed towards my body.


    My title is The Unattainable Star, not Star-girl! I ranted in my mind right before I sliced open the backs of my targets. The two of them screamed in pain as the one who I assumed to be the leader began to shout towards his men.


    "What''re you all waiting for?! ATTACK!" he furiously pointed towards me.


    All of the bandits reacted as they began to pick up their swords. With two of the bandits decapitated and another two heavily wounded, only 13 of them were capable of fighting me. The nearest bandit swung his broadsword towards my body, but I dodged his attack by quickly sidestepping. Not even a second passed when I raised my sword and sliced both his arms off.


    "AAAARRGGHHH!" he let out a painful screech once he realized that he lost both of his arms.


    A majority of bandits stopped on their tracks once they saw how I removed him of his arms, but the rest kept on sprinting towards me. A bandit, barely wearing any armor, jumped towards me. Both the short swords attached towards his hands nearly stabbed me, but my body ducked right at the last second. Using the advantage of him suspended in the air, I thrust my sword towards his stomach, instantly impaling him.


    Seeing as one of his comrades attempted to attack me from my side, I shoved his impaled body towards his comrade causing both of them to fall down towards the ground. Wasting no time, I shoved my sword down towards their chests, ending both of them in an instant. Realizing that brute force could only get me so far, I decided to use my skills.


    I extend my arm as I point my sword towards the furthest group of bandits. Just like pulling a rope, I pull my sword. Once the hilt of my sword was at a level similar to my cheek, I began to shout the trigger word for the skill.


    "[Full Thrust]!"


    My body was enveloped with a red faint light as my body flung towards the direction my sword pointed. Just like how a boulder would smash onto the ground, my feet collided with the soil leaving behind a small fog of dust and a small foot-shaped crater.


    In a blink of an eye, I''ve impaled the chests of a line of bandits. The three of them went limp once my blade skewered their bodies like meat. I''ve thinned down their numbers to a frightening point, causing all their morale to disappear in less than a second.


    "She''s a m-monster!" one bandit complained as all the power in his legs disappeared, causing him to fall on his butt.


    "I''m bailing fuck this!" the bandit next to him dropped his sword and just ran away.


    The rest of the bandits followed in his example and ran away. Some hesitated at first, they glanced towards their leader''s angered face. But, once their gaze went towards me, they instantly ran away.


    "Cowards!" their leader screamed.


    Slowly, I walk towards his direction as I emit large amounts of bloodlust. Although he tries to hide it, I could clearly see his fear due to his legs shaking vigorously. I decided to end this by imbuing my bloodlust with mana, causing my to unconsciously use [Intimidate].


    Eventually, the man realized the intensity of his situation when he began to follow his subordinates. With his pants wet, he screamed as he dashed towards the forest.


    Although their mouths were covered by cloth, I could clearly hear the screams of joy the villagers created. Some even cried tears of joy when they realized that they were free from the bandit''s shackle. Instead of freeing them, which should be my to priority right now, my gaze fell towards the white-haired man. He stared at me with his mouth open, both his crimson-red eyes contained awe along with a tiny portion of fear.

 Authors Chapter

    Author''s Chapter


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    Hey there, its been a while...


    So its been atleast 7 months since the last chapter as evident by the severe lack of them these past months... Well, I''m not gonna beat around the bush so I''ll go straight to the point. I''m sorry if anyone wanted to see how this story was about to go, and I know all the blame is rightfully pinned upon me. I abandoned this story due to a variety of internal and external factors that were completely unavoidable at the time.


    Basically I abandoned this story, that hiatus tag is kinda a lie. This can be attributed to certain reasons (or excuses, the way you''d interpret it is pretty subjective). One is that I had no idea daily chapters that reach up to 2,000 words had adverse effects on me in general. And I know I should''ve taken into consideration these effects, I didn''t do so because not only did I underestimate how gruesome it is being an author, but I believed that I could do it. Well, looks like I overestimated my abilities; and the nonexistent recent chapters are an indication of that. I thought I could go with a one day pause of writing, clearly I was wrong. That one day became two, then a week, then a month. It continued on and when I actually wanted to write, I was afraid of the backlash I''d receive from those who waited an entire month for one chapter I was afraid to write.


    Another factor is that what I wrote incredibly influenced by what I read at the time. Mangas such as Dr. Stone, Reincarnation no Kaben and Chouji Koukousei-tachi had an effect on my imagination because they where what I flooded myself in. It was when I began reading webnovels here that my taste began to tip, and before I knew it, isekais weren''t my thing anymore.


    These are my reasons, and for others, my excuses. But now, going back an reading this less-than-decent webnovel, I realize that I''ve wasted alot of potential here. I made this back when I indulged myself with mainstream and repeated tags such as isekais or LitRPGs regardless of factors such as plot progression, pacing, character development, grammar; I hoarded anything that had the words ''reincarnation'' or those blue screens.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Now though, my tastes are somewhat refined, but I''m showing some bias here because they are my tastes. For some, my taste might actually be shit. I now take into consideration the realism placed into the actions of a character, how their actions are aligned with their goal or personality, or other stuff thats pretty much difficult to do for an author.


    Thus, I decided on one thing. I''m going to completely re-write this story. Not only will I change the way I wrote these old chapters, but the entire story in general would undergo massive upheavals. Even certain characters such as our MC is no exception to this. I''d still follow the mainstream reincarnation and the prodigious characteristics of our MC, but I''d tone down, and preferrably; demolish the ''OPness'' he has. Because no one wants a Mary Sue. Even I don''t want them.


    Currently, I''m gonna write an actual structure for this story due to the fact that it was practically nonexistent in this one. I was just making things up as I go, and that was a really,really bad decision. I''m also planning on storing up chapters compared my previous disadvantageous tactic of writing them on the go. Although I do plan to store chapters, I will not upload them daily, and you already know why. The most probable upload schedule would be Monday, Wednesday and Friday. With the rest being either, well, ''rest'' days or days where I replenish the stock. Of course, I still have my studies seeing that I''m now in Senior High. So that might have detrimental effects on my writing. But, I''d try to work with it.


    So yeah... I don''t know what the future will hold. Maybe I''d repeat history and abandon this project so I''m not going to make any promises. But yeah, for those who actually want to read the shit that I write, then go for it. I''m planning on creating another version but I won''t delete this one, it has... sentimental value. The rewrite would most likely be released next year if my schedule and patience permits. Probably on either late January or early February. Anyways that is all and I hope we meet once more in the rewrite of this webnovel.