《The End is Just a Beginning》 Chapter 1: After death Prologue
Silence. It makes me shudder, I¡¯ve never really heard or really experienced complete silence before as I lived in the city. There was always cars passing, people yelling or music playing. It may sound bad but it actually comforts me, the noise gives me false hope that i''m not nearly as alone as I really am. However right now there was nothing, not a car to be heard, no people yelling or even talking and not even the music I always play while I''m in bed to zone out the others. Today I woke up without any of it, just a slight ringing in my ears as I lay still on a soft surface surrounded by light. It took me some time to get my eyes to adjust to it, a slight fog passed over my face. While trying to touch it my hands simply passed through it, as if not even reacting to my being here. Now that I think about it where exactly is ¡°here¡±. There''s no way my room could be this well lit, my family simply couldn¡¯t afford lights of this quality. While looking around I could clearly see this wasn¡¯t my home, in fact it couldn¡¯t have been anyone''s as It didn¡¯t even have walls, much less a roof. I quickly saw a flashing light towards my right. It flashed a red color into the white area and was in the form of an arrow pointed to where the mist was flowing. Where am I? How¡¯d I end up here? What was I doing before this? Thoughts I probably should have had a while ago finally arose as the red light seemed to bring me to my senses. At the very least I remember who I am. Sayl Hull, a 16 year old with sub average looks with above average grades. I go to a public school down the street of my family''s apartment and have 2 younger sisters. This is probably a dream. I can¡¯t make any other conclusion that could make any remote sense, and so I decided to walk. I usually walk in a slightly faster pace but seeing as it¡¯s a dream I finally didn¡¯t have to rush so i followed the mist and arrow. Arrows continued to pass me until I was surrounded by the red flashing arrows. The place was no longer white but pure red, not like being surrounded by fire, but closer to being in pool of red dyed water. I continued to walk, following the arrows until something else came into view. Unable to discern it from this distance I continued walking forward. The closer I got the more it looked like a door until i could make out the large handles and very detailed design. It looked like there was a dragon on the left and something similar to a lion on the right with wings. In the middle was a giant staff like design that reminded me of a game I once played when I was younger. Eventually I was right in front of the door which towered 3 times as big as myself. This was weird as I was generally considered tall at my height of 6¡¯2. I put my hand against the door and without applying any pressure the door began to slide open. As I waited for it to widen I looked inside, there was yet another white area but this time there was walls. Nothing were on the plain white walls, not even a slight design, not mist entered the room either as I began to look around. In the middle of the near empty room was a table with a single chair, both pure white. After stepping inside I heard a voice emit from nowhere in particular. ¡°Welcome to the transitioner, Please take a seat at the table directly ahead of you.¡± The voice was female but had no emotion in it what so ever, it wasn¡¯t robotic either which made it slightly awkward. Without responding I slowly walked to the chair and sat down. After some time the voice started again. ¡°As you are most likely confused I will begin my explanation, please hold any questions until the end.¡± I slightly nodded to this while extremely confused, this dream was kinda weird and commanding. ¡°Currently, you¡¯re dead. I know it¡¯s blunt however it''s the truth, I¡¯ll explain that in detail later. For now The system of transition needs to be explained, for starters when a human ¡°dies¡± he is actually sent here to change realms in which their ¡°life¡± will begin a new. However to start again you first have to come to terms with your previous life, meaning your actions will transfer to your new one.¡± A brief pause ensued before the voice began speaking again. ¡°These actions will be put into numerical value and transferred to your new life now, here is a form in which you will fill out all the information, please answer properly as this will severely affect your new life. Any questions?¡± With that I stayed silent for a bit, simply trying to process the information. I¡¯m dead? Transferring? What? Form? Uhhhhhhhhh¡­ This dream sucks, I would much rather have none at all and wake up to my own life. The voice waiting for a bit before letting out a sigh. ¡°Clearly you didn¡¯t process any of that so i''ll reiterate in a slightly less intelligence required way. You are dead. Now you will begin a new life. You will explain your life to transfer to the new one. Understand?¡± The voice sounded slightly annoyed for some reason. I might as well play along.. Doesn¡¯t seem like I¡¯ll wake up. ¡°Uhh sure, can I ask a question? It¡¯s kinda important for me.¡± ¡°Fine but make it fast¡± The voice said, again with no emotion. ¡°Okay, um, can you explain how I died exactly? It interests me.¡° The voice cut me off with a sigh. ¡°Sure, you died right after waking up as you fell backwards hitting your head onto the metal bed frame, you proceeded to have your skull cracked and bleeding. Eventually your body went into shock and you died before your parents came home from work. Happy? Now let''s move on..¡± I cut her off. ¡°Wait wait wait, you expect me to believe I died of something so retarded? Hahaha, you¡¯re funny. There''s no way that could happen as my sisters would¡­ nevermind scratch that last comment.¡± My sisters and I don¡¯t get along too well, it¡¯s no surprise they wouldn¡¯t try to wake me. ¡°Well whether or not you believe it is doesn¡¯t matter to me in the slightest. For now take this form and fill out the areas that have underlines.¡± As the voice finished speaking a slight yellow glow appeared on the table and papers began to appear. ¡°Standardized life information form¡­¡± I muttered as i began reading the form.
Standardized life information form General Information Name: __________________________ Age upon death: 16 years old Cause of death: damage to skull, brain. Shock. Height: ______ Weight: _______ Sex:: _________
Simple Information
Criteria Y/N? Points awarded
Were You a virgin?
Did you Kiss someone outside of your family?
Did you have a job?
Did you have less than 5 friends?
Total Simplified points:
Numerical valued Information 0 == low ??????10 == high
Criteria Personal view /10 Judge opinion /10 Points awarded
Got a lot out of life
Facial structure
Strength
Amount of muscle
Penis size
Popularity among age group
Bonus Points
Total Numerical Points: Personality Points: Total Points:
I looked over the entire thing and frowned. This form was stupid, half of it was point of view the other was¡­ I don¡¯t wanna think about it... ¡°I don¡¯t wanna fill this out! It¡¯s stupid! Like what does it matter if I have lost my virginity or not¡­¡± The voice started to laugh, as i got even more annoyed. ¡°Look mr.virgin, fill it out as it will greatly help you later on, you see the points? You want a lot of those, a good amount is like 100-150, you''re pretty lucky if you get above 200.¡± The voice trailed off at that and didn¡¯t say anything else. I looked down and began filling out the form. Virgin?¡­ yes¡­ Kissed someone¡­. No¡­ Have a job? no. Less than 5 friends¡­. Fuck. this. Form. I filled in all the numerical valued information and as soon as i finished the voice removed the sheets. ¡°Thanks for completing the sheets, someone will soon finish the judge column as you have seen then hand it back. Afterwards your points will be awarded to you.¡± A few minutes passed in silence. The sheets appeared in front of me again and i looked at them. This time they were fully filled out.
General Information Name: Sayl Hull Age upon death: 16 years old Cause of death: damage to skull, brain. Shock. Height: 6ft 2¡±This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Weight: 175lb Sex: Male Basic Points: 2*(100-age) = 166, +10 under 20 age bonus, +25 funny death bonus Total Basic points: 201
Simple Information
Criteria Y/N? Points awarded
Were You a virgin? Y 15
Did you Kiss someone outside of your family? N 25
Did you have a job? N 0
Did you have less than 5 friends? Y 30
Total Simplified points: 70
Numerical valued Information 0 == low 10 == high
Criteria Personal view /10 Judge opinion /10 Points awarded
Got a lot out of life 6 2 6
Facial structure 4 0 8
Strength 5 2 7
Amount of muscle 2 0 9
Penis size 7 0 7
Popularity among age group 0 0 10
Bonus Points 0 10 10
Total Numerical Points: 59 Personality Points: 60 Total Points: 390
Wait¡­ who is this judge person, she straight up called me ugly. Like I understand i''m not the best looking guy but seriously¡­ a fucking 0 out of 10. No, I refuse. ¡°Point me towards this judge, 0 out of 10 my ass, bet they aren¡¯t ANY better than i am.¡± with a few more mutters about the judge I stopped talking and waited for the voice to say something. ¡°You probably shouldn¡¯t complain, 390 points is probably the most i¡¯ve ever seen, before we continue i''ll explain the world you¡¯ll be going to so you can decide on your point distribution.¡± This system seems way to¡­ convenient, like if this is really death then something on this level of organization would be necessary but choosing stats before to go into a world seems unreal. ¡°Before you do isn¡¯t this way too convenient? I mean it¡¯s a dream and all but at least make it a little more realistic with some sort of complication, like for example a line to get in here.¡± I complained for no reason really but it made no sense. This dream not only makes fun of me but the system seems way to perfect. ¡°Dream? I think you''re mistaken, to make it easier on you i''ll show what exactly your family is doing¡±. As she finished her sentence a bunch of colors appeared in front of me, they intertwined and mixed but still kept their same color. However as soon as they appeared it changed to a mirror almost but showed my family, they were sitting by a hospital bed with me on it. My mother was crying with my sisters followed by my dad sitting in a chair with his face in his hands. I sat there looking of a solid minute before the image changed. ¡°This is how you died¡± The image now showed my room, I stood up and started to walk but I slipped and fell back. Just as the voice said my head hit the frame and i didn¡¯t move. Blood poured from my head as i laid there. Unmoving. ¡°I hope this helps, Now are you ready to move on?¡± The mirror slowly disappeared while she was speaking until there was nothing. I sat on the chair and slowly shook my head. ¡°Can you give me a minute?¡± I made no other intention to speak. The voice didn¡¯t respond and silence ensued while I thought. Guess I¡¯d dead? So this is death huh. Wait this means that the christians were half right, you are reborn but you don¡¯t need christ. I found this slightly funny even with this situation. Guess I get to restart¡­ hmm, I¡¯ll try to aim for a better life this time. The voice came back shortly after this. ¡°I¡¯ll assume you''re ready to continue now?¡± ¡°Yup.¡± A short response but there''s no point in waiting any longer, I want my new life to start as soon as it could. ¡°Unlike your world where everything is dictated by science and discovery through it and fighting is done through guns and explosives in this new world everything is dictated through magic and fighting is based through that and hand to hand combat. To say the least guns to do not exist but a bow an arrow enchanted with win attributes can shoot as fast as a bullet if the archer is skilled enough. So Instead of stats that boost regular human capability and natural thought process these stats will be effecting fighting prowess and magical ability. This world unlike your own also has a more concrete way of viewing these stats as they have the power of magic where in your world you judged it off of weight lifting and IQ. In reality it''s generally the same but the stats simply mean different things. Do you understand so far?¡± I nod. ¡°Okay continuing on in your world you had something similar to terrorists who generally most countries were against, in this world there is 5 major countries with a lot of smaller ones, the smaller ones usually support one of the 5 big countries but stay separate. The bigger countries are all on decently bad terms and usually start small scale conflicts. However there is also the Arivian cult which goes against all 5, it''s also the only force that can rival the 5 and as a result they usually gang up on the cult but can never actually defeat it. The rest you can learn while you''re there, anyway you should get the jist of it so here''s the list for point distribution. You have a total of 390 points. Have fun, let me know when you''re ready or have questions.¡± ¡°Okay sounds good¡± I reply with and look down at the sheet of paper.
Name: Sayl Hull
Criteria Cost Points invested /total of 390
Strength Strength increases the amount of weight Muscles can withstand as well as power being physical attacks (2 points per 1 stat) 0
Agility Agility Increases overall speed of the person as well as reaction time (2 points per 1 stat) 0
Dexterity Dexterity Increases Health and reduces Damage taken (2 points per 1 stat) 0
Vitality Vitality Increases total stamina and increases pain tolerance (2 points per 1 stat) 0
Intelligence Increases Damage of spells and improves memory (2 points per 1 stat) 0
Wisdom Increases mana pool and reduces effects of low mana (2 points per 1 stat) 0
Keep same knowledge/memories 40 points 0
Adjust Bodily features 50 Points 0
Adjust facial features 50 Points 0
Create a Unique skill 200 Points 0
Can use a specified magic 200 Points 0
Begin at the age of 16 instead of newborn 35 Points 0
Create a partner/friend to meet 300 Points 0
Customize personality of partner/friend 75 Points 0
Customize history/upbringing (cannot give unique skill/magic access without selecting the option above first) 100 Points 0
Double a single stat (This applies to base as well as any new points invested throughout entire life) 50 Points 0
Looking over it the creation of a unique skill or the magic thing looks interesting but they cost a lot of points¡­ ¡°Hey, uhh Ms.Voice¡­. I have a question¡± ¡°Already? *sigh* what is it?¡±. I felt slightly annoyed as she said I could ask questions but I¡¯ll ignore the sigh for now. ¡°Can you tell me what a civilians stats are as well as a basic fighter then a strong fighter, and by strong i mean like best in one of the big countries.¡± She pondered it for a minute before responding. ¡°Sure why not, a civilian with little to no combat experience will have 7-12 stat points across the board where a basic fighter would have 20-35 average stat points. One of the strongest fighters doesn''t have a general stat average as there is a large gap but will have around 100-125 in their favoured stats.¡± So I could basically have stats greater than the best fighter or create a skill and have the average fighters stats¡­ ¡°Two more questions, first has everyone in this new world also gone through this process? And second am I able to gain stat points in this new world?¡± if others have of this world have also gone through this i may need to retain my memories¡­ ¡°Of course, every single person has. Of course the points they got here all vary from a lowest of 20 to the highest of 390, you. As for stat points yes, you can gain them, the world has to give all a chance at equality through hard work, some are simply given more to work with. An example of this is simple weight training, this would raise your strength stat.¡± The voice explained this with a somewhat bored voice, maybe she didn¡¯t actually want me to ask questions¡­ ¡°Sorry one last question, i promise. Is there anything similar to leveling up?¡± The voice actually took a decent amount of time to respond this time. ¡°There is nothing comparable to a level up, you simply raise your stats and they represent your power level.¡± She said this without any real emotion and stayed silent. I thanked her and looked back to the sheet. Say i decided to make a skill or magic, after this i¡¯d have 190 points left to spend. I would like to keep my memories making it 150, following a looks improvement making it 100¡­ This would result in 50 stats for me to distribute for the 2 for 1 trade. Honestly I don¡¯t want to fight but i know i¡¯ll be forced to in this new world, and I seriously detest people who sit at the backline so I wouldn¡¯t be a mage or healer of the sorts. However using magic is simply to cool to pass so a melee magic user. This generally makes all the stats valuable to me unlike a mage who only needs 3. Wait what''s exactly is a skill? ¡°I know i promised but¡­ what exactly is a skill?¡± The voice sighed, extremely long to, maybe 3 seconds long? ¡°Ill explain both the creation parts as it makes it easier. The magic creation doesn¡¯t allow you to create a new form of magic as that''s impossible, they all exist it simply needs to be identified or the affinity would be met. For example of the 5 basic magics fire as the least amount of people with affinity. This means that if you choose fire as your magic you will automatically get an affinity with fire. A skill on the other hand is simply an ability, this ability can be very generic and have sub skills or can be very specific. For example if you make the skill hyper speed, that will allow you to move extremely quickly and may have attacking sub skills where Hyper charge means you charge at something extremely quickly leaving little room for anything else to happen. Meaning no sub skills simply combos with others afterwards. Understand?¡± I listened intently for the first time as this actually interested me and nodded immediately. ¡°Yup, completely, thanks¡±. This means it would generally be better to create a skill to meet a specific class and then set up the stats accordingly. So going from the top of the list to the bottom¡­ Strength, will probably need it but not a main stat, agility, will be my primary as i want to be fast, dexterity, they won''t even be able to hit me. Vitality, i might need it as secondary or not at all, intelligence, not at all unless i learn other magic, wisdom would be the substitute for Vitality. I¡¯ll need my memories, I can basically change my body to how i see fit as i grow up. My face needs some work, going with skill so i can''t take the magic, why would you skip those 16 years? Never had friends don¡¯t need em yet, not worth the points for the upbringing. Well shit, a doubled stat would be nice. Ahhh this is so hard to decide¡­. ¡°Ms.Voice i¡¯m having an issue with my stats. I want to create a skill but I don¡¯t know what to take exactly. Can you tell me about the skill if i explain it or something similar?¡± I was slightly begging at this point, it would be next to impossible to decide what stats to boost without this information. ¡°Sure, just fill out this sheet of paper and the rest of the information will show up, just the underlined stuff.¡± As she said that a new sheet of paper appeared in front of me. It showed the following.
Name of Skill: ___________________________________________ Mana/Stamina cost: How to cast: Detailed explanation: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Balancing features: It seemed that all I had to do was name it and explain what exactly it would do. The name was pretty hard to come up with on short notice but i basically knew what I wanted the skill to do. After all it was a fantasy of mine ever since I was little. After filling in the information it required it was taken back and I waited patiently. A couple minutes passed but it eventually reappeared in front of me completely filled out. After reading it a slight smile rose onto my face.
Name of Skill: Instant Teleportation Mana/Stamina cost:100 Mana - (Wisdom / (Distance moved (Ft)) How to cast: No chant, simply snap fingers and think of where you want to appear. If demanded distance is further than the limit you will be teleported to the max in that general area. Detailed explanation: After activating the skill I will immediately appear in a new destination of my choice, this is not limited to simply myself but as well as anything I am touching with my hands. Balancing features: No sub skills Must be able to see where target location is. Can only teleport what you can physically carry. Max distance = 10 + (agility / 10)
With this I was happy to start distributing my points. 200 Into create a unique skill 50 into adjust facial features 40 into keep memories 50 into double a single stat ¡ú agility 30 into wisdom ¡ú 15 wisom 10 into strength ¡ú 5 strength 10 into agility ¡ú 5 agility After filling out the sheet I called out to the voice. ¡°So I finished everything you asked me to¡­ what do I do now?¡± I patiently waited for her response. ¡°You¡¯ll now be taken to another voice at which you will change your facial structure to your liking. After that you will finally be transferred to your new world. Good luck Sayn.¡± With that the white room became dark and I started to fall. The darkness wasn¡¯t that bad though, it was almost as if it was giving me a warm hug. Asking for me to join it rather than demanding. After some time a new voice called out. ¡°Welcome to facial remodeling! Directly in front of you is your body, please indicate would you want changed, whether it be vague or specific doesn¡¯t matter!¡± A very energetic voice said, almost close to yelling but not quite there. I slightly winced at the loudness before I looked forward at a body, it was myself. Looking down at where I should have been was nothing. No torso, no arms, no legs no nothing. I was a floating nothing, just like the voices i¡¯ve been talking to. After nearly having a fit of fear I calmed myself down and looked back at my body. ¡°Uhh, I don¡¯t have anything in particular, right now the face is pretty ugly¡­ if you can make it slightly more attractive than average but not to pretty that would be wonderful.¡± With my extremely vague demand the voice seemed to let out a squeal of delight or something close to that, it''s hard to tell without facial responses. ¡°Awesome, we¡¯ll change this, move this up.. Deepen this¡­ expand this¡­ oh what color of eyes do you want?¡± At this point my face isn¡¯t even remotely similar, picture a guy with black hair, some acne a large nose that''s been broken and not healed to well with a chin that almost looked out of place. Then imagine old taylor lautner. That''s basically the change this voice made in about 10 seconds. To be honest, I was so shocked I couldn¡¯t even reply at first. When she repeated her question with a little bit of annoyance I snapped back to reality. ¡°Uhhh sorry¡­. Let¡¯s go with silver, don''t make them too bright though, maybe closer to a grey¡±. With that the color began to change from a brown to a nice silver that wasn¡¯t overly bright. ¡°Hows that, i think it turned out pretty good, How about you?¡± The voice asked filled with pride and confidence. ¡°Looks good, i''ll get the body whipped into shape so it won¡¯t go to waste in the new world, thanks a lot.¡± After a short laugh from the voice she responded with ¡°No problem! Let''s get you out there right now!¡± With that I was falling again, this time tho I wasn¡¯t able to move at all. The darkness was shortly broken apart by a blinding light in which my eyes screamed out at me. The light hurt. More than anything else i¡¯ve felt so far. Then a soft feeling enclosed around my body and it all washed away¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t cry now little one. Mommy¡¯s got you.¡±
Chapter 2: Finding an Affinity Chapter 2
It¡¯s been 8 years since the day I¡¯ve been born into this world, and just as the voice said it relies heavily on magic. From lighting the house to cooking your good. In this world being able to use magic is generally common, however it being strong enough to be used in battle is actually pretty slim at around 20% of the world''s population. Since this amount is low the bigger cities need to utilise any that can find it and will call everyone under their influence to have their affinities checked at the age of 14. My mother explained all this to me about a week ago and to say the least, I¡¯m not looking forward to it as this results in them forcing me to have a fighting role if I have a decent affinity in anything. Unlike the other kids my age who all seem to practice magic, even if it''s only a little, I tend to stay to myself and practice my skill, instant teleportation. Shortly after my second birthday my parents told me about getting a younger brother, this actually turned into a good thing for me as it made things easier to practice my skill without getting seen by others. My mother didn¡¯t say anything about skill bearers getting drafted but I don¡¯t want to take the chance. Regardless 4 months after they made that announcement they left me to my own a lot more making it extremely easy for me to practice. I could use the skill twice moving around 5 feet, this meant that I had around 200 Mana. Sadly being low on mana was slightly annoying as it caused me to get a headache, that or my body isn¡¯t used to teleporting. Regardless time or wisdom should fix that problem, and so everyday I practiced it. Using it twice a day everyday for the next 3 and a half years the headaches still came so it was in fact a mana induced pain. Now I was a few days before my 8th birthday and my mother was telling me about the future and how things worked in the world. She did her best at leaving out all the ¡°complicated¡± matters that a normal kid my age wouldn¡¯t understand like going to war after I¡¯ve been recognized as having an affinity. She explained that if I do end up with an affinity I would end up in a boarding school where I would study my strongest affinity with all the other children my age. She also explained the chances of them all and went pretty in depth about their actual roles. First is wind magic, this is what most people will receive at a 10% affinity rate among the general population, it is mostly used for ranged attacks and enhancing speed. They don¡¯t usually become mages but archers or agility based fighters who use body and weapon enhancements. Next would be water and earth magic, they have roughly the same affinity rate at 3% each. Water is a more awkward magic as it¡¯s use varies with healing properties, some enhancing properties as well as shielding. They usually end up as a protector class of a sort who sit between the healers and the front lines. Earth magic is pretty set in stone though. Authors note: Sorry not sorry about the pun They usually are all tanks who create walls to block magic and enhance their bodies and armor to take more hits. Then there is fire, they have the lowest affinity at less than 1%, anyone with this affinity will be trained to be a mage without question and their life is basically changed forever as they become an important asset to armies and countries alike. This is the one affinity I want to avoid at all costs. Finally there¡¯s holy magic, this has a little more than 3% affinity rate and also has a sole purpose, this time with healing. They will be instructed not only with holy magic but also other forms of healing such as potion making, learning about herbs etc. This affinity also seems awful, mostly because it sounds boring and I hate sitting at the back. Healing at the back would be even worse.. Especially with my teleporting ability. Regardless i still have 6 years before then, for what i¡¯m going to be doing¡­ training. I''m going to do my best to increase my agility by sprinting through the forest everyday. My parents haven¡¯t told me how I can see these stats but the voice said they would represent my power, i''m assuming this means i can view them somehow. Eventually i¡¯ll try to ask about it someway that doesn¡¯t seem too suspicious. After my mother''s lecture about the affinities I decided to walk out back and head to the forest. As I walked out i saw the farm in which we live on, 3 fields of wheat to the left of the house, 2 fields of corn to the right. Across from the house there''s 4 fields of potatoes, personally I didn¡¯t help out much with the farming whereas my younger brother always did. I don¡¯t know why he enjoyed it so much but I never complained as it saved me time. Regardless I went out and did my normal routine, sprint at the fastest I could go for as long as I could go, this resulted in around 150-200 feet. Afterwards I would teleport another roughly 15 feet per cast, I found this was my limit after some testing. After walking for another 2 minutes I found an empty field, or my favourite place to stay as nobody ever came here and I could lay down and simply relax. While looking at the clouds I thought about why I do this everyday, it doesn¡¯t really make sense as to why I would try and get stronger when i just want to relax. However taking over a farm or finding my own job doesn¡¯t sound exactly easy where if i become something so strong a country can barely oppose me it sounds a lot easier money wise. I would simply need to say ¡°Give me more money¡± and if they say no I leave to another country. Of course this means I have to fight but if i''m strong enough i can simply say I don¡¯t want to. Anyway this made sense to me and it¡¯s been around an hour. ¡°Guess it¡¯s time i head back¡­¡± I muttered while getting up. This place really was nice though, it was a small patch of grass free from a rock and tree covered forest. It seems some animals think so as well because a pack of 3 was laying down and eating. I turned and started to head back to the house. When i walked back in my mother was cooking dinner that would be served in 20 minutes. I offered to help and was handed some potatoes to peel. While peeling i decided to finally ask about the stats in a roundabout way. ¡°Hey mom, I have a question.¡± I feel this was a pretty kid like start. ¡°What¡¯s on your mind honey?¡± My other answered without turning to me as she was in the middle of something. ¡°You mentioned going to school for magic earlier, but they all aren¡¯t the same right? Like how does someone become strong?¡± After finishing my sentence I had finished half the potato. ¡°Hmm that depends, well the main way would be to raise your limiters.. Ah i guess you wouldn¡¯t know what those are, they are basically what defines you as a fighter and by increasing them you can become faster and stronger. So the stats are called ¡°Limiters¡± here, I guess they do limit you but the person who thought of that must have been a pessimist. ¡°How do i know what mine are?¡± This caused my mother to actually look at me. ¡°You use a magical device called the Liat and it will show them to you, of course the school also has one but instead of only you being able to see them they are also able to view them. I¡¯ll let you use ours after dinner if you¡¯d like.¡± ¡°We have one?¡± I¡¯m actually surprised considering were a farming family. My mother sighed a little at this. ¡°Yeah, everyone has to be one if they have kids¡± ¡°Hmm I see, well thanks for letting me use it mom!¡± She gave me a smile and we both went back to work. After a couple minutes I finished the potatoes and went to sit at the table. A chicken stew was served and light talk was made, mostly about the farm and how the crops were doing. After we were done I helped clean up and my mother beckoned me to follow her. We went upstairs to her and Dad''s room and she opened a closet, she pulled out a flat piece of glass with a handmark in the middle. She brought it to a small table in the corner of the room and put it down. ¡°Just put your hand on the glass and you¡¯ll be able to see your Limiters above it¡± My mother explained while gesturing at the handprint. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. After a slight nod i placed my hand on the glass. It glowed a slight blue and after a while the stats started to appear.
Limitation Details Limitation breaker
health The amount of Damage you can take before you die 310
Mana The cost for skills and abilities 250
Strength increases the amount of weight Muscles can withstand as well as power being physical attacks 16
Agility Increases overall speed of the person as well as reaction time 36
dexterity Increases health and reduces damage taken 12
Intelligence Increases magical damage and improves memory 20
Wisdom Increases mana and reduces effects of low mana 30
Well damn, my intelligence and wisdom is pretty high¡­ I guess it''s because of the 16 years in the other world. Hmm 250 mana¡­ If i teleport roughly 1 and half feet i¡¯ll be able to teleport 3 times¡­ and I can teleport around 13 feet max. ¡°Well what are your limitation breakers at?¡± My mother looked with a sort of enthusiasm. ¡°I have 300 health, 250 mana, 16 strength, 36 agility, 12 dexterity, 20 intelligence and 30 wisdom.¡± After saying everything my mother was a little shocked then a look of confusion. However as soon as it appeared she quickly regained her composure and laughed. ¡°Those are great¡­ you¡¯ll either join the academy for magic or you¡¯ll end up in the army.¡± As she said that her face looked a little pained but she still smiled at me. It seems she didn¡¯t want me to fight either¡­ ¡°Well i¡¯ll go tell your father¡­ it¡¯s getting late so go get ready for bed¡±. As she said that she got up and walked to the door and help it open for me. ¡°Ok mom, good night!¡± with that I turned down the hallway and went into my room. I went to the bathroom connecting to me and my brothers room and brushed my teeth, while in their I heard the breaking of glass from downstairs. It seems my father didn¡¯t take the news well either. I quickly hopped into bed and fell asleep after a while. The next few years passed as generally the same, I trained my skills ate and slept. I didn¡¯t try to make friends at the gathering my family went to for things like birthdays and new years as the kids actually bothered me so much. They all demand attention and get it through being retarded, for example this one kid legit through a goddamn glass cup so his mother would listen to him. Anyway i avoided as many kids as I could but now I was 12 years old, My agility had gone up to 44 but once it hit 43 it took me an entire year to get to 44, meaning I needed a new way to increase it. In 2 years I would go to get my affinities checked so my mother once again spoke about the academy, this time in a lot more detail. ¡°As you have higher stats you may very well get an affinity so today I will be teaching you about the school and how to interact with the nobles.¡± When my mother mentioned nobles I got a bit disappointed, I mean i knew they¡¯d be here as we ride on carts to travel but that doesn¡¯t make them any more appealing, regardless i still nod. ¡°Nobles always get the front, doesn¡¯t matter where you are just leave it for them, whether it be seating or something else. They also expect things to be given to them no matter what it is, if you''re not willing they may try to buy it off you or simply take it. Try not to anger them to much or it may cost you. The academy also teaches basic knowledge, i''ll teach you some math so it¡¯s not too hard later but besides that just study and you¡¯ll be fine. Any questions?¡± I shake my head as I seriously don''t care for nobles, If i have to learn magic I will and i¡¯ll become to strong for them to handle me. ¡°Good, now you already know the number system as i taught you when you were younger so now we''re going to do something called addition, you¡¯ll have 2 different numbers and have to increase 1 by the other. For example if your adding 1 by 3, it goes 2, 3 and then 4. She held up her fingers as she counted, now if i gave you 2 + 4 what would you get. ¡°Six¡±, I instantly respond, i don¡¯t care enough to not try at this, it¡¯ll be more effort to struggle with each question. My mother looked a little surprised but proceeded to ask more questions which i gave the answer to. When she seemed satisfied she explained subtraction and I answered all her answers again. It took an hour but she had explained addition, subtraction, multiplication and division to me. It seemed she expected it to take longer and was pretty surprised about my ease of understanding. My mother let me go and as i turned she started to mutter. ¡°I didn¡¯t even have to explain using potatoes¡­.¡± I assumed she meant the classic if you have 5 potatoes, and you buy 3 more how many do you have. But i''m simply not interested enough as I need a new way to increase agility. ¡°Sigh I wish i still had internet¡­ I never really did any sports so speed wasn¡¯t an issue, how do I get faster?¡± I thought it over but couldn¡¯t come up with anything. What creates speed? Fast acceleration, quickly moving my legs. To increase acceleration I can just use that gym thing, sprint 10 feet touch the ground sprint back touch the ground. I feel like that may work, and for faster legs¡­. Maybe put weights on my leg and sprint? The first makes more sense so i¡¯ll invest more time into it then the latter. After a month of doing these exercises my agility went up by 2 which surprised me at first then remembered it''s really only 1 because of the double agility bonus. Regardless this seems to work for now so i''ll just continue with it. Today marks the day at hit the age of 14, in 2 months the school will start as my birthday is in July, in a week''s time I will be tested for my affinity determining if i¡¯ll go to the academy. My family made a cake and we spent the day out having a picnic near a lake. The week slowly approached and I continued to do my training, while my mother was out shopping and my father was out farming with my brother I checked my stats again.
Limitation Details Limitation breaker
health The amount of Damage you can take before you die 470
Mana The cost for skills and abilities 295
Strength increases the amount of weight Muscles can withstand as well as power being physical attacks 21
Agility Increases overall speed of the person as well as reaction time 58
dexterity Increases health and reduces damage taken 14
Intelligence Increases magical damage and improves memory 28
Wisdom Increases mana and reduces effects of low mana 39
I was happy with this as my average should be around 30 meaning i''m at the level of a basic soldier. Now I just had to wait for the affinity test. The cart ride to the main city was long and painful, the seat has minimal padding and the road wasn¡¯t maintained at all. Every bump, crack and rock was easily felt as they hit the wheels. I didn¡¯t complain though as I had more to worry about. Honestly I was happy as long as I didn¡¯t get fire or holy, if I got earth i could use it to pack more of a punch when i strike, if I get wind i can use it to increase my agility. I literally don¡¯t even know what to do about water, i feel like it¡¯s useless but still does stuff at the same time. This was the first time I¡¯ve been to the city though, as we got closer the gate was the only thing I could see as it completely surrounded it. It had a large entry way with what looked like guards, and some towers on the inside behind the gate. When we reached the gate one of the guards approached our cart. ¡°Name and business¡± The guard said with a bored expression and a voice that sounded like he¡¯d rather be anywhere but here. ¡°Rick hull, affinity test for Sayn hull.¡± My father responded with a stern voice but without any aggression. The guard looked in the cart and at me then nodded. ¡°Open the gates¡± He yelled to the guards behind the door. It slowly began to open and I was able to see the city. Honestly I expected more from it, there was some stalls with people buying from them but nothing really out of the ordinary, after seeing it I quickly got bored and sat back onto the seat. The cary continued on the road which was slightly better maintained and brought us to a building with a giant sign that read ¡°affinity testing and academy sign up¡± Me and my father got out of the cart and walked up the stairs, my brother and mother stayed behind wishing me luck, both meaning different things. My brother hoping i get one and my mother the opposite. Regardless I stepped up and my father opened the door for me. Upon entering there was 3 booths with people at all of them. A sign read afinity testing on the two on the left with academy sign up on the one furthest to the right. We walked up to the shortest line for affinity testing and waited, it took half an hour but we eventually got to the front where I could see what was going on. The woman behind the desk would ask you to release some magical power in which she would use a machine of some sorts to analyze it. After some tapping of it she would show the screen to the kid, the words were too small for me to read but after he read them he visibly slouched. It was then i remembered what my mother said on the cart. ¡°The affinity test will show you numbers, if you get below 15 you basically have no affinity and it can''t be used in combat effectively, At around 25 you can manage as a soldier for the army, if you get 50 or above you can become a decently strong soldier, anything above 75 is extremely high and your affinity will basically guarantee your future. Anything above 90 and you''re treated as a prodigy.¡± She looked pretty depressed while saying the information for above 90, but she continued. ¡°They¡¯ll ask you to release magical power, it''s pretty simple just imagine your mana flowing out of you and it will happen.¡± After trying it myself it really was easy, I barely had to think about it. Regardless the kid walked out, nearly crying. Seeing as he didn¡¯t sign up for the academy he got all below 15. ¡°Next¡±, I was taken out of my thought cycle by a bored voice of the woman. I slowly walked up to the counter. ¡°Name and origin please.¡± ¡°Sayl Hull, town of hubry, delrona.¡± ¡°Ok please release some magical power¡± As soon as she finished i began releasing it and she started tapping the machine. After a few minutes she looked up at me then showed the results.
Magic Type Affinity rating
Fire 30
Earth 80
Water 4
Wind 45
Holy 12
¡°Congratulations, You can go to the academy¡±.
Chapter 3: To the Academy Chapter 3
I looked back at the woman who looked genuinely happy, I hope the stare came out as a ¡°I hate your guts¡± or something close but it probably isn¡¯t as she just kept smiling. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I think there''s been a mistake, I refuse to accept that I passed and wish to be re-evaluated by cause of malfunction.¡± The woman gave an extremely confused look towards me before sighing. ¡°I¡¯m sorry sir but I don¡¯t think there''s ever been a malfunction in history of using these besides when they physically break and no longer display scores. ¡°Just redo it.¡± I was not going to budge on this, I really didn¡¯t want to go to this stupid academy¡­ ¡°Sir¡­ fine but only once.¡± She muttered loud enough for me to hear with a slight blush. I smiled and thanked her as she got a new device and began tapping at it, after a minute I was told to release my magical power yet again. This time with a new effort. Don¡¯t be strong, don¡¯t be strong. If you''re strong I swear i¡¯ll wring your neck, even if you don¡¯t have one I will. Honestly these thoughts are pathetic but they¡¯re necessary as without them I don¡¯t feel satisfied. After a couple seconds the lady eyes widened at the score. ¡°Sir, i''m extremely sorry for doubting you.. Apparently there was a mistake with the device and I apologize. Here take a look!¡±
Magic Type Affinity rating
Fire 40
Earth 95
Water 3
Wind 50
Holy 10
¡°What the fuck¡±. With that I took a long sigh and trudged over to the academy sign up without another word. ¡°Congratulation, please fill out the form with careful consideration based on your stats and not just personal opinion.¡± The woman was cheerful and it bothered me. Regardless i took the papers over to where my dad was sitting, he looked up as I started to get close. ¡°You have papers but look annoyed, I don¡¯t know what to make of it son. Please explain.¡± My dad looked kind of concerned, I don¡¯t think he understands my feelings very well unlike mom. I sigh before speaking. ¡°This system is stupid. I got a score of 80 in earth magic right? So i wouldn¡¯t believe it and demanded they redo it with a different device. Anyway they did and when I got it back it somehow went up to a 95. This legit forces me to become something I don¡¯t want to be. And don¡¯t even get me started on the 40 in fire, I REFUSE to be a backline caster.¡± As i ranted my dad looked at me in surprise when i mentioned the 95, then started to laugh at the fire affinity. ¡°Don¡¯t worry son, since you have a 95 you¡¯re basically insured whatever you want as long as you fight. This means you simply have to try hard for 5 or so years then can relax just as you want, sound good?¡± Maybe he actually does understand my feelings a little more than I expected but still, 5 years is pretty long when i''m not doing what I like. And I like doing what I like, not fighting for others. Regardless I don¡¯t want to be here any longer than needed so i¡¯ll just fill this out and go... It was actually pretty straightforward which made things easier.
Magic Academy Form Name: Highest Affinity: Secondary affinity: Prefered affinity: Goal while in the academy: Future plan for a job: Comments/demands:
I quickly filled it out and looked it over
Magic Academy Form Name: Sayn Hull Highest Affinity: Earth ? 95 Secondary affinity: Wind ? 50 Prefered affinity: I don¡¯t care Goal while in the academy: None Future plan for a job: Professional Cloud watcher Comments/demands: I simply want to do my time and get out. Yes I will think of this as a prison and will complain the entire time i''m here and not napping, maybe even when i¡¯m napping.
Seeing as a 95 is pretty high i''m sure they¡¯ll accept me no matter what I say, and if they don¡¯t that''s also good for me. Regardless when i handed the paper back to the receptionist she frowned but as she also knew my score she didn¡¯t say anything. This confirmed my initial thought of being able to say whatever I please. This meant I could go back home and rest for a bit as the cart ride is to uncomfortable. After hearing of my 95 in earth affinity my mother went pretty pale but my brother started to go crazy about how cool I am. I zoned him out after he said something about being a stoneman and apologized to my mother who simply shook it off. This led to a rather quiet ride home from my mother but a loud one from my brother. It seems the entire neighborhood will know about this thanks to him¡­ 2 weeks have past since then and a party was currently being held at someone''s house in my honor or something. This meant their was a giant cake so I wasn¡¯t about to complain but quickly got bored as well as annoyed after eating 3 slices. I took a fourth and slipped out of the barn which it was being held in. I looked around for a sort of hill to lay on and eventually found a small one barely big enough for my body. Currently I stood at around 5ft 10, taller than i was in my previous life at this age meaning I would probably end around 6ft 4 to 6ft 7. As i pondered over how my body has changed I also notices I was a lot better looking , mostly due to the Taylor lautner face and more muscular body due to training everyday. It was close to Sunset now and the clouds had a red, orange and yellow color to them making it more enjoyable to look at. Sadly something seemed to be blocking my view though¡­ ¡°Hey, my names Rissa. Whatchadoin sayn?¡± A girl that also seemed to be 14 stood in front of my view, sure she was attractive and all but I was in the middle of something, like at least stand next to me so i can continue¡­ ¡°I¡¯m currently extremely busy and have little to no time for you, please book an appointment with my secretary, also known as my little brother. Thanks in advance.¡± With that i finished the last of my cake in one bite and closed my eyes and laid down completely, allowing me to see the clouds again. ¡°Fuwah, secretary? hahaha! You¡¯re pretty funny, I like you. Let¡¯s be friends, ok sayn?¡± She didn¡¯t take this in the way I wanted. I sighed and closed my eyes, sadly i got another response I didn¡¯t want, she sat down next to me. ¡°Here i¡¯ve brought you some cake, want it?¡± Damn, my only weakness, fucking cake. Let it be known the all powerful sayn can be swayed by a single slice of cake.. Regardless of my own pessimism I sat up and took the cake and immediately started eating. Guess I¡¯ll have to take a run later to burn this off, a worthy trade off If I may say so. ¡°So you never answered my question earlier¡­¡± She started up again while I took another bite of cake. ¡°Escaping a hell worse than you can imagine. Running and yelling children.¡± At this I shuddered a little to make it more dramatic. In which she started to laugh again. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Fair enough, haha, so I, well like everyone else in the neighborhood, heard you got an 85 in earth affinity, that''s pretty high¡­¡± This made me slightly upset. ¡°I wish it was 85, it¡¯s at fucking 95. Do you know how many people are going to bother me because of this? Actually to put it into perspective I¡¯ve already been bothered more than 100% of the previous amount. Oh yeah congrats you¡¯re the first. Not only this but jealous nobles will also come and be annoying because i''m better than them. Classic.¡± She actually stayed silent throughout my rant, and at the end I took a big bite of cake finishing it. ¡°Well thanks for the cake, I need to go burn off all the food I just ate, see ya later.¡± I immediately took off with a sprint and before she could say anything I was out of range. After sprinting for close to 300 Feet I slowed down into a jog. I eventually found another hill and laid down again. Sadly, I had missed most of the sunset with that but I could still see some of the nice colors, this time with a hint of pink. He didn¡¯t meet anyone else until his mother shouted that it was time to leave. The next day after breakfast his mother asks to talk to him about something important. ¡°So before you go to the academy I want to know what you would like to do afterwards, for example fighting or simply anything you want.¡± Luckily I didn¡¯t even have to think as I knew exactly what I wanted the moment I graduated. ¡°I want to live quietly, comfortably and do whatever I want with my time.¡± With this his mother looked a little happier than earlier. ¡°Ok, I want to give you some advice, whether you take it is up to you of course. First of all stay away from the nobles, nobody can get a quiet life if they¡¯re involved. Their families simply have too much influence. So unless you have power to rival the head don¡¯t do anything rash.¡± ¡°What do you mean by rival the head? Is that important?¡± My mother smiled a little at this question. ¡°If you can beat the head of a noble family you take his title of nobility and wealth, of course the heads of nobility are all extremely strong, usually the top of the country as they¡¯re invested into with magic school from a young age and have spells that are passed down from each generation. They aren¡¯t unique or anything they just don¡¯t let others know of them.¡± With that I nodded. ¡°Hey mom, did you by any chance mean that I should become strong enough to take the title and our family can become nobility?¡± With This question she smiled and patted my head. ¡°Do as you wish, sayn¡± She stood up shortly after and left the kitchen. I walked back to my room and thought again about my future. Does becoming nobility make my life easier? Then I have to deal with all the issues they have.. Such as being wed, from all the stories i¡¯ve ready i straight up lose the privilege of choice. It¡¯s all ¡°for the family¡± this and that and honestly I just wanna look at clouds. Not worth it, well maybe if i marry a noble''s daughter I can gain some of the wealth and live comfortably without doing any of the work, perfect plan! Well that would still be pretty far away, don¡¯t need to think that far, actually i¡¯ll just go with the flow for now. I think that''s more my style of doing things anyway. I was woken up by my dad saying that the carriage to pick me up would be here in 15 minutes and that I should get ready to go. I grabbed my pack of clothes as that''s really all i need with my toiletries such as toothbrush, now that i think about it this world is pretty advanced in hygiene related issues. With the help of magic cleanliness and sanitation is extremely quick and doesn¡¯t take much effort so nobody actually minds doing it here. However that¡¯s besides the point as i can hear the horses coming close to my house by now. I say bye to my family and that i¡¯ll see them whenever the school sets me free. This got a smile from my brother and father and frown from my mother. I quickly climbed into the carriage and was ready to go. Sadly when I got in there was something i¡¯d rather not see be here. ¡°How¡¯s it goin¡¯ Sayn? been a while.¡± Rissa, the cloud blocker, was also in my carriage. ¡°Why are you here? Getting a free ride to the academy?¡± I said this without looking towards her as I sat down on the seat in front of her. ¡°Hmm so your parents didn¡¯t tell you? We split the price as were both going to the same place to save some money, well seeing as you''re not the talkative type, at least the nice one, just treat it as if you were alone.¡± She said that and I actually smiled, however I was going to make use of this right away as i laid down in an attempt to fall asleep. ¡°Did you really have to act so happy about it¡­ damn¡± She said that while slightly pouting. Honestly I didn¡¯t take much of a look at her before but she¡¯s actually really good looking. Her black hair goes down to the middle of her back-ish, and it complements her brown eyes. The clothes are also well made and somewhat revealing around the chest so it gives a thorough idea of what she''s working with there. Regardless i ignored her comment as I didn¡¯t want to be bothered as well as reveal to much about myself. I can¡¯t be too friendly with females if I want a wife within nobility after all. This carriage was actually pretty comfortable unlike the previous cart. It has a lot of padding and the wheels are made more to absorb the shock of bumps and cracks of the like so the shaking isn¡¯t unbearable. I managed to sleep through most of the day before Rissa started to tap me. ¡°Oiii, were stopping at this small village for the night, you¡¯re to meet back here at 7 tomorrow morning, got it?¡± She explained with a small smile on her face. ¡°Did you wanna go grab something to eat? I¡¯ve been here once before and know a pretty good sweets shop.¡± The sound of her mentioning sweets got me to attention but I also really had to go train some more, actually maybe I can find someone here who know¡¯s something about increasing agility. ¡°Sorry I¡¯ve actually got something to do, maybe another time.¡± With that I jumped out of the cart and began to walk to nowhere in particular. I heard a slight muttering behind me but I ignored it nonetheless. After some exploring I finally found something that could be useful. I currently stood in front of a building with a sign that read ¡°Monster hunting and Gathering Requests¡±. From this I could assume that someone at least knew how to gain stats, whether they be strength or agility I could use either. I quickly walked in after preparing myself. ¡°Welcome to the shop, whatcha need?¡± A tall burly man with a beard stood behind a counter. Honestly the counter only went up to his waist and looked pretty silly but I needed information, not a fight. ¡°Hey, i was wondering if I could get some information, specifically around the limitations of agility and strength.¡± With that the man looked up from the paper he was reading and looked me up and down. ¡°You knew in town?¡± He asked in a colder voice than before. ¡°No sir I¡¯m simply passing through on my way to the magic academy, I was just accepted 2 weeks ago.¡± With that he seemed more inclined to talk to me. ¡°Hmmm, what what¡¯s your strongest affinity? And if your willing the affinity rate.¡± ¡°My best affinity is with earth followed by wind, ill tell you the rates after I learn something from you good sir.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got me curious kid, I won¡¯t lie but my information isn¡¯t that cheap, let''s say that and 3 silver and i¡¯ll teach you how to gain strength, I have higher numbers in that then agility if you couldn¡¯t already tell.¡± ¡°Deal, i¡¯ll pay you 1 third now, another third halfway through and the last at the end, sound good to you?¡± ¡°You¡¯re smart kid, probably a good thing and that works for me. I''ll take 1 silver and begin my explanation, after you but some into practice i''ll give you some more information and then it¡¯ll be done.¡± I quickly handed over a silver for him to continue. This was pretty expensive for me as the only money my parents gave me was 25 silver. ¡°Okay first of all try not to think of ¡°strength¡± as how much your muscle can withstand. It is such a basic concept that it¡¯s almost useless. Strength is more bringing out the hidden strength within your muscles. For example im fairly large but there''s no way I could life 300 pounds with my bare arms correct? False with my increased strength I can lift about 400 Pounds, to put that into perspective I weigh around 250. Understand so far?¡± I nod at this and wait. ¡°To increase the hidden strength of muscles you simply need to be able to complete these 2 exercises, the first is fairly simple and usually only takes a week or 2 to accomplish but the second usually takes around a year to accomplish. Sadly I haven¡¯t heard of a different way to maximize this. Of course simply lifting weights will increase your strength but that''s solely muscle strength where this is real strength. I''ll show you how to accomplish the first trial so to speak and after receiving the other silver will demonstrate and explain the second. Come outside with me.¡° I followed him out of the shop and walked down a couple of feet, he stopped and picked up 2 rocks around the same size and tossed one towards me which i caught. ¡°You''re going to crush this rock, without using magic with only one hand like so.¡± The man proceeded to squeeze the rock which then exploded sending pieces of it everyone and after opening his palm he dropped some dust onto the ground. ¡°The way you do this is fairly simple. You¡¯re body has a ton of muscles and to do each action you use a lot of them at different times. For example when throwing a punch you¡¯ll start with the shoulder followed by your bicep and tricep which leads into your forearm finally ending with the muscles in your wrist and hand.. These muscles may seem like they all tighten at the same time but in reality they all lead into one another. To truly increase your strength you want to complete each action while keeping each muscle tightened. While crushing the rock in your hand make sure to tighten the muscle in your all the areas of muscle I just mentioned other than your shoulder. Make sure to also¡­¡± The man stopped talking mid sentence as a piece of rock hit him in the face. This piece of rock originated from my hand as it exploded when i crushed it. ¡°Oh sorry, I didn¡¯t think it would fly so fast.¡± The rock hit his cheek and was now bleeding a little so i felt pretty bad as he wasn¡¯t expecting it. ¡°H¡­ How did you already do that¡­ It took my teacher 3 weeks to do and took me 2. You did it first try? Nonono try another rock, it may have been a weak rock.¡± He threw a rock without any cracks in it this time and as i caught it I did the same thing and the rock exploded, however this time nothing hit him. ¡°Uhh I don¡¯t know what to say kid, You''re just a natural I guess, this next step took me a year and 2 months to complete, if you complete it in 1 day I will teach you a skill related to this without any payment.¡± he said this with a kind of defeated tone in his voice. He may have meant it as a sort of joke but i really wanted a skill. ¡°Deal.¡± ¡°Wha.. wait seriously you agreed? Well i guess you lose nothing out of it. Anyway follow me, i''ll demonstrate and explain again.¡± I followed him out of the town into a forest. The trees were decently spread out and let in a lot of sunlight. Eventually we reached a rocky area with a giant rock wall. ¡°Alright you''re going to have to punch a hole into this rock, the hole has to reach certain lengths though. First rule is the diameter of the impact must be twice the size of your first and the length must be twice the length of your arm, other than that just don¡¯t use magic and you''re good. Ill demonstrate and explain how to do it after.¡± He walked up to the wall where I saw his muscles tighten this time and he swung forward into the wall. Rock exploded outwards and after the dust cleared a rigid hole about 3 feet deep and half a foot wide appeared. ¡°This works through the tightening of a lot of muscles at the same time. In the last test you only tightened 3 at the same time where this time it¡¯ll be closer to 9. I won''t use all their names but i''ll show you where they are.¡± He continued to point at the front of his thigh, his abdomen, lower back, upper back, chest, shoulder, front and back of the arm, and finally the forearm. Basically this is 3 times harder than the previous, come get me when you''re ready to demonstrate.¡± He started to turn to walk away but i quickly called out to him. ¡°Could you stay for a bit? Preferably the first 5 attempts, if I don¡¯t get it after then i''ll come to get you.¡± He shrugged his shoulders at my request and sat on a log nearby. I smiled as I approached a part of the wall which hasn¡¯t been damaged. I took a deep breath and thought of using all 9 muscles at the same time. I got ready to punch and after a second though it. The impact was loud and rock flew out from where I punched, however it didn¡¯t meet the requirement. It¡¯s diameter was smaller then my arm and the length was maybe half. Regardless It didn¡¯t hurt as much as i thought it would. I took another deep breath and thought again, this time as the 9 muscles being 1 and the punch is releasing the built up tension. I let out the breath and brought my arm back, and swung it immediately. It was around the same volume but even more rock flew out from the impact. This time my hand fit in but only up to the end of my forearm. Not knowing what else to change I remembered how the man did it, he took a deep breath, and punched¡­ NO EXHALE, I need to imagine my breath firing through the punch almost like a cannon and the 9 connected muscular areas is the launching device, i mean he did always talk about where it starts and ends... Time to try it again. I took a deep breath while pulling my arm back and swung imagining i''m the gun to a bullet being fired. The rock came firing out of the hole and shook the wall itself. After the dust cleared a massive Hole appeared that was definitely a lot bigger than twice my arm width and length. I stood there looking shocked as the results were even bigger then the man''s hole. I turned to look and he was equally if not more surprised than I was. After some time for him to think he sighed. ¡°Alright kid you¡¯re a goddamn genius and I would be honored to give you this skill, just remember the man who gave you this was none other than me, Mikel Hugor.¡± With that he took out a small book that looked very delicate and worn out. ¡°Read this, it details all the information you need for it. I¡¯d also like to apologize for something¡­ this doesn¡¯t actually increase your strength but is training required to master this, In which I couldn¡¯t¡±. I looked down at the book and read the title. ¡°Strength of the Colossus¡±. ¡°It¡¯s fine, you gave me something better in return. Hey, can I read this in your shop? I don¡¯t want to do it out in the open.¡± ¡°Sure thing, ah but before you mentioned telling me your affinity rates? I¡¯m still curious, maybe even more now.¡±. ¡°Hmm, I do remember saying something similar¡­ eh why not. Take a guess at my earth rate, ill give you 3 tries.¡± He seemed to enjoy the idea of a game. ¡°45!¡± ¡°Too low man.¡± ¡°Hmm, 60!¡± ¡°Damn still too low¡± ¡°Alright alright, 75¡± ¡°Eh, kinda¡¯ close I guess, i''m at 95¡±. He actually stumbled back at this a little. ¡°Wha-- No way! Hahaha there''s only ever been 2 Earth affinities higher than that in history! You know what kid let''s get you started on that book right away. You may even manage to learn it by tomorrow because of your natural talent.¡± ¡°So this is a earth related skill?¡± This intrigued me a little. ¡°Ah, no it¡¯s not. This doesn¡¯t relate to an affinity. The book will explain it better than I will so just read and you¡¯ll find out why.¡± With that I followed behind him while looking at the cover, not opening in case a page would be damaged. After arriving at the shop I began to read the book in the back room. With this, I had a night full of reading and practicing ahead of me.
Chapter 4: Learning a skill Chapter 4
The skill book.. Wait what was his name? M¡­ Mi¡­ ah fuck it. The book he gave me is extremely hard to read since it¡¯s so old, the words are fading but I can still make out what it''s generally saying. The first 8ish pages are all explaining the skill and how to use it, when to use it and something about it requiring talent and not being something anyone could learn. The following a page or so of sub skills to the main ¡°strength of the colossus¡±. There was also around 20 pages of unused paper. The bulk of the explanation was revolving around how it works, the book goes into extreme detail about how the body has 64 exits for magical power and that the main exits is the hands, feet and chest. Normally all 64 are always open and slowly release it through all of them at once and that magic is casted by focusing on 1-4 of the exits to create something. By releasing more magical power from your hands less will flow out from your feet and vice versa. It also explains that magical power is what converts mana into something physical which is why you need to test your affinity as the conversion to a specific magic is a lot easier than others, making that specific type easier to learn and use. The book also outlines all the exits within the human body, 8 on each leg, 8 on each arm, 14 on your chest and back with 2 on your neck and 2 on your head. It then explains how to fully close an exit followed by how to open them up again. Supposedly you can close each individual exit by clogging it with your magical power, so it¡¯s less closing more blocking. The way to open it is to forcefully break through the plugs with other magical power. Since all 64 are usually open magical power can flow through your entire body however when you clog 63 of them they are forced to exit through the 1 remaining hole. For example if the last remaining hole is on the palm of your hand all the power will flow towards it and by controlling it you can essentially morph the pure power into a damaging source. Honestly when reading this I simply pictured a rasen-copyrighted from the popular ninja show without the rotation part. It then began to explain the basic use of the skill, after some of the magic power had condensed and leaked from the single exit I could cover my hand with it, or just leave it condensed and after it making contact will cause a slight explosion. What makes it even better is that as i envisioned before with the cannon I can legit just launch this stuff from the exits making it a ranged attack, even if it does less damage the further it travels. I didn¡¯t even bother reading the sub skills as I would be too focused on succeeding rather than learning. With that thought I ended up in the forest by the rock wall again, I sat down and crossed my legs as the book mentioned this was the easiest way to close all of the exits. ¡°Take control of the power within your body and feel the outside of the exit, after learning the size continue to condense it within the exit until it expands to a limit in which nothing can escape from it, continue doing this until 63 has been covered.¡± This was what the book recommended to do for learning. I immediately tried to ¡°feel¡± the magical power but couldn¡¯t, honestly i felt pretty stupid. Kind of like someone who believed in a fortune teller when they said they will be rich if they buy some ring for 1000$... Regardless of my feelings I continued to try finding a hint at this magical power, until I thought of my only skill, teleporting. After making sure nobody was around I stood up and teleported trying to see if the magical power was used or I could feel something. I didn¡¯t and sat back down in a slightly annoyed mood. Seeing as I wasn¡¯t getting anywhere in 10 or so minutes I gave up, I doubted I even needed to feel it as long as the exits all got clogged. And so I began to simply imagine the holes clogging. A dense circle at the entrance which continued to swell until it¡¯s completely filled and won¡¯t move. After a couple of minutes of this i was about to give up but I began to feel something odd which continuously got worse. This is the first time i¡¯ve felt something like this, it¡¯s as if i''m controlling the blood flowing in my body. Normally you¡¯ll never feel the blood moving through you due to the nerves not touching it but I can actually feel the difference since it''s gone. As it felt really weird I immediately started smashing other magical power into the clog to dislodge it and after a couple seconds it was and my foot went back to normal as if nothing happened. ¡°What in the fuck, the book said nothing about how it felt so i assumed it wouldn¡¯t be weird... ¡° I let out a short sigh but regardless I still need to practice, in all honesty I don¡¯t even know if this¡¯ll even be useful but I¡¯ve got time to kill on the trip there so until I get to the academy i''ll invest all my time into this, even then i may still invest some time into it if the academy is boring. With that I started to clog the exit on my foot again, after a minute i felt the familiar feeling of the lack of movement in my foot. I left it like that and stood up. Surprisingly I walked normally, well I guess it¡¯s not that surprising considering nothing physically changed about my foot but still, It felt so weird and awkward. Honestly this wasn¡¯t getting anywhere so I decided to close all the exits on my legs. After an hour or so I¡¯d clogged all the exits on my legs. One on the bottom of the foot and one on the top of it, one on my calf and knee followed by 4 around my thigh. After closing a quarter of the exits i finally started to ¡°feel¡± the magical power in my body. It felt as if a some type of gas was flowing through my body and exiting wherever it could, which was the top half of my body and as a result the remaining gas in my legs escaped to the top half leaving it empty. I stood up without any trouble and began walking around without any issues, after testing running and jumping as well there was only one last thing to to try, teleporting. I snapped my fingers and looked 3 feet ahead and ended up there immediately. No issues here either¡­ Seeing as doing this caused no defects I decided to start closing the rest of the exits besides the one on my right palm. This didn¡¯t take nearly as long since I was able to actually feel it this time and so after around 20 minutes all that was left was the one on my palm. All the power was rushing straight for this exit and it felt as if a breeze was going from it, even though nobody else or even I would physically feel the breeze. I then re-read how to control the magical power around my hand. ¡°After closing 63 of the 64 exits you will clearly feel the power flowing out, you do not want to close this but rather control it. After it exits your palm do not grasp at it or try to physically tie it down as you will look incredibly stupid and it won¡¯t work. Envision a cube in which it will flow into, the power will bend to your will and will stay in that shape. After completing the cube condense it until it can no longer be condensed any further. At this point stop the flow of magic power coming from your palm, do not clog simply will it to stop flowing, after completing this you may morph the condensed cube into whatever you want, a sphere, trapezoid, blade or simply cover your hand in it.¡± I looked at my palm and began to envision a cube with an entrance by the exit, seeing as I didn¡¯t feel the power staying in it I took a different approach and imagined a cage. This cage was in the shape of a cube and wouldn¡¯t allow it to roam free. After a minute of trying to essentially capture it i took a break and thought about it again as it was still not working. Is a cage physically tieing it down? Would that mean capturing it is out of the question? If i¡¯m not capturing it but i need it in an enclosed area to condense it further to use it as a weapon then what would it be considered? Inviting? You can¡¯t invite something without a will of its own¡­ Wait does it have a will? To escape? To roam free? Wait if it wants to roam free keeping it in an enclosed area wouldn¡¯t work, so I need to let it roam free while keeping it in one place? A loop then? Might as well try it. Just as I had envisioned a cube I began to make a loop with an entrance by my palm. Unlike the cube I immediately felt the presence of something being there followed by the magical power flowing into it. It continued to fill up until I felt the power leaking everywhere again and proceeded to stop filling it. The next step was to condense it, and so I thought of making it smaller and smaller until it was the size of a ring. After some time passed I didn¡¯t feel it getting any smaller so I just held it, it started to swell so I walked to a nearby tree and smashed my palm into it. The book said that hitting something with this would cause an explosion, honestly I thought it was going to be something small. When I hit the tree that was about 6 inches wide it completely obliterated it shooting bark and a wind in every direction later causing the tree to fall over leaving a lightly smoking stump about 5 feet tall. After examining the damage in awe I decided I shouldn¡¯t use trees as test dummies but instead the wall of rock I was using earlier. I made another look while walking to the wall and started filling it with magic power, this time the loop was a lot bigger than the last time and it took nearly 10 minutes to fill. I continued to condense it until it wouldn¡¯t get any smaller, I continued to thrust my palm at the rock. The second I made contact with it a loud explosion went off and the ground shook under my feet, the actual rock wall was spewing chunks of rock and the debris was smashing into trees lodging themselves into it. A few seconds later I was surrounded by a massive amount of dust and unable to see the damage I dealt. I waited a long time before the dust finally disappeared, but the destruction was a lot more than what i expected. There was about a 10 foot circle of damage from where I hit the wall, it went around 5 feet deep so basically I made a small cave which I could literally walk into. This test at least confirmed some of my worries, it was going to damage, and lots of it. There was one more step on the list to do before I could start using actual; subskills for this though. I had to morph the magical power from a ring to wrap around my hand, i honestly didn¡¯t know the reason for it but seeing as it was recommended I might as well do it. I created another ring closer to the size of the first one I did and after filling it tried to change the shape. I felt it bend and move but it generally stayed in the shape of a loop, just slightly deformed. I decided to thin out the ring and expand it until I could put it around my wrist. Luckily it worked out and I pushed my hand through it. After a lot of trial and error I eventually created a glove of this magical power, i felt the moving of the condensed power but didn¡¯t feel a breeze and when i moved my hand around it didn¡¯t cause an explosion. This meant I could cover myself in this and when anybody hit me they¡¯d explode on contact. An impenetrable defense against people who can¡¯t use magic or ranged attacks. This brought another question, will it stay around my hand if i teleport? The question interested me and so I prepared to attack the wall again, this time with a little combo. I got in a position to punch something with my right hand and as soon as I started the punch I snapped my fingers, teleporting right in front of the wall and following through with my punch. Upon making contact a smaller explosion ensued with rocks flying out and dust swarming around me. ¡°Success¡± I said while a smile grew on my face. With this I created a small combo while also finishing what I believe were the basics of the book. All that was left is a break and the sub skills. There really was a lot of them though¡­Stolen novel; please report.
Sub skill Name Actions/amount needed to cast Damage What the subskill will do after cast
Colossal Touch Weave 2 ounces of magical power into each hand N/A Allow the caster to physically interact with Magical power
Colossal Vision Weave 0.5 ounces of magical power into the eye N/A Allow caster to see Magical power
Punch of a Colossus Uses 6 Ounces of magical power to surround hand in magical power after striking something it will explode 500 Envelopes the desired hand with magical power
Kick of a Colossus Uses 8 Ounces To cover a leg in magical power, explodes on contact. 600 Envelopes the desired leg in magical power
Armor of the Colossus Uses 60 Ounces of magical power to completely cover body acting as armor N/A Envelopes caster in condensed Magical power protecting them from, only explodes by using sub skill explode
Lance of the Colossus Create an arrow made of 2 Ounces from magical power which can pierce targets, can cast sub skill explode at anytime 400- (Feet traveled*10) Minimum of 75 Damage Launch an arrow of magical power that can impale targets, only explodes by using sub skill explode
Blade of the Colossus Use 8 Ounces to create a blade, this can be used with sub skill colossal touch to actually wield it 450 damage per slash, 550 per stab. Create a blade of magical power which can slash and stab at targets, only explodes by using sub skill explode
Wall of Protection After condensing morph 12 ounces of magical power into 1 foot of wall, can increase size with higher amounts N/A Creates a Wall of magical power that casts subskill ¡°explode¡± on contact
Explode Immediately cause the condensed magical power to explode, to cast simply say the word explode while thinking of what you want to explode 300 * (1 + # of counces/10) Damage lowers based on distance away from center All released magical power will explode
Speed of the Colossus Weave 16 ounces of magical power into the muscles in both legs N/A Condensed Magical power enters the muscles allowing them to move twice as fast
Colossal Walking Weave 4 ounces of magical power into the soles of your feet allowing you to walk on magical power. N/A Enters the casters legs allowing them to walk upon any released magic power
Isn¡¯t the damage for these a little too high? I mean my health was only at like 400 or whatever last time I checked. Then again I have extremely low dexterity, eh I just can¡¯t take damage, not that hard of a task considering my teleport skill. Regardless colossal vision will be extremely useful when practicing this as the amount needed seems pretty specific, however it also seems pretty dangerous weaving it into my eyes. Guess I¡¯ll practice on my hand first with colossal touch. As I had no idea what 2 ounces of magical power was I decided to just get a lot of it ready and stop using it after my hand was done. I spent 5 minutes filling up my loop before condensing it which I felt was a decent amount. I continued to change the shape and width until it was the size of a string, afterwards I started going in and out of my skin with this string. It sounded quite painful and I winced thinking if it was real, but in reality i felt nothing. Not even a slight tingling to show I was doing it right. But i knew very well it was working as some of it hit the finger I just weaved through and I was able to feel the magical power in shape of a string. It had the consistency of jello but it easily changed shape to meet my will. I really wanted to play with some of it, but that would have to wait till later. I continued to weave in and out until my entire hand was weaved through. Seeing as my hand still worked the same and the only difference was being able to touch magical power I decided to start right away on colossal vision as I still had a bunch left over from weaving in my hand. I didn¡¯t know what exactly to weave for my eye so i only did the pupil to start. Seeing as nothing changed I began to weave through the Iris as well, still nothing changed which i guess makes sense considering that doesn¡¯t enable one to see. I then began to weave through to my optic nerve further back in the eye which directly controls what the brain sees. This resulted in a change of my vision within my right eye, the one I was weaving through. I couldn¡¯t see out of it anymore, I was pretty sure I wasn¡¯t blind since I could still make out colors and lights but something was blocking it. Normally I would panic but seeing as I caused this while weaving I must have messed up somewhere. So I immediately began to undo what I had done, but instead of starting with undoing the part in the optic nerve I started with the pupil as nothing changed when i weaved through it. After removing all the ¡°string¡± I was able to mostly see again, however there was still something blocking the centre of my vision which I thought was the Iris but after removing it the center was still being blocked. I realized how stupid I was after recognizing I weaved into the optic nerve by going through the pupil and after removing that as well but going through the corner of my eye instead I was finally able to see magical power. It didn¡¯t have a specific color to it but rather a glow or a radiance allowing me to see the outline of the power. As a result I did what any other mature 14 year old would do. I made a penis. A floating, glowing penis. After making it I sighed at my own maturity and change it back to a loop. I was able to see it moving through the loop as the radiance shifted and moved with it, I looked down at my hand to see it radiating the same way as the loop and smiled before touching it. The loop felt like jello as I squished it and shook it, it didn¡¯t break or change form after releasing it. With this I questioned whether or not the two piercing sub skills would actually do anything with this jello like consistency. Regardless I¡¯m tired and need a break, so I found a small hill and laid back onto it looking at the sky. It was becoming lighter out meaning it was probably around 5 in the morning. Meaning I probably had another couple hours before I had to leave. Guess it was time to give the book back to the big guy, that and thank him again for letting me use it. With that I took 5 more minutes to relax before going back to his shop. When I got there the sign still said closed but a light was on in the back room so i tried opening the door, which it complied. ¡°Oi oi oi.. Can¡¯t you read? The sign clearly says¡­ Oh it''s you! It¡¯s tough right? But I can¡¯t help you! I can¡¯t even use it myself so just keep trying till you get it!¡± He seemed to get the wrong idea for my visit¡­ ¡°Uh, that''s not it. I¡¯m here to thank you for the book and give it back, I learned the basics and the two important sub skills, the rest should be fairly easy to learn later. Regardless thanks a lot, this book must be extremely valuable and for you to lend it to me is an honor I don¡¯t think I can repay.¡± After I finished I took the book out and held it out for him. He didn¡¯t take it though, just kind of stood there silently with a confused expression on his face. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, you learned the basics and 2 sub skills? In 1 night? I can¡¯t believe that kid. No I won¡¯t believe it.¡± He shook his head as if to confirm this with himself rather than me. ¡°Uh, I can show you if you really want¡­ it¡¯s pretty loud and causes a lot of damage so i¡¯d rather not do it here though¡­¡± ¡°Haha don¡¯t worry, there''s no way you¡¯ve actually learned it so just hit the wall there, it¡¯s made of stone so go all out.¡± He pointed to the left of me where an empty wall stood. I shrugged and walked over to the wall. I created my loop and thought of what to do while filling it. I can just use the loop and smash it, or I can use colossal punch¡­ nah it¡¯s gotta be more impressive than a punch.. Guess i''ll try colossal lance. After it filled to be what looked like 2 ounces i began to shape it into an arrow, around 3 minutes passed before I was ready. ¡°I¡¯ll be starting now¡± He nodded shortly after I said that and I launched the arrow towards the wall. It dug into the wall and cracks formed all around it. ¡°Hmm, is that all? I thought it would be more than that kid.¡± he said that with a big grin on his face as if he¡¯d won something but I quickly smiled back at him with a devilish grin. ¡°Explode¡±. The arrow that was lodged into the wall immediately glowed a bright light before exploding. Pieces of the wall flew towards us, one of the pieces actually hitting him in the cheek, cutting it. I stood there in silence while he tried to understand what happened. After what seemed like a minute of silence passed he finally said something. ¡°Well¡­ maybe I should have listened to you and done this elsewhere¡­ haha.¡± He finished his sentence with a defeated laugh and sat down in his chair. ¡°Well sir, thanks again for the book but I must be going now, my ride will be leaving in an hour or so and I really don¡¯t want to be late as the person i¡¯m travelling with may start to throw a tantrum.¡± With that I left the book on the table and started towards the door. ¡°Hey kid, you''re not taking the book with you? It¡¯s yours now you know,¡± I turned to look at him but he was serious. ¡°The people who have practiced this before you all leave a new sub skill of their own, some leave a lot and some leave few. Regardless this is a 2000 year old technique and is still being cultivated. Please add onto the legacy of the colossus.¡± With that he handed to book out to me. ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll had to the book and continue its legacy.¡± I really didn¡¯t know what else to say so after grabbing it I turned and started heading to the door. I waved my hand as i said ¡°Thanks, and sorry about your wall¡± I left to the sound of him laughing. As i started walking to the meeting area I noticed how hungry I actually was. Seeing as I neglected it for around 8 hours I really needed some food. Sadly it was to early for any of the shops to be open so i laid down on a bench waiting for Rissa to come. She said she knew a good sweets shop and I wanted some now¡­ ahhh cake, how I miss you. I laid down on the bench for awhile, watching clouds and fantasizing about cake and other sorts of desserts and sweets until I heard the familiar voice of a girl calling out to me. ¡°Please don¡¯t tell me you slept out here all night.¡± I looked over to see rissa standing close to me with a judgmental look on her face. ¡°Pfft, no. I haven¡¯t actually slept yet. As i told you before, I was busy.¡± She rolled her eyes at this and continued to judge me, maybe more than before. ¡°I''m hungry, you know of any good shops for sweets around here?¡± I smiled a little at this question which she proceeded to sigh. ¡°Alright follow me, you damn cake junkie¡± She started to walk down the street and I quickly got up and followed her. She was wearing a blue dress with a bow in her hair with some white socks that went up to her knees. A pretty good combination compared to my loose pants and a tee shirt. I followed her down a couple of streets before ending up at a basic looking shop with a sign that read ¡°Bailey¡¯s Bakery¡±. She walked in and I followed, a bell ringed and a woman at the counter looked up towards us. ¡°How¡¯s it going, what Can I do for ya today?¡± Rissa looked over at me to confirm what I wanted but I was a step ahead of her. ¡°I want a regular sized vanilla cake, 6 rolls covered in butter and two pastries.¡± The shopkeeper totalled everything up and and smiled. ¡°26 Copper please.¡± I handed over a silver coin and she visibly sighed but didn¡¯t let it out as it would be rood. She counted out 74 copper and handed it back before handing me everything but the cake. ¡°I¡¯ll have to make the cake now, You said vanilla I assume you want that for the batter and Icing?¡± ¡°Yup¡± ¡°Ok it¡¯ll be ready in a hour or so.¡± With that she walked into the back, disappearing behind a set of doors. ¡°Seriously Sayn, an entire cake at 6 in the morning? Why aren¡¯t you fat¡­¡± She looked down at the last part, hiding her saddening expression. However I simply shrugged and sat down at a nearby booth, as we were the only ones inside the shop so we could choose any seat we wanted. ¡°You want a pastry?¡± I held out one of the pastries but she shook her head. ¡°I already ate¡±. With that decided I enjoyed my meal. After finishing I looked up at the clock to see I still had to wait 40 Minutes. ¡°So as fun as sitting around is, What have you done while being here?¡± A simple question, but us sitting here in silence was awkward so i decided to break it. ¡°Oh, uh I just stayed at the inn, they had a bath which was nice but other than that there wasn¡¯t much for me to do, however I¡¯m surprised you had something to do, what exactly was it? If you don¡¯t mind me asking that is... ¡° She started to mumble the last part. ¡°Ah I guess I can tell you, I was learning a new skill throughout the night from one of the locals. It¡¯s a pretty good skill to, only cost me 9 silver¡­ AH! I didn¡¯t pay him the last 6 silver! Shit can you watch my cake? Err i mean if it finishes early bring it to the meeting spot, thanks!¡± I immediately dashed out of the room before she could respond, I blasted through the door and stepped out, running right into something which proceeded to fall. ¡°Oi kid, what do you think you''re doing knocking over one of my boys?¡± ¡°Ah that really hurt boss, I might need to visit a hospital¡­ ahhh it hurts.¡± The man I toppled over rubbed his foot for some reason. Honestly I really wanted to laugh seeing how much of a cliche this is. Normally I would be more understanding¡­ but I kinda wanted to test out my new skill. ¡°Hmm, So you got hurt by a 14 year old? Adults really are pathetic nowadays huh?¡± I smiled a little while saying this which seemed to bother the man on the ground as he immediately stood up. ¡°Huh?!? Who would be hurt by some little kid like you?¡± The guy was maybe 6 inches taller than me so he was looking down on me, he was also about twice the width I was, luckily most of which was fat. ¡°So you''re not hurt? Perfect! I¡¯ll be on my way then.¡± I did a slight nod to the man and walked around him. Sadly the other 6 people surrounded me as I did so. ¡°Look kid, don¡¯t mess with us. Seeing as you''re probably not from here I¡¯ll explain it to you. We run these streets, and currently you''re bothering US on OUR turf, so your gonna get roughed up a little. Don¡¯t resist and we¡¯ll make it quick.¡± The man from earlier began to smile as he walked towards me. Looks like I''ll be able to test out my new skill today.