《The Guardian Demon》 Chapter 1 - The Start after The End My name is James Walker. Well at least it was my name before¡­.. I died. At least that is what i think happened. I have all these bits and tads of memories inside me that sugesst that i lived a life bevor now. The last thing I remember clearly is that i was in a void and an how should i call it ''Feminin, Etherial'' voice talked to me "oh poor little one you endured all that? Here i will give you a treat" Yep i think a godess gave me a new life as an isekai protagonist¡­¡­.what bullshit being born is no fun! Wait if i being born does that not mean i was Reincanated? ?hmmm I will skip the part of almost suffocating. Learning to crawl, walk or even speak is and will be no fun. Well a few plus sides are, mother milk is pretty tasty and and¡­.?hem. My head is still in an uproar because of all this information dump i got from being reincarnated so much so that that i will need at least a few days to order all of this myself. [A few Days later] Well would you look at that a new laguage, i have to learn. A translation gift or skill or blessing would be too much right godess? Who am i kidding she can not hear me here. At least i hope so. What i also found out is first nope no eletricity second wood house as a home and candles as light source. Well and this decoration? If this is not equal to the medieval age in my world i will eat a broom¡­.damm i should already rethink my german sayings. And hey i am the second son in the familiy with an older sister and who guessed it an older brother if i have to guess my brother is now 5? And my sister should reach the 10 year mark. I still dont get the language so i dont have names at the moment for my familiy members but hey i will eventualy get there. Kappa fun fact: lying inside a infant bed and being helpless is a pretty big minus in this life. [A few weeks? Month''s?] Times fly by as an infant it is hard to concentrate but i try my best everytime i can i concentrate as much i can and train my muscles. I have enough isekai knowlede that i know i have to train now to get as far as i can at least that is what i say to myself to keep me motivated. i do not know if magic is a real thing here, so keep going got nothing else to do. unless the occasionly feeding, bruping and yes releasing toxins? Yea that is a better way to describe it. [a month later] Woaaaahhh i know i was inside a new world but this is coool they have a status screen here! Name: RayHelp support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Date of Birth: 21st Goldleaf, 142 CA, Flameday. Race: Human Titles: Infant Age: 0 Sex: Male Attributes: N/A Skills: N/A Information: Due to being an infant Certain Features of the Status Screen are still unavailable. Well game system confirmed in this world or is this something only i have because of this "treat" the goddess gave me? Well no way to find out at the momment. [a few days later] Well i was busy i fond some things more out the status screen is customable now i have a hud Hp bar, stamina, event log, Date and Clock, compass (why the hell this is even possible i do not know) and a few menues i am able to abuse hehehe but the hp and stamina bar is almost non exsistent i guess because of being an infant but the new menu are cool as hell. I have a beastiary now sure there are no entrys at the momment other than human but i guess the more i discover and research about races and monsters if they exist there will be new information added inside. I added a quest log and information log gotta keep tasks and all sorts of information at hand here. will be pretty handy if i have to become a scolar or adventurer. And now to the last thing i was pretty excited about an inventory menu and as i opened that i saw something i was looking for. Information: Inventory locked due to not possessing apropriate dimension magic or items AHA there is magic in this world god is it good to know! But now i have even more to do and i mean moooorrreee. Wich magic system is used here can i activate it as infant or is it still blocked for me. Well in that front i am going now in a slow pace but i made progress in language I now know the names of my Familiy members My Mum is called Celia, my Dad Cedric, my brother Ethan and my Sis Amara. I knew my own name already from the status screen but hey Ray it is. [Date: 21st Goldleaf, 143 CA, Flameday.] Well i did observe the date in my hud and the time calculation is a bit different than on earth 24 hours jep 6 instead of 7 days and 12 month''s and each month got 30 days an exception is the last month of the year wich will get 6 more days than the rest so 366 days a year not too bad in that regard. And guess what, today is my birthday and the first thing i hear is my mother barge inside the room and saying "Good Morning Ray and Happy birthday!" i must admit i was shocked because why the hell am i able to understand my mother now? After i was Picked up fed and cared for siting on the lap of my mother on the eating table i first checked my event log and there it was Title Infant Changed to Child Skills Unlocked Atributes Unlocked Status upgraded What upgraded not dated? I pulled the status and was greeted by a wall. Name: Ray Title: Child Level: 1 Race: Human Class: None Age: 1 Sex: Male
Atributes: Strength: 3
Dexterity: 4
Constitution: 2
Wisdom: 20
Charisma: 10
Skills: Concentration lv.2
Meditation lv.2 Cardio lv.1
Language understanding lv.1 Godess Blessing lv.1[MAX]
Language Speaking lv.1
What the? I need tool tips¡­.oh well there are acually just needed to think about them Attributes - Will represent the prowess or aptitude of the coresponding physical or mental attribute and there may be even some still undiscovered Well shit need to find them first to use them he? Like mana? i will skip the attributes because these are almost self explainatory Skills - Abilitys or passives that may aide you or make you proficent in tasks they come in all sorts of varietys and most are upgradeable Skill Concentration (Common) - You are able to concentrate on a task at hand longer and may see things other may miss Skill Meditation (Common) - You use silence and empyness in mind as a source to reorder your thoughts and thereby strengthening your own mind Skill Language Understanding lv.1 (Very Rare) - You may understand an language only by heaing it enough but speaking is another matter Skill Language Speaking lv.1 (Very Rare) - You may Speak an language only by heaing it enough but Understanding is another matter Skill Cardio lv.1 (Common) - You are Adept in keeping your body fit and in motion Skill Goddess Blessing lv.1 [MAX] - a gift from the goddess you are released from the boundarys of most Mortals. you are able to aquire as many skills as you want and your attribute limits from race and class are Surpassable with the needed effort. ''Oh goddess what a great gift you gave me. From now on i will pray to you every night i can!'' I tought to myself because speaking with an under developed voice band is still not possible! But i took the oportunity to schock my mum with a simple "ma" the look of disbelif in her eyes was gold worth and the cuddeling hug that followed was warm and welcome I already love my Family even if my siblings and father where out so only mum where here to witness my first word. Chapter 2 - More Discoveries [On the same birthday] "I tell you Cedric our little ray spoke his first word!" My mom excitedly told my dad. I sat on top of the table looking between my mother and father with an interesting look how this plays out. My brother is still out and Amara is sitting on a chair near me and also looking at the scene that is unfolding but she looks more worried than happy me. ''Well sis I doubt that you can understand why mum is in an uproar about me.'' I thought to myself. "Honey there is no way ray is already capable of speaking he is only one" my dead tried to reason with mum. I decided on a whim to proof him wrong even if it still stung in my throat. As my dad was looking at me I forced a hand to point at Amara and said "Amy" The jaw drop that followed that action was legendary! I grinned and laugheat that display I could not help it my mom jumped in and just said "seee!" While motioning to me. "ahhh¡­.our boy a Genuis?" My dad said in disbelief and in that instance my laughter died with a chill down my spine. ''Nope nope no way in hell will i go to some kind of prodigy school or something resembling one! Had over 20 years of school in my old life maybe to learn this worlds history and magic but nope nothing more!'' At the thought of my past school life my face paled considerably what prompted my mum du snatch me up and comfort me while tapping my back assuming I choked on my spit while I was laughing. Amara.. jepp I will call her only Amy from here on. Was confused to no end "ok?" She asked in a cracked tone that indicated that she was ready to cry. Well dad had to snatch her up to comfort her "yes Amara everything is ok"Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. A bit of banter and antics later me and my sister laid in the floor on pelts arm in arm sleeping peacefully. "I cant belive it" cedric said while his wife hugged him from the side while watching the two children sleeping arm in arm "me neither" She agreed "we need to earn more money so we can support his growth" cedric lamented she just noded "you know that we will get past everything life will throw at us right? just like old times" his wife comforted him. [The next day] Now I knew why my brother was not here yesterday he asked our parents to sleep over by a friend of his but he at least tried to make up for it in playing with me all day on one side I was happy to spend time with my brother on the other I was only a bit annoyed that I can not experiment with the system more in that time but hey playing Knight is fun sure I''m only a crawling Knight with a wooden spoon as a sword but what ever should boys play if they are alone at home. First I though my brother is jealous because I gather much attention from our parents but apparently he just needed a bit of time for himself to sort out his feelings and in that moment I swore that I will be there for my family whenever they need me even if they only need an ear to listen. [A few days later] Ok i am officially dumbfounded. I experimented with the system more and I had an eye opening discoveries there is a ducking terminal! The first thing I did was the typical help command and the typical Linux response answered me who in their right mind thought of putting Linux inside a status system sure it is highly customizable but I was using it mostly with a gui i know the vi editor a bit and I know old school administrators say it is a powerful tool but still what the hell do I have to tell that I come from a IT family in my old life? After a bit directory browsing I can tell that it is my system my root directory is "ray" while I can access my root as a reader i can only write inside my own added directorys and yes my hud and log functions i created with thoughts are there writable but aperantly I am not able to write in my attributes section. there goes my chance of cheating my way to a dream body he he he..... well found a folder "spells" empty of course but that gives me hope to program my own spells but still will need the syntax first for that and vi do not have syntax highlighting what is infuriating if I think about that .....but maybe what if the hud and system screens are the gui and I can create an editor with the features i need? That is something I have to explore for the future but here comes mom and her timing! Damit. [Later in the evening] ''For ducks sake mum do not drag me around the village all day while I was about to decipher critical things'' I complained to myself But for my mother''s sake I played the energetic bundle of happiness i should be as a child. I met plenty of peopl today because only after the first year born my mum was sure enough that I would be okay outside of the house at least with her carrying me Uncle Alistor is the village head jep you heard that right and he forced me to say uncle Ali....at least I obliged him with a baby version of that because even now my voice is easy to strain even while I bable around as often as I can when no one is listening in And i am even speaking song texts just for training my voice. I have so much to do but you know what I decided to let this whole terminal fiasco be my head ached already with what I saw inside some data files with the vi editor And I have a full life ahead of me so I can always pick it back up at later dates experiment a bit and let it be again. So for now my family comes first with lots of happiness. Chapter 3 - Growing up [Date: 26st Goldleaf, 143 CA, Moonday.] Well gotta get a grip of the Date and time now. And i think i gotta a few hours before my mum barges in again to feed me. so instead of training my muscles more i decide i try a bit about mana and magic Just how? I know so many ways how it could work from all these fictions i consumed trough the internet¡­. I got the meditating skill maybe i can use that¡­.yea that is logical to use mana or whatever power i need for magic i first need to feel it then control it or lead it or coax it to my bidding? So many variables! So crossleg? Jep classical i will try that. So now¡­..right i need to empty my mind then feel for what i want to fell but what is that? Mana? Inside my body or outside? Do i need to form a core or circle like in some storys? Damnit to many thoghts calm down i will first try the open mana vein route¡­. ''Breathe'',''empty mind'' I do not know how long i was sitting there iin deep concentration but at some point i was able to see something? I was hard at work not to think to much to let the mind be empty and i saw something my concentrated breathing in sync with my will i began to absorb those motes of light i grinned accidentaly and everything was gone from my closed eyes i cursed like an old seamen because i was about to refine this Mana Breathing i was accidentaly doing and one look told me i was at it for hours and then¡­. **BAM** My mom came into the room to feed me¡­¡­ [Date: 1st Harvestmoon, 143 CA, Solday.] I was not looking into my stats for some time just because i decided that i will not look into it. I do not want to become some crazy maniac who just hunts more stats sure i will train like hell and most of my childhood and after that but i will not become obsessed over it i want to enjoy the little things in life. But one thing i did manage the mana vein route is a fucking complete succsess! Not only that i incorpurated another mana system into that! Mana vein let me use mana freely almost without restrictions in the output department by ony using a bit of mana to affect the surounding mana in the air at least that is the therory behind it though i do not have spells to test it out yet i can now feel and see that it is a sucsess if everything in the therory is real then i must just be carefull to not let any other mages mana mess with my mana or he could counter my spell to explode early change target back to me or such nonesenseStolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. The other mana system is a core splitting system a core of mana is gathered in the heart and after enough mana is acumulated the core splits into another one the more cores the more of a mana pool i have and this if this is real like in the fictions these cores will help me tremendously in physical or also called body reinforcements if this circle magic is a thing here i can also suplement this system for the circels by spinning the cores in a circle but the problem with that i would first need absolute precise mana controll while also casting magic to pull this off if this is possible. Damn so many things i have to find out in the future! And if i want to use the full potential of this core system i will need both a body of steel and a full on body reformation if that is possible or my heart will most likely explode by the try to use that technique¡­¡­ [Date: 5th Greenflow, 147 CA, Earthday.] Almost four Years Flew by in a flash i am still 4 i will be 5 in 3 more months and today i got some worrying news. While i was playing with my sister inside the little house my mother and father talked to each other thinking i could not heart them. Well mana breathing is a second nature by now i am even able to conceal my mana intake because the normal full on absorbtion mode would normaly create a mana aura around one llike a flame and inside mana breathing still with an limiter it still does highten all senses so i was still able to hear trough the wall. "cedric Ray is worring me." "i know sweety but he seems fine he eats well and a lot¡­.i guess his body needs this i do not know how but his body has more muscles than me and i am a Guard with lots of training" "and he has mana" my mom added i almost choked because i tought i had it tightly sealed to not be exposed. ''damn either mum is just good or her intuition told her'' "he¡­what?!" my dad almost cryed out. "he has, he accumulates it inside his heart like a knight or Royal guard that is why his muscles are constantly under stress and grow as a response i say this as a retired high healer it is a fact" ''Royal?! Fuck, wait mum is a high healer?!'' i thought while not letting amy know that i was troubled "he has to stop! It could destroy his muscles and body!" my dad said outraged but aperantly my mom stoped him. "no cedric his body is building ontop of this stress he will be much muuuch more resilient and stronger. His mana thing he has going it is not what is worrying me dear" "what else could be more worrying than a four year old that aperantly mastered a knights mana training all on his own?" "he is so disinteressted in other children Ced. Sure he loves and is affecionate to amara and Ethan but they are his siblings but the other children are how do i put it it is like they are just an distraction for him." "i know Celia i also picked that up¡­.ray is a special case i guess¡­..they will take him in right?" ''whaiiiiit'' i froze by my dads last words amara was noticing this fore sure and whas looking at me with interesst what is happening "most likley Cedric on 25th of goldleaf the temple will come and assess all children of five years his status might trigger them to take him in for education, training¡­and so on" "what?" i whispered and amara asked "what?" as well lookin confused but i patted hear head and smiled "thought i heard something" i said to my sis to not worry her. ''nope oh hell no nope! I want to learn jep but i will not be taken!'' i toughht inside my head. "maybe¡­.we can just wait and maybe teach him one or two things before he gets taken into the wide world out there" ''father that will not happen! When i will go, i will go on own accord'' i screamed inside my head "spoken like a true father i love you honey" "i love you too sweety" the conversation ended there but for me a new thing added I opened my quest log and added an entry ''Defeat the temple assessment on the 25th goldleaf and conceal your satus'' with this logged in i smiled and said softly "Challange and quest accepted. Time to grow up" what prompted my sister to ask "what?" again. i just reacted with a "nothing" and played again with her because today was her day. Chapter 4 - Conceal the Status [Date: 27th Greenflow, 147 CA, Flameday.] Well it has been a long time and i needed to look at it at some point.
Var Value
Name Ray
Level 3
Title Child
Race Human
Age 4
Sex Male
Date of Birth: 21st Goldleaf, 142 CA, Flameday
Attributes
Strength 8
Dexterity 10
Constitution 6
Charisma 14
Wisdom 21
Mana 4
Soooo not too shabby, got some potential in me. I must guess here but either 80 is a hard cap for normal people wich i do not have because of the blessing or there is a steep incline in difficulty at the twentys in stats. My dad is around a 45 in strength while my sister is only a 4 My mana is there but it hasent risen at all because i am allways Limiting the mana input to not draw attention from strangers. I have to guess that all to get a grasp because i do not possess anything identifying related as skill so guessing it is But first how do i conceal my status? Lets see it as an IT guy someone wants to read my proberties while i do not want that per se i could just send false values instead Yes that is it i write an script that will wait for an inspection and will take over the normal response by providing fake Values¡­¡­. [hours go by]
Var Value Output Hidden?
Name Ray Ray
Level 3 2
TitleThe author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Child Chil
Race Human Human
Age 4 5
Sex Male Male
Date of Birth: 21st Goldleaf, 142 CA, Flameday 21st Goldleaf, 142 CA, Flameday
Attributes
Strength 8 2
Dexterity 10 4
Constitution 6 3
Charisma 14 2
Wisdom 21 4
Mana 4 0 YES
And a hidding fuction for atributes i do not want to show up so now almost the same thing i need by skills to be ready for the temple ha!
Skills Level Rank Output Hiding?
Concentration 10 Common 3
Cardio 7 Common 4
Language understanding 6 Very Rare 0 YES
Language Speaking 7 Very Rare 0 YES
Godess Blessing 1 [MAX] 0 YES
Meditation 6 Common 1
Running 4 Common 2
Climbing 5 Common 0 YES
Swordmansship 1 Common 0 YES
Wresling 1 Common 0 YES
Endurance 5 Common 3
Muscle training 3 Common 0 YES
Well what the hell so many skills i am a child how the¡­..the blessing you have a hidden aspekt right i can accumulate skils not only as many as i want but i get them faster¡­right? i guessed but there is no response welll it was worth a try. Anyway i smiled and began to edit a last detail i wanted ''?Secured by Knox'' I set this on the rim of the status ah yes i love this pun already. After testing it with testing scpripts and the terminal i got everything working i even added a GUI list like my quest log to toogle the scripts i have And i already added a Spell book for spell manegment and a hot bar with voice activation this pseudo programming via imagination and scripting is pretty good but i still need some spells or aktive skills! I look outside the window and freeze fuck it is already night! Time to sleep! [the next day] Well now that my status is concealed i am able to get past at least the status check but i also have to conceal the mana cores inside my heart my mana Vein is a no factor in this circumstance Mana is flowing trough everything but the mana vein is able to imbue the will of a caster into the surounding mana and i also can expell mana with my will that means if i am not using mana with my mana vein it is like it does not exsist so my only problem is hiding my mana core system And for that i need to know more¡­¡­..and a 4 year old boy does not have a tutor¡­¡­maybe my mum can help me she said her self she was a "high healer" whatever that means. But how do i oh hold on i got an idea! When i concentrate a bit of mana inside my eyes¡­. JEP! That is just almost too easy now Magical vision or at least mana Vision or what ever that is is pretty cool everything is almost dyed in a light blue mist i expect normal mana to be blue so i see it as blue i guess but then why are there green brown and there red specs of mana? Oh hell no dont tell me i can already see elemental Alingment of the mana? Ok ¡­whoa! I froze at the sight of my mum i lost the concentration needed for the mana Vision but i saw a beautifull golden collor mixed with blue and green radiating from my mum. My dad had nothing al least nothing i did notice my siblings where also almost without mana but mum holy¡­.wait was that holy or divine mana? If yes i might have problems to learn from her because i am completly blue hmmmmmm "mum?" i askesd and my mother looked at me "Yes Ray?" she responded. "can we go. a walk?" i asked really subtle i know but hey it works because "sure just let me finish the laundry ok ray?" she said and i just smiled and began helping her "i will help" i just said dumpfunding my mother because she never witnessed me helping in chores. [a bit later] Jepp my mum took the bait well i dont have anything bad in mind we are walking around in the forest near the village because i find it more secluded from other foilks and what i am doing is better done alone with her soooo l here i go "mum?" i asked "yes ray?" she asked while i startet my mana vision well aware that my mum might pick this up so close to me so i looked at her and cocked my head "what is this?" "what is what?" she asked confused so i pointed at her and said "why are you shining like sun? Dad and brother and sister not" well here i go lets see ¡­.did i just see the pupils of my mother forming slits?! **blink** nope they did not holy was i scared for a second. My mother picked me up i was still pretty light even for a 4 year old but my muscles are build and defined with clothes i am still a normalo but naked i would be a great athlete. My mum is looking me deep in the eyes i do not blink still cocking my head i am still your cute son even if i am older inside! "are you already using mana vision?!" my mum asked "mana what?" i asked faking being unknown well mana vision confirmed but hey "mana?" i asked while my mum eyes widen and now she ponders well i guess she ponders if she should tell a child but hey i am no normal child so i put on extra pressure with a cute and pleading "tell me mum please?" and oh hell yea that was effective verry verry effective holy moly my mum began an extensive tutoring monologe for me and hell yea i was taking notes in my information tab almost all day long! Well lets just say dad was not amused because dinner was not ready in time but with a cute look and a bit of antics he was back to normal happy dad everyone has tough days i guess in any world. Chapter 5 - Learning and a bit of truth [Date: 9th Hayturn, 147 CA, Flameday.] 2 weeks has gone by now and i guess i got the fundamentals from mum now. to sumarize typical chanting imagination of magic circle with runes and geomatrical constructs to cast a spell well to hell with that i bet my life on it that all that is just unessecary. imagination is key in here the cicle runes and constructs are just ways to lead the imagination into an pre determined way. sure casting in this way is uniform and the mana consumption is always the same. but i bet that i can also make that happen with only my willpower and concentration. chantless and suptle spells are aparently a thing and my mum told me only the mighty are able to do it. but hell i bet they are only able to do it because they ''mastered'' the spells to that point. but what if you train yourself to make your spells to be variable like the imagination you posess from the beginning. well i imagine i will need more training than others but i will in the end be faster in chast time and i can rapid fire spells and multicast diferent spells the more i master my way of casting. well at least that is what i say to myself because my mother taught me a simple light spell without her knowing. lets just say i eperiment with it in the night I alrady looked inside my system terminal at the ligh spell and¡­ lets just say fuck it either that thing is encrypted or already written in Maschine code or what ever that thing is written in because i am not able to decipher it in the editor i have¡­. No Editable magic spells for the time but i will keep my eyes open for the oportunity in that direction. [later] Well i might have shooked my mum again because she took me out again ans asked me "Ray what happened to your mana?" I cooked my head at first but then i remembered that i isolated my mana cores in a sphere of mana to isolate them emitting mana and i evenly distrepute the mana that is catched that way inside my body to a layer so it would only look like my body is mana rich but not capable of magic appearantly a mana rich body at a young age is a good sign for a guard because of fast muscle growth. my dad also had that appearently while now he is only a strong normal man almost no mana left in his body he will still out perform most normal guys. "i hid it" i told the truth because my mom was already aware of my mana cores. "but why?"that was the point where she was fist mildly stunned by my wordsYou could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. "because i don''t want to leave the family" i said dropping the act of cute speaking and leaving words out. That shoocked my mother to the core because first she heard me say clearly what i want and second she got flashbacks at the talk she had with dad at least that is what i guess. "ray you¡­" she begann and i smiled a little and interupted her. "can speak clear?" i nodded "yes mum and i heard what you spoke with dad about kids after their fifth brithday" "so?" she asked still mouth aghast. "i Decide to hide it. I will Learn in my own ways, over time with my family, here. No one and nothing will force me away" The last sentence was said while my face morphed in to a grimm dark face at least as dark a Child face can change to. What prompted my mother to hug me. I leaned my face against the shoulder of my mum and spoke again. "mum as you can see i think diffently than other kids i am more mature and honestly i fear to traumatize other children in any way because of the way i am thinking" I said and i feel the hug tighten "i am not sure how or if i am ever able to explain to you why i am how i am but i love you mother" " ray but dont phrase it like that it almost feels like a goodbye" my mum said shakenly "lets say a goodbye to ray the baby and hello to ray the too matue child?" i asked with a smile and i feel the nod of my mother on my tiny shoulder "i will need training mum Maybe your permission to play in the woods maybe becomming the local hunters apprentice sword training from father healer training from you mum i want to learn as much as i can for one i want to learn what i am good at and for two i want to be able to protect you dad and my cute siblings while they will most likley think the other way around at me" both me and mum chuckled at that because it was a bit surreal for a 4 year old to have this train of thought but my mum understood how i got to this train of thought at least i think she did. After a few moments of silence my mom sighed "ok ray" she released me from her hug but still had her hand on my shoulders while looking inside my eyes "you want an healers education ok you want dads sword knowlede ok hunter aprentice ok i can live with all that but you my son will not get the normal healer course you will get a battle healer course after the temple assessment you will live trough hell untill i am satisfyed ok ray?" she said her fiery look in her eyes, this flame i did not know in them sends chills down my spine but i grinned and nodded "exactly what i wanted mum" she grinned also "and dont tell dad he would not react well" she said to me what promted another nod from me. "ok go ray i will give you your permission for the woods but you have to stay in an 1.5 kilometer radius to the village and you have to be back before sundown ok??" "yes mum!" i promted "good off you go, steel yourself and let me handle dad on that matter" she said while she tapped my back to prompt me to go. And off i got sprinting making my mana circulate in the vein and mana cores rotated in max output. My mum stayed back a smile on her lips "i already tought so but he is already mana output vise on paar with me" She muttered to herself "i will have to step up the game 10 notches if i have to train him then. Or maybe¡­" She looked in another direction with a devil grin "time to visit an old friend" Chapter 6 - Body Training in earnest and the Assessment [Date: 10th Hayturn, 147 CA, Waterday.] After a jogg for endurace i slept at home and in the morning after a breakfast im already out the door to the shook of dad and my siblings but my mum hold them back and gave her permission what ever she told them because i was already gone for good for the day. After i was far enough i spurrted my mana maschine into running wild while i trained well i trained in running endurance that what i will most likely need the most in the future. my mana breathing was pretty hard to implement while moving jumping and doing what ever i needed to do but only after a few hours it felt like it was second nature. Sure i had to come back for lunch, while dinner will be my end of training meal. [a few weeks later] I made sure to not go wide on the muscles im not sure how but i guess my will to make a powerfull but normal looking body is inprinting in my body trough mana because i am infusing my whole body with all my mana continually while also mana breathing to regain that mana well i do not regenerate enough mana to keep it up but i am close to it. I had also a few days with mom telling me and showing me things i learned that all mages are capeable of turning pure mana to life mana and showed it to me and i picked it up in almost no time after i saw it and felt it she also gave me a simple healing spell for scratches and little things like muscle ache called "minor heal" and anatomical knowledge will boost the effectiveness of such spells while the curch will not aknoledge that fact because they use normaly divine mana for such spells wich is off the table for me because all Advanced priests can feel divine mana on a whim and it is not possible to hide it properply. Which is why we will wait for after the assessment before i will dabble in that region of mana. and while i did not advance my mana pools i did train my mana control sensibility and burst output through every day while still advancing the veil of mana that saturated my whole body flesh and muscle [Date: 25th Goldleaf, 147 CA, Solday.] My birthday on the 21th well that was not really worth mentioning my dad was still confused were i would go and what i did out there but hey he heard from mum that i wanted a wooden sword and i got one for my size well lets just say my brother got a bit of a payback while i still hid my true potential from others my mom well she was aware and my dad welll he not im not sure if he should ever find out but today whas the day of the great revealation as the temple called it. Big fat bunguss by the way had a talk with mum what in the status should stand so that i know if i fucked up or not when my status poped up and lets just say i prepared. Well the temple got here on the 24th and put up a little town of tents for the escorts and such and a giant shrine tent for the assessment. Already going inside the giant tent was pretty annoying because i felt 5 looks on me instantly and i felt the priests mana concentrating in their eyes ''look at them looking me up like i am some kind of treasure almost drooling'' well i am but i will not be their treasure. The ceremony was slow and anoying with lots of talk about their god Solas i just tought while they berated us with curch propaganda ''fuck off priests i will chose my belive based on respekt if your god will grace me with his blessing so will i be inclined in sending him prayers of graditute but i will not be persuaded with nice words and false promises'' A bit of my old world education showing in that train of tought. And finally they begann the assessment and i checked my status one last time and holy fuck really? [Soulas''s Blessing lv.1] I scampered in my brain to open the conceal function i dubbed it and hid that as fast as i could. In my head i said ''first of all thank you solas what ever your blessing is doing i will use it wisely and hopefully to your satisfaction but i have to say really you almost fucked me over with this one!'' Now i belive that the gods are lisenting in on us humans or at least in this tent maybe they need a shrine or a holy ground in the area to do that or what i do not wish to consider that is just a blessing a high ranking priest can dish out as he wishes. Well a few kids were needing an assessment because it is held only 5 years after at least 2 births were reported in an village so i lucked out on that one but hey my sister also needed an assessment and the assessment is done behinde a divider curtain because of personal information and such things apearently even the priest is sworn by an oath to keep quiet about them but i call bullshit on that if they are taking kids who have too good stats like my parents said!If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. So nope did not see the status of my sister but my turn came as last why because those priest most likely wanted me to go last for fucks sake i was annoyed at that and i needed to try pretty hard to not get riled up to much so that my mana hiding is still intact. And those eyes are watching me like hawkes ''holy look somewhere else!'' Still schooling my face into an curious glance as my time arrived i get going behind the divider was another priest a table a kristal and a chair for me so i sat down on that watching the priest who smiled first "hello i am ray" i introduced myself stunning the priest first "do you already know how the assessment is going to work?" he asked me ''joke question asshole it is not allowed for the parents to Prepare their kids for the assessment'' "no" i cocked my head and stared at the priest with still curios eyes who cuckled "well then ray i am High Priest Soulburn" he introduced himself and my mind recoiled ''Soulburn really'' i mean cool either he is from a noble family or whatever i mean that name is more english than ever " it is easy ray just place your hand on that kristal please" he instructed me and i did as he said and schwubs i saw in my log window requests flooding in and my fake information being send by the script who took those requests ''ha got you baited temple!'' i said in my head. And here it comes reading it in mirror mode is a bit difficult but i dont have to because my false status poped up also on my side of the table
Name Ray
Level 3
Title Child
Race Human
Age 5
Sex Male
Date of Birth: 21st Goldleaf, 142 CA, Flameday
Attributes
Strength 3
Dexterity 4
Constitution 5
Charisma 2
Wisdom 3
?Secured by Knox
I let out a "ohhh ahh what is that?" in false surprised well i was good in that charisma is one of my highest stats so the priest bought it "that is your status ray lets seee hmmmm" he read my status and i saw they did not request any skill data so this assessment is realy only the normal atributes or do they not have any way to accsess skill lists? "you are running around a lot he ray" he mused "apearently you might be a good hunter dexterity and constitution make a good combination for that kind of profession or making clothes might suit you" he said which let me pause "and guard like father?" i asked in wich the priest shakes his head with a sigh "unfurtonatly no your stregnth is not high enough to be a guard im sorry ray" i looked down in mock disapointment and internaly i am enraged ''you asshole just skipped the part in wich my whole body is infused in mana so my stregth is no problem and i can build my body up to that point shalachtan! Trickster, Liar!'' "ok" i broght out sobbing because i turned that anger into sadness because now i know those asholes have most likley lied to all in the village about their profession choices. Later i will turn that later back into anger and then into more training more "ist ok ray" the priest said and tapped the kristall to close the status "jack" he asked another priest in "jes High priest Soulburn?" the other one said "ray here is good to go back to his family" And by that i stood up and walked off to my family knowing well inside that i won "and do you know a god by the name of knox?" ''what?'' "do you mean Nyx?" ''?hm duplex what?'' "no Knox little ray here has a patreon called Knox we might need to inform the central curch that there might be a new god on the rising by the name of knox" ''no way! No fucking way! nyx is a thing here hopefully they dont find out that Knox is also a nyx synonym'' back at my parents The spiel i and my mom put on display was really heart wrenching and at home alone i glared in the direction of those priests i took mom for a walk and walked far away before i talked to her and she almost fell on her butt of shock as i told her that these assholes of priests most likly lied to all in the village while they still said things that are considerable it was most likely never the best choice as i explained that the high priest never mentioned my mana infused body while all starred at me with their mana vision. And they did not explain the status more but my mom asked what there is more to explain. Wich brought me to a grinding halt in my tirade of anger i looked at mother and had both eye brows rised. "you know you can acsess your own status if you think about it in the right way like a glass plate infront of your vision where your status is being able to be displayed right??" i asked and my mother eyes widden "wait" she just said and went pale "it worked wait we had accsess to it ourselfs? The entire time?" now i was flabbergasted "you mean assessments and checking up on how one is doing is only being available via these Kristalls?" my mom nodded wich made me pale "please let us use this as family secret because i already see thausend ways in wich the curch may hunt us because of that knowledge" she nodded still pale "i never knew" she said and i just said blankly "nobody here at least did" wich let her look at me again "ok ray i did not want to do this but you need to meet someone" wich brought me again in my thoughts to a halt "who" my mother laughed "just come i wanted to wait a bit but i think you need him now because you are already way above what i know in terms of knowledge" My mom got moving and i followed her and we walked in silence also because my thoughts are now doiing 200 miles per hour curch mum meeting someone all that flooded my mind and it is a bit much together with the white burning fury i have in me because of those church fuckers. I lost track but certainly we went around 15 kilometers into the woods and i saw a clearing before us my mum stayed outside the clearing and bowed i saw in the clearing animals many animals Wolfs, Deer, rabbits, raven and other a surreal picture all these animals are laying sitting or relaxing around an statue? Of a being it looks alien ancient and the statue is covered in moss grass and vines who do i meet here and to who does my mum bow to? Chapter 7 - Meeting a stranger My tought bought to a grinding halt as a deep male etherial voice spoke inside my head "Celia i See you brought your son come" All the animals began to stand and trott away from the clearing While my mum stood back up and begann walking i stand ther stunned but trotted behind my mum ''what just happened'' i asked inside my head "telepathy?" i asked aloud and the deep male voice awnsered "yes Young Ray but do not be alarmed i will not read your toughts" Wich put me at a bit of ease where the hell did my mother bring me My mom sit in front of the statue and my mind just screamed ''not another god please!'' But i sit beside my mother and she said "ironslava Del Garda Demonica this is ray my son" she introduced me while ironslava chuckled "but but Celia High priest of the sun and Saintess of the pure heart i thought we already dropped the honorifics as friends" well that let my mom wince and i knew i will never ask about that part of her life. "well ray call me iron i am going to be your master from today onwards" ironslava said to me and i was quick on the uptake "sooo you will teach me magic?" in wich iron chuckled again "not quite i will train you in body mind soul and magic but before that i need to see i am sorry ray" he said and i wanted to ask why but then the statue moved a tiny bit and two tiny beads of light looked at me and a heavy splitting headache hit me while a system alert ringed in my ears since when did i had that implemented? I did not know but the massage read [You are Being inspected by a Being Far Outside Your Realm] And i saw in my log that there where no requests just accsess events "hmmm i see mana core and vein status hiding loved by two gods already good stat growth when i let you be you would at least reach diamond rank as adventurer" iron mused while i rang withe the pain and my mum winced by that display with a knowing glance while also looking happy by the words iron said. The pain faded as fast as it came and iron spoke while i gasped for air "ray i know it did hurt but now i know how i will train you rest for today tomorrow morning your first Lecture will beginn ok?" i was still gasping but i got an "got it" out while my mom stood up and smiled "Thank you iron we will take our leave here" and it almost felt like the air moving alone was a nod and my mother helped me out because this pain is not completly subsiding. [while ray and his mother are gone] Out the shadows of a tree a dog emerged not full on clad in furr but red hot skin flames draping around the body like the missing furr but the flames does not burn anything around that dog ironslava chuckled "conan what does a hellhound like you do here" and a even deeper male voice is sounding "just checking on the father of a friend" conan said and Iron chuckled again "well i might come back in a few decades what is my son up to?" he asked "your son is begging the Council of Tel''esmere to send help to Railan who are currently on the brink of an Void invasion" in wich ironslava made a sound like Clicking his tonge "damn Dimension Politik bastards let me guess too mana intensive" in wich the dog nodded "lets seeee i will need 10 years here wich means hmmmmmmm 4 monts over there tell korren to rip his brother from Tel''esmere and tell them i will act and Railan just needs to hold out no word to the queen or council of Tel''esmere for all i care the current generation can bite the dust that is the tenth time they refused aid because of trivial mana matters at this point a rebellion is likely and we all know no guardian demon will stand in the way of such things ah and tell koren and Akorabi that they should ready all i will peform the wrath of the guardians army spell there" conan the hellound nodded and turned away to deliver the massages while iron mused again "fucking voidlings want a beating after only 3 centuries well that will make me my millennium" [ray on the way back home with his mother] I still feel like crap but the pain does slowly subside "mum who did we just meet ?" i asked in a whisper "you mean what not who ray he only once told me what he was. Iron is a gardian demon to be precise a guardian demon god the first of three the highest possible ranking as far as i know and that is pretty much all i know about them at least it feels like there are more of them somwhere not even sure why they call themselfes demons because they are most certainly not agressive like monsters or other demons i met and iron even trained me in healing magic he is the only reason why i made it to high priest"Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. "wait there are monsters and other demons?" i stumbled but was catched by my mother "calm ray jep here is pretty safe because iron is nearby the monsters evade this area because of him but you shoiuld more concentrate on your training you have to do tomorrow" mom said smiling "wait what do we tell father ?" mom laughed at that "tell him in a few months that an excentric hast found you training and that he is training you" "excentrics are also a thing ? Now nothing is going to surprise me anymore" i said in defeat while the pain finaly numbed enough that i could normaly walk again wich sped up our travle time. "but hey ray you never told me two gods had an eye on oyu" i winced by that statement "well as far as i know i only got two blessings from two gods now and i do not even know what the second blessing is going to do." i said sheeplishy "then you can check that right do it now i want to know com on" she begann pecking me with her finger into the side "mom hey mom stoooop" it feels like my mother has become younger now an i was glad so i finaly checked my status for real.
Name Ray
Level 5
Title Child
Race Human
Age 5
Sex Male
Date of Birth: 21st Goldleaf, 142 CA, Flameday
Attributes
Strength 12
Dexterity 20
Constitution 25
Charisma 16
Wisdom 25
Mana 10
?Secured by Knox
Skills Level Rank
Concentration 20 Common
Cardio 10 Common
Language understanding 6 Very Rare
Language Speaking 7 Very Rare
Godess''s Blessing 1 [MAX]
God Soulas''s Blessing 1 [MAX]
Meditation 25 Common
Running 15 Common
Climbing 20 Common
Swordmansship 1 Common
Wresling 5 Common
Endurance 30 Common
Muscle training 40 Common
Mana Sense 10 Uncommon
Mana Vision 15 Uncommon
Mana Control 20 Uncommon
Transmute Mana 5 Rare
Prodigy 1 [max] Uncommon
Genius 1 [max] Rare
Spellwork 4 Rare
Silent Casting 10 Very Rare
Spell Casting 10 Rare
"holy shiiit" i said out loud while stopping wich my mother looked at me a bit at worry "what ray tell me" "?hhmm how should i put this im level 5 as a child my attributes has shot up considerably i mean nothing is under 10 i fell like i should never play with children my age and how the fuck did i get a skill to level 40?" "wait you can see your skills?" "?hmm yea same princible with the main status" "i will try that later" "so lets see Soulas''s blessing" Skill Soulas''s Blessing lv.1 [MAX] - a gift from the god Soulas you are released from the boundaries of most Mortals. you are able to aquire as many skills as you want and your attribute limits from race and class are Surpassable with the needed effort. [multiple skills of that Kind will lower the needed effort significantly] My mouth aghast was appearently enough for my mother to raise a brow "Ray?" she asked and i snapped out of it "?hhh jea mom ?hmmm it is the same like the first blessing first i am released by my mortal boundaries wich means i can get as many skills as i want and second i can surpass what limit my race or class would normaly put me in attribute wise with an added effort and apearently the more blessings of that kind i get the easier it is for me to raise my stats" At wich point my mom begann rubing the bridge of her nose "so you mean" "i will be a power house without a doubt and i fear others might see me as a monster if i ever go all out mom" "ok now i know exactly why you dont want to play with other kids but ray" she said with a smal smile "yes mom?" i asked "you are my son there is no way i would ever see you as a monster" I laughed at that "mom say that to dad after i beat him when i am 10 years old" at wich point my mom laughed as well "ok you won that is really hard to explain then but dont over do it your dad only has a better body than normal people" "by the way what did you tell dad because of the assessment" wich made my mom smile "i just told him i had a good conversation with the high priest of my former order" she winks at me and i laughed "ok lets go home mom i need sleep for my hellish training tomorrow" in wich she nodded and we made a rather fast walk back now.