Chapter 1: Reborn

Chapter 1: Reborn

The details of the accident were largely lost to Ethan.

One moment, he was strolling down the sidewalk, the next instant every fibre of his being wrenched in an ungodly pain. A bone-chilling coldness seeped in, making him regret every second he was alive.

Wait, am I even alive?

Ethan was unsure. He barely had any recollection of what had transpired. The last thing he remembered was returning from school when something struck him blind. And hard. He thought he heard snapping echoes of bones cracking, then all he sensed was the darkness and the agony.

Soon, the memory resurfaced. Ethan remembered being in a car accident.

Well, fuck!

He was on the phone, talking to a friend of his. What was his name again? Was it Jim or Sophia? Either way, it mattered not who he was talking to; his eyes had been on the path. Hell, he was not even on the street, creeping along the sidewalk as he usually did, with his apartment being less than a mile away from school.

Yet some motherfucker went out of his way from the street to crash into him, ripping the very life out of him.

Abruptly, a booming voice struck him, accompanied by strings of flickering texts.

[Anomaly detected.][Initiating combat measures...][Error.][Purging premature consciousness][Operation failed.][Initiating second phase...]

"Can’t you shut up already?" Ethan cried.

[Overwriting system protocol...]

He swore. Can’t even let him die in peace, can’t they?

He had no clue what in the world that was supposed to be, but at least the loudmouth stopped, the glittering text fading from his sight. Only the silence of the void kept him company.

Wait! Ethan snapped. Come back! You can’t just leave me all alone here.

Neither the glittering text nor the voice returned. But, to his surprise, the chilling coldness receded. Not only that, a comfortable, cosy warmth filled his chest.

Then the wrenching agony tormented him once again. A wail escaped his mouth involuntarily. Then came a flurry of lights, so bright that they blinded him. Through bleary eyes, he could only make out blurry shadows moving around him.

Perhaps the mad driver had not been as thorough as he had imagined. Ethan could not help but hope. Perhaps there was still a chance at life.

But fuck this pain! He cried like a baby, the sound grating even to his own ears, but stopping seemed to be beyond his control.

With the hellish torment crawling through every fibre of his being, would it even be worth living? Even if he was not bedridden for the rest of his life, Ethan did not think he would ever be in any condition to play football again.

But for the love of God, don’t you people have anaesthesia? Hit me with the highest dose already.

All that screaming seemed to work. His misery faded, and in its place, warmth and a cosy air surrounded him, keeping him alive for a little longer. Finally at peace, Ethan let the darkness swallow his thoughts as his consciousness faded into deep sleep.

Time passed in a flurry. He was unsure if he was in a coma, but time and time again, he would wake in a fit of cries and see blurry lights and silhouettes moving around him. At least the pain had stopped tormenting him, though the powerlessness still lingered. He was even helpless to twitch a muscle.

Until one day, his eyes cleared.

Ethan found himself in a situation that went beyond anything he had ever encountered. He was not in a hospital, nor was he in a coma. No, no. He was now trapped inside a newborn baby.

He was struck dumb for minutes. Instantly, his mind went to the various religious connotations of rebirth. Even if rebirth or reincarnation were true, people did not get to keep their memories, did they?

Well, his mind was hazy, a thick cloud shrouding it. But still, Ethan felt more whole than he should be.

He did not even believe in Buddhism, or was it Hinduism that spoke of the gospel of reincarnation? Besides, as far as he was aware, his karma credit should not be high enough to be reborn as a human again. Well, he had never done any harm intentionally. As for all the good, there was nothing of note other than donating a few pounds here and there.

The best chance he would give himself was a dog or a cat, not a stray one, but a pet of some good family.

Wisecracks aside, his mind drifted to the alien voice he had heard. Something about anomaly and premature consciousness. So it had nothing to do with religion?

Despite the suspicion, he could not confirm anything. Racking his brain for an answer only brought a tinge of pain and a headache that could only be quelled by going back to sleep.

The days passed in a blur. Most of it was spent sleeping. Some days, he barely had any recollection of waking. The few waking hours were spent feeding, defecating, crying for reasons unknown even to him, or ruminating on those troublesome thoughts.

He did not know how many days it took for his eyes to finally adjust. Nowadays, he could make out some details. He had to squint a bit, but he could finally remember the visage of his mother. She had a pale, pretty face, her hair fair and blond and always in a braid. She looked to be no older than twenty-five. There was a little girl always at her side whenever she attended to him. Although she was young, barely seven or eight, the resemblance in their features indicated she could only be his elder sister.

More figures came and went into the house; some of them even glared at Ethan as though he owed them money, but not a single one of them matched a fatherly figure.

Ethan was unsure what to think about that. If anything was to go by from the father of his previous life, then perhaps it was better not to have one.

Shaking his head free of those idle thoughts, Ethan concentrated on more productive ones. Looking at the plastered walls, the luminescence, and the ever-present warmth radiating through the room, he could safely assume that he had won the reincarnation lottery, that he was born into a well-off family.

Now that his brain functioned a little better, he began to count the days. It was the eleventh afternoon when his mother took him outdoors to get some fresh air. She made a habit of it, cradling him in her arms as they sat outside, either on the porch or the swing, or on a stroll through the neighbourhood. Ethan liked it outdoors, but his gaze would always remain skyward if his mother allowed it, as if trying to catch the number of stars in the deep cerulean sky.

Actually, he did catch two suns for once or twice. Even now, although he could not see both of them with his head cradled to one side, he could glimpse the radiance coming from the other direction, equally as potent, perhaps only overshadowed by the colossal, island-like structures hanging in the sky.

Of course, he was not on Earth.

From that day on, he kept his eyes turned towards the striking blue sky whenever he was outside. There were indeed sometimes two suns in the sky. They were almost identical, though he suspected there could be more than two, judging by how they drifted throughout the day.

That got him thinking. Clearly, he was not on Earth, despite the similarities he could draw from the memories of his previous life.

Now, what did two or more suns mean for him?

Well, his mother and all the other adults did not seem too worried about it, and they were living in comfort. So it was safe to assume nobody was waiting for him to solve the n-body problem here. Not that he remembered being good at maths.

Time passed painfully slowly, especially once his head had some clear ideas about his surroundings and new life. There was not much to do aside from pondering the many mysteries of this world. They did not seem scientifically advanced enough to figure out artificial gravity, so how in the gods’ name were those blocks of land hanging in the air? Even the answers to how many household appliances worked were largely lost to him.

One afternoon, they were all resting on the porch. Ethan was on his sister's lap, and their mother was sewing some new woollen clothes for the winter, when the noise of horse hooves clattering reached his ears.

He opened his eyes and found a whole company of soldiers drawing closer to their house. The horses faltered just before the fence, and a tall figure in white-clad armour stepped forward. Ethan stared at the man and, curiously, found he was staring right back at him, a collection of raw emotions flowing in his eyes.

With one step, he cut the distance between them and reached out to grasp him. And his sister even allowed it. The man was incredibly careful with him, supporting him fully with both of his large palms.

Ethan stared at the man suspiciously. He had a stupidly handsome face with a chiselled jaw and sharp nose. His ebony-brown hair was cut short, complementing his slightly darker skin tone. A long sword was latched onto his back, which brought a line between Ethan’s brows.

From the architecture of the houses and the homely appliances, Ethan could tell that the world was not far behind Earth in technology, perhaps only missing smartphones and computers. They should have already invented guns and gunpowder. Then what was the sword for? It did not seem like a ceremonial accessory either, not with the tough armour covering him.

All those thoughts played in his mind when the man leaned in to kiss the top of his head. Meanwhile, his sister had already hugged him.

The soldier turned towards his mother and smiled warmly before returning him to her more comfortable arms, but not without exchanging a passionate kiss.

Well, that proved it, Ethan thought. Perhaps his father was not a bastard after all.

He was a soldier of some high command, the leader of the whole company, it seemed, as, under his orders, more of those people entered their courtyard with boisterous laughs and congratulations. They even came bearing gifts.

So, a respectable man among his company as well.

After a little exchange, they went about their way, leaving their leader some alone time with his family. The first thing his father did after entering was to remove his armour. While Ethan had some interest in its build, what stupefied him was how each piece seemed to vanish into thin air at the wave of his palm.

Ethan blinked. Even when the boots and the last few pieces disappeared one by one, he still stared in utter bewilderment.

That had to be magic. There were no other explanations for it. Or perhaps their science had advanced to such an unfathomable degree that it seemed like magic to a layman.

Unknowingly, an unimaginable amount of excitement filled his heart, so much so that he wiggled his little arm towards the man.

His father smiled at him, said something incoherent to his ears, and walked off to the other room.

Come on! he cried. You just piqued my curiosity. You can’t just leave like that.

His mother too handed him to her older child before going after him.

With their father finally home, even his sister wasn't too eager to take care of him. Lying him in the crib, she began sifting through all the presents his father’s companions had gifted.

An incredible amount of childish fury coursed through his mind. How can you all leave like that? he thought, feeling all the powerlessness in his body.

I guess I can only succumb to the only power I have right now.

Ethan tried to clear his throat, then opened his mouth and cried at the top of his lungs, rolling in his crib. He was so unbridled that his head bumped against the wood, and then the tears came unbidden. He was now crying for real. His fragile form could not even endure the barest of knocks.

His mother came running, shouting at her daughter. She cradled him in her arms, patting his back soothingly, when the other person joined with only a towel hiding his dignity. It appeared he had come straight from the middle of a bath.

Gazing at him awkwardly, Ethan shut up. His father drew closer and rubbed the red patch of skin on his head. A translucent light flickered from his palm and spread across Ethan’s head.

His heart quivered, feeling a warm, soothing energy easing the little bruise. In no time, the pain was gone, leaving only the warm sensation of energy coursing over his scalp.

Healing magic?

Before Ethan could come to a conclusion, something else pricked at his being. He jerked, but the sensation remained the same. It was only like a light touch, but it made him uncomfortable nonetheless.

[Would you like to learn Mana Sense (Copper)?][Accept | Decline]

Ethan arched an eyebrow, looking at the mysterious disembodied text gleaming before his eyes.

His parents betrayed no outward expression that suggested they had seen anything out of the ordinary. It was almost like a video game HUD, only far more mysterious. The letters were runic, esoteric even. He could not even be sure if they were in English, yet he could interpret them all the same.

The tabs of “accept” or “decline” glared before his eyes.

Tentatively, Ethan concentrated on the Accept tab. Yessss?

[Skill gained: Mana Sense (Copper)][+10 EP][Human Tier 0 (0 → 10/300)]

A warm, fuzzy sensation flooded through his body, and before he knew it, Ethan was arching his back. It seemed to course through his veins, raising his body temperature by a couple of degrees, giving a sensation close to intoxication. The thought of how these alien texts could interpret his inner thoughts barely brushed his mind.

[Congratulations. You have gained your first Copper skill. As per Arcanum’s Edict, you have gained access to your Status.]

Then a larger, expanded window opened before his eyes.

Chapter 2: Choices

Chapter 2: Choices

Ethan stared at the disembodied screen of runic scripts. A suspicion and many conspiracies crawled through his mind, but he held them down, his eyes fixed on the glaring text. If not for the days he had spent as an infant, he would have believed he had gone insane.

Still, something like this was completely beyond him. Then again, compared to his reincarnation, a video game's status window seemed more believable.

Ember Blackstone

Human - Tier 0 (Progress: 10/300)

Class: N/A

Titles: N/A

Mana Foundation: Unformed.

Attributes:

Might: 0.1

Speed: 0.3

Will: 6.2

Insight: 5.7

Mystic: 4.5

Immunity: 0.2

Class Skills:

General Skills: [Skill Slots: 3/6]

Copper: Mana Sense +1

Boons:

System Access I

Affiliation: House Blackstone - Seynhold (Tier 5)

He frowned at the name at the top of the screen. Is that the name they have given me? He thought. Well, Ember certainly sounded better than Ethan. Hopefully, it was common in this world, or he might be ostracised for being a chunni.

His attributes seemed lacklustre at best, except for Will, Insight, and Mystic, perhaps. Well, what could he have expected from a baby? Definitely not shooting fireballs any time soon. Ember glared at each section, hoping for more information to appear. Sadly, there seemed to be no “hover or toggle for more information”.

His eyes dropped to the new skill he had learned, and finally, something appeared.

[Mana Sense (Copper) : +1The ability to sense mana around you and within you.]

That was something, though he was a little peeved to learn he had already spent half of his skill slots. And there was only one skill he had learned. Even with his feeble mind, he could do the maths.

Three skill slots seemed unnecessarily high for a skill like Mana Sense. But if all the RPG rules he knew applied… There should be a way to increase the skill slots.

Hey, is there a way to increase the skill slots? He asked the void. Come on, disembodied god of RPG. Answer me, please.

To his surprise, more texts flickered onto the screen.

[Hint: You can gain more skill slots as you evolve your Race.]

That’s good to know, he muttered internally. Umm, what do you mean by evolving race? Is it like how I think it is? Like how humans came from monkeys?

Only silence answered him.

Ethan, or rather Ember, darted his eyes to the top of the disembodied page.

[Human: Tier 0 (10/300)Average in strength, average in aptitude, but humans carry the potential to shoot through the abyss and rise among the elder races. At tier 0, you are nothing different from a carbon-based sapient animal.]

Hmm, does that mean with enough attribute points and mana, I will turn into a pure being of energy or something?

The better question was how to get more points to meet that 300 progression mark. He remembered gaining the skill had granted him those 10 points. So perhaps raising the skill would too. Ember had all the time to test his hypothesis.

With his cries quelled, his parents left him alone once again, with his sister to look after him. Alone in the crib, Ember concentrated, his pupils contracting with seriousness. For a moment, he remained like that. Then a whole new world opened to his senses.

Mana was everywhere.

Thin wisps of it floated in the air. Some concentrated around his elder sister, while many more seemed attached to the lights, even when they were not glowing.

So they don't use electricity here, huh.

He remembered the skill description said it could help him sense the mana within him as well. Now, how do I look inside?

No amount of concentration opened a way. This time, he was truly stumped. Even after spending almost half an hour, all he gained in return was a weary sense of helplessness and a growing headache. Mana Sense, it seemed, had exhausted all his mental energy, and Ember had no choice but to fall asleep to recover the bare minimum of mental faculty.

When he woke up, it was afternoon. The man of the house had refreshed himself and changed into an easy tunic, now sitting on the couch with his arm around his mother, exchanging soft words and laughter. That was a change of scenery from his previous life. A home where the parents loved each other as they loved their children—what else could he ask for?

Then he saw their lips closing in.

Ember shut his eyes involuntarily. He began to count. One, two, three... all the way to ten, and finally chanced opening one eyelid to peek.

Nope! They were still at it.

You two, come on, get a room already.

Thankfully, the familiar scripts flickered into his view once again, distracting him from the couple.

[Would you like to learn Mathematics (Common)?][Required Skill Slot: 1.]

His delighted expression was soon punctured by a thin line between his brows. His face turned ashen.

So you want me to learn mathematics? And here I thought I had left behind those cursed calculus, differential equations, integrals, and real analysis all the way on Earth.

Nope!

The window disappeared.

Even if it cost one slot, he was not going to waste a precious skill slot on something he was not even good at, not to mention its practical use.

Yes, calculus might have been world-changing back on Earth. But this world had magic, and magic seemed to make physics rather… flexible. There were practically more than two suns and islands floating in the sky.

Only a fool would take mathematics as their foundational skill. One could argue that it would advance his Race. A beggar can’t be a chooser, but he could choose something else instead—something he was actually good at.

Something related to mana would be fantastic, or something he had learned in his old world that might come in handy here as well.

Ember ruminated on the seventeen years of life he had lived. Football was something he enjoyed. He had even been good enough to play at the college level. There were probably no games like that in this world, though he wouldn’t be surprised if they had a Hogwarts version of it somewhere. Not that he was in any condition to play it.

Among the few options he could try, memorisation came to mind, as it could help him remember various words. Ember focused, his mind darting through the subjects he had studied in school. He began with English.

To his delight, the disembodied window opened before his eyes almost immediately.

[Would you like to learn: Focus (Common)?][Required Skill Slot: 1.]

Although Common, compared to Mana Sense’s Copper, it seemed like a useful skill with a wide scope of utilisation. If it could let him focus instantly, then spending a single slot would be more than worth it.

Still, he went through a few mental exercises, trying to recall various stanzas of poems. Surprisingly, the skill prompt he got was not for memorisation.

[Would you like to learn Active Recall (Common)?][Required skill slot: 1.]

Ember looked at the screen suspiciously. If this skill could help him recall more of his past, it would be worth taking. Perhaps there was little useful information in them, but those memories were all his. Even if some were unpleasant, they were still what made him who he was today—Ember, Ethan, an anomaly, whoever he was now.

Perhaps he was being emotional, or perhaps his feeble brain was unable to think right, but he did not hesitate. It wasn’t as if it would not be useful in this life. After all, he planned to learn magic, and that would probably require some form of study.

[Skill acquired: Active Recall (Common) +1][+1 EP]

Wait. Only one point?

Ember cried out loud. Naturally, only a small sound came out. His parents, still cuddling on the couch, opened their eyes to glance at him. Finding nothing unusual, they resumed, while Ember stared at the fading window and then into thin air furiously.

I wasted a skill slot for one point, he thought, clenching his jaw. How am I supposed to advance my race now with only two slots remaining?

The goal seems quite out of reach.

No, there has to be another way. Yes, perhaps training the skill will help.

He pushed for Mana Sense once again, and the skill immediately returned a prickling sensation at the back of his mind. Clenching his little fist, he held on. The agony intensified. Ember let out a forlorn breath, unclenched his fist, and let go.

I guess Active Recall it is.

Before attempting it, he brought up the skill description.

[The ability to recall what you have learned, seen, heard or felt.]

With that, he began, his mind narrating poems of Edgar Allan Poe. He started with his favourite, Alone, setting a forlorn mood. He moved on to A Dream Within a Dream, which was perhaps more fitting for his situation.

He carried on to The Raven, Bells, To Helen, and finally to Robert Frost, Keats, and Dickinson.

He always had a good memory, despite all the brainrot he consumed from social media. But even then, he was surprised at how well he could recall. Was it the skill in use?

He tried to do the same with prose, something he had read at school. Unfortunately, although he could recall the stories in great detail, he could not recollect them word for word.

That’s on you, Scott Fitzgerald.

[Active Recall (Common): 1 → 3.][+5 EPs]

Huh, already? If only Mana Sense had been as easy. But more than that, Ember was elated to find he was gaining experience points from skill growth, and they were not a measly single point.

Still, he opened his status to confirm it.

[Human - Tier 0 (Progress: 11 → 16/300)]

Now that his worries had subsided a little, Ember decided to take Focus as well. It proved to be no problem. He only had to focus a little and the skill prompt opened up once again.

Later, he also found a way to open his system log. It took an hour of mental gymnastics over his status window, but Ember had nothing but time.

It happened in the evening, a couple of days later. Since he could not feel his internal mana, he decided to focus on the outside, specifically the blooming warm light from the light constructs on the wall. There was a deep resonance of mana in them, transferring pure energy into light and heat. So not all physics went wonky with mana.

Regardless, Ember stared at it for as long as his mental faculty allowed, and finally something clicked. For an instant, his senses seemed to penetrate the crystal glass and see many threads of mana weaving in a complicated form. It was so bright that it blinded his Mana Sense.

[Mana Sense (Copper): +1 → 2.][+20 EPs.]

Now his progress stood at: [46/300]

The rest of the points came from getting Focus to the third step and Active Recall to the fourth. The common skills improved far quicker than the Copper one, though the EPs he had gained from Mana Sense almost made it worth it. Moreover, he also noted a pattern: a common skill only gave EPs equal to its denoted mastery, whereas for a Copper skill, it was likely multiplied by ten.

Ember only needed to improve Mana Sense to the third step to confirm.

If this suspicion was true, then advancing would be a breeze. Then, as if to confirm his thoughts, the disembodied screen appeared before his eyes again.

[Would you like to learn Reasoning (Common)?][Required Skill Slot: 1.]

That skill might be useful, but Ember let the message dissipate, as he had his mind on something else. He only had one skill slot remaining after taking Focus and Active Recall, and he had to spend it wisely.

Since unlocking the status, his eyes had been glued to his father whenever he was not practising. His father seemed to have the highest amount of mana concentrated around him. Regrettably, he had shown no more magic. He did not even practise with his sword, despite the broadsword Ember had seen him carry the other day.

His father only meditated for an hour, then instructed his sister—Rain was her name—on various matters, probably mana-related. After the morning session, he would help around the house, making himself useful, either by cutting vegetables or preparing the table. In the evening, he would meditate once again, this time for much longer.

Needless to say, meditation was an important skill for magic. Unfortunately, Ember was too exhausted to try it that night.

The next morning, he meditated with his father. While the adult sat cross-legged in the middle of the room, Ember lay in the comfortable embrace of his crib, focusing on meditation. He had some experience with meditation before and knew the theories behind it, though he had never managed to stick with it. He deemed it would be more difficult than his other skills.

Just have to stick to the basics and not get distracted in the middle of it, he thought, drawing his mind towards a near-thoughtless visualisation.

The distracting thoughts came unbidden—that he could practise other skills right now, when his mind was at its sharpest. When he was exhausted, meditation would prove the much-needed reprieve, killing two birds with one stone.

Focus kept him on track as he visualised the morning light filtering through the window and spreading across his palm, keeping his breathing rhythmic.

Ember was unsure how long he kept at it until a pair of calloused hands lifted him from his crib, breaking his concentration.

The grown man, his father, made a childish face, uttering gibberish words. Ember reckoned he was calling his name, perhaps even asking him to say “Dada,” or the equivalent in this world.

Sadly, Ember’s vocal cords were underdeveloped. All he could manage were a few “yaya” sounds. Still, he kept the words in mind.

As soon as he began to learn the language of this world, he would start getting answers to all the burning questions in his mind. After all, knowledge is power.

As his father brought him outside for fresh air, two prompts appeared before his eyes at once.

[Would you like to learn Meditation (Common)?][Required skill slot: 1]

[Would you like to learn Language Acquisition (Common)?][Required skill slot: 1.]

[Available skill slot: 1.]

Ember had never made a tougher choice. Although he felt that evolving and advancing his race would be easy, it would still take time, considering skill levels were becoming harder to gain as he progressed.

If he took either of them now, the only chance he would get to acquire the other would be after advancing his race. The worst part was that both seemed highly beneficial. Now the decision came down to which one would be the most optimal for the next few months.

Ember even considered leaving a slot open for another skill, but each slot left unused would mean lost time and experience points.

Man, it would be so easy if I could ask someone for guidance.

Chapter 3: Goal

Chapter 3: Goal

Ember was extremely keen when he accepted the skill, not because he feared he had chosen the wrong one. He noted that each time he gained a skill, a strange current would course through him. The skills were probably something more complex than mana, but he was almost certain mana was involved somewhere.

So he concentrated entirely on Mana Sense to perceive anything extraordinary. To his dismay, the sensation was too ethereal and instantaneous. Before he could even glimpse it, it disappeared somewhere into his body.

Ember was not too disappointed, as a similar feeling did coalesce whenever he gained a point in a skill. He would have multiple chances to detect it.

Anyhow, with the new skill, he would have more opportunities to peek at the mysteries. On that note, he had not chosen Language Acquisition.

There were two reasons why he had picked Meditation over it. Firstly, Ember did not believe Language Acquisition would magically help him understand everything once he got the skill, despite mana being part of the equation. He would have to level it up to the third or fourth step, perhaps even further, to understand day-to-day words.

Secondly, he refused to believe he could not learn the common tongue without a skill. Although his experience was meagre, Ember could tell that skills were not unfathomable. The common ones definitely were not, but they did augment whatever they were meant for.

He had no clue whether they could make someone unintelligent into a genius, though that was not his concern.

By his estimate, it would have taken at least three or four months for him to get Language Acquisition to a level where he could understand the local language. And in that time, he would probably be able to meet the requirements for advancing his race.

Another reason for choosing Meditation had been its calming effect and how it resonated with his mind. All his other skills—be it Active Recall, Focus, or especially Mana Sense—required a high amount of mental energy. So if Meditation could rejuvenate his mind more quickly, would that not mean he would have more time and energy to work with?

Knowledge is power, but so is magic.

Considering how much significance his father seemed to give Meditation, it could not be the wrong choice.

With the four skills, Ember fell into a rough schedule. In the morning, he would meditate with his father. Then he would alternate between his common and Copper skills until his mind was exhausted. He would recover his mental energy through meditation again in the evening, followed by a strenuous session of Mana Sense, specifically focusing on the light constructs embedded in the wall.

He was still unable to make out much of their mysteries, but the challenge only made the practice worthwhile. He would keep at it until he was exhausted beyond reason and then go to sleep quite early in the night. New skills or not, being an infant meant his need for sleep was insurmountable. He slept for almost sixteen hours a day.

Other than Mana Sense, Meditation was the hardest skill to master. It took four days and nine long sessions for it to gain another point. Well, all the brainrot he had consumed had to have some horrible effect. Who could have believed that brainrot had gained transcendence across dimensions?

The next level came only a couple of days later, indicating he was right to take Meditation over Language Acquisition. But then he saw his sister getting personal lessons from his father. The girl was not even fully appreciative of it, always running away within half an hour to meet her friends. A sense of envy crawled up his chest unbidden.

And it was not just for magic. After spending so much time with them, he had learned that they were good people. Ember could not deny how much his life depended on them, and with that dependence came a sense of attachment.

His elder sister was eight or nine, brimming with childish energy, but that spontaneity was expected at her age. His mother was more like an old-school housewife. While she did have an air of mana coalescing around her, it was far weaker than his father’s. It hinted that she perhaps had a Class of her own and was only taking it easy to care for him.

As for the man, he still hadn't found a flaw in his character. After their morning meditation session, his father would play with him for an hour. Even Ember himself got tired, but his father showed not even a hint of boredom. He would also rush to heal him whenever Ember got hurt through his miscellaneous shenanigans.

Every time that healing mana coursed through his body, his Mana Sense would tingle. That became evident a week later when he acquired another level in the skill while being healed. Ember swiftly pulled up his status page, praying to the disembodied god of the system. He was glad to see that he was already halfway towards advancing his evolution.

Then one morning, he woke up and found his father swathed in white-clad, knightly armour, a sword on his back.

He's leaving? When will you be coming back? He wanted to ask the question, but he had no way to. Even his little goo-goo gaga only drew a smile from the man as he took him in his arms, drowning him with kisses.

Stop that already, he growled inwardly. I am not even good-looking.

Well, despite both his parents being gorgeous, he was still a little baby, and babies tend to take some months to look cute. As far as he was concerned, he was ugly as muck.

After expressing a few words that eluded him, his father was gone.

Yeah, don’t you worry, Ember said inwardly. I will practise my skills well and will advance before you return.

Unfortunately, to his dismay, stagnation hit him like a sledgehammer.

Ember was at a loss. It had been a whole week since he had gained a point in any of his skills. Both Focus and Active Recall stopped improving once they reached the ninth level. At that stage, his focus was almost impeccable. He could concentrate on anything. If he had something similar in his previous world, it would not be wrong to say he could have become some sort of scientist, discounting personal disinterest, of course.

Meditation slowed down at seven as well. As for Mana Sense, God help him, because Ember could find no way to improve it. It had been two whole weeks, and he had seen no visible progress.

Day or night, whenever he had time, Ember stared at the bulbous lights until tears rolled from the corners of his eyes. But that hardly helped.

And now that his father was gone, he could not even take the shortcut of observing mana when he was being healed.

Who could have thought magic was harder to learn, that it should be largely kept out of the grasp of an infant? But such common sense did not matter much to him. He still kept at it. If Mana Sense did not work, he would move to Meditation and his other skills.

A whole month passed, and in that time, Meditation reached eight, and he finally acquired another point in Mana Sense. Opening his status page, Ember found little change in his attributes, though his eyes fixed unflinchingly on the progress tab.

Ember Blackstone

Human - Tier 0 (Progress: 226/300)

Class: N/A

Titles: N/A

Mana Foundation: Unformed.

Attributes:

Might: 0.1 → 0.2

Speed: 0.3 → 0.5

Will: 6.2 → 6.5

Insight: 5.7

Mystic: 4.5 → 4.6

Immunity: 0.2 → 0.3

Class Skills:

General Skills: [Skill Slots: 6/6]

Common: Active Recall +9 | Focus +9 | Meditation +8

Copper: Mana Sense +4

Boons:

System Access I

Affiliation: House Blackstone - Seynhold (Tier 5)

Just two more points in Mana Sense, and he would have enough EPs to advance. But to his dismay, he was already cutting into the time he had set for his advancement. Perhaps he was not as talented as he had thought. But Ember could put in the hours. The problem had always been the same—he did not have enough energy to train for long. Other than Meditation, all his other skills exhausted him within minutes.

Learning all this, a sensible man would have curbed his ambition. But such thoughts did not even cross his mind. Though dismayed, he carried on, wishing for his father to return the next day.

He did not. But on a lonely evening, he found his sister healing the bruises she had received from her sword practice.

A spark emerged in his eyes. Perhaps there was still a chance of meeting his goal after all.

Chapter 4: Talent

Chapter 4: Talent

Rosanna stomped furiously on her way back home. Only by distracting herself with thoughts of what to make for dinner did she manage to quell the unbridled anger in her chest.

It had barely been a couple of months since Cliff returned to his duty on the northern plains, and they were already cutting resources from Rain, spouting nonsense about her daughter being untalented. As if she were going to believe that. Cliff had told her many times that their daughter had greater talent in mana than him, and he was already on his way to reaching Level 100 in his Knight Class.

Although her familiarity with House Blackstone was minimal despite being married for a decade, she was certain there were half a dozen individuals with subpar talent receiving more hours in the Mana Chamber than her daughter.

It was all her fault, wasn’t it? They were punishing Rain because Cliff had married a commoner, going against everyone’s will.

Power moves everything in the world, and especially so in the high society of Seynhold. Her commoner status would not have mattered much if she had matched her husband in strength. But Rosanna was nothing more than a Level 24 Cook, with no personal strength to speak of. It was only through incessant pleading with her father-in-law that she could secure any opportunity for her daughter.

The abyss curse him! If only the blasted man were half as affable as his son. Half the time she went to meet him, she was not even allowed entry; the other half was spent dealing with her husband’s half-siblings or cousins. It had practically become her daily task to head to the main house and request an audience.

If things were this bad with Rain, Rosanna feared what they would do to Ember, who was born as talentless as her.

On days like these, she could not help but remember her hometown, her life as the cook at Qutel’s Restaurant. Although life was much safer in Seynhold, it had been far simpler back there. At least she would not have to endure those disdainful glances. And if the contempt were not enough, there were the cruel words that sometimes made her regret marrying Cliff.

She never truly felt that way when she was with him, however. Cliff was as honourable as they came, and a more loving husband than she probably deserved. It was his extensive family that caused her much of the worry.

Honestly, it had not been much of a problem when Cliff was low-levelled and worked within the city. After he gained renown, people began comparing how ill-fitting she was as his wife. She had heard worse things than being described as a pretty harlot who had seduced a principled man for her own benefit.

Some days, she truly regretted choosing a lifestyle class. The disdain for such classes in the city was far greater than she had ever imagined.

And yet, she had wanted a safe lifestyle class for her daughter. Rain, now in her ninth year, clearly had no interest in cooking or any other lifestyle path. She wanted to follow in her father’s footsteps and become a gallant Knight.

The girl still had her head in the clouds and did not understand what that meant. Yes, the rewards in levels were greater, but they came with danger. The mortality rate of fighter classes was many times higher than that of lifestyle ones. She might be talented, but it took a different mindset and conviction to walk the path for years.

Cliff, however, was only amused by her antics, which infuriated Rosanna at times. He argued that there were still half a decade before Rain would attain her Class, and that they could curb her ambitions if she proved unfit for a fighter path. But a mother’s duty was to worry.

For better or worse, she would not have to worry about Ember. Rosanna had thought he would be born with at least a Tier 1 or Tier 2. After all, despite her lack of talent, the other half of him came from Cliff, who had achieved Tier 7 years ago.

Regrettably, it seemed Ember had inherited his father’s hair, eyes, and looks, but not his talent. She had received more than her fair share of condemnation for failing to deliver a worthy heir.

Since Cliff had achieved so much, the blame naturally fell upon her. She could only hope her child would not grow up to resent her as well.

Rossana had noticed a trace of disappointment in her husband’s eyes when he first saw Ember. He had recognised it immediately, though his dismay was even less than her own. Unlike the others, he did not look down on those with lifestyle classes.

Still, Rosanna could not deny her frustration at being unable to give him an heir even half as talented as he was.

Her stomping subsided as she neared her home. She froze when the cry of her infant child echoed from within. Casting aside all other thoughts, she rushed inside to find Rain using Minor Healing on Ember.

“Rain!” She shouted in anger. Perhaps it was her frustration, as Rosanna made sure never to raise her voice at the children. “I had barely left for half an hour, and you cannot even take care of him for that long? What was it? It’s already the third time you had to heal him today?”

“It’s not my fault!” the girl whined, making a face. “It’s Ember. What can I do when he likes to beat his head into the floor so much?”

“He’s a child,” Rosanna sighed, rubbing her forehead. “I told you to watch over him.”

“I was watching.”

“You watched him hurt himself?” she asked, a challenge in her tone.

That stopped her daughter in her tracks. “I just went to warm his milk for a moment, and he’s like that.”

Rosanna shook her head. The baby had already stopped wailing and even let out a chuckle, watching them argue.

"Em, does it hurt?"

She was about to take him into her arms for a stroll when his eyes suddenly rolled back, and a piercing cry tore from his throat, his body lurching in pain.

“My baby? What’s happening?”

“I didn’t do nothing, I promise,” Rain quickly said, barely managing to hold the boy in her arms.

Rosanna crouched and took him, immediately feeling the heat radiating from his body. Not just warm--he was burning.

Ember had been a late bloomer. His first words came in his fifteenth month. Yet he was an intelligent and lively child. He rarely cried, and even when he did, it was never like this. On most days, he merely bumped himself against things in his restless wandering. Even now, there were no visible wounds on his body.

Yet in her arms, he screamed as if his life was on the line, sweat pouring from his skin as his head thrashed from side to side, his jaw clenched tight.

“Heal him,” she cried, her heart tightening in panic.

Rain did not hesitate, casting her Iron Ranked Minor Healing onto her brother’s chest. It did little to ease his pain.

“What’s happening?” she wailed, tears spilling freely. “He was fine a moment ago when I left him.”

“It’s like… when I advanced,” Rain muttered, her face tense with concentration.

“What nonsense are you spouting? He’s just—” Rosanna froze, noticing the dark, sticky impurities seeping from her baby’s skin.

“It’s true,” Rain said. “But how is this possible?”

“Keep casting the healing spell. I will go look for a healer.”

Before she could even step outside, the wailing ceased. His body went completely still. Thankfully, he had only fallen unconscious.

“He seems to have reached Tier 1?” Rain said tentatively, uncertainty clear in her voice.

Rosanna checked on him and hurried to fetch a healer.

Chapter 5: Tier 1

Ember felt no joy once his advancement came. He had been looking forward to it for days, and yet who could have imagined it would cause such terrible pain, almost making him regret living again? It was so horrifying that he even fell unconscious.

Even after he regained consciousness, the weariness lingered, fatigue settling deep into his tender bones. Ember wondered how much of it was due to the advancement and how much to his relentless grinding of skills. Anyhow, his mood was finally lifted when a notification window expanded in his view.

[Congratulations. You have reached Copper - Tier 1.]

[Your body’s predisposition towards skills and mana has improved. Your potential has risen.]

All that was well and good, but Ember did not believe he could survive another advancement like this.

[+6 skill slots.]

Well, maybe I can manage.

[Would you like to learn: Pain Tolerance (Common)?]

[Required Skill Slot: 1.]

His brows arched, almost accepting the skill. Pain Tolerance could help him endure these advancements.

If accepting the skill would settle the matter, Ember would have taken it in a heartbeat, but he suspected that, like any other skill, he would have to train it. How did one train Pain Tolerance? A cold shudder ran down his spine just imagining it.

Before Ember opened his status page, his eyes darted to his mother. She was talking with a young woman, a healer she had brought to check on him.

“Em, are you feeling pain anywhere?”

A sense of guilt welled up in his heart. As much as the agonising advancement had scared the life out of him, it seemed to have terrified her even more. Although he had been occupied with enduring the pain, he had caught a glimpse of her sobbing face.

He shook his head, chewing the inside of his cheeks to echo, “Hungry.”

Yes, he couldn't have known that advancing would come with such pain. The system hadn’t even given him a minute to prepare, not that he could have done much anyway. But he could not help it.

As his mother hurried to serve him a meal, Ember finally opened his status.

Ember Blackstone

Human (Copper) - Tier 0 (336/300) →Tier 1 (Progress: 36/600)

Class: N/A

Titles: N/A

Mana Foundation:

Mana Circuit: 3%

Breath of Mana: 1

Attributes:

Might: 0.3 → 0.6

Speed: 0.6 → 1

Will: 6.6 → 8.1

Insight: 5.7 → 9.9

Mystic: 4.6 → 7.9

Immunity: 0.5 → 1.5

Class Skills:

General Skills: [Skill Slot: 6/12]

Common: Active Recall +9 | Focus +9 | Meditation +8

Copper: Mana Sense +5 → 6

Boons:

System Access I

Affiliation: House Blackstone - Seynhold (Tier 5)

Of course, the race advancement did not end at Tier 1, though he was not too delighted to find it would take him double the EPs to advance another step.

But at least he had gained six more skill slots. With new skills, perhaps it wouldn’t even take that long.

There was finally something new in the Mana Foundation section. Ember had some suspicions about what both mana circuits and Breath of Mana meant, though it would require some experiments with his Mana Sense to confirm them.

The growth in his attributes was another thing he was delighted to see. Might and Speed were still lacklustre, whereas the biggest gains were in Will, Insight, and Mystic. Maybe it was related to the types of skills he trained? All his skills revolved around mind or magic.

With all that out of the way, Ember decided to see how astonishing the sixth step in Mana Sense was. He peered inwards, towards his internal mana.

Yes, he could do that now. Once he reached the sixth step, it became possible to glimpse the threads of mana within him. One breath of mana. Was that what it was? Could it be used to fling a fireball?

Now that he could sense his internal mana, Ember considered for a moment before deciding to see if he could grasp it. Mana was ethereal. He had no clue whether it was pure energy or if there was some spiritual component to it—whatever that meant.

Anyhow, with his mind made up, he conjured two metaphorical hands over the elusive mana and tried to grasp it.

The process was nerve-wracking and strange, almost like trying to hold water in his palm. Although he could get his hands wet and perhaps even bring some water out, most of it would drain away. The same seemed to be true for mana.

After keeping at it for a few minutes while his mother fed him, Ember was left both embarrassed and exhausted.

Still far away from flinging spells, he deemed.

Then the familiar window expanded before his eyes.

[Would you like to learn: Mana Circulation (Copper)?]

[Required skill slots: 3.]

Ember would have liked some information on the skill. Although its name alluded to what it entailed, it would still have helped to know more. Unfortunately, the system only provided information once the skill was learned.

Since the skill had mana in its name, Ember was more inclined to accept it. Over the months, he had received a number of prompts for all the skills available to him. While some of them seemed interesting, they were all common skills. This was the first time he had received a prompt for a Copper skill after Mana Sense. He did not think further about the points he would lose and accepted the skill.

An electrifying sensation coursed through him immediately. It was clearer now, though the prickliness seemed to have lessened after his advancement.

[Skill Acquired: Mana Circulation (Copper) +1]

[+10 EPs]

[Mana Circulation: The ability to circulate mana inside and outside your body.]

Now, the other thing to consider was whether he should take the Language Acquisition skill or not.

It only cost one point, which was good. But spending it would mean he would not be able to gain another Copper skill for a year or longer, considering he would need 600 EPs to evolve his tier again.

He really did not want to take it, as Ember had already proven he could acquire language naturally. He was learning new words every day. Then his eyes fell on his mother. She was cradling him in her arms, his chin resting on her shoulder, as she patted his back slowly, humming a soothing tune. His guilt resurfaced.

Ember let out a breath. It was time he finally began to understand her better.

He brought out the status log, skimmed through a deluge of prompts, and selected the option to acquire the skill.

[Skill Acquired: Language Acquisition (Common) +1]

[+1 EP]

As he had imagined, he did not magically acquire the common language instantly. But in the coming days, he began to notice a large difference. Ember merely had to pay a bit of attention, and he became more aware of what each word meant.

After learning to walk, Ember paced around the house and outside as much as his body allowed. He received the prompt for a Common-ranked Running skill easily, though he was unsure about getting it. Ember felt he could manage without a dedicated skill for running.

What concerned him more was whether his movements and physical activity would improve his physique. He got his answer within a few days, when his Might improved by 0.1 points.

Well, it was better than nothing. All he did was move around, though his mother still did not let him leave their compound most of the time. She did take him for a stroll every day around the neighbourhood. It seemed to all be owned by House Blackstone. Their house was far more influential than he had first given them credit for.

They even had an inner pool where his sister, Rain, tried to teach him swimming. The skill prompt came within an hour, but he did not take it, saving the two points for something more useful. Even running would be better than swimming, in his book.

Almost a year had passed since his father left, and the house remained tranquil and at peace. There was rarely anyone to bother them.

Ember had also acquired some common knowledge about their house and the world. Most of it came from Rain reading her books aloud while their mother watched over her studies with her most threatening wooden spoon.

Blackstone seemed to be one of the few ancient houses in Seynhold, with a history spanning over a thousand years. They were a house of knights, and over the years, they had produced quite a few of them. His father, Cliff Blackstone, was one of them. He was an Iron Knight, his class exceeding level 80.

He had heard most of it in passing conversations between Rain and their mother. Compared to his father’s knightly class, his mother was a common Cook. He was also quite surprised to learn that even Rain did not yet have a class. Supposedly, one could only gain a class after turning fourteen.

Ember had a hard time believing that fourteen was a magical number. It was far more likely that they simply wanted to keep destructive powers out of the hands of children.

Then again, his ten-year-old sister could perform minor healing. It was not exactly destructive magic, but it was still something. There were additionally division in classes like the racial tiers. It starts with Copper, then Iron, Silver, followed by the legendary Gold class.

Rain had become more diligent these days. Every morning, she went to the main house to train and returned in the afternoon, thoroughly exhausted. Apparently, she was a prodigy there, ranking among the top ten in mana skills.

After returning home, she would rest for an hour or two before continuing with sword and shield training. Despite her slender frame, she persevered, as it was a requirement for the Knight class she was aiming for.

Ember had over a decade to decide what he wanted to become. For now, he was content to be loved and to train his skills in tranquillity.

His tier progression had already crept towards the halfway point, suggesting that the next advancement would not take that long.

Advancing to Tier 1 seemed to have improved his aptitude and potential. Mana Sense had become much easier. Additionally, he could grasp more mana, improving Mana Circulation to the third step. Regrettably, the circulation skill burned through his mental energy far quicker than Mana Sense did, or his progress might have been even greater.

Language Acquisition grew the fastest. Nowadays, there were rarely any words he failed to understand.

His Mana Sense and Mana Circulation training had mostly become internal. In the evenings, he would try to decipher the threads of mana within light constructs. They were still beyond him, but he was improving.

Most of his waking hours were spent in meditation, as it seemed to be the only thing that could restore his mental energy faster. Even so, Meditation had remained stagnant at +8 for close to three months.

Then, finally, a few weeks before reaching his second year in this world, it happened.

[Focus (Common) +9 → Max]

[+10 EPs.]

[Focus has reached its common-class threshold. You meet the requirement to evolve the skill.]

[Would you like to evolve Focus?]

[Required skill slots: 2.]

Ember had been deliberating over acquiring Running, Reasoning or something more stupid like an Acting skill for the past few months. Who would have thought that leaving a couple of slots open would reward him like this? Well, he had a premonition about it a few times, though nothing conclusive.

As he accepted the prompt, more words flickered into existence.

[Please choose one of the paths:

Copper Perception: Widens your area of awareness.Heightened Focus: Improves mental acuity and fortitude during heavy-duty tasks.]

So I even get to choose? While the two options elated him, Ember felt a headache growing as his mind wavered between them. The choices seemed to diverge in opposite directions: one broadening his awareness, the other sharpening his focus for mana training.

Honestly, he would have been happy with either. He reckoned Copper Perception would be greatly beneficial for the fighter classes, or in skills like Archery. But it wasn't like he'd have to fight wild beasts from infancy. Heightened Focus was no slouch either, especially with emphasising the terms 'heavy-duty tasks'.

After a lot of bargaining with himself, he finally chose one.

While wide awareness was useful, his current needs revolved around greater mental acuity and fortitude so that he could train more effectively.

[Skill Evolved: Focus (Common) Max → Heightened Focus (Copper) +1]

[+10 EPs.]

Now, with three Copper skills, his path towards Tier 2 grew much smoother.

Chapter 6: Prodigy?

Ember never thought he would be so thrilled to be able to run again. He had always been quick on his feet, one of the reasons he was a starter for his team, but it was not exactly something he ever loved. The thrill of overtaking someone through sheer force, though, was something he could get behind.

After a couple of years in infancy, now that he could finally run, Ember did not miss any opportunity to sprint at full speed. If he had the Running skill, he would have already gained a few points in it. Regrettably, he did not have any skill slots to spare.

Now that he had learned that common skills could evolve into more advanced forms, he was more inclined to take them. It was a good thing he did not have to wait long. He was about 50 points shy of reaching Tier 2. A single step in any of his Copper skills could be the deciding factor. But now that all three had reached a respectable level of mastery, improving them further took weeks of effort.

He had some epiphanies while watching his sister practise; unfortunately, they did not share many skills in common. Ember reckoned that if he had access to private tutoring from someone proficient in all his skills, he would have already reached Tier 2. As it stood, especially with his mana skills, he often had to improve through trial and error.

Many times, he felt like sneaking into the training fields where his sister and the other boys and girls her age practised. His mother had taken him there a couple of times, though the experience had not been pleasant. Old men and women had probed and prodded him after learning he had advanced to Tier 1. Frightened, he had not uttered a single word, not that they were interested in listening to him. However, whatever they had seen in him, they seemed to have liked it.

Apparently, mana skills, even ones like Mana Sense, were quite rare among children. Advancing to Tier 1 was not especially astonishing; most children in House Blackstone were born at Tier 1.

Ember’s world had been turned upside down when he learned that a few children were even born at Tier 3.

There was little fairness in the world. At least he had managed to awaken his status at a young age, whereas the average age for that was around five.

Of course, those born at higher tiers had it much easier, as their chances of awakening a Copper-ranked skill were much greater.

Ember had gotten away with being seen as a prodigy in mana skills. His mother did not seem thrilled about the recognition, however. After he finally began to call her mom and express himself in slurred words, she had repeatedly told him to keep his skills a secret—at least until his father returned.

Ember had no idea why he needed to be careful around his relatives. But with how worried and cautious she was, he had no reason to refuse. He even kept his training discreet.

Well, not completely discreet. There was that one time he had almost managed to remove one of the light constructs from the wall, until she caught him red-handed. Then there was the time he experimented with the constructs in the bathroom, from the one that created water to the function that purged dirt and grime from the tiles. I might have broken a construct or two.

On another note, he was unsure what to make of his growing childishness. There had been several times when he threw tantrums for trivial reasons, even though he knew he was being unreasonable. Of course, there were also moments when he was completely in control. It was as if there were a clear dichotomy in his nature.

“Em, slow down. You gon’ fall.”

“Don’t worry, mom,” he shouted back as the wind brushed his cheeks. “I won’t fall over even with my eyes closed.”

He kept his eyes open as he rounded the blue-stone street. Sometimes he grew bored with how empty it was. There were supposedly thousands of members in the Blackstone clan, with many more outsiders. Regrettably, this part of the estate was reserved for direct descendants. Their neighbours were akin to this world’s equivalent of highbrow people. They seemed to look down on them for reasons that eluded him.

His mother attributed it to jealousy over his father’s success. Despite the clan’s size, there were fewer than a hundred full-fledged knights among their ranks. His father being at the forefront of the knights should have caused others to fawn over their family as much as they were envious of his father's rank.

But Ember had only gotten scornful looks. That might be due to his low tier.

Noticing a group of people ahead, he slowed down. They seemed to be approaching him, led by a man he found strangely familiar. Rain was walking alongside the leading figure, who closed the distance between them in a single stride.

Ember did not even have time to step back before the man crouched and lifted him. As he was hoisted onto the man’s shoulder, it finally dawned on him who this person was.

Sir Cliff Blackstone, Guardian Knight of the realm, and his father.

“Little guy,” his father said, lifting him into the air, “you seem to have grown half my stature in the time I was away.”

“Of course,” Ember managed to stammer.

It was an exaggeration. He had grown taller, but his shoulders barely reached the man’s knee.

Behind him, Rain rushed to join them, a slender bag slung over her shoulder, carrying her duelling swords and other training gear. She had come straight from practice and seemed to have already met their father on the way. Their mother joined them as well, her lips curling into a warm smile.

Without even putting Ember down, Cliff embraced her and kissed her.

“So what am I hearing about Ember being a prodigy?”

Rossana’s smile widened. “Let’s go home before we talk.”

His father carried him on his shoulder as they walked side by side, waving goodbye to his squadron mates.

“I thought you would make time for Em’s second birthday,” his mom said.

“I tried,” Cliff sighed. “Unfortunately, not everything is in my control. You wouldn’t understand the amount of incompetence—” He stopped, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Ohh abyss devour me! Sorry, I have already used that excuse too many times since we married.”

“It’s quite alright,” his mother replied.

“It isn’t, but at least this time I managed to get a long leave.”

“How long?”

“I won’t return to my duties until I prepare Rain for her trial.”

Rossana bobbed her head. “There are still over three years left for that. Are you staying that long?”

“What?” Cliff grinned. “Are you afraid you’d get bored of me?”

Rain let out an exasperated sigh at their blatant flirting, while Ember felt equal parts excitement and dread at his father staying with them. Excited because he would finally get to spend time with him, and worried because he feared his father might not like him as much.

Ember was no prodigy, not by a long stretch. Only he knew the effort behind his skill mastery. If anything to go by the disdainful looks he'd gotten from others, he didn't like his chances.

But then, Cliff Blackstone seemed nothing like Ethan’s father, though both were absent parents. To give him some credit, Ember did not want to draw comparisons with his past life.

As his gaze lingered on the man, he noticed him pulling items from thin air, stacking them into a pile taller than himself. Where were they coming from? Did class ascension come with an inventory system as well?

His father smiled at him, noticing his curiosity. “Although I have missed both of your birthdays, I did not forget to bring gifts.”

*****

Cliff laughed at the little guy’s antics. At such a young age, he already had quite the eye for things.

All the stuffed toys and expensive clothes he had brought to make up for missing him didn’t seem to catch his interest—until he showed him a wooden, spider-shaped mana construct.

It was a Tier 1 construct, though its price was a handsome amount. He had brought it thinking of his daughter, hoping it would help her train her mana skills, but since the little guy liked it so much, he could only do his due diligence and get Rain something else.

Ember examined the construct as though it were a delicate flower. If what he had heard about his mana skills was true, he had probably sensed the mana charge inside the construct and liked it for that reason. As for when he would be able to manipulate it, that could take half a decade.

“Why is he getting such expensive stuff?” Rain complained, a box in hand. “While I am only getting this old amulet?”

“Well, I was thinking of getting you a full set of gear in preparation for your trial,” Cliff smiled. “But then I remembered I didn’t know if you would even like your old man’s style. So I thought, why not bring you along to buy them?”

“Really?” the little girl beamed. “When can we go? Can we go today?”

“How about the day after tomorrow?”

. . .

After the children went off to play with their new toys, Cliff cast his wife a look, creeping closer to sit next to her.

“So,” he said, pulling her palm into his, “how have you been?”

“Not bored, to say the least.” She clasped his hand. “If not Rain, Ember keeps me busy with one thing or another. You won’t believe what he’s up to at this age.”

“What’s all the talk about Ember being some mana prodigy?” Cliff finally asked. “I’ve already noted that he has advanced to Tier 1. When was that?”

“He was seventeen months old back then.”

Cliff nodded, making a quick calculation. “He must have managed to level up Mana Sense to a good level to prompt the advancement.”

It would take at least the seventh level in Mana Sense, along with some help from a common skill, to meet the requirement. Cliff could not help but whistle. While 300 evolution points were not a lot, it was quite incredible to get Mana Sense to +7 at such a young age.

Cliff himself had only managed it after he was almost Rain’s age, but his talent for mana was rather poor. Most of his aptitude lay with the sword.

“It’s odd, though,” he mumbled. “Someone with a high affinity for mana is usually born at higher tiers. Sometimes even at the Iron rank.”

Those born at the bottom had to spend years carving their way up, and yet most never reached anywhere near the Silver rank. The cutoff was cutthroat. Unless you planned your skill acquisition appropriately, many times you would meet a dead end at Tier 3. Even some sufficiently talented individuals in his squadron had faltered at the third star, not to mention his wife, who had been stuck there for years.

“What are you thinking?” Rosanna asked, leaning into him.

“Wondering when would be the right time to talk about all this to the little guy.”

“I say not anytime soon. I already took him once to meet his grandfather. Your father wanted to throw him into one of those mana chambers before he could even crawl properly.”

Cliff suppressed a laugh. “That wouldn’t be as bad a thing as you imagine.”

Rosanna met his gaze with a challenge, urging him to say more, and Cliff acquiesced. But of course, it didn’t end there.

“Some time after you left, the people in charge of the resources relegated Rain from the Tier 4 chamber to a Tier 2 one.”

Cliff raised an eyebrow. “What? Why?”

“Saying something about her not meeting the skill level criteria and whatnot,” Rosanna said, anger seeping into her voice. “It was all nonsense. At least your father sorted it out after I managed to get word to him.”

“I’ll go talk to him about it later,” Cliff said, making a mental note.

“Oh, did I forget to mention that you might have another brother soon?”

Cliff raised an eyebrow and snorted. After ten such siblings in the last two decades, it wasn’t surprising anymore. “Oh, I also seem to have forgotten something.”

With a wave of his hand, he brought out a jewellery box from his inventory.

Rosanna eyed the box before lifting her head to look at him in silent contemplation.

“Did you really think I only brought gifts for the children?”

With a bit of mana manipulation, the fine velvet box slid open, revealing a sapphire necklace.

“May I, my lady?”

He stood on one knee, presenting it towards her. Rosanna allowed him, though a blush crept from her neck all the way to her ears, despite bearing two children.

“Of course, my good sir,” she said quickly, turning to offer the back of her neck.

Cliff gently moved her braid, fastening the chain around her neck. Breathing in the scent of her hair, he was about to brush his lips against her neck when both of them heard a shout.

“Mom, Dad, you need to see this!”

The moment passed, and both of them exchanged a look.

“Let’s see what the kids are up to.”

Out in the courtyard, they found the two children—Rain standing behind the little boy, who seemed to be in deep concentration as a thread of his mana connected with the spider construct.

Under Ember’s control, the spider moved step by step. With only a single thread of mana controlling it, the task was monumental. But the little guy was managing just fine, steadily guiding it around.

Cliff craned his neck towards his wife. “You never mentioned my son is this prodigious.”

Rosanna still had her eyes on the boy, sweat beading down his forehead. “I never knew.”

Chapter 7: Accidental Advancement

Chapter 7: Accidental Advancement

Now that his father was staying with them, the house had grown livelier. More people came to look for him. Ember even got to see many of their close relatives in the clan, as well as his grandfather.

He certainly did not have the look of an old man, appearing only in his middle age, with not even a single strand of grey hair. Well, his Silver rank and levels perhaps helped with that. He was one of the elite few in the clan, and the whole of Seynhold, who had ascended beyond level 100. Although it seemed like there was only one level of difference between level 99 and level 100, there was also a difference in rank.

From what he had learned, the hierarchy of class was like this: Rank > Tier > Level.

For Copper, Iron, and Silver, each rank was divided into three tiers, with level divisions within them, as follows:

Copper

Tier 1: Level 1 - 8

Tier 2: Level 9 - 16

Tier 3: Level 17 - 24

Iron

Tier 4: Level 25 - 49

Tier 5: Level 50 - 74

Tier 6: Level 75 - 99

Silver

Tier 7: Level 100 - 174

Tier 8: Level 175 - 249

Tier 9: Level 250 - 324

Of course, there were still Tier 10 and above, but those fell under the legendary Gold rank. Ember might have been able to draw a division of its tiers from the prior nine tiers, but that would only be an assumption. Besides, Gold-class rankers were like legendary figures. There were only a handful of them in the entire Seynfield, each either the head of a prestigious house or holding some other influential position, such as governing lord of a city or commander of a legion.

House Blackstone did not possess a Gold-classed patriarch, from what he understood. They had more than a few Silver-class rankers. His father might be joining their ranks soon enough. It was how he had obtained the long leave, as he would be attempting to reach Silver class in the next three or four years.

All this had little to do with Ember. He was still a decade away from achieving his class, but he liked collecting tidbits of secrets, as some of them were too interesting to ignore. Sadly, his primary source of information, Rain, was not privy to much of the classified knowledge either. Besides, these days she was preoccupied with something else.

“No, no!” Cliff Blackstone stammered. “Your breathing is incorrect. Your stride's still as clumsy as last month's.”

His sister hurled forward with her sword, ready to plunge it into the knight’s chest without hesitation. His father parried with his left arm. Despite the ease with which he carried himself throughout the spar, he did not hold back much, sending an electric spasm through Rain's palms.

“Come again,” he shouted. “I'd rather leave you in house arrest than let you enter the trial with this flimsy skill of yours.”

Ember watched from the porch, his eyes flinching at each strike that battered and bruised his sister. Involuntarily, he hugged the spider construct tightly.

“Your movement is still headless and straightforward,” his father accused. “What did you say your mastery of Enhanced Running was? At five? I have seen disabled people run faster, with far more resolve.”

Ember was unsure if he was saying it for effect, but with mana and magic being a thing, it might as well be possible.

“Step with purpose. Don't assume you can strike me just because you have pulled more force into your swing. Think and strategise. Watch and learn.”

Then he hit her on the calves, causing a yelp to escape her lips.

Cliff Blackstone was worse than those sadistic gym trainers who goaded you with insults so that you would train harder. He was like a slave driver. Every morning and evening, he would help his eldest daughter practise, only letting her rest when she had nothing more to give.

Even his mother, bless her kind heart, was unable to watch after the first couple of days. Ember could not help but wonder about his own situation when he would be her age.

No, no, no. I am a mana prodigy. I don't have to train swordsmanship like a lunatic.

On that note, his mana sense was almost on the precipice of reaching the ninth level. Ember could feel it in his skin. It would only take a couple of hours of diligent practice. He had known that for about a week now, only hesitating because earning that point would prompt his Tier 2 advancement.

Normally, Ember would have been elated to no end, but remembering the near-death agony, he could not help but hesitate. He was not even three, yet expected to endure such excruciating torment.

I should have taken the pain tolerance skill.

On that note, he was unsure whether he should hide his advancement or not. Well, his family would find out either way, as his father could likely tell anyone’s tier at a glance. So there was no point hiding it. Moreover, his father’s healing skill was more dependable than Rain’s, if the worst came to pass.

I should wait until Dad finally has some time to spare. Perhaps in the afternoon, he decided.

But that plan was thwarted, as the knight headed out at noon and only returned by sunset. The first thing he did after returning was present his mother with a crystal vial filled with a thick yellow liquid glistening in the light.

“Is that an elixir?” Ember asked, eyeing the vial. He could feel the high density of mana despite the insulation.

“Unhuh, this is something for your mother,” his father grinned, “to help her keep her beauty for decades to come.”

He tilted his head, ruminating on the implication behind that. An anti-ageing potion?

Rossana rolled her eyes. “Is that a potion to raise my racial tier?”

Ember squeaked as if thunderstruck. You can do that, evolve race with potions? Why had he been diligent for so long if it is true?

“It looks to be of Iron rank,” his mother said, biting her lower lip. “How much did that cost?”

“Only a bit of my credits.”

Rossana shot him a peeved look. “Out with it already.”

“A thousand credits,” he muttered. “But I got a huge discount for being—”

“A thousand credits?” his mother screamed, jumping to her feet. “Are you out of your mind, Cliff Blackstone?”

The Iron Knight flinched slightly. “It's only a thousand credits. I have ten times more to spare.”

“Well, not anymore, from the sound of it,” Rossana sighed. “Can’t you return it?”

Cliff shook his head. “Returning it will waste one of my rank privileges for the year,” he said, scrunching his nose. “Besides, it's less than what my beautiful wife deserves.”

The wife in question fought to keep the blush off her cheeks. “You could have used that on Rain’s gear.”

“That’s already coming in order.” Cliff handed the vial to her. “It’s inexcusable that I left you in this state for so many years. I can’t forgive myself if you continue to falter on your path.”

“But it's only a lifestyle path...”

“Not another word. Drink it and advance. I will watch over you.”

While they were being affectionate and arguing, they did not seem to notice a fuse ignite in Ember's head. There were potions that could advance your race? Why had he not known that? And why had they not fed him a dozen of them already? It sounded expensive, but...

“How many points are you off the threshold?” his father asked.

“One hundred and sixty-three,” his mother sighed, already accepting her fate.

“Good,” he said. “This is supposed to give about four hundred points to anyone below Tier 4. But since you have only ingested a minor potion before, we can still expect it to bestow over three hundred points. More than enough to get you to Tier 4.”

Three hundred points? Ember screamed internally. That was almost half a year's work.

But what also surprised him was that his mother had not yet advanced to Tier 4. Yes, he understood that the threshold for advancement doubled every time, but that still should not be impossible if she had over a decade to practise.

Now he wondered what tier his father might be, considering the density of mana coalescing around him whenever he meditated or practised. He had to be on the higher spectrum, perhaps even having raised his race to Silver tiers.

After preparing her mind, his mother sat cross-legged in the middle of the room, with his father sitting beside her.

Before they began, Cliff eyed him. “Now, Ember, I want you to sit right there and only watch,” he said. “This is going to be very painful for your mother, so do not cry. It will only distract her.”

“How painful?” his mother asked, a trace of fear in her tone.

His father looked at her for a moment, collecting his words. “Well, this is your advancement to Iron rank. It's going to sting a bit, but you only have a lifestyle class, not a pure warrior or mage class, so your body won't need to be completely reforged. The only problem is that Iron transformation tends to take quite a bit of time.”

Iron transformation? Body reforging? Ember was astounded at what he was hearing. Meanwhile, his mother’s expression shifted from one emotion to another.

Cliff held her palm, clasping it. “Don't worry, I'll be here throughout the process, and will heal you if there is a need.”

As he ruminated on his father's words, Rossana inhaled deeply and gulped down all the yellow liquid.

Within a minute, the transformation unfurled. Although her flesh and clothes acted as a barrier of interference, Ember could still feel a wild amount of energy rushing through her body, some even exuding from her pores.

Her jaw clenched in concentration as a muffled grunt of pain escaped her lips.

“This is not a sting of pain,” she complained.

“Steady,” Cliff reminded.

Her skin began to swell, with all the pores in her body emanating sweat and patches of blackish goo. Even dark scarlet blood seeped out as her skin tore, tears streaming from the corners of her eyes.

His father did not heal her as he had mentioned, only watching with a calm expression. It was only when she seemed completely unable to endure any more that he cast the healing spell. Most of her fresh wounds and torn skin knitted back under his power, while the murky impurities and dark blood coated her face, emanating a stench that almost made Ember leave the room.

He still observed, utterly transfixed by the transformation taking place in his mother's body.

“So many impurities,” his father said. “You would need to get some high-tier purifying potions to have any chance at advancing to Silver.”

His mother clearly was not hearing him. At least, her pain had subsided.

Ember was watching closely when, abruptly, light flickered and a disembodied screen opened before his eyes, startling him.

[Mana Sense (Copper) +8 → 9]

[+90 EPs.]

[Human (Copper) - Tier 1 (557 → 647/600)]

[Tier 2 Evolution threshold met.]

[Initiating advancement to Tier 2. Please stay calm and collected.]

Ember was neither calm nor collected. He let out a scream before the pain even tore through him. A flood of force surged through his veins. His heart wrenched with twisting pain, as if his body were circulating erratically. Ember thought he heard his father’s voice, but he could not be sure. His entire focus was consumed by the upheaval unfolding within his body.

Thankfully, unlike Tier 1, his advancement to Tier 2 lasted only about half a minute. By the time it finished, he was sitting in a cold sweat. Little to no impurities had emerged from his pores, but he still felt like he needed another bath.

[Congratulations, you have advanced to Tier 2.]

[+6 skill slots.]

He had not even looked at his status to see the changes when he noticed the expression on his father's face. He almost flinched.

“Don't tell me,” his father said, dumbstruck, “have you just advanced?”

Still with a pang of trepidation running through him, the words escaped his mouth, “I didn't mean to. It was an accident.”

His father chuckled. He glanced at his mother, who was still in the midst of her advancement. “Accident, he says. I wish I had these accidents when I was young.”

Unsure what to say, Ember remained where he was, wiping a line of sweat from his face.

“We will need to have a talk later,” his father said. “Once your mother finishes. Before then, don't learn any skills, all right?”

Ember nodded tentatively and rushed to refresh himself in the washroom, as in due time it would be completely occupied by his mother, considering the state she was in.

Chapter 8: First Obstacle

Chapter 8: First Obstacle

As he entered the washroom, Ember could not wait to bring out his status screen.

Ember Blackstone

Human (Copper) - Tier 1 (647/600) → Tier 2 (Progress: 47/1200)

Class: N/A

Titles: N/A

Mana Foundation:

Mana Circuit: 17%

Breath of Copper Mana: 1

Attributes:

Might: 0.7 → 1

Agility: 1.1 → 1.8

Will: 8.4 → 11.7

Insight: 9.9 → 16.4

Mystic: 7.9 → 12.3

Immunity: 1.5 → 3.5

Class Skills:

General Skills: [Skill Slot: 12/18]

Common: Active Recall +9 | Meditation +8 | Language Acquisition +6

Copper: Mana Sense +8 → 9 | Mana Circulation: +5 | Heightened Focus: +6

Boons:

System Access I

Affiliation: House Blackstone- Seynhold (Tier 5)

Like the first time, his Insight and Mystic showed the biggest improvement, with Will following behind. Immunity, too, had risen substantially, whereas his Might had finally reached the one-point mark. Perhaps now his punch would have the weight of a five-year-old.

Quite an achievement while he was a month shy of three. Ember sniffed.

His mana circuit had progressed quite a bit over the months, whereas the breath of mana had eluded him completely. Even now that he was Tier 2, there was still no improvement in it, which prompted him to believe that simply raising his racial tier would not be enough for his mana foundation.

Then he noted the EP requirement for Tier 3 and almost swore, despite suspecting it beforehand. That number had doubled once again.

As he washed his body, stripping off his clothes, Ember made a mental calculation to figure out how many skills he would have to improve to get there. If he got two good copper skills and managed to advance them to +9, that would net him 900 points. For the remainder, he had Mana Circulation and Heightened Focus.

As for getting a copper skill to max mastery, Ember had no hopes of achieving it in the short term. The task seemed nigh insurmountable for common skills, much less copper ones. He had only managed it with Focus because all his other skills required deep focus to function. Perhaps history would repeat itself with Heightened Focus, despite Mana Sense having an edge over it.

Mana Circulation was still quite arduous. With only one breath of mana to work with, he could barely practise it, with his mana needing half a day to recover.

Considering all that, he figured it would perhaps take two years at the earliest for him to reach Tier 3. Well, that was assuming he could acquire two copper skills early, and not just any skills that he couldn't train constantly, like Mana Circulation.

Since he had learned that there were iron and silver ranks after copper, there might be a way to obtain higher-tier skills as well. Perhaps his father could help with that, though he feared the skill slot requirements for them might be higher. And considering his mother’s low tier, perhaps it was not nearly as easy as he imagined.

Of course, there were those potions. A thousand contribution credits might be a lot. Why else would his father have left his mother at a low tier for so long? That was to say, he shouldn't place all his hopes on those expensive potions. They might be a last resort when he hits a wall.

A thought crossed his mind. If the threshold for a tier doubled every time, then would that not mean the next one would be 2400 evolution points? Dear lord, that would probably be absolutely impossible without—

Waving his status screen away, Ember ran through a rigorous mental calculation. What he learned did not delight him at all. As far as he could tell, meeting the threshold for Tier 4 would require eight copper skills at absolute mastery.

It's going to be the biggest hurdle in my path, Ember reckoned.

Getting the first few levels in a skill was rather easy. He only had to grasp the basics. But once he passed the third or even the fifth point, each skill demanded meaningful exploration.

Was that why his mother was Tier 3 despite being in her early thirties?

That left him with more to ponder when choosing his next skills. There had been a number of skills awaiting in the status log. Unfortunately, all of them were of common rank.

He bet Running would be the easiest to master, considering how much he ran around every day. But it was still a common skill, and he was unsure what the criteria for its advancement would be. Rain’s copper counterpart of Running was only at +5, which meant it was not the easiest skill to master. Well, she had unlocked her system at four, and if Running had been among her first skills, it had taken her six years to get there. But Rain had not been diligent from the beginning.

All these points made Ember more inclined to take Running, but he would still confirm with his father before acquiring any.

As he came out from the washroom, his mother had already awoken from her advancement, only steadying her mind, while his father stood with a napkin pressed to his nose. Her fair skin was now completely caked in black, tar-like impurities; if that were not enough, its disgusting reek permeated the entire room. And their house didn't have a room-freshening construct in place either.

As soon as the stench entered his nostrils, Ember stopped breathing and dashed outdoors.

Sorry, Mum.

He waited on the hammock hung from the branches of the old oak tree. Some minutes later, his father came to join him.

“So you have reached tier 2,” the man said, peering down at him. “Can you tell me what skills you have?”

Ember considered it for a moment, wondering whether he should oversell or undersell himself. Ultimately, he chose to be straightforward and truthful.

His father took his silence as confusion. Then he slapped himself on the cheek. “Silly me,” he sighed. “You can’t read yet.” He shook his head, crouching to his level. “Em, do you remember what the names of the skills the System spoke to your ears?”

Ember bobbed his head. The system had not spoken to his ears, not since the first couple of times. But hearing his father, it seemed the system went full voice mode for the illiterate. How such sorcery was possible, he'd figure out one day.

“I can tell you have Mana Sense and Mana Circulation,” the knight said. “Have you gotten Mana Accumulation already?”

Ember raised his eyebrows, making a mental note of the skill. Then he shook his head.

His father seemed slightly disappointed, but continued, “Well, since you’re so spontaneous, you must have Running.”

Ember shook his head again.

“How about studying?”

Another shake of the head.

“Language Acquisition?”

“I have that,” he acknowledged. “I also have Heightened Focus, Meditation, and Active Recall.”

“You actually have Focus at Copper already?” His father was amazed. Ember could not help but grin as well. “Well, why am I even surprised? Considering how focused I have seen you working with that spider construct, it only makes sense.” He studied him, mumbling to himself. “Given how early you have advanced, I assume you have quite the mastery in the skill as well.”

Ember was unsure what to say.

“I don't know much about that Active Recall skill. I wonder if it even has a copper variant.” His gaze returned to Ember. “What about meditation? How did you learn that?”

He was probably not even waiting for a proper answer, but Ember still gave one. “By watching you.”

Taken aback, the man relaxed his shoulders, picked him up, and sat on the hammock, still holding him by the arms.

“Thankfully, you have all the good skills. Well, I am still unsure about Active Recall,” he said, almost to himself. “I’ll look into it later. Anyways, mana skills are precious. You have not done anything wrong by acquiring them.”

Ember listened carefully, committing every word to memory.

“One single skill slot might not sound like a lot, but if you choose the wrong skill, it will not only waste your time but could even collapse your path, especially in the early stages where skill slots are scarce.” He pinched Ember’s cheeks. “You might not understand it now, but—”

He paused, then decided it was easier to instruct than to explain.

“Since Ember is a little prodigy in mana, you can go ahead and take any mana skill that comes your way. The next one, I reckon, will be Mana Accumulation. That is an important foundational skill for any warrior or mage.”

Ember nodded firmly. The name alone hinted at its function, but he still could not help asking, “Will it help grow my mana?”

“It will,” his father nodded. “So far, you seem to have only one breath of mana, but that is natural without the skill. Even with it, it will take years to form a Tier 1 mana foundation.”

A look of contemplation crossed his face, and he seemed satisfied with his own calculations.

“Among other skills, you can take running, studying, or even cooking from your mom. Or another mana skill, but those tend to cost three or more skill slots, and at Tier 2, you won't have many to spare. Do you understand what I mean?”

Ember nodded and repeated it in simpler words, “I will learn Mana Accumulation and wait, or try Running or Cooking.”

“What about studying?”

Ember looked away.

“Well, you can also leave a couple of points spare for your Meditation to reach copper rank,” his father added. “But that tends to take a long time. Merciful Abyss, it took me half a decade.”

Ember did not think he had the patience to leave even a single slot unused for five years. Hell, he wouldn't last five months. Perhaps he could try once he reached Iron, as the skill slots he would gain then would be three times that of the Copper rank.

“Still, before you take any skills, come to me,” the knight said. “I’ll give you one Iron Crown every time.”

A few minutes later, his mother opened the door, calling them indoors. Now that she had washed herself, her skin seemed even younger. She truly looked as though she had shed half a decade after reaching Iron rank.

“Dad, what did you feed Mom?”

“It is a potion,” Cliff explained, carrying him inside, “that raises skill mastery forcibly.”

“Is it good?” he asked.

“It’s not tasty, and only good for lifestyle classes, like your mother’s cooking class.”

“Hey, it's Chef now,” Rossana piped up with a smile. “I hadn’t endured through the pain for you to oust me for a mere cook.”

“Pardon my foul tongue, my fair Iron Lady,” Cliff bowed dramatically.

Ember had thought they would stop flirting after a while, but that had not been the case even after half a year.

“You’re forgiven,” Rossana grinned, “now help me prepare dinner. I need an obedient kitchen boy to put my chef class to use.”

The sun had barely set. There were still hours before supper, but with her advancement, Rossana was too eager to try out her new and improved skills. As they discussed the meal, even Ember could not help but salivate at the thought of something delectable for dinner. His mother’s cooking had already been fantastic before; now, she might rival Michelin-star chefs.

But as much as he loved food, there were still questions burning on his tongue.

“Dad, how do potions raise skill levels?”

“I... I’m not sure,” Cliff replied, wiping his hands on the sink. He paused, as though choosing how to explain it to a child. “But it’s not natural growth like training your skills. That’s why, although potions are an option, you should never use one lightly. At least not until you are truly stuck at a threshold.”

He paused again, gauging whether Ember understood.

“You see, these potions are like poison.”

A look of pale astonishment crossed Ember’s face.

“No, no, no—I am not feeding poison to your mother,” the man clarified quickly. “It even raises her lifespan. Well, advancing to Iron does. The point is that forcibly raising skill levels comes with hidden risks. For example, your mother will always depend on those potions to advance, and she will never reach gold rank. But that’s not to say gold rank is easy to reach. Do you understand?”

Ember nodded firmly. “Yes. I will not drink those potions.”

But since he had the chance to satisfy his curiosity, he asked again, “Dad, what tier are you?”

The Knight smiled; perhaps he had been waiting to show off. “Well, my race has been silver for almost a decade now. As for tier...” He seemed to check his status before continuing, “I’m halfway to Tier 9.” He shot a lopsided grin at his wife before looking back at Ember. “Isn't your dad super strong?”

“Very impressive,” Ember acknowledged.

Though not with as much enthusiasm, the man still laughed in delight. “Just don't reveal that to anyone outside, or they might force me to advance, and then I won’t be able to spend time with you.”

Chapter 9: Mana Foundation

Chapter 9: Mana Foundation

Mana Accumulation was the first skill Ember learned after reaching Tier 2, a feat he didn't acomplish without help. Every morning since his advancement, his father would sit him down and demonstrate the way to gain the skill. Ember had to acknowledge that without the lessons, the skill would have taken over a month instead of a week to learn.

As mana circulation required mana sense, mana accumulation seemed to require both the sense and circulation to work. The skill allowed one to accumulate more mana into the body. First, he had to sense the ambient mana in the surroundings, and then he had to coax a connection with it through his one breath of mana. If that weren’t difficult already, he’d have to draw the ambient mana inwards and circulate it along with the breath of mana, until some of the ambient mana began to linger in his channels.

The theory behind it was simple enough, but in practice, it was magnitudes more difficult. Even drawing his own mana required a great deal of concentration, whereas grafting his Will upon ambient mana was another ordeal altogether.

Even after weeks of gaining the skill, and despite making a level of progress in it, Ember was unsure if it was even working until he finally formed his second breath of mana. His skill mastery rose to the third level with that. From then on, Ember could sense the slow accumulation of mana in his internal channels.

The third breath of mana came even earlier, in less than a month. After half a year of practice, Mana Accumulation was much easier to get hold of, if still boring and arduous.

It burned away his mental energy faster than anything, and only hours of meditation allowed him to continue the practice for it to be worthwhile. So, to reach Tier 1 in Mana Foundation, Ember would sit silently for half a day in practice. If someone had told him the process of learning magic would be this mundanely strenuous, then perhaps he would have had second thoughts about flinging fireballs and lightning.

But many times his father had mentioned the importance of mana foundation. It was perhaps more significant than race Tiers, at least for the Mage classes. His father himself was only at Tier 4 in Mana Foundation, despite his race being at Tier 8.

It wasn’t without good reason. Unlike race, which one could evolve through various skills, mana foundation seemed to grow only through the rigorous, boring process of accumulating mana daily.

In his line of duty, his father barely had time for that, not to mention he readily admitted he was no genius in mana. Apparently, his sister was even better than him. Either way, like race, mana foundation tiers had requirements that seemed to double each time one advanced a step. For example, Tier 1 required 10 breaths of mana, Tier 2 required 20, Tier 3 required 40, Tier 4 required 80 breaths of mana, and so on.

There were some additional criteria as well. Mana circuits, for example. Apparently, he couldn’t go past Tier 3 without completing his Mana Circuit.

As he learned more about magic and the system, Ember began to understand how meticulous and thoughtful he had to be about every single skill. After a great deal of consideration, he decided to learn Running, while leaving the two skill slots for accommodating the advancement of Meditation. Hopefully, that would come sooner rather than later. He even reached max level in Active Recall, with the history, geography, and common knowledge his mother had been schooling him on since he reached his fourth year.

After consulting his father, Ember decided against evolving Active Recall, despite believing it would be a rather useful advancement and would help with all his studying and memorisation. Well, so would the common skill Studying, but he had not taken it either. Most of his energy was spent on Mana Accumulation, anyway.

According to his father, Ember could afford to be a little flexible with common skills once he reached Tier 4, as the skill slots he would be given then would be plentiful.

It wasn’t only him who was progressing. His mother, after successfully achieving Tier 4 in her race, saw her Class levels advance every few weeks with all the delectable and varied dishes she began to make. Cliff supported her fully, bringing her various rare and expensive ingredients to experiment with.

If not for all the running and training, Ember would have gained a few kilograms already.

Rain, on the other hand, had been stuck at Tier 3 for as long as Ember could remember. She had not taken one of those potions to ease her way into Tier 4 yet, as that would mean reducing her full potential, which was unacceptable for her dream of achieving Knighthood. Still, Ember was a little envious of his sister, not because she was born at Tier 2, but of her healing spell.

It was an Iron-ranked Minor Healing spell, which, although it couldn’t save one from a critical condition, had a wide range of applications, from healing bruises and small wounds to reinvigorating the body. Of course, it wasn’t something she learned on her own. There were skill rewards from the system and skill crystals, which could promote skill acquisition. The Minor Healing spell was something their father gifted Rain. Obviously, being an Iron skill, it did cost 9 skill slots, but the EPs it'd give would more than make up for it.

If Ember had the skill, he would have cast it upon himself a dozen times every day and reached Tier 3 in no time.

As he approached his fifth birthday, Ember was almost regretting sparing the two points for Meditation. There seemed to be no improvement despite the two long sessions of meditation he practised every morning and evening. It had been almost two years since he reached the ninth level in it.

Ember knew about the sunk cost fallacy, but it was the first time he was ever in one. Now that so much time had passed, even taking another common skill would be more detrimental for his racial evolution. He could always evolve Active Recall. Hell, even his Running was progressing towards full mastery much more smoothly. If things continued that way, perhaps he would gain a Copper-ranked movement skill before advancing Meditation.

Finally, a month later, when he had almost given up all hope of advancing Meditation anytime soon, he received the notification.

[Meditation (Common) +9 → Max]

[Meditation has reached the threshold of the common Skill. Would you like to evolve Meditation?]

[Required skill slot: 2.]

Ember could not help but let out a delighted squeal, alerting his father, who was meditating nearby.

“Did you finally get the skill, son?” he asked, opening one of his eyes.

Ember nodded eagerly as more information expanded before his eyes.

[Please choose one of the paths:

- Meditative Muse: Seeks inner stillness while your mind and body wander into a meditative trance.- Deep Meditation: Seeks thoughtless tranquillity.]

A line formed between his now more prominent brows. “Dad, what should I choose?” he asked, uncertain about both of the paths.

His father patted his head, smiling. “Let me guess, you got Deep Meditation and Meditative Trance?”

“It's Meditative Muse,” Ember corrected.

Cliff arched an eyebrow. “What does the description say?”

Ember read it aloud, as a thoughtful look crossed his father’s face.

“It’s similar to Meditative Trance,” he finally allowed. “You’ll probably like it more than Deep meditation.”

“Why?”

“Deep Meditation opens up more towards Zen practice,” Cliff explained. “Not to say it's a poor choice, but it's mostly for monks, who can spare hours in thoughtless practices. Also, it's probably much harder to master. Well, both of them are, but at least with Meditative Muse, you’ll be able to practise your mana skills alongside it.”

Ember’s eyes lit up.

“It will also synergise with your Heightened Focus and allow you to practise for longer, but that’s not to say you can train mana for long hours. Much less copper, even gold skills have limits.”

With that, Ember didn’t linger on the edge of indecision anymore. As soon as he chose the direction, a rush of euphoria coursed through his channels. It was still instantaneous, but much more noticeable now.

[Skill Evolved: Meditation (Common) Max → Meditative Muse (Copper) +1]

[+10 EPs.]

“Now, even with Meditative Muse, you still should practise thoughtless meditation in the morning,” Cliff advised. “It’ll set a good order for the whole day. Because there’s nothing better than an empty mind.”

Ember agreed with that, though he believed he’d likely falter from regular meditation in no time. He did see its purpose, but even then, he always felt his time could be spent elsewhere.

“With Meditation at Copper, perhaps you will get to Tier 1 in Mana before advancing your race to Tier 3.”

It will probably take more than half a year, he reckoned. Keeping the 2 slots open for close to two years hadn’t done him much justice, though now with the preferred Copper skill, he’d get more of the EPs required for his advancement.

His father stood up, stretching as he was about to begin instructing Rain. He pinched his cheeks. “Once you reach Tier 3, you can join Rain in practice.”

Ember shivered at that statement. The images of the brutal beating his elder sister had gotten resurfaced in his mind as he flinched back.

“That is my boy.” He slapped him on the shoulder, pulling him into a hug, already excited for training.

That was not excitement, Dad, he cried inwardly.

Weeks flew by. Meditative Muse promoted all his mana practice astronomically. On top of having more breaths of mana, Ember could also train with more intensity. It took him four months, and finally, he received the notification he was waiting for.

[Mana Accumulation (Copper) +5 → 6]

[+60 EPs.]

[Congratulations, you have reached Tier 1 in Mana Foundation.]

Even without the notification, Ember could feel his body had been uplifted to a higher standard, allowing mana to move more smoothly through his channels.

Swiftly opening his status, Ember observed the change.

Mana Foundation:

Mana Circuit: 37% → 48%

Mana Aperture: 1

Breath of Copper Mana: 10

Attributes:

Might: 1.6 → 1.8

Speed: 2.3 → 2.5

Will: 11.9 → 13.4

Insight: 16.9 → 17.4

Mystic: 12.9 → 16.3

Immunity: 3.5 → 7.3

He was not disappointed. The increase in his physical attributes was minimal, whereas Mystic and Immunity showed the most improvement. It wasn’t much compared to a race tier up, but it was still something he was pleased with, especially with the 11% boost in Mana Circuit. He’d figure out Mana Aperture later.

Now, Ember jumped to his feet to announce the news to his family.

Rain had finally ascended to Tier 4 not long ago. This called for festivities. But as he entered the living room, he found his dad and sister in full preparation to leave for somewhere. A hunting adventure, from the look of it.

Ember wondered how much he’d have to whine for them to let him tag along.

Chapter 10: Bloodline

Chapter 10: Bloodline

With less than a year remaining of Rain’s trial, their father decided it was about time that he took her to gain some fighting experience. Decidedly, he had taken her to hunt a couple of times, but they were more like picnics than actual training experience.

Ember also had nothing else to do and decided to tag along. Well, it took a lot of whining for his father to agree, but not before setting various rules for him to follow once they were in the woods. Obviously, he was not a fool to wander off into an unknown place on his own. He was merely there to sightsee. For half a decade, he had never been outside of the clan's territory, save for the couple of times his parents took him around the capital. And they lived in the capital, but the city of Seynhold was so grand and majestic that two trips were hardly enough for it.

The hunting ground should be somewhere far, outside the city walls. Regrettably, it wasn’t far enough that they had to take a warp gate. Ember was dying to experience teleportation in any form they had available. Hell, he’d have been elated if they flew on a ferry.

Unfortunately, his father took them on horses. The stallions were swift as the wind, but he couldn’t say he very much liked the hours-long journey on the back of the saddle, despite having his father’s stalwart figure to lean on. An hour more, and perhaps he might have red patches on his arse.

The place they were travelling to was much more impoverished compared to the city or even the towns around Seynhold.

Ember felt it prickle on his senses. With his mastery of mana sense, it didn’t take much effort to figure out the drastic decrease in the density of ambient mana, and it was still going down as they travelled along the snaking paths and found themselves on the edge of a developing town.

“Finally!” Ember could not help but exclaim.

While he was with his father, Rain rode on her own, a white mare as tall as her, with stocky legs and wiry muscles. With the full body armour, along with the bow and sword she bore, Rain looked far more gallant riding the horse.

“Already tired?” Cliff smiled. "How are you going to hunt down a great demon with this bit of stamina?"

Ember merely snorted as their horse galloped slowly towards the town. Another horse trotted next to them, with a handsome-looking middle-aged woman riding it. Her name was Gemma, a member of House Blackstone, and also one of his father's most trusted attendants.

"Sir," she said, "if I am not mistaken, there seems to be a carriage of House Oberon waiting ahead."

"I have noticed," Cliff said.

Even Ember had noticed it, though he could not make out any detail until they crossed another couple of hundred metres.

“Oberon?” Rain perked up at the mention.

If they went by conventional titles, then House Oberon would be like a ducal house. Obviously, there were no imperial families or emperors to give such titles, at least not on the continent of the Perennial Verdance. But there was a Saint who presided over the capital of Seynhold, though the Saint didn’t have much political power compared to the named few bloodline houses like Oberon.

Ember didn’t understand the political nitty-gritty of things. He didn’t even want to understand it. The reason it was important right now was that House Blackstone was pledged to House Oberon since its founding. Although Blackstone had grown considerably in the last decade, it still could not compare to the unshakable foundation of House Oberon.

They were the bloodline of the godkiller. Ember didn’t know how much he could trust the story, but apparently, there used to be gods, literal fellows with golden statues and such, and people worshipped them, be it out of fear or necessity. Then one day, a few upstarts came along and felled the deity and its tyrannic forces. The battle had raged on for years over the northern folded plains.

Since there was no good in such a large continent, the few fellows decided to divide the territories among themselves.

Ember was pretty sure that the story had been blown out of proportion. It was probably just some tyrant who had reached such a high realm of strength that people of today began to see him as a god.

His reasoning might be skewed because he was agnostic. But he wasn’t going to change his thinking just because there was an old ruin out there and a group of people with strong bloodlines. Until a literal God with the capital G presented himself to force him to believe otherwise, Ember would remain reasonable.

Well, the System came closest to being omniscient, but its name itself didn't support it as some godly being.

As the horses galloped down, they finally stopped before the carriage, where a handsome man stood with an easy smile on his face. A young boy stood on his other side, leaning against the carriage next to him, their eyes lighting up upon noticing them.

Father and his guards quickly came down from the horses to kneel on one knee to greet the high nobles. Even Rain dismounted to imitate them.

Damn noble etiquette! Ember cursed internally before managing the same.

"At ease," the man said, waving his palm. "You are on no official duty now, so there is no need to kneel."

Ember barely managed to suppress his snort. The man could have said the same before they had shown the deference. Whatever thoughts his father had, he kept them to himself, barely displaying an impassive expression.

Whereas the boy next to the man regarded Rain, measuring her up and down with an imperturbable look. To her credit, his sister managed to imitate the knight and maintain a more aloof look as well. She might even have a skill for that.

I reckoned the copper evolution of Acting could do that, Ember thought.

"You have brought the children to help them gain experience?" The man didn’t wait for anyone to answer. "Looks like we came for the same reason. How about we join forces? We can make the trip less boring by having the kids compete against one another, no?"

Ember thought he had posed the question towards his father. Then the man knocked on the door of the carriage.

"What do you say, sister?"

The door of the carriage opened, and out came a tallish woman clad in an enchanted robe. A silver staff was strapped to her waist, while a metallic mask hid half of her face. She had bright cerulean eyes and long locks of brown hair, a shade darker than his. From what he could make out, she was most likely beautiful, though it was the mana she radiated that had him gulp in unrest.

His father clasped his shoulder, calming him down, as they waited.

After the woman, a girl and a boy jumped from the carriage. They were only a couple of years older than Ember, dressed in a similar fashion, though their expressions were more revealing and exuberant.

“Greetings, Lady Evelyn.”

Father and the others were ready to move into another round of greetings, but the woman waved her palm.

"At ease."

His father exchanged a nod, getting the barest acknowledgement from the woman. In the contest of being the most aloof, she had him beat by a rank or two.

What interested Ember more was all the equipment on her body. Each of them sparkled with a dense air of mana, be it the gown, staff, or jewellery. Even his father's knight armour didn’t radiate with such a rich aura.

He was also wearing a regular shirt and trousers today with a long overcoat. He looked fine and could equip his knightly mantle at any time by accessing his system inventory, but without it, he did lose a point or two against her.

Without any dissent from Cliff, their group joined with the Oberons as they entered the town. At the back of the group, Gemma reminded him and Rain to always address the two adults as Lord Jaime or Lady Evelyn, and with proper etiquette. Honestly, Ember would be fine avoiding them altogether, eliminating any chance where he’d have to show deference.

The first thing they did after entering the town was lodge at an inn before making plans to head out straight for hunting. Although the town was not as lively as the big city, Ember noted many hunters and adventurers swaggering along the path, all equipped with various kinds of attire and weapons. More than being an affluent town, the place seemed to be a hub for hunters, adventurers, and others who came here to gain experience on low-level beasts.

Cliff had planned to stay in the town for a couple of weeks, or however long it would take for Rain to gain the marginal amount of experience for her trial. Despite having time in hand, they didn’t waste it after letting the two attendants take care of the horses and their belongings.

After refreshing themselves, they waited in the main hall for the Oberons to make their way. His sister was still wearing her gallant adventurer's set, while Ember had gotten himself a bow and a quiver full of arrows. At five and a half, his stature had grown close to four feet, but the bow still felt large in his arms. Not to mention, the string was rigid and unmoving despite his 2 points in Might.

Thankfully, he didn’t really have to put it to use. With the peak Iron Knight by his side, he had nothing to fear. Well, maybe not nothing, if he added the two high nobles.

"Dad, are those two people stronger than you?"

Cliff peered down at him in interest, his impassive aloofness breaking a little. "Lord Jaime isn’t," he answered. "As for Lady Evelyn, I am afraid I am not her match right now."

Ember scrunched his nose, a little disappointed.

As if noticing his dismay, his father added, "Well, perhaps that will change once my class advances to Silver."

"What about the others?” Rain asked, tugging at her braid. Perhaps the heat was finally getting to her.

Cliff eyed her. "The oldest among them is about your age, and likely at tier 5, maybe even tier 6. Whereas the kids... the girl is at Tier 4, with the boy lagging behind, but I’d assume their mana foundation is well developed despite their age, since they were here with Lady Evelyn."

Ember would have whistled if he could, whereas his sister clasped a fist. Tier 6 at 13? Now that sounded impressive. Yes, he had heard that after reaching Tier 4, the hurdles for the next two tiers weren’t as insurmountable. It was something to do with the Iron evolution, which made the skill level gains easier. However, it definitely didn’t make it effortless or easy.

Moreover, doesn't that mean he also has a chance to reach Tier 7--the Silver rank before his class attainment?

A smile crept up their father's lips. "There’s no need for you to feel down," he said. "If I am not wrong, all of them come from the main house of Oberon. Probably nieces, nephews, or younger siblings to Lady Evelyn."

Ember looked at him quizzically, not understanding what that had to do with talent.

“Is it because of the Oberon bloodline?” Rain got to the answer first.

Cliff nodded. “Not to discount their talent, but a bloodline like theirs promotes certain types of skill. The Oberon bloodline is known for its high Wind affinity and talent in mana. They can master any mana or wind-attuned skill in a quarter of the time it takes others. Then there are also all the resources, facilities, and training regimens a Bloodline clan has access to.”

Rain made a disgusted face, and Ember couldn’t help but join her.

The knight rubbed his forehead, finding his words weren’t cheering them up.

“Regardless of what they have, don’t cut yourself short. The three of them are likely the forefront of their generation of talent in House Oberon. There are many more with tiers and skills lower than yours."

That did not seem to ease Rain much. Neither did it work for Ember.

What kind of resources are there that could train someone to tier 6 at thirteen? He wondered. Those potions were certainly off-limits since they burned away potential for early gain. Is having a bloodline that outrageous? Maybe they have accessed high-ranked skill crystals.

On paper, it sure seemed possible for him to get there through sheer grit and practice, though Ember was unsure what kind of hurdles he'd face for Iron skills.

As his mind wandered through the possibilities, the heirs of House Oberon came sauntering out from the inn, each draped in rich gowns and robes tailor-made for them.