Chapter 20  

Sitting on the sand by the shore, Kai reviewed his progress. His seventh birthday was a bit more than a month and a half away.

Name: Kai Tylenn

Race: Human

Profession: None

Body stats

Strength: 4>5

Dexterity: 6>7

Constitution: 8>9

Mind: 9>10

Spirit: 11>12

Perception: 8

Favor: 4

Skills (7/7):

Running (lv48>69)

Swimming (lv46>67)

Meditation (lv50>58)

Awareness (lv29>43)

Herbology (lv1>40)

Acting (lv27>31)

Mana Sense (lv25>36)

Ten months of effort had not gone unnoticed. Now, this was something he could feel proud of, but not the reason he opened his status.

It was finally time for the big step. The goal that helped him persist through the grueling training when he wanted to quit.

It had felt unreachable for so long, now it was finally within his grasp. He didn’t know how to feel. All he had to do to raise his race grade to Orange was giving the mental command to the Guide.

He was excited and a bit nervous. Dora had offered to brew a numbing potion for him, but he had never been particularly scared of pain. Not the physical kind anyway, that always passed.

It was a good opportunity to test his pain tolerance without any risk. Everybody on the islands went through it and he doubted they could afford painkillers. He didn't want to take an easier route.

He skipped breakfast. Having anything in his stomach would lead to unpleasant consequences.

Kai took off his clothes and walked towards the sea. The tide was fair, leaning towards low, one lonely moon visible in the sky. The water only reached his knees. He had received weird looks when he said he would evolve his race in the sea, but no one objected. It was not like there was a right place to do it and the sea calmed him.

Okay, stop stalling and do it. You can do this!

Knowing he would not be able to stand, he sat cross-legged in the shallow water and gave the mental command.

*Ding*

Life Experience: 74 XP – Skill Experience: 100 XP

Red ★★★: 40,000/40,000 XP

Conditions for race evolution met…

Beginning advancement from Human (★★★Red) to Human (★Orange)…

Here goes nothing.

Kai clenched his jaw in anticipation, but the instantaneous reaction he expected didn’t happen. Waves of energy moved through his body. He could feel a nucleus of heat accumulating in his chest near his heart, growing hotter and hotter each second. So hot he started wondering if he would catch fire.

The cool water of the sea became unnoticeable. Kai was about to curse the nerve-wracking build up aloud, when the first jolt of pain spread through his body. All the heat in his chest flooded him, like molten metal was running through his veins.

His muscles started contracting randomly as he lost control. The heat didn’t show any sign of subsiding, as if his very flesh and bones were being melted and reforged.

Kai writhed in the shallow water, his limbs twisting spasmodically. His screams were cut short when he lost the ability to control his vocal cords.

With a blink of clarity amidst the storm of agony, his mind couldn’t help but wonder if the sea wasn’t such a great idea after all. Drowning in a span of water became a real possibility.

He was sure Elijah was observing him somehow.

We’re not best buds, but he won’t let me drown, right…?

Kai had no more time to contemplate his stray thoughts. The pain was too unbearable to do anything, besides praying for it to end.

He would curse himself for not taking Dora’s offer if he could put the thought together.

He knew the advancement to Orange would take longer than the enhancement inside a grade. How much exactly was anyone’s guess. Not that he had any concept of time right now.

Pain and fire were all there was. Nothing else existed, nothing else mattered.

His entire body was being reforged, mind included. It was a blessing in disguise since it prevented him from being fully conscious of the whole process.

After he squirmed and writhed enough to make any worm watching green with envy, the pain started subsiding like the lowering tide, slow and consistent.

He had no idea how long had passed. Feeling the coarse sand against his left cheek, he realized he somehow found his way to shore. His feet still in the sea with the slow waves rhythmically rising to brush against his chin.

He laid under the sun on a late winter morning. There was nothing quite like the feeling of being born anew. A mix of elation, euphoria and serenity, plus a hundred more minor shades of feeling he couldn’t put into words. This sensation was many times stronger than the other two times he experienced it.

He would have gladly laid there for hours, maybe take a nap, but his improved senses took notice of the stench coming from his body. To push to a higher grade, not all could be salvaged and reforged, some organic material had to be expelled.

The sea had washed away part of it, but he could still feel a thin layer of filth covering his entire body. His skin was more sensitive than ever, making him feel disgusting without even taking into consideration the smell.

Trying to stand up, Kai brought up his arms to push himself off the sand, but he used too much strength and threw himself backward. Luckily, he ended up in the shallow water.

Kai laughed at the ridiculous situation. He had put all his strength into the gesture to see if he could stand up, but he didn’t expect this. He excitedly checked his status to see the changes.

Name: Kai Tylenn

Race: Human

Profession: None

Body stats

Strength: 5>8

Dexterity: 7>9

Constitution: 9>12

Mind: 10>13

Spirit: 12>15

Perception: 8>11

Favor: 4>9

Skills (7/14):

Running (lv69)

Swimming (lv67)

Meditation (lv58)

Awareness (lv43)

Herbology (lv40>41)

Acting (lv31)

Mana Sense (lv36)

He had expected a big increase, but this exceeded his expectations. He understood why people said bonus stats didn’t matter before Orange. All his stats except dexterity increased by 3, and he wasn’t even an adult.

He now had seven whole free slots for new skills. The thought made him giddy. He could literally double his skills.

Noticing even his favor had increased, he checked the notifications to see what happened.

*Ding*

A new skill is available in the archive! Pain Resistance (lv1) – After having endured severe pain you have learned how better to ignore it to not let it affect your actions.

I should have expected that…

He would consider if he should take it later, for now he moved to the second notification.

*Ding*

New Feat: Against all Odds – through your own efforts you were able to rise from the bottom of Red to Orange before you got access to a profession. This is an achievement few can accomplish. You are awarded: +5 Favor!

Well, that is the icing on the cake.

Kai smiled happily. This day couldn’t get any better. He rubbed his skin with seawater and sand to clean himself. He would get a good shower later, for now he wanted to test the new limits of his body. It would take time to get used to such drastic changes.

~ ~ ~

Elijah looked out the window and rolled his eyes. The brat played and laughed in the water like a nitwit, awed by his new inconsequential power.

He shook his head. Who would even think to have their rebirth in the sea and almost drown? Only a fool. It was true Kai was a child, a very foolish child.

Perhaps he shouldn’t judge some random children by the same standards he had been brought up with. It was already laudable that he lasted till now. Even if the brat often complained when he thought he couldn’t hear him… or maybe he did know and did it on purpose.

Commoners often lacked manners after all. The only time he had voiced a complaint to his father was when he was a child. He had been whipped twice for each word.

Now that the brat reached Orange, they could start some real training. That would help adjust his attitude, he had been too lenient with him lately.

Diverting his gaze from the brat’s antics, he pondered how he ended up in this predicament. Watching over a peasant child like a nanny and having to drag him out of the sea to make sure he didn’t drown himself. How low had he fallen...

All his friends would have laughed at him for days if they knew.

The thought immediately soured his mood, cursing himself for ever caring about any of those traitors’ opinions. He would babysit this aggravating child for a hundred more years, before spending a single second in their presence without a bloodied sword in hand.

Give it time…

Elijah pushed these memories out of his mind. They would all get what they deserved in time, or he would die trying.

~ ~ ~

For the rest of the day, Kai tried to get used to the changes to his body, starting with his physical improvements. They were easier to assess than his Mind or Spirit stat.

He could swim faster and better without getting tired, with no need to resurface for almost one minute longer than his previous record.

After taking a shower to scrub away any unpleasant residue from the advancement, he could not see any huge difference in his body, but he felt it. His muscles held greater strength and his reflexes were faster, it was exhilarating.

He was now firmly heading into superhuman territory. He might be comparable to a weak adult back on Earth, compressed into a much smaller and undeveloped body with plenty of room to grow.

Hearing his stomach growling he headed to the kitchen.

As soon as he opened the door, he was greeted by an enthusiastic Dora, “Congratulations on your advancement, Kai! I’m so happy for you. I can’t wait to continue our lessons, there are so many fun things we can do now.”

She gave him a quick hug and ruffled his hair, before excitedly talking about her plans and going on tangents to random topics.

She was the queen of multitasking. Before he knew it, he was sitting at the table with an extra-large portion of food in front of him. She didn’t stop talking for one second, but he didn’t mind it, and focused on filling his hungry stomach.

He didn’t know if people in Orange grade needed more food, or if it was the advancement that made him famished, but he had never eaten this much in his life. By the time he finished his triple ice cream dessert, he could not take another bite if his life depended on it.

He suspected another talk with Virya was in order, but she didn’t call for him yet. He had a rare day off.

He stayed with Dora for a couple hours, talking about various topics and planning the future.

He also got a clearer idea of the difference between humans on Elydes and those back on Earth. An average adult person at the peak of Red could still be compared to an extremely lucky human, who won the genetic lottery in every category.

The Red grade gave about a 20% to 30% increase to the base stats. Even if the Guide offered the same opportunities to everyone, there were still differences between people. Some were born smarter, others stronger and taller or with sharper senses, and it was reflected in their attributes.

After you advanced your grade, this became more evident. Stats gains were built upon what was already there, making your talents stand out. If you were a particularly strong person, after advancing your race, your higher strength would become even more apparent.

They got to the fun part - learning new skills. They had discussed this extensively in the past months. Kai already knew most of the skills he would choose from his Archive, but it was exciting, nonetheless.

Skill Archive:

Teaching (lv1)

Writing (lv1)

Dodge (lv1)

Gardening (lv1)

Reading (lv1)

Keen Eye (lv1)

Processing – Plants (lv1)

Pain Resistance (lv1)

Apothecary (lv1)

Mana Manipulation (lv1)

After almost a year at the estate, he had accumulated quite the list. Doubling his skill slots still didn’t feel enough.

One step at a time. Let’s enjoy the win for now.

He reminded himself not to be greedy, he had seven slots to fill right now.

After a little hesitation he took Reading. He had been allowed access to a select few rooms inside the mansion, with strict rules not to touch anything he wasn’t supposed to.

Among those rooms was the library, a huge hall with rows and rows of bookshelves with thousands of books. He had seen bigger libraries in his previous life, but they didn’t have the same charm and mystical feel. Most of the volumes in Virya’s collection looked handcrafted with mysterious titles and exquisite decorations.

He was only allowed to browse a small section on general history and miscellaneous topics, but it had been enough to get the skill. Improving his reading speed and long-term memory would come in handy.

Next, he took Keen Eye. He got this skill by analyzing plants, but it could be used on almost anything. It offered some very interesting possibilities for the future.

Processing – Plants and Apothecary were going to be a must-have for what Dora promised to teach him. The first skill was self-explanatory; the second could be described as the mundane version of alchemy, which didn’t require mana and used common non-spiritual ingredients.

It wasn’t as flashy as he imagined, but he enjoyed picking common herbs and making balms and concoctions to cure all kinds of ailments. Creating something useful out of what most people considered common weeds through careful handling and processing. It was also an orange grade skill, and he was proud of it.

Dora always said if you couldn’t heal a wound with the plants that grew on the side of the road, you would just waste ingredients trying alchemy. Now that he thought about it, she said the same about mana.

You must walk before you can run, young padawan. And all that nonsense.

Kai knew rushing was counterproductive in the long run, but damn it was annoying.

Anyway, where was I?

More choices to make. After a little hesitation, he took Gardening since he had the space.

He wasn’t sure if he wanted to commit to alchemy, but since he had a teacher at hand, he would be a fool not to take the opportunity. He could always get rid of the skills if he changed his mind, even if it would not be pleasant.

Finally, there was Mana Manipulation. It was his most awaited skill and the only other new Orange skill he unlocked. It took weeks of patience to obtain, slowly coaxing—and begging—a few specks of mana inside his body to follow his wishes.

It had something to do with his Mind stat, but he didn’t know exactly how. What mattered was that obtaining the skill would make manipulating mana much easier.

He wasn’t sure what he wanted to take for his last slots, none of the options excited him. He could find a use for any skill, but did he really need them? He didn’t want to go through the process of discarding a skill without a good reason.

I have time, I can think about it…

His slots wouldn’t increase again until Yellow, and that was a long, long time away. He had no doubt he would be swarmed by enticing new skills before then.

In the last year, he mainly focused on leveling his skills as fast as possible for his race advancement and learning about general knowledge from the library. Now he could start his path to becoming a mage and that was all that mattered. There was nothing he desired more since he reincarnated.

It was clear Virya wasn’t the usual retired mage, neither were Dora or Elijah. They were vague as to the how and whys they were here. Even Dora had not given him any clue—which was truly something considering she never stopped talking.

Someone didn’t come to live in such a remote place, unless they wanted to keep a low profile. Kai wanted to know the truth so badly, but snooping around didn’t seem wise. If he got caught, he would lose his apprenticeship in the best-case scenario. In the worst, well…

In his time here there had been three thieves, who thought they could sneak into the estate unnoticed. When the whole property screamed wealth and every trinket inside the mansion could sell for gold, it wasn’t surprising.

The only reason they were able to walk away—figuratively speaking, none of them could actually walk on their own two legs—was so they could spread the rumor and avoid having to deal with a prospective thief every other day.

He would not tempt fate by biting the hand that fed him. He would keep his curiosity and limit himself to speculations. His best guess was that they were either on a very long holiday or in hiding. He could not even comprehend the idea of someone so powerful as to force his teachers to run.

It was clear he was kind of a pet project to relieve boredom or there was some other unfathomable reason Virya didn’t bother to tell him. Kai was perfectly fine with that. He was already getting a lot out of this arrangement.

This was the opportunity of a lifetime, and he wasn’t going to waste it. He was eager to talk to Virya and start his new schedule.