Oliver began to wander through the village to look around and experience it firsthand after recent monster attack. The damage caused by the monster horde seemed chaotic. He saw the remnants of their devastation throughout the village. A few villagers had been working together to repair the damage to their houses.
"Hello…" He waved to a few villagers along the way in a cheerful mood.
He continued walking and then came to the village chief's house. Half of the house was shattered, and a dozen people tried to rebuild it.
"Hello… Chief, how's the village faring?" Oliver stepped awkwardly to avoid the debris.
"Oh, Oliver… we're still hanging on, if barely." The village chief wiped his sweat and exhaled wearily. "It's fortunate enough that a remarkable figure was able to help with the monster attack yesterday. If not, I'm afraid things would have been much worse."
The village chief wiped his sweat and exhaled wearily. "It's fortunate enough that a remarkable figure was able to help with the monster attack yesterday. If not, I'm afraid things would have been much worse."
It would take the village at least a month to repair all the damage, possibly longer, depending on available resources. This assumed no monster attacks would occur during that time.
That said, there were still frequent attacks from the monsters, though not on a large scale. The attack a few days ago was probably the most devastating in over a decade.
After discussing various matters with the village chief, from the state of the village to the wellbeing of its people, Oliver also expressed his interest in another topic.
"Chief, it's about joining the village guard. What does it take to become one?" Oliver tilted his head in curiosity.
"If someone truly wanted to, they could speak to the captain of the village guard. You… want to become one?" The village chief raised an eyebrow.
"Uh, no. I'm just asking." He gave a light laugh.
"You don't need to reach the novice rank to join the guard. Even those without magical abilities can be accepted, as long as they're willing to fight and protect the village." The village chief stroked his beard as his gaze sweeping over the villagers repairing their homes.
"I see… good to know, thanks." He gave a small wave to the chief and said his goodbyes. Unmindful to the strange look the chief gave him.
Soon after, Oliver decided to make his way back home, careful of the debris along the path.
Once he arrived home, he focused on training his magic. Though he was still far from rank 1, he refused to give up. He picked up one of the mana stones and tried to absorb its mana. Apparently, that was the fastest way to get stronger, as it helped purify your core and reach a higher realm of magic.
"This is so exhilarating. I didn't know absorbing a mana stone would have such side effects." He grinned.
This practice was already known among many people. Though mana stones were pretty pricey and a bit hard to afford, it was something Oliver did not lack at the moment.
After a few hours, Oliver saw no noticeable change in his mana core. This was somewhat normal, as the path to becoming an elite demands determination and unrelenting resolve. This was not something one could achieve in a single sitting. But, he believed that with this amount of mana stones, reaching novice rank wouldn't be so hard. He just required to be more disciplined.
"Should I focus my effort all the way up to novice-rank?" He wondered if he should spend his mana stones for practice or perhaps sell a few.
Honestly, the idea of sitting for hours every day didn't really excite him. It would be nice if he got a cheat or something.
But, how could he expect overwhelming results after only a few hours of practice? This wasn't like the novels or stories he had once read in his past life.
He wanted to grow stronger as quickly as possible, but everything required constant and diligent effort.
Oliver began to contemplate how he could grow stronger and advance his abilities quickly. The answer was nothing complicated. If anything, it was to join a magical academy and study diligently there.
He would turn sixteen this year and would be eligible to enroll, but the tuition was something his parents could not afford. Even after years of saving. So, he would need to find a way to earn money in order to make it possible.
As he thought it over and over, he realized earning money wouldn't be an easy thing to do. Perhaps the academy was out of the question for now. For someone from a humble background like him, enrollment simply wasn't practical.
Regardless, he was determined to do what he could right now, which was to work on his magic capabilities. He devoted the next three hours sharpening his skills until his parents made their way back home.
And of course, as he had already expected before, his parents did not entertain the idea of enrolling in the academy. They just shook their heads, as they could not afford the tuition to let him enroll. That did not bother him too much, though.
Her sister had recently liked to visit her friend's house to play. She really needed that he assumed, as the atmosphere in the village was a bit gloomy and and she could use all the distractions as she could get. That was why she usually came home around noon.
Earlier that morning, she told him that she dreamed of opening a bakery in the future. Because of this, she regularly visited her friend's house for the sake of learning from her friend's mother.
The surroundings seemed pretty restless as everyone was busy organizing things, but his sister seemed content to exist in her own bubble.
During the evening, Oliver and his family ate dinner together. The clatter of dishes and laughter filled the dining room as they talked about various things, from weather to daily chores, and so on. His parents smiled often, but mood grew awkward whenever he brought up academy to the conversation.
In those moments, their eyes would wander away and their conversation would grow more subdued. So he did his best not to mention it again.
His parents also seemed to holding something back for whatever reason. They kind of curious about why Oliver seemed more composed and easygoing around them, but never said it out loud.
After dinner, Oliver returned to his room and sat on his bed. He started pondering what he could possibly do to change his circumstances. The harder he thought, the more it seemed there was no immediate answer.
Dejected, he finally decided to sleep. As he slept, his consciousness slowly faded. He couldn't remember anything anymore. A few hours later, he dreamed of something.
Uh… where am I?"
There was a dark, vast space. There was nothing. He then realized that he had once again become a wandering soul in the expanse of darkness.
"No… no… this place?" he panicked.
He wondered if he was dead again and what had happened. He didn't miss this strange feeling of wandering in the darkness at all. In fact, he hated it.
He continued wandering like a lone speck of light in the expanse of darkness. He tried to move but could do nothing. He tried to make a sound, but none came. He regretted it so much—after just three days, he was dead again. He thought it was some cruel joke.
"Ahhhh…!" he screamed, breathing heavily.
He realized it was just a dream.
"I'm alive… damn."
He was surprised that he was actually still alive. And that was just a dream. He felt relieved. And then he scratched his head with his right hand, but he realized that the ring his sister gave him was missing from his finger.
"Oh no. Where is my ring?!"
He jumped. His sister would be very upset if he suddenly lost it. That was something she had given him for his last birthday. Although it was silly for her to give her brother a ring, his sister was still somewhat a child and liked rings like that. The most important thing was that it was something she had bought with her own pocket money, and he really appreciated the gift.
"It's there!" he grabbed it.
The moment he grasped it, something peculiar happened. It was a feeling he had experienced before and he remembered it. Instinctively, a strange clarity washed over him, as if his mind were… processing something. Something that had always been inside him stirred, this time the sensation lingered a little bit longer before vanishing instantly.
Then something in the ring sparked, as if it was drawn to him. And he glimpsed a description hovering out of thin air.
[Ring of Briliance]
Status: Bound Item (only you can use this item)
Rank: unidentified
"Huh?" His eyes widened.