Darkness. This was his first thought after waking up.
'Where am I?'
He tried to move his limbs but the sensation of touch had something amiss from what he was used to.
'Wait, can I think?'
'I clearly remember getting shot in the chest by those gangsters. Am I in a coma?'
He tried again to move or open his eyes but the only thing he could feel was the sensation of being cramped and the only thing he could see was darkness.
'I guess I'm still alive, seems that I can't even achieve a quick death in my life. Well, at least it's warm in here.'
There was a constant warmth in his body, making the environment quite cozy.
'At least after I wake up my parents will let me off the hook for a while. Maybe I should just take this chance to get away from that house and go abroad, there should be at least a cleaning service hiring me.'
He thought of the possibility of exploiting that near-death experience as a mean to break free from the cage he called home. He considered how his parents would react once he said to them that he will drop the university to be a dishwasher.
'Dad will not make too much trouble for me, but mum will surely go crazy. Nowadays the only thing I can do home without starting a fight is reading. Maybe I will lose that too'
Since he remembered, he loved playing games, reading books and getting drunk. He found anything else boring and this seriously affected his school career since high school. So, the situation in his house grew more and more difficult for him to sustain as his parents would rather yell all the time than accept that the university wasn't fit for him.
'I guess a big part of that situation is my fault, after all, I've spent most of my life being drunk or isolated in some book. Not a good job as a son indeed.'
Thinking this, regret emerged in him. If he knew better at that time, he would've not used booze as a mean to vent and maybe the situation in his family would have been more peaceful.
'Well, I can't change what has already happened, and I didn't really have many options to keep myself cool while pretending all the time'
When he was 14 he figured out that something was not entirely right with him. He would see his friends going after girls or pretty clothing, emphasizing love and social status in a group of people. Yet, he only felt curiosity toward sex without ever being able to really bind with someone. As for human society, he saw it as a bunch of rules created by humans in order to force them to live together.
'Aren't those rules created by men? As a man, I should have the right to ignore them and live the way I want to.'
Time kept on passing while he was thinking, without him noticing that his thinking speed was way lower than usual.
'In the end, it's a world ruled by money. If you have it you can do whatever you want; if not you can only end up in one of the gears of society, accumulating money till the moment you die.'
'What a pitiful way of living. Forced by the rules of humans to work in order to accumulate pieces of paper, while those have value only thanks to the same rules you are obeying. True freedom is only achievable by gathering enough paper. Is there even value on living a life like this?'
His reasoning would stop from time to time as he would sleep or try to wake up his body.
In this way, days passed.
'Maybe I'm in a permanent coma and I will have to wait for true death in order to be freed from this darkness.'
The darkness surrounding him started to affect his mood, the only thing keeping him sane was the warm feeling in his body.
It was at that point that light appeared in the world of darkness, which seemed to get bigger as time passed by.
'Finally a change! I should follow th---'
All of sudden, some kind of compression pushed him from the cramped space he was in towards the light. It seemed to be a slow and painful process of which he felt the pressure. After some time, the world of darkness became a world of light so bright that his eyes hurt. He started hearing some cheers and voices speaking an unknown language.
When his eyes got used to the light he could finally see what was around him: a middle-aged fat woman was looking at him with worry, lightly touching his chest. The strange thing was that her hand seemed to cover his entire body.
'The fuck is happen---'
He could not finish his line of thought that the fat woman already turned him to the side and lightly slapped his buttocks.
For some reasons, he felt pain from that light slap.
'What the fuck are you doing woman?!?'
He said, yet what came out of his mouth was only a shrill cry.
After hearing that cry, the faces of the people in the room relaxed and the fat lady brought the baby to the arms of a pale but beautiful woman lying on an old-fashioned bed.
"It's a boy, my lady, and a pretty curious one, according to the way he looks at everything"
Even though he understood nothing of what the fat woman said, the young man in the body of a baby could easily figure out the situation he was in.
'Am I reborn? Wasn't it a coma?!?'
The woman holding the baby uncovered her chest and attempted to feed him.
'Wai--!'
Before he could say, or rather yell anything, a liquid poured down inside of his mouth and he lost himself in the dizziness of his first meal.
"I will name you Noah, yes, Noah Balvan it's a good name"
Noah looked at the woman feeding him with half closed eyes. The woman had long black hair untied on his back and ice-blue eyes below her thin eyebrows.
'Sure my mother is beautiful. Noah should be the name she gave me, at least it's a good name'
The door of the room opened and a man in his forties with short black hair and a stern face walked directly toward the woman on the bed.
"Lily let me see the child"
Saying so, the man directly took Noah in his arms and raised him in the air to have a better view of the baby. The fat woman and the other two maidservants on the side of the bed lowered their heads at the sight of the man.
Even Lily held her angry voice back at the sight of Noah being suddenly taken away from her chest.
"Mh, a bit pale and skinny but there seems to be some kind of wits in him. Maybe he will not be able to be a guard for the main family but he might succeed as counselor. You did a good job Lily"
Saying so, the man gave the baby back to his mother and moved toward the exit. Seeing this scene, Lily said softly:
"Rhys he's your son and his name is Noah, can't he aim at being more than a simple guard?"
Stopping at the edge of the exit, Rhys turned to look at Lily and said in the most natural manner:
"Even if he has my blood in his veins he has yours too mixed in, the son of a whore should consider himself lucky enough if he can protect the descendant of the main family"
And he went out of the room, leaving Lily with watery eyes hugging Noah. She didn't see the deep stare of the baby in her hands toward his father after he left through the door.
'Son of a whore? So I'm born a bastard in this world too. It seems that this family is not so simple...'
As anger flashed through Noah's infant mind, something extraordinary happened. A translucent interface suddenly materialized in his field of vision, startling him.
[System Initialization Complete]
[Host: Noah Balvan]
[Age: 0 days]
[Race: Human]
[Current Status Effects:]
[Newborn Vitality] - Enhanced growth and healing. Duration: 30 days [+] [-]
[Rapid Mental Development] - Accelerated cognitive development. Duration: 90 days [+] [-]
[Physical Weakness] - Reduced physical capabilities. Duration: 365 days [+] [-]
[Dependency] - Requires care to survive. Duration: 1095 days [+] [-]
'What the hell is this? Some kind of game interface? Is this real or am I hallucinating?'
Noah stared at the floating panel in disbelief. The interface looked exactly like something from a RPG game, complete with plus and minus buttons next to each status effect.
'Wait... if this is real, and if those buttons work like I think they do...'
Focusing his thoughts on the [Newborn Vitality] status, Noah concentrated on the plus button. Instinctively, he tried to "press" it with his mind, holding the mental pressure for several seconds.
[Newborn Vitality] - Duration: 30 days → ∞
The change was immediate. A warm, invigorating energy began flowing through his tiny body, and he could feel his cells regenerating and strengthening at an accelerated pace. The sensation was intoxicating.
'It actually worked! This is incredible!'
Next, he focused on [Rapid Mental Development] and repeated the process.
[Rapid Mental Development] - Duration: 90 days → ∞
His mind immediately felt clearer, sharper. His thinking speed increased dramatically, and he could feel his neural pathways strengthening and multiplying.
For [Physical Weakness], he focused on the minus button instead.
[Physical Weakness] - Status Removed
Although still in an infant's body, he no longer felt the crushing helplessness that had been weighing him down. His muscles, while small, now felt solid and responsive.
'This is... this is exactly like that novel I read before dying. The protagonist could extend temporary status effects to infinite duration and remove negative ones. But this is real!'
Noah decided to leave [Dependency] alone for now. Being too independent as a newborn would raise suspicions.
'In my previous life, I was powerless. I died meaninglessly because I couldn't protect myself. But with this ability, in a world that seems to have magic and cultivation... I can become truly powerful.'
His thoughts were interrupted as his mother gently stroked his head, tears still flowing down her cheeks.
"Don't mind your father's words, my little Noah," she whispered. "You have his bloodline, and I'll make sure you get every opportunity to become great. I won't let them look down on you forever."
'This woman... she's not my real mother, but her care seems genuine. In this world, I'll need allies. And if this is truly a cultivation world, family connections might be important.'
Looking at the interface still floating before his eyes, Noah felt a surge of determination.
'I'll use every advantage this system gives me. Every medicine, every technique, every blessing I encounter - I'll make them all permanent. I'll show this world what true power looks like.'
'The son of a whore will become a legend that even the heavens will fear.'
Thinking so, he closed his eyes and went to sleep, but not before one final thought:
'I should do my best to learn the language of this world as fast as I can. Knowledge will be just as important as power in this new life.'
Five months have passed since Noah was reborn in this world.
It was spring, or at least it seemed so for what he saw of the outside environment. The mansion he lived in resembled a countryside villa from his previous life, yet it had the size of a castle and was mostly made of wood, with a wall made of rocks on the perimeter.
In that moment, he was in the arms of his new mother, peeking around while she was walking through the mansion talking to him. Little did she know that Noah managed to understand most of what she said.
'The language of this world is not so hard, also because it has a lot of similarities with the English of my previous world. Well, it's also thanks to Lily never leaving my side and continuously speaking to me'
But Noah knew the real reason for his rapid language acquisition. The [Rapid Mental Development] status effect, now permanent, had accelerated his learning far beyond what should be possible for an infant. Combined with his adult memories and the [Newborn Vitality] enhancing his brain development, he was absorbing information at an incredible rate.
These five months were spent by him mostly in his mother's embrace walking around Balvan mansion, with Lily explaining the most random things to him. Thanks to that he had a general idea of his position in the family and how the mansion was structured.
The mansion was divided into 2 rings, outer and inner. The inner ring was composed of a 4 stories building and it was the place where the main family lived; the outer ring had two 2 stories buildings and a 3 stories one and they were respectively inhabited by guards, servants, and guests.
At the moment, they were on the first floor of the guest's building, which was reserved to them since he had the blood of the main family in him, and since Lily was the beloved concubine of Rhys.
Noah's father, Rhys, was the third and last son of the old patriarch of the Balvan family, Thomas. As such, even though they did not get access to the inner ring, they could still live a comfortable life in the outer one.
During these months, Noah had also been observing the servants and guards, trying to understand more about this world. From their conversations, he gathered that this was indeed a world where cultivation existed, where people could become stronger through mysterious practices involving something called "Breath."
His interface had remained active throughout these months, occasionally showing new temporary status effects that he would immediately make permanent:
[Enhanced Nutrition Absorption] - ∞
[Accelerated Bone Development] - ∞
[Improved Muscle Memory] - ∞
[Heightened Sensory Perception] - ∞
Each enhancement made him stronger, smarter, more capable. By now, despite being only five months old, his physical development was already ahead of schedule, and his mental faculties rivaled those of a teenager.
"You must grow strong, little dear, the people in the inner ring will see you as a bastard and will spare no effort to abuse and bully you, especially the legitimate grandsons and granddaughters of the patriarch"
Hearing this, Noah's mood became heavier, but not for the reasons his mother might expect.
'I lived a life without meaning, in a world full of compromises. But this time is different. With my system, I won't be the victim. If they want to bully the "bastard," they'll discover what a mistake that is.'
Lily kept talking but Noah's mind was focused on his future plans.
'If I stay here I will probably have a lot of benefits, after all, the Balvan family seems quite wealthy. The resources of a cultivation family could be invaluable for my growth. Every pill, every technique manual, every training method - I can make their effects permanent.'
Noah was no longer considering running away. With his system, the Balvan family's resources were too valuable to abandon. Instead, he would use them to build power, then reshape his position within the family through strength.
'I have 25 years of experience from my previous life, knowledge of a more advanced world, and now this incredible system. My possibilities are limitless.'
From the clothing of the people, the structure of the buildings and the state of the furniture, he could guess that this was a world without electricity, so way behind in the field of technology compared to his previous world.
'Yet, this might be also a disadvantage; my habits are those of the industrialized society and my thoughts are those of a guy from the 21st century, I don't know how the people here might react to some ideas. I must be careful.'
Sometimes thinking about his future, sometimes listening to his mother, the day passed and the night was approaching. Lily walked to a balcony in order to watch the stars appear on the dark sky. Noah used this chance to study the environment outside the mansion. Outside the defense wall, there were sheep grazing the fields, there was a large stone road that started from the main gate of the mansion and stretched in the distance, cutting the green fields into 2 halves. A field of what seemed corn was being cultivated on his right side and a forest was barely visible on his left in the distance.
It was a beautiful scenery, one Noah wasn't used to seeing, and now this was his new world. Then he shifted his gaze to the sky, and he seemed to see the darkness enveloping the redness of the clouds due to the sunset. At the beginning it was like a small dot in the distance, becoming bigger and bigger as it was going in their direction. Only then he realized that something was wrong. The darkness wasn't caused by the nightfall but by the silhouette of something undulating through the clouds.
It was fast and it was getting closer and closer.
At some point, a deafening roar ran through the peaceful countryside. It was coming from the figure in the sky.
A black winged body dove from the clouds diagonally, speeding toward the flock of sheep outside the mansion wall.
It was 7-8 meters long and had big black scaled wings, actually the scales were covering all of his body.
'A dragon! A real dragon! So this world really does have magical creatures!'
Noah's excitement was mixed with awe as he witnessed true magic for the first time.
It dove at such a high speed that Noah could not make out the time difference between its exit from the clouds and its nearing to the terrain where the flock was.
Suddenly, the wall illuminated with purple and runes appeared on its surface. It emitted a steady but loud hum and the purple color of the wall spread toward the countryside in the direction of the flock.
'Formations! Those are cultivation formations like in the novels!'
The beast seemed disturbed in its descent and tried to halt itself mid-air spreading its wings.
But its speed was too high and it inevitably fell on the ground where the purple halo was going, creating an immense pit.
The moment the purple halo touched the dragon, smoke rose from the pit and another roar, one of pain, sounded in the dusk.
The dragon rose to the sky again as fast as possible and stared with venomous eyes at the mansion. Smoke kept flowing out of his belly like from an open wound. Apparently, the purple halo had injured the dragon.
Filled with hatred, the dragon inhaled and then spat out a tongue of red flames toward the mansion that took the form of a lance as it kept nearing the outer ring.
Lily was frozen in fear seeing the lance of fire coming in her direction while Noah was analyzing every detail of the dragon's attack, memorizing the way it gathered and shaped its flames.
'If I could somehow acquire a status effect related to dragon abilities...'
Before the flames could reach the outer wall though, a figure appeared mid-air in between them.
He raised his right hand and mumbled something then the lance of flames hit something like a wall of air.
The attrition between the flames and the shield lasted for some seconds before the flames were extinguished and the floating figure was visible again.
He was an old man, with a straight combed long white beard reaching his waist and unbound long hair flowing in the wind. He was wearing a Chinese kimono with large sleeves yet the right one was now burned, showing his slim but sturdy arm.
'That's a cultivator! A real cultivator! And that's probably my grandfather, Thomas Balvan. The power he just displayed...'
Noah watched with intense focus as the old man stared down the dragon. This was the level of power he needed to reach, and with his system, he would surpass even this.
He looked at the dragon right in its eyes and the dragon did the same.
That standoff lasted for about 10 seconds before the dragon roared once again and turned to leave at high speed through the sky, in the direction of the forest.
The old man waited a bit more in the air over the wall looking at the direction where the dragon went. After being completely sure that the beast was gone he sighed and disappeared.
'Incredible! He can fly! And that defensive technique... I need to learn cultivation as soon as possible.'
Lily was still frozen by fear and did not notice that was holding the frail body of Noah too tightly.
This pain was what made him return to reality as he left a small groan to wake his mother from the reverie.
Lily returned to reality too, softening the grip on Noah, and she was about to say something before being interrupted by an aged and deep voice.
"So, this is my latest grandson, am I right?"
Noah's eyes widened slightly as he looked up to see the same old man who had just fought the dragon now standing on the balcony with them. Up close, his presence was even more intimidating - the air around him seemed to shimmer with residual power.
'Thomas Balvan. The patriarch. This is my chance to make a good first impression.'
Despite being an infant, Noah met the old man's gaze directly, his enhanced mental capabilities allowing him to project an unusual intelligence through his eyes.
The patriarch raised an eyebrow at the baby's bold stare.
"Interesting. Most infants would be crying after such a commotion, but this one seems... curious rather than afraid."
'Perfect. He's already noticing something special about me. I need to be careful not to appear too abnormal, but showing potential could be beneficial.'
As Noah continued to stare at his grandfather with those unusually perceptive eyes, he made a silent vow:
'In my previous life, I was weak and died meaninglessly. But in this world of cultivation, with my unlimited status system, I'll become so powerful that even dragons will bow before me. I'll show everyone what the "son of a whore" can truly accomplish.'
---
**End of Chapter **