3 years ago
On the main street of a city on the border of the Kingdom of Petra, the sun shone bright as a grand parade was being held to celebrate the return of the country's current hero party.
They had been sent months earlier to push back the advances of high-ranking monsters from the West. Although they took longer than the public had anticipated, they returned victorious.
A gigantic crowd formed on both sides of the road. Armed guards equipped with spears stood in formation, wearing blue and dark grey surcoats over full plate armor with helmets, facing the crowd, away from the oncoming caravan.
Soon enough, the sound of galloping horses could be heard, and the people went wild, shouting and jumping with joy.
"Elira! Seon!"
"Tariq! Rhodes! I love you!"
Leading the group was Tariq, a tall Black human man with an upright posture.
He had long braids, green eyes, and many scars across his face and arms.
Tariq wore a metallic cuirass, red clothing beneath it, and black, torn gloves. A longsword, his weapon of choice, was sheathed on the left side of his waist.
Behind him came Seon, a petite human woman of Asian heritage, with pale skin, short dark hair, and blue eyes.
She wore a white robe adorned with gold and appeared to be in the best condition among the team. A lazuli staff rested sideways across her lap.
At the back, a wagon pulled by two horses followed them.
A huge, muscular, light-skinned human man could be seen sleeping on the floor of the wagon, wearing only torn white pants. The rest of his body was wrapped in bandages, his wounds darkened in black and purple hues. He was the one named Rhodes.
Beside him rested Elira, a petite white female elf with green eyes and long blonde hair.
She wore greenish-yellow leather armor, and her left eye was blind; a grievous red scar ran through it.
She keenly observed her surroundings, a silver bow and a black dagger resting on her lap. Her quiver was empty.
Despite all the injuries, except for Rhodes, they waved back at the crowd from time to time, smiling briefly among themselves.
It seemed they were heading toward the capital.
"Heh… They're amazing!" — said a boy with brown skin, short curly dark hair, and hazel eyes.
He watched everything from a distance, standing atop five large stacked wooden boxes.
"It's my turn! Come on, get down, Leo! I wanna watch!" — another boy insisted.
This one had black skin, long straight dark hair, and black eyes.
"Okay, okay." — Leo said, climbing down and switching places.
He then began chatting with other kids who also wanted to use the improvised watchtower.
A friendly, innocent group.
Later at night
"Son! Dinner is ready!" — shouted a white woman with long straight black hair, dark green eyes, and a simple kirtle.
She set the table and sat beside her husband, who was already eating ravenously, not sparing time to speak.
Their house was slightly larger than average, with two bedrooms, one bathroom, and a dining room that also served as a living room.
A divider separated the kitchen utensils, hearth, open fire, and cauldron from the couch, table, and bookshelves. The house was built of brick and painted dark yellow.
ThumpThumpThump
Footsteps echoed down the hallway. Then Leo jumped out, holding a small wooden shield in his left hand and a miniature longsword in his right, striking exaggerated attacking and defending poses.
"Ha! Hya! Humph!"
Laughing, his father, a fit, scarred Black man with curly dark hair streaked with white and brown eyes, paused his meal and looked at him. He wore a simple tunic.
"Little Guard, come here and eat your food."
"Yes, listen to your father!" — his mother added.
"Okay, okay!" — Leo sighed, putting his toys on the couch before sitting at the table.
Mother and son began eating. Dinner was salad with grilled boar and beans.
"Heh, we hunted a lot today. Wild boars again, giant deer… and for some reason, many more minor monsters like slimes and Strongbunnies appeared. Still, we managed." — the father said proudly.
He pulled his wife close with one arm, hugging her, then gave his son a thumbs-up.
She smiled, cheeks reddening, before pulling away and finishing her meal.
The boy looked on in awe, clearly inspired by his father's deeds.
After finishing his food, Leo stood atop his wooden chair. His parents watched him, puzzled but amused by his antics.
Cough "I want to say that… Leonard Conrad, son of Ethan and Briana, will become a hero! I will be an adventurer!" — After saying this with enthusiasm, he struck a heroic pose, hands on his waist.
"Oh my…" — Briana covered her mouth, feigning shock.
"Hmmm…" — Ethan studied Leonard thoughtfully.
They already knew. Leonard spent his free time reading about adventurers and heroes.
His room was filled with books detailing their histories, along with an encyclopedia of monsters and evildoers. It was his hyperfixation.
"Well… if that is what my son wants, I have no objection. However…" — Ethan said seriously.
"You must be prepared." — Briana added sternly.
Leonard froze, surprised.
In this world, where monsters, transmigrators, and those chosen by gods roamed freely, life expectancy was low.
Commoners, people without abilities, formed the majority.
Due to constant wars and invasions, their average lifespan was forty for men and fifty for women. Because of this, the legal age was fifteen.
"Son, we come from humble beginnings." — Ethan continued.
"I am only an affiliated hunter. Your mother sells what I bring home and the food she cooks."
"We can eat well, buy clothes and toys, things many lower-class families never could. We even enrolled you in school. We're proud of that."
"Heroes and top-tier adventurers are special. You are just an ordinary seven-year-old boy. Your path will be harder. What they do once, you may have to do twice or three times to reach the same height."
"With that in mind… is this truly what you want? You could become an alchemist, a scholar, or a man of the law."
"Yes! That's what I want!" — Leonard answered, determination blazing in his eyes.
The parents laughed softly.
"Very well." — Ethan said.
"From now on, I'll train you with sword and shield in the garden. When you're older, I'll teach you how to hunt with a bow."
"And I'll teach you how to cook, bargain, and sell." — Briana added with a grin.
"How prices work and how to survive in a city, no matter which one it is."
Leonard jumped to the ground, running to them, hugging both.
"Oh, and finish your food." — Briana reminded him.
All of them laughed, happy with each other's company.
3 years later
Deep within a forest outside the border city of Defen, early on the afternoon, Kingdom of Petra.
A Strongbunny, a rare species of bunny with highly developed legs, larger bodies, and aggressive behavior, grazed near others of its kind.
An arrow suddenly pierced its head, killing it instantly. The others scattered.
"Yes… I did it. Fourth in a row!" — Leonard whispered, crouched inside a bush.
His father patted his shoulder; both of them got up and walked toward the corpse, looking at it.
"Now, absorb its residual essence."
Essence, also called prana, mana, chi, or chakra, was the energy permeating all things.
When a being is born, two things occur:
1. A soul inhabits the body. It happens naturally or artificially, as are the cases with forced reincarnations or transmigrations.
2. The body begins absorbing prana continuously, recycling it back into the world, always releasing less than it absorbs.
Over time, this allows growth, though extremely slowly. The more one absorbs mana, the stronger all of their attributes, except intelligence, become.
Another method was absorbing essence from other sources: corpses, living beings, minerals, or mana-rich locations. It was much, much faster than just waiting.
Absorption efficiency varies by species, race, abilities, and equipment.
Reincarnators and summoned individuals, two types of transmigrators, absorbed essence far more efficiently, about three times the normal rate.
It happened because of mutations caused by the time and spatial magics used to bring them to this dimension. Up until that point, it was public knowledge.
Leonard extended his right hand toward the dead Strongbunny.
Those frequently exposed to mana develop the ability to see it. Squinting, Leonard watched the essence gather and flow into his hand.
Energy surged through him. His heartbeat quickened, his veins bulged, and his body grew slightly.
"I must have leveled up." — he said, smiling.
To level up, and other similar terms, were introduced in this world by the transmigrators. The locals found it useful and started utilizing it.
As essence accumulates, one's aura grows. At certain thresholds, physical mutations occur—this is called a level.
"Judging by your energy field, you're probably level two."
"Pick up the Strongbunny. Put it in your bag; we are going home now."
On the same day
His father was lying down on the couch, his mother in his arms. They exchanged compliments and kisses.
Leonard prepared the Strongbunnies for dinner: first skinning them, then cleaning and setting them aside to marinate with condiments.
He sliced vegetables and fruits, assembling a well-seasoned salad. Soon, the meat sizzled over the hearth, a delicious aroma filling the house.
His parents watched proudly.
In three years, much had changed. Leonard had grown serious, learned all their skills, and now only awaited five years to be of legal age so he could depart on his adventure.
Ethan, a level five himself, sensed Leonard's growing mana clearly. Each level increased strength by roughly twenty percent, according to scholars.
At forty years old, an elder by this world's standards, Ethan's physical abilities were nearly twice that of an average man.
As a father, the weight of concern never left his heart. But if progress continued at this pace, by fifteen…
Leonard should be able to take care of himself.
"Hey, you lovebirds! Dinner is ready..." — he laughed, setting the table.
"Finally. I was dying of hunger..." — his father joked.
"Yeah. I am certain I heard my mother calling me now..." — Briana said, covering her mouth with her right hand.
"But my grandmother is already dead... Oh."
Few days later
On an usual morning at the plains, outside the city walls of Defen.
Slimes attacked a full-leather-armored Leonard. He was standing still, just taking the spells and the eventual slime whips.
"Urgh!" — when the attacks landed on his neck or areas with less armor, he cried. He was also sure that inside his armor, his skin was surely red from the impacts.
"It is true I don't have any special skills or traits. So my plan is... to be the most prepared one can."
He was trying, through repeated processes, to obtain passive skills that would aid later.
Passive skills, different from the active ones, which you could obtain through learning or stealing in the case of magics, are ones you can get after repetitive effort or significant exposure.
Seven years later
Now wearing full plate armor, brandishing an iron longsword and a copper shield, Leonard looked back into his room before stepping out.
His bed, made of wood, contrasted with his red wool mattress and blue pillow made from the same material.
He saw his bookshelves, with lots and lots of books he had read a thousand times. His toys on the ground.
A sensation of nostalgia and sadness hit him. He proceeded to get out and close the door.
He then exited his home, the sun shining on his face, refracting inside his full-face helmet. His parents were waiting for him near the gate of the property.
Reaching them, he hugged them both, clearly emotional. Because of the many breakthroughs he had in these five years, he grew a lot, not resembling a seventeen-year-old boy.
He was taller than his father, his constitution more well-built. It was a combination of natural reasons and the prana.
Leonard had decided to stay in his house longer than expected because he wanted to make sure he was thoroughly prepared. After all, he loved his progenitors a lot and his own life and did not want to worry them more than he already was.
People may go to hell if they think he is a bum.
"Son... Please, don't forget to send us letters from time to time." — Briana said, crying.
"Tell me if someone bullies you. I will take care of him!" — Ethan said, also with watery eyes.
"I love you. I am what I am now because of how you guys treated me. I promise to honor you. Just wait. You will hear from me!" — he said, also emotional, containing himself not to cry.
"Okay, let's let our boy go now..."
"Y-Yes, of course." — his mother answered.
Both of them let him go. As he traveled down the road, his parents shouted.
"GO ON, OUR HERO!!"