It all happened in an instant. My body went cold all of a sudden. Before I realized it, I got shot in the chest by a wandering bullet from across the road. Which a robbery was occurring.
My body turned pale. My sensations became numb, while my skin slowly became cold. "Am I going to die?" were the words that subconsciously came out of my mouth.Hearing it in my situation sounded a bit cringeworthy since I was seriously going to die anyway.My entire life was always riddled with tragedy. When I was 5, my mother died in a car accident. Leaving only me and my father. But when I reached 10, my father remarried and disowned me by sending me to my mother's relative.Then my father left me behind and started anew with his new wife. Meanwhile, I was stuck with my cold-blooded uncle, who didn't have an ounce of remorse for me.Every day he'd beat me up if I woke up late. He'd send me to school with an empty stomach.It was all unrealistic to me, so I started questioning my luck. "What did I do to deserve all this?"I've endured the hellish life I've lived up until I became a college student who'd now finally escape my cold-blooded uncle's grasp and be independent.But my dream instantly shattered: "I guess I really did some bad deeds in my previous life." I mumbled as I held on to my last breath.My vision started getting hazy. The pain I endured suddenly felt numb and disappeared. My eyes were slowly closing on their own.Memories of my childhood that I'd already forgotten started rummaging through my mind. Those unbearable times that I needed to endure a hellish life struck my head in an instant."Uhh, this must be the thing they called "flashing before my eyes" could successfully close on its own."I guess this is how people die; I suddenly hate it, making me remember all those unpleasantries.Is that light? I wondered...After dying, my consciousness didn't fade. And I was transported into a place where darkness was all I could see.My body felt like I was levitating. Slowly withering, as if all my senses were slowly fading, excluding my eyesight, I slowly began to feel nothing. All I could do was think and doubt, "Did I really die?"But amidst all the darkness that surrounded me, a small light appeared.My senses started coming back. My vision was still blurry, but I could assure you that a small speck of light appeared in front of me.A tingling sensation slowly tickled me. My body suddenly felt hot and slimy, as if I were being preserved inside of some eggshell or whatnot.Then the light slowly got larger and larger, until I felt that my body was being sucked towards that very light that shined in front of me.And I slowly felt something pulling my body towards the gleaming light. The numbness that I'd felt slowly vanished as the light grew bigger and wider."Congratulations! It's a boy." --Huh? What are they talking about?""He resembles his father. Congratulations."What are they talking about?" My vision was still blurry, and my hearing senses were still a bit dull. But I was sure that someone was talking."Darling, our son. Look! He has your eyes.""Yes. He also has your hair, honey."Their voices," I could hear them properly now. But my vision was still blurry, and my mind started getting hazy after seeing specks of light enveloping my vision.And their language, is it French?" I'm an American. How can I understand them when I've never had the chance to study French?"I've decided that his name will be Axel." --Hey, did he just name me? Wait a minute... This can't be...."As my vision started getting clearer, I noticed my hands were very tiny, and I could see a man staring deeply in front of me. While I could smell a woman's scent, I raised my head only to notice a beautiful woman gently smiling at me while carrying me softly.That's when I realized, Did I just reincarnate as a baby?""Look at him, darling. He just looked at you." The man happily said, wearing a bright and satisfied expression."I guess he's curious to see what his mother looks like." The woman gently replied.The man who had emerald hair, sword-like eyebrows, golden eyes, and a neatly cut beard with a strong jawline seemed to be my father.While the gentle woman who had beautiful blonde hair, ocean blue-like eyes, well-shaped eyebrows, a small sharp nose, rosy cheeks, and plump cherry-shaped lips who was softly caressing me seemed to be my mother.How?" I wondered."How did I end up dying and got reincarnated?" Was the only thing that stuck in my mind........Several months had passed, and my new life began smoothly."Look at our Axel. He's super cute.""Come on dear, let's give him some space. He needs to sleep."My mother, Alexandra Echevalier, who's happily married to my father, Damian Echevalier, had been continuously caressing me every day. Their mature look didn't match their cutesy act when they're completely indulged towards me.But one thing's for sure: Their acts of kindness towards me made me feel a bit happy.To experience being loved was one of my dreams before dying in my previous hellish life.And another thing I learned was that their language wasn't French, nor was it among the languages I had hardly known in my previous life.It's somehow different, but I could still understand them. That's a good sign for me, but after getting carried around our magnificent, huge house.I learned that I wasn't in the same world I'd lived in before.............Two years had passed. And I was now able to walk on my own. Speaking was still a bit of a problem for me, but understanding what they're saying is extremely easy for me now.This world I'm currently in was different. Our extravagant house didn't have any electricity. It seemed that electricity didn't exist in this world. But they had something that did not exist in my previous world. Yes, you've guessed it. It's mana.Mana was known in some videogames back in my old world, which helped the character use magical abilities. As for this world, mana was their fuel rather than electricity.Our majestic, extravagant, huge house was filled with magical lamps that were fueled with mana.We don't have television or air conditioning. All I could see were bookshelves, antique decorations, and some blemished portraits stuck on the walls."Axel? Where are you?" --Oh sh*t, Mother's calling."There you are! Why do you always hide in your father's library?"Should I respond?" --"Boots layk"My mother's eyes brightened as she stared intently at me. "My baby! You say you like books?" She said in an excited demeanor while rubbing my cheeks gently.I nodded in hopes she would understand and finally leave me be.But after that, she started bringing me with her to her room and read me dozens of children's fairy tale books.Ugh.... I didn't want to learn about these childish fairy tales. I wanted to learn about the world."Only if I could say this to her.While my mother continued reading, I suddenly fell from the sofa we sat on and bumped my head.*Thud* "Axel! Oh dear!" As she slowly rubbed my head, showing hints of worry deep in her bright blue eyes.She then carried me back towards the sofa and said, "Wait, let me help you and send your boo-boo away."It made me feel cringe, but after what I've witnessed, I suddenly wanted to fall again and let her send my boo boo away.It was at that time that I witnessed firsthand an extraordinary phenomenon that didn't exist in my previous world.Lights suddenly popped out of nowhere, gathered, and resonated through her palm. She closed her eyes while glittering specks of golden light gathered towards me while she softly said, "Heal." In an instant, the pain I felt instantly vanished."Did the pain go away? Mommy will heal you if you hurt yourself, okay?" She spoke in a gentle tone, patting my head softly with a bright smile.I nodded without realizing it as I kept thinking of that strange phenomenon that I've currently witnessed.Well, it wasn't really strange, since Mana existed in the first place. But it was still a bit shocking for me. For me, who has never experienced nor seen such things, it completely piqued my interest.And so, I began researching....At first, I thought it was magic, which intrigued me. Well, it was still magic since it was mystical, but after studying through my father's bookshelves, I've found out that skills exist in this world, and my mother had the healing skill.According to what was written in the books, skills would be obtained once you reached the age of 7.And your skills would depend on how much mana you could gather.Skills in this world were ranked in tiers: E, D, C, B, A, and S.My mother, Alexandra Echevalier, was a Rank S skill user. Since healing was a rare skill to obtain. Which could also be called "overpowered" since, depending on the user's mana, even a cut-off limb could still be reintact.Upon learning, I began feeling excited. A feeling that I've never once felt in my previous life.I've only dreamt of having to experience what being loved means. Well, adding such new discoveries wouldn't hurt, I guess.........And so, time quickly flew by without me knowing that I was already 7 years old and was about to receive my exclusive skill.Chapter End.The long-awaited day I'd wished to come had finally arrived.It was already nighttime, and by midnight I would finally turn 7 years old.In the past few years, I have learned a lot from my mother and father, who had S-Rank skills.My mother, who had the skill to heal It may not be combat-suited, but it's still overpowered since she can still heal an individual who's even on death's doorstep.Meanwhile, my father, Damian Echevalier, was a known swordmaster who owned one of the strongest S-rank swordsmanship skills. His ability was combat-suited, which he trained and harnessed for several years until he gained the title of a swordmaster and became unrivaled in all of Helium.Helium is the continent we're currently living on. A vast continent with several countries, towns, and villages scattered throughout the area.Among those countries was Turk, the Prestigious Dukedom we currently live in.My father was the Duke of Turk. And I was basically the son of a duke.Then that explains why our
Though I expected something about my E-Rank skill being unique and special due to it being a growth-type skill, it has already been several months, and yet there were no guides or hints on how my skill could be developed."Growth type my ass! The skill description doesn't even give me hints about my skill! How can I let this useless E-rank skill grow!?""I guess an E-Rank skill would still be an E-Rank skill after all."After my father, Damian, had shown his skill status.*Skill: Moonlight Swordsmanship, Skill Rank: S*There was no skill type written on the skill status that was displayed in front of me.Therefore, I wondered and did some research. But after several months had passed, there was nothing I could find that mentioned growth-type skills in every book that I could find in our household.Meanwhile, I practiced using my skill whenever I got some spare time, and when I used my skill, string manipulator, I could summon and release strings from the palms of my hands.It reminded
While we continued eating at the dining table, a messenger appeared and notified me and my mother, "Duchess, the Duke will be extending his time in exploiting the vast forest of Eldia." Is what he said."Oh dear, why all of a sudden?" Alexandra asked."It seems that the monster beasts are currently expanding their territory. That is why the Duke himself would be venturing into the forest along with his knights in order to ascertain that the Dukedom would not experience another incident such as before."An incident? Did something happen before?""Okay, tell the Duke to be careful and notify him that me and his son are waiting for his triumphant return." Alexandra said.I was curious about what the messenger said, but I can't ask my mother directly since I'm sure she'll be making up excuses again."The messenger then left the room and went straight towards the Duke's location, while my mother and I got up from the table after finishing our meals."Axel, Make sure to wear a cute outfit, o
His emerald hair brightened as he walked towards the border entrance of the forest. His dignified posture and calm demeanor were truly extravagant sights to behold. His silver-plate armor shone when struck by sunlight, while his golden, luxurious sword was beautifully placed on his waist inside a blemish-free scabbard.Every step he took was filled with utmost awareness and unwavering confidence as they entered the Forest of Eldia."Duke!" A messenger appeared while gasping for air."What is it, Halmuth?" Damian asked."The message you've ordered has finally been delivered. The duchess and the young master are waiting for your triumphant return."The seriousness in Damian's eyes, the composed demeanor he had, and his dignified posture instantly disappeared after hearing the messenger's delightful words."Really? Well, it can't be helped then~ all men! We shall finish this task quickly and return victorious!" Damian yelled out loud.The knights who saw their Duke's change of personality
I immediately got dressed after my mother called for me. As for the research of my skill absorption, I put it on halt since I'm about to head out with my mother and attend a ball within our dukedom's territory.My mother wore a bright emerald dress with several gems intact in it, while I wore a red long-sleeved tunic coat with a black linear-layered undervest.The white carriage was awaiting our arrival outside the gate of our household. A man wearing a gray flat hat and decently dressed in white classic attire held the horse's ropes tightly in front of the carriage.Several servants from our household formed two straight lines on both sides as they all greeted us, "Safe travels, Duchess, Young Master." When we passed through them at the gate.My mother and I elegantly went inside the carriage, and the door was gently closed by one of the servants.Then our departure gradually occurred after the carriage slowly left our household............"Mother, where's the ball being held?" Ax
A young boy was standing in front of me with an arrogant expression. While it got me thinking...Who is this blatantly ignorant side character?""What are you looking at?" The young boy spoke in an arrogant tone, gazing at Axel."Well, I just wanted to apologize for bumping into you. And I got quite intrigued by your hair color." Axel responded."What? My hair color? You also see me as a weirdo?" The young boy spoke with an angry demeanor."What? I didn't mean it in a bad way. I'll be taking my leave." Axel slowly turned around and took a few steps away from the weird young boy.Before Axel could get further away, the young boy suddenly grabbed Axel's shoulder and uttered in a demanding tone, "Wait."Axel immediately turned around and asked, "What is it?""Your hair is also weird. You know that, right?" He said with a disgusted look in his face.What the hell is wrong with this kid!?""Okay, thanks." Axel said and frowned in front of him.Ugh, this is why I don't like meeting other peo
"Why does she keep pestering us?""I don't even want to talk to you, Ellie.""Yeah, no one among us likes you. With your pitiful personality, always looking like you're asking for sympathy makes me want to hurl.""Just leave us alone and don't ever approach us anymore, Ellie."Several noble kids then left after spouting rude words at the trembling girl.Ellie Glaus, the girl who was being ridiculed so badly.She was also the younger sibling of Emmanuel Glaus, who was undoubtedly the center of attention.Due to Ellie's E-rank skill, her family solely focused their attention on their eldest son and slowly forgot about their youngest daughter."Why does everyone hate me?" Ellie mumbled in her head.Her eyes started shaking, slowly tearing up due to the hurtful words she received from the Noble kids.In spite of her excellent facial features and rose-colored silky long hair, her personality was a bit broken.Due to the influence that surrounded her, being mistreated repeatedly, and being c
It has already been several days since we returned from the ball we attended.I've been continuously doing some research about my skill's potential.Once thought to be an utterly useless skill, it is now starting to bloom in a more positive way..........I've done several experiments in the past few days, and I finally learned that I could not materialize living organisms. And the word "anything" only works on non-living things.But there's a new subskill I learned that lets me control living beings with less mana than me, based on my presumptions.It is the subskill I recently acquired called "String Marionette," which grants me control over living beings that have less mana than me.The string becomes invisible after the string marionette is successfully attached to the specific target.But it also consumes my mana rapidly; I can only manage to use it for less than ten minutes in my current state. And the control over the string marionette skill was totally tiring since it requires