The memories of the previous owner of the body merge with the memories Raymond had. They were rushing like water in a river stream, with Raymond at the end of the river, as if he was a vast wide ocean.
Coincidentally, Raymond had the same name as the previous owner of the body, who was also Raymond. Raymond could only be jealous as he read through the memories.
And slowly, as those memories rushed back to him, eventually becoming his, he lost the jealousy he was feeling. It all diminished as the memories became his, and there, he concluded.
What if he was reincarnated and retained his previous life's memory? Now that this had occurred, the absurd things he had imagined were becoming a reality.
Reincarnation? Now that he has experienced it, he should not dismiss an idea more fantasy-like like this. There were plenty of things that weren't impossible now, as more memories and information reached his system.
In this world, he lived with a warm family, just like before his tenth birthday and his parents' deaths. He had a wholesome family once, and now that he was 12 in this world, he could live with a wonderful family again.
If he knew this wasn't him, he could be envious. But the will that Raymond had before him was like his now. It was all with him.
He knew that this world, Arcana, had a different concept of living than Earth. They had levels, like those in games, and accompanied by their levels were talent and skills.
Absurdity? Nothing was really impossible. He could think of anything as speculation and not dismiss it as absurd. He could think that he might have experienced "isekai'd".
Was it a cliché? He could think of it as what was currently happening to him, but it was not as if he had a choice to leave this life, like reading a book.
Reading and gaming were his partners in the past. That was why he had an idea of what this world similarly had with the concepts back on Earth.
He could also presume that he had somewhat of a cheat-like ability. But before this excitement could steam off, he remained calm as he slowly opened his eyes with a smile.
"I have a good life? It seems promising... It is exactly different from my previous life."
Despite his young age on Earth, he had gained a lot of imaginary experience from reading books. Aside from reading fantasy books, he also read plenty of psychological books by respected authors for him to learn more about society.
It was absurd to get inspired by a book and apply it in real life, especially if it was fiction. But for him, who was still young, that was the only way for him to understand adults.
And thus, after he had read all of his memories and merged them with his previous life's memories, he stood up from his bed and went out of his room.
His family was composed of five members. He had an older sister and a younger sister, making him the middle child and the only boy. Also, his parents were just average farmers.
Despite that, they could still live a peaceful life as their village was a clan with entrusted responsibilities in each household.
There were families trusted with the construction and carpentry. There were families entrusted with the supplies and marketing, etc.
This village was like a huge family of branches. And with it, his family was able to live easily.
When he got out of his room, he immediately saw the living room, where his family was. They were eating and chilling when they saw Raymond leaving his room.
They were surprised and immediately rushed to his side. With worried faces, they sent a barrage of questions.
"Raymond, why are you leaving your room? If you need something, you are supposed to call us. You still haven't recovered from your previous fever."
His older sister, with a common ponytail hairstyle, average squinted eyebrows, and black hair. This older sister of his was kind despite his aggressive facial expression. She was one of those who still cared for him despite his age, having come to adulthood.
She was slightly taller than him, but it didn't make Raymond smaller.
"Big Brother, if you get sick again, I will cry."
The cute little one in their family and the baby, the youngest. She had pigtails of black hair, chubby cheeks, and round eyes. She was like a diamond to them, and she was almost as if she was an incarnation of an angel.
It was too kind that this little one always thought of her family's safety even when she was still a child who was supposed to not worry about things.
On the couch was his father, just giving him a simple glance.
"Hey, Raymond. A true man doesn't let the ladies worry for him."
Those were simple words but full of meaning for him. It was a fatherly gesture from this man, showing simple actions that wouldn't let his son's pride be let down because of the treatment of the people around him.
He had a well-built body and a strong demeanor, so even though he was sitting, his aura was exceedingly above average. He was also a hunter and a farmer, which meant his family had a little more budget than others.
"Sweetie, why don't you go back to your room? You still need a rest, you know."
Her mother gave her a worried look. She had a sweet face and a calm aura, and her smile could alleviate any inward worries.
Raymond looked at all of them with surprised eyes. His eyes were so round that he could not even gather the words to tell his family. He was only speechless.
Afterward, he smiled awkwardly and lowered his head in front of them.
"I am sorry if I made you worried. Thank you for looking out for me." His words made them gasp and their eyes dilate.
"How could you tell us that? Go back to your room! We will prepare your foods!"
"You can rest for the whole day. You still haven't recovered fully. Go back, sweetie!"
"My dearest brother, you are such a stupid maggot. Go back there, or else I will tear your limbs down."
Raymond only smiled awkwardly, as if he was being pushed to his room with their words.
...
"What is this?"
In the midst of Raymond's rest inside his room, covered by blankets, lying down on his bed, he saw a system window just in front of him, hovering in his field of vision.
It was static, and it didn't move to any position, just at the center of his vision.
"What the hell is this?!"
[Story Unlocked! Title and name of the character: Dragon King (30 years before achievement)]
[Goal: Change the character's fate]
[Chapter One: Awakening Ceremony]
Suddenly, a system window appeared before Raymond. He was so surprised that he wasn't able to gather the first words. But just when the window stayed in his field of vision, he mumbled. "What is this?" Raymond contemplated what was in front of him. It was azure blue and transparent. The font was also dark with white borders, and the corners of the window had some artistic curling designs like a Greek pillar. Raymond decided to keep an eye on it and assess its concept. He read all the way through the description before jumping to a conclusion. --- Name: Raymond (Commoner) Lv: Unawakened (Commoner) Stats: Locked (Commoner) Talent: Unawakened (Commoner) Skill: Unwakened (Commoner) --- It was the status, but supposedly, he should not be able to see it, as to see the status, a card was required. And also, it was a profile of a person, so it wouldn't be able to check it easily. There was a rule behind these profiles, and so, since it was common sense for everyone, Raymond could
Information rushed to Raymond's head as soon as he clicked the word "Inject." It was the button for him to have the plot and learn what the destined incident was supposed to happen. And as it rushed to his mind, he was calm, sitting on his bed with no particular expression.It was as if he was listening to music that brought a few colors to his eyes. Even with his eyes closed, he still saw plenty of dashing colors in a form called memory.The information became part of his memory, and that made Raymond accustomed to what would happen in the future. There were plenty of unwanted and crucial moments before the Awakening Ceremony, and in this chapter one covered his whole one-year training after the Awakening Ceremony as well.There was plenty of information ranging from the easiness of it all, to loving moments, problems, etc. But what was crucial was the information about things around him that he was supposed to not know before.In the political affairs that brought him difficulties,
Raymond browsed once more through the system window. Apparently, it can be called. After plenty of attempts to summon it, it can be called "System." Crazy, but Raymond's guesses were inspired by the books he had read.Finally, Raymond was reading all the way through the description of Chapter One. The requirements that he had read before, and the previous description were only a summary. Raymond should understand more of them first.---Chapter One: Awakening CeremonyAfter awakening a # Grade Talent, you will receive your first skill from the same ceremony. You will be tasked with improving your grasp of the Talent you have and will come to the academy after a month.The month will decide if the student is qualified to be supported by the village. If the student couldn't grasp more of their Talent, the village would put them on the waiting list where their studies would be extended for two years for them to learn more about it.---Raymond nodded as he tried to understand every word
Is it best to feel the warmth of being alive? This was the experience Raymond always wanted to treasure and might be the most beautiful thing that ever existed in his life. His life on Earth stopped when he was 12, but another life continued at 12 as well. Even if there were problems presented to him in the future, he at least had some clues on how to fix and overcome them. What Raymond needed to learn now was how to use mana. Indeed, even though he was still unawakened, he had a chance to feel the mana. In the past, there were cases where unawakened people were able to feel the mana. They were called prodigies, not only because of their ability to feel the mana but because they were also able to open a status card without being awakened. What was it? Well, it was only a normal status card. It shows people's progress and what would appear there if an unawakened person were able to open it. Well, only their stats. People with these kinds of abilities are always one step ahead of o
"So I only progressed this much? It isn't that disappointing. I still have more time to come. The more energy I get, the more immersed I am in it." Raymond mumbled while in his meditation. After a while, Raymond decided to stop meditating for a few hours and went to the living room of their house. He then met his younger sister, Lilia, there. "Big Brother! Can you help me with this, please? I accidentally pulled the curtain earlier." Lilia asked, with the teary eyes of a child. Raymond snickered, then nodded. He approached his sister and helped her with the fixing of the curtain. After that, his sister thanked him. "No problem," Raymond said, then left her. Apart from preparing for his MP, Raymond had to think about his physical strength. With constant practice, strength rises. So, he might be thinking of exercising. However, of course, he should not exert himself too much on it. He was still 12 years old, and his bones were still weak at that age. He still needs more improvemen
"Hunting? Why would we go hunting? I am still not at the right age." Raymond replied to his father, who was preparing some materials.His father looked at him from top to bottom, then went back to his face. His father smirked, then went back to preparing."Look at your body. It is forming well, but it would be wasted if you didn't practice hunting. After all, your age would be the best age to practice hunting." His father said.Raymond was left wondering. It was not because of why he should practice, but how his father thought of it. From his memories, his father never asked him to practice hunting. This just made him curious about the change.Was it perhaps that he was training? But even with it, his father was not the type of person that would ask him to go hunting since his father was one of those overprotective parents.Raymond was left with no choice. He then searched for his mother and looked at her. His mother only snickered at him, knowing that he was looking for an ally. But
"Vertical Slash..." Raymond mumbled on his position as he looked at how greatly his father finished the monster. It was too easy, perhaps because it was only level one.Knowing that the mother was already dead, so Raymond moved and approached his father since he had some questions in his mind. As he approached him, he noticed that his father was flawlessly cleaning the blood from his sword.'What an amazing father...' Raymond thought."Father, at what level can you survive? I heard some voices calling 'levels,' then I thought there was a power range standard in this venue."His father was dumbfounded for a second as his son mentioned it to him. Then, later on, he smiled and patted Raymond's head. He brushed the hair strands and then complied with his question."You really are a genius, Raymond. But to answer your question, I can only take level three, and you must be curious about how I can easily kill that, huh. Was that the reason you asked me?"Raymond nodded to his father's questi
Raymond was only waiting a few months until his 14th birthday. His family held a small celebration with his friends and some close neighbors. He was happy about it and enjoyed his birthday, as it only comes once a year.He truly loves this life. It was as if his wishes from the past were now fulfilled. Well, indeed, this life was already fulfilled since his family and friends were around him.He was never hungry for love. He was full of it and received much more than he wanted. But there was still one thing that he was happy about. This year, his stairs would be formed.He was afraid and angry because his memories showed that this family was trampled by someone who had a position in the village. However, as he had come prepared, he was dedicated to taking revenge, or it would be appropriate to call it a play.Revenge would not be funny if the other party didn't know their mistakes. And so, it would be a play since it was fated that their family was already corrupted.He didn't hate th