"in the last few years, the demons have become far more active in their assault, and so many lives were lost from both sides that the gods have decided to put an end to this!"
"the method they chose was one they had used countless times before, choose a new hero to guide us all! and so they did, the hero of light, Nyrel chosen by the goddess, took up the task to defeat the demon king, and around a month ago, the hero has set out on his last expedition to defeat the demon king once and for all.."
"and yet, despite all the things the hero has done for us in these past four years we have gathered here today to celebrate the defeat of the demon king! and the great sacrifice of the hero Nyrel, whos first supporters were of our territory of Tanis, who has been elevated to a marquisette due to supporting the great hero! and so.. let us mourn, celebrate, and thank the gods for the defeat of us humans greatest enemy!"
says the now marquise of the Tanis territory, causing the crowd to cheer, some to cry, and all to be grateful to the hero who had sacrificed himself to defeat the demon king
'tch, fucker just has to die on my birthday doesn't he? well, at least ill be getting my new gift tonight..'
Asher contemplates to himself, mauling over these news, thinking to himself about the fact he's now 17, four years having passed since he gained his blessing.. and apparently the day the hero not only chosen by the goddess on the day of his awakening, but also died on the day of his 4th birthday
'is the hero the unlucky one or am I..? well, todays my big day anyways, since I'm now eligible to enter the academy.. and luckily, since blessings are so rare, no matter how useless, I don't even need to take a test to enter the academy, i only need to take a test to see my new rank and what class I'm in.'
"status."
bringing himself out of his daze, Asher decides to check up on his status, although he will be checking it again later today when he gains his 6th gift
[Status]
Name: Asher
Age: 16
Stats:
Strength- 16
Agility- 17
Endurance- 15 (20 when 'blessing of the drink smith' activated in bed)
Charm- 20
Intelligence- 17
{Blessing}
gifts of the past:
1st function-once a year, on your birthday, you will gain a gift from one of your previous lives, weather it be an ability, item, or memories
2nd function-upon finding something heavily related to one of your previous lives, you will automatically gain a new gift from that life, without having to wait till your birthday.
{owned gifts:5}
gift of the royal chef
gift of the drink smith
gift of the craftsmen
gift of the beloved
gift of the collector
[status end]
'well, my physical stats are basically at the human limit, and sadly since I'm not a mage nor a swordsman I can really get them any higher unless I get a gift for it'
"system, show me my gifts."
[gift of the royal chef]
description- 'as the royal chef of a tyrant empress, there were only two things the empress cared about, food, and expanding her kingdom, and so, it is a miracle that you survived with her iron tongue, even becoming her closest and only confidant, before being beheaded along with her during the civil war..'
type- passive ability
effect: increase in cooking ability to the extreme, with the added bonus of rarely making food that have special effects.
[gift of the drink smith]
description- 'the best drink smith, the greatest bartender, and somehow prostitute? you could do it all! at the club, your drinks make people on cloud nine, the women? flocking to pay you for a good time! what can you not do?
type-passive ability
effect- increase in drink smithing ability to the extreme, with the added bonus of rarely making drinks with special effects, increased ability in bed in all aspects, with the added bonus of women having a higher chance of hiring you for a job (applicable to any job)
[gift of the craftsmen]
description: 'a modern genius of invention? not quite.. but close enough. after all, you may not have been the first to create the AI physical robot, you were certainly the creator of the best one.'
type: passive ability
effect: your ability to create new inventions and artifacts are subpar, but your ability to create an improved existing artifact or invention are that of the greatest genius.
'its an amazing gift.. sadly I don't have the funds to create anything, since i need mana stones which are annoyingly pricy, system. show the other ones.'
[gift of the beloved]
description: 'despite her haunting title, the soul eater, she was still your beloved, no matter how much others told you to leave her, you stayed, and when you died.. she broke, and the loss of your single life caused the end of a world.'
type: active ability
effect: unlocks the ability to control mirrors and reflections, and by gazing into ones eyes, you can enter a soul battle, passive increase in the beauty of the hosts eyes.
'by far the nicest gift.. horrifying, but an actual ability.'
[gift of the collector]
description: 'ah.. a beauty to behold! such a sheen, that immaculate craftsmanship! I must have it for my collection!'
type: accessory
effect: passive increase in greed, upon purchasing any type of accessory, it will be added to the hosts 'collection' and be given a minor effect.
'my personal favorite.. who doesn't want a reason to spend money right? its for good reason, although the RNG is dogshit, since only my earrings have gotten a decent effect so far, and even that is a single bonus point in charm once worn, but it does say a minor effect so I cant really complain.'
thinking such thoughts, Asher absentmindedly goes to a nearby mirror, activating his gift, which lets him enter one mirror and exit another, this one specifically to his room but just before he enters.. something passes his gaze from the corner of his eye, a volumptous woman with a delicate face, and blond hair following two kids running round
'no no no no no no… it.. it cant be, how.. how have i never seen her once this entire time.. mother..?'
Asher runs into a sprint, trying to catch up to her, and just as he's about to catch up to her.. two burly guards stop him
"step back commoner, that woman is the concubine of the marquise along with her daughter and step daughter, if you dare get any closer we will consider it an attack."
"what..? that woman.. who did you say she is..?"
Asher says, his blood boiling over the surface, barely restraining himself to use his gift to go through
"that woman right there is the newly married second concubine of the marquise, now scram you dirty commoner."
standing there, his rage nearly doubling in size as he looks at the distant woman, his mother, now wearing expensive jewelry playing with his 7 year old sister
'that.. that bitch! I.. she fucking left me to rot in those damn slums while she's having her fun being the wife of a damn marquise..'
and just before he can use his gift to pass.. his mother and apparent sisters leave, disappearing from sight, as Asher breaks down on the ground, punching his fist on the concrete floor, over and over again nonstop, ever when crimson blood comes out, even when others ask If he's okay.. he simply punches.. and before long.. a friend, someone he's known for a while now, comes.
"hey ya brat, what's gotten ya so down aye?"
"old man will.."
Asher replies, his voice distant and tired, and with an annoyed gruff, William helps Asher up, taking him back to the tavern where he patches his fist up
"so, ya ready to talk now ya damn brat?"
"remember when i first came here.. i told you i have no parents, that my parents abandoned me? about how my dad was abusive and stuff?"
"yea? what about it, ya also told me he left ya cause he found out ya motha's pregnant, and after he left ya mother lashed out and chased ya outa the house"
"well.. turns out that my damn mother not only left me to rot.. she's now also the concubine of the marquise.."
"WHAT! ya brat.. our relationship may still be kind of shit but that's rough, ya wanna talk about it or somethin'? I aint good with this kinda stuff"
"haah.. I'm good, but I do needa tell you something old will, I'm going to the academy, I never told you.. but I awakened a blessing."
"ya gonna be the death of me with all of this crazy news kiddo.. well, good luck I guess, ya leavin' tomorrow right? since its ya last day here I wont charge ya for ya room."
"thanks, old man. ima go to my room now.."
"alright kiddo, sorry about ya mom."
and with those last words, Asher goes back to his shabby room, as he's been spending very little amounts of money, despite the fact he gets a decent income, especially since he's been doing prostitution lately, but.. even that kinda money isn't enough for the academy tuition fee, so he's been saving till now, and he finally has enough money for it and since its finally 12 pm.. its time for his new gift to awaken.
[time requirements met,6th gift awakening...]
[ding!]
[new gift awakened, gift of the Maren crown]
'that sounds.. cool, it feels like its gonna be an accessory, and a crown isn't the most conspicuous accessory ever.. well, system. show me what it does.'
[gift of the Maren crown]
description: 'the monarch of the Maren kingdom, a grandmaster level martial artist, the great serpent, despite all these titles, there was only one thing empress echidna was only one thing in the very end.. a mother, one who sacrificed everything, including her life, in order to protect her daughter.'
type: active ability
effect: increase in maternal instincts, upon summoning the Maren crown (a crown of blue thorns) transform into the form of empress echidna and gain the ability to control water, transform into a sea serpent, and mastery over the trident, gain the symbol of the echidna family engraved upon you.
'hmm.. I mean, its definitely powerful, very much so. I don't know how I feel about turning into a woman.. on the bright side though.. I got a second identity incase I ever need one.. what bothers me the most is that last sentence.. the fuck does that mean..?'
just as he begins to wonder, a sharp pain covers his left arm, like hot metal pressing against it, as hours pass, and finally, at 3 in the morning, the pain stops.. and as he looks at his left arm, he can see a great serpent coiling around blue roses tattooed across from his wrist all the way to his shoulder
'well.. I was planning on getting a tattoo on my arm anyways I guess.. ah fuck! I didn't sleep and I need to go to the academy to register tomorrow.. I cant really sleep anymore though.. I suppose, maybe I should test out what its like being a woman..?'
thinking so to himself, Asher uses the gift of the Maren crown, as slowly, a wreath of blue thorns manifests above his head, as his appearance changes accordingly, his hair, despite already being quite long at shoulder length grows further, reaching all the way to his waist, his breasts grow larger, his waist thinning, his butt growing, a figure worthy of an empress. and with the added effect of the gift of the beloved, his eyes become crystal like, like the vast expanse of the ocean, a form fitting blue dress adorned with gems and blue thorns, which gets registered in his collection, gaining the minor effect of higher chances at intimidation, and his demeanor also changes, his posture growing straighter, his eyes fiercer, yet there is a look of quiet care within
"I thought it would feel awkward, but since my demeanor changes to that of echidna As well, this body feels natural, like it has always been mine."
Asher, now echidna, says, her voice cold yet beautiful
"although sadly, I probably still need to train this gift, same as I did with the beloved for the past two years, so itl be quite annoying.. but most important of all, which ability do i present to the academy as my blessing, I cant really tell them about my true blessing of gift of the past since its stupidly overpowered.. I should probably go with the beloved, since I'm planning on using echidna as a second identity, it wouldn't really make since to tell people my ability is to become echidna.."
suddenly, Asher feels something, from deep within him.. as he comes to a realization..
"there are many paths of power in this world.."
"like mages, priests.. and martial artists.. martial artists go through the ranks of beginner to grandmaster.. and they have an aura core, while mages have mana cores.. and while they also go through the ranks of beginner to grandmaster ranks, those are unofficial ranks of the magic tower, mages are ranked by their mana core layer."
"and the description of the gift of the Maren crown mentioned that echidna was a grandmaster level martial artist.."
"that means, since I'm in the body of echidna.. I'm also a martial artist.. but considering the size of my aura core.. I'm probably only beginner rank at the moment.. but still, this is.. incredibly over powered."
despite this great realization, echidna realizes this is as much a draw back as it is a bonus, since not only does she need to train the gift of the beloved. gift of the Maren
crown, and any other gift she gains in the future, she now also has to train the path of the martial artist, which is an incredibly hard path even by itself.
to make matters even worse, she's going to the academy, which will leave her with even less time to train.
"that.. is a problem for future me, but first, lets figure out what the fuck a martial artist does."
CHAPTER END
so umm.. please let me know what yall's think! this is my second chapter of writing a novel, or at all, ever. so any advice would help, and while I know I said in the last chapter I would stock pile 10 chapters first before the next release, I way to excited and I don't think anyone will read, much less give advice with a single chapter to go off of, so ima be releasing as many chapters as I can which will probably be one or two a day from no on.
also I tried to fix the pacing a bit even though I still think its a bit fast, I hope yall's like the powers of the mc since I'm gonna mostly be sticking with these ability's until next year when he gains a new gift, academy arc is starting so expect far more new characters, and I will admit I will probably redo the talk with William at a later date depending on how the readers receive it.
peace!