After walking for a bit, I start to get a better sense of the city's style, something I hadn't had time to notice the day before, preoccupied with more urgent concerns.
The old man's house was by the seaside, so I follow the path up a hill, from where I can see the port better. There are common ships, but also some that resemble submarines. The latter don't dock at the pier; they only approach and then dive again, as if there were another hidden port beneath the waters.
I also notice a floating market, supported by air-filled barrels. Most of the merchants there seem to belong to the aquatic race.
— As expected, even among other races, most of them are still girls.
There are several races in this novel, such as the aquatic race, which includes different types like humanoid sharks, humanoid octopuses, humanoid sponges, among others.
But the one with the greatest influence in the story is the mermaids, a race of beautiful girls who cannot bear male children, so they need other species to help them.
— …From what I remember, the princess of that race ends up joining the protagonist's harem.
In one of the chapters, the protagonist had to go to the aquatic kingdom to learn a breathing skill to enter a certain dungeon.
It was because of that event that he met the mermaid princess and brought her along.
— Must have been quite a job to transport a water tank all the way there… — I recall.
To accommodate the new student, the Royal Academy of Noctis rebuilt a large part of its facilities, creating water tube connections to every place and installing special seats that were actually small pools. This only proved the immense support the school had in integrating other races.
— …Honestly, how inconvenient must it be to date a fish girl? She can't stay out of the water for too long, and he can't live underwater… — I think, respecting the hero a little more. — Anyway, here's the church.
The church in Maralto is relatively small, since the city lies far from the capital and a large part of its population consists of other races with different religions. But even though it is small, it still commands the respect of the townsfolk, and no one dares try anything against it.
As soon as I reach the front of the church, I see several nuns tidying the place while the novices assist them. I don't know if it's for some event or important mass, but I approach one of the nuns.
— Good morning, may I have a bit of your time? — I ask politely.
— Hm? Good morning. What is it you seek, young boy? — the nun says, before glancing at my arm. — If you need recovery magic, I ask that you wait for the priestess to arrive.
— No, I don't have any money right now… I just seek a place to live, since I'm alone and can't find a job in my current condition.
Hearing this, the nun looks at me more attentively. After seeing my appearance and my arm, she confirms my state and that I'm not lying. After thinking a bit, she looks at one of the novices and calls her.
— Take this young boy to the orphanage and tell them he'll stay until his arm recovers — the nun says to the novice, before turning back to me. — That should be enough for you, right?
— Yes, once I recover, I'll manage on my own.
— Very well, then you may go.
Saying this, the novice goes somewhere alone first and then leads me to an old house behind the church, since I was too old to stay with the children at the orphanage, especially when they didn't know much about me.
— You can stay here for now. There's only one room and a bathroom, but since meals will be provided by us, it should be enough for you to live.
— Thank you, I gladly accept.
After hearing my response, the novice turns and leaves, leaving me in front of a nearly collapsing house.
Apparently, the place doesn't even have locks on the door, perhaps to prevent anyone from trying to shut themselves inside.
— It's enough. Let's go in and lie down for a bit.
Inside the house, there's an old mattress thrown on the floor and a small broken cabinet, indicating that no one has taken care of this place in a long time.
I try to dust off the mattress by lifting and hitting it before lying down.
— Better than that bed back on the island…
Staring at the ceiling, I start to consider my possibilities for the future, since I don't want to live in a place like this forever.
— What to do… Open panel.
[Name]: Rafael
[Race]: Human
[Level]: 4
[Magic Power]: 5
[Skills]
[Armorer]: 3
[Weaponsmith]: 3
[Hunter]: 6
[Gatherer]: 9
[Builder]: 2
[Cook]: 3
[Determination]: 7
[Stabber]: 13
[Scythesman]: 8
[Immunity]: 8
[Spearman]: 3
[Fisherman]: 1
[Survivor]: 9
[Tolerance]: 5
[Magic]
[Connection]: 1
[Protective Membrane]: 5
[Remembrance]: 2
— I really have a huge number of useless skills… — I murmur, staring at the long list.
At the beginning, skills are easy to level up, but that doesn't mean I can acquire new ones quickly.
— Well, leaving skills aside, my focus now is these magics…
Of the three I have, the only one I really know how it works is [Protective Membrane], as the name itself explains its effect.
The magic [Recall], after testing it once, I concluded it was memory-related, since it lets me record a scene in my mind, like taking a photo, for about ten minutes.
— Maybe it's because of its low level, and in the future I'll be able to store much more information.
If that's the case, then this spell would work like photographic memory, but only for a limited time.
— And then we have my new spell…
From its name, and knowing which type of monster gave me this spell, I stand up, leave the house, and touch the grass. This act reminds me of my time back home, when I wouldn't leave the house at all.
— …Well, here goes… [Connection].
After activating it, I wait a bit and a slight headache hits me, making me flinch.
— Did something happen?
I look at the grass and around me, but nothing changed. It's as if I hadn't activated the spell at all.
— Open panel.
[Name]: Rafael
[Race]: Human
[Level]: 4
[Magic Power]: 6
[Skills]
[…]
[Magic]
[Connection]: 2
[Protective Membrane]: 5
[Remembrance]: 2
— Hm? It worked? But what's the effect!?
I keep looking, but nothing happens. I decide then to rest for five minutes and try again. Since my magic power is small, it recovers quickly, but I can only use one spell every five minutes.
Magic training will surely become tedious in the future, since spells begin to consume a lot and recovery is slow. Therefore, many give up when they see how long it takes to raise their magic power.
— If I remember correctly, people start giving up on training magic power around 1000… Meanwhile, I'm just at 6…
Of course, even if they stop training magic power directly, every time they use magic they still improve it. But almost everyone's main focus is their main level and their skills.
The main level, at first, only improves a person's basic skills, but after level 50, things change completely.
Once you reach that level, you gain a title according to what you did to achieve it, accompanied by bonuses like improved strength, faster thoughts, more magic power, among many other enhancements.
Moreover, as you continue to level up, your body perfects itself according to your title. That means a singer will gain an increasingly beautiful voice, while a warrior will become more fearless and strong.
— The protagonist joins the school at level 20, with sword-focused skills and powerful magic.
Then, I look again at the panel and sigh.
— I don't know what to expect from this, but I'll spend the day training these spells. Since there are three of them, I should be able to raise my magic power before they start consuming too much.
Thus, I begin my magical training, sitting on the grass and casting the spells in order, every five minutes.
[To be continued…]
[???]:
— Honestly, I have no idea what title he'll get, but I want to come up with something interesting.
[+++]:
— This again?
[???]:
— Hey, tell me, what title do you think that guy over there will get?
[+++]:
— … Who is he?
[???]:
— … You know what, forget it. You didn't see anything.