Enjoy!
7K words!
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"Shi…?!"
/Bang!/
/Crack!/
It happened in a split second. Silver only had the instinct and time to raise his steel round shield to his chest before being blown away into a tree!
"AGR!!"
Despite the pain and shock, Silver's many years of training allowed him to keep his thoughts straight despite the extreme impact.
"Huff... huff... huff..."
He looked at his shield amidst hurried gasps as he attempted to regain his breath. The steel shield had a large dent, and his spear flew out of his hand, piercing another tree a few meters away.
'Calm down. First, regain your breathing… next… analyze the situation!'
/RUORRRRR!/
Silver gazed at the Orc as he kept himself still. The second Orc wasn't much different from the other, but it was certainly more muscular.
'A female Orc? So I was right… shit… those unreliable grandparents…'
'Orcs were supposed to attack on sight... how did it ambush me? Don't tell me I was so unlucky that it appeared at the last moment exactly when I dropped my guard?'
/Dash!/
The Orc dashed in his direction, its steps rumbling the earth.
'I mustn't panic! Even with its strength, an Orc is far less agile!'
'I'm sorry but not sorry for this, but I won't risk my life here. It's all or never.' He thought as his left hand reached for a sealed pocket in his pants, taking hold of something
"ROAARR!!"
The Orc continued to run like a horse! It reached Silver within a few moments, living its massive feet, it stomped down at his location, intending to squish him!
"… Now!" He screamed as he moved to the side and threw scalding dust in its eyes
/GUOAR!/
The Orc wailed in pain as he ran past, giving enough time for Silver to cross the nest and reach his spear.
/Grab…/
He picked it up and pulled it... but… "… ARG! It's stuck in the wood!"
/Crunk!/
Silver was strong, stronger than an ordinary adult, so once he tensed his muscles and pulled with everything he had, the spear began to move out bit by bit…
'Just a little bit more…'
But the Orc wasn't going to wait; it soon got a little of its sight back, opening its squinted eyes as it traced him.
"ROAARRR!!"
Spotting its target, it ran once again after him.
"...!"
'I won't be able to take it… Plan Z!'
/SWING!/
The moment the Orc arrived at Silver, the beast swung its hand in his direction, but he once again repeated the past and rolled to the side, evading it!
/Fwush!/
The sound of the Orc's fist cutting the air sounded next to his ears. A sign he had evaded it by a hair's breadth!
/Bang!/
It's fist struck the tree, splitting it! "Now!" He muttered as he ran towards his backpack
/Shuaaa…/
As he ran, Silver saw the broken half of his spear flying around and puncturing the ground before him. He grimaced at the sight but kept running, never stopping for even a moment.
"Growl… roarr!!"
The Orc also did not idle as it turned around and ran after him.
…
"Huff… huff…"
Silver never stopped running, but the Orc was a little faster. At this rate, he would get to his backpack, but would he be able to take out his stuff and use it?
'Come on…'
Silver arrived at the backpack and opened it fast, taking out the topmost object! He threw it upward and closed his eyes.
/BANG!/
With a flash of light, the Orc was blinded, giving him enough time to turn away and run towards his escape path.
/Jump!/
Silver jumped onto his escape path and continued to run... 'I need to buy time. The problem is the terrain. I can barely even see five meters ahead with all this fog and thick vegetation…'
'If I had my spear, things would've been different, but the only other weapon I brought was a sword and a bow… I could use the bow, but I'll need to reach another place first. As for the sword, as if I'll throw myself into danger like that!'
"Huff…"
'It's rather difficult to move fast in these trees... But I think it's possible to just make a run towards my grandparents.'
'But... Should I? I recovered from the previous situation, so should I really just accept defeat to one Orc?'
Silver bit his lower lip as he disappeared into the jungle.
…
"Growl…"
/SNIFF!/
As Silver vanished in the leaves, the female Orc recovered from the blindness and looked around for its prey. But it couldn't find it, so it smelled around the place before finally locking its gaze onto a tree.
The Orc walked towards it and used its head to look around for him… "Kurk?"
It didn't find its prey, but it was close. It could smell it. Or rather, it could smell the scent of its kin that had been attached to his body.
/Step…/
The pursuit… began!
...
/SNIFF!/
"Kurk!"
After seeking it out for several minutes, the Orc finally caught sight of its prey! It excitedly raised its hands in his direction, running towards it.
/THROW!/
/GROWL!!/
But just like last time, a bag of black dust was thrown right in its eyes… however… the Orc was prepared. It put its hands before its eyes, protecting them from most of the dust.
/SWING!/
/PIERCE!/
But that was exactly Silver's plan! Taking this chance, Silver pierced its chest with his backup sword!
"Harf… Harf… Fuck."
"Kukuk…"
The Orc blocked the sword with its right hand. It looked down at him with almost mockery in its eyes.
/BAM!/
It lifted its left uninjured hand and slapped at him, /FWUSH!/, but Silver barely evaded it, causing the slap to demolish a tree on the side!
Such immense power…
/Splurge!/
"ROAR!"
As he rolled away, Silver threw several small knives with great proficiency towards the beast's face; however, the Orc once again blocked the most fatal shots!
"Kruk…"
Albeit soon enough, its hand began to grow numb… could it be… poison?!
"Shit!"
Still, having rolled away, Silver became exposed! Now in an awkward position, Silver was kicked away several meters into the forest, only barely blocking it with his already distorted shield.
He couldn't evade the move; it was too fast for his weak body to keep up.
/THUD.../
"A-Arg…"
'I can feel it… I definitely broke something. My internal body armor can't cushion its blows that much… wait… where is my fucking shield?'
'Did… did the straps rip?! Just my damn luck…'
/Splurge…/
As Silver pushed himself off the ground, the Orc removed the sword from its hand, throwing it backward like some piece of trash.
It fell on the tall grass where he couldn't see it… and most likely wouldn't be recovering.
"Urg… where are those old farts?... Still not making their appearance despite this?… Huff.. they are as unreliable as always…"
'I came all the way here, and yet they didn't come? Could it be… right, I didn't shout for help.'
'Should I?... Fuck… I can't give up that easily… the poison should already be halfway through its system. I just need to run away.'
'It somehow evaded all my traps as well. Any of those would've been able to cripple its feet or slow it down for a while…'
/CRUNCH!/
The Orc walked towards him...
'… What do I have left?' Silver asked as he looked around
/Step.../
'My weapons are broken, and my bag is now a few meters away from me... I have a loaded crossbow with an extremely potent venom and more tools…'
'I should've hit the Orc with that from the fucking start. But it was too hectic… like grandfather said in the past, I made my choice and went with it… albeit it wasn't the most optimal.'
/Step.../
"URRRRG!"
'Shit… I'm losing strength too quickly… w-why is my body so fucking tired?! If you could at least move!... Did… did I burst some vein or artery?!'
/Step.../
"Haa…"
'The closest trap is over four meters away. My plan was to use it after hitting the Orc with the knives, but the fucker blocked everything... and now my body doesn't want to fucking cooperate…'
/Step.../
'Can I cast magic? No, by the time I finish chanting even three verses, the Orc will have killed me… even if I had started it earlier…'
/Step.../
'I still have some things in my pockets… but my arms aren't responding… Perhaps I got hit quite badly at first and my adrenaline already wore off from then… It makes sense. A normal person like me blocking an Orc's strike? It was strong enough to bend steel!! The fact I could even move after was a blessing.'
/Step.../
'… am… am I done?'
/Step.../
'Fuck…'
"F-Fine… I give up here! Do you hear that?! I SAID I GIVE UP! I FUCKED UP!!" Silver screamed into the forest as he tried to use his arms to create more distance between him and the Orc
/Step.../
The Orc was now right in front of him.
"Fuck me… those old farts… what are they doing now?"
"Kukak…"
Instead of stepping on him, the Orc reached out to him with its uninjured hand and held him! It was clear from its limp arm that the poison had already spread significantly, yet it still wasn't enough to take it down completely!
"URG! I need to move just a little…"
'If I can move on for a few more minutes the poison… I am not dying like this, there must be a way… a way…'
The Orc squished him.
"AAAAAARRRRRGGG!!! W-WHERE ARE THOSE OLD FUCKS?!"
/Open…/
The Orc opened its bloody jaws, causing his eyes to constrict. He knew what was about to occur.
"S-SHIT… No… not after everything…"
'You fucking stink!!'
A second wave of adrenaline washed over his body, but now it was too late; he couldn't overpower an Orc holding onto him like a toy.
"You… damn monster… die… fucking die!!" He said as he slammed his hands and tried to split its hide apart, but the creature was utterly unbothered by it
He tried to reach for his chest but the compression was so intense he couldn't even breathe properly anymore.
As such, before life and death… Silver's heart went into overdrive.
"I AM NOT DYING LIKE THIS!"
/Crackle.../
Silver's left hand twitched as his skin split apart. Long ravines that went from his fingers to his shoulders.
From the cracks, cold air rose from deep within his flesh. His bones cracked and twisted, rising from his skin. They pierced through his arm and clothes as they reached the air beyond, causing it to fog and condense from their intense coldness.
In the palms of his hands, the freezing air gathered in the blink of an eye, taking the shape of multiple icicle shards.
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" He exclaimed as the freezing air burst from his fingers, releasing the dozen ice shards directly into its face!
/SPLATTER!/
"GUK!... G… ku..."
/THUD!/
The Orc fell forward right onto him, knocking him out as the weight of a whole cow crashed onto his chest.
/Poof!/
The Orc burst with a puff of dark smoke. Leaving behind only a small crystal on his chest.
His body in shambles, Silver survived… albeit not for long.
Both his inside and outside were in deplorable condition. At this rate…
/SHA!/
/SHA!/
/SHA!/
/SHA!/
Just then… four figures appeared from the woods in a hurry.
""?!""
They all instinctively paled as they saw Silver's bloody figure on the ground.
The first to act was Ullia as she ran onto his body with ungodly agility, her face sharp as her eyes were tense. The fur on her tail and ears on their ends.
As soon as she confirmed he was alive, she instantly demanded, "POTION! NOW!"
/TEAR!/
Misty threw her a potion as she crouched near him as well, ripping apart his clothes with a knife as she inspected his injuries.
"Phew…"
Saphos took a deep breath of relief. He looked at the mess on the ground and couldn't help but narrow his eyes.
"… I told you this might've been too much." Lington added as he looked around, "Don't get me wrong, the kid is already very impressive for being able to fight normal monsters like this, but to defeat an Orc alone is already quite the feat."
He crouched down, inspecting the ground, "With time, once he reached full adulthood… but right now was far too much. He may have their blood, but he didn't inherit many of their features… Only those demi-human races would be able to do it."
"Hum…"
Saphos' attention, however, was elsewhere.
Not long after, Misty finished her inspection, "His left arm is probably fractured, his right arm has severe lacerations that I can't quite discern, and he broke a few ribs… There are also signs of a possible concussion together with a broken nose."
"Maybe muscle tearing and severe bruising throughout the body from physical overexertion from martial arts and from a powerful blunt force… the magic stone on his chest suggests the Orc fell right above him, which explains a few other points… but that's not what took him down."
"Strangely enough, he is unconscious because he used too much Mind."
"Mind Zero, it is? Did he run to this point and prepare a spell?... I don't see many signs of it."
'Hum… but what is this… ice shards?' He thought with a frown as he looked at the ground
"… We should've come faster." Ullia said as she used a wet cloth to clean the blood off his body
""…""
They did, the problem was hiding too far away… They were reckless… they put far too much faith in Silver's pristine record.
Before the situation grew dire, Lington voiced out, "In any case, it's better if we carry him out of this place. It's rather cold, and he needs some rest. If he catches a cold with such injuries, then Rubia might collapse for good."
"We should clean and heal him as much as we can on the way. And at the same time, someone should remain to investigate the surroundings and figure out what happened. I…"
"Old man, don't think I don't know what you're trying to do. Someone has to take the blame for this and explain things to his mother."
""...""
They all went silent before they looked at Saphos.
"What?… Why me?!"
"I have to bring the boy back home." Ullia voiced as she helped Misty apply first aid
"I'll be in charge of healing him back to perfect condition. I must monitor him at all times." Misty added without taking her eyes off him
"Then you can just..."
"You were the one in charge of scouting this place. If everything went awry, you're to blame."
"…"
Saphos said nothing anymore.
"We can discuss more of what happened on the way, and we can hear what the boy has to say later." Misty added as the surrounding fog grew murkier
/Nod…/
They all nodded and turned around and went on their ways. Misty, Ullia, and Saphos left with Silver while Lington remained for a while longer.
They would meet up again later.
…
"Urg… haaa…"
He woke up later at night. Thanks to the potion, his superficial wounds closed up. But there are still some bones broken, bound by casts and wrapped in dozens of layers of cloth.
"I'm... alive? Phew..."
'Did my grandparents intervene at the last moment?… Now that I think about it, I was about to be eaten when… then I threw an ice bolt at the enemy… wait…'
"An ice bolt?" He mumbled in confusion
/Shaaa…/
He lifted his left hand, still buried in cast, and tried to feel for something, anything… Copying what he felt at that moment, his hand turned white as cold gas condensed around it… his fingers became fully white as if they were frozen solid, but he could move it as he wished.
He didn't feel the cold or the pain. In fact, for a moment, the discomfort from the cast vanished, as if his fractured bones did not obstruct him anymore.
/Crack…/
After a few seconds, the effects disappeared on their own amidst the crackling of ice.
"... This is... it can't be."
'Plasmids? It feels a bit different though…'
"I… ouch?!"
He tried to reach for his head, but both his arms were stuck, 'Let me think… How could this be possible?'
'My powerful mental traits came with me to this world. But I couldn't prove whether that was truly the case or a coincidence. Even if I say that both of my bodies just coincidentally had powerful minds. That wouldn't explain the Plasmids.'
'This can't be magic either… I'm utterly unable to do so… unless this is a magic spell. It would fit with what happened to me, but… only until here.'
"There are some possibilities."
'It's either my Soul… or some innate Skill I've began to manifest.'
'If we say it came from the soul, then we need to consider just how Plasmids, a biological power, something connected to genes, made their way across space-time, into another body… Unless the soul has something to do with the physical body, not existing alone, I can not really imagine what it could be.'
'In my past life, I tried to research the soul but to no avail. It was my ultimate goal before only traversing to other worlds… My closest discovery was a "failed" Plasmid I named, "Whispers of the forgotten", or "Whispers of the Dead" that allowed me to have a deceased body answer any question I wanted as long as it had its head and chest were intact.'
'But that was more biological than spiritual... a failed attempt regardless.'
'However… this could also be explained as it being a Skill.'
'I dont know how, but my yearning for power could've granted me a Skill that allowed me to use Plasmids. A power I used over the course of a previous life. It's exactly because my yearning for it is so great, that my Soul might've given birth or bloomed the seed of possibility that was always there…'
'Nonetheless… what is powering it? Mind? My body can not use it, it always goes haywire when I try to cast a spell…'
Silver pondered before coming to a conclusion, 'If I assume I was born with this power, calling it magic might be an overreach… it could be a unique power that is fueled by Mind in nature, such aren't unusual. Most Skills are like that.'
'This would mean my issues all these years were never with Mind itself but with magic. Perhaps my body rejected the idea of consuming Mind in a certain way to prioritize fueling this power… it might be a downside or an effect from another Skill.'
'Some people can be born with such Skills active from birth. I could most likely be one such person.'
"In short, all these years… this power might've been the reason for my constant failures in mastering magic!"
Silver went into deep thought for a few more minutes as he tried to suppress his rising excitement.
'Yes. There is a chance this skill came with my birth, or that it manifested when I was younger but remained sealed while I grew up.'
'I don't know exactly how it's possible for Skills to manifest without a God's Falna, but I wasn't the first, so there's nothing new here. I could ask another deity for an explanation when I have the chance.'
'Now… why would I have a negative Skill? Would I even have one?… Well, I have a theory.'
"It's either a Skill that changed my body, or my body was changed to fit it."
'Depending on the order, the Skill's origin might change drastically. If it came with my birth or if it came from my training and longing. It has to be one of the two…'
'But enough of this. Let's see what I can do… it's been fifteen years so I might be a little rusty.'
He imagined the teleportation Plasmid, the one that allowed him to teleport to places he had already been before.
/Transform…/
His skin brightened as it slowly turned translucent before it suddenly halted.
"This… what happened…?"
Annnnd… Silver fell unconscious.
...
/One hour later/
"UGH?!"
'Wha… what happened?!'
Silver woke up with an intense headache, "What… Oh… ohh… I remember now."
'Even in Rapture, this Plasmid took a lot of energy to use. Not something that affected me much given I had near infinite energy, but perhaps I should start with the most basic of the basics…'
He raised his left hand… 'Now that I think about it. My hand doesn't hurt at all… the bandages are to protect against lacerations.'
He soon connected the dots.
'The Plasmid I used before modified my body but never returned to its previous state… no wonder.'
Silver focused on his arm, and underneath the bandages, he could feel his skin slowly stitch back together under an invisible force as if his very cells were being compelled to merge together.
'I should also be able to heal the rest of my body… but I should take things slowly. It's been fifteen years, and this power isn't as I remember… if I do things wrong I could end up with a migraine or worse.'
"Now, this should be fine." He mumbled as he raised his right hand into the air
-Telekinesis-
/Crunk…/
His right arm's skin was ripped apart by an invisible force that traveled across his flesh. Green light emerged from his wounds, causing his flesh and blood to surge into the air!
His blood kept flowing even in the air, defying logic. Like snakes in the air, they floated around his arm like rings on a planet.
He pointed his right hand towards a book, and it trembled a bit before adjusting and turning in his direction. It lingered in his direction before he shoved it back in place.
This was repeated several times until the book almost fell on the floor. And he was once again left with a headache.
Yet… "Haaa… haha… HA… HAHAHAHA!"
'IT WORKS!'
Silver happily smiled, knowing that everything he lived for had been worth it! That the future he had drawn for himself… was about to change completely!
He couldn't be happier. Silver just didn't care about the pain on his body and just continued to laugh out loud.
/Creak…/
Amidst his fit of laughter that went for several minutes, Grandma Misty entered the room and saw him standing there laughing with his now healed arm covering his eyes.
Her expression seemed to shift as she saw that, but it soon returned to a look of strangeness as she observed him.
"Did you break your head or something, boy?"
Silver smiled as he kept laughing, "It's just that… I did it… haha…"
"You did it?"
"Yeah…"
For a moment, her stiff face showed a genuine warm smile. She approached him and kissed his forehead before saying, "You gave us a scare, young man! Don't try to use magic like that again, okay! Although… It was that old bag of bones' fault for not paying attention and allowing another Orc to mess with your trial."
"We're aware of your actions. It was all our carelessness… it won't happen ever again."
"Wh…?"
'Magic?… Hum… I think she is misunderstanding something here… good for me, I don't want them to find out about this "magic" for now.'
'Until I properly figure this out, only then I can seek their help… and I will. But I first need to figure this out myself.'
Silver took a deep breath, "I don't know very well what's happening, but I am sure it's not grandpa's fault. But I, at the very least, want a vacation from training for the time being…"
"Do you think we're going to have your train when you're in this state? You broke several bones!! Your mother almost fell stiff onto the ground when she saw you all bandaged up! HAH! She is exactly like her father when he was younger and we were raising him... he couldn't stand seeing her hurt and would always lose consciousness from worrying."
"For such a stern man to have such an overbearing weakness…" She said as she shook her head
She tapped his head, "Take a rest now, I'll bring some food for you since you must be starving. You've been there for hours after all."
She walked to the door before stopping and saying, "Also… after that… you are going to take a shower; you smell."
/CLACK!/
She closed the door, leaving soon after.
Silver laughed helplessly, "There's nothing I can do about that…"
He had an idea, 'Wait! I can use that!'
'Once she left and his headache got better, Silver began experimenting with what he had in mind.'
/Fuuuu...~/
His right hand turned green as small wind currents blew from holes that formed around his forearm. They created a strong airstream akin to a fan, whistling as they moved inside his forearm.
"Wind Bath."
He touched his chest. By controlling the strange power, Silver made the wind pass through all of his body, cleaning and carefully removing any dirt in it… while making his head throb even more.
All the rejects were concentrated into a ball flying in the air. Silver swung his hand to the side, and all of it was thrown out the window towards the back garden.
"It worked… hahaha… do I really have all the Plasmids with me?"
'Or rather… did Ambrosia itself come with me? If it's Ambrosia… that would mean I can use all Plasmids with full freedom… I can't stay like this, I need to experiment!'
'I need to do some experimentation!'
Time passed…
Silver lay there in bed, testing and training his Plasmids, stopping only when his head hurt or when it was time to eat and sleep… and the occasional bathroom.
He tried to keep things a secret, but his excitement was so great he stopped caring whether others knew or not. He focused only on his tests, having fun like none before.
Almost two decades of waiting… all for this moment. Silver, for the first time in this life, became the teenager he was supposed to be.
...
A week later… Silver had mostly recovered! All thanks to the many potions and ointments he had taken.
Grandma Misty did know what she was doing… all Silver had to do was wait, using only his Plasmids to reduce side effects such as scarring and other internal injuries.
Once he could leave his bed and run around, Silver found somewhere secluded and began his final experiments!
…
"Let's try my power now that I have full privacy."
Before Silver was a large boulder, it was full of wounds and scars. They were an indication of his progress, for this had been Silver's dummy for the last few years.
"Let's start with the most basic ones."
/Crackle…/
His hand turned slightly dark-blue, with his veins glowing a fluorescent blue.
Small blue crystals grew out of his skin, poking out of his flesh as they tore it apart!
/BZZ!!/
Between them, lightning bolts jumped from crystal to crystal, hinting at the dormant power within.
'The very first Plasmid I ever saw…'
/THUNDER!/
He pointed his hand forward, and a lightning bolt jumped out from his fingers!
/POOooo.../
But it hit the ground weakly and depressingly... It was only powerful enough to hit the grass at his feet… and even then it did not cause much damage.
"Ahem… This was expected. During the week I tested many variations, and they were all weaker than normal and more imprecise."
'Practice greatly reduced the imprecision, but the cost of Mind is still significantly greater. I knew something had changed, but this is far too much… Perhaps more training might solve this issue.'
'I can't even seem able to use stronger variations… just thinking about them causes my head to hurt even more. It seems anything that can consume significant energy is not a possibility.'
"Let's try something more... classic."
'Devil's Kiss!'
/BURN!!/
His hand ignited with raging flames, the skin boiling as it turned as black as charcoal! Like paper burning in a bonfire, his flesh slowly turned to cinders, revealing the bones hidden from view.
/Gather…/
A fireball just big enough to fit into his hand formed between his half-charred fingers. After studying it for a while, Silver threw it forward like a baseball!
/Pop!/
With a rather disappointing sound, it exploded on the rock just like a firecracker, scorching it faintly… but just that.
Silver's hand returned to normal as if everything was an illusion, leaving behind only smoke and the glaring mark on the stone.
"Hm..."
'This is worse than I thought.'
…
For the next hour, he tested out other similar elemental abilities like Poseidon's Trident, Wind Slice, and Mole Blast, but they all achieved the same result… a disappointing display of nothing.
"Why is it so weak?"
'Is it because I'm only a normal human without Falna? Maybe it's because of the rules of this world… the less verses magic a person is, the weaker it tends to be… so what about mine, which is instinctual?'
'It could also be due to my level… perhaps once I reach a high enough level, I'll be able to do the same things if not surpass my past self!'
'I never thought a day would come when I would think about such… but at least now I have a chance.'
'I once thought about how strong I would have to be to reach my past heights… and honestly, it's difficult to compute. I had immense power at the height of my abilities, but I couldn't compare myself with some of the physical abilities adventurers have.'
'Perhaps if we're talking about a matter of "reach" and destructive potential… we might be talking about some of the strongest adventurers alive.'
"But now… if I couple that with a blessing…"
'I could heal others and do so much more… Just the abilities I can manifest… I don't even need to do much, as long as I can manifest some of the more "complex" Plasmids like Houdini's door, I don't think there will be someone more valuable than me in Orario.'
Silver smiled… but his smile soon left his face as he grew serious.
"It seems the time of my departure is set… while I'll have to push it down a little, as soon as I master these and I understand the limitations of my powers, it'll be my time to leave."
'I didn't want to wait more than I already had, but I can't go there like this… if I want to make up for the lost time, I'll have to put in even more work and effort!'
"Enough fooling around, there are eleven-year-old adventurers stronger than me at this point… Even younger ones if you look well enough."
'Different species have different aging processes. But the norm here is that 14-15-year-olds are already adults. Although most adults would probably still call them children.'
'Even if it puts me half a step from death, at most, I will be in Orario before my eighteenth birthday! That would put me over two years before the start of the series. If things proceed as in the series, that should be a decent amount of time for me to settle.'
'While I was previously aiming at following a more ordinary path, now that I have these… why stick to the norms?'
"Let's crash everything."
/Bong bang!/
"Hm?…"
A loud bell echoed beyond the woods. This was his mother's way of calling him whenever he went to train in the mountains.
'Time to go!… I should start thinking of my excuses… what do I even say?'
He shook his head. He could tell that life as he knew it… was over.
…
/Time passed…/
The seasons came and went, and snow came, then it went away, bringing back the warm heat of summer.
"~dancing… dancing in the snow~"
A boy could be seen traveling in the gentle breeze of autumn. Braving the wilderness, with nothing but a longsword on his waist.
He walked on the side road, not going too fast nor too slow. If you looked closely, one would notice mist gathering at his feet.
"~dancing… it's the winter's show!~" He muttered as he slid over the stony road as if surfing in the ocean
Silver stopped sliding as he put his arm over his forehead, "This mountain path was supposed to be faster but…"
He turned his head to the side and looked at the precipice on his right and at the dilapidated road he walked on.
"How is anyone supposed to pass through here? A precipice on one side, a steep mountain on the other… just when was the last time this road was even properly maintained? It's no wonder Orario has so many stories and rumors of ancient, broken ruins."
He scratched his head, 'The big Familias probably don't care at all about the overall infrastructure outside of the city. Or perhaps their plate is so full that they can't bring themselves to care.'
'Or perhaps there is just so much to take care of it may take centuries before anything happens? Gods are immortals so maybe they have schedules that span multiple generations…'
"Hm?"
/Fluosh!/
/Fluosh!/
/Fluosh!/
/Fluosh!/
All of a sudden, above him, several men in different armor slid from the mountain wall!
"Those are… a bandit attack? All the way out here?"
'I heard they were quite common. Gramps told me to act swiftly and without mercy… there is some etiquette to follow around the roads, and these guys are clearly breaking it.'
'They told me to preserve myself at all times and to be decisive… let's see what these guys are about.'
He narrowed his eyes, however, "But aren't they afraid of falling to their deaths? This road is quite narrow…"
'I could be mistaken about their intentions, though… I'm not interested in taking other lives just for sport. Sometimes it's best to give others a second chance.'
'At least I always thought like that… only occasionally did I act without care for human life.'
"I have the belief that capturing others is a greater display of power than just killing them." He said with a nod as he looked up
'In any case, I should first check their intentions…'
"Give us all of your valuables!" One of the bandits exclaimed as they brandished their weapons
"..."
'That covers it… I shouldn't waste too much time here.'
/Raise…/
Silver pointed his left hand at the ground where they were supposed to stop sliding and waited, /SHAA!!/ The moment they got to the bottom he snapped his fingers and the ground turned into… ICE!!
"W-WHAT?! Instant-cast magic?!" One of them screamed as his face instantly went pale
One of them panicked and lost their balance, rolling down the mountain. The other two just continued to slide towards their deaths.
Their leader, however, quickly jumped perfectly from the slope, trying to get back on the road as her face twisted mid-air.
Silver was impressed, "That's one way of doing it."
/Turn…/
His right hand became half-translucent with a green aura emerging from within his flesh as he manifested telekinesis on the flying bandit, stopping her right in the air.
"N-NOOO!!!"
"AAAHHH!!"
"L-LEADER!!!"
"Got you~" He said with a small smile as the screams of the falling bandits echoed around them
"W-Wait! Let's reconsider this!" She pleaded as her face was drenched in sweat
"How?"
'She's quick-witted. Rapid decision-making… she doesn't look incompetent, so what is she doing robbing travelers in the middle of nowhere? I doubt you'd make more money here than in the Dungeon.'
He stopped for a moment… 'Fear?'
"A-All the money… t-those guys collected over the years!"
"And how much is that?"
"Over one million Valis! This is disregarding all their equipment as well! Please!"
"That is quite a value…"
'One million is more than enough to get a very good house in a very, very good district… albeit those rates are from a few decades ago… I have no idea how things are in modern times post Zeus and Hera's fall and the Dark Ages.'
"Yes! Just let me down and I…"
"But I am not interested in money. You see, my family could one day pass by here, and the last thing I want is for people like you to abuse travelers like them, so… you'll have to go."
"Bye~…" Silver said as he swiped his hand to the side, throwing her into the abyss
There was no need to feel guilty at someone robbing others on such a deserted road. These people were most likely the most cowardly of them all… for if they wanted to truly rob others, then they would've gone to some of the major roads leading to Orario.
But those were, of course, often traversed by stronger adventurers… their fate would've been the same there.
"NO, WAIT! AAAAHHHH..."
As her voice dissipated in the abyss, Silver rolled his eyes, "There's a river below the precipice, and I threw them all into it. If they can survive it… I'll say they're pardoned of their sins against me."
But from the powerful echoes of rushing water from thousands of mountains coursing down the narrow path… Silver feared they had no chance of survival.
"She might have a chance… from what she showed me with her powerful jump and coordination, she had to be Level-2… either that or someone with unique abilities… not that it matters though, it takes far more than that to survive any fall."
"Besides, even if she were Level-2, it's even more of a reason to throw her down there… someone with that power could easily make money on the Upper Floors of the Dungeon."
/Sha…/
/Sha…/
/Sha…/
As he said that, multiple weapons and items made their way from the ravine towards him. It was a combination of multiple Plasmids, including plain telekinesis.
"Let's see… Nothing great, several tens of thousands of Valis, some daggers, swords, light armor, and a decent claymore… This should all met me an extra fifty thousand Valis. Good enough, I guess."
'According to a few merchants that frequently journey between Orario and the northern kingdoms, a group of five decent Level-1 adventurers can make somewhere around 23 to 26 thousand Valis per day on the Upper Floors.'
"This is pretty decent money…" He said with a smile as he held the bag of coins
'Well… all back to the chest.'
/Transform…/
His right hand slowly changed shape, turning into something akin to a shadow as it devoured the items, sending them towards a special storage beyond the confines of space. Complicated stuff to explain…
In this world, what he did wasn't entirely unbelievable. Storage magic exists, or rather, existed… the mages who once possessed it are now all gone, fading into the annals of history.
To say the least, it's super rare. Rarer even than the golden goose of magic that all wish to acquire… healing magic!
"You get inside… you too… now this…"
/Ploft…/
As he deposited the items, a small map fell from inside one of the sword's hilts, hitting the ground with a faint /thud/…
"This is?…"
He opened the map, reading it… "Hum… I see now. This map seems to lead to a small buried treasure containing gold and items… tens of thousands from the looks of it."
A simple scenario passed through his head, "Smugglers. They were here to collect a reward or something else entirely but decided to rob someone on the way. How unfortunate."
Silver turned around and continued on his way.
"No stopping until Orario! If I'm seeing adventurers… then it shouldn't be long before I see others!"
…
Several more hours later…
"HA! Incredible!" Silver exclaimed as he looked at the enormous tower in the distance
"It's even more impressive from here… I can not even see the top due to the clouds… and I thought it only had somewhere around fifty floors…"
'How did they build it? Magic? Some sort of strange mathematical principles I'm unaware of?'
"I want to know…"
The Tower of Babel, the trademark of Orario! A massive tower that reached the clouds! Humankind's desire to reach the ever so distant heavens!
In truth, this wasn't the original one… a thousand years ago when the Gods descended, the original tower was taken down in some long-lost issue that probably doesn't matter anymore. This one was built later at their request to act as the Dungeon's seal.
"Hum… perhaps it only has fifty floors, and the rest is just stone leading towards the skies?" Silver pondered as he observed the tower's curvature and how it slowly narrowed down
"The tower also has the divine platform where the Gods observe Orario and the world around… I can't see it from here though." He mumbled as his eyes transformed, turning into glass marbles
But those quickly went back to normal as he resumed his journey, "If I can see it, then I must be close. Full speed ahead!"
He ran faster and faster; his eagerness was as clear as the blue sky.
The start of another journey, and hopefully, one even greater than before!
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.
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Notes
We've technically finished the Prelude! I hope you're enjoying the story so far!
From here on is "Volume 0" Peace!
(Albeit it is ready as Volume 1... ahh whatever, the order doesn't matter)
>Now that we're reaching the main story, how do you think things should progress? Should Silver join the same Familia he did in the original?
>Should he join another?
Thank you for reading!