It was a cloudy day, and the weather was calm and cool. A young man who looked to be in his mid-twenties walked along a narrow footpath. He was about five feet eight inches tall, with brown hair and black eyes, clad in black armor and wielding a double-edged sword. The armor looked clean and new; it was clear that he was a rookie adventurer on his first quest.
As he walked, he suddenly heard the desperate screams of a man.
Without a second thought, he ran toward the sound to help, but instead of rushing in blindly, he stopped and observed the situation first. It might be a trap. It was obvious he came from a wealthy family, and people like that often attracted trouble. Some would even create fake scenarios just to rob him. Still, despite his caution, he never hesitated to help others.
Hiding behind cover, he spotted a broken carriage. It was the kind only a duke or someone of similar status would own.
Nearby, two men stood together. One was kneeling on the ground, begging desperately, while the other stood over him, clad in a yellow outfit.
'What's happening?' the young man in black armor thought.
"Please… don't kill me," pleaded the kneeling man. He was fat and bald, wearing only his pants. Bruises covered his body, and his face was swollen and puffed up.
"Kill you?" the man in yellow said casually.
"Who said I'm going to kill you?" the man in yellow suddenly grinned.
Hearing that brought a moment of relief, but what followed was far worse.
"I'll burn you alive, then cut off your fingers while enjoying the soothing sound of your screams… it's going to be a hell of a lot of fun!" the man in yellow grinned like a lunatic, hugging himself in excitement, as he slowly walked over to the kneeling fat man and then squatted before him.
"Let's go... hahahaha!" he knocked the fat man unconscious and slung him over his shoulder.
"It's not nice to come see me and then hide," the man in yellow said suddenly. He had already sensed the presence watching him.
"Come out and play. I don't bite," the man said in a playful yet dark and intimidating manner.
'If I go out there, I might die. That man is way too dangerous. I think he might be Grade Two or Grade Three,' the young man in black armor thought.
"I hate cowards like this," the man in yellow sneered, pointing his index finger toward where the young man was hiding.
[Water Flow Stimulation 3: Water Pin]
Water gathered and spiraled at the tip of his finger, forming a thin, needle-like spike. He fired it instantly.
Thud!
The young man had nothing protecting his head, and no time to react. The water pin pierced straight through his skull.
He collapsed lifelessly to the ground.
The man in yellow walked over and saw the black armor on the young man's body and examined it.
"This is going to make me some cash," he muttered looking at the brand-new black armor, and licked his lips.
He stripped the black armor from the body and kicked the corpse aside.
"Now then, let's see who's going to play with me next," he grinned like a fool, then pulled out a list with several names written on it.Only three remained uncrossed.
The first name among the three was Travis.
"Oh… this is going to be fun." he murmured as he picked up the fat man and the armor, with the unconscious fat man over one shoulder and the stolen armor over the other, he walked away.
Scene Change
_________________________
"I'm home."
At the gates of the mansion, a girl, as cute as an angel, stepped down from a carriage. She had long, golden-black hair that flowed smoothly down her back, crimson-red eyes, and a flawless, gentle face. Standing at about four feet four inches tall, she wore a beautifully tailored school uniform.
She wore a neatly tailored school uniform: a cream-white blouse with gold trim, a dark navy pleated skirt, and a short jacket with subtle runic patterns. A crimson ribbon rested at her chest, and knee-high socks with polished shoes completed the look.
"Big sis!" Ater shouted as he ran forward and hugged Yumi tightly.
Yumi smiled warmly and hugged Ater back before turning to embrace Socula and Benoth. Socula, laughing softly, pulled Arian into the hug as well.
"Fu fu~ I don't know my little brother was such a shy duck," Ater teased.
"I wasn't shy… it was just kind of awkward for me," Arian replied.
Ater gave him a strange look and shook his head.
"What is it?" Arian asked, already sensing he had misunderstood him.
"She's our sister, and you were having pervy thoughts," Ater said bluntly.
"Wait... I wasn't! And how do you even know what pervy thoughts are?" Arian shot back.
"I read a lot," Ater replied casually.
"…What kind of books?" Arian's gaze sharpened.
"The type someone our age shouldn't be reading," Ater said plainly.
'Damn… there are a lot of books in that library?' Arian wondered.
After staring at each other for a few seconds, both of them burst into laughter.
"What are you two laughing about?" Socula said. "Come on, let's go inside."
Arian and Ater walked over obediently.
"Sire," the gate guard spoke, stepping forward. "The driver received this from the King's messenger on the way here. The messenger apologized for not delivering it personally, he said it was urgent and that he still had letters to deliver to other noblemen."
The guard handed Benoth a sealed letter. The wax seal bore three crossed swords, a shield, and a forest as the background.
The emblem of the royal family of Guadantam.
Benoth accepted it. "Thank you. You may return to your post."
Once inside, Benoth headed to his study, Socula following closely behind. He broke the seal and read the contents.
"Darling," Socula said gently, sensing a shift in his mood. "What does it say?"
"It's nothing you need to worry about, my caring wife," Benoth replied calmly. "It's simply an urgent summons from His Majesty. A meeting for all subordinates, tomorrow at the royal castle."
"So you'll be leaving tomorrow morning?" Socula asked.
"Yes," Benoth nodded. "But I'll return the very next day... so I can spend time with my lovely wife and wonderful children."
Socula looked at Benoth, her gaze sharp.
The air between them subtly tightened, her crimson eyes narrowing just enough for Benoth to feel it in his bones.
"What is the matter, dear?" Benoth asked, sensing her fierce stare, wondering if he had said something to upset her.
"When you said 'with my lovely wife,' and not 'with you, my lovely wife,' maybe you have another wife besides me?" Socula said teasingly.
"Why would I have another wife?" Benoth asked.
"When the one I have is this cute, caring, and loving" He answered knowingly, aware that his wife simply wanted his attention.
"Many dukes, viscounts, noblemen, and rich merchants have more than one wife and lots of concubines, some even have one wife and concubines too. So there might be a concubine of yours you promised would become your wife." Socula said with a pout.
Benoth sighed softly, the corners of his lips curling upward as he stepped closer.
"Ah—put me down!" Socula exclaimed as Benoth suddenly lifted her up, his strong arms wrapping around her slim waist.
"If my darling wife wants her husband's attention, she could just ask," Benoth said jokingly. "But it will cost her."
Socula stiffened for half a second before relaxing in his arms, already regretting, and enjoying, whatever that "cost" might be.
"Besides," he added softly, "there's no other woman I would ever love but you."
Socula shyly hid her face against his chest, hugging him tightly.
He brushed his thumb lightly against her waist, his tone lowering.
"Also," Benoth said casually, "I want another baby. A girl."
"You know what I wish," Socula said her gaze sharp.
"What?"
"I wish men had to experience labor at least once in their lifetime," she said coldly.
"What... wait, you're getting me wrong! I didn't mean that you're a baby-maki—"
Benoth didn't get to finish before Socula pulled him into a passionate kiss.
"Hmmm~"
"Let's take this to our room," Benoth said, carrying her away.
Her quiet laughter echoed down the corridor as the doors closed behind them. Some maids who witnessed the scene started giggling, and quickly returned to work.
_________________________
On the other side of the mansion, in Yumi's room, Arian, Ater, and Yumi sat together on her bed, chatting.
"Big sis," Arian said curiously, "what Flow Stimulation Power did you awaken after your Base Stirring?"
After one's Base Stirring, it usually took three days to a week, sometimes up to six months, to awaken their first Flow Stimulation Power and acquire their first Flow Skill through a divine revelation. The day this happened was known as the Day of Resonance, when the Base fully resonated and accepted a Root Base Flow power, and Yumi was so talented that it took her only three days to her Day of Resonance, which was extremely rare.
"Well… guess," Yumi said with a playful grin.
"Water Flow Stimulation?" Ater asked.
"Nope," Yumi shook her head.
"Sound Flow Stimulation?" Arian guessed.
"Nope. You're both terrible at guessing," Yumi said smugly. "It's Blood Flow Stimulation Power."
Fire and Water Flow Stimulation users were common, but Sound and Blood Flow Stimulation users were extremely rare, especially blood Flow Stimulation users.
"Wow, a Pillar-Base and Blood Flow Stimulation Powers… that's killing two birds with one stone." Arian said.
"So can you use it?" Ater asked excitedly. "Let's see!"
"She might wreck the room if she does," Arian warned.
"Nope, you're wrong," Yumi replied.
"How?" both brothers asked.
"At the academy, we learned that not all Flow Skills are attack-based," Yumi said.
Seeing that their focus was still on her, she explained, "There are attack-based, protection-based, and buff-based Flow Skills. Buff-based flow skills are especially common with sound and blood Flow Stimulation Powers. Protection-based flow skills exist in almost every Flow type, except sound, while Attack-based flow skills are common across all types of Flow Stimulation Powers."
"That's awesome," Ater said in awe.
"So Big sis, among the three categories you just mentioned which type did you awaken?" Arian asked.
"Mine's buff-based," Yumi replied. "But in the future, I might awaken an attack-based or protection-based one too."
"So you can have multiple types?" Ater asked.
"That's right," Yumi nodded.
"Come on, let's go to the yard. I'll show you." she added as she stood up and headed outside, with Arian and Ater following closely behind.
In the mansion's yard, Arian and Ater stood waiting for Yumi's display.
"Ater, Arian, my good brothers," Yumi said confidently. "Let's race."
A mischievous grin tugged at her lips, the kind that usually meant trouble for them.
"…What?" both of them replied at the same time.
"I'll give you a head start," Yumi continued proudly.
"And in case you're wondering, this is part of my display." she added.
Arian and Ater looked at each other, clearly confused. They didn't understand what running had to do with a Flow Skill demonstration, but in the end, they decided to go along with it.
"We're running to that tree across the yard," Yumi said, pointing toward a large tree about sixty meters away.
Still confused but willing to comply, both of them took a starting stance, kneeling slightly, fingers touching the ground.
She then started the race, "On my mark... Get set… GO!"
She stayed behind, deliberately giving them a head start.
Seeing that she was serious, Arian and Ater exchanged a glance, nodded, and increased their pace.
Yumi took a slow breath in… and out.
[Blood Flow Stimulation 1 — Increased Blood Circulation]
In the next instant, she burst forward.
Her speed exploded. The ground blurred beneath her feet as the wind tore past her ears, and within seconds she was already closing the distance between herself and the two boys.
Sensing her rapidly approaching presence, Arian and Ater smiled at each other and split slightly apart, creating a narrow gap between them. They raised their arms at the same time, planning to block her path so she wouldn't slip through, but to their shock,
Yumi leapt.
She flipped cleanly over their arms, her body twisting smoothly through the air, then landed with one hand touching the tree's trunk before coming to a perfect stop, winning the race.
"Wow, how did you do that?" Ater asked, staring at her in disbelief.
Yumi puffed out her chest proudly.
"It's my buff-based Flow Skill," she said with a cheeky smile.
"It increases the speed at which blood circulates in my body, which boosts my speed, reaction time, and strength… at least, that's what my teacher explained." she added.
"That's really neat," Arian said honestly.
Yumi slowly turned toward them, a dangerous smile spreading across her face.
She said calmly, "So… what was that little stunt you two tried to pull back there?"
Their faces turned pale as they were prepared to run, but before either of them could react, she dashed forward and grabbed both of them with ease, her enhanced strength overwhelming them completely.
"It was... uhmmm" both boys gulped as she slammed them gently, but firmly, onto the ground.
She wasn't someone they could bully so easily anymore. Arian and Ater respected and loved their sister, but had always teased their her before as part of a 'brother's job', but now that she had a buff-based Flow Skill, it seemed like it was finally time for them to taste their own medicine.