My Annoying Aura Follows Me Into Another World

​

Spoiler: Synopsis

This is a tale of 4 heroes inadvertently summoned into the world of “Quadra” where the four “Gods of the Four Continents” are waging war against each other for the empty throne of the “One True God”. Caught up in this battle royale is our unlucky and naive protagonist, Suzuya Junichiro, an average high school student with a strange power. How will he live in the new world whilst preparing for the coming disaster? Well, soon we shall find out..

Genre: Adventure , Comedy , Fantasy , Harem , Psychological , Romance , Original

Spoiler: Author's Notes

Hello, I'm SlashCrit and I want to share the story I wrote with you.
I also made a wordpress site, so if you guys wanna check it out: https://isekaifictions.wordpress.com/
Disclaimer:
I do not own neither the cover picture of this fiction or any images in it. It is purely for a better reading experience. Thank you.

Spoiler: Table of Contents

• Prologue: I Seem To Be Flying?
• Chapter 1: I Got Dragged Into A War
• Chapter 2: Even When I'm Reborn, I'm Still Hated
• Chapter 3: Thinking About the Present Situation
• Chapter 4: I Somehow Got an Older Sister?
• Chapter 5: Settling in
• Chapter 6: The Plot Moves Forward A Little
• Chapter 7: Start of Everyday Life
• Chapter 8: An Abrupt Journey?
• Chapter 9: First Battle As A Three-Year Old?
• Chapter 10: Meeting My Master
• Chapter 10.5: Intermission
• Chapter 11: Worthless
• Chapter 12: The Final Test
• Chapter 13: Getting Serious
• Chapter 14: Breaking Limits
• Chapter 15: Overdue Realization
• Chapter 16: Inheritance
• Chapter 17: Sudden Encounter
• Chapter 18: Sleepless Night
• Chapter 19: Arrival
• Chapter 20: First Impression
• Chapter 20.5: Intermission
• Character Images For Better Imagination
• Chapter 21: Dealing With Headaches
• Chapter 22: Anna, Lute, And Myself
• Chapter 23: The Miracle Chef
• Chapter 24: Taking My First Quest
• Chapter 25: Spirit Magic
• Chapter 26: Raizel
• Chapter 27: The Interview
• Chapter 28: Escort
• Chapter 29: The Strongest
• Chapter 30: Moving Towards The West
• Chapter 30.5: Intermission
• Chapter 31: Chill
• Chapter 32: Glimmer Village
• Chapter 33: Jin
• Chapter 34: Goodbyes
• Chapter 35: Enlightenment
• More Character Images
• Chapter 36: Winter Mornings
• Chapter 37: Snowflakes
• Chapter 38: Reaching The Border

 

Prologue: I Seem To Be Flying?

Strange...

I can't recall where I am..

I'm in a dark room with a single candle on top of a table and chair..

Wait..lets recap what I know..

My name is Suzuya Junichiro, 2nd year student in high school..
No friends whatsoever, due to a certain attribute of mine..

Anyway, I seem to remember walking to school in the morning..while people are running away from me(sigh)..as usual..

When suddenly a little girl in a black dress? Gothic Lolita clothes, I think it's what you call them? Is standing in the middle of the road. Now in this case, even if it was strange, for a number of reasons..I would have no problem ignoring it, but due to her staring at me and not running away, it drew me to her before I noticed it.

When I walked up to her and wanted to ask what she was doing here..it happened.

"Are you tired of living?"

Was what she said before I could see the sky..literally, my head was flying in the sky.

The last thing I saw was the little girl smiling in a "tehee" pose while brandishing a scythe.
And the strangest thing was people were just passing through her as if she wasn't even there..then I blacked out..

Well, that's about it, I guess this is the afterlife, huh?
Nothing I can do about it now, I guess I was tired even though I didn't admit it..

Hmm? Someone is sitting in the chair that I could have sworn was empty a minute ago..

He looks like someone that's elegant with slick white hair and a black tied suit, reading a book in front of a candle. But there's one thing that stands out, that book looks familiar...hmm where have I seen it?

That's right! It's a light novel..
Huh? Why is he reading a light novel in a dark room, wait that's not the problem here..
He's suddenly looking at me as if he noticed my existence just now..

"I see you've come to"

The man says in a strange calming voice..

"Yes, my name is Suzuya, Suzuya Junichiro..Where is this place? What happened to me?"

I asked with a puberty-stricken nervous voice..but he seems not to mind it which is even more strange because I thought whenever I speak to people..they automatically run away(sigh)..

"Oh? This is my study..And you my boy..have just died"

I knew it..it wasn't a dream or a delusion...(sigh)

"Ah..alright, even so is this the afterlife and are you the grim reaper?"

"Haha you might call it that in your own way of comprehending what's happening, even though I dressed up for the occasion, I get called a grim reaper?"

"Ah, gomenasai(sorry) I seem to be nervous but might I somehow know your name?"

"Sure, I am known as Melquista, The Hidden God, The God of Fantasy"

And that's how I somehow met my maker..

 

Chapter 1: I Got Dragged Into A War

"Wait, what?

No,no,no did you just say you're a God?
Isn't a god supposed to be like..I don't know have wings and emit a heavenly aura surrounded by angels?"

"Ooh that's quite interesting, I read the same thing in this book I found in your world..
Anyway I guess that's how most gods appear to you humans..But I'm different."

Is this god right in the head?
Wait this is not the time for that..

"Different? How are you different?"

"Didn't I just say it before? I'm a hidden god."

"What does that mean?"

"Let me explain..wait let me start from the beginning..
The One True God created this world and called it "Quadra" and divided it into 4 continents..
The Human Continent, Myriad due north; The Beastman Continent, Feriad in the west; The Elves Continent in the west; and The Demon Continent located in the southern part..

Due to this,he created 4 Gods to govern it...
Each God rules over 1 continent:
Solaris, the Sun God rules over light and the human realm..
Memphis, the Earth God who governs the beasts..
Avaceris, the Nature Goddess who watches over the Elves..
And finally, Polaris The Goddess of the Moon that protects the demons but due to recent circumstances is now called The Demon God"

"Wait..recent circumstances?"

"Yes, but now's not the time to elaborate..
Anyway, the True God used most of its divine energy in creating said world and its various
Gods and inhabitants..

So he went back to the divine realm which is located in the Center of the world, so to speak..
But this is a secret realm wherein only he has access to..
Then he waited there to recover his divine energy and continued to watch his world grow.."

"Yes, so? What's that got to do with how you're different?"

"I'm getting to that, might I ask why you're in such a hurry?
Even though you're already dead..you're still in a rush?
But you don't need to worry about that, we are in a room that has time stopped so I can say,
We have all the time in the world right now"

He said that while having a calm smile on his face but as I have knowledge about auras due to my body..I can certainly sense his overwhelming anger at getting interrupted..

*Gulp*

"I'm sorry, please continue"

"*cough* I see..Now where was I ..
Oh that's right, Over the years, the various Gods have done as they pleased and the True God
watched over their growth into stronger supreme beings by gathering the faith of the various races..but one day the Gods grew bored over governing over a millenia..so they sought after battles with strong beings but since the 4 Gods can't fight each other, they worked together to create enemies they can fight..namely a new race..The Dragon Race"

"Dragons huh, yep they are strong"

"Overwhelmingly strong, over time the Gods and dragons fought each other leaving destruction in its wake..breaking the dimensional plane..causing disasters to the various races..
When the True God noticed this.. He went out of the divine realm to calm them down..
So he ordered them to stop and go back to watching over the lands..but it didn't happen the way He expected it to happen.. Mostly because over time, the gods grew conceited and overconfident over their own power and due to them knowing the fact that the True God was in a weakened state, they decided to rebel.."

" This took a dramatic turn fast"

" Yes, and what happened next was disastrous, though the True God was weakened..
He can still fight evenly with his creations..though this changed when the dragons entered the fray, due to the fact that he didn't create these beings, he thought their power must be weaker than the gods power but he was wrong, Due to the addition of the 7 Dragon Kings of the Elements, things took a nasty turn for the worse..

Entire cities and towns destroyed..utter chaos in the 4 continents..races forced to do battle..since they can't oppose the divine beings..It was literally 1 against everyone in the entire world..That was the Heavenly War Sabaki"

"Wow and then what happened?"

This One True God must be super strong to go against an entire world

"The war lasted for a decade before it reached a stalemate with the Gods and Dragon Kings weakened, and the True God retreating to the Divine Realm..but in the eyes of the world, they won, so they didn't pursue any further since they can't even enter the Divine realm..

But the True God, in his dying moments knew that another war in the future is bound to happen with him disappearing over the seat of the One True God vacant..so he devised a plan to risk opening the gates to other worlds using the last of his power to create a competition using summoning other people from another world, the so called chosen ones..to fight for the gods in place of them..but he needed insurance.. So he made an existence that he knows won't let the world fall to ruin once more.."

"And that was you?"

"Fumu, that's slightly incorrect..I am just a fragment of the consciousness of The Hidden God, since the Hidden God has three forms, The God of Life, The God of Death, and me, The God of Fantasy..the one who brought you here was the God of Death."

"The gothic Lolita scythe-wielding girl?"

"The very same, she does have that preference but anyway she noticed something in you that she can use as a game changer so to speak and sent you to me..

But I now see what she was talking about..

You are terrifying, so much so that I have to use [Fear Nullification] in order to somehow contain you..But I digress..We were tasked to find someone to bring peace to this world to fight the other Gods through their proxies, the Gods Apostles..

The main body has the task of deciding the winner of the battle and giving up the throne of the True God..but he, no, we wanted to find someone to face them and bring balance to the war-stricken world..namely you"

"WHAT. WHY ME? I'm just a loner high school student?"

"That's exactly why, someone who can't be affected by the world's prejudice and views is someone we desperately need as of now..during this 100 years, the Apostles are fated to be born whether you like it or not, so we need you to handle it since we can't do it ourselves.."

"That's kind of irresponsible don't you think? Cant I refuse and go back?"

"Well we will naturally give you a skill to help you out but it's up to your hard work to reach the Gods..don't worry about it"

"No I still don't want to, send me back"

"Well..Oh! My..my look at the time.. You must be going.. Off you go then, enjoy the new world"

"Wait didn't you just say time is stopped here? Wait.."

A sudden white light enveloped my body and my consciousness faded..

 

Chapter 2: Even When I'm Reborn, I'm Still Hated

When I regain my bearings, I find myself in a luxurious room..

A gigantic chandelier hangs in the middle of the room illuminating what seems to be a mind-boggling 10 tatami room..

Filled to the brim with toys and furniture of the highest quality, The first thing I thought was..

Was I kidnapped by a rich guy to be used for his sick needs?!?
Yosh, Lets call the police..phone...phone..where is it?

Wait..this isn't the time for delusions..more importantly I cant seem to get up..strange, i could have sworn I was in a dark room just a moment ago talking with..

While I was busy recalling my thoughts..the door suddenly opened..
Revealing a woman in her late 30's in maid clothes..no I know what you're thinking, not the maid cafe maid, no not even the Nyan-maids in Akihabara..but a genuine Victorian maid..

"Oh you're awake Astrum-sama..."

Hmm she seems to be talking to someone named Astrum..

Why is she walking towards me...she's coming closer..
No...I don't want to got to jail..I'm too young..
Is it my time to go to the yard warden..

Okay, that's enough of that..
Wait she's suddenly picking me up..effortlessly..
Like i was made of cotton, she's carrying me outside the room..don't I weigh like, 170 pounds?
Is she the Ir*n Maid*n? Fufu, get it? Maid..ugh I gotta talk to someone soon..

A few minutes later I see a ridiculously huge living room with a rectangular table with two tall couches on each side with various furniture I'm too lazy to mention..

"Have you brought him?"

A lean golden-haired man said while looking at me and the maid..

"Yes, I have brought Orion-sama, Lord Astrum-sama.."

"Good, bring him here, I want to see what he looks like"

She hands me over to another woman who looks like she has no problems at all..
I mean really, pure white glossy skin, red hair, blue eyes, and looks too elegant its blinding..
What more could you want in the world being so blessed..

"Hello little Orion, I'm your mother, Aries and this is your father, Taurus"

What?
Tell me I'm dreaming, this gleaming kissed-by-the-gods-themselves woman is my mother?
Wait..more importantly..I now know that a shocking revelation has descended upon me..

That's right..I'm now a baby..

There..I've said it..well, technically thought it but you get the idea..

No, don't look at me with those eyes you..
Just because I'm a baby doesn't mean I can't beat..

Fuuuu..(sigh) Alright, I'm calm now..lets take a look at what we've learned..

First, my new name seems to be Orion Astrum, and I am now the son of these two, most likely high-ranking aristocrats..what am I, a constellation?

No, that's besides the point.
This doesn't seem to be Earth due to my inference that even though this is a living room, the all-important 50-inch Flat-screen plasma HDTV is missing..

I really seem to have been reincarnated in another world..And seeing as I'm loaded..Might as well start the beginning of my new fulfilling life in the new world..
Going back a little bit, what was I thinking earlier..

Ah, that's right, Melquista, that stupid god..dragging his problems to an innocent bystander..I swear the next time I see him, I'll..

Suddenly when I was about to curse him out loud..a malicious aura gathered around me..

"Fumu, fumu.. he does seem fit to be the heir of the Astrum house..hmm?..grk!"

Then a blue window seemingly appears out of nowhere..

Notification ​

You have learned the skill [Curse Aura] Proficiency 0.00%​

What, what's happening? A metallic voice that seems to come from the Death God himself comes out of the aura..

"I'LL KILL YOU"

"Kyaaaaaaaaaaa"

"Guards take him away!"

My mother suddenly screams in a shrill voice and my so-called father orders some burly men to handle me and take me away...Ahh..now I've done it..Why the heck is this happening right as I was about to start my fulfilling life?

The Guards abandon me at a stable in the middle of a farmland..(sigh)

In this world too..I seem to be having trouble at living..

 

Chapter 3: Thinking About the Present Situation

And there I was, lying in a haystack..like the sweet baby Jesus on a Christmas morn..(sigh)
I just keep relating to the weirdest things in the weirdest times..

Maybe that's why I'm stuck like this..
I just keep getting into these situations..
I should just roll up in a corner and die..wait I already did...
........

Notification
You have learned the skill [Depressing Aura] Proficiency 0.00%​

Nope, this is bad..I gotta stop now before I get too depressed..now the horses are even staying away from me(sigh) For now, I'll think positively..yeah, that's right..I'm mister positive..
Gotta see the bright side of things now.. At least it's still daytime, even though the horses are staying away, the crows seem to like me..wait..

Crows? isn't that bad?

Fuuuuu..so be it..I will be known as Mister Positive Crow Man! Fuhahahahaha....

Notification​

You have acquired the title {Depression Incarnate}​

Hmmm what's this? Title? Am I a movie?
This is bad, I'm starting to tsukkomi everything..I'm becoming strange..Hmm?
As I take a closer look at the title, something happens..

Depression Incarnate​

You have gone off the deep end, and too much negative feelings are bottled up inside you
that they have started to affect your personality that even crows gather around you.
+100AP, -99 LUK​

What is this self-loathing title?
Am I really that depressed to get pity from you, huh?
Wait a minute..all these windows look familiar..where have I seen these before..

They look like those windows in..

Games..

Am I really in a game? As I thought that, I pinched my finger hard and bit my lip simultaneously..

Yep, it hurts..and I'm bleeding...(sigh)
Anyway since this is real but the window seems real too, it must be that kind of world..

Huh? I'm not thinking hard enough about it? Who? me?
Nope don't know what you're talking about..

Well, since this is a game world, there must be commands right? And as I got excited..I thought the first command I wanted..LOG OUT!

...
.....
........

(sigh) I knew it was too good to be true..let's try another command..STATUS!

And sure enough a square-shaped window appeared in front of my eyes..

Name: Orion Astrum
Title: The Chosen Ones, Hidden God's Apostle, The Loner, Depression Incarnate, Unlucky Person
Level: 1
Race: Human
Class: None
Rank: Null
HP: 100 MP: 75 SP: 20
STR: 5 AGI: 10 INT: 50
VIT: 10 DEX: 5 WIS: 30
WP: 10 AP: 1000 LUK: -999

Are you always trying to bring down my self-esteem huh world?

Is this funny to you?

I don't know why I'm screaming to an inanimate being..
I guess The Loner title isn't too far from the truth..

Now, for the next thing..SKILLS!
And just like before a window appears, only this time, rectangular..

Skills
Active:
Aura Amplification - Proficiency 49.98%
Repel Aura - Proficiency 99.01%
Curse Aura - Proficiency 1.00%
Depressing Aura - Proficiency 2.99%
Passive:
Aura Mastery - Proficiency 20.23%
Aura Manipulation - Proficiency 9.14%
Unique Skills
Aura Gift
Continental Language Comprehension

Hmm it seems like I can only use aura-based skills for now..
After that, I tried a variety of game lingo and terms which led to no avail..
Now that that's over, I want to check the skills I got but it seems I have company..

 

Chapter 4: I Somehow Got an Older Sister?

-Kate's POV-

I try to open my sleepy eyes as I see the sun rising from the window..
It's the start of a brand new day..but not for me..

"(sigh)"

As usual, I start the morning off with a sigh to no one in particular..
It's not because I'm sad but because I unconsciously do it every morning..since that day..

Its been a few months since then..and I think I already got over it..but it somehow changed me..
Made me mature a bit faster than the others..I can hardly remember the times when everything around me looked so bright and happy..not since..

"Mom, why did you have to go"

I say to no one in particular, as if talking to an empty space in my room..
But I still wait for an answer for a few minutes.. and as always..nothing..


So, I got out of bed, cleaned my room, and did various chores around the house..and I notice dinner has been left alone..

Again..seems dad didn't come home yesterday..I hope he gets better soon..

Dad seems to be affected more than me..I think..he used to only drink on occasion..but now, its been a regular thing..

Well, no use brooding about it..I clean up leftovers and prepare to go out..
I walk along the road I take every day to go to the market to buy produce for meals..

It's just like any other day, nothing's gonna change but even so, I live aimlessly today again..

"Huh?"

I notice a large murder of crows flying by going to the direction of the farm and livestock area..well since I have time..

I follow them..after a few minutes, I arrive at the stables where they keep the horses for various labor-work.. But I don't remember it being so eerie..and the door is unlocked which is strange since no one usually unlocks it at this time of day..

There was a time wherein I would not be bothered by this one bit..but this was not one of those times..

Curiosity got the better of me, and so, I opened the door revealing a dark room with creepy sounds coming from the inside..Normal people would turn back right about now..but I seem to be drawn to the darkness within..like there's something I need to see in there..I went inside and what I saw was..

"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaa"

I scream out loud..


-Orion's POV-

Yep, this is exactly a picture-perfect scene straight out of a horror movie..hmm? explain? who, me?..(sigh) fine...let me tell you what I see..

It's a girl, a petite girl with brown-flaxen colored hair, brown eyes, cute round face which will definitely develop in the future into a beauty, and seems to be 5-6 years of age..huh?

What's wrong you say? Isn't that nice? You should die lolicon?

No, no, no ..let me finish..wait who said that last part..

Anyway..you didn't let me finish..It's not all about the girl..its, how do you say this..the whole picture..I guess?

I might just be winging it here..but bear with me..it seems to look a lot like this..


A little girl enters a dreary room and walks in without hesitation..she might as well have said "Hello, Is anyone in here" or any other cliche-dies-in-the-first-few-minutes-lines..
After entering a stable, she expects to see horses sleeping at this time of day, but what she did find was much..much worse.. See where I'm going here? No? Okay..I'll elaborate..

I'm talking about..textbook-run-away-now-and-think-later kind of thing..
The horses are cowering in a corner, and a large amount of crows are flocking together looking at the girl, but at the same time, surrounds something which looks like a small dark entity clad in a dark aura that is in the very center of this mess..and yeah, that's right..that dark entity is me..

"Kyaaaaaaa"

Yep, this settles it..put up the horror flag since this is a done deal..(sigh)
How did it come to this..I was just laying here peacefully and now it seems even that is not allowed..

Ah, I can see it now..she runs away screaming..and a few days later..brings an angry mob with pitchforks and torches and they surround the small shed shouting incomprehensible things like..

KILL THE CURSED CHILD!,THE DEMON LORD HAS COME! CALL THE HERO! or..

SOLARIS-SAMA SAVE YOUR PEOPLE!

or something like that..anyways it doesn't change the fact that I have triggered a death flag.. I mean..how can I fight?

Have you even looked at me? I'm a baby for God..no, True God's sake!

Ah, it seems like I only have a few days until I leave this new world just as fast as I entered it..hmm?

"Who is this cute child?"

Strange, she moved closer to me at a high-speed velocity that even I couldn't react to, and is now hugging me and rubbing her cheek against mine..

Does she like me? Is this normal? or a better question would be, Is this girl normal?..hmm the hugging is starting to get painful..I take it back..she just wants to kill me herself I think..

Death by suffocation, I never knew this is how I would see the light..huh?

And she lets me go and lifts me up into the air..and looks at me straight in the eyes and said..

"This child is so cute and has adorable different colored eyes..I wonder who left you here..well, it doesn't matter now, since I'm gonna be your big sister from now on, okay?"

Ah, she looks so cute when she smiles..

Wait, wait, wait..this isn't the time to be thinking about how cute she is..think back on what she said..different colored eyes? Do I have heterochromia? wait not that, something more important..big sister? yes, that's what I was trying to recall, wait why..isn't she afraid of me?
I start to flail around in her arms..

"Hmm? Oh you're hungry huh? Don't worry I'll feed you when we get back home, best regards from now on.. Little Bro..hehe"

She flashes a radiant smile that looks like the sun..
Ah, It's hopeless (dameda), I stop flailing and let her carry me to the outside world once again..I wonder how this will turn out..having a big sister that is..

Someday I'll get you for this Melquista..mark my words..

And that's how my new life in this world started with the arrival of my new big sister..

 

Chapter 5: Settling in

Ah, I want to eat curry..
Or some udon with a tonkatsu bowl..

My mouth is watering just thinking about it..hmm?
Why am I acting like this?

Well I just miss Japanese food is all..
You don't believe me? (sigh)..

Okay, I'll spill..
Currently I'm running away from reality, this cruel, cruel reality..

"Okay, little bro..here comes your breakfast"

If I could scream right now, I would..
And I would have screamed so loud that even the Gods would have heard it..

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

A murky purple substance in a baby bottle is shoved inside of my mouth..

Ah.. I can see it.. that gentle light.. I'm coming for you next Melquista.. wait for me...

And my consciousness faded once more..

..
.....
.........


The next morning, I wake up to the sound of footsteps..

I try to strain my ears and hear faint conversation between two people..

"What do you mean you found your little brother?"

"Yep, I found him laying in a stable.. You have to see him, he's so cute.."

"But you don't have a little brother though?"

"Yes, but now I do."

"Why are you picking up random little brothers from stables?"

"I couldn't just leave him there, you know?"

"(sigh)..Fine, for now, lead me to where you're keeping him.."

"Okay, follow me..he's in my room sleeping.."

Ah..what am I going to do..he seems to be her father..

It's like I never seem to run out of problems since coming to this world..

I just have to rely on my luck this time..oh wait..that's a bad idea..

No time to think, the footsteps are getting closer..

*creak*

The door opened revealing a man in his early 30's? with brown hair, brown eyes, and chiseled features wearing
leather armor with a long sword attached to his waist..

"So this is the kid huh?"

Okay, gotta act natural.. play it cool..play it cool.. act like you're sleeping..

Then I get lifted up into the air...again, why does everyone keep lifting me up?

Am I a dumbbell or what?

"Hmm.. he does look cute..Kate, do you know his name?"

"Yep"

"What is it?"

"It's little bro!"

"..."

"........"

"I mean his real name"

"That's what I told you"

"(sigh)..Calm down me.. she's still 5 years old.. you can do this..fuuu"

"What's wrong dad?"

"Nothing, nothing..anyway I'll find out his name"

Huh? the man's eyes are staring at me..it seems like he's trying to do something..

"[Identify]"

Then his eyes go wide..

"Astrum? that Astrum?.. No it can't be.."

"Dad?"

"Hmm, oh sorry Kate, his name is Orion Astrum, he might be related to the Astrum house."

"Hmm? the village has lots of houses though?"

"No, not the village, but the nobles who govern Meteorum..
And the Astrum House was the house of the founder of this village."

"Oh so that's why they call it that.. So does that mean we can't keep him?"

"I'm afraid not..sorry Kate.."

"No, I want to let him stay here!"

"But if we were to get involved with the Astrum family..various problems would occur..you must understand."

"No, I won't hand him over!"

Oh no..this is getting bad..fast..

Quick..think..think..I got nothing..

Ah, I'm going to be thrown away again..well, it's not like its the first time..(sigh)
I know no one wants to take care of someone like me..wait..this is bad..I'm getting too down..

Black aura is seeping out of my skin..this won't end well..

"But still..huh? what's that?"

*gasp*

"No, it can't be..Sarah's aura magic? *sniffle*"

Hmm? Who's this Sarah you speak of..

Huh..the man's necklace is glittering..is that a locket?

Ugh..I can feel my aura disappearing..huh why?

"It really is..I see.. this might explain why he was in the stable.."

Then he whispers to himself in a barely audible voice..

"He got thrown away.."

But I can still hear it you know..

Even if you say it like that..I already know..

No, I'm not gonna cry..I don't care for those kind of things..*sniffle*

"Waaaaaahhhh"

Ah, this is so embarrassing..

I want to crawl into a hole and die..

"Okay Kate, it seems that it's alright to keep him."

"Yay! Really? Thanks dad!"

"Yes, yes, but you have to take care of him..alright?"

"I promise to love and take care of him forever!"

Wait, was that a proposal right there?

No, my heart is not ready, and we still don't know each other that well..but maybe..

Wait, this isn't the time for that!

(sigh) These self-tsukommi's are gonna be the end of me one day..

"Hello little Orion, you may not understand me just yet..

But I'm Derek Fullbringer, and this is Kate..
We're going to be your new family starting from today onward..
So call me dad(otou-san) someday..

Okay? [Orion Fullbringer], my new son.."

Notification​

Status has new information - Name has been changed
into Orion Fullbringer (Astrum)​

What, just like that?
Well, it's fine..it's not like I particularly care..

But really, crying does solve everything..

Name: Orion Fullbringer (Astrum)
Title: The Chosen Ones, Hidden God's Apostle, The Loner, Depression Incarnate, Unlucky Person
Level: 1
Race: Human
Class: None
Rank: Null
HP: 100 MP: 75 SP: 20
STR: 5 AGI: 10 INT: 50
VIT: 10 DEX: 5 WIS: 30
WP: 10 AP: 1000 LUK: -999

 

Chapter 6: The Plot Moves Forward A Little

-Kazuya's POV-

I wake up, wash my face, eat breakfast and get ready for school..just like any usual weekday..

"I'll be going out first (Itekkimasu)"

"Have a nice day at school (Itarashai)"

My parents say as I walk out the front door..

I greet the neighbors when I pass by..

"Good morning (Ohayoo-gozaimasu) Mrs. Kazehaya"

"Good morning to you too Tomohiro-kun, have a fun day at school, okay?"

"Thank you, I will..see you later then.."

I walk along the path I take every morning when commuting to school..

My name is Tomohiro Kazuya, 2nd year high school student at Hoshizora Academy..

My parents are nice, and school life is great for me.. but there is a never-ending boredom to this routine..

Just as I'm thinking that, I see a familiar face..it's my best friend..

"Hey (Chisu) Moriyama!"

"Hmm? Oh its just you, Kazuya.."

"Hey what's with that attitude, huh?"

"(sigh) It's nothing..not something an honor student can understand..I'm at the brink of failing dude.."

"It's because you don't put serious effort into it.."

"Ah, I don't want to hear you preach, Man..I'm so envious of your brain.
Hey (Ne), give me half, no just a quarter is fine.."

"Idiot (Baka), I can't give you my brain..that's impossible!"

"Ehhh, Why not? Hahaha"

We always joke around like this with each other..

But he's right.. I can basically do anything I put my mind to without even trying..
A few years ago, I thought it was natural..

But now, even I start to wonder why I learn so fast..

But (Kedo-maa), its disrespectful if I doubt a good thing, so lets put it out of my mind for now..

We walk together until we reach school and enter the classroom..

Hmm..somehow something's strange..

I feel like it wasn't always this easy going inside the classroom but I don;t know why..

"Hmm? What's wrong Kazuya?"

"No..it's nothing, lets just take our seats..the bell's about to ring.."

Maybe I'm thinking too much..

I go to my seat and sit down..huh? There's an empty seat besides me..

Huh? Who was sitting next to me again? I can't seem to remember..

The bell rings and homeroom starts..

The teacher starts to call out names in order..

"Okay, it seems everyone is here..Lets start homeroom"

Huh? Why? Isn't the seat next to me absent? I want to ask the teacher but I'm afraid to be thought of as weird..

And now, its the end of the day..

Everyone's packing up their bags..

I make my way to the teacher's room..

"Teacher (Sensei), I want to inquire about something..Do you have time?"

"Oh, Tomohiro-kun..sure, what do you want to know?"

"Well, it's about the seat next to me, what was the name of the 40th student at the back of the class?"

"Hmm? Are you feeling alright Tomohiro-kun? There's only 39 students in my class though?"

Strange..this is really strange...what the heck is happening here?

My head is hurting...so...much..

I dash off from the teacher's room..

"Tomohiro-kun! Wait, what's wrong?"

Teacher seems to be shouting something but I don't hear it..

I arrive at the school roof and gaze out beyond the setting sun as if to calm down my aching head..

"Am I going crazy? Is this stress accumulation? What the heck is going on here?"

I scream out to no one in particular..

But a voice seems to answer my prayers..

"I found you, my hero.."

It's a heavenly voice that seems to scream divinity itself..

When I turn around, I see a beautiful woman..seemingly in her early 20's with pure white skin and shiny silver hair..

Huh? There are horns growing out of her head..cosplay?

Next, she says something incomprehensible..

"You're memory is being suppressed by a divine class brainwashing magic..Hmm I wonder which God did this?"

What? Gods? Magic? It just got more complicated..

"Wha..what do you mean suppressed?"

"Hoh, sorry I got lost in thought there..You're still confused right?
Well..its the effect of that magic..wait just a bit..I'll dispel it right..*ugh*?"

The woman seems to be in agony..then she calms down in a few seconds..

"Fuu..it seems to be quite strong..It seems I need to use a portion of my power for this..
Tell you what, hero.. If you promise to fight for me, I'll lend you my aid..
And also cure you of your headache while I'm at it..How about it?"

This woman seems weird..but the pain in my head is only getting worse..

It feels like I'm going to split apart.. I want to think about this more but..

Its getting hard just to even think..there's no other way..

"Alright, I'll fight for you or whatever, just let the pain go away!"

She grins for a second and comes back to her elegant appearance a moment later..

"Excellent.. Very well, hero, I will hold up that promise.."

She starts gathering light and darkness mixing together that somehow looks like..moonlight

"[Divine Moon's Restoration]"

She said that and almost instantly, the pain in my head disappears like it was a lie..

While I was about to thank her.. I felt something cold in my chest area..

Huh? A giant sword seems to be lodged in my chest..funny..I don't remember bringing a sword to school..

I look up to the woman to get some answers..

"Allow me to introduce myself, I am Polaris, The Goddess of the Moon and you are my new hero."

I see..that's something..but it's not really helping in this situation..

"I'll meet you again when the time comes..That sword is a parting gift..

Don't disappoint me now, hero.."

Those were the last words I heard in this world before falling into darkness..

 

Chapter 7: Start of Everyday Life

The sunlight seeps through the tree leaves..

The wind blows through my silver hair..

Hmm, I think that was called "komorebi?" in my previous life..

Well..it doesn't matter right now..

I just want to lay here and enjoy this moment..

...
......
..........
...................
......................

*UGH* *groan*

What, I'm feeling uncomfortable for some reason..

"Orion, you left me behind again *pant* *pant* "

Ah, just when I was having my early mid-morning nap..

Okay, lets ignore it..*snore*

"Hey.. You're ignoring me again, aren't you?"

*Snore* "I don't know what you mean" *Senor*

"Wait..you just said something right? And what's with that "Senor" at the end, huh?"

I feel a sharp stinging sensation on my limbs..

"AAAGGHHH! What are you doing, Nee-san?"

Sadly, I awake to the sound of my bones? breaking apart..

"Hmph.. this is what you get for skipping out on farm work!"

"What are you on about, I watered the crops didn't I?"

"Yes, yes you did...one crop..ONE!"

"Is there any problem with it?"

*BAM*

A fist lands on my head from above..

I swear..my sister easily resorts to violence..

"Ah, you are so...I give up...

It's always like this nowadays..

Ah, where has that cute child before gone off to?"

"Hmm, did you say something?"

"Noooope, I didn't say anything.."

I feign ignorance as it would be weird to recall memories of infancy..

"Anyway, let's go back..lunch will be served soon.."

"Yay, I love you Nee-san"

*Blush*

"Yeah, yeah..I can never get mad at you for too long..(sigh)"

Haha, today my cute-cliche-one-liners-straight-out-of-a-galge works on sister again..

Fuu.. anyway today looks like another peaceful day..

I think to myself as I walk with Nee-san into the village

Goodbye big apachia tree.. I'll come visit again..or in this case.. tomorrow..

Hmm..I can't believe 3 years have passed in this world..

Days of living peacefully.. I could get used to this..

Huh? Am I getting lazy? I'm becoming a NEET? Work damn you? I'm dropping this novel..it's too boring now?

Well, of course not.. I've been working hard in my own way these past couple years..

And who keeps saying that last part..Geez..

Yeah, a few days after I got accepted into the Fullbringer family..

I checked all of my skills and such and have been working on improving them..

Of course.. in seclusion.. and no, I'm not unsociable..

There's just no other children my age.. I can talk with properly..

Hmm..no.. for the last time.. I'm not a problem child..

It's just that I'm special..Whatever..I don't care..

Anyway, I think I can be proud of myself when I see my skills compared to before..

Interested? Well, I guess I can show you..be grateful plebs haha..

(sigh)..

Aura Amplification (Novice) - Proficiency 80.12% ​

Enables you to expand the range of your aura magic.
Range depends on the number of Aura Points (AP)
MP Cost: 45​

Huh? What's the difference from last time, you say?

Well..fuhahaha..listen well..When it leveled into novice proficiency..

The MP Cost went down from 50 into 45 and it made it easier to control how much aura is amplified..

But, enough about my achievements..there's still other skills..like..

Repel Aura (Novice) - Proficiency 99.01% ​

Enables you to make sentient beings stay away from you when active.
Effect depends on the number of Aura Points (AP)
MP Cost: 30

Curse Aura (Beginner) - Proficiency 78.12%
Enables you to make the target of your choice, feel fear through the use of your aura magic.
How much fear caused depends on the number of Aura Points (AP)
MP Cost: 60


Depressing Aura (Intermediate) - Proficiency 5.80%
Enables you to make the target of your choice, feel down through the use of your aura magic.
How much depression caused depends on the number of Aura Points (AP)
MP Cost: 20​

Yes, well the skills effects when leveling..are essentially the same..

It gets easier to control and the MP Cost goes down..

Oh yeah, and I've been getting depressed a lot..since Nee-san beats me up often..

Hmm? Oh no, I'm not weak..

I'm not an M either..

(sigh) I just haven't used any of my strength against her..

I think I'm an extremely considerate person not to fight back..

Its because I'm a feminist at heart..(Feminism banzai!)

Anyway, lets move on to the passive skills, shall we?

Aura Mastery (Novice) - Proficiency 20.23% ​

This is how much you comprehend the complications of aura magic.
Enables you to sense aura and how it is used around you.

Aura Manipulation (Novice) - Proficiency 51.14%
This shows the extent of using aura magic. Enables you to bend aura to your will.​

And the unique skills are..

Aura Gift
Divine Skill - 10 Scriptures of Aura
First Scripture Unlocked:
Enables you to use Aura Magic but disables any other magic.
Remaining Scriptures - Locked State
Effects: +500 AP, -100 LUK, +50 MP, +30 INT

Continental Language Comprehension
Divine Skill
Enables you to completely understand all languages in the world of Quadra.

Pretty cool right?

I have become a cheat? No, no..this..you didn't notice?

I can't use any other magic.. why am I sad, you say?

Well, aura magic's great and all.. but why can't I use the cool magic spells? Huh?

I mean flying magic, spacial magic, alchemy magic and the like...

To be honest, I'm depressed..but..

Such..is life..can't have everything you want..

So..I dedicated my time and effort to gain a new skill by tampering with Aura Manipulation..

First, I gathered it into my hands..

Next, for a couple of months.. I had it float around me for longer times to see how much time I can keep it up..

After that, I could make them into shapes..but it was tiring..

After I make it into different shapes..I collapse after 2 times..

Sad, I know right? BUT!

I worked on it for who knows how many turns..

Hmm? A turn in this world is considered 2 months..

Anyway..I succeeded in creating a new skill..BEHOLD!

Aura Sphere (Intermediate) - Proficiency 2.00%
Aura gathers into a sphere-shaped object that can take many forms.
Size and Attributes depend on the number of Aura Points(AP)
Forms Unlocked: Dark Sphere, Light Sphere
MP Cost: 100​

​

Yeah..that's about it for the skills...

And oh, I trained for a bit in my child form, raising my physique and getting used to moving in my new body..

Titles? Uh, I can't tell you since, they're bad for my mental health..please understand..

(sigh) Maybe in the future, I'll talk about it..

But for now..I'm too shy..

Well..while I was having my inner monologue.. we arrive at the house..

Man..I'm hungry..we opened the door..

And find an unfamiliar person talking to father..

Name: Orion Fullbringer (Astrum)
Title: The Chosen Ones, Hidden God's Apostle, The Loner, Depression Incarnate, Unlucky Person, One Who Passes Work Unto Others, One Who Runs Away From His Problems
Level: 1
Race: Human
Class: None
Rank: Null
HP: 300 MP: 275 SP: 50
STR: 15 AGI: 30 INT: 70
VIT: 30 DEX: 10 WIS: 40
WP: 25 AP: 1500 LUK: -500

Skills
Active:
Aura Amplification (Novice) - Proficiency 80.12%
Repel Aura (Novice) - Proficiency 99.01%
Curse Aura (Beginner) - Proficiency 78.12%
Depressing Aura (Intermediate) - Proficiency 5.80%
Aura Sphere (Intermediate) -Proficiency 2.00%
Passive:
Aura Mastery (Novice) - Proficiency 20.23%
Aura Manipulation (Novice) - Proficiency 51.14%
Unique Skills
Aura Gift
Continental Language Comprehension

 

Chapter 8: An Abrupt Journey?

"Hou.."

As I was thinking about the present state of my stomach,
I find an old man and my dad sitting across each other in the living room..

This is bad..

The atmosphere seems tense..

It's as if I interrupted at a crucial moment in their discussion..

And because of that, the old man is calmly looking at me and dad alternately as if he was comparing..

Ah, this is like that feeling when..huh?

What do you mean, how can I sense the atmosphere? Am I dense or something?

No, I most certainly am not..

In fact, I was called a sensitive person in my previous life *hmph*

And its also due to the fact that I have an aura and..hmm?

Who called me sensitive? Umm..

Okay, fine.. No one called me that out loud, but I think of myself as someone who can read the mood..

I'm not a KY (Kuuki-Yomenai) guy that blurts out stupid things in situations like this..

But this is just like that time in my previous life..

Where I went to visit my relatives and I was bored so I went around their manor..

When I "accidentally" saw my uncle umm..lets say embracing the maid..

With his wife, my aunt on the other side of the house..

So yeah..long story short..I got hated by uncle..

But he sometimes sends new years cards..

They were full of disdainful words though..*cries*

Nevertheless, the old man is starting to speak once again..

So the best thing to do here, is stay cool and calm.. and keep my mouth shut..

Notification
You have learned the skill [Elegance] Proficiency 0.00%​

"WHY?"

"Oh, what is it, boy?"

"Ah, umm.. no, it's nothing..haha"

"Is that so?"

That was close.. these windows just want to ruin every moment doesn't it?

Am I being bullied?

"Anyway, I seem to remember Kate, but.."

He looks at me gesturing to my father to probably introduce us..

"Oh, this is my stepson..Orion, go on..introduce yourself.."

(sigh) What was that half-assed introduction..

"Good day to you sir, My name is Orion Fullbringer, stepson of the Fullbringer household."

I think my nervous voice came out..I pray he doesn't notice..

"Hou.. Derek, this son of yours seems fairly well-mannered.."

"Haha, I guess he is.."

"I'll postpone getting to know your story at a later date.. but for now, I have urgent business to talk abou-"

*GROOOOOOOWL*

"Oh no, is there a monster nearby?"

"We must alert the villagers!"

"I will go father!"

"Yes, Kate go run as fast as you can and don't look back!"

As I see them scrambling around panicking..

I am relatively silent..

Ah, I can't tell them in this situation..

No, I decided in this new life, I will do my utmost in communicating my thoughts..

Well, I decided that just now though..

But I'm still embarrassed to say it..ah, to heck with it..

"Uh, That sound was me.."

They suddenly grow stiff and turn their heads towards me..

The old man points at me and says..

"Monster?"

"That's wrong!"

"Oh, then what do you mean Orion?"

Dad asks me in a questioning tone..

"It..it was my stomach..rumbling.."

Utter complete silence fills the room as if the panic earlier was a lie..

And then to break that silence..

""" *PUH!* HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA"""

Everyone else except me burst into tears of laughter..

"Haha, is that so.. well then, we can discuss my business over a meal.. shall we?"

My face feels hot.. this is mortifying..

A hand is slapped on my back, and suddenly I kiss the floor in a disorderly fashion..

"Don't think about it too much Orion, I'll make lunch quickly so don't worry!"

Ah, it's Kate.. she always somehow knows if I worry about things too much..

And she always knows just what to do.. I could do without the violence though..

Then, thirty minutes later we finish our meal and we sit around the table..

"Well then, lets get down to business, shall we?"

"Wait, is it okay for them to hear about this?"

"Hmm.. well, now that they're here, they might as well..haha"

This old man seems to not care about the little things.. well I don't dislike that part of him..

But then that carefree attitude took a sudden turn..

"The Elves have started to move again.."

He says in an uncharacteristic serious tone..

"What did you say? I was under the impression that organizing an army of that scale would take several more months to a year at most.."

"Yes, we thought that as well.. but last week when our scouts reported the situation.. it's nothing but a cold hard fact.."

"Situation? What happened exactly?"

"Annihilation.."

"What..did they move their army that quickly? We should have had time to prepare.."

And the old man waves his hand in front of dad's forlorn face..

"No, it wasn't an army..It was a person, or elf as you call it.."

"That's impossible.. but wait..no, it can't be.."

"That's right..it was.."

Hero, that's what the old man said.. the blessed heroes given power by their individual gods, and also people summoned from another world like me.. but Melquista said that they would have been born at least at the same time as me..

Or was that even the hero.. lets inquire more about it..

"Um, what did the hero look like to you?"

"Hmm, you're interested in it? Well, lets see.. the hero's appearance was covered with a cap but had elven ears sticking out from besides him/her..And used arrows of green phosphorescence light to decimate our forward garrison.."

So it's not confirmed that it was the hero.. Even so, I must be ready for it..

I can't stand idly by while the other heroes are getting stronger by the minute..

I mean that's why I was even called to this world of fantasy..

Okay, time to think up some countermeasures..

Right as I'm entering my concentration mode.. the old man says something..

"So, in due of these circumstances..using my authority.. I order you, Derek Atlas Fullbringer, former-captain of the Imperial knights to head back to your station in the Imperial Capital.."

"Eh? Wait, what? Capital? Imperial knights? Please tell me what's going on.. And while you're at it.. Who the heck are you to use your authority like that?"

The old man suddenly makes a face as if he just realized something important..

"Oh, where are my manners.. I forgot to introduce myself.."

Seriously.. this guy..

"*Ehem* I am Marvich Kelion, General of the Imperial Army, pleased to make your acquaintance.."

"Eh?"

 

Chapter 9: First Battle As A Three-Year Old?

I can't take this anymore..

The insides of my stomach are churning and I can't think straight..

And no, this is not a prologue for a S&M play you sick freaks..

I'm genuinely sick to my stomach..

The cause is the bouncing up and down of this vehicle..

It's strange since I don't usually get carsick.. but I don't think I can call it a car though..

They call it a carriage.. How I wish I could fly right now instead of riding this monstrosity..

Give me a cheat-like-teleport power, I beg of you..

Well.. it's a good thing that I didn't eat much for breakfast..

Anyway, after the old man came to give his imperial order, dad asked us if we would come move into the capital or stay in the village..

Of course I said yes..is what I'd like to say but..

If you haven't noticed yet, I still have the body of a three-year-old..

Then why am I in the carriage at the present moment you might ask..

Well..

"You okay Orion? You look a little pale.."

It's due to the meddling of this person..

Kate Fullbringer, my older sister and my dictator in this life..

When we were about to go to sleep, she "coerced" me to come with her and dad..

Correction.. bribed and threatened..

In other words.. she said there was delicious food in the capital and a school for magic..

But when I said I was still not convinced, she broke my limbs again and again using healing magic..*cries*

Honestly.. there is never a calm discussion with that person..

So here I am.. wallowing in my own regret.. holding in my vomit..

"Ah, I'm fine Nee-san.. I'm just new to it is all..huh?"

"I see..hmm? what are you looking at?"

I notice people in front of us blocking the path on the road..

There are about 50 of them according to my rough estimates..

They are wearing leather-brown clothes with rusted chain mails with short swords at their sides..

They have an air of arrogance around each and every one of them..

I have a bad feeling about this..

"What? There are men blocking the road.. father, do you know them?"

My sister calls father to inquire about their identities..

"Oh, those are bandits..there seems to be about 53 of them in my detection range.."

Dad says that in an indifferent manner..

"Wait, bandits.. isn't that bad? Besides, there are too many of them!"

"Hmm? It's no problem though.. it usually goes like this when you're on the road.."

"How can you be so calm?"

"Well they are small-fry to begin with..ah, this is a good chance to show off in front of my kids.. I'm a genius if I do say so myself..kukuku.."

You do know I can hear every word you're saying.. this carriage isn't a gigantic limousine..

As we are talking about how were gonna deal with the situation, the carriage stops..

"Sir Fullbringer, there appears to be bandits blocking the pathway.."

"Ah, Yes.. leave them to me!"

My dad says that in an excited tone and grabs the long sword in the carriage and walks out..

"Huh? A guy is coming out? No matter.. Hey! you!"

The bandit-man who looks to be the leader shouts out in a condescending attitude..

"Leave your belongings here and all your money.. and we might just let you pass..gehehe.."

As if that was a signal, the other bandits laugh out loud together with their leader..

Gross.. even their laughter is creeping me out..

"Oh, I don't want to though? Why don't you come and try me?"

"Oi, oi.. can't you grasp the situation around you? Were trying to be polite here you know? Just leave all your stuff here and get on your merry little way.."

"You seem to be mistaken.. why don't you people go back to where you came from.."

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!?"

Oh, he's mad.. a vein just popped up on his forehead..

He signals to the others to attack dad..

I wonder how this is going to turn out..

"Hey, you lot! Teach this guy a lesson he'll never forget!"

"Give me your best shot!"

The bandits attack simultaneously at dad, but he seems to be enjoying this..

*Grin*

After he grinned excitedly.. a screeching sound came out of his sword..

The next moment.. 10 bodies hit the floor anticlimactically..

"Wha-wha-WHAT?"

The leader person seems to be shocked and is sweating bullets..

"Men, stop him!"

"Yare2x.. these people never learn.."

As he said that.. 2 people were coming from the front and back and attacked..

They smiled as if to say victory was assured..

As they were convinced that in the next moment.. a bloody mess would be left..

They flew up into the air.. like paper airplanes..

Not one of them saw the swordplay.. well except yours truly..

But still, I could barely sense it even with manipulating aura into my eyes to catch the speed of the slashes..

My dad just might be super strong.. no lets stop here.. he will get a big-head due to this..

And I can't get caught in his pace.. Even though its frustrating..

I must admit.. he really did meant they were small-fry..

After a minute.. only the leader was left standing..

"How can this be? Impossible.."

Dad was standing in the middle of the bodies without a single scratch..

He walks up to the leader and says this:

"Next time, put up a better fight..okay?"

The leader falls to his knees and lost his fighting spirit..

A few minutes later..we tied them up to trees so that the guards can get them later..

*Phew* with this, it's over..

We continued our journey on the road peacefully..

For about an hour..

After that.. I could only stare in horror at what came after..

*BOOM* *ROAR*

A gigantic red hand flicked my father away while he was scouting ahead on horseback before any of us could detect it..

It, being..

A dragon..

Its giant wing-beats reverberate throughout the atmosphere..

And I swear I felt my heartbeat stop for a moment there..

I mean who wouldn't?

From what I can see through the dust in my eyes..

It seems to be 15 meters in length with red scales and golden eyes..staring at us..

At me..

Is this the end?

Living life till 3 years old.. what a short life.. its funny.. but I'm not laughing..

"No, no, no, this can't be happening..*Sob*"

Kate seems to lose all her strength and plops down into the ground as she didn't expect this to happen..

Who can blame her.. It's not common sense to meet a freaking dragon on the road..

"*Guha* Run away Orion, take your sister and run far away from here.. I'll somehow buy time..GO!"

Looks like dad came back.. but he's staggering while walking..

How can it be, the person who effortlessly dealt with 53 bandits to be reduced to this state..

This just goes to show you how strong dragons are..

Honestly, I want to run..

I'm scared.. I might just faint.. that dragon looks hungry..

But I very well know I can't..

It's not for a petty thing such as pride..

I'd be glad to run away if that was the reason..

But..I know better than anyone that If I flee here..

I'll regret it for the rest of my life.. and I have a lot of years left..

I'm only three you know? Haha, I can still crack a joke in this situation..

I might have a talent for this..

Well.. enough of that.. First I've got to calm my erratic heartbeat and breath..

*Crash*

I see my father blown away like paper..

But I can't get discouraged.. I can do this.. No, I have to..

I gather all my fear and bottle it up inside.. deep inside..

*Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu*

I exhale a long breath..

I suddenly notice that I have a black aura coming out of my left and white aura coming out of my right..

Notification
You have learned the skill [Yin-Yang Aura] Proficiency 0.00%​

I don't pay attention to the random window for now..

Because for some reason.. my mind is clear..

I find the sword my dad dropped buried into the ground..

It is as tall as me.. but I don't mind it, I pull it out with ease..

The aura mixed together into silver-grayish color around the sword..

I feel omnipotent power from it..

I point the sword at the gigantic dragon..

A small boy pointing a sword at a dragon looks like it might have come out of a fairy tale but I don't have the leisure to think about idle things..

I focus all my aura into one point and strike..

It's wings.. yes.. I disabled its method of escape..

*ROAR*

It's angry at me.. of course it would.. who would expect a three-year-old to cut his wings..

He underestimated me.. and that will be its ruin..

I activate my various auras in rapid succession again and again while slashing wildly..

My mana is depleting.. my sense of pain is numbing.. but I don't care about that right now..

My main focus is to bring this guy down!

Work, limbs! I can still go on..

*ORAAAAAAAAAAAA*

I slash my heart out..take that shakespeare..

In what seems to be an eternity.. a body falls down.. into the cliffside

Carrying me with it..

I did it.. I killed that beast..

It might have been mostly luck though.. since it was looking down at me, a child..

With this, I can sleep now.. I'm really tired..

Notification ​

You have acquired the title {Dragon Slayer}

Notification
You have acquired the title {Martyr}​

Hmm.. what's that? No it doesn't matter at this point in time..

"ORION! No, don't go!"

Ah, at least you're safe.. Nee-san..

That was the last thing I thought of while drifting into the abyss of darkness..

 

Chapter 10: Meeting My Master

Part 1

Dark..

So dark..

Can't even see anything even if I widen my eyes to the limit..

I don't know how long I've been in this state..

But I'm slowly starting to recall..

Something about fighting something..

I remember I was scared to the point of crying..

What was it..

Ah, that's right..

I remember now..

I died.

But wait, why am I conscious?

If my memory serves, I killed the dragon..

Right?

I must have let go of my consciousness after since the adrenaline that rushed into my head disappeared..

But even though I should have fallen off the cliff..

I can still retain my thinking..

Strange..

Well, not that it matters..

What does though, Is grasping the current situation..

I'm in a black space..

It's like an endless void..

And, no matter how much I try..

I can't see a thing..

Wait a freaking second..

Did I go blind?

No, no, no..

This is just conjecture..

*Fuuuuu*

Anyway even if I did go blind..

It might have been a good thing..

I could become like those blind OP-MC's in those novels I used to read while I had free time in my previous life..

Like sensing the sound waves due to heightened senses..

Or wearing cool sunglasses while doing martial arts..

Yep, I'm running away from my problems again..

This is starting to become a habit..

(sigh) Anyway..

I have to find a way out of here..

Wait a minute..

If I can't see, maybe I can gather aura into my eyes again..

Yosh, let's try it, shall we?

I sense the aura around me and at the same time inside of me..

I try to move the aura through my veins simultaneously guiding it into my eyes..

It's pretty hard to do..

Strange, I thought I mastered doing this a while ago..

But there's something different about it..

Like there is a considerable amount going to each of my different colored eyes..

Notification
You have learned the skill [Aura Eyes] Proficiency 0.00% ​

Notification ​

Dragon's Aura has been assimilated into body - Beginning to unlock 2nd Scripture ​

Huh? Is that why I've been sensing stronger aura?

Still I don't fully understand..

Second Scripture? The heck is that?

Suddenly a blue window appears yet again clearing my dilemma..

Aura Gift
Divine Skill - 10 Scriptures of Aura
First Scripture Unlocked:
Enables you to use Aura Magic but disables any other magic
Second Scripture Unlocked:
Added skill: [Aura Absorption] - Enables you to absorb aura from stronger enemies after they have been slain
Remaining Scriptures - Locked State
Effects: +1000 AP, -200 LUK, +100 MP, +60 INT

Oh, how convenient..

Still.. if these windows are still popping out..

Does that mean I'm still alive?

It does, doesn't it?

Wait, who am I saying this too..

Well, it's fine..

Anyway.. now that I used [Aura Eyes], I can see now..

I seem to be in a maze..

This maze looks to be filled with stairs and doors..

But it's strange.. The stairs and doors are sometimes inverted and looks like those paradox stairs..

Wherein.. if you climb upwards.. you find yourself going down..

Still can't get a proper picture..

Hmm.. lets see.. This familiar scenery reminds me of a certain anime from childhood about monsters coming out from different cards.. Ah, it's nostalgic..

So, I start to walk to one of the stairs..

I reach a door while climbing up? or was it down?

It doesn't really matter anyway..

And the thing I found when I opened the door was..

*DRUM ROLL*

Nothing..

It's locked dumb ass..

I say to myself mockingly..

Okay, let's calm down first and recount what happened so far..

I gained a skill and unlocked a scripture? What's next..

Then as I looked around.. I noticed..

That if I look at a door with one eye..

The doors change color..

What's with this..

Can this be a flag?

Okay, lets try it..

I close my left eye and focus aura into my right eye by covering the other..

I feel like a chuuni..

No, no I'm getting derailed again..

My red eye glows in a ruby-like light..

I see countless doors emitting strange green-light..

I sense faint auras from them..

But this is not what I want..

I want to find the exit..

(sigh) Let's try the other one then..

I close my right eye and cover it with my right hand and gather aura into my left eye..

The sapphire-like glow of my right eye emits a faint light..

Ah, found it..

There's a single door that is showing a deep purple light..

It might as well have been hanged up with a sign written in bold letters "EXIT"

Anyway.. time to go..

I think I feel little regret leaving so early..

There is too much mysteries in this place..

I don't even know if I can come back again..

Well, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it..

I put my hand on the door handle and push..

It's not opening.. even when I try to pull it..

Am I stuck here?

Wait, let's solve this by using aura again..

I gather aura into my palm and turn the handle..

*Click*

Haha, It opened.. I'm a genius! Just call me Mr. Problem-Solver..

I try to enter, but the purple light blinds me and I disappeared..

 

Part 2

Hmm?

I open my heavy eyelids..

My body feels like brand new for some reason..

Even though I just fought a dragon..

No fatigue could be sensed..

I feel so refreshed..

But that didn't last long..

"Oh, You're awake?"

I find a man..

No this is not a BL love-story..

I mean when I woke up..

I was in a bed..

No, don't get delusional..

I said this ain't that kind of situation.. is it?

He looks to be a lean-bodied man with flowing silver hair cut short with red and gold streaks at the ends..

It seems he is a normal guy if you look at him from afar..

But when you're this close..

I can tell..

This guy is hiding unimaginable strength in his body..

It's faint but, I can sense a sliver of his aura and it's too damn strong..

It's like his power level must be over 9000.. or something like that..

Anyway, I have to say something..

"Ah, Yes.. thank you for saving me.. My name is Orion, Orion Fullbringer.."

"It's no problem.. I saw you floating down a river a while ago.. What happened to you anyway?"

"Huh, a river? Ah, yes I was fighting a dragon and fell into the river I think.. Oh, and thanks for treating my wounds.."

"Hou.. a dragon huh.. it seems like I shouldn't judge a book by its cover, eh Orion-kun?"

He raises an eyebrow while grinning at me..

I feel cold sweat gathering on my back..

He's not surprised that much from hearing that a child was fighting a dragon..

Might I have met a weird person?

Save me someone! (Dareka, taskete!)

And where did he get that quote from?

"Anyway.. You can call me Arc for now.. And what did you mean wounds? You were healthy as can be when I found you.."

What, did I get healed by someone before I got here? Whoever you are, thank you even though I don't remember you.."

"Well, it is rare that someone fights a dragon nowadays.. haha"

"Haha, yeah..Don't you doubt me?"

"Oh, It might seem strange to others.. but not to me.. I can feel it.. from you.. untapped potential.."

"Is that so?"

This is bad.. am I in danger here?

"Now that I look at you.. It is interesting finding out your true ability.. So here I go.."

It happened so fast..

I couldn't react to it..

If I had to say in sequence of what happened..

First: He released a dreadful amount of killing intent..

Next: He drew a red sword out of nowhere..

Finally: He moved at instantaneous speeds towards me and swung it to my neck..

But stopped 1 mm from decapitating me..

I lost strength looking at the opponent in front of me and sat disgracefully on the ground..

I'm just like a child that's throwing a tantrum..

That got scolded by his parents severely..

Wait.. I am a child..

No, this is not the time for a tsukkomi..

I find myself sweating bullets wondering what to do next.. scrambling at a nonexistent opportunity..

Isn't this guy stronger than a dragon? How did he find me anyway?

As various panicked thoughts invaded my head like a whirlpool of emotions..

The dread stopped as if it was a lie..

"Hmm.. So that is the level at what you are now.. Sorry got a little excited there and showed half of my power.."

That was half?! What would have happened to me if he came at me seriously?

I shudder at the thought..

"Ah, It's fine.."

I slowly catch my breath and stand up.. I can strangely recover from these situations really fast nowadays..

"Hou.. To even still talk while I released my killing intent at you.. I'm amazed.. Maybe there is value in tra-"

*GROWL*

"Ah.."

"Kukuku.. Are you hungry? Well, it's not strange.. your clothes look like they've been out in the open air for days.."

I think that when my fear disappeared, something else replaced it..

This is so embarrassing..

"Haha, don't think about it too much.. Wait there, I'll make something real quick.."

He goes to the direction of what seems to be a kitchen?

This scary old man can cook?

*Fuuu* I think nothing can surprise me anymore..

20 minutes later..

"Delicious!"

"Haha. I knew you'd like it.."

What is this.. this heavenly food that tastes like a feast for the gods..

The texture and heat from this meat and skin is softer than a pillow..

The soup fills you with unimaginable relaxation..

And the fish makes you feel like you're submerged in a nice, cool, refreshing lake..

It makes everything I've eaten till now, yes, including my past life.. seem like bland crackers..

I'm so glad to be alive...

While I was munching with reckless abandon on the god-like meal..

"You know, if you want.. You can eat this everyday from now on.."

I almost spit out my food from what he said..

But I don't dare do such a sacrilegious act towards this meal..

It's disrespectful..

"What do you mean?"

I say with food filling my cheeks like a squirrel..

"Oh, going back to what I was saying before.. I want to train you.. I love finding potential and refining it to its limits.. It makes me feel that I can help a worthy opponent in the future grow.. and it alleviates my boredom.."

"Train? Me? And wait isn't the main reason you're doing this is cause you're bored?!"

Honestly, I'm scared of training under this man.. he might be even worse than Nee-san..

Which reminds me.. I hope Nee-san is safe.. also dad..

Nope I don't have preferential treatment to Nee-san over dad..

That's just your imagination running wild.. (Kinosei2x)

But just as I'm arguing with my inner self as I always do..

"Hou, you caught me.. I just want to try my skills against someone worthy to keep up since I'm free anyway.."

"I'm free anyway.." Those words sound like a bored man to me..

"But do I really look like someone like that to you?"

"Of course.. ah, but you're hesitating right? How about this.. I can make you meals of this level during your training days with me.. how about it?"

"I'LL DO IT!"

I said so without thinking..

What can I say, the stomach is weak..

Well, I can't take it back now..

I can see him enjoying this..

"Excellent, well then.. we'll start training tomorrow!"

"Ah, wait, one more thing.."

"Oh, What is it, my disciple?"

Huh? What's with the disciple? I'll beat you up old man!

I force my inner thoughts back into the abyss where they belong and speak in a questioning manner..

"You keep saying worthy opponent and something like that, but what does that mean?"

He makes a surprised face and it turns into an indifferent smiling face in a second..

Don't think I didn't catch that..

"Oh, it's not something you need to worry about for now..*grin* But maybe it's time to let you know a little about me.."

"?"

"My true name is Arcveil Ryuugal Deucarion, Former 1st Progenitor Dragon King.. You can call me "Master" from today on wards, Looking forward to training you, Orion-kun.."

This world just keeps getting stranger and stranger..

 

Chapter 10.5: Intermission

Part 1

-Arc's POV-

*PUNCH*

*CRASH*

*BOOM*

"Haha, not bad 1st Progenitor.. are we done warming up yet?"

Large explosions are the usual nowadays..

Screams echo throughout the land..

Clashing of claws and fangs..

The smell of blood in the air..

Fills me with excitement..

I can feel the adrenaline rushing throughout the course in my veins even better than yesterday..

In the giant craters littered with corpses at the center of the very picture of chaos lies..

two entities..

Every time my gigantic scaled fist swings that could be mistaken for a flaming meteor that could crush anything in its path..into a weak-looking human fist, you imagine the picture of hell.. but..

It gets flicked away..

As usual.. my punch is nothing but a light tap to this person..

No, correction.. god.

"I'm not done yet, Memphis!"

I throw an even stronger barrage of punches to the God of The Beasts..

*Tch*

I click my tongue but I somehow have a grin plastered to my face.. as usual..

I'm presently participating in our monthly "skirmish" against one of the continental gods..

This month, were being made to fight Memphis and the beasts..

But for me.. It's not like that..

In fact.. I enjoy these "skirmishes"..

Or in human terms.. war..

It makes me feel truly alive..

It's why we were created..

Endless competition based on strength and overwhelming each other with the various techniques we created..

Against the strongest beings on this land..

Well, now that I've regenerated.. let's prepare for another stratagem..

Dragons have high-speed regeneration in their blood so this might be one of the reasons why I love fighting..

I gather draconic mana inside my body as I have done for the umpteenth time these several millennium..

As the death throes of comrades and enemies as the tune to my dance starts..

I move..

..
.....
...........

It's been a few decades since then..

When we were forced to battle a greater foe..

I never knew that someone could overwhelm the gods to this extent..

In fact, I never even thought of a being more powerful than the 4 Gods themselves..

But at first, I laughed since I thought he was an idiot.. going against us alone..

And a coward for not showing up all these years.. holed up in the divine realm..

But now that I see.. even when they worked together to beat him..

They still lose.. and I heard he's been weakened considerably..

How unfathomable must be his power..

To make them powerless before him..

I thought that we could overwhelm him with pure numbers when we offered to help..

But we were oh so far from the truth..

Even with our combined might..

It was futile..

It was then that I experienced absolute powerlessness against someone for the first time..

Though in the objective point of view.. it was him against the world..

But it was then.. that happened..

The gods had a plan to seal most of his power..

And we could overwhelm him then..

Naturally we were overjoyed..

Until they said that they needed the dragon souls of my brethren..

The 7 Progenitors couldn't accept it..

So we talked about it amongst ourselves..

"By the authority of 1st Progenitor of the Purgatorial Flame, Sin of Wrath Dragon King.. I move that we accept the terms of the continental gods in order to defeat the One True God.. Any objections?"

*CRASH*

A fist broke part of the table.. made of the wood of the World Tree which was said to be the sturdiest of all..

"Oi, you really think were fine with sacrificing the souls of our brethren? Huh, Arc?"

A blonde-haired man with detailed features stood up and glared at me..

This man was the..

"I, the 3rd Progenitor of the Judgement Lightning, Sin of Pride Dragon King, Regulus Vandersen Aurum, move to object!"

My best friend.. Reggie..

"Then, what do you propose we do to solve this dilemma?"

A black-haired, pale-skinned man who looked ill to the point of death stood up, but spoke in a dignified and questioning tone towards Reggie..

This was the 7th Progenitor of the Endless Darkness, Sin of Avarice Dragon King, Mortem Vali Siniurge..

It was rare for him to speak out in these gatherings..

"Well, uh, we could.. kill them using the combined might of the ultimate skills of the 7 sins.. right?"

"You know what happened last time right?"

It was met with a shield-like barrier that the One True God called "Aegis" and got deflected..

It was silent for a while till someone spoke up..

A divine presence-like woman spoke words that we couldn't believe..

"Then.. why don't we sacrifice ourselves in place of our dragon brothers?"

Naturally it was met with opposition, but none could offer better ideas..

Just as we were about to speak..

The white-haired woman.. or as we call her, the 6th Progenitor of the Encompassing Light, Sin of Sloth Dragon King, the most mysterious of us all.. since she is usually sleeping.. Luxuria Demarcie Solux stood up and walked to the front with me.. and said..

"Fellow kings, our brethren are dying everyday.. but they die with pride in battle.. but this is a totally different matter.."

We wait in bated breath for her next words..

"Therefore, we use our life force in saving them for their rightful time to die instead of letting our race be eradicated.. as sacrificial pawns for a bet at most, you must think about this.. for the future.."

She bows to us in a graceful but sincere manner..

It does seem disadvantageous since our life force is directly connected to our strength..

But, she does make a valid point..

And I don't want to see needless deaths..

"Well, then.."

Naturally, it was unanimous..

But when the day came..

"Oh, if the dragon kings cooperate, we just need about 50% of life force from each of you since it's just to seal his power for a short time..."

The Sun God, Solaris said in a carefree tone..

So they would have readily bet the lives of our brothers for a window of time?

How frightening is this opponent we have angered..

I don't even really know why he acted now of all times..

But I tend to live in the present instead of the past..

"So, let's get this started then.."

How I wish I could have gone back to that moment to stop myself from accepting..

*Grin*

I saw a slight grin on Polaris' face for a slight second but I pay it no heed..

What happened after that was..

A disaster..

The place was filled with the stench of blood and the seven bodies littering the ground..

In the middle of the scene of hell, was a beautiful woman.. dyed red in blood..

She wielded seven different-colored swords and had an ecstatic expression..

"Ha.. I feel an omnipotent power welling up within me.. This is amazing.."

The woman said as she laughed hysterically like a madman..

Naturally, that woman was Polaris..

"Why, would, you, do, this?"

Reggie asked Polaris a very reasonable question considering her actions was more than questionable..

"Ha? To test my new found power of course, what else could it be?"

We were dumbfounded.. we were used for that reason..

But I couldn't complain.. it was frightening..

It was a power on par with the One True God, no maybe even more..

"Fuu, I might be able to punch that bastard's face in my current state.. haha"

She looks at each of us one more time..

"Haha, maybe its time to finish you guys off.."

But when she was getting closer looking a lot like a grim reaper..

A tired voice came from behind her..

"(sigh) That's enough Polaris.. that was tiring to do.. we have only one chance.. don't waste your power here.."

"Fine, but I'll come back for them later.."

It was Solaris, with Memphis and Avaceris beside her showing tired expressions..

I see, so they gathered all the condensed dragon force into swords and gave it to Polaris..

To create an opening.. that's what she meant..

"Well, let's get ready to move ou-*ARGH*"

Her whole body gets blown away by.. a trumpet?

No, it's a trumpet-like weapon now that I take a closer look at it..

All present have shocked expressions..

"So he's here already?"

Polaris get's up while shrugging like the attack was just trivial..

"Well, that makes it easier then!"

"I see you have been busy Polaris.."

A deep voice of deep comprehension and dignity resounded in our location..

What stood there coming out from the rubble and dust..

Was a little boy..

A prism-haired little boy with an innocent smile.. but with an out-of-place deep intelligent clear eyes..

Which seem to comprehend everything in existence.. and more..

The One True God.. Divinitus Prisma Amadeus..

"Haha, let's see you get arrogant with me again!"

Polaris lunges at him with all 7 swords activated..

"Hmm.. seems that might pierce me.. how quaint.. dragon king god-slayer swords huh?"

He looks at us sprawled throughout the ground..

And smiles calmly..

Why do I feel so relaxed seeing that smile..

Why do I feel that somehow everything will be alright..

Even though were in this hopeless situation..

"Hmm, you have earned my respect, Dragon Kings.. you don't need to see what happens when I get serious.."

He waves his hand towards us and gathers divine energy..

"See you later"

The last thing I heard when I suddenly lose consciousness in a bright light with the others..

Why did the most memorable image burned into my mind then, not the way the seven swords slashed through his "Aegis" and into him, but his childlike smile..

 

Part 2

I awoke to the sound of voices..

"Oi, why did you do that, you should never wake a sleeping dragon!" (Insignificant Man 1)

"I didn't do anything..AH!" (Insignificant Man 2)

A black hell flame oozed from my body as I stretch out and yawn..

"Hmm? I seem to have charred some humans black.. well no matter.."

How long have I been unconscious?

I have no sense of time as always..

And so, I went out of the dimly lit labyrinth in human form to gather information..

What I found out was that more than a decade passed..

The nagging feeling that I have to meet the others ran through my head..

Immediately after that, I left..

I traveled endless lands in search for information on what happened and the whereabouts of my brethren..

But it seems they are afraid of dragons now.. what exactly happened?

Throughout my journey, I found that the Gods don't wage war anymore..

They must have other plans, but what of the dragons..

I found close to nil about them through many years of travelling..

I was about to give up all hope and assume they were dead..

Till I met.. her..

A woman causing trouble in the northern lands claiming to be the Lightning Dragon King's daughter..

Naturally, people thought she was crazy..

But, I was glad to finally have a clue..

Naturally, I had hardships trying to get close to her..

Mainly because he thought I was a perverted old man..

But that's a story for another time..

Anyway, as we slowly got to know each other, scouring the globe for clues..

She taught me new things.. little things..

Like, how to make shelter, sew clothes, talk to people politely, cook food, human culture..

And the value of life..

Naturally, I didn't understand it at first since dragons live longer than most races but I almost forgot..

She was half-human..

So she had an appreciation for human will and their values on how never to give up..

She told me she learned these from her mother with tears in her eyes and a smile on her face..

I think that was where it started..

Where I fell in love for the first time..

Haha, those were fond memories..

Instead of travelling, after I told her my feelings..

We settled down in a small cabin in the forest where no one else lives..

And spent our years making memories of a simple life..

Naturally, I started to learn to like living peacefully..

But the call of battle grew stronger each day..

And I answered it..

I told her that I would get some supplies alone but.. I lied, for the first time..

I was going to a Colosseum in town to test battle against opponents to relieve stress but..

As expected, the guilt ate away at me and I ran back as fast as I could into her arms..

The arms that held mine, the arms that made me delicious food with me, the arms that held my hand when I was asleep..

Was cut off..

Those gentle arms that was part of my whole world was gone..

Carrying with them my lover's life force.. and quite possibly mine..

My heart ached.. and anger surged.. power coursed throughout my entire being..

I found the one responsible looking at me with dead eyes..

The one enemy I didn't want to face..

"Reggie?"

"......"

I was met with silence..

Various questions passed invaded my mid like wildfire..

But as expected, I didn't care about anything till I got rid of this ugly feeling in my chest..

So, I did it..

"SIN OF WRATH PURGATORY FLAME FULL ARMAMENT, RELEASE"

Everything faded to black after that..

When I came to.. the corpse of the love of my life.. was gone.. along with Reggie..

I knew I burned everything looking at the aftermath..

I'm not proud of what I did, but I couldn't control it.. couldn't control myself..

I mean who would, in that situation..

I spent the next few years mourning and thinking of the memories I had with her, Charlotte..

So, After much deliberation..

I rebuilt my cabin to preserve the peaceful life she had gave to me..

And I resolved myself to wait till it's my time to follow her to the next life..

Yes, the life I had was full of hardships..

And joy, sadness, anger, pity, and everything else..

But, it was the life I had chosen..

I just hope that it wasn't a mistake that the One True God spared me from death long ago..

There isn't anything interesting left in this world that you left me in..

I still ask myself everyday..Why?

..
.....
...........

I hear birds chirping..

Did I fall asleep again?

Heh, I really must be getting on years..

I get up from the shade of the big tree and yawn..

"Don't just sit there old man! Help me with this!"

I turn my head and find a silver-haired, lean little boy with different colored eyes.. gleaming with sweat seeping from his pores due to the fear of death while running around.. frantically being chased by dark beasts with ruby-red eyes and skin steaming from the flames they produced enough to burn the air around them..

"Haha, You bet! I was just thinking of another spar.."

He gets surprised and glares at me..

"That's not what I mean't you sadistic old man!"

"Hey, didn't I tell you to call me master?"

"AS IF!!" (Shiruka!)

As I thought.. he is interesting..

I still wonder why I've been left here..

But I am a man who lives in the present..

I pound my fist with my other hand..

"Yosh, get ready for a new technique!"

"NOOOO, NOT AGAIN!" (Iyaa-dameda)

Haha, as expected.. he runs faster than before each time I say that..

I know my time will come someday..

But until then, this might be fun too..

So, I gather draconic mana into my body and..

I move..

 

Chapter 11: Worthless

Part 1

-Kazuya's POV-

The blinding rays of sunlight seep through the tall rock-like buildings..

It strangely contrasts with the chill of the early morning alleyways..

At this time of day, you can see a boy with dirty black hair with small horns growing out of his head moving throughout the different paths as if he knows it like the back of his hand..

"Come back here, you damn thief!"

Needless to say, that boy was me..

I run and run like I always do..

Until I run out of breath, no.. even when that happens, I'll still continue..

I mean, there was no other choice, is there?

It's been a harsh life so far for me..

Even more so that I already experienced a fulfilling one..

Before I got dragged here by that woman..

In that world, I was known as Tomohiro Kazuya..

In this one, Reiten..

In my hands is a handful of fruits and bread that I "borrowed" from that peddler over there..

I think I finally shook him off..

It's to be expected after all, I've been here for 5 years already..

"Ren, you're back!"

Oh yeah, my friends call me Ren..

And by friends, I mean the kids who I got to know in these streets..

Yes, to be frank, I can call them my only family in this world..

"Ah, I'm back Zen!"

This red haired devil(literally) is my best friend, Zenos..

Me and the others call him Zen, since were practically siblings..

I hand him the food for him to distribute among us..

When I came to this world, I've been self-aware from the start..

So, I knew right away I was born as a baby..

But as I was being born, when they saw my hair..

They threw me away in an abandoned alleyway..

It seems they thought I was a bastard child since my parents' hair was either blue and green..

And since they did it right away, I didn't even get the chance to be fed..

The result was, I starved for 3 days in that alleyway..

Well, it was to the point where I thought I would die..

And when all hope was lost, I was saved by a passing old man..

He was who we later called, our foster father..

Since these guys were in an orphanage he ran..

So for 2 years, I grew up in a home..

It wasn't much, but I learned to love it..

But all good things come to an end..

When the old man died of sickness, our daily lives ended..

The orphanage was seized by a corrupt official and we were thrown out into the streets like trash..

But I just thanked my lucky stars I could walk at that time..

During this time period, we supported each other by any means necessary..

Eventually I started doing it too.. Stealing, pick-pocketing, tricking nobles, beating other kids, and all other things..

I'm not proud of it but, if we didn't..

We would have died here..

And I refuse to die a dog's death at a tender age not even reaching 10 years old..

So now were back here..

We ate our fill by carefully sharing it among us 8 kids..

Yes, eight..

We were much bigger before, but now..

I try not to think about it..

I wonder what I could do to make things better every day.

The only thing I can do is use this demon body which has a higher specs than a human one..

Even though I remember the goddess saying something about me being a hero, I don't get it..

I don't even know about these things because I don't read fantasy stories like these in my old life..

I was what they called a "riajuu" now that I think about it..

So I tried to do various experiments by fighting adults..

To see that I had enhanced abilities..

The result was, no..

Not surprising, I got beaten bruised that day..

So, I pass daily life like this waiting for a miracle..

I am now 7 years old..

How I wish I was back in Japan..

"Yo, what are you sulking about again, Ren?"

"Oh, nothing, just thinking about the future.."

"Haha, don't worry about it.. When we reach 10 years of age, we'll join the army!"

"What, no I ain't joining the demon lord's army!"

"Then what are you gonna do with that immense power?"

"What immense power? (sigh) anyway, I'll join the traveler's guild to tour the world!"

"You still can't remember huh? Anyway, if you're going to travel, we'll all come with you!"

This guy is always saying this..

We apparently "met" when he was 3 years old and I was 2 and a half..

But strangely, I don't remember how we met..

He wasn't originally from the orphanage..

He said he was captured to be a slave from another land he can't remember..

Figures, he was a child back then..

But he kept saying that I was awesome back then with a huge amount of power..

"Fine, do what you want.. We are friends.."

"The very best!"

I still don't know what he meant but I hope I find out soon..

The next few years flew by fast..

When we were all 10 years old while Zen was 11..

We registered at the traveler's guild by using the money we saved..

We are now on our way to the next town..

When we got out of the gate, we attracted the stares of people..

But mostly towards me..

And they're keeping their distance..

Thanks again hair..

We walked on the rocky uneven road for hours until it became sundown..

We reach a forest with a clearing inside and stop..

"We'll camp out here tonight guys.."

"Oh, let's set up the campfire"

"I'll start preparations for dinner"

The dinner was as usual, meager but good nonetheless..

Since the one who cooked it are the twins Risa and Lisa..

They both have green hair but different colored eyes..

Risa has red eyes and Lisa has yellow..

By the way, mine are total black..

(sigh) Just like when I was a high school student..

But I'm glad to have a reliable family..

When we finished dinner, they went to sleep while me and Zen took first night watch..

It was indispensable to have to have someone to look out for you in this dangerous world..

And the fact that we are in a forest..

A few hours later we heard rustling..

Man, I wish I was the one sleeping..

"Wake up! It's a pack of demonic wolves!"

Zen shouts to the others to warn them of the impending threat..

They wake up a few seconds after..

"No, did they get attracted to the flame?"

"I think it was the smell of food.."

The twin sisters seem calm but their legs are shaking..

Can't blame them, I want to scream right now..

But I very well know I can't..

Even in this hopeless situation..

I lock eyes with Zen and we both..

*NOD*

I knew he'd understand..

"Run guys, we'll keep them distracted!"

I shout as hard as I can to at least save them from their demise..

But alas, my words fall on deaf ears..

They aren't moving from where they are..

Almost as if, they were stuck in place..

But it might be due to the overwhelming pressure of the guy in front..

Yes, that's right..

Demon Wolf Leader, the head of their pack..

It has a different appearance than the others..

The blood-red fur with the golden eyes exuding an overbearing stature of 2 meters..

It's twice as big as the whole pack..

It's overwhelming, more so if we are just newly admitted travelers..

I want to run..

Is not what I would say!

We both dash towards the beast with daggers in hand..

 

Part 2

It's no use..

Zen got blown away and I have scratches and wounds all over my body..

It takes all I have just to even stand..

Why did this have to happen?

Why did I even get the delusion to travel..

I fall further into depression and wallow in self-ridicule

Oh yeah, I remembered that guy from my class..

That scary guy from my class.. Suzuya

Or as we called him, Maou..

He was always alone and made people scared just being near him..

But he suddenly disappeared one day..

"Run, Ren!"

Zen shouts in a hoarse voice..

But I don't notice it..

Wait, did he get sent into this world too?

It might explain how no one remembered him..

Well, it was sad living like that..

Being avoided by everyone around you..

If it were me, I would have locked myself in my room..

But how did he even get day to day..

Even though he had no on to talk to..

While I had lots of friends..

And even now, I have people I care about, and they care about me..

How can I lose? This is silly..

All I need to do is..

"KEEP MOVING FORWARD, ME!"

I shout out loud encouraging myself and the others around me..

I won't give in to despair..

Even if everyone thinks I'm worthless, a bastard child, cursed one, whatever!

As long as I'm still alive and there are people I care about..

"I'll go through hell itself to protect them"

I leap forward with reckless abandon..

I don't notice the seven colored lights gathering around me..

Notification ​

You have used the skill [Sin Gate] ​

"Woah, just like 7 years ago.."

Zen says incomprehensible things as he always does..

But I don't mind it.. that's just how he is..

I grab two lights colored blue and yellow respectively..

And they turn into gleaming long swords exuding powerful presence..

Notification ​

You have learned the skill [Judgement of Pride Sword] Proficiency 0.00%

Notification
You have learned the skill [Punishment of Envy Sword] Proficiency 0.00%

Notification
You have learned the skill [Dual-Wielding] Proficiency 0.00% ​

I use them to slice through the wolves..

It feels like I'm dancing on air..

I cut through their bodies like paper..

Finally, I arrive at the boss..

"Let's dance, Wolfie!"

I join the two swords together in an intersecting shape..

"Your sin must have a fitting punishment.."

I swing them both at the same time in that position like I was used to doing it..

Notification ​

You have learned the skill [Sin Cross] Proficiency 0.00% ​

The wolf gets cut into four pieces and it slowly falls, along with me..

"Thank goodness.."

"Ren!"

"Ren-nii!"

"Ren-kun!"

I heard voices as I fade into unconsciousness..

"Ha, this is only the beginning, My H,e,r,o.."

And a strangely familiar one at the end..

 

Part 3

-Zenos' POV-

I don't remember where I came from..

But what I do know is that right now, we are in danger..

I, and a bunch of other people are trapped in a cage crying out our existences..

With the outside littered with the stench of blood and death..

It might be both lucky and unlucky that we are in this cage..

Let me explain..

My name is Zenos Aragor, 3 years old..

I grow faster than most kids my age..

I might have been a genius..

Though I can't remember clearly where I was born..

All I know is, when I came to.. I was caught by slave traders..

When we were passing through the mountains..

We met it..

A dragon..

A being only told of in legends..

I don't even dare to look at it for more than a second..

But it was large, fortunately.. it was at a distance from us..

So, the slave traders picked up the pace and moved faster getting rid of dead weight..

That's how much they wanted to get away..

After a few days we arrived at a road near a forest heading to the town..

We all thought it would be fine now..

But we couldn't be more careless and wrong..

It appears it followed us here..

This dragon might be smart..

In a matter of minutes, it devoured the escorts and the traders themselves..

Now, were next..

It tears open the roof of the cages..

I dash for my life in that small opening at the side..

It was lucky that I was small..

I ran away as fast as I could..

Towards the forest and made it to the clearing..

It was strange since a little boy was swinging two large swords again and again cutting down leaves in halves and quarter parts, which was scary but I've got no time to think about it now..

I go past him and dive into the bush to hide..

I'm sorry little boy but I'm too scared to even think..

"Hmm?"

The boy notices me in the bush and stares at me with a surprised look on his face..

He has black hair and eyes that seem to suck you into them..

I don't notice any horns though..

Is he still a child?

I'm a three year-old and I already have little stumps on my head..

But as I was questioning that.. it appeared..

The large dragon notices the boy and stops in the edge of the clearing..

As does the boy as he turns his head at what I was looking at..

"Hou?"

He grins..

What?

Who can grin in the face of a dragon?

"Good timing, I was thinking of testing the limits on this body.."

A low metallic voice comes out from his mouth..

Very unlikely to have come from a child..

This kid is weird..

What is he saying?

Is he thinking of fighting against a dragon?

As I was thinking that..

"[Sin Gate]"

Seven colored lights appear around him like a rainbow myriad of rays..

He takes out a black and white sword and holds it in his hands..

Glaring at the dragon..

He swings..

And the dragon had countless wounds all over his body.. along with a dozen trees falling down in rapid succession..

It happened in an instant..

"[Seal of the 6th Sin]"

Chains wrap around the dragon's body and disappears like it was an illusion..

"Well, I guess in the present state.. I could only seal most of its power.. but it's a good result for the first test"

The dragon had fear in its eyes and flapped his giant wings as fast as he could..

To get away from this monster..

"Amazing!"

"Fufu, right? *Ugh* It seems I used too much power.."

"Huh?"

"This body still can't handle it.. You, boy bring me to the alleyways in the town and find girls named Risa or Lisa, or anyone of those brats..Fuu, time's up.."

With that, he falls down to the ground..

I certainly heard that..

So I carry him up on my back towards the town..

I'm quite excited to live life with this guy..

In fact, I think I just found a lifelong friend..

Yes, a friend who can drive away a dragon..

And might possibly change the world..

 

The grammar is a bit iffy, but it seems quite good. e.g.

 

Hmm yes, those were from my early chapters huh? I was still starting to learn the grammar proficiently so that might be the cause of it.. But I'd like to think that the sentences gradually improve.

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to comment on it and thanks for reading~