"Master, are you sure of this?""Very. Only a d.a.m.n mage could live with vines"
"Then how do we handle this? A mage of the earth affinity could easily uproot trees"
"Use the Heartkiller"
Seeing the omen tree bloom, the merchant could only a.s.sume that Wei was a mage. Fearing his tyranny, he immediately used the Heartkiller.
To his astonishment though, the corpse of Wei and the Heartkiller disappeared. The Heartkiller was a reusable poison and the trump card of their Organization. Losing it would be equivalent to losing the Crown Prince of a nation. Losing all hope of salvation, the merchant took his own life.
The townsfolk waited for days before they gathered the courage to look for Wei. The farm, merchant, and Wei were no longer there. Replaced by a sapling of ivory and teal.
The ethereal tree grew tall enough to rival redwoods and gained an ethereal blue hue. Wei would be named the progenitor of magic as the tree injected mana throughout the continent. Sadly, the network does not consider achievements after death or he would"ve had 100,000 points.
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[Previous Ident.i.ty:
Age: 20 Gender: Male Death: Magic Poisoning Intelligence: B+ Hobbies: Carpentry, Farming
Accomplishments: Town Elder, Master Botanist
Score: 8000]
Reward: *Randomizing*...Sword C+
(Talent and Skill with Swords)
[Sp.a.w.n Equipment: 1000 Currency, Simple Apparel, Dull Knife, s.p.a.cial Ring]
[Permanent Traits: Intelligence B+, Cognition B, Language B+, Strength B, Poison Immunity A, Vitality B]
[Skills: Calculation C+, Cooking B, Combat D+, Agriculture C+, Carpentry B, Herbalism C]
[Abilities: [Automatic Cleansing: Automatic Body Hygiene, Automatic Dental Hygiene], Material Auxiliary Skill: Fertile Soil, Intimidation, Pure Water Generation, Heart Barrier]
[Past Fortune Calculated:
2500 points added]
[New Score: 20220]
[Combat D+ Upgraded to C+(-1400)]
[Dull Knife Upgraded to Sharp Knife(-150)]
[Pure Water Generation Failed to Upgrade to Water Manipulation(Insufficient Points)]
[Score: 18670]
[Transferring Host: Decrepit Shack]
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"Am I destined to be poisoned for every death?"
[WARNING: Host is in critical condition
Strength Demoted to C
Damaged Parts: Burned Right Eye, Broken Right Arm]
Blinded in one eye and crippled in the dominant hand, the kid truly was pitiful. Wei was slightly discouraged however remembered that Vitality had the ability of pa.s.sive regeneration. It was also B-Rank so his injuries would slowly but surely heal.
However, he did not expect a starting point even worse off than Wei"s c.r.a.ppy shed. The lights were far dimmer in this one, the wood even shabbier which irked his carpentry spirit, and he was sure that he was lying in horse manure.
Disgusting, he thought. If such conditions were the norm then something must be done.
[Pa.s.sive Clean(-3000)]
[Clean Set(3) Unlocked: Aura of Purification]
The surroundings will be cleansed instead of just him which meant being able to tolerate basically every environment.
Curious of if he died in vain, he inspected the artifact.
[Heart Barrier]
(Stabilizes emotions and emits a barrier when host is vulnerable)
Sleeping is no longer dangerous. With the heart barrier, safety precautions were redundant or even unnecessary.
Regardless, the situation must be a.s.sessed.
You are Shen, a child whose parents had been murdered recently. The a.s.sailants have crippled and burned you and left you for dead. However, you survived and now await the family friend
The shed door slammed open abruptly and a tall man stepped inside.
"Get up, runt. You can"t mourn for-", the man stopped as he noticed that the kid was different.
Yesterday, Shen was shivering in fear and silently crying for his parents. Today, he seemed mature and incredibly determined.
[C-Rank Quest:
Objective: Travel with Da Lan and Help Find His Daughter
Reward: *Unknown* and 3000 points]
Da Lan shut his mouth and merely motioned for Shen to follow along. To Shen"s disappointment, there were no villages. Merely a half-a.s.sed road among nature.
The two traveled for approximately two days before sitting on some logs. Da Lan gathered some firewood before creating a fire. He handed a piece of hard bread to Shen.
Shen nearly gagged, it was disgusting. Not only was it hard but the taste was similar to burnt dirt.
Da Lan inwardly scoffed. This sheltered child was a ha.s.sle, but it was weird that Shen was more silent than he was.
The two sat in silence until Shen finally broke the silence, "Where are you headed?"
"To the capital"
"Any reason?"
"To find my daughter"
"I"m sure you"ll find her"
Shen was the one trying to comfort Da Lan, even though he just lost his family. What an odd kid.
"Next time, let me cook"
When dawn came, the two began moving again. The waterskin had finally run out of water. He was about to leave the road and head towards a river when Shen stopped him.
"Give me the water"
Shen ran into the forest and returned after a few minutes. The waterskin was full and Da Lan took a swig.
It was delicious. There was no dirt or anything else in it. It seemed pure as if it was collected directly from the clouds.
At dinnertime, Shen began preparing for dinner. To preserve, food the only time they ate was at dinner. Shen handed Da Lan a steamed potato and he ate as if he hadn"t eaten for a decade.
Life was tranquil as the two pa.s.sed time by traveling. They would travel around 30 kilometers each day and then settle at night while dining on Shen"s amazing food.
They even encountered a few merchants to which Shen would surprise Da Lan by trading a few coins.
Overtime, Shen"s complexion began to look better with the burn scars slightly fading and his right arm gaining partial mobility.
Noticing this, Da Lan decided that he wanted to repay his little friend.
"Kid, oddly enough, you"re the one always taking care of me."
He took out a wooden sword and threw one to Shen.
Shen fumbled a bit but caught it with his left hand.
He was nearly ambidextrous after using his left hand for so long.
"In the past, I was a general so I have a bit of experience in combat."
Da Lan began sparring sessions where he went easy on Shen and taught him the basics.
This schedule was maintained for quite a while. Walking, sparring, dinner, and then sleep.
Eventually, Da Lan could take Shen seriously and the sparring would get intense.
One strike would be parried, another would be blocked, and the two fought until the swords began to crumble.
After months of merry traveling, Da Lan treated Shen like his very own son. After all, Shen got him water and food while he would teach him about the world and the way of the soldier.
He was very proud when Shen had slaughtered a boar that had charged towards them. The motion was swift, unseen, and powerful.
Finally at the entrance to the capital, Da Lan and Shen stood together side by side. Da Lan had aged a bit, his hair slightly graying, however his muscles were maintained and his previous stern demeanor had turned into a firm but kind one. Shen was fully healed, the burn scars disappeared, and to his surprise, his right eye could see again. His right arm even worked properly and now he could dual wield even if it was impractical.
When his right arm healed, Da Lan taught him a bit of archery but not much as they only had 2 arrows and making more was inefficient without a quiver.
Of course, Shen had also aged. No longer resembling a brat, he could stand tall and rival the most handsome youth in the capital. His countenance was aloof yet sharp and his posture was slightly intimidating.
The line to the capital was long and filled with a variety of people. Some were peasants hoping for a better life, some were merchants who stored a great yield, and some were relatives that visited. Da Lan was the last type and trembled in antic.i.p.ation. He could finally see his Guang-er who had not seen him for nearly 4 years.
When it was their turn, Da Lan merely showed an emblem and stated, "General Lanye has returned"
To Shen"s surprise, the people began gasping and then cheered in jubilance. Clearly, Lanye was renown for his great achievements and his departure was seen as a tragedy.
As always, Shen just silently followed Da Lan as he made his way through the capital. Greeting friends, relatives, and even coworkers had taken some time and the afternoon had pa.s.sed. At night, they stayed at General Lanye"s former estate which was a bit dusty however Da Lan remembered that it seemed like Shen commanded dust as just by him being there, a place would become spotless overnight.
The Capital was bustling with the news that the Great General Lanye had returned and there even began rumors of a soldier that he believed held great potential. The Emperor even sent an invitation to the General and he attended the banquet. Shen stayed behind though and enjoyed some peace and quiet.
Later in the evening, the General returned with an unstoppable grin plastered across his face as his position had been reinstated and he even caught a glimpse of his daughter. She had grown well, her cheeks had lost the baby fat and gained a semblance of maturity, and her needs were taken care of.
"Your food is on par with the Imperial chefs, you have great talent my boy", Da Lan claimed as they headed towards his daughter"s residence.
Da Guang had received the notice and rushed out to see her father.
His prominent figure still resembled the Great General that her mother always told her of and she could finally spend some time with him.
Rushing out to greet him, Da Lan noticed and the two hugged before tears slowly ran down their cheeks.
Shen had a slight but barely noticeable grin on his face as he saw both the notification and the reunion.
[C-Rank Quest Completed:
Combustion Acquired
3000 points added]
The Princess Riri was nearby and had come to accompany her friend, Da Guang and pay respects to the Great General when she caught her breath and stared at Shen.