“Elliot, move faster! Keyla! Use a stronger swing next time to blow his sword away! Use your difference in size to your advantage!” Maribelle stood over the sparring center with a cold look in her eye. It was the same look one would give to a rotting raccoon corpse at the side of a road. Indifference with a hint of disgust. Elliot didn’t mind, though. This had been routine since he had turned 7 years old, both in this life and his past one. The only difference was that while he was seventeen before, he was barely 10 years old now.

Today he was “once again” fighting his sister who had 2 years on him, except things were going much more differently than either she or his mom imagined. His sister let out a feral shout as she struck the air, missing him entirely. He may not have been fast, but years of fighting experience had shown him where she was going to hit, almost as if she took the time to show it off. He didn’t understand. Why was his sister acting this way? In the memories he’d gotten from the old Elliot, he understood her to be a demon without compassion.

“Why. Can’t. I. Hit. You!” He parried her next swing, turning to the side and casually swinging at her side, to which she barely blocked. Her swordsmanship reminded him of when he first picked up the sword in his past life, at 8 years old, rough and with too much strength. Elliot’s mother’s swordsmanship was a lot more refined, something akin to what his old man had before in his past life. Though, there was something to say about the girl’s strength. Even with her obvious telegraphing, her inhumane speed was making him sweat.

He could barely see what she was doing, almost as if she struck from two different directions at once. Barely seeing was completely different from seeing nothing at all, however, and he pulled himself away from one attack and blocked the other. He struggled to keep up as the girl somehow pulled even more speed from her attacks, her face turning from anger into one of complete rage. This… was exciting, he thought as he parried another brutal swing coming at his throat. That would have hurt, even with the wooded swords they were using.

Never in his past life had he met someone he could fight on an even level. He’d only ever had his old man, and that bastard made him feel like a baby bird fighting against an eagle. As the girl sped up and used even more of her strength, he pushed forward, his breathing becoming a lot more irregular. He’d lose at this rate, and he was tired of losing. Instead of ducking one of the blows, he clashed with his sword, his enhanced strength barely enough to keep him steady.

With the blow, he used the strength to turn into the hit and spin, bringing the sword down on his sister’s head with a violent grin on his face. It was a bad habit he got when fighting, something his old teacher had constantly berated him for. He couldn’t help it, though. The sword was just too much fun. As if a demon had possessed her, the girl put her sword in the way just in time to parry the blow, throwing him completely off balance. His grin didn’t go away, but he knew he failed.

Fortunately, right before Keyla cracked the wooden sword down on his throat, his mother finally acted. “Stop. Training is over.” Both Keyla and Elliot immediately dropped their swords, falling to the ground in exhaustion. It had been as if the only thing keeping them going was their mother’s glare. Searching through his memories, that really seemed to be the case. Keyla picked herself up, reaching to grab Elliot up from the floor.

He smiled. Grabbing her hand and picking himself up on wobbly legs. His sister seemed so violent during the spar, only to help him up so nonchalantly before. She had the same bad habit as him in fighting, then. He leaned on Keyla, who helped him make it out of the sparring room until he felt a terrifying aura stare him down. He froze. Keyla, who was still trying to carry him out, seemed confused. “What are you doing, Ellio-” Then she saw it, or well, more like she felt that Elliot was in trouble.

Their mother was staring him down. Without a word, he pushed himself off of Keyla, who dashed towards the door with incredible speed. He was surprised that she still had that much in her. “Elliot, come here.” The voice he’d grown to fear over the short time he’d heard it said. He gulped, turning around as casually as he could. Damnit, the kid’s fear was leaking into his own. Even if his old man was in front of him, he’d usually never even sweat.

Though, maybe it wasn’t wise to act unafraid this time. He started to make his way towards her, before she appeared in front of him without any warning. He hadn’t even seen her move… was this a ‘skill’ she had, or was it just her insane power? “You… seem to have awakened something. You handle your sword as if it was made of air.” She asked, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. He looked to the side, trying to act like he had no idea what she meant. “What? I guess I just figured out how to-”

She grabbed his ear, pulling him closer. “Don’t lie to me, brat. What was the real reason you were late?”

He stiffened up, cursing his terrible poker face. He was unsure how to go about this. Was she able to detect his lie through ‘womanly intuition’ or did she have some power to detect his dishonesty? He had to play it safe, telling her as much truth as she could. “I was struggling to carry the rice back home, and I dropped it, unable to pick it up. I became so distraught that I passed out. When I woke up, I found myself able to carry it easily...” Her cold demeanor shifted slightly at that moment, almost forming something resembling a smile.

“That is a blessing… you’ve obtained a blessing. It seems the gods favor you, boy. Keyla! Come in here!” She shouted, with a verboseness that made his eardrums ring. He flinched at the order, was telling a 12-year-old girl her 10-year-old brother had gained a blessing the right thing? He could imagine the envy. There was no way in hell was he going to backtalk Maribelle like that, though. The girl nervously came inside, and he knew that face. She was wondering not what she had done wrong, but what her mother had found out.

It turns out the girl was just as mischievous as the former Elliot. “Your brother has gained a blessing, and quite a good one, as well.” He looked awkwardly at Keyla, only to see her lunge at him with insane speed. Shit, he had no sword. What could he- His thoughts were set aside as Keyla picked up Elliot in a hug, squeaking in happiness. “Brother! What great news! Let us fight again! I won’t hold back this time!” He couldn’t help but laugh as she celebrated his fortune. She had a blessing too, huh? He smiled, internally conflicted as he wondered if blessings were really not that rare… Wait.

…Hold back?

_____________________________________________________

A demon. He’d seen a demon. He curled up on the floor, wondering if he truly was a talentless hack. Now that he thought about it, weren’t old people supposed to be weak and fragile? If he couldn’t even beat the old man, then how was he supposed to beat a demon? Keyla was panting heavily, a satisfied grin on her face as she watched her brother rocking pitifully back and forth. “That was… amazing, brother!” she said in between gasps. He didn’t respond, his body on fire and his eyes hollow. A demon. He’d seen a demon.

Those strikes weren’t something he could do anything against, each blow exploded off of him with devastating precision. It was as if he’d seen the god of swordsmanship descend down on him. It was terrifying, insane.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“That was… beautiful.” He finally muttered out loud, catching even himself offguard. Both the mom and daughter gave him a weird look, although the mother seemed to catch on to what was happening.

Enlightenment! Due to your skill, “Talent of the insane” You’ve gained a new skill!

Swordlust: Your fanaticism for the sword knows no bounds. Because of this, swords fit ever so slightly better in your hand. However, in states of extreme stress, you may be filled with swordlust. Watch where you point your blade.

He paid no attention to what the words on the magical screen said. Like a zombie, Elliot rose from the ground, limp and distraught. He couldn’t take it, the idea that such a show would end. The sword in front of him still had the ability to dance, and such, so did he. “Elliot?” He lunged, more like a feral animal rather than any actual experienced swordsman. The girl was unprepared, however, and it would have been a killing blow had the mother not stepped in.

She parried the wooden blade so it wouldn’t go through her daughter’s throat. He didn’t mind, though, one blade could replace another. The mother was taller than him, so in an attempt to gain some height he jumped in the air, spinning off one foot with incredible strength. He couldn’t control it, the world going too fast for him to even comprehend it, but he didn’t need to. As long as he swung it’d hit something The sword outstretched and it slammed into Maribelle’s blade, barely nudging it.

He’d done nothing to her, he thought as he fell. He chuckled, unsure of what was to come. She had more experience than him, so she knew he’d gone for the kill. On her own daughter, no less. As he hit the ground, the swordlust faded from his mind, and the fear of god filled his soul seconds before he passed out.

He’d woken up later, staring at the ceiling in a bed of cotton, quite luxurious for such a backwater town. His sister was by his side, looking at him worriedly. Mother was nowhere to be found. He breathed out a sigh of relief, glad to have gotten off so easily. The later the memories of the kid he dug through, the hazier they got. That was absolutely wrong when it came to his mother’s punishment. They were terrifyingly clear, even now.

“Where’s mom?” He asked groggily, placing a pillow over his head in an attempt to smother out the splitting headache he was having. “She was getting a priest. She needed to have you ‘appraised’ because of what you did… she wasn’t sure if what had happened was because of a negative skill or not.” He looked up at the sky, mortified. If they found the skill, “Talent of the insane” or the memories of the original Elliot, would they consider him a threat? He was directly defying fate, after all. She saw his distress and grabbed his hand in an attempt to comfort him.

As he felt her trained grip, though, he only felt even more terrified. This twelve-year-old girl could whoop his ass. If the priest and mother were even only a half bit better than her then he stood no chance at even running away. However, he knew for sure Maribelle could kill either of them in a second, so he knew better than to act suspicious. He squeezed the hand of his sister, giving her a warm smile. She smiled back sadly, and from it he could tell she was putting on a brave face. Years of living with a stone-cold bastard of an old man had helped him read these types of emotions.

“It’s okay, Keyla. Nothing bad is going to happen.” He said, not meaning the words. It seemed to console her a bit, though. Her eyes warmed just a bit. Just as she was about to speak, though, the door behind them burst open, shattering with the force. His mother burst in, dragging a priest who was holding a book tightly in his arms by the collar. The man didn’t even seem to be struggling, eyes like a dead fish as he let her drag him around. Wait, did… did she even turn the doorknob?

Apparently not, he thought as he saw a missing chunk where the door handle should have been. “Beiliff. Do your thing.” “He’s not even ten, Mary… what if he becomes disappointed with the result?” She grabbed him by the collar this time, only this time carrying him up to her level. The woman was tall. “I don’t remember asking?” Surprisingly, he didn’t even flinch, only sighing in despair. “You can’t tell anyone I made an exception, woman. They’ll have me on a plate…”

She didn’t respond, only pushing him towards Elliot. Casually he took the boy’s wrist and pricked it with a rather discrete knife in his ring. He took the blood into his hand and with a sneer of disgust, put the thumb into his own mouth. Elliot’s jaw dropped in shock at the scene and looking at his sister, it seemed he wasn’t alone. “Mama, what did he do to- '' Her mouth was covered by the mom, her eyes deadly serious.

In silence, they watched as the priest stood still, a sneer still on his face. He took an ink pen out and started scribbling in his book. Elliot couldn't see what he was writing from his angle, but as the book started glowing blue, he could guess what they were seeing. As if on command, his own blue screen popped up, showing him just what they were seeing. Even he was surprised.

Name: Elliot Dresmr

Level: 1

Occupation: none

Class: None

Strength: 46

Vitality: 10

Dexterity: 4 (+2)

Agility: 8 (+4)

Intelligence: 49

Wisdom: 8

Charm: 10 (+5)

Luck: 2

Skills: Strength of a Tyrant (Passive), Cunning of a snake (passive) Talent of the insane (passive) Pk Memory- AA “Elliot Dresmr” (passive, concealed) Swordlust(passive)(active)

Unused stat points: 2 (+2)

Quest: Do not tell others who you are. They will kill you where you stand. You’ll receive one free stat point as a reward.

“Your child… is quite the amazing spectacle. As to be expected from someone born from the sword princess.” The man turned the book to Elliot, first, to which Elliot was grateful. It showed everything his blue screen showed, excluding the quests and the memories of the kid’s body he’d stolen, as well as his unused stats. …Wait a second, as the priest went around to show the stats to the rest of the family, he couldn’t help but wonder what he did to the kid named Elliot. Was that considered murder? Honestly, he still felt like the kid, only being more dominant as his past self since he had more than twice the kid’s life experience.

The thoughts were cut short as his sister shook him, back to reality. “Brother?” He blinked twice, suddenly remembering where he was. The three were looking at him with concerned eyes, unsure of the kid's health. It was the priest who spoke first. “Other than the skill for talent, the others won’t really have a negative in his life. Though, I don’t think we should remove the skill, since his luck probably won’t regress back to normal.” The mom snarled, but seemingly kept herself from bashing in the priest’s head. He sighed in relief, they must have thought the skill had taken away from his atrocious luck. That had been their from the beginning, though.

With that out of the way, the priest packed up and headed home, but not before asking for a sum of money. His mother threw it at him with the force of a cannonball, but shockingly enough, the man still caught it with his bare hands, still completely casual in his stature. It only made Elliot fall even deeper into self-loathing. If even a skinny guy like that had such strength, then what would he be able to do about it? He was left alone to rest for a bit, and in his thoughts, he wondered if he could also amount to something great in this world.

He never had a chance to show off in his old world, but maybe it had been for the best. The more he considered it, the more he wondered if he truly was weak in the old world, as well. Well, it didn’t matter. For now, he’d just try to grow into his new self. As he looked at the new message that popped up, he smiled.

You have completed a quest. You have gained a stat point!

He should at least try to become powerful, right? The blue screen once again popped up, showing him his information. Touching one of the stats, he grinned as it showed more information. This might be more fun than he thought.