9
Vander and his dad sat at the edge of camp. They made sure to sit far enough so that their conversation wouldn’t bother any of the others as they slept. A storm of questions brewed inside vander, but he wanted to hear what his dad wanted to say before bombarding the man.
But if he expected the man to just gush all of his life’s secrets and reveal all the things Vander wanted him to without prompting, he’d be delusional for thinking of the man as someone he wasn’t.
The sounds of the forest captivated him, just as it had so many times before. The soft breeze shifting the leaves ahead and rustling the earthy brush calmed him the most. Like music to his ears, the nighttime breeze never failed to calm him. The duality of serenity and threat of danger from those beasts hiding patiently in the dark never failed to astonish either.
Had Vander found a place like The Snarl when he’d been a Delver, the likelihood of ever returning to the DMHA would’ve been slim to none. He sometimes dreamed of a log cabin in the center of the great forest with Madison where they built a life away from everything else.
She’d never have left her work, that he knew, but his world and past love were unobtainable to him. He’d never see her face again or step foot on the world he’d fought so hard for. All the lives of those he’d fought alongside, all the deaths, everything he’d ever done—it all felt meaningless.
He’d been a dog on a leash, doing as his master commanded. Never once had he lived or searched for a meaning to his existence outside of the sole purpose of serving. In this life, he’d trained to survive, never truly questioning the rest of the world. He just went along with all the things his dad had told him to do, just like with the DMHA.
But Vanessa’s questioning made him ponder all those questions he’d suppressed. Sure, he’d thought of them before, but the immediate need to train and prepare himself for what he might face in The Snarl had consumed him and pushed all of his usual questioning back to the recesses of his mind, deep down in order to not distract him from merely surviving and doing as he was told.
Fuck that. He turned towards his dad, his eyes alight with a need for something more. Before he could speak, his dad turned and gave him a bittersweet smile.
His old man grabbed two things from his side. Somehow, he’d managed to keep them from Vander’s notice, but Vander recognized the two things instantly.
A scroll and sword.
These two things were not as simple as they looked, despite the simple twine binding the pages and the plain longsword’s look. His dad handed him the sword first, and Vander immediately expanded the detailed box.
(Magic) The Braxton Family’s Heirloom Sword
A sword used by generations of magical warriors of the Braxton family’s house. An heirloom passed down across centuries from one successor to another. It has been forged and enchanted by a legendary runesmith whose name has been lost to time. The effect of this item increases the more powerful the Arcana attribute of the wielder is and has a perfect synergy with lightning magic.
Grade: Rare
Requirements: Successor of the Braxton House
Effects: All Attributes +25
Lightning magic’s cost is reduced and all lightning damage is increased by 20%.
I don’t meet the requireme—what?!
After receiving your family’s heirloom weapon, a title has been unsealed.
Vanessa was… right? Vander looked towards his dad in surprise, but another notification appeared.
Title: Successor of the Braxton House
All attributes +25
Your noble rank is now that of a Duke.
Varoth’s Missing Duke
Duke Adrian Braxton abandoned his household to save his son and left his brother, Carlisle in command. Since Adrian’s disappearance, the Braxton house has slowly fallen to ruin and barely clings to the remnants of their previous glory. If Adrian doesn’t return before the next winter, the Braxton house will be wiped off the Varoth continent and be forgotten from the world’s history.
“Dad…”
Adrian shook his head. “There’s nothing you need to say, son. Take this.”
Vander rested his family’s heirloom weapon in his lap and unfurled the scroll. He only barely opened it when a strange buzz filled the air. The page flashed, emitting a bolt of lightning that slammed into his chest and set all the hair on his body to stand straight up.
You have received a magical awakening. A skill has been unsealed.
This is what I’ve been waiting for, but why now?
He didn’t have time to get the answers to his questions as several more notifications appeared, taking up his vision.
You have learned the skill: True Lightning Proficiency (Level 1).
You have learned the skill: Braxton Breathing Technique (Level 1).
You have learned the skill: Braxton Sword Arts (Level 1).
This is insane, Vander thought to himself. He gripped the leather hilt of the light sword on his lap. It felt like an entirely new weapon. Before, the weight was just that of steel, but now, the sword felt lighter, powerful. This is really insane.
When he turned towards Adrian, he couldn’t get his emotions under control. “Thank you so much, dad.”
A proud light shone the duke’s eyes as he looked back at Vander. “I never wanted to trouble you with the reputation of our family. I hoped a day would come that you’d develop a talent for hunting and awaken that way, but you’re a true Braxton after all. The power in our bloodline shines brightly in you, and there’s no escaping that reality. No matter how much I’d wished you’d inherited your mother’s talent for general magic arts, you’ve taken after your father.”
Vander nodded. He knew there had never been a chance for him to awaken anything but lightning magic. Even if he were in a new world, his talent as a Storm King had come with him. That fate was one no amount of hope, determination, or various intermixed bloodlines would’ve changed.
“Before we talk about all of this, there’s a few things I need to show you,” Adrian said. He crossed his legs and rested his hands on his thighs. Breathing through his nose, he visibly caused the magic in the air to shift as it funneled into him. He held the breath for several seconds before letting it out in a long, measured release. “Did you feel the change in the air?”
“I did.”
“That’s our family’s breathing technique. It’s said that long ago our family contracted a magical being that overcame its natural limitations to become the master of the sky,” Adrian said, lifting his eyes upward towards the thick canopy. “The records of that time have been lost to our family, so it’s hard to say what is fact or fiction, but one thing remains as absolute. When it comes to lightning magic, there’s no family in the world with a stronger talent for it than ours.”
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A History Lost to Time and War
Duke Adrian Braxton, current head of the Braxton house and your father, revealed a mystery of your family. The extensive history of the Braxton household has been lost to your family for generations. As the newly appointed Successor of the Braxton House, it is your duty to seek the answers to the mystery.
Completion Goal: Discover details regarding the contracted magical being, the master of the sky.
Secondary Goal: Discover what happened to the Braxton house in the past.
That’s new. Despite all of his time living on Gaia and interacting with the system, this was the first instance of receiving a quest. There were no specifics, but there was no timeline either. Vander looked at Adrian as he stared at the sky. “Have you made any progress finding any leads on what might have happened to the records?”
“None.”
“Has anybody before you found anything?” Vander asked, though he had a feeling he knew the answer. Of course, his dad responded in the negative. “That’s strange.”
“Not as strange as you’d think.” Adrian gestured towards the forest around them. “If what remains of the stories are true, the three discovered continents aren’t even worth talking about. On the scale of what this world may truly look like, what we know of Gaia is but scattered islands in the face of unimaginable vastness. Who’s to say our predecessors truly resided on any one of the three continents we know of?”
“What are you trying to say?” Vander asked, his curiosity piqued.
“My guess is that we don’t have the full historical records about the origins of the Braxton family because our ancestor that settled on Varoth wasn’t a part of the main Braxton family.” Adrian turned towards Vander and rested a hand on his shoulder. “Enough of that now. We need to get along with your training. Due to things on Varoth, I’ll be departing in three days’ time. Before that happens, I need to make sure you’ve developed your magical abilities to a level that’ll keep you alive around here.”
“Wait. What?” Shock and surprise clouded Vander’s head as he stared back into the sad eyes of his dad. “You’re leaving me here? Why? Why should I stay here and not go back to Varoth with you? That—why…?”
The hurt in Adrian’s eyes was brighter than the moonlight breaching through the canopy. There was a deep sadness, even deeper than when they’d finally talked about Vander’s mother. “You can’t return to Varoth, son,” he said, his tone final. He released a shuddering breath and turned away. “Let’s focus on your training.”
As much as Vander wanted to push for more information, demand answers to the sudden departure and abandonment, he steeled his heart. As much as Adrian had become the closest thing to a father he’d ever had, Vander wasn’t some eighteen year old boy. Loss was something he was intimately familiar with. The man would just be added to the list.
***
Side by side, Adrian watched as Vander drew in a deep breath. The mana entered his nostrils. Through some unseen process Vander couldn’t figure out, the raw mana was converted with his True Lightning skill. The energy of static flowing through his whole body was difficult to control and required a level of patience and willpower he didn’t know he had.
But his effort bore fruit as the sun rose over the horizon.
You have learned the skill: Mana Manipulation (Level 1).
The others seemed to stir, but Adrian shooed them off so as to allow Vander to continue following the steps he’d outlined. Now that he’d created the mana manipulation skill, the amount of mana he breathed in from the air grew, though it paled in comparison to Adrian’s example. His control also grew, allowing him to formulate the second task Adrian gave him.
When he pulled the mana into his body, the conversion process modified it with lightning. Sure, that happened, but after doing that, the mana just fizzled out randomly. The second task required him to take control of that mana and direct its flow throughout his body. Much harder than he’d anticipated.
From where he drew in the ambient mana, his nostrils, he directed the flow into his lungs. He held the mana there until he got a density he thought would be enough for the next task, creating the mana circulation system. Without it, he’d never be able to truly use magic, as Adrian had lectured him for the better half of the night.
Much harder than magic from Wand, though I don’t think I would have accepted the power if I’d known Kamii was a parasite, he thought, doing his best to keep his meditation skill active. However, he’d been working on his magic training all night. His focus was wearing thin. My brain hurts.
Like sludge, the mana he’d stored in his lungs followed his veins. The sharp, stinging pain as he carved magical pathways through himself did nothing to help his slowly faltering concentration. His willpower kept him focused long enough to complete the initial circulation, connecting the flow of his mana through his hands and feet.
There was way more to do, but he’d done enough to make the progress he needed.
You have established a mana pathway and gained the skill: Mana Circulation (Level 1).
Immediately, he pulled up the details of the skill.
Mana Circulation (Level 1)
One of three basic necessities of all mages.
Passive Mana Restoration: 5 mana per hour
Active Mana Restoration: 30 mana per hour
“The next step will have to wait until after I rest,” Vander said without opening his eyes. Before he did that, he had something he wanted to test. He took another deep breath and absorbed the mana from the air. It naturally started to flow through the circulation he’d carved, and power radiated through his limbs. “That feels good.”
“Vander!” A hand rested on his back, but it wasn’t Adrian’s. “You can’t stop now. You’re like a bowl with a thousand holes.”
Opening his eyes, he could see Zekiel was right. Buzzing blue streaks of lightning caused the air to hum. A small area around him had already been left little more than char and dust as the arcs took on a life of their own and zipped towards the ground angrily.
“What do I do?” he asked, uncertain how to solve the problem.
“Finish step three,” Adrian ordered.
Vander wearily closed his eyes again and breathed in deep. The circulation began, but rather than let it wildly run all over the place at different speeds, he controlled the flow towards his heart. As Adrian instructed, he condensed the lightning magic evenly throughout his heart, causing it to beat like it wanted to escape his chest.
The pain grew, and a groan escaped his lips. He clenched his teeth down as sweat soaked his body, layer after layer. He was certain he’d need to wash his clothes again for a long while in order to get the stink out, but that was neither here nor there.
When he was halfway, he lost track of what he was doing. The pain became so great, he couldn’t think straight anymore. How he managed to maintain his meditation and mana manipulation while the feeling of a billion ants bit him, he didn’t know. Through either the stubbornness of pure mighty will or luck, he completed step three.
You have established a Mana Heart and obtained the skill: Mana Storage (Level 1).
Just like with the mana circulation ability, he checked the specifics. He needed to know what he was working with.
Mana Storage (Level 1)
One of three basic necessities of all mages.
Mana Capacity: 10
At the lowest level, his passive mana generation from the newly acquired circulation skill would fill his capacity in two hours. If he actively used the circulation, he’d fill his capacity three times over. Looking over at Adrian, Vander raised a brow.
“How do I increase my total capacity? Like this, having such high regeneration does me no good.”
“Like any muscle, by using them.” Adrian made a fist and clenched it tightly, the muscles in his forearms tightening powerfully. “That’s what the sword arts are for. And the regeneration rate is deceptive. Don’t let it fool you. Look at the specific modifiers from the breathing technique and meditation, and then you’ll realize how great our family’s magic is.”
Doing as instructed, Vander pulled up both skills.
Braxton Breathing Technique (Level 12)
Requirements: True Lightning Proficiency
A powerful breathing technique developed by ancestors of the Braxton family. Naturally converts all mana to the lightning attribute.
Increases active mana regeneration by 120%.
Increases passive mana regeneration by 240%.
Meditation (Level 52)
Empties the mind of all thoughts and allows the user to focus on a specific task.
Applies the Willpower attribute to any task.
Current efficiency boost: 52%
Excuse me? Vander looked at the two attributes in disbelief before he remembered the existence of one of his titles, One With Potential. Again, this is insane. I need to see my status now.
Vander Braxton (E Rank)
Class: Basic (Tier 0)
Title(s): Unlucky Reincarnator, One With Potential, Successor of the Pinnacle Hunter, Successor of the Braxton House
Strength: 56 (+75)
Agility: 120 (+75)
Endurance: 58 (+75)
Willpower: 105 (+75)
Perception: 118 (+75)
Arcana: 85 (+75)
Skill Points: 0
Skills:
True Lightning Proficiency (Level 3), Quiet Steps (Level 28), Running (Level 24), Climbing (Level 9), Tracking (Level 27), Spearmanship (Level 15), Throw (Level 21), Meditation (Level 52), Herbology (Level 12), Trap Making (Level 17), Archery (Level 9), Braxton Breathing Technique (Level 12), Braxton Sword Arts (Level 1), Mana Manipulation (Level 7), Mana Circulation (Level 3), Mana Storage (Level 1)
Excuse me…?