Levi woke up to the smell of bacon. That was right. Bacon. Hair ruffled, Levi rose from his bed, and found himself already sitting at the table. Bram placed a plate in front of him. 6 strips of crispy bacon. Levi devoured them. But now he found himself thirsty from the salt of the meat. Bram, already prepared for that, placed a cup of water next to him. Levi drank it all.
“Thank you, Bram,” Levi said as he patted his stomach. “Are you an angel?”
Bram chuckled. “Nothing of the kind, Levi. But I’m glad you enjoy my cooking.”
“Seriously, are you a professional chef or something?”
“I was a cook in the army, actually.”
“Does the military train their chef’s that well?”
The door swung open. Gregory made his appearance. Levi couldn’t help but tense. What if he found his old home?
“Oh gods no,” Gregory said, walking in, taking a strip of bacon from a plate on the table. “The usual drabble of cooks can hardly boil water without burning it. But you’re right on one point. He was practically an angel to the 17th Ground Corps. Even troops from other divisions arrived at our camp for the food.”
“You can hear me from outside?” Levi asked.
Gregory pointed to his ears and smiled. “Seeing is more than just using my eyes, lad.”
“I’m curious about Birthrights,” Levi said, changing the subject. “I have my first Sway, but what should I try to obtain for my next? I was thinking of obtaining one Ingredient to make my body stronger, and another to boost my magical capabilities.”
The bathroom door swung open. Sera walked out, ruffling her hair with a fresh towel. Or as fresh as they come, anyway. Seeing Levi, she smiled, and said, “Good morning, Levi.”
“Good morning, Sera,” Levi replied with a smile of his own.
She approached the table, and she plucked a piece of bacon from the plait with her pale, slender fingers. “So, what are we talking about so early in the morning?”
“Levi here wants some help in deciding his future,” Bram said.
“No,” Levi said, waving his hands. “Not my entire future. I’m just wondering what I should feed my Tier 2 Birthright.”
“So… essentially your entire future?” Gregory asked.
Levi tilted his head, confused.
Sera decided to help him out. “Many uneducated believe that the 1st Tier is the most important. That they should make their 2nd Tier complement the first. That isn’t wrong, per say, but it’s not entirely correct, either. Actually, it’s the 2nd and 3rd Tier that’re the most important. It is the cornerstone of your entire future. What you decide to feed your Birthright for those tiers will determine what path you will walk. Once you reach the 3rd tier, you will receive a ‘Job’”
So, essentially I have 3 classes to obtain, Levi thought, trying to make sense of Sera’s explanation. Those classes should synergise with each other, but it isn’t considered a failure if I decide to go a different route altogether. Still, I don’t want to waste my Incite Class.
“So, for Incite–” Gregory sat down at the table, and said, “you need to figure out what you want to do in the future. You can focus on hand-to-hand combat, and use Incite to confuse your opponent for half a second. Or you can go all into Incite, picking other ingredients to make your words as powerful as possible.”
“Half a second?” Levi picked up.
“Half a second in battle can be the deciding factor between life and death,” Gregory said. “Or you can even go fully into the magical aspect; eat some fire and gain fire slinging capabilities. Incite is also of the Mage Sway. It wouldn’t be considered a waste.”
Levi stroked his chin, and said, “Am I right in thinking that there are mana increasing Ingredients? Couldn’t I just feed my Birthright those and increase the available mana I have for Incite as well?”
“Aye, that’s also another possibility.”
“But, Levi,” Sera said seriously. “This isn’t something we can decide for you. Your future is up to you to decide. Do you want to be on the frontlines? Support? Attack from range? The decision is ultimately up to your personality. There is another path for you, though. Incite is really good for the public sector, too.”
“Public sector?”
“Yes,” Sera said. “If you become a lawyer, your command over the room will increase with the help of Incite. But you have to be very careful in its uses. If you take over someone's mind completely, that’s illegal. You’ll be imprisoned, and you don’t want to know how long you’ll be there for. However, if you gently steer them, using the information you have available, then that’s okay. The more common professions for Incite, though, would be law enforcement. Being able to calm a crowd with just your words is a valuable tool.”
“That’s risky business, Sera.” Gregory frowned.
“What do you mean?” Levi asked.
“Inciters,” Gregory explained, “and others with mind altering effects are looked down upon. Especially in the Imperial City. But you’ll learn that later.”
“So,” Levi said, gathering himself from the fact that his Class was deemed a public nuisance. “What happens after the 3rd Tier then?”
“The 4th tier Ingredients and above are called Supplements,” Bram explained. “They no longer grant powers, like your Inciter Sway has done. They just boost what you have chosen for the first 3 Tiers–they strengthen your Job”
“I see,” Levi said.
He sunk into his thoughts as the others prepared for their mission. It was their decision not to take a child with them, and Levi was thankful for that. It meant that he had earned a modicum of trust from the supernatural detectives.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
As for his future, Levi had no idea what to do. At first, he was thinking about specialising in traps as that was what he needed right this moment. But he should think further than that. Were traps useful in school, or in a fight? What if he couldn’t prepare in time?
He wasn’t naive to think that he would never be caught in a brawl. Hell, it had even happened only a few days ago.
I need something to strengthen my body first. Then go into magic? Levi scratched his head in frustration.
“Don’t worry about it,” Sera said, lacing up her boots. “All those are thoughts for the future. It’s near impossible for a child to absorb their 2nd Birthright.”
But I already have the 2nd Birthright, Levi thought. But he kept that hidden for now. “But it’s not impossible, right?”
“Right,” Gregory said, looking at Sera. “Sera is one of them. She absorbed her 2nd Birthright at the age of 14. It caused a huge stir within the Imperial City at the time. Even a country bumpkin like me heard of it. It resounded through the towns and villages.”
“Wow,” Levi said in awe. He looked at Sera in a new light. She flashed him a smile.
The trio did a final check of their weapons and supplies, then headed for the door. Levi joined them. He’d at least walk them to the mountains. Or to reveal his true intentions: to make damn sure they had well and truly left so that he could destroy his home good and proper.
Approaching the mountains, Levi lifted his hand, blocking the sun that was peering over the sheer cliffs. The warmth brushed against his cheeks, then wrapped around him like a blanket. After experiencing the horrible cold that the Deep Dark brought with it, he would never get used to the comfort the sun brought with it. He couldn’t help but smile.
Gregory slung his arm around Levi’s shoulders. “Once you’ve experienced the Krag, it makes you appreciate the light, eh?”
“I was just thinking that,” Levi said. He shrugged off Gregory’s arm. “But you smell. Can’t you take a bath like Sera did?”
“Oi, it’s called an aroma.” Gregory chuckled. “It’s a sign of hard work. All the ladies in the Imperial City love it.”
“So smelling like a sewer rat is considered ‘in’?” Levi joked. “Then I really don’t want to join the Academy.”
Bram laughed. “Don’t worry, Levi. It’s just Captain that smells like the latrines. All the gentlemen bathe.”
Levi sighed in relief. “The world isn’t all doom and gloom, then.”
The older trio smiled. Gregory clapped, turning serious. “Alright, Sera lass, scout out the mine.”
“Aye, Captain,” Sera said, suddenly dashing forwards at high speeds. Gregory’s eyes followed her. She was fast. So fast that it warped Levi’s sense of understanding. One moment she was at the base of the moment, and in a couple blinks of an eye, she was already scaling rocky terrain, disappearing from sight.
“Will she be okay?” Levi asked, worried.
“Aye, she’ll be fine,” Gregory said, calm, truly believing in his own words. “She’s a talent belonging to one of the great families. The Ingredients she’s obtained are truly the cream of the crop. And she has the power to match. In terms of speed and scouting, I can’t think of many that can match her. She’ll be back in a jiffy.”
But when Levi watched a hand descend from the limitless expanse above, tips of its fingers covering the moon, elongating the shadows of the world, Levi turned breathless.
Gregory’s eyes widened in horror. He spun to Bram. “Grab Levi!”
In a flash, Bram wrapped his mighty arms around his small body.
Levi watched helplessly as the gargantuan hand from above covered the entirety of the moon, plunging the world into deep darkness. Cold gnawed at his tender flesh.
Screams that he could only believe came from the depths of hell, erupted from deeper within the town. It wasn’t just one. There were many. Levi didn’t know how many exactly, but the sounds were like nails on a chalkboard. They travelled down his spine, paralysing him with fear.
Oh shit. I need the lantern, now.
But he couldn't. Monsters, of which he didn’t know what they were, were located there. He could hear them howl and screech, searching for their prey. The only sense of security he had was the fact that Bram had tightened his grip around his arms.
Then, purple light flashed.
Gregory was the first to light a gem on his lapel. And then Bram copied him. Light shone around 2 metres in front of them, but that was it. Anything beyond that distance was an impenetrable veil of black.
The floor, what was once lush grass, was now dead soil. The tree’s and shrubbery that was all around them had wilted. Everything was purple. Levi didn’t know if that’s just how it was, or if it was the light-stone’s doing.
“What do we do?” Levi asked. He found himself calming down. Maybe the near earth experiences of before had hardened his heart. “What about Sera?”
“Shit,” Gregory spat. “Pull up your big boy pants, Levi, we’re heading to the mine.”
“Are you–”
–serious, is what Levi wanted to say. But with a stomp of Bram’s foot, they propelled at least 3 metres in the air. Bram landed on a rock, then leapt again, Levi’s body jostling. If it wasn’t for his increased stats, perhaps he would have ruined Bram’s shirt with his vomit.
This is crazy! Levi thought as they ascended the mountain. The further up he got, he noticed a slight path that was used for the mine. But down on the floor, it was impossible to make out.
They reached the top in a matter of seconds, then the mountains opened up, turning flatter. Gregory moved as if he remembered the path. They approached a cliff wall where an entrance was blasted. Railway tracks led inwards. There was also a small storage hut filled with tools.
“Sera isn’t here,” Bram noticed.
“Shit, she must have gone in,” Gregory said.
“We’re not going in right?” Levi asked. He felt something radiate from deep within. It was mana. A mana that caused the fine hairs on his nape to rise.
“You’re safer with us than out here, lad,” Gregory said, and without waiting for Levi’s response, ran inside.
Bram chased his back. When Levi heard chanting words, it felt like something was caught in his throat.
Stopping at the corner, Gregory peered round the corner. His eyes suddenly widened. He aimed his pistol and fired. Red fire spat from the barrel of his weapon, but instead of hitting flesh, it struck something solid–and invisible.
Gregory was pulled into the room. Then, Levi felt an unbridled amount of power take hold of Bram, and Levi alongside him. They were forcefully taken into a large room, the main mining area.
6 individuals wearing hooded black and purple robes stood in a semicircle. At their feet was a ritualistic sigil, at least 20 feet in circumference. Half of a monstrous beast, 10 feet tall with eyes closed, stood in the centre. Bone spikes covered the creature, its front legs sporting savage, curled claws that glistened. The monster appeared to be coming out of a purple portal. It looked like shattered glass. It throbbed, like human tissue.
Sera was bound by a seemingly invisible rope. No matter how she struggled, she couldn’t break free. It was the same restrictions that had tied Levi, and the others in.
“He said that you would come,” one of the hooded people said in a feminine voice.
Levi’s head surged with pain. It was a familiar voice. Too familiar, like a voice no child could ever forget…
The hooded figure tore off the hood from her head. Deep brown eyes beading with concern landed on Levi. She was a common woman. Ordinary. But the power she held was true.
“S–son?” She asked, almost whimpering. She repeated, as if she couldn’t believe her own eyes, “My dear son?”
“M–Mother?” Levi stuttered, his shoulders tense with shock.