And so my adventure in this new and amazing world begins. As expected, there is no stock market here, so making quick money is not an option. The second option is starting a business, but as a 10-year-old kid, it's not easy to borrow money. So, I decide to do the most logical thing one can do in a fantasy world - starting a lemonade stand. What else can a kid, who barely has any experience, do to earn money? Go on adventures like the protagonist of a fantasy novel? No way! I have been in too many life or death situations in my past life just from fighting countless numbers of people. Why would I choose violence again when given an opportunity to live again? Just kidding.
After a few days of picking a spot for my lemonade stand, I experiment with different kinds of plants and spices to make my lemonade taste like a delicacy, so that I can mark up the price like those who sell cheap clothes with a "Suprente" label. In those experiments, I managed to make the most delicious lemonade I have ever tasted, and I also created a few deadly poisons in the process.
On the first day of selling my lemonade, only a few people came and tried my drink, which was not surprising given the high price. Over the next few weeks, the number of customers increased daily, which was good for business, but not really what I was aiming for. What was my aim? Did you really think that opening a lemonade stand was my dream when I learned about this new world? Of course not! I want to travel the world, but is it safe out there knowing that magic exists? My father is just a squire, and my mother is just an ordinary person. So, the first thing I need to do before starting an adventure is to make sure that my family is always safe and sound at home. The only way to ensure that is to seek backing from some nobility. The spot I'm using is pretty crowded and full of merchants who sell expensive trinkets that nobility like. So, sooner or later, I am bound to attract some nobility to my drink.
You may be wondering why nobility would want a drink from such a dirty place. Well, since I coated my drink with a little "magic powder," if you know what I mean, I'm sure someone indecent will come out. It's just a small amount, so it doesn't cause any long-lasting effects, but it's still enough to trigger something if you're someone who has a history of misusing the powder. I'm looking for someone with enough power but also a feeble mind that's easy to control and has no self-awareness. It's probably harder than finding a needle in a haystack, but it's worth a shot.
It's been two months since I opened my stand, and I've stopped using the powder since not even a single person that fits the description has come by. So, I've given up on the idea altogether, but it has not been a pointless two months either. I have come to know many people in this market, from merchants to mercenaries, but the most important thing is that I have a regular customer with a pretty decent background. He is the guard captain of a noble family called Lukewarm, which is a sizable family with a good background, although their standing is not amazing. His name is Ken, and he likes to tell stories of his journey to another kingdom. Sometimes, I just put a little poison in his drink so that he would just shut up. I almost killed him once.
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He's actually pretty nice if you ignore the constant blabbering, and not to mention he's willing to help me learn a breathing technique that he has. Although it's considered to be a D Rank, and before I continue, I think it's pretty important to list a few basic things I've found in this world. Breathing techniques are classified into 7 ranks from highest to lowest: S, A, B, C, D, E, and F.
Other than that, martial artists are ranked into 8 ranks, from rank 1 to 7, and the peak are something called Transcendental Martial Artists. As for magicians, they're ranked according to the highest tier of magic they can use, ranked from tier 1 all the way to tier 10 magic. There are actually ranks for equipment and beasts, but I suppose I'll tell you about them when the time comes. As for the guard captain, he is a rank 3 warrior. Although it doesn't seem impressive, it actually is. In this kingdom alone, there are only around 200 or so people with rank 3 or above, and the queen ruling this kingdom has only just broken through into rank 6. Well, it's not really a big kingdom to begin with.
Like all humans in any other world would do, this world is also plagued by war. Not only between humans but also with other races, not to mention the constant threat from magic beasts and demons. It's really a thrilling world. Back to the business at hand, with the help of Ken, I've managed to learn the "Woodenhead Breathing Techniques". It's not an effective breathing technique, but it will do for the time being. With this, I managed to break through into rank 1 Martial Artist. It's a small step into the world.
I'm 12 now. I've stopped my lemonade stand and managed to gather a pretty good amount of money. But there is something bothering me. I can feel it. The eerie aura in the sky. A war is coming this way, so I've been buying food and equipment in large quantities with the help of Ken in order to profit from this war. But the worst thing happened. The war is between Arkheim Kingdom and this kingdom. My father is a squire of a knight who was sent to the frontline. Before he departed, I stayed up all night drawing a map that points out all the possible escape routes, ambush locations, points of interest, and any location that can help with the deployment of the troops. I managed to slip that map into my father's backpack.
I have predicted all the outcomes of this war, taking into account all the terrain, weather, and preparation of both nations. But eventually, the worst possible outcome happened. Not only was the main army ambushed, but they were also annihilated. Out of the 10 thousand people that went into the war, only less than 1 thousand managed to escape from the battlefield. The war concluded with Evory Kingdom losing 2 of its 7 remaining cities. All the soldiers that survived the battle returned to the capital. The city was filled with the cries of people losing their loved ones. My family is one of them.