Adrin spent the whole night sitting leg-folded on his bed while perfecting and practicing his mana vortex. Slowly but surely, a solidified mana was beginning to take place inside him. It felt like the tiniest of seed only began to form by the time morning came around.
He didn’t really know how magic works in this world and he was going by his own guts. Adrin wasn’t concerned because the increase in mana bar by one point was another clear indicator that he was doing something right.
Best of all, he didn’t feel tired at all after being awake all night. He wished for the list to come out, and what the other older him had called his status display showed up.
Name: Adrin || Age:17 || Villager [level 0]
Life: 20/20 || Stamina: 30/30 || Mana: 6/?
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Strength: 5 || Intelligence: 5 || Agility: 3
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Willpower: 14
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Bodybuilding [2], Arithmetic [1], Melee weapons [1], Spearfishing [1],
Mana Sense [1]
||
Hack [1], Throw [1]
Ever so slowly, he could feel his spirit and he was becoming one. It was inevitable because the spirit was himself in another life, awakened to help him survive here. Every awakened person would go through the same process until they were whole again.
Adrin started the morning by surprise-visiting Marla. He went there to borrow a bow, but in exchange, the woman asked for breakfast together and a kiss on the lips.
The lady didn't even complain when he went a step further. She was moaning into his mouth as the matured round breast reshaped in his greedy hands. The young blood in him boiled as the older woman gasped in delight when he grabbed both of them. They were warm and soft and felt great in his hands.
But he had to stop when Tilly woke up calling for her mother. Marla was a little disappointed but she still went to get her girl. The widow didn’t feel so old any more after he woke up this morning. Instead, Emi, his childhood friend, felt a little too young for his taste.
He wondered if everyone felt the same after awakening. What Emi felt about him? Would this feeling towards her go away when he and the spirit became one again?
Adrin thought about it as he practiced using the bow. He chose the same quiet area where his spearfish, and he put a mark on the thick tall wall used it as his target. His spirit was used to what was called crossbow and gun, but there was nothing like it here.
The question of who he really was in the past didn’t bother him as he was currently living in this world. They were both the same person. The memories of the other world called Earth were slowly emerging from inside him, but that was it, memories he couldn’t do anything about.
He recalled he was as the spirit being an avid gamer and robot enthusiast. All the excitement and frustrations he had while building his own mechanical machine were there in the folds of an old memory. Adrin remembered the last moment of his past life. Somehow he knew he would never wake up from his sleep that night.
He sighed as he went to collect the arrows and repeat the exercise again. A crossbow would be much better but it would be impossible to get his hands on one.
Regardless, the present was more important than the past. He might have to figure out how his attributes compare to the others in this village as he needed it to come up with a plan. Luck was never on his side in either worlds and so, he would never depend on it.
Adrin hadn’t accepted Marla's invitation to literally live with her because he was still unsure of her true intention. There was something about the woman that bothered him while Emi’s warning echoed inside his head. She had lost her husband a few years back, but it didn’t explain why she was so eager for some lovemaking.
The young him knew the widow was a kind and caring woman, but his experienced old spirit had his doubts. Everyone was for themselves and Marla wasn’t acting like a normal woman. Maybe it was as simple as trying to take advantage of a naive young man, but anything more than that could be a huge problem.
He let go of the last arrow. It landed a little off the mark like many others. Thinking about his past gaming addiction, could he will mana to create a dot, a crosshair hinged on his eye and hand coordination?
If he could use his will to move mana, he should also be able to create a tiny dot in his sight to show where the arrow would land. There was also the drop of the arrow and wind needed to be factored in.
‘It is easier said than done,’ he mused inside.
The same old muse he had revisited thousands of times along his rather disappointing life. Regardless, his past life just didn’t feel as real. It felt like series surreal dreams that someone else had dreamed.
He must have shot hundreds of arrows by now as his fingers began to sting from pulling the bowstring. They reminded him of his bleeding hand from splitting wood yesterday.
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Adrin remembered his mother to be this gorgeous lady with perfect curves to match her small face and youthful features. Anyone would be lucky to find a woman with those features and kind to a fault. He also understood the reason for what had happened to her.
“It’s a bane to be pretty in this world,” he muttered. He didn't even flinch when the bowstring peeled his skin as he let go of the arrow.
Adrin felt the pain but it was nothing compared to the deep prick in his heart. He thought hiding behind the merging of his spirit would bury the pain, but clearly, it didn’t. It only turned into the boiling, raging anger beneath the calm facade. He would have let out his frustration on Marla if no hadn't interrupted.
The child in him was furious and need a release. The older, wiser him knew that he would explode if he did nothing about it soon. He was painting the ground red with his drop of blood after reaching for yet another arrow from the quiver.
A yelp came from behind him as he was about to release the last arrow. He sighed, took the aim again while picturing a dot on the target. He willed the mana to mimic a laser pointer which moved with his aim and something clicked in him.
Adrin let go of the arrow just before she caught his bleeding finger’s arm.
She was right on time.
Marksmanship ability obtained.
Marksmanship [level 1], +1 Perception.
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Perception observed, base Perception: 2
Perception: 3
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Aim assist skill acquired.
Aim assist [level 1].
This world was looking better at each gained skill, and quite literally after the perception boost from the ability. The girl smelled nice as his five senses became more sensitive.
Adrin smiled as Emi fussed with his wound. She tore her skirt to wrap around his wound which was just like something the girl he knew would do. The girl was also babbling about something but he just let it fall on deaf ears.
He wondered if she would freak out if he asked her to betray her own father? He toyed with the question for a while before deciding to postpone it. It was just too little too early for the naive girl to make such a huge turn and she had her own worries to think about.
“Are you even listening to what I’m saying?” Emi asked with frustration in her voice.
Adrin shook his head while checking his wrapped fingers. It wasn't a band-aid but he could still shoot a few dozen arrows before he would bleed again.
“Why do you keep hurting yourself!?” she demanded.
“Because I’m in pain,” he said and grabbed her hand, “right here,” he placed it on his heart.
The girl flustered but quickly turned into concern. Adrin let her hand go but the girl didn’t pull her hand away. The girl for some reason gave him a hug after she saw something in his eyes.
He patted her back for her to let him go, but it only made her hug tighter. Adrin wanted to make the ‘I can feel your boob’ joke but he didn’t think it would end well. They were really soft and felt really good for their modest size.
“I’m fine,” he said and pushed her shoulders back.
“Let’s go back,” she replied and he nodded.
Adrin thought about his future while the girl dragged him by the arm back. Would she come with him if he asked? Other men would notice this sooner or later, and if he was going to survive, he would need to prioritize defense over offense.
Of course, there was an old-world saying that ‘offense is the best defense’ but it was usually taken out from context. In a war where other people could die for the leader’s behalf then something like going full offense could mostly work.
The reality was, he would be likely to take the full brunt of the attack most of the time. If he took a hypothetical situation where both he and the enemy threw a fireball at each other. The winner would be the one who was able to dodge or withstand the attack.
Even if one of the fireballs arrived faster, there was nothing stopping the other one to hit its target. The other fireball wouldn’t just disappear when the owner died.
Without an adequate defense, he would still die even if he killed the enemy first. There was no going around that or save point to load from. He would be dead all the same.
For that reason, he was going to focus on his defense before anything else. He wondered how or can he use mana for that purpose.
However, first thing first, he must learn the basics before attempting anything else.
Emi sat him on the bed before she went to get the broth she had brought with her. They shared bread with the fish head broth, the leftover from yesterday.
“This is my third meal,” she said shyly after they finished eating.
“And?” he said before laying on his back on the bed.
“You can use me for your revenge,” she said to his surprise.
Emi leaned over him and then placed her head on his chest, “we used to do this all the time, remember?”
Adrin relaxed. “Yes,” he replied while enjoying her warmth enveloping him. For a second there he thought the girl was losing her mind.
She rolled to their sides, and they stayed in each other's arms for a long time. He sure missed this warmth. It became warmer and warmer until Emi was gasping for air.
She turned her back on his bed, and he helped her out of her shirt. She cupped them up in her hands and begged him with her eyes.
Adrin pushed his face into her perked-up chest and the girl held his head there. Her lovely voice filled the night. They tousled on the bed kissing each other until he couldn’t take it anymore.
Emi invited him into her, and she clenched around him. It wasn’t long before she wanted him to move, and after that, he couldn’t even stop himself anymore.
The cold night had only made them even more enthusiastic sharing passionate hugs.
They couldn’t even separate from each other as they took turns to enjoy themselves. Emi was especially loud as she went wild on top of him.
She was simply unstoppable and it felt like she was giving it to him as much as he had. He had to kiss the girl to shut her up or she might wake the whole village.
And as expected, it felt like all his anger was washed away as he finally let it out inside her.
He rested his forehead on her back as they rested sprawled on their side. Her hand was on his hand as she motioned him to touch her more.
Now he knew why she didn’t want to wrestle with him anymore after her awakening. The girl was waiting for him to be an adult. She was afraid of what would happen to him if she lost control of herself after gaining the [Strength] attribute.
She really cared.
And Emi was right, it felt a lot better after plowing the man’s daughter all night long.