After ringing the bell, a young maid immediately came into the room. She had auburn hair that was tied up into a ponytail and a slightly freckled face. Her eyes were a light chocolate brown, and her uniform was immaculate. Her nose was a bit red, and now that I look at her a bit more, she had clearly been crying for a while.
"Young master! Are you alright?! I'm so sorry I've failed you as your personal servant, please forgive me. I'll bring the doctor right away to examine you!"
She had kept rambling on about me for a bit. It was cute, it seems like she truly cares for me.
"Anabelle, stop come over here." She quickly shut her mouth and came over to me sulking.
"Thank you for taking care of me Ana. I'm feeling better now. It seems like I finally overcame the illness." I gave her a cheery smile as I said this to try and sell this point.
Anabelle began to examine me herself, and let out a gasp.
"Young master, you're not boiling hot anymore! You're no longer sweating profusely or have any pains. This must be a miracle from the Goddess Vulma! I'll bring the doctor over right away! I'm so glad you're all better."
She tried to sneakily wipe away a tear, but her clumsy movements made it obvious. I ignored it as I let her go fetch the family doctor. Luckily my memories were integrated with Ray's so I remember everyone that was a part of his life. The feelings he had toward them also seemed to have transferred over as I couldn't help but smile whenever Ana would talk with me. Having another set of parents has me feeling conflicted, but I know they are good people who Ray loved with his entire heart. I can feel myself itching with excitement to show them that I am healthy.
After a couple of minutes the door opened revealing a group of people: the duke, the duchess, the family doctor, and Ana. I couldn't help but sit up and smile at the sight of my "parents". I thought it would feel awkward or unnatural, but I can truly feel as if I were raised and loved by them. At this point I had an epiphany, I am now Ray. There is no point in two identities, in this world I am Ray Glouse. With my mind made up I beckoned them to come over.
"I'm feeling all better now. I think I should be fine from now on." I gave them all a bright smile as I said this.
With tears in her eyes my mother, Duchess Maria, came running over and hugged me tightly.
"I'm so glad you're alright Ray. I've been praying for a miracle and talking to your father about you every day." She hugged me tighter as she said this. My father, Duke Allen, came over as well while this was happening.
"Ray, I'm proud of you. Honey, we need to give him some space so that Herb can examine him. We should make sure that nothing else is afflicting Ray."
With a couple of sniffles, she agreed as she let me go. Herb came over to examine me, and after a tense 20 minutes he gave the results.
"I can't believe it, but Ray is fully healed from that terrible illness my liege. He has made a full recovery and should continue his education in earnest so that he can apply to the academy."
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
"I see, thank you Herb. Ana can you escort Herb to the treasurer so that he can receive his pay? In the meantime I wish to spend some time discussing things with Ray." said the duke passively.
"Of course, I will do so right away. Come, follow me!" Herb followed behind Ana as they both left the room, leaving me with my parents in an awkward silence. I could feel the duke examining me with his eyes as we waited for someone to break the ice. Luckily, my mother made the first move as she said,
"So Ray, you heard Herb. Would you want to begin tutoring so that you can be ready for the Royal Academy's classes? It's okay if you wish to wait a little, you only just got over your illness dear."
I looked at her and gave her a gentle smile. "I think I want to begin as soon as possible. Along with that" I turned to look at my father, " I wish to begin exercising and working with the knights."
They both looked at me surprised as I said this.
"Ray, I can understand wanting to begin tutoring, but why would you want to begin working with the knights so soon? As you know, it's not like we have any special swordsmanship like the Accela family does." replied my father, with a hint of embarrassment at the end.
"I know that we may not have any special skills, but we are renowned for our military strategists and our connection to the people in our territory. I want to continue that legacy now that I am able to be outside again. Please, let me do what an heir is supposed to do."
I said this with earnest. I needed to get my stats up as soon as possible. Luckily, it seems that I was transported 7 years before the start of the actual game. This would give me some time to get my basic stats up and gain some recognition that I could use. The early stages of the game weren't too difficult, and focused more on the relationships you could foster in the Academia Lux, a university-like type of institution one could attend after the Royal Academy. My goal was to become as respected as possible so that I could recruit my future party members without any issues. While my mind was racing about the future my parents finally responded.
"We will accept your choice Ray, but if things become too difficult please let us know. I will let Captain Lloyd know that you will begin training with him this coming weekend. For now we will find you some tutors. You should take these next two days to rest and recover."
With that they hugged me and began heading towards the door to leave. I gave them a small wave, as I jumped out of bed and began stretching. I wanted to use these next two days to get accustomed to my new body and devise my game plan for the foreseeable future.
"System, access the shop please. I wish to see what can be purchased."
{SYSTEM SHOP}
[MSG] -> Congratulations on your recovery! A gift of 1000 credits has been added to your account :D
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CREDITS TOTAL: 1000
AVAILABLE ITEMS:
1. Minor Body Reinforcement Potion: A potion that increases a person's constitution by strengthening their muscles and organs. (800 CREDITS)
2. Starter Growth Potion *RECOMMENDED* : A potion that will increase the user's growth potential. (1500 CREDITS)
3. [SLOT LOCKED]
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I stared at the store not believing my eyes. Both potions could be considered heavenly elixirs for anyone in this world. Of course, the starter growth potion would be the most beneficial for me in the long run as I needed to grow my stats within these seven years. The third shop slot being locked intrigued me, and so I asked the system about it.
"System, how do I earn credits and how do I unlock the third shop slot?"
[Credits can be earned in multiple ways. The first is by completing missions assigned by the system. The second is by receiving recognition for your actions in this world, both good or bad. Lastly, acquiring titles will reward you with credits. Titles, however, are not all worth the same amount of credits.]
"Okay, can you show me what missions are available right now?"
[As part of the starter pack, you will be given more missions than normal. Missions are not common, and should not be ignored as they have time limits.]
{SYSTEM MISSIONS}
1. Run a total of 26 miles. [REWARD: 100 credits, +0.15 constitution.] (TIME LIMIT: 4 weeks)
2. Impress all of your tutors. [REWARD: 50 credits, +0.1 charisma, +0.15 intelligence, +0.15 wisdom] (TIME LIMIT: 2 weeks)
3. Complete both missions. (REWARD: 200 credits, +lucky ticket)
[A lucky ticket will grant a randomized prize from a predetermined pool. All items are considered useful.]
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After looking at the missions, I felt quite confident. Impressing the tutors should be a piece of cake considering my knowledge from Earth, and running a total of 26 miles should be doable within 4 weeks. The rewards were quite good, especially the stat increases. In EoR, it was incredibly difficult to raise any character's stats without the use of elixirs. Of course, certain characters would receive some stat bonuses through levelling up, but there was a cap to it. If I could increase my stats doing missions like these, it shouldn't be too far fetched to become decently strong. The thought of becoming an S tier character had me drooling for a little bit. I quickly made up my mind that I would not spend these two days resting. Instead I'll start doing some basic stretches and indoor workouts to get my body ready for the mission.
The thought of doing all this has me all excited, and I began devising a routine that would enable me to accomplish the two missions. I didn't forget about the gacha element either, but I'd rather worry about lucky tickets once I finished all the missions.