Suta POV

Suta felt sore, incredibly sore, and he wanted nothing more than to allow his body to finally relax so he could slump over and rest. But a fire had ignited in his gut, as a result, his mind was currently in a state of absolute concentration. With each whack and thump he took and just about evaded, he could feel his bones rattling in agony. During the intense emotions and pain writhing through his youthful frame, a voice appeared through his tangled thoughts, the soothing voice of his dad echoed in his mind.

'Remember, my boy, the world will always underestimate you. Haha! Make sure you make them pay!

"Make sure that you strike fast and strong."

"Move like fire and shatter their resolve like thunder."

"Hit 'em so hard that the next time they meet your gaze, they'll be unable to hold themselves upright.'

Anak continued his barrage, his palms arriving so quickly that Suta was purely acting on instinct, just about missing the devastating blows. A flurry of hits arrived, and Suta expertly dodged every single one. A brief moment arrived where his eyes appeared level with Anak's own, and there was a strange look encircled within that scarlet glare.

Was it a look of shock he was seeing? Or was it fear? Suta hadn't noticed it, but Anak had stopped pulling his punches somewhat a while ago.

It wasn't that Suta could miraculously see him; on the contrary, it still felt like he was fighting an elusive shadow. Only now, he could pinpoint accurately where the shadow would end up and the likelihood of where against his body it was aiming for. Suta was playing a game of probability. Albeit he had summarized about 8/10 of possible outcomes and gambled on getting those right.

After 10 hours of constant sparring and taking hits, something finally clicked within Suta. Strange it was, things always seemed to click for him after a while. Growing up, others were shocked by it, and labeled him things such as a genius, or a freak. But Suta couldn't understand them, to him, these sorts of things felt normal. As a child he was surprised that everyone else didn't operate the same way as he did. The sensation was very strange, unlike anything Suta had ever felt before. But he was loving it! A euphoric wanderlust had been birthed inside his gut.

Anak was throwing heavy blows which in turn, slightly slowed his once shapeless movements.

The voice of his Dad appeared again, and at this point Suta visualized he was standing right beside him, with his arms folded and that jovial smile plastered across his face.

'That's it my boy Buahaha! Be courageous. Even those who are stronger than you will wilt if you remain steadfast in your plan. Always have a plan, my son, and always know when to strike.'

More quick palms and knees were thrown, but Suta blocked and lessened the impact each time.

A wide smile had birthed across his lips, with sweat glistening off his skin like water. He felt so light that he was confident in his speed, almost shapeless like the shadow he was up against. The excitement was building and Suta didn't want this spar to end.

'This world...it's...it's so cool! My body is getting lighter, my eyes are tracking things more carefully...a-and I can feel my reflexes sharpening.'

He saw remnants of this back on Granny's farm. But now Suta was assured that the way his body responded within this world was completely different from how it worked in the old one. The more he saw, the quicker he understood things.

But overconfidence soon showed its mocking face, as Suta found his back against the edge of the boat after dodging and retreating absentmindedly. He blinked and broke his concentration. Anak seized upon this and delivered a roundhouse kick, striking him against his midriff and sending him rolling to the other side of the boat heavily.

"URGH!" he wheezed before crashing against the ground in a heap.

"Ouch!" yelped the fairies in unison from the above.

'Buahaha you deserved that Mr. arrogant!' His father's ghostly voice materialized again

'But here's another lesson, learn to understand pain,'

As Suta knelt on his knees, laborious breaths escaped through his opened mouth. That voice soothed him as though his dad was in front of him at this moment, just like in the old days whenever he was having a hard time during his sparring events or martial art exams. He would always be there, teaching him where he might've gone wrong.

'Pain is temporary... but defeat, my son... defeat is everlasting. Never allow your head to remain low. Don't even give the enemy that satisfaction.' The ghostly voice slowly evaporated into Suta's heart

He placed a palm against his chest, where he felt a heavy strain as he tried to center his breathing accordingly. That last attack was so heavy that he had almost blacked out. But unlike the countless times before, where he felt completely helpless against the barrage of attacks, this time around, Suta could hold his own to an extent.

He clenched his fist tightly and slowly rose to his staggering feet once more. He placed a palm against his chest in a bid to calm his racing heart down. He lifted his gaze and beheld Anak with a defiant, wide smile.

"H-hey... I'm not done ye-"

'Huh!'

Suta's eyes flashed wide like two round saucers; he was forced into blinking a few times just to make sure he was seeing things correctly. He rubbed his eyes a few times more before he narrowed his gaze just to make sense of what he was seeing right now.

Anak's brow narrowed as he noticed the boy staring at him in a wordless trance.

"What are you staring at?" His cold tone broke the silence.

Suta snapped free from his daze soon enough, waving his hand in protest before he nervously chuckled to himself.

"Ah, it's nothing! I just... I thought I saw something, but it must've been my imagination. Don't mind me!"

But even as he spoke those words, Suta's mind refused to settle over the implications of what he was witnessing right now. For in that brief moment of clarity, when his eyes had locked onto Anak's form, he had seen something that defied belief.

'A... a second shadow? No, that's not quite right. It was more like... like an echo of his movements, a glimpse of where he was going to be before he even got there.'

Suta swallowed hard, shaking his head from side to side to dispel the euphoric after glow clouded around his thoughts. But then just as he opened his weary gaze again, something else appeared clearly across his vision. A scene he might've expected to see across an artificial interface back in his old world. Like a virtual reality game.

' No way... Is this real? '

Without wasting another second, Suta flipped his hand over and held out his palm.

The dark badge materialized into existence.

{ Name : Raito Suta }

{ Age : 17 }

{ Race : Human }

{ Rank : E }

{ Skillset : Glitch – (Cooldown 11:34:39:14 ), Appraisal Level One}

{ Abilities : Moonlight Tribes Hidden Blessing: Labours of the Fairy King}

{ Affinity : ????}

{???: The Strugglers Dying Will}

{???: 50/350}

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

{???: N/a}

{ Status : Memory partially sealed by divine grace}

A deep gasp broke free from Suta's mouth, not only did he have a new skill, but there were also new entries added to his badge. Very slowly his gaze trailed towards the stoic vampire in the near distance. Currently, a series of floating letters hovered around Anak. Suta could hardly believe what he was seeing, but if it wasn't for the confirmation of the new skill showing on his badge, he might've thought this was some kind of illusion.

Floating beside Anak was a series of white lines forming into an RPG-styled character sheet. From which he could see a series of strange ghostly letters appearing.

Strength = A

Vitality = S

Def = A

Speed = SS

Mana – N/A

'No-no way... I can see his...'

Suta quickly cleared his throat before forcefully removing his gaze from Anak. He could barely control his trembling body as he casually walked to the nearest side and took a seat, resting his back against the stern edge as though he was catching his breath.

He didn't want to give too much away concerning his skills and abilities, remembering the advice Granny Baba had given him about keeping his cards close to himself. It was the same piece of advice those fellows aboard the carriage had given him too.

'I learned a new skill? J-just like that? Heh-heh, how in the world did I manage that?'

He sat down, staring at his palms in disbelief. Trying to replay his actions and his way of thinking during that lengthy spar. There were moments he could pinpoint clearly as to what took place, but other times he was completely oblivious to what occurred. He felt his body and mind had melded as one, but there wasn't a single thought or thorough process; he just... reacted without giving it a second thought.

'Is this what they call being in the zone?' From what he understood about obtaining skills, he needed to reach a level where he had obtained complete mastery over the repetitive action. But that didn't take place, did it? He went over the steps that brought him to this point.

'I fell into that trance again, where my mind holds me prisoner in the fixation of the subject matter until I completely dissect and break it down to its basic layers. I'm usually unable to come out of that trance.'

Suta still went through those spells where his low latent inhibitions showed itself. But the difference between the occurrence of such during this world and his old world was as starkly different as he came to realize. In his old world, Suta would usually be confined to his bed after such an experience, forced into nursing a severe migraine for at least two days.

But within this world... he ended up gaining a skill.

The entire thing sounded insane, but that was the only sort of understanding Suta could make of it. First the Glitch skill, and now this Appraisal skill.

'How does it even work...?' As soon as that thought crossed his mind, Suta felt a subtle change within his eyesight. He felt something akin to an extra eyelid falling over his gaze.

Staring at the contents of his floating badge, he suddenly saw those same white lines forming consistent annotations against it.

{ Name : Raito Suta – The name given to you by your Granny Baba. Your true name is hidden. }

{ Age : 17 – Your current age in the world as foretold by reading the lunar calendar .}

{ Race : Human – One of the mortal races created by the gods. Humans are known for their adaptability and potential for growth .}

{ Rank : E – Your current rank is based on your overall power and abilities. Ranks range from E (lowest) to S (highest). }

Glitch - "One of One Skill, an unrecorded skill that exists without a set form. It thrives only on the most potent and strongest of wills known to man: The Dying Will to Survive! This shape-shifting nature allows it to be incredibly versatile, adapting to the unique challenges and threats faced by the individual in their moment of near-death."

Suta's eyes widened as he read the description, his mind reeling with the implications of such a skill. A skill that could adapt to any situation, any threat... it was almost too good to be true.

'But if it's activated by the will to survive... then that means I'll have to push myself to the brink, to the very edge of life and death, in order to unlock its true potential?'

The thought made Suta shudder. This skill felt like a double-edged sword. He decided to read the other things showing.

{ Abilities : Moonlight Tribes Hidden Blessing: Labors of the Fairy King - "An inheritance said to contain the last remnants of the Fairy King. The Moonlight Tribe believes the valor and strength of the Fairy King lives on. The moonlight grants a special kind of grace to the inheritor. Moon-shards and Moon Drops are especially easy to handle and increase in strength with use."

{ Affinity : ???? -Your elemental affinity is currently unknown .}

{ Status : Memory partially sealed by divine grace – Parts of your memory have been sealed away by a higher power. }

Suta's eyes widened as he read through the annotations one by one. Two skills and one ability. Suta could hardly believe his luck. Suddenly, the remnants of that earlier fatigue had washed away.

'To think I hit the boon on such helpful skills and abilities. Hehehe, this is what I'm talking about.'

He couldn't contain his inner excitement, smiling from ear to ear as he stared intently at his badge. After a while, he did feel that falling sensation of fatigue washing over his eyes again. Even using a skill such as Appraisal, seems to have some strange effect on his mana. That throbbing pain pierced the side of his head again.

'Heh... this doesn't solve my Mana core problems, but it's a start, Finally some progress.' He sighed with relief, finally feeling a small sense of growth after all this time he spent within this world.

'Ringo, Mom...I'm getting closer.'

Suta wanted nothing more than to study these skills and abilities he had adopted, especially that strange skill, Glitch.

'A one-of-one? That means it must be rare. Sigh, if only it gave me a step-by-step on how they work. But I won't be ungrateful; this Appraisal skill is incredibly helpful. Speaking of which...'

Suta had been thinking about it since he saw those strange symbols and lines appearing when he looked at Anak. He held out his arm and narrowed his gaze with intent. Similar to how he used those faint traces of mana to activate the skill that allowed him to read Arcane languages, he performed the same and only focused on activating his Appraisal skill. Just as Anak and others had said, intent and willpower were the keys to activating skills and also casting incantations.

A small set of annotations appeared in front of his clear view.

Strength = E

Vitality = E

Def = F

Speed = C

Mana = F

'My goodness! What kind of terrible stats are these?'

Suta almost fainted seeing his parade suddenly being doused in a downpour of rain. He could only curse his rotten luck, and now it suddenly became all too clear to him why his Rank was a measly E grade.

But even as disappointment threatened to overwhelm him, a flicker of determination sparked within his heart. These stats were not necessarily a death sentence, but a starting point! A challenge to be overcome. Just like most of the challenges he came across in his life.

'If I can gain two skills and an ability in such a short time, then who's to say I can't improve these stats as well?' he thought it made sense. This world seemed to operate with similar laws to the ones back on earth. Only things were a lot more amplified here.

'There's always a solution for every problem, a weakness to every towering wall. I...I can do this. I can become stronger.'