The silent and moonless night was disturbed by the a woman’s scream.
In a house located at a countryside town, a woman is experiencing childbirth inside a specially prepared room. Accompanied her are two busy midwives in the middle of supporting the woman for a sucessful birth. The spurting blood streams, the ear-hurting screams, the painful expressions, the fear of failure and death, all these nightmarerish concepts ironically always act as the intro for the joy of another life.
The dark-green haired woman is fighting her own battle, fulfilling her mission as a wife and a mother.
Yet in such a dire situation, a man and a husband’s job can only be waiting in the hallway, with uneasseness in his heart and a prayer on his mouth.
“Will Mom be alright, Dad?”
The gray-haired young man in a grayish robe stopped his prayers when his four years old son approaching him with concern for the welfare of his mother.
“It’s okay Ein, Mom has already experienced this once before. Your mom is very strong, stronger than both of us. She’ll be alright, just like always.”
The words of his son have somewhat ease the husband’s worries. He smiled to do the same to his son.
“Before we know it, she’ll jump out of her bed and complaining about being bedridden all the time prior to childbirth…”
Said the gray-haired man.
“Yeah, that’s Mom alright!”
The dark-green hair child named Ein responsed.
“So…Ein, you want a little brother or a little sister?”
In an attempt to lighten the mood, the father asked.
“Both are fine! I want both!”
Said the cheerful little boy.
“Let’s hope it’s not a twin then. I don’t think I can handle three kids in the house at the same time…”
“Don’t doubt Mom, Dad! If you can’t then she can! We all know Mom is the man of the house!”
The husband can only put on a painful smiles when his ears catch sound of the brutal truth.
Before his son can accidentally humiliate him one more time, the newborn’s cry has avert their attention to the birthing room inside. The father and son stand up, diligently waiting for good news to come. After five minutes or so passed by, when the situation has been stablized, a midwife rushes out of the room to deliver good news.
“It’s a boy, Mister Acht. A healthy young boy!”
“Just a boy, and one boy only!?”
Still afraid from what his now-eldest son foretold earlier, the man with the name Acht asked.
“Of course you silly! It won’t be this fast if it was a twin or more!”
The midwife joked. Acht can only give her a smile in return, although he didn’t think several hours of childbirth qualified as “fast”. But then again, it’s not a husband’s job to think about such things.
“Can we go see her and the baby?”
Acht once again asked.
“Oh right, I forgot! You two can, of course! Lady Nana is waiting for you.”
The midwife rushes back inside the room, followed by the father and his young son. The newborn’s first cry can still be heard as he tries to leave his first mark upon the new world.
“Hello there, my son.”
Said the father when he approaches his child, though he isn’t allowed to touch the baby yet when a midwife is still busy trying to cut his umbilical cord. But that’s okay, the baby isn’t going to run anywhere soon. With that in mind, he leaves his eldest son to his curiosity at his own little brother and rushes to the side of his wife.
“You did well, Nana.”
The mother of two just smiled as her husband gently holds her hands.
“I’m so hungry after all that pushing. Can you go and bake me some apple pie, dear?”
“That isn’t something a mother just given birth should say, you know…?”
“I know, I know, dear.”
The dark-green haired woman smiled yet again. A smile of happiness, warm enough to melt the coldest heart.
“But seriously, I could eat a whole horse right now.”
“Okay, dear…I’ll make something for you to eat…later.”
Said the husband as he tries to preserve the mood. That being said, he’s happy knowing the hardest part had just passed by. With both the mother and the baby healthy and in good shape, there’s nothing for him to worry about right now.
“Let’s have a look at our newest member, shall we?”
The husband walks toward the midwives, who have already finished the after work. Acht gently holds the baby in his hand - now warped in a clean blanket and had already stopped crying. With a smile, the happy father shows his baby to his wife.
“He looks a lot like you.”
Said the wife.
“You think?”
The wife nods as she smiles.
“I’m sure he’ll turn out to be a fine man just like his dad!”
“Let’s hope you’re right…”
Still keeping his silence for all these time, the now eldest son of the house suddenly voices his thoughts.
“Mom! Dad! What should we name him?”
“Easy now, Ein. We’ll do that after the appraising ritual.”
The husband throws a glance at the midwives. They have already finished cleaning and packing their stuff, knowing their job here is done.
“Thank you ladies. I’ll take it from here.”
“May your child grows strong and powerful, Mister Acht.”
The midwives bid their farewell as they leave. The now tired wife is resting while waiting for her food to come. After a quick glance at his sleeping wife, Acht leaves the room with his infant son on hands while his other son follows after.
The two of them get to a room prepared beforehand located on the house’s second floor. There are several already-lit candles across the room, serving as the light source for the ritual inside. With tomes and scrolls all over the place, this room gives off the impression of a study room, but the presence of jars containing exotic materials and bottles of unknown liquids indicates that this isn’t a mere room of a mere scholar. It’s more like a wizard’s workshop, if we’re going for a more fantasy way of approaching.
“Okay, let’s put him…here.”
At the center of the room is a wooden table. On top of it is an already drawn circle using red chalks. The man slowly puts his soundly sleeping son onto the center of the red circle.
At first glance, this doesn’t seem much different than a satanic ritual where the baby will be sacrificed to summon the Devil for a chance to make a deal with the big red guy with horns. Of course, the truth is much simplier than that, and less occult-ish…from a certain point of view.
“Thankfully I cleaned and sterilized the place beforehand.”
“Dad. What exactly is the appraising ritual?”
The father smiles when his son asks him the right question.
“It’s very simple, my son! I am gonna gauge the potential abilities of our newest family member! In other words, appraising! All the newborns in Apeiron need to go through this. I did. Your mom did. You did. And now it’s your little brother’s turn!”
“I still don’t understand.”
The man stratches his head as he tries to explain the facts to his naïve young son.
“Let’s put it this way. Everyone in this world are born with potentials. Each of us already have some sort of powers when we are just newborn. Those powers are judged and measured with a system called Levels and Stats, my son. By apprasing a newborn, his current stats and level will be revealed to us. After that, we can devise a future plan beffiting the newborn’s potential!”
Acht gives a pause before resuming his lecture.
“For example, if a kid has very high Strength at birth, he can potentially become a powerful warrior with proper guidance and training. Likewise, if one has high Intelligent or Wisdom, that person can become a respectable mage as well! That doesn’t mean there aren’t any exceptions from the norm, but aside from that, it’s the standard guideline.”
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“So…I have one of those powers too…?”
Still a bit confused, the young child asked.
“You’re right…if not a bit literal. Me and your mom are quite scared when your were born with just [Level 1] and all starting stats at [1]. But you are very special, Ein. Your level and stats growth is abnormaly fast to the point your starting stats aren’t a problem anymore. That’s why we named you Ein. We usually name a child after the ritual finishes, with a name beffiting the power he or she wield.”
Said the father.
“Oh! I didn’t know about that!”
“Of course you don’t. You’re just four years old!”
Not baffled by his father words, Ein continue speaking.
“Hurry up already dad! Don’t let my little bro wait!”
“Oh right, forgot about that!”
Reminded by his son, Acht snaps out of his lecturing mode and returns to prepare the ritual.
“Usually people need to hire a proper mage for this kind of thing, but since your awesome dad is an awesome mage, that wouldn’t be nessecary! Ha!”
Acht holds both his hands forward. Suddenly, a gust of wind flows into the room, and bubbles of light start to gather around the wooden altar in the middle of the room.
“Before we start, Ein. Can you promise me something?”
“What is it, dad?”
“Would you love your brother no matter what?”
The child suddenly looks at his father in confusion.
“Why would you ask me something like that, dad? Of course I would!”
“I mean, you are a very special kid, Ein. But not everyone could be born special. Your brother may not have the same endless potential as you. I’m afraid…the difference in ablities would one day sever your brotherhood.”
“What are you saying, dad!? He’s my little brother! I’ll love him no matter what he turns out to be!”
Even though they’re just mere words from a four years old child who have no idea how cruel life could be, Acht can feel the genuinity of his son’s words. He smiled once again like a proud father.
“Well then. I hope you can back up your words, Big Brother!”
The winds are getting stronger. The lights are shining brighter. Tomes are flipping. Windows are rapidly slamming. The room beneath the moonless night is now as bright as the brighest day. When the energy required for the spell has done preparing, Acht starts chanting his spell. He waves a circle in mid air with his right hand, and energy begins to gather.
「May the infinite light reveals all that were hidden! Appraise」
The winds stopped. The lights faded. The windows stay still. The room returns to the silence it once was. But in front of Acht and Ein, the hidden potential of their blood member has been revealed in form of a status window appearing before their eyes.
Spoiler: Newborn's Status
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STATUS WINDOWNAME[Unnamed]HPMP00LEVEL0RACEHumanAGE[Newborn]BIRTHDATE30th FebruaryJOB[Unemployed]ALIGNMENT[Unrated]EXPERIENCE0/0Strength0Vitality0Intelligence0Wisdom0Dexterity0Agility0Charisma0Luck0TITLES
* Level Zero: Granted upon birth. Gives one power over nothing.
SKILLS AND ABILITIES
None
EQUIPMENT
None
INVENTORY
None
“What in the world…”
All Acht can get from the results is a number: 0. He understands about the random things like jobs or names, since the kid was just born literally minutes ago. But his stats, his levels, his everything…All of them is a big zero!
Acht can’t believe his own eyes. This is the first time he has seen something like this. He even doubt this has ever happen elsewhere. If it was, there would be actual written records. Which is the reason why this is making things much more difficult for him to deal with.
But that’s not the problem right now.
How can I tell her…?
“Dad…what do those numbers mean? Is my brother…very strong? He will be as strong as me, right?”
Acht glances at his innocent son. He is too young to understand what is happening, and so is the newborn sleeping on the table.
“…”
Acht remains silent. There aren’t any words coming out from his mouth despite his son’s desire for explainations.
“Let’s us go meet mom.”
Once again, Acht picks up his youngest son and together with the elder one they return to the room his wife is staying.
The wife is sleeping, but she quickly get up from the incoming sound of her husband, her curiosity probably helped awaken her from her sleep.
“So, you got any bright idea for our son’s name, dear? This better be good.”
Without any expression, Acht approach his wife’s bed and gives her the baby, all while his older son Ein is watching.
“Zero.” – Said the newborn’s father, in a tone as cold as ice – “His name will be…Zero.”
“Zero!? You can’t just go and name our son Zero!”
The sudden burst of voice has awoken the baby, making it cries again.
“I have decided.”
“Wait, Acht! Answer me!”
Acht stands up. Without any glance to his wife or his two sons, the father of the house quietly leaves the room, despite his wife’s plea for answers. If she has enough strength, Nana would have rush to her husband and stop him in his track, but the fatigue of childbirth has hold her back.
“What’s his problem?”
All that’s left in the room is a confused mother, a naïve son, and a crying baby who is unfortunately named Zero. The happiness from the new member’s birth is suddenly replaced by the grim air of uncertainty. No one expected something like this to happen, even Acht himself.
“Poor child…mommy’s here. So please, stop crying…Zero…”
Everyone has a tale to tell. Every tale has a beginning. Every beginning starts from zero.
And thus, the tale of Zero begins.