"So, are you a half-god?" I asked Nix.
She told me she came from a family of gods, that her grandfather was a god, and there were other gods in this world possessing humans.
"I don’t know, Zach! But my grandfather is!" she said, her excitement clear. It surprised me that she knew my name without me telling her. Was it because she was my bond?
"How do you know my name?" I asked.
She pointed to a blank space. I looked where she was pointing. "Try saying 'Appear!'" she said, smiling.
I nodded slowly. "Appear?"
"Again! But with a different tone," she said, shaking her head.
A serious tone? "Appear," I said.
Clink.
----------------------------------------
[Activated Status Window]
Zachary Hale
21 years old
Level: Unranked [XP: 30/99]
Race: Human
Title: Useless
Myogen: None
[Skills]
Current Active and Passive Skill: 2
Active:
Phantom Slash: A high-speed sword strike that phases through defenses [ Mastery: 15%]
Passive:
Soul Resonance: Taps into the spiritual bond of the user.
Current Progress: 15% [Novice]
[Next Mastery: 26% [Apprentice]
[Reputation]
Family Of Hale: 5 (Low)
----------------------------------------
A bright screen appeared in front of my eyes. It said it was a status window, showing my current status, my name, my age, my level, my skills, and my reputation. It looked just like the screens I’d seen in the games the students at school played.
"So, this is how you knew," I said, smiling.
She nodded. "Yup!"
The screen was literally in front of me, and if I tried to touch it, it would move to the other side. I could see my current progress.
Everything looked fine, but what was up with that title?
"Useless." I’d completely forgotten that this guy was considered useless. He was seen as trash by his family because, despite being in his twenties, he didn’t have any real skills. His siblings were far more talented and had better reputations, so he was nothing more than a shadow. It was a little tragic, almost like my past life, but it was what it was. If you’re weak, you’re tossed aside. But if you have the courage and skill to back it up, you rise.
If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
"How about this one?" I pointed at myogen.
"Hmmm." She seemed to be thinking, or maybe curious.
"None?" she asked.
"It’s also showing up in my memories from this guy," I said.
"I think this guy never practiced myogen," she said.
It made sense. It got me thinking about why this guy kept thinking about myogen. Maybe that was why his family didn’t acknowledge him—because he wasn’t good enough to even try to practice myogen?
"Usually, humans practice one myogen. It takes experience and strength to practice two, and extraordinary ability to practice all three. But it seems this body doesn’t even have one," she said in a serious tone, sounding more mature than I expected.
"Nix?"
"Hmm?" she replied.
"Is it possible to see his memories again?" I asked, looking at her with hope that it might work.
Maybe, I thought, seeing his memories once more would give me more of the information I needed about this guy’s background.
"Hmm? Maybe?" she said, walking toward me and raising her hand to my head.
"It is possible?" I asked again.
"It is. But this guy never practiced myogen. To see memories of another, I’d need to use harmonics or one of the myogen forms. If I use myogen on a body that’s never been exposed to it, it could cause brain damage," she explained.
I thought I could gather more information by seeing this guy’s memories, but I guess it made sense. Using a power this body had never been exposed to was risky.
"The good news is that his memories can manifest in your dreams when you sleep," she said, smiling at me.
"Really?!" I said, excitement in my tone.
"But it doesn't have a 100% chance," she added.
"It doesn’t matter. I can still try to manifest his memories," I said, patting Nix's head as a token of appreciation.
"Thank you, Nix," I said, sliding my hand through her fur as she let out a happy sound.
I learned that every pet deserves appreciation too.
image [https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/FchRkssO8usCJqT7adHuAJUoIcthU00Mj4mY39FJTWNLj2gu8gFkDess-qlWd8qrZfVb4d1qneOajF9SOxQWDEHdIT0MwaL6HorIKeZ9_fz8wu_ht0lcSDv1Gf9VO3XiUEiGoc8CC37r0adf5iDyuw]
After that night, I couldn't sleep properly at all. I kept thinking about how the memories might manifest, but nothing happened. In the end, I just kept my eyes open, sleeping only for a few hours, I think.
When I woke up, Nix wasn't there. I couldn't find her anywhere in the room.
"Nix?" I called out, looking around. "Where are you?"
Then, a sudden voice cut through the silence. "Are you finally losing it?" it said.
I turned, and saw a familiar face. It was someone from the memories of this body. The man had long black hair and wore noble clothing. He was a noble, and he was somehow connected to me.
"What are you d—" I started to ask, but was cut off by the interrogator's voice from yesterday.
"Cilian! What are you doing here?" he asked, his tone excited—very different from the usual cold, interrogating voice I’d heard yesterday.
Cilian? The name sounded familiar. I needed to think and take this moment as an opportunity to figure out who he was.
Cilian?
Who was this guy?
As the name kept circling in my head, a memory of him surfaced. I saw a noble standing in front of a massive chair, with three children in front of him.
The man spoke, "I want to congratulate the youngest son for entering the academy," he said. "Ronan, you must aim for the top at the academy!"
"Next!" the man said, walking toward a guy with medium-length black hair. I expected him to be acknowledged too, but the man ignored him.
"Cilian!" The man turned to him with a proud, authoritative tone. "You continue to make the Hale family proud with your achievements! As a reward, I will promote you to vice leader of this family!"
The thing is, this memory was from the perspective of this guy’s father and siblings being recognized. Ronan, his younger brother, who was 18, started attending the academy to study swordsmanship and arcane studies. Meanwhile, the oldest, Cilian, was off fighting in the war for territory, moving between different kingdoms. He was already destined for greatness, as people said, and had earned a strong reputation. As for Zachary, the middle child, he was still training hard every single day, never resting for long. He was desperate for recognition, and it showed.
image [https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/FchRkssO8usCJqT7adHuAJUoIcthU00Mj4mY39FJTWNLj2gu8gFkDess-qlWd8qrZfVb4d1qneOajF9SOxQWDEHdIT0MwaL6HorIKeZ9_fz8wu_ht0lcSDv1Gf9VO3XiUEiGoc8CC37r0adf5iDyuw]
"Brother?" I muttered, catching the attention of my oldest brother and the interrogator.
He smirked. "Don’t call me brother in public!" he snapped.
The uselessness of this guy was so extreme that his so-called oldest brother didn’t even want to be called "brother" in public? My relationship with my family was seriously messed up.
"He’s losing it," Cilian said, pointing at me as he spoke to the interrogator.
"Probably," the interrogator replied. "But why are you here?"
It took Cilian a second to answer. "I’m here because your men insisted on searching our estate. When I found out why, I guessed it was because of this idiot!" he shouted, waking up the other prisoners.
"Hmm." The interrogator thought for a moment. "It was necessary, though. We can search it if we have the authority. We need to check if this guy is really up for treason," he said.
It didn’t take long for Cilian to respond. "I’m warning you. You already finished searching. But if I see your men on our estate again, it won’t end well. Just let this guy rot here. Make him clean or something, I don’t care. He’s probably more useful here anyway."
He was the one rotting. I couldn’t even imagine how a brother could act like that. And honestly, I was seeing Lucas in him. He was acting so high and mighty.
"Hey," I said, grabbing Cilian’s attention once again as he turned to leave.
He looked back at my cell. "When I get out, let’s have a drink, you and me," I said.
His expression twisted into disgust. "You’re talking nonsense. You’ll never get out of there," he said before finally walking off.
As if. I already had a plan to get out of this. They didn’t have any strong proof, after all.
"You've got some nerve," the interrogator said, snapping me out of my thoughts.
I smirked. "I had to."
"You had to?" He chuckled. "What are you fighting for? You're known as the talentless son of a duke. Seems Cilian was right. You're losing it," he said.
I didn’t need everyone to believe in me, and I didn’t need their support. But, sure, powerful support would help. Still, I knew people liked to tear each other down, and I also knew this time, I wouldn’t be the one getting dragged down.