‘A person with those kinds of stats could only be created with some sort of scientifically advanced genetic modification. Even back in my previous world, we had over two and a half centuries of research behind this topic, yet we couldn’t produce such perfect physical bodies…’
Lucian ruminated over the stat difference between humans in this world and his old one, and couldn’t quite wrap his head around why they were special. Nothing about this place gave him the feeling that they were an even more advanced civilisation than even 2175 Earth, where they had already colonised half the solar system!
Let alone advanced, this place didn’t even seem like they had discovered the most basic of basic medicinal advancements yet. Heck, all the books he had taken a peak at during class looked handwritten, so it wasn’t even clear if the printing press was even invented yet.
‘This world is definitely not a simple at all!’
On the surface Lucian’s reincarnation seemed like his consciousness had returned maybe a few hundred or thousand years into the past, but it was clear that this was not a case of time travel at all.
The fact that they had completely different names for the locations here, as well as the only crudely drawn map he’d seen looking nothing like any place he recognised from Earth. He’d sure as heck never heard of a place called the ‘Barren Islands’ in any history books.
Lucian continued thinking to himself as he scarfed down his food like a starving street dog, before looking over at the terrifying young girl who possessed those stats.
Normally, seeing such figures without seeing the actual person who possessed them would create the image of a perfectly sculpted 7 foot tall bodybuilder in one’s mind. Yet, they actually belonged to this petite, barely even 5 foot tall teen girl.
She was clearly some sort of noble, as evidenced from her attitude towards Roderic earlier, but also from the fact she had a servant following her around wherever she went, keeping his head down and not daring to utter a single word in her presence unprovoked.
In fact, Lucian was surprised, because he failed to notice this servant’s presence until now.
Originally, he thought the only adult present was the cook, but things were getting interesting…
Lucian developed a strong interest in this man after finding yet another mysterious phenomenon occurring around him. He was quite an observant person, thanks to his scientific nature, so for something to slip past his notice was quite the achievement.
Looking at him, he appeared rather normal. He wore a black robe, keeping a hood over his head constantly so only his face was visible, and his eyes looked despondent, like he was only half present in the moment, with his mind elsewhere.
‘AI, scan this guy’s stats!’
Without hesitation, he initiated a scan on the unnoticeable servant with almost maniacal eyes, eager to dig into his secrets and all he had to offer.
Interestingly, the AI was silent for longer than it took to process the terrifyingly strong girl’s stats, only further intriguing Lucian. But he was a patient man, or rather a child now, considering he was technically 12 years old?
Regardless, around 10 more seconds passed before he received an answer from the AI.
[Scan complete!]
[Name: Unknown. Age: 31. Sex: Male. Vitality: 5.2, Agility: 5.5, Strength: 6.5, Mind: 0. Status: Obedient, Observant. Body is in peak state.]
Lucian examined the stats as soon as they appeared, and his eyes practically widened out of their sockets. He almost couldn’t believe what he was seeing, but considering all of the other weird and strange stuff he had witnessed in this world already, he suppressed his surprise for the time being.
‘Average stats around 5.5? What is this guy, a monster? He can probably lift well over a ton with that kind of strength, and with his extraordinarily high vitality, his body would be able to withstand it! Incredible!’
‘This guy could probably classify as a superhero in my previous world if he dressed up and went out solving crimes!’
Lucian thought to himself as he looked at the terrifying person who possessed these stats once again.
‘No wonder the AI’s alarms and warnings went off when I stepped into the cafeteria. They weren’t because of Sofia, but because of her servant!’
His dinner was soon finished, as the portion sizes weren’t too big and he practically vacuumed his food down in seconds. Lucian stood up and started walking back over to the counter to return his tray, but as he did so, a voice from behind stopped him.
‘Oi! Who’d have thought that Lucian would be brave enough to come to the cafeteria today!”
That same, high pitched and arrogant voice that scolded Roderic earlier spoke out once again. This time, Sofia directed her ridicule towards Lucian. It seemed he was her new target.
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“Hurry up and take your food!” The cook over the counter shouted, suddenly scaring the two gawking students who were in the process of taking quick glances at Lucian and Sofia, and their food.
His great shout scared one of them quite badly, making him drop his tray on the floor and creating even more of a ruckus. But unfortunately for him, the school wasn’t kind enough to give him second’s, so he either had to suck it up and eat the now dirty food, or throw it away and go to bed with an empty stomach.
Lucian ignored the ruckus from his one side, and instead turned around to face Sofia, who was now staring at him with a face that screamed ‘Look at me, scum!’
‘Am I, or rather my predecessor, really so unpopular in this place that I have to be picked on everywhere I go?’
Regardless of his slightly irked thoughts, Lucian quickly performed a deep bow towards Sofia and her servant, closed his eyes and strained his face.
“I am really sorry, Lady Sofia!” He shouted with fear evident in his voice, before turning tail and running out of the cafeteria in embarrassment.
When outside, Lucian couldn’t help but scoff.
‘That should satisfy her childish tendencies for now.’
***
Back in his room, Lucian took in his surroundings and made mental notes of everything he saw. This was the first time he was seeing his dorm for himself since coming to this place, only taking a brief skim through his inherited memories after leaving the cafeteria to find out exactly where it was.
He had to say, it fit the whole loner persona he had going on really well. Despite being a Knight’s academy, there was a whole bookshelf stacked with all sorts of novels, instruction books, and other random media. But interestingly, none of them seemed to be about Knight training or the like.
‘Looks like this kid wasn’t too happy with the idea of becoming a knight like his father was…’
Lucian only affirmed this thought when he found his training gear buried under a bunch of dust and old items, containing both a sword and some basic leather armour. The sword was in a bad state, covered with rust and too blunt to actually penetrate through skin. Though this was probably intentional on the school’s behalf, considering it was just training equipment.
As for the armour… well it was just covered in some dust. Leather lasts, as the people in this world liked to say.
Putting them aside, Lucian lay down on his bed, noting how stiff it was, before a gloomy shadow formed in his eyes.
‘Even with my reincarnation and AI implant somehow miraculously following me, I am still ridiculously weak in this world.’
His eyes snapped wide open, turning over as he gazed outside of his window at the bright stars in the night sky, ‘I guess one positive of not having any electricity is the lack of light pollution,’
Being weak just meant that he had more to accomplish! Lucian wouldn’t be so easily unmotivated by such a small setback. He rolled back over and began to undress himself, taking off his school jacket and trousers and laying them at the edge of his bed, until eventually he was fully naked.
Attached to his room was a closet sized bathroom, housing a single toilet, sink, and a bathtub — which looked more like a big bucket than a tub. Despite its not-so-satisfying look, this was actually considered a luxury for households in this world.
For most commoners, baths and toilets were communal places they had to share with either a whole neighbourhood, or town. Thankfully, Lucian came from a Knight family like pretty much every other student in this academy, so with their influence they were able to afford such luxuries.
The school would be pretty hard pressed to cheap out and force them to use communal toilets and baths, as the pressure each family could bring down on them was far too much for the administrators to endure.
Lucian turned the tap and let water flow into the tub, quickly filling it up with steamy hot liquid. On the side, Lucian found a closed container and opened it, finding a mixture of herbs and flowers inside, and poured some of the mixture into the tub.
Instantly, his nose was filled with a sweet and pleasant scent, a variety of aromas blessing his senses. It was extremely pleasing to his nose, but it also invoked some nostalgia in him.
‘Smells like home…’
The pleasing aroma reminded him of his own shower and house back on Earth. He couldn’t help but chuckle, realising he was already becoming reminiscent of his previous life despite only being here for less than a day.
‘My journey in this world has only just started…’
He tilted his head back over the edge of the bathtub and closed his eyes, falling into a daze. After some time, he was out like a light.
***
Some hours later, Lucian awoke, feeling mentally refreshed, but physically like a wet sponge. Falling asleep in the bathtub wasn’t exactly what he had planned for the previous night, and as a consequence his entire body felt wrinkly and dry.
‘Well, I guess it beats sleeping on that thing.’
He shrugged and glanced over at the empty bed, remembering how stiff it felt to lie on.
However, he quickly noticed how his body strangely recovered rather quickly from the effects of sitting in water for hours on end. But not only did he recover quickly, he strangely felt even better afterwards!
Noticing something strange had happened, Lucian consulted the one thing that could possibly give him an answer.
‘AI, scan the mixture in the bathtub.’
Last night, he might not have thought about it or realised it thanks to his drowsiness, but hidden amongst those aromatic scents were some herbs his expertly attuned nose didn’t quite recognise to be on Earth.
It didn’t take long for him to get an answer from the AI.
[Scan complete!]
[Discovered unknown herbal mixture. Beginning scan of effects.]
[Unable to scan individual components, beginning simulation.]
[Simulation complete!]
[Name: Unknown herbal mixture. Effects: Stimulates growth of the body, recovery, and vitality.]
“Hm?” Lucian muttered aloud, intrigued by the results of the scan.
‘This thing is actually a medicinal remedy?’
He looked over at the unassuming pot containing the remainder of the mixture that he had yet to use up, feeling somewhat glad he didn’t just pour the whole thing in the tub the previous night.
‘The scan says it stimulates growth, but specifically mentioned vitality…’
An idea popped into Lucian’s mind and he asked his AI to pull up his own stats once again.
[Name: Lucian Verdan. Age: 12. Sex: Male. Vitality: 0.8, Agility: 0.6. Strength: 0.5, Mind: 0.1. Status: Intrigued, refreshed. Body is in recovery.]
A mental image of his own body once again appeared in his mind, but Lucian ignored that and instead focused on the stats themselves. Immediately, he noticed one very big and obvious change, which also explained why he was feeling so good.
‘My vitality has gone up by 0.1?’
Yesterday, his Vitality was at 0.7, but now it showed 0.8. If he remembered correctly, something like this couldn’t just happen overnight thanks to some mixture of herbs. But he kept an open mind, as this world already made it crystal clear that it was different.