Jared opened his eyes. He was in a dark room, but it wasn't completely dark - the light of the moon filled the room.
Jared attempted to sit up, but found himself too weak to do so. So he wiggled his limbs around, poking and prodding himself to see that he really was reborn.
He then recalled the voice's information about the status windows and skills and such, and attempted to open them one at a time, and look over what he was.
First was the status window -
Status WindowName: Jared HarkeRace: HumanProfession: BabyClass: BabyLevel: 0Fame: 0Stats* Due to your being a baby, stats are locked and hidden. They will be unlocked when you are older. *
* Most notifications will automatically be disabled until you are older. *
So, he still had the same name. He wondered if that was coincidence, or something else.
SkillsBlessing of the AIMAXPASSIVERebirth (Subskill of Blessing of the AI)MAXPASSIVEA Life Unfiltered (Subskill of Blessing of the AI)MAXPASSIVEAppraisalBeginner Level 6ACTIVEBaby's MemoryMAXPASSIVEBaby's CutenessMAXPASSIVELanguage - CommonMAXPASSIVELuckyMAXPASSIVEMana AtunementBeginner Level 0ACTIVE/PASSIVEOnly Ever AverageMAXPASSIVE
Once he saw that he had a skill called only ever average, he became worried and began calling up detailed status windows for each skill.
Blessing of the AI - MAXError.
Rebirth (Subskill of Blessing of the AI) - MAXThrough some twist of fate, you are born again when you die, for most instances. Does not work with every death, as some death can be permanent.Effects:-> 1% * 2 level lost upon death.-> Player is reborn after 10 days.
A Life Unfiltered (Subskill of Blessing of the AI) - MAXNPCs have somehow perfected the art of ignoring certain words from PCs. While they can converse normally with a player, they can not learn about otherworldly things, such as the status and skill windows, or things in the other world.Effects:-> You bypass this restriction and are able to know such things.
Appraisal - Beginner Level 6In the past, you were the son of a merchant. He taught you how to tell if things were expensive, or cheap. This skill remains with you today, a carry over from previous knowledge.Effects:-> Allows you to determine the price and quality of goods.
Baby's Memory - MAXTime is fleeting, and you have no concept of time. You learn everything. Unfortunately, you can't recall everything. Not everyone can remember when they were your age, but the things they learned when they were your age effect them every day of their lives. This skill will disappear as you get older.
Baby's Cuteness - MAXBabies aren't really ugly, just misunderstood. Everyone seems to love them, and they always seem to bring a smile to the room. This skill effects those that like babies. This skill will disappear as you get older.Effects:-> While this skill is present, you have +1000 charisma to anyone that likes babies.-> You cause people to smile.
Language - Common - MAXYou remember things from a past life, and as such, you can read, write, and understand common. At some point, you will be able to speak it, but due to your age, that day is not today.
Lucky - MAXSometimes, there are people who just seem to be in the right place, at the right time. These people always seem to have the ace in their hands. This skill will change every 10 levels, and will begin to be in effect when you reach level 1.Effects:-> Luck + 50
Mana Attunement - Beginner Level 0Somehow, in the past, you know a bit about magic - whether it was how to cast a spell, or how to dodge a fireball without losing your eyebrows. This skill allows you to detect mana. You are too young to train this skill any further.Effects:-> At the current level, this skill allows you to feel mana.
Only Ever Average - MAXPeople love to be told they are special, how they are from good stock. However, as in the past and as you are now, this is not true for you. You only ever were average, and as such, the common skills that people may excel at over time are limited to you in such a way that you will only ever be average.Effects:-> Common skills will only be trainable to Intermediate level 1.
Even though Jared was a baby, his previous knowledge made his mind older than it actually was. So when he read the description of that last skill, tears started trickling down his cheeks. Then, without warning, he began to wail, even though he only meant to cry to himself silently.
A notification popped up in front of his face as he was crying -
Even though your previous memories make you wiser beyond your years, you are still an infant. You are under the effect of Baby's Memory - and as such, time will randomly skip to the next point in time you will be able to recall.
Immediately after closing the new notification window, time seemed to jump ahead.
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When time slowed down again, Jared was playing on the floor. He realized he was now strong enough to sit up on his own, but when he attempted to stand he fell flat on his face. Jared sat back up.
He moved each of his toes, fingers, and finally his arms and legs, and attempted to stand up again. Unfortunately, it had the same comical result. He just didn't have enough strength to stand.
In the next room, he heard a musical voice speaking to a deeper voice. He instinctively knew the sound of his parents' voices. Struggling, he put his palms in front of him, and lifted himself onto his knees. Focusing with all he could, he slowly begain to crawl towards the partially opened door.
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It took him a while, but when he finally got to the door, it opened all the way. He was left blinking as bright light filled his vision, and a boot.
"Well, look at you. I leave you alone for a minute and you start exploring, my little adventurer." The woman picked him up, and he stared at his mother's face. Perhaps he was biased, he probably was, but at this point in time he thought his mother was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. He reached out his chubby arm, and latched on to her nose.
Baby sounds left his mouth when he tried to speak, but he did manage to force out the words "Mother". She seemed ecstatic that he spoke, but due to him being so comfy cradled in his mother's arms, and the fact he was nice and warm, and a bit tired, he fell asleep.
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Jared quickly realized that being a baby was hard work. In order for Jared to do anything, he had to exert a lot of effort. This often left him tired, and he slept and ate quite a bit. Because later on in his last life, he realized how important it was to train one's body, he decided to start early in this life. He didn't want to worry his parents though, so he really only trained when he was alone in his crib, doing things like pushups (he was up to 1), squats (Does falling down every time he stood up count as one? He could bounce up and down when he was holding on to something.), etc. Eventually life got easier for him. His parents probably thought he was a prodigy, him doing things earlier than other babies. He was simply trying to make things easier for himself later, however. He wanted to make sure he had the ability to be different from his previous life. He listened and watched everything others did. He watched his mother spar with some of the townies. Whenever he could get a book, he attempted to read it, study it. Unfortunately, whenever his father saw him with a book, he usually took the book away from Jared. It wasn't that his father didn't want him to read, it was just that it was strange to see a baby staring at a book and turning its pages. Jared's father didn't want his son tearing pages from the books, or eating the pages.
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One day a noisy banging woke Jared up, and he realized he was in his mother's arms. He saw his father open the door, and a badly dressed stranger came into the house, looking around. He felt his mother tense up as the stranger started demanding of the two to teach him skills. His mother put him on the floor as the man called his parents 'Stupid NPCs'.
Jared was angry. He was also startled at the notification that popped up as the man tried to get his mother to teach him sword skills.
Quest - Something even a baby could do!You've met your first player, and he is quite rude. What's more, hes even cavassing everything in the room, thinking he owns the place.
The AI thinks it would be interesting if you bit him. So, go bite him!
You can not refuse this quest.Rewards: ??Failure: ??
Jared saw no reason not to complete this quest, so he crawled over to the oblivious stranger yelling obscenities at his mother, and chomped down on the flesh just above the boots.
Immediately, a notification popped into view.
Quest Complete - Something even a baby could do!??????
Jared was confused about the question marks, but that lasted a second, when the stranger yelled out in surprise, and kicked Jared. Jared fell backwards, and saw his mother pull out a sword. The last thing he noticed before the pain overtook him was his mother running the stranger through with the sword, telling the stranger not to kick her son.
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Years Later
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Nothing else seemed to change much as Jared grew older, and he attempted to be as diligent as he could towards his parents. His mother was ecstatic, because he was picking up some of her combat training very quickly. He learned her footwork, and learned how to fight both unarmed and with a dagger. He was also learning to fight with a sword. His father was happy too, since Jared seemed far more intelligent than the kids his age.
Jared made it to 10 years old before he finally received a notification from the system telling him he gained a level. Taking his training sword, he snuck away at night time to the nearest 'noob dungeon' as the 'players' called it. It was a dungeon that he heard was rated for 'level 1-20', but it was generally empty since players didn't usually bother his tiny village. It had nothing interesting to offer.
He didn't really have any goals in this life, but he thought he would see if he could become famous, which he failed to do in a previous life. In truth, he'd love to be something like a king or celebrated knight, but he didn't think he could get that far. So he decided to start with the weakest dungeon, him only being 10 years old, after all. The first level was filled with things that were called slimes, and he easily killed a few before moving on. He'd never seen these things before, but they were pretty underwhelming. It wasn't even a challege.
The second and third levels, which held zombies, weren't a challenge since the zombies were too predictible and moved slower than a snail. He easily killed them, and picked up the single coppers they sometimes dropped. He never realized these were actually a creature called 'broken zombies'. He'd heard of undead before, but the tales he heard were nothing this weak.
'Weak.' Jared was beginning to feel overconfident.
When he hit the fourth level, there were goblins. They looked rather weak and malnourished. Catching one's attention, he attempted to fight it. He brought it close to the entrance, but the goblin quickly blocked the entrance off.
It was easily pushing him back with its spear.
Jared swung his sword, out of desperation and not using the style he was taught. It clanged against the spear.
He felt the feedback in his arm, as his sword shattered onto the ground.
'I can't even run...'
Jared didn't have the choice of running, the entrance being blocked.
He got into a fighting stance, and concentrated on the goblin.
The goblin stabbed at him repeatedly.
Jared easily sidestepped each attack.
The spear made it hard to get close, Jared had yet to land a blow.
The goblin's spear glowed red for just a brief moment - Jared would never have noticed if he wasn't concentrating - then unleashed a flurry of spears three times faster than the rest.
The spears struck Jared repeatedly, he couldn't dodge them.
He dropped to a knee as pain coursed through his body. The spear was stuck in his shoulder. He yelled out in pain.
The goblin blinked at him for a second. Then, the goblin began to yank the spear out of Jared. It pulled as hard as it could.
Jared grabbed the spear just before it slid out and yanked the goblin closer.
As soon as the goblin was in range, Jared kicked its legs, knocking it down.
He proceeded to pummel it as hard as he could, like a wild beast. With each blow, he felt weaker, and each blow brought a swimming darkness in his vision.
The goblin stopped moving, and Jared could barely move. He was worried about the pool of blood beneath him.
'Taken down by a goblin... how pathetic.' Thought Jared.
He reached into his pack, and grabbed for a bottle at random.
'Hopefully this is the right potion...' He drank it quickly, and was glad to feel his wounds start disappearing, his strength returning.
Congratulations!You have leveled up!You have leveled up!
As he watched the notification, he still couldn't move, wishing he could pull the spear out. He'd have to wait a few minutes to figure out what a level up meant.