Vincin woke to a loud, incessant cracking and a distant scream. His addled mind couldn’t think. He found himself sitting up in bed, unable to breathe, unable to make sense of his situation. He called out to his mother, but nothing came back except weak, quiet sobbing. Crawling out of bed, he moved towards the door of his small room, his eyes stinging from the smoke gathering at the roof. His mind was on “Mama” when he reached the cramped living area of his family’s house. There was no one—nothing but a smoldering wicker chair and a pile of rubble where the rest of the house should be. Vincin registered none of this as he choked on a lungful of smoke and tears, stepping into the orange glow of the night.

Vincin screamed for his mother as he aimlessly wandered towards the town center, oblivious to the flames crawling over everything in sight. He could only focus on "Mama" and the unceasing crackle of his childhood home burning to the ground. He continued to cry out for his mother as he walked around the remains of his hometown. He tripped over a deeply singed log. Vincin screamed as the log began to reach for him with a weak groan and a withered breath before falling limp once more. His mind was shocked awake as Vincin ran, screamed, and sobbed. In his rush, he stumbled into the town square and collapsed onto the poorly paved gravel and sand. Vincin sat there on the ground, trying to wrap his head around it all when a large gust of wind knocked him flat in an instant. He stumbled back to his feet to find a mountain looming over him, its purple scales gleaming in the orange firelight, its shadow a presence of indomitable strength. Vincin was blasted back by another gust of wind as the mountain exhaled. He stared, horrified, as the creature began to speak.

Vincin woke up, breathing heavily. It had been three years since that night, since he was found by a patrol unit searching for survivors. After being brought back to a nearby town, he was taken in by an old farmhand who needed new workers.

Now thirteen, Vincin stood at 5'3" with short, sandy hair that was roughly cut above his ears and eyes. His dull brown eyes reflected a mix of determination and lingering sadness. His skin was tanned from three years of farm work, giving him a healthy, sun-kissed look. Though his muscles were still lanky, they were taut from the labor. Dressed in a plain white shirt and brown pants, Vincin looked every bit the hardworking young man he was becoming.

Vincin stood up from his bed, his mind still on the dream. He had been having it on and off for years. Taking a deep breath, he opened his stat screen.

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Name: Vincin Albernaz

Age: 13

Class: None

Specialization: None

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Stats - 46

Strength - 9

Constitution - 8

Dexterity - 7

Intelligence - 7

Wisdom - 7

Charisma - 8

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Skills

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Herbalism - level 1

Carpentry - level 1

Swordplay - level 1

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After three years of working on the farm, his strength had increased by 2, his constitution by 2, and his dexterity by 1. Through all the teaching he’d received, his intelligence, wisdom, and charisma had each increased by 1. It wasn’t bad for a few years of work. Vincin knew he’d get stronger as his body and mind continued to grow, but he wanted the chance to hone himself for something more.

Finishing up in his room, Vincin then headed to the kitchen, he saw Alden waiting there by the counter. The old man's graying hair shown from under his wide-brimmed hat, and his piercing blue eyes softened when he saw Vincin.

Alden was a rugged man. His skin dark and leathery from a life in the sun. His large frame was taught with muscle. Despite his age, he moved with strength and purpose, setting out breakfast on the table with practiced ease.

“Morning, lad,” Alden said as he finished laying out breakfast. “Eat up. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us today,” he added while sitting down.

Vincin nodded and took his seat at the table, quickly digging into the simple meal. As they ate, Alden started listing the tasks for the day. "We'll need to fix the fence by the north field and check on the livestock. The crops need watering too."

Vincin listened attentively, mentally preparing himself for the day's work. "Got it, Alden," he replied between bites.

Soon they headed out into the morning sun. Alden owned a large plot of land sprawling nearly a mile in all directions. It took them some time to reach the northern fields.

“Just over here lad” Alden said as they neared a broken portion of fence. Looking at the fence Vincin thought about what could have torn through the fence like this, “wolves? A bear?”. There seemed to be splintered wood from claw marks and bites all over the fence.

“Alden? What happened? Wasn’t it fine just yesterday?” Vincin asked.

“Aye it was, while I was doing my final walk of the farm I found a wolf stalking in the fields.” Alden replied. “It’s taken care of now but we better fix this before more get the same idea” Alden added.

Handing Vincin a hammer and nails Alden held up a new board for vin to nail in. They worked like this for a few hours fixing the fence and looking for any more breaches. After a while Alden said “Alright lad go get you some water and meet me in the barn.”

“Yes Alden.” Vincin replied as he headed towards the house.

After fetching water from the well, Vincin met Alden at the barn. As he walked through the barn doors, he saw Alden sitting next to a stall, scratching Bella, the chestnut mare. Bella was one of the four workhorses on the farm, but Vincin had grown particularly close to her.

Vincin walked in and gently placed his hand on Bella’s snout, letting out a small sigh. “She likes you, you know,” Alden said.

Vincin smiled slightly at that. “Sometimes I feel like she understands me better than anyone,” he replied.

“Animals have a way of doing that. They’re great listeners, and they don’t judge,” Alden said, looking at Vincin and Bella with a tinge of sadness in his eyes, remembering his old companion.

After a moment, Alden stood and left them together as he headed to finish feeding the livestock. “Make sure you feed her before you leave,” Alden said.

“Thank you, girl,” Vincin whispered to Bella before leaving the barn to meet Alden near the crop fields.

As Vincin approached the fields, he saw Alden already working on the crops. He went over to the nearby shed, grabbed a Mana Crystal, and continued to the far side of the field.

Magic had come a long way in the last twenty years, especially for farmers. There were now glyphs that could be powered by mana crystals to produce water. Alden had four of these glyphs across his crop fields. They worked by producing water that would flow through the canals dug all across the field. It greatly reduced the time spent watering crops and improved the efficiency of irrigation.

Vincin moved to the glyph at the far side of the field and inserted the mana crystal into the top of the stone carving. Within seconds, water began to pour from the glyph. He reached down, caught a handful of water, and drank it. The cool liquid was refreshing, and Vincin sighed slightly in contentment.

He waited around twenty minutes, allowing the glyph to fully irrigate the surrounding crops, before removing the crystal and moving to the next one. Alden was already working on his second glyph, and they’d be done before long.

As they headed back to the house, the sun was beginning to set. “It’s been a good day's work, Vin. Thank you. You’ve got the rest of the night to yourself. We’ll start again tomorrow,” Alden said as he continued towards the house in the distance.

Vincin headed in another direction, making his way back to the barn. He spent the next few hours with Bella, enjoying her calming presence. Eventually, he passed out in the stable beside her, finding comfort in her company.