-Two Years Later
Ah... what a beautiful day.
Birds chirping, sun shining, a breeze just light enough to make the grass dance... yeah, the full package. Then again, I probably say that too often. Somewhere between irony and a coping mechanism.
Anyway…
The Ki Lord class? Less like a class, more like a do-it-yourself sandbox. A glorious, customizable mess. Sounds amazing, right? And it is… until you realize the System hands out skills like they're made of gold and I'm paying in bottle caps.
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[New active skill added to Advanced Class: Ki Lord]
–Ki Boost: Temporarily increases physical strength and reaction speed. Scales with Ki consumed.
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Ah yes, the quintessential anime-style power-up.
All I had to do was push Ki through every fiber of my body, non-stop, until the System finally went, "Ugh, fine. Skill unlocked."
It only took two hours after unlocking [Ki Burst]. The trick? Just saturate your nervous system with unstable spiritual energy. Totally safe.
The result? Five seconds of enhanced performance. Maybe ten. If I'm lucky.
It's not so much a buff as it is a last-minute Hail Mary. More "desperate sugar rush" than "combat breakthrough."
Still, sometimes five seconds is all it takes to dodge, strike, or survive.
Ki skills, I've noticed, like to work in short bursts. Probably because mixing life force and mana is like asking oil and water to high-five. The System clearly hates this combo.
So I adapted. I started isolating flows of Ki, focusing them on specific body parts. It hurt. A lot. But eventually...
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[New active skill added to Advanced Class: Ki Lord]
– Ki Body Enchantment: Enhance specific body parts with Ki. Effect scales with Ki used.
• Mind: Improves clarity, reaction time, and focus
• Arms: Boosts upper-body strength and attack speed
• Legs: Increases speed and jumping power
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Now this one? I'm proud of it. Modular, flexible, and kind of addictive.
The Mind buff? Feels like mainlining espresso while acing a math test. But of course, there's a downside: it devours Ki like a black hole. Keeping it active drains me faster than Dad's forge burns wood in winter.
And yeah, overuse? Muscle spasms, shortness of breath, and one memorable blackout. Worth it.
Then came my bright idea. The really dumb one.
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[New active skill added to Advanced Class: Ki Lord]
–Ki Steps: Instantly dash forward. Speed and distance scale with Ki used.
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In theory: a tactical movement ability. In practice: a full-body whiplash machine.
First time I tried it, I traveled about half a meter and crumpled like laundry. Physics is cruel.
Still, once I learn to handle the recoil, this skill could be a game changer.
And then came the big one. The masterpiece of pain.
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[New Active Skill Unlocked — Advanced Class: Ki Lord]
–Ki Barrier: Generates a protective shield that blocks incoming energy attacks. Strength and size scale with Ki used.
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This nearly broke me.
Creating a barrier meant learning how to shape Ki into a field, maintain its form, and keep it spinning evenly. It felt like trying to balance jelly during an earthquake.
But when it worked... oh, when it finally held...
It felt right. Like solving a puzzle you didn't even know was missing a piece.
Of course, there's still a major issue: mana.
I've gotten good at sensing it, controlling it internally. But after two full years, I still can't push it outside my body.
And I think I get why.
Magic here runs through circles. Literal ones. Runes, glyphs, geometric stuff. I've got the energy, just not the converter. It's like having electricity and no outlet.
And you'd think, in two whole years, one single mage would show up. One. Someone I could copy, watch, study...
Nope.
Apparently, I reincarnated into the only province where magic users are rarer than honest politicians.
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Outside of class grinding, village life was peaceful. Suspiciously so. Like the calm before the narrative storm.
I turned six.
Which means I now have the privilege of doing chores and being blamed for random things. Hooray for maturity.
People in town still think I'm just a weird kid who talks to his wooden fox. No one suspects I could probably down a grown man in one strike.
My parents noticed I was more active. Thankfully, they chalked it up to "youthful energy."
No idea I might already be Level 2. Let's keep it that way.
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-That Evening
"Lucy, dinner's ready! Go get your father!" Mom shouted from the kitchen.
"On it!"
I threw on my shoes and headed to the forge. That place always smelled like steel and sweat, like creation and effort.
Dad was there, naturally. Shirtless, sweaty, beer in hand. Gilo, the village chief, stood beside him, also with a beer.
Gilo's a character. Bald, round-bellied, and mustached. Basically a walking "medieval NPC."
When they saw me, Gilo smirked. "This one's yours?"
Dad groaned. "Why does everyone keep asking that?"
"Because he talks like a noble's brat, not a blacksmith's kid. Old blacksmiths used to spit iron, curse in half-words, and grumble in vowels, your boy sounds like he's drafting treaties or planning a diplomatic summit. And you? You're too young to have a kid this eloquent, admit it, Erob, you're getting old."
"I'm thirty-six."
"And I'm a bastard. What's your point?"
"Language," he added, pointing at me.
I tilted my head. "What does 'bastard' mean?"
Dad froze. Gilo cackled.
"Uh... grown-up talk."
"Got it. I'll ask Mom."
I turned to leave. Dad stopped me with a hand on my shoulder. "Lucy, let's keep that our secret, yeah?"
I grinned. "Sure, Dad."
Then gave him a hug.
We headed back. Gilo ruffled my hair on the way out. Mental note: next time, Ki Strike to the wrist.
Dinner was simple: rye bread, chicken stew, herbs. Tasted like home, it was home, really. As much as this world still felt foreign... this table, this meal, these people, this was, effectively, home.
I noticed Dad watching me again. Thoughtful.
"Lucien," he said. "Wanna learn the forge? Could be fun."
"He's six," Mom snapped. "Let him be a kid."
"I just want to spend time with him."
And just like that, they started again.
They argued about this sort of thing constantly… what I should do, what kind of future I should have. Mom thought I was too passive. Dad thought I needed direction. And they never really asked me.
So I raised a hand. Not loud. Just enough.
"Can I say something?"
That caught them off guard. For once, I wasn't just sitting quietly, letting them debate over me like I was some project. For them, it was strange that I wanted to get involved at all.
"I don't want to be a blacksmith. I don't even like the smell of iron."
Dad blinked. Something in his face shifted.
"I want to be..." I smiled. Just a little.
"...an adventurer."
And for a moment, just a moment, neither of them said a word.