The Redwood Basin was illuminated by the soft sunlight that fell through the white clouds like golden spears.
Five months had passed from Rion's fateful reincarnation, and he had already begun to understand most of the words spoken by the tribe members. Even he was surprised at his speed of learning and understanding their language, which he concluded to be a gain of the system.
But whether he was right or not could only be known with the passage of time.
He had done many important things in these past five months that he believed he should be awarded for, including: blabbering randomly, eating the paste-like meal, sucking milk, pooping and lastly, the most important—gawking at whatever he found interesting... he still remembered how a kid had even called him weird.
'That snorty kid doesn't know how it feels to be alive after being chained to a hospital bed for fifteen years. Hmph!' He thought as he stared at the two mountain peaks before him.
He was in Haden's arms at the moment, and his father had decided to show him the peak.
'He is trying to look cool, isn't he?' He thought while looking at Haden, who held him in his left hand as he gripped his spear in his right hand. His right leg was on a short rock while his long, raven black hair moved wildly with the wind. However, he was unable to see the look of sadness that covered his father's face.
His sharp red eyes were locked in the north as he reminisced about things better left unsaid.
Suddenly, Haden heaved a sigh and looked away as he mumbled, "Let's go."
"Baa?" Rion spoke as he wiggled slightly. Haden lowered his head and looked at him with a wry smile as he mumbled while pinching his small nose, "I wonder when kids begin to speak... I can't wait to hear you call me papa and—" his tone turned dark, "Your mother would never find out that I took you with me so you say papa first instead of mama."
Rion's eyes widened slightly, 'How vicious... What happened to your warrior's creed?!' He thought while a similarly vicious plan was being formed in his brain, 'Hehe!'
He looked at Haden with an expression between smugness and pity. Suddenly, his world shifted and he found himself standing before a hut with arrowheads and arrows fletching dangling to the roof hide.
'What the fuck was that?!' He cursed in his head as he raised his head to look around.
As he looked to the west, he vaguely saw the place where they were before.
He turned towards Haden with trembling eyes as he concluded by using his sacred knowledge, 'He just teleported, didn't he? ...Ah! Of course he did! He is a fucking dragonslayer.'
His eyes turned warm, 'I am proud of you, Father.'
Haden's face suddenly turned pale as he examined Rion's small figure. After making sure that he was fine, he heaved a relieved sigh and muttered, "It's good that I had covered you with my aura while moving."
'Aura? The thing you've been farming before my birth?' Rion thought as he unknowingly let out a chuckle. At the same time, he thought deeply about Haden's words.
'Aura, huh, if I remember correctly, isn't it something like the fusion of will and mana? But, it may even be different... I can't just go by what I've read in those novels just because of reincarnation, the system, superhuman warriors, dragons... Maybe I can...'
The door of the hut opened, and a man with a trained body, short blue hair and green eyes stood behind it. He also wore the same attire as Haden, but his necklace had a fang with blue cracks.
Haden smiled faintly and called out, "Jura."
"Haden and... Rion?" Jura spoke with a smile similar to Haden's, as he stepped aside and gestured for them to enter, "Come in."
Rion was so deep in his thoughts that he had failed to see the green arrow that floated within Jura's hut.
Jura's hut had various bows and quivers full of arrows hanging on the walls. The arrowheads were dark blue, similar to the spearhead of Haden's spear.
'Is this some kind of magical stone—' he thought, but before he could conclude anything, a chime rang in his head and a blue screen flickered before him.
[Ding!]
[Sign-In at the
[Yes / No]
He stared at the screen with a single thought, 'How did I not see the arrow?'
'Yes.'
[You have obtained an active skill (Guided Hand)!]
[Ding!]
[Lucky spin is in effect!]
[Congratulations, you have obtained X10 Rewards!]
[You have obtained an active skill (Heaven's Vector)!]
His eyes gleamed in amazement as he let out a chuckle. Haden and Jura turned towards him upon hearing that, and Jura commented with a smile.
"So... are you still scared?"
Haden looked into Rion's ocean-like blue eyes and answered with a shake of his head, "I am not scared of being a father, what I am scared of is failing at being a true father... You do know what the knights of Leonara say, right?"
Jura's lips pressed into a thin line as he leaned forward in his chair and answered, "I do... they say a child is their parents' weak spot. That is the reason why many of them don't take wives and don't have any children."
Haden stared at Rion as Jura continued with a raised finger, "but..." he pressed his finger at Haden's chest, "none of them have slain a dragon either... so I don't think we can use them as an example for you."
Haden didn't reply and stared at the necklace that hung at Jura's neck for a few moments before standing, "It's time for us to leave, otherwise Lara would be mad."
Jura also stood up and patted his shoulder. Haden walked out of the hut, and Rion's world shifted once more.
He now stood before his home. Haden pulled the door and stepped inside. Lara sat at the far end as she prepared their meal.
Seeing both of them enter, she stood up and walked towards Haden while raising her hands to hold Rion.
He handed Rion to her. She glanced at Haden's solemn expression and shifted her gaze towards Rion, "My baby, did something happen? Why is your father being wishy-washy again?"
"I am not being—" Haden said, but Rion cut him off with a single word.
"Mama!"