MY stats were pretty high by the time I turned two. My magic and skills were high enough to be used in actual combat, so I waited until my parents were gone to sneak out of the house and test my power.
I’d learned the Scan skill, which detected creatures with mana within its area of effect and even reported their mana levels. Mana wasn’t everything, but generally, the more mana something had, the stronger it was.
In the forest, I found a Wild Boar monster. As it rushed toward me, I calmly launched a Fireball at it. A blazing sphere spanning eight inches across crashed into the Wild Boar and exploded, engulfing the monster’s body until nothing remained. Well, that was slightly anticlimactic, but it just shows how high-spec I was.
I chose a beast-type monster as my first prey because I’d feel less guilt killing that than a humanoid creature. Plus, handling the corpse in my current body would’ve been difficult, so I used Fireball to reduce it to ashes. Fireball was a tier-three area of effect spell. Spells varied widely and ranged up to tier ten simply because the creators reused the system of an axed RPG game. However, the highest you ever achieved in the game was tier four.
Darius taught me that monsters defeated in dungeons left behind nothing more than magic crystals, but monsters killed out in the wild left behind bodies like a normal animal would. It turned out he was right; maybe I should test out monsters in a dungeon soon.
After that, I occasionally slipped out of the house to test my training progress. My body’s growth wasn’t keeping up with swordplay training initially, but I learned the theory by training in my mind with combat scenarios. I advanced quickly once I grew more since I’d already learned the theory.
There were no particular struggles with learning magic. I increased my mana capacity by manipulating it, then learned every spell I came across. I had a general grasp of tier-five spells by the time I turned five.
Tier four is the highest a character can use in Love Academy, so I guess I was already stronger than what was possible in the game. I wasn’t sure since my only points of comparison were my parents; they could easily use tier-five spells.
It seemed they approved of my development, as they hired private tutors for sword and magic training. From a pure stats perspective, my parents were still plenty strong to teach me, but they were the chief minister and chief lady, making them busy enough that there were time constraints on what they could teach.
“Darius, I knew you’d become an obsessed parent if you ever had kids, but I didn’t think you’d get this bad.” The man speaking was in his late twenties, good-looking and ruggedly masculine, and had an exasperated expression on his bearded face. Even through his clothes, you could tell his muscles were worked until they were as strong as steel.
“And you’re insisting your child is a genius? That’s rich. Don’t you think you’re insulting us by telling us to be his private tutors?” The woman was in her mid-twenties, a mystical beauty with jet-black hair and eyes. She wore what looked to be an expensive red robe, making her seem to be a magic user.
“Don’t be like that, Grey, Selena,” replied my father, Darius. “But, I will admit to being obsessed with my son.”
“I am also aware that I am obsessed with my son, but it’s true. He is a genius,” chimed in my mother, Rhea.
My parents were also highly specced in the appearance department; they weren’t any worse than the people in front of us now.
“Even you, Rhea?” questioned Selena. “Well…if you insist. I suppose I could spend one day with two obsessed parents who happen to be old friends. I do feel bad for you, Darius, with how much time your stuffy job as chief minister takes up. And you must be sick of all the social calls you must make, Rhea.”
“Yeah, no point inviting you two out adventuring like old times now that you’ve got a kid,” commented Grey. “Guess I could at least listen to you brag about the sprout for a bit.”
Huh, so they’d known each other for a long time. But more interestingly, my parents had been adventurers. I didn’t know that. Maybe I should ask more about that later.
“Hmm. Interesting words coming from you two, but I wonder if you’ll be singing the same tune once Arius shows you what he’s capable of,” countered Rhea. “Arius, show them a spell.”
“Yes, Mother.” I cast a spell that used electrical discharge to create an orb of light.
“Impossible…” breathed Selena. “That’s the tier-five combined-elemental spell Lightning Sphere! And silently cast… Rhea, you didn’t cast that, did you?”
“Selena, I know you can tell I didn’t.” Rhea smiled with pride; she really was obsessed.
Was silent casting all that uncommon? My parents cast spells using silent incantations. I thought it was normal to be able to do it that way from the beginning.
“Arius, next is swordplay,” continued Darius.
“Yes, Father.” I dispersed the Lightning Sphere and drew my child’s sword. I was still young, but using mana to train stimulated my growth. I was just under four feet tall and had enough muscle to swing a sword like anyone else, even if it was only a child’s sword.
I cast a series of spells—tier-one Strengthen and tier-three Fly and Haste—to make up for the difference in physical strength and reach for my opponent.
“Looks like you’re ready. Come at me, then, Arius.” Grey taunted with a fearless smile.
“Thank you, I will.” I activated the one-handed sword skill Flashing Blade and instantly closed the distance between us, aiming for Grey’s feet. It was hardest to avoid an attack to the feet, and my enhanced power and speed were comparable to an adult’s strength.
But Grey easily blocked my attack and flung me away. “Huh, not too bad. Your aim’s pretty good, too, but try not coming straight at me like an idiot.”
I quickly flew around, repeatedly using non-direct movements to attack him, testing every skill I had. Regardless, Grey blocked them all easily, and the match ended with me pressed against the floor.
“Grey! What are you doing? Your opponent is a child!” cried Rhea. She cast Lightning Sphere in her rage, resulting in something several times larger than the one I produced. Electricity cracked out from it with terrifying force. A direct hit from that would be instant death.
“Calm down, Rhea!” shouted Grey. “I haven’t hurt the boy. Seriously though, you’re only five years old, kid? Think I might like you.” He had a huge grin as he held his hand out to me. “And Rhea, Darius, sorry for making fun of you earlier. I accept. I’ll be Arius’s tutor.”
“I will, as well,” concurred Selena. “Arius, I’m sorry for not believing what you are capable of. As an apology, I shall teach you every skill I know.”
And so, Grey and Selena became my private tutors. It wasn’t until later that I learned they were two of the most powerful adventurers in the world.
Stats
Arius Gilberto (Age 5)
Level: 25
HP: 255
MP: 455
STR: 85
DEF: 82
INT: 118
RES: 98
DEX: 85
AGI: 82