I was told off by 'Mr Author' about how I couldn't continue my flamboyant tendencies when talking about Arthur. After all, he's a relatively serious idiot so it's best for me to be careful speaking instead of mindlessly ruining the tone of these chapters.
I blame Samuel for this!
How dare he be so aware of the 4th wall...! You know, his presence was like a bulldozer that decided to jump into the story without prior warning. Couldn't he wait until I narrated about Alex's livelihood? Hah...! Well, let's continue:
This chapter starts back before the Magic Prodigy and Sword Warrior met in their youth, in a little town called Sivel. Before Alex started his Hero's Journey to stop a Cult from creating chaos, Arthur was nothing more than just a infant swordsman.
As someone who never properly trained to become what he was destined to become at birth, it caused those around him to never take him seriously. The only person who remotely liked him was no one other than his older twin sister: Rebecca Rainglow.
"Little bro, you shouldn't act like this. People will think you have no aspirations in life." In the garden of their family home, a cute little girl wearing a pointy hat spoke affectionately to her little brother.
"Don't get near me! I'm not talented like you. I won't be 'special' like you are even if I do train real hard like everyone else...!" Her Little Bro retorted in anger while creating some distance between them.
Arthur always felt like she was embarrassing him with her overly affectionate attitude towards. The young boy sometimes wished for nothing more than for his twin sister to leave him alone...
"Don't he like that~ It's not like I chose to be born with this great Class~!" Rebecca consoled in a jovial manner while not even trying to hide her pride from having her Unique Class: Witch!
Out of the many people walking Gaia, only she would have this Class that allowed her to more intimately connect with nature and bring out the best of humanity's Racial Skill- Gaia Affinity.
"You're such a short, tiny, little whiner. What's so great about having a good Class?" She continued while teasing him about his height. They were only minutes apart in age, yet she was taller than him...!
"Stop messing with me! You wouldn't know what it's like to be less talented. Mom and Dad don't even pay attention to me... It's all because of you! If only you weren't a Magic Genius!" The little brother complained in a disrespectful tone of voice.
To him, there wasn't a point in trying his best to become a 'Warrior' when the people he wanted recognition from the most weren't even properly paying attention to him. All I want is for them to at least give a little praise instead of ignoring him.
This wasn't unexpected though... In a world where even the poorest person was at least able to afford food and luxuries if they tried hard enough, no one dreamed higher than they were destined to become. In a way, this entire world of Gaia could truthfully be considered to be the most perfect haven for Earthlings... one on a conceptual level.
People didn't need hide knowledge from each other since nature granted them wisdom, they didn't need to agonise about their future paths in life because their Classes decided it for them at birth... even their safety was better compared to Earth due to Spirit Essences. So why would anyone ever feel like they aren't getting enough here?
Were they being spoilt?
That said, for a hard-headed youth who only knew himself to be the inferior sibling, wouldn't it be natural for him to assume there was a lack of 'fairness' when Gaia assigned them Classes?
He was absolutely sure he wouldn't be able to become anything with his meagre talents...
"Arthur..." She once again moved closer to him before: "Stop being such a whiny brat!" She punched him so hard he did two cartwheels before hitting the floor. A gust of wind pushed him back.
Rebecca's face looked like this: (⋋_⋌)
Her eyes narrowed as she was much more of a violent meathead at times than her little brother.
Don't you dare suspect me of exaggerating this for comedic effect. Despite being the same age as him him: She was a lot smarter, temperamental, and too unreasonably powerful for a eight year old!
This incident was just before Arthur and Alex first met, or you could even say this incident was the catalyst for creating the circumstances that formed their eventual friendship. A truly big coincidence...!
Back to the main point: Arthur's violent older twin sister wasn't a reasonable girl... to put it mildly. She was similar to Arthur, but a lot more capable than him due to her Unique Class specialised in magic.
"Who are you calling 'brat'? You violent female gorilla!" Although Arthur may have been thrown to the ground in a very painful way, but his endurance and reaction time wasn't anything to scoff at.
The years of being treated this way made him easily position his body and throw off the physical impact of her blow in such a way that could be considered masterful 'punching bag' on Earth.
"Shut up! If you want to be famous, you have to study and train! Hard work betrays no one!"
"But-" I'm willing to bet he was about to say 'But dreams do'. Well, he would if he had a bit of wit...
"Shut it! No more of your whining! Now, show me the fruit of your efforts and demonstrate that move I taught you." Rebecca narrowed her eyes scarily in such a way that brought chills down the kid's spine. He didn't know why she was like this...
What crawled up her leg and bit her butt?
In order to not be beaten again, he kept his silence and properly did as he was told uselessly arguing to him. His backsword shaped Spirit Essence (which was exactly the size he needed for his age) appeared in his hand as he took a stance.
The day was nice and sunny, with the grass swaying peacefully under his feat as he sharpened his concentration to limits his senses could possibly perceive. Rebecca was happy after seeing such a focused expression but didn't let up as she waited to see the resulting strike. The 'Witchcraft' she taught him was finally taking effect!
She didn't rush him at this moment since she was well-aware that this particular move wasn't meant for actual combat. Instead, she was hoping he'd get more experienced in feeling out the external energies that could be harnessed via Gaia Affinity.
[Elemental Draw- Slashing Wind!]
Without warning, he started drawing his backsword from the materialised sheath he held slow and steadily. A matchless vigour that emanated from his body seemed to take in the flames around him as he drew his sword. Within a single moment, the Wind Ether in the atmosphere focused into his blade as he slashed the air in front of him at a turtle pace. It was only after he finished did he sheath his backsword again ceremoniously like a Samurai.
"Hah..." He exhaled outwards as the mental power he used up to strike was far greater than expected.
"You did a great job. Now, what have you learned from this strike?" She asked him inquisitively.
"Wind Ether is a pain to handle... It almost feels like it will leave me if I don't keep on telling the air what to do again and again." Arthur replied while rubbing the area near his eyes to stop the migraine he felt from having completed that 'Elemental Draw'.
Compared to 'Composite Magic' that utilise Spell Slots in order to bring out the maximum power the user is able to wield in an Attribute, those that were considered 'Skills' by all Classes only require technique to pull them off. There are conjurations coined as 'Magic Skills' due to them needing at least mystical theory to pull off but those moves aren't practiced by those without a magic Class.
"...Good enough. Next time we'll do Earth Ether again so you can get a better grasp on their differences and contrasting control methods. The best way to learn and understand the intricacies of Gaia Affinity is through experiencing it yourself.
You better not slack off. I want a better home! I know all about how you really don't like father's swordsmanship training, that's why I made this unique Skill for you in the first place. Now all you need to do is two sword strikes everyday before going back to bed." Rebecca accepted his vague explanation without inquiring about it any further.
She didn't even listen to what he had to say about the matter as she continued with a proud look:
"Now get some rest. I'll check up on your progress later. Unlike you, I myself have proper studies to do about the intricacies of Ether, since I'm smarter than you. You better not whine next time I see you again, or else you're going to get a punch filled with my overflowing love~!" His sister's tongue planted firmly on her cheek after threatening him.
A great emphasis was put on her right fist...
"Sis, please tell me something." Arthur resisted the urge to go to sleep in order to ask a question.
"Ask away~" The jovial Witch, who looked similar but more feminine than him, gave her attention.
"Will I ever become stronger than you?" He asked with eyes that seemed too piercing to only be a casual question. Since it had been so long since her brother showed even a hint of conviction deep within his eyes she unconsciously softened her tone. Where did the lazy little brother who always asked her for shortcuts go after all this time?
"If you are able to evolve your Class Skill of Sword Talent into Sword Mastery, then you'll definitely be of equal footing to me depending on the type of swordsmanship you fully mastered at that point.
There's even a chance your Common Class will change after you've finished mastering swordsmanship... into one of the many different types of 'Swordsmen' of Gaia." His sister left these words behind before leaving to go study at a Mage Academy that was in their neighbourhood. She really wanted him to become as strong as her.
That way, they can both leave the town called Sivel together and get a more luxurious home to live in.
After dragging his fatigued body to bed, Arthur contemplated the words his violent sister spoke as he was going to sleep. You could even say that the explanation the little Witch gave awakened a fire in his heart that not even fatigue could suppress...
A resolve to overcome the inferiority complex he felt and eventually gain recognition from their parents led him to optimistically dream about what to do next. He never wanted to be compared to her by them again and again in the future.
Although his twin sister's explanation was brief, he could make sense of her words due to the various rumours he heard as he was trying to find a way to overcome his Class without becoming a 'Defier'.
He would never want to become Classless...
The seriousness he had towards beating his sister fairly led his dream to be about countless ideas to quickly master swordsmanship before his family left for the capital of the nearest kingdom.
Normal families wouldn't bother moving to a capital where the housing fees were quite high, but his own closest relatives were considered worthy of being looked highly upon by Royalty due to his sister's Unique Class. There's even a chance she could marry into Royalty or high nobility like that of a Duke's Household if any of the rare 'Noble Dukes' of humanity saw her potential as a Witch.
Arthur wasn't interested in all these complicated topics though as he only desired to overcome Rebecca with his own personal strength, showing everyone that he deserves more attention than her!
What's the best way to train swordsmanship?
Those familiar common sense would tell him to go train at a certified Warrior Academy to train...
However, someone like Arthur, who was extreme romanticist, directly ignored the most normal solution and instead decided to focus on hunting Beasts in the Dark Forest to sharpen his skills. He didn't even take into account his current low mastery of swordsmanship while dreaming of unrealistic fantasies of slaying Goblins and Orcs.
When he woke up a few hours later, his eyes sparked with a naive glint as he packed his bags to go enter the Dark Forest alone. He only left a brief note which explained that he would be back later on top of his bed before going straight for the gate of the little town called Sivil. You could even say that this reckless and downright suicidal decision of his was what made him to be an Anomaly among men. Someone who broke the game using tenacity!
Perhaps you could call the younger Arthur an ignorant child who didn't know what he was in for after making such a decision. After all, he was a child of the age of eight. No one could blame such a young boy from being reckless out of passion.
However, that wasn't the case...
Once he snuck past the Gate Guard by pretending to be a 'short man' leaving the town and finally confronted a wondering Goblin from the boundless Dark Forest, his lack of experience quickly started to become less apparent as he made it past each encounter with the grit of a genuine fighter. The willpower of a true 'Warrior' awakened within him as he 'sharpened' himself just like Alex once did...
As the young warrior slaughtered whatever was in his path while taking appropriate rest stops in-between each of his encounters, a shadow reminiscent of a certain scholarly youth appeared hiding in the trees above. The newcomer's eyes watched the 'meathead' with interest. Though despite the curiosity that the new guy had, Arthur wasn't greeted by this 'barbarian' until after the shadowy silhouette saw him to be fatigued.
"What a crazy guy...!" Alex mumbled from afar as even he felt a chill down his spine from the gradual awakening of the young swordsman from a inexperienced kid to a full-fledged 'Sword Warrior'.
What interested him the most was that this Warrior seemed a have morals that differed from that of the high-schooler occupation he had in his past life... He couldn't understand why the child not far from his current age was such a reckless battle maniac despite his age... Was he trying to die or not? All Alex could was watch over him silently.
'Interesting...' He thought as he decided to secretly help the young meathead out for bit to protect him.
The young Arcanist felt like making a new buddy~