Nero had arrived in a white space filled with endless mist and a sky with no boundaries, before his eyes was a region of doors that stood tall amongst all things. There were seven doors in total, each wrapped by sturdy chains with unique markings. At this very moment, Adult Nero stood in silence a few meters distance before him, gazing at the various doors with a cold, but a complicated expression on his face.
Nero looked at the callus version of himself for a while before he spoke, "Is this... my mind?"
Adult Nero remained indifferent as he replied, "Correct, it is the space within your mind known as the Core Consciousness. While you wouldn't be able to reach here at your current level, I can bring you here at will..."
Nero looked around at the doors with strange markings, but he felt his eyes hurt if he stared at them for long. A series of images flashed around them, each of a strange unknown picture that he couldn't understand.
As if he couldn't withstand them, Nero clenched his teeth and looked away, but as he did this, he realized there was one friendly door. Looking towards it, he saw that it was the first door that had only a single glowing rune on its surface.
He asked, "What are these doors? Why do I feel attracted to only one of them?"
Adult Nero made a faint smile as he answered, "They are the door of our memories, each constrained and distilled. While I've gotten rid of the unnecessary bits, what remains here are our major combat techniques used over the past 16 years of venturing the World of Promise. Naturally, you will only be given access to the first door, as it is linked to your current stage as a Novice Rank Digitizer."
"The doors of my memories... it seems that you, no... we've accomplished a lot, were we the strongest?" Nero said with a look of fascination on his eyes; he wondered just how powerful the callus version of himself had been.
Adult Nero chuckled at those words as he replied, "That we did, but sadly, we were far still from the peak, and though we were strong, it wasn't enough. Even with power, a slight moment of careless is enough for you to suffer death."
As Adult Nero spoke to here, his body emanated a dense amount of killing intent, but it soon faded as he reigned in on his emotions.
Nero was shocked when he heard that they weren't the strongest, he was a bit curious, but he didn't ask anything on the topic anymore. He knew who killed him; it was the only memory that Adult Nero had imprinted in his mind clearly, so he didn't need to ask what Nero called, pointless questions.
Adult Nero withdrew his distracting thoughts and turned to face Nero as he spoke, "This is where your training begins!"
The instant Nero said this, he waved his hand, causing the first door with a single rune to break its chains and open it with a loud bang. Instantly, a bright light shrouded the space before fading as what was behind it was a sea of floating manuals.
Nero seeing this sight, was shocked, Adult Nero enjoyed his current expression as he spoke, "What you lack right now is a foundation, as unlike those children from the major families and societies from the Digitizers Union. You don't have any; you have no talents, no gifts, no knowledge of actual combat, nothing. The skills here are meant to guide and enlighten your future path, but as your brain has yet to develop to the standard of my old one, you won't be able to accept everything all at once. Let's start by teaching you these... they will aid you in defeating the Tyrant Slime."
As Adult Nero said this, he pointed his finger towards Nero as three manuals flew out of the open door. Soon, the door had closed, returning the scene to its normal state.
At this time, the three manuals hovered before Nero, as if waiting on him to grab them. Nero looked at them carefully before he reached his hand outwards and took one of them, the instant he did this a series of knowledge exploded within his mind.
'The first-way of practice is the foundation of the body, for it is only with a solid body, can one achieve mastery of the myriad things. The sturdiness to block attacks, the balance to achieve harmony, and the flexibility needed to overcome one's foes by performing complex combat techniques.'
Following those words that rang through his mind, a sea of training techniques for the body rain through Nero's head, showing him all kinds of methods, eventually his head started to sweat before the transference ended.
[New Passive Technique learned, Foundation Body Refinement!]
Nero felt strange, as he opened his eyes and spoke, "This... it feels as if I'd known these things all my life, how could this be possible?"
Adult Nero looked at him and smiled as he spoke, "It's basic knowledge transference, nothing complex, this is the same way you'll learn combat skills in the future. Now that you've learned the Foundation Body Refinement Manual, quickly learn the others so we can begin your training."
Nero nodded at those words; he didn't continue to waste time and grab both remaining books with his two arms. Instantly, a sharp pain swept across his head, showing various experiences before he learned the skills, followed by two notifications.
[New Passive Technique learned, Foundation Weapon Control!]
[New Combat Technique learned, Foundation Footwork!]
Nero sensing his newfound knowledge felt ecstatic; he was already a little scholar and loved to learn new things. If not, he wouldn't have gotten a scholarship from his extremely poor standing to a fairly top-notch high school.
After calming down, Nero saw that Adult Nero was still standing, looking a bit dazed. He decided to ask a question that had been on his mind, "Hey, about mother... is she...?"
'GET OUT AND GET TRAINING!" Adult Nero yelled fiercely, causing the space to warp around Nero, sending him out of his Core Consciousness.
Only after Nero vanished, did Adult Nero realized what happened, he grabbed his forehead and gripped his fists while cursing, "Shit, I still haven't outgrown it, damn..."
Outside of his mind, Nero was currently standing like a fool in the field, looking like one of those people who lost hope in the eyes of all who walked past him.
Some of them couldn't help but show looks of pity, as they whispered, "Hey, look at that guy, it looks like he's given up since he can't beat the Beginner Quest. Poor guy, I wonder which society he's from, there probably going to throw him out."
"No idea, no point thinking it over," Another person said as they left the area.
"Hehe, such a weak human," A furry eared human girl said, who looked no older than 14 years, mocking Nero as she passed by him.
At this time, Nero had only just exited his mind, being expelled by Adult Nero. His eyes grew clear as he gritted his teeth and cursed inwardly, 'Such a bastard, if he didn't want to talk about mom, he didn't need to act like that...'
Nero said as if he couldn't understand his behavior, but what he didn't realize was that he was the same himself. Soon, he cleared his distracting thoughts and inspected himself by ushering softly, 'Check Status.'
[Name: Nero Valstine]
[Title - None]
[Level 1 | Class: None]
[Next Level EXP: 55]
[Current EXP: 0]
[Influence: None | Prestige: None]
[Health 1/100]
[Magic Power 100/100]
[Combat Power: 30(+4) stones]
[Body Tenacity: 10(+4)]
[Spiritual Awareness 10]
[Speed 50(+1) km/h]:
[Genetic Trait:]
[Grade??? Digitize Bit - Inheritance: locked (Level 10)]
[Skills:]
[Passive techniques:]
Low-grade Skill:
[Foundation Body Refinement: Stage 1 (0/50) | 3 Stages ]
[Description: This is a body art that can increase the body's capabilities and allowing one to have further strength, flexibility, and better fitness.]
[Effects: Technique is limited to 3 Stages, and each stage can increase Combat Power and Body Tenacity by a total of +5.]
---
[Foundation Weapon Control - Stage 1 (0/50) | 3 Stages ]
[Description: This is an ability to control any weapons, the more one practices this style, the more adept and versatile they will become at the weapons practiced.]
[Effects:]
[Technique is limited to 3 Stages, and each stage can increase the Combat Power used by any weapon +5 | Current Stat Boost (0/5)]
---
[Combat techniques:]
Low-grade Skill:
[Foundation Footwork - Stage 1 (0/30) | 3 Stages ]
[Description: This is a speed-boosting art that can increase speed allowing graceful movement and superior reaction capabilities. Each stage can grant the user and increase of 3km/h in speed.]
[Effects: MP Consumption: 20]
[User can increase speed by 3km/h]
[Requirement: Use must at least have Stage 1 fitness.]
---
[Items:]
[???Special Gift - Item locked (Level10)]
[Simple Novice Stick: Combat Force +4, Indestructible]
[Simple Novice Robe: +4 Body Tenacity, Indestructible]
[Simple Wooden Sandals: +1 km/h, Indestructible]
....
Nero was pleased by his changes; he felt as if right now, with a bit of training he could take on the world and literally wanted to lift his head up and roar.
However, he didn't as he only smiled and thought, 'Perfect, now I can start my training, I refuse to believe I won't be able to beat that bastard after I master these skills.'
When Nero said this, he glared at the innocent slime resting on the rock, the time was still morning, but it was approaching noon. He prepared to take a step forward, but right at this time, Nero felt a severe pain coming from his stomach, causing him to widen his eyes in alarm.
Blarg! Nero spat out a gush of blood, as his arms trembled when he asked himself, 'Who? What? How am I this... injured? When did I take a hit to my stomach?'
When Nero said this, only now did he see his HP bar at 1 point, he glared at the Tyrant Slime as his consciousness seemed as if it was about to slip away as he cursed once more, "Bastard, you... dare to attack me... even in... my... sleep..."
Soon, Nero fell on the ground, looking like an actor doing a one-person play to everyone else who was passing by. At this time, a dark brown-skinned youth in beginner martial robes with his hair sporting locks sat... or rather, laid silently in the fields as if he was sleeping with a strand of grass in his mouth.
He seemed like a free spirit, as if he didn't care about anything in the world, his face slim, body well-toned, with a straight nose, long forehead, and broad lips. Suddenly, he turned and looked at the fallen Nero and spoke with flashing eyes, "Oh, such a curious fellow..."