Roel had a terrible nightmare.
In it, he was kidnapped by massive ogres, who first put him in a shudderingly cold refrigerator before frying him in a blisteringly hot pan.
Perhaps it was because Roel's skin was thicker than normal, such that the blisteringly hot pan didn't manage to thoroughly cook him, he was placed back into the refrigerator once more before being thrown into the hot pan yet again. This alternating freeze-fry treatment continued for two torturous days, inflicting such great suffering that Roel's consciousness had started fading near the end.
It was only much later, when a girl's unbearable weeping gradually grew louder and louder in his ears, finally penetrating his stupor, that Roel regained consciousness. He slowly opened his heavy eyelids and saw an ornately designed ceiling above him.
"This place is…"
"Big brother Roel! You're finally awake! Wuuuu—"
"Ali… cia?"
The young man struggled to turn his head, only to have a silver-haired girl pulling him in. Before he knew it, he was already in the embrace of a bawling Alicia. No matter how he tried to console her, she simply wouldn't stop crying.
Meanwhile, Anna began shouting loudly upon noticing that Roel had awoken.
"Young master is awake!"
"That's wonderful! I'll inform the old master right now!"
The servants quickly relayed the news, and before long, anxious footsteps rapidly approached outside before a figure came bursting through the door. It was Carter.
Roel was astonished to see his father acting in such an undignified manner for the very first time. However, Carter paid it no heed as he began examining Roel from head to toe worriedly.
"Roel, you're finally awake. Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?"
"I'm feeling fine, just a little tired."
"That's good, that's good."
Carter heaved a deep sigh as he nodded in relief.
While comforting the crying Alicia, Roel asked his father what was going on, only to be shocked to learn that he had actually slept for three whole days!
Or to be more accurate, he had been ill for three days now.
It was on that night three days ago that Anna first noticed Roel lying unconscious beside a chair. Roel was in a delirious state then, and his body was burning up. The flustered Anna immediately ran off to inform Carter of the matter.
Carter was in the midst of trying out his new clothes when he heard from the panicky Anna. Clothes were immediately tossed aside as he dashed straight over. Immediately, Carter moved his son over to the bed before instructing the servants to lower his temperature so as to prevent his body from overheating.
It was around this time that someone noticed the serum containers and glass cup used to mix the serums together on Roel's table.
Carter inspected the remaining liquid droplets inside the serum containers and noticed that they contained magic power inside them. The first thought that came to his mind was that someone had attempted to assassinate his son, so he immediately locked down the mansion and began casting spells to trace the culprit.
"There's no need to investigate the matter. I drank the serums of my own accord!"
Noticing that the matter was beginning to blow out of proportion, Roel quickly spoke up and intervened. He told Carter that he found some medicine inside the vault labeled to be 'body enhancing'. Out of a moment of recklessness to improve his constitution, he ended up drinking it.
The realization that no one was out for Roel's life made everyone in the room heave a sigh of relief, but Roel still had to go through a long lecture from Carter for his reckless behavior.
"How can you just consume the items inside the vault so recklessly? Do you even know how long the serums have been there for? It could have already expired by now! You should be glad that you're still alive right now after drinking such stuff!"
"I was wrong, father. I won't do it again…"
Roel didn't expect the two serums described to be a 'perfect fit' to turn out like that too, so he apologized earnestly.
Seeing how remorseful Roel was, Carter decided to let this matter go. He reminded Roel once more to never act so recklessly again before finally leaving the room.
After finally resolving Carter's side, Roel turned his attention to comforting the still weeping Alicia.
"Big brother Roel, I understand how you feel, but you mustn't do this ever again! If our house ever needs the power of a transcendent, even if what I am able to do might amount to very little, you should at least rely on me a little!"
Alicia spoke with a tearstained face. However, those words from Alicia made Roel's body stiffen a little.
No no no, you're looking down on yourself way too much. If that power of yours is considered as weak, there would be nothing in this world that can be considered strong anymore!
Putting his mental retorts aside, Roel promised Alicia that he wouldn't do anything reckless in the future anymore, and the little silver-haired girl finally managed to crack a faint smile. The two of them continued hugging for a while longer before finally separating.
The unintended illness had caused a huge panic in the Ascart House, but to be honest, Roel had a hard time being too upset by how things turned out. This incident showed him that the effort he had been putting in over the last month hadn't been in vain.
There wasn't anything different about Carter, since he was known to be a doting father anyway, but Alicia's attitude was truly different from how it was in the game's storyline. Had it been the original Roel, Alicia would have politely enquired about his condition while feeling nothing inside… At the very least, she wouldn't have soaked his clothes in tears.
While he felt bad for worrying them, knowing that someone cared so much for him made him feel warm on the inside.
"Young master, you have just recovered from your illness. You should change your clothes."
"Very well."
Roel patted his chest as he took off his soaked clothes and passed them over to Anna.
These servants of the Ascart House were also treating him differently from before as well. Had it been in the past, they might have been fidgeting around out of worry that they would lose their jobs, but they definitely wouldn't have been so concerned about him.
Kindness does reap kindness. At least the Ascart House isn't as unfeeling as it used to be.
As Roel's thoughts wandered, he began to take a closer inspection of his body. He soon noticed another change of a very different sort.
He didn't feel as weak as a patient who had just suffered three days of high fever should. Closing his eyes and clenching his fists tightly, he could clearly sense that his body was much stronger than before.
Considering how much he had forked out for the serum, he expected at least this much. The knowledge that he hadn't spent his money in vain filled him with relief.
Such thoughts in mind, Roel opened the System's User Interface, and there was indeed a difference in his status.
[Name: Roel Ascart
Gender: Male
Age: 9
Bloodline: Iron
Epithet: -
Tier: F+ (Magician Apprentice)
Fundamental Spells: Minor Heatwave, Phantom Hands]
Just by drinking two bottles of serum, his tier had already increased from F- to F+. The (Defective) tag that was previously on his Phantom Hands had disappeared too.
On top of that, he could sense that he hadn't fully assimilated the energy inside the serums. As long as he trained hard, he should be able to raise his tier up to E soon. That would correspond to Origin Level 6, the strength of a trained militia soldier.
It might just be a single tier, but it made a huge difference.
The strength of a trained militia member was far greater than that of an ordinary civilian. They possessed the strength to curb even lions and tigers with ease, though mana-mutated demon beasts might still pose a bit of trouble.
During peacetime, militia soldiers were tasked with the responsibility of ensuring security and order on the streets, but as soon as a crisis struck, they would come under the military. With their greater numbers, they would form the bulk of the army, standing steadfast to repel aggressors.
"I guess I've finally managed to take a small step forward?"
He was feeling a little agitated by how his efforts were paying off. He might not be a natural-born talent like Alicia and Nora, but he was still advancing at his own pace. A step at a time, he would accrue power and eventually change the tragic fate that was awaiting him!
"I shall grow stronger, pluck out all my death flags, and live a peaceful life"