"Hah! I like it!" Father exclaimed with amusement. "Why not? That is a great question!"
"Mother, how did Kaiser's studies go?" Mother asked Grandmother.
The indifferent, white-haired beauty hesitated before speaking. "Th– The studies? Oh, they went well! Kaiser is a very talented young man. He went through the main study material in a day and I taught him how to form his mana."
Mother and Father looked at me with surprise.
"You went through the study material in one day?" Father asked. "Wonderful! I knew my son was a talented genius!"
I awkwardly chuckled. "I was very interested in the subjects. The Mana Realm is an amazing place."
"That's great, Kaiser!" Mother exclaimed. She and Father exchanged a look and they both nodded at each other.
They then turned to me with serious expressions and Father cleared his throat. "Son, what do you think about going to school? My mother isn't pleased easily, so if she says you did good, then it means you have what it takes."
'More school? I don't know…'
"I can't say I'm not interested. Which school will I be going to?" I asked.
"There's only one school that's worthy of the Raijin family, and that's the Pantheon Academy!" Father exclaimed. "I know you are hesitant because you just arrived and you don't know much about the world yet. But this is an opportunity to meet new people and learn more about the Mana Realm and Mana Arts!"
I lowered my head and looked at my hands in thought.
'Isn't this what I'm here for? To have fun and grow stronger? I can't think of any other place as fitting as Pantheon.'
I raised my gaze and met my Mother and Father's eyes. "I'll go."
Both my parent's eyes brightened in happiness.
"Good choice, Son. You won't regret this," Father said. "Phiona."
"Yes, Father?" Phiona responded.
"You and Kaiser will travel together to Pantheon when the school year starts after this summer."
"Of course, Father. I'd be glad to."
"Kaiser."
"Yes, Father?"
"You have one month to train and grow stronger before departing. I can get you a spot among the 5000 applicants from the Silvercrest Kingdom, but it's up to you to pass the entrance exam."
I nodded and clenched my fist. "I won't fail you, Father!"
"Good. I am expecting great things! Our Raijin blood flows through you. You must prevail on top of the world!" He exclaimed. "I can't wait to see what you accomplish, Son!"
'Father sure is excited.'
…
After the family talked some more about my training before the start of school, I headed back to my room.
"Haaa. One month until I leave for the academy. Father and Grandmother agreed on her training me for another week. I don't mind, but I know Phiona was close to telling them what happened."
I lay on my bed and looked out the window. "After my training is done with Grandmother, she is going to take me to the Zone of the Silvercrest Empire for the rest of the month."
I looked down at the bottom right corner of my vision. There was a large 21, indicating my amount of skill points.
"Emy, show me my stats."
[Yes, sir.]
…
Name: Kaiser Raijin
Level: 9
XP: 5045 / 25000
Skill Points: 21
Status:
Health: 100%
Stamina: 100%
Mana: 100%
{Skill Trees}
…
'I guess getting beat up for multiple days while you are starving gets a lot of XP.'
"What's available for me to upgrade?"
[With 21 skill points, you can upgrade anything in Body and Mind. You can also go through knowledge impartment or unlock -Expel-. Any option is viable at this point.]
"Hmm… I don't think I'll get any more XP for improving my strength or stamina now. I've hit the upper limits of them without upgrading. And if I upgrade them, I can finally unlock the Fight Technique Skill Trees."
[If you upgrade -Strength- and -Stamina- to tier one, that still leaves you with 19 skill points. That would be enough to also unlock -Expel- and leave you with 9 points, which is enough for a Fight Technique.]
"You're right. I think that's the best route for now. Go ahead and start."
[Commencing upgrade of -Strength- at the cost of one skill point.]
Like with Agility, I could feel my muscles tearing and repairing themselves stronger than before and increasing in size as well. The pain was almost as bad as Endurance, but after my bout with Grandmother, I barely winced.
After the transformation was over, I looked at myself through the mirror in my room. All I saw was a boy with muscles too big for his body. The proportions were messed up, leaving me looking like I was on steroids.
"Emy, can you change it to more of a lean muscle?" I asked. "This is completely fucked."
[Transforming muscles to a 'lean' body type.]
The hideous bulk of my body shrunk down and my muscles condensed. When it was over, I couldn't help but gape in shock.
"Not only do I have the godly genes of the Raijin Family. But I have the perfect body now too?! This is overkill!"
I put my shirt back on that I had taken off to observe the Strength upgrade.
"Alright, you can start the Stamina upgrade."
[Commencing upgrade of -Stamina- to tier one at the cost of one skill point.]
The organs in my chest and abdomen began to shift and change shape underneath my skin, creating a cringy feeling.
This time, my breathing became sharper, allowing me to take in more air at once. As I focused on my stomach, I noticed a reconfiguration of its area, with the organs changing shape and reconfiguring themselves.
[Stamina is effective by increasing the amount of oxygen you can get from the atmosphere and the amount of energy you can reap from food. It also changes the organs' placement and shape to be more efficient and quick. Your heart also underwent improvement by changing shape and with Strength upgraded as well was able to become more efficient and faster to deliver oxygen and nutrients around the body.]
"Wow, is Stamina the cherry on top of the upgrades, or what?"
[There are many passive effects on the brain and other parts of your body when having all Body upgrades unlocked. Since you can deliver more oxygen and nutrients to the brain, your thinking speed and reflexes have improved.]
"If it wasn't already obvious, I think this system is pretty broken," I said with a grin on my face. "Alright, let's see what Expel can do."
[Commencing upgrade of -Expel- at the cost of 10 skill points.]
The mana around my heart and brain constricted, making me wince.
Everywhere around my head hurt and burned, making my eyes grow hazy and unclear. Soon, my vision returned and the excited mana particles calmed down, returning to just hovering around my heart and brain.
"Cool, this is a lot different than what Grandmother showed me. She must have dumbed it down for me again."
I raised my hand and a bright, golden blade emerged from my palm. It slowly rose up and once the hilt was out I grabbed it with my other hand.
Once the mana interacted with my skin, a bright glint shone from wherever it touched. The blade was a thin throwing knife with a ring at the bottom of the hilt.
"I can see why Grandmother taught me the string technique first. But with simple things, just infusing your mana with the intent of what you want will keep it sturdy enough for a while before it runs out of energy."
As I twirled the blade on my finger, a fluctuating hum rang out from the mana. Then, I fused it with intent before throwing it at the wall. As it struck the wall, the mana split into a million pieces, and like a flock of birds, they all flew back to me in a stream and reformed back as a knife in my hand.
"Yeah, this is officially the best reincarnation ever."
[I'm glad you like it here, master.]
"I'm very grateful to have you along for the journey, Emy. I don't know what I'd do without you."
[Thank you for the kind words, sir.]
I sat on my bed and crossed my legs in a meditating position. "Let's see what the Fight Technique Skill Trees are all about."
[On it.]
…
Fight Techniques Skill Trees:
{Stick Skill Trees}
{Staff Skill Trees}
{Dagger Skill Trees}
{Club Skill Trees}
{Ax Skill Trees}
{Hammer Skill Trees}
{Sword Skill Trees}
{Spear Skill Trees}
{Scythe Skill Trees}
{Halberd Skill Trees}
{Lance Skill Trees}
{Bow Skill Trees}
{Slingshot Skill Trees}
{Yo-Yo Skill Trees}
{Javelin Skill Trees}
{Harpoon Skill Trees}
{Firearms Skill Trees}
{Martial Art Skill Trees}
…
"Stick Skill Trees? And Yo-Yo, too? There sure are some unique weapons on here."
I scrolled through the different skill trees, thinking about what I should choose.
"Hmm… What to pick, what to pick. I don't have a preference for what weapon I use. A sword is a little too basic for me. Daggers are too evil. Firearms… Do those exist here? Maybe I'll just learn some martial arts for now. Can't go wrong with those."
…
Martial Art Skill Trees:
{Power Puncher}
{Swift Striker}
{Agile Acrobat}
{High Kicker}
{Elbow and Knee Specialist}
{Submissions Expert}
{Spin Strike Artist}
{Defensive Counter-Striker}
{Grappling Specialist}
{Unpredictable Trickster}
{???}
{???}
{???}
{???}
{???}
{???}
{???}
↓
…
"Ah, the good old 'you're not a high enough level' question marks," I said, chuckling. "Spin Strike Artist sounds cool. So does Unpredictable Trickster. Emy, how much do these cost?"
[Every path for the Fight Techniques Skill Trees costs 5 skill points.]
"That's not bad… I think I'll go with Spin Strike Artist. Sounds fun."
…
Fight Techniques Skill Trees:
Martial Art Skill Trees → Spin Strike Artist
Skill Path: Spin Strike Artist
[Defending with rotational dodging/blocking and using centrifugal momentum to return power to the enemy.]
…
[Commencing transfer to Fight Technique impartment zone.]
"Fight Technique impartment zone?" I asked, curious.
[You'll see for yourself, it's complicated to explain.]
"Alright."
I closed my eyes and I felt my consciousness slip from my body.