On the evening of Jason's 10th birthday, he and his parents were all gathered sitting around the table. They were both looking eagerly at Jason as they had both just handed him two packages.
Jason had had a wonderful birthday so far. He had spent the afternoon exploring the outskirts of the village with some other kids. Of course, they had gone nowhere near the forest. And now he was now sat down for this meal with his parents. For which, they had even made sure to prepare all of his favourite food.
It was quite the luxury meal with a wide variety of delicious plates, which was a rarity even for them as the Lord's family. They had no maids or servants so it had all been cooked by his mother while Jason helped out with the small jobs like peeling vegetables.
As the meal had come to an end his parents had both looked at each other and nodded before slipping away and returning with the packages that now sat on the table. In the case of his father, there were no prizes for guessing what the parcel contained.
"I think it's finally time that you had a sword of your own."
Unwrapping the gift Jason was struck by just how imposing the sword was. It shone just like his father's and looked almost as impressive. He had often looked at his father's sword with slightly envious eyes. While they went hunting Jason had only used an old steel sword that no one in the village had wanted. Before that when he had first started training he had used a wooden sword his father had created for him.
"That's an Orichalcum blade, you won't find many materials more fit to make a sword with in all the world, the craftsmanship isn't the best but it's still good. I hope that this sword will at least help you on the journey you will face as you get older. At the moment it's a bit big for you, but it's best to grow up with a proper sword, that way you can properly get used to one another."
"Thank you so much!" Jason exclaimed as he couldn't help but bring the sword up and put himself in a fighting stance. His father was right it was a little heavy for him, but that would only help him get stronger faster.
As he held the sword a familiar sound rang through his head, he heard it every time he levelled up or his status screen changed. It had even rung earlier when he woke up this morning to symbolise that he had grown a year older. Instinctively Jason opened up his status screen. Everything was the same as when he had checked that morning apart from the skills section.
Skills: Identify (Divine) Lv. 1, Blistering Slash (Silver) Lv. 1 {Temporary}
Jason was shocked he didn't understand how he got the skill. Naturally, he guessed that the sword must be the reason. He could already sense what he could do with the skill. He put the sword down and the skill disappeared. Jason knew he would have to do some more investigating, but it seemed he wouldn't have the chance immediately as his mother had already picked up her package and handed it to Jason.
"Your Father and my gifts are connected. Mine isn't as practical it's more of a symbolic gift. If I'm honest it's as much for me as for you."
Jason unwrapped the package to find a small box. Opening it revealed a small pendant.
"This pendant was given to me by my father, sadly he died before you were born. I'm sure you have noticed that I don't really talk about the past." Amelina took a deep breath in and was trying to hide the slight pain that had appeared on her face. She managed to do a good job of it but she couldn't stop her eyes from betraying her emotion. With this Garion had moved to her side in a display of support.
"That's because I'm afraid of it. To this day it still haunts me. With what your future holds I'm sure you will come up against my past as well as many other great hurdles." She then gave Jason a big hug.
"You are stronger and smarter than any 10-year-old has any right to be. Despite that, I still want to wait until you are a bit older before telling you all about my past. However, I know you have been wanting to start hunting monsters. Your father and I have decided to let you join him in doing so."
"Thank you, mum!" Jason said jumping up and giving his mum another hug.
"This gift is a way for me to show that I am prepared to let you face your future. I did want to keep you safe at home but I fear that will give the exact opposite result. It's all a little selfish on my part but I hope you understand."
"Mum I understand and I'm grateful that you trust me enough for all this, I won't let you down," Jason said as he put the pendant around his neck.
"You could never let me down. I love you so much Jason, Happy Birthday."
After that, all three of them came together for one more emotional hug. As he was embraced by the two he felt so lucky to have the two as his parents.
As they were starting to clear the table, there was a knock on the door. They looked at each other confused as to who would come visit at this time of night.
Eventually, his father went to open the door. When he did he found nobody just a small pouch and a letter. The letter was addressed to Jason so he handed them both over to him.
Jason tentatively opened the letter. It was a short message written in elegant handwriting. Jason's reading and writing skills were very good, his mother had taught them to him along with several other things like arithmetic. His mother was shocked at how fast he learnt it all, but in fact, Jason could use his [Understanding] skill to understand words of any language. Although it didn't actively allow him to speak or write the language it did help him learn it.
Jason,
It seems now is the right time to give you this.
Happy Birthday. See you in 5 years.
Ava
It was a curt message and not for the first time he wondered what sort of person Ava was. He was excited to properly meet his guardian. But he had realised long ago that that that would have to wait.
Handing over the letter so that his father and mother could read it, Jason upturned the pouch and a small ring fell out into his hand. It didn't look exceptionally lavish. It appeared to be just a metallic band yet he could feel that it was more than that. Jason spared no time and slipped it onto his finger. It fit perfectly. When he did he once again heard the ding but this time he also heard a voice which seemed familiar.
"This is my gift to you Jason. It is called Rylax. I hope it serves you well."
Jason pulled up his status and it had changed a lot.
[Name: Jason Cross]
Race: Human
Age 10
Status: Champion- Kiara (Unknown)
Level: 35
Titles: The Last Champion (N/A)
Blessings: True God's blessing (N/A), Follower's Blessing (N/A) Champion's Blessing: Charity (+25% growth to the holder and other followers)
Affinities: Swordsmanship, Elemental Magic (100% Boost) Healing Magic (75% Boost) +Hidden
Incompatibilities: Bowmanship, Light Magic, Dark Magic (90% Decrease) Necromancy (None) +Hidden
HP: 4,500
Mana: 8,800
Strength: 190
Agility: 190
Dexterity 190
Intelligence 190
Vitality 190
Guile 112
Skills: Identify (Divine) Lv. MAX, Understanding (Divine) Lv. Max, Vision of Rylax (Divine) Lv. 1, Blistering Slash (Silver) Lv. 1 {Temporary}
Talents: Libran Swordsmanship (Bronze) Lv. 4, Libran Language (Bronze) Lv. Max, Arithmetic (Bronze) Lv. MAX
Companions: Ava (Guardian)
Stat points: 272
Skill points: 68
There were now a number of new headings on his status. Plus he now had a new skill [Vision of Rylax]. Now that it had been added he instinctively knew how the new skill worked. With just a thought he used the skill and a new box appeared.
[Vision of Rylax]
Rank: Divine
Description: A unique skill given through the Gift of the Goddess Kiara (Unknown). An improved version of Inspect, which also allows the user to see the Potential and ability in things after the user has touched them at least once.
Gives the user the ability to sense opportunity (Passive).
Jason didn't fully understand the ability but suspected it could be very useful. However, the whole situation had left Jason with a confused look on his face, a fact that his mother did not miss.
"Is everything okay is there something wrong with the ring?" His mother asked with a worried expression.
"No nothing is wrong at all it's a gift from Kiara and Ava." Jason took this opportunity to test out the new skill. He choose to use it on his father. Whereas before it had only shown the level and name now almost everything that was present on Jason's Status page was on Garion's.
[Name: Garion Cross]
Race: Human
Age: 35
Status: None
Level : 300
Titles : Sword of Ovar (+ 200 All Stats)
Blessings: None
Affinities: All weapons (100% Boost), Craftmanship (80% Boost)
Incompatibilities: Magic (None)
Stats: N/A
Skills: Self Identify (Divine) Lv. MAX, Blade of Ovar (Diamond) Lv. 1, Blistering Slash (Gold) Lv. MAX, Speed Overclock (Gold) Lv. 5, Whirlwind Blade (Silver) Lv. MAX, Piercing Strike (Bronze) Lv. MAX, Swift Double Arrow (Silver) Lv. MAX, Arrow of the Eagle (Gold) Lv. 6…..
Talents: Libran Swordsmanship (Diamond) Lv. MAX, Libran Archery (Gold) Lv. 6, Libran Language (Bronze) Lv. MAX, Arithmetic (Bronze) Lv. 9, Horse Riding (Bronze) lv. MAX, Carpentry (Silver) lv. MAX….
Companions: N/A
Stat points: N/A
Skill points: N/A