[3rd person POV]
"Don't you think we should wait outside? You know we might startle him out." An alluring voice broke the silence in the room as they observed the boy lying peacefully on the bed.
"I agree with Sierra's reasoning. Asher, we should leave until he wakes up." Lucas's voice resounded in the room, which was calm and authoritative but contained gentleness.
"…" Asher remained silent while calmly gazing at the person lying on the bed.
Although his face currently showed no expressions, his inner turmoil was anything but calm.
Lucas stared at his son, understanding his emotions and silence.
"I need to train, so I will leave now. Let me know when he wakes up." Sierra spoke as she briskly rose from her seat.
"You won't wait for him to wake up? You know I remember everything you did to wake him up in the past." Lucas enquired with an amused look towards his beloved daughter as he remembered all her antics to wake up this boy.
"D-Dad, forget about those things and never mention them before him!" Sierra exclaimed in a high-pitched voice as her face turned red, remembering all the embarrassing stuff she did so that this jerk could wake up.
Asher watched this interaction with a faint smile that no one could notice, calming a bit of his inner turmoil.
"Argh!" a scream broke through this peaceful environment as Kaizer woke up sweating profusely and rose from his bed. His chest heaved, and he breathed heavily.
"Hey, calm down." Asher quickly supported Kaizer and helped him up.
Although the three were worried about his sudden scream, they had already agreed not to pry too much until he was completely healed.
*******
[Kaizer's POV]
As I regained consciousness, my eyes met the concerned gazes of three individuals, their presence simultaneously comforting and perplexing.
The young man had short, raven-black hair and hazel eyes. He supported me with his hands, which were full of calluses. He wore a simple blue shirt and grey jeans. His face was rather expressionless, but looking carefully, he adorned a slight smile that would go unnoticed by most if not for a closer inspection.
This young man is Asher Skylar.
In the novel, he is mentioned as the successor to the Skylar Household and a disciple of a famous person.
There wasn't much information about him in the novel. I thought the author would mention him further down the line, but to no avail.
Then, I noticed the middle-aged man sitting beside Asher. His large build, raven-black hair, hazel eyes, and neatly trimmed beard gave him an authoritative look. His face showed concern and happiness for me, and his expression was a bit more expressive than his son's.
This man was Lucas Skylar. He wasn't mentioned much in the novel as well, except for supporting Kaizer and personally requesting the Dean of the Union Arcane Academy.
Lastly, my eyes met the girl with raven-black hair and azure blue eyes, entirely in contrast to the hazel eyes shared by the father-son duo.
Her captivating beauty was enough to charm any boy she might encounter.
She adorned a pinafore dress with a blue skirt and white top.
Her pale white skin gave a contrasting look compared to her black leggings.
Her hair cascaded to her shoulders, swaying as she rushed forward after I woke from my slumber. Her expression showed apparent concern for me, contrary to the expressionless duo.
Though my face remained calm, inside, I was in turmoil, trying to figure out how to navigate this situation.
The fact that I had just awoken from a coma left me feeling disoriented and uncertain about how to act, as I was already fully aware of my situation about being in a coma.
"Where am I?" I questioned, trying to act like how a coma patient might act after waking up.
"Kaizer, do you remember us?" the middle-aged man spoke while addressing me.
"Us?" I replied, my mind still grasping for memories.
"Yeah, do you remember me?" The girl, Sierra, came closer, her excitement evident.
"Sierra, you should calm down first. Don't get too excited." Lucas intervened.
"D-Dad, I am not excited!" she retorted, her emotions on edge.
"Yeah, I know you are not excited," he retorted amusedly.
"I know this may be overwhelming, but you were in a coma. You saved my dad and sister and then fell into a coma." The young man spoke as he offered me his shoulder to stand appropriately.
"After that, you were in a coma for roughly seven years." the young man added.
'That's too straightforward info for a coma patient, brother.' I thought internally as I looked at Asher.
"Umm…I am unsure whether I can follow your explanation, but thank you for caring for me… I am grateful to the three of you." I politely bowed my head and conveyed my genuine feelings.
In the novel, these three were very supportive of Kaizer, but due to being in a coma, his mentality was of an 8-year-old child, and thus, he suffered manipulation at the hands of Sierra's friend.
I don't think she is to blame for this, but I have no more feelings other than gratitude for the three of them.
"We are more grateful. If you weren't there that day, we would have died. By the way, is your memory all right? Since you were in a coma, we were expecting you to have some trouble… our doctor mentioned you could face some issues… So please mention anything I can help you with." Lucas replied as he joined the conversation.
"I was confused yesterday when I woke up, but I understand my situation. I am grateful you cared for me instead of leaving me even though you were injured." Although I helped them when I was dying, I think it was more since I gave up on everything, or rather, my 8-year-old self gave up on everything.
"You gave Dad the only high elixir you had when you were heavily injured, and you are saying you are grateful. We are more grateful, so rest and get better. " Sierra commented in a grumpy voice as she joined the conversation.
I didn't notice because of my hazy vision.
But she looked beautiful and charming, showcasing various emotions.
This made me sad, considering her drastic change in personality as she became cold-hearted and eventually fell alongside the Skylar Household.
Although I will ensure the three of them don't go through what they did, I don't think I will stay with them for long.
Truthfully, the Skylar Household and I are strangers who crossed paths, saving each other's lives.
Rather than being a burden because of my future actions, I would rather avoid entanglement, but who knows what's in the store for us?
"Thank you, and I will," I replied politely as I thought about my future actions.
"We will assign you some people to take care of you, and I hope you get better soon," Lucas said as he called some maids into the room.
"I will be grateful." I thanked him.
The four of us exchanged some pleasantries and continued some small talk.
Sierra left the room, claiming to go for training, while Lucas followed her while teasing and reminiscing the little antics she performed to wake me up as a kid.
After their exit, only Asher and I were left in the room.
"…"
"…"
Although I know his quiet nature in the novel, the awkwardness between us was reaching its peak.
I thought about how I should break this icy silence when suddenly, Asher bowed his head deeply.
I was startled, but before I could enquire, he spoke politely.
"When my family was attacked, I was training with my master. I was unaware of my family's trouble. I lost my mother that day, and if not for you, I would have also lost my father and sister. I am grateful to you, and I will repay this favor even if you ask me for my life. I don't know everything about you, but I know plenty about how your family treated you after your mother went missing. If you desire revenge and need my help, I will help you." Although his voice sounded calm, his voice cracked when he mentioned his mother.
He bowed his head more deeply after saying these words.
'I could act humble, but it would mean taking his feelings lightly.' I thought.
"I am not sure what I will do in the future, but if I ever need your help, I will ask you. I would prefer if we could become friends." But I don't think depending on him would be possible because his hands would already be full of his revenge.
He is also wrong about my thoughts about revenge, and perhaps if I didn't know that my mother was alive, I would have thought about revenge. But considering an 8-year-old's mentality, would he have even considered revenge?
Well, there's no point thinking about it now.
"Yeah, friendship would be better than this transactional situation. Talk to me if you need my help with anything. Rest well," Asher replied while leaving as I contemplated my thoughts.
"Yeah," I replied.
As I saw him leave, I felt pity remembering that his death wasn't even mentioned separately in the novel.
Although I only read volume 1 of the novel, I was dissatisfied with the significant arcs.
Well, my main problem was with the main character himself. I could rant for hours, but that's for another day.
'Hey, Grade, am I left alone? Or is there someone hiding? I know from the novel that shadow guards were serving Lucas and Sierra, and even I was assigned someone.'
[No, currently, you are left alone.]
'Hmm…Is that so? In the novel, the guard assigned to Kaizer has a cold attitude, but she dramatically helps him.
However, after Kaizer's suicide, she was never mentioned again.
'I should start planning things out.'
'System, show me my status screen.'
*****STATUS*****
NAME: KAIZER VON ASTER (KAIZER STELLAR)
RACE: HUMAN (???)
AGE: 15
[Shop] [Quests]
[Bloodline]: Locked (???)
RANK: G-
TALENT: (???)
AFFINITY: (???)
MANA CORE: G-
COMBAT RANK: G-
[-Attributes-]
Strength: G-
Agility: F-
Endurance: F-
Mentality: F-
Intelligence: A
Mana: Locked
Stamina: G-
Charm: B-
--------------------------------------------------------------
[-Skills-]
SKILLS: 1. MARTIAL ARTS(LOCKED)
2.?
ABILITIES:
1. PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORY (S) (INNATE)
2. SWIRL VISION (???) (LOCKED)
3. ??? (LOCKED)
4. ??? (LOCKED)
************
"Am I so disappointing? What's up with almost everything being G-rank? I am happy about intelligence, but still."
[You were in a coma for seven years. If you were expecting to have SS+ ranks and bulldoze through everything, please stop and get out. Suicide is an option.]
"…"
'This fu*ker! He's too blunt sometimes.'
"Where the hell is your polite attitude gone?"
[My creator mentioned that I can be disrespectful towards you, and even if I do, you can't cut me off. A friendly attitude is sometimes the key to betrayal, so I am avoiding a friendly attitude.]
'!'
'I can't cut the system off? I need to keep my guard up at all times.' I surmised inwardly.
'And what's up with this system and his creator?'
[I looked through your memories and am trying to combine all sorts of personalities for the best service possible.]
"Whatever, tell me why my martial arts are locked, and my charm and intelligence stats are higher than others. Also, why are there question marks in multiple places?"
[Your body is weak, so it can't handle the martial arts you learned currently. Your intelligence is high because you are smart but don't know enough information about this world. If you had more info and your innate photographic memory, your intelligence would have been higher even though the ranks also somewhat affect intelligence. The question marks indicate the hidden/innate characteristics that can only be unlocked if you can decipher them yourself. Even I can't tell what these unique characteristics are.]
"Even ranks affect intelligence…that's surprising. What about charm? I always thought I looked ugly. Besides, only my hair and eye color have drastically changed, right? Innate characteristics, sounds interesting."
[There's a difference between ignorance and denial. You are not only ignorant of your charm but in denial as well. You look handsome, and that's the reason for your high charm rank, although you just woke up from a coma, so don't expect to have S rank charm instantly. In your past life, if your face didn't have those burn marks, then your charm would have been at least S rank considering your body and all, but now you would probably die because of wind currents the way your body is now, so don't expect the appeal to increase anytime soon.]
"…"
[Stop blushing. I am a guy. I don't swing that way.]
'A guy? Grade mentioned it subconsciously. Wait, what if?'
"I am not blushing! You are just too blunt, and I don't swing that way either, so stop, and what's with the compliments and disses in the same line? Give me a break. I know my body is weak. I need to gain strength, plan everything for the future, and not talk about things that place. I am happy I no longer have those marks because they did bring back bad memories."
[Yes, I apologize for the trouble.]
"Thanks for this information. Now, I will get stronger. Although I don't know everything about this world, I will achieve my goal and succeed."
[You done with your monologue? Who even says their inner monologue out? Even I don't want to hear them.]
"…"
[…]
A calm silence flowed between us after his comment.
Despite my embarrassment, I glossed over his comment while gritting my teeth.
"Goodnight," I spoke bluntly as I avoided addressing his retort.
[It's morning.]
"…"
[…]
******