“Young Master! Are you ok!?” Maid Dara barged into the room when she heard veric coughing. She was about to knock on the door but she abandoned her manners due to a potential emergency.

Tom became shocked, he didn’t have time to prepare for conversations with people that knew Veric. Becoming a young teenage boy was just so weird and unusual. His mind raced thinking back to how Veric behaved around the maid. He tried to remember as many facts about the woman as possible. He even took extra few seconds pretending to catch his breath just to have room for thinking. “I’m fine. I’m fine,” he replied.

‘I need to get higher stamina too. Just laughing depleted my stamina by a half.’

Dara was a middle-aged woman with brown hair and brown eyes surrounded with wrinkles from smiling. She had a kind smile, almost always when in Veric’s presence. Not this time though. Today she looked slightly worried or even guilty. “Are you sure? That cough was very wet and coarse.“

“Yes, yes I feel a lot better than yesterday.” He replied extending the pauses between words to gain more thinking time. Which made Dara think that he was hiding how badly he felt. Even though Veric was very weak he would never complain. Tom’s response made Dara’s expression slightly more determined.“Young master, I know that this question might not be appropriate but could you tell me how high your intelligence and Wisdom are?”

‘What? Does she know about me, or my stats? Can she see them? Did they make her suspicious? I should just lie and see how she reacts.’ He thought hoping that not all is lost.

“My intelligence is 21 and wisdom is 18.” Tom replied subtracting 400 away from the real stats.

Dara’s eyes went wide.”Are you sure young master?” She asked in disbelief.

‘God, damn it. Can she see it?’

“Yes, I am certain. I looked at my stats not long ago.”

“Those are fantastic news master.” She said and pulled out a small crystal bottle from a pocket in her dress.

“Forgive me my impudence young master, but this matter needs to stay between us. Forgive me but I have sneaked into a room in which your father stores your mother’s belongings. Your mother would sparingly use this potion while ill to help her with her health. I am very worried about your health young master so I thought it might help. This bottle contains a potion called Tears of Nessari. In return for some of your intelligence and wisdom, it should increase your vitality and endurance. I don’t know much about this potion so I suggest you take only one drop.” She said and handed him the bottle.

‘I don’t know how much intelligence and wisdom the kid had but if you just came here three hours ago I bet he would still be alive. But who am I to judge? I was thinking about increasing those stats and she appeared with a solution, she is truly god sent.’

“Thank you, Dara. I wish you came to me sooner with something so valuable.”

He also wanted to add that he was sure his mother wouldn’t mind Dara snooping through her belongings if it meant saving her son’s life. However, neither Ton nor Veric ever met the woman so it would be hard to determine how she would react. Plus it would be completely out of character for Veric. He always blamed himself for his mother’s passing so he most likely wouldn't comfort Dara in this situation. ‘It will be best if I just ignore this for now.’ He thought

“I am sorry young master but Tears of Nessari are quite dangerous. I wouldn’t want you to end up st- I mean with mental issues because of me. That is why please promise me that you will only use one drop.” She said. Hoping that her action would not cause more harm to him.

“I promise, I Will take only one drop.” ‘Unless I deem it appropriate to take more.’ He finished in his head. “I have a request for you Dara.”

“What is it, young master?”

“Could you please stop calling me young master and instead call me Veric? At least while we are alone?”

Veric’s words made Dara happy. She felt like she raised him, but he almost always acted coldly towards her. She didn’t take it personally. Veric was cold to everyone and she didn’t blame him.

“I will Veric.” She said it with a smile but the name felt so foreign and uncomfortable in her mouth. She always called him young master even when talking about him with other maids or her family.

After a moment of silence that felt somewhat awkward to Veric, He asked about the classes.”I remember you telling me that to gain levels one needs a class. Could you tell me how to gain one?”

“I am not certain about a lot of classes however, most require the person to learn two or three skills directly connected to the class.”

‘I need to get a class as soon as possible in order to level up and improve my body. But because of the [Nessari Bloodline] getting a class that is related to magic would be ideal, getting anything that would need my body for a base would be useless. Veric always rejected the idea of becoming a mage because he wanted to fit in more with his family so would it be suspicious and out of order for me to ask about magical classes? Or would she consider it to just be a child changing its mind?... Ah, screw it, carpe diem or YOLO as the kids would say these days.

“I would like to become a mage. How could I gain a magic-related class?”

That question somewhat surprised her because he would usually avoid the topic. Yet it did make sense children usually choose their first class at the age of 12. Veric is just old enough to choose one. Usually, children would choose a class that their parents possess. But in the end, choosing one’s class is a personal choice. In Veric’s case, his mother had a magic-related class and before Veric was born Dara served his mother.

“I don’t know much but I heard about some mana related skills that can unlock relevant classes. The first is [Mana Manipulation] it allows the person to control the movement of their mana and the second is called [Mana Sense]. It allows a person using it to detect internal and external mana. I don’t know much more. I would suggest asking your father for more information.”

‘Asking neglectful father for advice might not be the best choice in this situation. He would seldom visit Veric and if not for Dara, Veric would have been dead years ago. I don’t really associate mages with skills but spells so maybe learning spells is what I can do in order to gain a magic-related class.’ Thomas looked at the small bottle in his hand and got an idea.

“Did my mom have spellbooks or anything of the sort?”

Dara’s expression became thoughtful. She knew about Lady Gaelia’s heritage and if there was a place with the knowledge about magic it was within her belongings.

“Could you please bring me something relevant? I think that my father wants to make me choose a class tomorrow and I would like to have a choice in this decision.” Veric said with puppy dog eyes.

“I understand, I will try my best to find anything of use.” She said understanding that time is of the essence. Learning a skill sometimes took hours if not days and learning magic related skills took even longer. She imagined that Veric would not be able to achieve anything of significance in that short amount of time, however, Dara wasn’t close-minded and believed in miracles. Dara always thought that Lady Gaelia was a very talented mage and if Veric inherited a portion of her talent then maybe he will succeed. “I shall leave now. I will return with breakfast and possibly something useful.”

“Thank you.” He replied with a hind smile.

Dara left with mixed emotions. Veric seemed slightly different but she liked that change. He also looked slightly healthier than yesterday. His cheeks were gaining some colour.

Veric looked at the crystal bottle in his hand. The liquid inside seemed very viscous and heavy, like mercury. The liquid was semi-translucent and deep purple in colour. There was a pipette inside of the cork allowing for easy administration of the individual drops. Veric opened the bottle and smelled the liquid. Surprisingly it was completely odourless. ‘I guess I either try this or die next time I laugh. I hope one drop won’t reduce me into a complete imbecile.’

The potion filled the pipette very slowly climbing the glass walls of the pipette. Once full he administered a single drop into his mouth. In addition to being odourless, it was completely tasteless, even more, tasteless than water. The potion didn’t dissolve with saliva and remained in its round drop like form. Swallowing it felt like swallowing a small pill. Once the drop reached his stomach he felt a gentle buzz in his head and the next second breathing became slightly easier. Not by a lot but the change was noticeable. Veric opened his status to observe the results of the potion.

Name

Veric Martel

Vitality

3(7)

Class

[classless]

Constitution

3(6)

Race

Human(Nessari)

Strength

2(4)

Level

1

Agility

3(6)

Experience

0/3

Dexterity

3(6)

Health

17/17

Intelligence

419

Stamina

17/17

Wisdom

416

Mana

100/7105

Willpower

11

Aether

55/55

Titles(5)

Special traits(1)

Attribute points

0

Skills(2)

Spells(0)

‘2 to 1 ratio huh? But considering the Nessari debuff, it’s closer to 4 to 1. My mana dropped by quite a lot. 34 points of mana in return for just 6 points of stamina seems like a lot but considering I have more than seven thousand left it should be fine.’

Veric repeated the process four more times with no issue, each time the buzzing in his head became stronger. By the fifth time, the buzzing turned into a gentle headache but he was very happy with the results. His breathing became many times easier and deeper. He no longer felt light-headed and fragile.

Name

Veric Martel

Vitality

6(12)

Class

[classless]

Constitution

5(11)

Race

Human(Nessari)

Strength

2(4)

Level

1

Agility

3(6)

Experience

0/3

Dexterity

3(6)

Health

33/33

Intelligence

409

Stamina

28/28

Wisdom

406

Mana

100/6935

Willpower

11

Aether

55/55

Titles(5)

Special traits(1)

Attribute points

0

Skills(2)

Spells(0)

The bottle had only six or seven drops left. Veric decided to leave them in case the slight headache turned into something more serious like haemorrhaging in his head. ‘If the kid died from the cold, I would most definitely die from haemorrhaging. Now that the immediate issue with constitution and vitality is somewhat solved, I need to increase my strength and dexterity. I almost dropped the bottle a few times because my hands are so weak and clumsy. I also Have to consider the debuff. To maximise the investment during the next level up. I should invest two points into strength to even it out and then one point into the constitution. Based on the four hundred int and wis points I have received I can infer that I can increase my stats through training and learning and not only the system.’

Veric pushed the covers off of himself and got out of bed. He felt wet and cold from sweat however, it was still better than feeling feeble like he did when he woke up in this body. ‘I don’t know why but I feel oddly calm in this situation. I don’t know how someone else in my shoes would react but I am happy to have a second chance even if it’s in such a strange world.’

He got onto his knees and then positioned himself to do a proper pushup. After more than thirty seconds of trying to push himself off the ground, he tried doing a push up from his knees. ‘Two points of strength are rough. This body feels like I just woke up from a coma with atrophied muscles.’ He pushed himself off the ground and slowly lowered himself back down. “One.” He rested for a few seconds and then repeated the pushup. After completing a total of five, his arms, shoulders, stomach and back were burning.

As he was about to complete the sixth pushup his door opened and a tall blonde woman walked into his room. She had blue eyes and a defined jawline. She was Veric’s older sister. Baron’s second child. She was wearing a green tight gameson. This attire would usually mean that she was on her way to the training grounds.

“I see it won’t take much convincing then.” She said and walked over to Veric.

“Wait. I want to finish ten.” Veric ignored her and continued doing pushups. Elora his older sister didn’t stop him but simply watched as her younger brother struggled with one of the easiest exercises she could think of. This sight put a smile on her face. Her brother did something physically demanding for the first time in her recent memory. She didn’t want to discourage him so she remained quiet.

“Ten.” He said and collapsed on the floor.

“Father was going to meet with you tomorrow but something came up and he sent me to relay the message. Recently he has decided to open a small military school for the common children that have not chosen their class yet. After a few years, they will either join the guards or his military force. I will be running it with Vance. He sent me here to convince you to join it.”

Veric sat on the floor leaning against the wall. ‘In Veric’s memories, Vance was Baron’s military advisor. I wonder if it was his idea? Raising soldiers out of commoners would be a bit different than having esquires follow knights around. Also, it would have to cost quite a lot of money considering they would need to get housed, fed and paid or maybe he wants to incentivise parents by decreasing or cancelling taxes for the families that send their children to work for the baron. Regardless, I wanted to train anyway so joining them might not be a bad idea. The previous veric would most likely reject mostly because he was embarrassed by his body but he is dead, and being embarrassed is not going to hold me down. I am not going to choose classes like swordsman or something but physical exercise will do me some good.’ After less than a second of contemplation, he replied while trying to catch his breath.

“When?”

“Three days.”

“Can I say no?” He asked while panting.

“Father said that if I don’t manage to convince you he will make Rigon drag you there.”

“Then you can tell him that I will join. I am glad he sent a carrot before sending a stick.”

‘Rigon is Baron’s third child. Older than Veric by three years and younger than Elora by three. Out of all of his siblings, he would be the most ruthless when it came to bulling Veric. If not for the Tears of Nessari, Rigon would most likely kill me with his “horseplay”.’

“I see you are doing a lot better. Dara was clearly exaggerating your illness.”

‘Yeah right…’ “Would you have anything against me becoming a mage?”

“Father might not support that decision but if you manage to unlock that class then be my guest. However, I would suggest becoming a physical warrior.”

“Why?”

“Your body is naturally weak so improving it would be more beneficial to you. As a mage, you would have to invest a lot of attribute points into mana thus making it harder for your body to improve. Naturally, as you gain levels your stamina and health will improve slightly but it will be nowhere near someone like me. Mages usually have high offence and low defence. In your situation you would have to invest a lot of points into your body anyway to keep up, so your magic will be weak while your body will be average at best. If you choose a warrior type class you can completely ignore intelligence and wisdom, focusing all of your skill points on your body. Even though you are disadvantaged picking the right skills and working hard might decrease that gap.” She said hoping to inspire her little brother to work hard and overcome his disadvantage. Especially now that she saw him push himself to improve.

“I will keep that in mind. How much do you know about Nessari bloodline?” When Veric asked that question his sister made a pained expression. She hated talking about it, to her and especially her father it was like a disability. “Not much, I know that your physical stats are halved but that is no reason to feel discouraged. I will take good care of you at the military school.”

‘So she doesn’t know that I have a boost to mana and one point to int and wis every level. It makes sense that she looks at me with such pity. She also doesn’t know about how high my int and wis are already so she doesn’t know about my innate advantage. Out of all people here I like her the most, she is truly trying to help her brother. However, It feels so strange that even she wants me to become a soldier for her family. No choice in whether I want to become a blacksmith or anything else but I guess that’s the life of nobility for you. ’

“Thank you. I will do my best. I have one question for you. Why is my mana stuck at 100?”

Elora squinted her eyes thinking that she missheard him but after a few seconds of silence she began speaking.“That is the amount of mana your body can naturally hold. If you choose a magic-based class you will develop a mana core that will be able to hold more mana. 100 is quite high. I can only hold 10.”

“Are mana cores a separate organ?”

Elora shrugged her shoulders. “I have no clue. I don’t know anyone with a mana core.”

“So are mages very rare?”

“Here yes, but closer to the capital especially in Merino they are not uncommon.”

“What is in Merino? An academy or something?”

“Sort of, there is an academy in the city of Merino. Here in the Kingdom of Gavaria, there is only one academy but our neighbours have more. Idrisid empire, our neighbour to the west has five of them. They pride themself on their magical research. Anyway, I need to go now. Before I go, I came here to deliver you this book. It contains the list and the description of the different classes. The ones marked with an “x” are available for you to learn during the military training.” She said and placed the book on the table.

“Thank you. Have a good day.”

“You too .“ She said and left the room.

‘Well, that went smoother than talking to Dara. I think I am getting better at pretending to be Veric.’