“Stop it, Brother!!” Suddenly air filled Aster’s lungs as the water broke like a bubble and the water fell down his front as he coughed. Roteki had yanked Dekishi’s arm away, breaking his control over the element. The siblings looked at each other for a moment, silently communicating, Roteki with obstinate resolve and Dekishi with annoyance tinged with confusion.

He looked back at Aster lying on the ground at his feet, face drenched and still trying to recover. He gave a slight scoff as he spoke harshly, “Remember your place, Cursed half-elf scum.” he took his sister’s arm and started to pull her towards the main street, “My sister is too good for the likes of you… so stay away”

Aster finished wiping his face off on his shirt sleeve, the fight seemed to have ended as abruptly as it had begun. ‘That was too close.’ He slowly stood and walked back to the main thoroughfare where he noticed a barrel of rainwater that Dekishi must have sourced from. He continued his initial journey to his next destination. Trying to shake off the physical and mental effects of his assault.

‘Being Cursed and Half-elf’ He made his way out of the town gates along the forest road as he reflected. ‘These things make me ‘special’ and ‘unique’, just like what’s expected from a protagonist’

He glanced to the top left corner of his vision where his health pool displayed 60/ 90 since he had lost some health from the punches and almost-drowning. He noticed a new blinking bright red dot next to his usual light pink notification and brought up the information for both.

Alert! Combat Initiated with Dekishi, level 2 Winter Elf!

Reflex check failed; you are grappled.

Dekishi strikes you in the abdomen for 5 damage.

Constitution check failed; you are staggered.

Dekishi strikes you in the abdomen for 5 damage.

Constitution check failed; you are staggered.

Dekishi strikes you in the head critically for 15 damage.

Constitution check failed; you are knocked down.

You regained your footing; you gained 6 Inspiration.

You entered a defensive combat stance; defense increased by 10%.

You successfully dodged.

You successfully counter attacked.

You dealt 3 environmental damage to Dekishi.

You spent 10 Inspiration and successfully counter grappled.

Dekishi cast Drowning Requiem.

Drowning Requiem hits you in the face for 5 water damage.

You are drowning. 2 minutes remain until suffocation.

Spell interrupted; you are no longer drowning.

Combat ended.

Congratulations!

Your Luck increased by 1.

Your Karma increased by 1.

Skill Acquired: Combat (Unarmed) (Beginner 0, 93%)

You don’t need a weapon to fight, you are the weapon.

Your Dexterity increased by 1.

While the increase to luck was greatly appreciated and the new skill slightly exciting, he still didn’t like how all of that had turned out. He focused on the word Alert which had been underlined and some options appeared. He set the notifications to behave more game-like for him, making damage numbers display next to people as well as status changes to appear next to his little health display in the upper left of his vision, so he would know quicker next time when he was in combat or suffering from daze or drowning. A small water sparrow followed him merrily unaware of his souring mood as he replayed the fight over and over in his head.

‘I should have been more specific when making this Scenario…’ Aster sat against a large tree that reminded him of the towering oaks back home on Earth and he wrapped his arms around his knees, the small bird alighting on his shoulder, as the depressing feeling of being absolutely powerless settled in his gut. ‘I want magic…’

Before Aster could react, branches from the tree wrapped down and pinned him to the trunk. The sudden movement caused his little aerial friend to take flight and flee as Aster tried to struggle against the wooden bonds. A familiar face filled his vision and he relaxed, “Hello, Aster!” Rilien smiled playfully.

“Gah! Rilien, what are you doing?” He said with slight exasperation. Even though Rilien and him were technically no longer related, since they had only been connected previously through Rilien’s father’s marriage to Aster’s grandmother later in life before her untimely death, the noble elf still made sure to stay in touch and be an active part of his life.

His former step-uncle was growing up well, he was 18 now and looking to join the military as he followed the path his father laid before him. The members of the Winter Guard roamed the land of Tsukiyuki, homeland of the Winter Elves, here in the North Western part of Selesola and soon Rilien would be part of their ranks until he could reach his eventual goal of the Glacial Knights, those that guarded the royal family. Aster struggled against the branches “Let me go, Rilien!”

Rilien brought his face close to Aster’s and licked his lips with a hungry expression, “But I've caught such delicious looking prey, it would be a shame to not eat it…”

Aster rolled his eyes and said in a deadpan voice, “haha, very funny… Now let me go.”

Rilien scrunched up his face and stuck his tongue out at him, “Boo, you're no fun Aster.” The Wood-Blessed Elf leaned back and the branches retreated their hold on Aster. Rilien's powers never ceased to amaze him, though he might not show it blatantly on his face any longer.

Rilien had filled the role of an older brother to him over the last few years, checking up on him at the temple and making sure to tease him at every opportunity. He was grateful for the company at the very least. Having someone in this world that truly cared for him helped keep the looming depression of solitude at bay. He was an ambivert, so he didn’t mind being left alone but an endless ocean of isolation would eventually drown him. Rilien grinned at him and asked, “So why are you late to your training?”

Aster jumped up, the reminder doing a great job of snapping him back from his moment of self-pity, “Abyss! I'm late!” He took off down the forest path again, Rilien following behind.

“Hey, so what happened to make you so distracted?” the older elf prodded him.

“Nothing, I just got beat by a girl’s big brother because she has a crush on me,” Aster gave a sigh and rolled his eyes like it was no big deal.

Rilien stopped suddenly which caused Aster to pause and look back at him, “What's wrong, Rilien? Don't stop, I'm already running late”

Rilien’s eyes narrowed as he started to scrutinize Aster, “Somebody hurt you?” his voice had a serious chill to it.

Aster shook his head and used his hand to wave as if brushing the issue from the air, “Forget about it already, let's go”

He could almost swear he heard Rilien growl as he acquiesced and began following him again, his face still looking troubled by the news.

They arrived in a wide clearing within the forest where an older elf with the Blessing of Air tattooed on their forehead waited. “Soyokaze-Sensei!” Aster yelled out as he ran up to the elder and bowed and Rilien went to a nearby log where he usually sat to watch. The Air mage let out a tired chuckle before handing Aster a wooden sword, the design reminded him of a cross between a katana and a saber from his past life. Aster took it and his training commenced once more.

The days continued to pass in this simple routine for Aster. Wake up, make breakfast for the temple residents while reading to increase his cooking and reading skill, stop by the library to exchange books if needed now that he had gained enough favor to borrow them, work at the smithy, eat lunch on the way to the leatherworks shop and then work there, followed by sword training in the forest with Rilien adding commentary, then heading back to the temple to make dinner for the residents. There were many orphaned children along with the clerics and they quickly learned he was an adept cook and that became his constant chore, which he was fine with since he wasn’t too keen on leveling his Cleaning skill.

Aster found himself walking down the usual forest path, munching on his lunch, carrying his wooden sword over his shoulder in a leather scabbard he had crafted himself, with his hood pulled up and with the song of birds filling the air. He noticed a few moments later, the sudden halt of twittering before a high-pitched scream filled the air in its stead.

Aster’s head snapped in the direction of the noise and his body reacted before he could properly process what was happening. He flew between the trees and quickly found himself in a small clearing where a small elfling, dressed in heavy white furs, was bent over covering their head with their arms while a large beast wreathed in what seemed like living shadows hungrily stared at the child. It had voids where its eyes would have been and reminded Aster of a Dire Wolf from the fantasy worlds he had read about on Earth.

As the dark wolf stalked closer Aster swiftly unsheathed his wooden sword and stood between the trembling elfling and the massive predator. His health displayed 90/90, stamina 180/190, and mana 290/290 and the little red “Combat Initiated” symbol next to it appeared in the top left of his vision like he had hoped it would. He chanced a glance backwards to see a small face with large spectacles over tear filled blue eyes staring up at him. Locks of long silvery white hair fell from the white fur hat and Aster was filled with sudden determination. ‘I must save her!’

He turned his focus back on the wolf and kept his sword raised. While it wouldn’t cut, it could at least injure and hopefully be enough to scare off the beast.

Aster locked his gaze on the monster’s orbless eyes and it seemed to return his gaze though Aster wasn’t quite sure how. The wolf paused for a moment before it took another careful step towards the pair of kids and the small figure behind him yelled out, “It’s gonna eat us!” before retreating back under their own arms.

Aster took his own determined step forward and, mustering up all of his courage, spoke to the wolf, “Leave us!” The beast paused again and Aster thought he saw a faint purple glow emitted from the dark mass’ eye sockets before it abruptly turned and leapt into the forest brush. The little combat alert faded along with the display of his resources.

Aster felt his entire body slump in relief as he tried to begin breathing normally again and let the adrenaline calm down. He felt a bit confused about what had just happened but thankful nonetheless that the beast had chosen not to attack him. He was able to pull himself from his bewilderment enough to refocus on the shivering mass behind him and he quickly knelt down next to the elfling and examined them for wounds, “Hey, you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?” he asked in a soft and concerned voice, hoping not to scare the child any further.

The pale bespectacled face looked up once more at him, “It’s… it’s gone?” came the small voice, still quivering from the fear of imminent death.

Aster gave a broad grin and put on a full show of bravado, “Yup! I must have scared it off with how awesome I am!” He was met with a look of shocked confusion and he gave a wink to try and break the tension.

The elfling gave a nervous smile at that and Aster decided to press for more information now that the child had seemed to relax a bit and didn’t appear injured at all. “So what’s a little kid like you doing out here all alone? Did you get lost?”

The heart shaped face gave a small pout, the lower lip protruding slightly as it turned away from Aster’s gaze, “I… I… ran… away...”

Aster could almost hear the embarrassment and couldn’t contain the surprised look he knew covered his face. “A runaway?” he asked aloud before smiling softly and patting the elfling’s head gently, “Well, if that’s the case, then why don’t you stay with me? I’ll protect you.” The small face looked back towards him with a bit more color than before. Aster took the child’s hand in his and pulled them up from their crouched position and back towards the path he had come from, “Come on, I’m running late now.”

After a few moments Aster felt a hesitant tug at his hand, he looked back to see the elfling blushing slightly and saying shyly, “Umm… I don’t think you should touch me so casually…”

Aster was a bit surprised by this statement and wondered if he had made some kind of social misstep with his behavior that this little elfling thought he was being too forward. He grinned slightly to try and lighten the mood, “Hate to tell you this, but little girls aren’t really my type…”

Puzzlement filled the elfling’s face before the blush spread across their cheeks even more and they quickly stammered “I… I didn’t… I’m not… I didn’t mean like that!” Aster couldn’t help smiling at the obviously flustered retort and they turned away before correcting, “And I’m a boy…”

Aster’s face went blank as he processed this new information, he had never seen an elfling boy in town that looked as small and delicate as the one now standing in front of him, he berated himself for his slightly sexist assumption and he quickly updated his knowledge of elves to include these new features he was observing for young boys. He had gotten pretty good at telling the girls, boys and enbys apart in town and was usually consistent about asking for clarification if their presentation wasn’t obvious but even he got it wrong every now and then. After a moment he nodded with a small, “My mistake,” and then his smirk returned, “ ...still too young for me.”

The boy looked back towards Aster a bit surprised but his expression quickly shifted to miffed as he replied, “Hey, you’re not much older than me!” Aster’s smile became a bit more nervous as he wasn’t sure how to respond. The elfling became flustered again realizing what he was arguing against and continued, “This isn’t what I meant! Don’t touch me cause my magic might hurt you… That’s what I was...”

Aster’s eyes shone with excitement as he leaned forward towards the boy, “What kind of Blessing do you have?” He tried to get a look at the kid’s forehead to see the marking but the furry hat blocked any attempt, “Aren’t you a bit too young to have gotten it? You look like you’re no more than 7 years-”

“-HEY! I’m 11!” the elfling gave that same pout again at this, as if he had always had to correct people. He blushed a moment later realizing his outburst and quickly amended, “S-Sorry… here.” a small gloved hand reached out toward him with the palm up. Before Aster could ask if he was meant to hold the hand again, a large snowflake formed in the air above it. It was about the size of a large pine cone and seemed to glitter in the light, highlighting the intricate detailing of it.

Aster gave a breathless exclamation at the display, “It’s beautiful...”

“It’s dangerous! That’s why I have to wear these heavy clothes and I’m never allowed outside!” the young elf was blushing once more at the compliment but his frustration was easy to see under it. Aster tilted his head, a bit puzzled at how a blessing that created such wonder could be dangerous to the wielder. The elfling noticed his confusion and explained a bit sadly, “The warmth counters my ice magic, but I still can’t control it very well and… people can get hurt…” Aster couldn’t help but think his story sounded strangely familiar to a kids movie he had watched on earth about two sisters and uncontrollable ice magic, but before he could give an awkward laugh at the imagery his thoughts were interrupted. “That’s why you shouldn’t touch me! You’re better off staying away from me…”

Aster gave a wide grin again and smashed the snowflake as he grabbed the boy’s hand once more in a tight grip, shocking the elfling as he proclaimed, “I’m not afraid!” He pulled the stunned elf towards the path again, “You won’t hurt me, kid. I can protect you from anything, even yourself!” Aster pretended to not notice the blush and slight tears forming in the boy’s eyes as he quickly used his fur sleeve to wipe them away as he muttered softly, “My name’s not ‘kid’, it’s Saelak…”

As they walked, Aster went over his notifications again and he was puzzled by one line in the combat log.

You used a technique for 10 Qi.

Combat ended.

‘What in the Abyss? How?’ Aster was baffled. He checked his profile again but nothing had seemed to change save for his Qi decreasing by 10 points like it said. No new skill or spell or technique appeared in any of his lists. It seemed to be a total mystery and an extremely frustrating one at that.