Chapter 2  

Mat observed Rellan—his father, even if it still felt weird to think of him that way—sifting through a messy pile of papers and scrolls scattered on his desk. It was a familiar sight, Rellan was some kind of researcher. Mat wasn’t sure exactly what he studied. From the sketches of dilapidated buildings and weird hieroglyphs covering the walls of his study, he hypothesized some ancient civilization.

In the last six months, he spent many hours observing him meticulously go through dozens of books and ruined tomes, writing tiny annotations on journals and spare pieces of paper. Guided by an order only he understood.

There had not been any fireballs or flashy displays of magical power yet, but there were many inexplicable events. His parents moved and carried things around the house with little to no effort, no matter how heavy the object was. Just now, when his father wrote, his hands moved unnaturally fast and graceful, while his handwriting remained perfect. He could even swear he saw the ink move on the paper by itself a few times.

Rellan always wrote using the same pen, yet he never once witnessed him add ink in six months. The little silvery stick was a bit underwhelming from afar, but after he got a closer look, he spotted a series of small, strange, interlocking symbols carved on its sides. The delicate craftsmanship was superior to anything else he had seen in this world thus far.

What worried him the most was not if magic existed, but that he hadn’t been able to perceive anything mystical yet. In each novel he had read, the main character always discovered how to do magic in a couple hours to a day at the latest. Mat had not made any progress in half a year.

Either he had no talent, or he was missing some key detail—he hoped for the latter.

I didn’t go through the trouble of getting reincarnated to end up as a background character that gets killed off-page.

Mat sighed. Each time it was his father’s turn to watch over him, he ended up looking at him work on his theories for hours. With recurring ‘ohs’ and ‘ahs’ among other exclamations whenever a piece of the puzzle only he could see fit together.

He had been fascinated by his work at first, but since he could barely understand the new language, let alone read, it got boring fast.

Mat had no idea what his father was searching for, but he admired his zeal and patience. Occasionally he cursed some Philip ‘something-something’ for cutting his funds, though he never raised his voice. He was 99% percent sure ‘something’ wasn’t a nice adjective, but an insult of some kind.

Mat liked listening to his calming voice. Rellan had a different accent from anyone else’s.

Even if there were many words he didn’t know, he usually got what people meant. Boredom turned out to be an excellent motivator to learn the language. The only problem was that he couldn’t make people talk about what he wanted to know.

Being limited to the house or the lawn outside, there was only so much he could learn. He counted on his tiny hands the times his parents brought him along during their errands around the village.

With unpaved dirt streets and wooden buildings with thatch roofs, it hadn’t been an impressive sight, but the cheerful atmosphere and tropical climate held a charm. It reminded him of some tourist destinations he wished to visit in his previous life.

Ignoring Rellan’s ramblings in the background, Mat patiently waited for the weekly notification. It should b—

*Ding*

Weekly Summary: Life Experience: 46 XP – Skill Experience: 100 XP

No profession detected… all XP siphoned toward race enhancement.

Name: Matthew James Reece

Race: Human

Profession: None

Body stats

Strength: 1

Dexterity: 1>2

Constitution: 2>3

Mind: 5>6

Spirit: 6>7

Perception: 3>5

Skills (1/7):

Meditation (lv1>16)

Not much had changed apart from his stats increasing a little as his body developed. There must be some approximation since his strength value remained the same while he had grown a little stronger.

Learning from zero to move your limbs or flex your fingers was terribly frustrating. There was nothing worse than inhabiting a body that refused to follow your commands. He had improved a lot, but there was still a long way to go.

Now my sight is only partially crap. Hurray! And my limbs graduated from wet noodles to well… something slightly better, I haven’t thought that far.

Locked in his unresponsive body, Mat discovered a few things. The most important and frustrating was how hard it was to gain new skills. Despite all his knowledge, he was unable to learn another. He worried about only having seven, but that now seemed an unreachable goal.

He needed to perform an action to learn a skill, the knowledge of it wasn’t enough, otherwise, he would have learned a ton from his past experiences. Okay, maybe not a ton but at least some.

Being constantly watched and only able to crawl didn’t leave many chances to perform notable actions. Crawling clearly wasn’t a skill.

He tried drawing on the floor and walls of the house to test his theories, but with his mediocre dexterity and improvised charcoal from the fireplace, the results only astonished his parents—and not for their beauty. Making an innocent expression and pointing to his sister, Keandra, worked. That was until they spotted his dark nails dirty with coal. An amateur mistake, but it had been hard to clean the evidence without being able to reach any water.

I’m sure I can draw better, but I don’t think it’s worth it, at least not yet.

On the plus side, his past life had to count for something. He got most of his levels in Meditation in the first month, then it slowed to a crawl—no pun intended. It made sense that the higher the level the harder it got, he just didn’t believe the difference could be this large. He must have reached the limit of his past experiences and now it was all uncharted territory.

I should have paid more attention to those meditation tutorials on YouTube.

As for his second discovery, after the weekly update, he messed around for a day with his interface. When he focused on the word Human it opened a new window.

Race: Human

Grade: Red ★

Next enhancement ➔ 2,823/10,000 XP

He didn’t know what the enhancement did, but it couldn’t be anything bad or too drastic. Anyone could reach it in less than five years with just the XP from Life Experience. His parents must have done it and they didn’t look different from a normal human. It couldn’t be anything drastic or harmful.

This window also proved the red color must refer to some kind of tier system. With each new discovery, new questions were added to the list. What did the star indicate? Was it some kind of secondary grading system? Why was there no star beside his skill? What did the enhancement do?

The best way to find the answer to the last question was to reach 10,000 XP. He got 100 XP for each skill level and 30-50 XP for Life Experience every week depending on his actions during said week. The first time he started crawling he got almost 80 XP and around 60 XP when he first visited the village.

Life Experience was a straightforward name, the details of how it worked were not. He could guess the life of a baby dependent on his parents wasn’t ideal.

Mat had a choice to make. Gradually piece together the rules and sneakily gain experience or ask the people who already had the answers. No point reinventing the wheel when he could get access to the information put together by an entire civilization.

Seems it’s time to start speaking.

At six months old it was a bit early, but he had too many questions. He didn’t delude himself into thinking he could pass for a normal baby forever; he was going to slip sooner or later. Might as well make clear he was a bit odd.

If he said his first word today, maybe in a month he could ask some simple questions. He was already considered weird since he always called his parents before he did his ‘physiological needs’. Peeing and pooping himself was already humiliating and he couldn’t stand to bear it a moment longer than necessary.

His first word was nothing special to him, though it might be for his parents. Having them both present would be ideal. He wasn’t sure how he felt about his new life and family. They had even given him a new name, Kai, but he never thought of himself like that. He was Mat, Kai was another person.

Don’t lose yourself in stupid thoughts, dumbass.

He wasn’t ready to let go of his name. He was an Earth teenager who got reincarnated.

This new world could be exciting, and his family was nice enough, he just hadn’t spoken to anyone in half a year, and he barely understood what was going on around him. There was a barrier between him and anybody else.

Naturally, his decision to start speaking was for purely logical reasons. No emotions involved.

* * *

Waiting for the perfect moment, Mat ended up postponing it for another week.

Fine! As soon as we get back home, I’ll say mom or something.

The whole family was walking through the village, along a path he had never been brought to before. From what he overheard, Rellan and Alana—his mother—were bringing his sister, Keandra, ‘somewhere’. He didn’t know that word.

Keandra was one year and a half older than him and they’d celebrated her second birthday the day before.

Mat scanned every inch of ground they passed, afraid to miss a single blade of grass. He was confident he missed none thus far. Keandra stubbornly insisted on walking by herself. They were descending a dirt path, and although the incline wasn’t that steep, for the short legs of a two-year-old, each slope was like a mountain. Their speed wasn’t exactly fast.

He admired the emerald parrots flying among the swaying canopies of the palm trees, their feathers glimmering in the light.

Their older sister, Eleni, stayed close to Keandra to make sure she didn’t fall. She smiled encouragingly and offered her hand whenever there was a particularly hard step. How she possessed that patience at six years old he didn’t know. Keandra didn’t share a snippet of the trait, as she recklessly took one step after another down the incline.

I hope she doesn’t fall.

Mat enjoyed the warm sun on his skin, it was around late summer—or this world’s equivalent. From what he could tell, the climate was tropical, with a wet summer season and a dry winter.

There was a pleasant breeze, and without the suffocating humidity he was used to, it was enjoyable.

It might as well have been a hundred years since he last enjoyed the smell and sound of nature. They reminded him of something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. This whole world had an uncanny resemblance to Earth. Not everything was the same if you looked closely, as there were often tiny details that showed this was not his home planet. The leaves of that shrubbery were bright purple, the trunk of that palm had a weird pattern, and no birds on Earth shimmered with a metallic color.

Still, just the fact he was human—or something so similar to be indistinguishable—should have been impossible.

I mean, we had zero actual knowledge of other worlds or alternative realities, my opinion isn’t worth much.

Mat admired the white and lilac flowers growing on a vine. They had seven heart-shaped petals, those were a new sight too.

Noticing they were stopping, Mat looked away from the vegetation to their destination. His mouth hung wide open. Now he understood where the familiarity was coming from. The smell of salt was unmistakable.

A white beach extended in both directions, a little farther it gave way to an endless crystalline expanse.

I think I know what that word meant.

“Sea!” Mat exclaimed, his gaze captured by a dozen shades of aquamarine that painted the view. Crashing waves continued to hit the shore, while his family exclaimed in surprise.

I really hit the jackpot with my new location.

* * *

Cressida stepped on the deck of the Darya for the second time during the two-week-long journey. The first was when she boarded the ship. Her clothes were made for palaces and to walk the paved roads of the capital, not to stand on a deck like a common sailor.

Already she could taste the salt on her lips and suppressed a grimace. The sea would quickly ruin the delicate lace of her dress.

They were nearing their destination and she would not disgrace herself; she would stand with dignity and poise. A good first impression could save months of work, even if she didn’t know if there was anyone who could appreciate her subtle efforts in this gods’ forsaken archipelago.

Cressida had no idea why the Merian Republic bothered to annex a territory with no natural resources or strategic value. No doubt it was the idea of some privileged buffoon trying to hide their incompetence with an easy win. They would not be the ones to worry about what came after, always leaving the hard parts to others.

Taking a deep breath, she recomposed herself. She got to where she was through her own ability and hard work, this was just another obstacle in her path.

The Darya creaked underneath her, reminding that the challenge might be greater than usual. It was a miracle the ship held together. Once, it had been the jewel of the Merian navy, had hosted important diplomats and participated in historic battles that made the Republic what it was today. That, however, was several centuries ago. This ship was already old when her great-grandmother was born.

With a glance, she noticed the blue paint was peeling off in several parts. The maintenance was poorly done and with the cheap products on top, but that had at least been maintained somewhat.

She didn’t dare imagine how long it had been since the runic scripts of the array were last updated, but she had a feeling she was better off not knowing. Even her cabin temperature control failed multiple times, making the journey far more miserable. Still, she would have rather burned alive before going to her husband’s room.

Ervyn told her what an honor it was to sail on such a renowned ship. She wasn’t a fool like him. The Darya was an insult, a tease as they crushed his political career together with all her future hopes. This ship was a relic left behind by the tides of time, and she would not let the same happen to her.

Cressida had been absent for just three days to attend the one hundredth birthday of Serinna Vyke, a completely unremarkable woman. She wouldn’t have bothered if it weren’t for the fact her husband sat on the highest pier of the Azure Council. In those three days needed to travel to Serinna’s summer estate and back, her husband managed to ruin years of planning and efforts on her part.

She could not fathom how even a squirrel-brained individual like Ervyn could have accepted this assignment. He was going to be a governor, he said.

That was more than a month ago, and every single detail of the moment was imprinted into her brain with devastating clarity. That proud smile of his as he told her he received a promotion. The suffocating feeling, as if someone punched her in the chest and stole her breath.

Even before asking for clarifications, she’d known it was bad news, but she could have never imagined the extent.

Exiled to a place she hadn’t even known existed. He was going to be the governor of a handful of useless rocks with no value. The classical glorified position, where they sent pampered scions no one could afford to fire or old geezers to retire. It was also the perfect place to kill the career of a political rival.

She had not looked him in the face or spoken to him since that night, not a word. Divorce tantalized her, but eventually she resigned herself to the situation. With two children, it would be near impossible to find another palatable husband.

Cressida wondered how she ended up marrying such a trusting fool, before remembering those were the exact reasons she was able to seduce him.

“Evryn,” she called, her voice calm and smooth, not betraying any of her emotions.

As they got closer to their new home—even if the thought repulsed her—avoiding him wouldn’t be feasible. She had already idled in her misery long enough. It was time to assess the damage and make plans for the future.

Not even a second later Ervyn appeared beside her. Despite his impressive stature, his current demeanor was anything but imposing.

“Issy, sweetheart, I told you how sorry I am. They told me it was a—”

She patiently waited for him to finish his useless apologies. Another time she would have been amused by the stark contrast between his hulking figure and the beaten puppy expression. She was considered tall, and yet he was more than a head and a half taller than her, with a physique to match, due to his military background. She supposed his naive brain wasn’t the only reason she chose him, but that was a thought for another time.

“It’s already been forgiven, honey.” She put on a serene smile. Swearing at his face and slapping him would have hit the spot, but that would solve nothing and hurt her hand more than him.

It was her fault. She should have known better than to leave an imbecile alone in that den of vipers.

No one was going to help her besides herself. She had to be practical.

When their destination came into view, even her low expectations were disappointed. Higharbor was supposed to be the biggest city of the Baquaire Archipelago. It barely looked like a town.

There was no airdock anywhere in sight and even the greedy merfolk didn’t come here to trade. For the gods’ piety, this was a goddamn archipelago, and the main traders of the sea didn’t bother with it.

Cressida had no idea how, but she would find a way to turn this setback into an opportunity. She always did. If there was no airdock she would build one. If those greedy bastards didn’t include these rocks in their trade routes, she would personally jiggle her purse to make them come and find a way to sell them seawater if necessary.