Chapter 1: The One Who Sees
(~1,620 words)
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The second child of Paul and Zenith Greyrat came into the world in the quietest hour of dawn.
Unlike the stormy night when Rudeus was born, today the sky was clear, washed with pale light as birds stirred in the trees outside. The house was calm, save for Zenith's soft cries and Paul's anxious pacing. Lilia stood nearby, hands clasped in silent support, her eyes focused on her mistress.
Moments later, the silence broke.
A child's first cry echoed through the home—but unlike Rudeus' energetic, flailing wails from over a year ago, this cry was short. Controlled. A few moments of sound, then... stillness.
Zenith held her newborn to her chest, her exhaustion mixing with joy. Her eyes met the baby's.
He was staring at her.
Not randomly, not unfocused like most infants, but looking. His silver-gray eyes met hers with clarity. The baby's gaze was calm—unshakably so. It startled her.
"He's... awake?" she whispered. "Already?"
Paul stepped in, peering down at his second son. "Well, he's a healthy one, that's for sure. That's my boy."
Lilia remained quiet, but her sharp gaze lingered longer than expected. The child's aura wasn't normal. He didn't radiate the innocence of a newborn. Something lay beneath those eyes. Something ancient.
Of course, none of them could have imagined the truth: the soul behind those eyes wasn't new at all.
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Reylan Greyrat drew in his first breath in this world—and his second as a sentient being with memory. The first had ended in disappointment: a mundane death, a wasted life. But this second life had begun with promise.
He blinked, registering the warmth of his mother's arms, the scent of clean cloth and medicinal herbs... and the sudden, digital ping in his head.
> [SYSTEM INITIATED]
Welcome, User: Reylan Greyrat
Soul Signature: Verified
Synchronizing body and soul... complete.
Accessing core status display...
A shimmering interface, visible only to him, hovered in the void of his mind. It was clean, minimalist, and sharp.
> [STATUS]
Name: Reylan Greyrat
Race: Human
Class: None
Level: 1
HP: 50/50
MP: 120/120
STR: 6
AGI: 7
INT: 12
WIS: 14
VIT: 6
LUK: 10
Titles: Reincarnated, Observer, Bladeborn
Skills:
- Basic Spellcasting (Lv 2)
- Meditation (Lv 1)
- Mana Sense (Lv 1)
- Sword Style: Unbound Flow (Lv 1)
Perks:
- Keen Insight
- Calm Mind
- Natural Blade
So it wasn't just reincarnation, Reylan thought, eyes fluttering shut again as he absorbed the data. I got a System. A real one. Clean interface, no annoying tutorials. Just stats, perks, and room to grow.
This wasn't like a game interface thrown at some clueless protagonist. This... this was refined. It didn't push objectives. It didn't hold his hand. It was simply there, as much a part of him as breath.
A gift? A trap? He didn't care.
It was his.
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The days passed in quiet growth. He listened more than he cried. Watched more than he babbled. Where Rudeus was sociable and expressive, Reylan was quiet and perceptive. He learned to crawl early, not out of impatience, but because he saw Lilia moving with such grace through the hallways and mimicked her silently.
> [Passive Observed: Controlled Movement]
Skill Fragment Acquired: Balance Adjustment]
He experimented with movement the way others might test a new sword. He learned to shift his weight precisely. To move without startling creaky floors. His System acknowledged his development, but didn't flood him with messages. It simply reflected his reality.
Exactly how I like it, he mused. No noise. Just growth.
He didn't speak a word until he was ten months old. His first word wasn't "Mama" or "Papa."
It was "Sword."
Paul had been polishing his blade in the sitting room when Reylan crawled in, sat down, and simply watched.
Not with childish curiosity. But with focused, calculating interest.
Paul had chuckled. "Heh... You like swords, huh?"
Reylan's eyes never left the weapon. "Sword."
Paul's grin widened. "Alright then. I know which one of you I'll train first."
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At one year old, Reylan received his first wooden sword.
It was too big for him, and he knew it—but it didn't matter. Weight and balance were lessons, not obstacles. While Paul laughed and treated it as child's play, Reylan studied.
Every swing.
Every parry.
Every opening.
Paul was a capable warrior, but a simple one. He relied on instinct and strength, not refinement. That made him easy to read.
Reylan copied his movements, then refined them. He began experimenting, building something of his own.
> [Skill Gained: Sword Style – Unbound Flow (Lv 1)]
A notification, quiet and cool, appeared in his mind.
He didn't smile, but his grip tightened. The sword was no longer a toy. It was his instrument.
Zenith worried he was growing too quiet. "He's always so calm. He doesn't play like Rudeus does... He just stares."
Paul waved it off. "He's just serious. Some kids are like that. He'll lighten up once he starts sword training properly."
Rudeus, for his part, was more interested in books and magic. He was already trying to cast spells in secret, as if no one noticed. Reylan noticed. Every flick of the hand. Every whispered chant.
> [Skill Fragment Detected: Basic Spellcasting]
Skill Acquired: Basic Spellcasting (Lv 1)
[Perk Activated: Keen Insight]
He cast his first spell the next day.
No chant. No voice. Just instinct. A tiny flame appeared in his palm before vanishing again. It wasn't powerful—but it was precise.
He practiced at night, when everyone else slept. He combined his sword swings with magic microbursts—wind to boost a strike, fire to flash-blind, water to mist the air.
He wasn't training. He was building something.
A style that no one in this world had ever seen.
---
By the time Reylan was a year and a half old, he had already achieved what most children wouldn't dream of until age ten.
He didn't brag. Didn't boast. Didn't show off.
That wasn't who he was.
But Lilia saw it.
One night, she passed by the courtyard and stopped—frozen in place.
Reylan stood barefoot under the moonlight, wooden sword in hand, cutting through the air in a perfect flow. No wasted motion. Each swing was part of a dance, his body weaving through shadows with balance far beyond his age.
Not a child.
Not a prodigy.
Something else.
Lilia said nothing. Just watched. Then turned and left.
The next morning, she prepared his meal with an extra side of dried fruit.
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At age two, Rudeus received his tutor: Roxy Migurdia. Reylan watched from the corner of the room as she introduced herself.
"Nice to meet you," Roxy said, kneeling before the older boy. "I'll be teaching you magic starting today."
Rudeus, ever curious, was starstruck.
Reylan simply observed.
She had mana control. Excellent, actually. Better than most adults. Her spellcasting was elegant, her magical sense keen.
He didn't say a word to her. Not yet. But when their eyes met for the first time, Roxy paused.
There was something in that younger boy's gaze—too calm. Too clear.
She turned back to Rudeus and continued the lesson.
But that night, Reylan stood outside with his wooden sword again. This time, he added a flame burst to his strikes.
It sliced through a training dummy.
Clean. Effortless.
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He stared at the smoldering cut.
> [Skill Advanced: Sword Style – Unbound Flow (Lv 2)]
[Passive Unlocked: Flame Edge Technique]
Still too weak, he thought, turning away as the wind stirred his hair.
He wasn't training to become stronger than Rudeus.
He was preparing for something far beyond any of them.
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End of Chapter 1