"Open status."
[Name: Davin Bluemoon]
[Age: 7 years]
[Race: Half-Origin]
[Strength: 8]
[Intelligence: 11]
[Agility: 9]
[Vitality: 7]
[Stamina: 50/50]
[Health Points (HP): 140/140]
[Mana: 0/0]
[Skills: Appraisal]
[Pulse Points: 920]
[Pulse Consumption: 10 Per day]
"After four long years, this is my current progress. And I have a fucking three months left to live! Damn, I guess I have to hunt more chickens," Davin said with a long sigh.
Two years ago, the boy had learned something new. He had 'accidentally' killed a chickling and, in turn, gained fifty points!
This discovery gave him a sinister idea.
It was a tough choice, but his need of staying alive, led him to terrorize the village by secretly slaughtering more chicks.
To avoid getting caught, he spaced out his 'evil ceremonies' over extended periods.
This was mainly to hide it from his overprotective mother.
He had a feeling that she watched him 24/7! Though he wasn't 100% sure about it. One fact remained clear, his mother always knew where he was.
He had proven this during one day of playing hide and seek with his parents.
Davin had mischievously run out of their house to hide at a neighbor's lawn. His real goal being to sneak out for a walk.
Sadly, for him, the outcome was different. His mommy found him within seconds and scolded his henpecked dad, by blaming him of teaching her son 'bad morals' of snooping around in other people's property.
Thus the game was forced to have an untimely end.
Of coarse Ray was innocent, but since Gaela felt like scolding someone, poor guy had to take the blame.
In essence, she would never dare raise a finger against her beloved, overly-spoilt son. Due to her own reasons that is…
So Davin had to go to his maniacal chickling-hunting quests when his mother wasn't around. Especially when she herself goes 'hunting'.
'I sure pity the poultry folks whose chicks mysteriously died…' The boy thought as he stretched.
Now if you're wondering why he still doesn't have enough Pulses, it's because he had extravagantly used them to increase his stats!
His goal? To become as strong as his mother. This selfish motivation had cost many baby chickens their lives over the past two years.
'System, how much will it cost me now to upgrade my stats?'
[200 Pulse Points per stat. If stats grow above 10, it will be 400 Pulse Points per stat. As for Stamina, it will be 200 Pulse Points per 10 Stamina stats.]
'Why is it so freaking expensive?'
[It's easier than you think to gain Pulse Points. Killing mere common animals gives you 50 Pulses!]
[Additionally, manually increasing your stats takes a toll on the Time Orb, since your stats are critically connected to your physical body. I highly suggest that you train to increase your stats naturally. Remember, breaking through your physical bottlenecks will always trigger a stat increase.]
'That's easier said than done, you know.'
[True, but it's cheaper on the other hand.]
'…' The boy silently left his room and headed straight to the kitchen counter, where a cup of oat porridge and slices of bread awaited him.
After quickly devouring his breakfast, he realized his parents were nowhere to be found. That's when he heard a loud clanging sound outside.
'Huh? Now what are those two up to?' he thought as he made his way to the main door.
Upon opening it, a shockwave hit him, ruffling his brown hair.
There, at the source of the commotion, stood two figures with wooden swords pressed against each other.
"You've really gotten stronger," Gaela said with an impressed smile.
"Been training hard," Ray replied proudly, his chin raised high.
"Good morning, mama… Make sure to beat up dad for me!" a little rascal shouted, causing his father to lose his earlier confident demeanor.
"No good morning for me?" Ray said, his face filled with injustice. Instead of answering, Davin completely ignored him as if he were thin air, causing Ray's lips to twitch.
'Why do I feel like he's going to bully me when he gets older?' Ray thought with a wry smile.
Meanwhile, Gaela burst into hearty laughter, finding the scene utterly amusing.
"Come on, let's continue. Let me show my little champ just how awesome I am," Ray said with a determined expression.
He then set his stance, and a blue hue engulfed his entire being. Sending out a cold breeze that swept across Davin's face, sending a chill down his body.
"Your aura is even more refined. At least your early morning trainings paid off," Gaela remarked approvingly, her golden eyes sparkling.
"Yeah, all thanks to your encouragement, love…" Ray replied, his sapphire eyes glowing with power.
[Water element-empowered aura… interesting.]
'So that's what it is.' Davin nodded in understanding.
Gaela straightened her stance, preparing for Ray's attack. Without hesitation, Ray stepped forward, moving at a speed Davin's eyes couldn't follow.
'He can also move as fast as mother… cool,' Davin thought, his excitement flaring up.
Suddenly, a loud clang echoed, accompanied by a powerful shockwave and a cloud of dust that spread outward from the clash.
Before it could reach Davin, Gaela raised her hand and snapped her fingers, causing the shockwave to vanish without a trace.
"Well done. You cracked my sword…" Gaela's voice emerged from within the dust. When it settled, Ray could be seen kneeling on one knee while panting heavily.
His wooden sword lay shattered on the ground, a familiar outcome in his spars with Gaela.
"You're really on another level, aren't you?" Ray said as he stood up, brushing dirt off his clothes.
Gaela smiled sweetly at him before giving him a quick peck on the lips.
"I bet mother only used a small fraction of her power!" A little someone chimed in, causing Ray to nearly lose his balance while Gaela giggled.
"Sometimes it's like he enjoys taunting me…" Ray whispered.
"Well, he's your son. He probably got that trait from you."
"But you're the one who spoils him!"
"No, I don't!" Gaela protested with a pout.
"Do you know that Davin just turned seven today?" Gaela suddenly said, her voice brimming with excitement.
"Huh? Seriously? I lost track of time…"
"How dare you! He's your only son, for goodness' sake!" And with that, Gaela began scolding Ray, earning two thumbs up from Davin in his heart.
'Hey, System, what exactly happened in their fight?' Davin asked, as his parents' clash had been too fast for him to follow.
A golden screen appeared and glowed briefly before displaying a cinematic scene.
In the scene, Ray dashed toward Gaela, swinging his sword in a downward slash. But Gaela parried the attack, by shattering Ray's sword using her own, and quickly countered.
Her strike, using the flat surface of her sword, cleanly connected with Ray's shoulder, forcing him to kneel as if a great weight had been placed on him.
'Just how strong is she?' The little boy wondered.
"Fine, to make you happy, I'll take Davin with me. We'll have a little father-son bonding time," Ray compromised, seeing that Gaela's scolding wasn't going to end anytime soon.
She paused, glancing at both Davin and Ray before nodding happily.
"And if he gets a scratch on him… I'll make sure to put two on your precious gems…" she said with a sweet smile that sent shivers down Ray's spine.
[I wonder what his precious gems are?]
'You can't be serious…'