My name is Leonard Phillips. I live in the commoner realm of Liebe with my wife Stella Hearth and my children Victor and Seraphine Phillips. We moved in here from outside due to... well, it's a long story.
Life has been pretty nice here. I get up, tend to my family, go to work with our motor carriage and come back, do some house work, tend to my family again, go to bed and rinse and repeat. It might be dull, but it's far better than before. Moving in with Stella, raising a family... I've never regretted it.
Speaking of my two gremlins, I was amazed at how fast Victor grew up. He picked up everything taught to him without much issue. At only seven years of age, he has started practicing swordplay and has clearly been exercising. At first I was suspicious, until one day he got absolutely livid that he couldn't properly write a sentence and threw a tantrum, smashing one of our windows with a stick. That's when I knew he was definitely my kid, haha!
Anyway, Vicky was really gifted in damn near everything. His sister, on the other hand, well... she's acting more like her age I guess. But she's a real feisty one! There's this determination in her eyes to master the Fireball skill. I keep trying to tell her it's not that simple, but she just won't give up on it. I guess I know who took after our mother most!
All in all, life has been pretty nice here so far...
So far...
...Until these two Direwolves showed up, leaving behind all those collapsed trees in their path. How'd they get past the barriers around the forest? Did they walk all the way from the forest to here as a pack? If so, where are the others? They seem hungry... is this all that's left of their group?
...No, this isn't the time to be questioning things. What matters is protecting my wife and child. Luckily, Vicky was not here right now. One less target.
Okay, I'll just focus on defending for now. They're both after me, so Sera should-
Wait, what? No! One of the Direwolves is heading for her! Did they figure out I was on the defense?! Damn it! I need to get to-
The other Direwolf spared no expense and dashed towards me. F**k. This is bad. Stella's right behind me. She's a C- rank Support, she can't handle a Direwolf in a one-on-one! At best she can stall it for a few seconds while I take out the one heading for Sera. But speaking of her... she's just a child. She will for sure die if I stay here. Damn it.
I look at Stella. She understands the situation and gives a nod. I guess we're risking it. In the event that I don't make it, I promise to raise them well...
- "Faiyuhball!"
That mispronounced chant and adorable voice...! Sera! Is she trying to cast a fireball?! You idiot! You'll die!!
- "SERA-"
The other wolf clashed its claws with my blade. F**k! Screw it, YOU DIE FIRST NOW!
- Moonlight Slash: LV. 7
With a shining aura, I cleave the Direwolf in two, its blood and insides pouring out. I turn to Sera. It was then that the shockwave catched up to my ears and later my body. The shockwave of a massive ball of fire exploding right on top of the other Direwolf. I, as well as Stella and the Direwolf corpse, were blown back a few meters. It was then, after the smoke cleared, that the source of the Fireball was revealed to me.
It was Sera. Standing there triumphantly as the other Direwolf lay there, motionless, its body engulfed in flames. Smoke was coming off her hand, which was slightly scorched. That didn't change her mood though. Her face was completely blank, her carnage reflecting off her eyes in a mirror image, before being transformed. She was positively beaming. Excited, she turned to me before full-sending it to my blood-staines arms.
- "Papa, it worked!! Faierball!!"
I was too stunned for words. Did she just... kill a Direwolf? In one shot... with a basic attack spell? It didn't even die from burning to death, the sheer impact straight-up blasted its head apart! I didn't even know fireball could do that! Never in my decades of adventuring have I ever seen a basic spell do that - I mean, I've seen similar things happen, but they were all advanced skills at the very least! Just how did this little pipsqueak...
I snapped out of my shock and noticed that Victor came back while I was distracted. He seemed stunned too. And wait, is that... blood? He's completely drenched in it. But judging from the lack of damage, its not his.
Wait, Direwolves come in packs of no less than 3... no way. Did he also kill one? These two...
No. Now's not the time to be amazed. I am their father. I must comfort my family right now.
I deeply hug Stella and Sera. Sera's completely unfazed by the carnage around us, but me and Stella let out a few tears of relief.
- "Father!"
Vicky joins the embrace. It seems he isn't like Sara, as he also sheds some tears. We have a little moment together amidst the wreckage. Stella turned to Vicky.
- "Oh Vicky, where were you? And is that... blood on you? Did you get hurt?!"
- "A Direwolf attacked me so I hid in a tree. It saw me and knocked it down, so I fell and hurt my legs a little bit. After that, some figure in armor showed up and saved me. I think they were an adventurer. They sliced the wolf's neck, so I got a bit of its blood on me as I was close when it happened."
Oh, I see. I didn't notice before, but now that he mentioned it, his legs are quite badly damaged. A "little bit" doesn't cut it. This will take weeks to fully heal. It's a miracle he can even stand. Must be all the adrenaline.
I guess I jumped the gun a bit. An adventurer showing up and killing it is way more likely than a seven year old boy taking it down by himself. Though, how did said adventurer even get here? Were they farming EXP around the forest, noticed a pack of Direwolves escaped and tracked it down? If they did, why didn't they come for the others of this pack? Or did they just so happen to be in the area?
Whatever the case, we're just lucky to be alive right now.
- "...we should probably put out the fire..."
Vicky was right, as the fire has now started to spread to the grass. Well, should be no problem for Stella. I motion over to her.
- "Right..."
She slowly gets up and walks over to the body. As she's putting out the fire with her water skills, she seems really shaken. I guess this was a terrifying experience, but she was an Adventurer not too long ago. She should be used to stuff like this.
After a few douses, the corpse was put out. We then gathered the corpses, washed outselves off and prepared a meal out of them. Nothing like a late-night snack made out of the things that tried to brutally kill you.
But as we were eating... Huh. That's... Odd. Vicky's hand is damaged as well. Particularly his... knuckles? Come to think of it, most of the blood was on his arm...
Nah, I'm thinking about it too hard. I go over to pat him on the back.
- "Well, that was one hell of a night! You saw what your sister did, be nice to her if you don't wanna end up the same! Haha!"
I laugh. He gives a nod and an understanding, nervous look. Stay strong, buddy.
- "Well, I've had my fill. Don't lose hope, Victor. You both still have so much room to grow."
I walk out of the room and into the bathroom. I take a moment to think. It wasn't just me overthinking it. Victor's knuckles were damaged, and it was also where most of the blood was. The blood wasn't his. He said it splashed on him, but that's not how blood that was spilt from a slash to the neck would look like. Rather, judging from what it looked like, it seems more likely that he stabbed it himself. His legs also didn't align with his story. Those injuries were self-inflicted. I've seen it happen. When a skill is too strong for the body to handle, leading to internal damage. He used quite the strong skill, probably to jump on that tree. That's how his legs got injured. In any case, it's more ridiculous to assume that an Adventurer would just so happen to be patrolling around the commoner realm, where they won't find any worthwhile jobs or monsters, and they just so happened to see Victor in danger and proceeded to easily slay the Direwolf. Sure, maybe they chased it down from the forest while farming monsters, but in that case, what about the others? There were two more with this one. That's three times the EXP and yet they were nowhere to be found. None of it adds up, so... This is the most likely truth. Victor encountered a Direwolf while on his own. He took a lot of damage, but managed to kill it narrowly. He then hurried back home and, on the way there, thought of a cover-up alibi to not seem suspicious. Though it easily came apart, it was still a solid story that has a surface level of plausibility in it. He also thought of it incredibly fast, touching on not just his appearance and absence, but injuries too. And even more so, he did this all to seem like he wasn't abnormal like his sister. Not only did he kill a Direwolf by himself, he also made the call to cover it up and, in an incredibly short time, managed to create an alibi that fooled everyone here, even if for just an hour or so. Seraphine may have displayed incredible power, but Victor showed that not only can he keep up with her, but also has the wit and quick thinking to match it. They're both prodigies, but he's on another level entirely.
I take a look at the mirror. A tired face with baby blue eyes and brown hair looks back. I'm a thirty-something year old man with back pain and a sore wrist. Officially recognized as an A Rank Swordsman, yet I only have the skills of a B rank. Since I have a Unique System that comes with Unique Skills, I'm automatically raised by one Tier. Normally it's justified, as Unique Skills should be incredibly strong, but that's not the case for mine.
Moonlight Slash. A skill that gives my sword a shining aura, leaving a beautiful, heavenly trail. It's bullshit. It does nothing except look pretty and maybe act as a light source. It's not even close to what a real Unique Skill should look like. I'm probably the weakest A Tier User in this land, maybe even the whole world. I'm a fraud.
So then how... did these two come from me? Is it just pure luck? Did the heavens bless me?
...heh. Yeah, right. This is not a blessing. If anything it's a curse. A divine punishment for being such a fraud.
I take another look at myself. A sense of fear trickles down my spine, reflected in my face. The sight of my own face only amplifies it, distorting it more. I break down on the sink.
You've got to be kidding me... I'm supposed to be... a father to them? Me? Both of them? I can barely keep myself together right now. I'm just a nobody.
Just how in the hell... am I supposed to raise monsters like them...?
**************
Somewhere in the world, a child sits on a tree branch. This child has long, pure black hair, wrapped around her scarlet red eyes. She's wearing a grey robe and is just sitting there, eating an Appo,which is an apple that looks like it has a tiny face. She seems relaxed, just enjoying her time in this great summer weather. She was swaying from side to side.
- "This isn't so bad, to be honest"
The tree the child was sitting on is the only tree for miles. A vast plain covered the area, with a few marble buildings placed throughout, all enclosed by a fence. One of the buildings was three times larger than all the others. A marble palace that seemed unapproachable due to its sheer size. The tree the child was sitting on was right next to the palace.
An older woman in serving attire came out of the palace.
- "Young Master, you must get off of the Adam Tree! If His Majesty catches you..."
The child sees this, is visibly slightly annoyed, but concedes and gets down from the tree with a flip, appo still in hand, and joins the woman as they return to the palace.