"Mom, do you think I'll have an inherited skill?" Peter asked once he finished his meal.
He had grown big enough to sit at the dining table with both of his parents. These days, they shared breakfast and dinner together—a routine he enjoyed.
There were no phones to distract them, no devices to take away from the warmth of family meals.
"Oh dear, you don't have to be so anxious about it," his mother said with a reassuring smile. "Most people are born without skills. Even your father and I didn't have any at first."
"You can always gain them later. Your dad can teach you swordsmanship in the mornings if you're interested."
"I'd be happy to, Pete." His father ruffled his hair. "You have to understand—what your status shows tomorrow morning won't define your entire life."
He leaned back in his chair, his expression thoughtful.
"I know plenty of people who started with lower stats than me, with no skills at all, yet they worked hard and surpassed me. And I've also seen people born with great skills and potential… but they got lazy. They were left in the dust."
Mariah took Peter's small hand in hers, squeezing it gently.
"My sunshine," she said softly, "no matter what your status screen says tomorrow, we won't be disappointed. And neither should you. Sleep peacefully—we'll have something special for breakfast before we visit the temple."
Peter nodded. With a final goodnight, he left for his room.
…
Peter wasn't sure if he'd be able to sleep that night. It was comforting to know he had amazing parents, but all he could think about was whether his project would succeed.
Status...
[
Time Until First Awakening:
1: 34: 18
Skills:
IDE
]
He lay down on his bed, watching the counter tick down.
If today went as planned, he'd have to start thinking about his future—about what he truly wanted from this life. Village life was peaceful, but it felt too small for him.
How could he stay confined to one place when he lived in a world of magic and mystery?
He was certain his parents knew this about him. They had already accepted that, one day, he would leave to explore the world beyond their quiet village.
Mom just wanted to cherish the time she still had with him before that happened.
Peter truly felt blessed to have such understanding parents.
Before settling here, his parents had been adventurers. Mom had shared a few stories with him, usually when he pestered her about them.
He smiled at the memory.
She used to tell him those stories as bedtime tales not too long ago. Imagine that—having parents whose past adventures rivaled the heroes of children's stories from his last life.
.
.
.
Status…
[
Time Until First Awakening:
3
Skills:
IDE
]
Peter stared at the countdown, his breath held and his body tense.
3... 2... 1...
The numbers vanished.
For a heartbeat, nothing happened. No blinding light, no earth-shattering revelation—just silence. Then, as if peeling away an invisible veil, his full status appeared before him.
Status...
[
Name: Peter
Race: Human
Class: None
Age: 5
Title: None
Stats:
Health: 50 (Cons * 10)
Mana: 2780 (Spirit * 10)
Constitution: 5 Spirit: 278
Strength: 4 Agility: 5
Luck: 8 Charisma: 15
Skills:
IDE
Mana Sense Lv. 1
]
Peter exhaled deeply, a sense of relief washing over him. 'Phew, no indication that I'm a reincarnated soul.'
That was his first relief. But then, his eyes locked onto a certain number.
Spirit: 278
He blinked. Stared again. His fingers clenched the blanket beneath him.
That was dangerously close to the fourth awakening threshold.
Even the village elder, the highest-level person Peter knew, had only undergone her second awakening.
Most villagers would never reach level 100 in their lifetime. Experience gains slowed to a crawl as levels increased, and in a place like this, opportunities to grow stronger were almost non-existent.
A few weeks ago, Peter had subtly convinced Monica and David to reveal their stats to him. He hadn't needed their numbers at the time, but now, as he stared at his own screen, those figures resurfaced in his mind.
'Time to compare.'
Status…
[
Name: David
Race: Human
Class: None
Age: 7
Title: None
Stats:
Health: 60 (Cons * 10)
Mana: 60 (Spirit * 10)
Constitution: 6 Spirit: 6
Strength: 7 Agility: 8
Skills:
]
Status…
[
Name: Monica
Race: Human
Class: Villager
Level: 3
Age: 10
Title: None
Stats:
Health: 90 (Cons * 10)
Mana: 100 (Spirit * 10)
Constitution: 9 Spirit: 10
Strength: 7 Agility: 7
Dexterity: 3
Skills:
Running Lv. 4
]
They didn't have Luck or Charisma unlocked.
That told him something important.
He already knew that some stats required specific conditions to unlock. His dad had Perception, but he didn't—yet.
That meant he had somehow met the requirements for Luck and Charisma, while Monica and David hadn't.
That was worth looking into later.
When he asked Monica about her class, she repeated what her mother had told her:
"At the age of 10, everyone in the kingdom who doesn't have a class yet is granted one by the king."
At first, that sounded odd. If the Villager class existed, shouldn't there be a King class too?
So, he dug deeper into the System Library.
Sure enough, classes like Queen, King, Sovereign, and Emperor existed—but they were just placeholders with no actual skills.
The real answer was hidden in the Title Library.
Some powerful Titles granted placeholder Classes as supplements to the main class. More importantly, some Titles granted special abilities and extra free stat points per level-up.
For example, the King Title let its holder appoint nobles and generals. It also ensured that people in the kingdom who didn't have a primary class were automatically assigned Commoner or Villager.
Interesting stuff—but right now, he had more important things to focus on.
He needed to gain his first skill.
Not just any skill.
One that he had personally modified from the System Library.
Using IDE, he had successfully created a blueprint for the skill—what would be called a Class in programming terms.
But up until now, he had only tested it inside the IDE.
...To be continued
P.S. Please read author's note before reading next chapter. Thank you.