Chapter 11

After the match and Reid was declared the winner, the instructor proceeded to remind everyone that it was simply a physical assessment exam.

In his own words, "Who won or lost isn't what matters…". Although he said that, there was unspoken truth and reason behind the 'exam' and also the fact that parents were invited to come. It is simply a front for parents to boast about their children's strength and possibly increase their social standing, depending on the performance of said children.

The six year old heir defeating another student of ten years old became the hot topic of the village. What made it even spicier was the fact that said ten year old was said to be the prodigy of his own generation.

Different thoughts went through peoples minds. The thoughts of the parents were pride and or disappointment in their children's strength while others had different things in mind.

The elders of the clan were concerned with other things.

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In a dark room, four individuals were seated at a round table. There was an empty seat which seemed to be more important than the rest but was ignored for now.

"I think we all know what we are here to discuss." The first individual said solemnly. The other figures hummed in acknowledgment.

"The physical exam. There were some expected and…unexpected occurrences." The figure continued.

"Reid, Lady Miko's son has showcased great prowess in the art of combat at such an unexpected age." The second figure spoke in a serious tone.

"He is her son after all. We all knew it would happen eventually, we simply didn't expect to see it so soon." The third said in a way that showed his neutrality in the matter.

"He's nothing special." The last figure which from the voice was deduced to be female, commented casually.

"You're just saying that because he defeated your 'precious' son." The third said with clear intent to provoke her. The last figure remained silent and refused to comment.

"Cat go your tongue, Vivian?" The third figure prodded.

"Shut the hell up!" The last figure now identified as Vivian, yelled at the third individual, eliciting a laugh from him.

"Viktor, stop provoking her. What are going to do about this?" The second figure asked everyone.

"There's nothing to do. As our future leader his strength signifies the strength of the clan. Should he need our help, we will be there to lend our support." Viktor answered, his previous joking tone, now a grave one.

"As it should be." The first figure said.

"Lady Miko is leaving for a trip very soon. It is uncertain when she will return but she has left me in charge of the clan until she returns." He continued. There was a low grunt of discontent that was ignored.

"We have the responsibility of maintaining order in the clan until they return. Dismissed!" He finished as he got up and exited the room.

"Don't stay up too late." Viktor joked as he too left, with only Vivian and the last figure remaining in the room.

They stayed in silence for a few moments until the figure in front of her broke it.

"Don't do anything stupid Vivian or everything we have done will go to waste. Miko isn't as strong as she once was but she's crafty. The time is near, be patient." With that, he disappeared in a dull flash of light, leaving Vivian to her thoughts.

Seeing that she was alone, She grit her teeth in frustration as she slams her palm on the table.

'Those fools…'

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While the meeting was going on, the two people who were knowingly or unknowingly the cause if that meeting were in their home getting ready for their trip.

A slightly grumpy Reid was packing his belongings into a traveling bag. Being a child, he didn't have much to pack but that wasn't the reason for his grumpy mood.

After defeating Haze, the mission issued to him by the system was completed. The rewards he received were 10 stat points, replacing the ones he used during the fight and the skill [Aura].

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Aura[Passive/Active][level 1]

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He felt cheated. He believed that he could unlock through many other ways but he didn't expect to get it like this and so felt cheated.

He pushed aside his thoughts as his bandaged arm put the last item in the bag. Although he was healed due to him now having [Gamer body] and [Aura] but he couldn't tell his mother that.

'At least it'll save me a lot of time meditating to unlock it.' He thought as he zipped the bag closed and exited his room. The thought of where they were going and how they were going to get there filled his mind.

There were only two places close to the village; the first being a large village called Turwen. There were no interactions between the two villages so he knew nothing about them except the fact that they once fought to be recognized as a kingdom but failed.

The other place wasn't very close but it was the closest kingdom, the kingdom of Atlas and mantle which was below it. He also doubted that would be their destination but he could only make speculations at best.

During his internal monologue, his feet led him to the living room where his mother was waiting for him with her own bag on the floor beside her. She was looking at a picture in her hands so she didn't notice his entrance.

"Mom, I'm done packing." He said softly so as not to spook her. It seemed to work as she turned to him, picture still in hand.

"Oh? I thought you'd take longer than that. You were barely in there for half an hour." She said curiously.

"There's not really much to pack. What's that?" He replied while also curious about the content of the picture. She let out a smile as she showed it to him.

"It's a picture of the day you were born." They stayed in a comfortable silence as they looked at the picture.

" The doctor said that you might not make it past the age of two but here we are. I promised myself that if you survived I would give my all to raising you…and you survived." She said softly with a happy smile on her face as she hugged him towards her.

The comfortable moment was interrupted by a knock on the door. The happy look on Reid's face turned to slight annoyance. As if sensing his emotion, she laughed while patting his hair.

"It looks like she's here on time." She said as she walked to open the door.

'Who's here?' He thought. He watched his mother open the door and lead a purple haired woman inside.

"Who are you?" He asked immediately, not caring about how he sounded. Before the woman has a chance to consider the question, Miko spoke up.

"Now don't be rude, Reid. This is Lisa. She'll be helping us with our luggage during our trip. She's also a trained fighter so you don't need to worry about getting hurt." She explained.

'Getting hurt from what exactly' Was what he thought but didn't voice out. Instead he asked a different question on his mind.

"How exactly will she help with out bags." He asked but politely this time. She didn't respond and only smiled at Lisa who then stretched out her hand towards Reid.

His eyes narrowed on the hand for a brief second before he realized that she was gesturing for him to give his bag. He reluctantly gave it to her and watched in surprise as it was sucked into her palm.

His eyes zeroed in on her face to see her slight amusement at his shock.

"Hmph!" He simply turned away as Miko controlled her laugh at the cute scene in front of her. It barely took her time to get herself under control.

"Alright give her anything else you need to carry and we'll be on our way."

"Where are we going anyway?" Reid asked, now facing them. Miko watched her bag disappear into Lisa's palm.

"Menagerie. I'm going to see an old friend." She answered with a nostalgic smile on her face, unaware of the shock on Reid's face as she lead them out of the house.