22 Who's Samuel?

"Dad! Mom! Look at what I made!", a cute little boy, about 6 to 7 years old, was enthusiastically waving around an intricate piece of origami, something that a 7 year old child would have a difficult time creating.

It looked like a swan, although it had many sharp angles.

"Oh? That's so cool, Samuel!", said the beautiful mother. She had blonde hair, but her facial features were unrecognizable.

"Honey, our son is so talented in these sorts of things!", she exclaimed to the handsome man sitting on a couch sipping hot tea. He had black hair, and also an unrecognizable face.

"Haha! He sure is! Just look how fast he's learning those complex folds! By the time he grows up, I bet he'll be able to create his own designs!", he laughed out and complimented the little boy.

"Mom! Dad! I'll be sure to show you my progress when I get to that level!!", he said, brimming with joy, hope and aspirations.

But then, reality starts to shatter before the boy's eyes.

A fire had ignited in the kitchen of the building. Mom and Dad haven't noticed yet, but the boy has.

He cries out, "MOM! DAD! THERE'S A FIRE IN THE HOUSE!!!! PUT IT OUT!!!!"

But strangely, it seems as though they can't hear him. They are still laughing and smiling while complimenting the boy.

The boy looks in horror as the fire spreads even more, devastating the house.

Mom and Dad finally notice the fire, but it is too late.

"mom.... dad....", the boy shakily utters, with nothing but despair in his heart and voice.

He looks at the charred corpses of what used to be his mom and dad.

He is then violently pulled away from that scene by firemen, who get there just in time to save him, but not his family.

The boy looks broken beyond repair. His eyes, colder than ice and his body, as motionless as a corpse.

He feels nothing. Not even sorrow or despair. He blocks off all emotions and concentrates on his body's condition and how he could survive.

------- Dream Ends --------

I slowly opened my eyes to a beam of light directed at my eyes.

'what was that dream...?', I wondered as I struggled to get up from the bed.

I wasn't in my room, but instead, in a hospital bed. A very high-tech one, with LEDs and Holographic displays along with laser keyboards.

'So I didn't return back home...', I sighed. To be completely honest, returning back to my world would be the best possible scenario for me. I still have some regrets back on my planet...

'But... what's with this feeling...? I feel so sad and heartbroken and yet, so hollow at the same time... Like, these aren't my feelings... Wait! Could It be?!', I just had a sudden realization.

'Maybe that dream was related to the original Samuel's past?'

I started to run various scenarios through my head, before getting interrupted by the status screen's notification sound.

*Ping!*

[Inherent Skill 'Concentration' has leveled up enough to be evolved. Do you want to proceed?]

'What...? Inherent skill? like a skill that I naturally have?', I knew what it was since I read the novel's definition of Inherent skills. Julian and some other main characters have them too.

"yes.", I agreed to the evolution.

*Ping!

[Inherent Skill 'Concentration' has evolved into 'Mage's Fortitude'.]

[Skill Description: This skill removes most of your emotions, pain and fear. In turn, it gives you higher thought speed, higher rationale, higher intelligence and defense against mental attacks/mental stress. The drawback still remains, that is the migraines after using the skill. The skill's effects are active only when the skill is activated by the user.]

'Wow... That's quite a good skill, if I do say so myself...'

Truly, an amazing skill. Especially for a mage such as myself. This is practically like leveling up from level 9 to 10! The game gives you extra rewards for the feat!

'This will definitely be very helpful... Especially the Mental Defense part, since there will be some monsters and even humans that may try and use mental attacks on me, now that I have showed my true power, my gravity magic.'

'Speaking of magic... it seems my staff and robes are still safe...', I concluded after seeing the robe hanging from a pole hanger and Amaranth leaned on the bed.

As I was collecting every piece of data I could gather, I heard the automatic sliding door to the room slide open with a beeping sound.

The person who came in was Evangeline. She had an expressionless face.

But as soon as she saw me, sitting on the bed, her expression changed to happy and joyous.

"Samuel! You're Awake! I'm so glad! How are you feeling?", she rushed to my bed.

"Just fine... Thanks for asking.", I replied with a smile.

"Are you sure? you were out for a good 5 hours!"

'Only 5 hours? doesn't this sort of thing take like a few days or even weeks, according to lightnovels of this genre?'

'Bah! Who cares...'

"I'm fine, really."

"*Sigh... But I really have to admit... you're one crazy bastard!"

"Is that an insult?"

"Pfft... no, no. I'm just saying. No one in their right mind would've done something suicidal like that! Not even me!"

Although she was saying harsh words, her expression was the exact opposite. The smile on her face was so bright it almost made me puke.

She was genuinely happy for some reason.

'Is it because I did something risky for her sake...? Naah. No way.', I dismissed that pointless thought.