In the world of the

  Heroes: A reincarnated gamer’s rise.

  Preface

  Walking along the sidewalk of the overly familiar streets, I was too deep in thought to notice the signs.

  There was an odd, uneven clacking behind me.

  As an openly competitive gamer, my mind was busy dissecting a new tactic to overcome an obstacle in my latest game creation. It was only after I turned down an empty yet wide alleyway- and realized the clacking hadn’t stopped- that it hit me.

  I wasn’t alone.

  Someone was following me.

  Chapter 1

  A sudden end.

  My first thought was that I was maybe over reacting, but then I noticed that he tried to time his footsteps to mine. I took a couple of steps out of order, and when he realized it, he tried to compensate, so I changed it back. He noticed that I knew about him, and charged. I turned around, ready to take him on. Then he was upon me, knife slashing. Remembering my self-defence training I blocked the overhead attack, and redirected the blade. My idiocy cost me, thinking I stopped him, I didn’t see the small pistol he had hidden in his sleeve. I felt a painful sharp impact in my chest, and my mind went black.

  ***

  Where was I, why was it so black, who was I?

  Oh right, I am Clive Tenjiro, 19-year-old martial arts student, competitive gamer, and man of culture. I felt the pain subside, “am I dying?” No, I was already dead it seemed, the pain was gone. I saw my body lying on the ground, a small hole in the chest. I wasn’t in my body, I was standing, no floating upright next to it, a siren wailed.

  ***

  Then I was in a place that seemed like space, a male voice asked why I thought I was there, the voice startled me. “Uhm, because I am dead, I guess.” The voice laughed. “Yes, it does seem your life was cut quite short, but that is not the only reason is it?” The voice seemed friendly. “But if I am dead, then why didn’t my life flash before my eyes?” I enquired. The voiced laughed again. “Oh, because I didn’t think that you needed to relive it.” That comment seemed odd to me, and then it struck me, the voice was of no normal man.

  “Who are you?” I asked the voice. The Answer that came was vague. “I am one that likes to help young souls.” I guess that was the best answer I would get so I asked another question. “Why am I here, and not roaming the earth as a ghost, or in some afterlife?” “Well, like I had said, because I didn’t think it necessary.” I got slightly irritated, he only seemed to want me here to joke around with me, and I wasn’t going to have it. Before I could say anything he said, “It is futile to get you to figure things out normally, so I’ll just tell you.” I was shocked. Had he heard my thoughts? The answer came almost instantly, “Yes I did … and yes I can.”

  Then he told me, “Look, I help young lost souls who didn’t do much with their life get another chance, although not usually in the same world they had just left, unless they want it.”

  It then dawned on me, that was why I was there. “Oh so, what, must I choose or something?” A smiling face appeared in front of me and said bingo The face seemed kind and friendly, so it must have been his. “Well kid, what’s it going to be, I have got you three choices, 1. I could send you back, but as far as I know you don’t have anything holding you back. 2. I could send you to a world where everything is incredibly primitive and your knowledge may help them. 3. A world where a couple of heroes have been, and almost medieval in style and technology. The second is my personal favourite, but.” “I choose the third option,” I interrupted him. He smiled. “Alright now, any supposed stats you want, you were a gamer after all, anything you can think off?” He asked with a smile in his voice.

  “Hmm, can I get a stat system?” “Sure.” a screen appeared in front of me, with what usually would be on a character creation menu in a role-playing game. although it also said that I would have to work hard to keep it. Strength and intelligence were not moveable. When I asked why, he only said that I would have to work for it. Agility I moved to about 7, stamina I moved to about 8, speed I did 10, and then the thing that really surprised me, magical affinity I pushed to max. The face’s eyebrows raised, but he said nothing. I saw a bunch of information, and one thing that stood out, an ability that seemed a very good choice, an adviser, I checked that choice.

  After finishing the stat screen, I looked back at the face, which was smiling. “Is that it?” he asked. I answered that was it. He let out a last laugh and disappeared. Then I was being pulled at an amazing speed to a distant star, I saw a planet and bam! I woke as a baby. My butt hurt, I let out a sharp yelp as I felt a hand slap it again. I started crying and the people around me seemed to relax and smile a bit, I was then passed to a woman that looked very weary. Sweat beaded on her face, and her blond hair was soaking wet. I realized that it was my mother. A strange loving feeling filled me, something I have not felt since my first mother had died. I smiled. It was immediate love at first sight. When she saw my face, she smiled wider and said something in a strange language. All of a sudden, it was as if wool had been removed from my ears, and I could suddenly understand her words. “He looks so pretty, I think we’ll call him Lucian,” she said and pulled me closer hugging me to her chest, and a large chest it was. Each breast was almost as big as I was. I found the nipple and started suckling.

  ***

  I was a few months old, about 4 months according to the people around me, when my new farther, a burly black haired man with a crooked nose, obviously having had been broken many times, was talking to people around us. We were all sitting around a fire with guests, he mentioned that the only sword style that he thinks works best, was the brutes way. My mother, who was holding me in her lap, shook her head, her long beautiful blond hair swaying out behind her. The firelight casting beautiful shadows on her face. Unlike my father her face was more angular and a lot more kind.

  I motioned down and she set me carefully on the ground. She didn’t expect my next move. No one would expect a 4-month-old baby to suddenly start crawling to his father, let alone stand up half way and take his first steps. I took three steps and stumbled, I caught myself on my hands and stood back up. I took another step; all the faces looked shocked. My mother looked happy and horrified at the same time. My father looked like he was swallowing an ostrich egg. I smiled, and walked the rest of the way to my father. I tapped him on the knee and laughed, everyone smiled, including our guests, and my eldest brother. My other two brothers did not. The guests were there because they were old friends of dads. I didn’t really care about them other than the fact that they were supposed heroes. The man was skilled with a rapier and the woman skilled with a short staff.

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  I turned around and walked back to my mother, basking in their astonishment. She picked me up and cradled me in her arms, smiling at me. I felt safe and warm in her embrace. I had dark brown hair and chocolate brown eyes, the hair was odd, but I figured that was just what you got if you mixed blond and black. My eyes were the same as my father’s, almost to perfection. Although in my previous life it had been almost exactly the same. I differed from my second eldest and third eldest brothers, seeing as they had blond hair and green eyes like my mother. My eldest brother was also blond but had brown eyes like me and my father. He was 14 years old, and the other two were 9 and 7.

  There was a girl there, also about 14 who was she our guest’s daughter, beautiful and kind. She did lack in the assets department though I remarked to myself. It seemed she had a thing with my eldest brother (Bradon, I remembered his name was), and the real reason we were having a nice visit that night was because dad and her father wanted to discuss marriage between the two. Both were actually past the ripe age to be betrothed according to this world law. My mother supposedly was about his age when she had him.

  The girl’s name was Adena, which I liked because it had a nice ring to it. My second brother’s name Hurial, which sounded dumb and made up to me, and the thirds was Asrial, named after the fourth month of that calendar. I considered it a little girlish. I closed my eyes, tired after having had just done my impressive stunt. The conversation had drifted to the marriage proposal and I was not very interested.

  After that night, I walked everywhere I could. I was fascinated with everything around me. The guy really hadn’t been kidding when he said almost medieval in style and technology.

  We had a coal stove in the kitchen; the house was made of polished stone and marble. My father must have paid a fortune to own such a place. The steps up to the second floor, built from beautiful oak wood, had blue a thick carpet on top of it.

  My room was next to my parent’s room, the house maid did most of the chores for my mother, so they did not have to worry about it that much. I tried to be respectful and kind to her, but she seemed somehow afraid of me. I once heard her telling the head chef I was unnatural. “No child of 6 Months old should act like that. It’s like he understands everything around him and knows things he should not.”

  “Oh nonsense dear, he is just a bit more intelligent than most kids his age, I am actually quite fond of him. He is always very kind to me, unlike those other two brats who steal from me and are always on the verge of trouble. Hurial is the instigator I tell you, and he has no respect for his elders.

  That behaviour is going to get him in big trouble one of these day I tell you.” I could see that coming. Hurial out right loathed me for some reason that I could not fathom, but I guessed he was just jealous for some reason.

  He would bully me and usually looked at me with disdain, Asrial was his loyal helping hand, and loyal dog.

  I did not really like either, but I liked Bradon. He was the one who would always smile at me. He was usually out working on the farm with dad, or out to Adena so we did not really see each other much. After my astonishing display two months ago, I decided to take my time before talking. I knew I could, because I could feel the words in my head, and I even practiced at night in my cot.

  I did like when my mother came and told me stories about dad and his friends’s adventures. The other heroes in this world’s stories I also liked, although she had learned quickly that I would not fall asleep by hearing a story, so she would now tell one, say goodnight. blow out the candle, go to bed and let me fall asleep by myself.

  But I was not afraid of the dark. Not even after learning that there were actual shadow monsters in this world. Because I knew that my mother could take them on, she was a skilled mage and when she read her books to me in the mornings I would sit and read with her, it seemed my mind changed all the runes to my already known alphabet, so I was actually able to read at that age although I thought it smart to not let them know that yet .

  At 9 months, I was very fast and agile and I had found that my room had a small nudge in the wall which allowed me to climb around on it. I liked doing it, but when I was caught by the maid, she almost freaked and took me to my mother, I had the biggest scolding ever. So, I decided not to test my luck.

  Not much happened in the next year, except Bradon and Adena’s marriage and my constant bullying from Hurial and Asrial. But I did surprise everyone with my first word at 10 months. I heard my mother talk about the great mage, Arialy, in one of her stories. She was an elf from the elven forests far south supposedly and I liked her story. So, two days later I heard them say that they worried about my lack of words and that maybe I was mute. I surprised them by saying, “Arialy.” And smiling, they had frozen. Dumbstruck, the maid had horror on her face, I went further and said, “Momma, I love you.” Almost all of them seemed on the verge of collapse. Then they smiled and cheered. My mother ran to me and embraced me, laughing and smiling. “I love you too.” She said and kissed my cheek.

  Later I was able to break into the study and I would then take the books I wanted to my room to be read; I had a loose floor board under a hole in my dresser where I would stash them after finishing a couple of chapters. We had a nice number of books and I wanted to read them all. There was one thing I had noticed though, not one hero, or adventurer I have read about nor any tactical book, knew about martial arts.

  ***

  One day, my mother, our maid, who my mother saw as her best friend, and I, were in town doing shopping when our maid (lady Liria) begged my mother to let a priest look at me to make sure I was not possessed by some foal dark spirit. Mother, tired of her shenanigans agreed and I was taken to the priest’s home.

  He was a kind man, and seemed to always have a happy aura around him.

  First, he gave us nice strong tea that reminded me about the red bush tea I drank in my previous life. Only after we drank our tea, he asked what we required of him. When my mother explained the situation to him, he smiled and looked at me. And asked what I thought about all this.

  I was 2 years old so my answer must have surprised him. I said, “I don’t really see the fuss, and honestly don’t like being treated like I am a contaminated monster ready to rip someone’s head of.” He looked at me with astonishment and gawped, then he turned to my mother, and said that he was impressed at my range of vocabulary for such a young age, then assured her he would use his magical sight to look at me.

  He took us to his back yard, in the middle of which was an odd pedestal which he placed me on. He went and sat with his head bowed, I heard him say in the language I learned from some of the books with descriptions of magic in it, “Hidden secrets of this world, show yourself to my magic sight.” I knew it was a spell, what else could it be, and when he opened his eyes, they were yellow. Not glowing, but the irises were yellow where they had been blue. He looked at me and they grew then he squinted and smiled. He closed his eyes and said thank you in the other language and opened them again, they were blue again.

  He turned to my mother and lady Liria and said “He is not possessed, but if I may have a word with him in private?” My mother, relieved and surprised agreed.

  Both she and lady Liria went back inside. He turned to me and said, “You, dear child, possess an immense amount of knowledge and raw magical talent, I would suggest putting it to use. I have also seen you have been blessed by he who is between worlds. Such blessings do not just come often; you will be of great importance to this world.”

  “I hope so, and thanks for the heads up I appreciate it.” I told him, jumped of the pedestal, landed on my feet and we entered the house. He smiled at my mother and asked whether that was all. She affirmed and, on our way home I pondered what he had said. Was it possible that he was talking about that dude who sent me here, and what did he mean a lot of raw magical talent?

  These thoughts were later forgotten when the air was punched out of me by the form of Hurials fist. That day would be a long and tiresome day.

  ***