NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 2
The Threefold Empire of Rain, located in the northern region of the western part of the Central Continent, was an ancient and powerful monarchy renowned for its vast territory.
The empire achieved stable governance by electing an emperor through a mutual election process involving three royal families, each possessing extensive lands, alongside the electoral houses that held the right to select the emperor. With a history of five hundred years and still standing strong, the empire embraced a flexible culture that accepted humans, magic beings, and other sentient creatures alike. Amidst this, the Heidelberg administrative district lay in the southern part of the realm.
This territory, characterized by a cool climate, was primarily known for producing grapes used in winemaking and was also a significant producer of olive oil, ranking among the top in the empire.
To the west of this important yet ordinary region, the Königsstuhl fortress governed several estates, among which was a common peasant family struggling with a particular worry.
The husband’s name was Johannes, and the wife’s name was Hanna. They were an exceedingly ordinary couple of the Human Race within the empire and devout farmers who worshipped the God of Fertility. Operating a mid-sized farm primarily producing rye and managing an olive orchard, their household was nothing out of the ordinary; many similar households could be found throughout the empire.
What caused this couple great concern was their fourth son, Erich, who was about to turn six.
It wasn’t that Erich was a troublemaker impossible to control or lacked intelligence to the point of hopelessness. On the contrary, he was an exceptionally capable child.
Erich obediently followed instructions, avoided the foolish antics typical of children, and even during the Mass on the day of rest, he recited holy verses clearly despite his young age. He was a son about whom the parents had no cause for embarrassment in front of anyone.
The couple’s issue, however, wasn’t with what Erich lacked—it was that he was perhaps too talented for being the fourth son.
Normally, a three-year gap between children would significantly differentiate their abilities, both physically and through experience. This was entirely reasonable.
However, there existed an undeniable difference between the eldest son, Heinz, and the fourth son, Erich.
While Heinz still struggled with the recitation of holy verses praising the creator and thanksgiving prayers to the God of Fertility, Erich, though slightly lisping like any child, did so flawlessly. Not only that, he could memorize and sing hymns far more complex, imbued with ancient language, so well that he earned the favor of the bishop at the manor.
Furthermore, while Heinz struggled simply to create a horse’s “bit,” Erich’s delicate fingers were remarkably adept. Given a small knife, he could carve a holy statue within a single day and, just last month, even produced a set of gaming pieces for board games simply by mimicking what he had seen.
Moreover, Erich’s intellect outshone Heinz’s. When given several tasks, Erich instantly recognized the most efficient order to complete them and swiftly carried them out. In contrast, Heinz often found tasks cumbersome and performed them carelessly—in one instance, being so lazy with feeding the draft horse that he flooded the feedbox with water.
It required little thought to determine which son would gain favor.
Still, the principle of primogeniture, while not absolute, carried significant weight. Choosing the fourth son over the eldest presented a multitude of challenges for the family.
Most importantly, the parents had to consider the feelings of their eldest son, who was already showing signs of ambition, and their second and third sons, who might be overshadowed by the fourth.
And so, the two wise parents continued to be troubled by the approaching enrollment deadline for the magistrate’s private school…
—
The Human Race, distributed across the entire continent, are often called “the wise and foolish species” due to the stark differences between exceptionally talented and incapable individuals, though none surpass them in cruelty.
—
The foundation is crucial, above all else. This is because, in the end, it’s not the number of dice rolls that matter but the bonuses that truly make a difference.
I was a devout “fixed value” believer in TRPGs (tabletop role-playing games).
You see, my luck was always terrible.
When I played as a PL (player), I consistently rolled dice with an average value of five on 2D6, accumulating a whopping 250 experience points in a single session.
But when I served as a GM (Game Master) or Keeper, the expected average rolled down gloriously to nine. So, in trying to simulate ideal characters, it made perfect sense to prioritize abilities that could overcome even narrow chances. The +1 hit bonus from the Mace artifact’s divine power was indeed a comforting advantage.
Though there is a style of gameplay known as “power play,” where overwhelming amounts of dice are used to crush probabilities, in most systems, it’s far stronger to rely on fixed critical hit values. And there’s no arguing with that.
So, I didn’t push my luck—I focused on developing my basic stats since my self-awareness had taken root.
The physical stats I interacted with included:
＜Strength＞＜Stamina＞＜Immunity＞＜Endurance＞＜Explosive Power＞＜Dexterity＞＜Intellect＞＜Memory＞＜Mana Reserve＞＜Instantaneous Mana Amount＞ totaling ten categories. They seemed to form a complex system involving intricate calculations, complete with vaguely fantastical elements whose meanings were shrouded in mystery.
Currently, due to my clumsiness in a past life, I’m focusing heavily on improving dexterous skills and continuously enhancing my memory, where I’ve always had a little confidence.
The category “Intellect” was harder to grasp intuitively—it referred to the speed and rationality of thought. There was an initial hesitation in allocating points here, but after some experimentation, once I realized it wouldn’t distort my self-awareness, I became comfortable increasing my proficiency.
As a result, I transformed from a sophisticated five-year-old harboring a 30-year-old mentality into a prodigy. If one can bring a rational adult mindset to play, anyone can behave like a prodigy, but with this added boost, it was simply extraordinary.
In my previous life, I experienced a rather ordinary childhood. But now, I’m regarded as a small prodigy in the neighborhood.
Still, this isn’t mere indulgence to satisfy my tiny sense of self-worth.
Given my fixed-value ideology, I consider myself not just an efficiency enthusiast but also a fervent idealist.
Thus, while I do pay attention to growth rate, I place the highest value on the ideal form upon completion.
In TRPGs, experience points can be accumulated endlessly, but there is always a recognized “perfected form” as an endpoint—such as reaching Lv15 or accumulating 200 builds in experience points. The beauty at the end of such a journey resonates with me.
The magnificence of characters who, in a single strike, can scatter hundreds of points of unreduced damage across an entire scene or reduce all sorts of physical and magical attacks within range and sight by tens of points is, paired with the GM’s exasperated face urging restraint, akin to supreme art in my view.
So, I regard the current stage as foundational to my future perfection, both in terms of stats and socially.
Physical stats have an evaluative scale, calculated against the average for a given race. When a certain threshold is met, the status rating changes, as noted in the stat annotations.
The basic progression of physical evaluations starts from ＜Weak＞, through ＜Feeble＞ and ＜Small＞, then reaches ＜Average＞, and ascends to ＜Good＞, ＜Fine＞, ＜Excellent＞, culminating in ＜Best＞, with the ultimate tier being ＜Divine Child＞.
Perhaps from the phrasing alone, it’s clear that reaching ＜Divine Child＞ truly means being divinely favored.
Achieving this requires a daunting level of mastery. My short-term goal is to elevate all my stats to at least ＜Good＞.
The figures for the peak values seem dizzyingly high, but I’m the kind of data enthusiast who believes that, if the data exists, even killing a god is possible. Discovering and exploiting strange skills is part of my expertise.
Scanning the cylindrical skill tree, one entry in the Basic Category captured my attention: the characteristic of ＜Prodigy＞.
Its effect was straightforward—during childhood, one gains a temporary growth bonus that enhances skill mastery.
Though a death skill later on, I recognized that its presence could significantly impact lifetime skill mastery acquisition, so without hesitation, I poured the daily practice points earned from carving and daily chores straight into it.
As it was a rare characteristic, it required weeks of accumulated points, but its effects were splendid, as expected.
Within half a year, my wood carving skills progressed from ＜Beginner＞ through ＜Novice＞ and ＜Basic＞ and were now nearing ＜Skilled＞. Above that, there lay ＜Proficient＞, ＜Expert＞, ＜Masterful＞, and finally ＜Divine Realm＞. For a craftsman, this would place me near the intermediate level.
Such rapid advancement was possible due to the ＜Prodigy＞ trait. Without it, considering my previous rate of acquisition, I might barely have reached the ＜Basic＞ step.
As both stats and skills increase in rank, the required amount of mastery needed for the next level multiplies exponentially, making the temporary boost provided by the ＜Prodigy＞ trait understandable.
So, one goal is to efficiently harness the ＜Prodigy＞ trait to elevate all my capabilities above average while also creating areas of expertise.
Although attaining ＜Divine Child＞ in one area would be ideal—well, let’s consider it a goal to aspire toward.
After all, the numbers I’ve seen are somewhat mind-bending. The difference in value between ＜Best＞ or ＜Expert＞ and ＜Divine Child＞ or ＜Divine Realm＞ spans two orders of magnitude. Accumulating enough points to transition from ＜Feeble＞ to ＜Good＞ doesn’t even make a dent in the requirements for the upper levels, recalling the grueling cycles or endgame content in mobile gaming.
We’ll tackle those numbers gradually as we progress.
In addition to efficient skill point accumulation, I firmly believe that building social credit is equally important.
It’s simple: when the time comes to undertake whatever I desire in the future, it would be advantageous to operate in an environment where those around me think, “Well, I’m sure you can handle it,” thereby granting conveniences.
Whether it’s parents, the local bishop, or others…
“Erich, what are you doing?”
The youth approaching me as I sat on a pile of firewood in the barn was my older brother, Heinz. With features identical to Father—nut-brown hair and rugged features—he was a large young man but had recently become somewhat sullen due to comparisons with me.
Having been the youngest in my previous life and remaining the youngest among the boys in this one, I cannot fully understand his perspective but empathize with his plight.
For children, their world is primarily shaped by their parents. It’s natural for Heinz to feel disgruntled if his parents view him less favorably than his younger brother, whom they’ve cast as the one needing protection.
This dissatisfaction often leads to a downward spiral of inattentiveness and further diminished evaluation.
Thus, I, with the wise mindset of someone in their 30s and a younger spirit that loves my brother, strive to maintain harmony.
“This. I was making this.”
“Oh…!?”
What I presented to my brother was a child-sized wooden sword carved from scrap firewood. Using a small knife and a rasp normally used for horses’ hooves, I had shaped an attractive Western-style longsword that seemed to appeal to the imagination of a young adventurer.
Though somewhat exaggerated in its pointed blade, my inner five-year-old heartily approved—”This is cool!”
“Here, it’s for you!”
“Eh!?”
The expression on my brother’s face, caught between surprise and mischief upon seeing the wooden sword, transformed into delight as I beamed and handed over my creation. It wasn’t originally intended for my own amusement; rather, it was inspired by how Heinz had envied other children swinging similar toys.
“Take it! It’s a thank-you gift for you, brother!”
“Huh? Is… Is it really alright?”
“Yep, it’s a thank-you gift for you, brother!” I listed every instance where he had helped me, from eating vegetables I disliked—miraculously this world had tomatoes circulating—to assisting me with water-fetching, despite my lack of physical strength, albeit possibly to show off.
“So, thanks, brother!”
Smiling and thanked earnestly, my brother, initially flabbergasted, responded with an embarrassed smile.
In his heart, surely a whirlwind of emotions—childish jealousy and regrets about violent thoughts—vied, but more importantly, I hoped that a budding affection for me was beginning to grow.
“Does it look cool?”
“Yeah, it looks really cool!”
Commending my brother as he gripped the handle and assumed a stance, I felt an unmatched sense of joy in giving a creation so appreciated.
Regardless of my previous life, he was family. How could I not be delighted by his happiness?
Only those who truly never had a childhood would think of throwing stones at him…
—
Time-limited characteristics appear in many forms: prodigy and its lower-tier skill, precociousness, as well as skills effective from adolescence to young adulthood, such as talent and genius, and even limited beauty bonuses like youthful vigor.
The expected value of 2D6 is 7, though I remain steadfastly convinced that individual variation exists in each person’s dice luck.
2019/1/22 Title Revised
2019/1/26 Typo Correction (courtesy of caskaz)
● Dice [Sic: “Sai-koro”]
A tool deeply ingrained in gambling activities since antiquity, dice are a must-have item in TRPGs to ensure randomness. While the standard six-sided die is most common, TRPGs employ different dice depending on the system, including eight-sided, ten-sided, twelve-sided, twenty-sided, even a hundred-sided die sometimes referred to as a “ball” that seems to roll forever, and the pyramid-shaped four-sided die, which inevitably leads to disaster if misplaced.
● Fixed Value
The real number used in calculations without factoring in dice rolls. In TRPGs, the determination is usually done by adding the dice roll results to the existing ability score. For instance, if a person with strength 5 tries to push an object where the target value is 12, they would need to roll 7 or higher using two six-sided dice. The randomness in dice throws adds excitement to the game.
Someone who consistently rolls high values (like 6 or 7) can easily create a strong character, so Erich, with notoriously bad dice luck, focused on enhancing fixed values for peace of mind.
● Expected Value
A “likely” outcome when rolling dice. Refer to high school math textbooks for detailed information.
Generally, you can think of it as half the number of faces on the die. For 2D6, the expected value is 7, which is also the most likely combination outcome. Thus, many skill tests often use this expected value as a baseline.
However, probabilities only converge toward the expected value after infinite trials, so unlucky individuals always exist.
● 2D6
A shorthand for the number and type of dice rolled. The “D” refers to a die, “2” the number, and “6” the six-sided die. The abbreviated notation helps conserve text and improve clarity.
● PL [Player]
A term referring to the individual controlling the character in TRPGs. Regardless of the character’s type, the internal player remains consistent, leading to concepts like PL meta.
● Session
A single episode of a TRPG. It’s called a session, as all participants gather to progress the game together.
● Experience Points
Accumulating these enhances the character’s abilities.
● GM [Game Master] Keeper
The host and antagonist in a TRPG. Responsible for progressing the game narrative, creating scenarios, and controlling enemy characters. Different games have various terms for this role, like Game Master, Keeper, or Ruler, which often indicate the primary system used.
● Mace Sample
A legendary artifact in a specific TRPG that grants a +1 bonus to hit. Despite less efficient damage, the “hit or miss” dynamic in TRPGs makes the Mace a revered tool among unlucky players.
● Critical
The equivalent of a devastating or decisive hit in certain console games. Achieved by rolling the highest value possible in the dice system—such as doubles of six in 2D6, or a roll of 20 in D20—often ensuring an automatic success on skill tests.
In some systems, this triggers an extra dice roll for additional damage, creating a highly dangerous setup.
● Fumble
The opposite of a critical hit, where the dice roll ensures a guaranteed failure regardless of the actual roll number. Examples include rolling double ones in 2D6 or a roll of 1 on D20. Some games incorporate fumble tables with disastrous events ranging from minor inconveniences to catastrophic outcomes affecting player relationships.
● Romantic Build
Characters or strategies that may not be inherently strong but are aesthetically appealing or special in playstyle. These builds demand significant experience points and effort but yield rewarding character development. In TRPGs, the ability to roll or act dramatically is often prized, and these builds embody the player’s dreams and ambitions fully realized.