42 Moving Forward

There have been many outstanding individuals of Earth. Some of them were great martial artists who showed the greatness of unarmed combat while others made breakthroughs in science.

Everywhere on Earth there would be key figures rising here and there to make a name for themselves. Einstein theorised the existence of gravity and Musashi Miyamoto achieved an undefeated win record of 61 duels in a row using his unique double-bladed swordsmanship.

Perhaps others would think there was a difference between men of science who went on to creating a miracle like sending humans to the moon and back compared to warrior's who only knew how to fight. After all, the achievement made by those of the modern era would shock those warrior's of the past who had only existed before firearms...

I, however, had never believed that humanity's breakthroughs in proving their intelligence and those mighty figures who dominated other animals with their physical strength alone in the past, weren't part of the same coin.

It's funny... Some say the dinosaurs of the prehistoric period were the strongest animals on Earth. Now that is one hell of a joke~! There are many who have forgotten the true predators who ruled supreme over all over species in the world, and that is the animal known merely as 'Humans'.

And among these 'terrifying' Humans who had already stopped evolving due to their lack of adversity. I arose in a chaotic time when war was prevalent...

I didn't have terrifying martial arts that could bring down prehistoric beasts nor did I have the intelligence to engineer potent explosives with only what I had on hand... all I had were my instincts and my 'adaptability'.

Well... calling it 'adaptability' is putting it lightly. I mean... There's a reason my name was also recorded down in human history as the greatest 'Soldier' of the modern era instead of 'Martial Artist'.

My self-defence skills, my ingenuity, my way of surviving any crisis... Although none of them reached the ultimate level like those great figures of the past, together they were still enough for me to be considered a threat on the scale of a national level.

I was a jack of all trades if I do say so myself... and if I had to say what was most memorable about my achievements, then it would be the fact that I was just too good at causing disasters. In fact, I was probably written down in history as the most dangerous individual who ever lived!

A hero for my nation and a walking calamity for anyone opposing it...

Moving on: What I was trying to get at was how I had always been a dangerous individual even before I learnt magic. My current body may not be physically strong as I had been in my prime, but that's nothing a few years of training couldn't fix! That's not even mentioning how I would never lose in close-combat...!

I'm definitely qualified enough to leave this mansion. I knew Mother well enough to know the reason she wanted me to stay isn't because of my lack of strength but due to how she herself didn't want me to leave our 'home'. Although the feeling was mutual between us... words alone couldn't change my decision!

"Mother, I have already created my Skill Root." I didn't let her persuade me any further as I revealed the 'Root' of my Skill Tree as a Skill Holder.

[Skill Root- Halo of the Sun God!]

A radiant halo of light shocked Mother as she stared wide-eyed at my almost angelic Skill Root. I'm sure all I needed was wear a pair of beautiful wings and alter the position of the radiant halo hovering behind me to the area above my head to trick people into believing I was some sort of holy entity.

I'm not sure if the shape of my Skill Root had anything to do with my view of myself but what I felt every time I summoned my Skill Root was that I'm a great, big hypocrite. To masquerade as an angel despite being a demon on the inside... How distasteful...!

[Main Skill- Heavenly Sword]

I grabbed the hilt that popped out of the centre of the halo of Sun Ether and pulled out a cluster of

energy which materialised into a sword.

"My Main Skill as a Skill Holder might look simple on the surface. However, if you look deeper... you'll find it's a lot more intricate than its exterior." I then shifted my gaze away from Mother's surprised eyes and let the tip of my sword touch a chair near Father's desk.

Once my sword touched the wooden chair, the Sun Ether within my sword extended out and covered it.

What would usually happen after Light Ether covered an object was the creation of either a Telekinetic Art or a Light Spell. However, what I displayed was neither of these two techniques.

What happened instead was a demonstration of the true nature of my Eclipse Attribute which had been used to create my Sun Attributed Skill Root. The 'Destruction Aspect' only the Hero who wielded the Divine Sword of Light could manifest in his Sun Mana displayed itself as the chair vaporised...

I pushed the disappointment of how I was unable to do the same to Sylphy and turned my head back to my Mother who was once again filled with shock.

I gave her a few moments to take in what just happened and also revealed the Affinity Marbles I usually hid underground before continuing.

"I have such an unnaturally high sensitivity to Magical Energy that I can even see the Mana Flame within your body, a Skill Root with extremely high attack power, five Auxiliary Skills that can be used to strengthen my Skill Root or enhance my body, and I'm the most skilled martial artist out of everyone in this household. Mother, this may sound harsh, but you cannot stop me from leaving with Merilin. She isn't safe here... and so aren't you." After giving a clear demonstration of nearly half combat capabilities, I spoke my last words gently.

Mother's eyes calmed upon seeing my expression and shook her head. It looks like the feelings she had for those of this household were deeper than mine.

As a sociopath of the highest tier, I didn't make any friends despite having lived with the people of this household for a long time. However, both Mother and Father are different from me.

The kind of 'patriotism' they had for this Noble Household is something someone as indifferent as me wouldn't understand... After all, the only nation I feel inclined to protect is still on Earth.

On a side note, I'm actually glad she didn't retort me when I said I was the best hand-to-hand fighter of the Swordwick Household since it would've been embarrassing in many ways...!

"You want to leave that badly...?" She asked as it looked like she wasn't able to find a way to refute considering the strength she just saw. Her whole body radiated a melancholic aura as she looked at the radiant halo of Light Ether silently hovering behind me.

"I do." After hearing my answer, she sighed before sitting down on her bed.

"...I've already packed your luggage. If you haven't yet decided on where you want to go, then you can book a room in an Inn near the Mercenary Guild branch not far from here. You will be able to find work and a place to stay that way." Her reaction to my decision also surprised me in return as she acted contrarily to my expectations...

"You knew I'd leave?" I couldn't help but blurt out upon seeing how a pair of normal clothes and a set of equipment used for adventuring had already been put into a bag. Even a separate bag that had a tent and some packed food was easily taken out of her large drawer...

"We raised you since you were a baby still the size of our hands. Of course we knew you would set out to see the world as soon as you were strong enough! We just... never expected you would go so soon." A complicated expression appeared on her face as she placed the two bags in front of me.

"Merilin..." Mother called out to her.

"Yes?" My little sister who had been paying close attention suddenly jumped off Mother's bed. She looked a nervous after being put on the spot.

"Do you want to go with your brother?" Mother asked meaningfully after kneeling down to make eye contact with her. It looked she would immediately refuse to let me take her if Merilin declined...

"Big brother said he'll take me on an adventure~! I want to go!" Merilin answered with starry eyes.

For a little girl who had never left this household in her life, it was normal this would be her reaction after I persuaded her beforehand. One can't underestimate the might of my sugar-coated words~

I didn't think of this as a 'victory' on my part though since it's not like I lied to get her to follow me. I am definitely going to let her have fun outside!

"You can take her with you... but on one condition." She smiled after hearing her reply before standing up and turning around to face me.

"What condition?" I was ready for anything she could throw at me!

She looked at me in silence for a long moment as tension was being built up!

"Call me 'Mom' from now on!" She said with a serious tone in her voice.

My mind blanked as I looked with bewilderment. Is that all she wanted?

I accidentally partially increased my cognitive capabilities as my mind was in turmoil after hearing her seemingly ordinary request. She might have thought I was calling her 'Mother' all this time out of excessive politeness, but I knew how significant it was for me to change the way I called her to 'Mom'.

Mom... Or should I say the biological mother of Damian Stuman was someone that had gradually been fading out of my memory since I reincarnated.

The more time passed... The more I felt my current self replacing the 'Me' of the past. I hesitated to reply since I felt it would be a betrayal to them... Even though that was my past incarnation, why is it so hard to let go of stuff like this? The things that have been ingrained into me never seem to go away...

Maybe I'm looking at this the wrong way. I AM Simon Rainglow, who else am I going to call 'Mom' if not my biological mother? I have to forget my old family who had already been buried after they all died on natural causes, and move on... I have a new family now and they are who I should be focusing on. I'm not sure of if I should be agonising more about throwing away those of my past or not... but I don't want to hurt Moth- No, Mom's feelings.

I'm the kind of guy who likes to live in the present. If I refuse such a simple request, then I would feel worse than how I'd feel if she knew my 'secrets'...

"Alright." I agreed after hardening my heart. Why am I so unwilling to move on? It isn't right for me to act like a child even if I do have the heart of one.

Every boy grows into a man and matures over the course of his life. I am no exception.

Uselessly clinging on to the dead of my previous life would only torture me the same way it did when I was younger... I no longer feel like running away from mere ghosts created by my own mind.

As someone who Merilin will most likely rely on in future, I must mature my heart faster!

"And be sure to call your Father 'Dad' as well. Talk to him one last time before you leave... He should be practicing his swordsmanship in the Training Grounds right now." 'Mom' said while also packing Merilin's clothes into a bag. It must have been due to the short notice but all Merilin had to wear were cute maid clothes.

"I'll definitely talk to him before I leave." I nodded my head before walking up to the room door. The big bag's Mom packed were nothing to me after I learnt how to store my Affinity Marbles within me straight after our conversation, which was a little weird but still something I can accept if I ignored logic...

Why am I learning new abilities so fast...?

Now I didn't need to retrieve my Affinity Marbles from underground in order to prepare my different kinds of Skills and could activate them according to my preferences.

For example: I was using the Muscle Enhancement Support Skill passively at low output right now to hold both Merilin's bags and my own. The Fire Marble seemed to be assimilating into the muscles of my physique the more time passed. While the same could be said for all the other Affinity Marbles I had...

"I'll see you later... Mom!" I said my goodbyes before walking out with Merilin in tow. I held her little hand tightly as I felt this was the most important day of my new life...!

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Author's Note:

A lot of things are going to be happening IRL for now so updates won't be as fast as previously (this is not a Hiatus, just me saying I won't be able to update daily but will still be able to write it weekly).

I've realised what had been holding me back in writing Radiant Fantasy, and that was the excess amount of characters I planned to introduce later on in the story like the main character's former best friend and other crucial characters that will have their own role at the end of the story. One was even completely taken out and put into another novel I'm planning to write later on.

The three story's I've thought of using the ideas that came together in my year without internet is firstly Radiant Fantasy (A more lighthearted story about friends banding together to overcome a great evil), secondly The Phoenix Is A Copycat (A darker story set in the same universe where I basically write 'Revenge of the Fierce Princess' but with Spirit Essences and the main character being a subversion of a 'Returner'), and last but not least I'm thinking of writing a story about what happened on Earth after so many skilled powerhouses ascended to Radiant Fantasy's world of Gaia (It will use the same characters as Pride of the Underdog Knight but will be written as an apocalypse story where Androids try to take over humanity and the main character refuses to be ruled by robots).

I was planning to make this a prequel and wanted to write it first but realised I wouldn't be able to remember so many things connecting each of the stories, which is why I decided to go for the second option of being vague about their connections to the other ones. Right now I'm going to start writing The Phoenix Is A Copycat right beside this one since it's more like a side story about one of the four 'Anomalies' that won't appear until later in Radiant Fantasy since it's more lighthearted.

See ya later then~ 👍 You guys can speak to me anytime about how you'd like Battlefield Restart to play out since I'm still making up as I go along to tell you the truth (Unlike Radiant Fantasy which I used a whole year focusing on world building).