Two - Developments

Year 835 - Wall Maria, Zhiganshina

It's been almost a year since Alex was reborn. It was a long time to think and reflect.

Ever since that day, his mind has taken a change in mindset. As a grown adult, his outlook on life had always been somewhat bleak. He had an intense desire to keep it, but no need to live it. Enjoying life was something he couldn't do after he lost Ingrid, but he couldn't continue like that.

A new life is also the beginning of a new cycle and considering Rebecca's words... he agreed that he did make some mistakes. He wouldn't apologize for the lives he'd taken on the way to complete his goals, but he wouldn't continue being like that.

'At least, I don't want to fall into that lonely trap once again.'

It was a selfish conclusion but also a real one. He had no remorse for taking lives away, but the pain of being left alone in the darkness was just as haunting as death at this point.

Shaking his head, he looked around in curiosity and silently observed the passersby.

Ellena was currently bringing him around the community market. People gathered here every day to sell things. Be it the food they farmed, animals they hunted, trinkets they made... Anything and everything was sold here. So long as it was legal.

"How much for three potatoes?" Ellena asked while carrying Richard in her arms.

"Oh! It's just three Marks per potato."

"Alright, can you pack them for me?"

The old man nodded happily and did as asked.

Marks seemed to be the currency of this world or at least of this place, it was available both in paper and coin and they also use some valuable minerals as currency too. Alex could still remember a day when he saw a rich merchant from Wall Sina come here to negotiate the purchase of some lands for farming. He gave the owner a golden plate which caused a commotion in the crowd.

Based on what he had heard back then, it seemed to be worth a hundred thousand Marks. That man packed his things that same day and left to live in one of the inner walls after paying to get an entry permit.

Other than that, he discovered that this world was fairly technologically advanced in certain areas. Gunpowder had already been invented, and so was the process of creating alloys through the mixing of different minerals. He wouldn't be surprised if they already had steel as well.

Not to mention that their mechanical contraptions were truly marvelous. Combined with a special rope made of metal, it could be used to launch humans through the air using grappling hooks. Although very inefficient in terms of what it could do right now, Richard had to admit that the potential for this kind of tool was truly high.

Their swords, however, were horrible. They use some kind of disposable metal blades whose durability could only be described as laughable. Not to mention that the type of metal used in its production was hardly acceptable. He could think of dozens of different combinations of minerals that were capable of producing a much higher-quality sword.

Overall, this place could be summarized as backward, very backward. Everything could be made better, from hygiene to farming methods.

The only thing that truly caught his attention here were the walls seemingly made out of concrete and what he thought to be a steel frame. Such marvelous construction was definitely ahead of its time in this medieval world, which brought the question... how were they capable of doing it?

Unfortunately, he would never have the answer to this question.

...

Year 840 - Wall Maria, Zhiganshina

On the open fields surrounding one of the towns of Zhiganshina, Richard accompanied his father toward the forest on the outskirts of the wall. Like him, he carried an axe with a shiny iron blade. It wasn't too heavy, just enough to cut through firewood.

On the way, he kept observing the insects, the plant life, and just about any new life form he saw.

'Scan them and store their data in their respective folders inside the Biology topic.'

[Scanning Red-winged Beetled. Scan complete, data stored. Scanning Pigmy White Brotu flower...]

The words rang out constantly in his mind, for the plants and animals he knew, it would directly assign their correct names, as for those he didn't know like the white flower he had just seen, the AI assistant would generate a name that fitted it based on his knowledge from his previous life.

The AI assistant was the gift of the mysterious men he met as a kid many years ago. He lived in some sort of cave that was much bigger inside compared to its outward appearance.

Back then, it helped him optimize his learning skills, making him somewhat of a genius. But when he turned 18, it simply disappeared, leaving him to deal with everything on his own.

It had many wonderful capabilities, among them the ability to analyze just about anything and compile all the data in a way that was easy to understand and absorb.

Although it wasn't the sole reason behind his scientific genius, it surely contributed greatly during the beginning of his academic life.

Richard wasn't sure just how much memory it had. He had stored so much information in his previous life that it would be enough to fill thousands of hard drives, yet it never said anything about having reached the limit of its storage capability.

Likewise, it was also capable of doing many more things such as simulations, predictions based on statistical analysis, and even emulations.

Thanks to the emulation function, he was even able to learn how to fight like a professional MMA fighter in the span of a few months.

Truly a technological wonder. Had he replicated it in his previous life, he would surely become famous all over the world, unfortunately, it was among the list of things he only barely touched and almost didn't make any progress at all.

"What are you thinking about?" Suddenly, Grimwald asked curiously.

"Ah?" Caught by surprise, Richard almost stumbled as he left his deep thoughts and focused back on real life. "I was just wondering what I'm going to do once I become an adult like you."

Hearing those words made Grimwald smile like a child who was given candy.

Both of his parents had always felt very blessed. Compared with other kids, theirs sure was an undoubtedly rare talent.

The number of times he managed to surprise them wasn't few. He started speaking and walking on his two legs months before his peers, he 'learned' how to calculate numbers on his own, and he started writing and reading without ever needing a tutor which they wouldn't be able to afford anyway.

Based on those many qualities alone, they were sure that their child was destined to do great things. Terrible, but great, nonetheless.

A/N: Sorry.

"You are very talented, son. No matter if it's becoming a merchant or those more complicated fields, I'm sure you could do anything you wanted. It won't be long before the magisters take notice of your talent with word going around the town. Soon, the nobles might even look for you."

When Grimwald turned his head and focused back on the trail, Richard secretly shook his head. He had no interest in the route of becoming a puppet for the nobility. With his deep hatred of governments, the thought alone was already enough to disgust him.

Once they arrived at a clearing in the middle of the forest. Grimwald started explaining how woodcutting worked. Richard wasn't too interested in the topic but he learned everything, nonetheless.

As the direct descendant of a woodcutter, Grimwald inherited his father's job and so would Richard if he chose to continue in his father's footsteps. Sure, it wasn't a requirement, but it was usually what happened around these parts.

"Always remember, it's five seeds for every tree we cut. That way, we make sure we never lack any trees." Grimwald explained patiently.

Because this was a society trapped within walls, there had always been a necessity to be self-sufficient. Because of this, a few laws were implemented to assure the health of the overall population inside. For example, for every tree cut, five more had to be planted.

Those weren't the only ones. Incest was deeply forbidden and no family of peasants was allowed to have more than two offspring at any given time. Meaning that if they had two living kids, they would only be allowed a third if one of the others died.

As such, they managed to control the population, ensuring that there would always be enough food and space for everyone.

How they figured the issue of genetic diversity though was something way beyond my understanding, although it shows just how much potential this place has for the sciences.

...

Year 843 - Wall Maria, Zhiganshina

Richard turned eight a few months ago. Life has been kind of boring, but he kept a healthy diet coupled with just the right amount of exercise. Be it running, climbing, or weight lifting, he did anything on his reach to keep himself strong.

Although too much exercise is unhealthy for someone at his age, there was a very useful way to know his exact limits.

Standing under the shadow of a building, he seemed to be staring at nothing from the perspective of those who came and went through the street, but in reality, he was staring at a projection of his body and a few graphics depicting his current situation.

[Object: Richard Frye

Age: 8

Physical attributes limits by percentage are; Strength: 100%; Stamina: 96%; Agility: 90%; Mental Acuity: 400%]

There was still some work to be done in regard to his Stamina and Agility but the rest was already at its maximum. He wouldn't be able to increase his Strenght unless he could find a way to remove his body limits which is an impossible task.

As for his mental acuity, it was always like that. Maybe it's the result of having the mind of an adult on the body of a child.

It was truly sad. Richard thought. Going through all the stages of growing up once again really made him feel depressed, at least, he was taking care of his body from the start, so it shouldn't be a problem to have a body at the peak of human capacity by the time he reached 18.

As he thought about the future, he caught the sight of three kids approaching him from afar. Varied in size, with one of them carrying a rather large wooden stick, they looked like the stereotypical version of medieval teenage bullies. And they were exactly his target.

Leaning calmly against the building and yawning, he made sure to keep a very uncaring attitude.

When the kids saw him, their first attitude was to flare up.

"Hey, who are you? Get the fuck out of our spot!" The tallest kid, a twelve-year-old teenager who carried the stick, started barking like a dog.

Richard ignored his words and looked around as if looking for the person he was talking to.

Incensed by that behavior, the kid started fuming. "You little shit! I'm talking to you!"

With angry looks on their faces, the other two surrounded him by the sides.

"Oh!" Richard answered. "What is it?"

"What is it? W-what is it?! Are you fucking deaf? I said get the f-"

Just as he was talking, Richard kicked up the ground with his left leg while twisting his upper body. The movement was so sudden that the other two kids couldn't react in time. All they saw at that moment was the spinning body of Richard somehow delivering a kick right into their friend's head who was taller than him by two heads.

The scene was so astonishing that they didn't even know how to react to that.

Seeing the tallest and strongest of them spinning like a wheel as he flew backward, falling face first on the ground, they started shaking.

"S-shit! W-what was that?!"

"Holy cows! What did I just see?!"

Before any of them could react, Richard followed with nimble and agile movements. A single step bending his knees while using most of the muscles on his upper and lower body. The punch went straight at the belly of one of them. The impact was so much that the kid's eyes rolled up inside his head as he flew back falling face up on the ground.

When the remaining one finally noticed what was happening he pissed his pants and stumbled on his feet while trying to step back. Scared shitless, he looked up at Richard and gulped in fear. When his eyes locked onto Richard's dark black eyes, he felt like they had been sucked into a black hole. They were so cold and dark, it felt like looking into the eyes of a beast. How could a human have such cruel and cold-hearted eyes?

Noticing his frowning face, he started to shake in fear.

In his mind, he could already imagine how he would be beaten up. Just the scene of his friends getting knocked out in one movement frightened him already. He couldn't and didn't want to experience the level of pain that could cause one to end up in such a state!

Having no other choice he immediately prostrated before Richard and begged.

"P-please! Forgive-me!"