Courage
Huff~
It's been half a month since I started training my stamina and strength by doing 100 Pushups, 100 crunches, 100 situps and 10 km run/day.
"Cliche~"
I know it's quite a cliche routine but it's turning out quite well, I suppose?—
—Though, my body's quite literally shit. No, I am not kidding,
I have been training for 10 hours a day for the last 15 days and I was only able to increase my stats by mere 6 points.
[Attributes]
Strength: 3 +2 ➟5
Agility: 2 +1 ➟3
Defence: 1
Stamina: 1 +3 ➟4
Dexterity: 59
Charm: 42 ➟45 (89 Hidden)』
—–
The culprit? My lovely trait, 「SSS: Curse of Weakness」that this body was born with, which means I have to put in thrice the effort a normal person would for the same results.
"Fuck this body!!"
After cursing this body I started running again.
***
-Cleesh!
I blocked Elisha's attack with little to no difficulty but was still pushed back a few steps.
'I am not going down so easily this time!'
A grin formed around my features. It wasn't blind belief but the seer confidence of improving my body and fighting duels for the past month. Though, I am not sure if I could win but I should be able to hold on for long.
But...
As I was about to counterattack, the grin that hung on my face like a mask that broke into tiny little pieces and fell down just like my confidence did, leaving only a deep frown behind.
-Kuh!?
The moment I let down my guard, she grabbed my sword arm and pulled me towards her, locking me into an awkward position.
"W-Wha-"
"It's over"
-Clink!
The sole thing I hated the most was losing again and again or to be more precise being—destroyed.
Losing was somewhat okay but being destroyed again and again wasn't acceptable, not for me.
"At this rate, I don't think I can beat her even with 100 years of training.'
That's the conclusion I came up with.
"Wonderful Young Master, today you were able to hold on more than 30 strikes of mine."
"So what? I still lost."
"Young Master, you shouldn't be disappointed. You are a genius that comes once in a millennium. Despite not having any aura, you were able to keep up with me, an Aura-Warrior."
"That's just because you didn't use aura."
"Huh?"
"Nothing."
***
Puff~
After finishing my training, I went straight to my room to take a bath.
"Hah~"
Feeling a bit exhausted from all the training and running around the castle, I took a warm bath and laid down on the bed to take a nap.
"What a good feeling!"
As soon as I lay down on the bed, my muscles started to relax.
'I should check my status.'
[Info]
Name: Zephyr Orion Caesar
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Age: 14
[Traits]
Positive: 「SSS: Heavenly Talented Swordsman」「A: Will」「SS: Intelligence」「S: Charmer」「A: Observer」➨「S: Observer」
Negatives:「SSS: Curse of Weakness」「B: Terminally ill」「SS: Trash Mage」「A: Loser」
[Skills and Abilities]
Martial Arts: None
Skills: None
— –
[Fate]
Number of Fate Coins: 49>137
Fate Draw
Fate Cards –
— –
[Attributes]
Strength: 5 +3 ➟8
Agility: 3 +2 ➟5
Defence: 1 +2 ➟3
Stamina: 4 +3 ➟7
Dexterity: 59
Charm: 45 ➟48 (89 Hidden)』
—–
Just looking at my stats, I could not help but grin. Although my stats didn't increase much, my fate coins have increased exponentially. This was a sign of the hard work I had put in the past month.
"Today was the knight recruitment day so 'that' person should be selected. 'That' person would be an important pawn for the next step. I should meet him tomorrow, I suppose. For the time being I should use the coins I have earned through rigorous hard work."
I have been accumulating the coins for the past month for a silver card and now's my chance to use it.
With that said I purchased the Silver Card.
After a brief moment of anticipation, the card materialised in my hand. The silver surface gleamed softly under the ambient light of my room.
-Ring!
[You have won the A-Grade 〈Courage〉trait.]
-Ring!
[The memory is seeping in.]
In an instant, the card dissolved into a wisp of silver mist, enveloping me in a surreal sensation. When the mist cleared, I found myself standing in what appeared to be a dark alleyway surrounded by big, imposing buildings.
Confused, I looked around, seeing the familiar building and concrete road just like on earth.
"W-What the..."
I felt very light as though I didn't have a body and was just a soul. Just then a lady walked passed through me like I didn't exist. Right then I felt my body being forcefully pulled inside the alleyway.
There, I saw a group of teenagers crowding a boy their age. The boy was covered in bruises, named Rudra.
"Now, why don't you be obedient and give that kitten to us? Or do you want us to convincingly beat you up."
"No...! I won't." But Rudra refused to give in and tightened his embrace which was hiding a kitten. He knew, if he were to give them the kitten, they would give her pain worse than death.
I mean, come on, they were just a bunch of children whom adolescence had started acting up on.
-Khuhawk!
One of them stepped up and gave a punch to Rudra, directly in his jaw. He then snached the kitten away from his losend grip.
"Hahaha... Look at that loser, you should have done what we told you to do."
But Rudra stood up again, even though he didn't have the strength to even protect himself, he still fought back.
But every time he would, he would be knocked down again, yet, that didn't seem to stop him.
Again.... And again.... And again.... He would stand up. It was as if giving up wasn't a word or choice in his dictionary or life.
It was as if he was a zombie, robbed with all the reasoning and left with only one instinct. The instinct to protect that kitten.
In the end, he was successful and those children left him alone with the kitten saying he's a weirdo.
"You are alright, Miko?" Rudra raised the kitten and with a smile he left the place, "Let's go home, today mama's gonna make butter chicken."
And with that, the illusion also came to an end.
"Wtf!? Was this kid on steroids or some shit. And what the fuck was that illusion?"
<The God Of Fate says that she forgot to mention a minor detail. She continues on saying that every time he opens a rare card or above, he would be shown a part of the memories of the owner of the skill.>
"Oh?" I listen to her attentively.
<The God Of Fate wonders why your fate is trash all the time but good sometimes?>
Ignoring her remark, I opened the description of the skill.
—–
Trait: Courage
Type: Passive
Class: A Rank (Positive)
Description: The Trait of Courage imbues the possessor with an unwavering resolve and the ability to face adversity head-on. It grants the strength to persevere even in the direst of circumstances. This Trait serves as a wellspring of inner fortitude, allowing the user to overcome fear, doubts, and challenges that would otherwise seem insurmountable. It is not merely the absence of fear but the ability to confront it and act decisively despite it. The more challenging the situation, the greater the surge of determination and resolve.
Use: Increase the perseverance of the user in a dire situation. [Doesn't require MP.]
Additional Effect 01: The user doesn't show fear.]
"Isn't it similar to will? But it's way better though. It can also help me in "that" place."
<The God Of Fate asks about your plan?>
"My plan? Right now, I want to sleep." I replied in a teasing tone, closing my eyes.
I wanted to sleep right now as tomorrow is going to be a big day for me.
<The God Of Fate pouts and says you're no fun at all.>
"What are you talking about, I am the most fun person ever. Now go away, I need to sleep."
<Hmpf!>
-Zzzz...
After a long time, I fell asleep.
<The God Of Fate sighs and looks at her sleeping guest.>
.
.
[A/N: I know it's been a while since I uploaded a new chapter.
Anyways I wanted to ask you an important question.
Do you want romance or not?
If yes, then first of all there will be no romance till a few hundred chapters and second I will not be able to deliver the best chapter later in the series as I had somewhat planned the future chapters. And the romance won't be the best.]