A Year of Great Change

"Big Brother is back!"

Seeing the hug that almost radiated actual warmth, little Annie broke out of her frozen state, shouting as she ran to join in!

"Really?"

"Brother Arthur is back?"

"Bro…"

Alerted by her shout, Annie's siblings swarmed out of the Orphanage with wide eyes, their mouths gaping as they followed Annie's example!

"Yes, yes, I-I'm back…"

'I can't breathe…'

The warm touching hug was overwritten by a 'breathtaking' embrace, leaving Leo gasping for breath while barely keeping his smile.

"I thought you left like hhh… Ray."

After letting out her suppressed emotions, Ria finally broke the hug as the children followed suit. Mumbling as she wiped the tears that made her eyes shine under the sun.

"Didn't you read the letter?"

Even though Leo felt bad for not having a proper goodbye before his first 'outing', he could only do so because he wanted to avoid a complicated situation like this, especially just after the Fanged Wolves incident.

However, he did make sure to mention that he would return before a year had passed in his letter. As much as he mutually missed everyone at the Orphanage, he felt that Ria was slightly overreacting.

"I did, but Ray also said he would come back…"

'Ah, another 'support' from my 'brother'...'

Naturally, Leo knew that it wasn't something normal for someone of his age to travel out of town so early, but the experience of Ray's departure simply made his own almost traumatizing.

"Well, here I am."

In reality, Leo knew that he was sorely lacking when it came to communication, to a person like him who saw more papers than faces, even a few books on the topic didn't help much. Being in this awkward situation, he could only be 'robotic' like this.

"I knew that Big Brother would come back soon! I told them so!"

Annie smiled widely while still being stuck to Leo, it was obvious that she wanted some praise for still believing in him.

"I also knew little Annie would be waiting so I came back as fast as I could!"

"Be careful!"

Patting the adorable Annie, Leo held her up so as to break out of the heavy mode, putting her on the back of the horse before dragging out a sack from the back of the carriage.

"Don't worry, it's really obedient."

After spending so many days with the horse, Leo was familiar enough with its docile behavior resulting from its long years of domestication as a transport horse. In the first place, this was the reason he had rented a horse instead of buying one from the very start. He wanted to test it out before using his long renting period as a buffer for an instant exchange.

"Alright, let's get inside, breakfast is on me, I bought meat buns!"

`~~~`~~~`~~~`

'That was… hard.'

Only when he was back at the training spot that he missed dearly could Leo finally be at ease. Thankfully, Ria was happier about him returning safely than angry at his surprise departure.

Staring at the blond-haired figure at the surface of the lake just like he did the day he arrived at this world, Leo couldn't help but feel a strange sense of nostalgia, almost a year had passed since his arrival!

Although a year wasn't really much, his experiences through this year were anything but ordinary. Starting from his preparation to stand up to impending doom, coming into contact with a mystical plant, his encounter with the most influential person in this world, at this moment, everything felt like a dream.

However, in contrast to what he felt, the figure reflected by the water showed even more than that. His face, height, as well as long hair tied into a ponytail firmly stated their degree change as a testament to the passing of a few years at the very least. The only thing that remained unchanged with his heterochromatic eyes that were carried along with his 'mind' into this world.

At the same time, Leo similarly called out to the 'Personal Book' just like he did for the very time, its first page revealing an even greater difference.

[ Book 1 ]

Name: Arthur (Leo Lock)

Age: 13 (18)

Role: Reader

Reading Points: 222

________________________

Personal Statistics:

----------------

True Sword Breath: 100/100

Physique: 1.1

Mind: 1.35 (+1.96)

Sword Breath: 104.51

________________________

Personal Skills:

---------------

'Basic Swordsmanship' - Chapter 1 - page 10/10

'Basic Horsemanship' - Chapter 1 - page 1/10

'Close Quarter Combat' - Prologue - page 6/10

________________________

Personal Abilities:

-----------------

'Universal Sword Breathing' - Grade 2 - 5/10

________________________

Events:

-------

- Teaching Crane - Unique

- Rewriting Destiny - Unique (2)

- Counter Elimination - Impossible

________________________

Despite the change being great overall, the most noticeable change which also mattered the most at this moment was the change in age. Two days away from town, Leo had finally figured out Arthur's birthday!

As a typical orphan that was picked off from somewhere, even Arthur himself didn't know his birthday before. In a sense, the 'Personal Book' acted as a calendar of sorts…

Following that, the physique that was still going strong shone the most. In contrast to the supposed limit of his body as a 13-year-old child, Leo didn't feel like he was hitting a wall anytime soon. Remembering the 0.8 points of physique that he had started with, Leo felt a small sense of accomplishment.

Lastly, the 'Personal Skills' segment that wasn't even there when Leo first 'opened' the 'Personal Book' now had as many as three entries, one of them being a recent addition that he finally managed to obtain after a month of testing.

'Not bad at all.'

The surface of the lake appeared to be faintly distorted as a wide smile spread on the face that appeared like it was close to coming of age.

Having already come to accept his new reality, Leo was satisfied with the progress he obtained in an eighth of the time he had to survive for. Although his presence as a variant made his future shrouded in mystery, Leo felt like he finally had the confidence to take on whatever the world threw at him!

'No slacking off still.'

Swoosh!

Taking out the sword he was holding out of its sheath, Leo was already immersed in his sword training before he knew it. While his satisfaction wasn't a facade, his closest goal was still incomplete, being yet to achieve some mastery over the advanced sword technique. Even though he was finally back home, the effort he put forward could only increase but no decrease wherever he may be!