In a little grove between the barrier and the forest, Axel lay down amongst a bed of flowers. He sighed and said, "System, just what is this? I got such a function AND one of the skills I picked. Could I be a godsend or something?"
[No. This is due to the boost in the Luck stat. Remember, your luck was at 1 point. Plus, this function isn't really that good.]
Axel's brows creased slightly as he said, "Explain."
A screen popped out as it said, [Dimensional Travel Function: The host may travel to another world at RANDOM. Each world the host travels to has a total of five quests, with varying difficult that the host MUST complete to travel back. Once the quests are completed, the host will be RATED on his performance in that world. Rating is split into the following categories: F, E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, SSS. Each category also has a higher and lower grade, for example, (A+) or (A-). A rating of (A-) or above allows free travel to said world. Each category has rewards for the host as the higher the category, the more plentiful the rewards and vice versa. Failure to complete a quest will lead to an automatic decrease in rating. Rating of (F) from any grade automatically makes the host forfeit any benefits gained from travelling to said world, even system benefits, for example, buying stuff from that world.
Time Dilation: 30 - 1 (30 days = 1 day)
Cool-down: 1 month.]
Axel became slack-jawed as he thought, 'What's with these rules!?! Was I… ripped off!?!'
Axel shook his head as he slapped his cheeks hard. He clenched his fist as he said, "No. It's not ripping me off. No one said that the road to becoming strong was easy. I have to be willing to walk forward, even if the road is a path of blades."
*Rumble*
The air stagnated as Axel's cheeks flushed a deep red. He heaved a sigh of relief as he muttered, "At least no one-" However, before he could finish, a group of armoured people who followed behind a little girl arrived just in time to see his… 'resolution.'
"Pfft… hahaha!!!" The little girl collapsed to the ground laughing while clutching her stomach. The people behind her however didn't make a single noise as they quickly got into a fighting stance.
Before Axel could say anything, the little girl waved her hand and said, "Stand down! I can tell this boy is only a half-star."
Axel thought, 'Half-star?' When the system explained that people are also rated by stars, however, it's not about raw strength like monsters but strength, technique and ability.
Axel also realized something as he remembered what the little girl said. He thought, 'She said that she could tell, which means she could see that I have a couple skills. That means…'
As the little girl saw Axel in deep thought, She grinned and said, "I guess you've already realized. I am the 2nd heiress to the Apollo clan, Olivia von Apollo."
Axel forcefully straightened up as he bowed and said, "Axel, no last name. Nice to meet you."
Olivia's mood visibly dropped as she snorted before turning away. One of the armoured people took off there helmet, revealing an old man with a monocle. He walked up to Axel and said, "Young man, could you please drop the formalities? The miss doesn't really like them and we can see your also forcing yourself."
Axel only nodded before he sat on the ground and casually said, "Sorry about that. Had a run in with this noble (His Father) who sent an assassin to kill a good friend of mine (The Prince)."
Silence flowed in the air as all the armoured people had one united thought, 'Aren't you too casual, too fast!?!'
Even Olivia was stunned by his change before she burst into laughter. She slapped his shoulder as she said, "I knew it! You really were a good guy!"
Axel only wryly smiled while all the armoured people stood shocked. He looked towards the old man as he said, "What's up, gramps?"
The old man began to tell a tale. He started off by saying Olivia has had the ability to see-through people since a young age. Her father made use of her ability to fill the upper echelon with trust-worth people. It was smooth sailing… until she began to hate her father. She began to see more and more greed from him and in no time, She left. She took a handful of people before hand to make sure her father didn't send his people to guard her. Lastly, he said that Olivia has never called anyone a 'good guy', not even anyone in the group.
Axel quietly looked over at the young girl who looked to be all smiles and giggles before turning towards the old man and giving him a weird look. The old man wryly smiled before shaking his and walking back into formation.
Suddenly, Olivia tackled Axel over as she began an unrelenting onslaught of questions. Axel made sure to slowly adjust the distance between her and himself before he proceeded to answer her questions.
As time went by, what was once a Q&A session between Olivia and Axel, quickly became a competition to see who would fail at answering.
With a giggle, Olivia said, "Axel, What's your real name?"
The air froze as Axel's expression took a quick 180. He stared at her with an expressionless face and said, "What ever do you mean, miss?"
Olivia shuddered as she could feel something she's never felt before. Emptiness. All she could see radiating from the once clear spring was a void of emptiness.
Olivia forced a smile and said, "A-Axel, I was just kidding, Okay?"
Axel slightly smiled an empty smile and stood up. Olivia said, "What are you doing?" However, Axel said nothing in return as he packed his gear up and left.
Olivia reached a hand out and was about to call out when she retracted it and said nothing. The old man only sighed before he muttered, "Ahhh, Youth…"
Axel was walking off, making sure he was just between the barrier. While walking, he began to find something wrong with himself. He muttered, "Why did I leave like that..."
Suddenly an intense headache struck Axel as he was forced to take a knee. After a couple minutes he stood up as he sighed before he said, "No wonder…"
The reason he had a headache was him recalling the prince's memories. Once, he had snuck away from the castle when he was young and healthy. He played with the commoner kids and ate the commoner food. As he was playing, he discovered something. This life was way more fun then being a prince. Being a prince required having to live a certain way and only do certain things but he didn't like it. He liked the feeling of being free.
However, It didn't last long. Once, he had told his group of friends that he was using a fake name. Being kids, they grew curious and asked and the prince told them. Then word got around. People ambushed the group and killed the other kids before kidnapping the prince. He was later rescued by his father's second in command but he slapped the prince's face and left in disgust.
Ever since then, a deep yet forgotten trauma was made.
Axel only wryly smiled before continuing his walk. He thought for awhile as he walked before he said, "System, Can you show me my skills?"
The screen appeared in front of Axel's view, so he decided to sit down and read.
The screen said, [Skills: Cooking, Appraisal Magic, Nature Magic, Harvesting]
"System, can you do a detailed explanation on them?" Asked Axel. He had a rough idea of what each skill did but he wanted to be sure.
The screen disappeared and reappeared with different information.
[Skills: Cooking - The ability to cook food. The taste of the food cooked depends on the level of this skill. LVL: 5.
Appraisal Magic - Magic that's used to appraise items. Also works on people and monsters. Information gained from the appraisal depends on the level of this skill. LVL: 2.
Nature Magic - Magic used to control plants. Can control growth and shape of plants. Strength of nature magic depends on the level of this skill. LVL: MAX
Harvesting - The ability to harvest crops. The quality of crops harvested depends on the level of this skill. LVL: MAX.]
Axel jumped to his feet as he screamed, "AM I SUPPOSED TO BE A FARMER!?!"
That's right! Axel is a farmer! *cough* Okay, I'll stop joking. This will make sense later... I hope. It does in my head.