Chapter 90   - Orange ★★

Pushing aside a leafy branch, the familiar buildings and lush gardens extended with their warm colors. A crystal sea reflected the waning sunlight in the distance. His sore muscles were momentarily forgotten. Kai smiled, it was good to be back. The thought made him pause.

Is this my home now? I’ve spent more time here than in Greenside…

If home was a place, this was probably it. He missed his family and wished they could be here, but he didn’t want to go back to Greenside. That place sucked the soul out of him, with all its petty politics and suffocating climate. The unpleasant memories didn’t help either.

The journey took the better part of two days. His backpack made him feel only a fraction of the weight he was carrying, but even that had worn him out.

“You’re back.” Elijah welcomed him, looking bored.

Nothing speaks of home quite like this.

“Looks like I am.”

The butler ignored him and took the spatial bag off his shoulders, “Get settled down. There is still enough daylight for the evening training.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Kai said, knowing damn well the answer. “I just came back from a two-day hike carrying a backpack that weighed as much as me.”

Elijah gave him a flat look.

Spirits help me. Of course, he’s not. It’d be easier to find mercy in hell.

“You took a long enough vacation. And you’ll discard Steady Runner after the enhancement, we need to make the most of it. You’d better not have slacked.” Not a hint of compassion in the man's icy eyes.

Too exhausted to fight a hopeless case, Kai headed for his house. It would all seem better after a shower.

“Be ready in an hour,” Elijah warned.

I need to find a better home. Or kick out the current inhabitants. At least one of them.

The exhaustion of the travel flowed down his body with the cold water. It couldn’t replace a good night's sleep, but being clean and relaxed in the familiar environment of his living room was nice.

I need to figure out how to build a shower.

After he reincarnated, it had been hard to resign to the lack of modern comforts, but knowing there was no other choice helped him make peace with it. Then the estate revealed that there was another choice. Each time he left their absence got more stark and painful to endure.

There were two ways to build a shower, through engineering—like on Earth—or through magic. Kai didn’t know much about the first, but his Runes skill was improving steadily. He managed to successfully engrave runes for cold, heat, breeze, and meta effects like amplify and channel.

A shower would be a complicated project, requiring him to combine runes well beyond his current reach. Still, he had no doubt in his mind. He’d make it work, no matter how long it took.

Kai was ready for his training with half an hour to spare. Elijah had been unusually generous.

He probably needs time to sort through the stuff I brought. That must be it.

A power nap was tempting, but he’d likely get woken up early ruining the experience. Weighing his options, his eyes fell on his moon lily. The plant looked better than when he left. Kai smiled, an orange flower was resilient enough to last months on its own, but Dora must have taken care of it anyway.

Kai headed to the garden to thank her. He barely had time to look around when she hurried to greet him.

“How was your journey? Did you enjoy visiting the town? Did any merchant give you a hard time? Met anyone interesting?” Dora crushed him in a hug before he could respond.

“It was fine.” Kai picked out a couple of leaves that had gotten trapped in her curly red hair. “Sylspring was nice.”

“Come, you must tell me everything. Are you hungry? Silly me, of course you are. All those days on the road without a decent meal.”

Resistance was futile, she dragged him into the kitchen and sat him down.

“I’m sorry I didn’t prepare anything in advance. I wasn’t sure when you’d be back. It’s early for dinner, but I can start preparing.”

“It’s not necessary,” Kai vainly tried to stop her as a pile of food materialized in front of him. “I’ve eaten plenty.”

For better or worse, none of his teachers did half-measures. Kai recounted the best part of last week as he nibbled on the food. Going through Elijah’s training with a full stomach was a terrible idea, and minutes flew far too quickly.

“Your time is up.” The butler appeared by the doorway.

“Come on, Elly, give Kai a break, he just came back. And he has yet to finish his story, you can start tomorrow.” Dora waved the butler away with a wooden spoon.

“I never interfere in your training, and I expect you to do the same.” Elijah scowled, nailed by the entrance.

A battle of glares between his two teachers unfolded. Kai knew Dora would win. She always had her way when she put her mind to it.

“Don’t worry, aunty. I want to stretch my legs. I’ll be back for dinner.” Kai passed by a stupefied butler, heading to the beach outside. Confronting himself with his peers showed him how far he’d come, but he still had a long way to go.

Valela was born on the archipelago and was not far behind him. She might even be ahead, depending on how far from the next grade she was.

“Maybe you’re not completely irredeemable after all,” Elijah said.

“Be careful with the praise, or I might start thinking you like me,” Kai smirked.

“Get running, brat.”

“Yes, Mr. Butler.”

“What did you call me?”

***

Sitting at the long pale table in the main building, Kai finished recounting his experiences in Sylspring. Elijah wanted to know how he spent each copper coin, watching him with judging eyes.

“Considering your lack of experience and control, you didn’t embarrass yourself too much. Just remember you can’t adopt each stray you meet.” Elijah commented curtly.

I guess that’s good. I passed.

“What about the governor?” Kai asked, reminding the message he had been asked to report to his master in exchange for his preferential treatment.

“Nothing you need to concern yourself. I’ll handle it.”

Kai wasn’t deterred. “What was the point of the journey? Besides picking up supplies, I mean.”

“What’s your theory?” Naturally, the butler turned the question to him.

“It can’t be a coincidence I got there right as the selection was about to happen. Did you want me to confront other kids my age?”

“Just because something is rare, it doesn’t mean it never happens. That’s why the word coincidence exists in the first place.”

“You’re telling me it was all a fluke?”

“I never said that.”

Damn, he’s doing it on purpose.

With a smirk on his lips, Elijah observed him amused. “I’ll make things easy just this time. I heard the governor had announced a new initiative. I wasn’t counting on you participating, but it wouldn’t hurt either. The gods know you need more experience with people.

“It was a coincidence in the sense it wasn’t the main reason I sent you there. You needed to show your face before reaching Orange ★★ and make your ID. So next time they see you, they’ll think you just enhanced your race.”

Kai hadn’t thought Elijah cared that much about him keeping a low profile. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome, dear apprentice,” Elijah said and stood up. “After all, if the governor found out we could take a common stray off the streets and turn him into a half-decent copper, we’d never have another moment of peace.”

Kai continued to smile unbothered by the obvious taunt. The fact the butler was concerned about concealing his capabilities was an undeniable sign of recognition.

It’s convoluted like his devious mind, but a compliment is a compliment.

He made sure to show his glorious mood with an irritating smile.

“Go have your little enhancement then. We’re done here. And try not to drown this time.”

“Okay.” Humming to himself, Kai made his way out of the mansion toward the beach. Virya sat beneath the pavilion a short distance away, reading a book. He waved at her and—to his surprise—received a nod back.

Mhmm… she must be paying more attention than I thought.

Despite Elijah’s warning, or maybe because of it, Kai walked into the sea till the waters reached his shins. As a precaution, he turned toward shore, in case he fell his face would land outside the sea. There was no way to go through an upgrade without making a fool of yourself and this was his tradition.

Excitement and slight nervousness grasped his body. He stored the Experience of almost two weeks for this. Another milestone he yearned and strived for was finally within reach.

*Ding*

Life Experience: 532 XP

Orange ★: 100,000/100,000 XP

Conditions for race upgrade met…

Beginning enhancement from Human (Orange ★) to Human (Orange ★★)…

According to what he read, moving up inside the same grade should be gentler than advancing to a new tier. Naturally, that was all relative.

As a purifying fire gathered inside his chest, Kai braced for what was to come, gritting his teeth in anticipation.

Start already!

The spirits granted his wish. Burning energy surged inside his heart, flowing like molten metal down his veins. It swept every corner of his body. From the tip of his nose to his toes, everything hurt. The pain made him bend in two. His face rapidly headed for the ground.

In a flash of lucidity, Kai pushed his hands forward in the wet sand. A wave brushed him, with his body numb with pain he only noticed when the water passed in front of his face.

Damned. Lying. Books. They said it wasn’t that bad.

Unlike when he reached Orange, Kai maintained consciousness throughout the whole process. Maybe that made it gentler in a perverse sense. Not a great consolation as the enhancement ravaged his body in an effort to rebuild it.

Jaws clenched, his hands dug in the sand, grasping it in search of salvation. Eyes darting wildly, without seeing anything.

Like the tides always receded, the flames abated and slowly died down. With labored breaths, Kai lay with his back to the shore.

Gentle my ass. Damn liars.

It was done. The last remnants of pain and soreness from his training fell away, his body relaxed as the cold waves tickled him. Shielding his eyes from the blinding sun, he noticed a notification blinking in the corner of his eye.

*Ding*

New Feat: Overachiever – Through great efforts and discipline, you rose to the second stage of Orange before your fourteenth birthday.

You are awarded: +3 Favor!

Knowing that would happen didn’t make the reward any less sweet.

Another 3 Favor, let’s go! I must be the luckiest person born in the archipelago. I wonder what’s the highest adults have… I should ask Uncle Moui.

Euphoria and bliss flooded his body. He was invincible. Nothing could stop him.

Kai took a few tentative steps, easily finding his balance. The sudden increase in Strength was compensated by Dexterity. Without hesitation, he did a handstand.

He had been wrong, his balance wasn’t as good as before, it was better. Walking on his hands around the beach, a grin split his face. Kai almost expected Elijah to jump out of a shadow to douse his mood with scathing comments.

Nothing happened. The world was perfect. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt this much joy. Maybe it was the thrill of the enhancement that flooded his brain like a drug. He didn’t care. What did it matter when he was so happy and carefree?

Too curious to delay, he summoned his status to see the changes.

Name: Kai Tylenn

Race: Human ★★

Profession: None

Body stats

Strength: 9>12

Dexterity: 11>15

Constitution: 14>18

Mind: 14>19

Spirit: 16>21

Perception: 12>16

Favor: 19>22

Yeah, he had good reasons to be happy. Seven of them to be exact.

If I were back on Earth, I would have definitely passed the superhero threshold.

All his attributes exceeded those of a normal adult, firmly in the second digit. His gains were even greater than last time. Each race upgrade always granted more, perhaps his older age helped too.

Strength and Dexterity remained his lowest values, but they were also the easiest to raise as he grew up. They’ll eventually catch up with the rest.

At 16 points, Perception was next from the bottom. If the books hadn’t wickedly lied there too, this attribute was humanity's weakest, together with Spirit—even if the latter clearly had exceptions.

No point being envious of other races, the four-point increase already was mind-blowing. His sight reached farther than he thought possible on the horizon, distinguishing minute shades of aquamarine and turquoise on the far sea. The world was more vivid and bright.

Now that he paid attention to it, the itching of the sand stuck to his body felt unbearable. Jumping in the water to get rid of it, the sudden impact of the freezing water shocked him.

Damn, I’ll need to get used to cold showers all over again. Just great.

Walking on shore, a pulse of mana got rid of the water. His mood was restored in the blink of an eye, his dumb grin was on his face again. Casting a spell had never been easier. When he noticed his increased mana pool, Kai jumped two meters in excitement.

No one came to disturb him. For the next few hours, Kai played around with his new physical and mana capabilities. His body was light as a feather and more precise. His mind clearer and faster. His mana more powerful.

Feeling the pangs of hunger, Kai showered and danced his steps to Dora’s place. He found her already in the kitchen, and he went inside.

“Congratulations! I reckon your enhancement went well.” The alchemist smiled.

“Do you think I have time to discard Steady Runner before lunch?” Kai asked. His spike in Spirit and Mind only made him more eager to get his hands on Water Magic.

“I think you’d better wait. Orange skills aren’t as forgiving as red.”

Kai frowned, disappointed. Better not to ruin the perfect day with that.

Dora set the table, disappearing to bring the meals to the other residents of the estate before sitting down with him. She truly went overboard to celebrate his achievement.

As Kai took the first bite of a juicy steak, he realized he had forgotten something fundamental regarding Perception. All five seasonings Dora used were unmistakable and distinct. And yet each bite revealed new flavors.

When they got to the dessert, Kai almost cried tears of joy, eating a spoonful of ice cream.

“So nice to be young,” Dora said. “Make the most of it. Each upgrade only gets harder.”

Right, I almost forgot to check.

Race: Human

Grade: Orange ★★

Next enhancement ➔ 0/175,000 XP

Oh, damn.