Reincarnated Jester: Taming Players

It was hard to grasp what was going on.

"Who took her?" Jung asked, shaking his head and looking confused and scared simultaneously. "Please explain everything to me!" he pleaded as he kneeled before his parents.

Baki breathed in, collecting his thoughts. "We don't know how it happened, but Elara Unleashed her Archetype."

One could feel the confusion in his voice. "She was terrified when she knocked on our door. She could barely breathe and had a hard time moving."

Baki caressed Lisa's shoulder, letting her summarise the events. "Elara looked so weak as if she was deteriorating and losing weight every second. We panicked and didn't know how to act, it… It was unexpected, and we were baffled."

Lisa had a hard time picking the right words. It felt like everything that happened kept playing in her mind.

Jung couldn't even describe what he went through—his stomach stung, his arms were shaking, and his thoughts were jumbled.

It wasn't a foreign experience.

He felt the same way once, in his first life, and it was such a traumatic incident that he didn't want to encounter the same emotions ever again.

Yet, here he was, watching as his newfound family stood in pain, powerless, with no knowledge or jokes to save the day.

It was Baki's turn to open his mouth. "We thought she was dying, that's when they arrived and saved her. I don't know how they did it, but after they arrived, Elara seemed better. It was like she got her childlike wonder back, her energy and liveliness were still present. We wanted to thank them, but the next thing they said wasn't something we were prepared for."

Lisa kept fidgeting and swallowing repeatedly, and she was the one who concluded the story.

"According to them, Elara Unleashed Ruler Archetype, which is a hard and resource-demanding archetype. They said that today's incident would repeat itself, and without them, she would die soon after. The option was obvious, but they didn't even ask us. We tried to go with them, but they just disappeared. We still don't know who they were and where they took her."

The entire narrative was a rough pill to swallow, stirring Jung's whole being in rare, painful emotions. But there was more. Even tougher words were still unsaid.

"Before they took her," Baki swallowed his tears. "She cried, saying that she wanted to bid you farewell, pleading desperately for a chance to see you one last time."

Here it was. The hardest line the witty jester had ever heard. Including all 13 lives, this one sentence was the single most heart-bending remark he had received.

Jung cried that time, it had been centuries since he last wept.

He was laughing as well, with a desperate, fake expression of emotions he couldn't handle. 'Where is my foolery, my silly side to cure my loneliness?'

Baki and Lisa couldn't even ask him the questions they had. Seeing their son sobbing like that was another reason for their misery.

That night was terrible. The next even harder. Feeling a certain way was human nature, and losing someone was an unfortunate experience.

The feelings never go away, they stay with us, live with us, and make us better, sadder, yes, but tougher.

A couple of days went by. Jung gathered the courage to talk to his parents. He even considered telling them about his reincarnation but decided against that soon after.

Making them even more depressed was the least thing Jung wanted, so he went with a different approach.

Negotiations went easier than he expected. It took him more than one try, but the result was all that mattered. 'Having an archetype helped.'

Needless to say, he couldn't explain how he Unleashed it, so the information he provided was limited.

Baki agreed to aid him train once a day. As for Lisa, she would teach him academics and all the wisdom he might need in this world.

Jung looked at his skills for the third time before the first practice with his father.

-Low-level resistance against physical, magical, or mental attacks. You can influence others to rebel.

'Resistance is good, but what does influencing others to rebel mean? This is too broad of a term and needs some experimentation.' Overall, it was a good ability, but the main dish was on the way.

-Manifest a weapon of your choosing using Persona power. It gets stronger the more oppressive the enemy is.

Persona was like mana. People got access to it after Unleashing an archetype. But Persona was only in one's being.

There was no way to find them in the environment, and each archetype could only wield one corresponding Persona.

Persona was energy, and conjuring it was a challenge.

Fortunately for Jung, he got a skill that directly helped him control it. 'Let me try to summon my persona,' he said, touching his face.

Jung attempted to manifest Persona as an axe, this magical energy was dark, like a Mark of his archetype, and it was harder than he thought. 

It was fun playing around with moving force, but all he could gather were small daggers.

They didn't have a shape or pattern. It was just a collection of energy he could hold.

After that, Jung summoned his almost empty inventory, with near-limitless space, and took out the only item he owned.

[Tier I Rebel Pill]

There was no description for it, but everyone in this world knew what these pills were for. The capsule itself was black with a skull mark and the number 'I' on it. Swallowing the pill without actually chewing it, he got a system notification.

His counter went up by 5%. Jung felt no change himself, but it was progress nonetheless.

Buying these pills was complicated because they were rare and expensive. The most effective way to obtain them was by slaying monsters and gathering their spoils.

Time went by, and an appointment with his father approached.

"Come at me, son!" Baki said, holding hands close to his chest.

Not thinking about that, Jung manifested Persona and made them in a form he was familiar with.

Baki laughed, not surprised, since he already knew his skills after talking to him.

The boy arrived before his father and slashed with his left hand. He wouldn't dare to underestimate Baki, so he stabbed with his right hand as well.

Jung was fast, but Baki was faster.

The man sidestepped the attack and went for his own. That was when the second dagger arrived, making him lose his momentum. Baki was quick to react and caught Jung's hand, seizing him and kicking his child.

Jung was strong, but Baki was stronger.

Reincarnated youth blocked the kick, but it was too powerful to withstand. His senses were sharp, but Baki wasn't going to lose to some eight-year-old boy.

He flew several meters, but before crashing to the ground, he steadied his body and landed on his feet.

"You are nimble, and your eyes can see everything," Baki complimented as he got closer to Jung.

'Thank you very much, you prick,' the boy thought, not daring to say it aloud. Getting kicked was painful.

Therefore, Jung got motivated. He craved the fight, and he needed to progress and gain all the power he could just to save his sister.

Eventually, he found his footing as his Persona got more potent, which in turn made his body harder and quicker. His rebel side activated, and with newfound vigour, he attacked.

Initially, his steps stunned Baki. Hence, Jung gained the upper hand and bombarded him with a barrage of slashes. He knew all the right angles and all the tough spots to aim at.

His attacks were hard to predict, and devoid of patterns, it felt like Jung himself was dictating Baki's every move, and he was leading the battle on his terms.

Yes, his body was weak, but using Persona, he could handle all the movements he wanted to do. But not for long. Baki could barely dodge or block his slashes.

He had a hard time following his hands or even footwork, but it was doable.

Jung was the first one to tire himself out, his pathetic stamina and high Persona consumption no match for his father's endurance

Consequently, his speed declined, and Baki didn't leave it unused. Jung was aiming at his solar plexus when his hands trembled and got hit by yet another kick.

This one was heavier. The boy crashed into the wall and lost all the air in his lungs.

"Sorry, my bad." Baki apologised, and around him, small pink Persona particles danced. They went straight to Jung and healed his bruises.

"Sorry, my ass, old man!" Jung shouted and chuckled regardless. Lisa was with them and she was grinning as well.

This was the first time they laughed after that incident.

"What did you just say, you brat?" Baki yelled back and went to check his condition.

In the meantime, five more years went beyond. Jung trained and studied as much as he could, but one day he got a system announcement.

All this time, the system was quiet and never said anything. For this very reason, the eternal voice took Jung aback when he heard it.

[Maskera is hosting players from the planet Earth.]

[Get ready!]

'What the fuck do you mean, players?'