NOVEL NEXT Chapter 10: The Path Forward (Time Skip)
"Seven more to go!" Squeaky stood on the bedroom door, acting as Taurus' watch guard.
Two years had passed since Taurus' birthday, and he could speak a couple of works perfectly by now.
During that time, he had come up with a schedule that managed his exercises and now he was going through his afternoon routine.
His weekly routine was split into four strength days and three dexterity days, and he would meditate between the exercises to boost his vitality.
Since this was a strength day, both of his hands and feet were on the ground, doing the 7th push-up of this set.
He had to do three sets for a single point and nothing was free, the critter was paid in chicken pieces for its service to Taurus
It took Taurus five minutes to be finished with this set and once done, he sat down breathing heavily despite his current stats.
He took a lotus position and began his first meditation for the day.
An hour later, he was done after being interrupted a couple of times. Thankfully none saw him since Squeaky did the job.
'Status,' Taurus thought, and the status window immediately appeared before his face.
{Status}
[Name: Taurus Pendragon]
[Evaluation: 36 Stars]
[Level: 11 | Exp: 730/1650]
[Stats]
–Health: 9,375/9,375 (Vitality * 15)
–Mana: 0/0 (Spirit * 5)
–Abyssal Force: 1,355/1,355 (Strength * 5)
–Max Physical Damage: 813 (Strength * 3)
–Max Elemental Damage: 3 (Spirit * 3)
–Max Ranged Damage: 609 (Dexterity * 3)
[Attributes]
—Unassigned Points: 50
Vitality: 625 | Spirit: 1 | Strength: 271 | Dexterity: 203
His status had long passed the limitation imposed by his physique, yet the trait triggered normally thanks to his spirit.
For his second year, Taurus took two weeks of exercising and two off every month.
As a result, his stats increased steadily without alarming anyone.
For the third year, he took a step forward and began exercising three weeks a month.
Spirit was completely ignored since he couldn't increase it through exercises without a mana core.
At first, all he wished for was simply living a happy fullfilling life. Then Mammot's hoaxes coupled with his broken traits pushed him forward toward something greater.
He yearned for a world where the beasts were treated as anything other than tools or weapons, a world where the races didn't fight for insignificant matters.
He planned to lead and build a kingdom at the battlefield's center, where discrimination didn't exist.
Of course it was merely a dream at this time, but he believed he didn't lack the power and knowledge to do so.
He eventually shook his head in dissatisfaction, feeling that his stats were still not enough for this grand ambition.
He found it unacceptable for someone who wanted to build a Kingdom in the continent's center.
His current stats coupled with his experience and knowledge could easily allow him to crush someone at level 60 effortlessly.
But level 60 was just an average, and some people like his sister soared high through their traits alone.
A perfect example was his family, his father leveled up five times during the two years, his sister was level 27, Theo was level 47, and Alexandra was level 69.
Leveling was important, something no one dared to stop due to the benefits they gained from it.
For the first hundred levels, the gain was nothing but the attribute points, but once one reached level 100, they were able to integrate their mana cores within their bodies completely.
Once done, their status within the system would rise and they would regain their youth.
Not only that, their attribute points gained per level would increase to 7 as well.
His total stats could easily rival someone who's between level 150~170 or even Titans when it came to numbers, but his Strength and Dexterity could be considered bad.
'I will focus on both within the next three years,' He clenched his fists, determined to work harder on both stats.
This day was a very important one to him since he intended to reveal his status to his parents.
However, one problem lay in his path and he could not read or write yet.
Thus, he planned for a long and found the best course of action was acting up and bringing their attention to him without explicitly revealing it to them.
'Here we go!' He thought before making his way to his bed and climbing on it.
'Status' He thought, bringing the panel once again before his face, and then he initiated his plan.
"budaaaaa budaaaa budaaaaaaaaaaaaaad!" Taurus screamed as hard as he could, his eyes tearing as he tried to move the panel in front of his face using his hands.
His actions did what he exactly wanted and soon, Theo arrived at the bedroom, staring at his younger brother as he waved his hands around, trying to get rid of something in his way.
He stood frozen for a moment before stepping forward and sitting next to his brother.
"Bubba, waaa!" Taurus took the chance, shut his eyes, and threw himself into his brother's arms.
"What's the matter, Tarur? Something bothering you?" Theo spoke, revealing his concern and soon enough, Taurus calmed himself down before acting up once again.
He kept pointing at the status before him as Theo raised his eyebrows in interest.
Since he couldn't see a thing, he eventually assumed it was related to the interface.
'But, he's just a baby!' He drowned his thoughts, his knowledge conflicting with the situation happening before him.
After making up his mind, he decided to check it by himself before passing the matter to his parents.
[Theodore Pendragon would like to see your information, would you permit it?]
[Yes/No]
The status window disappeared from Taurus and he rejoiced right away, a smile painting his face only for it to fade again as the prompt came before his face.
Theo on the other hand noticed his brother's reaction and knowing he couldn't read, he took the chance right away to help him accept through a widely known trick.
"Taru! Do you love your brother?!" He poked his brother, bringing his attention.
Taurus tilted his head at the sudden question before nodding and clapping in approval.
That action allowed him to accept the request without having to do anything on his own and soon, his status appeared before Theo's face.
[Name: Taurus Pendragon]
[Evaluation: 36 Stars]
[Level: 11 | Exp: 730/1650]
Theo collapsed on the bed immediately due to the sudden shock.
Not only was his brother connected to the system, but his evaluation was on a completely different level, and his was level 11 for someone supposedly three years old!
'Well, fuck it. Might as well continue...' Taurus shrugged his shoulders before bursting once again, bringing his father's attention a few minutes later.
"Theo?! What happened here?" Edmund rushed into the room, and to the bed before nudging Theo and helping him back up.
"Huh?" Theo woke up and stared at his brother for a moment before facing his father.
"Taru had awoken father. But I'm not sure how or why." Theo spoke before recalling what he did to his father and soon enough, Edmund confirmed on his own by repeating the same thing.
After carefully assessing the suitation and making sure Taurus had no mana, Edmund shook his head refuting his son's claim.
"He's not awoken yet, but he's connect to the system somehow. Eitherway, this must be kept a secret from outsiders!" Theo nodded his head in agreement and soon, Edmund passed on the matter to his wife.
"What do you think the best course of action would be?" Edmund sat with his wife and began discussing the matter.
"How about we pass the news to your father and our guest? I guess we can also start teaching him to read and write." Alexandra responded, referring to Mammot before giving out her suggestion.
"That's not a bad idea, but I think it's a bit early for that. For now, we can just show him how to dismiss the notifications and keep an eye on his progress ourselves." Edmund spoke, not liking the idea of pushing his son forward this early.
"That's reasonable, but at least question the mammoth and let them." Alexandra nodded her head, and although she wanted to see his properties since they couldn't see it, she didn't mind waiting a little more.
"I will go have a chat with them now, I will see you later."