Chapter 191: First Awakening

Red opened his eyes and gasped. The first thing he saw was the ground, and he tasted the dirt in his mouth. He was sleeping on the ground, face down. Only then did he remember that he had never reached the straw bed.

He flipped around, looking at the unfamiliar ceiling. His eyes blinked a few times, trying to recall what he experienced just now. He returned to where he collapsed. That confirmed that what he had just experienced was a dream.

"Is it really a dream?"

It was vivid, and he remembered the skills. Surprisingly, he remembered everything. He was about to recall the last moment, the last performance, the spear play. He didn’t need to recall it, as something jolted in his head and throbbed. It felt like a needle pricked his head, right above his head.

Then memories flooded his head, vivid memories. He was confused for a moment because that memory was not his. But then he realized it was the memory of the person who performed the spear play in the last moment of his strange dream.

The memory played like it was him who did those moves, even though he was aware it was not him. He entered for a moment, letting the memory play. It was his admiration and respect for the move. It started with the exact same form and ended with the exact move as well.

Red released a deep breath. He still didn’t know what he experienced, but it was more than just a dream for sure. The memory stayed as if it was his memory. The only way to confirm whether it was merely a dream or not was to check his Status. He learned a few skills and also unlocked a second core.

He was about to open his Status when a series of notifications popped out.

[You have completed the first awakening!]

[Level Calibration Implemented!]

[You are level 27!]

[You have awakened Heradin’s Magic II Trait!]

[You have awakened Heradin’s Might I Trait!]

Red squinted his eyes when reading the first notification, then he was confused about level calibration. The confusion turned into a frown when his levels went down from Level 29 to Level 27. The frown didn’t last long when he read the next two notifications. Something about traits and related to Heradin.

He knew about this Heradin, first finding out during the strange dream. Now he learned that it was not a dream, but an awakening. There was this new thing called a trait as well, but he was more curious about this Heradin. Was this person his real parent?

It still upset him that his level went down by two levels, but Levelheaded helped him to calm down. On top of that, he was distracted by new things, such as this trait. He opened his status.

There was something weird about his Status. His level went down, but his stats went up instead. It no longer upset him, as it meant it was not a regression. His stats remained even though his level went down.

Name: ???

Level: 27

Race: Heradin

Health: 3010 Stamina: 3010 Mana: 4600 Essence Mana: 100

[Tier 1 Might]

Strength: 302.4 (+11) Endurance: 301 (+11) Vitality: 301 (+11) Dexterity: 301 (+11)

[Tier 1 Magic]

Intelligence: 460 (+20) Wisdom: 460 (+20) Arcane Perception: 460 (+20) Mind: 460 (+20) [Threshold to level 28]

Trait: [Heradin Legacy] [Heradin’s Fortuitous Loot] [Heradin’s Magic Lineage II] [Heradin’s Might Lineage I]

Skill:

Tier 1 Skill: Mana Sense - Level 20 (+1), Levelheaded - Level 23 (+1), Appraisal - Level 19, Bleeding - Level 2, Fireball - Level 7, Bow Mastery - Level 9, Burst Leap - Level 2, Sword Mastery - Level 2

Tier 3: Mana Smelting - Level 6, Mana Refining - Level 4, Mana Sharpening - Level 3, Mana Repair - Level 3, Rune Medium Creation - Level 1, Spearmanship - Level 1

Tier 4: Mana Forging - Level 1, Mana Tempering - Level 3, Mana Authority - Level 8, Rune Weaving - Level 1, Rune Engraving - Level 1, Rune Restoration - Level 1, Mana Alloying - Level 1, Mana Smith’s Insight - Level 1

Tier 5 Skill: Infernal Berserk - Level 1, Mana Smith’s Boon - Level 1, Mana Smith’s Rune Collection - Level 1, Heradin’s Mana Circulation and Body Forging - Level 1, Heradin’s Essence Forging - Level 1

All his Might Stats went up by 11. He got +1 Might Stat after finishing Heradin’s Mana Circulation and Body Forging four times, so he knew where that one came from. However, where did those +10 Might Stats come from?

The same was true of his Magic Stats, which also went up by +20. He scratched his head, confused by the situation. Confused but happy at the same time. It was good to have his stats increased, but he wanted to know where it came from. He wanted to find out whether he could replicate it again.

"Is it because of Heradin’s Mana Circulation and Body Forging?"

Red couldn’t get the answer and put that aside for the moment. He was about to check the trait until he noticed something above his level: new information about him. His eyes shot up, and he read it in a mutter.

"Race... Heradin..."

His eyes widened as the realization sank in. That new information was about his identity, confirming his doubt that, in fact, he was not a goblin. Heradin was not a name, but a race name. That was his race, Heradin.

"Heradin..."

It felt like a block on his chest lifted, relieving him from the uncertainty that had been haunting him. This confirmed his identity. He was not a goblin, nor a mutated hobgoblin. He was Heradin!

A smile crept onto his lips. The answer brought him relief. Thought it wouldn’t change him much in what he would do with the future, his future. For now, he needed to keep this secret from the Chief and anyone from the village. If there was someone he could trust with his new identity, it might be Darla.

Red shook his head. "That’s for the future me to decide. I need to check the trait first. What this trait is about."

He had a guess that the increased stats might be related to the trait or to Tier 5 Skills, Heradin’s Mana Circulation and Body Forging.