Chapter 1: Hesia and Bruce

Chapter 1: Chapter 1: Hesia and Bruce

A lingering sleepiness clung to the autumn morning air, blanketing the small town of Print in Norton Holt County.

Hesia Atmesia leaned on his windowsill, his gaze falling upon a figure sweating in the morning light some distance away—the young woman, Isha, was performing her morning Knight drills.

Her golden hair was tied in a bun at the back of her head. A few unruly strands had escaped, dampened with sweat and clinging to the flushed skin of her neck and temples.

Glistening beads of sweat rolled down her rosy cheeks and soaked into the collar of her linen tunic.

At that moment, she gripped a practice Longsword with both hands, raising it high above her head.

With a sharp grunt, she brought the blade down in a vicious chop that tore through the air!

Her form-fitting linen tunic pulled taut in an instant, outlining the slender, supple, yet powerful curve of her waist.

Hesia’s eyes followed that smooth line upward.

"It’s quite round, isn’t it?"

He nodded subconsciously, his gaze still fixed in the distance.

"From an astronomical perspective, a few minutes after sunrise, atmospheric refraction stabilizes, and the sun returns to a nearly perfect circle..."

"Hesia, you’d better be talking about the sun."

A slightly gruff voice interrupted him.

Hesia looked down. A brown-and-white chin was resting on the windowsill. A wet black nose twitched, and a pair of intelligent brown eyes shot him a disdainful sideways glance.

It was his dog, Bruce.

The fact that he could talk was no miracle.

When Hesia transmigrated to this Magic World, a mysterious ball of light had appeared in his mind.

After a long period of experimentation, he finally understood its core function: it was a system that allowed him to gain Decryption Points by increasing others’ Affinity for him, and then use those Points to draw "entries."

These entries could even be "gifted" to other targets.

And so, after spending some time repeatedly greeting the townspeople to grind out 10 Points, Hesia drew and gifted Bruce his first entry—

[Norton Holt Common Language]: You have mastered the Common Language of the Norton Holt Region and its written form.

"Hesia, you promised me we’d go to Fernandez!" Bruce lowered his voice as if sharing a secret. "I heard a Minstrel sing that the girls there don’t wear pants, and their thighs are so pale they’re dazzling."

"Of course. We’re the best of partners. But they wear skirts, you know."

[Affinity with Holt Region Cattle Dog Bruce has increased. Decryption Points +5]

Bruce’s eyes immediately dimmed. "But will you... just die for no reason like my old master did? You just collapsed on the ground that day..."

Hesia froze. He knew what Bruce was worried about.

The original owner of this body hadn’t died "for no reason" like "his" father.

It was because the Atmesia Clan was bound by an ancient contract with a demon:

If a descendant failed to awaken the Mage talent within their bloodline upon reaching adulthood, not only would the power granted by the demon be reclaimed, but even their innate human Bloodline Power would be siphoned away by the contract, turning them into a frail, sickly waste until they died.

But for this once-illustrious clan, the Bloodline Power had withered in recent generations, and no one had been able to awaken as a powerful Mage.

Now, less than a month remained before he came of age.

It was out of desperation that the original owner had taken an unknown Secret Medicine, kicked the bucket, and allowed him to transmigrate here.

The thought that he had finally gotten a new lease on life, only to potentially repeat his family’s fate and become a sickly weakling who would quietly rot away in some forgotten corner, filled him with resentment.

He had to find a way.

That ball of light was his only hope: to draw an entry that could reverse this body’s fate.

Looking at the furry creature before him, he was reminded of the little mutt he used to have.

He patted Bruce’s head. "Bruce, do you trust me?"

"Of course. You’re the one I trust most."

"That’s enough." Hesia’s voice was quiet but unusually firm. "I’ll figure something out. We’ll go to the City of Magic—Fernandez—together."

[Affinity with Holt Region Cattle Dog Bruce has increased. Decryption Points +5]

"Skipping training again?" a crisp voice sounded by the window.

Isha had finished her practice at some point and was now standing outside the window.

She stared at the quitter before her, a trace of annoyance in her azure eyes. But when she met his gaze, that annoyance embarrassingly dissipated for the most part.

A few weeks ago, Hesia had taken the initiative to find her teacher—the Elder Knight Edwin—hoping to learn the basic skills of a Knight.

The Elder Knight had gladly agreed and assigned the basic instruction to her.

Isha had taught meticulously, and Hesia had learned with unusual diligence. But for the past few days, the guy had suddenly stopped showing up.

She didn’t like people who gave up halfway.

"The Entry Level basics of being a Knight... they’re not as difficult as you might think," Isha said, trying to keep her tone even, but a hint of admonishment still slipped out. "To give up so easily..."

Hesia looked into her clear blue eyes, a sense of helplessness washing over him.

’I’m not the type to give up halfway,’ he thought. ’I just don’t have enough time.’

The original Hesia had chosen to become a Knight, perhaps hoping to gain the Extraordinary Power to change his fate, but that path was too long, and the time he had left was running out.

He had to abandon this inefficient method and find opportunities to gain Points quickly.

"Isha," Hesia interrupted her gently, his face full of sincere apology. "I won’t be coming to training anymore. Thank you so much for everything."

Seeing the disappointment in Isha’s eyes, he took a small object from his pocket and handed it to her—a simple yet elegant hair tie meticulously woven from soft leather.

Isha’s beautiful blue eyes widened slightly in surprise.

She reached out and took the small item.

The leather tie was cool to the touch, yet possessed excellent toughness and a gentle elasticity.

The words of refusal were on the tip of her tongue, but they unexpectedly got stuck.

’This blockhead... he actually noticed... that I spend so long doing my hair every morning...’

By the time she came to her senses and was about to say something else, Hesia had already waved, turned, and started walking with Bruce toward the Woodland outside of town.

As his figure grew more distant, Isha felt the lingering warmth on the leather tie, and the words she’d been holding back finally burst out:

"To... tonight!" she suddenly raised her voice, then quickly lowered it. "...Would you... like to go to the dance with me?"

The last few words were as quiet as a mosquito’s buzz, dissolving in the wind.

Hesia’s pace didn’t falter; he didn’t seem to have heard.

...

On a small path in the woods where fallen leaves rustled underfoot,

Hesia’s attention was captured by the pale gold text that had appeared in his vision, leaving him completely oblivious to the girl’s shout and subsequent chagrin behind him.

[Affinity with Human Isha has increased significantly. Decryption Points +15]

He subconsciously fiddled with the spare hair tie in his pocket, and understanding dawned on him.

’Giving gifts really works.’

————————————

[Name: Hesia Atmesia]

[Race: Human]

[Level: 7]

[Profession: None]

[Physique: 6] (Life Force, Endurance, Recovery Power, Toughness)

[Power: 6] (Explosive Power, Absolute Power, Physical Destruction Power)

[Agility: 7] (Reaction Speed, Body Coordination, Precise Operation, Dynamic Balance)

[Wisdom: 10] (Logic, Scholarship, Memory, Analytical Reasoning)

[Will: 10] (Faith, Intuition, Inner Perception, Spiritual Resistance)

[Charm: 16] (Personal Power, Leadership, Persuasion, Appearance)

[Skills: None]

[Status:

Salamakis’s Contract: Your Bloodline Power will be drained in 28 days]

[Equipped Entries: Empty, Empty]

[Available Entries:]