**Chapter 10: Rebuilding from Ash**
The grand library’s knowledge on Mana, history, and the intricacies of the empire would have to wait. Now that his Mana core was restored, the dormant energy within him flared to life—yet the immediate priority was understanding his baseline.
Lucien exhaled, standardizing his breath. "Ada, show me my status window."
[Of course, Host.]
The air shimmered. A translucent, azure screen crystallized directly before his eyes, illuminating the dim quarters with its soft luminescence.
════════════════════════════════════════════════════
[ STATUS ]
════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Name: Lucien Alexius Valerian
Race: Human
Class: Magic Swordsman
Rank: F Rank( Dormant)
Potential: D-Rank (Growth Type)
Level: 1
Mana: 25 / 25 (Average Human: 100)
EXP: 0 / 100
Affinities: Fire, Lightning, Space (Half-Awakened)
Titles:
• Fatty Young Master
• Drunken Fatty
• Useless Trash of the Empire
• Shame of the Valerian Duchy
• Lonely Boy
────────────────────────────────────────────────────
[ ATTRIBUTES ] (Average Human Range: 20)
────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Strength: 4 Agility: 3 Durability: 7 stamina: 5 Intelligence: 9
Charm: E (charm measure by rank)
────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Unallocated Attribute Points: 0
────────────────────────────────────────────────────
[ INNATE SKILLS ]
• Special Sense (Range: 15m)
Perceive every movement, heartbeat, and hidden weapon
within a 15-meter radius, bypassing physical blindness
and ambushes.
• Truth-Eye Analysis
Inspect hidden stats, potential, and emotional states
of target individuals.
• Master Swordsmanship
Innate, unrivaled comprehension of the blade.
════════════════════════════════════════════════════
```
Truth be told, a sudden wave of embarrassment washed over him. He almost felt like sinking into the floor.
‘Is this seriously my status?’
His Mana reserve was pathetic—a quarter of an ordinary human's. His strength and agility were atrocious, weighed down by the heavy layer of fat covering his frame.
Yet, beneath the grim numbers lay a single silver lining: his potential had evolved into a ‘Growth Type’. There was no artificial ceiling anymore. As long as he pushed himself, his potential would expand alongside his strength.
A blue vein popped on his temple as his gaze landed on the title section. The sheer disrespect in those labels made him want to file a complaint with the System itself.
[Is something wrong, Host?...]
"Nothing," Lucien muttered, swallowing his irritation.
His eyes brightened as he shifted his focus down to his elemental affinities. All three were offensive powerhouses. Fire was the proud lineage of the Valerian Duchy, while Lightning belonged to his mother—the woman renowned throughout the empire as the Thunder Queen. Space, however... Space was uniquely his.
The innate skills were equally promising. ‘Special Sense’ provided a omnidirectional radar that could scale with growth; ‘Truth-Eye Analysis’gave him an information advantage over allies and foes alike; and ‘Swordsmanship’ meant his physical training would yield maximum efficiency with zero wasted effort.
[Host... also, due to your severe overweight condition, you cannot properly channel Mana through your pathways yet.]
Lucien sighed, hearing what sounded suspiciously like pity in Ada's mechanical tone.
‘The past is set in stone, but the future isn't,’ he reminded himself. ‘I will change my fate. I will survive, and I will grow stronger.’
First order of business: fix this body starting tomorrow at dawn. Second: find a sword art tailored to his unique affinities. Three months was a brutally short window, but it was all he had.
Stepping over to the balcony, Lucien looked up at the night sky. Two moons hung suspended in the abyss—one a pale white, the other a deep, blood red. The surreal landscape was strangely captivating.
The air shimmered once more as a crisp notification locked onto his field of view.
════════════════════════════════════════════════════
[ Daily Quest: 'Foundation of the Sovereign' has been generated. ]
════════════════════════════════════════════════════
• Push-ups: 0 / 100
• Squats: 0 / 100
• Pull-ups: 0 / 100
• Plank: 0 / 5 Mins
• Running: 0 / 10 km
[ REWARDS ]: Attribute Points, EXP
────────────────────────────────────────────────────
*Note: Monster and Demon slayings yield high EXP.
════════════════════════════════════════════════════
```
Lucien smiled faintly. He had hated being out of shape in his past life, too. This was a welcome push. He would strip away the fat and sculpt a frame worthy of a warrior.
With tomorrow’s library visit planned, he sat down to organize his thoughts—recalculating upcoming key events, the main academy arc, world geography, and the political landscape of this land.
Meanwhile, down the dimly lit wing of the estate, a violent crash echoed through Victor’s private quarters.
A wine bottle shattered against a tall mirror, showering the polished floor with glass and dark red liquid. Victor stood in the center of the destruction, breathing heavily, his face contorted in rage.
"That fatty bastard... how dare he talk back to me?" Victor snarled, clutching his trembling fists. "Where did he suddenly get a backbone? I thought he was a walking corpse... How is he standing tall again? And how... how did he know about the poison in my pocket?"
His mind raced back to his clandestine meeting with the demon worshiper who had supplied the toxin—the dark cultist who had shown him a terrifying vision of the future. A vision where, if Lucien wasn't systematically poisoned and crippled throughout his childhood, he would grow into an absolute monster and strip Victor of his birthright as successor.
A cruel, twisted sneer stretched across Victor’s face through the reflection of the broken mirror.
"It doesn't matter," Victor whispered, his eyes gleaming with malice. "This time, little brother... I’ll make sure you’re dead for good."