2 years passed by like wind…
Atlas Silver was now six years old, and the family was sitting at the dinner table, which was filled with different gourmet food.
Munch… munch…
"Atlas," Seraphine said in a more serious tone than usual after swallowing the food in her mouth.
"Yes...?" Atlas asked back nervously.
"As you know, we didn't let you leave the residence because of your frail body and because we were worried. But you look healthier since your training," she said proudly. "So your father and I decided that we should send you to school. We have another small residence there too, and since we want the best education for you, we will go to the Capital."
Seraphine continued.
"You know, there you will learn many fun things like history, combat classes, and much more..." Seraphine explained enthusiastically because back then she loved school.
Lior continued. "Of course, there will be many other children too. From higher classes than our family. They will look down on you, my son... but don't ever let them bully you or affect you. But I'm sure you will handle everything well." He smiled faintly.
"Also, be kind and make friends," both parents said in unison and then chuckled.
"Thanks... I will keep everything in mind," Atlas said in a soft tone as he cut his steak.
Clink!
Atlas had never attended school in his previous life because of his health condition, so he was always curious about the place every child went. He got some education on his own because he was always fascinated by theory and maths but lacked resources, so this was like a dream.
"When does school start?" Atlas added.
"Next Monday," Seraphine answered.
Later in Atlas's room.
Atlas took out his hidden notebook from under his bed and went to sit at the table. He needed to plan right now. Since he was now six years old and the year was 716, it meant he would meet important characters from An Unfortunate World at school.
He looked at his notes about the different characters' traits and their behaviors, which he noted secretly at night, coded so only he could understand his notes.
"System," Atlas said in a quiet tone.
[Name: Atlas Silver]
Strength: 5
Agility: 5
Intelligence: 7
Skills: Swordsmanship [F]
Trait: none
Class: frail person [→ user gets injured/sick more easily and takes longer to heal]
Atlas had trained consistently over the last two years but was now average for children his age. That meant the trained body of Atlas was that of an untrained one his age.
Still.
"Not bad..." Atlas muttered.
His intelligence was fairly high because of his knowledge of his past life. He also tested and noted down the perks of each stat from the system because they were not explained in An Unfortunate World.
Strength increased the power of each move and made the body more durable. It also enhanced regenerative abilities—if the level was high enough—as he had read in a book.
Agility increased reaction speed, flexibility, and movement speed.
Intelligence was still unclear, but since magic existed, he concluded it related to that.
He couldn't test it—he had never seen magic at the residence and had only read about it. Besides, his parents were knights, skilled solely in swordsmanship.
"...What should I do?" Atlas began speaking to himself. "Ignore the characters and try not to change the future so I can benefit more surely... would be beneficial.""No... this whole story is already out of order because I got here."
A lightbulb popped in Atlas's head.
"Since it's already messed up, I will try to befriend them and make them stronger than in the original." Atlas had made up his mind and began rubbing his hands like a fly.
1 week later.
Atlas got dressed up in a noble-looking blue suit, which Winslow picked for him, and also got some silver accessories with it. Atlas was sitting alone in a horse carriage, which was led by Winslow.
His parents stayed home and would come 1 week after Atlas arrived, as they had to organize their things. Also, their son would sleep at school because it was an academy.
Clip-clop…
Atlas looked outside the carriage. Flat land full of grass and in the vastness of his vision, giant mountains covered in ice.
Family Silver's main residence was in a land full of nothing because it was... peaceful.
Rustle.
The carriage stopped.
"Winslow..." Atlas stepped out of the carriage, annoyed. "Why did we st-" He got interrupted by the view ahead of him.
A pack of humans. Covered in dirt and holding machetes in their hands.
From the look of their clothes, they were just cheap, classic bandits. But their eyes... Atlas saw only black eyes. No color in them. Like they would kill even for water.
And the thing that threw Atlas the most was that Winslow was talking to them. Trying to negotiate.
However. In a blink. Shnk! Winslow had cut off one head with a dagger he pulled from behind his back.
The other four bandits were stunned for a moment before rushing all at once with their machetes at Winslow from the front.
"First mistake. If you outnumber the enemy, you shouldn't attack from the same direction."
Thud! Winslow yanked his knife into one bandit's heart and pulled it out. Splurt! Blood spurted into the air before the body collapsed. Whoosh! Whoosh! He dodged two machete swings and suddenly appeared behind the two bandits while the third one was running away. Crack!Crack! He simply crushed their skulls as he smashed their heads against each other.
"Second mistake. Never attack someone without knowing their true strength."
Snap! Winslow had already caught up to the last bandit and ripped off his left arm in one move. However, he didn't kill that bandit and whispered in his ear.
"If you wanna live, kill the child in the carriage. If you succeed, you're free."
The bandit was groaning because of his missing arm, but he still walked to the carriage with the machete in his hand.
"Winslow, that piece of..." Atlas was trying to think why Winslow did that. But the bandit was coming closer like some bleeding hyena.
"...." Atlas hesitated because he had never truly fought or sparred with anyone. He had trained with his father and learned swordsmanship, but sparring was out of the question because of his class.
Atlas took out his sword, which his father gave him as a safety measure. Shing! He got into a fighting stance and tried to remain composed. Yet, as the bandit walked up to him, Atlas felt his veins tighten because he knew Winslow wouldn't help him. He had to kill this bandit to live.
The bandit swung his machete with brute force toward Atlas. Clang! Atlas succeeded in blocking it somehow. What now? He was only 6 years old and had never fought before. And the man before him would do anything to kill.
Since the bandit was way taller than young Atlas, he thud! kicked him in the knee, and Atlas fell to the ground.
"I will make it painless, little one," the bandit said with a satisfied grin. He swung his machete toward Atlas's neck.
In one desperate motion, he hurled it.
THUNK.
???
A sharp stone was inside the bandit's left eyeball. Splish. Blood fell down his cheek as he tried to comprehend what just happened.
The moment Atlas fell, he first wanted to throw his sword. No, Atlas decided if he did that and failed, he would die. So Atlas scouted the ground as he fell and threw the stone into the bandit's eye at the exact moment the machete swung.
"Arghh... You little piece of..."Squish. The bandit pulled out the stone. Atlas, in the meantime, stood up again.
While everything happened, Winslow just watched from the corpses with a faint smirk like this was entertainment.
The bandit now missed one eye and one arm. His clothes were drenched in blood, and it was clear he would bleed out before finding help.
Atlas rushed at the bandit's side where the arm was missing and the eye was gone. Atlas chose the left side, maximizing his advantage.
Drip... drip...
"Argh!" The bandit screamed in a tone Atlas had never heard before. Crump! Dark... like his body was now lifeless.
Atlas looked at the body on the ground, motionless, then at his blood-stained sword. His head spun like he had ridden a rollercoaster without pause. He inhaled deeply and fell to his knees, groaning with a face full of tears.
"I killed someone..." His pupils turned a deeper tone as they spun from panic. His thoughts were a mess.
"He tried to kill me first, so it's alright, right?" He tried to justify it. Of course, it was self-defense, but for a young boy in both lives, murder was a huge step.
His vision became black-and-white.
He gulped as vomit rushed up but forced it down.
Tap... tap... Winslow kicked the bandit's body aside like garbage and said in a proud tone.
"Congratulations, young master." He had a sly smile.
But before Atlas could answer, he heard it. Ping.
His system got a notification… and it blinked red.