Egon's hope

Silence. Egon was troubled. He couldn't comprehend what just happened. He never witnessed a measuring crystal shatter before. If somebody told him that it broke just from a little girl injecting some of her mana into it, he would call that person a lunatic, but today he saw it happen with his own eyes. He believed that there had to be an issue with the crystal. He never saw it turn silver before in his entire life and there weren't any written records of measuring crystals turning silver.

"Unfortunately I don't have more measuring crystals. We have to postpone checking your affinity, but at least now I know that you can become a mage! Say, why would you practice martial arts if you can become a mage? Once you get to rank D, you could get a respectable job in the capital. There are many mage towers always looking for young mages to inscribe scrolls or do paperwork. Most importantly you wouldn't be in any danger like those common martial artists. Sounds great, doesn't it?" he tried to convince his daughter to forget about martial arts. After all, why would she put herself in danger if she can live a comfortable life as a mage? He thought that he made a good point that should convince her. Magic was always inseparable from studying and researching so he firmly believed that she would fit perfectly into the world of magic.

"Hell no! Who would want to sit behind a desk and inscribe some stupid words or images on a piece of paper for their entire life!? You even dare to tell me that it sounds great, how thick is your skin!? Now when I got another chance to live I'm either going to become the strongest being to ever exist in this world or die trying!" thought Ember.

[Congratulations to host for her determination in pursuing the martial path. You obtained an Upgrade Crystal.]

"Daddy, but you said that it would be a good idea to let me train in martial arts..." said Ember with a dissatisfied voice, clearly indicating that she's not interested in becoming a mage.

"What do you know! You can use magic to strengthen your body. Look at me! I never trained in martial arts before, but my body is multiple times stronger than yours despite my advanced age. There are many members of our clan that have an affinity towards elements. Have you ever wondered why they aren't pursuing the path of magic instead? It's because they can't afford to become a mage, not because they don't want to become one. The clan isn't that rich to let every kid with affinity become a full-fledged mage, but if it's you then I will pay for everything from my savings." said Egon.

He just wanted his daughter to have a good life and maybe take his place as chief when he dies. He didn't feel comfortable with anyone else inheriting his position, but he knew that if she were to become a chief without having sufficient strength, she would be killed sooner or later in the struggle for power. Now that he saw a way for his daughter to become stronger he couldn't give up.

When Egon finished speaking somebody knocked on the door leading to the main hall.

"Enter!" said Egon. He thought that the dishes must have arrived.

When chefs and servants carrying the dishes behind the door heard his voice, they opened the door and quickly entered. All of them bowed with utmost respect to the chief and their little miss. They immediately served the dishes on a large table that proudly stood in the middle of the hall. There were twenty chairs placed on each side of the table and one chair on each end. There were about fifteen dishes on the table that included delicacies such as boiled earth turtle, salads made out of magic plants that contained a small amount of mana inside, aromatic fish stew and much more. When they finished serving, they bowed again and left the room closing the door behind them.

"Thank you, dad. I know that you want what is best for me. I will think about it, but we shouldn't rush it. Let's sit and eat." said Ember as she smiled and sat on the chair.

"As long as you are happy and know that I will do anything for you then it's fine... " said her father with a disappointed expression on his face.

Ember poured some fish stew into two bowls and handed one of them to her father. She felt that it's a great feeling to have somebody love her so much that he turned the whole territory upside down and tried to do everything in his power to make her life better. In her previous life when she still called herself "Ethan" she never felt such support from her parents. Ember thought that her new father is adorable. She never ate such great food on Earth, so she ate slowly and savoured every bite.

"I'm full. I'll be going to my room now." said Ember and slowly headed towards her room.

"Okay, sleep well honey. I'll take you to the library tomorrow, we will find a martial art manual that suits you." said Egon.

"Ahh, it would be great if my daughter became a mage... but if my little pumpkin wants to learn martial arts then I will do my best to help her as much as I can." he thought and continued eating.

Ember came into her room and decided to find out more about her new powers. She thought about how could she utilise her space manipulation technique. The first thing that she decided to check is if she can somehow affect objects around her. Ember closed her eyes and focused her mind on a book that was lying on the desk. She slowly found out that she could lift or rotate it with the power of her mind. She tried to attract the book to her, and in just a few seconds her entire forehead was covered in sweat. She started panting but remained focused. Unfortunately, the book dropped to the ground.

[Ding! Host's affinity towards "Space" increased by 1%.]

[Congratulations to host for creating a new skill. Do you want to name it?]

"Telekinesis, also display my character data." replied Ember.

[Ding! "Telekinesis" was successfully added to host's skills!]

[Welcome to the Second Chance System. Displaying basic information about the host.]

Host: Ember

Age: 16

Rank: E

Exp: 0/250 ( Host will get one stat point after getting 250EXP until host will have 75 or more stat points combined. )

Class: Martial Artist

Elemental affinity: Space - 2%

Bloodline: Soul Devourer (Sealed - Host can't access the full power of this bloodline)

Evaluation: Maybe you could spend more time training instead of being daddy's little girl?

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[Body]

Strength: 12

Vitality: 11

Agility: 15

[Magic]

Spirit: 5

Intelligence: 12

Total points: 55

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[Skills]

Space Manipulation(sealed): Enables the host to manipulate space and alter properties of the space that host is controlling such as time or gravity. Other uses of this skill are left for the host to discover by herself.

*Telekinesis - Host can manipulate objects with the power of her mind.

Flash Step (2nd stage): When using "Flash Step" host's agility is doubled. Agility is tripled if the host has an affinity towards light or lightning.

Soul Steal (sealed): Allows the host to replenish mana by absorbing souls. The effect is reduced significantly due to the skill being in a sealed state.

Bloodline Absorption (sealed): Allows the host to steal the bloodline of a dead enemy or strengthen existing bloodlines. The host can only have two activate bloodlines at the moment due to the skill being in a sealed state.

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[Inventory]

2x Upgrade Crystal

1x Absolute Zero Scroll - Contains a full might of rank "A" ice mage compressed in the form of a scroll.

"Mhm... it looks like training can increase my affinity." she pondered.

"System, tell me more about upgrade stones. What can I upgrade?" she said and thought what else can be done with the help of those stones.

[Host can use upgrade stones to upgrade almost everything. Even host's bloodline can be improved. The only thing that cannot be upgraded is host's elemental affinity. Upgrade stones can also be used as a currency in system's store.]

"What!? There is a store? What else did you conceal from me?" shouted Ember. She felt like she truly must learn more about her system. She was far too ignorant before, what if she never asked this question? Would that damned system never tell her about it?

"System, display the store." she said.

[Host can currently only choose from one of four categories of items: weapons, consumables, martial arts and spells. The system will only display things that host can afford.]

"Fine, show me the weapons." said Ember. Before her voice faded, a list of weapons appeared in her head.

[Displaying weapons. The most significant difference between weapons acquired from the system and standard weapons is that weapons bought from system's store can be upgraded.]

- Short sword ( 1 Upgrade Stone )

- Claymore ( 1 Upgrade Stone)

- Tanto ( 1 Upgrade Stone )

- "Mercy" - Sword ( 2 Upgrade Stones )

- "Diplomacy" - Labrys - ( 2 Upgrade Stones )

"I will take that sword for two stones." she said. After all, she would need a weapon from the system sooner or later if standard weapons can't be upgraded.

[Ding! Host purchased "Mercy" for two upgrade stones. Current balance: 0 upgrade stones.]

She took out the sword from system's inventory and ordered the system to inspect it. The sword came with a white scabbard that had an angel engraved on it.

Weapon: "Mercy"

Effects:

- Damage increased by 20%.

- The host can channel her mana into the sword. The blade will gain unique properties depending on the type of mana injected into it.

Ember weighed the sword in her right hand and slashed. The blade was sharp on both its edges so it could be used both for cutting and stabbing. Black leather covered the entire grip and above the grip was a small, straight cross-guard, just large enough to give the blade the perfect weight balance. The blade itself was relatively simple. There weren't any decorations or engraved patterns. She felt exhausted after a long day, so she promptly changed into her nightdress and went to bed. She covered herself with a blanket and quickly fell asleep.