The Chosen Child
In progress…
Name:Elia
Race:Human
In the Valderun Barony, along the southern border of the Dritania Empire where it meets the demon nations, a bastard child was born.
Her mother, Yus, believed her a blessed child, and named her Elia.
She came into the world with pink hair and a lovely face inherited from her beautiful mother — but the life that awaited her was anything but beautiful.
For her mother was a maid, and her father a noble.
Of all the tragedies that befell Elia, the worst was not being born a noble's bastard and suffering horrific abuse, nor was it her mother's disappearance, swallowed by conspiracy.
It was that at the age of fifteen, an inexplicable monstrous strength awoke in her — and with her own two hands, she crushed the skull of the older brother, two years her senior, who had always tormented her in that hellish mansion……
You do not have permission to modify this type of data.
Why did things turn out like this?
The girl locked behind iron bars — Elia — gazed through a narrow window at the moon hanging in the dark night, her eyes full of questions.
I only ever tried to do good things.
That much, at least, was the unvarnished truth.
Born the bastard child of a noble and a maid. Orphaned at two when her mother was abducted by demons and vanished. Raised under the abuse of a wicked governess. Through all of it, she had never once thought of doing something wicked. If anything, she had listened to the chronicles of heroes and the tales of champions and dreamed of becoming a righteous person herself.
"Goddess, I haven't done a single thing wrong."
So crushing her brother's skull had been an accident. She had merely slapped the cheek of the brother who was trying to rape her. If a skull that fragile shattered from a slap, that was the skull's fault. He had spent his life doing nothing but evil, so heaven had punished him.
"Hey, slave! Keep it down!"
Even that small mutter earned her a snarl from the jailer. Elia sank into thought about her own predicament.
What's going to happen to me?
She had been born a noble's bastard, but she had never once been treated as nobility. She had spent her entire life locked in a room. To her family, Elia had been nothing more than a beautiful doll.
And that doll had caused an accident.
And so Elia had been sent to a convent.
I never imagined the mother superior was a slave trader.
Now Elia was destined to be sold as a slave.
I never did anything bad.
She wanted to believe this was all a nightmare. That when she opened her eyes, she would wake in a peaceful, pastoral home. That her beautiful mother would greet her, smiling with happiness.
This wasn't the dream I had.
Someday she would set out on an adventure and make a name for herself as a famous hero. And perhaps she would meet her fated partner and build a happy family.
"Slave Number 51, Elia. Step forward."
But it was not a nightmare.
"Ah…"
The jailer yanked roughly on the iron chain around her neck. Elia was dragged along, limp, and she prayed.
Goddess Deusrute, please… grant me your grace.
Deusrute did not answer.
But a goddess did.
I shall grant you the power to seize your fate.
"Eek—!"
Elia startled at the blue, translucent panel that bloomed before her eyes. The jailer dragging her along bristled at the sudden resistance, wariness flaring.
"You slave bitch — you dare resist?!"
Even the sharp bellow couldn't pull Elia's attention from the panel in front of her. It spoke to her.
You have the power to escape this place.
I will give you a chance to live a better life.
Everything will unfold according to your will.
All of it bewildered her. But one thing was clear.
"Have I… been chosen?"
This situation was identical to the beginnings of the heroes and champions she had always admired. And to that question, some unknown someone answered.
That's right, my child.
Elia trembled.
She had lived her entire life inside a nightmare, inside hell. And now, having endured all of it — her story was beginning.
I shall give you your first trial.
You are my child. You will be more than capable of overcoming it.
Escape (E)
Escape the slave merchant's mansion.
Bonus points will be awarded based on the method of escape.
🎁 Success: 1,000 Author Points acquired, System acquired
☠ Failure: Death
"A trial…"
In the stories of heroes and champions, a trial always appeared. Trials were always harsh and treacherous — but in the end, they were always overcome.
"Haha!"
Then she could do it too.
She seized the chain around her neck with both hands. It was an iron chain thicker than a finger. But a chain of that caliber could not contain Elia's monstrous strength.
Grrrk—! Kang—!!
The chain snapped like cheap twine.
"G-Guards! A slave is escaping!! A slave is escap—!"
The jailer never finished the sentence. Elia already knew how easily a human skull could be crushed.
"Hah—!"
Puhwak—!
A single slap to the head caved in the jailer's skull. There was nothing more to see. Death, certain and complete.
Hearing the commotion, more guards appeared, weapons in hand. Elia looked at them and smiled, bright and clear.
"I see! This is the trial!"
The dark night dyed itself red.
Painted red from head to toe, Elia climbed a hill. Behind her, a palatial mansion roared as it was consumed by fire. Not a single soul who might have pursued her had been left alive.
"I've vanquished all the villains! A true heroic deed!"
She drank in the crisp air, overflowing with joy. As if in answer, a blue panel appeared.
Well done, my child. You passed the trial splendidly.
A reward must be given to one who has overcome a trial.
The moment those words ended, Elia beheld the System unfolding before her eyes. Simply looking at it, she knew instinctively what power she had gained.
A special power, granted to you alone.
"To me alone…. A special power…"
Elia sensed her destiny. She possessed a fate a little more special than everyone else's. Because she had been chosen.
My child, I now bestow upon you a second trial.
It is a very simple trial — and an exceedingly difficult one.
"Simple, but difficult?"
In place of an answer, the System appeared before her eyes.
Realize Justice (S)
Kill 'X'.
🎁 Success: Awaken the Hero's Power
☠ Failure: System deleted
It was a strange trial, one whose meaning she could not grasp. As she sat there uncomprehending, the blue panel continued its explanation.
'X' is the being who brought ruin upon this world.
A heinous incarnation of evil, and the root of all wickedness.
"Good heavens…. Then is this person called 'X' the Demon King?"
A being far more wicked and fearsome than that.
The only one who can slay X… is you.
As the blue panel's explanation ended, something materialized before Elia's eyes. It was a Special Admission Recommendation Letter to Elion Academy.
◈ Grants unconditional admission to Elion Academy
"This is…"
Go to the Academy. X is there.
X is a being you must not face rashly.
First, you must grow your power.
I shall give you a gift for that purpose.
At the same time, all manner of titles and talents piled into Elia's System. S-rank titles — any one of which would have been enough to make a name across the world — stacked up several deep. She felt unprecedented power circulating through her body. With this strength, she could defeat the Demon King. She could defeat a god.
This is the goddess's grace…
Then a question occurred to her.
"Are you… Goddess Deusrute?"
Was this being truly the Deusrute she had sought for so long? She had never heard of a goddess's blessing being granted like this. To that doubt, it answered.
I am the one who truly created and made this world.
The mother of all things, and the first light.
The System has been adjusted by temporary measures.
System stage adjusted to Stage 2.
Base stats have been adjusted due to racial change.
"My blood-and-sweat stats!!"
A wretched scream rang through X's room. His stats had been adjusted. And not in a good direction.
"Wh-what's with my Luck…?"
For some reason, his Luck had become zero. It hadn't merely dropped — it was Locked. The thought of the points he had invested in it made the world go dark before his eyes.
It was a core stat I absolutely had to keep…!
Luck was a primary stat that would defend you from the worst-case scenario no matter what happened. Didn't they say that even with no other abilities at all, if you had Luck, you could survive somehow?
And now it was zero. The annihilation of a stat he had grown by pouring in 4,500 points. A Locked state that meant he couldn't even raise it going forward. The world spun.
He understood that the System stage had risen to Stage 2, and that some of his other stats had gone up. But the pain of the loss was far greater. X forced himself to look on the bright side.
"R-right. A new stat got added, so…. What's Grip Strength supposed to be…? Did my actual gripping power get stronger or something?"
The source of demonic power. When unique abilities are used, their potency is determined by this stat.
Caution! Currently sealed. The stat will be adjusted according to conditions.
It appeared to be a stat that had arisen from his transformation into a demon. Looking at the unfamiliar information beside the stat, a question formed.
"Sealed? You give it and then take it away…. How am I even supposed to unseal this?"
This item was applied as a temporary measure.
The measure will be lifted according to specific conditions.
"Wh-what?!"
X was startled by the System's reply. This was the first time it had ever answered so proactively. Any number of possibilities occurred to him, but he kept his composure and thought it through.
"What the hell are you?"
This personality is a quasi-personality generated by the System stage increase…
But that composure did not last. X grabbed the System panel and shook it like a madman.
"You're Elysia, you fucking bitch."
Unable to parse response.
"Send me home! You damn bitch!"
This personality does not possess the relevant authority…
"Then at least give me a cheat ability, you son of a bitch!!"
……
Unfortunately, his distrust and resentment toward the status window and the System had long since pierced the heavens. And he had more than enough reasons why.
"What's the deal with wrecking my body to a pulp the second I transmigrate, calling it a 'penalty'?!"
"The item shop and the talent shop are stocked with nothing but garbage that's barely worth having!"
"The information I actually need, you either don't show me, or it's vague, or it's inconvenient as hell!"
"There are way too many times I can't tell if you're trying to help me or trying to kill me, you know that?!"
"I know I'm not one to talk, but! The current trend is getting an SSS-rank cheat skill and going on a one-man rampage while serving up nothing but catharsis!! Not grinding myself to the bone desperately trying to survive, you damn author, youuuu—!!"
Only after slamming the innocent System panel this way and that did he finally calm down. Thinking about it coldly, there was no way the party actually in charge of the System would show up at a moment like this.
"Aigh. No way you'd actually appear like this. So who are you, then?"
……
"Not biting. Guess it's the real thing."
Separate from the explosion of accumulated rage, he had deliberately acted insane to try to dig out its identity — but it hadn't worked. Taking it out on the wrong target just left him sighing.
"You — what should I call you? Quasi-personality?"
I will respond to the name System.
"Alright. From now on, I'll call you 'Seri.'"
…I will respond to the name Seri.
In his previous life, he had often used the digital assistant 'Seri' from Waffle, a famous phone manufacturer. Thinking of it that way, the name didn't feel awkward at all.
"What exactly is your role?"
This personality is responsible for supporting System usage. Within the limits of authorized permissions, I provide proactive assistance.
"Proactive assistance, huh…. For example?"
Cases such as wishing to receive alerts regarding changes to specific information, or wishing for the execution of pre-designated actions, among others.
If that was the level of it, it wasn't bad. There were times he only found out about changes in information after the fact. And depending on the moment, that information could be extremely important. While he was at it, X kept asking the things he was curious about.
"Who created this System?"
Unable to answer.
"What's the relationship between Elysia and the System?"
Unable to answer.
"What happens when the core objective is completed?"
Unable to answer.
"Figures…"
He threw out any number of other questions besides, but none of the answers were to his liking. Seri purely answered only questions related to the System. Anything outside the System was uniformly Unable to answer.
"Can't you tell me something that might actually help?"
Please provide a specific example.
"For example…. Like, functions I ought to check right now…. You can at least tell me things like that, right?"
Checking…
Seri's ellipsis blinked through the checking process. He'd tossed it out on a whim, but the reaction was unexpected. Soon, Seri responded.
Elements within current permissions for which advice is possible have been identified. Please review the following:
⊳ Check new talents
⊳ Check Item Shop
⊳ Check Talent Shop
⊳ Check new function: Character Info
⊳ Check new function: Synopsis
He'd been planning to check the new talents, the Item Shop, and the Talent Shop anyway. Advice with all the nutritional value of a rice cracker. The unexpected part was that two new functions had been added.
"Character Info…. Don't tell me it's that?"
The moment he tried to check the Character Info function, Seri sent a message.
Checking the new function Synopsis is recommended as the highest priority.
"Huh? Why?"
There is content that must be grasped at the present moment.
"What's in the Synopsis that's so…"
There was nothing to lose, so he activated the Synopsis function.
"On February 22nd, X opened his eyes at the Elion Academy entrance ceremony. Looking around, he found it was not the world he knew…."
It was exactly what it sounded like: a synopsis, a condensed summary of the scenario. Everything he had done up to this point was summarized in it.
"What, am I supposed to look back on my past and reflect or something?"
Thinking of Setting Editor, it wasn't strange that this would exist. It was also something he used to receive from authors when he worked as an editor.
Not that many authors actually sent a synopsis…
There was a chance the future might be written in this synopsis. He activated the occupational habit of a ten-year veteran editor and read straight through it. But the world did not turn that easily.
"…X checked the status window in his room. A variety of abilities had been added to the status window, and through them, X resolved to prepare for the coming episodes of ruin."
It was nothing more than a summary of the things he himself had done. If it only recorded the past, it wasn't particularly useful.
"Aigh. Figures. I was an idiot for expecting anything."
"…Falling short of the expectation he had rashly formed, X muttered to himself that he was an idiot."
"…"
This had to be how a king felt, watching the court historian write down every word.
"Who's even recording this in the first place?"
The addition of information to this function is managed by this personality.
So it was you.
He pondered how to make use of this function, but no answer came. Beyond reviewing things that had already happened, it didn't seem to have any other applications. He was about to close the Synopsis when, at the very end, something new was being written.
"…Someone seething with rage walked toward X's room. She was determined to uncover the truth of the incident, no matter what."
"…Huh?"
He stared at the sentence that had appeared at the end, thrown off. The Synopsis did not tell the future. The most recent entry was only ever content regarding the present situation.
"Which means…"
This 'she' coming to this room right now — who was it?
A sudden chill ran down his spine. But before that could fully land—
BOOM—!!
The kicked door burst open with tremendous force. And from beyond it, a voice boiling with rage rang out.
"…Her identity was 'Circe.' Circe had endlessly turned over the 'letter' she had received before today's demon attack, and no matter how she thought about it, the only person who could have given her that letter was X."
"Explain yourself right now—!!!"
Lightning flashed in both of Circe's hands.
I'm going to die again.
"…X prepared himself for death."