3rd Pov
Months had passed and now Dawn was staring out of the carriage window as he was finally on the school field trip to Ingracia.
His eyes wandered at the moving horizon...he remembered the talk he had with his mother months ago...
And the sudden acquisition of a new unique skill...the heritage of the Arceid family, the unique skill : Heroism.
Through age, no one had ever managed to activate and control this skill...beside the founder of the Arceid household.
This skill is a treasure passed down and it's function are unknown...Lara Arceid was able to crack some of it's mystery but at the end failed because fate wasn't kind to her.
Now, it was in Dawn's possession...closing his eyes he remembered the discussion...
Flashback
Sitting in front of each other, 30 minutes had passed since the revelation...both mother and son shared their story at least most of it.
Dawn : Since you talked about World War II and from the description of it...it seems you died during the explosion of Hiroshima...
Lara : Hiroshima, huh...interesting.
Dawn : By the way, how do you even know the term of world war ? It was made after the actual war...
Lara : Oh that...well seeing the intensity and most of the world involved...for me this war deserved this title of world war.
Dawn : (She is smart...deducing this on her own.)
Dawn took a thoughtful pose thinking...Lara said she was a normal woman living in japan.
But something felt off, not of Lara herself but of her story...it felt like Dawn was missing something.
Dawn : (Hiroshima, huh...wait, wasn't Shizu summoned during that war...)
Lara : Mmh ? Is there something wrong ?
Dawn : Huh...by any chance does the name Izawa sound familiar ? (She was in Japan around the year 1940...)
Lara : Izawa ? How nostalgic are they famous in your era ?
Dawn : Not really...
Lara : Oh ? Anyway, Izawa Shizune, she was a great teacher in the area I lived, very well liked by the children.
Dawn's eyes widened at this mention, a teacher, a name close to Shizue Izawa...this was clearly a member of her family.
Dawn : (Shizue, huh...she should be summoned in a few centuries...honestly, i joked around a lot about her being my wife back on discord and Tiktok so meeting her would be awkward...)
Lara : Thought sadly, the entire family was during a bombing...I haven't seen any survivors from them after.
Dawn : I see...(Well Shizue was summoned here afterward.)
Flashback end
It wasn't much but still it kept going back and forward in his mind.
Dawn : (Ingracia...i wonder what it is like...)
The current Ingracia is similar to Muth, very different from the one he knew from the anime.
They were halfway there...but there was still a long way as Dawn shifted his attention toward his teacher and classmate.
Both were sleeping...and weren't good sleepers as they moved around having Dawn dodging a few of their unintentional jabs.
Dawn : Ugh, maybe I should shock them with a thousand bolts.
Sighing, he just closed his eyes and asked Snowie to guard him while he rested.
Basically every time something comes close to him, a small wall of ice will block it.
Soon enough they arrived at their destination...a beautiful merchant city who held the lowest level of corruption in the current era.
Dawn : (Well it's much more different than I thought.)
Looking around, the architecture, the way people clothes themself, the way roads are agenced...it's nothing like what Dawn had seen in the anime.
Walking around Raska and Laos were both ahead looking at the large open market...the teacher was more like a student than an actual teacher.
Dawn : (Now that i think...isn't this her first school trip too since she didn't get any students until us...)
Deadpanning at this thought, Dawn just continued to walk forward and like always having Snowie watch out for the surroundings.
He was also checking a few shop stands as something unexpectedly good could appear.
Dawn : (By the way Snowie, do you think an artifact or object with ice affinity will be effective with you?)
Snowie : (Negative, spiritual art is on a whole different system than magicule in general...we have the same base but an artifact made with magicule would be as useless as mixing oil and water.)
Dawn : (I see...)
For a while now, Dawn wondered how he could get even stronger magic...he still has a gap for improvement but at this rate I'm going to be stuck quickly.
My control over magic has improved due to the extra skill magic manipulation...and with Snowie I can break those limits but I'm conscious of it.
I won't be able to even match the likes of Guy Crimson...am I capable of equaling them ? I don't know but I cannot just aim for something low.
I have to strive for the top and for that I need more base power.
Dawn : (I saw multiple magicule enhanced tools but it seems I will have no need of them...)
Turning around, a spark of shine attracted his attention...a single stone in a random stand...buried under a few others.
Dawn : (This is just a stone...)
It was just a stone, nothing particular, not even magic based...but the color was uniquely beautiful.
Dawn : (Now that I think I haven't given any gift to Lara...for having raised me I should at least do that right.)
Going as he thought, he bought the stone...it didn't hold much value categorized as a low quality gem but the beauty of it is enough.
Dawn : (A ring, earring or necklace...mmh, with my current knowledge of forging and using what I know from earth, I should be able to do something with it.)
Smiling, a sudden shout alerted him and the people nearby.
Random : Thief ! Come back !
Dawn : Oh ?
Looking through the crowd, someone was running...a man cladded in black, the speed he was traveling at was nowhere near amateurish.
Raska : That's a professional thief it seems.
Laos : A professional thief ?
Raska : Those are sort of bandits but instead of operating on commerce road to ambush merchants, they are just stealing and operating inside the town directly.
Behind him were a few guards but it seemed they were too slow.
Dawn : (Interesting.)
Side eyeing behind him, another shout occurred and a third one...it seems the thieves planned to cause some chaos by causing multiple crimes at the same time.
Dawn : (It's smart, since the number of guards patrolling a single sector is limited, they won't be able to catch them all.)
Raska : I guess I should help, I'm sure the reward from the knight order will compensate for this month's rent !
Smirking, Raska didn't wait for her students' answer that she already left.
Laos : Teacher !
Dawn : Ahh...seriously this god damn teacher...(Well, maybe i should help too.)
The simple reasoning behind this is that thieves often still valuable and expensive stuff...they aren't homeless people so it won't be cheap things like food or clothing.ù
Dawn : I need to go, Laos, tell the teacher that I'll join you guys later.
Laos : Huh?
Turning his head toward Dawn in confusion, he was even more confused when the said boy was already gone.
Dawn Pov
Running after one of the thieves, I was clearly faster and it seemed he hadn't noticed me yet...my eyes piercing his back.
I used Reader to read his strength...and clearly beside being agile he wasn't much.
Though it seems he has a large amount of stolen product judging by the way he runs and the heavy movement of his bag.
Who knows, maybe I'll get a jackpot this time.
Dawn : Oh ?
Turning right and left, he soon stopped in a dark alley far away from prying eyes...my track ends here it seems.
I was following him through the roofs of the nearby building and house...it seemed he didn't have the reflex to look up.
Anyway, I should go now...
Jumping down, I directly crashed into him...knocking him out in a single hit as my foot crushed his back.
Dawn : Thanks for the hard work.
Adding some lighting to it, I made sure he was out for at least a few days...it will be dangerous if left alone so I'll report the body to the guards later.
For now, let's see what you got.
Dawn : ...
What a disappointment...there are just a few jewelry and gold accessories...well i couldn't expect battle oriented things here.
Should I give everything back along with the thief ? I could get some recognition and get some positive points among the guards...also the reward for helping the knight order.
Dawn : Mmh...
???: Well well well, it seems I found an interesting boy.
Huh ? Is someone there ? B-but, how my magic perception and Snowie should be on guard...
Dawn : Wh-
My body freezing completely, I haven't felt this feeling in years...the feeling of overwhelming difference in terms of strength.
I turned around slowly as I heard Snowie alert me...her voice was never that agitated...
Snowie : (Master, no hostility was sensed but the level of threat had never reached this high!)
Dawn : (Tch...who could this be ? A thief chief ?)
Finally fully around, I looked up...my eyes widened as I saw a silver haired lady...she was sitting on the edge of the room I was previously standing on.
Her eyes I once found so unique and beautiful were now glazing down at me...blue and red, I felt fear running through my very core.
Dawn : L-l...
The words I intended to say never left...Luminous/Ruminas Valentine, the future demon lord and goddess of Ruberios.
3rd Pov
The situation was odd, Dawn was excited to meet with those characters but now...he was reminded that the anime and reality are different.
The intensity of Luminous's presence was infinitely weaker in the anime...now that he was facing the vampire...it was clear that all screamed danger.
Luminous : What ? No words coming out ? And me who thought you were strong.
She was clearly looking down on Dawn, being in passage and in search of entertainment.
She decided to visit this country when the thieves incident occurred...it was rather generic for her but then this boy decided to take action.
Right now, Luminous was just intrigued as the movement Dawn used and the way he moved were similar to Chloe...
Dawn : (What is she doing here ! This is bad!)
The warning of Snowie turned useless as Dawn couldn't move...he felt as if a single wrong move and he would be dead.
This was just how big the difference was between a human and the vampire Luminous Valentine.
Luminous : Oh ? It seems you have a contract with a spirit and you are clearly stronger than your average human.
Jumping down, Luminous gracefully landed on the ground...Dawn's eyes following each of her movements...he just couldn't make a proper decision as the gap in power was never that big.
Luminous : Your movements were familiar to...mmh, what's your name human.
Dawn : D-Dawn Arceid.
Luminous : I see.
Approaching, she took a closer look at him...if he was a girl she would have surely kidnapped her.
Luminous : Fufu how interesting.
At this point, Dawn reached his limits...he had to try something and the first instinctive move he made was running away.
But the moment he turned around and tried to leave, Luminous was already facing him, an arrogant smile plastered.
He just had one choice...and that was fighting. Luminous showed no sign of hostility but it's clearly known and a fact that she shows no mercy to anyone beside the people she can't beat.
Dawn is no match for her and if whatever interest she had in him disappeared then killing him would be the least she could do.
Luminous : Oh ?
A katana of ice forming, Dawn performed multiple slash but each one where either dodged or parred, it didn't even leave a scratch on Luminous.
Dawn : Tch !
Changing the method, ice wasn't going to do it so he opted for the opposed fire adding to that, the factor lightning.
He won't be able to perform spiritual art with Snowie with those elements but his ice was clearly not enough.
Luminous : You have good control (Heh, he is still so young and those movements... it's blurry but i can see some of Chronoa in there...are they related?)
Smirking, Luminous once again came out of the assault with no damage...and this time it was her turn, bringing her arm up.
In a single movement, Dawn felt as if the air was crashing into him...his body crumbled into the wall...he felt a few of his bones break.
Luminous : Well I saw what I needed (Perhaps, he could be an interesting addition for my project.)
The holy empire of Ruberios was yet to be formed...but with Chronoa's advice, Luminous had already made plans to create it.
And just now, this boy could be a good addition to the overall project, a pawn she could use.
Luminous : My name is Luminous Valentine, remember this name as we'll meet again in the future.
With that said, the vampire disappeared as Dawn felt his conscious leave...he gritted his teeth and used all the remaining strength he had to use the unique skill : Author and change the characteristic of his body.
Switching to a 90 % spiritual energy, Snowie transferred enough power to keep him awake.
Dawn : Shit...Why did Chloe meet Luminous this early...there is still over 1700 years before Veldora's rampage...