Chapter 12

"So-"

"Quiet brat."

Yeah, she isn't exactly happy. 

My shoulder stung again, but this time I knew it was a good thing. 

I was sitting at the dinner table across from my adoptive mother with a shoulder that reeks of a multitude of potions mixed together, it smelled like banana moonshine and rotten fruit. The questioning began after we finished our meal since answers could very well ruin the appetite. 

"You used the potions for the tournament."

"Not all of them, I did have a buyer... for some"

"Still, you lied to me."

"..."

She sighed, exhausted with all the shit she had to deal with the whole day and then her boy turned out to be lying to her. 

I can see a tired look in her eyes. Grey streaks visible in her dark green hair, a rather uncommon trait found almost only in the thistlewood family, have made themselves welcome along the passage of time. 

"... you have already been touched by mana?"

"Well, yes..."

"I'm glad you took my advice." 

She stood up from her seat at the table and started pacing around the room.

"I am not to decide your future, but I will advice you on which path would be the best for you."

She reached behind a row of dried herbs and spices. 

"I would say that magic is the ruling force, but honestly, every victory is situational."

She pulled out a staff from behind the row of dead plants, the staff was thicker at some parts than others and the surface is uneven, it honestly was the work of poor craftsmanship. 

"This is a farewell gift."

Out of nowhere she swung and the staff connected with my skull. 

"Augh!"

"And that is what you get for lying to me."

......................................................................................................................................................................

I had thought that I was too old to be beaten with a stick. I often think wrong. 

I was on a bed that belonged to the previous host of this body. 

Liams room is as basic as his taste in women, a bed, a table, a chair, a wardrobe and a window. Basic but still a solid choice.

System integration complete

wat

Confusion detected, is elaboration necessary?

Y-Yeah, it is very much necessary. 

User has been chosen as a Teller and is currently in the first trial. Is further elaboration necessary?

Yes it's very needed- are you reading my thoughts?

Affirmative. A teller is a chosen scholar, poet, or an individual with a flowery mind with the task of creating stories. Stories worthy to be told to the Constellations.

What are the Constellations?

You have only access to that information after officially becoming a Teller by passing the first trial. Do you have more questions?

What is the first trial?

The first trial is molding a tale born from your own mind to one of the worthy stories.

... so I'm just supposed to make this excuse of lazy writing readable?

In a more frank manner of speaking, correct.

What if I refuse?

Was your life before any better?

You have made a very compelling argument, how should I proceed?

You have the authority to do whatever you want. Would you like a list of recommended changes?

Yes, I would like that very much.

Kill Macus.

Actually explore the branches of magic in detail, mentioning them once won't do.

Explore how the dark lord is connected to the ancient architects.

Explore who the king of the sea is and what happened to him.

Prove that there are no weak skills. 

Explore who the empireans of the sun are.

Explore the past of the dragon emperor. 

Explore the past of the unholy one.

Explore what the cult of the ignorant God is. 

Explore the origins of the voidborns, abyssborns and hellborns. 

Explore what happened to the fallen one.

Less swearing.

Huh, I can do that. 

You now have access to the System interface, grants a skill UI and information on inanimate objects. 

Anything else?

No.

With that I was back to being on my own. 

It really just came to tell me to fix my plotholes and go deeper into worldbuilding, huh? Is that the only reason I was put here? To fix my half assed attempt of writing?

No, I was put here for the entertainment of the constellations. Not sure if that is a good thing. 

I looked over at the staff Liams mother beat me with. It would have been her parting gift to her son, but instead of her child it went to a grown man in a foreign body. 

My life before wasn't better before, but every moment I spent here in this body is a moment in which I know a mother will never see her child again because of me. 

As I depressed myself a quote I once read came to my mind.

"I will never declare my end with words, for what is my end is beyond mortal tongue, so as long as I speak in words only I shall know my end, for when I learn the tongue of the great beyond my time will have come."