EP: Hello everyone, it's been awhile hasn't it? I hope you all had great holidays. I did write a bit over break, but I finished finals like four days before Christmas. Then there was dealing with family, and being forced to go to church and forced to visit relatives and blah blah. I wrote as often as I could, but writer's block is a real thing. I'm not trying to make an excuse for taking so long to update, but hey I never said I was going to be on a schedule anyway.
Noctis: And that's why you don't have a betareader.
EP: True, but even if I did have one that means they would have to wait for my writing to finish as well as wait for the Beta to finish editing. I try to make as little of mistakes as possible, but I'm not perfect and I really hope you all don't expect me to be.
EP: I'm going to use some of this space to comment back on some reviews that were left and concerns people had. I won't call any one out specifically, so if y'all could read it would be very appreciated.
1. Why is Noctis sent so far back in time?
A: Why? Because there is so little known about his childhood. This was one of the main reasons I had so much trouble writing. I try to use as much canon information as possible while I write, unless I specially state that the characters are OOC or its extremely AU like a different planet.
So, let's discuss, what do we know about Noctis's childhood:(IF YOU"RE GOING TO READ ANY OF MY A/N READ THIS CAUSE I DON'T WANT COMPLAINTS)
1. He met Prompto in Elementary School
2. He met Luna after his mother died.
3. 12 years after he last saw Luna is when the game starts. He is 20 at the beginning of the game, so we can estimate he's around 7/8 during his mother's passing.
4. Gladio and Ignis are only 2-3 years older than him.
And to continue off those notes. Why is he sent back so far? Because we can assume his mother died while he was around 7-8. This gives a couple of years of training with prior knowledge to the attack on him and his mother. I'm fairly certain I've stated this before, yet I still got some people asking me why he was sent so far back. Did you expect me to send him all the way back with the full extent of his abilities?
2. Who is in the Harem?
A: I don't want to answer specifically. But I did specify in the summary, although it was very vague, that it was going to be a "Small Harem" Keep in my that in Anima found Noctis's devotion for Lunafreya despite the 12 years of no physical contact whatsoever endearing. I'm not going to just make him sleep around with every female in the game. While this may disappoint you, it stays fairly true to the characters and I'm not going to apologize for that. If you're going to argue that he falls for Anima, well she gave him a fucking second chance to live why would he not fall for her. She literally reset time so he could fix his shit and save everyone.
3. Noctis was meant to die, so why am I upset about that?
A: Yes, he was meant to die. But why? I found this point in the plot of the game fucking stupid. His sacrifice is meant to wipe out all of the daemons, but lets be real. We all know no matter what happens evil rises. When a whole entire country loses it's military and its leaders what are they going to do especially after 10 years of complete chaos where the sun never rose. And also, I stated that Anima is the Goddess of Life and Death, who do you think has a say in his destiny more? Yes Bahamut chose him as the King of King's and is known as the Strongest of the Astrals. But let's be real who do you think is stronger in this situation I created, Bahamut or Anima?
Noctis: Whoa calm down there boss. I don't think they meant to be rude.
EP: Yeah, yeah sorry, sorry. I just got a bit irritated when some of the same questions kept rising up. It's hard enough with my idea. I try to cover as meant plotholes as possible, but I'm only one person. It's also a bit embarassing asking real life friends to read any of this and tell me what they think and if they have any questions. Me raging at my readers is just a way to express some of the frustrations I have while writing. While I appreciate reviews and PMs about my work, I'd like it to be a bit more constructive and not looking down on me like I'm stupid.
Prompto: Aww, you're not stupid boss. Well not really stupid at least.
EP: Prompto, get out of here I haven't even introduced you yet! Anyway, thanks for all the love that this fanfiction has received. I'll continue writing and hope that you all continue to support it. ^.^ Sorry if my message earlier was a little passive aggressive.
Prompto: Well, I guess I better say that boss EP does not own Final Fantasy XV, he is simply a writer that enjoyed the game and the characters.
Noctis snuggled up against his mother and he felt her arms wrap around him engulfing him in warmth. His eyes closed, and he quickly fell asleep.
Noctis gasped for air as he opened up his eyes. His bright dreamscape he remembered from his previous life appeared before him.
*Trill*
Noctis looked down and found Cabbage staring up at him. He knelt down and scratched behind the Astral's ear taking a seat on the dirt floor of his dreamscape. He looked around wondering if Anima would appear. Noctis did not actually know how to reach her, did she just come into his dreams by herself or did he have to call her?
"Anima?" He yelled out questioningly. He waited, and there was no reply. "Anima" he called out again and again there was no response.
He pondered for a moment thinking of what he could do here. It was safe to assume his lucid dreams were meant part of the so-called ⟨⟨Anima System⟩⟩ that Anima herself named even if it was not anything special to anyone who has ever gamed. But this was a good time to test things out.
'Inventory,' he thought and to his pleasant surprise a recognizable menu popped up. He looked at all the tabs that were available, ⟨⟨Weapons⟩⟩, ⟨⟨Armor⟩⟩, ⟨⟨Accessories⟩⟩, ⟨⟨Items⟩⟩, and ⟨⟨Key Items⟩⟩. He used his fingers and clicked on the ⟨⟨Weapons⟩⟩ tab and it looked like the only weapons that were available was a ⟨⟨Toy Hammer⟩⟩, ⟨⟨Wooden Sword⟩⟩, and ⟨⟨Toy Knives⟩⟩. Each weapon seemed to have its respective stats, as well as different damage types much like a usual RPG. It also looked like within his weapons tab he could sword the items by their type from elemental damage to the weapon classification.
He switched over to the ⟨⟨Armor⟩⟩ tab. This tab was similar, except instead of different weapon classifications it was different articles of clothing. It looked like everything in the tab was clothes he owned, along with a ⟨⟨Transmogrification⟩⟩ option which was extremely useful if he wanted to appear normal. He wondered to what extent the ⟨⟨Transmog⟩⟩ went to. He looked through his current armors and found that a lot of his clothes from his previous life came along with him unlike his weapons. He switched over to the ⟨⟨Transmog⟩⟩ option and equipped his black silk pajamas over his usual daily attire he was in. He felt the silk rub against his skin, and his arms were covered by the long-sleeve top. 'Stats' he thought as ⟨⟨Character⟩⟩ menu popped into view next to his ⟨⟨Inventory⟩⟩ menu. He continued to equip and unequip different clothing as well as mess around with the ⟨⟨Transmog⟩⟩ options to see how his stats changed. Noctis concluded that ⟨⟨Transmog⟩⟩ did not change his stats, which was how it normally worked, but he didn't want to assume that. He also realized that he could make his accessories transparent or give them a ⟨⟨Transmog⟩⟩ as well. The ⟨⟨Transmog⟩⟩ seemed to work much like other RPGs where they simply changed the appearance and feel of the armor the person was wearing. He could easily be wearing mithril armor, but make it so it's appearance was not a giant bulk of armor. He wondered if it changed things like the weight of the clothing too. He scrolled through his inventory, but could not find anything to help test this theory, so he pushed the thought aside for now.
Noctis quickly skimmed his ⟨⟨Accessories⟩⟩ tab, much like a normal RPG he could equip a neckpiece, two rings, earrings, an anklet, a bracelet and a cloak. The only item he had in there was his ⟨⟨King's Cloak⟩⟩it belonged to the outfit ⟨⟨Kingly Raiment⟩⟩ which was like the outfit his father wore in public; he found it in a preset outfit he found in his ⟨⟨Armor⟩⟩ tab that along with his ⟨⟨Prince's Fatigues (Adult)⟩⟩ he could not equip. This was most likely due to the fact that they were meant for his older self, and not his miniature self. Oddly enough he found that he could equip his ⟨⟨Royal Raiment⟩⟩ preset. He couldn't remember how he got it, he wondered if Anima somehow slipped it into him before he started here in this timeline.
Noctis looked over his ⟨⟨Items⟩⟩ tab to discover he had a handful of ⟨⟨Potions⟩⟩ on himself as well as a pair of ⟨⟨Phoenix Down⟩⟩ which would be very useful when he starts his training. He then switched tabs to his ⟨⟨Key Items⟩⟩ and discovered the items he received before Anima sent him back. He examined his ⟨⟨Heart of Anima Lv. 2⟩⟩ and the same window he saw popped up.
⟨⟨Heart of Anima⟩⟩
Only Noctis Lucis Caelum may benefit from this item. No one has ever received this. The owner of this item has earned the love of a Goddess whom has long ignored all of Eos. They will be able to communicate with the Goddess of Life and Death when either of the two wishes.
Lv. 1 – Telepathic communication is possible. (Insufficient mana - limited access)
Lv. 2 – Dream communication is possible. (Insufficient mana – Not possible)
Additional effects will be gained as the bond between the Goddess and Noctis increases.
'So that's why… insufficient mana?' he pondered. He knew that attacking via ⟨⟨Warp-strikes⟩⟩ and dodging while ⟨⟨Phasing⟩⟩ used up his mana, but he never actually knew how he built up his ⟨⟨Mana Pool⟩⟩. He also knew that ⟨⟨Blessing of the Carbuncle⟩⟩ gave him a significant advantage over his past life giving him a 40% mana reduction on those things, but that didn't help in in this situation.
"Do I just… train?" he asked questioningly to his little Astral friend questioningly.
Cabbage looked at him with a loud trill, and Noctis wasn't sure, but he somehow knew that she was saying 'yes' to him.
He scratched his head, slightly confused. "And how ex-"Cabbage jumped off of his lap and nudged him with her head. He blinked as got up following her as she walked away. Somehow, he understood what the small Astral was saying to him. It was weird.
"Oh," Noctis said as he stared at the gorgeous scenery. He knew it was his dream, but he felt like he had no control over what occurred here. Another trill came from Cabbage causing Noctis to look at her. She sat in front of him as the two stood in front of natural circular arena. The area was fairly large, it was surrounded by large clifflike structures that looked about 30 meters from one end to the other. The side opposite of the two was covered in water, even from their distance Noctis could see the crystal blue lake water glimmering from the sunlight. Cabbage made several more noises and nudged inwards.
'Imagine an enemy, the more detail the better. Take it easy.' He somehow translated. Noctis closed his eyes, as he did what he was told. He pictures a tall daemon that carried a samurai sword. It was a daemon that if his predictions were right it would be around low to mid-tier in terms of power. He looked through his past memories for more information, he tried to remember most of his encounters with the daemon, but he made a mistake. He thought of ⟨⟨The Boulves Mines⟩⟩ and all of a sudden a weak Bushido daemon was suddenly replaced with one of the strongest of its kind; one that the ⟨⟨Hunters⟩⟩ named ⟨⟨Aramusha⟩⟩.
Noctis heard a familiar sound, his instincts kicked in and he whipped his arm calling out to his ⟨⟨Wooden Sword⟩⟩. Nothing appeared in his hand.
"Shit!" He exclaimed as he watched, what some would call a ⟨⟨Dungeon Boss⟩⟩ in a RPG emerge from the black pool bubbling on the ground. Noctis panicked. His eyes darted around his surroundings. He saw so many places he could ⟨⟨Warp-strike⟩⟩ to, but there was no way his ⟨⟨Wooden Sword⟩⟩ could take that impact. He couldn't even call up the damned weapon. He looked at ⟨⟨Aramusha⟩⟩ and he saw a bar above its head.
⟨⟨Auto-Scan Skill acquired⟩⟩
"Awesome," he muttered to himself, it was a very useful skill as he saw the bar above his opponent's head appear to grow larger.
⟨⟨Lv. ? Aramusha⟩⟩
HP: ?
MP: ?
Now Noctis knew he really messed up. He watched ⟨⟨Aramusha⟩⟩ sheathe its sword and crouched down. Noctis braced himself to ⟨⟨Phase⟩⟩ dodge it.
*Slink*
Pain was all Noctis could feel, when he realized he could no longer phase either. His vision turned red, as he finally noticed his own ⟨⟨HP⟩⟩ and ⟨⟨MP⟩⟩ bar in the bottom right corner. His ⟨⟨MP⟩⟩ bar was half the size of his ⟨⟨HP⟩⟩ bar and he watched as his ⟨⟨HP⟩⟩ bar deplete to zero.
"Shit." He muttered as his vision began to blacken, his body flying towards the lake due to the impact of the blow. He hasn't even started yet, was he really going to die here in his own dream? Pathetic.
*Trill!* Cabbage exclaimed. That's right! He remembered, Cabbage's ability.
'⟨⟨Quick menu⟩⟩' he thought and he thanked the Astrals that one appeared before him showing him items he could use in battle. '⟨⟨Phoenix Down⟩⟩' he thought as one appeared in his hand and he felt a resurgence of energy in his body. His body landed with a loud thud next to the lake, causing him to lose half of his ⟨⟨HP⟩⟩.
"Cabbage, ⟨⟨Escape⟩⟩" he called out quickly. A light appeared around his body as ⟨⟨Aramusha⟩⟩ dashed towards him again. Noctis closed his eyes bracing himself for impact. Another trill broke him out of his frightened pose as he dropped his hands from covering his face. Cabbage gave him a look that caused him to shiver. She was scolding him.
"I know, I know. Sorry," he muttered sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck. The two were in front of the arena again, and ⟨⟨Aramusha⟩⟩ seemed to disappear from the area. Noctis got to his feet jumping at a sudden alert that appeared in his face.
⟨⟨Bronze Trophy Unlocked⟩⟩
Mistakes were Made
Fight an opponent that was too strong for you.
Rewards:
500 gil
Wooden Shield
⟨⟨Bronze TrophyUnlocked⟩⟩
Down, but not Out
Revive yourself from a Knock Out for the first time using a ⟨⟨Phoenix Down⟩⟩
Rewards:
500 gil
2x plume of Phoenix Down
Noctis laughed at himself. Way to add insult to injury. It seemed as if his gil was also contained in his inventory. He would probably still have to use a wallet for appearance sakes. People would ask questions if he simply pulled money out of thin air. Noctis walked back into the arena and collapsed by the lake. His face was covered in sweat from earlier. He dipped his hands into the cool water and flashed his face. Noctis took a deep breath as he calmed himself down. He stared into his reflection in the water before gasping in surprise.
"My eyes," his said breathily. He leaned down more, and instead of the usual blue he was used to seeing, he saw a dark brown looking back at him. "⟨⟨Character⟩⟩" Noctis said. "⟨⟨Titles⟩⟩," he said a bit awkwardly not sure it would work. But it did, and he fell flat on his back after he saw what was there. It felt like it was staring back at him not all of it made sense. With his current power he doubted that he could even defeat a regular daemon.
Titles Owned
True King (Locked)
While titles were mainly passive, he assumed this title was different. It meant he was literally chosen by a God to be King. The amount of stat boosts the title gave was probably exactly what he needed to unlock his Lucian Royal Bloodline and establish a connection with their unique magics. Noctis closed his eyes as he thought back to his previous life and wondered if some things could not change.
His fist clenched. Could he change it?
*Boom*
The car swerved as the driver slammed on the breaks. Noctis looked up at his mother, her eyes widened at the scene before them. One of their escort cars ahead of them burst into flames.
"I-is that a daemon?" one of their guards asked, his voice quivering. Noctis narrowed his eyes looking towards the wreckage again. A large monstrous half-snake half-woman with six arms appeared in the light of the burning car.
"Protect Prince Noctis and the Queen!" One of the two in front yelled. Noctis sprang into action. He pulled on his mother's hand and threw open the side door. He turned around, to see the large daemon slither closer to them at a frightening speed. Noctis heard screams of pain from his two escorts as she drove a large machete through the car window. He flinched and tripped on himself. Noctis felt his mother hold him steady as she desperately tried to drag the two further away, but fear was getting the better of the two of them. He felt his legs slowly give in, each step was harder to take than the previous. His heart hurt from beating so fast as if it was going to burst out of his chest.
*Slash*
An unfamiliar sound of metal ripping flesh hit his ears as he felt his get coated in a warm liquid. He didn't look, but he knew what it was. His mother fell over, dragging him down with her. His legs, he couldn't feel them. He laid on the dirt ground as he turned to look at his mother. He screamed, but it fell to silence. His mother laid before him, her eyes and mouth open wide in shock. She didn't move. Noctis knew. He knew. She would never move again.
His vision faded, and the last thing he saw for a year was his father. His expression calm, but his eyes, sad, angry. He felt sorry, sorry he failed his father. He couldn't protect his mother. He was weak.
Weak.
Weak..
Waek…
"Wake-"
"Wake up…please," Noctis eyes opened slowly. He opened his mouth to try and respond.
"Da-" he got out, barely, before he starting had a coughing fit. His father stood up right away coming to his side.
"Noctis, you're finally awake." His father said softly. He turned to yell for help. Quickly he found himself surrounded by strangers, uncomfortable with them, Noctis stiffened. Why were they all in his room?
"Relax, they're only here to take care of you." His father reassured him. "You've been asleep for a long time…" His father said, his expression changing from happy to sad quickly. His mother… Noctis nodded. He didn't need to confirm it.
The healers gave him a potion to soothe his throat. "H-how long?" he managed to get out after pouring several potions down his throat. It still hurt.
"A little under a year, son." He said solemnly, as the healers left to give the two Lucian royals time alone after the quick check up on his health.
"Your mother-" he started. Noctis placed a hand on his father's, and looked at him letting him know. His father was surprised, but nodded. The two simply sat there together, mourning, but grateful for the other's presence.
Small quick steps echoed into the room from the hallway. The door swung opened quietly. "King Regis, he is awake?" A soft female voice asked.
His father cleared his throat. "Yes, come in Princess Lunafreya." His father said as he released his son's hand turning to the girl at the door. "Is Lady Gentiana with you as well?"
"She is, may she come in as well?"
"She may."
Noctis raised his eyes, to see a beautiful blonde-haired girl, whom looked a couple of years older than him walk into the room. Behind her, another woman came in; she was much older than the two, but she still radiated beauty with her pale white skin contrasting her raven black hair.
"Noctis, this is Princess Lunafreya of Tenebrae and her Lady-in-waiting and caretaker Lady Gentiana." His father said introducing the two women that just came into the room. "They are visiting from Tenebrae since the Queen could not come to your mother's-" he didn't finish. "You know," he said softly.
The two women bowed to him and he sat up attempting his best to bow back. But he fell over in pain.
The blonde princess rushed over to his side and helped him sit up. Her cool fingers brushed against his bare skin, causing him to shiver. She asked if he was cold, he shook his head.
"C-can I help you two?" He managed to ask as he awkwardly sat there as his father and the princess gave each other worried looks. His dad look at him, a guilty expression on his face.
"Some things happened, while you were 'away,' Noctis." His father started. "Princess Lunafreya's family took us in ." He nodded in response. His father had to have a reason if he did it while he was in a coma. "But that's not all…" He said his eyes softening. "These two will explain things to you, I will speak with you later." His father said as he stood up and exited the room.
Princess Lunafreya took his hand and he swore he could've melted. She smiled at him beautifully. "Prince Noctis, it seems like our fates have been intertwined." Noctis turned to look at her, but something else caught his eye. The mirror across the room that showed his reflection, showed piercing blue eyes staring right back at him.
"King of kings-" is all he managed to hear.
*Chomp*
Noctis yelped in pain as he glared at Cabbage who stared up at him innocently.
*Trill* she released. So he was waking up soon. *Trill*
"I honestly don't know how I fell asleep while already asleep." He replied with a shrug.
*Trill*
"Yeah, yeah I will get some training in before I wake up."
*Trill, trill, trillll* she said.
"Yes, I will make sure I don't do it again. And yes, I would appreciate your help no need to get so bossy." He said as he rubbed the back of his neck.
*Chomp*
"Ow!" He yelled in pain as he saw his ⟨⟨HP⟩⟩ drop a small amount. His ⟨⟨Out-of-Combat Regen⟩⟩ kicked in and he healed back immediately. "I was joking!" Cabbage turned her face away from him. "Come on, let's get a quick round him." He said as he opened his ⟨⟨Inventory⟩⟩ and manually equipped his ⟨⟨Wooden Sword⟩⟩. Noctis inspected his weapon, it felt similar to the swords he was used to in respect to its size. He took a swing with it. It felt familiar, good.
Noctis closed his eyes and imagined the first monsters he fought during his last journey. The so called 'pests' that Cindy and Cid made them hunt. He opened his eyes as he heard a hiss come from Cabbage. In front of the two were four ⟨⟨Lv. 1 Reapertails⟩⟩. He scanned their ⟨⟨HP⟩⟩ bars and they seemed to all have 100.
"Let's go," he said as he dashed towards nearest one that moved away from the group. Noctis took a hard horizontal swing amazing straight at the stinger of the ⟨⟨Reapertail⟩⟩ a ⟨⟨Critcal Hit⟩⟩ marker appeared as well as a ⟨⟨Break⟩⟩ as the stringer itself broke off. The one attack took half its health. Noctis quickly took more swings at it, aiming for the body. Each hit did about 10 damage. He watched as the ⟨⟨Reapertail⟩⟩'s health depleted completely, and it's body flattened itself on the ground.
Noctis looked over at Cabbage whom was holding her own. She already worked the other three down to about three-fourths health with her barely taking a hit. Noctis opened his ⟨⟨Quick Menu⟩⟩ where he placed his other weapons to equip them quicker until he gains his old abilities back. He unequipped his ⟨⟨Wooden Sword⟩⟩ and equipped his newly obtained ⟨⟨Wooden Shield⟩⟩ from the achieve he earned earlier. The shield was large and covered most of his body, it was perfect for the next move. He hid behind the shield and rushed towards the other three scorpions. He rammed into one, and felt it 's carapace break from the force, the second one took less damage, and the third one avoided his attack completely. There were only two left. Noctis switched weapons again, this time equipping his ⟨⟨Toy Knives⟩⟩ the two plastic knives slammed against the already weakened ⟨⟨Reapertail⟩⟩'s body. Relentless slashes across it's back and its stinger caused it to ⟨⟨Break⟩⟩ before the scorpion itself fell to the ground. Noctis again opened his ⟨⟨Quick Menu⟩⟩ and switched his the last weapon in his inventory his ⟨⟨Toy Hammer⟩⟩.
In the corner of his eye he saw bold words pop-up.
[Reaction!]: Batter Up!
Noctis confirmed the action and he felt his instincts take over. His body crouched over as he held the ⟨⟨Toy Hammer⟩⟩ in his hand like a baseball bat. Cabbage was a little bit away from the last ⟨⟨Reapertail⟩⟩ which was slowly moving in towards the small Astral. A gust of wind suddenly appeared as the light emitting from Cabbage dispersed. The wind blew the ⟨⟨Reapertail⟩⟩ towards Noctis. His eyes grew focused as he concentrated on the flying scorpion. He swung at the ⟨⟨Reapertail⟩⟩ with all his might. He and Cabbage watched as the poor ⟨⟨Reapertail⟩⟩ flew out of the arena.
Noctis let out a low whistle as he watched. Awesome.
!Level Up!
Items Received!:
4x Scorpion Barb
2x Scorpion Stinger
⟨⟨Bronze Trophy Unlocked⟩⟩
A Little Help from a Little Friend
Perform a [Reaction!] link command with Cabbage the Astral Carbuncle for the first time.
Rewards:
500 gil
⟨⟨Carbuncle Bracer⟩⟩
⟨⟨Bronze Trophy Unlocked⟩⟩
Getting a Reaction
Perform a [Reaction!] command for the first time.
Rewards:
500 gil
⟨⟨Wooden Knives⟩⟩
⟨⟨Silver Trophy Unlocked⟩⟩
A New Journey
Level up to level two. Congrats, you're not as bad as you used to be!
Rewards:
5000 gil
⟨⟨Lucian Cloak (Child)⟩⟩
⟨⟨Lucian Cloak (Adult)⟩⟩
Noctis dropped to the ground. Fighting this way was going to be rough; he wasn't used to fighting without ⟨⟨Phasing⟩⟩ to maneuver around tough attacks that would otherwise be impossible to dodge or using a quick ⟨⟨Warp-Strike⟩⟩ to take a look at the situation and get a better angle of attack. Cabbage scampered over to him and lied beside him. He saw her statistic bar on top of her head. She was level two as well, so it looked like he shared levels with her at least. He wondered about other people in his party. Would the others be able to see the same things he does, or at least to an extent? There were a lot of questions he had about the ⟨⟨Anima System⟩⟩. The world around him brightened. And he sat up leaning on his arms.
*Trill* Cabbage said, a bit sadly as she nuzzled into his arm. He pat her reassuringly on the head.
"Don't worry, I'll be back soon." He said giving the small Astral a smile. His world faded to white.
"Lun-" A voice he could barely make out said. "Find her!" Anima, it was her voice. "To regain-" her voice continued to break off. "Find Lunafre-" His head pulsed, as he saw his ⟨⟨MP⟩⟩ deplete in the corner of his eye every time Anima said a word. ⟨⟨Stasis⟩⟩ hovered over it and Noctis groaned from his pulsing headache.
Noctis groaned softly as his eyes fluttered open. He almost opened his inventory until he felt someone shift next to him on the bed. He looked around, on one side lie his mother, and the other lie his father. 'Right' he thought embarrassed about the night before. Noctis moved lightly, climbing off from the foot of the bed in order to not wake up his parents. He quietly snuck out of their bedroom nodding to his father's Glaives that stood guard outside the door. He headed for his own room, in order to prepare for the day.
He opened his ⟨⟨Stats⟩⟩ window wondering if he needed to allocate points for leveling up. He didn't. It seemed like his level up automatically raised all his stats. It was practical and less troublesome than having to decide what stats to level and which to ignore. It was also good to know that training in his dreamscape transferred to his real life as well.
Noctis stopped in his tracks, as he thought back to when he accidently spawned ⟨⟨Aramusha⟩⟩. If that was the case, that meant if he died there… He shuddered. He could not make that mistake again. Noctis was met with a couple of maids that stood outside his bedroom door. He did not decline her help to bathe for the morning. Although he was a 30-year-old man in his mind, right now he was the young Prince of Lucis. It would only cause unnecessary problems if he declined. He was led into his room and one of the maids left him to draw the bath in the room connected to his.
"What would you like to wear today, your Highness?" The other maid asked as she opened his drawers. "The usual?"
Noctis made sure she was not looking as he pulled his ⟨⟨Royal Raiment⟩⟩ outfit out and placed it on the bed. "No, I would like to wear these." He said pointing to the clothes he laid on his bed.
His maid came over and looked at the clothes. She nodded in approval. Noctis looked above her head, using a ⟨⟨Scan⟩⟩ on her. The ⟨⟨Scan⟩⟩ gave him her name and her level, he noticed that he was now able to ⟨⟨Examine⟩⟩ her and he did so. The information he saw made him feel slightly guilty as the young maid from her favorite color and to her sizes. How the ⟨⟨Anima System⟩⟩ knew any of this was a mystery to him.
"Is something wrong, your Highness?" Noctis shook his head in response, as the door to the bathroom opened and the maid within called to him. He walked into his bathroom, and let the two maids strip him of his clothing. While this was a normal occurrence when he was younger, it has been years since he had this treatment as he remembered declining the eager younger maids from helping him bathe as he learned what hormones were. The time in the bathroom, was rather awkward for Noctis. He would shift uncomfortable when their brushes got too close to him. "Is the water too warm, your highness?" One of the maids asked. He shook his head, they most likely asked due to the redness of his face that he could feel.
After several minutes of back scrubbing, washing and drying the two maids finally helped him into his clothes. The stat boost from his ⟨⟨Royal Raiment⟩⟩ and ⟨⟨Lucian Cloak (Child)⟩⟩ was rather good. The outfit give him gave him bonus health and mana, if he decided to take off his jacket he could gain extra magic damage and more stamina instead, but with his small mana pool at the moment made the extra magic damage was not worth it. The cloak gave him bonus armor and magic defense which was good considering he had none previously. He also waited for his maids to leave him alone so he could equip his ⟨⟨Carbuncle Bracer⟩⟩ on his right wrist and gave it a ⟨⟨Transmog⟩⟩ to appear as a black wristwatch he owned. The bracers gave him bonus ⟨⟨Link Damage⟩⟩ with Cabbage, as well as a slight boost in armor and attack power.
Noctis walked out of his room as his maids waited outside of his room to escort him to breakfast. Outside the dining room doors stood of his father's closest friends Clarus Amicitia, Gladiolus and Iris's father. He stopped in front of the man and saluted him. With a puzzled expression Clarus saluted back to him. "Sir Amicitia," he greeted.
"Your Highness," he replied.
"I been meaning to ask you for a favor." Clarus nodded, letting him know to continue. "I would like to begin joining your son Gladiolus and Sir Scientia's son, Ignis, for their daily training."
"Heh," the Glaive replied with a grin. "If you can keep up, I don't mind they already have but we'll have to ask your old man, first."
"Easy enough," Noctis replied as he opened the doors to the dining room. "Dad, I'm going to go train with Sir Clarus later today." His parents looked a bit shocked at his announcement as they looked at him curiously as he seated himself at the dining table they use for their informal family dining. It didn't surprise Noctis that his parents would react this way. In his past life he was never assertive about anything, he didn't start his combat training until his father practically dragged him in front of Gladio when they grew older; to be fair, he was in a coma and in a wheelchair for a while.
"I think you should wait until you are older, Noct," his mother said.
"Gladiolus and Ignis started around my age. I believe I should start now too, I know they are training to protect me when I am older, but I also believe I need to protect myself as well as our people." Noctis replied calmly hoping this would put an end to this argument.
Everyone gave him an odd look, Noctis forgot for a minute that he was only four. His speech might have been a little too advance for them to comprehend. "Been reading a lot before bed." He answered their questioning looks. It seemed to work. Damn, he was probably going to have to do private tutoring now.
"Are you sure you will not hold them back? I do not want to slow down their training just for you." His father replied.
"They have had a couple of years ahead of me and I cannot say with full confidence that I will be able to keep up, but I will try my best and if I feel like I am holding them back then I will stop training with them and find another way to do my training without disturbing them." Noctis said causing his father to nod in approval.
"That is good, if it is alright with Clarus then I do not see why not." His father said, his mother giving her reluctant approval as well. "Now, let us eat." He said gesturing to the table of food in front of them.
"You looked rather nice today, Noctis, I wish you would dress like this more often." His mother said giving him a smile. "It is much nicer than your usual choice of clothing."
"Are you sure you want that Gina?" His father said, calling his mother by her nickname. "If you want him to look this handsome all the time some might expect him to start courting," he teased looked up from his food.
His mother, Queen Regina Delamiere Caelum, shot his father a glare. "They would have to get my approval first if they want to marry our little Noctis."
"Do I not have a say in this mother?" Noctis said amused as he raised a brow.
"Well- of course you do. I just want to have my input as well she will be taking my seat, after all."
The three of them laughed. While he had dinners like this with Gladio and the others, the last time he had a light-hearted family dinner was when his mother was still alive and after she passed he usually never saw his father eat at the dining table with him. It was one of the things he was hoping to protect, but first he needed to get stronger even without his all of his old abilities.
*Clunk* *Clunk*
The sounds of Noctis's wooden sword against Gladio's echoed throughout the training room. Even though Gladio was only three years older than him, the seven-year-old, at this time, was much more physically fit. The brunt force of Gladio's wooden great sword made it feel as though his arms were being torn off. While Noctis may have more combat experience and knowledge his body was just as strong as it was when he was a child.
He saw Ignis and Clarus standing off to the side in his peripheral. Ignis was opposed to the idea that he spar Gladio since it was his first day training; Gladio was not. He remembered that Gladio disliked him for some time, until the incident with Iris; Noctis wasn't entirely sure when Gladio's disdain for him happened, but it could have very well already started. This was probably just a test from Clarus, seeing how well he could hold up. Winning would draw too many questions, losing badly will cause him to lose his training privileges, so Noctis only saw two choices: barely losing, or taking it to a draw. Which is harder than outright winning and outright losing. One choice he had was wait for Gladio to tire out, but they have already been going at it for 30 minutes, and Gladio has barely slowed down. Another scenario is draw it out long enough so that Clarus would declare it a draw, this was probably the best scenario.
Noctis rolled out of the way as the Gladio took a heavy horizontal swing at him. He was so glad Clarus told Gladio to go all out. Blocking was out of the question unless he wanted to sprain a wrist or worst break his arm. The best he could do was parry the large wooden sword away, but the friction of the wooden blades made it much harder than when they used real weapons. He sprang to his feet and took a quick swing at his abdomen. Gladio groaned; the ⟨⟨Padded Training Armor⟩⟩ they were wearing absorbed 75% damage while in the training area otherwise both of them would be way more injured. Noctis took another quick jab with the butt of his sword against Gladio's shoulder blade and quickly dodging out of the way of the retaliating elbow headed towards his face.
Ducking under the elbow instead of rolling was a mistake, as he felt Gladio's foot impact his chest knocking him onto his back. Noctis swore under his breath as he quickly did a barrel roll dodging another one of Gladio's strikes. What kind of training did he even go through to hit this hard? He's only seven.
"You know, you're not half bad your highness." Gladio said with a smirk.
"Heh, thanks, I would say the same thing, but honestly you're like a monster." Noctis said with a grin of his own.
"I'll take that as a compliment, but really this doesn't seem like your first day." Gladio said as he rested his sword on his right shoulder. "I think we've spared long enough. Dad, I think he'll do fine training with us, what do you two think?"
Ignis adjusted his glasses, "while it is ultimately not my choice, I believe that his Highness has proven himself adequate enough to continue training with us. But I must add that we train with caution." He gave Gladio a stern look, "we do not want to permanently injure the Heir to the throne now do we Gladio?" Man, even six-year-old Ignis was sort of scary. Gladio shrugged his shoulders and dropped his sword on the ground.
"I would have stopped before it got too bad."
"Her Majesty, Queen Regina also stated that if Prince Noctis does not keep up with his private studies, that he will be starting a long with myself, that he will not be allowed to train." Ignis added looking right at him. Noctis shrugged in response. While he was not as smart as Ignis; he was not stupid. The only reason he attended school was because he wanted to be away from home, with his father always working he had nothing to do for most the day. This time he had even more of a reason to go to school, that was where he met Prompto.
Clarus walked up to him and gave him a slap on the back. "I honestly would have let you join even if you got thrashed by Gladi." He said with a grin. "But you held yourself well, much better than when your dad first started."
"Thanks," he muttered rubbing the spot that Clarus hit.
"Our usual schedule is not only sparring. You, your highness, are expected to master more than one weapon. While Gladiolus and Ignis here can pick their own fighting style and use what they like, although I expect them to be adequate with other weapons as well. I am sure you understand why," he explained. "This means that you will be training with Glaives other than myself, while I can teach you the basics and some advanced techniques, I prefer, like Gladio, great swords."
Noctis nodded in response, in his last life he mainly learned from Gladio. By the time Noctis started his training he was already claimed by Bahamut as the True King and while he got good at fighting probably due to his bloodline, he rarely ever got training with anyone other than Gladio and the others. While he did train with Ignis, he was mainly his tutor despite only being a couple of years older than him; since he wanted to become his advisor when he became king.
"I can't think of anyone at the moment to help train you, but we will worry about that at another time. I'll probably have to talk to your old man." Clarus said. "But for now, let's get to training."
The three of them nodded in response and lined up in front of the Glaive. "So we will start with some cardio; I know living in the big city there isn't much running that we have to do, but having stamina will help you survive in any fight." Clarus explained. "I'm sure Prince Noctis knows this, if his spar with Gladio went any longer than he would have lost." Noctis agreed and nodded his head. "So your training today is 10 laps around the perimeter of the castle and don't worry about guards your highness, there are Glaives stationed around every corner." He said with a cruel smirk.
Noctis felt his eye twitch, the perimeter of the castle was insanely large. 10 laps was going to take all day. Noctis looked over at his friends. Gladio had a mortified look on his face and he was the most trained out of the three of them. Ignis, like always, had his poker face on, but it wasn't enough to hide the look on his face.
The three children finished their tenth lap by dinner time, so it only took them over six hours to complete. Gladio, was the most trained, but he was willing to slow down a bit to jog alongside the other two. Every so often they would walk a bit, to relax and catch their breath. They talked, mostly it was Gladio talking while Ignis and Noctis listened to him. Noctis discovered something that he didn't know in the past life. Ignis went to the most prestigious school in the Crown City, and he was also a head of his class and skipped ahead. Gladio, while he went to one of the better schools, he it was much less strict than the one Ignis went to. Noctis didn't attend school when he was younger, it wasn't until his mother passed away that Noctis asked his father to let him attend, since being in the castle was sort of gloomy. But he did attend the same schools as Ignis; it just was not at the same time, since his future advisor was already older than he was.
Noctis was surprised at the end of it that he was not as tired as he thought he'd be. While his body was much weaker than he was used to it was also much stronger than it was around this time in his past life. Another pleasant surprise was that he got the notification telling him he reached ⟨⟨Lv. 3⟩⟩ appear in front of him. It was a fairly brutal exercise and he's sure that spar with Gladio added to his experience. After the three met up with Clarus to report in, they dispersed and separated saying their good byes until tomorrow.
Dinner was uneventful, since Noctis ate by himself; both his parents busy with certain affairs for the night. Noctis soaked in the bath after the maids washed his hair and back. The warm water soaked in aching muscles. He brought up his menu, checking on some things that appeared during his spar, but he didn't have the time to check. ⟨⟨Ability Power⟩⟩ was gained throughout the day doing things, he was not sure what exactly triggered it, but he gained some during his spar with Gladio, while jogging and surprisingly when he ate. It didn't seem like he would gain a lot if he attempted to just grind it. He looked around his menu and found a menu called ⟨⟨Ascension⟩⟩, but it seemed like he couldn't quite access it quite yet. It was most likely linked with his ⟨⟨AP⟩⟩ since he couldn't find any other things that sounded suspicious. He also figured his ⟨⟨Ascension⟩⟩ menu was linked with his ⟨⟨True King⟩⟩ title and until then he couldn't access it, but it was nice that he could grind the ⟨⟨AP⟩⟩ without it. He wondered what they kind of skills he would unlock it would be awesome if it was anything similar to King's Knight's skill menu.
He continued to think about the ⟨⟨Anima System⟩⟩ and what kind of limitations were set to it. He knew he could train in his dreamscape but does that also mean he could carry things from his dreamscape to the real world? He knew anything he owned in the real world transferred to his dreamscape with him having weapons and clothes. He didn't count the loot he received from unlocking the ⟨⟨Trophies⟩⟩ since systems like that was generally a reward that had its own scheme behind it. Noctis wondered what the limitations to his ⟨⟨Inventory⟩⟩ was exactly. It didn't seem like there was a weight system, so in theory he could hoard everything and it would be fine, but he wondered if there was a limitation what he could put in there. He'd test this out tonight in his dreamscape training. He knew there were other games that let the player hold random things like cooking utensils.
His thoughts came to a halt when the maids asked him to step out of his warm bath, he didn't realize how long he stayed in there. He stood up and felt his muscles ache from the training earlier. His two attendants helped him dry off and get dressed for bed.
Noctis climbed into his bed and his attendants left his room. He sat up and closed his eyes. Noctis focused on the flow of his mana throughout his body. He noticed something from his past life and this time around. His use of mana seemed to strain him in a way similar to exercising and his muscles. He wondered if by focusing on his own mana in his body he could, in theory 'stretch' it and 'exercise' it. He'd have to ask his dad for more information on this, or maybe he could find one of his dad's Glaives that specialized in magic. In any case, he'd have to go to his dad for more information. Noctis concentrated on his mana and his tried control the follow of his mana. It took a while, but when he was able to completely focus and feel his mana he could slightly will his mana to follow his directions. He started off easy and controlled his mana to concentrate on the larger parts of his body. He moved his mana to his whole upper body; this caused him to feel a slight numbing in his lower body and then did the reverse. Noctis did this for a little over an hour. He could feel the sweat on his body, much like he just exercised. To his pleasure when he opened his eyes a small window popped up.
⟨⟨Mana Knowledge⟩⟩ was learned due to your training of your body's mana flow. ⟨⟨Mana Control⟩⟩ was learned due to using your knowledge of mana and learning how to control the flow of mana within your body.
Noctis looked to the corner where his ⟨⟨HP⟩⟩ and ⟨⟨MP⟩⟩ bars sat. It seemed like the two skills he just learned increased his overall mana pool incrementally. He examined the skills closer and confirmed that they did give him a small ⟨⟨MP⟩⟩ boost. Noctis removed his shirt and letting the crisp Spring air to cool his body. He hoped he could find some time to do this before his nightly bathe time, while he didn't mind sleeping a little dirty, being used to camping outside for days after hunting monsters in his past life he would much rather go to sleep clean. He threw his head back down onto his pillow and crawled under the covers. His mind felt numb from his meditation earlier and his body was sore from the exercise. His dreamscape training was a bit overpowered since he barely felt any fatigue this morning after last night's training.
He seemed to have fallen asleep instantly, because the last thing he could remember before waking up in front of the natural arena from last time was closing his eyes.
*Trill*
Noctis looked down to see Cabbage seemingly waiting for him. He leaned down and scratched behind her ear causing her to nuzzle into his touch. 'Cute,' he thought. He stood back up and stretched walking into the area, Cabbage followed right behind him.
"So before we start today, I need to test some things." He explained to Cabbage. "So be ready to run at any moment." While ⟨⟨Aramusha⟩⟩ from the other night was definitely strong it was by far not the strongest monster that Noctis and his friends fought. He concentrated on the monster ⟨⟨Bennu⟩⟩ the giant bird from the Leide region that scared the shit out of them when they had to do a job for Dino. He concentrated on its size and appearance. He did this for a while occasionally glancing in front of him just in case he did happen to summon the giant bird. He frowned to himself before giving up. Maybe it was just too big of a monster. He switched to a different monster, much smaller than ⟨⟨Bennu⟩⟩ but probably thrice as deadly. He pictured their little green bodies and clothed in their brown cloak and the seemingly weak, but in reality- deadly knives. At first, he thought of the ⟨⟨Sir Tonberry⟩⟩ he hunted for Randolph, but much to his disappointment, nothing. He then thought of the regular daemon ⟨⟨Tonberry⟩⟩ and his eyes snapped at the disgusting sounds in front of him. The little green creature crawled out of the ground.
⟨⟨Lv. ? Tonberry⟩⟩
HP: ?
MP: ?
Noctis and Cabbage walked away from the green daemon a bit. It's eyes staring at the two of them as it slowly approached. When they got about a meter away from the entrance to the area the ⟨⟨Tonberry⟩⟩ seemingly just disappeared. So it seemed like there were restrictions on unique monsters, or at least monsters that dropped unique items. Noctis was slightly disappointed that he couldn't farm the ⟨⟨Bennu⟩⟩ or ⟨⟨Sir Tonberry⟩⟩ he could've asked Randolph to make a million ⟨⟨Iron Dukes⟩⟩ and sell it. The two of them stepped back inside. He again thought of a regular ⟨⟨Tonberry⟩⟩, but he concentrated more on the ⟨⟨Level⟩⟩ of the daemon. He tried to make it concentrated on making it a ⟨⟨Lv. 1⟩⟩ first and slowly climbed his way up in numbers. Once in his mind he reached ⟨⟨Lv. 50⟩⟩ the familiar sound and monster appeared in front of them. His ⟨⟨Auto-Scan⟩⟩ skill seemed to still examine the daemon as ⟨⟨Lv. ?⟩⟩ even though he knew in his mind that it was a ⟨⟨Lv. 50⟩⟩. It seemed that his ⟨⟨Auto-Scan⟩⟩ would only increase in value as he increased his actual level. It also seemed like certain things could only be summoned at certain levels. He remembered the ⟨⟨Tonberry⟩⟩ daemons to be quite strong. He summoned a couple of more as he continued to thing of the same monster with increased level value. So far, it seemed like he could summon as many as they fit inside the area as he massed summoned about 50 more of them. He stepped back causing them all to despawn. Now he stepped back in and summoned several ⟨⟨Reapertails⟩⟩ they all ranged from level one to 20 and it seemed like he couldn't summon any stronger than that. While they were fairly weak monsters he wouldn't be able to take this many, as well as some of the stronger ones in his current state. He stepped back again letting them all despawn. He walked back in this time walking towards the lake that lied on the other side. Noctis leaned down and plucked a flower that laid in the oasis like area and opened his inventory. It wouldn't let him place it inside.
It seemed like anything in his dreamscape that was not a ⟨⟨Monster Drop⟩⟩ he couldn't take back into the real world, while everything he had in the real world transferred to his inventory in here. In theory in made sense, he was slightly disappointed though, if he could take everything from the dream scape he would spend more time searching around and seeing what he could find. But in the end, it was still over powered. He could literally farm ⟨⟨Monster Drops⟩⟩ while he was asleep, in theory, an endless amount, and take it to the real world and to sell or use. He had to be careful, especially if he sold them in the Lucian region. He could inflate the drop market like crazy if he wasn't careful. Gil, on the other hand, was different since it was a universal currency throughout all the regions, so gil he obtained from training and unlocking ⟨⟨Trophies⟩⟩ he could use a bit more carelessly.
Noctis pulled out his ⟨⟨Wooden Sword⟩⟩ and spawned four ⟨⟨Lv. 3 Reapertails⟩⟩ he and Cabbage did this several times, taking a small break after every wave. After their tenth wave, he finally got a message from the ⟨⟨Anima System⟩⟩ to appear in front of him telling him he reached ⟨⟨Lv. 4⟩⟩. He looked over the loot he gained over the training session it looked like what was considered a normal drop had about a 60 percent drop rate while items he obtained from ⟨⟨Breaks⟩⟩ weren't always guaranteed, but had about a 90 percent drop rate. Overall his haul was 20x Scorpion Barbs and 12x Scorpion Stingers.
He decided that one level was enough training for now and decided to use to rest of his time in his dream scape meditating and increasing his mana. Noctis sat by the lake and crossed his legs. He felt Cabbage crawl onto his lap and curl up into a ball. He smiled and went back to concentrating on the flow of his mana. It took an enormous effort to his mana around his body by force. Its natural flow seemed to course through much like his blood and simply run though out his whole body, so it made sense to him that disrupting this natural flow and concentrating it on a specific point was obviously hard. While ⟨⟨Phasing⟩⟩ and ⟨⟨Warp-Striking⟩⟩ came easily to him in the past he wondered if this ability would help him in any way. Maybe it'd be like some comics he read back then where he could concentrate all of his mana into his hand a break a stone wall just by punching it.
Noctis didn't know how long he meditated for because before he knew it he was opening his eyes to find himself awake in his bedroom. A window appeared in front of him.
⟨⟨System Alert⟩⟩
Due to getting well rested in at home all fatigue has been reduced.
Due to getting well rested in a safe environment, all stats have been temporarily increased.
Due to getting well rested in a bed, all experience gained will be temporarily increased.
Noctis blinked several times in surprise. And yet another over powered ability. All the running he did yesterday he was sure to be more than a little sore today, but to get all the benefits with none of the side effects was a bit ridiculous. This meant he could go all out until he could barely walk and as long as he slept in at home he would feel none of that pain the next day. He wondered why he didn't get these bonuses the other night though. He doubted it was because he slept in his parents' bed. The only thing he could think of was that the ⟨⟨Anima System⟩⟩ was continually evolving, much like a game patching to create more content. He shrugged it off for now only time would tell; maybe Anima knows about it, but it could be possible she herself doesn't either.
There was a knock on his door. "Enter," he called out and his two usual maid attendants stepped and like clockwork they guided him to his private restroom and he brushed his teeth and bathed before getting dressed for the day. He hoped that today's training session wouldn't run as long as yesterday- he laughed out loud slightly at his own pun causing his two attendants to give him a strange look. He wanted to find time to ask his dad about mana, or ask him if he could talk to one of his Glaives, maybe even go to the royal library and try and read up on it. He pondered for a moment as he stepped into the warm bath to soak after his attendants help him scrub down. The library would be a good idea. It seemed like the ⟨⟨Anima System⟩⟩ adapts to things around him, maybe he could learn some useful skills that didn't involve fighting. Maybe he could learn profession-type skills like ⟨⟨Alchemy⟩⟩ in the future and just because he can't now doesn't mean the ⟨⟨Anima System⟩⟩ won't allow him to in the future, so there was no reason not to study other skills. One thing he did know was that just because the ⟨⟨Anima System⟩⟩ doesn't contain the skill or tells him he has the skill does not mean he doesn't know it. He confirmed this when he was able to use his other weapons, but he had no skill that told him he could use ⟨⟨1-H Weapons⟩⟩ or ⟨⟨2-H Weapons⟩⟩ but he still remembered how to wield them. Having it in the ⟨⟨Anima System⟩⟩ was useful, he could probably compare it to a cooking recipe, just because you don't have the recipe written down doesn't mean you don't know it. So, if his dad wasn't free today, than the library would be a great choice, to be honest it actually appealed to him a bit more than talking to his dad, but learning about his own mana was too important to him.
Nevertheless, he had some studying to do today. He was determined to learn something that he may not have known in his past life. Noctis stepped out of his bath and dressed in a similar outfit from the other day. In his past life, he never cared about fighting or learning about his Lucian Royalty bloodline. There were so many things that he could learn to better protect his loved ones' futures. His eyes glimmered with determination as he exited his room.
EP: Well I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I tried to make it really long. I think I got to about 9k words not counting my A/Ns. I tried something new concerning things I considered game mechanics and that is putting them in the bracket-type things. Any way, leave some Faves, Reviews, and follows. Until next time!