Chapter 3: New Life (3)
"Good morning, Billy. Are you… be as well?"
The next day after leveling up his Language Skill, Billy already noticed a clear difference. A pretty big difference considering that he just made the skill just level up a single time. Nevertheless, he also confirmed his previous assumption that the skill would level up by itself if he started to guess the meaning behind his mother's words.
Language Skill - Lv 01 - 02/20 Exp
"I suppose this is for the best… you are in luck, mom. Your kid already feels embarrassed enough to do nothing aside from pooping himself, pissing himself, eating, and then sleeping all day. Causing more trouble than that, and I wouldn't be able to watch myself in the mirror."
Nevertheless, Billy found something interesting to kill time until he is able to control his new body properly, which was to use the system. However, that day, his mother had other plans for him. He was already six months old, so she assumed that it would be a good idea to take him outside the hut to see their village. While the timing wasn't that good, Billy didn't mind it.
Billy didn't know if he should feel good or bad, considering that the whole village was basically made of huts made of bamboo and straw. It was a sign that his family wasn't that bad financially, but it was also a sign that the village was either too archaic or too poor. While that seemed like a problem, Billy soon lost interest in it when he began to see men and women walking around carrying spears. He could even see some kids younger than ten with short spears as well. Even those had some scars and showed that they had been training from an early age.
"I suppose this village focuses on developing a fighting style that revolves in the use of spears to fight… but since that is the case, why only a few people have steel in the tip of their spears actually?"
Billy found that most of the spears didn't have a proper tip. Some were completely made of wood, while others had stones in them… it seemed really weak but deadly if they pierce the right or the wrong spot.
Nevertheless, Billy had yet to learn the name of his parents. Still, since his mother went around the village showing him to everyone while grinning from ear to ear, he eventually learned them.
"Heya, Camilla." A thin but tall, dark-haired man who seemed to be around Billy's mother's age said. "Is Drew working... as usual?
While Billy missed a few words, he heard his parents' names. While it was weird that they were pretty similar to the names on Earth, he paid no mind to it. In fact, it was good that the names were easy to remember.
"It has been a while, mother," Camilla said to a woman who didn't seem much older than her and was looking after some plants.
Billy recognized the midwife that helped his mother during the birth. He didn't think that she was his grandmother… she never visited, after all. Billy looked around and saw that his grandmother had quite the garden. However, instead of normal flowers, she had many types of herbs around her hut. She seemed to be a healer of some sort.
"... Your kid is weak. You shouldn't take him outside so soon," the granny, who looked like Camilla's older sister, said.
"He doesn't fuss that much, but he is incredibly healthy," Camilla said. "Do you want to look after him for a day to confirm that?"
"And what are you planning to do during that time?" Granny asked. "Your fighting days are over… once we give birth, we abandon the frontlines to look after the next generation until they can look after themselves."
Billy already knew that, but those words confirmed that his mother was once a warrior before he was born, and according to the tradition of the tribe, she had to look after him until he was strong enough. Billy looked in the distance and saw a woman teaching two kids how to use the spear, so he assumed that his mother would do the same at some point. Considering how much everyone had scars on their bodies, it seemed that even strong people were fighting for their lives daily. So, Billy began to think that he should help his father become strong. His skills should help him with that. However, Drew always shows up late at night and leaves early in the morning… not to mention, he doesn't interact with Billy all that much.
Billy thought that he would spend the day outside, but his mother listened to her mother and then returned to their hut. Although he wanted to hear people talking more and learn other things, he didn't have to hurry.
Since Language Skill was leveling up by itself, Billy decided to make his level increase instead. He only did that because he didn't pay much attention to him when his father showed up, even when Billy stretched his arms toward him to give him mana.
"He wants to play with you. Why not spend some moments with Billy?" Camilla asked.
"... It isn't a good idea," Drew replied with his head down. "Father died when I was just a kid, and even though I spent so much time with him, those memories only made me feel worse after his death… It will be better if I become a distant figure to him. At least he will be spared some pain in his life."
Things got darker in a very unexpected way. Now that he thought about it, Billy didn't see people with gray hair in the trine. Not even women… that that was a sign that they didn't even have the chance to reach a certain age…
"Mom never mentioned her father, and I am supposed to have two grandmothers…"
Billy had misunderstood a few things.. His tribe wasn't a warrior tribe by choice but by necessity. That made him realize that he truly will have to find a way for his father and mother to become stronger before something happens…