So here another one for you, also I'm going to try writing a longer chapter this time and see what you think.

gods, I hope that this turns out well, because I'm really bad at writing. -NamelessKing

ps, it's time for skills and status.

---

Hi, I'm almost five now, quite a lot has happened in these four years, for starters: I can talk now, my parents are now teaching me, my mother's belly has swelled and she's now pregnant, my sister has started going to school at the royal academy in the royal capital so unfortunately, I don't get to see her much anymore except for in the summer when she visits.

And so I'm currently studying under mother.

In front of me is a map, it's not great and looks more like a rough sketch but it's still a map

(A/N I present map 1 version 1, it's bad I know but I'm a writer, not an artist or cartographer don't judge me. anyway I hope you like it a bit at least)

[this is a map of the continent, here up in the northernmost part is the realm of the dwarfs, there are many kingdoms within, the largest of which is the kingdom of Lovegold that we reside within, it stretches from the blizzard mountain range in the centre of the region to the lonely, spirit mountain in the east]

[mom, where is the city where we live?]

[that would be here.] she pointed out on the map

[Benrum, the smithing city. It's south of the capital, Elska Gull, where your sister is studying, see?]

[I see....... eh, I don't get it. How far is that?]

[well, usually a journey from here to the capital would take around a month by carriage, although most people take longer, as they stop and visit various small cities and towns along the way. I suppose that you could make the journey in less than two weeks if you travelled without rest.]

[wow, that's pretty far. .... um, wait did you say dwarfs? does that mean dwarfs live here?] I ask, my eyes sparkling with wonder.

[huh, fufu.... well, of course, there are dwarfs. Otherwise, why would it be called the dwarven realms, where did you think dwarfs lived?]

[W-well, I didn't know, I mean I've never left home before, so I've not had a chance to meet one.......]

[...........]

Her face turns extremely serious, and after what felt like ages, though it was more likely to have been just a few seconds, she began to speak in a chilling tone, completely opposite to her usual warm and loving tone of speech.

[..Right, I will say this clearly so that your small mind can comprehend it. You are a dwarf, the same as me, your father and siblings. Tell me how is it that, until now, you didn't realise that we are dwarfs?]

[b-but you nev-]

[But, nothing! I know what you are attempting to say, I should not have to tell my own child that they are a dwarf. Even your fool of a brother knew he was a dwarf by your age. And if not a dwarf what did you think you were?]

Not once had I ever seen her like this, since I don't want to upset her any more, I'll keep to an honest and apologetic tone.

[I'm sorry, I didn't know... erm I thought we were humans.]

[Pfft... and what did you think those two slaves of yours were?]

[uhh, Julia and lucy, I thought they were just tall or giants.]

[G-giants hehe......... Hahahahahahaha haa]

after a bit, she regained her composure, returning to her usual self she resumed

[well now you know, they're humans. now let's continue the lesson, but for now, I think I'll start with the different races.]

after that, we carried on as before, I guess I'll give a summary of what I've learnt, I'll go in chronological order, First was the races, starting with humans, It seems that they're not that different from the humans I know from Earth, only things like the range of natural hair and eye colours differ and have an expected lifespan of 150 years, although the oldest on record died at 247, they originate from Germania in the centre of the continent, but they can be found all over the place.

next was us, dwarfs. First, we went over racial differences then culture, this was the only race she spoke about the culture, although it makes sense why. we're very similar to the dwarfs from fantasy books, films and games, short height, but despite this, we're physically stronger than most races as well as having higher endurance, though it comes at the price of lower fertility, and we live well over a 600 years then we have either racial or cultural traits, I'm not sure, she didn't make it very clear, but anyway dwarfs are more likely to be greedy, arrogant and hot-headed, more importantly, dwarfs are some of the best blacksmiths, actually, it's more accurate to say nearly all of the best blacksmiths are dwarfs, and we're talented craftsmen in general, as for how our culture works, to simplify it, it's a hierarchy based on talent rather than family status, with exception to the royalty, so unless you're in the royal family the amount of respect you get is entirely based how good you are at what you do, although there is a system slightly separate for warriors, at times of war, warriors have a higher rank in general with exception to the master smiths, who are placed only below the king in terms of the amount of respect they garner. Other than that not a lot was said about our culture, but she'll probably tell me more at a later time, of course as she mentioned before dwarfs originate from the dwarven realms but due to our smithing abilities quite a few can be found in cities within major kingdoms, also a few are taken as slaves for the same reasons in certain areas.

then she spoke of the giants, as you have most probably guessed, they are very large and strong and look like humans but scaled up, not a lot is known other than that and they have the lowest fertility rate of all races on this continent and when combined with the fact that they are rather solitary causes they're population to be low, due to them being common as war slaves, literally living siege weapons, it is theorised that they might go extinct within the next 250-400 years, they're lifespan is unknown, since most die in combat and the ones that die to old age aren't found until years later, they originate from Jomgehwir, where there is only a single country and a few cities within, the giant's that live there are slightly less solitary and are believed to be a variant species, as for how tall giants are, the tallest was supposedly a colossal 36 feet tall, though most range from 13 to 20 foot tall and the largest living one is 27 foot.

Beastkin or beastmen, aren't actually a single species, rather it is a term to describe the collection of different humanoid species which have the shared common trait of animal features, and instincts, other similarities include increased senses for example sight, hearing and smell. Lifespans vary but in general, most species live around 200 years. as a specific example, Aria my mother's personal attendant and slave, is a foxkin also called kitsune, they are unique in the fact they're one of only a few species, among beastkin, that are talented in magic, unfortunately, Aria, when she became a slave, underwent the cruel procedure of tail docking, in order to limit her ability to use magic, the reason for this in the case of foxkin, is that they gather and store ambient mana from the air in their tails. All beastkin come from The Wildlands, it is rare to see them outside of there, unenslaved anyways.

Finally, the last main race, elves also occasionally referred to as fairies in various historical texts, they aren't too different from the literature on earth, tall, good eyesight, stronger than their thin frames would suggest and have a high aptitude for magic and spirit magic. Lifespan is vague and accounts vary, but it could be anywhere from around 400 all the way to more than 2000, records all say different figures and the elves themselves have never revealed it, for all we know they could be immortal, as you can tell from what we do know, the elves are very secretive. They mainly reside in the Forests of Werrun, although a few do travel as adventurers, currently, only human kingdoms keep elves as slaves, giants don't keep slaves, the beastkin are on mostly friendly terms with elves so out of goodwill they don't have elven slaves and dwarfs have an alliance between us and them and so keeping elven slaves is illegal in most dwarven cities.

lastly a side note on other minor races and monsters, so there are many "minor" races which are classified as lower races and are slightly related to the five main races, an example would be gnomes you can find them in most dwarven cities, but they are treated as lesser and second class citizens, although they are also recognised for their talent, as many are great inventors.

Then we have monsters, awful, malicious and mostly beastlike creatures, made from the condensing of stagnant mana, so, fortunately, they don't form in cities where mana is constantly flowing, due to the large number of creatures circulating the mana passively. These monsters grow stronger and evolve by consuming large quantities of mana, thus they attack one another as well as cities where large quantities of people live, also I should mention all creatures contain mana within them, even if they cannot manipulate that mana in the form of magic.

And occasionally when a monster grows strong enough, a demon lord is born, demon lords are human-like monsters with high intellect and strong physical and magical abilities, unfortunately, in recent years a large number of demon lords were born, even more worryingly is that these demon lords have created their own territory, named Gou Der Vern, many believe soon there will be a great war, so quite a few people have been fleeing to other continents to avoid the conflict.

some other things to note, slavery, yes there is slavery and it's legal, to be specific there are four main kinds of slaves, first, there are war slaves, these are people taken as trophies during and after a conflict, war slave can also refer to a slave who's main purpose and use is fighting, second are criminal slaves, these are as the name implies, criminals and slavery is a form of punishment, thirdly are debt slaves, now although these are slaves who are usually made slaves due to a physical debt as in owing gold, there are two other types of debt slave, people who sell themselves to slave merchants in return for gold for their family rather than having loaned gold and being unable to pay, then there are life debt slaves, how this works is pretty simple, if you save someone's life, you may ask for them to become your slave, then if they have nothing else to offer or believe that they owe you their life, they become your property, however the law doesn't clearly indicate what should be offered, how much should be offered or how the two parties come to a fair deal and agreement, anyway the last kind of slaves are illegal slaves, these are slaves obtained though illegal means, for example if you kidnapped someone and enslaved them then if your kingdom wasn't at war and the individual wasn't from the province you were fighting, then they would be an illegal slave, of course as it sounds these kind of slave are illegal to own and the punishment of which is slavery but not only that you then become the property of the slave in question, although in the case of mutiple slaves you become shared property, there are supposedly some other kinds of slave but they are so uncommon that they aren't mentioned in the law. Also as for the slaves, my family owns that I have mentioned so far, Aria is a war slave and Lucy and Julia are debt slaves, although I'm uncertain of what kind.

and after that, the lesson was mostly over.

[Now, that will be all for today. ah Tyr, before you go I have something important to tell you, next week will be your awakening ceremony, and so according to tradition, you must forge your own blade for the ceremony, and so starting tomorrow you will be taught by your father]

[Okay, that sounds fun]

just as I was finishing my conversation, Floki burst into the room.

[Hey, sis, you finished your lesson yet, let's go play.]

recently he's really been missing Freya, I'd better go entertain him

[yeah, let's go]

as I'm about to leave I hear my mother's voice

[ah, wait there's something else I wanted to tell you.]

I look back towards her, with an impatient look on my face.

[..er, nevermind, go ahead, you're free to go.]

[yay! right sis, let's go!]

[yes, wait for me!]

I race out of the study and chase my brother down the hall.

---

                               Tia's POV

I watch as Tyr rushes out of the study after her brother.

falling into a nearby chair, I loudly sigh.

[my god, that girl is ridiculous.] I exclaim

I lean back into the rather comfortable chair

[at times she's an idiot, at others she's..... well, like that...]I huffed looking at a tower of books

[.....the way she is, it's hard to comprehend how it's possible. I mean maybe I overreacted to her not knowing she was a dwarf but considering how quickly she learns, I just expected her to already know.]

I stand up out of the chair and walk over to the pile of books and pick one up, looking at it, thinking out loud

[..even Freya, hasn't read through most of these, this girl... not only did she learn from them, she asked me if she could read them herself because I would simplify the content, so I just sat there watching her, occasionally answering the few questions she had, for several hours...... what kind of five year old has that amount of concentration?]

---

              Tyr POV  

       The next day

my day started the same as all days

[young miss, it's time to get up.] Julia urges while yanking at my covers.

[NO! let me sleep.]

I desperately cling to my duvet

[Young miss, if you don't get out of bed, I'm going to have to tell Lady Tia.]

[Eh! okay fine, just give me a minute to wake up.]

I rise up from lying and rub my tired eyes, while they adjust to the light.

[thank you, young miss, for getting up. now, please come here so I can help you dress.]

I get up from the bed and wander over to the wardrobe and mirror that she's standing by.

[arms up.]

I raise my arms, as she requests, with only a small amount of trouble, she pulls my out of my nightgown and after my vision is clear again, I notice my reflection in the mirror, I take a closer look at myself, in only cute, pink panties, I see a young, short, little girl with fair white skin and dark wine red hair as well as the most beautiful deep blue eyes which looked as though they contained the depths of the ocean, placed on a slightly rounded face with a small nose and pale lips, truly a beauty within my eyes.

I turned around to face Julia, who is now holding a sky blue dress, which matches her nice hair.

[Julia, tell me, do you think I'm beautiful?]

as if not quite sure what to say, she hesitated for a moment

[...erm, I think the young miss, is one of the loveliest little girls I have ever met.]

'It wasn't quite the answer I was looking for...oh well'

after looking at my expression curiously, she snapped out of her fascination and started getting me dressed

[we must hurry, young miss, otherwise, you'll be late for breakfast.]

after finishing dressing me, we hurried down the halls and to the dining hall.

[you're a bit late but welcome Tyr] Mother calls

[sorry, mom, I got a bit sidetracked]

[It's okay, now come and join us] exclaimed Father

after joining them and enjoying our normal hearty breakfast, which consisted of fried bacon, sausage, eggs, bread, grilled tomato and beans, I left with my father, looking forward to testing the talent I was promised 

[but before that, go get changed out of that stupid, frilly dress and into some overalls.] he loudly orders

of course, looking forward to the lesson and not wanting to ruin the nice dress, I quickly obey and went with Julia to change into more work-appropriate clothes, then I return to him and we continued to the forge.

as we entered, the heat overwhelmed me at first but I quickly grew accustomed to it and it began to feel comfortable.

 the vast workplace before me made me completely awestruck and only one word came to mind at that moment, 'beautiful'.

[Right, since this is your first time I'll teach you what to do.]

completely ignoring his words I started to stoke the fire, then like my instincts were telling me what to do, once the temperature felt right, I grabbed my metal in tongs and placed it in the flames, once it was hot enough I brought it to the anvil and began to strike it then when it cooled, I returned it to the forge and so the cycle began, after a little while had started to look how I desired it, at that time I noticed my father saying he was going to bed, I thought it was a little early for a nap, but it's his decision. Then a few hours later, my blade was pretty much finished, around that time my father returned from his nap and once again he spoke to me but this time he was shouting.

[What do you think you're doing you, stupid girl, working three days straight without rest or breaks!]

[..eh] I was dumbfounded, what did he mean three days, I was sure that it had only been three hours at most, then I heard a voice, slightly feminine but completely monotone.

{Work has been deemed complete, deactivating the sub-skill (TALENTED FOOL), bodily functions resumed and restored, accumulated fatigue, hunger, thirst as well as overheating shall be gained.}

[wha...] as my vision blackens, my consciousness fades and I fall to the ground, dropping the dagger in my hand. The last thing I hear is my father's worried call.

[Tyr!]

after that, I was just drifting through the darkness within my dreams for a while. Then just before I awoke, I heard a warning.

[beware, for the slumbering beast is stirring, though it still sleeps, for now, it will awaken]

then a familiar voice {the unique species skill (THE BEAST FROM BELOW) has activated, granting lowest tier of boons}

then when I came to, I was in my bed surrounded by people, everyone I knew was there, as well as one person I didn't.

[Look, sis is awake!] Floki joyfully exclaims

the first one to react is my mother, she embraces me with tears pouring down her face.

[oh, thank goodness you're okay.]

after a little while of cuddling with all members of my family, my mother turned to face the man I did not know, he was a middle-aged man who had short brown hair and wore white robes with yellow lines going down the arms from the shoulders and the centre from the collar.

[thank you, Father, for helping our daughter, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.]

[erm, my grandfather?]

the man chuckles, then my mother looks at me and says with a lighthearted expression [no, you stupid girl, he's a priest and an old friend of mine]

I look at him and say [well, thank you mr.....um, priest, for saving my life]

[I'm just doing what I can to help and my name is Edward]

[well once again, I give you my thanks, father Edward] I reply

[anyway, I must be going, I'll see you tomorrow]

[bye Ed, and thanks] my father voiced 

Edward just smiled and wandered off. After he had left, everyone excluding me, burst into tears and embraced me.

Once they had calmed down I spoke up

[So, what actually happened?]

[You, my stupid, little sister, worked for three days then you collapsed and slept for three days, if it wasn't for that priest's healing magic, you would be dead.]

Looking to my side I saw the owner of this voice, Freya, I threw my tired arms around her and hugged her with all my might.

[big sis! .....ah I'm sorry. also, why are you here?]

she strokes my hair and replies.

[I came to surprise you and celebrate your awakening.

but, of course with this...]

she started quivering and her voice became full of sadness, then she tightly hugged me

[y-you scared me *sniffle* s-so much, I was so worried *sniffle*]

[.....]

I just remained silent and allowed her to cry her heart out.

after that, we all talked for a while, then all but Otis left, due to my ceremony tomorrow I was told to rest.

Now with only my father here, his face filled with slight anger

[You stupid girl! don't ever do something as idiotic as that again, but....]

his tone changed to a lighter one and held me tight in his arms, as he did, a small grin spread across his face.

[you did great, that blade was an amazing work of art, it easily surpasses what your siblings made, I'm proud of you. Just in future don't be so reckless.]

[thank you and I won't] I sincerely replied.

after a bit, he left and I went to sleep.

The day of the ceremony.

Today I woke up exhausted and my entire body aches, it seems I woke up a bit early, so I sit up and wait for someone to come.

not much later, the door opens and through it walks an especially tired-looking lucy holding a white bundle of cloth

[ah, miss Tyr you're already awake... oh right, here's what you'll be wearing today.]

she holds out the clothing, it's a white, slightly translucent robe with sleeves that stop just past the shoulders, and a veil.

I get into the robe and I'm quite embarrassed that my bare body can be seen but I try to ignore it.

after a light breakfast, my family take me out of the house for the first time, the first things that catch my eyes are the many buildings in the distance, looking back at our house, it's very large and looks like a Victorian-era mansion placed into the side of a mountain.

after walking quite far down the steep terrain, we reached the edge of the city, and honestly, it was nowhere near as busy as I anticipated, barely anyone was around, we then approached a very large cathedral and I discovered where everybody was.

we entered and inside is easily over a hundred children dressed very similarly to me and like me, they were all holding knives of differing quality and appearance.

as I went further inside towards the others, my family wished me luck and left outside it was around this point that I felt an Increasing amount of eyes on me, which when combined with the fact than I felt basically naked, made me extremely nervous.

I tried to shrug it off and noticed a lot of the others were talking amongst themselves, thinking of this as a chance to finally make some friends, I approached a small group of girls near the outskirts.

[um, excuse me...]

they turn to look at me as I speak

[er, hi my name's Tyr, it's nice to meet you]

[eek, it's her.] one of the girls exclaims.

with that, the room went silent and everyone looked this way, all those who were nearby quickly stepped away, it was now that I noticed the blades they were holding.

Nearly all of them were shit.

I mean a couple of them were okay, good enough for tableware, but surely not enough for an important ceremony.

after a couple of minutes had passed Edward and walked up and stood in front of an altar with a chalice and many glass vials on top of it.

He spoke for a while about something godly and tradition, then he called me up first, apparently the best blade goes first according to tradition.

[now then, it's time to commence with the ceremony. Tyr, please raise your hand above the chalice]

I do as he asks then I think for a minute 'wait, don't say this is going where I think it is'

[now, please take your blade and-] 'shit' [cut your hand]

'ah, fuck it!' I turn my head away and slice into my palm, but I feel no pain, so I look back at my hand and see just a cascade of blood, the priest looking surprised quickly grabbed and healed my hand.

once we calmed down, Edward grabbed one the vials and poured its clear contents into the blood, as he did this two men walked behind me, I then noticed that the entrance was blocked by ten men in armour, and there was twenty more on the sidelines, then the dreaded words came.

[now Tyr, please drink.]

[Edward, pal, buddy surely this kind of thing isn't necessary]

[I knew things would go like this, grab her.]

as he said this the two large men restrained my arms, I tried squirming but couldn't get loose, as Edward grab my chin and forced my mouth open he poured the contents of the chalice down my throat, as you can guess this wasn't a pleasant experience

{status has been gained}  

'that voice again'

as the chalice became empty, Edward let go of me and the other two men released my arms.

[it's over now, see it wasn't that bad was it]

[Meanie!] I railed.

[I'm sorry, I'm sorry but try saying status.]

[hmm.................... Status.]

then a panel appeared within my mind and it said

---

---

Status

• Name- Tyr Braum
• Race- High-Dwarf
• Class Options-

      ♦  Draconic Blacksmith LV1

      ♥  Seductress - apprentice LV1

      ♣  The Beast's Disciple LV1

       ♠  The Talented One - Master of All LV1

       ◊    The Great Artist      LOCKED

•  Titles- Reincarnator, Talented Fool, Blessed by God, Master Blacksmith, The Beast's Chosen One, SERIAL KILLER,  Florist, ENVY, The Amnesiac 
• Skills- Spearmanship LV1, Archery LV5, Fencing LV2, Stealth LV3, Envious Shapeshifting LV1, Floristry LV9, Alcohol Resistance LV9, Magic Resistance LV3

• Racial Skills- Dwarven Physique, Greed of the Dwarfs, Concussive Blows(RARE), Heart of Gold(SR), The Beast from Beneath(Unique)
• Gods' Gifts- Skill Creation and Management System, Item Box, Endless Growth
• Deadly Sins System(2/7)- Envy(100%), Greed(25%), Wrath(0%), Lust(1%), Sloth(2%), Gluttony(0%)
• TALENTED

---

---

[Eh!]

'Goddess-sama, don't you think this is a bit excessive'

[it looks like you got something good, hold this paper and say status]

I grab the end of the paper that the priest is offering and repeat [Status]

It perfectly prints on to the paper, except it's in dwarven now

he takes the paper and looks at it, then the grin he had, quickly turned grim

[hmm, this is worrying, after the ceremony is over I'll have a consultation with you and your parents]

after that was said I returned to the crowd and the ceremony continued

a few hours passed and the ceremony had finally reached its conclusion.

once everyone had left, Edward went and fetched my parents. when he returned with them, he guided us down hallways as we followed in complete silence.

eventually, we arrived at a meeting room, inside was a small table with a bench either side, there were two large and intricate stained glass windows and on the walls hung many ordinary paintings.

we took our seats at the table and across from us sat Edward, with a very serious expression placed the piece of paper on the table and move it towards us and he simply said [It's the Beast.]

[What?!] exclaimed my shocked mother

while my father with a sullen look just said [I see]

[b-but, look she has the super rare skill heart of gold a-and she even has the gods' blessing] my mother advocates, desperately trying to convince the two men 

[although her skills may be impressive, it only makes her all the more terrifying and goes to emphasize the actions that must be taken.] informed Edward

[Enter!] as Edward ordered two tall, heavily armoured soldiers, walked in and towered over me

[in accordance with the law, Tyr Braum, shall be confined and kept under surveillance until she is of school-age, at which point she will have a chance to appeal in an audience with the King] when Edward said this one of the soldiers pinned me against the table, the other restrained my arms behind my back, then my hands were placed in an orb-like metal object, once my fists were inside a small opening I heard several mechanical sounds, as metal bands, wrapped around and then completely enclosed my arms.

as the two attempted to drag me away, I desperately called out to my parents, their faces just looked away as they bit their lips in frustration and grief.

as I was dragged past my siblings, my parents held them tightly as to prevent them from chasing after me, I soon arrived outside, in front of a carriage, I was then thrown into a large cage, not long after we began moving.

---

Hi everyone, I'm so sorry that this chapter took me so long, but due to general laziness and some personal problems, it was unavoidable.

Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter, and hopefully, the next one will be in a few days if nothing gets in the way again.

-NamelessKing