Rebirth: Childhood friend of the heroine

There are several races living on this planet, but majorly they are divided into four—human, beast, elf, and vampires.

The list ranks each group by strength, with humans at the bottom. However, in terms of population, it's the opposite: vampires are the rarest.

That's why Alex could be considered one of the strongest within the domain of humans, but when compared to the other races, Alex doesn't even come on the list yet.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

During the final selection before the ascension contest, most of the champions came from the other races and only Edric was chosen from the human side.

Thanks to the fact that the veils separating each realm, the creatures from the other domains don't come here; otherwise, even if two of the three realms decide to attack the human settlements, they would easily reign dominance.

That wolf which Alex and the others faced during the raid was one of those exceptions that escaped the security around the veil and came here to hunt and gather strength.

That explains why Alex was able to defeat Luke so easily. And not only him, with the pace Alex was moving he would be able to reach the highest ranking within a month.

Currently, his stats look like this:

[Name: Alex]

[Age: 17]

[Str: 27] (Avg: 30)

[Spd: 34] (Avg: 30)

[Int: 81] (Avg: 25)

[Skill: Storage, Sword Arts, Rapid regeneration, Heightened comprehensibility.]

[Soul Energy: 520]

[Upper limit: 500]

[Lower limit: 25]

…

Thanks to his battle with Luke, he finally surpassed the upper limit, and his other stats are finally moving as well.

Until he could maintain his SE above the upper limit, his stats would constantly grow.

"Haah…finally I have it.' Looking at the gold-coated cauldron resting on the table along with a whole sack of herbs, Alex heaved a sigh of relief.

He won two platinum plates in the battle, allowing him to use two of them in his purchase and he still has the one he originally brought along.

He would send the materials back to the academy as soon as possible in the morning since bringing it to the Steelhound would be foolish. They would instantly know that he has some kind of knowledge regarding refinement.

Laying down on the bed, Alex decided to get much-needed sleep since tomorrow, he had to resume his journey.

—--------**---------

"I don't understand it…you say you are Alex's guardian, then who was Celeria and Brendon?" Hector couldn't help but rub his eyes after he heard from the silver-haired woman who introduced herself as Alex's guardian.

"They were his foster parents, someone whom my mother trusted to take care of that child."

Hector had a hunch that Alex was not the son of those two given Alex's facial features, and his hair suggested that he belonged to a noble family.

And this woman, Beatrice, was suggesting that Alex is the disowned child of the Frostbate clan—the leading clan of the North.

"See, lady, even your words seem believable since Celeria and Brendon didn't show much of the traits of being Alex's true parents, I cannot trust you without any evidence."

Beatrice got up from her seat before stating, "I have evidence—" Closing her eyes, she chanted something under her breath, and the moment she opened her eyes, the scene of the office shifted.

It was a scene of the Capital, Hector remembers the design of the entrance to be quite different at that time.

Hidden beneath a cloak, a woman handed a small unconscious child who looked the smaller version of Alex to someone whom Hector knew.

It was Brendon.

The projection clearly told that, indeed, Alex was given to Celeria and Brendon by someone from the same clan as Beatrice, given the cloaked figure's hair was visible.

Once the projection ended, Beatrice told him, "I received this memory from my mother in case I need to make someone believe in me."

Hector was really troubled now. Although there was evidence and the woman seemed believable, there was something bothering him,

"Why now?" He asked, "Why, out of all time, did you decide to reach me? What changed?" Hector deemed the sudden strength Alex gained after that Soulless incident that attracted her. It wasn't much of a guess, since Alex has been attracting quite a few prominent people's attention.

However, "Because those two idiots escaped even though I told them never to leave Grimland." Beatrice answered, her voice cracking a bit near the end. The woman looked agitated and Hector could understand the reason behind it.

However, "Why was Alex sent here in the first place? What makes him…special?" Maybe through Beatrice, he could know the cause behind the Holy Maiden's attraction towards Alex.

Beatrice heaved a sigh and sat back down. She knew it would happen one day and maybe this was the day when she would reveal the situation with Alex. After all, there could be no better person than the Headmaster of the Soulforge Academy to help her.

Taking a pause, she began, "Alex…is the heir of the Frostbate clan; son of the Patriarch's third wife. Alex was a very pure child, from what I remember, always smiling and playing around. He was a bright child as well…being able to read and write by the age of two. His parents and the clan council have high hopes for him."

"They believed that he might awaken a skill that could succeed the Patriarch."

Hector was surprised—had Alex always been strong?

However, her following words took him by surprise,

"It was then when he reached the age of four, he showed the sign of his curse." Drinking some mouthful of water, she added, "One of those days…he went to train with his siblings…and at the end of that day, one of them disappeared."

"Disappeared? What do you mean?"

Beatrice seemed hesitant, but ultimately, she revealed, "You know what happens to one's grimoire when they die, right?"

Hector responded, "Yes, they disintegrate into fragments."

Beatrice nodded, "And what happens if their grimoire disappears while the person is still alive?"

Hector frowned, "It has never happened in the past."

Beatrice added, "Yes…it was unprecedented for the people of the Frostbate clan as well…until that day when one of the heirs consumed his brother's grimoire by accident."

A horrifying realization dawned upon Hector as he slowly mumbled, "Alex?"

Beatrice grimly nodded, "Yes…Alex consumed his brother's grimoire and that resulted in his disappearance. Later that day, when he was locked inside the cell and was interrogated, it was revealed that he was able to see everyone's grimoire all along but felt the urge to consume one that day."

"And when Alex was told to reveal the stats of his own grimoire…" Taking an audible gulp, she said, "...he revealed that he possessed those skills that his brother had."

Hector covered his mouth with his fingers, sweat building on his forehead.

A child…capable of eating someone else's stats and pushing them to their demise…Hector couldn't even think of what kind of chaos it could cause if the word gets out.

'To consume your enemy and grow your own strength…' Hector inwardly muttered.

Beatrice looked down at the ring she was given by her mother, as she added, "My mother was among that council who locked that curse of Alex and all the memories he possesses regarding the clan and the person he has killed. It was decided that Alex would get executed right away…however, my mother chose to betray her clan."

Beatrice has seen how much Alex was tormented in the jail. The way people interrogated the boy was disheartening. And his own parents rejected his existence, saying he was a monster.

That…broke Alex from within. He was just a four year child at that time whose whole world revolved around his parents and siblings. However, he was cast aside and was scorned by every single person he deemed as his family member.

That's the reason why Beatrice's mother felt sympathy for the child and decided to take him away.

Hector remained silent for a long time before he stated, "Okay, I will tell you where you can find him."

—-------**---------

A/N:-Surprising?