The Author's POV
chapter-4-04061302

"Haaah...."

Letting out a long breath I dazedly stared at the scenery presented before me.

"I expected something out of the norm, but this...."

'Overwhelmed' would be the perfect word to describe the sensation I was feeling at the moment.

A huge towering tree stood in front of me. Its large roots deeply penetrated the hard rock, almost as if it was made of clay, and its lush green leaves made one wonder if there really was no sunlight here.

Right on the top of the tree was a pale red fruit that looked extremely succulent. It resembled a peach, but contrarily to a regular peach, it had a yellow glow enveloping it making it clear that it wasn't just your regular peach that you could get from the supermarket.

Taking a deep breath I looked directly at the fruit that contained the [Seed of limit] with burning desire.

'This is it...once I get my hands on the fruit, my future will change entirely.'

I thought as my eyes couldn't detach themselves from the pale red fruit that sat on top of the tree.

I will no longer be some good-for-nothing author who lazes around his house, raging at his own readers.

No

Instead of writing other's stories, I will be writing my own, and.....

Glancing at the fruit above me, I raise my hand and slowly clench it

"It all starts from that fruit"

...

Getting the fruit wasn't actually that hard.

In the first place, it was supposed to be an accidental find by the protagonist for when he explored the Clayton ridge during his elective. Moreover, if I don't remember incorrectly, I don't think the protagonist even got his hands on the fruit, as by the time he came the only thing he found was the [Seed of limit].

I kind of feel guilty for saying this, but.....

When I was writing this part of the novel, I totally forgot to add a trial.

You know...like the obstacle the protagonist needed to overcome in order to boost his own power.

If this was a typical novel, there should've been a guardian protecting the fruit, or at least some sort of defensive mechanism that made it hard for the protagonist to easily claim the fruit, but...I just couldn't bring myself to write one, as this would've been considered in a certain sense a small upgrade for the protagonist.

The main purpose was to speed up the protagonist's training by removing his limiter, thus I didn't really add any trial. This lazy me did it so that I could finish the novel faster, as at that point I was already bored of the novel.

But now that I am holding the fruit in my hands, I realized how complacent and stupid I was.

I mean, this was a total cheat item!

No wonder the readers started getting mad at me.....

I was totally over-gearing the protagonist. Moreover, the [Seed of limit] was essentially a guaranteed ticket to stardom, as it severed the restraint a human would have on their capabilities.

Actually...that may not necessarily be true.

Although the [Seed of limit] could be considered a cheat item, it wasn't necessarily that overpowered.

Although it removed one's limit, it did not mean that it improved one's talent.

In actuality, a person's talent remains the same, and apart from the fact that one would have no limit and their training speed increased, the [Seed of limit] did not help in regards to actual talent.

For example, if a person who has no talent in regards to fighting suddenly takes the seed of limit, they will not suddenly turn into some sort of god of war. No, if such an item were to actually exist, I might as well just drop the novel and be done with my day.

I mean, who would bother reading a novel where the protagonist doesn't overcome any hurdles and just bulldozes his way to the top?

Fortunately, I wasn't dumb enough to create such an item.

With the [Seed of limit] one could only remove their rank cap, but other than just faster-training speed the [Seed of limit] didn't do much. Moreover, even if a talentless person took the [Seed of limit] they could at most train their stats to be absurdly strong, but if they were to face someone just as strong as they were then they would instantly be defeated.

Still, imagine if the seed landed in the hands of a talented individual that wasn't the main protagonist...Just the thought sends me shivers.

Forcefully pushing down my feelings of guilt, I carefully observed the fruit.

Its pale red color added with its holy-like glow that was enveloping it, made it seem like I was holding a fruit straight out from heaven.

Swallowing the saliva that was stuck inside of my throat, I gently open my mouth and took a small bite out of the fruit.

Instantly an overwhelming sweetness enveloped my taste buds, making them dance with joy. The juices coming from the fruit overflowed inside of my mouth, and the succulent taste coming from the fruit made me momentarily forget everything around me.

Shortly after gulping the first bite of the fruit, I could feel my body changing. My eyes became sharper, my head became clearer and my muscles became more explosive.

I could feel myself slowly becoming stronger

Glancing at my status, I noticed my stats changing with every passing second and as I felt and saw myself change, a wave of euphoria washed over me, prompting me to greedily eat the fruit before me.

The more I ate the more I felt every fiber of my body becoming sturdier and stronger.

===Status===

Name : Ren Dover

Rank : G +

Strength : G +

Agility : G +

Stamina : G +

Intelligence : G +

Mana capacity : G +

Luck : E

Charm : G-

--> Profession : [Swordsmanship lvl.1]

"Haa...."

Using my shirt to wipe away the juices that lingered around my mouth, I took a good look at my status window.

As I looked at my status window I couldn't help but look at my charm stats...

Why wasn't my charm increasing?

I know that I wasn't particularly handsome but, I mean all stats except for Luck which was already quite high increased a notch or two. Why couldn't you just spare a couple of points on my charm?

Was I destined to be a virgin?

-Slap!

Slapping my cheeks to forcefully clear my dark thoughts away, I stared at my hands

A small brown seed nestled in between my hands.

"Is this the [Seed of limit]?"

Now that I paid close attention to it, I really couldn't determine the difference between this seed and any other seed that could've been both from a supermarket.

It was neither too big nor too small, just about the size of a coin and if it weren't for the fact that it came from the holy like fruit, I would've in no way have been able to tell this was the [Seed of limit].

I mean it looked so normal that I wouldn't be surprised if someone would just laugh at me if I were to tell them this was a cheat item.

But of course, since I am the author, I know that this normal-looking seed is in fact the key to my future.

I did mention this before, but the protagonist never actually ate the fruit. Why? Because he never had a chance in the first place...

In the original plot, the protagonist and his classmates would go on an elective in the Clayton ridge.

During the excursion, the first to find this place wasn't the protagonist, but the protagonist's rival. Once the rival found the tree containing the fruit, he immediately ate the fruit and discarded the normal-looking seed, which was later found by the protagonist who by sheer luck managed to discover its effect and ate it.

Yes, I know. I was currently fully reflecting on myself. The more time I spend in this world the more I realize how depressing my writing was...

Now that I think about it, since I ate the fruit I kind of prevented the rival from upgrading himself.

...this wasn't good.

The rival was vital to the plot. He was one of the reasons why the protagonist managed to become so strong. Me indirectly affecting his growth is also indirectly affecting the protagonist's growth

Mhmm...I guess I'll make it up to them later

Since I've already done the deed, I couldn't really turn back time and undo what I did. Instead of worrying about it now, I'll just do what I was best at...and that was leaving problems for later.

I mean I'll just owe them one later.

Taking a deep breath, I carefully scrutinized the seed in my hand and slowly placed the seed at the top of my tongue.

-Gulp!

Swallowing the seed, I sat down on the ground and waited for the [Seed of limit] to kick in. Then.....

1 minute passed

2 minute passed

5 minutes passed

10 minutes passed, and still, nothing happened.

Just when I was about to think that something was wrong, an overflowing amount of energy came crashing down my body.

It felt as if a dam had burst, making my veins and body withstand the grunt of the water coming escaping out of the dam.

'Excruciating' would have been the best word to describe how I was feeling, as I felt an indescribable pain wash over my body. The pain was so intense that no words nor screams escaped from my mouth. It felt as if all my bones and veins shattered at once.

The last thing I saw before I passed out was the humongous tree inside of the cave slowly withering away.

"Haa...I really am reckless"

...

I don't know how much time had passed since I passed out, but that didn't really matter at the moment.

My body ached all over making it hard for me to stand. Collecting myself, I slowly reached out for my bag's front pocket from which I took out a small rectangular tablet.

Tapping on the screen a 3D holographic image of myself popped up.

I was still not used to the holographic thing and all, hence whenever the holographic data pops up in front of me, I flinch every time.

Swiping right, I unlocked the tablet and checked the date.

Time : 06 : 47 Date : 07/09/2055

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Closing the tablet I sighed in relief. Only three hours had passed since I passed out. Fortunately for me I did not pass out for days.

If on the unfortunate occasion that I did not manage to wake up prior to the opening of the academy, I would've been in big trouble.

Normally I wouldn't have cared about skipping classes as I don't want to repeat what I've been through back in high school, but since I designed the lock I already know how strict the instructors were. Especially to those who were not highly ranked, like me. They were merely treated us like dispensable people who will later die on the frontlines. Hence if you get on the bad side of some professors, it'd be best if you pack up, as you will probably never be able to graduate from there.

This was the last thing I wanted, as there were so many things I needed to accomplish in the 'Lock' before I could safely go outside of the human territory.

Firstly I needed to participate in a couple of events that will happen inside of the lock.

But wouldn't participation affect the plotline? Of course, it would, but because I don't know whether my reincarnation has had any effect on the plot of the story, I will need to personally check myself and see if the storyline was still the same as what I wrote.

So far everything seemed to be the same, but if by chance my reincarnation has had a butterfly effect on the story it could create disastrous consequences. So... taking this into consideration I decided to step in and help in the case that something deviates from the plotline.

Secondly, as the lock was the foremost academy in developing heroes in the entire humanity, it would be a total loss for me to miss it. I mean If I want to become strong enough to survive the third cataclysm, I should definitely not miss the chance that was presented to me. With their state-of-the-art facilities, it would take no time for me to become strong enough to live comfortably on my own.

But before I do that, I must first get my hands on the sword art so that I don't get kicked out on my first year due to my lack of talent.

Just like any regular academy if you don't pass the year you get held back a year. Thus if I don't get my hands on the [Keiki style], even with my limits broken thanks to the [Seed of limit], I would by no means be guaranteed to pass the first year. It's not like I could become super strong immediately. Without effort and time, I couldn't catch up to the protagonist and his companions.

Checking my status I noticed that after having consumed the [Seed of limit] my stats did not increase. Well, I'd be surprised if it did, as the [Seed of limit] was an item primarily focused on breaking the level cap of a user, unlike the fruit that focused on increasing the stats.

But the fact that I am no longer bound by the laws of this world, I could freely train as much as I want to without worrying about reaching a bottleneck.

...

It actually took me longer than expected to get out of the cave. Precisely 2 hours after I woke up I managed to safely get out of the cave. It wasn't because I couldn't find the exit, no that part was actually easy, but it was the fact that my body refused to listen to me. I could somehow move my arms but it was extremely stiff.

For a solid hour, I had to slowly tense my muscles starting from my fingers down to my toes. This was because all my muscles refused to listen to me. It felt as if the body which I had just gotten used to became foreign again, almost like when I just reincarnated in this body.

"Haa...finally some fresh air"

Taking a deep breath outside I felt my body slowly relax, helping me regain some of my energy.

The air outside was incomparably different compared to the air inside of the cave, which was extremely stuffy.

Staring towards the east with my improved vision, I could catch a glimpse of the huge megacity on the horizon. The tall skyscrapers and the ever-moving sky trains that operated non-stop made the city look extremely lively.

"Beautiful..."

Was the only word that I could mutter as I stared at Ashton city.

It's truly fascinating how despite humanity's situation they managed to unite and build such a beautiful city. And now this beautiful city that I was staring at was my new home.

"Alright!"

With renowned vigor, I immediately head down the mountains.

It's about time I collected the [Keiki style]