Swoosh..."
"998."
"Swoosh..."
"999."
"Swoosh..."
"1000."
"Huff... Huff..."
Lying on the ground after a thousand sword swings, I took deep breaths to try to calm my pounding heart.
Eden had been living a rather idleness for three years, so my body wasn't used to such strenuous activity.
It had been two days since I had fully integrated Eden's memories, yet not much had changed.
I spent the majority of my time in my room or in the personal training hall.
I avoided interacting with my family on purpose, staying to myself since I didn't want to face them. Nobody was surprised by my efforts in the training hall, because Eden had periodically tried to better himself in the past, only to give up because of a lack of drive and encouragement.
"Good job, young master."
Sarah's voice returned me to the present moment, and I looked up to see her approaching. Her hair was perfectly done in a bun and she was dressed in her customary traditional maid attire. She gave me a towel to wipe the sweat from my face.
"Thank you."
I thanked him and accepted the towel, my clothes soaked up in sweat from the strenuous workout.
"The bath is ready."
She reminded me, gently, that I should have a bath after my workout.
"I'll be there in a minute."
I smiled and watched her walk away. Sarah, the head maid, now served me personally rather than through the other maids. She had taken on the task to prevent any additional scolding or firing of maids as a result of Eden's anger tantrums in the past. Eden's respect from the past made her an ideal candidate to oversee me.
I strolled through the beautiful residence after a nice bath. From the artwork on the walls to the magnificent vases and sumptuous furniture, everything screamed richness. I took my time making my way to a specific room.
"Click."
I opened the door with a gentle click.
The room had a strong medicinal odor, and a woman in her late twenties rested quietly in front of me.
Stephanie Morton is her name.
Her silver hair, which mirrored my hair before my first awakening, was sprawled across the bed.
Her pale skin complemented her hair, and even in her sleep, she radiated ethereal beauty. Her long lashes were gently closed, signaling she was fast asleep. Despite her condition, she radiated beauty in a flowing white gown. She is Eden's mother, and now my mother.
During the absorption of Eden's memories, I witnessed her countless times. She was a constant presence in his life, similar in many ways to my mother from my previous life. While she displayed an authoritative demeanor, her behavior was quite similar to my mother's.
I had questioned the system about this, but it remained evasive in its response.
I witnessed her several times while absorbing Eden's memories. She was a constant presence in his life, much like my mother was in my prior life. While she had an intimidating exterior, her behavior was very similar to that of my mother.
I had asked the system about it, but it was vague in its response.
The only method to heal her curse in the game was to drink holy water from the World Tree, which was guarded by the Elves.
It was an extremely uncommon resource, occurring only once every thousand years, and was normally utilized to feed a royal newborn.
The Elves rarely shared this water with other races, as there were only a few times in history when the holy water was obtained by others, but the game's hero had obtained it from a fucking gambling den, driven by luck or mere randomness.
As I played the game from the hero's perspective, I had little options outside than the heroine's route, interactions, and story. The game's mechanics determined the result of events.
If you chose Marine Morton as the primary heroine and pursue her path, you will have to wake her mother up in order to earn her love.
The hero's use of holy water to revive my mother in her path and it should have been a joyful moment, but it did not go as planned.
My mother when she woke up her first question was about me, and after learning of my death and my family's indifference, as my own siblings watched me die without assisting me, she left the house without saying anything because she was thoroughly disappointed in her family.
I softly left my mother's room after spending a passionate time with her, greeted by the gentle morning light filtering through the windows.
The magnificence of the castle never failed to astonish me with each stride.
It took me about ten minutes to get to the library, its towering door made me feel short.
"click".
The door clicked open as I turned the handle, unleashing a wave of that unique aroma of ancient books that I had learned to enjoy.
Rows and rows of bookcases spread out in front of me, like ancient guardians of information waiting to be discovered.
My eyes danced across the titles as I made my way towards the history and geography departments, guided by my objective.
"Chronicles of Atlantean Origins,"
"Chronicles of Deities' Demise,"
"Atlantean Landscapes: Exploring the World of Atlantis,"
and "Navigating the Realms of Atlantis: A Traveler's Guide."
They were the volumes that drew my attention.
Some of these works, written by well-known authors, have even been utilized in prominent academies.
"Chronicles of Atlantean Origins," the first volume, felt like stepping into a time machine.
The words on the pages began to carry me back to the origins of the world I now inhabited—the fascinating planet Atlantis.
Connecting the dots between the imaginary game "Saga of Atlantis" and the concrete reality I now found myself in was an awe-inspiring experience.
As I delved deeper into the book, Atlantis appeared before me like a brilliant painting.
A super-earth significantly larger in scale than Earth itself, with water covering 65% of its surface and the remaining land distributed among diverse races.
Four continents have emerged as foundations of global diversity:
Eldoria continent:
A realm controlled by beastmen, distinguished by their peculiar beast-like traits.
Eldoria is ruled by one empire, three federations, and eighteen kingdoms.
Despite internal strife, they remained unified in the face of external attacks. Knights, the epitome of power, were common among them.
Elysium Continent
This continent, dominated by the elves, was endowed with an abundance of plant life.
The elves ruled a single empire and were noted for their longevity and closeness to nature. Their culture was characterised by their appreciation of tranquility and environment.
Drakonia Continent:
Drakonia was one of two human-ruled continents next to my current home. Its empire ruled over a number of kingdoms.
Our own king sought an alliance, oblivious to the power-hungry ambitions that might result.
"Ha ha"
I chuckled at the irony as I grasped the potential for mayhem that such an alliance would bring.
Now that I was concentrating on Eve's Continent, my new home, I discovered it was quite small, only half the size of the second-smallest continent.
We produced ores and minerals for the dwarves, making our realm prosperous.
Eve's Continent was dominated by a single great monarchy, the Morovingians, whose royal family wielded enormous influence.
Dukedoms were important, with four houses guarding each side of our kingdom:
In the north, the Morton family
Stormwind Family in the East
Nightshade Family in the West
Ironheart family in the south,
Finally, there was the enigmatic "Forgotten Continent," the final element of this complex world.