Dragon's Wrath: The Cursed Returnee

Sapient species act pretty much the same in all words. Although Ethan only went to one, the people from there weren't much different from humans from Earth. Just like the government tried to lure kids to their school by offering rewards in money, the Hedo's king even tried to engage his three daughters to Ethan. He wanted to give away his daughters for an unknown boy just to stay on his good side… After a while, when some rumors began to spread around Ethan, he stopped doing that, but it wasn't because he valued his daughters.

Regardless, aside from what Ethan heard, the summoned heroes' school wasn't that different from other schools. Still, Ethan couldn't help but feel that something was off. Keeping kids with superpowers in check was obviously necessary, but certain points weren't matching.

"That is all for the basics," Natalia said, looking a bit tired. "If you want to enter the school, you just have to sign this. The summoned heroes' school is open all year, so you can even go there tomorrow. The only thing we ask is for you to go there three times a week."

"Is that it?" Ethan frowned. "Aren't you going to ask about the things I experience in the other world?"

"We don't force students like you to share those experiences," Natalia answered. "It is not uncommon for returnees to suffer some traumas, so we understand that it is completely normal to stay quiet about it. That being said, if you want someone to talk to, you can always talk with the psychologist of the school."

Now more than ever, Ethan felt that something was off. Despite that, he signed the contract. He couldn't return and then cause more problems to his family, more than he had already caused by being missing for an entire year.

"That settles everything," Natalia said after conferring the documents. "I hope that you have fun attending the school, Ethan. I'm sure you will make many friends."

"What are you? An elementary school teacher?" Ethan thought while frowning

Ethan wanted to sigh, but doing that would be rude. Even though he had already done plenty of rude things in the last few minutes, he couldn't do anymore. So, he only returned with a nod.

"Well then," Natalia said. "Have a nice day, everyone. I hope to see all of you soon."

After Natalia left and Evelyn closed the door, Hannah left a chop fall on Ethan's head, but she only hit the empty air. Before everyone could notice, he had already moved away from the living room and was already climbing the stairs.

"I'm a bit tired, so I will be sleeping for the rest of the day," Ethan said. "If something happens, please call me."

Ethan wanted to interact more with his family. He fought for almost a year with that single goal in mind. After all, he had a loving family. However, the current situation wouldn't allow him to do that. Due to his power, he couldn't touch anyone. So, in order to avoid those awkward moments, it was better to keep some distance for a while.

"I should have known that just doing my job in that world wouldn't be enough," Ethan sighed and then let his back fall on his bed. "I considered that for a while, but I should have solved this problem myself. Too bad I didn't have much time there. Nor did I find anything within the system that could have helped me. Maybe I can learn a few things about it in the school..."

Ethan's room didn't change a single bit. Although Evelyn cleaned everything whenever she could, she didn't change anything. The posters of games, the game covers, the position of the bed… everything was where he remembered. Ethan felt really comfortable there, enough to make him sleep, but soon he got up and decided to work. Ethan couldn't think of a way to get rid of his power without using his power to learn more things. So, before getting rid of every single trace of mana in his body, he had to increase it in order to control it better.

"This is quite insane…" Ethan frowned. "It is like I'm in deep in the ocean, and to find air, I have to go even deeper. Well, let's see what I can do without leveling up."

As a hero, Ethan could learn all physical and magical abilities, and as he could take from his targets and from those who touched him their powers and all the memories related to those powers. Those question marks weren't there before... so his body probably suffered some changes after returning.

Regardless Ethan could very well, instead of learning how to cast a single Fireball, he could learn how to cast ten at the same time. His target just has to know it. That being said, that power is weak at the beginning. So, perhaps his fear of stealing his friend's memories was an exaggeration.

"No, I can't risk it," Ethan shook his head. "I bet there are plenty of assholes out there who don't deserve their powers, but I can exactly confront them as I am now."

Ethan sat cross-legged on his bed and then closed his eyes before relaxing his body completed. Although he lost all his skills, he still could remember how to activate and learn the simple ones. Since he had mana in his body, he could activate them.

Congratulations! You learned the skill Meditation!

Effects: Passively increases your Mana by ten percent per level.

Restores your mana by one point per minute while the skill is active.

Lv 01 – 0/100

"It looks I was right… I can even increase my mana like this," Ethan nodded to himself in satisfaction. "I wasn't good in that world at using magic, but right now, I don't have any other choice but master it."

Congratulations! For learning a new ability without help, you received one thousand coins.

"Mmm?" Ethan frowned. "That was something I didn't expect, and I thought the only way to gain coins was by defeating monsters and completing quests. I guess that only shows that I relied on that power too much despite everything…"

It was true. In the beginning, Ethan defeated monsters and learned skills from others before defeating them. It was a cheat power, but it was very useful. At that time, he never considered it a curse, but after a while…

"Let's focus on the issues at hand and mop later," Ethan slapped both of his cheeks. "Even though I still remember some swordplay moves. I'm not strong enough to perform them correctly. Besides, I'm pretty sure I need a weapon to use certain skills and learn others. What can I do with my own body right now in order to obtain some skills? I guess I can use Dash… but not in my room. I can also try Leap once I have more stamina. So, my only real option is Martial Arts."

Congratulations! You learned the skill Martial Arts!

Effects: Passively increases the power of your punches and kicks when fighting unarmed.

Increases your END by one point per level when fighting barehanded.

Lv 01 – 0/100

Congratulations! For learning a new ability without help, you received one thousand coins.