All Chapters of The Least Common Denominator: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10
499 chapters
I.I Summation
Darkness. That was the first thing that greeted me the moment I hit the cold hard ground at terminal velocity. Part of me felt a bit surprised; that I still even have a consciousness after death. But at the same time, I've stopped caring about anything the moment I jumped off the highest building in the city. What's to care about when I've totally given up on living? Growing up being told that I was a genius did a number on my sanity, especially since I never felt like one the since the moment I idiotically signed myself up for medical school. I was a fool back then; thinking that I can handle the workload with my admittedly above average intelligence. Thinking back on it now, even after I graduated, I still hated my chosen field. God, I was an idiot! Why did I decide to shift from engineering when I didn't even fail a single subject?!Read more
I.II Summation
It's been five years. five years since I've been reborn into this backwater world. And while I didn't fault my parents, I was far from comfortable in living in a world without basic plumbing and electricity. "C'mon, Cream~" Father beckoned towards the nearby stream, a ceramic jug under his arm as I blankly approached the heavily bearded man. "This is where we get our water." I nodded in understanding as I watched my father scoop out another batch of water for our usage. With our house being situated a good hour from the nearest market, we lacked the convenience of having a well to draw water from. As such, we had to get it from a small stream a few minutes north of our house. "Can't we have a well of our own, Father?" I questioned, knowing full well just how good of a craftsman my father was. "You can build one, right?" "Indeed, little Cr
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I.III Summation
"Don't smile just yet, Crimson." Father shook me out of my newfound revelry as he hefted the newly made sword over his shoulder. "It still needs to pass the final test." "Which is?" "Elemental Channeling," Father answered like it was the most basic thing in the world. "Unlike armor, Numerators have to be able to use the weapon for it to have value, little Cream." Numerators? Like the fraction kind numerators? What're those then? "Judging from your face, I bet you don't even know about the Fraction System yet." "Fraction System?" Like the mathematical kind? This was kinda confusing, especially since I made sure to pay attention to the lesson mother taught me. Was it some kind of class system or something? "I haven't taught that lesson yet Dear," I turned my attention towards the roo
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Interlude I: Eul
"She's not a normal child." "I know that, Eul, but she's still our daughter." Eul sighed for the umpteenth time as she had another one of those worrying conversations with her husband. She knew that Crimson was their daughter. Hell, she carried her to term and birthed her into this world herself! But there were still times that she could hardly believe she was even a mother. Currently, little Cream was out tending to the garden outside; the redhead only had to tell her once before her little firecracker went into her chores like it was nothing. It was far from what she expected from a child. What's supposed to be an unruly, yet devastatingly cute little daughter was instead an obedient, curious, and frighteningly intelligent student. "I know, and I still love her with all my heart," the young mother stared out towards the garden, watching
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II.I Difference
Seventeen years. Never thought I'd actually live this long. "Pay attention." My mother chided as I watched her demonstrate how to use a bow. "Breath in when you pull, breathe out when you release." With practiced efficiency, Mother followed all of her steps. With an arrow loaded, she breathed in slowly while pulling the string, the tension in the bow seemingly nothing for her before she released the taut bow with a guided precision.  *WOOSH* The arrow flew straight and true, lodging itself directly onto the designated tree stump that we decided was today's target. I couldn't help but feel intimidated at the raw skill and talent that my mother has. I mean, what weapon was she not proficient in?! "Got it?" I was shaken out of my light hero-worship as Mother asked me with a straight face. I nodded in silent
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II.II Difference
"Should've used it a while ago." I muttered to myself as I followed Mother's lead. The moon was fully covered in clouds, a sharp contrast to just a few minutes ago when it was lighting our path as brightly as a fluorescent lamp. For just a few minutes, we walked almost blindly through the rocky plain before Mother finally decided to light a flame in her hand as a light source. But the damage was already done by the time we could finally see. We had somehow gotten ourselves lost in our own extensive backyard. Mother had stayed silent ever since she conjured up her ball of flame, with myself simply following her lead since she had the light source. It's been a few minutes already, but she seemed to just not find the way back to our house. At this point, we should've been sitting down at the table eating dinner, but Mother just refused to let me help her.&nb
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II.III Difference
My lungs burned as I braved the searing flames. He should still be alive... I made a beeline for Father's workshop where the fire was most intense, covering my mouth with a torn piece of my partly singed shirt. It didn't matter if I was running around naked anymore, what mattered was that I can at least find Father through all of this. Not like this... "Father?!" I shouted to the top of my lungs as I entered the workshop. "Are you here?!" The crackling of burning wood greeted me as I cautiously walked through the burning workshop. My eyes watered at the intense heat but I powered through with pessimistic hope. The fires of the forge were hotter than this. Surely Father wouldn't burn to death now. "Father?!" I shouted once mo
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III.I Remainder
"Ughh..." A dull pain from my stomach woke me up from my slumber. I was on my back; what seemed to be a bed of straw serving as my bed as every feeling in my body slowly started to make itself known to me. I winced as I struggled to even begin to sit up from my position. "Are you okay?" I heard a voice call out to me, a woman. "You need to rest, lady." My everything hurts... Using my arms as leverage, I ignored the call for rest as I slowly and agonizingly sat back up. A shot of pain sprang forth from my stomach as I blearily opened my eyes, the dim sight of cobblestone and darkness greeting me. It didn't help that the only light source seemed to be a burning torch just above me. But at least it was enough to show the sight of a worried, albeit childish face situated just a few centimeters away from where I laid. <
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III.II Remainder
"Hey! Newbies!" "Coming!" I shouted at an elder Den as I grabbed Olivia along with me to our shared anvil. My shoulder-length hair matted against my bare neck as we walked for a mere few seconds in the constant blistering heat, as was the constant when living in these insane conditions, before reaching our destination. "You have another job, the both of you." The older man barked out, half-panting at the constant heat from the numerous furnaces. "Some big-shot Num requested you specifically so you better make it count, Crimson." I nodded in affirmation as the built elder left us to our own devices. With a sigh, I pulled out one of the numerous molten pieces of metal from the nearby furnace. I turned towards Olivia, the kid visibly huffing with her large hammer already raised high in preparation. "Just like I t
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III.III Remainder
It happened all too soon. "DENOMINATOR CRIMSON! YOU ARE HEREBY DESIGNATED TO INTEGER UNIT NUMBER 193!" Olivia and I were in the middle of eating our daily rations, which is to say, me giving more than half of my portion to the younger girl since she needs it more than I do. I'm done growing, she's not. "GATHER YOUR BELONGINGS AND HEAD TO THE INTEGER BARRACKS IMMEDIATELY!" My one eyebrow twitched as the same tin can from weeks ago bellowed out his orders. The nerve of this guy. Couldn't even keep his voice down despite him being a mere handful of meters away from my face. I stashed a short blade that I made in my spare time to the back of my thigh. It was the only thing qualified as my 'personal belongings' anyway. "Big sis..." Read more