Arislan showed up at our home the next day. Instead of armor, he was wearing common clothes. He sure liked leather, red and black as well. It seemed that this place had a good variety when it comes to clothes.


    “My apologies for not being around when you two came. It has been busy, and it looks like it will become even busier.”


    “It is alright.”


    Mom was smiling from ear to ear… at this point in time. I couldn’t deny that she looked more like a fan girl who had a fling with a famous musician, but things weren’t still very clear between them.


    “I have come today to confirm the message that you sent me and also give some warnings. You should know that you aren’t the only ones who have ties with me that were called to live here.”


    “Yes.”


    “Things have been pretty orderly here from the very beginning. I warned the others to be mindful of their actions, but you all still need to be cautious. My siblings and those related to them still could try something and given the fights and hunts, I might not have enough manpower to spare to keep you two guarded at all times.”


    “It is okay. We will do something about that.”


    “If you say so… now then, can you show me what you can do, Aizen?”


    ‘No thanks, bro. You can’t just show up whenever you want and give me orders.’


    I tried to ignore him, but Mom kept looking at me with that prideful smile and that made me feel like sighing. I had heard a few things about how society worked, and this made me truly realize that I was in another world.


    People like Arislan had the chance of keeping many concubines, but only a handful of wives, each of whom had a specific role in the household structure. Of course, there was always one wife who stood above the others. She held the most power and influence, often the one who bore the most talent or demonstrated the greatest qualities. The concubines, however, weren’t seen as equal to the wives unless they managed to produce children with exceptional talent, or even those born with treasures. It was only then, when a concubine bore a child with such extraordinary potential, that she could be elevated to the status of a proper wife.


    The societal pressure on the concubines was immense. Many of them saw their primary goal in life as giving birth to a child who could stand out, someone who would be recognized for their exceptional gifts. It wasn’t just about the child’s ability; it was about the prestige and pride that came with raising someone truly remarkable. For those women, the moment they gave birth to a child with exceptional potential or an innate treasure, it became their greatest achievement. It was as if they were elevated to a new status, their position within the household, and even in society. It was a measure of their worth, something that defined their legacy in a world where such distinctions were everything.


    While considering those things that I had heard, I created a spark of electricity in the palm of my hand. Perhaps I should have touched Arislan’s hand and then shocked him a bit. Regardless, he opened his eyes widely when he saw that.


    “He definitely has a treasure and was born with a high Lightning Affinity, but for him to be able to do this much by himself… I am truly impressed. Still, if only he had this much talent when it comes to martial might…”


    “He still trains hard with the sword and shield, so I am sure that he can become a powerful warrior.”


    “... I will have to confirm that, eventually. I will be leaving soon for a family meeting and then to the border, so I will be away for a while. However, I will tell the guards to train Aizen. It won’t be anything harsh at the beginning, but it will get harder. Soon, he will have to study with the other kids as well.”


    “He can already write and read to some extent. I taught him. He doesn’t have problems using numbers either.”


    “I see. That puts him ahead of many other kids, but standing out this much from the beginning could cause problems… is he always this quiet?”The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    “Yes, he responds when I talk to him, but he isn’t exactly a chatterbox.”


    And I was going to become even more quiet if I had to endure school again. I was planning to start my plans to complete the true challenge once I became ten, but it looked like this wasn’t going to work. It annoyed me to no end when people decided my future was like that without asking for my opinion.


    “Aizen, what do you want to do?”


    “... Earn money.”


    Truth to be told, I wanted to tell this guy that he shouldn’t treat his family like chess pieces, but that wouldn’t be helpful. I also didn’t want to go to school, but it might give me the chance to spar with others and I needed to confirm if that was better than training alone. Then there was the thing about fighting enemies and hunting beasts. This should be even more important, but with a body like this, I could only rely on magic.


    “... For what?”


    “... To buy things.”


    The conversation ended there… both my parents looked astonished. I wasn’t sure if most kids at this age would be that interested in money aside from spending them on sweets or things like that, but I was planning to start some experiments and buy some books as well to fill in the gaps of my knowledge.


    “No one will hire a kid of your age and I can’t allow someone with my name working for people who actually work for me. Well, asking for work instead of asking for money is admirable. You should teach him how the system works. You don’t know you have a treasure, but you should know how it works.”


    “... Yes.”


    “Once he grasps everything about it and after hearing the reports from the guards, we will decide what the next steps would be. Until later.”


    My father hugged my mother for a bit and soon left. Despite showing little signs of affection, my mother still looked deeply in love. That was a bit annoying… Some guys truly were born with a silver spoon when it comes to women. I didn’t want to bitch too much about it since it was a waste of time. Maybe I should return to that white room to restore my focused mindset.


    From the very next day onwards, the guard who worked in the morning protecting our house started knocking on our door and calling me to spar with him. He didn’t approach it with any sense of urgency or expectation, and his attacks were mild at first, not serious in the least. It felt like he was simply testing the waters, seeing what I was capable of.


    But soon, his approach began to change. He gradually started attacking faster, his strikes becoming heavier, more clear. It was clear that he wasn’t just going easy anymore. He was gauging my limits, trying to see how far he could push me without going overboard. It was subtle, the way he raised the intensity of his attacks, but I could feel the shift. I could tell he was trying to assess not only my skill but also my endurance, testing how well I could handle the pressure without giving up.


    “Once you have the chance, you should learn the skill Sword Mastery. Without that, your progress will be too slow.”


    After two weeks of attacking me without saying anything and acting like that was proper training, the guard said that to me. I had considered that a long time ago… I could have gained some proficiency in two weeks if I had that skill.


    Regardless, Mom also told me that it would be for the best if I did that. While thanks to Focus Mastery, I could see the attacks of that guy with clarity, reacting to it was still difficult. The best I could do was block and even so, he could just knock me down through my block.


    Mom also told me how the system worked. Most things were things that I already knew, like how each proficiency affected the others. Still, what I didn’t know was what she told me about treasures.


    “Treasures are relics that are sometimes passed down in a family. Sometimes, a person dies with a treasure and then a few generations later, a descendant of that person is born with it. Some people are rewarded after some accomplishments, but it is hard to say how that actually happens or who gives those treasures. Some people believe that a long time ago, a certain group of people that lived in this world created the treasures and then used them and they decided to pass them down like this. That means that we are all descendants of the same group of people.”


    That wouldn’t explain how I earned mine even before being born in this world… Still, it created a connection between the origins of this world and why I stayed in that room to some extent.


    “Some affinities are easy to obtain, like earth, wind, water and fire. However, the others aren’t so clear like lightning, Ice, poison, Light and void.”


    So, are there more rare affinities that the common ones? I guessed that the void was similar to darkness… Poison being something like the elements was weird, but it wasn’t hard to understand. Regardless, I imagined that the Lightning Affinity was rare, but it might not be the most powerful one.


    “To increase your proficiency, you need to either train, fight, or kill something. The methods can be equally efficient. The only thing the most proficiency gain is how hard the method is. So, it isn’t hard to find strong people with zero combat experience.”


    This whole situation was confusing to me. I couldn’t quite understand how a fight to the death could be less efficient than simple training. After all, the stakes in a life-or-death battle were far higher. Your survival depended on every move, and the fear of losing should make it a far more intense experience. Unless the opponent was incredibly weak, none of this made any sense to me. So why would a real fight, one where both parties were pushing themselves to the limit, be any less challenging than regular practice sessions?