《Pinnacle of Crafting》


 Chapter 01

    Staring at the rocky ceiling above me while I lay on my creaking old wooden bed, waiting for death to take me. To think I would die lonely without anyone else to mourn for my death. How foolish I was to think that secluding myself deep in the mountains would be a great idea to focus on my crafts. Indeed, it did help me improve my crafts.


    I forged countless weapons that would probably sell for thousands of gold coins and be considered masterpieces. When I crafted my first Legendary weapon, it was euphoric. The sword was able to slice through stone like butter and produce blades of wind with each slice.


    Not only that, but I even concocted a potion that was close to immortality, increasing my lifespan by 500 years. It was because of it that I was able to live for such a long time. I was undoubtedly the best craftsman in the world, at the expense of a life of adventuring, friends, and family. At first, I felt it was worth it.


    Until now, I regret not publicizing my work and craftsmanship. I regret not becoming famous and live a life full of wealth and riches. I regret abandoning my family to continue to reach the pinnacle of crafting. Had I not done any of those things, I would be surrounded by people I care about, mourning for me as I take my last breath.


    I sigh, stroking the overgrown beard with my withering, bony hands. resigning myself to death that was looming closer every second. I close my eyes and hum a tune my mother used to lullaby me to sleep when I was younger, it was one of my most cherished memories even until now, infusing his mana into the tune he was humming.


    On that day, both animals and people living near the mountain heard a tune coming from deep within the mountains. The tune made them shed tears, not knowing why. Some of the villagers from a nearby village even knelt down and kowtow towards the mountains, they believed it was a god weeping from grief about matters unbeknownst to them.


    At the moment of the end of the tune, I drew my last breath and passed away, as an unknown hermit and as the pinnacle of crafts in the world. Today marks the death of Kell Flint.


    Or so he thought...


    After the end of my little tune, I saw a faint light in the distance, it was slowly drawing closer every second.Is this what death is like?I thought to myself. Upon getting close to the light, I felt an excruciating pain all over my body, as if my body was being twisted slowly.


    I unconsciously let out a scream, but what came out of my mouth shocked me. It was a baby''s cry, it felt unusually soothing to cry, letting out all my grief and sorrow bottled up in my heart ever since I felt lonely.


    When I opened my eyes, I got the shock of my life, I was held in the arms of a giant man! What made it worse was that he was smiling at me, was he going to eat me? I have to get away!


    However, before I could get up, a wave of fatigue overcomes me and I fell unconscious.


    =====


    I slowly regain my consciousness and find myself trapped in a wooden cage. Remembering the man I saw, who looked at me in a weird, but a nostalgic way. I try to get up from my lying position and find that my arms and legs were shorter than before. They were chubby and my skin was smooth, silky and white.


    Before I could contemplate what was happening, a woman picks me up from the cage, cradling me in her arms, rocking me slowly. The woman talks to me in a language I have never heard of, which was unexpected since I learned to speak all the languages in the world. Her voice was gentle and melodic, like an angel... maybe this wasn''t so bad after all. I looked in her eyes and find that she was looking at me in a loving way.


    From what I can tell, I was probably reborn after my death as a baby. The cage I was trapped in was probably a crib, and this was my mother. For some reason, I liked this feeling, the feeling of being loved by a mother, I don''t think I''ll be complaining about this new life.


    Suddenly, a big burly man walks into the room, holding a sword and scabbard, placing it beside the nightstand. The woman turns around, speaking to the man as she showed him me in her arms. The man gaze falls on me, staring at me while giving off a bright smile. My mother passes me into the man''s arms, which I assumed was my father. My father rubs his cheeks against mine, his rough beard scratching my delicate face.Ouch!!!! It hurts!I try to complain, but I couldn''t speak, so I protest in the only way I can... I start crying at the top of my lungs.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Father looked embarrassed and my mother carries me back into her embrace, holding me tighter as she kissed me on the head.This feels much better, damn that man, rubbing his beard all over me. This time, father played around with my hand with his fingers and tried doing the ol'' peekaboo to me.Although I try to ignore him by staring at mother or at the surroundings, I still haven''t forgiven him for hurting me.


    He looked a bit dejected and left the room, gesturing to mother about something and speaking in the language I can''t understand. No matter how hard I try to comprehend the language, I can never understand it, maybe I will learn the language when I grow up. For now, I tried making noises with my mouth, voicing out the vowels ''a, e, i, o, u''.


    Mother looked a bit confused when I first started making weird noises, but then she thought I was hungry and exposed her chest, breastfeeding me. At first, it felt weird and awkward to do this since I have the mentality of a 600-year-old man, but I have to admit I was starving quite a bit.


    Soon, I was cradled to sleep by mother, while she hummed the same tune that I hummed before dying, this shocked me, but I came to accept it as fate. As I listened to the same nostalgic lullaby, I slowly fall asleep in her arms.I hope this lasts forever...


    ======


    (Mother POV)


    While reading my book, I saw Kell, what Ervin and I decided to name our first child waving his arms and legs in the air. It seems like he woke up.


    I hurry over and pick him up, cradling him in my arms and rocking him to a slow rhythmic momentum, it was the first time I have ever taken care of a baby so I was slightly anxious, luckily I have consulted my own mother and the other villagers about how to raise a child.


    I heard it was important to talk to your own child, so I try talking to Kell slowly so as to not startle him. To my surprise, he was looking at me confused, as if he wondered why I was talking jibberish. I don''t know whether other babies do this when a mother talks to them since it was my first time raising a child. However, Kell slowly starts to relax as his expression softens.So cuuute!I can''t help but want to snuggle him to death.


    Suddenly, Ervin walks into the room, keeping his sword by the nightstand. I smile at him and show him the baby. He looks enthusiastic, but I tell him to be quiet since I didn''t want Kell to get startled.


    I carefully move Kell to Ervin, bringing Kell into his embrace, at first he didn''t seem to mind until he started to rub cheeks with Kell which made Kell cry. Considering his beard, it was no wonder Kell cried, any baby would cry if a beard pricked them. Ervin looked a bit embarrassed as he returns Kell into my embrace.


    I tried to comfort Kell by holding him tighter and giving him a soft kiss on his forehead, not knowing how to deal with this situation. Somehow, what I did worked as Kell stopped crying and returned to his usual relaxed expression.


    Ervin tries to redeem himself by playing with the baby, trying to play with the baby''s fingers and even playing games with the baby while I was cradling it. However, it was all for nought as the baby ignored his actions, choosing to look at me or look at the surroundings.


    After Ervin gave up, leaving the room dejectedly. He told me he had to go back on duty while waving goodbye. I was sure that he swore to redeem himself by showing that he was a good father from his personality.


    After Ervin left the room, Kell started making weird noises with his mouth. I heard from mom that when a baby makes noises, that means he was hungry. I quickly proceed to breastfeed him since babies don''t have teeth, so they couldn''t eat food, only milk from their mothers. Kell was hesitant at first, but he continued suckling on my breast and stopped when he was full.


    After drinking to his full, Kell made a satisfied expression and I cradled him to sleep while humming a tune my mother used to lullaby me to sleep with when I was younger, slowly lulling him to sleep. Not long after, Kell fell asleep and I put him back in the crib.


    Was it just me, but Kell seemed intelligent...Nahit can''t be, he''s just a baby.


    ======


    (???)


    I watched as a shooting star shot across the night sky, it was a sign that someone of great power was born today, someone that will influence the world.


    It was said that a person born during a shooting star will be the generation''s shining star, shooting across everybody like the shooting star. On this same day, my child was born.


    I walk back into the room from the balcony and signal to the servants to leave the room. I watched as my wife carried a baby in her arms, looking at him with loving eyes. The baby had clear blue eyes, refined facial features that fit royalty.


    ''How unlucky, this boy'' I said to my wife.


    ''What? Why would he be unlucky, I would say he''s extremely lucky.'' she retorted


    ''This boy will have to go through countless challenges and be able to compete against his older siblings, rising to the top. I wouldn''t be surprised if he had to murder a few of his siblings, that was the life he was born into.'' I slowly explained while looking at the boy in a cold light.


    She furrowed her brows and kept silent as she continued cradling the baby, as if it was the centre of the world, trying to ignore what I just said.


    I snorted as I left the room, leaving the room as my wife stared at my back. I signalled the servants to tend to the baby as I headed towards my study.


    As the king of this country, there was no other way for me to find a suitable successor other than exposing my own children to struggles for the throne. It was the only way that could create a powerful and worthy successor to the throne, one that would bring glory to the country.

 Chapter 02

    It''s been 8 months since I was born, my life so far has been uneventful for a lack of a better word. Well, it''s not like I had high expectations since my body was far too delicate and weak to do anything. A mere 1-meter fall would definitely fracture my bones, or even kill me if I fell on my head.


    Although there hasn''t been anything interesting happening, I have learned the basics of the language easily. It seems to be a mix of elvish and the human language but in a weird accent. It wasn''t hard to pick up the language. How could this small task be a challenge to the almighty me, who mastered all languages in my old world, except for the fish-man language which seems to be a series of gurgling that made no sense to me.


    Conveniently, there was a picture book that listed common items and used the words in sentences, allowing me to learn the language easily. Now I could understand what mother and father are saying. Mostly, they talk about matters about father''s work.


    From what I can understand, it seems like father works as a guard for the village. Even though I don''t like his beard, I have to respect him for his profession since fighting is something most people wouldn''t do; risking their lives, that is.


    Every day, dad talks about how boring his job is and how nice it would be to go back to his adventuring days with his band of brothers, then mom just reminds him that he has a child now. It''s not like I need help once I grow up, I''m confident that I am self-sufficient. After all, I lived for hundreds of years alone.


    Other than hearing dad''s complaints every day, he sometimes comes and plays with me. He is a man with an average build, but fairly muscular and has a refined face, blue eyes and tight eyebrows. He would definitely be considered good-looking compared to your average Joes. What makes me respect him more is his hand, his hands are rough and it shows that he is a hardworking man. Luckily, he doesn''t rub his beard on me since I cry everytime he does that.


    My favourite times are when mom comes and reads me storybooks and teaches me the words from books. Even though I already understand all the words, it''s nice to hear her gentle and caring voice, which I missed after hundreds of year in solitude.It truly is wonderful, to have a family. I cherish every moment I spend with both my parents.


    In these 8 months, I have been meditating and sensing the mana in the surroundings. It seems like the mana in this village is quite weak compared to the quality of mana back in my old home. The quality of mana is determined by how close a location is to a source of mana. My old home was a cave in the deepest mountains of Juyvt, where dragons roam free and wild.


    The higher the quality of mana in an area, the stronger the monsters that would inhabit the area. Dragons tend to live in areas of the highest quality of mana, whereas High beasts would live nearby, and lesser beasts would live even further away from the mana source.


    Since the quality of mana is weak in this area, it is no wonder that dad is bored. There probably aren''t many strong beasts roaming the area.


    Right now, all I can do is channel mana throughout my veins to allow better mana flow and train my body to be able to handle casting of spells and be able to manipulate mana flow within my body more easily.


    So right now, my daily routine consists of this:


    Wake up, Eat, Play, Eat, Train and Sleep.


    It''s a boring life, but it is necessary. I don''t think anyone would think well of an 8-month old baby being able to speak the language fluently and cast spells at will. If someone found out, I''d probably be put to the stake and burned alive.


    =====


    <4 months later>


    Right now, I am a year old and I have developed enough muscles to walk properly,Yay! I am finally able to walk around the house on my own albeit under constant watch by mom. She seems worried that I might fall down and hurt myself or wander out of the house and get lost.


    Unless the door is left open by accident, I wouldn''t be able to leave the house because the door handle is too high for me to reach. Even so, I wouldn''t leave the house in fear of the danger of the unknown, with this weak body, I might die even from a horned rabbit.


    I walk around and explore the house, noting down some of the things that might give me a clue as to the status of our family under a kingdom''s rule. I would say that my parents are commoners from the unmaintained stone walls, tiled roof and the lack of lavish decorations in the house. This house wouldn''t even pass for a minor noble''s estate as it lacks most things a noble would have.


    It''s pretty obvious considering my dad is a guard while my mother is unemployed. It''s also deduced from the wooden bowls and utensils we use to eat. Back in my old world, all nobles would eat with metal utensils, regardless of status. I just hope commoners aren''t treated too badly if not I would have to take some actions.


    ''Mama, where do we live?'' I ask mom in a curious way while sticking a finger in my mouth while tilting my head sideways. I try to imitate a child asking a question to sate his curiosity so as to not make myself seem too smart.


    Mom rubs my head and smiles at me, replying to me gently ''We live in Timbyl, Kell. It''s a village near Cille, one of the Kingdom''s cities.''


    Cille, from what I read in a very convenient book about the 5 cities under the rule of the Eingrad Kingdom. Cille, in particular, was one of the 4 cities surrounding the Capital''s North, South, East, and West. Each city was almost identical to one another, boasting walls up to 10 meters tall and over tens of thousands of battle-ready soldiers, at least that''s what the book says.


    ''Can we go there some day?'' I asked while showing off a wide grin


    ''You''ll go there when you''re older, right now just focus on learning your alphabets.'' She replied, giving my cheeks a soft pinch.I pouted a little, before running off to grab another book to read. Being a child again is so much fun.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    ======


    (Mom''s POV)


    Today marks Kell''s first birthday, we bought him a wooden toy figure of a horse as a birthday gift and Ervin even hunted a Red Deer for dinner tonight. He said that Red Deer meat is succulent and tender, I''m excited to try it since this is my first time trying Red Deer meat. I hope Kell likes it too.


    Mmm... Red Deer meat is surprisingly sweet and really juicy, I''m glad I had a chance to try this delicacy. It seems Kell loves it too, he''s eating the meat and savoring every bite, smiling and giggling to himself. I can''t help but smile at the sight of his cute smile.


    After dinner, I brought Kell back into his room and went to bed myself.


    On the next morning, I found Kell already wide awake while engrossed in reading a book. It was weird that he looked like he could understand the words in the book since the book was fairly difficult to read for someone who just started learning the language a year ago.


    It seemed like he could understand it fairly well, eyeing the pages, reading through page by page. He eventually notices me but continues reading after giving me a smile that melts my heart instantly. I want to cuddle him so bad, but it seems like he''s too engrossed in reading.


    After a while, Kell turns to me and asks me a question while making an adorable face. I obviously give him an answer, but then he asks another question about going to Cille. I guess he will be able to go to Cille when he''s older.


    This has become a tradition in the Kingdom, where children 5 years of age must attend an academy depending on their results in a test. All the academies are located within cities and each Academy specializes in almost the same things, but of different quality. The academies are meant to develop a child''s talents and teach them basic knowledge about the world.


    However, it is not only a place to learn knowledge, it is also a competitive ground for the next generation''s leading figures to gain influence and grow stronger in a competitive scene. Talented commoners would also be given a chance to become nobility, raising the status of the family.


    All in all, the academy is a great place for any child to attend, there are too many benefits from attending the academy for people to deny. To top it all off, academies are able to battle against other academies for awards and prestige. A higher an academy''s rank, the better the facilities and the faster the growth of the children.


    But right now, Kell has to focus on learning the alphabet but I have to admit, he is learning faster than I expected. I''m a little jealous so I pinch him in his cheeks, even his pout is so adorable... I have to do this more.


    What I''ve noticed is that Kell doesn''t like to play with his toys as much as he does reading a book, maybe he''ll grow up to be a prominent scholar, or even better, a mage! Maybe I''ll buy him a new book instead of a toy next time.


    ======


    (King''s POV)


    I sit in my study, buried in a pile of papers. Reports of numerous happenings within the country, and outside the country. They were all important documents to be looked through, some needed to be approved by me.


    It is the usual, reports of the Laidin Empire''s movements in the South, reports of nobles'' activities that might suggest a crime ring ran by some influential figures in the Kingdom. I''ll leave that to the army.


    While skimming through most of the reports, I hear a knock on the door.


    ''Come in'', I say without much thought while still skimming through the reports.


    A servant clad in a black and white maid''s attire walks in, bowing her head briefly and said, ''Lord Arlington, Sir Asher''s ability examination is starting soon, it will be held at the great hall''. She bowed again before dismissing herself, the sound of her footsteps echo and slowly disappear into the distance as she walked down the hallway.


    I get up from my desk and don on my mantle, one that was needlessly extravagant and embellished with countless gems. To be honest, it looked extremely stylish and demonstrated the immense wealth of the Royal Family.


    I proceed to make my way down the hallway towards the Great Hall.


    I appear before a large silver door, two lion figures carved into the surface of the large door. The soldiers guarding the door bowed to me as I approached, pulling a large ring handle of the door, revealing a spacious room decorated with beautiful sculptures, magnificent paintings and red banners hanging from the walls.


    In the middle of the Great Hall seated my two sons, my daughter and my two wives. Their eyes turned towards me, my two sons looked at me with respect while my wives looked at me with love. However, today''s main attention wouldn''t be on me, it would be to my youngest son who was on the stage.


    Asher, my youngest son, was born under a shooting star, signifying great fortune and power in the future. I had high hopes for him and today will be the day that we assess his talents.


    On stage was an old man who wore a simple blue robe and hat, with golden stripes running down the robe while the hat had a crest embellished in the middle. Anyone would recognize that as the symbol of the Golden Sky Academy, the previous winner of the annual inter-academy tournament. The old man was the headmaster of the academy, in short, the strongest person in the academy.


    When I took a seat, the headmaster brought out an orb. That orb was called a Spirit Orb, it was a way to appraise the affinity and the quality of the affinity within a person. Normally it would be fairly expensive for others to get a hold of a Spirit Orb, but money was nothing to neither the headmaster or to me.


    Asher walked up towards the spirit orb and held out his hand to touch it at the instructions of the headmaster while the audience, the family members watched eagerly. Right now, the children are still young except for my oldest daughter, who is currently too busy studying in the academy to attend this occasion, so the children still do not have a concept of power or hierarchy in the world.


    My two other sons had gone through the same process and both of them had a fire and earth element respectively, and with a strong affinity with their respective elements. It was adequate to become a high-class magician, but it was not up to my standard. I am a dual affinity magician, with the Fire and Lightning attributes at my command. Even though the Lightning affinity is a tad below strong while my Fire attribute was of strong quality, a dual attribute wielder was extremely rare.


    The moment Asher touched the spirit orb, it glowed in response to his touch and a bright blue glow enveloped the Orb, with 3 glowing spheres in the Orb. But that was not all, the orb continued to glow brighter than before, and a bright red glow shone on the other side of the Orb.


    Unbelievable... it was the Fire Attribute.


    While fire attributes and water attributes were common, they were extremely different in their properties and are extremely incompatible with each other. It is unheard of to have a dual attribute wielder of the Fire and Water attribute.


    What made it special was that both the red and blue colors were separated in halves, with a slight tinge of purple in the middle and are harmonizing very well. Even the headmaster had an expression of praise and was impressed.


    My wives were shocked, but my children had no clue how rare this phenomenon was, but seeing the shocked expressions of their parents, they were happy that their brother was a talented individual.


    I walked up to Asher, looking straight down at his bright blue eyes while he stared back at me.


    ''Don''t let me down now, Asher.'' I said while smiling at him and patting his head. ''I have high expectations of you'' I continued.


    ''Yes, father!'' Asher replied enthusiastically with a beaming smile. I chuckled and walked back to my study to continue my work, Asher is truly a talented kid, he may be younger than his brothers but he will be stronger than them, yet he will face more struggles than them.