Third Person POV

  "How am I supposed to expin this?!!"

  [Just say you didn't notice. It's not like what you did is something bad.]

  "It isn't?"

  [Nah.]

  Aric let out a long breath, his panic fading as quickly as it had arrived. "I see."

  [Now, care to expin how you did it?]

  "Oh… That?" He scratched his cheek, already sensing Boon's impending judgment. "I just gathered a week's worth of mana and forced it out all at once. Doing it one spot at a time felt way too tedious, so… I kinda did the same thing I do with [Fireball]—but inside my core."

  [...You did what?]

  "I made a spiral with the mana and kept condensing it. The tighter the spiral, the more space it freed up for more mana to enter. So, I kept feeding it—then, boom, pushed everything out."

  [(#`O′) YOU IDIOT!]

  Aric flinched at the panel's sudden outburst.

  [Don't you personally know what happens when votile mana explodes? You almost blew yourself up trying to control [Fireball], and now you decided to py with your core like that?! If your control slipped for even a second, your body would've gone pop!]

  "...I know, I know," Aric grumbled, waving a hand dismissively. "That's why I just didn't sleep."

  [THAT MAKES IT WORSE!]

  "Rex," Aric chuckled, unfazed by the outrage. "It worked, didn't it? That's what matters."

  Boon's panel trembled as if it wanted to strangle him through the screen.

  At that moment, another panel popped open beside it, and Aric turned his head towards it.

  [Host's Stats]

  [Name: Aric Athran]

  [Age: 9]

  [Title: The Doted Child of Athran household]

  [Core: Bck —> Red]

  [Level: 7 —> 15]

  [Mana: 12 —> 22]

  [Talent: —]

  [Vitality: 14 —> 20]

  [Strength: 16 —> 22]

  [Defence: 13 —> 21]

  [Speed: 15 —> 24]

  [Intelligence: 25 —> 32]

  [Stamina: 26 —> 36]

  [Bance]

  Aurel Points: 510,000 —> 520,000

  Astral Shards: 0 —> 15

  Aric whistled, his lips curling into a satisfied smile. "Oh! That's even better than I thought. And I finally got Astral Shards!" While speaking, he opened the logs to see all his notifications.

  [Level Up!][Level Up!][Level Up!]

  [Core Advanced- Dark Red! +5 Astral Shards][Reward: Restore][Accept | Decline]

  [Level Up! +1 Astral Shard][Level Up! +1 Astral Shard]...[Level Up! +1 Astral Shard][Level Up! +1 Astral Shard]

  [Core Advanced- Red! +5 Astral Shards][Reward: Panorascout & ???][Accept | Decline]

  Aric blinked, his face lighting up with curiosity. "Okay, what do Astral Shards actually do?"

  [You can use them to add points to your stats.]

  "So you are telling me I can put all fifteen of these in strength and get stronger? No efforts?"

  [Yeah. Pretty Much.]

  Aric looked mesmerized for a second. An image of him lying around for a whole year while being stronger than he ever has been formed in his mind. But then he shook his head, "No, not worth it." He stretched his arms before getting up and walking out of the arbour.

  [You do realize there are rewards waiting to be cimed, right?]

  "That can wait. I gotta show Father." And just like that, his feet picked up the pace, and soon he was running down the hallway towards Novius's office.

  Reaching the dark wooden double doors at the end of the hallway, Aric slowed to a stop. He gnced around.

  "Valen… he isn't here?" he muttered under his breath.

  Shrugging off the thought, he pushed the door open and peeked inside, head first.

  "Father?" His voice echoed faintly in the empty room.

  Nothing.

  Aric stepped inside, his eyes scanning the office. It looked the same as always—polished bookshelves lining the walls, the faint smell of parchment and ink lingering in the air. He walked in, his eyes roaming around the room for a while. Aric was about to turn and leave after not finding anyone when a sudden gust of wind from the open window sent a few papers on Novius's desk fluttering.

  Curiosity piqued, Aric walked over and picked up the stack of papers, sliding the gss paperweight aside.

  "Hmmm," he hummed, narrowing his eyes at the contents. Five sheets of paper were clipped together with a sleek silver paperclip.

  [What's it about?] Boon's voice rang in his head.

  "Mines," Aric answered, flipping through the pages.

  [Ah, the Razor Peaks mines. Right—your father and the other dukes handle the first yer of the Mire. I totally forgot.]

  Aric skimmed the lines of figures and notes, raising a brow. "Damn, this mine's pulling in twice the earnings of the others."

  [How do you even know the normal earnings?]

  Aric rolled his eyes. "I don't. I am just speaking from what I can see—Mines 6, 9, 13, and 39 are all pretty much the same. But this one, 4," he tapped the page, "is bringing in double their revenue."

  He pced the papers back under the weight and sighed, stepping away from the desk. "Anyways, he must be with Mother."

  A few minutes ter, he was grumbling to himself in Xironia's empty study. No luck there either.

  "Where are they?" Aric huffed, already turning on his heel and heading toward the next pce where someone always seemed to know everything—the kitchen.

  He strolled in to find Nessa, sleeves rolled up, busy chopping vegetables. The familiar warmth of the kitchen contrasted the cold hallways, the aroma of fresh bread hanging in the air.

  "Nessa?" Aric called. "Have you seen Father?"

  The head maid paused mid-chop, gncing over her shoulder. "No idea, young master. Why don't you try asking Valen?"

  "Where's Valen?"

  "Unless he's sparring with Caelum or helping Master, you'll find him in the gym building."

  "Thanks!" Aric spun on his heel and darted toward the gym building. Sure enough, he spotted Valen and Caelum in the middle of the gym, surrounded by a cluster of guards.

  The moment Aric stepped inside, the chatter quieted. Every head in the room turned toward him.

  "Young master?" Caelum called out, raising a brow as Aric scanned the room. Without answering, the boy rushed straight toward the two butlers.

  "Caelum," Aric said in a hushed tone, eyes darting around as if this were a cssified mission.

  Caelum smirked, bending slightly to meet his gaze. "Yes?"

  "Do you know where Father is?"

  Caelum blinked, casting a gnce at Valen, who only responded with a helpless shrug. "No clue," Caelum admitted, though the pyful gleam in his eyes suggested he was enjoying the interrogation. "Miss Xironia did mention she was done with work, so they might've gone for a walk."

  Aric puffed out his cheeks in frustration but gave a quick nod before turning on his heel and dashing out of the gym—without sparing another gnce at the amused onlookers.

  Moments ter, he was back inside the mansion, trudging down the endless hallways. His feet dragged slightly against the floor, and his once-enthusiastic expression had devolved into a full-on pout.

  "Ugh," he groaned, slumping his shoulders. "He said he'd be in his office…"

  His pace slowed as he neared his room, the familiar door at the far end of the hallway—positioned directly opposite his parents' room. He pushed it open but barely stepped inside before a thought clicked in his mind.

  'Wait… what if they're in their room?'

  With renewed hope, he whipped around, taking two quick steps before standing in front of the grand double doors of Novius and Xironia's bedroom.

  He grabbed the handle and tried to twist it open.

  It didn't budge.

  "Huh?" Aric blinked. Once. Twice.

  His hopeful expression slowly fttened into a deadpan stare as realization dawned.

  Without another word—and with the energy of someone who had officially given up on the mysteries of life—Aric trudged back into his room, shutting the door behind him.

  He flopped onto his bed, shuffling to the middle before letting out a sigh. "Guess I'll just accept the rewards," he muttered, stretching his arms above his head. His lips twisted thoughtfully. "Should I make a sound barrier? The first time wasn't exactly... fun."

  [Won't happen.] Boon's voice chimed in, far too casual for comfort while two shimmering panels popped up in front of Aric's face.

  [Reward: Restore][Accept | Decline]

  [Reward: Panorascout & ???][Accept | Decline]

  Aric squinted at the second panel, focusing on the tantalizing mystery reward. "Wait… What's with the '???' part? What kind of reward hides its own name?" His curiosity fred.

  [Just accept it. You might be able to see the descriptions in [Tome] afterwards.]

  Aric rolled his eyes but accepted the rewards without further hesitation.

  A strange sensation swept over him. Not pain. Not warmth. Just… weird.

  His hands instinctively drifted to his abdomen, where the feeling originated. "Ugh, it's like something's crawling under my skin... but also isn't?" His face scrunched in a mix of discomfort and fascination.

  [Weird way of describing it, but sure.] Boon remarked dryly.

  Choosing to ignore his snarky guide, Aric opened [Tome] and scrolled to his new rewards. The first one caught his attention immediately.

  [Restore - Restores the Host's condition.

  Cost: None. (Effectiveness scales on Vitality stat)]

  "Healing, huh?" Aric murmured, scanning the details.

  [Yup.]

  "How far does that go? What if I, I don't know… break my arm?"

  [It'll heal.]

  "So… I basically never need healing potions again?"

  [Technically, yeah. But the process isn't instant. Healing potions still speed it up.]

  Aric let out an impressed whistle. "Not bad. Could've used that a couple of months ago."

  Moving on, he opened the next reward.

  [Panorascout - Instantly scans the surrounding area with Host as the center point.

  Range: 5 meters | Expandable.

  Duration: One-time scan. (Covers the entire range simultaneously, regardless of distance).

  Cost: None | Each point in the Mana stat will be considered as a part of the Host's mana pool. These parts can be consumed to increase the range by one meter each]

  Aric's eyes darted across the panel, absorbing the information. The longer he read, the more he furrowed his brows, and his lips slowly parted in disbelief.

  "Not a joke?"

  [Nope.] Boon's voice rang out, unbothered. After a brief pause, it added, […Why wasn't that your reaction to the healing ability?]

  Aric scoffed as if the answer were obvious. "Healing potions exist; it is not that different," he said, dismissively waving his hand before turning his attention back to the final reward panel.

  The moment he did, his face twisted in annoyance.

  [??? - ■■■■■]

  His brow twitched. "How does the reward still not have a description?"

  [If it doesn't want you to know, I can't help you.] Boon's voice carried a note of helplessness.

  "Come on," Aric huffed. "Can't you just tell me? You were able to expin mana enhancement it vaguely. We can try that again, and I can figure out something from it."

  A long sigh echoed in his head before Boon reluctantly agreed. [Fine. Don't bme me for it.] A brief pause. Then—

  [It sa—]

  A violent, ear-piercing shriek ripped through Aric's skull.

  The sound existed purely inside his mind, like jagged gss scraping against his brain. His hands flew to his ears, but it was no use. His muscles spasmed, his vision blurred, and the st thing he felt was his body going limp before darkness swallowed him whole.

  LazyMoofy