To Alan’s surprise, his parents didn’t lead him towards the open grounds but moved towards the deeper parts of the castle. He didn’t get a chance to explore those sections, so he eagerly took in the sights.

Ever since he reincarnated, he saw many technological marvels that functioned on completely different concepts and principles from what he knew. A prime example was the octahedron-shaped light hovering in the air. It neither had an energy source nor a gravity module supporting its reality-defying feat. Out of curiosity, he used [Inspect].

Item: Sun Lamp (Uncommon)

Glass [80%] ???

Rune:

???

Function: Absorb sunlight to create the spark.

Spark? The mysteries surrounding him scratched at his heart, urging him to unravel them. As soon as the fight ended, he vowed to learn crafting no matter the cost.

Removing his eyes from the artifacts, he watched Lily jumping all over the place.

She scampered towards a decorative knight armor and pulled the heavy silver sword that had its tip resting between the boots.

“Stop causing …..”

A mighty tug freed the weapon and brought the armor crashing to the ground. The sound loudly echoed in the long and silent corridor.

Lily cringed and avoided looking into her parent's eyes. “Sorry.”

“How many times do I have to tell you not to mess around!” Alaya had enough of her antics. No matter how much she scolded Lily, she never changed her ways. She decided to take a harsher stance before it was too late.

“Don’t be so hard on her,” Kayden said. “She’s still learning.”

“It’s easy for you to say it when you’re always away fighting …..” her eyes flickered to the kids, and she changed her sentence. “Not knowing better is not an excuse. Stop encouraging her behavior or she’ll never change!”

Alan wondered why she changed her words. It wasn’t like knowing the name of an enemy led to anything dangerous. Her strange reaction made him add the topic to the list of subjects he needed to research. Thinking of the ever-growing list, he sighed and waved goodbye to his childhood. By the time he learned everything he wanted to know, his hair would be white.

“Why did you remove the sword in the first place?” Alaya asked.

“Iris’ sword is so thin I’ll defeat her it if I have this.” She swung the sword in a wide arc, but it was too heavy, and she lost her grip.

The sword sailed past Alan’s face, causing him to jump and crashed into the ground. The ringing sound was the only noise in the silent corridor.

Staring at Lily’s wide innocent eyes and ‘I don’t know what happened’ look, he didn’t know what to say. On the other hand, an irate Alaya was about to explode.

Thankfully, Kayden stopped her before she started shouting. “Let’s do it somewhere more private. I don’t think you want everyone in the castle to hear you shout.”

Her expression told Alan she seriously considered ignoring his words, but eventually relented. “This is not over. We’ll discuss this after the fight.”

As they continued walking, Lily approached him with a depressed look. “Do you think mom won’t allow me to play anymore?”

The question stunned Alan. He wondered how her priorities were so messed up. Unable to muster a response, he muttered, “Unbelievable!”

They arrived at an open courtyard in the deeper parts of the castle. Guards wearing elegant red armor patrolled the area. They were fewer in number, but an aura of power surrounded them.

The instant he laid eyes on the armor, he knew it was created using the world’s technology. In the center of the chest plate, the eye-catching symbol of the Ross household thrummed with energy. The white wings representing the family appeared to be fluttering. Channels invisible to the naked eye carried the golden energy to other parts of the armor.

He controlled the sudden urge to borrow the armor and examine it.

“This is where you’ll fight." Kayden’s voice distracted him.

“Are you sure?” Alan hesitantly asked. The courtyard wasn’t designed with battle in mind. Small shrubs and flowing vines outlined the edges while a tree with beautiful yellow flowers occupied the center. Under its shade rested a marble fountain in the appearance of a beautiful lady. Water from the fountain traveled to other parts of the courtyard through small channels. It carried the dropped flowers, distributing them over the entire area, and created picturesque scenery.

Kayden ushered them into the garden and touched the surface. The entire courtyard glowed making Alan, and Lily gasp.

“This area is more than a place to enjoy the scenery. I can explain what it does, but you won’t understand it. For now, know you can fight freely without holding back.

“During the spar, don’t hold back. You won’t be able to seriously injure each other anyway, and I’ll interfere if it turns dangerous. Now, remember that this is a friendly competition, and don’t take the loss too seriously.”

From the way Kayden glanced at him, Alan knew the last part was meant for him. He couldn’t comprehend why they thought he would lose, but their attitude irked him.

He used [Identify] on Lily.

Name: Lily Ross

Class 1: Trainee (Knight path) [50%]

Attributes:

Strength: 6 Agility: 5 Constitution: 10 Intelligence: 6 Wisdom: 5 Energy: 0

Skills:

???

What the hell? Why’s her constitution stat so ridiculous? It surpassed Hylda’s by a large degree, but it could be due to the head maid getting on in the years.

Sooner or later, he would have to create a measurement scale for accurately estimating the stats. At the moment, he could only use the numbers to directly compare himself to other people, not how strong he was in contrast to the individuals in the same class.

Glancing at Lily splashing water everywhere, he shook his head. This fight’s going to be easy.

She shouldn’t be able to attack him at long range and hand-to-hand battles were his forte. With [Precognition], there’s no way he would lose. If he included [Shutter Eye], winning would be a piece of cake. [Shadow Claws] was off the table as his parents might notice it. Her higher stamina wouldn’t prove to be of any use in the battle.

Alaya glared at Lily. “Stand in your position.”

After convincing her to stop playing, she got ready for the battle.

“Begin!”

Much to his surprise, she stood in the same place and pointed a finger in his direction. A small drop of blood seeped out of it and condensed at the tip.

She’s a variant!?

He instinctively moved out of the way, and not a moment too soon. The drop of blood whistled past his cheek and splattered onto the courtyard’s wall. Apart from a red stain, it didn’t do any damage.

The same couldn’t be said about himself if he were to get hit. He knew enough to know he wouldn’t get away with a simple bruise. It changed his strategy, but not by much. As long as he could get close to her, victory would be his.

“Nice dodge!” Alaya commented. She expected the battle to end with the first move. Inexperienced people froze in the face of unexpected encounters. The calm and calculated expression in Alan’s eyes wasn’t something she expected.

Alan didn’t respond to her words and kept his attention focused on Lily. Instead of continuing her attack, she stared at him with an open mouth. “Wow! That’s amazing! How did you do that?”

It removed any seriousness present in the fight.

“Do you want to continue?” Alan asked in a resigned voice.

Nodding frantically, she resumed her attack. The red projectiles were a blur, but Alan dodged them and rushed forwards. While her ability was powerful, she didn’t wait for an opportunity and attacked as soon as the blood was ready. [Precognition] made it easy for him to calculate the projectile's trajectory.

Evading became harder the closer he got. One of her attacks nicked his ear, leaving a small cut. Alan had severely underestimated the power behind the move. Originally, he planned on letting the last move hit him before closing in, but it was no longer viable. Gazing at the finger pointed straight at his face, he activated [Shutter Eye].

The surroundings slowed down, and he felt his senses being enhanced. He saw in slow motion the blood coalescing on her finger and calculated its path. Straining himself to the limits, he twisted his body. With [Shutter Eye] active, he clearly noticed the red blur whizzing past his eye.

His extreme movements turned his movement into a roll, but he managed to get close to her and pin her arm. “I win.”

She didn’t respond and blankly stared at him. Turning around, he glanced at his parents who mirrored Lily's expression. “What?”

Alaya’s face split into a grin, and she showered him with a kiss on his cheek before picking him up. “We’ve got another little genius in our family.”

“Mother!” The open display of affection was unexpected and mortifying. His cheeks took on a deep red hue and he hid his face between his arms.

The shocked expression present on Lily’s face didn’t recede. Wondering if the loss was too much to take in, Kayden picked her up and consoled her. “Don’t take it too hard. If you want to be stronger than others, you have to train hard.”

Spreading her arms wide, Lily leaned towards Alaya, wanting to join her twin.

Alaya’s anger hadn’t subsided, but the downtrodden expression on Lily’s face caused most of it to evaporate. Taking her from Kayden, she said, “Listen to your father and train hard. If you’re dedicated, you’ll be able to defeat anyone you want.”

She mutely nodded, causing Alan to feel bad about the win. It was his first time seeing a downcast Lily, and he didn’t like it one bit. ”You know, I actually cheated —”

“Stop. I know you’re trying to make her feel better, but that’s the wrong way to do it,” Alaya scolded. “You shouldn’t encourage her mistakes, but rather, teach her to learn from them.”

She walked towards the exit and the surrounding light faded, showing a person Alan dreaded.

The hunched-back doctor Amos stood in front of them with a kind smile on his face. As always, he perfectly combed the small amount of remaining white hair, and his white robe was meticulously clean. The warm brown eyes took in the scene and his smile widened, shifting the wrinkles on his face.

“Good morning Grand Priest,” Kayden said. “I didn’t know you were coming today.”

“I wanted to check on the young lord and see how he’s doing.”

Somehow, Alan managed not to groan. Everytime the good doctor visited, he asked weird and unpleasant questions. The short sessions had felt like an eternity and he couldn’t wait to get away. The feeling hadn’t changed and was stronger than ever. The way Amos’ eyes scrutinized him gave him the creeps.

“It looks like he’s doing well. I don’t think he’ll need the medicine for much longer.”

Medicine? For what? He glanced at his parent’s faces but didn’t notice anything strange.

Putting Lily down, Alaya moved towards Amos, who removed a bubbling black potion from his pocket.

“Is that the medicine?” Alan had seen poison’s with a better appearance. “I don’t want it!”

He played the unruly child card, and it failed spectacularly.

“It’s necessary.” Alaya didn’t explain anything else nor allow him to protest before administering it.

Despite its horrid appearance, it didn’t have any taste and easily slid into his throat.

A pop-up opened, surprising him.

[Shadow affinity increased]

[Increase Pain leveled up to lvl 2]

What? The medicine is useful?

He commanded the system to display his shadow-based skills and two windows opened.

Skill: [Increase Pain]

Description: Damage caused by any shadow-based ability increases the enemy’s pain sensitivity by 2%.

Cost: Zero (Passive)

It can be leveled up by increasing your shadow element affinity.

Skill: [Shadow Claws]

Description: The user can project and retract razor-sharp claws of darkness/shadows from their fingertips for offensive purposes.

Cost: Variable (Min: 2 Ki per second)

It can be leveled up through constant usage or [Function Locked].

The increased affinity wasn’t useful for [Shadow Claws], but it affected [Increase Pain]. It turned into another question he had to solve.

While he mulled over the reason, another notification appeared, shocking him.

[Adverse element detected]

[Permanently reducing health by 1]