A hush descended over the surroundings as Alaya approached.

Kora, Adrianna, and Arlo bowed. "Duchess Alaya."

She didn't bother with pleasantries. "Wrap up your training. The carriage will take you home. Alan and Lily, follow me."

She didn't address the butler, leaving him bowing awkwardly.

"Mom?" Lily hesitantly said.

Alaya dismissively waved her hand. "Get back to work. I'll deal with your insubordination later."

The butler calmly accepted her command as if he expected her reaction.

Alan followed her into the castle. The maids and soldiers curtsied and moved out of the way. Alaya released tangible amounts of fury, and none of them wanted to be in her line of fire. The short and tense walk ended when she led them into a room.

"Everyone out!"

The maids cleaning the room left with due haste and closed the doors behind them.

"Sit down." The intense look on his mother's face didn't brook any arguments.

Alan made himself comfortable on the couch. Uncharacteristically, Lily joined him without making a fuss.

Alaya didn't speak a word and studied them. The silence stretched for so long, Lily started squirming in her seat.

Even Alan felt uncomfortable and decided to interrupt the staring contest. "Mother, do you need something?"

"What do you think of Shizar?"

He anticipated the question and knew better than to answer it with something like 'They're evil.' Using the information he learned during classes, he weaved a bunch of half-truths and weaseled his way out of speaking the truth.

"It's a warmongering nation where strength is revered. Combat training is compulsory for all men, and it starts when they're young. The army recruits the talented ones while the remaining ones are assigned to different jobs. The people there take pride in dying for their nation. I think they have a strong sense of togetherness and national pride."

The words were straight out of books written by Shizar's authors. In preparation for the delegation's arrival, Alaya crammed etiquette, culture, and history lessons into his busy schedule. The instructors explained Shizar’s situation through a rose-colored lens and hid the ugly truths. Before Arlo word’s, he didn't know the nation’s true face.

Unfortunately, Lily didn't have the forethought and uttered the words he had avoided. "To me, they sound evil."

Alaya glared at her. "Even with my low expectations, your answer is disappointing. I should have foreseen it and Alan, I wanted to hear your thoughts, not a recital of what you learned."

What am I supposed to say? Alan irritatedly thought. She scolded Lily for speaking her mind and him for not saying the same words.

"Let it be," Alaya said. "I'll explain the basics of what you need to remember.

"Shizar’s royal family is aptly named the Divine family. In their kingdom, they equal gods, and their subjects are taught to worship them. They have the right to decide every aspect of their people's lives. It's a disciplined, strict, and harsh nation. Death penalties are issued for even minor transgressions. The military power firmly rests in the emperor's hands, and they carry out his orders without question."

Every sentence she spoke brought up painful memories he would rather forget. Her explanation drew too many parallels to his previous life. Indoctrination and suppression were subjects he was familiar with. During the initial years, the scientists planted a notion that they were one big family. It blinded him to reality. No matter how many hidden truth's his eyes perceived, his heart ignored them and wrote them off as misunderstandings. It took him a long time to accept the truth for what it was. When indoctrination failed, the scientists took to violent and often painful methods to control them.

His emotions must've been visible on his face as Alisha interrupted his thoughts. "Alan."

"Yes?"

"I know you don't like what you hear, but don't let it affect how you act. I planned on explaining these topics after the delegation left, but" —her lips flattened into a thin line, showing her disapproval for Arlo's actions— "you learned them before schedule, so I'm giving you the complete picture. The peace talks that'll happen are crucial, and I expect you to be on your best behavior."

Alan and Lily nodded. While he disliked Shizar, he wouldn't make a point of showing it to them. From Alaya’s words, he could gauge the importance of the talks and didn’t want to be the cause of disrupting them.

His mother thoughtfully tapped the armrest. "Maybe I should add more classes."

"No!" Lily shouted. "I can't attend them unless I cut into my sleeping time!"

"Shouldn't you reduce your playtime!" Alaya snarled. "How can your priorities be so messed up?"

Alan wondered the same thing. In fact, he couldn't figure out how she classified her tasks. Her playtime included everything from reading books to sword practice. As long as she didn't have to follow instructions, she happily did whatever she wanted.

"But—" Lily said.

Alan cut her off, knowing she would only make the situation worse. "She may have the time, but I definitely don't. Without dropping a subject, I won’t be able to manage more."

Alaya sighed. "Okay."

"I'm late for crafting class," Alan said. "If there isn't anything else, I'll take my leave."

"Me too!" Lily added.

"Fine."

His sister rushed out of the room as fast as her short legs could carry her. Chuckling, Alan made his way out of the room and moved towards the workshop.

To distract himself from the memories of his previous life, he focused on the mission he had received.

Quest:[Eye of Annhilation] >

Finish crafting the Eye of Annihilation [Miracle tier].

Rewards: [Control of the Matrix]

Deadline: [29 years 1 month]

The quest ominously came with a time limit. The system failed to mention the consequences of failure, and he didn't want to find out the hard way. Twenty-nine years might seem like a lot of time, but it depended on the difficulty of the task.

He tried to find more information about the Eye of Annihilation and the Matrix, but the system remained mum. To make it easier to achieve the goal, it divided the main mission into a bunch of sub-quests.

Sub Quest: [Runesmithing]

Etch a basic rune.

Rewards: [Fire Source]

Once again, the system hadn't responded to his queries about the Fire Source. When he got the quest, he decided it was time to talk to Alaya. Even before the mission, he wanted to learn more about the world's technology, and the system gave him one more reason to learn crafting.

He thought his mother would disagree, but Alaya was surprisingly supportive. It turned out crafting was lucrative, and a lot of people wanted to enter the field, but an unsurpassable entry barrier destroyed their dreams. Creating magical items required a rare gift for manipulating mana.

Generations of people tried to find out the requirements for gaining the talent, but they all failed. The random manifestation and rarity of talents led to the birth of the exclusive Crafter's Association. It represented one of the most influential organizations in the world. The representatives established it as a small independent nation, separate from Bodwen's and Shizar's influence.

He still remembered Alisha's exaggerated reaction when she found out he had the talent. She tightly hugged him and kept repeating the words 'Our legacy is safe.'

The very next day she got him an instructor. Alan sighed as he made his way towards the workshop. The lessons were different from what he expected.

As he got closer, the number of guards present in the vicinity steadily dropped, with the core region having zero presence. The decorations present in the place differed from the rest of the castle. Every art piece, decorative armor, and wall hanging was stripped, leaving the walls bare. In fact, it didn't have anything displaying the world's artistic or technological marvels.

He descended into a large hall lit by torches. At first glance, the place appeared to be a dead end. His gaze shifted to the trapdoors and he walked towards the one closest to him. The moment he opened it, a sweltering wave of heat hit him like a truck. He deliberated closing the door and leaving but eventually ended up entering the room.

A large burly man with his broad back covered in sweat appeared in his vision. The instructor stood in front of the forge and fiddled with something.

"Good afternoon uncle."

"You're late."

The man turned around, allowing him to get a good look at Niall Ross, Alaya's elder brother. Every time he saw his uncle, Alan wondered how siblings could be so different. Appearance-wise, his mother was thin, delicate, and beautiful; completely different from Niall's rugged appearance. His enormous stature, broad back, and chiseled muscles resembled a bear's upper body planted on a human's waist. Apart from the blond hair and broad nose, the siblings didn’t have many similarities.

"Mother thought I needed to learn some knowledge and held me back."

"About what?"

"Shizar."

Niall's lips curled in disgust. "Was she touting that stupid peace crap? There's too much bad blood between the two nations for the talks to succeed."

Alan wasn't surprised by his words. In the six months under his uncle's tutelage, he learned that Niall lacked a filter between his brain and mouth and blurted whatever he thought.

"Don't let mother hear the words, or you'll suffer." Alan casually said. Despite his uncle coming off as a strict person, in reality, he had a relaxed and easy-going personality. He didn't judge other people based on their actions and took everything in stride. Alan liked his company and was the only person he could truly relax around after Lily.

"I can't blame her for having hope, but she shouldn't allow it to blind her from the dangers."

"I don't think grandfather would've made her the duchess if she wasn't cautious."

Niall glowered at him. "Are you calling me simple-minded?"

"No."

Niall didn't look entirely convinced but dropped the topic. "Come here."

Alan walked towards the furnace while removing his shirt in the process. "Can't you let the forge rest for a few minutes? It's always hot in here."

"Get used to it. This is the environment you'll be working in all day."

The workshop lacked finished products. The things on display were half-finished products and precious metals. It had always bothered Alan, and he decided to voice it out. "Why don't you exhibit some of your weapons? People will have a better understanding of what you're capable of."

Niall snorted. "Everything I create has a purpose. I don't waste my time on useless wall hangings."

"How do you attract customers?"

"You won't ever have to worry about that. Demand for magic items far surpasses supply."

That didn't sound right. "What about the sun lamps? They're present all over the city."

"There are a few unique runes that can be etched without an enchanter."

"How?"

"Enough with the questions." Niall tossed a dagger. "Start working on that."

Alan caught the knife and examined it.

You activated Inspect

Item: Iron Dagger (Common)

Iron [95%]

Carbon [4%]

Sulphur [0.5%]

???

Item is brittle and liable to shatter.

You activated Identify

Item: Iron Dagger (Common)

Damage: 19 (max)

Due to the short-range, agility is important for wielding the weapon efficiently.

Alan ruefully shook his head. Three well-placed attacks from such a common dagger would be enough to kill him.

He placed it on the table and got ready to engrave the rune. After six months of practice, he was finally ready to test his skills.

Focusing his mind, he drew mana from the surroundings and channeled it into his finger. A shining white dot appeared on the tip. He connected it with the dagger and immediately felt a strain on his mind as he channeled mana into the weapon. The burden on him increased as he had to control energy on two fronts; the mana in the weapon and the mana flowing through him.

He paid no attention to the sweat beading on his face and concentrated on forming a perfect rune. At one point, he lost concentration and his finger shook. His heart pounded wondering if his attempt failed, but the mana remained stable. It took him one hour to inscribe the most basic rune.

When he finished it, he clutched his head and dropped to the table, breathing hard. He lacked the energy to examine his handiwork, but his heart filled with pride. The accomplishment wasn't a gift from the system, but his achievement through hard work.

The feeling of satisfaction was completely foreign, and he relished every minute of it.

[Sub Quest completed]

[Transfer Reward?]

Yes No

He ignored the notification and turned his attention to the shining weapon lying on the table.