"I remember Brother could only carve a few fragments a night," Kelly mused, her fingers brushing over the freshly carved pieces. "How did you finish so many so quickly? And these look... smoother than before."
Ryan snapped out of his thoughts, shifting his gaze away from the floating Guardian's Guide. He had almost forgotten it was there.
"Master Paul gave me a new carving knife today," he explained, keeping his voice casual. "It's much sharper than my old one, so I'm working faster now."
Kelly's eyes sparkled.
"Brother, you told me before that once you're skilled enough, you can become a sculptor. Does that mean you're ready now?"
Ryan chuckled, shaking his head.
"I don't know yet, but Master said I have a chance, if I keep working hard. If I do well, my salary will go up, and then…" He smiled at her. "Baby, I'll buy you whatever you want to eat."
Kelly giggled, her dimples deepening.
"Then I won't bother you, Brother. Keep carving."
She rested her chin in her hands, watching him intently but silently, as if trying to memorize every movement of his hands.
Ryan returned to his work, letting the rhythmic scratching of the knife against parchment settle his thoughts. But before he could finish his third piece, he heard the light sound of footsteps outside.
Kelly's face lit up instantly.
"Mom's back!"
She jumped off the stool and dashed to the door.
---
While Kelly brought over water for Eliza to wash her face, Ryan busied himself in the kitchen. He scooped three bowls of steaming porridge, setting them neatly on the small wooden table.
"Auntie, was there a lot of work today?" he asked with a smile.
Eliza, her face drawn and tired, lowered herself onto the wooden stool with a sigh.
"The weather's been hot, and Baron Locke's family had a pile of clothes to wash. We worked late," she said simply. Then, picking up her bowl of porridge, she walked to the doorway and began eating in slow, careful sips.
At first, it seemed like a normal complaint.
But something felt off.
Ryan's smile faded slightly, his brows furrowing.
For as long as he had lived with Eliza and Kelly, he had come to understand her well.
She had always been strong, always faced difficulties with a smile. Even when times were at their worst, she never let despair show on her face.
Yet tonight, she wasn't smiling.
Something was wrong.
And Ryan wasn't the only one who noticed.
Even Kelly, who was usually chatty, seemed unusually quiet, her small hands wrapped around her bowl as she stole worried glances at her mother.
Ryan picked up his bowl and drank noisily, glancing at Eliza out of the corner of his eye.
She was dressed normally, her hair still neat, no visible scars or bruises. But she was eating so slowly, and her gaze seemed distant, as if her mind wasn't here at all.
Something weighed heavily on her mind.
After a moment of hesitation, Ryan stood up, walked to the doorway, and sat down beside her.
He looked out into the quiet night, then spoke casually.
"Auntie… what happened?"
Eliza froze slightly.
"Why do you ask?"
Ryan turned his gaze toward her, his expression serious but gentle.
"Because you didn't smile today."
Eliza's fingers tightened slightly around her bowl.
For a moment, she simply stared into the distance, saying nothing. Then, with a soft sigh, she turned away from his gaze.
"It's nothing, really," she said. "I'm just… tired. Don't overthink it."
Ryan's lips pressed into a thin line.
He didn't believe that for a second.
"Auntie," he said quietly, glancing toward Kelly, who was still eating. He lowered his voice.
"Talk to me. The baby won't hear."
Eliza hesitated, then, after a long pause, she sighed again.
"Baron Locke's household is cutting down on odd jobs." Her voice was soft, yet filled with quiet worry. "I… might be one of them."
Ryan's fingers tightened around his bowl.
So that was it.
Without work, there would be no money.
No money meant no food, no rent, nothing.
But Eliza forced a small, tired smile, trying to reassure herself as much as him.
"We still have a little money saved," Ryan said. "If we're careful, it should last until you find another job."
Eliza shook her head.
"I came back late today because I was asking around for work. But most of the wealthy families aren't hiring. It'll be hard to find something quickly. And even if I do, it'll take at least a month before I see my first wage. This gap…"
She sighed heavily, pressing a hand against her forehead.
"Even if we have savings, it won't last long. And I don't want Kelly to go hungry."
Ryan's chest tightened.
A month with no income…
That would be a disaster.
He looked at the bowl of porridge in his hands, the only meal they had today.
This can't continue.
A wave of determination surged through him.
He wasn't just some helpless kid anymore.
Not anymore.
His hand curled into a fist.
If he had power, if he had money, if he had influence—
They wouldn't have to suffer like this.
He glanced at the Guardian's Guide, still hovering silently before him, its pages glistening in golden light.
If this book was truly a gift from fate, then it was time to use it.
He had one goal now.
Change everything.
And it started now.
Ryan moved silently, his steps light as he crossed the dimly lit room. He knelt by the bedside, brushing aside a few stray weeds stuffed into the bedding for extra insulation, and carefully retrieved a small cloth pouch from its hiding place.
Returning to the doorway, he pressed the pouch into Eliza's hands.
"Auntie, you carried this family on your own for so long," he said, his voice quiet yet firm. "Now that there's someone else, are you still afraid of leaning on me?"
Eliza hesitated, then slowly untied the pouch's drawstring.
A small stack of carefully saved coins gleamed under the faint candlelight.
She stiffened.
Ryan had spent over a year saving this money, working tirelessly for a dream that could change their lives.
Her fingers trembled slightly before she shook her head and pushed the purse back into his hands.
"No, Ryan," she said firmly. "You worked too hard to save this. If we spend it now, all that effort will be wasted."
Ryan smiled lightly, unconcerned.
"It's okay. I can always save again." He gestured at Kelly, who had dozed off nearby. "But Baby and I are still growing. Would you really let us go hungry?"
Eliza's lips pressed into a thin line.
"This money isn't just money," she said, her voice heavy. "It's your future. It's your chance to become a scroll engraver. I can't be selfish and take that from you."
Ryan exhaled slowly, then looked straight into her eyes.
"Auntie, you can't be selfish, but why can I?" His voice carried no hesitation, no uncertainty. "You gave me a home when I had nothing. Shouldn't I protect it?"
Eliza's gaze softened, a flicker of emotion passing through her eyes.
But still, she didn't take the money.
Instead, she turned her gaze to the night sky outside, her voice growing distant.
"This world only respects strength, Ryan," she murmured. "If you truly want to protect your family, you need power."
Ryan fell silent.
"You can use your savings to solve this problem once," she continued, "but what about the next time? If we go through this cycle again, how long before you run out of chances?"
She turned back to him. "I remember you telling me, the wages of a scroll engraver are ten to twenty times that of a simple painter."
Ryan nodded.
"When you started saving money, I was proud of you. Because I knew that once you climbed higher, you wouldn't just fix our struggles temporarily, you would break free from them completely."
A soft sigh escaped her lips.
"I don't want you to give up your future just for a few hard months."
Ryan closed his eyes briefly, taking in every word.
Then he tightened his grip on the pouch.
"Auntie, don't worry," he said. "I know what to do."
Eliza studied him for a long moment before finally smiling.
"Good. Then Auntie will find a new job as soon as possible."
Ryan grinned, lighter now.
"Alright."
And just like that, the heavy tension lifted slightly.
For the first time that night, Eliza's expression softened into something familiar, something reassuring.
Ryan saw that smile and felt his heart ease.
Without another word, he returned to his work, finishing his porridge quickly before settling back at the table to resume carving.
---
The night passed without incident.
Ryan practiced tirelessly, engraving each fragment with precise, flowing lines.
By the time dawn's pale light crept through the cracks in the walls, he had carved the Fireball Magic Circle so many times he could trace its patterns in his sleep.
And something had changed.
Though it was subtle, he could feel it.
His mind felt sharper. His hands steadier. His focus stronger.
Even his mental strength, that elusive energy of a wizard, felt as if it had grown.
In the stillness of the night, after Kelly and Eliza had fallen asleep, Ryan had experimented further with the Guardian's Guide.
He made two key discoveries.
First; he could summon and dismiss the book with a single thought.
Second, the page showing Kelly's stats had disappeared.
At first, he had thought it was a mistake, but after some testing, he realized:
The book only displayed a person's stats when he was directly facing them.
Another rule of the system.
One more piece of the puzzle.
And so, as morning arrived, Ryan had a new plan.
He had to test something.
As Ryan walked to work, he summoned the Guardian's Guide multiple times, whenever the streets were quiet, when no one was watching.
Each time, he observed carefully.
Not a single person reacted to it.
No one noticed the golden glow.
No one saw the floating book.
With each test, Ryan's confidence grew.
By the time he arrived at Paul's magic shop, he was certain:
Only he could see it.
This book truly belonged to him alone.
Even though he had taken his time, he still arrived earlier than the others.
As he approached, he saw Paul standing by the entrance, yawning as he prepared to unlock the door.
Usually, Ryan would go straight to work, immediately picking up his tools.
But today, his mind was elsewhere.
And so, instead of working immediately, he did something different.
"Master Paul," he said cheerfully. "Let me help you clean the shop today."
Paul turned, raising a skeptical brow.
"Since when do you volunteer for chores?"
Ryan simply grinned.
Because today, he wasn't just here to work.
He was here to gather information.
And if he wanted to truly understand this world's magic…
Then it was time to start asking the right questions.