Much refreshed. Much bolder. Much aura around him.
That was how Ryan Armedius felt as he sauntered through the royal palace. Hands in his pockets, shoulders squared, he slicked his hair back with a self-satisfied smirk. When the maids passed by him, he flashed them what he decided was a devastatingly handsome grin.
They blinked and smiled back at him—the refreshing feeling slowly but surely becoming contagious. When one was confident, it could be felt in their vibe. How one treated others reflects how others would treat them.
Yes, Ryan was feeling good. No, better than good, he was feeling great.
With all that buzzing energy, he strode straight into his mother's chambers.
Lysandra looked up from her desk, an ink-dipped feather frozen in her hand. Her purple eyes flicked over him, immediately noting the change in his complexion.
"Something good happened?" she asked.
Ryan folded his arms and adopted an enlightened air. "Mother, do you know philosophy?"
She blinked. "Why ask?"
With one hand on his chest, he said, "Life is such a beautiful thing, mother. You cannot see it with open eyes until you open your eyelids."
"..."
A beat of silence.
She stared at him, expression unreadable.
He nodded, as if her lack of response was approval, then made himself comfortable on the plush bed.
Lysandra sighed, turning back to her parchment. "So you've decided to use me for entertainment today."
"This prince is never bored." He grinned. "Mommy dearest, tell me about the four human paths."
"Paths?" she echoed dryly. "Like the road to the capital?"
"Tsk. Such a normie response. I mean the four paths—Mage, Healer, Martial Artist, and Beast Tamer."
"I see." She nodded, putting the pen down. "You finally took some interest in these things."
He blinked.
"What is the goal?" she asked. "Do you plan to research a way for you to become stronger?"
"Is that possible?!"
She shook her head. "Not as far as I know. I've tried all the ways I can, contacted everyone I know. But well, nothing is impossible. Since you want to learn about it, you must be planning to try your own hand at it, right?"
Ryan nodded, impressed. His mother really was quite something, coming to her own conclusions and believing they were the truth. It was admirable, really.
But well, my beautiful mother, your son already has a way to grow stronger.
"What do you want to know?" she asked.
Ryan pulled up a pink screen before him, noticing that his mother's expression remained unchanged. She could not see it.
"Tell me the basics," he said, now pretending to adjust invisible glasses, playing the part of an academic.
Lysandra leaned back slightly, humming as she slipping into lecture mode. "As you know, one needs a unique constitution to train in any of the four paths.
"Martial Artists need something called a Martial Vein, mages need something called a Spiritual Root, Beast Tamers need something called a Divine Instinct, and Healers need to have a Golden Heart."
Ryan scribbled an imaginary note in the air, nodding eagerly. "And I have none of those."
"Correct," she said bluntly, never one to coddle with false kindness. Lysandra was many things, but fake was not one of them. "But you're not alone. Billions lack the necessary traits. Only half the population of Mugen can train in one of the four paths."
"The NPCs," Ryan mused. "I was one of them."
"NP-what?"
"Nothing. Moving on!" He dramatically swiped his hand through the air. "How exactly do people grow stronger in each path? I know runes are involved, but what's the process?"
Lysandra smiled. "Martial Artists need to push their body's limits in all the categories. Stamina, endurance, resistance training, and everything in that bucket list. Whenever they breach one of their body's limits, they gain a new Rune.
"Your sister gained around 25 Runes since she awakened last year. Now that's a prodigy for you. A real, hyper prodigy."
Ryan gasped, clutching at his chest as though wounded. "Praising her to my face—aren't you afraid I'll get jealous and start resenting her?"
"You are not that shallow. Did I raise you like that?"
"I mean I am shallow."
"…"
"I am not jealous though, if she is strong, it basically means I am strong. But she is pretty demanding when I ask for favors." He rubbed his nose, smiling. "So how do mages grow stronger?"
"They do mental gymnastics instead of physical. Mages have to do calculations about the world in different ways. Chemistry, biology, mathematics. The more they study, the deeper they go in a subject, the more Runes they have. They can also gain sub-classes related to what they study the deepest."
"Oh damn, cool." Ryan was full of admiration, but then he became a bit envious. "Is Seraphina smart as well? I thought she only trains her body all the time, when does she even have the time to study?"
"When you are asleep, dreaming, she is awake. Working hard."
Ryan became silent. Then, he felt a bout of affection for that hot headed sister of his.
He had to grow stronger soon, then he had to surpass her and protect her.
"Then what about Beast Tamers, mom?"
"They have to improve their bond with their Primary Familiar. The deeper the bond, stronger the Familiar, the stronger the beast the Tamer can tame."
"Simple enough. Then what about you Healers?"
Lysandra looked at him, beautiful eyebrows quirking up.
"Make a guess," she said.
Ryan smirked. "I'd say you need to heal and study about organs and stuff to grow stronger, right?"
"Hm, close but not there yet."
His interest was picked. "Do you need to be kind, benevolent, and such?"
Lysandra giggled. "Not really. There are a lot of Healers who would kill without batting an eye."
"Just tell me already!"
"Basically, we have to give life to things."
Ryan blinked.
"When I had you and your sister, I became much stronger, for example."
Ah!
"So that's how it works!" Ryan couldn't help but be amazed. "No wonder such an individualistic person like you ended up having children."
That made her expression darken. "I genuinely wanted children as well, you brat."
"Sorry, sorry." Ryan left the bed and went to sit beside her, taking her hand and placing it on his head.
She, as usual, began running her soft fingers through his scalp.
Lysandra had never been the type of person to marry or settle down. In fact, she was the very embodiment of a free spirit.
In her younger years, she was adventuring the Continent by herself, making friendships with non-human Fiends when that was considered a great taboo for humans. Now, times had changed, and friendships with Fiends were no longer so frowned upon. But even when it was forbidden, she hadn't cared.
So, when such a fiercely independent woman—who was known to hate men—returned to the capital with a bulging stomach, everyone was stunned.
What had happened to the legendary Healer, the Genetic Saintess? Who had done the deed?
Lysandra, once a fierce feminist, had stood at the top of the palace and shouted her answer. "Do you think this lady needs a man? I am the Genetic Saintess, you peasants!"
It was a great scandal at that point.
Remembering the stories he knew about her made Ryan enjoy the soft massage on his scalp all the more.
"Mom, if having children can make you stronger, can't you just have more children?"
Lysandra pulled his hair. "The two I have are headache enough."
He nodded and just leaned back against her, staring at his system screen. Now, Ryan knew how all the human Classes levelled up—in a sense, each class had a different way of growing stronger.
Then what did he have to do to make the Plunder Sucker class level up?
Is the answer just to Plunder?
It was a Fiend Class. So did that make a difference?
He looked at his mother.
"What about monsters, mom? Things like goblins or legendary Fiend Classes. How do they become stronger?"
"Legendary fiends?" She sat up straighter. "Like Plunder Sucker, Dragons, or Blood Kin Copier?"
His heart skipped a beat. "…Yeah."
"That is a good direction to think on. Humans can't help you, but maybe they can. Well, as far as I know, Fiends evolve by murder. Unlike us humans, the Fiend Races are bloodthirsty and the reason they are bloodthirsty is that they need to kill to grow stronger."
Ryan's face paled. "I see."
She looked at his paling face and sighed inwardly. Seraphina had already had her first kill—but he had paled at the mention of murder.
She had to protect her son from the political world.
This innocence, she didn't want to see it break.
Meanwhile, ignoring the tightness in his chest, Ryan looked at his stats screen.
—
[Name: Ryan Armedius]
[Race: Human]
[Age: 16]
[Class: Plunder Sucker]
[Level: 1] (Exp: 0/100)
[Physical Body: 10]
[Mana: 16/16]
[Skills: Skill Plunder (Lv.1), Vitality Theft (Lv.1), Luck Sucker (Lv.1), Apex Predator (Lv.1), Appraisal (Lv.1)]
—
His Skill Plunder still needed time to wake up from its dormancy. And…
Just as he was about to fall into a procrastination shit hole under the comfort of his mother's fingers, a knock woke him up.
A maid entered, leading a neatly dressed green-skinned goblinette.
Sweat beaded on Ryan's forehead.
"Hm?" Lysandra's purple eyes sharpened. "A goblin?"
The maid bowed respectfully. "This is the slave Prince Ryan purchased this morning, Lady Lysandra."
Silence.
Then, Lysandra's hand clamped down on Ryan's hair.
"A slave?" Her voice was deceptively calm. "Really?"
Ryan grimaced. "Mom, I can explain!"
The maid smiled and retreated out of the room.
Ryan cried inwardly at the aura loss.
Lysandra looked at him seriously. Then sighed, letting go off her iron hold and fixed his hair. Her little boy must have been scared after yesterday's assasination attempt.
"You are at that age after all." She shook her head. "Get lost, I don't want to see a goblin in my room. And be hygienic, use rubber."
Ryan blushed, nodded, and left with the goblinette, but just after pushing the girl out of the room, he ran back in.
Lysandra looked at him.
He gave a peck on her lips and ran back out.
The mother was left sighing. Then, she smiled and her eyes turned utterly cold—to think that someone wanted to assassinate her little boy.
The gall.
She began writing again, ink dripping from the feather in quick swirls.
Did they think a single mother can't do anything if they threaten her children?
Did they think a Healer's connections were for moot?
Lysandra Armedius might no longer be the once feminist, she might have become too warm due to her children. She might not be the bold adventurer anymore—but she was, without a doubt, still the same bold woman.