It had been a week since I began training—focusing on building stamina and muscle. One thing became painfully clear: my stamina was terrible. Just a few push-ups and a light jog were enough to leave me gasping like a fish out of water. Still, I persisted. I refused to give up, even when my limbs screamed in protest.
Watching me train so recklessly, my mother tried to stop me after just a day. She said I was overdoing it, but I insisted. Eventually, she relented—on one condition. From now on, someone would supervise my training. A teacher, she called him. But this was no ordinary instructor.
He was Niko, commander of the Shadow Guard—my mother's secret protectors. The Shadows weren't just elite warriors. They could dissolve into darkness itself, vanishing like smoke. If the Knights of Vineta were the Light, then the Shadows were the Darkness—silently eliminating any threat to the Morningstar bloodline.
Each member of the Shadow Guard had signed a mana contract with the Morningstar family—an unbreakable oath. They could never betray us. Even thinking about harming a Morningstar would cause their hearts to explode. Cruel? Maybe. But that was the cost of absolute loyalty.
So here I was, training under Niko, an S-rank combatant and the embodiment of discipline. I'd thought my mother would send someone kind and lenient, but no—she sent me a relentless drill sergeant in black. Niko showed no mercy, making me run laps around the estate and drill basic exercises until my muscles screamed.
"No swords," he said firmly. "Build your body first. We'll talk about weapons later."
I groaned under my breath, but he ignored me.
Then came the mana training.
"Sit. Feel the mana I'm channeling into your body," he said each morning.
I sat cross-legged on the ground as instructed. Niko placed both palms against my back, and almost immediately, I felt heat spread through my core. It wasn't just warmth—it was as if my entire body was simmering from the inside out.
This had become our daily ritual. After a brutal physical workout from 5 to 7 a.m., I would endure an hour of fruitless mana training. My body would be drenched in sweat by the end of it.
"Do you feel the mana?" he asked again today.
"No," I muttered. "Just heat. My back… my hands… even my stomach feels like it's boiling."
Niko gave his usual response. "It takes time. Even I was a late bloomer."
Even my little brother awakened his mana two days ago, I thought bitterly. And here I am—his big brother—still struggling to feel even a trace of it.
Mana awakening was a mysterious process. It usually started with sensing mana in the air—something like a gentle vibration or subtle warmth. Legends say that the first awakenings occurred when the elves crossed into our world and settled in the East. Humans who lived near them began to sense mana and eventually awakened.
But the timing of one's awakening mattered. A late awakening could severely limit potential. Some never advanced beyond D-rank, no matter how hard they trained. Meanwhile, prodigies like Gabriel Baratheon awakened as children and went on to achieve SSS+ rank. Our own Jon Walkers, too, was said to have SSS+ potential—though his power would only be revealed later, at the academy.
And me? I couldn't even feel a wisp of mana. If I stayed in a high-mana field too long, I might suffer internal injuries. A humiliating truth.
After training, I returned to my chambers, thoroughly exhausted. I washed up and stared at my reflection in the mirror.
"Looks like I'm finally putting on some weight," I said to myself. "Starting to build muscle too…"
Just as I stepped out of the bathroom, the butler arrived with a new outfit—elegant, in deep purple and black. One glance was enough to know my mother had picked it out.
While I admired the clothes, the door slammed open.
"Liam! Why aren't you ready yet? Let's go—if we're late, Mom's going to kill us!" shouted Alex, my little brother, breathless from running.
From the way he was gasping, I could tell our mother was indeed angry. I hurried to get dressed.
"Wait, where are we going again?" I asked as I slipped on the finely tailored coat.
Alex stared at me. "Seriously? You forgot? The auction! The biggest one in the entire Kingdom of Vineta! It's the final summer auction!"
Ah, right. That explains why he's so excited. My brother had always loved magical artifacts, especially anything mana-related. Mother used to forbid him from buying such items, since he hadn't awakened his mana. But now that he had… she wouldn't be able to stop him.
The auction house was filled with enchanted relics and ancient artifacts—exactly the kind of place that made Alex's eyes light up.
After getting fully dressed, I looked at myself in the mirror. I had to admit, I looked… good. The attire fit me perfectly, and even Alex complimented me.
The maids added some finishing touches—styling my hair, smoothing out my attire. We met our parents in the hallway, and both of them looked pleasantly surprised.
"You clean up well," Father said.
"Looks like girls will be fainting today," Mother added teasingly.
"Mom, please… don't tease me like that," I muttered, flustered.
"Oh my, our son is blushing," she laughed.
Father and Alex joined in, and I couldn't help it—I laughed too. It was a rare, warm moment. A family moment.
Soon after, we boarded our royal carriage—something that looked strikingly similar to the presidential limos from my old world. We weren't traveling alone, of course. Five armored cars led the convoy, with five more behind us, all part of our protective escort.
Inside the carriage, Alex continued teasing me about my blushing. I rolled my eyes, but deep down… it felt kind of nice. To laugh. To act like a kid again.
And so, with everything prepared, we rolled out—heading toward the most prestigious auction in the Kingdom of Vineta.