Beautiful shades of orange, red, and yellow shone through the curtains as Jack started to wake up.
Jack stretched as he stared at the morning sun before a message appeared in front of his eyes.
Reward: 10 EXP | 1 Stat Point | 10 Skill Points
Penalty: -1 to all stat points.
’More things to do for my daily quest now.’
Jack got out of bed and put on his trousers, boots, and a simple tunic.
The only ones up at this hour were servants, guards, and the few early risers.
Jack made his way from his room on the fourth floor to the training grounds behind the Kaiser Mansion.
A few servants and guards were out and about in the hallways and bowed deeply as Jack walked by.
With each person he passed, Jack bowed back to them and smiled at them.
At the training grounds, one man was already training. It was Adrian, the guard captain for the Kaiser estate.
"Young Master, what brings you here so early?"
’I was hoping you’d have a polearm I could practice with.’
"Polearm, interesting. I’d assume you’d take up the sword like your father and sister Octavia."
’I had a dream last night. It called to me. The dream was so strong and lucid it felt like I was holding a weapon all night last night.’
"There are a lot of options for polearms. We have two in stock currently. The spear, a well-rounded choice to start with or we have the Halberd. Something a bit more nasty given your situation."
’A spear will do just fine. I just wish to train and get my body stronger.’
"It’s a good place to start. Do you need instructions, my lord?"
’No that won’t be necessary, I’ll have it figured out in no time.’
Jack still had no clue why he had this system or who gave it to him. However, his instincts told him that following this system could help him get stronger.
Jack started his exercises by stabbing a training dummy with the spear. His technique was a little sloppy, but he did his best to complete the task.
He followed by doing his push ups, sit ups, pull ups, and squats. The exercises were slightly easier than the previous day.
But still, sweat began to bead on Jack’s forehead.
A knock came at Jack’s door. "Jack, we need to discuss yesterday. And where will we go from here?" Alaric asked.
He waited a few seconds and knocked again. Still no answer.
Right before he was about to enter the room, a servant spoke up.
"Master, Young Lord Jack is in the training grounds this morning."
"Already? I hope he’s not pushing himself too hard." Alaric pondered.
Adrian looked at Jack in confusion. The exercises they normally did consisted of sparring with training weapons, weighted runs, or harvesting mana.
Alaric approached quietly, not to disturb anyone’s training. "How is my son doing, Adrian?"
Adrian and every other guard present immediately dropped to one knee. "My Grace, young master Jack is doing well. I just didn’t expect to see him so soon, or with his choice of weapon."
"Yes, it is quite peculiar. Did he give a reason why he chose that weapon? I trust you’re teaching him?"
"He said it came to him in a dream, and that he didn’t need my help. He just needed to train. He’s fine with the basic exercises he’s doing to strengthen his body, but he is having a hard time using the spear effectively." Adrian explained.
"I see, my son is quite unique. It’s a shame he doesn’t want to wield a sword. I could have trained him. And his mana training?"
"I have yet to see him harvest any mana."
By this point, Jack had noticed his father and Adrian talking. With the increase in his stats, the daily routine became easier with the exception of the new spear-related challenges.
’System, what does my Analyze allow me to see?’
[Anything. Just try it.]
[Alaric Kaiser | Level 84.]
[Affinity: Dark, ??, ??]
[Description: Patriarch of the Kaiser family. ??. ??. ??.]
’Holy Cow! Level 84! And he has a triple affinity. It seems my father is crazy strong.’
[Analyze has leveled up.]
[The Kaiser family controls 1/3 of this nation. If he were weak, your family wouldn’t have as much influence.]
Jack focused back on his training and for the next hour tried to finish up his quest. When he attempted his last challenge. He tried to spin the spear and would get it a few times in a row before dropping the spear.
Jack felt a little embarrassed by his lack of skill.
[Don’t worry, just keep practicing and one day you’ll learn how to hold a spear.]
’Yeah, I know. I’m just trying to get this done.’
After 30 more minutes, Jack completed his last challenge.
[Reward: 10 EXP | 1 Stat Point | 10 Skill Points]
Class: Lightning Mage (Rank 1)
Martial Talent Rank: S
Blessings: Draven’s Pendant
Skills: Scan (level 2), Polearm Mastery (level 1: 35%)
"My son, I didn’t expect to see you out here so early in the morning."
’If I’m going to succeed in life, I can’t sit still and wait for something to happen to me.’
"Wise words. But we have important matters to discuss."
’And where do you want to start?’
"Let’s start with the most important one. You’re going to inherit my position one day, so it’s important to find people you can trust. And for that to happen you must be strong and wise.
I do not doubt that you will make an excellent leader. But, you need to grow stronger so you can have people who will watch your back no matter what.
Furthermore, I’ve noticed that you’re physically training yourself which is good. But, you need to accept mana into your body. Without it, you’ll have a hard time getting by in this world."
’Yes, figuring out mana was my next objective to do.’
"I can help you do that much. But you are also an heir to the people here. You need to learn how to start and run a business, help those in need, and conquer a dungeon."
’And how long are you giving me?’
"A month. Someone tried to kill you, you need to be able to defend yourself from anything."
"Your mother can help you with a business. And Annabelle can give you direction on helping someone on our territory.
Finish those two tasks while you train every day. Once you get to that point we’ll talk about dungeons."
’Of course Father! I promise not to disappoint you. I’ll even start a successful business that will make you proud of me.’
"I have high hopes for you Jack. You have almost as much raw potential as I did."