"I'd like to try out my options, Father, in magic, swordsmanship, and other things. So for now, I'll just see what I can do in all aspects, and the one that suits me will take the cake," Silva said with a little smile.
"Smart kid indeed. Alright, your mum is the only one with any amount of magical know-how, and I am the one with the sword. Though I am relatively weak, I can still teach you a bit," his father said.
"Dad, you said you are weak. Can you explain to me? Because I think you are strong," Silva said.
"That's a dumb assumption," Quin looked up and said.
His father nodded as well and then started explaining to Silva.
"Listen closely, son. Everyone lives by levels and grows by levels. Our strength, skills, and abilities rise through leveling up.
But leveling up is not that easy, especially for us commoners, because we most times lack what is called a legacy."
Once Silva heard that word, his attention was fully drawn. He paid full attention to his father.
"Nobles, royals, and high-ranked people, most of the time, all have legacies. This legacy may be an inherited one passed down from generation to generation.
This legacy normally allows them to level up faster and get stronger faster than normal. But that is not all there is. The second thing that makes them different is that the legacy they receive by inheritance will also mutate based on the person.
So a person can receive his legacy, and his own body will change it and make it more powerful.
That's why nobles and royals are already leagues above us. Commoners that manage to awaken a legacy are most of the time taken to academies run by the kingdom to train them.
I'll let you in on a little secret: your sister Lia awakened a legacy. I still can't tell which it is, but it was verified by the city healer; he has the ability to appraise.
She will one day leave us for greener pastures and surely surpass me and your mother by a margin that is very large."
Silva was shocked to hear that his sister had a legacy; he had never used Dragon Eyes on her, hence he didn't know.
"Legacies also have levels, mostly known from F to A. I hear that you can only find A and B-level legacies in the royal families; C is mostly found in the noble houses.
I, your father, don't have one, and to top it off, all my abilities are average, so I am limited. I have been on level twenty for three years now with no signs of leveling up.
It is possible that I may have reached my peak, but I don't want to accept that fact so easily, so I train and take on quests.
But there are many levels beyond that little twenty, far, far many levels. You can make it to level 100, and after that, you can undergo what is called evolution.
I don't know much about it, because I have never met a person that has evolved, so my knowledge is limited," he explained.
Silva was shocked. He didn't expect there would be this level of difference in strength. Looking at it now, his father was weak as hell.
But still, his father struggled for the family to get stronger, and he could see that. He watched him train like there was no tomorrow, with little results to show for it.
"I'll do my best, Father. I'll make sure that I reach the highest height," Silva said.
"Stupid," Mike said with a scoff. Quin glanced at Silva but said nothing.
"Alright, kid, tomorrow your mum will take you to test your magical affinities and other stuff, and maybe you will have a legacy, but don't get your hopes up," his father said and left the table.
Quin got up early, heading to go train, but Mike didn't move. He looked Silva dead in the eyes.
"You think you are better than me because you are smart?" Mike asked.
'How the hell does a six-year-old come to that conclusion? This world is very terrifying,' Silva thought.
"I don't understand what you mean, brother," Silva played dumb.
"Don't mess with me!" Mike snapped.
'Sheesh, take a chill pill, bro. Your tantrum will give me a headache. Still, I have to deal with this issue before things escalate.'
"I am sorry if I have wronged you, brother Mike, and I beg your forgiveness," Silva said and bowed his head. He sincerely thought this would quell his brother's anger, even just a little bit.
But what happened next was going to drive a rift between them so deep and large that their very existence would become a threat to each other.
Mike stood up from his seat and walked to Silva, who was bowing.
"You think your fake apologies will trick me?" Mike asked. He took the only ceramic bowl in the center of the table and smashed it on Silva's head.
Silva was stunned by the sudden events. He had started bleeding from his head. He didn't know why Mike did that, but a sudden rage filled his heart.
He immediately threw a punch, but at the last moment, he held back some of the power, yet still, the punch sent Mike flying through one of the chairs.
The noise drew the attention of everyone in the house. They came in to see Mike on the ground, struggling to breathe on a pile of broken chairs.
Silva was also on his knees with a bleeding head. Silva knew that if they came in and he was standing, they would not see him as a victim, so he went on his knees and held his head in pain.
His father and Quin quickly grabbed Mike from the ground, while his mother and Lia tended to Silva.
Lia kept asking Silva if he was alright, with tears gathering in her eyes. Mike saw this scene, though it was blurry, and his hate grew deeper.