Chapter 13 Making Plans, and Laying Foundations

I found my resolve...no. Rather, I reaffirmed my resolve? I don't know, I've never been good at expressing my emotions. In any case, to cut short the cringe and clichè dialogue, I decided to get a little serious about growing stronger and ranking up. Or in Meta's words, i decided to 'do better' Watching Adrianne leave had made me realize something. "..." Err...what was it again? 'Meta, have any idea? ' [... This is your monologue, I'm just a voice in your head.] 'Fucking traitor! ' [...] In any case, I began mapping out my plans and course of action for the coming years. As simple as everything may have seemed, there was quite a bit to consider before beginning to take a more active role than before. I still intend completely to live peacefully, as much as I could before the descent of the Great Calamity. And for that, i needed to start laying the ground work. "...You want to get stronger?" "Yes, father." I lowered my head earnestly and pleaded to Dorian who sat behind a desk in his study. The strands of Dorian's ash colored hair shimmered only slightly in the dim lights of his study. There were tall bookshelves lining the walls, and the floor was draped with a splendid burgundy rug. His desk was made of finely carved ebony wood, and a soft symphony played from what i believed to be a record player like from Earth. Dorian took off the pair of thin framed lens he had on at the moment, and placed it down on the desk before him. Soon the gentle symphony that surrounded the study cease all of a sudden, suggesting to me that my father had turned it off for the time being. Eventually, his deep voice said, inquisitively. "What brought this on, my son? Does it have anything to do with your older sister?" I had already prepared and appropriate response for this beforehand. I raised my head and straightened up as I replied firmly. "Yes, father," i said . "I...I don't really get it now, but I know Adrianne is doing her best for the family. As the heir, she is weighed by responsibilities i can't even imagine. You've always known how much I care and look up to her. I want to be as strong as Adrianne...at the very least, strong enough to support her. " I made sure to add as much resolution into my words as needed. Of course all of that is bullshit. This is only necessary to set up the foundations for my future. I would be getting much stronger than they would imagine, but I have zero reason to show off. I intend to play the role of a supportive and hardworking younger brother and son, but one who ultimately lacks talent. This way, I would at least be able to make use of whatever resources i can in advance to level up and rank up ahead of time. But on the surface, I would have reached my limit far earlier. Dorian hummed thoughtfully for a few seconds and drummed his fingers on his desk. Eventually his straight face turned into a light smile as he said. "Very well, my son. I'm proud of your conviction to wanting to grow for our family and those around you. I promise to support you however I can. But you have to remember, not everyone is the same. Do not compare yourself with your sister along your journey. " I nodded simply. My bones exploded a few times when creating a technique before. Aura could be used passively and actively to augment the warriors body and armor, but only through specific techniques designs called Arts, could one draw the full potential and capabilities of this mysterious energies. And as such, it was hard trying to Master Aura without an available technique. This was something I would be thought by my family if I were to awaken eventually. Even the Main branch had a special Art that boasted tremendous power. This was actually the power that gave them the most authority over the branches. While envying so badly my sister Adrianne, I gritted my teeth and through my sweat and blood...and exploding bones... slowly created an Art entirely from scratch! At least I had Meta with me. But clearly a year wouldn't suffice for me to achieve an Art. So the first year was spent mastering the basics of Aura, and building my firm foundation with Meta. I also focused on improving my body to manually level up with physical exercises that made my muscles cry in anguish each day. One hundred push-ups. One hundred sit-ups. One hundred sqats. One hundred pull-ups Ten kilometers run. And the barbaric training I went through under my family. It's a miracle my hair didn't fall off. I couldn't hunt beast or monsters, so physical exercises were all I could do, and this process was painfully slow. I realized with horror how hard it was to move a single level up by doing even calisthenics! I had to make minor adjustments to my plan. I was barely able to grind my levels manually through the years and better refine my body to attune with my Awakened status. And on my ninth year in Aetohria, I began to make substantial progress in creating my Art. I developed my spearmanship skills under the teachings of my father and gained considerable experience from the house guards. And aside from all of the mindless training I spent the months doing, I had grown my knowledge beyond what i had only heared from Meta. We were a noble family and owned a territory. As the second child of the Bright family, even I still had obligations with my people. Deeping my relationship with our people and expanding my knowledge of this world, side by side mastering Aura and grinding levels, five years soon passed by. "You're heading out to hunt today, Victor." While fixing the last of my necessities, I turned, bowed and responded to Dorian. "Yes, father. I hope to explore on the woods and learn to manage game." That was my excuse. " I understand. Just be careful. The woods in winter can be dangerous from the lack of enough resources. " Dorian said some parting words as he left to attend to some other matters. I stared silently at his back as he retreated before fasting my coat and quiping my quills. I stared ahead at the front yard before me, flakes of snow rained down from the cloudy skies and turned the ground white. Letting out a turbid breath, I rubbed my mitten covered hands together and smiled. "Let's go." *** One more chapter to make up for my absence incoming.