Third Person's POV

*BAM!*

"Wah!" Xironia was startled by the sudden crash and dropped her quill, but she soon relaxed when she saw her son. "Oh, Alaric." Her eyes narrowed at the state he was in when he entered her study.

"What's wrong? Why are you breathing so heavily?"

"Hah... Father... Where is Father?" Alaric could barely speak, his soaked clothes sticking to him like a second skin.

"Father? He went out for some work," Xironia spoke pushing her cushioned chair back and getting up, Alaric's smile fell and he stared at the floor for a moment before he looked back up at Xironia and huffed his chest.

"Mother, come with me," Alaric huffed, grabbing her hand without waiting for an answer "You will be a good enough witness."

Xironia's brows raised in intrigue as she let herself get dragged and soon she was standing in the arbor where Aurelia was sitting with a book in her hand and a frown on her face.

Alaric left her there and walked away.

"What is with him today?"

"... No clue," Aurelia had a confused face too, "I was immersed in reading until suddenly he ran inside."

Xironia looked at the book Aurelia was holding from the corner of her eyes, but before she could get a better look Alaric's voice reached her and she turned her attention towards the figure in the middle of the ground, jumping and waving.

The moment Xironia turned her head towards him he gave her a wide smile before his legs started moving at an unbelievable pace that one wouldn't expect from a child.

"Ah. He must be done with it" Xironia smiled and took a seat before crossing her legs and resting one elbow on her knee and leaning forward to place her chin on her palm. She took a comfortable position knowing that she wouldn't be moving from this place for a few hours.

Xirania patiently watched Alaric run, her eyes noticing every change.

She saw how his feet no longer stumbled with exhaustion.

How his breaths, once ragged and uneven, now came in practiced rhythms.

How he was faster, smoother—proof of months of grueling effort.

Alaric has improved. A lot.

"He is fast, don't you think? I surely wasn't that fast when I was at the Black stage."

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Xironia let out a small chuckle, "Look at him smile," she said and turned silent, her lips curling and her lids lazily coming down halfway. Her fiery orange gaze that always seemed to scrutinize everything was different, it was warm like a flame in a chilly night. Xironia watched her son with utmost interest.

Aurelia sighed at the discrepant reply, she realized she wouldn't be getting any answers from her right now so she decided to return to her book.

Hours passed but Xironia stayed at the same place, watching with the same interest until Alaric stopped running after reaching the arbor.

"One hundred and twenty-five... Haah... Done," Alaric smiled, but he could barely keep himself up, his legs quivered when he tried to lift them and climb the two small steps made out of polished stone to reach inside the arbour that was elevated a few feet above the ground.

As soon as he tried to lift his legs to take a step, they gave out.

He reached forward instinctively to cushion his fall, but instead of hitting the ground, he found his fall to be interrupted. Xironia's slender arms enveloped him, pulling him close until his face sank into the softness of her embroidered dress.

"You did so good, Al," she murmured, her voice low and comforting.

Alaric felt Xironia's grasp tighten. The feeling in his legs was gone. If Xironia were to let go of him, he would surely fall, but that wasn't a concern in his mind right now.

"Mother, I'm all sweaty—let me go!"

"Such low effort pleads don't work on me," Xironia chuckled combing Alaric's hair as he squirmed in her grasp, she enjoyed watching her son's embarrassment before deciding to make his life harder, "Since you feel so dirty, Mom will clean you up. Time for a nice bath."

Alaric's face paled, his neck might be creaking like a rusty machine with how he lifted his face to look up with dread in his eyes, "No, Mother, please! I don't have the strength to fight back!"

"That is not how you plead, dear," Xironia said and it was her turn to drag Alaric now. Aurelia chuckled, the drama was entertaining and she wanted to join Xironia in teasing Alaric but she could tell that her chances to enjoy the child's reaction were far too low, so she simply took her book and went to the library.

Alaric was cleaned until he was shiny and his skin squeaky by Xironia. After they were done, Xironia along with a flushed and embarrassed Alaric walked down the hallway to the dining hall where Novius was waiting. Alaric's run alone had taken him till evening.

Running a hundred kilometers was bound to take time, it had taken Alaric a bit more than four hours to be done. By the time they were done, it was almost dusk and while the mother-son duo was having a nice bonding bath, Novius had returned from his work and was already waiting for them in the dining hall.

Before Alaric could even open his mouth, Xironia was already boasting to Novius about his achievement. The cute, embarrassed pout Alarid had till reaching the dining hall because of her was gone as he listened to Xironia while silently eating his dinner.

[Ding! Task Completed!]

[100,000 Aurel points have been added to [Balance].]

'Stats' Alaric called out in his head and saw a panel materialize from his bed where he was currently lying.

[Host's Stats]

[Name: Alaric Athran]

[Age: 7]

[Title: The Doted Child of Athran household]

[Core: Black]

[Level: 5]

[Mana: 10]

[Talent: —]

[Vitality: 8 —> 10]

[Strength: 9 —> 11]

[Defence: 7 —> 9]

[Speed: 8 —> 12]

[Intelligence: 15 —> 19]

[Stamina: 5 —> 20]

[Balance]

Aurel Points: 0 —> 100,000

Astral Shards: 0

'Eh? That doesn't look good.' Alaric sighed dejectedly, staring at the numbers with a slight frown. His eyes lingered on his stamina. 'At least that's improved... I guess.'

[Really? Not bad for a little shrimp like you. ( •̀ ω •́ )✧]

Alaric groaned hearing the teasing in Boon's voice and slumped down on the pillow.

"Man, all that running... My stamina's through the roof. Today felt like nothing compared to how it was during the first month of running." He glanced back at the panel. "But why didn't my level go up? My stats all increased—shouldn't I have leveled up by now?"

[It is not about increasing the stats. Like all the other stats, the level is a stat that's related to a completely different thing than the rest of the stats. Undoubtedly, if you do end up increasing all stats unreasonably high then you will level up eventually. It's the same as having too much vitality means you will gain higher defence, but that is just trying to punch a wall with your face. You will break before the wall.]

'What is level related to then?'

[Your level depends on your cultivation progress. You are certainly improving physically but you have not cultivated at all so it is in the same level as the day you formed a core.]

'Should I start cultivating then?' Alaric wondered. He hadn't really given it much thought. After all, the early stages were supposed to be simple... right? He had no idea how it works, he just assumed that since it is the first stage.

[Not a great idea. That will make your Grandmother bestow some hectic amount of physical exercise next and that will reduce the time for our night lessons, better to stay in the Black stage until your Grandmother or Father says otherwise.]

Alaric hummed in understanding, and the panels blinked out of existence. His eyelids grew heavy, the soft hum of the night lulling him into a deep, peaceful sleep.