Arias exits his carriage and stretches his body, his arms raised in the air as he lets out a yawn. He was like a lion who had just exited his den, greeting the morning sun as an equal.

Arias sniffs the air and smells something stewing. Drowsy-eyed and lazy-legged, he walks over following the scent of food.

He was currently on the road with his cousins and Violet, accompanied by an armed guard from both the Emerald Trident and Shearpeak.

Leading the guard from Shearpeak was Rashton, a high ranking member of Duke Nalzor’s guard, and a sixth stage body cultivator.

Rashton watches as Arias’ sleepy form approaches the people gathered around breakfast. Rashton’s eyes were sharp and his brows were furrowed. He was the one who was initially asked to keep watch on Arias. The first time Arias left the house in the middle of the night and disappeared, he was surprised; he thought maybe he let his guard down. But then it happened a second time, a third time, and a sixth time. After that, these were the only eyes he could watch Arias with; the boy was not who he seemed.

If this was a normal case, Rashton would have already been asked to take the boy in and interrogate him. But involved in all of this was the duke’s love for his daughter, and her love of her son. In addition, he seemed to currently have no ill-intent; he had even been tutoring his cousins. The boy was teaching them something weird, but the intent seemed to hold no malice. Rashton had already stolen whatever books Alice and Rodrick had been given to make copies before returning them. When the duke saw them, he couldn’t hide the shock on his face; these were complete copies of body and magic cultivation techniques, not some half-finished product that most people would have no choice but to settle for. Each of these techniques held a roadmap to the ninth stage. The Nalzor family only had one such technique, the Cliff’s Edge Retaliation technique; a body cultivation technique that led to the ninth stage.

In addition to this were a sword technique and various spellbooks that introduced the reader to various daos and domains of knowledge.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Duke Nalzor wanted nothing more than to turn Arias upside down and shake out whatever else he was hiding; just what they had copied was more wealth than the duke would have previously imagined. But unfortunately the duke couldn’t say anything; Arias had yet to break his façade, and any such power with that sort of wealth wasn’t something the Nalzor family could dare to test. They had to wait… Wait for Arias to make a mistake… They had to catch him in the act so that he would have no choice but to reveal himself… And the best person to do that would be…

Myriam’s figure blended into the tree's figure that she was standing on, the leaves, bark, and shadows, blending into her form, hiding her presence. She watches as Arias walks over to the cauldron of stew still on the fire and she couldn’t help but let out a laugh. What a sleepy boy. Like a lazy morning cat. She thinks, wanting nothing more than to mess up the hair on Arias’ head. Although she was currently stalking the boy, she couldn’t deny her own son’s cuteness.

Much like duke Nalzor had expected, Myriam had gone out to see for herself… See who her son really was…

…

…

Arias holds out his hands. “Stew please.” He says with half-open eyes.

The cook sees this and smirks. She pours a bowl and puts it Arias’ hands. “Careful. It’s hot.” She says, amused.

“Thanks, ma’am.” Arias says before finding something to sit on. Arias sits on a stump and begins to eat, his mind slowly waking up.

There were soldiers all around, eating breakfast and having conversations. It was a bustling morning, occasionally graced with someone’s laughter or someone’s angry cry. Arias had never experienced such a scene before; not as a boy. As far as most of these people knew, he was just a helpless kid; someone to look after. It was weird and if Arias was being honest, he loved it. All this wealth… Arias wondered if all kids experienced such things…

“I can pour it myself! I’m already fourteen!” Rodrick exclaims as he takes the ladle and pours his own bowl. He didn’t like how the cook called him ‘kid’, and he was somewhat lashing out.

Arias sees this and shakes his head. So ungrateful. He thinks with disdain.

The cook smirks. “Sorry, young master. I just wasn’t sure if you had the skill to handle a ladle. I was worried for you.” She says, amused.

The surrounding soldiers heard this and they all burst out into laughter.

Rodrick’s face becomes red and he walks away with his bowl of stew to stand next to Arias.

Arias lets out a smirk as he looks up at Rodrick.

Rodrick sees the smirk and frowns. “I’m not a kid.” He says defiantly.

Arias lets out a chuckle. “If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck…” He says before bursting out into laughter.

Rodrick had no choice but to stand there as his face got redder and redder. He felt the shame but he didn’t dare to admit it.

Arias wipes a tear and his laughter slows. “Don’t worry, Rodrick. The heavens are limitless and there’s a place for you; you still have time to grow.” He says, offering some comfort.