NOVEL NEXT Chapter 43: Thief in the Night
He walked through the vast, silent treasury, the only sound the soft padding of his own boots on the cold stone floor. The air was thick with the smell of old metal, dust, and immense, sleeping power.
His eyes scanned the room. In one section, he saw racks of beautifully crafted weapons. There were longswords with jewels embedded in their hilts, elegant staves carved from glowing wood, and bows that seemed to hum with a faint energy.
On a stand of its own sat a heavy, black shield that seemed to absorb the light around it.
Further in, he found glass cases filled with jewelry. Rings, amulets, and bracelets, each one pulsing with a soft, magical light. He knew these were not ordinary trinkets. They were artifacts, filled with enchantments.
'But what do they do?' he wondered, pressing his hand against the cool glass of one case. He saw a simple silver bracelet that seemed to call to him. 'Does it increase strength? Speed? Is it just a fancy paperweight?'
He remembered the systems from the stories he used to read. They could scan an item and tell the hero everything about it. His system was not so helpful.
Still, he tried. He focused on the bracelet. 'System, can you please appraise this for me?'
The blue screen remained blank. No reply. Not even a "request denied." Just silence.
Pss. He let out a frustrated hiss. "Useless."
He left the artifacts alone. He knew if he took one without permission, his sister would become his new, most immediate death flag. He couldn't risk it.
He moved on, heading for the section where the family kept its raw wealth. Mountains of gold coins were piled in massive chests. But he wasn't here for gold. He was here for something far more valuable.
He found them tucked away in a smaller, more secure vault behind the gold piles. Aether stones. They glowed with a soft, internal light, like captured stars.
He began to search, his heart pounding. He opened chests and ran his hands through piles of glittering gems. His excitement slowly turned to disappointment. There were only two. Two small, low-grade Aether stones, each no bigger than his fist. For a family as powerful as the Ashveils, it was a pitifully small amount.
He gulped. 'Will she forgive me for this?' Taking gold was one thing. Taking the family's source of power was another. But he had to. 'I have to become strong.'
He didn't hesitate. He grabbed the first stone. It was cool to the touch, but he could feel the raw energy buzzing inside it. He sat down on the floor, closed his eyes, and began to absorb its essence.
The Aether flowed into him, a wild, chaotic river of energy. It felt like drinking pure lightning. His body tensed, every muscle screaming in protest. He focused his mind, using the techniques Professor Cindral had described, trying to tame and purify the wild energy. After a few agonizing moments, the flow stopped.
Crack.
The stone in his hand crumbled into a fine, grey dust. He opened his eyes and looked at the pile of ash in his palm.
'The professor didn't tell me they shatter,' he thought. 'Well, I was going to tell her I took them anyway. Hiding things from a person like her… she would beat me to death.'
He then picked up the second stone and did the same. The process was just as painful, another jolt of raw power flooding his system. It too turned to dust when he was finished.
He stood up, his body trembling slightly. 'Now for the moment I've been waiting for. I can feel the power.'
He called up the system, a hopeful smile on his face.
[◈ STATUS MANIFEST ◈]
[Name: Azrael Ashveil]
[Title: The Unwanted Heir]
[Rank: [Beginner]]
[Condition: Fatigued]
[◈ CORE ATTRIBUTES ◈]
[STR (Strength): 9 / 100]
[AGI (Agility): 9 / 100]
[END (Endurance): 8 / 100]
[AET (Aether): 9 / 100]
[LCK (Luck): 5 / 100]
[CHA (Charisma): 8 / 100]
[◈ AFFINITY ◈]
[Primary Slot: [Thread Affinity] (Tier: Basic)]
The smile vanished. "What?" he whispered to the empty room. "Nothing changed?"
He had just consumed a fortune. Two Aether stones that most nobles would kill for. And for what? His rank was the same. His stats were the same. Nothing had happened. He cursed his rotten luck.
His eyes, now burning with a new, desperate determination, fixed on the system interface. If the real world wouldn't give him power, he would buy it himself.
'Shop. Item. Aether Stone. Purchase.'
[Confirm Purchase: Aether Stone (Mid Grade)?]
[Cost: 20,000 P]
[YES / NO]
'Yes.'
A small, intensely bright stone materialized in his hand. It pulsed with a power far greater than the ones he had just used.
'Now, you are mine.'
He absorbed it. The feeling was completely different. It was not a wild river. It was a clean, pure energy that merged with his own Aether seamlessly. He could feel something inside him changing, shifting, a lock clicking open.
A new notification flashed on his screen, its text a brilliant, celebratory gold.
[Rank Increased: Beginner -> Apprentice]
[New Affinity Tier Unlocked]
His lips curled into a wide, triumphant smile. The locked skills in his affinity window were now available.
Intermediate Tier:
[Cutting Line]: Compresses threads into razor-sharp wires capable of slicing through steel. They can be made nearly invisible.
[Thread Sense]: Allows threads to be spread out over an area like a spiderweb. The user can feel any vibration or movement through them, acting like a sonar or radar.
[Puppet Bind]: Lets the user attach threads to objects, weapons, or even opponents, controlling their movements like a marionette.
His eyes glowed with a dangerous light. He let out a low, sarcastic laugh.
"Come for me, Kaelen," he whispered. "I'll beat your ass with this one."
Days passed. His body healed, the itchy scars fading with each passing day. But he was not resting. He was training.
For the next nine days, he pushed his body to its absolute limit. He spent every waking moment in the mansion's private training grounds, learning to use his new abilities.
He learned to create threads so thin they were invisible to the naked eye. He learned to weave them into sharp, cutting wires that could slice through a practice dummy with a soft hiss.
He practiced his Thread Sense, spreading a web across the entire training ground until he could feel the exact location of a single leaf falling from a tree.
His control grew with every hour of painful, repetitive practice.
On the tenth day of his recovery, he called up his status one last time.
[◈ STATUS MANIFEST ◈]
[Name: Azrael Ashveil]
[Title: The Unwanted Heir]
[Rank: [Apprentice]]
[Condition: Healthy]
[◈ CORE ATTRIBUTES ◈]
[STR (Strength): 11 / 100]
[AGI (Agility): 11 / 100]
[END (Endurance): 10 / 100]
[INT (Intelligence): 12 / 100]
[AET (Aether): 11 / 100]
[LCK (Luck): 5 / 100]
[CHA (Charisma): 8 / 100]
[◈ AFFINITY ◈]
[Primary Slot: [Thread Affinity] (Tier: Intermediate)]
He looked at the numbers, a satisfied smile on his face. 'Strength is up by two. Agility by two. Endurance is also up by two points from all the training. And my Intelligence and Aether are up as well. It's not much, but it's a start.'
He felt a new sense of confidence. He was still weak compared to the monsters at the academy, but he was no longer helpless.
"I am ready," he said to himself. "Let's see what happens next."
He walked out of the training grounds and found one of the butlers.
"Ready the carriage," he commanded, his voice full of a new, quiet authority. "We are leaving for the academy."