Family Faulkner

Kael found himself in Mia's arms, who walked slowly, exploring everything the baby was curious about, except for a few rooms with closed doors.

The mansion had two floors, and Kael's room was on the second floor. Kael had already explored the entire second floor in the arms of his maid. The second floor consisted of hallways decorated with paintings.

Some doors led to bedrooms, others to offices.

Mia continued walking, this time aiming to go down the stairs and explore the first floor, finally descending.

As Kael continued walking through the first floor, he found storage rooms, a kitchen, a few bedrooms, and more.

His tour continued; after all, this was a giant space; his small room on Earth was incomparable.

Kael didn't live in a small room because he lacked money, but because it was how he saved money. After all, he lived alone, and his income would barely make ends meet if he spent like crazy. That was his only regret: not having spent all his money before he died. His money would probably go to his parents or the state.

«One is worse than the other» Kael thought, resentful.

If the state kept his money, it would be the same as contributing to the society he detests so much, while if his parents kept it, it would be the same as contributing to his father's alcoholism, or giving money to the mother who never loved him.

He had enough money saved to survive a few months without working.

Suddenly, a metallic noise was heard; it sounded somewhat distant:

Clang! Clang! Clang!

This dispelled the depressing thoughts he'd been having.

«Is it what I think it is?» Kael thought, euphoric, a faint smile appearing on his face.

He channeled the ether previously accumulated in his body and directed it toward his head, condensing it. This sharpened his hearing and vision. The noise, which had previously sounded distant, now seemed to be right next to him, growing louder.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

«They should... right? They have to be, they have to be swords» He thought twice, as if trying to convince himself he hadn't heard wrong.

Kael was already used to channeling the Aether and condensing it; he had already experimented with all his senses. Doing so had become natural. If he wanted to see something far away, it improved his vision; he would simply channel the Aether instinctively.

The noise came from behind double brown doors, each with a handle, ready to be pushed.

The baby pointed toward the doors, looking at Mia with a tender gaze.

—Noise— the baby said, in his immature voice, with a curious tone.

He really was good at pretending to be a tender baby.

Mia held the baby in her arm and pushed a door with her right hand, opening it.

What he saw fascinated him. The room was about 35 meters wide and long. There were all kinds of weapons, from swords, sabers, spears, daggers, shields, bows, and more, resting on tables or stands.

But there was something else that caught his attention. In the center of the training room, there were two people. One was a woman with scarlet eyes and hair, a well-proportioned body, dressed in loose clothing, sweat running down her forehead, and she appeared to be about 20 years old.

The other was a man with black eyes and hair. He had a scar running from his forehead to his cheek. The scar runs across his eyelid. However, the man didn't appear blind. He had noticeable muscles. He was dressed in clothes similar to those the girl was wearing. He looked slightly tired, and was about 18-19 years old.

Both the woman and man were of similar height, around 170-175 centimeters, respectively. The girl held a saber in her right hand, while the boy held a spear in his right hand.

Moments after Kael entered what looked like a training room, the woman and man turned around. The woman looked slightly surprised while the man frowned.

After all, it's not a common sight to see a baby in such a place.

—What's this? Can even babies be here now?— the man said, his voice hoarse, in a haughty tone.

—Are you fighting with a baby?, Pathetic— the woman said, in a slightly mocking and sarcastic tone.

—udging by how much ether they've absorbed from the atmosphere, they must have two nuclei each— Kael thought, ignoring the comments about him.

—Yeah, of course, you're right, Lila,— the man said, holding back a laugh.

The woman's name is Lila, while the man's name is still unknown.

Lila glanced at Kael and then at Mia.

—Do you have something to report?— Lila said, waiting for an answer.

Mia bowed before answering.

—No, ma'am, I was touring the house with Mr. Kael, he was attracted by the noise and wanted to come in— Mia said, respectful and calm.

Lila hesitated for a moment, and seeing there was no reason for the maid to lie to her, she asked. she said,

—If that's all, no problem— Lila said, a beautiful but faint smile spreading across her lips.

Mia bowed slightly to Lila, then to the man, and headed toward the door with Kael in her arms, leaving.

Mia carried Kael to his crib and then walked out the door.

The progress of forming a core was greatly delayed by the constant vigilance of the maids, yet she managed to take advantage of every moment they were distracted to absorb ether.

She probably could have formed her first core a long time ago if it weren't for this reason.

—Does that qualify as 'talent'? It probably would have only taken five months to form my core if it weren't for the constant vigilance— Kael thought, somewhat expectant about his future.

Three Weeks Later

************

It had already been a year and three months since he arrived in this world, and it was already summer.

Kael had now added something new to his routine: he developed the habit of visiting the training room, always in the arms of a maid.

At first, he had developed this habit for two reasons, but later, he added another reason to continue it.

The first reason was that he wanted to learn how Lila and Eryon fought.

The second reason was that on the first floor, there were more servants and people, therefore, more information. Among that information, he discovered that the man he had seen with the scar on his face was named Eryon.

He also discovered that there were more members of his family, which consisted of:

His father, Drakon, was the one in the painting in front of Kael's room. His father had three wives; Elara, Kael's mother, the youngest; then there was Clara, Lila's mother; and finally, Cassia, Eryon's mother.

The third reason was that he could absorb ether more freely now. The maids, seeing how well he behaved, began to leave him alone more often, mostly because he was under the watchful eye of Lila and Eryon in the training hall.

However, Lila and Eryon were almost always fighting. He couldn't pay attention to Kael and fight at the same time. Kael took advantage of those moments to watch Lila and Eryon fight while absorbing ether.

Thus, Kael was ready to form his core.