The West Pavilion wasn't a home; it was a rotting wound on the edge of the magnificent Thorne Estate.
While the main house boasted roof tiles made of spirit-blue jade that hummed with warmth during winter, the West Pavilion was little more than a collection of splintered wood and drafty stone. The wind didn't just blow here; it howled through the cracks in the walls like a dying beast, carrying the biting chill of the nearby mountains.
Five years had passed since the "Blood Purity Test." Five years of silence. Five years of being the "Ghost of the Estate."
At five years old, Aris was small for his age. His ribs pressed faintly against his rough linen tunic, and his skin was pale from living in the shadow of the valley walls. But if you looked closely—past the dirt and the rags—you would see eyes that were too sharp, too cold, and far too old for a child.
While the other children of the servants played tag in the dirt or practiced with wooden swords, Aris spent twelve hours a day in the Thorne Estate Coal Pits.
"Move it, brat!" a guard barked, his voice echoing off the canyon walls.
Crack.
A whip snapped through the air, missing Aris's head by inches. It was a warning shot, meant to keep the "slaves" moving.
Aris didn't flinch. He didn't even look up. He simply adjusted his grip on the woven basket strapped to his back. It was filled with Spirit-Anthracite—a low-grade fuel used to heat the baths of the legitimate heirs. The basket weighed forty pounds. Aris weighed forty-two.
To the guard, Aris was a pathetic, struggling child. But inside Aris's mind, the world was a stream of beautiful, cascading data.
[Passive Skill: Pain Resistance (Rank 1) is active.]
[Stamina: 12 / 45]
Just another day at the office, Aris thought grimly. Different world, same grind. At least here, I get paid in stats instead of taxable income.
He stumbled deliberately, his hand brushing against a large, jagged chunk of raw coal. To the naked eye, he was regaining his balance. In reality, he was feeding.
[Target: Low-Grade Spirit Coal]
[Detected: Trace amounts of Earth-Vein Essence.]
[Action: Absorb?]
Execute, Aris commanded.
As his small, calloused palm pressed against the black rock, the Abyssal Nexus flared to life. A faint, invisible suction force activated in his meridians. The latent energy inside the coal—warm, heavy, and dense—was ripped out of the stone and pulled into his body.
The coal turned grey and brittle, crumbling into dust under his touch.
[Absorption Complete.]
[EXP Gained: 0.5]
[Body Tempering Progress: 88%... 89%...]
He wasn't just working; he was embezzling. Every basket he hauled was a secret training session. He was "mining" the estate's resources right under their noses, turning their fuel into his foundation.
"Aris!"
A soft, frantic voice cut through the mechanical rhythm of his work.
Aris wiped the soot from his forehead and looked up. His mother, Elena, stood at the edge of the pit. She looked haggard. Her hands were red and raw, the skin cracked from washing the laundry of the main house in freezing water. She held a small object wrapped in a cloth.
"I saved this for you," she whispered, glancing around nervously to ensure the guards weren't watching. She unwrapped the cloth to reveal a piece of bread. It was stale and hard, likely stolen from the servants' leftovers.
Her eyes brimmed with guilt. She hated this. She hated that her son, who carried the blood of a General, was reduced to a beast of burden.
"Eat, my love. You're so thin," she choked out.
Aris took the bread. It felt like a rock, but to him, it was fuel. "Thank you, Mother."
He didn't eat it immediately. His gaze drifted past her shoulder. His Abyssal Eye auto-activated, highlighting three heat signatures approaching from the upper ridge.
[Threat Detected.]
[Target: Kael (Son of the Guard Captain)]
[Level: 3 (Qi Gathering - Stage 1)]
"Well," Aris thought, a cold smirk touching his lips. "It seems the tutorial mobs have spawned."
Three boys walked toward them. They were older—around eight or nine—wearing clean leather tunics and carrying wooden practice swords. They were well-fed, loud, and bore the cruel arrogance of children who knew their fathers held power.
"Hold this, Mother," Aris said, handing the bread back to Elena. "It's about to get dusty."
"Aris? What are you—"
He turned to face them. A small, skinny five-year-old against three older, armed boys. To any onlooker, it was a tragedy waiting to happen. To Aris, it was just math.
[New Quest: The First Blood]
[Objective: Defeat Kael and his lackeys without using visible Qi.]
[Reward: 150 AP, Skill Book: Ghost-Step (Low Grade).]
[Bonus Objective: Secure Provisions (Take their lunch).]
"Hey, half-breed!" Kael shouted, swaggering forward with his chest puffed out. "The Matron said slaves shouldn't have bread. It makes them lazy. Hand it over, or I'll break your other heel to match the first one."
Aris tilted his head. His left eye pulsed with a hidden violet hue. He saw the "flow" of Kael's clumsy movements. He saw the inefficiencies in his gait, the way he leaned too far forward.
"I've spent forty-eight hours straight coding on three hours of sleep," Aris whispered, his voice low and devoid of fear. "A spoiled brat like you isn't even a mid-boss. You're barely an NPC."
[Abyssal Eye Analysis Complete.]
[Weakness Detected: Right Knee (Structural Integrity: Low).]
Aris took a breath. The grind was over. It was time for PvP.