Grandfather's Priceless Gifts
Kyle opened the lid of the box with eager anticipation.
The first thing that caught his eye was a glass vial filled with a viscous gray liquid. Curious, he uncorked it, and a fishy, heavy scent assaulted his nose.
"I-Iron Armored Dragon's marrow."
Erica, who had come down after him, explained in a stammering voice. It was the refined essence extracted and condensed from the bones of the rare monster known as the Iron Armored Dragon.
"To make just one vial like that, you'd have to kill at least a few dozen of them, even if you're lucky."
Since it took slaying dozens of such already rare monsters to produce a single vial, it was an extraordinarily precious elixir.
"Drinking it dramatically increases bone density, making your bones nearly unbreakable. Even if they do crack or fracture somehow, they heal quickly—and each time, they grow even tougher."
Kyle let out a gasp of admiration at Erica's explanation and shook the vial.
Next to catch his eye was another glass vial, much smaller than the one with the dragon marrow—about the size of an adult's finger. It didn't contain a liquid so much as a bluish glow.
"This is..."
"Thunder Resonance Grass dew."
Erica said it with a grimace.
"It's the essence gathered from Thunder Resonance Grass that grows deep in the heart of the Myriad Thunder Valley in the south. And..."
"Incredibly rare and expensive, right?"
"Yeah. Drinking the dew massively boosts your reflexes."
Next came a sticky, jelly-like red lump that looked like congealed blood. As Kyle poked at the squishy mass with his finger, Erica let out a long sigh.
"Good lord... even Blood Ghost Tree fruit...?"
Naturally, this was another insanely rare item. The Blood Ghost Tree was hard to find even on a good day, and when it rarely bore fruit, the fruit withered immediately after being picked.
"Eating that fruit makes your muscle fibers tough and elastic. Density and endurance skyrocket, and recovery improves too."
As he listened to the explanations of the three elixirs, Kyle grinned.
Grandpa's got great taste.
Elixirs that increased mana were useless to Kyle, whose spirit root hadn't awakened yet. What he needed right now were elixirs to toughen this immature body of his.
Iron Armored Dragon marrow for bones. Thunder Resonance Grass dew for reflexes. Blood Ghost Tree fruit for muscles. Through these three, Kyle's body would become far stronger than any five-year-old's could be—and as he grew older and trained harder, that strengthening would amplify even further.
They're all priceless.
He'd never even heard of Thunder Resonance Grass dew before, but the dragon marrow and ghost tree fruit had existed even five hundred years ago. They were so rare and costly that even as the Sword Ghost, he'd only heard tales of them—never tasted them.
"What's this?"
Besides the three elixirs, the box held plenty more. Tilting his head, Kyle lifted a necklace. Inside the transparent gem swirled a purple light, and focusing on it sent a prickling tingle deep into his body.
"That's... thunder essence."
Arian said in a surprised voice.
"Just as the name implies, it's a gem infused with the essence of lightning. Simply carrying it boosts your affinity for thunder energy."
"Thunder energy?"
"Not guaranteed, but carrying an elemental essence at a young age can sometimes awaken a matching spirit root."
"Though the odds are low."
Erica added with a sullen expression.
"The family head has a thunder spirit root."
"Ah, so Grandpa hopes I'll awaken the same one."
Kyle grinned and slipped the necklace around his neck. Five hundred years ago, there were no mana cultivation methods or spirit roots, so his top priority now was the spirit root he'd awaken in five years.
In this era, serious training began with spirit root awakening. Without one, you couldn't learn mana cultivation, and nearly all martial arts relied on mana.
The world had changed dramatically in five hundred years from what Kyle knew.
Back then, you had to brush death a dozen times just to earn mana’s blessing.
These modern kids wielded it without half the hardship. It felt a bit like an old man's grumbling, but there was no cause for lament. Instead, Kyle's heart raced with excitement at the thought of learning this era's "sword."
Now, only books remained in the box. The top one was titled Basic Swordsmanship Manual. Kyle picked it up with even greater joy than when he'd seen the elixirs and flipped it open.
Despite the title, it was incomparable to the common manuals out there. These were the foundations of swordsmanship using only the body, no mana—explained in such detail that even a child could grasp them.
"Whoa...!"
Kyle's eyes sparkled like a kid who'd gotten a new toy as he skimmed the manual. Of course, these were basics he'd done instinctively as the Sword Ghost five hundred years ago, but seeing them laid out like this felt fresh and thrilling.
Beneath the sword manual were various books: family history (which Arian had taught him before), noble etiquette, continental history, current geopolitics—all children's primers on such topics.
"Teachers will visit Rose Mansion to instruct you from now on."
"Father, really. I could teach him myself."
Arian grumbled softly, but she didn't look displeased. She was delighted that her once-stern father was showing such keen interest in his grandson's education, even sending study books.
Well, spirit arts are mine to teach.
Whenever Kyle wanted to learn, that is—but Arian was certain he'd take to spirit arts. Her son had an insatiable thirst for knowledge.
He couldn't learn mana cultivation without a spirit root yet, but spirit arts didn't require one. Training in them would influence his future spirit root awakening and greatly aid mana accumulation. With that logic, he'd have no reason to stubbornly refuse.
"No way..."
After the knight delivered the gifts and message and departed, Erica muttered in a daze.
"Iron Armored Dragon marrow, Thunder Resonance Grass dew, Blood Ghost Tree fruit... and even a thunder essence necklace...?"
The Alastors, hailed as the continent's greatest martial family, possessed vast wealth. But purebloods couldn't use it freely. All family assets required the family head's permission.
Access to the second-floor library, the trial layers, various elixirs—they demanded qualifications.
Purebloods were noble and special, but to enjoy privileges, one had to prove worthy. This was an Alastor creed upheld for centuries. The family wasn't lax enough to lavish favors on the untalented, unqualified, or lazy just for being pureblood.
Among Julius's children and grandchildren, including Erica, no one had received elixirs like these at age five. How much talent could a five-year-old even show?
Such support came after spirit root awakening and proven worth through serious training. Yet Kyle—at just five—had received this overwhelming backing.
It stirred unrest in Erica's heart. A flicker of jealousy toward her young nephew rose, along with a sense of crisis: she couldn't let this stand.
Erica scrapped her plans to chat and tea with Arian. Clenching her fist, she said,
"Sis, I should head out."
"Oh? Without eating?"
"Yeah. I'll come play again soon, so you visit my place sometimes too. Got it?"
As Julius's youngest daughter, the only one not yet an adult at thirteen, the family head's seat felt distant and unattainable. Still, she didn't want to be outshone by an eight-year-younger nephew.
Erica spun toward Kyle with a smile. Turned so Arian couldn't see, she quietly pressed a finger to her lips—a silent order to keep yesterday's and this morning's scoldings secret.
"Goodbye, Aunt Erica."
He'd threatened to tattle, but it was just teasing. Kyle wasn't petty enough to actually do it.
Cheeky, but not bad-hearted. And he seemed to get along with Arian.
"Don't hate Erica, okay?"
After Erica left, Arian stroked Kyle's hair.
"She's got a complicated situation. Our mother... passed when Erica was young. And I left the family after marrying, so I couldn't play with her much."
This was the first mention of his grandmother to Kyle.
He'd wondered. She hadn't been at yesterday's pureblood dinner.
He hadn't asked, assuming there was a reason if absent. A taboo not to pry. But since Arian brought it up, he gently probed.
"Passed?"
He wondered if she meant died, but Arian replied with a wistful expression.
"Literally. Mother's been asleep since ten years ago. She had an accident in a secret realm."
Forcing a smile, Arian hugged Kyle tight.
"From that accident, she caught some unknown illness and sleeps in the Sword Tower's tenth floor. Among your uncles, Roel and Serros left the family to seek a cure for her."
Two relatives from yesterday hadn't been at dinner. Those must've been them.
Secret realm...
Rare spatial rifts. Even five hundred years ago, they were hotbeds of accidents and conflicts—wars had erupted over claiming one.
"Alright, my son! Let's eat before the elixirs."
Arian, forcing her smile back, scooped Kyle up and headed to the dining room.
After the meal at Rose Mansion, Kyle began consuming the elixirs under Arian's watch.
The Iron Armored Dragon marrow tasted vile—like chewing and swallowing rotten fish guts. But Kyle grimaced and gulped it down.
His stomach grew heavy, and his joints itched. The itch soon turned to pain. His heart pounded, bones throbbed. It felt like invisible forces were crushing every bone in his body.
"Kyle, you okay?"
Arian asked worriedly, but Kyle, sweating profusely, flashed a calm smile.
Next, the Thunder Resonance Grass dew. Kyle had high hopes for this one. Boosted reflexes? He'd never lacked them in his past or present life, but he was curious what more would feel like.
He uncorked it and sucked in the pooled light. A sharp tingle spread from his mouth through his body.
Especially from the nape of his neck to his brain—prickling, cold, then hot, repeating. His vision blurred wildly, then sharpened crystal clear.
Panting, Kyle tested his body. The marrow's effects weren't immediately felt, but the dew's were.
Movement felt different. No—movement was the same, but the process before it was faster. Think it, and it happened. He removed the thunder essence necklace, tossed it upward.
Threw it, lowered his arm, raised it to catch. The necklace barely fell. It all felt natural, effortless. With focus, he could go faster; with more power, even faster still.
"Whoa..."
Kyle murmured in awe, then picked up the last: the Blood Ghost Tree fruit. The sticky, jiggly jelly looked unappetizing, but he shoved it in without hesitation.
Surprisingly, it tasted fine—sweet, with a faint fishy aftertaste.
"Ugh...!"
But the pain was far worse than the first two. Every muscle fiber screamed, twisting, untwisting, pulling, snapping, reforming.
You crazy old man. Feeding this to a kid?
A normal five-year-old would've wailed and thrown a tantrum. But Kyle endured, sweating buckets. No—a normal kid would've passed out from the agony.
Kyle wasn't normal, so no ugly crying. Gritting his teeth, he held on. Seeing her usually stoic son distorted in pain tore at Arian's heart. She'd never tried the fruit, so she didn't know its torment—but it broke her.
"Hoo... haa... haa..."
Thankfully, the pain didn't last. Panting, Kyle straightened. Like the dew, the fruit's effects hit immediately.
His body felt light, brimming with power. Wooden swords that tired him after a few swings? He could wield one all day now. Glancing down, he suddenly hugged Arian's legs.
"Kyle? What—wh-whoa?!"
Arian yelped in shock. Her feet lifted off the ground. A five-year-old had hoisted a full-grown woman.
Even Kyle was stunned. Elixirs existed five hundred years ago, and he'd tried many as Sword Ghost—but never so young, never like this.
"Mom, you're kinda heavy."
Arian smacked his head as he giggled.
"We should go thank Grandpa."
Kyle said, rubbing the spot.
This was the ultimate gift for his young body.