"Kid… do you realize what you just did?"
Liam opened his eyes. His body radiated a bluish-white light. He could clearly feel the presence of his two mana hearts.
A smile formed on his lips.
"Sort of, yeah. I awakened two mana hearts."
Shaquille stood there with his mouth slightly open for a moment before letting out a small chuckle.
"Heh… two months might actually be enough after all."
He raised his hand, and a translucent barrier rapidly spread around them, enclosing the area and preventing anyone from overhearing their conversation.
"Are you planning to tell anyone about this?" Shaquille asked.
"For now, I plan to keep it a secret," Liam replied.
Liam wasn't the type to pretend to be weak or hide everything all the time. But in this particular case, he preferred to keep the existence of his second mana heart secret, at least until he was strong enough to defend himself if something happens.
Shaquille crushed his cigarette.
"Good."
"Let's keep it that way for now."
'The elders of the family don't need to know about this yet. If they find out, they'll only try to control the kid for their own interests.'
Liam looked at his uncle and couldn't help but feel grateful that it was him training him rather than someone else. Fortunately, Shaquille had a different mindset from most members of the family. Even though he was proud to be a Moonveil, he didn't act solely out of family loyalty, but mostly out of personal loyalty.
If he believed that disobeying the head of the family was the right thing to do, then he would do it.
That was the kind of man Shaquille Moonveil was.
Shaquille pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Hah… I still can't believe you managed to pull off a damn miracle like that. This completely changes the situation."
He took a moment to observe the boy in front of him, unable to stop himself from thinking.
When Qamar had asked him to train his youngest son, who was already seventeen and had finally decided to get off his ass, Shaquille hadn't been particularly enthusiastic. But he wasn't really in a position to refuse.
After temporarily withdrawing from the frontlines, he had a lot more free time.
So he accepted.
The kid he had met wasn't anything special. His confidence was admirable, sure, but confidence alone wasn't enough in this world.
In this world, talent dictated everything.
The strong rose.
The weak stayed small.
Such was the law of this world.
Only those with exceptional talent could hope to live peacefully.
And in that regard, Liam clearly didn't lack talent.
Even if he still had no idea how the boy had managed to awaken a second mana heart, Liam had already proven what he was capable of.
After all, whether he had one or two mana hearts didn't change one thing.
He had managed to form one in less than an hour.
Who in this world could boast such a feat?
Shaquille looked at the boy in front of him.
And for a moment, he was reminded of someone.
His younger brother.
Qamar.
A talent rarely seen.
Someone destined for greatness.
'A genius.'
Liam noticed Shaquille staring at him.
"Uncle?" he asked.
Shaquille smiled slightly.
'This is going to be interesting.'
"Well, you know what comes next, right?"
Liam stood up and smiled.
"Of course, sword training, right?"
Shaquille raised an eyebrow.
"No… there's something before that."
Liam frowned, confused.
"Hm?"
He had no idea what his uncle meant.
"You seriously forgot something that important?"
Seeing the confusion on Liam's face, Shaquille sighed.
"Alright… follow me. It'll be easier that way."
They left the training ground and started walking toward the family manor.
The Moonveil estate was enormous, but the main manor was only frequented by the main family, the Moonveil elite, and the core force of the family's army.
Liam couldn't help but notice the strange contrast of the place: modernity and antiquity coexisted in perfect harmony.
The events took place in the future, so technology was naturally everywhere. But thanks to mana, forgotten martial arts had become commonplace once again. Architecture and weaponry blended modern techniques with ancient craftsmanship.
Seeing a knight in medieval armor scrolling through his phone was perfectly normal here.
Just like seeing someone using a mana-infused machine gun on the battlefield alongside a soldier wielding an ancestral spear.
Liam and Shaquille entered the manor and walked down a rarely used corridor. Everywhere they passed, the servants respectfully lowered their heads in greeting.
Liam easily noticed that the respect was clearly directed toward Shaquille.
Noticing Liam's slightly annoyed expression, Shaquille burst out laughing proudly.
"What? Impressed?"
"In a way, yeah. I knew you had a high status, but it seems like it's even higher than I thought," Liam replied.
When he had written the novel, Shaquille had appeared much later in the story during a confrontation with one of the main characters. Liam already knew his abilities as well as the many heroic stories surrounding him.
Needless to say, Shaquille was extremely powerful.
But it seemed there was something more about him.
Shaquille kept walking before calmly explaining,
"It's common knowledge that I was supposed to become the heir of the family back then, you know."
He shrugged slightly.
"I had proven myself, and as the eldest I naturally had the advantage. I was very popular and the family already saw me as the future head."
He paused briefly.
"But then… no one could have predicted that such a beast would be born in the form of my younger brother."
With a nostalgic look, Shaquille continued,
"Qamar had already shown terrifying talent at a young age. The kind you rarely see. It was a blessing for the family and even more so for humanity."
Liam listened carefully.
"You know what people say about Qamar, right?"
Shaquille turned slightly toward him.
"They say he once pushed back a General of the Crimson Court."
He chuckled lightly.
"You might not know this, but the power of a sanguine General is absolutely terrifying. If the five of them decided to invade the continent together, they could probably destroy it. They might lose one or two among them but that's it."
Shaquille paused, his gaze turning serious.
"Seeing that kind of talent in my younger brother… well, it wasn't exactly easy for me. As his older brother, and someone aiming to become the future head of the family, I had to prove that I was at least as strong as him."
Shaquille let out a quiet sigh.
"So I spent five years on the battlefield building my name."
He placed his hand on the hilt of his sword and looked at it like an old war companion.
"This sword alone has cut down thousands of sanguines."
Then his expression darkened.
"But in the end, I was assigned to a mission alongside my brother. I hadn't seen him in years. It was his first mission on the battlefield. He had just graduated from Haven."
He gave an ironic smile.
"I was naturally the leader of the group."
He continued,
"That time there were far fewer sanguines than usual. Our mission was simply to scout the surrounding area. It was more of a reconnaissance mission than anything else."
His gaze hardened slightly.
"Damn that mission…"
"That day, one third of the Moonveil family's main force was wiped out by a single sanguine."
Liam remained silent.
"We fought it directly… but it was useless. We simply couldn't match a General."
Shaquille frowned.
"We even wondered what a General was doing there. It appeared out of nowhere."
Shaquille closed his eyes for a moment, recalling the memory.
He couldn't quite remember the sanguine's face anymore.
Only its snow-white hair…
And its maniacal smile.
"In the end, your father stepped in and risked his life to protect the soldiers and wait for reinforcements."
"Or at least… that's what I thought."
A small smile appeared on his lips.
"In reality, he had no intention of waiting for reinforcements. I saw his eyes."
"He truly intended to kill that damn monster right there."
Shaquille chuckled softly.
"That day, your father delivered a performance worthy of legends."
"He may have been beaten around for most of the fight, but in the end he managed to drive that sanguine back."
Liam looked at Shaquille.
The latter shrugged.
"His first battlefield experience after leaving Haven… and he already pushes back one of the five Generals of the Crimson Court."
He burst out laughing.
"Facing talent like that… how could I not withdraw from the race to become the heir?"
He shrugged again.
"I basically forfeited. Strangely enough, that simple decision was very well received by the entire family. They showered me with praise for my humility or whatever."
He chuckled.
"But honestly, it was obvious they were mostly relieved that I didn't resist or cause a scandal."
Shaquille turned toward Liam.
"Not very glorious, is it?"
Liam shook his head.
"Whether it's glorious or not isn't for me to decide."
He paused briefly.
"You might think it was a cowardly decision, giving up because you lacked talent but in reality, it takes a lot of courage to accept reality and bow your head before someone stronger than you."
He shrugged.
"Though if I were in your place, I probably wouldn't have given up."
Shaquille stopped walking for a few seconds.
Then he burst into laughter.
A loud, genuine laugh that echoed through the long corridor of the manor.
"Hah!"
He placed a hand on Liam's shoulder.
"At least you're honest, kid."
He shook his head, amused.
"Most people would have given me some heroic speech about honor and the nobility of my decision."
They resumed walking.
"You just admit you would've kept fighting."
Liam shrugged.
"I hate losing."
Shaquille chuckled.
"Yeah… I can see that."
Internally, Liam reviewed the story Shaquille had just told him.
He had never written that part in his novel.
Which meant everything he had just heard was entirely new to him.
'I wonder which of the five Generals it was…'
Lost in his thoughts, he suddenly walked straight into Shaquille's back.
"Ouch! Why did you stop?" he said, grimacing.
"We're here," Shaquille replied simply.
In front of them stood an enormous metal door, massive and imposing. Ancient runes were engraved across its entire surface, emanating a mysterious aura.
Two guards stood on each side of the entrance.
The moment they saw Shaquille, they stepped aside and lowered their heads slightly, letting him pass without a single question.
Shaquille placed his hand on the door.
His mana immediately flowed into the runes.
For a brief moment, the energy he released took on an almost terrifying form, as if an invisible presence had awakened.
Then the runes lit up.
A heavy rumble echoed.
The door slowly began to open.
Liam's eyes widened at the sight revealed behind it.
Noticing his reaction, Shaquille smiled.
"Welcome to the Garden of Warriors."
He crossed his arms.
"This is where the souls of the Moonveil family's legendary swords reside."
He glanced toward Liam.
His eyes gleamed with amusement.
"And now…"
A smile appeared on his lips.
"We'll see which one chooses you."