Ray had heard about the princess. She was born with a bloodline of heart formation, and she was only six years old—the same age as Ray. Her ancestor had been a great formation master. From time to time, she would be given a formation diagram in her mind.
Ray was interested in having her join his team, but he had no interest in making her his wife. He told his mother that he had no interest in a child. After all, before dying in his previous life, he had been around 24 years old. So now, while physically six, he had the mind of a grown adult.
Hearing this, Diana had nothing to say and simply waited for the future. He's only six years old now. There's more time to deal with this brat later, she thought.
Ray asked, "What is the party about?"
Diana replied that it was for the same princess they had been talking about. She would be demonstrating the formations she could make using runes.
Ray looked at his mother and said, "You're giving me even more reason to ignore her, Mother. I don't want any attention. So I guess I'll avoid her."
His mother looked at him with annoyed eyes and said, "Why are you talking like a coward? You're supposed to be brave and more manly."
Ray replied with a smile, "I'm only six years old."
Diana gave him a sharp stare and said, "Didn't you say you're 24 years old?"
Ray responded with an even bigger smile, "My mentality is 24 years old, but in this life, I'm six. Look at my cute eyes and tell me I look like I'm 24."
Diana surrendered and said, "Fine, let's leave it to fate then."
Ray ignored her words and said, "It's just that there are too many nobles aged 10 and above who'll be interested in the princess. I'd rather watch from the side and enjoy the view, staying with adults like you, Mother."
Diana wanted to coax him further, but each time she said something, Ray had a response that made her retreat.
If she told him to show off his rune talents, he'd reply that it would make him a target. If she suggested trying to woo the princess if he got the chance, he'd say the other kids would bully him. This back-and-forth kept going until Diana grew frustrated and left the room.
Finally free, Ray took the chance to explore what his soul core could do. He saw that inside the area near his stomach were many runes arranged like a matrix.
He tried creating a simple basic formation—and to his surprise, he made a 3D version of a box. It started spinning, and Ray looked at it with sparkly eyes. Then he began constructing a more complex formation, crafting and connecting runes with one another.
Diana came back in after taking a breather outside. When she entered and saw what her son was doing, her eyes went wide. Ray had created a smaller version of Diana herself using runes.
She approached and said, "Wow, this is beautiful, my son. You know how to make your mother beautiful."
Ray replied, "Sadly, this isn't permanent. It goes away if I stop powering it."
He stopped using his soul power, and the mother-shaped rune construct vanished.
Diana also felt it was a pity. It felt like something beautiful had just disappeared.
Ray said, "I want to make something permanent like this—something people can see and want to see again and again."
Diana understood and said, "Well, there's a way. Just place the formation into a formation disk. Is that idea from your world?"
Ray smiled and said, "It used to be called television. We called it TV for short. It lets people see anything you want them to see. It's like everything is recorded…"
Ray then began describing the TV in great detail, speaking at length about how it worked—about moving pictures and sound. The more he spoke, the more Diana was captivated. She wanted this to be their first product. As Ray painted a clearer vision, she began to understand why he wanted it protected—and why it must not fall into others' hands.
He would need to become strong and gather a capable team to protect it. Enemies would come for it, without question.
Diana had only one thought: her own background was in formations. Wouldn't Ray be protected if he aligned with her family—his maternal grandparents? So she suggested it.
Ray replied, "It's a great idea. Maybe we can do that—as long as Grandpa doesn't hand it to the king. If not, I'm up for it."
Upon hearing that, Diana broke out in a cold sweat. She now realized who Ray's biggest future enemy would be—the king. He would absolutely covet something like this. And her own father, loyal to the king, would likely hand it over without hesitation.
Diana sighed and said, "Forget it. Your maternal grandfather is too loyal to the king. We'll have to build our own army to protect ourselves."
…
After some time, Ray asked for books on formations. He wanted to know what types of formations his mother knew and how she could help him learn.
Diana was overjoyed to hear this. This time, she wouldn't let Ray experiment recklessly. She would guide him step by step—starting with which runes to use.
Ray smiled wryly. He understood why she was doing this. She didn't want him making another "stupid experimental mistake" like last time. And he had no complaints. He was actually very happy to learn from someone using live demonstrations—it was a faster way for him to understand.
The first formation she taught him was a soul cultivation formation—something useful for daily life.
Ray began following Diana's guidance, creating one rune after another, connecting them carefully. But when he reached the 16th rune, the formation collapsed.
Diana smiled. Ray still wasn't fluent in connecting runes. At first, he had problems with the 6th rune. Then the 11th. And now the 16th. Every five runes seemed to be a new bottleneck for him.
But she didn't mind. When she was young, she'd made even worse mistakes. Her father used to scold her harshly, and she would cry and run to her mother, preferring to learn from her instead. The memory made her smile warmly as she watched her son struggle in the same way.
After four hours of persistent effort, Ray finally succeeded in creating his first complete formation. He was overjoyed. His hands and head were soaked with sweat.
Seeing him succeed brought Diana great happiness. She brought out a formation disk for Ray and let him store the formation inside. He slowly transferred it in.
Now, with the talisman activated, the formation would envelop them, allowing them to cultivate soul energy. Diana told him to freshen up and get some rest so he could sleep and prepare for tomorrow's party. She left after watching him go off to clean up.
Ray had also learned from his mother that typically, formation diagrams were created directly inside the disk using runes—so no one could easily discover their secrets. But this was something only professionals could do. Amateurs like him needed to form the diagram outside first, then slowly embed it into the disk.
For the first time, he felt like he had taken a huge step forward. In the next two years, he would need to recruit more members into his group. And after Awakening Day, he would have to join the academy.
That was when things would get truly difficult. It would be hard to find allies. Academy students tended to have egos and pride, and making friends would be no easy task.
After his shower, he changed into clean clothes, climbed into bed, and started thinking about the party that was coming.
He hadn't liked parties much in his past life. He only went to them when his team insisted—to build connections with other groups or flaunt their status. He wondered how his parents and friends were doing in his old life. Were they crying for him? His mother must be devastated.
Tears welled up as he thought about his previous mother. Ray hoped his siblings were supporting her. It had been over six years since he died. Hopefully, they had moved on.
His mind then turned to the mysterious princess—someone who could help him if she joined his team. But soon, exhaustion from creating the formation set in.
Eventually, Ray fell into a deep sleep.