The next morning, warm sunlight slipped in through the tall window.
I opened my eyes slowly. My body felt lighter than yesterday, though not fully healed.
> "Today… I need to start learning this place. My home—Kael Rynthier's home."
After washing up and changing clothes with Lilia's help, I stood before the bedroom door. My body still felt foreign, but my heart was gradually settling in.
> 💡 Quest: "A Heir's First Step"
Goal: Familiarize yourself with House Rynthier and its key staff.
Reward: +10 Affinity with Rynthier House Staff, +1 INT, +1 CHR
> "Let's start inside the house… it can't be that hard."
Opening the door, I was greeted by a long hallway with carved wooden walls, gleaming white marble floors, tall windows, and crystal lanterns hanging from the ceiling—looking more like a miniature castle than a house.
📍 Location 1 – Central Hall
I stepped into a grand space with a red carpet flanked by twin spiral staircases. A middle-aged man in a black uniform bowed low.
"Good morning, Young Master. I'm Gerhart, head butler of House Rynthier."
"Morning, Gerhart…" I bowed awkwardly.
"Would you like a tour, sir?"
I nodded. "Yes. I want to see the house."
"Then please allow me to guide you. It's our honor."
📍 Location 2 – Private Library
Gerhart led me to a large room lined with bookshelves, sunlight streaming in. The scent of old books hung in the air.
Inside, a young girl with round glasses was organizing a stack of volumes.
"This is Eila, our librarian. She often curates your collection."
Eila looked up, blushing.
"G-good morning, Young Master. You look much healthier today."
"Morning. Do you… see me here often?"
She nodded vigorously. "You enjoy reading about war tactics and royal history. I even made a special shelf for you."
> ✔️ Sub‑quest Completed: Meet the Librarian
+1 INT
📍 Location 3 – Inner Garden
We strolled through a back corridor into a beautiful garden with a fountain and trimmed trees. A red-haired youth was practicing swordplay alone.
"This is Ronan, one of our young guards. You used to spar together."
Ronan paused, smiling.
"Young Master… you're back. Finally, I have a training partner again!"
I nodded. "But I'm not as strong as I used to be."
He laughed. "Great! That means I might win this time!"
> ✔️ Sub‑quest Completed: Meet Personal Guard
+1 STR
Ronan's Affection +5
📍 Location 4 – Music Room
Next, we entered a music room, where a silver‑haired woman played a crystal piano.
"This is Madam Yureine, head of music and your art tutor."
She smiled warmly.
"Kael… welcome back. I composed this piece just for you."
I sat, listening.
> ✔️ Sub‑quest Completed: Meet the Music Tutor
+1 CHR
Buff: Calm Mind (+5% stamina recovery for 1 day)
After hours of walking and greeting staff, I returned to my room, feeling oddly at home.
> ✨ Quest Completed: "A Heir's First Step"
+10 Affinity (Rynthier House Staff)
+1 INT | +1 STR | +1 CHR
New Skill Unlocked: Empathic Insight (Lv.1) — sense basic emotions during important conversations
> "They know more about me than I know of myself."
I gazed out the window, feeling this foreign world slowly become mine.
---
Later, I returned to the bookshelf and took a dark-violet volume:
📕 Basic Mana Manipulation for Noble Beginners
I opened it:
> "Mana is the life energy within all beings, shaped by will and imagination…"
Surprisingly, I instantly understood it—as if I'd studied it for years.
> "No chanting needed for basic forms, huh?"
I closed my eyes, seeking mana within. At first none… then a gentle warmth surged in my chest.
My hand rose on its own.
> "Visualize water… shape a sphere… direct it forward."
The air trembled. A soft blue orb formed in my palm—about the size of a small child's head.
My eyes widened. "I… I actually did it?!"
Before I could revel in it—
> BLAAARRRR!!!
A powerful explosion ripped through the room. The orb grew into a pressure blast, demolishing walls, throwing furniture, tearing curtains, collapsing bookshelves…
I was thrown back, hair disheveled, face covered in dust. Smoke curled around me.
> "Ugh… I misjudged… too much mana…"
> ⚠️ Warning: Unstable Mana!
💥 Skill Detected: Burst Mana Release – Growth Potential Triggered
> "I just wanted a small water ball… why did it turn into a bomb!?"
Footsteps pounded outside.
> Klotok klotok klotok!
The door burst open—Lilia rushed in, panicked.
"YOUNG MASTER—WHAT HAPPENED?!"
I lay on the floor, half-grinning, half-coughing.
> "I… was learning magic."
Smoke still drifted. The room looked wrecked—wood and glass shards everywhere, walls cracked like after a war hammer strike.
Lilia checked me over frantically. "Young Master! Are you hurt?"
"Nope. Just… a little tired," I said, smiling weakly.
A burly, lightly armored man entered behind her, hand on grip.
"So… not an attack?" he asked, confused.
"No, Uncle Gerrald," Lilia sighed in relief. "Young Master was… learning magic."
"LEARNING MAGIC!?" Gerrald stared in disbelief. "Alone!? Without a tutor!? In your room!?"
I shrugged. "The book taught me."
Lilia sighed deeply. "Young Master… you've never used mana before, right?"
I paused, then smiled. "But I have now."
Another notification glowed before my eyes:
📜 New Skill Unlocked: Basic Water Manipulation
📈 Magic Potential Detected – +2 INT and +2 MANA
💡 Special Talent Unlocked: Instinctive Spell Control
Whoa… OP in just one day!
Lilia almost cried. "Please… don't try spells unsupervised again. You could destroy the mansion."
I smiled. "But it's my mansion, right?"
Gerrald chuckled: "Haha! That reminds me of your father—took him three months to crack a wall. You? One afternoon."
Lilia groaned: "We'll need the repair team… again."
I stared at my small hands, now filled with power.
If this continues… maybe I can become someone meaningful in this world.
---
By morning, my room was restored—curtains even upgraded.
But more than that, something had changed in people's eyes.
Servants bowed deeper. Gerrald gave me a thumbs-up across the yard:
> "If anyone dares mess with you, little Kael, just blow 'em up."
I chuckled. "...Don't teach me strange things."
That day, I explored more of the estate—originally to complete a tutorial quest:
> 🎯 Quest Active: "Know Your Home" – 5/10 locations discovered
Soon, I genuinely grew curious. House Rynthier felt more like a mini-castle: back gardens fit for tournaments, archives-sized libraries, even a magic training hall.
I met more staff:
Clarice, the perfectionist head-maid, scolded me about my slightly-soiled clothes.
Juno, a shy kitchen girl who secretly loved adult romance novels. She brightened up when she found out I read too.
Tomas, a servant-in-training aspiring to knighthood, challenged me to spar—luckily Gerrald stopped him.
📘 Magic Training Hall
In the expansive hall with stone floors and magical barriers… I practiced again:
> Visualize water… feel mana… channel… release.
My hand rose. Air chilled.
> 🔷 Water Bullet (Lv. 1)
BANG! A water strike shattered a wooden dummy.
"Whoa… just level one?"
Then—BOOM! A misplaced fire spell caused a small explosion. The alarm rang.
> "Okay… no fire spells yet."
Time flew. Golden light filled the hall.
Clarice burst in. "Young Master!"
Her face was panicked—yet smiling.
> "His Grace the Marquis and Her Ladyship have arrived at the gate."
My heart thumped.
Father and Mother… Kael's parents… they're home?
I swallowed hard. My steps were heavy—not afraid, but because this was my first true meeting with my own family.
🏰 Front Courtyard, Late Afternoon
Two black horses stopped by the stairs. A tall man in noble attire stepped down—sharp features, dark hair. Behind him, an elegant woman with silver hair descended, her blue gown sweeping the steps.
I stood by the door, Lilia at my side.
"Kael." The man's voice was calm but emotional.
"Father?" I whispered.
He knelt to meet my height.
> "You can stand on your own. Thank the heavens."
Before I could respond…
My mother rushed forward, hugging me tight. "Kael… my sweet child… I'm sorry we left you while you were ill."
I froze—but the embrace was warm, gentle, full of love.
So this… is what a mother's hug feels like?
I slowly returned the hug.
> "Welcome home… Father, Mother."
---
✨ Quest Complete: "Know Your Home"
💖 Relationship with Parents +30 — Status: Warm and Hopeful
📝 New Quest Available: "Show Your Potential to Your Family"
And with that… a new chapter of my life in this world had truly begun.