Fourteen years had passed since the fateful day that had rewritten Elijah Stane's life. Now, in the heart of the western reaches of the Starborne Duchy, the family estate stood like a bastion of arcane refinement—a fortress built of obsidian and dragonstone, adorned with runic engravings that glimmered faintly in the morning light. The halls were alive with whispers of prodigious achievement, echoes of battles won, and spells mastered. Here, the Starborne name was synonymous with mastery—magic, combat, and an aura that made kingdoms sit up and take notice.
Elias Starborne, or Eli as he preferred in the rare moments he allowed himself privacy, walked the corridors of his family home quietly, his hands clasped behind his back. At fourteen, he was small for his age, his frame slender, his hair a muted black that caught the sunlight at certain angles. His eyes, however, betrayed a depth far beyond his years, a glint of curiosity and intelligence that had been inherited from his previous life, buried beneath the mundane expectations of this one.
Despite his gentle demeanor, Eli's place in the Starborne household was precarious. While his brother Christian, the so-called "Great Blaze Knight," and his sister Delphine, the prodigious Twin Element Mage, were the pride of Veldora Starborne, Eli was largely dismissed as a child of inconsequential talent. Veldora, the Draconic Mage whose power rivaled the legends of old, often looked at Eli with the same clinical detachment one might reserve for a minor apprentice, noting his gestures, his manners, and his lack of combat aptitude, and finding them… wanting.
Christian, at seventeen, towered over Eli even now, muscles honed, aura radiating an almost tangible heat. He trained daily in the dueling halls, his strikes precise, his flames dancing around his fists, leaving scorch marks in his wake. He was confident, brash, and ruthless in his pursuit of perfection. Eli's presence in the family home was a quiet shadow beside him, one that Christian tolerated at best.
Delphine, only two years older than Eli, was the embodiment of controlled elegance, her flame-and-ice manipulation a spectacle that left even seasoned mages gasping in awe. She moved through the house like a living art, her eyes always measuring, always critical. Eli had long since learned to avoid her gaze during discussions of magic; she had no patience for those who wielded neither power nor talent.
Yet Eli had something else. A patience born of observation, a mind that could deconstruct markets, economies, and human behavior with unnerving clarity—a mind shaped by a life long ago, in a world ruled by numbers, supply and demand, and the cold precision of profit. He had learned to channel it quietly, pretending to be weak, unremarkable, when in truth he was merely gathering information, studying the patterns of his family, the duchy, and the broader empire.
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It was on the morning of his fourteenth birthday that Eli's life, once again, began to shift in ways even he could not have predicted. The sun rose over the eastern spires of the Starborne estate, spilling golden light into his modest chamber. It was a room smaller than his siblings', simpler, adorned with books and trinkets rather than weapons and magical relics. He sat on the edge of his bed, staring at the rising sun, when a peculiar sensation rippled through him—a humming, faint and insistent, like a heartbeat beneath his skin.
He blinked, then froze. A faint shimmer appeared before his eyes, a translucent interface hovering in midair, displaying words in a language both alien and familiar.
> Shop Skill Detected – Rank E (Growth Type)
System Initialization Complete
Host: Elias Starborne
Abilities Available: Appraisal, Store, Buy, Sell
Eli's breath caught. He reached out hesitantly, touching the floating symbols, and felt a jolt—a pulse of energy that whispered of possibilities beyond anything the world had taught him. His fingers brushed the first line, and in an instant, the system confirmed:
> Host has gained first experience point.
He stumbled back, heart racing, a flush creeping up his neck. He had heard of magical awakening, of skills and powers, of talents manifesting in bloodlines like his family's—but nothing like this. This was not combat, not magic, not aura. This was… different.
He needed someone to share it with. Someone who might understand.
Delphine, he decided. She was the closest to a confidante in the family who possessed the intellect to recognize significance. He padded quietly through the corridors, down polished stairs, and found her in the main library, leafing through a tome of elemental theory.
"Delphine," he called softly.
She looked up, eyebrows raised.
"Yes, little Eli ?"
"I… I think I awakened a skill," he said, struggling to find the right words, his voice trembling with excitement and fear. "It's called… Shop."
Her expression shifted instantly—mild interest at first, then a tightening of her jaw, and finally… disappointment.
"A shop?" she repeated, her tone flat, incredulous. "Eli, what are you thinking? The world doesn't care about shops or coins. It is ruled by power. Magic. Combat. Influence. None of these are relevant if you are surrounded by mages and warriors who can destroy armies with a flick of their fingers. You…" she trailed off, shaking her head, "you waste your time with trivialities."
Eli felt a stab of hurt, but he did not retract.
"It's not trivial," he said, keeping his voice steady despite the fluttering in his chest. "This skill… it can store items, appraise them, even allow transactions. I can… I can build something. I can… grow something."
Delphine sighed, closing the book with a quiet thud. "Growth is meaningless if you cannot survive. Strength, talent, aura… that is what matters in this world. Shops do not save lives. Shops do not win battles. Shops do not carry a name to glory."
Her words were a weight pressing against him, yet beneath them, a fire sparked. Eli had known his family would never see value in what he could accomplish with intellect, cunning, and strategy alone. They had always prized raw power, the tangible prowess of combat and magic. But this… this was something else. Something that could not be judged by their narrow standards.
"I know," he whispered, almost to himself. "But… I will show them. Even if they don't believe me now… I'll make this matter."
Delphine's gaze softened slightly, though her disappointment lingered. "You may try, little brother. But remember—our world is cruel to the weak, and it will not wait for your experiments."
Eli nodded, determination solidifying in the depths of his chest. He returned to his chamber, where the interface shimmered in quiet anticipation. Every word, every number, every system function seemed to beckon him forward. Appraisal, Store, Buy, Sell… the possibilities unfurled like the threads of destiny themselves.
He touched the interface again, this time with confidence, and a small, silver coin materialized on the desk. Instantly, the system recorded:
> 1 Silver Coin converted to 1 SC
Eli's heart leapt. The first tangible proof of his potential. One coin. One system point. A seed planted in the soil of a world that had long told him he would remain insignificant.
Outside, the wind carried the faint sound of Delphine practicing her elemental control—fire and ice intertwining, a dance of absolute power. Christian's training echoes rang from the dueling halls—a rhythm of discipline and raw talent. And in the center of it all, Eli sat quietly, smiling at a small silver coin floating in front of him, a universe of opportunity stretching beyond the horizon.
The Sun continued its ascent, spilling gold across the estate. A gentle reminder that even in a house of prodigies, even in a world dominated by strength, there were other paths to greatness. Paths that did not require fire or blood or aura. Paths that Eli, with his cunning mind and new-found system, could carve for himself.
For the first time, he felt a clarity he had never known. This world had dismissed him. His family had dismissed him. But the awakening of the Shop was proof that he could, and would, reshape that narrative.
Even if the people closest to him could not see it, he knew one truth: power was not only forged in magic or combat. It could be cultivated in strategy, in trade, in the careful accumulation of knowledge and resources. And on that morning, on the cusp of his fourteenth year, Elias Starborne began to understand that his journey—though different—would not be any less extraordinary.
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End of Chapter 2 – Awakening