— The Secret of the Deamonheart The throne room was silent. Not the peaceful kind of silence. It was the silence that came after something impossible. King Aldric sat upon his throne, his golden hair falling over his shoulders. His usual calm expression was gone. Queen Elara sat beside him. In front of them stood their four children. Elena. Mira. Lyra. And Liam. For several minutes, nobody said a word. Everyone was still thinking about what had happened inside the awakening chamber. An SSS-rank talent. Affinity to every known element. It should have been impossible. And yet, the awakening crystal had shown it. Finally, Queen Elara broke the silence. "There is something wrong." Aldric looked toward her. "With the crystal?" Elara nodded. "The result doesn't make sense." She looked at Liam. "The crystal displayed an SSS-rank talent, but it didn't give us the name or nature of his talent." Aldric's expression became serious. "That is exactly what troubles me." Elena raised her hand slightly. "Mother, could it simply be because Liam's talent is too unusual?" "Perhaps." Elara shook her head. "But even the rarest SSS-rank talents have been recorded by awakening crystals. The crystal should have identified the talent." Mira frowned. "Then what exactly happened?" Elara looked at Liam. "I don't know." Liam remained quiet. He knew more than they did. The crystal hadn't shown his true talent because the Deamonheart System had hidden it. But there was no way he could explain that. Not yet. Aldric leaned back against the throne. "This is troubling." His voice was low. "If the crystal malfunctioned, we don't know what Liam truly awakened." Elara nodded. "Exactly." "And his affinity to every element?" "That part was definitely real." The room became quiet again. Liam looked at his hands. Every element... He still couldn't believe it himself. Then Aldric stood. "We need to prepare him." Elara looked at him. "Prepare him?" Aldric nodded. "If Liam truly possesses extraordinary potential, then leaving him without proper training would be irresponsible." He turned toward the throne room doors. "Send for General Vincent." --- The Strongest General of Valaria Several minutes later, the enormous doors opened. A tall man entered the throne room. He wore black-and-gold armor, with a long sword hanging from his waist. His dark hair was streaked with silver, and a scar ran across one side of his face. He stopped before the throne and bowed. "Your Majesty." "Vincent." The man straightened. King Aldric looked at him seriously. "I have a task for you." Vincent glanced toward Liam. The little prince was staring at him curiously. "What kind of task?" "Train my son." Vincent raised an eyebrow. "The prince?" "Yes." Vincent looked at Liam again. "How old is he?" "Six." The general's expression changed slightly. "Six?" Aldric nodded. "He will begin with physical training and weapons." Vincent was silent for a moment. Then he smiled. "Understood." Liam's eyes immediately lit up. Weapons. Training. Finally! He had been waiting for this. He stepped forward. "When do we start?" Vincent looked at the excited six-year-old. "Tomorrow morning." Liam clenched his fist. "I'll be ready!" Vincent chuckled. "We'll see about that." --- Queen Elara stepped forward. "I'll handle his magical training." Aldric nodded. "You will teach him elemental control." Elara smiled. "Of course." Liam looked between his parents. "So I'm going to learn both magic and swordsmanship?" "Yes," Elara said. Liam grinned. "Then I'll work hard!" Mira laughed. "Don't complain when your muscles hurt." Liam looked at her confidently. "I won't!" Elena smiled. "Remember, little brother. Training is harder than it sounds." Lyra ran over and grabbed Liam's hand. "I'll cheer for you!" Liam laughed. "Thanks, Lyra!" For the first time since the awakening ceremony, the atmosphere in the throne room became lighter. But Aldric's expression remained serious. There was something he had not told anyone. The awakening crystal had never behaved like that before. And he couldn't shake the feeling that Liam's true power was still hidden. --- The Deamonheart System That night, Liam sat alone in his room. Moonlight entered through the enormous windows. His family had already gone to sleep. Liam sat on his bed. Then he whispered: "System." The blue panel appeared before him. --- [DEAMONHEART SYSTEM] Host: Liam Deamonheart Age: 6 Race: Human Talent: Infinite Copy & Evolution — God Rank Elements: All --- Liam's eyes widened. "So it really is God Rank..." He had spent most of the evening experimenting with the system. There was one ability that interested him more than anything else. Copy. He opened the description. --- [Infinite Copy] The host may copy compatible talents and abilities from other beings. Current monthly uses: 3 Copied talents can be stored and managed by the host. Evolution function currently available. --- Liam's eyes sparkled. "Three times a month..." He thought about his family. His sisters. His father. His mother. And then General Vincent. I wonder what talents they have. Another function appeared. [Talent Analysis] The host may inspect the basic information of a target. Information available may include: - Name - Race - Talent - Talent Rank - Elemental Affinity - Basic Skills - Physical Attributes Liam's mouth fell open. "So I can see other people's talents?" He immediately became excited. This system is incredible. He wondered what would happen if he copied an SSS-rank talent. Then he remembered something important. His father's talent. His mother's talent. His sisters' talents. And suddenly he had an idea. I should be careful. He couldn't randomly copy everything. He needed to understand the system first. Liam opened his status panel again. There were several locked functions. [Inventory] — Unlocked [Talent Analysis] — Unlocked [Copy] — Unlocked [Evolution] — Unlocked [Skill Management] — Unlocked [Quest System] — Locked [Shop] — Locked [???] — Locked Liam smiled. "There is so much to explore." He lay down. Tomorrow was his first day of training. And he couldn't wait. --- The First Day of Training The next morning, Liam woke before sunrise. He jumped out of bed. Today was different. Today he would begin becoming strong. After a quick breakfast, he changed into simple training clothes and headed toward the imperial training grounds. General Vincent was already waiting. The training ground was enormous. Hundreds of soldiers trained there every morning. Some practiced swordsmanship. Others trained with spears, bows, shields, and various magical weapons. When Liam arrived, several soldiers looked toward him. "The prince?" "He's training here?" "He's only six." Liam ignored their whispers. He looked at Vincent. "I'm ready." Vincent smiled. "Then we'll start with the basics." He pointed toward the training field. "Run." Liam blinked. "Run?" "Ten laps." Liam looked at the enormous field. "Ten?" Vincent nodded. "Begin." Liam started running. At first, he was excited. After a few laps, his breathing became heavier. After several more, his legs began to ache. But he kept going. He remembered his old life. He remembered working hard even when nobody was watching. He remembered all the times he had wished for a family. And now he had one. He wasn't going to waste this second chance. Keep going. One more. Then another. Eventually, Liam completed the final lap. He stood there, breathing heavily. Vincent looked at him. "You didn't stop." Liam wiped the sweat from his forehead. "I said I'd work hard." Vincent smiled. "Good answer." --- After the physical training came weapons training. Vincent handed Liam a wooden sword. "Hold it." Liam gripped it. "Your stance is wrong." Vincent adjusted his feet. "Like this." Liam copied him. "Your shoulders." Liam corrected them. "Your grip." Again, Liam corrected himself. Vincent watched carefully. The boy wasn't naturally perfect. But he learned quickly. Very quickly. Then Liam suddenly remembered his system. Talent Analysis. He focused on Vincent. A blue panel appeared. --- [TARGET ANALYSIS] Name: Vincent Race: Human Age: 38 Talent: Sword Saint Rank: S Elemental Affinity: Wind, Earth Swordsmanship: Master Level Physical Strength: High Combat Experience: Extremely High --- Liam's eyes widened. S-rank talent. Sword Saint. His gaze moved toward the copy option. --- [Copy available.] [Daily uses remaining: 3] --- Liam hesitated. Then he made his decision. Copy. The system responded instantly. --- [Copy successful.] [S-Rank Talent — Sword Saint acquired.] [Daily uses remaining: 2] [Talent stored in Talent Library.] --- Liam felt a strange warmth spread through his body. His understanding of the sword suddenly became clearer. Not complete mastery. Not yet. But something had changed. He understood the principles behind Vincent's movements. Balance. Timing. Footwork. Angle. Distance. Vincent noticed Liam's expression. "Something wrong?" Liam shook his head. "No." He raised the wooden sword. "Can we continue?" Vincent smiled. "Of course." He stepped forward. "Show me your stance." Liam raised his sword. This time— It was much better. Vincent's eyes narrowed. That improvement was too fast. But the general said nothing. Instead, he corrected Liam's position. Again. And again. For hours, Liam trained. He fell. He stood up. He made mistakes. He corrected them. He grew tired. But he never complained. As the sun began to set, Vincent looked at the exhausted little prince. "Enough for today." Liam lowered his wooden sword. "Tomorrow?" Vincent nodded. "Tomorrow." Liam smiled. "Then I'll see you tomorrow, General." As Liam walked back toward the palace, Vincent watched him disappear. The general's expression became thoughtful. "That boy..." He looked at the wooden sword Liam had been using. "He learns far too quickly." At dinner he used his talent analysis on his father . [TARGET ANALYSIS] Name: Aldric Deamonheart Race : Human Age : 43 Talent : weapon master Rank : SS Elemental affinity: Space , Fire, Electricity Physical strength: Extremely High Experience: Extremely High Weapons Mastery: Master (all weapons) Liam's eyes widened Ss rank talent - weapon Master Without hesitation he copied the talent. He also copied another talent Ss rank - Elemental goddess . Of his mother. --- That night, Liam returned to his room. He opened the system. His eyes fell on the newly acquired talent. [Sword Saint — S Rank], [Weapon Master -- SS Rank ] [Elemental god - SS Rank ] Status: Copied Evolution: Available Liam stared at it. Then a smile slowly appeared on his face. He had only just begun. He had a loving family. He had all elemental affinities. He had a mysterious God-Rank talent. He had an exclusive system. And now— He had copied his first powerful talents. Liam clenched his fist. "One day..." He looked out at the moonlit capital. "I'll become the strongest." He didn't know how long it would take. He didn't know how difficult the road ahead would be. But for the first time in both of his lives— Liam was excited about the future.

THE SECRET OF THE DEAMONHEART