Five Years of Growth: The Rising Prince Five years passed. Five years later Liam Deamonheart had placed his hand upon the Talent Awakening Crystal. Five years since the mysterious Deamonheart System had awakened inside his soul. And those five years had changed him completely. Liam was now eleven years old. The cheerful little boy who had once struggled to complete ten laps around the training ground was gone. In his place stood a confident young prince. He had grown considerably taller, with dark golden hair, sharp features, and striking eyes. Years of physical training had given him an exceptionally strong and healthy body for his age. He was handsome enough that the servants often secretly remarked that the youngest prince would one day become remarkably charming. But Liam cared little about his appearance. His attention was focused on one thing. Strength. --- Five Years of Training Every morning began before sunrise. Physical training. Swordsmanship. Spear techniques. Archery. Hand-to-hand combat. Footwork. Reflex training. Endurance. And countless other exercises. General Vincent had never treated Liam like a sheltered prince. He treated him like a soldier. Sometimes even more harshly. Liam had trained with wooden weapons until his hands became sore. He had practiced hundreds of sword strikes until each movement became natural. He had learned how to fight with spears, bows, daggers, axes, staffs, shields, and almost every conventional weapon used by the imperial army. But Vincent quickly discovered something unusual. Liam learned far too quickly. Once Liam understood a technique, he rarely forgot it. And his mysterious system made his growth even more absurd. --- The Evolution Function One evening, while reviewing his abilities, Liam discovered something he hadn't fully understood before. His system displayed a new option beside his copied talents. [EVOLUTION AVAILABLE] Liam stared at it. "Evolution?" He selected his Sword Saint talent. A new panel appeared. --- [S-Rank Talent: Sword Saint] Description: A supreme swordsmanship talent that grants exceptional understanding of sword techniques, combat instincts, precision, reaction speed, and sword-based mana manipulation. Evolution Conditions: - Mastery of Sword Saint: 100% - Sufficient comprehension - Sufficient system energy Possible Evolution: Sword God — SS Rank --- Liam's eyes widened. "So talents can evolve..." He immediately became interested. Over the next several months, he trained relentlessly. He studied every sword technique Vincent taught him. He analyzed swordsmanship manuals. He observed countless battles. He practiced against magical training constructs. And eventually— --- [Evolution conditions fulfilled.] [S-Rank Talent — Sword Saint] → Evolution initiated. Congratulations. [SS-Rank Talent Acquired: Sword God] --- Liam stared at the notification. A smile slowly spread across his face. His talent had evolved. And that was only the beginning. --- Liam's Current Talents By the age of eleven, Liam had accumulated an enormous collection of talents. Most were ordinary or uncommon abilities that he had copied simply because they could prove useful later. But several had reached extraordinary levels. His current primary talents were: [God-Rank — Infinite Copy & Evolution] Liam's original talent. Its true potential remained unknown. It allowed him to copy compatible talents and abilities and evolve them beyond their original limitations. Current Copy Limit: 3 talents per month. Special Property: Copied talents could potentially evolve. Hidden Property: The system could analyze talents far beyond Liam's current understanding. --- [SS-Rank — Sword God] The evolved form of Sword Saint. Properties: - Extraordinary sword comprehension - Perfect control over sword movements - Enhanced reaction speed while using a sword - Ability to sense weaknesses in sword techniques - Increased mana efficiency during sword attacks - Ability to develop new sword techniques rapidly - Exceptional sword aura control Vincent considered Liam's swordsmanship frighteningly advanced for his age. --- [SS-Rank — Weapon Master] Copied from King Aldric. Properties: - Mastery of nearly every conventional weapon - Rapid understanding of unfamiliar weapons - Exceptional coordination - Ability to switch between weapons without losing combat efficiency - Enhanced combat instincts - Improved understanding of weapon-based techniques This talent was one of the reasons Liam could fight effectively with almost anything. --- [SS-Rank — Elemental God] Copied from Queen Elara. Properties: - Greatly enhanced elemental comprehension - Increased mana control - Faster spell construction - Reduced mana consumption - Improved elemental manipulation - Ability to combine compatible elements - Rapid learning of elemental spells - Exceptional control over elemental energy Combined with Liam's natural affinity to every known element, the talent was terrifyingly powerful. --- [S-Rank — Beast Tamer] A talent Liam had copied from one of the imperial beast handlers. Properties: - Improved communication with magical beasts - Increased compatibility with beast companions - Easier formation of contracts - Greater understanding of beast emotions - Increased trust between tamer and beast Liam had no contracted beast yet. But he intended to change that someday. --- [A-Rank — Elemental Affinity] This talent enhanced his already extraordinary elemental compatibility. Properties: - Improved elemental sensitivity - Faster elemental mana absorption - Reduced difficulty when learning elemental spells - Increased elemental control - Better compatibility with rare elements Combined with his natural affinity to every element, Liam could practice almost any elemental magic. --- [S-Rank — Frost Domain] A rare talent Liam had copied from a powerful northern mage. Properties: - Creates an area of extreme cold around the user - Enhances ice-based magic - Slows enemies within the domain - Allows the user to manipulate surrounding moisture - Can create ice barriers and weapons - Domain strength increases with mastery Liam found the talent particularly interesting. He had never visited the Frostborn Empire. But he had heard stories about its legendary ice mages. --- [SS-Rank — Infinite Comprehension] One of Liam's most valuable talents. Properties: - Dramatically accelerates learning - Improves memory retention - Allows rapid understanding of complex concepts - Enhances combat analysis - Improves magical theory comprehension - Reduces the time required to master techniques This talent was perhaps even more important than some of his combat abilities. Power means little without the ability to understand how to use it. --- [A-Rank — Physical Enhancement] Properties: - Increased strength - Increased stamina - Improved reflexes - Improved recovery - Enhanced durability - Better physical development Years of training combined with this talent had made Liam's physical condition exceptional. --- [S-Rank — Spear God] Liam had originally copied a high-level spear talent and gradually evolved it. Properties: - Exceptional spear control - Enhanced reach awareness - Improved thrusting precision - Advanced defensive techniques - Powerful spear aura - Rapid adaptation to spear-based combat --- And these were only his strongest talents. Liam possessed dozens of other useful abilities. Enhanced Vision. Night Vision. Enhanced Hearing. Mana Perception. Fast Learning. Poison Resistance. Mental Resistance. Enhanced Balance. Advanced Memory. Meditation. Alchemy Affinity. Cooking. Herbalism. Tracking. And many other ordinary talents. None of them were particularly impressive alone. But Liam had learned something important. A small advantage could become enormous when combined with another. That was the true terror of Infinite Copy and Evolution. --- The Pride of the Deamonheart Family Liam's growth did not go unnoticed. King Aldric was extremely proud of his son. Queen Elara often watched Liam's magical training with a smile. His sisters had become accustomed to seeing their little brother accomplish things that seemed impossible. Elena, now sixteen, had become an exceptional mage. Mira, fourteen, had developed into a talented combatant. Lyra, twelve, possessed extraordinary magical potential herself. The four siblings remained extremely close. They often trained together. Sometimes they compete. Sometimes they argued. And sometimes they simply spend the evening together in the palace garden. Liam treasured those moments. His previous life had been lonely. This life was completely different. He had everything he had once wished for. A father. A mother. Sisters. A home. And people who genuinely loved him. That mattered more to him than any talent. --- The Invitation One afternoon, Liam was practicing sword techniques in the royal courtyard when a servant approached. "Prince Liam." Liam stopped. "Yes?" "His Majesty requests your presence in the throne room." Liam wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Now?" "Yes, Your Highness." Liam immediately headed toward the throne room. When he entered, his entire family was already there. His father was seated on the throne. His mother sat beside him. His three sisters were gathered nearby. Liam looked around. "Did something happen?" Aldric smiled. "Nothing bad." "Then why did you call me?" "Because I have something to tell you." Liam became curious. Aldric stood. "Our family will be traveling to the Frost born Empire." Liam's eyes widened. "The Frostborn Empire?" "Yes." His mother smiled. "We have maintained a strong friendship with the Frost born royal family for many years." Aldric continued. "Their princess, Rose Frostborn, is turning eleven." Liam immediately understood. "A birthday celebration?" "Exactly." The Frost born royal family had sent an invitation to the Deamonheart family. Because of the long-standing friendship between the two empires, Aldric had decided that the entire family would attend. Liam's eyes sparkled. He had spent years reading about the Frost born Empire. Its enormous frozen mountains. Its legendary ice mages. Its magical beasts. Its ancient cities. Its famous warriors. And now— He was actually going there. "When do we leave?" Aldric laughed. "Two weeks from now." Liam clenched his fist excitedly. "I can't wait!" Mira smiled. "You've been reading about the Frost born Empire for years. Now you finally get to see it." Liam nodded enthusiastically. "I want to see everything!" Elena laughed. "Don't wander off." "I won't." Lyra grabbed Liam's arm. "And I want to see the snow!" "You've never seen snow?" Lyra shook her head. "No." Liam smiled. "Then we'll see it together." Queen Elara watched her children happily discussing the journey. Aldric smiled as well. But neither of them noticed the strange expression that briefly appeared on Liam's face. He wasn't thinking only about the Frost born Empire. He was thinking about his system. Frost Domain. A talent he had copied years ago. A talent connected to the very land they were about to visit. Liam wondered what would happen if he encountered a powerful Frost born mage. Or a rare magical beast. Or an ancient talent he had never seen before. His eyes gleamed with anticipation. Five years ago, he had been a child who knew almost nothing about this world. Now he possessed talents that most people could only dream of. But Liam knew something better than anyone. He had only just begun. The journey to the Frost born Empire would be his first step outside the safety of Valeria. And somewhere beyond the frozen mountains awaited a world Liam had only read about in books. A world filled with magic, powerful families, magical beasts, ancient secrets— And perhaps the first clue to the true origin of the Deamonheart System. Liam smiled. "Two weeks..." He looked toward the distant horizon. "I wonder what I'll find there."

The rising prince