"Dying out?!" Kyros was shocked. How was this their past?
"That's why I urged my brother to marry that other Baron family. The truth was they were from a family of Knights and were only raised in rank through the competition. But we're sure that their state is as bad as ours. Why else would a distinguished Baron like myself here as mercenaries? Those serving me aren't just any mercenaries."
"Yes. I noticed that they were very fond of you and are loyal. Are they your vassals?"
"They are now. But originally, they are slaves born from our own house. Our Grandfather wanted to make us a powerful group. Only if we had power on our own could we accomplish great deeds for our kingdom do we have the chance to rise. You see the problem: the kingdom we serve is in a bit of political and military turmoil. Several Viscounts and Earls have risen due to the departure of many knights and other nobles from other kingdoms and are moving to newer kingdoms and want to serve new kings."
"Could it be...? The UnHuman Races?"
"Oh? It seems your family history is related to that?" Aron asked.
"My father never confirmed it. But our kingdom did ally with several UnHuman races. Some Mixed Humans and Demi-Humans were granted refuge from the battles down the Underworld Planes." Kyros gave a broad answer. He knew that before he mysteriously left the Nephilim Sealing Temple in his previous life, the sudden influx of various races seeking refuge created a storm to the many kingdoms around the world was happening.
Many nations agreed to accept these races, and even the Steele family accepted. But among these races were many traitors who were spies sent by the other kingdoms. Some UnHuman Families entered into service to the human kingdoms only to have been proven spies.
Many kingdoms valued the power of these races. In the Lowlands, most human kingdoms were largely inferior in strength and only had numbers. And so, these outcast families were even fought over by the human kingdoms.
Aron continued to explain how the appearance of these clans brought a change into the landscape of the human kingdoms. The tournaments held, which were open for all vying to be knights and barons, were supposed to kindle camaraderie among the races. But the truth was, it was one way to see which humans made the cut.
"Thankfully, my brother was strong enough to catch the attention of the kingdom. I also managed to win, which secured our slot. But that's the thing... The truth was, the mixed races overpowered us so much. Take our family, for example. Me and my brother could barely beat an UnHuman. But we are considered geniuses among humans! What is our strength compared to a family of UnHumans?" Aron explained.
Kyros could only sigh in sadness.
"Was this the same case with your real family?"
"I... guess. I never really knew. I never even got to say goodbye to them."
"Are you alright? You can cry, you know? I've seen your father cry many times. I have. There is no shame to weep and mourn."
"My life... was already very bitter. My dad always said, 'I've lived my life crying. Son, live your's gritting your teeth. Cry when this is all over. For the meantime, pick up your sword and fight!'" Kyros recalled. These were the words Branze Steele said to him in his life.
Aron was silent.
"I will cry when this is all over, Uncle. But it will not be of sadness, but of joy." Kyros vowed.
"Look's like my nephews more of a man than I am!" Aron laughed.
"Uncle, what do we need to get stronger? As a family?"
"That's none of your concern. Let this Uncle of yours deal it with your father."
"I'm guessing money is one. Considering that you are doing odd jobs as mercenaries, then our family desperately needs it, huh?" Kyros guessed.
Aron's eyes widened.
"For a ten-year-old, you sure are smart!"
"So, we are out of money, eh?"
"I guess there's no use hiding it. So what do you think we should do to gain money quickly? I mean, this temple is quite important. And the armor is too valuable. What does my intelligent nephew have to suggest?" Aron laughed.
"You guys could go outside and show off your sudden increase in level. Tell the people that an eccentric wizard lives inside the temple and can level the people up for half or even a third of the price. I could pretend to be a wizard. I commissioned you to help me earn money and only help people level up if they are blindfolded. That should attract people. Since there are many mercenaries and clans outside, there should be someone willing to pay, right?" Kyros asked.
Aron was silent at first, and then his blank expression became frozen as his eyes slowly widened.
"Since the wizard doesn't want to make his identity known, he demands complete silence that news of him dwelling here should be kept hidden. All we need is one volunteer. Since many are hesitant to put their lives to a group of mercenaries, blindfolded, we may also have to give one of our own mercenaries to be their hostage. The password to open the door makes this wizard lie believable too." Kyros murmured.
"WAIT! WAIT! STOP! STOP! MEN! COME OVER HERE! WE'RE GONNA BE RICH! RICH I TELL YOU!"
The mercenaries huddled up, and there, Aron began to explain the plan.
The mercenaries looked at Kyros with eyes of shock.
"Kid, you're a genius!" One of the mercenaries shouted.
"You idiot! What kid! That's the young Lord, Kyros Steele!" Another mercenary slapped the head of the other.
"We need to work out the details! Tomorrow we have to go out and hunt more of these Lizard things! Although it might lessen the energy we get, it will make us rich! If we can show the effects to the mercenaries and other knights outside, we might be able to earn a lot! We could easily earn ten times this mission!" Aron continued.
"Ten times?! Boss! If we can show them that they can multiply twice, we'd earn twenty times!"
The mercenaries cheered.
"If that's the case, then all of you will become knights!" Aron vowed.
The mercenaries cheered once more.
"Uncle... I have some suggestion as to what we will do." Kyros smiled.
"MEN! QUIET! MY NEPHEW SPEAKS!" Aron growled and silenced everyone. Aron knew that Kyros's words were gold. In this case, it was literal gold!
Kyros made the arrangement, and the mercenaries and Aron were even more blown away at the details and specifics of the plan.
"In short, our priority tomorrow is leveling up. When we reach a certain level, we can initiate the plan. It would also be better if my father would be here by then. That way, we have more people to help us complete the plan." Kyros smiled.
"Good plan! Good plan! The Steele family shall rise!"
Calaminus was also amazed at how Kyros was able to create such detailed plans.
Soon, night fell. The mercenaries couldn't sleep well as they were excited for what the next day would bring. While many would have been afraid of the thought that they were staying near a Char Vermilion Lizard's nest, these mercenaries weren't. They managed to survive the attack of that many Lizards and now still survived. With the armor and the increase of level, they were now more confident.
As for Kyros, he was making the most of his time by secretly linking with the Temple Core to explore it's functions while pretending to be asleep.
Kyros read through the many functions and began to experiment with the many things.
"I can build a room underground? Interesting. It seems that this dimensional room is magical. Once a room is complete, I can move it around... Good." Kyros smiled.
"Are you thinking of building the forge or the artificer room?"
"No. The Steele family has those, and I can use them. The priority is to strengthen the weakness of the Steele family. We need more magic power... So that's what I'm going to go for." Kyros opened a certain window to display the room and the requirements.
"The library?"
"The Temple Info states that it contains various forms of battle techniques. From sword techniques to spears and even magic. That's the one thing you didn't teach. Mortal arts and magic."
"I see. You're setting the foundation of your family. And you plan to use these things to help them. Although you already have a formidable sword art that can easily defeat everyone, you plan to make your family an expert of everything."
"I plan to make my family a kingdom of gods." Kyros declared.
"Fate is cruel, and if I fail, your enemies may go after them. I will try to establish my own kingdom. This temple offers that opportunity. The Temple Quest objectives are still at level one. Pretty soon, it will be asking me to kill gods and fallen. The rewards it has been giving isn't something that is meant for an individual. My real parents created this temple for that purpose."
"I noticed that as well. The more this temple grows, the more it allows you to use its amazing power to create a shelter and a fortress for your loved ones."
"Exactly. I also have several years before the Great War of All. At this time, that war should happen earlier. But since our enemies won't be staying silent, I have to make my move. The Steele family should rise! And getting my family out of its debt is the first step!"