Dinner time in the Oliver Manor has always been joined by all members of the family.
Ever since their daughter left their home to marry, the Oliver senior couple have been dining together since then.
Tonight, and hopefully on the succeeding nights, they are going to be joined by the youngest member of their family, Leonvolt Machia Oliver.
The boy who has been banished by Royalty.
"Good evening Little Leon, how was your day? I did not see you get lunch. Were you not hungry? If the diet gets unbearable, it is not harmful to grab a small bite. Only a small bite."
Grandma Elizabeth has been concerned the whole afternoon because Leon did not seem to have a proper meal.
"Do not worry Grandma, I did get a small snack for lunch. Just ask Mr. Arnold, he was the one who gave it to me."
"I see, just take things slowly okay. Your Grandpa has already arranged your trainer for tomorrow." Grandma Elizabeth added.
"Oh right, I did find the best person for your training sessions. He is the son of the former Guard Captain of the territory. We initially wanted to get the senior to train you but we thought it is healthier to stick with the junior. Haha."
Leon has some doubts with that sketchy chuckle of his Grandpa.
"Grandpa, I will get better right?" Leon asks for reassurance.
"Of course, Grandpa will not let you down Little Leon. I have been looking for clues in order to fix your condition." Lord Oliver convinces Leon that everyting will be fine.
They are talking about Leon's complicated body condition. A common knowledge that everyone knows would be to avoid eating monster meat.
It is not to say that they are not consumable but monster meat just has too much invariable components that a normal body can not absorb.
There have been many studies about the consumption of monster meat and their side effects.
Most of the patients that have eaten monster meat for years ends up dead due to sudden complications.
These complications were attributed to the unknown components present in the monster meat.
However, another study entailed that there was a community that eats monster meat often for sustenance and they were totally fine.
More and more studies from various schools went on until a consensus was reached.
They agreed that there are monster meat that are toxic and monster meat that is great for consumption.
The only information this can not give would be the identification of edible and safe monster meat.
And so, the researchers continued to study until they were able to establish a good systematic foundation in identifying an edible monster.
Monsters that secrete way too much fluids are no go.
Venomous ones are not good as well.
Monsters with abilities similar to Outer Shell experts are toxic.
The only safe monsters to hunt and eat would be those who have not shown any abilities similar to Shell Force experts.
Leon, however, is in big trouble. He primarily ate any monster meat that was served to him. He never bothered to identify them nor did the Royal castle servants. They just left him be.
However, Leon now understood that it was an instinctive action caused by the final request that the System left prior to its deactivation in the past.
In truth, Leon is not so worried about being unhealthy and suddenly dying. It was his body's restoration that he is concerned with.
The System has already reactivated, which means that it has reached the threshold in which it can function normally. Monster meat is no longer a maximum need.
But why does Leon have such a fat body if the System needed all the energy and resources it can get to restore itself?
That is the problem Leon is trying to tackle on next.
"Little Leon, your training will start early tomorrow so you should rest early tonight."
"Okay Grandma I will sleep early tonight."
As Leon ends his words, a short silence came about. Leon gulps as he resolves himself.
"Uh, Grandma, Grandpa, I have something that I have to say to you."
"Hm? What is it Little Leon? No need to be so serious, life gets shorter when you take everything seriously." replied Lord Oliver.
"Here you are again with your old fashioned words. Little Leon, please tell us what you want to say." Grandma Elizabeth requested Leon considerately.
Leon began to contemplate on telling the full truth, a half truth, or a white lie.
The System is a completely miraculous ability. Many would kill to obtain this kind of power. Leon can trust his grandparents but he is not so sure about the people around them.
Leon then made his final decision.
"Actually, on the night that I collapsed, just right when we arrived home, I think I may have awakened a special constitution." Leon reveals his thoughts to his family.
Leon decided to give his grandparents half the truth.
He did it for their safety. The less people who know about the true strength of the System, the better.
Leon wanted to tell his grandparents in order to gain their support.
He will have a hard time hiding things when moving forward if he wants to use his abilities, as he was stuck in the North for life.
He wanted to be able to practice and use Shell Energy freely and hopefully develop the North. But he needs to make the necessary arrangements first.
Having the support of the Oliver family will be a good start. If Leon wants to use his abilities, his grandparents will be behind him, to support him in what he does.
"Little Leon what are you trying to say? What special constitution? Did you mean your body? I guess you might have a special constitution indeed to have such a sturdy body." Lord Oliver misinterprets Leon's words.
"Shush, you old man you speak too much nonsense. Let Little Leon continue. Little Leon, do you know what special constitutions are? They usually appear on people with high Shell aptitudes. We don't really understand what you meant by awakening a special constitution." Grandma Elizabeth patiently asks Leon to clarify.
"What I meant was exactly that Grandma. But I think my case is quite different. I think I better show you guys what I can do."
Leon stands from his chair and moves farther away from the room. He then thought, [Display System Options].
What Leon noticed was, in order for him to be able to use his abilities, he needs to have [System Options] active. If it is inactive, Leon can not activate any type of ability at all.
As [System Options] appeared in his mind, Leon then used his first ability.
"[Shell Inspection]"
As [Shell Inspection] was used, Leon began to see the various Shell Particles around the room.
But Leon saw something unexpected and surprising.
It was because both his Grandma and Grandpa have a lot of Shell particles surrounding them. They are actually Outer Shell Experts.
Their Outer Shell was so thick, it was covering half of the room.
Such a massive energy reserve!
The Oliver's hid their powers well.
Leon can not help but marvel at his grandparents capabilities. He was even more driven to do his utmost best for them.
Leon then activated [Shell Utilization], activating his Heart Vortex.
But, instead of channeling energy on one hand, he decided to use both hands and to channel two different formes of particles.
The cube and the pyramid particles were Leon's choices.
As they were sucked in, Leon began to feel the pain on his hands.
'I think these Shell Particles are not supposed to enter the body after all.'
Leon noticed that only when the Elemental Shell Particles enter the body will he feel the pain on his hands.
He won't feel much pain on irregular Shell Particles but he is not sure what actually benefits him when using them. He needs to experiment further.
As the degree of pain increased, Leon used [Shell Optimization].
When he used it, his left hand burst in flames while his right hand produced a short gust of wind inside the room.
Leon then looked towards his grandparents to see their expression.
They were totally dumbfounded.
It was their first time seeing Outer Shell techniques coming from the body.
Even more absurd was seeing Leon being able to control two elements at once that only veterans with a lot of training are able to successfully pull off.
"Little Leon! How is this possible?! You are actually a 'Unique' Shell User." Lord Oliver exclaims.
"Huh? Unique what does that mean Grandpa?"
Leon was confused by the sudden outburst.
Grandma Elizabeth approaches Leon and brings him to his chair to sit.
"Listen Little Leon, all those special constitution that you have known about, some of them are actually not that special after all."
Grandma Elizabeth explains to Leon.
"An example would be True Shell Vision. To have so many people awaken the True Shell Vision yet it is still considered as a special constitution is a downright mistake that these old fogeys of the present have committed."
Grandma Elizabeth explains further.
"Hmm, that whole special constitution matter is a thing of the past. If you ever get the chance to visit those huge academies, you will notice how most of the students over there have the so called 'Special Constitution' that they oh so love to take pride in. Hmph." Lord Oliver spats in disdain.
"Oh, I understand grandpa."
I better take the chance to visit the Fran Quest Academy in the Royal Capital once I gain the freedom to travel.
Leon muses to himself.
Suddenly, he was grasped tightly by his grandpa by the shoulders.
"But you my child, you are special. You have the unique ability to let Elemental shell forces flow through your body without causing irreversible burden. I imagine it must be so painful right now. Elemental Shell Energy is not supposed to flow inside the body like that." Lord Oliver told Leon.
Leon was astonished that his Grandpa actually knew about the pain he felt when letting Elemental Shell Particles flow through his hand.
"Grandpa, how did you know? It really is painful." Leon asks.
"Oh it is because I have been quite impudent when I was younger. I wanted to do everything that I can to utilize my strength and I failed miserably. Since then, I have been unable to allow Shell Energy to flow inside my body." Lord Oliver lamented his unfortunate past.
"But in topics like these, it is better to talk to your Grandma, she used to be an Academy professor in the Northern Grace Academy." Lord Oliver presented to Leon, Grandma Elizabeth's old profession.
"Grandma, you were a professor?! Wow, I should learn from you!" Leon exclaims.
Lord Oliver then came closer to speak with Leon in a silent tone.
"Don't be deceived by her glorious title. She is actually such a horrible teacher during those days. She gained the moniker of 'Witch of the North' because of her absurd training method and torturous syste-eeeeem, Ow- ow- ow- ow- ow-! No! I WAS WRONG! You are the most beautiful and mystical witch in the North, Grand Shell Elizabeth!" Lord Oliver was pinched black and blue on the waist by the stoic Grandma Elizabeth.
"Stop talking nonsense, you are tricking the boy with false words. Little Leon, I can handle the job of being your Shell utility instructor." Grandma Elizabeth owns up to the instructor role right away.
Behind her, Leon can see his grandpa gesturing an "X" with his arms, shaking his head and seemingly shouting silently.
'No, don't accept. You will regret it.'
Grandma Elizabeth noticed Leon's gaze and gave the person in the back the death stare. Lord Oliver whimpers.
Leon decides to accept his grandma's offer.
"Okay, grandma I am excited to learn more from you. Haha."
"Hmm, I think this is joyful news. It is a relief that the Royal family decided to throw you away to us, Oliver's. They don't deserve your abilities anyway. Come give Grandma a hug." Grandma Elizabeth tells Leon.
Leon reaches in to hug his grandma, his fat belly still gets in the way allowing them half a hug.
"Little Leon, is there anything else you want to say to us?" Grandma Elizabeth asks Leon.
"Well, actually there is one more thing I have yet to tell you guys." Leon admits.
"What is it? Is it another surprise?" Lord Oliver is pumped for even more spectacular news.
"I actually need your help on evaluating something that I made. It is that stove over there. I asked a servant to carry it here a while ago." Leon points toward the unremarkable clay stove in the corner.
"Did you make that stove by yourself? Why would you need help on evaluating it?"
Lord Oliver and Grandma Elizabeth are confused.
"I think it is better to show than tell." Leonvolt claimed.
What happened next blew the old couple's minds.