-" System, could you walk me over all of the new features that I unlocked?" Henry decided to ask the system for assistance in uncovering all of the features he had activated.
-' The system has the ability to replay the introduction, does the host wish to proceed?' Henry was embarrassed to discover that he had slept through the introduction and nodded.
-' System explanation is going to begin, the first feature explained is the map, with the permanent activation of the map, you now can visualize the energy density of the areas around you, yellow indicates low energy density, green indicates normal energy density, and red indicates high energy density.' Henry made mental notes of everything the system said in his head, knowing that it might prove helpful later. ' The host can employ this feature in future treasure hunts, as regions with high energy density have a better probability of nurturing treasures. The inventory is the next feature to be discussed, this is the feature that has undergone the least amount of change, with only the size of the inventory increased. Would the host like to continue with the introduction?'
Henry didn't want to doze off again so he got up and sat at his desk. - " Please continue with the introduction" Henry grabbed a notebook and prepared to scribble down notes about the following feature because these were the ones that mystified him the most.
-' The furnace will be the next feature, with this feature the Host can sacrifice treasures in exchange for energy, this energy will be transformed into stats points that are used to raise the host's status in the Character Index, treasures with more energy stored in them will grant more energy points, the furnace can only be used with treasures that are a level lower or equal to the system level. The Character Index feature allows the system to examine the host and other people's bodies, allowing it to measure and increase host attributes. This feature will be considerably enhanced as the system reaches a specific threshold. The analysis mechanism is the next feature highlighted, the speed and the quality of the analysis are increased, allowing the host to achieve high levels of mastery faster, and deep analysis has been unlocked.'
-" Deep Analysis? What is this?"Henry was intrigued by the feature's new capability.
-' Deep Analysis is a process that allows the host to further analyze a treasure, deep analysis will end only when the host achieves maximum mastery of the chosen treasure, while Deep Analysis is activated, the host won't be able to analyze any treasure.' While this sounded handy, Henry didn't dwell on it too long because other aspects absolutely overshadowed it.
-' The system will now showcase the scanner, the final feature.' Henry gulped as he heard the system, this was the element that had the most impact on him it was because of this feature that he found the swords so easily.
-' The scanner feature will highlight treasures with gathered signatures on the map, a higher level of mastery of a determined treasure type will also help the system in identifying treasures with similar signatures, the host can use the scanner to locate every treasure in a radius of 50m, only treasures in the system's level or below it shall be discovered by this functionality, this scan was a two-hour cooldown.'
As the system concluded the introduction, Henry was taken aback, just these features were life-changing, and they could all be enhanced. He got to his feet and glanced out the window. -"It's getting late, should I go up the mountain today?" Henry was eager to put the new features to test, especially the scanner, to the test.
Makayla rushed upstairs just as Henry left his room. -"Hey, there's a festival going on today, would you like to go?" Henry noticed Makayla's eyes gleaming with anticipation.
-" A festival?" Henry paused for a while, recalling that today was the spring celebration. Henry was eager to test his system, but, he decided to accompany his sister as it had been quite a long time since the two of them had spent time together. "Sure, when are we leaving?"
-"After we close the store, Isabella and Maria have gone home to prepare, and they will be waiting for me near the cathedral." Makayla was overjoyed that her brother accepted the invitation.
-" Why don't you close the store earlier today? We need to enjoy your time here since it's close to the end of the year and you will be quite busy in the Magic Academy."
– "But what about the shop? Won't it be bad if we keep the store closed for so long?" Makayla was always hesitant when it came to closing the store.
-" Sigh, did you sell anything today?" Makayla shook her head in response to Henry's query. "Do you believe that if we keep the store open, someone will buy something?" Makayla shook her head once again at Henry's question. "So, what's the point of keeping it open? Aside from that, I'll be getting some herbs tomorrow to put in the store."
-"Herbs? Are thinking about turning the store into a botany shop once again?" Makayla was taken aback, she had not expected her brother to abandon his ambition of opening a treasures shop.
-" Oh no, they aren't just ordinary herbs, they're rare ones! Don't forget that herbs are also considered treasures!" Herny intended to buy a few rare herbs at the market and analyze them with his system, this would make finding herbs in the mountains quite an easy task.
-" Rare herbs? Will you purchase them? They are quite expensive, and only guilds can easily obtain them because they constantly put requests for herb gathering." Makayla didn't believe her brother could compete with the large guilds that monopolized the herb industry.
"You don't have to be worried about that, didn't dad teach us how to harvest herbs? I intend to go gather them on weekends." Herny's scheme sounded even worse after he articulated it.
-"I trust you if you're sure about that!" Makayla decided to trust her brother, since her return, her brother had changed, he was no longer the old depressed young man, instead, he was confident and even began to smile again.
Makayla couldn't help but place her full trust in her brother after seeing him in such a cheerful mood, after all, he was the one who bore the brunt of their financial woes.
Makayla and Henry took a few moments to get ready before heading to the plaza where the festival was taking place. Henry felt strange because it had been a long time since he had dressed so nicely.
As they walked down the street, Henry noticed a few carriages parked next to a large building. Because the plaza was quite far from their house, he decided to see if he could rent one of them. -" Makayla, please wait a moment while I see if I can get one of those carriages."
Makayla wanted to stop her brother, but he was too quick and knocked on the carriage before she could stop him. He finally found a free carriage after several attempts.
Henry paid the coachmen and entered the carriage with Makayla, the two of them felt out of place inside the lavish carriage, but Henry didn't regret renting it.
-" Why did you rent this carriage? We could have walked there." Makayla had the impression that Henry was squandering all the money he had made.
-"It was only one gold coin for renting it for the rest of the night, what's the big deal?" Makayla's eyes widened as she noticed Henry's nonchalance in spending a gold coin so easily.
She was eager to learn how much money her brother made from selling the treasures. -"Can I ask you a question?" Makayla appeared hesitant when she asked Henry the question.
- "Sure." Henry, who was looking out the carriage window at the streets, nodded.
"How much money did you make selling the swords you picked up? The one you gave me was one of the ones you found, right?"
-"Yes, the sword I gave you was one of the thirteen that I found, and as for how much I made," Henry paused for a moment and turned to face his sister. "I sold four low grade swords similar to the ones I gave you for 1500 gold coins."
Makayla smirked and patted her brother on the back as she thought that her brother was joking with her. -"Hehehehe, I never thought you were the type to crack jokes like this." She noticed Henry's face was serious as she continued to pat him on the back. "Are you sure you're not kidding?" Makayla's face flushed as she realized how wealthy her brother had become.
She finally understood why her brother gave her 50 gold coins so easily. - "Sigh, I didn't expect you to become a wealthy young master."
-" Me? the correct is us, I just hope you don't end up like the spoiled brats at the Magic Academy." Henry laughed softly and returned his gaze to the streets. " I may still be able to find more swords there, so I'd like to return to the mountain again, in fact, I was about to go there before you asked me to accompany you."
Makayla began to tremble as she overheard her brother mentioning finding more swords. -"Are you insane? What is the point of going to this stupid festival? Tell the coachman to take you to the mountain!" The mere mention of finding more swords caused Makayla to lose her cool.
-"It's too late for us to go searching in the mountains, it'll be too difficult to find anything when it's so dark there."
-Will you be there tomorrow? Can I accompany you?" Makayla calmed down and asked her brother if she could accompany him.
Henry froze when Makayla asked to accompany him, he was terrified of someone finding out about the system. -" Are you sure? It's quite boring there, I just dig a lot. I'm not sure if you want to spend the entire day digging through the mud. Aside from that, aren't you returning to the Magic Academy tomorrow?"
-"That's right, but I can return before our convoy departs." Makayla was adamant about going to the mountain.
"I don't think it's a good idea, instead, rest and return to the Academy energized. I want to see you dominate your class now that you have such a splendid sword."
-" Okay then, I can go treasure hunting with you another time!" Makayla accepted the fact that accompanying Henry was a bad idea. "Oh, by the way, you said you found thirteen swords, four of which you sold and one that you gave to me, so you still have a lot of them left, right?"
As Makayla inquired about the sword, Henry smiled and showed her another one of the weapons. -"Of course, I still don't know what to do with the rest of them, but I'm going to save one for myself." As they approached the plaza, Henry immediately stored the blade in the system inventory.
Henry and Makayla quickly exited the carriage, the driver would wait for them because Henry had rented the carriage for the entire night. The coachman was pleased and didn't mind waiting as Henry paid him quite well.
Makayla and her brother walked around the plaza, enjoying the festival and sampling every dish they could find until Makayla noticed Isabella in the crowd.
-" Isabella! Isabella!" Makayla ran straight to her friend.
Henry followed Makayla to her buddy, however, he froze as he approached Isabella, Henry grew uneasy as he noticed a woman his age standing close to Isabella.
He wanted to ditch Makayla, but he knew that doing so would just raise suspicions about him. -' I just hope she doesn't remember me,' Henry wished in his head that the woman had forgotten about him.
-" Hey Makayla, you came! Sister, this is my friend Makayla, the one we were just talking about." Isabella quickly introduced Makayla to her sister. " And that is her brother, Henry."
Henry got even more uneasy as Isabella presented him to Ketlyn, her sister, and a former classmate of Henry's. They had only been in the same class for a year, but Ketlyn made an impression on Henry the moment he saw her. She was a real beauty, and one of the most talented students in the magic Academy while she was a pupil there.
-" Greetings to the two of you, I'm Ketlyn, Isabella's older sister." She gave a low bow and greeted Makayla and Henry, who in turn returned the bow to her.
-" Makayla did you bring your sword? Ketlyn can't believe that Henry gifted you a fifth level sword!"
-" Why would I bring my sword for a festival?" Makayla was ready to wrap up this discussion when she remembered her brother still had one sword on him. "But my brother has one that is identical to mine! He even brought it with him!"
Henry cursed inwardly as Makayla told everyone about his sword, and just as he had dreaded, Isabella and Ketlyn gazed at him, as if expecting him to reveal the magical treasure.
-"Retrieving a sword in the middle of a festival isn't a smart idea, why don't I show the sword another time?" As the attention gathered about him, Henry wanted nothing more than to bury himself on the ground.
-"There are a lot of individuals with weapons here, so just showing your blade isn't going to be such a hassle." Ketlyn made an unusual expression as she looked at Henry's face. " By the way, did we ever meet?"
Henry was ready to deny ever meeting Ketlyn, but, Isabella beat him to the punch and spoke first. -"He attended the Maverick Academy! I believe he studied there at the same time as you." As Isabella told Ketlyn about Henry's time at the academy, he realized it was over for him and she would remember the legendary academy loser.
-" Henry? Maverick Academy? I don't believe I met you there." Ketlyn paused for a few seconds before shaking her head. "I'm sorry, but I don't believe we met."
Henry thought Ketlyn was being polite by not referencing his infamous notoriety. Henry was in the middle of thanking the gods in his head for not being made fun of while his sister was watching when a young man came toward them laughing.
– "How come you don't know about Crippled Henry, Ketlyn? I knew you were a bit of a loner, but not knowing about the academy's greatest failure?" As soon as Henry recognized the voice, he stiffened.