"I have 2 plans! The first one is to sell my father's position rights, and with that, we can get some money from both factions in exchange for not getting involved in the war! The other is to ask my father for a province to administer so I can show that I can manage it better than my brothers and make my province the one that generates the most money!"
"Okay, those are not bad plans, but let's focus on your training now."
"But why doesn't Dad stop the succession war?"
"Lucca couldn't even finish what he was about to say because he got a slap from his mother."
"Mom?"
"It's to see if you wake up. Didn't I tell you the story about the wars?"
"But what does that have to do with it?"
"He took another slap."
"I'm starting to think I didn't teach you how to live in this world. You have other races that want to end yours, and you want your father, a Duke, to stop a succession war because you want to live a peaceful life? Are you crazy? We're surrounded by enemies, and you want to live in peace? People are being killed at the border year after year because orcs and barbarians raid there, and you want an easy life? You want your father to stop a dispute that makes you grow, just because the boy wants an easy life? You need to wake up! But don't worry, because I can see that I've made you very comfortable all these years."
"I'm sorry, Mom."
"Get ready because your vacation is over. Your training starts in a week!"
He began to look down and placed his hand where he had received the two slaps from his mother, and then he started looking out the carriage window.
'What a reality check I got today. As if I hadn't already realized that this power struggle could escalate sooner than I thought, but to receive this wake-up call from my mother! What a messed up day!'
'Status window'
Lucca Mason
Age: 4
Race: Human
Rank: Mortal 0 (Level 0)
Status:
Health: 10
Vitality: 1
Strength: 1
Agility: 1
Stamina: 1
Mana: 1
Magic: 1
Class: None
Weapon Mastery: None
'What a disgusting status.'
(To improve your stats, you need to train!)
'Let me guess! When I train, I gain a point in agility, for example, and it will come to a point where I have to stop training because I've reached the limit of that agility stat at that rank!'
(That's right. I'll let you know when you've reached the maximum!)
'Let's check the shops.'
He first started to check the skill shop. Various skills began to appear, but one thing that confused him was that he needed to acquire a token to purchase the skills.
"Ori, do you know how to earn these soul tokens?"
(Yes, by killing things, be they humans, mobs, or other races.)
"Okay, thank you."
He then moved on to the equipment shop, and after looking at the various pieces of equipment, he went to the inventory option.
"Fifty kilograms of inventory, not bad!" and then he went to the map. He could see a map that extended up to 100 meters in each direction, with himself in the center of the map. He tested by clicking on a sphere representing a person, and their information popped up.
"Yeah, that's awesome!" He celebrated the functionality of the map and asked, "Lori, can I increase the inventory weight and the distance I can see on the map?"
(You can, but you'll have to spend tokens! When you have the necessary tokens to increase, you'll see an icon with an up arrow, and you just click on it.)
"Okay, thanks." After that, he closed the system and continued to look out the window.
The carriage remained silent for about 10 minutes, and then his mother spoke, "Your father told me you were the second to choose. Why did you choose William instead of Carter?"
"Because if I had chosen Carter, it would have been just to mess with my brother, and besides, William has much more talent than Carter!"
"Yeah, being level 90 at the age of 19 isn't for everyone."
"How do you know his level? You always taught me never to reveal my status window!"
"And never reveal it! But do you think your father would trust someone to protect his children without at least knowing their stats?"
"That makes sense! But what should I do with William? Should I have him rank up, considering I'll spend the next 10 years training with you and Dad before going to the academy?"
"I agree, but you should spend this week with him so that you can get to know him and see if he's loyal to you or another faction. Or you have another option; I have a skill that he can never think or act against you!"
"Is there such a skill? It's so broken! Now I understand why you trust the servants who serve us!"
"Never underestimate a Dark Mage! Of course, to have a servant as a spy from another faction in our household is something any other faction would attempt, as they already have."
They were about to continue their conversation when the carriage stopped, and someone outside said, "Ma'am, we've arrived!"
They got out of the carriage and headed towards their mansion. On the way, the mother asked, "What do you want to do about William?"
"I'll try to make him loyal to me and see if he's really a spy for another faction or not. If I don't have 100% confidence in him, I'll let you know."
"Enjoy this week because it's going to be the last of your peaceful life," and she walked away from her son.
"Yes, Mom!" He responded.