The wealth of knowledge and mastery Liam had inherited from Celebrimbor was staggering. Liam felt like he could see the delicate balance of metals, the secrets of enchanting them with power beyond mortal comprehension, and the artistry required to forge magic weapons.
He found himself instinctively understanding the movements of a sword, the fluidity of archery, and the nuances of combat honed through countless battles. He had played as Talion and had the wraith abilities, but even then, he felt like he lacked the whole array of knowledge that had now been opened to him.
But it wasn't just physical skills. Celebrimbor's knowledge ran deeper. Liam now understood the ancient histories of Middle-earth as if he had lived through them—the rise and fall of empires, the forging of the Rings of Power, and the tragic corruption of Celebrimbor's own creations. Basically, a handbook of what to do and what not to do.
Liam couldn't wait to bring forth some of the magic that he had learned from Celebrimbor, but before that, he would need to make his own cold weapons.
"Liam, wake up..." As Liam was thinking all that, he heard his mother. He didn't have much time before she would knock on his door, so it was time to see what his other reward brought him.
When Liam activated his wraith ability, the world around him dimmed slightly, as though reality itself had taken a step back to make room for something more ethereal. The room was bathed in a ghostly blue light, emanating from his own body, which now shimmered with the translucent glow of a spectral form.
He stood in front of the mirror to see himself. His reflection was no longer fully his own. His physical body, though still recognizable, was overlaid with the spectral form of a wraith—a luminous, ghostly version of himself that seemed to pulse with raw energy. His reflection was no longer fully his own. His physical body, though still recognizable, was overlaid with the spectral form of a wraith—a luminous, ghostly version of himself in elf form that seemed to pulse with raw energy.
And that was not the only thing. He could feel that he could slow down time itself. In hindsight, it wasn't actually slowing time. It was just that his senses made everything feel slow around him, and the amazing part was, he could feel that his physical body could keep up with those senses for some time.
As he contemplated that, a knock finally came to the door, and Liam knew he would have to leave for class, or else his mother wouldn't be too happy. She had become stricter with his school duties as she felt that her son should soon be a learned person and didn't want him to get the tagline of a school dropout millionaire.
"Liam, what happened to your eyes? Did you put on contact lenses?" His mom noticed that his eyes had changed in color.
"Uh... Yes... Yesterday, while coming back, I bought no-power contact lenses," Liam replied sheepishly. He had forgotten that part altogether.
"Is that even healthy?" Mason, his father, asked.
"Don't worry, Dad. It's just fashion. It's perfectly fine," Liam said.
"I'm worried now. Are you doing this to impress someone? You aren't even interested in Bonnie. I won't accept a girl who isn't at least as good as Bonnie," Olivia said.
"Mom, I told you I'm not interested in her or any other girl," Liam insisted, as his mother seemed to like Bonnie too much.
"Then are you interested in boys..." Mason asked. This made Liam lift his head from eating his peanut butter bread and look at his father with deep eyes.
"What? We are accepting of that too," Mason defended himself.
"Oh my God. I can't believe we are even having this conversation. I'm not interested in anyone at the moment and just want to build a successful career..." Liam said as he got up and made a run to the garage. He was tired of being pestered about relationships. He wasn't even 18, and already, some talks that always made him uncomfortable were taking place.
"You think he likes boys?" Olivia whispered as she heard the car roaring in the garage.
"I can't say. Not that it matters. I will be accepting of Chris too," Mason replied as he slowly finished breakfast. For them, it was just teasing. They didn't really care as long as their son was happy and safe.
As he was in school, he thought of the things that he needed to do, and thus he contacted his manager. Yes, the CEO of Marvel had insisted that Liam should get himself a manager and, also as an extension, his mother.
"Hello, Mr. Woodworth. How can I help you?" Rachel said. She was chosen as the manager for Liam and his family. And, of course, Marvel was paying. She was managing all the things that Liam and his family would require.
"Rachel, rent a garage or a huge warehouse for R&D purposes. Make sure that the place is built in such a way that someone could do blacksmithing inside without being raided by the police or anything. And also make a room there so that one could sleep, eat, and shower there," Liam said.
"So, Sir, you want this kind of place near your home? And in whose name do you want to register it? Yours or Marvel's?" Rachel asked. She was a veteran in this industry and was actually transferred by Pepper herself to be the manager of Liam. So Liam had faith in her too. Another reason was because Rachel had family of her own here, so she was also eager to take a job, which had a raise and also meant she wouldn't have to cater to Tony anymore.
Though Tony had changed for the better, she did remember what a nightmare Tony was for the company.
"Mine. Keep it secret. Make it a considerable distance away from home. Oh, yes... Make sure that it's soundproof. Don't want neighbors to raise noise complaints," Liam said.
"You don't have to worry, Mr. Woodworth. I will handle the logistics. I will inform you as soon as we have a place," Rachel said.