The people from supernatural side rarely mingled with normal humans unless there was a reason.
And relationships between normal humans and supernatural people?
Those were almost always transactional.
Liana wouldn’t date someone like my uncle, who was a normal human, unless she needed something.
’Is it my family’s assets?’
Money wasn’t useless, even in the supernatural world. It could buy precious materials, rare artifacts, even silence.
And our family was wealthy.
’If she’s really going to help him kill my parents... then I need to grow stronger fast.’
If my parents’ death had been orchestrated, I would make sure they paid. Every single one of them.
I wasn’t going to be satisfied with just protecting my parents.
While the party continued, I remained quietly, the flicker of golden chandeliers reflecting in my dark eyes.
Laughter echoed around me. Clinks of glasses. Clapping. A live band was playing soft music in the corner.
But everything felt distant. Like I was watching it all from behind a wall of glass.
Until a small hand grabbed mine.
"Sad?" a soft voice asked.
I turned and saw Seris standing there, her amber eyes wide and filled with concern.
"Don’t be sad," she said, squeezing my hand.
I blinked, slightly stunned. She was a child — only a few months older than me— but somehow her gaze felt oddly grounding. I gave a small nod, and she smiled.
After the party wound down, Seris refused to leave my side.
Her mother looked surprised as she leaned down.
"What’s gotten into you today, Seris?"
Seris didn’t say anything. She just looked at me and tightened her grip on my hand.
My mother smiled. "Looks like she wants to play more. Why don’t you stay the night? We have plenty of room."
Seris’s face lit up, and she looked at her mother hopefully. Her mother hesitated for a moment, but eventually sighed and nodded.
"Alright. But Seris you must behave, okay?"
Seris clapped her hands excitedly.
Meanwhile, I was quietly panicking.
’How am I going to do alchemy or absorb mana if Seris is staying in my room?’
Damn it.
Later that night, after the guests had left and things quieted down, my mother and Elira placed both of us in the same room.
The lights were dimmed, and soft lullaby music — the same nostalgic lullaby that Seri’s mother sang — played from a speaker in the corner.
Seris stopped faking sleep when everyone left.
She bounced onto my bed and sat cross-legged, her hair swaying as she moved.
"Let’s see what you got!" she said, her voice full of excitement as she reached for the pile of birthday presents.
I sighed under my breath. When she was like this—playful, loud, curious—there was no stopping her.
She started unpacking, holding up each box to my face like she was analyzing my expression under a microscope.
A set of wooden cars with glossy finishes.
A detailed model of a pirate ship with sails that fluttered slightly when you blew on them.
Some sort of science kit that looked like it belonged to a middle schooler.
I gave her the same neutral expression every time.
But she didn’t seem disappointed.
If anything, she looked more excited, as if she couldn’t wait to see my reaction upon the grand reveal.
Then she held up one box and paused dramatically.
It was a golden miniature knight riding a lion.
The details were absurd for a toy. Gold-plated armor, tiny rubies on the hilt of the sword, even the lion’s mane had delicate etchings.
"This one’s from me," she said proudly, raising her chin a little. "I picked it myself!"
I let my reaction show on my face, which made her grin from ear to ear.
"Aha! You like it, don’t you?" she said, smugness radiating off her.
"Mhm," I nodded. I had to let her know, so that she brought more toys like this next time.
"I knew you would like it!"
Before I could reply, she dug into the pile again and pulled out another box.
This one was so large she had to use both hands to lift it.
"This one’s from your mom and dad," she said as she dragged it across the bed.
She popped open the lid, and both of us stared.
It was a giant mechanical robot made entirely of gold-plated pieces, easily twice the size of the knight toy.
A Gundam.
The arms moved when you pushed the buttons, and the eyes glowed faintly red.
I was surprised.
’With these two toys, I have enough gold to become a 1-star Mage tonight.’
’I just need to create a Catalyst for the element I want to align with.’
To align yourself with an Element, one needed a Catalyst of that element.
’Thankfully, I’ve already gathered the materials to create the Catalyst with Alchemy.’
"Whoa..." Seris whispered.
Even she looked impressed.
She reached for my arm and tugged it hard.
"Let’s play with this one!"
We spent the next twenty minutes making the knight and the robot fight, then had a brief pretend war where the pirate ship tried to attack both of them.
Seris did all the sound effects herself, and somehow turned the lion into a helicopter midway through.
Eventually, her energy faded. She yawned, rubbed her eyes, then laid flat on the soft carpet and passed out like it was the most natural thing in the world.
I glanced down at her and frowned.
’She seriously fell asleep on the floor.’
I glanced at my own tiny arms.
’How am I supposed to pick her up with these chubby limbs?’
I scratched my head. The answer was obvious.
’Forget it. I’ll become a 1-star Mage and use a spell to move her.’
I looked back at the toys.
Dozens of gold-plated ones sat scattered across the room.
Some were from today, others from earlier weeks when I’d taken them from Seris using nothing but innocent acting and exaggerated pouting—Yes, I’d already sold my dignity. After all, an assassin would use everything to complete their mission. Dignity didn’t matter.
And I finally had enough gold.
’It’s a little weird knowing both my mom and Seris’s mom think I’m a materialistic kid. But... they’re not wrong, are they?’
I shook the thought off and began pulling the toys into a pile in the center of the room.
I kept the gifts from my parents and Seris’s mom separate, just for now. I wanted to use the cheaper gold ones first.
Then, I pricked my finger with a tiny pin I’d kept hidden.
A bead of blood swelled at the tip.
I crouched down and began drawing runes on the floor, carefully making sure each one was linked to the next.
The sequence was important. I couldn’t afford to mess it up.
’I’ve delayed absorbing mana from the toys until now because of this. I can’t waste blood every time I got gold.’
’So I had decided to absorb mana when I gathered a large amount of gold.’
The moment the final rune was drawn, I placed my palm over the center and began chanting.
"Thy-thels of gowd, di-tholve and bwend,
"By fowce of will, to mana thend.
"Fwom metawl’s gwint to thpiwit’s gwoo,
"Let mana fwow fwom gowden hue."
The chanting came out with lisps with my baby tongue. But I knew from experience this would work.
The gold on the toys began to lose its shine.
It was subtle at first, but the brilliance dulled with every breath.
Then, it started.
White wisps floated into the air, soft and glowing, like tiny feathers made of smoke.
They hovered above the pile.
I used my Mana Breathing technique.
The wisps began to drift toward me and entered my body one by one.
They spread through my lungs, then flowed into my blood.
I guided them with willpower, feeling the warmth spread to my veins, then to my heart.
’Almost there...’
Sweat beaded on my forehead. My chest tightened.
I kept breathing, even when it felt like I was about to black out.
Then I directed all the collected mana below my heart, just like it was supposed to be done.
A hollow sphere formed.
Its surface was shaky. The sphere almost collapsed more than once. But I gritted my teeth, ignored the exhaustion, and pushed through.
The sphere stabilized.
A message blinked into my vision.
Class Mage gained
+3 Intelligence, +3 Spirit
A smile broke out across my face. I couldn’t stop it.
’Finally.’
But the notifications didn’t stop there.
Shadow Summon: Level 3 → Level 4
’I knew it!’
I clenched my tiny fists.
’My skill wasn’t leveling up because my Spirit stat was too low. But now that it’s higher, it leveled up immediately.’
I opened my status window, eager to see the changes.
’Status, show me my new class details!’