Are They Geniuses or Just Gifted?

WELCOME TO THE REWARD SHOP!

Raza's curiosity was piqued. Before now, the reward shop was a locked feature. Why did it open up now? What rewards were in this shop? What is used for currency?

All of these questions ran through Raza's head as he scrolled further down the screen.

"The Reward Shop is a reward system that rewards the player based on his or her feats. The greater the achievement, the greater the points awarded. These points can be used to buy skills, equipment, or even legendary items."

It seemed simple enough to Raza. He scrolled through the different categories.

Spells

Magic

Skills

Weapons

Armor

Summons

All of these seemed useful to Raza, however, two of them stuck out. Magic and Summons. In this world, there were only four basic elements. Fire, earth, wind, and water, and by mixing these elements, you can do different spells. Depending on a person's affinity with each element, they can acquire certain skills correlating to that element.

Raza opened the Magic tab. He saw that he could actually buy affinity for different magic. However, his eyes widened when he saw the other options.

Metal Magic

Crystal Magic

Light Magic

Dark Magic

The list continued. There were dozens of different and unique magic that Raza could choose from. Why was this here? Raza could easily become overpowered with this system. However, the prices matched how good they sounded. Each new magic cost at least a thousand points. Raza saw that his wallet only had 10 points, so he sighed.

'How did I even get these points?' Raza thought to himself.

As if the system heard his thoughts, a new screen popped up on his screen.

Congratulations! Achievement unlocked. Learning Your Past!

So Raza gained points for discovering his origins. If this was a way for him to unlock achievements, then becoming a scholar was a good way for him to earn points. However, it sounded like he had to learn significantly important pieces of information to get points. The thought annoyed Raza.

Boom!

The door flew open before Raza could continue to explore the Reward Shop. His twin sisters ran into the room with wide grins. 

"Brother Raza! Come play with us!" Dove yelled.

"Yes, come play with us, Brother Raza!" Blythe agreed.

"Perhaps another time, Dove and Blythe. I am busy right now," Raza sighed.

The two sisters looked at each other and giggled. As if to be communicating through their thoughts, the two sisters began to pout.

"Blythe, did you hear that? Brother Raza doesn't love us anymore."

"Yes, I did hear that, Dove. Brother Raza doesn't love us," The two pouted.

Raza gritted his teeth. This was a game that the two played often, but he was determined not to be swayed by them this time. Raza really wanted to look into the Reward Shop.

"I did not say that. We can play in an hour," Raza promised them.

However, the sisters weren't satisfied with that answer. They pouted even more and lowered their heads.

"Blythe, Brother Raza is making excuses to avoid us now."

"Indeed, Brother Raza doesn't want to see us anymore, Dove."

"No, I did not say th…"

"Don't worry, we'll play with Brother Raymond," they said in unison.

This was all they needed to say. Raza, despite his past, takes his role as an older brother seriously. This was no different than them saying that Raymond was a better brother. Raza stood up.

"Very well, I will play with you," Raza sighed.

"Yayy!!" Their faces immediately lit up.

'Brother Raza is so easy to convince!' Dove internally said.

'Indeed, Brother Raza was bound to fall!' Blythe smiled to herself.

'Tsk! I played into their palm again!' Raza had no choice but to accept his defeat.

The two sisters grabbed Raza's hands and pulled him out of his room. They led him outside to the backyard. Dove and Blythe were jumping with excitement.

"Brother Raza! Here, use this sword!" Dove handed him a wooden sword.

"You can train over there, Brother Raza! We will draw you!" Blythe looked excited.

Raza looked at the wooden sword and then back at his sisters. He wondered what they were up to. This was not what he expected. He sighed and listened to his orders.

The twin sisters grabbed a large canvas and set it in front of them. They each grabbed a pencil and smiled at each other. Standing side to side, they gave Raza a thumbs up.

"Brother Raza, you're good to go!" They smiled.

"Very well," he nodded his head.

Raza hasn't trained with the sword in a while. Ever since the hostage training that Alden showed Raza, he decided that he needed to work on a way to quickly close the gap between him and the enemy.

He had been studying alchemy since that is the most advanced field of science that this world has. Why? It was because Raza needed a weapon that he was even more familiar with than his fists. Guns.

So far, any attempt to recreate a gun has failed, but Raza put the thought to the side for now. He agreed to play with his sisters. Raza took a deep breath and recalled the different stances that his father taught him. 

'If I want to perform well, I need to focus on my form,' Raza told himself.

Soon, everything faded into the background. To Raza, only his blade existed. His form and agility improved significantly. This was something that Raza was able to do in his past life. He could go into a zen-like mindset where nothing could faze him. However, unlike in his previous life, there was something that could bring him out of it.

"Brother Raza!" the voice of his sisters snapped Raza out of his trance.

"Yes?"

"We're done! You should come and see," Dove smiled.

"It's our best work yet!" Blythe motioned him to come closer.

"Best work? You are only 7."

However, Raza was soon proven wrong. He faced an almost photocopy of himself. Not knowing how to react, he only patted his sisters' heads.

"This is an amazing work of art. The two of you deserve to have your art on display," Raza praised them.

"You see that Blyth! Brother Raza likes our work," Dove giggled.

"Indeed, Dove. Brother Raza really does like our work!" Blythe agreed.

"Now, do you two want to continue to draw, or do you want to do something else?" Raza asked.

"Let's draw more!" The sisters exclaimed.

Raza continued to pose for them using different forms of martial arts. The twins continued to draw picture after picture at an astonishing speed. They only stopped because they ran out of canvas. 

When Raza saw the finished works, he was greatly surprised. Each one had a different art style, but each piece was equally beautiful.

'Are my sisters really only 7 years old?' He thought to himself.

Dove and Blyth yawned as they wiped their eyes. They looked at the mess that they made with the canvases and graphite. They had no intention of cleaning it up, mostly because they were tired. Not like they would have cleaned it up anyway.

"Brother Raza, we are tired. We will go to take a nap," Dove yawned.

"Indeed, we are tired, Brother Raza," Blythe repeated.

"You two should clean up first," Raza frowned.

"We can't. We are just too tired," They said in unison.

"The two of you are responsible enough to…"

"Brother Raza, good night, love you," Dove interrupted him.

"Good night and love you, Brother Raza," Blythe waved as they walked away.

Raza sighed since he was left by himself to clean up after his sisters. He was mildly annoyed, but he chuckled to himself. He began to clean up the mess.

'I supposed they are just normal 7-year-old girls. However, their art is comparable to some of the art I have seen in museums. My sisters are truly talented. I cannot wait to see how they will improve in the future,' Raza smiled to himself.

When he looked up, he saw his mother staring at him. He instantly jumped back before he realized that it was his mother.

"Mother, you startled me," Raza sighed.

"You can't even recognize your own mother!" She pouted. "Have you spent so much time studying that you forgot my face?" She pretended to cry while hugging Raza to her chest.

"Mother, I was simply lost in thought. I apologize," He let Vivian grab hold of him.

Raza wondered why his mother was acting normal since he suspected that his father would tell his mother about the conversation they had. Raza assumed that Alden did not tell Vivian about their conversation. Either that or she was really good at acting. Vivian hugged Raza even tighter.

"Yes, yes, Dove and Blythe are talented artists. I'm surprised that you haven't noticed sooner," She looked down at him.

'What! They have been making art for a while? I am failing at my duties as an older brother,' Raza criticized himself.

"Anyway, tomorrow, Leora will be coming over for a tea party! You should help me set everything up!" She squeezed Raza.

Raza forgot that Vivian held a tea party with her friends at the end of every month. It may sound formal since they were all nobles, but it was no more than a gossip fest. Alden went to one and decided to never participate after all of the wives were bragging about how good their husbands were in bed. 

The conversations became milder since Dove and Blythe started to attend, but that didn't stop the ladies from using code language about certain topics.

As for Leora, she was the daughter of Vivian's best friend, Lady Anges. The two of them had been trying to set them up together for as long as Raza could remember.

"I refuse Mother. I do not want to participate in the tea party, especially if Leora is there."

"What's wrong with Leora?" Vivian widened her eyes in shock.

"I have no interest in her. She is not family nor does she serve any benefits for me to hold conversations with her," Raza said bluntly.

"But she will be family if she becomes your wife!" Vivian's eyes beamed with hope.

"That will not happen."

Vivian frowned when she heard this. She looked into Raza's eyes and saw how determined he was.

'Why is he always so serious? All he does is study and train! If he keeps this up, he will end up alone, and I cannot allow that. Alden says he would be fine, but I cannot take that chance!' Vivian's motherly instincts kicked in.

Meanwhile, Raza's mind was elsewhere.

'I've been with plenty of women in my previous life. All they want is wealth, fame, or power. Real love doesn't actually exist… with the exception of Mother and Father of course. That seems like one in a million, so I would rather not take that chance,' He inwardly sighed.

"Raza, if you do not attend this tea party, you will not be allowed to study or train until you move out of the house," Vivian smiled.

It was the same cold smile that told Raza not to mess with his mother. He clicked his teeth.

"Fine. I will attend," Raza gave in.

"And dress nicely."

"I will, Mother."

'He he! Raza is so easy to read!' Vivian was proud of herself.