(VIII) System Expansion

[Daily Quests Received!]

Leon's eyes shot open as the system notification rang inside his ears, startling him awake. He groaned as his entire body ached from the minuscule amount of training he had done yesterday.

He dismissed the notification, navigating the system menu as he accessed the Quest Tab.

[Daily Quest {1} Run 5km]

[Reward: 1 Attribute Point]

[Daily Quest {2} Read 100 pages from a book you haven't read]

[Reward: 1 Attribute Point]

[Secret Mission - Reach level 99]

[Reward: Access to the drink the Master's Essence]

"Milord!" A voice came from behind his door before a knock as Mikaru entered carrying a tray, looking exhausted as he sat it down on the table.

He went to the windows, throwing the curtains open one after the other before he went behind the blind and laid out Leon's attire for the day.

"Good morning, Mikaru!" He said groggily, "Settling in okay?"

"Good morning, Lord Leon." He replied, returning to the table as he poured a cup of tea, adding cream and sugar before returning to Leon, handing it to him, "It's going to take some to get used to, but I'm managing."

"Your day is quite busy and you're already behind. I'd suggest getting ready quickly before your mother intervenes." He warned, bowing as he dismissed himself.

'Well, he's acting rather strange…' He thought, getting out of bed as he sipped the tea, approached the table, sat down, and ate the assortment of pastries.

After surviving on nothing but instant noodles and microwaveable meals for a few years, the freshly cooked food was like dining at the best restaurant in the world, 'If this is some wild lucid dream, I never wish to wake!'

He made his way into the connected bathroom, cleaning himself before getting dressed and making his way to his office.

"Good morning, little brother!" Alec said loudly, greeting him with a smile as he stood behind his desk. Sasha sat feebly on the couch, silently as she stared at him worriedly.

"Alec..?" Leon asked, confused as he slowly entered the room, "What are you doing here?"

"Is that any way to greet your loving eldest brother, who, in his brother's time of need, walked away from everything to ensure the smooth management of his territory?" He asked, walking around the desk. He approached Leon, scooped him in his arms, and hugged him tightly.

Alec was a behemoth of a man, standing a head taller than anyone around him, his body the size of a tree trunk with arms bigger than the average man's waist.

"That depends, did you do this out of charity or is this some kind of ploy by your mother?" He asked, grunting and groaning as he was nearly squeezed to death by his brother's love.

"Haha, yes, Mother can be more viscous than a twin-headed viper at times!" Alec laughed heartily, releasing Leon and ruffling his hair, "But no, she didn't send me, in fact, she was quite opposed to me coming."

"Well, you've always been rather obstinate, big brother." He said, walking over to his mother and sitting beside her.

"Ah yes, something I've inherited from our founding grandfather." He replied, returning to the desk and sitting down.

"Not the only thing." Leon countered, referring to Alec's position as the Divine Sword Saint, the first in nearly five hundred years since their founding grandfather.

"Right, you are, little brother." Alec sighed, shaking his head, "Anyways, onto business. You've revealed yourself to the entire world with your antics, made a mockery of our family name by employing a Parthrak, and created dozens of rumors due to your childish behavior, which was on the first day since you awoke…

And I couldn't be more proud of my little brother!" He grinned, "So, I've hired the best tutors in the country, and they're on their way. They will help you with your history, nobility, warfare, mana, and martial studies."

Leon was stunned. He couldn't believe how generous his brother was, and it left him wondering what happened to Franc that caused him to detest Alec so much.

"In addition, I'm taking Mikaru. He will become my personal charge for the next year while I'm here at which point he will become my apprentice and I will not hear any complaints!" Alec continued, "I cannot stay here for much longer, even though Misthaven is autonomous, I've been away for far too long. You will need to find someone you trust to manage Othniel in my absence until you complete your coming of age ceremony."

"I don't have to look anywhere…" Leon replied, turning to Sasha, "My mother will oversee everything in my place…"

"I'm sorry…" Alec interrupted, raising his hand as he closed his eyes and shook his head, "I wish it were that simple, but as you know, Father never took her as a spouse and she is simply a commoner concubine. She cannot."

"You will not speak so low of my mother in my own home!" He shouted, shooting to his feet, panting heavily, anger dripping off every syllable.

"Leon…" Sasha said sorrowfully, grabbing his wrist gently, "You misunderstand. Lord Alec has been nothing but kind and warm. He is simply speaking the truth."

"Worry not little brother." Alec said reassuringly as he stood from behind the desk, "I will make sure when it draws near for me to depart you have your pick from the best administrators the continent has! Now I must depart."

His mother waited until his brother had completely left before saying, "You really should trust your brother more; he has nothing but your best interests at heart."

"He is his mother's son. She's a conniving and deceptive witch who would sacrifice anyone for her own gain." Leon countered, staring at the door, "Have you forgotten she is the reason for my coma?"

"Now, Leon!" Sasha shot to her feet, grabbing his cheeks and forcing him to look at her angry gaze, "There is no evidence to back that claim up and you should keep such baseless rumors to yourself!"

"She is the one who sent us away, selected the carriage and escort. She hates me and because father loves you, she hates you too!" Leon countered, snatching his head from her grasp, "There are no baseless rumors, only facts! I just have to find the proof!"

"Leon…" She sighed before he interrupted her, stating he was going to train as he stormed out of the room, leaving her with her emotional thoughts.

He made his way to the barracks and ran around it, intending to make five trips to complete the one-kilometer task and then bathe before reading for the rest of the day, but unfortunately, his physique was even worse than he thought.

He pushed himself to complete half of the daily quest when a notification appeared.

[Physique Increased: Stamina +1]

He fell to his rear as he panted heavily, staring at the notification confused, as no player had ever received such a notification for practicing or fighting in his past life.

Leon returned to the manor and entered the library. A maid brought him a snack, which he ate while he read a fictional story.

Testing a theory, no notification appeared when he finished the fiftieth page. He closed the book, grabbed another, which documented the history of the Alliance and Empire, and read another fifty pages when two notifications appeared.

[Mental Capacity Increased: Intelligence +1]

[Daily Quest Completed!]

[Reward: Attribute Point +1]