Years mean nothing to a mind that has seen centuries of data. I turned one and the celebrations were extravagant. Elven orchestras played, dragons circled the skies, and emissaries from across Aetherra offered tributes and rare magical artifacts.
To them, I was a promising royal heir.To me, it was the first annual checkpoint in my plan.
[You have reached Age: 1]
[You have gained 1 Stat Point]
[Total Stat Points Available: 6]
Still, I didn't allocate them yet. I had no need for strength, agility, or mana at this stage. Observation, planning, and research would yield far more than an early physical edge.
I needed knowledge.
And fate—or perhaps the system—answered.
It started with a routine visit from a mage tutor. An old man with a white beard, too long to be practical in battle. High Mage Elrin, keeper of the Royal Library.
"Your Highness," he murmured in reverence, placing a glowing scroll in my crib. "A gift for your first birthday. A starter's grimoire."
He smiled kindly, assuming I'd just chew on it.
[Item Acquired: Basic Grimoire – Flame Spark]
[You cannot equip this item until Class Awakening.]
I reached out with one tiny hand, fingers trembling, not from weakness—but from anticipation.
As his footsteps faded from the nursery, I activated my system interface mentally.
[Initiate Neural Recall Protocol]
[Target Objective: Royal Library – Blueprint Reconstruction.]
Using what I'd seen during walks through the palace and what my system could scan through ambient mana fields, I created a mental map of the entire Royal Library.
One section stood out: a sealed wing called The Vault of Echoes.
Only accessible by royal blood. And only if one passed the Whispering Test.
At age two, I was walking and talking in secret. I used the palace's maze-like servant tunnels to sneak through corridors when no one was looking. I'd built a clock in my mind—down to the seconds—mapping every guard patrol and servant shift.
Tonight was the night.
Wearing a tiny enchanted cloak taken from a forgotten chest in my father's war room, I moved like a wraith down marble halls.
The Royal Library loomed ahead: five towers connected by crystalline bridges, glowing softly under moonlight.
The doors opened for me. They recognized my blood.
I descended into the lower sanctum. Here, the air shimmered with the echo of every spell ever cast in the kingdom. Books whispered. Scrolls sighed. Ink danced in mid-air.
And then I reached the Vault of Echoes.
A colossal door stood before me, carved with ancient runes and sealed by a floating eye made of pure sapphire mana.
It blinked.
"Who seeks the forbidden?""The future," I said aloud, voice still childlike, but steady.
"What price will you pay?""All of time," I whispered.
The eye paused. It scanned my essence.
[Title Detected: Crown Prince of Aetherra][Trait Detected: Genius of Two Worlds][Test Overridden – Entry Granted]
The door groaned and opened.
Inside was a room without walls—books floated in endless space, stars twinkled overhead, and whispers flowed like rivers. A central pedestal held a single book, covered in black leather made of dragonhide and stitched with phoenix quills.
The Codex of Dimensional Ascension.
I touched it.
[You have discovered Forbidden Lore]
[Technology Tree Unlocked: Dimensional Theory – Tier 0]
[Blueprints Added: Mana Conduction Crystals, Micro Aether Circuits, Core Forge Unit, Spatial Compression Drive]
[System Update Available – Begin Integration? Y/N]
I selected Yes.
And just like that, my system evolved.
[System Update: You have unlocked the "Blueprint Engine" skill.]
[You may now design technologies using Aetherra's mana and Earth's science.]
That night, I returned to my crib before anyone noticed I was gone. But in my mind, I was already years ahead.
Aetherra thought I was their prince.
They didn't know I was now something far more terrifying—
A prince who knew the laws of physics…—and how to break them with magic.