"How?"I struggled against the urge to flash the biggest smirk of the century as I went about the usual daily chores around the shop. The sun was just beginning to rise when Livia forced both of us out of the bed. Ever since, I had been doing my usual share of smithing for tomorrow's wares while my sister simply watched me with the biggest gaping awe that I had ever seen her have on her face."Practice, Livia," I droned out, not trusting myself to stop the chuckle trying to escape from my throat if I ever gave off the usual smile. "Practice, and skill."While she was used to seeing me as the better craftsman between us, she had never seen me work at this rate of efficiency before, even during the time when we were rapidly cranking out armor and weapons during our Furnace breakout. My hands moved like a blur as I systematically popped out a decently
The Art of War. As far as I could recall, pop culture and genuine curiosity drove me to buy and read the small guidebook religiously for a few months. And while I didn't really participate much in real-time strategy games as I did before, the knowledge imparted within that orange hardback book wasn't lost to me. In fact, if one was able to skew their logic and preconceptions a bit, Sun Tzu's teachings and observations can be applied to almost everything that even remotely relates to competition and wargames. From business meetings to basic life-advice, the Chinese general must've been a tactical and strategical genius if he managed to codify what amounted to something akin to basic tactical instinct into something quantifiable and easily readable. The debates on whether the damn thing was actually written by the guy or if it was actually written by a bunch of generals were wholly irrelevant to me as its teachings were useful regardle
As a breakfast connoisseur, it was both within my pride and interests to learn and master various breakfast dishes like a wannabe foodie. What started out as an actual healthy curiosity, however, turned into a stupid bout of pride and whim when I managed to learn how to make omelet rice. Ever since, I'd made it my mission to at least know how to make every breakfast food imaginable. Granted, nothing was able to top my mastery over fried rice, but that was because it was the most basic of all the dishes that I knew."Is it to your liking?"Usually, I wouldn't ask such a question since I found it rude, but the burning curiosity inside me demanded an answer. Was it good? Was it bad? Did I put too much salt into it? Perhaps there were pockets of cold rice that I had neglected to mash into the heat of the wok?The anxiety as an amateur chef was killing
Hmmm.... I honestly thought that this news would shock me more than I expected. Was I that broken already that the possible combined might of the whole Prime Thirteen had become inconsequential to me?"Huh."It was quite a sobering thought. To think that it was finally happening had lifted some kind of weird weight in my chest. Anxiety wasn't the proper term for it, but I guess it was the closest word that I could use to describe it. I was worried, and yet somehow I felt strangely relieved that the perceived threat was finally coming. Now the question was that did I really even care anymore..."S-Sis?"I was brought back to reality as I heard my sister call for me. Looking at her, it was clear that the news had shaken her up a tad bit. She was even sweating despite the relative coolness of our current location.
This was a joyous occasion.To think that such a day would actually come was something that she had never even bothered to entertain. Having lived only for herself for so long, it was inconceivable to think that she'd truly find someone that understood her beside her sister."This was a productive meeting, Lady Crimson," she stated with her usual cold indifference, far from the glee that she had inadvertently slipped out earlier. "I shall coordinate with you if there is ever a change in plans.""Of course, Lady Love."Giving out one last nod to her partner and her sister, the Prime exited the premises without a single word; her mind still whirring about the possibilities opened by her newfound knowledge. This... Art of War written by Lady Crimson was only one of her partner's multiple achievements, and yet the ave
"Come again, sir."Taking a bow at another satisfied customer, I finally closed the shop for the day as I roamed Livia's store for a few last-minute checks before retiring for the day. Seeing as my sister was preoccupied with some partnership stuff with Love, I was left alone to man our shared livelihood while the younger woman was gallivanting who knows where doing god knows what.Either way, I was left to manage myself with my newfound freedom."I'm bored..."Feeling rather lazy, as well as not having Livia's presence subconsciously pressuring me to work, I did jack shit to progress on my projects for the day. I just didn't have the energy if my precious sister wasn't beside me whenever I wake up. But then again, maybe that was just an excuse for me to procrastinate on either continuing to write another book, or to at
"Huh?"A distant pop echoed in my ears as I was roused from my not-so-productive act of lazing around like a common sloth. Letting my curiosity take a gander at having the steering wheel, I stood up and looked out the window, trying to ascertain as to where such a sound would even come from. My eyes trailed across the sky, looking for something or anything that might indicate the source of the distant explosion, only to find nothing except for the vast array of stars dotting the night sky."Odd..."I wasn't one to snoop about unless absolutely necessary. It didn't sound that important, but curiosity was still an instinct any normal human wanted to indulge. We were in a medieval setting; a place where gunpowder wasn't even invented yet due to the advent of the Fraction System and magic bullshit in general. So discounting that, there were but a few p
Using the cloak of night as cover, I stuck to the dark alleyways as the main roads were teeming with civilians going about with their normal lives. Torches scattered throughout the roads provided a source of light for the capital's citizens as stalls selling their various wares littered the streets of Mathema. Taking advantage of the general distraction that the big plume of smoke was giving me, I skulked through the small, dark corners of the city; trying to avoid using the main roads for as much as humanly possible.*Boom*Another explosion echoed out across the sky, this one being a whole magnitude stronger in terms of both volume and intensity. I could chalk that up as me being closer to my destination, but I highly doubt that that was the only reason for the increased power diffusing into the air.Whatever fight was happening within those cham