Re-Awakening: Evolving My Shadow Limitlessly With A System
Chapter 48: Trainees, Cousin

Chapter 48: Trainees, Cousin

Aunt Liora didn’t respond immediately.

She looked at my parents, then back at me.

"...You want to see the training grounds?" she asked.

"Yes," I nodded. "I’ve never seen one before."

Liora hummed and leaned back slightly.

"Well, there’s no rule that says I can’t show it to you."

Dad gave her a sidelong glance but didn’t say anything.

Mom looked more amused than anything else.

"Fine," Aunt Liora said after a moment. "I’ll take you there. But it will be only a short look. Nothing more."

"Yes!" I said quickly, purposely showing my enthusiasm.

She smiled again and poked my forehead gently.

"You’re a sneaky one."

I just gave her the most innocent look I could.

It worked. She didn’t press any further.

She kept me on her lap for a bit longer, but the victory dulled the pain in my cheeks.

Eventually, she stood up and lifted me into her arms without warning.

"Let’s go."

Mom rose too, brushing invisible dust off her clothes.

Dad remained seated and watched them both.

"I’ll stay back. We need someone to look after the house."

It wasn’t hard to read between the lines.

He was trying to give Mom and Aunt Liora some alone time.

There was still a bit of awkwardness between them, and he probably figured a short walk might help smooth things over.

As we stepped outside, Aunt Liora paused at the doorway with me still in her arms.

Her steps faltered slightly, and I could tell what was going through her head.

She couldn’t carry me through the estate. Because she had a reputation to keep.

Mom picked up on it instantly.

"Should I carry him instead?"

"...Thank you."

Aunt Liora handed me over without another word.

I happily changed hands. Suffering of my cheeks finally ended. NovelFire

We walked down the main path that cut through the estate.

Even though it was morning, the grounds were already busy.

Servants walked briskly, carts moved alongside paths, and in the distance, faint sounds of training echoed.

The training grounds were located in the western wing of the estate, the same side as our house.

We passed several smaller buildings and gigantic closed stone courtyards before reaching the first of them.

"They’re all training grounds," Aunt Liora said, nodding toward the row of open courtyards. "Each one is for a different age group. This one here is for children from five to twelve."

Mom looked around curiously.

"Do all Daelthorn children train here?"

"Yes. But from five to six, it’s only for direct descendants. From seven onward, every Daelthorn child must attend. Even the ones from the branch families."

"And they live here too?" Mom asked, glancing at the tall dormitories near the edge of the grounds.

"They do. All children from age seven to twelve live in the dormitories. That’s the rule."

Mom nodded slowly, absorbing the information.

"Don’t the children get homesick? It must be hard to take care of so many of them when they get like this. Their parents must get worried too."

"It’s not that bad. They only get homesick at first. The training is intense enough that they don’t have much time to think about it. And they get used to it quickly."

Mom gave her a thoughtful look.

"Is it really okay to be so strict with children that young?"

Aunt Liora smiled, though it was a faint, almost tired one.

"This has always been the way of the house. It’s not just about tradition, however. We train our children because the world isn’t safe."

Mom didn’t say anything, so Liora continued.

"What if one of them is caught in a random summoning? What if they’re taken to Wageah without warning? If they don’t have the strength to survive, can they survive there?"

There was a brief pause.

"Even in this world," Aunt Liora added, "anomalies are everywhere. Death isn’t far. We are harsh on the children now, but that’s so they can live the future without worries."

"I see." Mom nodded slowly.

She didn’t seem to like the idea of making children go through harsh training.

But she understood it was necessary.

They both walked in silence for a bit after that.

I found their reactions amusing.

’Other clans would beg to send their kids here.’

’They would give anything for their children to train with Daelthorn instructors.’

’And yet the provisional House Head of Daelthorn, sounds worried that they were being too hard on their own children.’

When we finally reached the training ground, I saw what they meant by "tough training."

It wasn’t some polished gym or padded dojo.

The ground was packed dirt.

Wooden poles stuck out of the earth at odd intervals.

Several old stone dummies stood in the corners, worn smooth from repeated strikes.

There were no safety mats.

Around thirty children, maybe ages seven to ten, were in the middle of their drills.

Each one was holding a wooden weapon—mostly swords, some spears.

Their forms weren’t perfect, but they were focused.

There was no chatter, no laughing. Just the steady rhythm of training.

Their expressions were serious, but not dull.

They looked alert, sharp, and—oddly enough—content.

They didn’t seem scared or tired. Just determined.

Their faces had that natural glow of children who were eating well, sleeping enough, and being pushed just hard enough. Correct content is on NovelFire.

The training stopped.

One of the instructors had noticed us.

He gave a sharp shout, and the children turned in unison.

As they spotted Aunt Liora, they all bowed at once.

A few of them looked nervous, others respectful.

"Good work, all of you," Aunt Liora said, her voice calm and loud enough to carry. "You can continue. Think of me as an invisible guest today."

The instructor nodded and gave the children another command.

They turned back to their training, though many of them were stealing glances in our direction.

The head instructor jogged toward us and gave a deep bow.

He didn’t speak right away, waiting for her to say something.

"We are here for a normal visit. You can ignore us. Continue the training as usual."

"Understood, Provisional House Head!"

He jogged back to the front.

We moved closer to the fence.

I stood next to Mom while Aunt Liora folded her arms, her expression back to being unreadable.

My eyes drifted over the kids again.

There was one girl near the front who caught my attention.

She was swinging her wooden sword with smooth, practiced movements.

Her form was clean.

Every swing of her flowed into the next with no wasted energy.

’Ho?’

I narrowed my eyes a little, watching her footwork.

’She is good.’

"That’s Charlotte. She’s your older cousin, and daughter of my younger sister—your second aunt," Aunt Liora explained.

I looked up at her.

"She’s already a Rank 1 Supernatural. She awakened her Aura two months ago."

My eyebrows rose.

Aura at her age?

That spoke highly of her talent.

While I watched Charlotte run through her drills, my attention shifted.

I looked at her shadow.

’Shadow Essence.’

The tiny black flames clung to the children and instructors’ shadows, sometimes flickering like dying flames.

These black flames—Shadow Essence—were visible only to me.

’Finally.’

I didn’t waste any time.

Quietly, I reached out with my mind, locking onto my shadow.

It twitched under my feet, almost eager.

’Shadow, go and devour their Shadow Essence.’

Aunt Liora’s head turned sharply before my shadow could move.

She stared at the ground beneath Mom and me.

Her brows narrowed.

"Is something wrong?" Mom asked. She looked at her feet, confused.