His purple eyes widened, and a dazzling light panel appeared before him, floating in mid-air. In the most conspicuous central area were three gray, unremarkable card-shaped images, with a golden hourglass imprinted below, displaying the number: [Essence Quantity: 3]
The background was a vast expanse of white, as if he were in a misty haze. It was ethereal and vague, incredibly fantastical.
"The cheat is here!" Aemon was excited and nearly shouted, reaching out his small hand to poke the edge of the light panel. Good days were coming, weren't they?
The light panel was touched, and the white expanse stirred, covering everything before transforming into another screen.
[Aemon Targaryen]
Talent: Dreamer (Gold)
Skills: High Valyrian (Mastery), Common Tongue (Proficient) ...
Magic Cards: None
Status: "A severely sleep-deprived human child, beginning to affect physical development."
"Oh, there are changes?" Aemon carefully observed, paying particular attention to the [Status] column.
He looked down at himself; his little arms and legs were plump and white, not like someone suffering from malnutrition.
Aemon frowned, using his hand to measure his length from head to toe. It seemed his height was a bit lacking. He was nine years old this year, strictly speaking, only eight full years. His height was just over a meter, still a little short. Children of the same age, especially those inheriting the blood of the First Men from the Vale, were a head taller than him.
"So it's not that they're growing too fast, but that I'm growing too slowly?" Aemon finally understood. No wonder, he thought; he also had half the blood of the First Men.
He stared at the dazzling light panel again, but it didn't respond. It should be a single-player system. Since it doesn't have a name, I'll call it the [Magic Essence Panel].
"How should I use it? I don't want to grow into a little potato." Aemon felt a trace of unnecessary worry, and his finger poked at the [Status] column.
"..."
No change occurred. Aemon was a little speechless, abandoning the aloof [Status] column and turning his thoughts elsewhere.
After about a quarter of an hour, he thoroughly explored the Magic Essence Panel. The white light panel was the exchange page, used to view "Magic Essence" and "Exchange Cards." The reverse side was the personal panel, displaying Aemon's real-time situation. Gains and losses were fully revealed.
Having figured out the rules, Aemon held the black dragon egg in one hand and poked at the exchange page with the other.
"I want a way to solve my sleep quality problem." Hatching the dragon egg is too late; it's more important to solve the immediate difficulty first.
Poof~~
Three rays of light of different colors flashed, and the three gray card reflections flipped over one by one.
* [Guidance Once]: "A small opportunity." The card showed a golden finger pointing in a direction on a white background.
* [One-Handed Sword Proficiency]: "Brave knights love it." The overall color of the card was green, depicting a long sword covered in rust.
* [Solid as a Rock]: "Skin hardens, like a stone." The card was blue, with a gray-white figure striking a powerful pose, with +1, +1 numbers popping out above its head.
Clearly, the three cards were of three different levels.
"They're all good things, but the price..." Aemon's eyes lit up, but he hesitated when he saw the different numbers under the cards.
The white background displayed: [10 Essence]
The green background displayed: [60 Essence]
The blue background displayed: [150 Essence]
One was more expensive than the other. He glanced at the [Essence Quantity: 3] next to the golden hourglass and silently retracted his restless little claws.
"Don't worry, if there's not enough essence, I can find it." Aemon didn't give up, and he already had an idea in mind.
According to the rules of the Magic Essence Panel, finding items containing magic could absorb a portion, putting it into the golden hourglass to transform it into magic essence.
He closed the panel, holding up the black dragon egg with both hands. The system prompt just now was that the treasure in his hand provided "Magic Essence +3."
Dragons are top-tier magical creatures, and dragon eggs that can nurture young dragons are naturally full of magic.
"Fortunately, it won't hurt the foundation of the young dragon." Aemon carefully put the dragon egg back into the incubator and couldn't help but pat his chest in relief.
There were also conditions for absorbing magic. Unless he deliberately absorbed everything, the Magic Essence Panel would only absorb excess magic. Any magical creature or item has its own characteristics and will unknowingly attract magic in the air to attach to it.
The dragon egg's magical foundation is very strong, and it can attach 3 points of magic essence every so often. Absorbing it wouldn't affect the dragon egg itself. This function also applies to other magical items.
"Okay, growing taller and getting good sleep starts with finding magic." With a goal to solve his troubles, Aemon pushed open the door and quietly slipped out.
Dodging the maids preparing lunch and avoiding the noisy idlers in the outer courtyard of the castle. As one of the most powerful nobles in the Vale, House Royce of Runestone owns vast tracts of fertile land and a strong army. In their spare time, some family branch members and their vassals would gather here to strengthen the castle's defenses. Therefore, there are many people in the outer courtyard every day. Aemon didn't want to attract attention and passed by with a very low profile.
Before long, he reached a sparsely populated area. Aemon opened a wooden entrance in the backyard of the castle and crawled into the Royce family's tomb cellar.
Although it was called a tomb cellar, it was more like a storage room. It was dark and gloomy, with bronze ware and old items piled up in the corners of the walls.
"Where is it, where is it?" Aemon took down an oil lamp and searched around by the dim light.
Kicking away the troublesome cobwebs, the stone brick passage under his feet was out of place with the dusty environment around him. This was his secret base. Children without company always need a place to stay. The tomb cellar of his ancestors was a good place: quiet, with no one to disturb him.
Don't ask if he's afraid; if he could really meet a ghost, it would be an ancestor who was separated by many generations. Who doesn't have a couple of real relatives underground?
Flap flap!
Squatting in the corner and rummaging around, he laboriously moved out a rusty bronze armor. Aemon wiped the sweat from his forehead and raised a satisfied smile.
House Royce has an ancient history and was once the actual ruler of the Vale, its territory including the eastern coast of the Vale, where Runestone is located, a large plain, as well as the entire Vale plain and the steep Mountains of the Moon.
Two thousand years ago, House Royce established the "Bronze Kingdom." Until the Andals invaded Westeros, the rule of the Bronze Kingdom came to an end. From then on, the Vale was ruled by House Arryn of the Eyrie, while House Royce became one of the most powerful houses under its command. Many times, the "one of" should also be removed.
Aemon squatted down and pouted, blowing the dust off the bronze armor, revealing the mysterious runes engraved on the surface of the armor. When his small hand touched it, a system prompt sounded in his ear:
"Touched a broken magical item, gained Magic Essence +5."
Aemon said "Wow", it really worked.
House Royce is of the blood of the First Men and believes in the primitive Bronze Age civilization. Furthermore, they would engrave runes on their armor, believing it could protect the person inside the armor from harm. Of course, it didn't have any effect. Those ancient ancestors who wore bronze armor would still be killed if they were meant to be killed.
And now, it's cheap for me!
Little Aemon, reporting for duty!
Is there anything else I can help you with?