"It's too late to stop it now, Sharlotte," Lapis said. "They're going to find out eventually."

"Yes…Eventually. But not now. Please Lapis. I beg you," the MOH hiccuped.

"You can't just drop a bombshell like that and not answer it," Alwin said in between bites of his cookies, spraying crumbs everywhere. "So either one of you better fess up."

"Oh, you poor thing," the MOH said, grabbing a napkin and dabbing his mouth before cleaning up the table. "I'm so sorry."

"For?"

The MOH sighed, "There's no way for me to avoid this, is there?"

"What do you think?" Lapis asked.

She sighed again. "Fine. But if we have to tell them, at least let me be the one to do it. I don't want you making stuff up."

"Go on then. Tell slime boy and his posse of other boys how evil you are."

"Wait!" Alwin yelled, spraying another mouthful of crumbs onto the table.

"What is it?" the MOH asked. "Do you have a tummy ache? Is it your teeth? Have you been brushing?"

"None of that. Actually, wait, when was the last time I brushed my teeth? Tangent detected. And tangent denied!" Alwin said. "Lapis. This is some pretty big tea that's being spilt. Would it cancel out all of the deals we just made? If yes, then I don't want to listen. I really want my friend to get that apprenticeship."

"Nope. It's Sharlotte spilling it, not me."

"Apprenticeship? You mean with Latchland?" the MOH asked. "Why would you even want that? He tried to kill you and your friends. Now, he's holed up in the Academy. I bet even Milvus is struggling to break through his defences. Why would you want that kind of deal?"

"Because he knows stuff. And my friend needs to know the stuff that he knows. I'm sure Milvus will find a way to get that stuff into my friend's head. And Lapis said she'll help."

"Why Lapis? Why do something like this?"

"He's my apprentice. And a master has to help their apprentice. It's basic master-apprenticeship stuff."

"Exactly!" Alwin yelled. "So stop delaying and start explaining!"

The MOH sighed.

"Do you know why your class was created?"

"Something something raise a generation of super-strong Core monsters to beat back the humans."

"Yes, but do you know why we had to resort to this method?"

"Because you were bored?"

The MOD let out a soft chuckle and patted his head. "Even with that information download, deep down you're still a child. The reason is because we were desperate. You see, years before you were hatched, the humans launched an all-out assault on Monsteria—the old Monsteria, not the one here. We knew they were coming. We knew the best way to defend ourselves so that there would be minimal casualties. We knew how to put an end to this lifetime war with the humans. We knew all of that because of Milvus."

"Milvus? Like my teacher?" Alwin asked.

"And my student," Lapis added. "Pretty cool, right? Goes to show how awesome I am."

"Lapis, do you mind?" Sharlotte said.

"Fine. But, slime boy, do an eye roll for me."

"You got it," Alwin said before hopping into the air and performing a cartwheel.

Sharlotte sighed and continued. "Blessed by Cor, he gained the Eye of Providence. With that Core Skill, he could see into countless futures and with a lot of training—"

"By me!" Lapis interrupted.

"—he learned how to traverse specific branches. Because of him, we managed to push humankind to the point where they threw everything in one last final gambit. But even that was all part of Milvus' design. Once humankind's strongest warriors were defeated, there would be no one left to hunt us down."

"Cool backstory," Alwin said. "But how does that relate to me?"

"I'm getting there," the MOH said, patting Alwin some more. He jiggled in place, thrilled by the gesture.

"Milvus could see a lot with his Core Skill. He thought he could see it all. We thought he could see it all."

"So what couldn't he see?" Alwin asked.

"Cor's influence."

"During the invasion, the citizens were hidden away. They didn't know that victory was all but guaranteed. They didn't have to know. It would've taken too much time and resources all to result in the same outcome. It was deemed pointless. But looking back… it might've been the path that finally ended the conflict."

"So, the lesson is not to be lazy? Again, what does it have to do with me?"

Sharlotte patted Alwin once more, causing him to jiggle like jelly.

"Terrified and afraid of the largest invasion in history by the strongest members of the human race, the citizens panicked. They turned to prayer, begging Lady Cor for her strength, for her protection—for her blessing. That day, Lady Cor must've been paying extra attention. That day, there was a boom of monsters who received Cor's blessings—monsters who weren't part of the army. They were just regular citizens, but after being blessed by Cor, they found the courage to take up arms."

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"More like the foolishness to take up arms," Lapis interrupted.

"Lapis, not now. Please," Sharlotte said.

"Whatever."

Alwin could sense an eyeroll. He leapt into the air, performed a cartwheel and dropped into the MOH's lap, receiving more headpats.

"That was a branch that Milvus never saw. He didn't even know about it—not until it was too late. All of a sudden, new branches he'd never glimpsed before appeared in front of him. It was too much. There simply wasn't enough time to process it all. The plan immediately fell to ruin. For the first time in what felt like forever, Milvus was fighting blind. After relying so heavily on his Core Skill to ensure things panned out exactly as he had designed, he was flustered. He panicked. He made bad decision after bad decision after bad decision. Though he managed to drive back the human forces, even killing their king—the strongest human—it came at a cost. Milvus' Core was severely damaged, and so was his Core Skill."

"So don't rely on your Core Skill? Is that the moral of the story? Again, what does that have to do with me being born?"

"I'm getting there."

"The old Monsteria was left in ruins. Civilians scattered, while the army and our king searched for a new home—one where the humans would struggle to find. But not everyone followed. Some civilians, tired of the king's never-ending promise to bring an end to the conflict, chose not to settle in the new Monsteria. They hoped that a life of peace and solitude would be enough to keep the humans away. They were sorely mistaken."

"Man, those monsters sound dumb."

"You know it, slime boy."

"Let me continue," Sharlotte said. "The humans, after their defeat, only grew stronger. They became united—for the most part. Interhuman conflicts still arose, but the moment a monster was even mentioned, all disagreements vanished. They'd do anything to eliminate the threat, even if it was just a child going out for a stroll."

"Not the children!" Alwin yelled.

Was Maple okay? Was Cooper Trooper still cooping and trooping?

"Ironic, isn't it?" Sharelotte said, staring up at the ceiling. "Cor's blessing was meant to be our salvation, yet it became a curse that doomed us."

"Again, cool story. But where do I come in?"

Sharlotte sighed, "Very soon, I'm afraid."

"You weren't afraid enough in my opinion."

"Lapis…"

"Just stating my opinion."

"I was one of those monsters who received Cor's blessing that day. I was one of the monsters who ruined everything. I was the only survivor out of those who received Cor's blessings. When I learned about Milvus' plan, I was devastated. I went crazy. I went hysterical. I went mad. I was certain that I had all but guaranteed Monsterkind's extinction, especially without Milvus and his Core Skill. I was desperate. And in that desperation, I came up with the wildest idea of my life… one that I constantly regret."

"Which is?" Alwin asked.

"You."

"Me?"

"You and all of your classmates," Sharlotte said. "Cor's blessing is a marvellous thing. Anybody who's anybody knows how much of a game-changer receiving one is. They also know how difficult it can be to adjust once you receive it. And with all of my fellow blessed monsters gone, unable to utilise their new blessings to their fullest potential, a thought came to me… What if children had Core Skills? That way, by the time they grow up, they'd wield their blessing as naturally as they breathe. But how would you get Cor's blessings into literal children?"

"How would you get Cor's blessing into literal children?" Alwin echoed.

"Though passed away, those fellow monsters Core's still had Cor's blessings. Using my newly awakened Core Skill, I kept these special Core's 'alive'—if you can even call it that. I found a few eggs left behind in the ruins of the battlefield, cracked them open, and implanted these Cores. Then, I patched the eggs up, all with my Core Skill."

"That turned dark really fast," Alwin said.

"Cor's blessing was too strong. It was too overwhelming for still-developing monsters. So I used my Core Skill again. And again. And again. I kept healing all of you, keeping you alive, making sure there wouldn't be another death on my hands. I wanted you to grow up big and strong. Strong enough to fix my mistake. To fix our mistake. The Council eventually found out. They called me mad. They called me insane. They called me a genius. Then they took a vote—whether to let this madness continue or end it, along with me."

"I voted no, by the way," Lapis said. "I'm crazy, but not that crazy. We were talking about making child soldiers for Cor's sake."

"Yet, here I am. Alive—I think," Alwin said.

"It's not like I had a choice," Lapis said.

"You did have a choice," Sharlotte said.

"Yeah. My choices were this or rotting away in a cell."

"Can I have some context, please?" Alwin said. "Bird boy is squawking up a storm in here."

"Basically, I didn't want to have anything to do with this child soldier experiment thing, even if the Council had voted yes," Lapis said. "Turns out they needed my magical expertise. And if I refused what was now a direct order from the king, I'd lose my position as Minister. And if I lost that, I'd lose the immunity that came along with it, which means I'd be in jail rotting in a cell."

"Okay, now Niwla wants to know what kind of crime you committed."

"Story for another time. Because this is the part where Sharlotte starts to regret everything."

"Lapis is right. After a while, I started to come to my senses. What I was doing was horrible. They were crimes against monsterkind. I wanted this crazy experiment to end. To allow you kids to at least grow up as normal children. The Council didn't want that. The king didn't want that. He wanted obedient little child soldiers that had Cor's blessing, and Lapis was the key to that."

"More like half the key, but I do enjoy being praised."

"Meaning?"

"I was basically the only one who could set up all of those mental inhibitors and information downloads. But the contents were left up to the MOK. I would've preferred to raise you guys with happiness and cookies, but the Council had other plans."

"Except you failed because it broke for me and Uchronia."

"You try inventing a whole new, highly specialised field of magic. Implanting mind shenanigans into people is easy. Now, try that with a developing baby still stuck in an egg with Cor's blessings, with a Core that isn't even theirs. I'd get a Cobel prize for it, if it wasn't top secret and broke so many laws."

"Thank you for praising yourself while you justify experimenting on babies"

"You're welcome. It's dark, but it's really cool. You have to admit that."

"Didn't say I didn't."

"I kept my distance after you guys were born," Sharlotte said. "I just couldn't bear to see you. But when Milvus asked me to demonstrate Healing, I just couldn't say no. But now I've realised that it wasn't Lapis that did you wrong, it was me. Something went wrong that day. Your Core is fractured, and because of that, so is your mind. Don't worry, I'll work tirelessly to fix you. I'm the Minister of Healing, and you are my responsibility."

"Nah, I'm good," Alwin said.

"What do you mean, you're good?"

"I'm good. I like being me. I also like bird boy being bird boy and ant boy being ant boy. And I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Please. At least let me make sure your Core is okay. The last thing I want is for you to get any worse."

"Maybe." Alwin grinned. "On one condition."

"What is it?"

"Get the MOD to take my friend as an apprentice."

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"I don't know. That's your problem, not mine. And—Oh my Cor! I just realised something!"

"What? What is it? Are you feeling okay? Are you in pain?"

"Physically? No. Emotionally? Yes. I just realised that ant boy has a Tier 3 form and so does bird boy. What about me? I'm still stuck as a Tier 2. And I'm supposed to be the older one! I cannot stand for this."

"You want to go through an Evolution? Now isn't the time for that. This is your Core we're talking about!"

"You're right! The time for that is later! After I'm done refining Essence!"

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