SWNOVELXO Chapter 8: Chapter 8: Foundations in Silence
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The next morning came with no fanfare.
The estate's rhythm resumed its calculated grace—maids whispering through marble halls, chefs preparing meals as though nothing had happened. But beneath that polished calm, the air held tension. The kind that coils tight around your chest and makes silence feel loud.
Asher sat on the edge of his bed, his small fingers wrapped around a steaming porcelain cup of tea. Earl Grey. Steeped precisely three minutes. No sugar. Just how he liked it now.
He watched the steam curl like smoke, eyes unfocused. Then, the system blinked silently into view.
> [Daily Sign-In Complete]
Reward: +3 System Points
He barely glanced at the number. His focus lay elsewhere now. Not the points—but how to use them.
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From the outside, Asher Raven looked like a quiet, unusually intelligent child in mourning. But inside his room, past the locked door and surveillance scrambler he'd quietly embedded in the nightstand, something else unfolded.
Blueprints.
Concept modules.
Digital logs of data flow, intercepted signals, estate-wide blind spots.
He was mapping it all.
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> Third-Person POV
Three floors below, in the private surveillance room tucked behind a false wall in the wine cellar, one of the estate's internal security officers squinted at the monitor.
"Weird," he muttered.
"What is it?" asked his partner, leaning over.
"Room 3-07. The kid's suite. Cameras show a five-second jump. No static. Just... nothing."
His partner frowned. "Could be a glitch. Or intentional."
They shared a look.
Intentional meant one thing:
Someone inside the estate had better tech than the security department.
And only one person in that room had a system interface.
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Back in his quarters, Asher stared at his screen.
> [Blueprint Upload Complete]
File: PHANTOMSKIN v0.2a
Estimated Build Cost: 87 System Points
He exhaled.
Too high.
But not unreachable.
If he cut auxiliary features—thermal reduction, bio-seal compatibility—he could get the cost down. Maybe under 70 points.
He ran the calculation.
> [Revised Build Estimate: 68 System Points]
[Defensive Rating: Moderate+]
Acceptable. For now.
He could finish the full version later. For now, he needed proof of concept.
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He stood and moved to his bookshelf, pulling out a slim volume on bird migration. It was a dummy cover—inside were system-forged blueprints printed with heat-reactive ink. He held them over the steam of his tea. Lines glowed faintly, revealing circuits, layers, and molecular shifts.
A child's mind shouldn't know these things.
But Asher Raven was no ordinary child.
He studied the designs for fifteen minutes before slipping them back.
Then, footsteps.
Light. Deliberate.
He shifted instantly, tossing the book back and crawling under the bed.
A soft knock.
"It's Elise," came the voice of the head maid. "Breakfast is ready, young master."
Asher waited.
No shadows under the door. No signal disruption.
He emerged slowly.
"Coming," he said calmly.
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By the time he sat down at the breakfast table, his expression was calm again. Polished. Controlled.
The guards still watched.
He still smiled.
And beneath his skin, his mind kept building.
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> [System Notification] System Event Triggered: Internal Threat Probability Exceeds 30% Suggestion: Begin Sub-Network Construction for Private Defence Grid Reward for Completion: ???]
Asher blinked.
A defence grid?
He could do that.
He would.
And when the day came where these walls could no longer protect him, he'd have built his own.
One no one could take away.
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