After demonstrating their talents, the clan had made the decision to heavily invest on the twins.
Zukov got the best trainers and many resources. As a Tier 2, he would go into seclusion for long periods of time as he cultivated his body and grew his power.
Zukov had two abilities, Agility and strength, and Manipulation of the wind element.
Vasili abilities were divided into four broad categories: body, mind, elemental, and spiritual.
The body category incorporated the abilities that enhanced a part of the body, or certain abilities. For instance, one could gain strength, speed, agility, dexterity, you name it.
These were useful not just in a fight but in many other activities. This was why vasilis were highly valued in the society.
The quality and potential of the talent determined the level, power and tier one could achieve over a lifetime. Evidently, Zukov's abilities were top notch. Where one would get just one enhancement, Zukov got a combination of both.
He was both fast and strong. His bulkiness did not hinder his agility, and his agility did not take away his strength. It was like having turbo-charged muscles.
The wind element was inherited from their mother, Keshi. It was a subset of the elemental category. As the name suggested, the elementals category dealt with those with abilities to manipulate and move the elements.
More than that, it also included those with affinities to the elements, and even mages fell into this category.
The world all around was made up of elements. If one had an affinity to these elements, they could manipulate them in some ways. The depth of manipulation lay in the power of the caster, and their tier.
The mind category included physics, people with abilities that targeted the brain or were channeled by the mind. These abilities ranged from being able to intrude into one's mind, or dreams, to sending out pheromones such as fear-based pheromones. Those that could cast illusions were also in this category.
All these were meant to attack, in one way or another, the opponent's mind, influencing them according to the caster's desires. Such vasilis were extremely rare and very feared. Their abilities even considered taboos.
Some people even began saying that the young boy, Keita, was not just a normal, but a vasili in the mind category. Such an opinion was not held by many, but some really did believe this.
Finally, the spiritual category dealt with sorcerers, diviners, shamans, necromancy, et cetera. All the various powers that dealt channeling or summoning or interacting with spirits. The target being one's spirit and soul.
This category was as mystical as it sounded, with few people understanding the differences. Where people would celebrate seers and shamans, they tended to frown upon necromancers, diviners, and others who were considered dark and taboo.
While vasili was a general term, it did not mean one thing. For normal people, untouched by vasili talent, it was all the same. However, for individual vasilis, there was a world of difference in each category.
It was a very rare case to see one have more than one category coexisting in their body, yet Zukov had two. This was why everyone said he had a double potion talent.
To maximize on this, the family invested heavily on Zukov's training and growth, hoping to nurture another pillar of the clan.
This had begun to happen long ago, where continuous resources were being poured into the young man's life since a tender age. For Keita, it was a new occurrence.
For Keita, his forging potential cast him into the limelight. Even his teacher, Master Silla had gained recognition, and a hefty compensation. It had to be known, the clan was raking in big money with their auctions, which were happening every month.
The business planners of the clan had decided that this would enhance the value of their swords, that only a limited number would be available at a time. Rare meant valuable, and the swords had to be valuable.
They came up with all manner of excuses, for instance, long production period, rare metallic ores. All this served to improve the public's image of the swords and enhance the final price. The clan was making a lot of profit per sword.
Some swords would 'leak' into the black market, but this only served to enhance the supreme swords' renown. This leak was not enough to satiate the market's thirst for these swords. It was like giving a man drowning in thirst a drop of water.
Some smithing clans even tried to compete with the Rono clan, others desperately trying to steal the formula, but none succeeded. The Rono clan knew what they had, and they were not taking any chances.
As the instigator of all this, Keita was hailed as a once in a generation brilliant mind. The Rono family assigned the best teachers and the most skillful smiths to train the boy.
With such a forging progeny in their hands, how could they allow such a talent to go to waste? Master Silla, while capable, was no longer the main teacher.
The more proficient smiths in the clan ended up fighting to be Keita's tutors. If the student excelled, so would the master.
While Keita was keen to learn from them, he still kept Master Silla as his true master. He was the one who showed him forging when none other took him seriously. It was entirely unheard of for someone in the main family to take on such a labor-intensive profession.
In fact, Keita's training was not just about the various tasks of forging, but the theories. They wanted his mind, not his body. The boy was like a sponge, absorbing every lesson.
Using this knowledge that he acquired from the clan smiths, as well as his own expertise in the engineering field, Keita managed to make consecutive breakthroughs, a feat that greatly impressed the elders.
This led to him gaining more respect which translated to more responsibilities from the elders. They boy's talent had to be honed. He was bound to be an important elder and pillar of the clan, so they made sure to heavily invest in his growth.
Unfortunately, due to all these responsibilities, the boys grew distant, and they barely got to meet each other anymore. Despite this, they cherished every chance they got to interact, gossiping about what was going on in the world.
On those rare occasions when the family would come together, little Abi was the most excited. Often times, she would feel neglected when her brothers and parents were busy, but on those rare nights the family got together, she would be all smiles.
Her brothers doted on her, and God forbid anyone should attempt to lay a hand on her. While she had to suffer the occasional bullying from her brothers', no one else was allowed to look at her sideways.
Unfortunately for Abi, her vasili power was not as powerful as her elder brother's. However, for the Rono clan, that was not a huge obstacle to overcome, especially since she was so loved by Count Rono himself.
She too fell into the hard life of training, much to her protests.
Just like that, two years passed.