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[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
Chapter 6
A handsome man with red hair took a sip of his black tea, savoring the aroma.
He wore black leather gloves with strange patterns etched into them.
Unlike typical knights, he was dressed in a black uniform and a leather coat, with his sword slung across his back.
This attire signified only one thing.
A full-fledged knight of the Draker Clan.
And among them, the most noble status, a pure-blooded Dragon slayer.
Abel Draker, the second of the five direct descendants of the Draker Clan, set down his teacup with a satisfied expression.
"The tea smells wonderful."
With his red hair flowing like a mane, he was a knight who had roamed the battlefields and earned the title of "Lion Sword."
Seeing Abel Draker's relaxed demeanor, his cousin William Siemens, sitting opposite him, let out a sigh.
"Do you really have the leisure to enjoy tea now, Abel?"
He had a serious expression as he looked at the news from the Cradle that his younger brother Owen had sent.
"You're not bothered even after hearing that Zeke, that boy, defeated Reina Turunn?"
Abel set down his teacup and laughed.
"You're always so serious, William."
With a relaxed expression, Abel asked William,
"The Blessing Ceremony isn't far off, is it?"
William nodded.
"Yes, it's in a month."
Abel grinned and stood up.
He walked to the window and looked out at the scenery.
The scene outside was completely different from the peaceful room.
Everything was on fire, and people were screaming.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Amidst the chaos, knights were capturing prisoners, beheading them, and throwing their bodies into a pit.
Despite witnessing this scene of pandemonium, Abel's expression remained calm.
He slowly opened his mouth.
"I think it's time I paid a visit to the main house."
Abel continued,
"I've become curious about what kind of awakening our youngest will have."
* * *
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Zeke was swinging his claymore in the private training room.
Horizontally, vertically.
For a month after the year-end evaluation, Zeke had focused solely on basic swings, to the point of boredom.
After defeating Reina and shocking the entire Cradle, he had shut himself in the training room and devoted himself to swordsmanship practice.
"Whew..."
After finishing ten thousand swings, Zeke wiped his sweat with a towel.
His body had grown remarkably in a month.
He had grown over 5 centimeters taller, and his muscles were now firm and defined.
It was the result of repeating the hellish training of pushing his body to its limits and then healing it with Healing.
"Whew."
Zeke exhaled and said,
"Status window open."
Active Skills: Precise Stab [E-rank (Expert)] / Continuous Slash [D-rank (Beginner)] / Critical Strike [D-rank (Expert)] / Quick Step [D-rank (Expert)]
"Hmm..."
While practicing his swordsmanship, the Mutilate skill had changed to Continuous Slash after surpassing the expert level.
Continuous Slash was a higher-level skill with greater accuracy than Mutilate.
'I still don't understand why only I can see this.'
Zeke shook his head at the thought that came to mind while looking at the status window.
For now, he could only guess that it was related to the ancient artifact he found in his past life.
To reach the Ice Mountains where the ancient artifact was hidden, one needed to be at least a Blue Knight, so in his current situation, there was no information he could get about this status window.
Zeke focused on the Karma Points.
Perhaps he could learn more about the system if he eliminated magical beasts with mana and earned points.
'First, I need to regain my original skills.'
Knock!, knock!
Someone knocked on the door of the private training room.
"Come in."
Decker entered.
"Young master, they say we depart in two hours."
Zeke nodded and said,
"Alright, I'll be out soon, so get ready."
* * *
Rumble!
The carriages carrying the Cradle trainees began to move, escorted by the Draker Clan knights.
The carriages were emblazoned with the family crest.
The Cradle was located within the 'Dragon's Nest' territory, where the main Draker household was located.
The blue light flared even stronger.
Then it quickly turned red.
Gasps erupted from the observers.
"Red light! A pure-blooded awakening!"
Reina's body was enveloped in a red light.
The pure-blooded awakening, which only appeared in a select few among the Draker bloodline, was like a guarantee that they would grow to be stronger than a Blue Knight.
Moreover, those with a pure-blooded awakening were granted special abilities.
Crackle!
With Reina's awakening, the magic lamps in the hall flickered.
It was due to the influence of 'Mana Interference,' a characteristic of the pure-blooded Dragon slayer lineage.
"Bring the gloves!"
At Pan's command, the servants brought temporary gloves to Reina.
As Reina put on the gloves, the flickering stopped.
Everyone in the hall, both observers and trainees, looked at Reina with awe.
Reina Turunn was now able to use the name Reina Draker.
Because she had proven herself to be a pure-blooded Draker.
As Reina finished her awakening and stepped back from the Sword God Statue, Pan shouted,
"Next! Zeke!"
It was finally Zeke's turn.
Everyone in the hall focused their attention on Zeke.
The youngest son of Arthur Draker, the current head of the clan and one of the strongest on the continent.
Statistically, the pure-blooded awakening was more likely to appear in the direct descendants of the clan head who used the Draker name.
Everyone watched Zeke standing before the Sword God Statue.
'To think I'd be standing here again.'
The terrible memories of his past life crept up on him.
Zeke knelt and slowly placed his hand in the bowl of water.
The sharp needle pricked his palm.
Blood spread through the bowl of water.
'Whew...'
Everyone in the hall held their breath and focused on the Sword God Statue.
Rumble!
The Sword God Statue vibrated.
If the Blessing Ceremony was successful, a blue light would emanate from the sword.
But then, something unbelievable happened.
Thud!
The Sword God Statue stopped vibrating without emitting any light.
'Damn it...'
Any descendant of the Draker Clan should receive the blessing of aura.
The observers, witnessing this unprecedented phenomenon of the vibration stopping without the expected reaction, simply tilted their heads and watched the Sword God Statue.
However, Zeke had experienced this situation in his past life.
He had tried the ritual again with his other hand, but the blue light still didn't appear.
'Is this life the same as well?'
He had a glimmer of hope that this life might be different from his past life.
But the Sword God Statue didn't accept him this time either.
'Damn it. Well, it doesn't matter. There are plenty of ways to become stronger without awakening my aura.'
Just as Zeke was about to pull his hand out of the bowl, suppressing his bitterness,
Woooong!
Suddenly, the Sword God Statue began to vibrate differently than usual.
At the same time, letters appeared before Zeke's eyes.
[The Appraisal Terminal has detected missing information required for class appraisal.]
[Entering class information into the terminal with system authority.]
'What's this?'
The administration system, visible only to the Sword God Statue and Zeke, was interacting.
Woooong!
The entire Sword God Statue vibrated even more violently.
[Class appraisal information entry complete.]
Suddenly, light emanated from the eyes of the Sword God Statue.
The observers, witnessing this unprecedented phenomenon, looked bewildered.
[The terminal has appraised the user's talent as a 'Healer.']
[Confirmed that the class has already been opened.]
[Determining the acquired class as a Rare grade.]
Whoosh!
A red light flickered from the sword of the Sword God Statue.
'Red light?'
A red light flickering from the Draker Clan's Sword God Statue signified a pure-blooded awakening.
Usually, a blue light appeared and then changed to red, but it was the first time a red light appeared from the start.
The observers murmured at the sight of the red light from the Sword God Statue.
And at that moment, new letters appeared before Zeke's eyes.
[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]