Episode 4
Zeke spoke in a sharp tone.
“What do you want, Decker?”
Decker adjusted his monocle and replied, “I heard about what happened to you at the Pankration trial earlier.”
Zeke turned his head, feigning disinterest. “And?”
“They say you turned Leon Conrad and Jaken Valdek into a bloody mess. Is it true?”
Zeke scoffed. “You already know, so why ask?”
Decker stepped closer to Zeke. “I’ve watched over you since the day you were born, young master.”
Zeke continued changing his clothes. “I’m aware.”
Decker had been Zeke’s dedicated attendant until the day he was expelled from the family. After Zeke failed to awaken his aura during the blessing ceremony, his father, the head of the family, never looked at him again. His mother had passed away when he was young, and with his father as good as absent, Decker was the closest thing to a parent he had. Even when the family treated him like trash, Decker stayed by his side.
Decker looked at Zeke and asked, “May I ask what happened?”
“Those bastards provoked me, so I beat them up. What more do you need to know?”
Despite Zeke’s harsh words, Decker remained silent.
Zeke glanced at Decker. “What are you trying to say, Decker?”
Decker spoke slowly. “May I check your pulse, young master?”
Checking the pulse was a way to assess aura awakening. Zeke looked at Decker and silently extended his hand.
“Excuse me.”
Decker took hold of Zeke’s wrist.
A hum resonated as Decker’s aura coursed through Zeke’s body, making him flinch. Decker’s aura meticulously examined every corner of Zeke’s being. It was then that Zeke realized something he hadn’t known in his past life.
‘A Blue Knight?’
The way the aura moved freely within his body was unusual.
‘Even if he’s a servant of the main house, a Blue Knight babysitting a kid?’
It was absurd. In smaller kingdoms, Blue Knights often led the knight orders.
While Zeke’s suspicions grew, Decker, who was examining him, pressed his lips together tightly. Seeing this, Zeke chuckled inwardly.
‘He won’t find any aura, no matter how hard he looks.’
The opening of the middle dantian was fundamentally different from the lower dantian, a concept few understood. Even Zeke had thought it impossible when his master first mentioned it.
Knights who awakened their aura and opened their lower dantian couldn’t use magic. Conversely, mages who awakened magic and formed circles in their hearts couldn’t use aura. It was impossible to possess both a lower dantian and a circle in one body.
Zeke, who could use healing magic, a form of magic, couldn’t use aura. But by opening the middle dantian, he could access mana, the source of both magic and aura.
With the ability to manipulate mana, Zeke could wield a different kind of power.
Decker looked intently at Zeke. “Are you hiding something from me, young master?”
Zeke met Decker’s serious gaze with one of his own. “Do you have nothing to hide from me, Decker?”
Decker fell silent. In his past life, Decker had been a loyal servant who protected him until the very end when he was expelled from the family. But now that he knew Decker had hidden his strength, Zeke couldn’t let his guard down.
‘Perhaps… the other direct descendants placed him here on purpose.’
Decker spoke slowly. “May I ask why you’ve changed so suddenly?”
Just yesterday, Zeke had been scheming ways to avoid the Pankration trial. Yet, in just one day, he had transformed completely.
Zeke turned to Decker. “You’re asking the wrong question.”
Decker’s eyes flickered with interest.
Zeke’s voice was cold. “You should be asking why it took me so long to change.”
Decker offered no response. Zeke didn’t seem to expect one, merely gesturing to him.
“You know the next trial in a week is a sword duel, right?”
Decker nodded. “Yes, young master.”
“Prepare a sword for me.”
“Not the usual one you use?”
“How am I supposed to duel with that hollow piece of junk?”
Zeke frowned. “Get me a claymore.”
Decker replied calmly, “A claymore is longer and heavier than a regular sword.”
“I know. The heavier, the better. I’ll get a custom one later, so just bring me something from the storage for now.”
Decker studied Zeke for a moment before nodding. “Understood, young master.”
“And book a private training room for the afternoon. I’ll head there right after lunch. Leave the sword in the training room.”
“As you wish.”
Decker left the room without another word after receiving his instructions.
Once Decker was gone, Zeke exhaled deeply.
‘Phew… Ever since I came back, I’ve been learning things I never knew before.’
Zeke calmed his mind and organized the future he knew in his head. Knowing the future was a powerful weapon. Over the next twenty years, the continent would undergo significant changes, ushering in a period of great transformation. He planned to use his knowledge of the future to his advantage.
‘Just wait, Draker family. This time, I’ll use you thoroughly, unlike my last life.’
In the afternoon, Zeke headed to the private training room he had reserved. As expected of a facility built by the Dragon Slayer family, all the equipment was state-of-the-art. Mirrors lined the walls so one could observe their form while swinging a sword, and various muscle training tools and practice weapons were available.
As Zeke surveyed the room, he spotted the claymore on a table.
“Decker, as always, efficient.”
He picked up the claymore. The blade alone was over a meter long, and it weighed more than three kilograms. It was smaller than a bastard sword but still a challenge for twelve-year-old Zeke to wield.
“Hmm… The balance is decent.”
Every sword in the storage was crafted with care, befitting a facility of the Dragon Slayer family.
‘It’s nowhere near what I used before.’
The claymore Zeke had wielded in his past life was a special sword, incomparable to this one. Knowing this, he set aside his disappointment and gripped the claymore with both hands, assuming a stance.
“Phew…”
In his past life, he had swung even heavier swords with ease, but in his young body, just holding it was a struggle. Zeke slowly swung the claymore.
Thud!
Unable to handle the weight, the tip of the sword slammed into the training room floor. Zeke lifted the claymore again.
“This won’t do.”
He closed his eyes and focused on his middle dantian. A warm energy flowed from his solar plexus, spreading throughout his body. This was a cultivation technique using mana, the pure energy of nature, rather than aura or magic. It was a skill humans weren’t supposed to master.
With mana coursing through him, Zeke swung the claymore again.
Whoosh!
His movements were much smoother than before. He fixed his stance and repeated basic slashing motions.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
With each swing, the sword became more familiar, slicing through the air with a whistle. Eventually, even the sound of the air being cut disappeared.
Zeke set the sword down.
“Ugh! I need to build up my stamina first. I’ll collapse from swinging this sword.”
In his adult life, Zeke had a solid build over 180 centimeters tall, with flexible and resilient muscles. Now, he barely reached 160 centimeters, with a frail frame and little muscle. Without the combat skills and awakening abilities from his past life, he wouldn’t have been able to overpower his cousins in the Pankration.
Zeke clicked his tongue at his aching body after just a few swings.
“Seriously… My body was a complete mess when I was young.”
He decided to use his secret technique.
“Healing.”
A light spread over his body, erasing the pain in his sore muscles. Satisfied with his recovered arm, he picked up the sword again.
This was a method Zeke had used in his past life. By overworking his muscles and then healing them, he strengthened his muscle fibers several times more than usual. After training this way, Zeke could defeat opponents larger than himself or knights of higher rank.
It was a grueling training method that required immense mental strength and willpower.
“A week, huh? It’s tight, but… I’ll have to adapt somehow.”
He resumed swinging the claymore without rest.
A week passed after the Pankration evaluation. During that time, Zeke’s actions became a hot topic among the trainees. Known for his weakness, uncharacteristic of a direct descendant of the Draker family, Zeke had shown a completely different side during the year-end evaluation.
Some trainees speculated that Zeke might have used forbidden powers obtained through dark magic.
Finally, the day of the sword duel, the last event of the year-end evaluation, arrived.
In the nursery, meal times were strictly scheduled. Given the rigorous training, meals were prepared with a balanced nutritional focus. Breakfast, in particular, was served buffet-style, allowing trainees to eat their fill.
Next to the common dining area for regular trainees was a separate dining hall reserved for the children of influential families within the Draker alliance. Unlike the general meals focused on nutrition, this dining hall offered luxurious dishes laid out on the tables.
Around the round table sat Owen, Reina, Jaken, and Leon.
Servants placed each person’s preferred dish in front of them.
Owen, with a poised elegance, picked up his knife and fork, delicately slicing into a light fish dish and bringing it to his lips.
In stark contrast, a massive steak lay before Reina, who cut into the bleeding meat with gusto, devouring it with a vigor befitting the heir of the powerful Turn family, known for their formidable strength.
Jaken and Leon, however, sat motionless, not touching their food.
Noticing this, Owen addressed them. “Even if you’re not hungry, you should eat a little. You’ll need the energy for the sword practice this afternoon.”
Leon lifted his head, glaring at Owen. “Are you trying to start something?”
Owen shook his head calmly. “There’s no point in speaking to someone who can’t accept a gesture of goodwill.”
Leon shot up from his seat. “How dare you speak to me like that…”
Just then, Reina, having nearly finished her steak, looked up and glared at Leon. Her gaze made him flinch, and he slowly sat back down.
Jaken, who had been silent, finally spoke. “So, what’s the plan?”
At his words, Owen, Reina, and Leon all looked up, understanding the unspoken question.
“Zeke Draker,” Owen said, wiping his mouth.
“Well… whether it’s luck or something else, there’s no avoiding the swordplay,” he continued, his eyes glinting with a cold determination. “We’ll find out today if Zeke is hiding anything more.”
Reina, having finished her steak, stood abruptly. She picked up the sword she had leaned against her chair. “Did it really look like luck to you?”
Owen turned to look at her.
Reina glanced at the three seated at the table. “None of you deserve to be knights of Draker.”
With that, she left the dining hall without another word.
“That arrogant woman…” Leon muttered, trembling with anger as he slammed the table.
Owen tapped his fingers on the table, deep in thought. “Reina and Zeke… this could get interesting.”
Before the blessing ceremony, at the age of ten, she had already awakened her aura. It seemed Reina Turn had found her prey.