Episode 7
A series of messages flashed before Zeke’s eyes.
[The ‘Blessing of the Ancient Dragon’ imprinted on the user’s soul is activated in sync with the device.]
[The bloodline talent ‘Warrior’s Blood’ awakens.]
[The awakened talents merge together.]
[A new class is formed through the rare combination of talents.]
[The unique class ‘Immortal’ is awakened.]
A deep hum resonated as the crimson glow of the sword statue turned to gold, enveloping Zeke in its radiant light.
And then, more messages appeared rapidly before him.
[Class skill ‘Healing’ transforms into the passive skill ‘Healing Factor.’]
[Class skill ‘Calm Mind’ transforms into the passive skill ‘Steadfast Mental Defense.’]
[Class skill ‘Stamina Recovery’ transforms into the passive skill ‘Infinite Stamina.’]
[Class skill ‘Focus’ transforms into the passive skill ‘Combat Instinct.’]
Zeke read the unending stream of messages.
“My class and skills have changed?”
[Due to the bloodline talent, your constitution changes to ‘Magic Rejection.’]
[The class trait adjusts the ‘Magic Rejection’ constitution into a skill.]
[The adjusted constitution transforms into the skill ‘Magic Reflection (Grade A).’]
[Unique class perk skill ‘Area Buff (Grade A)’ is granted.]
[As a unique class perk, 100 Karma Points are awarded.]
Zeke was taken aback.
“Constitution adjustment? Class perk skills? What is all this?”
As Zeke absorbed the information, the golden light faded, leaving the onlookers in confusion.
“The golden light…?”
“What just happened?”
“Is this really a pureblood awakening?”
The entire hall buzzed with murmurs.
Then, a sound broke through the chatter.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Abel Draker, who had been observing the ceremony, applauded and shouted.
“What are you waiting for? Bring the gloves for the youngest!”
The gloves that block magic interference symbolize a pureblood awakening.
Abel Draker, a direct descendant and pureblood awakened, had acknowledged Zeke as a pureblood as well.
At Abel’s command, the room fell silent before someone finally spoke.
“Bring the gloves.”
Attendants hurriedly fetched the gloves for Zeke.
They were plain, unadorned leather gloves.
Once he entered the academy, custom gloves would be made for him.
Zeke slowly picked up the temporary gloves and put them on, feeling their weight.
As he turned to return to his seat, Abel approached him.
“Congratulations on your pureblood awakening, youngest.”
Abel extended his hand to Zeke.
Zeke looked at Abel’s outstretched hand and recalled events from his past life.
Abel Draker, the Knight of Massacre.
The war he ignited had ultimately turned Zeke’s life upside down.
Because of him, Zeke had lost the person most precious to him.
Unconsciously, Zeke clenched his fist as he looked at Abel’s hand.
“This is quite awkward.”
Abel withdrew his hand, looking down at Zeke.
In Abel’s eyes, Zeke sensed a calm madness lurking beneath.
Abel smiled at Zeke.
“See you around.”
With that, he turned and left the hall.
Zeke watched Abel’s retreating figure, his fist still clenched.
“Abel, whatever you’re planning, I won’t fall for it easily.”
After the blessing ceremony, a grand party was held for the graduates of the Cradle.
This batch had all received the blessing of aura, and two pureblood awakenings had occurred.
Those who witnessed the ceremony were abuzz with talk of Reina and Zeke’s awakenings.
Particularly, Zeke’s golden light was an unprecedented phenomenon that drew much attention.
However, Zeke, the star of the party, was nowhere to be found.
As soon as the party began, he had slipped away to his room.
“Phew…”
In his room, Zeke discarded the stifling ceremonial attire.
The room, meant for a pureblood awakened, was furnished with luxurious items.
A place unimaginable for the Zeke of his past life.
“Being a pureblood awakened has its perks.”
Zeke removed the gloves from his hands and reached for the magic lamp.
Yet, even as he waved his hand, the lamp remained unaffected.
“Strange.”
Pureblood Drakers possessed the ‘Magic Interference’ ability.
A power proving their opposition to the dragon-like creatures known as beings of magic.
This ability made it impossible for pureblood Drakers to live without gloves.
Yet, despite being recognized as a pureblood, Zeke’s magic interference ability did not activate.
“Status window, open.”
[Lower Administrator Status Window]
Name: Zeke Draker
Class: Immortal (Unique Grade)
Title: Blessed by the Ancient Dragon
Passive Skills: Healing Factor / Steadfast Mental Defense / Infinite Stamina / Combat Instinct
Active Skills: Vital Strike [Grade E (Expert)] / Consecutive Slash [Grade D (Novice)] / Fatal Blow [Grade D (Adept)] / Quick Step [Grade D (Adept)] / Magic Reflection [Grade A (Novice)] / Area Buff [Grade A (Novice)]
Dragon Skills: (Unavailable―Unlock requires 10 Karma Points)
Karma Points: 100
The status window had changed completely.
“Immortal. Unique grade.”
Before the blessing ceremony, Zeke’s class was Healer, and it was of rare grade.
Zeke had a hunch.
“They said the device lost the information needed for class identification, and the system forcibly input it.”
This meant the sword statue had limitations in class identification.
Comparing the reactions of other awakeners to his own, Zeke realized the true nature of the blessing ceremony.
“Damn it. It’s a relic that can only identify warrior classes, so of course, it wouldn’t react to a healer class.”
Zeke ground his teeth, recalling the hardships of his past life.
The sword statue used in the blessing ceremony was an ancient relic from before the era of the family’s founder, Terracan.
Its origin and function were unknown.
Only the rule that blue meant a normal awakening and red meant a pureblood awakening had been passed down.
If the sword statue could have identified healer awakenings in his past life, it would have reacted to the rare grade with a red light.
Zeke recalled how during the blessing ceremony, his light had shifted from red to gold.
“It must have turned gold because I changed from a rare class healer to a unique class immortal.”
Zeke examined his newly acquired skills.
“The skills granted as unique class perks are Grade A. That must mean they’re quite effective.”
He first looked at the descriptions for ‘Magic Reflection’ and ‘Area Buff.’
―Magic Reflection: Deploys a distortion field to nullify surrounding magic.
―Area Buff: Transfers the caster’s skills to multiple targets within range.
“Magic nullification and wide-range skill transfer?”
With his extensive combat experience, Zeke could think of dozens of strategies to catch enemies off guard with just these two skills.
He smiled in satisfaction.
“If I use them here, the magic lamps will explode, so I’ll test their effects quietly later. Now, let’s see, I have 100 Karma Points from the unique class awakening.”
He had 100 points from the unique class awakening perk.
Zeke looked at the dragon skills category marked as unavailable and decided to select it.
[Would you like to use points to unlock dragon skills?]
“What should I do?”
After a moment’s hesitation, he decided to use the points, as he had no other immediate use for them.
Ding!
[Dragon skills have been unlocked. You can now view the skill list.]
Zeke checked the dragon skills status window.
―Dragon Skills Stage 1―
Dragon’s Eye (Locked 20) / Dragon’s Majesty (Locked 30) / Gluttony (Locked 50)
(Unlocking Stage 2 skills requires 50 Karma Points)
“What is this?”
He had high expectations for something called dragon skills, but it seemed odd.
“Is it because they’re stage 1 skills?”
Zeke pressed for more information on the skills.
―Dragon Skills Stage 1 Information―
Dragon’s Eye: Allows for detailed observation and analysis of opponents’ information. (Unlock requires 20 points)
Dragon’s Majesty: Intimidates enemies into submission. (Unlock requires 30 points)
Gluttony: Enables consumption and digestion of large amounts. (Unlock requires 50 points)
“Hmm…?”
All three skills required more points to unlock and use.
“But what’s with the last skill?”
While Dragon’s Eye and Dragon’s Majesty made some sense, Gluttony was baffling.
“Why does it take more points to unlock the ability to eat and digest a lot than the other skills?”
Without using the skills, it was hard to know their exact capabilities.
Zeke pondered over the three skills.
He had already spent 10 points to unlock the dragon skills, leaving him with 90 points.
“Let’s unlock Dragon’s Eye first… then it’s between Majesty and Gluttony.”
He couldn’t unlock all three due to a 10-point shortfall.
Unlocking Dragon’s Eye and spending 50 points to view stage 2 skills would still leave him unable to learn them without more points.
After some thought, Zeke chose Majesty over Gluttony.
“I can unlock Gluttony after dealing with some monsters.”
Zeke called up the skill windows for Dragon’s Eye and Dragon’s Majesty and pressed unlock.
[Would you like to unlock the dragon skill, Dragon’s Eye?]
[Would you like to unlock the dragon skill, Dragon’s Majesty?]
“Yes, unlock both.”
The screen changed instantly.
Dragon Skills (Level 1 Unlocked): Dragon’s Eye (Novice) / Dragon’s Majesty (Novice)
Karma Points Available: 40
Zeke now had two new skills: Dragon’s Eye and Dragon’s Majesty.
He pondered over the two skills, unsure of what to do.
“But… how do I even test these out?”
Despite his uncertainty, Zeke decided to activate Dragon’s Eye first.
[Dragon’s Eye activated.]
In an instant, his vision transformed.
“What the…?”
It was a completely different sensation from what he was used to. When he turned to look at a dark corner, the previously invisible area turned green, allowing him to distinguish the shapes of objects.
“Wow, this is incredible.”
The ability extended his sight beyond the normal human range.
Then, something caught Zeke’s eye.
[Would you like to view the detected object’s information?]
“Object information? Let’s see what that is.”
[Chair from the Lubern Dynasty]
[Decorative candlestick from the Cyclone region]
[Olive wood desk from the Misok region]
As he gazed around the room, information about each object automatically appeared.
“My goodness. How is this even possible?”
Just then, the effect of Dragon’s Eye wore off, and his vision returned to normal.
Zeke felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him.
“Hmm… as powerful as it is, there’s a hefty price to pay.”
Considering the fatigue, he realized he could only use it a limited number of times each day.
“Alright, let’s try Dragon’s Majesty next.”
Bracing himself against the dizziness, Zeke activated Dragon’s Majesty.
[Dragon’s Majesty activated.]
A low hum resonated as a faint wave emanated from Zeke’s body, spreading outward.
“So this is Dragon’s Majesty?”
He stood in the room, gauging the range of the wave. It extended about three meters, but it was difficult to measure its full reach as it dissipated beyond the room.
Once the wave had fully spread, the skill deactivated.
“Does this wave instill fear?”
The problem was, without an enemy present, he couldn’t gauge the skill’s true effect.
Just then, the door burst open.
Decker rushed in, his expression tense, a small dagger clutched in his hand.
“De-Decker? What’s going on?”
Decker shouted, positioning himself protectively in front of Zeke.
“Master, get back! There’s an intruder!”
Zeke was taken aback by Decker’s reaction.
Decker heightened his senses, trying to trace the ominous presence he had felt moments ago. But he couldn’t detect anything.
“What on earth? I was sure I sensed something terrifying from this direction.”
Through Decker’s reaction, Zeke got a glimpse of the power Dragon’s Majesty held.
“If someone like Decker, a Blue Knight, reacts this way… I could probably subdue most small fry with ease.”
Unable to find any trace of an intruder, Decker eventually decided to strengthen the security around the area and left the room.
Zeke wiped the sweat from his brow once Decker was gone.
“Phew, I can’t just use this skill whenever I want.”
The fatigue from using Dragon’s Majesty hit him hard.
“At this rate, I won’t be able to use these skills more than a few times.”
No matter how powerful they were, if he could only use them sparingly, they were as good as useless.
Just then, more text appeared before his eyes.