Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Moon White Sword (5)
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“That kid, right? The one you mentioned, Kyle.”
The only person in the world who could address Kyle Ragnar, the head of the family, so casually was one.
Kyle turned toward the tiny grandmother who looked far younger than himself.
Just moments ago, she had been yawning lazily as if bored to death.
Now, her eyes were narrowed with keen interest.
Like a cat spotting catnip.
“You seem intrigued.”
“Of course. You said it was the child who caught your eye. How could I not be curious?”
As far as Hilda knew, no one was as interested in his children yet as indifferent as Kyle.
If they caught his eye, he watched them closely—but if not, he treated them as if they weren’t even his own.
Currently, the children Kyle paid attention to numbered five in total.
They were geniuses evaluated as the most likely to become the next heir even in Ragnar.
Hilda acknowledged it too.
But recently, one more child had been added to the list of those drawing Kyle’s interest.
Though Hilda had long stepped away from all public duties.
She couldn’t help but feel deep curiosity, having once led Ragnar and brought glory to the North.
That was the very reason she had come to watch the Awakening Ceremony after so long.
To see Theo.
“Then shall we see what our descendant is capable of?”
Hilda rested her chin on one hand as she looked down at Theo.
Her languid cat-like eyes sharpened in an instant.
* * *
“Huuu…!”
Theo took a long breath as he ascended the platform.
But.
Thump, thump, thump—
There was nothing he could do about his wildly pounding heart.
He was apparently more tense than he realized.
‘It’s the Awakening Ceremony, after all.’
It was only natural.
This was the first time since his regression that he would imprint his existence on the crowd.
The results he showed here would greatly influence his future path, so it would be weirder if he wasn’t tense.
That was why Theo wanted to savor this tension even more.
As a means to avoid any mistakes.
Ding!
[A quest has arrived.]
+
[Tutorial Quest #14]
Pass your first Awakening Ceremony and make your name widely known.
· Difficulty: C
· Reward: 1 Coin
· Failure: ■■
+
A quest had arrived this time too.
But the reward was a bit odd.
‘Coin?’
A coin?
Was it giving him money or something?
Theo felt puzzled by the unfamiliar reward but soon dismissed it.
When had this damn system ever not spouted cryptic nonsense?
He figured it would explain itself later.
“Choose any sword here that pleases you and use it.”
Theo nodded silently at the examiner’s words.
It was a method devised to prevent cheating if personal weapons were allowed.
“Then, consume the soma.”
Click—
Theo opened the glass container’s lid.
A refreshing scent wafted out. His mind felt cleared.
The moment he placed the pill in his mouth, it melted smoothly and slid down his throat.
At that instant.
Thud…!
His heart pounded violently, as if hammered hard.
It was reacting to absorb the elixir’s energy.
But Theo forcibly locked the Dragon’s Heart.
What he aimed to attempt this time was solely the opening of the Aura Hall.
If the Aura Heart absorbed the soma, it would be disastrous.
“Dizzy, I know, but stay focused. From now on, breathe and circulate the energy as I guide you.”
Then, the examiner’s voice rang in his ears.
Simply swallowing the elixir didn’t create an Aura Hall in the dantian.
In fact, this was when things got truly important.
The dantian was the field, the elixir the seed.
Plant the seed in the field and nurture it properly with fertilizer and water for a sprout to grow strong.
The breathing technique was the cultivation method for that.
However, Ragnar’s breathing technique differed vastly from ordinary ones.
—Breath of the Imoogi.
Created to fully utilize Ragnar’s blessed bodies, it didn’t slowly accumulate energy but forcibly imprinted it by igniting it within the body.
It was perilously dangerous—one misstep could ruin meridians and damage the dantian.
Yet Ragnar’s rugged culture scoffed: how could one become a great swordsman without overcoming even this?
‘It was the same back then.’
In his previous life, Theo had failed to properly open his Aura Hall, injuring his dantian.
That was the main reason he had completely set aside his sword and later received the Aura Heart procedure from Newitz.
‘But now, it’s different.’
Theo’s eyes gleamed coldly.
“From the esophagus, guide the emerging energy first to the right shoulder, then along the cervical spine, down the spine to the left chest, then the solar plexus…!”
Midway through reciting the circulation method, the examiner’s eyes widened.
The elixir’s energy was traversing Theo’s body faster than his instructions.
‘What the…?’
He had high hopes since almost no energy was lost and remained intact.
Had it gone berserk from poor control?
‘Idiot!’
The examiner’s face twisted.
He assumed Theo, intoxicated by his own talent, had ignored the incantation and circulated the energy arbitrarily, causing this mess.
It had happened occasionally in the past.
He had expected more from the one who defeated the North’s Four Pillars.
Now, the ceremony was doomed to produce another cripple from the start.
But the examiner’s worry soon turned to shock.
The elixir’s energy raced unimpeded through Theo’s body, accelerating and completing several full circuits in one go.
Thump, thump, thump—
Theo’s heart began pounding wildly in tandem.
The platform beneath the examiner trembled.
“……!”
A phenomenon he had never witnessed before.
As the examiner’s eyes bulged.
Sss—
Theo’s body reddened with heat, white steam rising.
Pop—
Theo opened his closed eyes and moved toward the swords.
At that moment.
With a ‘boom’ from below his navel on the left, his dantian burst open, fully forming the Aura Hall.
The Dragon’s Heart—Aura Heart reacted, spewing mana wildly.
The energies of the two mana organs mingled, erupting in explosive power.
The zweihander he often used in daily practice.
Theo gripped the handle and swung it upward in a flick.
—Mana Resonance!
Kwaaaang!
A shockwave like a cannon blast rocked the platform.
‘One Slash.’
The zweihander, unable to withstand the massive mana ignition, exploded like fireworks.
Amid the blade fragments scattering in the air.
The sword aura already formed from the blade slashed the ground and crossed the towering iron wall like a mountainside.
It resembled a dragon manifesting and slashing fiercely with its claws.
Gagagagak—
From bottom to top. Intense frictional heat left a deep, thick sword mark.
But unlike ordinary cuts, it wasn’t clean.
It was jagged and rough.
Like a beast’s claw marks.
Whoooosh…!
“…….”
“…….”
The other examinees stared blankly at the sight.
The North’s Four Pillars did the same.
Ray nodded silently, Holkus gaped, and Axion hardened his expression for the first time.
In the ensuing silence.
“Dragon’s Claw.”
A low voice suddenly spoke.
Examiner, audience, and examinees all turned in surprise.
Kyle looked down at Theo with a pleased smile.
“Let’s call it that.”
Not a request, but a command.
Yet it was Kyle acknowledging it worthy of being called a ‘secret technique.’
For a Ragnar swordsman, it was an honor beyond measure.
Haa, haa—
Theo exhaled roughly and bowed his head.
Signifying obedience to the order.
Kyle nodded in satisfaction, arms crossed.
“Theo Ragnar, pass!”
The examiner declared.
The testing ground was soon engulfed in a heatwave surging from the sword mark.
* * *
[Congratulations! You have safely passed your first Awakening Ceremony and successfully completed Tutorial Quest #14.]
[Rating: A+]
[You have obtained 1 Coin as reward.]
[Additional reward based on rating: Luck stat slightly increased.]
[Luck: 0]
[The Curse of Misfortune that had been applied until now has fully ended. From now on, your fame will begin to spread gradually.]
‘Finally…! Now I can finally stand on equal footing with the others.’
Theo clenched his fist at the fact that his long-constricted [Luck] had been restored.
Thump, thump, thump—
His tense chest muscles relaxed, vitality surging back swiftly.
On his way down the platform, he spotted Axion glaring at him.
A face turned expressionless.
The complete opposite of the mischievous malice he had shown until now.
It was icy cold.
But.
Pfft!
“……!”
Axion’s brow furrowed slightly at Theo’s blatant smirk.
‘No need to measure anymore. I’m above him.’
With both Aura Hall and Aura Heart opened simultaneously, the world Theo saw had changed beyond comparison to before.
At this point, he was certain.
From his position, Axion was utterly invisible.
Even if the guy opened his Aura Hall, it wouldn’t change, Theo was convinced.
So Theo decided to completely ignore Axion.
Axion’s face twisted even more because of it.
But it was none of Theo’s concern.
After Theo fully descended the platform.
—Whoa…!
—Really…? That’s the mark from someone opening mana for the first time? No cheating or anything, right?
—No way. With all these experts watching, you think they’d miss it?
—But still… it’s too fraudulent.
—True…
Many examinees remained shocked.
Others took their tests afterward.
But none came close to Theo’s impact—not even to his toes.
Compared to [Dragon’s Claw], mere scratches.
At best, the other North’s Four Pillars held their own.
Ray left a mark frozen then shattered by his Ice White Sword,
Holkus slightly dented the iron wall,
Axion managed only a long sword mark.
As expected, the largest and clearest was Theo’s Dragon’s Claw.
Thus, as Axion descended, his face was flushed with humiliation and shame.
Theo in the waiting area wasn’t even looking his way.
Meaning he wasn’t worth considering.
‘How dare…! That trash dares to… me…!’
Axion’s face burned red.
「Ease your expression.」
Ed Troyvan’s telepathic voice pierced his ear.
「Didn’t I tell you to show composure? What are you doing, unable to hide even your emotions?」
“…….”
Only then did Axion compose himself.
But Ed’s rebuke continued.
「The humiliation you’re feeling now can be repaid tenfold in the second Awakening Ceremony. Hold back until then. Understood?」
Axion stared silently at Theo’s back, saying nothing.
‘…Foolish boy.’
Tsk!
Ed clicked his tongue, arms crossed in the audience.
Jealousy from a lifetime of arrogance upon meeting someone superior.
How could he be so foolish?
They still needed to gauge Theo’s strengths and weaknesses.
Yet his nephew lacked even basic patience.
‘Demon Dragon. What have you done? How did you create such a monster?’
Thus, Ed could only glare covertly at Julius, who smiled faintly.
He had thought Theo was a secret weapon Julius had been raising in hiding.
Otherwise, that growth rate was impossible.
“That boy… he’s the one who withstood the Family Head’s single strike back then?”
“Yes. One of my subordinates suffered quite a bit because of it.”
Julius was conversing with the Plum Palace Lord.
She was considerably surprised.
From the grip on the sword, the stance for unleashing swordsmanship, footwork, and body movement—all were clean and precise, pleasing her.
Just a few months ago, he had many awkward habits.
Correcting such ingrained flaws so quickly was astonishing.
Moreover, talent that made it hard to believe it was his first mana opening.
Everything was astounding.
Thanks to that, Julius puffed up with pride as if it were his own achievement.
“Someone must have taught him how to hold the sword.”
“Indeed. A friend the Palace Lord has seen before.”
“Oh, perhaps the one who taught Axion in the Camellia Palace…?”
“Yes, that’s the one.”
The Plum Palace Lord’s eyes sparkled.
“I heard that person had set aside the sword after ‘that’ conflict before.”
“He picked it up again. Said he wanted to hone Young Master Theo’s talent. And that’s the result. Haha!”
Julius’s nose rose even higher, boasting of his old subordinate.
“Is that so?”
The Plum Palace Lord smiled faintly and looked back at Theo.
“You seem pleased.”
“Yes. Very much so.”
Her eyes curved into crescents.
“I’d even want to take him as a disciple, if possible.”
“……!”
“……!”
Ed, Wolfgang, and the other Nine Dragons and elders listening gasped.
Who was the Sword Dragon, Plum Palace Lord?
Before being Kyle’s first wife, she was called the North’s Greatest Sword.
In pure swordsmanship, even Kyle had to yield a step.
Though unable to bear children and thus living quietly without being matriarch.
If she willed it, she could shake Ragnar’s power structure anytime.
To become her disciple?
It meant learning swordsmanship from the North’s Greatest Sword and, in effect, being recognized as the heir of the first wife.
From then, Theo would no longer be a mere bastard but a true successor.
‘Must stop it!’
For Ed, it was like fire on his feet.
He had planned to secretly assassinate Theo during this ceremony.
But if he became the Plum Palace Lord’s disciple?
Everything could go awry.
Before Ed could act—
“No.”
Julius hardened his expression for the first time and shook his head firmly.
The Plum Palace Lord tilted her head.
“Why not? As far as I know, Theo Ragnar has a swordsmanship teacher but no formal master-disciple bond.”
“Still no. We got there first—with our spit on it.”
“……!?”
Julius’s face was deadly serious.
Spark!
Sparks flew between them.
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