Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Totem's Secret (5)
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Rumble—
A massive dust cloud soared high into the sky.
Theo approached Axion Ragnar, who lay collapsed in a bloodied mess.
The air was thick with tension.
The boy's eyes had rolled back in his head, and he looked like he would breathe his last with the slightest touch.
Whirr, whirrr—
The Moonblade Sword let out a resonant hum.
As if urging him to cut the boy down quickly.
Whining like it was starving.
Theo narrowed his eyes.
In his past life and this one, he had many words he wanted to say to him.
Whether he was truly the one who harmed Mother.
Whether he was connected to the ones who ambushed him in his past life.
But those were pointless questions to ask here, so he quietly raised the Moonblade Sword.
Just as he was about to swing it down,
“Cease that strike at once—!”
A shrill voice suddenly rang out from the sky, and four shadows dropped down.
Thud, thud!
Two drew their swords to block Theo's path, while the other two checked on Axion's condition.
‘Examiners from the Central Intelligence Bureau faction.’
Theo's eyes gleamed as he took in their faces.
At that moment,
Ding!
[A quest has arrived.]
+
[Tutorial Quest #16]
Slay ‘Axion Ragnar’ from the enemies blocking your path.
· Difficulty: B
· Reward: 1 Coin
· On Failure: ■■
+
‘Another coin reward quest? And it’s to kill Axion Ragnar... It means I must complete it no matter what.’
The difficulty was a whopping B-rank.
But Theo thought it was for the best.
He had never intended to let Axion go in the first place.
“How is examinee Axion Ragnar’s condition?”
“He’s in critical condition. We’re detecting mana backlash as well. He needs to be rushed to the medical room immediately.”
The examiner checking Axion's pulse spoke in a trembling voice.
Axion's state was that dire.
It was clear he would die within minutes if left as is.
Axion Ragnar, long hailed as the strongest among the North's Four Young Lords, now lay gravely wounded.
If word got out, it would surely cause a massive uproar—an incident that could not be allowed.
“You intend to keep blocking my path? As far as I know, the exam hasn’t ended yet.”
Theo spoke in an indifferent tone to the two examiners still barring his way.
Their faces stiffened rigidly.
“The purpose of this exam is solely to assess how well examinees cooperate, devise strategies, and establish plans while hunting beasts. There was nothing about killing your fellow examinees.”
Tch.
Theo let out a scoff.
Their intentions were all too transparent.
“There was nothing forbidding fights either.”
“What...?”
“And among the evaluation criteria, it’s not just teamwork within teams—it also examines how teams gain the upper hand in competition against each other.”
“...So you tried to kill examinee Axion?”
“It was just a clash between teams.”
“That doesn’t justify attempted murder.”
“I make it a point not to leave any loose ends that could one day trip me up. This was merely confirmation.”
“But the clash ended in victory for you and examinee Renden, and Axion won’t be able to harm you for the rest of the exam.”
“That judgment is mine to make, not yours, examiner.”
“What?”
The examiner furrowed his brow.
Not only was this mere bastard of an examinee refusing to back down and talking back, but he was even disregarding authority. It was infuriating.
「Captain!」
He snapped to attention at the telepathic message from his subordinate cradling Axion.
For now, saving his lord's nephew came first.
“Transport examinee Axion Ragnar to the emergency room immediately!”
“Under...!”
Just as the subordinate rose with Axion,
Slash!
He flinched and stumbled back in shock before he could take a step.
A dragon's claw shot from the Moonblade Sword had just barely raked past him.
“No final verdict has been reached on this incident yet. No one leaves until it is.”
Swish, swish...
Theo lowered the steaming Moonblade Sword, his eyes blazing fiercely.
The examiner's face flushed red with rage.
“Ruling on incidents during the exam is the examiner's rightful authority. If you wish to object, follow proper procedures after all exams conclude. If you persist in interfering, you’ll be disqualified for obstructing official duties and handed over to the Law Court.”
He figured that would shut him up. Disqualification was the harshest blow an Awakening Ceremony examinee could face.
As the examiner signaled his subordinate to leave,
Fwoosh!
[‘Skill: Lesser Drake Fear’ confronts those harboring hostility.]
“You insolent brat!”
Theo's skin-crawling killing intent gripped their ankles.
Clang, clang!
In the end, all four examiners drew their swords to push past Theo.
“In the sacred Awakening Ceremony, where external interference should be minimized, you apply personal standards and call it ‘official duty’? You’ve got some nerve.”
But Theo refused to yield, raising his killing intent even higher.
In this moment, he faced them not as an examinee, but as an heir.
And then,
“You’re absolutely right.”
That served as the signal, and more shadows dropped behind Theo.
Three in total.
Their presence was no less fierce than the Central Intelligence Bureau faction's examiners—in fact, fiercer.
‘White Dragon Knights...!’
Theo instinctively recognized their affiliation.
Their aura matched Julius's closely.
Leisurely yet lofty, evoking the high skies.
Sharp and pointed, reminiscent of dragons.
“Selphard! You dare cross swords with us?!”
The white-haired man, examiner Selphard of the White Dragon Knights, sneered.
“What’s stopping me? Didn’t you just say it yourself? Ruling on incidents is the examiner's rightful authority.”
“...!”
“I judge that your intervention here exceeds permissible levels and constitutes abuse of authority. So put that man down and withdraw. If you object, follow formal procedures after all exams end.”
Examiner Tyrone of the Central Intelligence Bureau faction flushed even redder.
He had been thrown his own words back at him—what else could he feel but fury?
The problem was that the objections didn’t end there.
“We agree with examiner Selphard.”
Figures descended quietly, like falling petals.
This time, examiners from Plum Palace.
Four in total.
“When examiners disagree on a ruling, protocol calls for a majority vote among nearby examiners.”
Examiner Natasha of Plum Palace swept her cold gaze over Tyrone and his group.
“It seems examiner Selphard’s claim holds more validity, so I advise you to set down examinee Axion and withdraw, examiner Tyrone. Unless you want unnecessary misunderstandings.”
It was advice in name only—a threat of force if disobeyed.
Examiners were bound by neutrality, even if few upheld it strictly.
Grit!
Tyrone ground his teeth, hesitating for a moment.
He couldn’t leave Axion as Selphard and Natasha demanded.
He would surely die, and the blame would fall on them.
But clashing with those seven was impossible.
Unless they killed them all to silence them.
Their forces weren’t up to it.
Then?
‘Damn it! We have no choice but to die here.’
Tyrone chose for his three to sacrifice themselves.
They would ensure Axion and his subordinate escaped, no matter what.
Even if they died here, their lord would protect their families.
He would avenge them someday.
Such was their unwavering faith in Ed Troyvan.
Their gazes exchanged rapidly,
“Now!”
Flash—
Tyrone and the other two charged Selphard and Natasha with full power, while the subordinate carrying Axion bolted in the opposite direction.
“These fools—what do they take us for?!”
Selphard sneered as he lunged, then hardened his expression.
Tyrone and his group's aura felt off—dangerously so.
“Examiner Selphard! Raise an aura shield, quickly!”
Natasha read Tyrone's intent and shouted urgently.
Her pale face showed bulging veins.
Unmistakable precursor to [Reverse Blood Explosion Technique].
A self-destruct skill that forcibly reversed mana flow to boost realm several stages higher.
“Troyvan eternal—!”
Selphard gritted his teeth, spreading aura forward to form a wide sword barrier, while Natasha and the Plum Palace examiners unleashed sword energy at Tyrone's group.
Desperate to block their approach.
But Tyrone and his men, lives expendable, closed in heedless of wounds.
Clang, clang—
A whirlwind of razor-sharp winds began raking everywhere.
Snow flew wildly.
Boom, boom!
However,
Scree—
Tyrone veered mid-charge toward Selphard, slipping to the side.
Selphard realized the ploy and screamed.
—Tyrone was hurtling toward Theo at blinding speed.
“Oh no! Theo! Protect Theo Ragnar!”
Natasha and the others' gazes snapped there desperately.
They hurled sword energy, but it was too late.
‘I must take that one no matter what! Leaving him alive will forever hinder Lord Troyvan’s great cause...!’
Tyrone's eyes bulged bloodshot.
“Die, Theo Ragnar!”
Tyrone's sharp sword closed in on Theo in an instant.
Despite the barrage of sword energy from Selphard and Natasha inflicting wounds, it didn’t stop him.
Yet,
Strangely, Theo showed no panic even with death looming.
As if it were someone else’s crisis.
Instead, he merely extended his empty hand forward.
What?
Just before slicing Theo's throat, Tyrone thought that.
And immediately understood why.
—Theo wasn’t even looking at him.
Theo was grasping at empty air.
As if an invisible hook dangled from his hand.
[‘Skill: Hatchling Synchro’ violently yanks the psychokinetically marked target!]
Right now,
Theo imagined psychokinesis as the hand of an invisible giant.
The moment he mimed grabbing the fleeing Axion and Central Intelligence examiner's nape with the giant's hand and yanking hard,
Immense gravitational force hurled the two backward, tumbling across the frozen snowfield,
Flash—
Theo rode the recoil skyward, soaring past Tyrone and his group in a blink.
Slash!
Tyrone's sword barely swept the spot where Theo had stood.
A feat beyond words, defying the eyes.
Examiners' gazes—friend and foe alike—turned upward.
“Nooo!”
Amid Tyrone's scream,
Theo arced perfectly toward Axion and his subordinate.
The Moonblade Sword gleamed like a comet once more and struck.
Slash!
* * *
‘Captain...! I’ll never forget your sacrifice!’
The subordinate fleeing with Axion on his back swallowed his tears.
This humiliation would be repaid someday.
As he vowed that,
“Huh, wh-what...?”
Suddenly, an invisible force yanked his body backward fiercely.
Before he could resist, he tumbled into the cold snow with Axion.
‘What the—!’
His thoughts didn’t last.
The sky was already engulfed in white light.
Rumble—
The dragon's claw didn’t just sever Axion and the subordinate's heads—it ravaged the snowfield wildly.
Steam billowed from the friction heat,
Thud!
Theo landed on the blood-soaked ground.
“...!”
“...!”
“No! Noooo! Young Master Axion!”
His figure standing on the white and red earth,
So cold and alien,
Yet breathtakingly beautiful,
Left everyone staring at Theo, lost for words.
As Selphard and Natasha gaped at Theo, Tyrone wailed in shock.
Meanwhile, the Reverse Blood Explosion Technique's duration ended, and he began aging rapidly.
“This can’t... be...!”
In the meantime,
Theo checked his new rewards.
Ding!
Ding!
[Congratulations! You successfully completed Tutorial Quest #16 by overcoming an overwhelmingly disadvantageous situation.]
[Rating: A+]
[Level up.]
[Reached level 20.]
[Obtained 1 Coin as reward.]
[Acquired <Shop> access as bonus for rating.]
‘Shop?’
Coins and shop.
Something told him they were connected.
Theo reached toward the shop window.