Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Kyle Ragnar (3)
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‘Here it comes again!’
Shhhhk—
Theo had to fend off several intangible blades the entire way up the slope.
Not just the arrows blotting out the sky, but also the daggers slyly targeting his blind spots.
All of them were forces born from Kyle’s aura.
It wasn’t enough to simply overcome the aura—he had to shatter the threats as well.
‘This insane difficulty……!’
Clang clang clang!
Theo poured mana into Drake’s blade and swung it fiercely.
The intangible blades caught in the rough arc were all deflected away.
Tadak!
Theo finally reached his desired destination: the cabin at the top.
Covered head to toe in dust, he looked no different from a beggar.
But the light in his eyes flickered brilliantly, as if harboring lightning.
‘Father……!’
Theo swallowed all the questions he wanted to hurl at Kyle and slowly advanced.
Neigh!
At that moment, the black chick perched on the cabin roof spotted Theo and let out a light cry.
Creak—
Simultaneously, the firmly shut cabin door swung wide open.
As if inviting him in.
Gulp.
Theo swallowed dryly and slowly stepped inside.
Thud!
The front door slammed shut behind him once more.
Fwaaah—
The darkness around him blazed into brilliant light.
In that instant, Theo unwittingly gasped.
The cabin floor was impaled with countless swords.
Each one varied in shape and purpose, but all were worthy of being called fine blades.
Yet they shared one common trait.
Every single one was broken somewhere.
And they were all wailing.
As if spewing forth their grudges.
Humm—
Whiiiinnn!
“Do you know what all this is?”
Kyle strolled among the graveyard of swords.
His hands clasped behind his back.
“I believe they are the swords of the swordsmen whom the Family Head has personally broken over the years.”
Kyle had one particular hobby.
Collecting and displaying the swords of his defeated foes as trophies.
Thanks to that, this cabin had earned another name among the people of Winterler.
Half-Sword Tomb.
The grave of shattered blades.
“Correct. The foes I broke on my climb to this seat, the masters who threatened it, the challengers who coveted it…… The seat of Ragnar’s Family Head is a profoundly lonely one. Constantly under threat and challenge…… A position that demands unwavering vigilance at every moment.”
Kyle turned toward Theo.
A faint smile played on his lips.
“I’ve heard you’re gunning for this seat as well. Is that right?”
“Yes. It is.”
In that instant, the smile vanished from Kyle’s lips.
His eyes locked onto Theo.
Like the eyes of a dragon facing an enemy.
“Don’t answer so lightly. Even after seeing the grudges these swords emit, can you still say the same?”
Theo scanned the sword graveyard once more.
Thanks to his Hatchling Synchro, the grudges embedded in these blades appeared even more vividly to his eyes.
-Kill…… kill them……!
-Kyle! Kyyyllle!
-You, who reduced me to this…….
-One day, I’ll claim that seat. One day. One day.
Malice pricking his skin like needles.
Lingering here too long might suffocate him.
In some ways, it was more threatening than Kyle’s aura.
If he aspired to become Family Head, he’d have to face this malice repeatedly.
And bear that karma as well.
But.
“My resolve remains unchanged.”
So what?
“So.”
Theo’s determination wasn’t born from a day or two of thought.
“Please grant me a chance.”
Theo took a step forward as he spoke, and a smile returned to Kyle’s stiffened lips.
“Very well. If my son dreams of this, then as his father, I must indulge him.”
Kyle unclasped his hands and extended one forward.
One of the swords embedded in the floor rattled before leaping into his grasp.
Thud!
“From now on, I’ll treat you not as my son, but as a challenger.”
Roooar—
Dragon Fear intensified once more.
It felt as if a massive dragon was opening its eyes behind Kyle’s back.
Gulp.
Theo swallowed dryly and assumed his stance.
He knew instinctively.
The one-sword duel about to unfold would be incomparably fiercer than the one Kyle had shown before.
Treated as a challenger, this blade would be entirely different from what the other candidates faced.
He might die.
Theo steeled himself with that thought.
“Let’s see just how well ‘she’ taught you.”
She?
Who did he mean?
Could it be…… Lordvrock?
‘Did he notice I visited the nest? How in the world?’
Kwaaaah—
But Theo couldn’t voice his question.
The broken sword in Kyle’s grip trembled violently as an immense amount of mana converged upon it.
A blade of light from a realm Theo couldn’t even fathom.
Infused with Kyle’s mana.
The one-sword flashed.
A ray of light descended upon Theo’s head.
“If you truly wish to seize this seat, you must prove to me that you can properly wield everything you possess.”
They were still like riddles, but Theo had no time to respond.
This was a calamity.
Like a typhoon or tsunami—a natural disaster.
Something no mere human could ever withstand was targeting his life.
In earnest!
-This is truly dangerous like this.
Sensing the crisis, Theo maxed out Dragon’s Heart, his dantian, and mana resonance while raising Drake’s blade overhead.
Thump thump thump thump thump—!
His heart pounded wildly as lightning sparked upward.
Crackle crackle!
And in this moment.
Theo was replaying the essences of the supreme masters he had glimpsed, over and over.
Hatchling Synchro activated furiously.
His brain grew feverishly hot.
He recalled.
The Plum Palace Lord’s soft petals.
He recollected.
Julius’s sharp strike.
He retraced.
The judge’s cascading sword momentum.
The Thunder Dragon manifested around Theo, coiling massively and slashing its claws ferociously.
Groooaaar!
It sounded just like a dragon roaring toward the heavens.
But,
Slash!
Kyle’s ray of light mercilessly severed the dragon’s claws and head before crashing down on Theo.
And…… cleaved Drake’s blade—and Theo himself.
Schwick—
A very brief slicing sound.
Silence descended in an instant.
Darkness swallowed his vision as all sensation vanished at once.
‘Did I…… die?’
That was Theo’s first thought.
It had been the same when he died before.
After being struck by the invisible arrow, darkness had come,
He had drifted through an unknown space for a while before being sucked somewhere, triggering his regression.
But regression was ultimately a miracle from that unidentified first relic.
He couldn’t hope for it again.
So he must be truly dead.
.
.
A brief silence flowed,
‘Don’t make me laugh.’
Theo gnashed his nonexistent teeth.
‘Like hell. After coming this far……!’
Hadn’t he vowed?
That in this life, he would never yield.
So.
He wouldn’t yield this time either.
Theo brought his left hand to his waist.
His body was gone, but he imagined it was there.
Moonblade was there.
Humm, whiiinnn!
* * *
Kyle gazed at Theo with an impassive expression.
An expression hard to associate with a father looking at his son.
Theo stood blankly, still gripping Drake’s blade.
Like a statue carved from stone.
The focus had vanished from his eyes.
A lost soul.
That was what Kyle called such a state.
In truth, Kyle hadn’t severed Theo’s body.
He had cleaved the soul dwelling within.
With a Heart Sword, swung by one who had glimpsed divine realm—no 9-Dragon level mental fortitude could easily overcome it.
Even so, Kyle hoped Theo would overcome it.
Only then would he prove worthy of wielding the one-sword Kyle had bestowed, ‘her’ teachings, and all the fortunes he had gained.
Above all.
To crush countless rivals and truly seize the throne, Theo needed to overcome obstacles like this.
The true successors he’d face as a latecomer would be formidable beyond measure.
Neigh!
But the black chick on Kyle’s shoulder seemed to think otherwise.
“……No helping it, then. Looks like this child’s share ends here.”
Kyle muttered cryptically and turned to leave,
Groooaaar!
When a fierce aura erupted and lightning sparked back into Theo’s eyes.
A faint smile curved Kyle’s lips as he turned back.
A beastly roar echoed savagely.
Theo stood there amid swirling gray smoke.
Drake’s blade in his right hand, Moonblade in his left.
Humm! Whiiinnn!
The two swords wailed as if refusing to yield.
“Haa…… haa……! Isn’t this proof enough of my qualification?”
Theo panted roughly but kept his eyes fixed on Kyle.
That unyielding gaze,
It pleased Kyle.
“Very well. You pass.”
The smile on his lips deepened.
* * *
‘……What exactly was Father trying to confirm from me?’
Theo pondered deeply as he left the cabin.
He desperately wanted to ask what Father knew and the intent behind using the Heart Sword.
-Next.
Kyle merely called the next person, offering no real answer.
As if saying Theo still lacked the qualification to pose such ‘questions.’
In the end, Theo was chased out of the cabin with a head full of doubts.
Even so,
‘Father has acknowledged me.’
No objections raised.
It was as good as consent to dive headlong into the throne race without interference.
[Congratulations! You have successfully completed Tutorial Quest #17 by earning the Dragon Slayer’s acknowledgment.]
[Rating: A+]
[Reward: 1 Coin obtained.]
[Additional reward based on rating: Dominance over owned items strengthened.]
[From now on, you gain immunity to mental attacks of A-rank or below.]
Whiiinnn!
Humm—
Drake’s blade and Moonblade, their egos hardened from overcoming Kyle’s Heart Sword, let out long cries.
The smile on Theo’s lips deepened as well.
With this, all Awakening Ceremonies were complete.
Now,
It was time to plunge into the true throne race.
* * *
That evening.
With the third round of Awakening Ceremonies concluded, the final results were announced.
[Awakening Ceremony Final Results]
Overall Top: Theo Ragnar
-1st: 1st Place, 2nd: 1st Place, 3rd: 1st Place
-Judge’s Report: The candidate recorded exceptional scores across all categories—technique, talent, ability, grit—and especially the new record set in the second exam will be remembered forever in Ragnar’s thousand-year history……
The emergence of a new standout successor candidate.
The beginning of the storm.