“Caaaaw!”

A Lesser Drake, abruptly woken and losing an eye, writhed in agony.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The force was so tremendous that every thrash seemed to shake the cave to its core.

“If only it had gone deeper into its brain… Was it too shallow?”

Theo clicked his tongue lightly and lunged forward.

Disappointment was one thing, but his focus was solely on the hunt now.

Aside from the ceremonial sword embedded in the creature’s eye, Theo had two remaining ones—each gripped in his hands, ready to strike at its neck.

Clang!

Yet the scales on the drake’s neck were so tough that his razor-sharp sword simply bounced off.

“Damn…!”

Roaaaar!

The Lesser Drake, now recognizing Theo as its enemy, lunged at him fiercely.

[Dragon Fear dominates the battlefield. Movement is reduced by 10% due to the fear effect.]

In addition, it emanated the intense dragon energy unique to its kind.

Theo quickly drew his swords inward, narrowly pushing the Lesser Drake aside.

“The scales are too tough for the blade to penetrate. I’ll have to target the gaps between the scales.”

Even in this perilous situation, Ragnar’s keen battle instincts guided Theo precisely on where to move.

The spot just beneath the head, connecting to the body—commonly called the reverse scale.

Spinning his body quickly, Theo lunged inward and stomped forcefully on the ground.

“One Slash.”

Swish!

Once again, the sword in his right hand drew a brilliant white streak and pierced the drake’s neck.

Squelch!

This time, he felt the sensation of slicing through flesh at his fingertips.

“Now, let’s continue…”

With a swift, angled spin, Theo slashed deeply across the drake’s left eye with his remaining ceremonial sword.

<Secret Sword Technique – Dragon’s Three Fangs>

This was another One Slash but now adapted using a specialized sword technique.

Not a thrust but a slash.

Splat!

The remaining eye of the Lesser Drake exploded like a firework.

<Secret Sword Technique – The Fool’s Footwork>

Boom!

Theo barely dodged to the side as the drake’s tail smashed down where he had been.

Indeed, it was another example of his adept swordsmanship.

His skill had grown immensely, incomparable to before.

Thud, thud, thud, thud…!

The dragon’s heart beat wildly, flooding his body with adrenaline.

Theo laughed aloud, reveling in the moment.

Recently,

Sybil and Theo’s other followers had noticed the way people looked at them had significantly changed.

“Hey, Sybil.”

“What?”

“More people again.”

“Yeah, maybe we need a new training ground at this point.”

Sybil scratched the back of his head, eyeing the crowd packed into the Fourth Training Ground from early morning.

This, too, was a recent phenomenon.

They were all drawn by the rumors that Theo trained at the Fourth Training Ground every dawn.

Everyone had come hoping to spar with him.

Since Theo had reportedly received personal instruction from the clan leader, people were eager to test his skills for themselves.

The problem was…

“I really hope there aren’t any troublemakers this time.”

The people who showed up all seemed to lack decency.

Perhaps because they looked down on Theo, they only aimed to defeat him and raise their own status, without any interest in befriending him.

They treated Theo’s followers like trash, frequently instigating conflicts and drama.

If Evelyn hadn’t been there, things would likely have been worse.

They could only hope that, this time, normal people would show up.

“But why haven’t we seen Theo lately?”

At that moment, someone asked, and Sybil shrugged his shoulders.

“Right? Only five days left until the Blooming Ceremony.”

“Exactly.”

“He never missed a single day, so it’s making me anxious. Is he focusing on his own training? Have you heard anything from Evelyn?”

“Nothing.”

“I just hope everything’s okay…”

With the Blooming Ceremony approaching, tensions had been running high in Winterer, sparking all kinds of incidents nearly every day.

Naturally, people worried about Theo as well.

“What’s the point of waiting for days if he never shows his face?”

Meanwhile, Sybil and his companions overheard some murmuring about Theo.

Not just idle gossip—these were openly derisive comments, spoken loudly enough for others to hear.

“I know, right? Sitting here waiting is making me twitch.”

“Well, look at who’s here. Can you blame him?”

“Haha. Yeah, true.”

Some laughed mockingly, while others in the crowd glared.

“Those jerks…”

Just as Sybil was about to step forward, Aeod grabbed his arm.

“Hey, hold it. Didn’t you hear what Evelyn said? The closer we get to the Blooming Ceremony, the more people will try to tear down Theo’s reputation. Let it go.”

Sybil gritted his teeth.

“So, we’re just supposed to let it go?”

“They’re only talking to us. We’ve heard it before; no big deal, right?”

“Damn it.”

Sybil tried to hold back his anger and calm himself down.

“But sometimes I wonder if…”

“Wonder what?”

“If the rumors are true. Did he really receive a sword from the clan leader? No one’s actually seen it, right?”

“Come on, are you saying it’s a lie?”

“It’s not a lie, but rumors can always be exaggerated, can’t they?”

“Hmm, that’s true. So, is he hiding because he’s afraid his skills will be exposed?”

“He’s scared of us.”

“Oh, that makes sense. Haha! He’s hiding in fear; dragging him out would be hilarious.”

Sybil’s face hardened.

They were blatantly mocking Theo now.

He glanced over at Aeod.

“Huh?”

Aeod was gone.

As he looked around, he spotted Aeod flying through the air, kicking the laughing men.

Wham!

“Oof!”

One of the men, caught off guard, was kicked in the head and sent sprawling.

“Hey, Henry!”

“This lunatic!”

“You dropout! What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

The others, who had been laughing moments earlier, drew their swords and glared at Aeod.

“That lunatic… telling me to stay calm and then he goes off like that.”

He had momentarily forgotten that Aeod was the most ardent Theo supporter among them.

Hearing Theo being insulted had flipped a switch in him.

But Sybil couldn’t just leave his friend to deal with this alone.

“Draw your swords, everyone!”

Shing!

Following Sybil’s lead, Theo’s followers drew their swords and gathered around Aeod.

Suddenly, the Fourth Training Ground was split into two factions.

“You dare insult Lord Theo? You’re dead!”

“You all have faces like trash compared to him!”

“Hey, let’s not bring up looks. We’re not exactly models ourselves.”

“But we’re at least average! They don’t even make the cut!”

“Yeah, and with Lord Theo, our average goes up!”

“I never liked their attitude anyway.”

“Get them!”

Just as the fierce brawl was about to break out—

Boom!

Suddenly, a sword struck the ground like a lightning bolt between the two groups.

“...!”

“...!”

The impact was so powerful that it shook the training ground.

Everyone froze and looked over.

On the sword’s hilt, which was lodged in the ground like a grave marker, Wellington stood with arms crossed, looking down at them.

“Lord Wellington!”

The followers of Theo looked thrilled at the sight of an ally.

“Oh no, Lord Narsio…”

The opposition’s faces paled as they recognized him.

• They say Lord Narsio is close to Lord Theo, but was it true?

• He hadn’t been around recently, so we thought we were safe. Of all times…!

• Damn, isn’t this a mess now?

Unlike Theo, who had only recently risen to fame, Wellington had always been known as a prodigy.

And his position as Lord Narsio was no minor rank.

The opposing group glanced at each other nervously.

• But isn’t Lord Narsio known for being fair? Maybe we can reason with him?

• Yeah, if we explain the misunderstanding, we might…

They were about to try convincing Wellington.

“Didn’t any of you hear that loose tongues about Ragnar’s successor tend to lose a few arms?”

Wellington’s gaze was icy cold.

“It seems there was a misunderstanding, Lord Narsio.”

The leader of the group, Jenkins, stepped forward cautiously.

One of Wellington’s eyebrows twitched.

“Misunderstanding?”

“Yes, we were simply curious about Lord Theo’s skills…”

“‘No one has actually seen him with the clan leader’s sword. Rumors can be exaggerated, he’s hiding to avoid exposure’—what exactly was the misunderstanding?”

“...!”

He had overheard everything from the start?

Jenkins’s face turned pale.

There was no excuse now.

“If you have no further excuses, we’ll settle this with an arm for an arm.”

“Wa-wait…!”

Before Jenkins could even finish, Wellington stepped down and drew his sword.

Swish!

Out of nowhere, an épée with an elongated blade shot toward Wellington.

Clang!

Wellington twisted, parrying the épée upward, where it spun and landed on a nearby tree.

Perched on the tree was a woman with a face cold as ice, retrieving her épée.

“L-Lady Ray!”

Seeing her, Jenkins’s face lit up with relief.

“What brings you here, Ray Ragnar?”

Wellington glared at her coldly.

Ray Ragnar, known as the Ice Blade, was one of the most promising talents in the current generation of the Ragnar clan, along with Axion. She had overcome the cursed Nine Yin Veins to wield a sword, and her reputation was so widespread in the North that everyone knew her name.

But for someone like her, who was known to ignore external matters, why would she suddenly show up here?

The problem was, she wasn’t the only one who had arrived.

Boom!

On the opposite side of where Ray was standing, a huge explosion raised a column of dust, as if a missile had landed there.

Emerging from the dust cloud was a towering figure, at least 190 centimeters tall, with a youthful face yet a physique brimming with bulging muscles.

“Hulcus Ranke too?”

The Ranke family, often referred to as the Northern Bear Clan for their large size and brute strength, was one of the six prominent families of the North, alongside Narcio and Hanabi. Hulcus, the second son of the Ranke family, was another prodigy expected to shine in the upcoming Blooming Ceremony.

“Ha ha ha! What’s the deal, leaving me out of something this interesting? That’s just not fair!”

Hulcus laughed menacingly as he exchanged glances with Wellington.

With Ray now joined by Hulcus, Wellington’s expression grew even more severe.

It was no coincidence that these two had suddenly appeared at the Fourth Training Ground together.

Wellington, Axion, Ray, and Hulcus—these four prodigies had a reputation in the North, known as the Four Dragons of the North.

They were the rising stars who represented the future of the region, and now, three of them were gathered in one place. Preparing for the Blooming Ceremony was keeping them busy, so the fact that they’d all come together now could only mean they had something planned.

Wellington couldn’t guess their intentions, but he tensed, gripping his sword, ready to face them if necessary.

However, Ray paid little attention to Wellington, scanning the area as if searching for someone.

“Where is he?”

“What are you looking for?”

“The Flash Tiger.”

“The Flash Tiger…?”

“The owner of this training ground.”

Only then did Wellington realize: the name Flash Tiger was actually a moniker for Theo.

He already has a title.

He hadn’t known; he’d been so focused on his own training that he hadn’t kept up with events outside.

Flash Tiger, a title suggesting a tiger flashing like lightning—one that seemed fitting for Theo.

Who could have coined it?

“Why are you looking for Lord Theo?”

“I wanted to test him before the Blooming Ceremony.”