NoveLight ™
The item Theo found among the supplies was an artifact.
Although it had a one-time magic engraving, the power it held was certain—a ring.
This magic, which calls down lightning from the sky, not only possesses immense destructive power but also generates a powerful shockwave.
Even if one could withstand it, it was more than sufficient to ‘paralyze’ a single sandworm.
However.
Theo had one more hypothesis.
Hatchling Sync awakens the essence of an object, its ‘will.’
Just as he had experienced the Ice White School through Ray’s sword, he wondered if he could read the essence of the artifact and enhance the power of Thunder Calling.
And as a result,
‘I didn’t expect to take down the sandworm in one hit.’
The sandworm was split in half, unable to withstand the attack.
Crack, crackle—
The ground was covered in black soot, and sparks flickered and faded above it.
‘Hatchling Sync... This will be extremely useful moving forward.’
If a one-time artifact could do this much, imagine if he could enhance Drake’s weapons or the Moonlit Sword?
Just the thought sent shivers down his spine.
Amplification technique.
He had truly received an absurd favor from the Guardian Dragon.
“Y-you... this can’t be...!”
Orien was still looking at Theo with a trembling voice.
But Theo ignored him entirely, rummaging through the charred remains of the sandworm.
Thunder Calling shouldn’t have destroyed this too.
As he worried, he found what he was looking for.
“It’s a bit damaged, but fortunately, it should still work.”
What Theo found was a magic totem.
A deep blue totem that had hung from the sandworm’s neck.
The examiner had simply said that if this was ‘retrieved,’ points would be awarded.
‘There’s definitely another hidden piece here, just like with the totem.’
The ability to find hidden pieces scattered everywhere was also one of the evaluation criteria for the Blooming Ceremony.
Theo turned the totem over.
On the inner surface of the totem, dots and lines of an indecipherable meaning were engraved.
At first glance, they looked like ordinary patterns.
However, to Theo, who had a background in intelligence, they appeared entirely different.
They were Paja (破字), a form of encrypted language created by breaking letters.
‘If I combine these dots and lines... they will form the runes used by ancient dragon clans.’
And if those runes were arranged in a line, they would become a sentence.
‘<Lightning Breath Law>. Found it.’
A smirk curled up at the corner of Theo’s mouth.
As Ragnar boasted a tradition of over a thousand years, it possessed numerous kinds of breathing techniques.
However, among them, the top-tier breathing technique was set apart.
Commonly referred to as ‘Elemental Law’ (屬呼法).
Just as the ancient dragon clans possessed unique attributes according to their colors.
The Elemental Law imbues mana with specific properties.
Thunder.
Frost.
Flame.
Water.
Wood.
Poison.
There were a total of six attributes.
However, due to their importance, the Elemental Law was only occasionally granted to those with high succession ranks among direct descendants or to distinguished meritorious individuals.
Yet there was a unique channel through which this Elemental Law could be obtained.
That was the Second Blooming Ceremony.
‘All six Elemental Laws are fragmented and engraved within several totems. If I can decipher this, I’ll be able to acquire them.’
Of course, the process was designed to be far from smooth.
‘Each elemental law is divided into nine segments, totaling 54 segments. But since these are scattered everywhere, effectively combining them into one is nearly impossible.’
Even if one segment is obtained, if the next totem yields a segment from a different Elemental Law or is duplicated, it becomes utterly useless.
‘Moreover, the hidden pieces are only concealed within the totems summoned as a result of the hidden piece.’
It was a hidden piece of a hidden piece.
‘Did I just obtain the fourth segment? There are a total of nine segments, so I still need to find eight more.’
It was certainly close to impossible to obtain the complete Elemental Law from the Second Blooming Ceremony.
But it was only ‘close’ to impossible, not entirely so.
In fact, there were often individuals who managed to accomplish this.
‘Monsters who are said to be the closest to true succession rights.’
One prime example was Torkel Ragnar of the Black Iron Corps.
Fortunately, based on his memories from his past life, Theo knew well how to combine the Paja.
He even had a specific elemental law in mind among the Elemental Laws he wanted to obtain.
Thunder.
Lightning Breath Law.
Lightning is characterized by being extremely powerful and swift.
It was the most fitting breathing technique for Theo, who sought to complete the Dragon’s Three Claws.
Theo, using his spiritual essence, memorized the segments completely, then erased the Paja with mana and looked at Ray.
“...?”
Ray tilted her head, puzzled about what was happening.
‘To Ray, who has already mastered the swordsmanship with the essence of the Ice White School, this could rather be a poison.’
Theo shook his head, dismissing it as nothing, and slowly made his way towards Orien.
Thud, thud—
Orien was still staring at him with a dazed expression.
“Orien.”
“W-wait, don’t come any closer!”
The remaining participants, with the appearance of the sandworm, now numbered only eight.
But they were all in no condition to fight again, effectively retired.
Yet, Theo felt no remorse.
They had aimed to target not only Ray but also himself.
‘The Cultivation Society, I’ll take care of them once and for all.’
So they would not be able to run rampant again.
He planned to uproot them entirely.
“Where’s Axion?”
Boom!
The massive creature, the Giant Bear, collapsed to the ground, soaked in blood.
The tense participants were finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.
“Whew! Yes, this is it!”
“Finally caught it.”
“Axion is really something else. To confront and capture a Grade 7 monster directly.”
“Of course! The reputation of the Black Market doesn’t lie!”
While the participants of the Cultivation Society praised Axion in unison.
Axion, with an expressionless face, tore down the totem that had hung from the monster's neck.
A green totem.
At this point, he must have accumulated quite a few points.
‘And there are also patterns on it; what could they be?’
Axion tilted his head as he observed the patterns engraved on the inner side of the totem, but soon dismissed it as unimportant.
There was no time to worry about such trivial matters.
“Y-you bastards! Are you even human!? Are you even human?!”
At that moment, one of the captives bound in a corner shouted.
He had lost many comrades or sustained injuries due to the surprise attack from the Cultivation Society while trying to rest.
Additionally, Axion had destroyed the totem and lost their base.
It was only natural that he would bear an intense grudge.
Boom!
Axion kicked the captive in the stomach.
“Gah...!”
“Ragnar’s swordsman, you’re blaming me for your own inadequacy? Is it not the law of the jungle? The strong survive and the weak perish. Don’t you know that?”
Axion pressed his foot down on the back of the captive’s head, which was buried in the ground.
“Trash like you, who can only act tough, should be swept away.”
There was madness in Axion’s eyes.
At that moment, the captive looked like someone else in his eyes.
Theo Ragnar.
That brat had dared to take the top spot in the First Blooming Ceremony without knowing his place.
He had to make that brat bury his face in the dirt.
After a while, Axion lifted his foot from the captive's head.
The man was already unconscious, barely hanging on to life.
“Take all these bastards away. If they listen, feed them; if they don’t, keep beating them.”
“Just like we’ve done so far? Hehe! That’s our specialty.”
The subordinates cackled ominously as they dragged the unconscious or trembling captives outside.
With this, the number of prisoners taken by the Cultivation Society had reached over thirty.
More than half of the participants of the Second Blooming Ceremony had now fallen into Axion's hands.
Is it just the Ranke siblings, Wellington, and Ray who are still resisting? This is too easy.
Right, that’s what I’m saying. They’ll all be caught soon, so essentially the Second Blooming Ceremony is our stage.
It seems the Plum Blossom Clan is keeping a low profile too. Hehe!
So who should we beat next? This is getting boring; I’m dying of boredom, hehehe!
After discovering that the Cultivation Society had an artifact capable of summoning monsters hidden within the totem.
They had focused on searching for safe zones instead of hunting monsters.
In most safe zones, participants let their guards down, pretending to rest, making ambushes easy.
Furthermore, destroying the totem made it simple to summon monsters.
It meant not just hunting monsters, but also securing prisoners and supplying materials all in one go.
Thus, there was no reason to refuse such an opportunity.
Thanks to this, Axion was rapidly accumulating points, now looking at a total exceeding 600.
“Ah, by the way, isn’t it about time for the ranking announcement?”
Someone casually threw out the question, leading to laughter from various corners.
“Hey, we have to see that, don’t we?”
“Who’s curious about the top spot? It’s obviously going to be the captain. The real question is how the rankings among us will turn out.”
“True, that’s also a point. Alright, then let’s say whoever has a lower rank has to treat the higher rank as their older brother, deal?”
“Deal, you bastard!”
“Hahaha! Looks like I’m going to get an ugly little brother!”
“Crazy talk!”
While his subordinates joked around with trivial matters.
Axion was silently waiting for the examiner to appear.
This was because he had something to confirm.
‘Theo Ragnar. Where on earth are you?’
It was about time he showed up, wasn’t it?
Just as he was thinking that.
Thud!
An examiner suddenly dropped down into the area where Axion and the Cultivation Society were.
The Second Blooming Ceremony holds mid-term score announcements every evening at six.
This is a process to encourage the participants to strive harder.
Naturally, the participants eagerly anticipated this time.
Whether their scores had risen or fallen.
If they had risen, they would gauge how much more they needed to climb into their desired rank.
All eyes from the Cultivation Society turned towards the examiner.
“I will now announce the mid-term scores. Please pay attention.”
With a blank expression, the examiner scanned the chaotic surroundings and unfurled the scroll in his hand.
Swish—
And then.
“What the hell is this...?”
“What’s happening...!”
The participants of the Cultivation Society turned pale in shock at the unexpected results.
Axion’s expression also stiffened.
The mid-term score sheet was far too different from what they had anticipated.
<Mid-term Rankings>
1st. Ray Ragnar (572 points)
2nd. Axion Ragnar (561 points)
3rd. Wellington Narcio (479 points)
...
“...!”
“...!”
“Examiner, there must be a mistake with the score sheet!”
Axion had fallen to second place, and Ray had risen to first.
Even Theo’s ranking, who had been quiet until now, was listed.
36th. Theo Ragnar (82 points)
He had already climbed to mid-term scores in just one day.
Some were raising objections regarding the scores, but...
“Are you questioning the examiner?”
The examiner’s cold glare made them involuntarily shrink back.
“That’s not it...!”
“The examiners scattered throughout the winter mountain regions record scores each time, which are calculated and redistributed to us. If you want to challenge it, prove it with your skills.”
“...”
“...”
The participants fell silent, all keeping their mouths tightly shut.
What were Orien and the others doing?
Surely, if they had gone to catch Ray, they should have news by now, shouldn’t they?
No, even if they failed, it was unbelievable that she could accumulate such high scores in a single day.
What the hell is that score?
The scores for the Ice White Sword and the idiot are similar.
Are they teaming up and moving together?
But what kind of monster do they have to catch to achieve such a jump in scores?
The Cultivation Society participants whispered among themselves, all casting wary glances at Axion.
Crack—
With a flushed face, Axion gritted his teeth.
But.
The shock received by Axion and the Cultivation Society did not end there.
A moment later, another participant from the Cultivation Society, who hadn’t been present at the meeting, came rushing in.
“B-big trouble! Big trouble! Theo Ragnar and Ray Ragnar are...!”
The one they had planted to guard the safe zone.
“Right now, they’re robbing our base!”
“...!”
“...!”
The stories of the return of the Sword Clan’s heir continue...
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