In a private training hall, a handsome man lay sprawled out on the floor, chest heaving, sweat stuck to his brow and shirt.
Amber eyes stared up at the ceiling, glazed with exhaustion.
That man, naturally, was me.
I struggled to steady my breathing, heart rate finally slowing after hours of so-called training—if it could even be called that.
Beside me rested a katana, still sheathed; in front of me stood a mechanical training dummy, awaiting my next command.
“Damn it,” I muttered through clenched teeth.
I’d been here for three hours.
After finally calming down from my traumatic ordeal, I returned to the heart of Lumina City and checked into a hotel.
Exhausted from the long day, I figured I’d spend what little time I had left training for the entrance exam.
But when I finally fell asleep, the same vision from the manual replayed in my dreams: the same man, the same desolate battleground, the same bodies strewn across it.
A sense of relief washed over me; at least I’d be able to revisit the vision each night.
I scrutinised his stance, watching for the moment he drew his katana.
But just as before, he was far too fast.
One instant he held the katana—then, with a click, the ground split open, and I never even saw him move.
When the vision ended, I woke up with renewed determination and headed to the nearest private training ground.
On the way, people recognised my face and eyes, and the looks they gave me were pure disgust and hatred.
It was as if I’d personally offended them, a stain on the world they longed to scrub away.
I wasn’t surprised by my treatment or how quickly I was recognised; the Dragaoth family’s signature amber eyes—and my own infamy—made me hard to miss.
But my reputation wasn’t a good one.
The incident with that fucking whore princess only made it worse.
I couldn’t blame them; to the world, it looked like I’d assaulted a princess on camera without consequence.
Normally, not even a prince would get away with something like that.
But with my father being quite literally the strongest man alive, no one dared argue—not even the king of the Livaithen Kingdom, the princess’s own father.
I’m rambling again—now, where was I?
Right.
When I finally reached the training ground, I picked up a random katana and tried to replicate the first move of the Void Splitter art.
But the sword spirit did not lie when she said I was completely and utterly incompetent.
Not only was I painfully slow, but I also couldn’t hit the training dummy for shit.
This irritated me to no end, but my stubborn side only grew as I tried to master the move.
But three hours later, I was lying on the floor completely out of breath with nothing but wounded pride.
I started flailing my arms like a child throwing a tantrum.
“Fuck, why do I have to be so talentless?” I groaned in frustration.
“Forget becoming the Black Star; I’ll be lucky to even make it into the star class.”
I tried calling out to my legendary sword for help, but she was still asleep.
“You sure you’re not the Sin of Sloth?” I grumbled.
Plenty of ideas came to mind—like seeking out another legendary sword and dual-wielding it.
I discarded that ridiculous idea immediately; there’s no way my legendary sword would tolerate a rival.
Besides, the academy starts in two days—I wouldn’t have enough time to claim another blade anyway.
I considered other options, but none would make me the Black Star.
That left me with only one path: a gamble.
I needed to steal a certain item from a heavily guarded vault.
The Lumina Church’s vault.
There was one item there that could maybe be the edge I needed to become the black star—the orb of chastity.
It’s a one-of-one item known as the most sacred item in the church.
The orb could tell if the person touching it was a virgin or not.
It was often used to prove if a woman had lost her purity before a marriage.
Of course, this was only reserved for the high nobles.
It was also used when crowning the next saintess to make sure she was pure and untouched before being crowned.
But the church didn’t know its true value.
It was more valuable than that—much, much more valuable.
It had a secret ability that they didn’t know about.
It could purify someone’s bloodline.
For a noble, their bloodline was everything.
People with a bloodline were considered nobles, while people without one were considered commoners by the nobles.
Even though we live in a time where there aren’t really any commoners, nobles want to distinguish themselves from the people they see as beneath them; hence why they call normal people commoners.
As I was saying, the Orb of Chastity’s true power is the ability to purify bloodlines—a feat thought impossible.
If the nobles ever discovered this, they’d go mad with greed.
And I needed that purification desperately; I suspected my dragon bloodline was far less pure than others’.
That’s why my Aspect was so weak—why I was so talentless.
If I could purify my blood, my Aspect would evolve, and I’d gain even more benefits.
But there are two huge problems with that.
First, sneaking into the biggest church in the world isn’t the easiest thing to do.
There are probably guards in that vault who could swat me like a fly, and there’s always a priest on duty.
And priests are no joke.
But that’s not even the biggest problem.
The real issue is that I’m not the only one after the Orb of Chastity.
There’s an entire organisation that’s been infiltrating the church for years, their sole purpose being to steal the Orb of Chastity. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
They’re so deeply entrenched, they even have a priest working for them.
I still don’t know or understand how they know about the orb’s true abilities.
And if I remember correctly, in about one month they will commence their operation to steal it.
So if I were to steal it now, this secret organisation would be furious.
And that organisation is no joke.
They’re called the Star Dust Group—final bosses in most routes, a terrifying syndicate with claws sunk deep into the empire.
They’ve infiltrated churches, the academy, the magic tower, even the most powerful eight-star families, Dragaoth included.
No one has ever won a route against the Star Dust Group.
Every attempt ends in failure.
Everyone knows—if you end up on their radar, it’s better to reset the game entirely.
And it was understandable why.
The first seat alone is at the pinnacle of both political power and strength: Delrick Thorns Celestin Isol, the current emperor of the entire empire.
Yes, the fucking emperor.
He was one of the Ten Sovereigns, the rank given to those who have reached the pinnacle of power, eight-star.
Worst of all, I don’t even know who their leader is.
So ruining their plan would be a huge, suicidal mistake—probably a death sentence.
But honestly, if I don’t get stronger, the academy will be my graveyard anyway.
Weakness there is a sin; it’s one of the most ruthless places in existence.
But my real motivation isn’t just survival.
More than anything, I loathe being looked down on.
I don’t know if it’s the dragon blood burning inside me or not, but I’d rather die than give up on becoming the Black Star.
Even if I have to go up against the most terrifying group in the empire—even if I throw myself into the lion’s den—I’ll go down fighting.
I chuckled at how utterly absurd I sounded.
“One day, my pride and stubbornness are going to bite me in the ass.”
With my resolve steeled, I jumped up and adjusted my clothes.
Then I called Mina, telling her to meet me at the black market.
Naturally, she was irritated at my orders.
When was Mina not irritated?
Having an attitude seemed to be her favourite pastime—and it had only gotten worse since the hospital.
Maybe I was becoming more like the old Asmari, I mused.
I shrugged.
That was a problem for future me.
Right now, I had a headline-stealing heist to prepare for.
A/N
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