My name is Max, Max Bransford, the only son of Grand Duke Malcolm Bransford. The Grand Duke ruled over the entire western region of the kingdom, a territory that stood as one of the largest landscapes.
Grand Duke Malcolm would soon retire from his duties. This was not due to old age; rather, he had simply grown tired of all sorts of official work. Hence, he announced that Max would inherit the title at the age of 18, the age considered adulthood in this kingdom.
This announcement had come when Max was thirteen years old, right after his Awakening Ceremony. More specifically, it happened after the world learned of his three class awakening.
A class awakening occurred for everyone born in this world. However, the accepted norm was that a person would only possess a single class.
This norm, however, was shattered by the 12th King of the kingdom. He had awakened two classes and ruled the kingdom with an iron fist until the age of 103. Following this phenomenon, throughout history, many people had awakened multiple classes, painting the 12th King as a miracle.
After all, it was only after his awakening that people within the kingdom began to awaken multiple classes. In reality, wise figures knew that this multiple class phenomenon had occurred all the time; people had merely hidden their multiple classes, considering it a taboo to reveal them.
As for Max, his triple class awakening was also considered a miracle, because he was the very first person to awaken three classes.
However, multiple class awakenings were no longer considered a miracle. The reason was simple: people who awakened multiple classes were bound to be average in their awakened classes. Some even speculated that the more classes one held, the less they would excel in life. A multiple class awakening simply diminished one's potential to an average state.
Awakening a single class was considered perfect, since the person could pour every ounce of effort into improving their class skills.
Thus, even though his father and family considered him a miracle who would rule the Great Duchy with an iron fist, the general consensus was that Max possessed below average talent in his classes. Ultimately, he did not excel in even a single class.
Swordsman
He possessed very average talent in both sword skills and comprehension. As a result, he would easily be defeated by an average Swordsman who held a single class. After all, the speed, technique, and reaction time between the two were completely different. Max struggled to improve his sword skills, since he also had to practice his other class skills.
Healer
Max considered that this class would help him remove the stain on his name as an average guy. His inborn skills as a Healer held the potential to mend tissues and even broken bones to some degree. Thus, Max secretly put in extra effort to improve his skill proficiency. However, if one took the inborn healing skills of an average Healer into consideration, Max's skills were far inferior.
Archer
Max did not want to delve into the Archer class, as he held the least amount of talent in Archer skills. Even an unawakened kid could use a bow better than Max. This was a strange thing to say, because once a person awakened, they were automatically bound by the skills given to them. Hence, if one did not improve their skills, they would suffer humiliation.
"Max, what are the properties of a Dungeon Core?"
Suddenly, a voice entered Max's ears. Jolted from his deep thoughts, he turned his head toward the front of the class. Startled by the sudden question, he simply stared at the academy teacher, who stared back at him with a face full of contempt and frustration.
What was the question? Max had completely lost his focus during the class, so he could not hear the question properly. What is the environment of a dungeon?Was that the question? Max tried to gather his thoughts to recall the question that had just been asked.
"Max, we have our first Dungeon Expedition in a few days. Yet, with your talent, instead of listening to the class, you are daydreaming," Teacher Morrison stated with a grim look on his face.
This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.
Immediately, the entire class focused their gazes on Max.
Max was not going to refute the teacher. He was, indeed, daydreaming about a mansion with a beautiful young lady lying beside him. It had been a very peaceful dream. Turning his head, he caught sight of that exact young lady's face within the classroom.
Naturally, it was the same lady from his dream, the divine beauty, Isabelle Flanagan. He liked her; or perhaps, his youth was simply influencing such thoughts. She was the youngest daughter of the Duke of Pearl Lake, a territory located in the western region of the kingdom where his family ruled.
Even though her territory fell under his father's rule, he could not expect the same treatment inside the academy. Furthermore, toward a person with average talent like him, she did not even bat an eye.
Well, humiliation is nothing new to me, he thought as he pulled his gaze away from the divine beauty.
"Could you repeat the question, Mr. Morrison?" Max asked.
"What are the properties of a Dungeon Core?" Teacher Morrison sighed as he put down the notebook he held in his hand.
He shook his head as disappointment accumulated inside him. He was just about to unleash all of his frustration onto Max. After all, Max was the perfect person to reprimand without causing any issues. Since everyone knew the son of the Grand Duke of the West was nothing but a disappointment, no one would say a single word if the teacher vented his accumulated frustration onto him.
However, before he could unleash his burden onto Max, a voice rang out. Hearing it, Teacher Morrison's eyes widened.
It was Max's voice. Furthermore, what he spoke was not an arrogant speech, nor was it an apology for not listening in class. Instead, it was the correct answer regarding the properties of a Dungeon Core.
Not only Teacher Morrison, but everyone within the classroom was left shocked.
After providing the answer, Max simply sat in his seat, looking straight ahead. He could easily see the surprised and bewildered expressions of the teacher and his classmates. But what could he do if they chose to underestimate him? Even though he was merely average in his inborn class skills, he wanted to excel in theoretical knowledge.
After all, he would inherit the title of Grand Duke in the future. Thus, whether he possessed average talent in his classes or not did not matter, so long as he held the capacity to rule the land.
But how could Max be so confident that he could rule the land with mediocre talent? The accepted norm dictated that people would simply get replaced by more powerful individuals, especially in politics. There were tons of wealthy and strong families waiting for an opportunity to snatch the ruling power of the land.
However, Max was not going to miss out on a good life simply because he lacked talent. He was not prepared to work in business to earn a living like other families. He wanted to inherit the ruling power, live lavishly, marry divine beauties, and enjoy life, just like the 12th King.
As for the 12th King himself, he had not been talented in his dual classes; his talent was merely mediocre. Although this was not a widely spoken truth, rumors dictated that the 12th King was not talented in either class. This was the classic case of a dual class awakening, and it was the very reason why people had been afraid to reveal their dual classes prior to the 12th King.
However, the distinct thing about the 12th King was his academic excellence. He had utilized his excellent knowledge to control the kingdom and prevent it from falling apart.
Thus, he would do the exact same thing in his own life; he would rule his land with an iron fist of knowledge.
Naturally, people usually underestimated him simply because he held no strong talent for his classes. However, gaining knowledge did not require talent; it merely required one to overcome their boredom. After all, reading all sorts of things left one bored and uninterested. It was not like combat training, where people grew excited upon landing a perfect hit on an opponent, experiencing the exhilaration of success.
Yet, if he wanted to succeed in his inheritance and maintain his authority, he had to take the hard path.
It was not as if Max was unwilling to put the same amount of effort into his class practice. In reality, he had poured an enormous amount of effort into it ever since his awakening. Unfortunately, it yielded absolutely no results. It was as if some kind of leakage was occurring within his body, causing his every effort to dry out entirely. It was exactly like how water leaked from a small hole at the bottom of a clay pot.
Either he had to find a way to plug that hole, or he had to give up on pouring water into the clay pot altogether. Thus, instead of training on the ground until his death, Max decided to stop pouring water and do something completely different.
Since his talent was very mediocre, people often assumed Max would be trash in every aspect. Naturally, this was the exact cause behind the strong reaction from his classmates.
It had already been a month and a half since he had joined the capital's number one academy. There, he had utilized his father's influence to enroll, rather than relying on his own merit. As a result, the other students avoided him like the plague, thinking that Max was simply not worth their time.
Since everyone else in the class came from a merit based background, they never entertained the thought of befriending him. As for Max himself, he did not initiate any conversations with anyone. He simply went about his own business without a single worry.
Up until now, he had not faced any direct issues, whether from his classmates or his class teachers. However, the contempt they held toward him remained incredibly strong.