Before Seraphina could respond, an angry voice suddenly came from the Vale family’s side. "You impudent brat!"
One of the middle-aged men standing among the Vale representatives stepped forward, his expression twisted with anger as he pointed directly toward Karl.
"How dare you speak to my niece and the Vale family like that? Have you forgotten your current standing?"
His mana erupted before anyone could stop him, a heavy pressure spread across the plaza and rushed directly toward Karl, causing several nearby students to stagger away.
The man clearly intended to force Karl down before everyone and remind him exactly where the declining Reed family supposedly stood.
Karl did not move, Instead of panicking beneath the pressure, he simply raised his eyes and looked at the man sharply. "Uncle Victor."
The anger on the Vale elder’s face immediately froze.
Karl tilted his head slightly.
"It seems some dogs are barking."
The plaza became strangely quiet, several older members of the surrounding families immediately changed expressions after hearing that name, while the Vale elder who had shown so much courage moments earlier visibly stiffened.
Victor Reed.
There were very few people within Ardent City’s upper circles who had never heard that name.
Thirty years ago, Victor had been nothing more than an orphan without status or protection.
His mother had died after being persecuted by a powerful local family, while Victor himself disappeared soon afterward.
Most people assumed he had died somewhere outside the city, then nearly ten years ago, Victor suddenly returned.
Within a single night, he slaughtered nearly every core member of the family responsible for destroying his childhood.
The entire city was shaken several influential families demanded his arrest, and even the Awakeners Association initially prepared to intervene.
However, before the matter could escalate further, the Reed family publicly placed Victor beneath its protection.
The Association’s attitude changed almost immediately afterward.
Since then, Victor had become one of the Reed family’s most feared figures and the right-hand man trusted with many of its most sensitive affairs.
There were also old rumours circulating among the upper families that Karl’s grandfather, the previous Reed family head, had been the person who gave Victor his first real opportunity when he was still a helpless child.
For several seconds, nobody appeared.
The Vale elder gradually recovered some courage and sneered. "Do you think shouting Victor Reed’s name will frighten me?"
Karl did not answer but the shadow beneath his feet moved.
The surrounding students instinctively stepped backwards as a man silently emerged from Karl’s shadow as though he had been standing there the entire time.
He wore simple black clothing with a long blade resting at his waist, while his expression remained calm..
The Vale elder’s face immediately lost all colour, Victor Reed slowly raised his eyes toward him.
The man took one step backwards and then another.
Karl looked toward Victor without changing his expression.
"Uncle Victor, teach that man a lesson for disrespecting the heir of the Reed family and insulting the family itself."
Victor did not respond immediately, instead he looked at Karl. There was genuine surprise hidden behind his otherwise calm expression.
The Karl he knew had never been this decisive.
Even when the Vale family treated him poorly in the past, the boy had usually endured it because of Seraphina and the engagement between their families.
After hearing about Karl’s awakening result, Victor had already prepared himself for the possibility that the young man would completely break beneath the humiliation.
Yet the person standing before him now seemed sharper than ever.
Victor’s lips curved slightly.
As expected of the Old Master’s heir.
And more importantly, he was Asher Reed’s son.
Victor finally turned his attention toward the Vale elder and that single glance was enough.
The man stumbled backwards and immediately tried to retreat into the crowd.
"Wait, Victor, this is only a misunderstanding—"
Without another thought, he turned and bolted into the crowd.
Victor let out a scoff shaking his head in disapproval, the next instant he had already disappeared from where he’d stood.
A faint metallic sound crossed the plaza before Victor appeared several metres ahead of the fleeing man, his blade already halfway back inside its sheath.
For a moment, nothing happened and then the man collapsed, both of his legs had been severed below the knees.
A scream tore through the plaza as blood spread across the stone, while the surrounding students immediately moved away from him in panic.
Victor calmly wiped the remaining blood from his blade before returning it fully to its sheath.
No one from the Vale family stepped forward, even Adrian remained completely silent.
Victor then turned toward the principal and the Association examiner and gave both men a polite bow, as though nothing particularly serious had happened.
"My apologies for disturbing the ceremony."
He glanced toward the screaming man lying behind him.
"It was only a small dispute between awakeners, please continue the ceremony as normal."
The principal and the examiner stared at him but neither appeared interested in arguing.
Karl also gave them a slight nod before stepping away from the platform. The crowd that had been laughing at him only minutes earlier had become completely silent.
No one spoke as Karl walked past them, he stopped beside Leon and Mira before looking between the two.
Karl stopped beside Leon and Mira before looking between the two.
Mira stuck out her tongue at him. "You really made some commotion."
Leon immediately nodded. "Indeed."
Then he suddenly looked toward Mira as though remembering something important. "Anyways, where were you, bunny girl? "
"You better stay behind me from now on, I awakened an S-rank talent and a fourteen-star Martial Saint class, this young master can protect you now."
Mira’s expression immediately changed. "I was a little late today and by the time I reached the plaza, this entire section was already packed and I couldn’t find either of you."
She pointed vaguely toward one of the distant awakening sections. "So I slipped into another group and completed my awakening there."
Leon proudly raised his chin. "Then you definitely missed something important."
Mira looked at him. "What?"
"My awakening."
She stared at him for a moment. "You were shouting loudly enough that half the plaza probably heard it."
Leon’s expression twitched.
Mira crossed her arms before giving him a smug smile. "Besides, you are acting pretty proud for someone with only fourteen stars."
Leon frowned. "Only?"
Mira raised one finger in front of him. "S-rank talent, unique hidden class Shadow Assassin, fifteen-star compatibility."
Leon froze. "Fifteen stars?"
Mira’s smile became even more satisfied. "One star more than you."
"You..."
Leon looked personally offended. "When the hell did that happen?"
"I just told you, I awakened at another platform."
Mira ignored him after that and turned toward Karl instead, clearly waiting for his reaction.
Karl could not help smiling. "Fifteen stars and a unique hidden class, not bad."
Mira’s smile immediately became brighter. "Only not bad?"
Karl laughed slightly. "Fine, very impressive."
She finally looked satisfied.
However, Karl noticed something slightly different in Mira’s gaze as she looked at him.
He could not immediately understand what it was, but the expression remained for a moment before disappearing.
Karl did not think much about it and looked between the two of them. "Why don’t both of you come to my house today?"
Leon raised one eyebrow.
Karl continued, "You both awakened S-rank talents, we should celebrate properly."
"I’ll ask Uncle Victor to invite your parents as well."
Leon agreed almost immediately. "Obviously, there is free food involved."
Mira gave him a disgusted look. "You really are shameless."
"You awakened fifteen stars, you can afford to feed yourself, while I am a measly fourteen stars"
"That is not how any of this works."
Karl smiled as the two started arguing again.
For the first time since waking up ten years in the past, the strange pressure sitting inside his chest loosened slightly.
Victor had already walked toward a black car waiting near the edge of the plaza.
Karl followed him while Leon dragged Mira along after them despite her repeated complaints that she had not actually agreed yet.
"You already started walking with us," Leon said. "That counts as agreement."
"It absolutely does not."
Several minutes later, the three of them entered the car.
Victor took the driver’s seat and glanced toward Karl through the rear-view mirror for a moment, still clearly thinking about everything he had witnessed today.
Karl leaned back while Leon and Mira continued arguing beside him.
The vehicle slowly left the crowded plaza behind and began travelling toward the Reed family estate.