Knowing the truth behind what had happened did not mean Shuren could immediately do anything about it.
[Pellantz Family Leads the Defeat of the Demon God]
[Water Dragon Family Aids Fire Dragon Family with a Heart as Broad as Water]
[Flamer Family Fades into History]
That was how the history books recorded it.
Shuren wanted nothing more than to tear every one of those books apart.
But what fault did the innocent books have?
‘This must all be because of Rak's schemes, along with those bastards from the other two families.’
Shuren trained himself so that the passing time would not be wasted.
It was not easy with the body of a young child.
Still, he endured each grueling day with rage alone driving him forward.
He could not learn mana yet.
A child's body was too weak to withstand it.
That was why martial families normally began teaching their children mana in the year they turned ten.
Shuren likewise intended to wait until he was ten before accepting mana into his body.
For now, he steadily trained his body.
He could not afford to rush because of his anger toward the Water Dragon Family and ruin everything.
‘Those bastards spent nearly two hundred years painstakingly destroying my family. And that plan is still continuing even now.’
That meant he needed to prepare just as thoroughly.
And so, a day became a month, and a month became a year.
Time passed quickly.
Before long, Shuren reached the year he turned ten.
‘I should be able to learn mana now.’
He judged that his body was developed enough to accept mana without strain.
Shuren sat in his room and prepared to begin mana training.
Normally, mana training was conducted under a master's supervision.
But Shuren had already confirmed with his own eyes, as well as through documents, just how thoroughly his family had been ruined.
‘They said the Flamer Family's secret archive was completely burned down too.’
The official story was that a sudden monster attack had destroyed the secret archive, but Shuren did not believe that at face value.
‘It was obviously the Pellantz bastards' doing.’
On top of that, everyone who had mastered the Flamer Family's techniques had died while defending against the monsters' great assault to the bitter end.
‘There's no way a proper mana cultivation method or any family techniques survived.’
That was how they had blunted the spearhead of the Flamer Family.
‘It doesn't matter. I have the knowledge from my previous life.’
What Shuren knew was not some mediocre mana cultivation method that any nobody might learn.
It was the finest cultivation method, created by combining the Flamer Family's traditional method with Shuren's own improvements.
Shuren closed his eyes and activated his mana sense.
Little by little, he began to perceive the mana around him.
Next, he slowly drew that mana into his body.
The dormant mana circuits within him awakened.
‘This body…… does it resemble my old one? The mana circuits are highly efficient.’
This body had talent for mana.
No matter how much effort someone put in, it was ultimately useless without talent to support it.
Shuren considered himself fortunate.
Once the mana circuits throughout his body had activated, he briefly stopped absorbing mana.
Then he pressed several acupoints across his body.
A few blocked circuits opened.
They were circuits that remained closed during childhood but naturally opened upon reaching adulthood.
‘If I'd known this when I was young, I would've grown at an absurd pace.’
Of course, forcibly opening the circuits allowed him to absorb mana more quickly, but it also carried risks.
To guard against those risks, Shuren had patiently trained his body until he turned ten.
WHOOOSH—
The mana around Shuren rushed into his body at tremendous speed.
‘Hmm…….’
An enormous amount of mana surged through his mana circuits.
If this had been his first time experiencing such a phenomenon, he might have panicked and lost control of all that mana.
But Shuren did not panic.
He had already experienced this once before, so handling it was easy.
‘Like I'm gripping the mana tightly.’
Just as he thought, he concentrated the mana in his solar plexus.
The mana began thrashing violently.
His body trembled from the force of it.
Shuren did not stop.
He compressed the mana even further.
HUMMMMM!
A moment later—
‘There!’
A single ring formed near his solar plexus.
A knight's level of achievement was determined by the number of rings they possessed.
Shuren had just reached One-Star.
‘Faster than in my previous life.’
A strange thrill ran through him.
Shuren had originally been called a genius.
Even so, it had taken him two days just to sense mana for the first time, followed by a full week to complete his first ring.
Even that had been considered exceptionally fast.
Yet in this life, Shuren had completed the entire process in only a few hours.
‘Now the Fire Dragon's energy will come.’
Shuren did not relax simply because he was pleased.
There was still one final step.
His body gradually began to heat up.
This was not an abnormal phenomenon.
Every family born with dragon blood went through the same process.
HUMMMMM!
The mana ring spun violently.
It had reacted to the intrusion of an alien energy.
But the mana ring was soon overtaken by it.
FWOOSH!
Flames ignited around the mana ring.
Thus, the flame ring was complete.
‘Hot.’
Naturally.
The dragon guarded by the Flamer Family was the Fire Dragon.
In return, they were granted the power of fire.
But unlike the three families that guarded the other dragons, the Fire Dragon's power was far too strong.
Once their achievement reached a certain level, their mana circuits could no longer endure the fire energy and eventually melted away.
The curse known as the Calamity Flame.
Shuren had also been a genius in his previous life, but even he had failed to endure it the moment he stepped into the early stage of Nine-Star.
However, during that process, he had realized how to resolve the curse.
‘If that bastard Rak had delivered the method to my family, things never would've ended up like this……!’
Shuren suppressed his anger.
What had already happened could only be dealt with, not undone.
‘I figured out the method, but I never got to try it from the beginning.’
Shuren decided to test it now.
He did not think his method had been wrong.
Still, there was always a chance.
He focused on the mana ring formed near his solar plexus.
Then he forcibly made the mana ring spin.
FWOOSH— FWOOSH—!
The ring spun faster.
Shuren did not stop and continued driving it onward.
ROAR!
Its speed became tremendous.
Once it reached the point Shuren considered the limit, he stopped accelerating it and maintained the rotation.
ROOOAR!
The ring of fire spun fiercely.
The flames flung outward by the recoil escaped from his body.
Then something remarkable happened.
The rampaging power of the fire began to weaken.
‘It worked. The method for breaking the curse wasn't wrong.’
If he explained this to others, they would undoubtedly laugh and ask what sort of inefficient method it was.
But that would only be because they did not properly understand the Fire Dragon's nature.
The fire energy granted by the Fire Dragon was immensely powerful.
The human body receiving it, however, was weak.
That was why deliberately spinning the ring like this and wasting the power of the flames was actually the way to stabilize it.
‘I just have to change the way I use the power.’
Shuren's conclusion had been correct.
As the ring continued spinning, the scorching energy gradually settled down.
With this method, Shuren became certain that his circuits would not be destroyed even if he reached Nine-Star.
‘Those Pellantz bastards who destroyed my family. And the other two families who went along with them.’
Shuren swore revenge.
They had dared to stab him in the back and reduce the Flamer Family to ruins.
Now it was time for all three families to pay the price they deserved.
***
By the current generation, there was very little the members of the absorbed Flamer Family were allowed to do for themselves.
Their ancestors immediately after the absorption had been granted fairly important positions under the pretext of promoting harmony within the Pellantz Family.
But not even a trace of such treatment remained now.
Their circumstances were little different from officials banished from the center of power.
They were only permitted to live within the estate, were constantly watched, and had to obtain permission whenever they wished to go elsewhere.
Economic activity was naturally impossible.
They were forced to survive on the meager allowance provided by the main family.
Shuren's father, Canyon Pellantz, was constantly troubled by their situation.
‘This month's living expenses…… Hmm.’
As he worried over the matter, Canyon's wife, Jane Pellantz, spoke with a deeply concerned expression.
“Our Shuren…… is he really all right?”
“You've been worrying about our youngest quite a lot lately.”
“How could I not? He was adorable when he was a baby, but ever since he grew older, he only stays shut up in his room…… One time, I tried to go inside, and I couldn't even get through the door.”
“Has he already reached puberty?”
“How does that make any sense? He's only ten!”
“Still, Shuren has always seemed far more mature than other children.”
“That is true…….”
“Sometimes I feel him staring at me, and when I look over, he has this troubled expression no child should have. Almost as though he pities me.”
“Oh, come now. He's still a child. Surely he wasn't looking at you with that kind of meaning.”
“Anyway, I am curious what Shuren is doing. I will go speak to him later.”
Just then—
They sensed a commotion outside.
Not long afterward, the office door flew open with a violent WHOOSH.
“Hmm.”
A neatly dressed middle-aged man looked around the office.
Several armed soldiers stood behind him as guards.
“My, my. I hope I have not interrupted an intimate moment between the two of you. My apologies.”
Despite his words, every bit of his behavior dripped with arrogance.
“Sir Jervan. If you had informed us in advance that you were coming, we would have prepared for your visit.”
At Canyon's words, the man called Jervan stared silently at him.
“The family head ordered me to manage this building. Must I notify you even when I stop by a place under my management?”
“That is…….”
“You people are able to enjoy such luxury today thanks to the grace of Ancestor Rak nearly two hundred years ago. Even the fact that you may live here is entirely due to the Pellantz Family's consideration. You should always remain grateful.”
At Jervan's blatantly contemptuous words, Canyon fell silent.
“In any case, I came today to inform you of an important matter.”
“……What is it?”
“Hmm. The Council of Elders recently enacted a new family law. Any branch family that fails to produce a knight for three consecutive generations will be stripped of the Pellantz surname.”
“What kind of nonsense is that?!”
The words struck like a bolt from the blue.
A law had suddenly been created?
Anyone could see that it had clearly been designed to target them.
“I assume you understand what it means to lose the surname. You will be stripped of every status and privilege you have enjoyed as a branch family. You will have to surrender the prosperity you have enjoyed until now.”
“How can you do this?! Isn't this completely unreasonable?”
“Resisting will change nothing. Laws enacted by the Council of Elders carry such authority that even the family head is bound by them. The Pellantz Family upholds justice and proper order. Therefore, the law must be obeyed.”
Jervan answered with a smile.
“Isn't this too much? Ever since we were absorbed into the Pellantz Family, we have been denied the right to learn mana. How are we supposed to produce a knight?”
“You make it sound as though the main family forbade you outright. The main family has always permitted you to practice mana cultivation so long as you can do so safely.”
“That is absurd……!”
As long as they carried the blood of the Fire Dragon, the curse known as the Calamity Flame was unavoidable.
It did not matter whether they used the Flamer Family's mana cultivation method or any other method.
The moment enough mana accumulated, the Fire Dragon's power awakened.
For them, growth and safety simply could not coexist.
And had the secret archive not been burned down as well?
“Just how much time do you think has passed? Two hundred years! You possess that supposedly magnificent power of the Fire Dragon, yet have failed to produce a knight for three generations. Are you not ashamed?”
Jervan's mockery had gone too far.
But Canyon did not dare argue with him.
The main family had always oppressed the absorbed descendants in this manner.
When they had first been absorbed, they had been promised that all their rights would be protected, and they had even lived in the same estate as the main family.
But not long afterward, the Pellantz Family had completely changed its attitude.
Piece by piece, they took the valuable lands and lucrative interests for themselves.
Unable to resist, the former Flamer descendants lost their rights one after another, and the places they were allowed to live were pushed farther and farther away.
Now the Pellantz Family was trying to strip away even the hollow status of a branch family.
They had been absorbed already.
If they lost even the Pellantz surname, there would truly be nothing left to them.
‘They've sucked us dry, and now they're finally going to throw us away.’
Becoming a knight required both talent and effort.
The Pellantz Family operated a training center to cultivate such knights.
The age for taking the qualification exam to enter that training center was ten.
And to pass that exam, one had to know how to control mana.
For Shuren's family in their current state, that was impossible.
“……Is there truly nothing that can be done? I beg you. Please show us mercy.”
Canyon bent deeply at the waist and pleaded.
“That cannot be allowed. The justice and proper order of the Pellantz Family must be upheld.”
But Jervan merely replied with an unpleasant smile.
***
Shuren happened to be passing by and watched the scene from a distance.
‘You're nothing more than a hired servant of the Pellantz Family, yet you're throwing your weight around like this.’
Shuren wanted to sew the man's mouth shut on the spot.
But doing so would bring trouble upon the family, so he restrained himself.
That did not mean his heart would allow him to stand by and ignore his pitiful descendant(?).
Shuren strode into the office.
“What exactly do you think you're doing?”
Shuren's sudden appearance startled Jervan.
But he quickly regained his composure and looked at him.
“We have not met before. I am Jervan, the administrator of this district. You must be Lord Canyon's youngest son.”
Shuren ignored the greeting and glared at him.
“This is where my family lives. So why did you bring soldiers with you? Are we criminals?”
“That is not the case, but…….”
To Jervan, Shuren seemed like nothing more than an impudent little child.
And yet an inexplicably imposing aura radiated from him.
Before he realized it, Jervan had shrunk back beneath that presence.
“And I hear you came without even sending word first. Why don't you leave now? Branch family or not, we're nobles too. You should learn some manners.”
“……I merely omitted the formal procedure because I came to deliver important information.”
“You mean the part where we lose our status as a branch family if we fail to produce a knight?”
“Yes. The laws of the Pellantz Family must be upheld.”
“Justice and proper order, huh? What admirable principles your family has.”
“Without those, the Pellantz Family would be nothing.”
Shuren nearly burst out laughing from sheer disbelief.
These bastards loved justice and proper order so much, yet they had schemed to destroy and absorb the Flamer Family?
For a moment, he seriously considered tearing Jervan's mouth off.
“Then we'll just follow that law.”
“Pardon?”
“I'll take the family Knight Training Center's qualification exam and enroll there.”
“You?”
“Why? Is there a problem? I'm also a member of the Pellantz Family.”
“……There is no problem.”
“And there's still some time left anyway, isn't there? I'm the youngest, so shouldn't you strip us of our status only after I fail to become a knight?”
“……Very well.”
Jervan pressed his lips tightly together.
He had come here today intending to humiliate Canyon.
Instead, some little brat had turned the tables on him.
‘A family that can't learn mana. Whether they lose their status now or later, it's only a matter of time.’
Thinking that, Jervan looked at Shuren.
“You are quite bold. Perhaps you simply know nothing of the world because you are still young. Throwing a tantrum will not stop what is coming. You will never pass the examination.”
“Yes, yes. And the next time you come here, please show the proper respect due to a noble household.”
“Hmm!”
Jervan cleared his throat loudly, then left with the soldiers.