The invitation contained only an order to come to the Family Head's Hall.
‘Of course. If the Family Head summons me, I absolutely have to go.’
With that thought, Shuren left the dormitory with light steps.
‘But how do I get out of here? Do I just show them this invitation and they'll let me through?’
The thought suddenly occurred to him.
As a rule, trainees were not allowed to leave the training center grounds outside of vacation periods.
While Shuren was wondering how he would deal with that, he had already reached the exit.
‘Huh? No one's here.’
Normally, guards should have been stationed there.
Since they were absent, it seemed the main family had already made arrangements.
‘If they were going this far, wouldn't it have been easier to just send a carriage?’
Apparently, summoning Shuren did not mean they intended to make things convenient for him.
He left the knight order grounds.
A short while later, Shuren arrived in the area where the Family Head resided.
‘Now this is extravagant.’
The grandeur was incredible, befitting the estate of the foremost family on the continent.
“What brings you here?”
The guards at the gate stopped Shuren.
He showed them the invitation sent by the Family Head.
“That is indeed the Family Head's seal.”
They welcomed Shuren politely and opened the gate.
As he passed, the guards whispered while looking at his back.
“That redhead is the kid, right?”
“Yeah. The famous freak.”
‘I can hear everything.’
By now, Shuren was used to people talking about him.
“Why did the Family Head send that kid an invitation?”
“I heard he caused trouble at the training center and got punished.”
“Don't tell me the Family Head liked what he did?”
“No way…… He destroyed Lord Ivan's Mana Rings.”
Listening to their voices fade behind him, Shuren thought about how quickly rumors spread.
‘Well, I suppose that makes sense. Having your Mana Rings destroyed is practically the same as being crippled.’
In any case, if even ordinary guards knew about the incident, everyone within Pellantz probably did.
That meant Shuren had accomplished his goal of drawing attention.
He passed through a carefully maintained garden and arrived in front of a large building.
A butler was waiting there to receive him.
“Welcome, Lord Shuren.”
The man greeted him politely.
‘This man doesn't seem like an ordinary butler.’
Shuren examined him while returning the greeting.
His clothes made him look exactly like a normal butler.
But the presence Shuren sensed from him was anything but ordinary.
‘Unless I focus, I can barely sense his presence at all. He must possess strength at least on the level of a knight, perhaps beyond it.’
Shuren clicked his tongue inwardly.
Even if this was the Family Head's Hall, for a mere butler to possess this level of ability was remarkable.
Even the Flamer Family in its prime had never required its butlers to possess martial strength.
‘So this is the majesty of Pellantz, the strongest family on the continent. Tch.’
Thinking that, Shuren followed the butler's guidance and arrived before the Family Head's Hall.
‘I can already feel that bastard's pressure…….’
Shuren looked at the massive, tightly closed doors.
He had not even met the Family Head yet, but his mana sense was already warning him.
There was a monster beyond those doors.
‘He feels even stronger than he did at the enrollment ceremony.’
That was because Shuren himself had grown during the short time since then.
As Shuren grew stronger, his sensitivity to mana also increased, allowing him to sense the Family Head's power more clearly.
‘Damn it……!’
Shuren's pride was wounded.
In his previous life, he had stood shoulder to shoulder with the heads of the other three Great Families.
But his current self was utterly powerless compared to the person he had been back then.
‘Endure it. This life wasn't easy to obtain. The more impatient I become, the more I'll ruin things.’
To take perfect revenge on Pellantz, he had to remain cautious.
Shuren decided to use his current sense of inferiority as fuel for his growth.
CREEEAK—.
The tightly closed doors opened.
The Family Head sat on an extravagant chair, looking down at Shuren.
Once the doors no longer blocked the way, the pressure radiating from the Family Head became even stronger.
Shuren resisted it and walked all the way before him, pretending nothing was wrong.
“…….”
The Family Head merely stared at Shuren with an expressionless face.
Shuren could not tell what he was plotting.
‘Impossible to read. Just as sinister as Rak.’
He complained inwardly that blood truly did tell.
“Shuren…… Pellantz greets the Family Head.”
Even so, Shuren offered the minimum courtesy required.
The Pellantz Family might be his enemy, but the Family Head was still overwhelmingly stronger than him.
“Hmm. Your attitude is as insolent as ever. You have not changed at all since the enrollment ceremony.”
“My apologies. I was simply born this way.”
The Family Head frowned slightly at Shuren's answer.
“Since we are already discussing it, I have another request. Could you withdraw this pressure? It is difficult to even speak.”
‘Picking a battle of wills with a child. Tsk.’
Shuren clicked his tongue inwardly.
The Family Head, on the other hand, seemed pleased by Shuren's attitude and soon relaxed his expression with a smile.
‘Whew.’
Once the Family Head withdrew his pressure, Shuren could finally breathe easily.
“You can sense even this much pressure? It seems you have grown another step in that short time.”
The Family Head looked at him with interest.
“I suppose that is how you managed to destroy my grandson's Core.”
“I regret what happened. Something unfortunate occurred during the duel.”
“Regret? You know how someone with shattered Mana Rings is treated within the Pellantz Family, do you not? And all you have to say is that you regret it……?”
“It was a fair duel, and my defense was self-defense. There should not be a problem, should there?”
The Family Head's brows drew together.
He had deliberately pretended to be angry to see how Shuren would react.
But Shuren showed no sign of fear.
Even when someone tried to hide fear, it inevitably appeared as subtle trembling.
The Family Head could not sense even that much movement from Shuren.
‘Is it foolhardiness? Or does he possess courage worthy of his capacity?’
Considering everything Shuren had done until now, the Family Head thought the latter was more likely.
‘If this boy truly possesses a vessel that will not shatter before my pressure…….’
A talentless trainee would have fainted from the Family Head's presence before the doors to the hall even opened.
If Shuren truly possessed such talent, he was a prodigy tempting enough to make even the Family Head covet him.
“But Family Head. Something seems strange to me.”
“What seems strange?”
“This matter was not something you needed to concern yourself with in the first place, was it?”
“What do you mean?”
“Ivan might be direct line, but he was weak enough that he probably never satisfied you anyway. That is why I find your reaction strange.”
The Family Head's eyebrow twitched at Shuren's words.
Shuren continued regardless.
“You speak of rules and proper order, but what you truly desire is probably the Rule of the Strong.”
“You bastard!”
A faint aura of rage began rising from the Family Head.
“I do not dislike someone bold enough to match his ability. But just because I viewed you favorably does not mean you may say whatever you please.”
The situation was explosive.
One wrong step across the line could make everything erupt.
But Shuren continued without concern.
“Only when the strong survive can Pellantz devour the other families.”
SHING—!
The Family Head drew his sword and pointed it at Shuren's throat.
The movement was so fast that Shuren could barely follow it with his eyes.
‘At my current level, I don't stand a chance.’
If the Family Head truly wished it, taking Shuren's head would be effortless.
The only reason Shuren was still alive was because the man considered him useful.
And so, even with the cold edge of the blade against his throat, Shuren did not move.
“Did you believe I would refrain from drawing my sword simply because I would dismiss what you said as the childish arrogance of a brat? Surely you were not testing the limits of my tolerance.”
“Of course not.”
Shuren merely continued saying what he intended to say.
“If anything, I would like to ask you something. If that is not the reason, why did you stop my punishment?”
The Family Head said nothing.
“Was it not because I proved strong enough to defeat Ivan?”
“You are hastening your own expulsion from the family. In the end, you have forced me to reveal my pettiness……!”
SWISH—!
The Family Head swung his sword.
‘Hup!’
Shuren's neck burned.
For a brief instant, he felt the illusion that his head had been severed and blood was about to spray from his neck.
But the Family Head's sword had never touched him.
It was embedded neatly in the floor beside where Shuren stood.
‘So this is the difference in our realms…….’
Shuren glanced sideways at the blade buried cleanly in the floor.
“Hmm. You truly are an impudent brat.”
The Family Head smoothly pulled the sword free and returned it to its sheath.
‘Did I make it through?’
Shuren felt cold sweat running down his back.
It felt as though his lifespan had shortened.
“Everything you said is correct, so I cannot bring myself to kill you. If I did, would that not make me look truly petty?”
With those words, the Family Head sat down again.
“You are right. Rules and proper order mean nothing unless one possesses the strength to enforce them.”
That was how Pellantz had always operated.
And it had worked.
“You proved yourself through strength. So I gave you a reward worthy of it. This meeting with me.”
The Family Head understood Shuren's intentions.
He knew Shuren had ended his duel with Ivan so spectacularly because he wanted to attract the Family Head's attention.
That was why the Family Head had interfered with Shuren's punishment.
And why he had invited Shuren to the Family Head's Hall.
“What is your goal?”
Only now did their conversation reach its true subject.
“What goal would a martial artist have? I merely wish to attain enlightenment and become stronger.”
The Family Head knew Shuren did not mean those words literally.
His answer left a great deal open to interpretation.
The Family Head chose what he believed was the correct answer.
“Do you wish to revive your family?”
Shuren gave a bitter smile.
‘Maybe it's because he's Rak's descendant. He's damn quick on the uptake.’
But Shuren could not bend here.
The Family Head's test was not over yet.
“There are many things a martial artist should protect, but I believe family is naturally among them.”
“I see. So that is how it is…….”
The Family Head fell silent for a moment.
“Very well. I will allow it.”
Shuren relaxed inwardly.
It felt as though he had nearly reached the end.
“But you must prove that you possess the strength to revive your family. As you said, the Pellantz Family is a world governed by the Rule of the Strong. I will watch you myself and decide whether you truly possess that ability.”
“If you wish, I will show you.”
“You are overflowing with confidence. It will not be so easy.”
“My confidence has a foundation.”
At Shuren's response, the Family Head revealed a twisted smile.
“I like you until the very end. Good. You have caught my interest as well. In return, I will give you a gift.”
‘A gift?’
Shuren had not expected that.
He wondered what the Family Head would give him.
“I will grant you immunity within the Knight Training Center. Unless you violate the higher Family Law, you will no longer be bound by something as trivial as the training center's rules.”
You have attracted attention, so go ahead and run wild.
That was the meaning behind his words.
For Shuren, it was an enormous privilege.