To Shuren's father, Canyon, it felt as though a storm had swept through and passed.
At this rate, they were going to lose their status as a branch of the Pellantz Family.
Of course, this was hardly the first time the Pellantz Family had done something so unreasonable.
They had promised to treat them as equals of the Pellantz main family, only to strip away their rights one by one.
They had even driven the members of the Flamer Family out to this barren region.
But now their tyranny had gone too far.
They had actually created a new law just to force it upon them.
No.
Perhaps they had absorbed the family and granted them the Pellantz surname from the very beginning precisely for a day like this.
Yet what surprised Canyon and his wife even more was Shuren's behavior.
He had boldly confronted Jervan, the administrator of this region.
Watching the man leave while barely containing his anger had admittedly been rather satisfying.
But no matter how arrogant Jervan was, he was still someone dispatched by the main family to oversee this place.
If Shuren failed to produce results after treating him that way, it would only invite a backlash.
Of course, Canyon did not think any of this was Shuren's fault.
The blame lay with the previous generations—and with Canyon himself—for living with their heads bowed toward the main family, believing nothing would happen.
‘And how could I possibly send this child to take the Knight Training Center exam?’
Sending Shuren, who could not even handle mana, to take the test was unthinkable.
‘I have to stop this somehow.’
With that thought, Canyon looked at Shuren.
“Shuren. Be careful with how you act. You must always know when to step forward and when not to. If you cannot distinguish between the two, you may only hasten your own death.”
It was advice given as a father.
“……Still, thank you for standing up for us.”
He gently stroked Shuren's head.
“I will handle this matter somehow. I cannot send you into the Knight Training Center exam when you are completely unprepared.”
“No, Father. You do not need to do that. I will definitely pass the exam.”
“What do you mean?”
“Please do not ask me anything for now. Just trust me.”
Leaving only those words behind, Shuren bowed to the two of them and left the office.
Rather than explaining every little detail about how he had gained his power, it would be better to show them once on the day of the exam.
***
Three months had passed since the disturbance.
For the first time in quite a while, people had gathered in the family's training ground.
At last, today had come.
It was the day of the qualification exam for Shuren's admission to the Knight Training Center.
Of course, there were not that many people present.
There was Shuren and his family.
And the instructors dispatched from the main family to administer the qualification exam.
Had Shuren been the child of some other influential family, the training ground would have been packed with people.
They would have come to congratulate the child entering the Knight Training Center and curry favor with the parents.
But no one bothered to attend the qualification exam of the Flamer Family, which had long since even lost its own name.
“Oh dear. I stayed quiet like you told me to, but will this really be all right?”
“I do not know. But that day…… I suppose I was somehow taken in by Shuren's eyes and the way he spoke.”
Canyon recalled what Shuren had said before.
Back then, Shuren had only asked them to trust him.
“Is that really something you should be saying?”
His mother fussed that perhaps they should stop the exam even now.
“Let us trust Shuren. If his own parents will not believe in him, who will?”
Canyon took his wife's hand and tried to calm her nerves.
‘They're making such a fuss.’
Shuren watched the two of them and thought they were worrying far too much.
“Shuren Pellantz. Step forward!”
The shout came from Jervan.
He was staring at Shuren as though looking at something insignificant.
Shuren ignored his gaze and stepped forward.
A long table stood before him, with several mana stones lined up on top of it.
“Begin.”
Jervan gave no further explanation.
Even the instructors standing behind him looked slightly surprised by the way he was conducting the test.
‘He's speaking to me that curtly?’
Was this really the way one addressed a noble?
In Shuren's previous life, such a situation would have been unthinkable. He could have punished the man on the spot for disrespect and no one would have objected.
‘Just how much humiliation have my descendants endured all this time?’
Shuren looked at his parents with pity.
Thinking of all the persecution they must have suffered made his heart ache.
‘If I don't put a stop to this now, they'll only keep pushing further.’
Shuren looked at Jervan and spoke.
“This is supposed to be a qualification exam! The Pellantz Family endlessly speaks of justice and proper order, yet even here you do not know basic courtesy?”
“What did you……?”
Jervan had been planning to humiliate Shuren if he asked how to take the test.
He had not expected this response and was visibly flustered.
“I am a legitimate member of a Pellantz branch family! Conduct this examination with the proper formalities. Otherwise, I will take it as an insult against the Pellantz Family itself.”
‘What kind of presence does a little brat have to…….’
Jervan felt like a fresh recruit standing before a veteran who had survived a hundred battles.
‘H-hmph. He's still just a brat who doesn't even know a mana cultivation method. All he's learned is how to bluff!’
He steadied his nerves and looked at Shuren.
“……I will proceed with the examination. No—I shall proceed with the examination.”
His attitude became more respectful than before.
“I swear that this process shall be conducted fairly and impartially under the blessing of the Water Dragon protected by the Pellantz Family.”
‘Now he's finally doing it properly.’
Shuren nodded with an expression that seemed to say he should have done so from the start.
“The examination is as follows. There are five mana stones before you. The smallest is a Stage 1 mana stone, and the largest is a Stage 5 mana stone. These stones respond to talent. Hold one, channel mana into it, and make it glow. Then…… I wish you good fortune, Lord Shuren.”
‘Just you wait until this is over.’
The brat would not even be able to light a Stage 1 mana stone.
Once the result was clear, Jervan planned to berate them thoroughly for wasting everyone's time.
For that, he could tolerate this brief humiliation.
‘Your face is giving everything away, you fool.’
But Shuren had no intention of picking a fight over the man's expression.
‘What a nuisance. Let's finish this quickly. I don't even want to look at these people for long.’
Shuren casually picked up the largest mana stone.
“Lord Shuren. You should begin with the smallest mana stone…….”
Jervan could not finish his sentence.
FLASH!
The moment Shuren poured mana into it, the Stage 5 mana stone blazed with light.
Jervan and the surrounding instructors stared as though wondering if they were hallucinating.
This child should not have been able to use mana.
But it did not end there.
HUMMMMM!
The mana stone was not merely glowing.
Unable to contain the mana pouring into it, it began to vibrate.
CRACK!
A moment later, the mana stone shattered into pieces.
“Wha……!”
“What in the world?!”
Jervan was left speechless.
The instructors shouted in shock.
This qualification exam existed to determine whether someone was fit to become a knight trainee.
Lighting even a Stage 3 mana stone was more than enough to qualify for admission.
Yet Shuren had not only lit a Stage 5 mana stone.
He had poured so much mana into it that he had shattered it.
‘Huh. I only meant to make it glow.’
Even Shuren was inwardly surprised.
He had used mana according to the sensations he remembered from his previous life.
‘Opening my acupoints properly from the beginning and training with my improved mana cultivation method is already paying off.’
It seemed he still needed more time to become accustomed to using this body.
His reincarnated body had been tempered far more thoroughly than his body in his previous life.
‘Hmm. Did I overdo it?’
He felt the strength leave his body.
It was a classic case of mana exhaustion.
‘I only used a little extra power because that irritating Jervan bastard was getting on my nerves.’
That was not the only reason.
He had also wanted to make sure they could not spout any nonsense about the result afterward.
THUD.
Shuren could no longer remain standing and sank to the ground.
“Shuren!”
His parents shouted in alarm.
The instructors, who had been prepared for any unexpected situation, immediately rushed over and examined him.
“He is fine. He merely exhausted himself by using too much mana at once.”
The instructor reported to Jervan.
Shuren himself did not think much of it.
‘Since I've forcibly opened my circuits, gathering mana will be quick anyway. Once that happens, I won't suffer from exhaustion like this anymore.’
He had passed the Knight Training Center qualification exam despite having trained for only a short period.
Shuren found himself looking forward to seeing just how much further he could grow.
Meanwhile, Jervan proved even more stubborn than Shuren had expected.
“This…… This makes no sense! There is no way this child can use mana!”
Jervan shouted at the top of his lungs.
“The main family prevented them from even learning a mana cultivation method. Th-that's right! He must have used sorcery! During an official qualification exam, no less!”
‘Enough is enough.’
Having recovered some of his strength, Shuren stood and glared at Jervan.
“You're accusing me of using sorcery?”
“Y-yes!”
Shuren sighed.
“Can you take responsibility for those words? Did you not swear, invoking the Water Dragon, that this examination would be judged fairly and impartially? If you invoke the name of the dragon and still behave this unreasonably, you will have to pay the appropriate price.”
“Th-that is…….”
Under Shuren's rebuke, Jervan began to stammer.
‘There's no point talking to this bastard.’
Shuren looked toward the instructor who had rushed over when he collapsed.
‘He's probably the leader among the instructors.’
Shuren decided to get a definitive answer from him.
“Instructor. From what you saw, did I use sorcery? Or was there perhaps something wrong with the mana stone?”
As an instructor, he would have clearly seen that Shuren had properly used mana to light the stone.
The instructor did not answer immediately.
But he could not lie.
“There was no misconduct of any kind during the examination.”
Shuren nodded after hearing the answer.
Then, wearing a satisfied expression, he looked at Jervan.
“You heard him. Surely you are not suggesting that an instructor from your own side is lying?”
“There must have been some mistake……!”
“You are embarrassing yourself. I suggest you stop.”
“Urgh!”
Jervan looked toward the instructor as though begging for salvation.
But the man merely shook his head.
“I cannot lie under the protection of the Water Dragon. The qualification exam was conducted lawfully.”
The instructor answered firmly.
“Lord Jervan. We will handle the remaining matters, so I would ask that you return first.”
Jervan's face went blank.
With no other choice, he left the training ground with the other instructors.
“My name is Instructor Katen. I apologize for the disgraceful behavior shown despite invoking the name of the Water Dragon.”
The remaining instructor introduced himself and apologized politely.
‘So there are still upright people like this left.’
Though Shuren hated the Water Dragon Family enough to grind them up and drink them, he liked this instructor's attitude.
“It is fine. You apologized, so I will let the matter go. I passed the qualification exam, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Then the recently imposed requirement to produce a knight does not apply to us immediately.”
“That is correct, so long as you do not give up on becoming a knight, Lord Shuren.”
For the time being, they could breathe easy.
Of course, Shuren could not let his guard down when it came to the endlessly scheming Pellantz bastards.
There was no telling what else they might try.
“I must submit my report, so I will take my leave. Within the next few days, I will send a messenger with the procedures required for entering the training center.”
Instructor Katen bowed and left the training ground.
“Shuren! What in the world was that?!”
His shocked parents hurried over to him.
Their expressions demanded an explanation.
“I told you to trust me. It turned out exactly as I said, didn't it?”
Shuren replied with a grin.
“O-of course, this is wonderful. Well done, Shuren. But how did you learn a mana cultivation method? No one could have taught you…….”
Then Canyon's expression suddenly brightened with realization.
“I see! Our youngest is a genius!”
“Shuren is a genius?”
“There are people who can use mana without ever being taught a mana cultivation method. Every one of them possessed once-in-an-era talent!”
“Then our Shuren too!”
His parents stared at Shuren with sparkling eyes.
‘Hmm. They seem to have gotten completely the wrong idea.’
It was embarrassing to say it himself, but he was indeed a genius.
Of course, he also knew a mana cultivation method because he retained the memories of his previous life.
‘Well, no harm done.’
He had no intention of pouring cold water on his parents when they were so proud of their child.
“Anyway, this is a relief. We should be able to keep our branch-family status for the time being.”
“Thank you, truly. These are things we should have handled as your parents…….”
The two felt more guilt than joy as parents.
The present-day Flamer Family had long since been swallowed by the Pellantz Family.
Even if they wanted to support Shuren with everything they had, there were limits to what they could provide.
And passing the qualification exam was not the end.
They knew very well just how arduous the road through the training center and toward becoming a knight would be.
‘I can tell exactly what they're worrying about.’
Shuren shook his head.
“I am also a member of this family. Although I bear the Pellantz surname for now, the blood of the Fire Dragon still runs hot through my veins.”
Shuren clenched his fist.
“I will restore our family. I will make the entire continent witness once again the might of the Flamer Family, proud guardians of the Fire Dragon.”
His parents were deeply moved.
Shuren might have been only a child, but there was something strangely reassuring about both his gaze and his words.
‘Perhaps this child…….’
Canyon began to wonder if Shuren truly might be the one to revive the Flamer Family.