The Family Head's office.
Sara jumped up from her desk at the maid's report.
"A thief broke in?"
"Yes! However, it doesn't seem to be a simple thief. Things disappeared right before our eyes."
"Not a simple thief… could it be an assassin?"
Sara's expression grew serious.
Currently, the mansion was practically empty.
Moreover, her father, the Family Head, was out on the battlefield.
In the mansion, there were only herself, the servants, and less than a few dozen guards.
"It couldn't have already reached Dyer."
"My Lady, where are you going!"
As she left the office, the head maid hurriedly followed.
"I'm going to see Rivan. If this was done by Dyer, it might just be a diversion."
Sara headed to the prison where Rivan was held.
However,
"No way."
Rivan still seemed to be out of his mind.
He was in a panic, having seen all his companions dead, leaving him alone.
Sara left him behind and walked to the guest room where the items had disappeared.
Thud–
She roughly opened the door and saw Kane.
The young maids around him had shocked expressions.
"Brother?"
Despite Sara's call, Kane only stared into space with trembling eyes.
She called him again.
"Brother!"
At that moment!
"Aaagh!"
Kane screamed, clutching his head.
Sara was startled by the sudden scream.
Her brother, who had recently become serious, was acting strange.
She had thought he was acting weird lately.
Was his madness returning?
"Wh-What's going on? Are you crazy?"
"He's gone mad! This is unbelievable!"
"Ugh!"
In his excitement, Kane suddenly hugged Sara tightly and started shaking with joy.
His elation continued for a while.
"It's fine now. From now on, there'll be no need to worry about theft in the mansion."
"Did you eat something wrong? What's wrong with you?"
True siblings can make a face at just a touch of a finger.
Since he had no sister in his previous life, Kane couldn't understand why Sara was scowling.
He only saw the hologram in front of him.
"A rainbow coloured one came up. It's an UR grade."
"UR grade? What's that?"
"Heh heh."
Kane let out an evil laugh.
A message appeared before his eyes.
[Pure-Blooded
Type: Trait
Rank: UR
Description: A fate that appears only to those who have transcended the rules of the world.
The continent will be plunged into chaos, and only the master of the True Demon Beast will be able to stand up against it. – The words of Goddess Bellone…
Effects:
– Allows the simultaneous use of different traits
– When using acquired skills, the failure rate decreases by 70%, and the growth rate increases by 300%.]
This was the ultimate trait in the game.
A trait bestowed only upon the Blood Knights.
With it, he could now use the Phoenix's Breath and Blue Tiger's Breath simultaneously.
'Even as Ray Hatzfeld, I never thought I'd get this trait.'
During his days as Ray, he had spent billions of gold trying to acquire this trait.
But Kane got it with just three draws, only having to spend three million gold.
How could this be possible?
'Now the only thing remaining is to remove the Dullard trait. Trait conversion.'
[Please select the trait to convert.]
– Dullard (UR)
– Frail (A+)
– Timid (A+)
– Kindness (A+)
– Endurance (B)
– Concentration (B)
Converting the worst trait with the best.
It was nothing short of a miracle.
This must be the power of gacha.
Without hesitation, he chose the Dullard trait.
[Trait "Dullard (UR)" has been removed]
[New trait "Pure-Blooded (UR)" has been acquired]
[Achievement "Secret Route" has been achieved]
[Recalibrating the user's stats due to "Pure-Blooded (UR)"]
[Water Rune (1 Rune) has evolved to the Water Mark (2 Runes)]
[Fire Rune (1 Rune) has evolved to the Fire Mark (2 Runes)]
[Water Mark and Fire Mark have been combined]
["Blood Mark (2 Runes)" has been acquired]
Two Marks overlapped in his right eye.
Interestingly, it was neither blue nor red.
It was purple.
A blend of the two colors.
'Blood Mark! It worked!'
The Blood Mark.
One of the hidden elements in the game.
It could only be obtained by evolving both the Water Mark and the Fire Mark simultaneously.
Being a combination of two marks, it possessed overwhelming potential compared to the other marks.
'With this, reaching the Blood Pact is only a matter of time.'
The strongest in the continent.
[Kane Rehinar (Lv.6)]
Grade: ★★★☆☆
Age: 21
Occupation: Grand Duke of Rehinar
Mana Affinity: Blood Mark (E+)(2 Runes)
-Base Stats-
[HP: E+]
[Mana: E+]
[Constitution: S-]
[Strength: E+]
[Agility: E+]
Traits: Pure-Blooded (UR), Timid (A+)↓, Frail (A+)↓, Kindness (A+)↓, Endurance (B), Concentration (B)
Skills: Blue Tiger's Breath (D-), Phoenix's Breath (D-), Blood Dance (S)
'Now, let's see the full effect of the Express Pass.'
With just the removal of the Dullard trait, the status window looked completely different.
He was incredibly pleased.
"Hey! Brother, were there any intruders here?"
"No, none."
"Really?"
"Why would I lie?"
"Then where did the furniture and decorations placed here go?"
"I don't know anything about that, so you better figure it out."
Kane slipped away quietly.
Leaving Sara to think that someone had infiltrated the Rehinar estate.
"Just you wait, you thief. I'll cut off your legs so that you can never walk again."
A chill ran down his spine.
The thief was definitely on edge.
***
[You have gained training experience.]
[Level Up!]
[HP has increased from E+ to D-]
"Haa…"
Kane swung his sword, relentlessly practicing in the training ground all day.
[You have gained training experience.]
[You have gained training experience.]
…
…
…
"Still a long way to go, ugh…"
No matter how fiercely the wind blew or how hard the rain poured, Kane never missed a day at the training ground.
His breath was short, but he never stopped. Day after day, his routine started and ended with training. Even sleeping seemed a waste of time.
Like that, a week went by.
[You have gained training experience.]
[You have gained training experience.]
[Strength has increased from E+ to D-]
Without the Dullard trait, it was like having wings.
His movements were as light as a feather, absorbing everything like a sponge.
Even his once-skinny body had gained muscle in that short period.
Although he was still thin by others' standards, the difference was definitely noticeable.
"My abilities are rising quickly, but if I want to grow even faster, I need real combat experience."
Since there had been no news from Rivan, Dyer would soon send a message.
He needed to be at least at the early 3rd Class to be safe. Moreover, it was nearly time for the Duke to return from the battlefield.
"I need to go to the borderlands of the demon forest."
After a week of intense training, it was time to start training and earning money at the same time.
There was only one way to do both.
By entering the demon forest.
"I might as well get the Mana Purification Grass that the Family Head needs."
In the demon forest, there was an herb that he absolutely had to obtain.
It was essential for the Family Head, who would be returning from the battlefield.
Without it, the Family Head would not be able to last long.
"I was shocked when I found out that the Mana Purification Grass was in the borderlands near the Rehinar family. If the Family Head had been cured of his illness, it would have taken much longer to bring down Rehinar."
In the past, the Family Head had died from his illness.
This had also accelerated the downfall of Rehinar.
This time, things would be different. He was no longer Ray Hatzfeld, but Kane Rehinar.
Just as he was about to leave the training ground having organised his thoughts.
"Grand Duke!"
Camilla came running towards him from the distance.
"I thought it was your personal training time?"
"Hehe. I can't seem to focus while training alone. I thought I might do better if I trained with you."
She stuck out her tongue slightly, looking like a puppy wagging its tail.
She was an adorable puppy.
It was probably the effect of the 'Separation Anxiety' trait. She must have abandoned her training to come to him.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to the borderlands."
"Surely you don't mean the borderlands in the demon forest?"
Camilla was shocked.
The demon forest was a place where only those above early 3rd Class could be safe.
And even that was just the minimum requirement.
To freely roam the demon forest, one had to be at least early 4th Class.
"I have something I need to get there, and I'll be training at the same time."
"Training in the borderlands of the demon forest? Have you lost your mind? You need a whole subjugation unit to be safe there."
The borderlands was an extremely dangerous place.
It was the place where corrupt mana was the densest, a place close to death, a place that was transforming into a demon territory.
And yet, he was going to train in such a place.
He must have gone crazy.
"There's no better place to train and make money at the same time than the borderland."
"I know you're strong, Grand Duke. But it's too dangerous there!"
Camilla blocked Kane's path, spreading her arms wide with a determined look on her face. But Kane wasn't someone who could be stopped.
"You won't be able to stop me just by blocking me."
Kane walked past her.
"Oh, no! You can't!"
She ran up to him in a hurry and grabbed his sleeve.
She was behaving as usual, showing no fear of the Grand Duke. However, the low voice that followed made her let go of his sleeve quickly.
"I don't like anyone touching me without my permission."
And then he looked back at Camilla.
"Camilla. I thought it was your personal training time. Who told you to skip training?"
"Th-that…"
Camilla was flustered.
Unlike her usual smiling puppy face, her voice was not cheerful at all.
'Ugh… this isn't the usual Grand Duke…'
To his enemies, the Grand Duke acted cold and terrifying.
But he was always kind to her.
However, right now, his eyes were far from kind.
'Scary…'
She met Kane's eyes and then lowered her head.
Camilla's hunched-over figure looked just like a puppy with its ears drooping.
[Camilla's favorability has decreased.]
Her favorability had dropped a bit, but that was something he had to accept.
'I'm sorry, but Camilla's biggest flaw is that she follows her master too much. One day, that will be her downfall.'
Hadn't he already experienced her personality when he was Ray Hatzfeld?
Camilla was a character who always put her master before herself.
With her pretty and cute face and her obedient nature, it was easy to become overly indulgent with her. But that would lead to a bad outcome.
For example, she might recklessly charge at an enemy much stronger than herself under the pretext of protecting her master.
She had done the same thing when he was Ray.
Back when he was Ray, she had lost her life to Dirk trying to protect him.
He couldn't repeat the mistakes of the past.
This time, he had to make sure she understood her priorities as a knight.
'My actions may seem psychotic, but this is the right way.'
She might think he had a split personality, but this was the only way to correct her overly loyal and reckless personality.
"Go back and finish your training."
Camilla hesitated at Kane's orders.
'Even if Grand Duke is hiding his true strength… going to the borderlands alone is too dangerous.'
No one knew what dangers lurked in the borderlands.
It was a place where even subjugation units could get into big trouble if they let their guard down. Going there alone was no different from suicide.
"…I want to go too!"
"You'll be scared."
"I'm more scared of you getting hurt."
"You are indeed a loyal one."
"I'm not kidding."
Her determined eyes made Kane shake his head.
"Excessive loyalty is akin to poison."
Kane gave her a sharp warning.
"You need to consider the feelings of those left behind when you're gone."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Camilla looked confused.
Her tilting her head was very cute, but Kane felt a pang in his heart.
'Where do I start explaining this… Hmm, parhaps…?!
A thought came to Kane's mind as he was pondering.
Maybe Camilla was still acting like this because she couldn't erase the image of him as a weak person from her mind.
It was a form of separation anxiety.
She was like a puppy who was overprotective of her weak master.
'Then I have to prove it to her directly.'
"Follow me, Camilla."
"What? But you told me to go to the training ground just now–"
"I changed my mind. I have something to show you."
***
At that time.
Reading a letter, Sara frowned.
"What does it say, My Lady?"
It was Anna, the head maid who always stayed by Sara's side.
"They're coming here in person since they haven't heard from Rivan."
"Hmm, they must be frustrated since we haven't replied either."
Rivan, who was supposed to regularly communicate with the family, had gone silent after arriving in Rehinar.
Although they considered him a good-for-nothing, it was still natural for them to worry when he had suddenly stopped contacting them.
"If they depart from Dyer estate immediately, they'll arrive here in two days."
"Why do they have to come now, when the Family Head is about to return…"
Two letters had arrived at the estate.
One was from the Dyer family.
The other from the Family Head, who was currently at the battlefield at the border.
The distance between the border and Rehinar was five days.
If he had already departed, he would be back in Rehinar in a few days.
"I need to see my brother."
What was Kane thinking?
She felt like she really needed to know now.
Sara left the mansion and headed to the training ground where Kane was.
She saw Kane and Camilla walking towards the central garden.
"Brother!"
"What's the matter? Why are you in such a hurry?"
"A letter has arrived from the Dyer."
"It must be about Rivan."
"They're coming to Rehinar right away."
"That's perfect. I was just thinking of creating some evidence."
"What kind of evidence?"
"Evidence that Rivan was killed by a monster."
"Are you really planning to kill Rivan?"
Kane responded to Sarah's question with a menacing smile.
"He has to pay the price for looking down on Rehinar."