"I would like to give up," I spoke gently, raising my hand. My plan was straightforward. If I gave up without a fight, everyone would be confused, especially Sophia and Emilia. However, this is the short-term consequence. In the long run, everyone will question Sophia's win. Not only that, but Sophia will be affected psychologically, leading her to doubt herself. She felt certain that she would win the battle, but if she won without putting out any effort, it would confuse her and eventually cause her to doubt herself. I'm going to utilize her self-doubt to mentally break her, and this is only the beginning of what I'll do to drive her completely mad.
Everyone was taken aback by my actions. Nobody expected anything like this, judging by their expressions. Even Emilia was astonished. Sophia appeared to be unable to accept what she was hearing.
"I don't want to fight Sophia because it would be a ridiculous waste of everyone's time. If everyone is certain that she will be the next Head of the Crown Family, then appoint her the Head. What is the whole Duel shenanigan about?" I spoke up, looking at the audience with a calm attitude. "I even voiced my refusal to participate in this Duel, but it was not regarded. After all, everyone enjoys watching the weak suffer and laughing about it." I spoke in an assertive tone.
Those comments appeared to sting them deeply on the inside. I let out a heavy sigh and turned towards the exit. "Wait, Amon!" Sophia called for me, but I left before she could stop me.
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Amon's strong comments astounded everyone. The Younger Son of the Crown Family not only declined the Duel, but he also spoke the truth. It also made everyone feel bad, but Sophia felt otherwise. She couldn't understand her younger brother's behaviours or remarks. Was he looking down at her? Or was he planning something? These thoughts upset her. Amon's behaviours since that day have been unusual and out of character for him. Sophia felt like she didn't know Amon at all. What happened to her 'pathetic' and 'weak-willed' brother?
"Amon… has changed since the last time I saw him..." Rain remarked in a curious tone, gazing at Emilia with an inquisitive smile. Rain is the current Empress of Riversong, and despite the position she holds, she and Emilia are very close friends.
"In the past, I used my Special Skill [Hollow Crown] to penetrate his thoughts. His thoughts were as simple as a field of grass. But when I tried again a week ago, I couldn't get into his thoughts. Since that day, he has changed." Emilia explained to Rain. "During that period, He has also gotten significantly stronger. Few individuals can withstand Sophia's direct strikes. Even when she roundhouse kicked Amon out of reaction, he blocked it as if it didn't matter. She is 6 feet and 4 inches tall, whereas Amon is just 5 feet and 11 inches. With the height disparity, Amon should have taken some sort of damage from that kick." Emilia kept explaining, and she seemed anxious.
"Emilia, you need to calm down. Amon is currently 18 years old. And now is the moment when little boys begin to mature into wonderful men. So Amon's change makes sense to me. In terms of strength, I believe he has trained sufficiently to compete with Sophia. Plus, he is going to start attending the same institution where Sophia is currently studying, isn't he? So he must be powerful enough to avoid tarnishing the Crown Household's reputation. Because of this, I believe he trained himself privately without informing you or Sophia." Rain patiently spoke to Emilia, patting her shoulder to calm her down.
Rain's explanation was quite logical. Hearing her explanation, Emilia relaxed slightly and decided to declare Sophia the winner of the Duel for Succession, even though it did not occur. In addition, she invited everyone to the Celebratory Dinner. Following the Duel of Succession, the Celebratory Dinner was conducted to congratulate the winner of the Duel as well as to commemorate the choosing of the new Crown Family Head.
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I teleported back into the Library and turned off the doors and windows. After that, I proceeded to the centre of the Library, where there was a massive empty area. If you stand in the centre of that empty space, you can see the whole library, and from there, the library seems to be a maze.
That location also has another speciality. It possessed a Summoning Circle, which only Emilia knew about. She had built this Summoning Circle specifically for summoning High-Tier Summons. High-tier Summons were more difficult to summon since they required either extensive preparation or extremely excellent luck in general. Knowing how shit my luck was, I opted to use the Summoning Circle at the Library's centre.
'I will not take any chances. Knowing my luck, I'd get an extremely awful Summon if I tried to summon without a Summoning Circle. And knowing how severely broken the Female MC's luck is (in other words, plot armour), I'm not taking any risks.' I thought to myself as I walked towards the centre of the Library. 'Now that I think about it, I haven't seen what my new custom ability is or what the [Mark of the Sword] accomplishes.' I thought to myself when I opened my status window. I saw that there was a message for finishing the Task that included a [Claim Rewards] button. I then tapped that button to receive the Task Completion rewards.
**Status Window**
*Name: Amon Von Crown
Age: 18
Status: Youngest Son of the Crown Family, Reincarnated Otherworlder
Magium: 500,000/500,000
Class: Human [Ascension 1/3]
Skill(s):
[Sinner's Desire] (Secret Skill)
[No Longer Human] (Special Skill)
[Vision of Apparition] (Requiem Skill)
[Elemental Magic Mastery] (Normal Skill)
[Null Magic Mastery] (Normal Skill)
[Personal Magic Mastery] (Normal Skill)
[Elemental Magic Resistance] (Defence Skill)
[Mind Skill and Mind Magic Resistance] (Defence Skill)
Mark(s):
[Mark of The Sword] (Ancient Class Mark)*
"…" I stared at my Status Window, stunned. I then pinched my cheeks, believing I was having a fever dream, but it appears I wasn't. It was all real. "Why the fuck do I have a Requiem Skill and an Ancient Class Mark?!" I spoke those words to myself in a surprised tone, still looking at the Status Window, shocked. I next touched on the [Mark of The Sword] inscription, which revealed an explanation of what the Mark accomplished.
| This mark is the second rarest among Marked Individuals, with just one record of obtaining it. This Mark improves the user's sword abilities to the point that they can immediately remember and perfect any sword technique that exists. Furthermore, this Mark significantly improves the user's physiology. It also provides some resistance to Haki, which causes madness and corrupts the user's physiology on a conceptual and metaphysical level. This Mark also improves the user's physical qualities significantly. Certain secret skills may be found after the user achieves a specific level of power. |
I was surprised when the System explained what the [Mark of the Sword] was. "It should be illegal for the Final Boss having this level of power…" I whispered to myself as I touched on the phrase that said [Vision of Apparition].
| Vision of Apparition, the System has rewarded you this Requiem Skill for fulfilling its assignment. This Skill allows the user to create projectiles resembling a Majestic Golden Sword out of thin air and use them to fight their opponents. The swords/projectiles may interact with both physical entities and beings that no longer require a physical body. This Requiem Skill has five skills.|
| First Skill, Low Vision: This skill will manifest swords which won't have any sharpness to them but they can be used to break objects or injure people. |
| Second Skill, Sword Flight: This skill will manifest a sword which can be used as a platform to fly around. |
| Third Skill, Sword Rain: This skill creates countless swords which will rain down on the user's opponents. These swords are much stronger than the swords on the First Skill and if used properly, they can be quite lethal. |
| Fourth Skill, Sword of Judgement: This skill allows the user to manifest a sword which will cut through any sort of barrier or resistance to harm their opponent. Barriers that block any abilities or spells which are capable of manipulating concepts and information on a level which structures reality itself. The true potential of this skill is unknown. |
| Fifth Skill, Sword of Denial: This skill allows the user to manifest a sword which can nullify spells and abilities. Meaning, if used properly, this skill can be used to defend yourself as well as attack your enemies at the same time. The true potential of this skill is unknown. |
I was speechless after reading about my skill in the Status Window. I realized that I have a Requiem Skill, which could be immensely powerful and destructive if used wrong. If I did that, I would attract a lot of unwelcome attention. I closed the Status Window and sat on the floor, thinking. 'This is absurd. It appears that I will need to restrict myself quite a bit to avoid accidentally killing someone.' After thinking about what I should do, I got up from the floor and walked to the centre of the library.
"Revealius." I repeated those words in a husky tone, and a peculiar circle emerged in the centre of the library. Looking at the design, I knew it was the Summoning Circle, which only Emilia was aware of.
I then began chanting the Spell that summons Familiars/Summons. And after I completed saying the Spell, the summoning circle shone brilliantly. It became so bright that I had to hide my eyes, and as the brightness faded away, I noticed a figure standing in the centre of the summoning circle. The figure of a woman. And after the brilliance had gone entirely, I could see the woman's appearance.
The woman was wearing the clothes of a Nun; she wore a tight dress with a slit up the right side exposing her leg and a large white habit similar to a hood with a large white necklace wrapped around it. Her tight clothes accentuated her beautiful body. She was quite tall, at least over 6 feet from my assumption. There was also something unique about her. Two massive white and red lined curved horns extending from the sides of her head, through her white habit. She also had a divine look to her face which complimented her beautiful body.
"Beautiful Face and a Beautiful Body… That's what every man looks for in a woman…" The woman spoke gently, looking up at me. Her golden eyes radiated mystery and allure. Everything about her was inexplicably enticing, which accentuated her beauty.
"Unfortunately, I'm not that sort of man. I admire a woman's character more than her physical appearance. I can't believe they were your first words to me, the person who summoned you. I expected you to be astonished and upset, but it appears that my fantasy is just that—a fantasy." I spoke calmly and let out a faint sigh. "Look, I don't care who you are or what your beliefs are. I want to tame you as my Summon, and if you don't want to be tamed, I can just return you to where you came from." I talked calmly and stared at her with a calm expression.
When she heard my comments, she began giggling like a small child. "You're a pretty amusing person. Rejecting the words of a gorgeous woman like that. It's fairly uncommon among guys. But what amuses me the most is that you would send me back if I refused to be tamed by you. I'm not sure if you're an idiot or you simply don't care. Only a few people can summon the 'Primordial Beast of Lust'." She stated sarcastically smiling amusedly at me.
'Wait... PRIMORDIAL BEAST OF LUST?!? WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST SUMMON?!? ISN'T THAT LIKE ONE OF THE RAREST SUMMONS ONE COULD SUMMON?!? A FUCKING ANCIENT GRADE SUMMON?!? WHAT THE FUCK?!?' Hearing those words made me scream within. It appears that my luck is not awful, but it is much worse than that. Even though I was screaming within, I maintained my composure.
"I don't care at all. I want something useful. And if you aren't going to be useful to me, I will replace you with something useful. I do not want a useless familiar." I spoke in a cold tone and gazed at her with a calm face.
"Oh my… You're quite rebellious." She giggled as she neared me, then came to a stop near me. "You are an excellent young guy with ambitions. That's quite admirable. As for you being my master..." She talked with a playful tone as she approached my face. She gave a mischievous smirk. She seems to have enjoyed our little conversation. "I will accept you as my master since I like you and that calmly rebellious attitude of yours. I wonder what you'll do to entertain me?" She whispered teasingly, caressing my cheek gently.
"So, Would you like to be my Summon or not?" I asked calmly, staring at her with a calm face. But I have to confess that her touch was soothing and made me feel cherished. "And would you please stop trying to use your powers on me to make me fall for you?" I said explicitly as I removed her hand. She was taken aback by my comments and actions. But then she giggled softly as if she was enjoying what was happening.
"You are truly interesting... Nobody could figure out that I was using my abilities to get what I wanted. You are intelligent, ambitious, and insightful. Something desired by many, including myself..." She spoke to me in a lighthearted manner and smiled at me.
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It was about 8:30 p.m. The Congratulatory Dinner was underway. The majority of Riversong's high-ranking officials had attended. Everyone was having a great time. The women were talking, while the guys were having their conversation. "What Lord Graham did today is awesome! He talked with such bravery! "I would like to speak with him!" One of the gorgeous noble women spoke enthusiastically. "No, I will speak with him first!" Another lady opposed her. With this, a brief squabble broke out among a group of females.
"Your son's quite popular among the ladies, eh, Emilia?" Arnold spoke in an amused tone. Arnold is Emilia's husband and the father of Sofia and Amon. Arnold is a gorgeous man with dark brown hair and emerald-red eyes. He is also fairly tall, standing at six feet.
"Yeah..." She responded with an aloof tone as if she were deep in contemplation. Arnold was going to say something to Emilia when an uproar broke out. Emilia and Arnold raced to discover why people were gathering in the centre of the Banquet Hall.
"Oh my…" Emilia gasped as she saw what was going on there. Amon was beating up someone, and the individual was seriously injured. "Lord Lax, you have committed one of the worst crimes possible... Infidelity…" Amon spoke menacingly as he continued to punch Lax in the face.