"I'm deeply grateful to everyone who has helped me along the way, but let me make this clear once and for all: I didn't rise to greatness by leeching off others—I earned it through my own hard work!"

—From the opening lines of The Chronicles of a Radiant Kingdom, penned by the creator of that glorious realm, the Dragon-Master Paladin, Conqueror of the World, Destroyer of Empires, King of Kings, Dragonbane, and Friend of Dragons: Clobber Oatmead.

But every story has its beginnings, and mine starts in a small, forgotten corner of the world.

The Grand Duchy of Goldland, Deepwater Territory.

It was noon, and the blazing sun beat down mercilessly.

"One thousand, one hundred and sixteen."

"One thousand, one hundred and seventeen."

...

"One thousand, two."

Training complete, Clobber set down his greatsword and let out a slow, measured breath. A faint trace of satisfaction flickered across his otherwise stoic face.

"Apprentice Knight, peak level… Not bad."

Clobber Oatmead, the fourth son of the Baron of Deepwater, had been born under less-than-fortunate circumstances. His mother, Lilith Goldrose, passed away due to complications during his birth, leaving Clobber in a precarious position within the family.

Neither his father nor his brothers held him in high regard.

"Congratulations, young master! Achieving the peak of Apprentice Knight at the age of fifteen—your future as a Sky Knight looks promising! If Lady Lilith could see you now, she'd surely be smiling from above."

Lilith Goldrose, Clobber's mother in this lifetime, came from a prestigious count's family. Her lineage boasted two grand Goldrose sprites capable of producing potent magical elixirs. These were said to provide invaluable aid to knights attempting to break through to the rank of Grand Knight, earning her family the moniker "Goldrose."

"My mother… Did she really die because of me?"

Clobber wasn't a native of this world. Fifteen years ago, through a twist of fate, he had been reborn into the body of a newborn in this foreign realm.

Dragons and sprites were unique to this world, creatures steeped in mystery and power.

The dragons here weren't like the serpentine beings of Clobber's previous life in the East but resembled the winged beasts of Western lore. Despite the differences, dragons remained potent symbols of strength and supremacy.

Interestingly, this world lacked natural mineral resources. Only dragons could produce metals and other essential materials: Iron Dragons yielded iron, while Gem Dragons produced gemstones.

Sprites, as Clobber understood them, were magical entities that evolved from tiny sprite bugs to human-like sprites, and eventually to grand sprites capable of speech. Made entirely of magical elements, they lacked flesh and blood.

Magic existed here as well, but mages were more akin to researchers than warriors. While noble houses often employed them, their combat capabilities were limited.

Clobber's family, the Oatmeads, were part of this world's noble hierarchy. They controlled mages and sprites alike.

The family mage, an old wanderer saved by Clobber's grandfather during a war, had pledged loyalty in return for his life. As for the sprites, the Oatmead estate boasted thirteen sprite bugs and one small sprite, tasked with enhancing crop yields on the barony's most fertile lands.

These agricultural sprites could double, or even quadruple, the output of the land under their influence. A single sprite bug could double the yield of twenty acres, while the small sprite could quadruple the output of one hundred acres.

Clobber sighed softly. His knowledge was limited to what he could glean from family records and stories from his maternal lineage. He knew there were gaps in his understanding.

"Don't worry, Grandpa Foster. I'll break through to a full knight by the time I turn sixteen."

This world had an unwritten rule: anyone who achieved the rank of full knight before their sixteenth birthday was considered a potential Dragon Knight. While this theory lacked concrete evidence, it served as a benchmark for assessing talent among noble families.

After wiping his sweat with the towel handed to him by Foster, the family knight who had been by his side since birth, Clobber downed a bottle of herbal tonic sent by the Goldrose family.

Though not a true magical potion, the tonic—made from rare herbs—was ideal for bolstering the foundations of Apprentice Knights. It was expensive, priced at ten silver coins per bottle, in a world where a single copper coin could buy a loaf of black bread.

As for why Clobber relied on his mother's family's resources…

He had no choice.

His father, Baron Klarl Oatmead, had little affection for Clobber. Whether it was out of anger over Lilith's death or resentment toward her family, the baron refused to provide any support for Clobber's training.

Clobber had never once been invited to dine at the family table, as his resemblance to Lilith unsettled the baron.

Fortunately, the Goldrose family intervened, ensuring Clobber had the resources he needed to grow. They even offered to adopt him into their house, though Klarl Oatmead stubbornly refused each time.

With his training complete for the day, Clobber resolved to meditate and attempt to sense the energy necessary for advancing to the rank of full knight.

The process required drawing on one's vitality to form a seed of life essence, an essential step toward becoming a knight. However, insufficient vitality often led to failure, which could permanently weaken one's body.

For now, Clobber wasn't trying to break through—only to familiarize himself with the process. Even a slight reduction in the energy required to advance could make a world of difference.

"Clobber! Skipping meals again because of training? Let's see how long a starving knight can last on the battlefield!"

A cheerful voice called out behind him, followed by a girl in a light green dress approaching with her maid in tow, carrying a tray of food.

"Kristina, my dear sister," Clobber said with a rare smile, embracing her lightly.

Kristina Oatmead, his eighteen-year-old elder sister, was one of the few people in the family who showed him kindness.

The Oatmead family of Deepwater Territory had four children in this generation.

Kroc Oatmead, the eldest son, was the heir to the Oatmead family and the most trusted by the baron. While he enjoyed his father's favor, his talents were mediocre at best. At 28, he was still stuck at the Apprentice Knight level. Rumor had it that the baron was prepared to spend a fortune on a potion crafted from magical ingredients to help Kroc break through his bottleneck.

Klass Oatmead, the second son, was 25 years old and served in the Redflame Knights under the baron's liege, Earl Stephen. During a visit home last year, he revealed that he had advanced to a full-fledged knight and had earned the position of vice-captain within the order.

Kristina Oatmead, the third child and only daughter, was 18. Her knightly talent wasn't outstanding, and due to the Oatmead family's deeply ingrained bias against women, she remained stuck at the Intermediate Squire level.

Kristina, Clobber's elder sister, was one of the few people in the Oatmead family who treated him kindly. The other was Foster Woodshield, the old knight who had been by Clobber's side since birth.

Foster Woodshield had originally been a knight serving under Clobber's late mother, Lilith Goldrose. A full-fledged knight, Foster had been a prominent member of the Goldrose family's knight order in his youth. After pledging his loyalty to Lilith, he followed her to Deepwater Territory.

By tradition, knights were allowed to return to their previous lord upon their current master's death. Given Foster's rank, he would have been a valuable asset even for a family as powerful as the Goldroses. Yet he stayed.

Perhaps it was Clobber's uncanny resemblance to Lilith, or maybe Foster's sense of honor refused to let him stand by as the Oatmeads mistreated an innocent child—especially the last child Lilith had given her life to bring into the world.

Foster firmly believed that the complications during Lilith's childbirth couldn't have been the baby's fault. On the contrary, he was convinced that Lilith had traded her life to ensure her son's survival.

To Foster, Clobber was the rightful heir to his mother's legacy, the most precious gift left behind by his mistress. And he was determined to protect him, even at the cost of his life.

This sentiment was shared by most of the Goldrose family. Clobber's striking resemblance to Lilith—both in appearance and demeanor—only deepened their loyalty to him.

The Oatmead family's cold treatment of Clobber had long been a point of contention between the two families.

Ironically, Clobber's eldest brother, Kroc, had been quite kind to him when he was younger. But that changed once Clobber's exceptional talent for knightly training became apparent. Since then, Kroc's demeanor toward him had grown increasingly hostile.

Clobber understood why. His talent was a threat to Kroc's position as heir. While Clobber could sympathize, he couldn't help but feel exasperated by Kroc's pettiness.

For Clobber, the idea of inheriting the barony was laughable. The impoverished territory held no appeal for him. A noble heir with such a narrow mindset was unlikely to lead the family to greatness.

Clobber shrugged off these thoughts and plopped down on the ground, ignoring any notions of noble etiquette. He grabbed his meal and began to eat.

His lunch was simple: an oatcake, a pound of roasted beast meat, and a bowl of fish soup.

Compared to the meals enjoyed by his father and brothers, Clobber's fare was meager. The oatcake was standard, but the beast meat—an essential source of strength—had been hunted personally by Foster in the forest near the border. The fish soup came from Deepwater Lake, the massive freshwater body that covered a quarter of the barony's territory and gave the region its name.

For a commoner, this meal might seem lavish. But for Clobber, a child of both the Oatmead and Goldrose bloodlines, it was a disgrace.

Not that Clobber cared much. He had no dining table, so why worry about dignity?

This was the reality of his situation. In a world where strength dictated status, he was powerless and had no choice but to endure.

Still, Clobber made his views clear to Foster and to the Goldrose family members who delivered his training supplies each month.

Chewing on the roasted beast meat, he listened to Kristina's affectionate nagging. It was a rare moment of warmth in his otherwise monotonous life.

But the peaceful scene was interrupted by an unexpected arrival.

"Master Clobber, Miss Kristina, the baron has summoned you both to the castle for a meeting."