Zeke walked through the bleak hallways toward the circular training ground where the year-end evaluations were held.
He looked around as he walked along.
'It's just like my past memories. It's so frustrating.'
Shields bearing the Draker family crest hung throughout the hallways.
The emblem of a dragon with a chain around its neck and a sword in its heart.
It was the crest of the Draker family, known as the Yongsalpae.
Zeke frowned at the sentence.
'I never thought I'd see this again alive.'
For Zeke, the Draker family was both a trauma and an object of indelible longing.
A wall that could not be overcome.
I thought that if I had the strongest power on the continent, I would be able to completely erase Draker's shadow.
That may be why I struggled even more.
He roughly pushed open the door at the end of the hallway and went inside.
Kookung!
The circular training ground was already filled with children around Zig's age.
Everyone had leather straps on their hands for the pankration, one of the year-end assessment events.
'Hmm… … .'
The children who had gathered there started to murmur at the appearance of Zeke.
He looked around the stadium, paying no attention to those kids.
It was a new experience to come to the Pankration Stadium after a long time.
"Ha, this brings back memories."
As a child, Zeke hated pankration intensely.
He was so small and weak that it was hard to believe he was a direct descendant of the Draker family.
The young blood relatives of the Draker family, regardless of whether they are direct or collateral, begin to live together when they turn seven years old.
And in the communal living area called 'the cradle', strict rules, austerity, and harsh training continue for five years.
Before the blessing ceremony, they received basic training in swordsmanship, martial arts, and physical strength, and one of the most important trainings was pankration.
In particular, the Drake family's pankration was a no-rules game that was closer to real combat.
There were a lot of casualties, but it didn't matter because there were top-tier recovery potions stored here.
In the entire continent, only the Draker family could do such a thing.
"Phew… … ."
Zeke breathed and relaxed his muscles here and there.
The other children glanced at him, as if they were unfamiliar with the sight of Zig.
That was when.
"Oh, why didn't you run away and come out today?"
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Zeke turned his head and saw a boy with red hair and freckles standing there.
Behind them stood two large boys, with broad shoulders and an arrogant posture.
'Who was it?'
And then I soon realized the boy's identity.
"Ah, it's you. Leon Conrad."
At those words, the red-haired boy's face turned bright red and he ground his teeth.
Leon grabbed Zeke's shoulder and spoke harshly.
"Is this zealous little bastard crazy?"
That was when.
Bam!
Zeke grabbed Leon's wrist, which was holding his shoulder.
Wood crack!
In an instant, Leon's eyes widened and he shook off Zeke's hand that was grabbing his wrist.
Leon glared at Zeke and shouted.
"How dare you! Do you want to die? You zealous little bastard!"
Zeke looked at Leon with calm eyes and thought.
'Should I kill him?'
Before returning, Zeke had wandered the continent and experienced all kinds of hardships.
It wasn't a big deal to kill a twelve-year-old kid who hadn't even awakened yet.
As Leon grumbled in front of Zeke, the other children around him quietly watched the situation.
That was when.
Deaeng!
The bell that announced the evaluation rang.
Zeke licked his lips at the sight of Leon retreating.
Zeke recalled how Leon had constantly bullied him during his time in the cradle and academy.
'Leon Conrad was one of the cousins.'
Zeke had four brothers and more than ten cousins.
Even aside from my immediate blood relatives, whom I rarely met, most of my cousins were annoying Drake incarnates.
As Zeke was reminiscing, the instructor came up onto the training ground.
At his appearance, children lined up in front of the circular stadium.
It was a movement so quick that it was hard to believe that they were twelve-year-olds.
Zeke remembered the instructor's name.
'Pan Marc. He was the instructor in charge of this group.'
Van Marc shouted as he came onto the pitch.
"This year's year-end evaluation will consist of pankration and fencing duels, just like last year."
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The children were tense and focused on the board's words.
The assessment at the cradle is linked to the placement in the academy class you will enter the following year.
After completing the blessing ceremony, trainees awaken their aurors and enter the academy as Yellow Inspectors.
And at this time, classes are assigned based on the year-end evaluations received in the cradle.
As children entered higher level classes, they had more opportunities to learn higher level dragon killing techniques, so they had no choice but to work hard and focus on their scores.
Zig clicked his tongue as he saw the fierce competition system he was experiencing again after 20 years.
'How did you get here before?'
When he was young, Zeek was weak both physically and mentally.
The cradle and the academy were like hell to him during his childhood.
As Zeke was reminiscing about the old days, Van Marc called out the names of the first evaluators.
"Aaron! Gotha!"
Aaron and Gotha came up onto the pitch.
Gotha was one of the large boys who had been standing behind Leon earlier.
They were both built well and looked to be in a similar weight class.
The board blew the horn.
Beep!
Aaron and Gotha lowered their postures and glared at each other.
After a while, Gotha rushed forward to grab Aaron's knee first.
In an instant, Aaron quickly changed direction and grabbed Gotha's waist.
Aaron lifted Gotha's body and threw it over her.
bang!
Gota, who had been thrown to the floor in an instant, got up, grumbling.
"This commoner bastard… … ."
Aaron took a relaxed stance.
After that, Gotha attempted several more attacks, but they were all blocked by Aaron's defense.
The game ended with Aaron's victory in such a bland manner.
'Hmm… … .'
Zeke looked bored as he watched Aaron and Gotha play.
'Is it because the kids are fighting? What's so sloppy about it?'
When I was young, I hated pankration so much that it made me shiver.
But now that I look back, it seems like child's play.
Leon, who was across from Zeke, glared at him as if he was going to kill him.
After a few plays, Van Marc called the next player.
"Zeke! And… … ."
Pan hesitated and then opened his mouth.
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"Leon! Come out."
Judging by Leon's excited expression, it seemed like he had discussed something with the instructor beforehand.
On the surface, the Drakes were a noble knightly family, but behind the scenes, all sorts of schemes and tricks were running rampant.
'And then he said that only those who can overcome tricks and schemes can be called true dragon slayers.'
Leon came onto the field and started banging his fists.
Zick came to the stadium unmotivated.
Leon said as he looked at Zig.
"You zealous little brat. You lost today."
Zeke opened his mouth as he looked at Leon like that.
"hey."
Leon looked at his fist, then raised his head and looked at Zeke.
"If you do something like that one more time, I'll kill you for real."
Leon flinched at the murderous look in Zeke's eyes.
Leon realized that he had been momentarily intimidated by Zeke and shouted even louder.
"This kind of enthusiasm… … ."
Shhh!
At that moment, Zeke's fist split the wind.
bang!
For a moment, Leon felt as if one side of his face had disappeared.
He just collapsed on the stadium floor.
"Huh, huh… … My, my face."
Leon fell to the ground, clutching his face.
Zeke thought back to the text that came to his mind when he punched Leon in the face.
[Skill One-Hit Kill has been activated.]
'So this is how active skills are activated.'
Beep!
At that moment, a horn blew.
Van Marc shouted at Sieg.
"The game hasn't even started yet, what are you doing!"
Then Zeke looked at the board and said.
"Who starts the fight on the battlefield and stabs with their sword? The one who stabs first wins."
Pan was startled by the harsh words that came out of Zig's mouth.
'What is this guy who usually just runs away doing all of a sudden...?'
Then Leon got up from his seat, grumbling.
"Instructor! Let's start over! I'll kill that hothead!"
Pan thought about it for a while and then blew the whistle again.
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"Game start!"
Leon braced his guard and rushed at Zeke.
'I guess the lucky punch worked just now. This time, I'll completely break your limbs.'
Although Leon was small in stature, he showed great talent in pankration.
Even the bigger guys couldn't keep up with Leon's fighting sense and ended up dislocating their shoulders.
Moreover, he was so cruel that he would not let go even if you tapped him, and would break his arms and legs, so other children who dealt with him were usually passive.
Leon, with his confidence restored, lowered his posture and rushed at Zeke.
But unlike usual, there was no sign of weakness in Zeke, who was standing still.
'what?'
And then, Zeke's left hand moved.
puck!
It wasn't a close call, but Zeke's jab hit Leon in the face.
"This kid!"
Whenever Leon rushed in, Zeke's jab would inevitably fly.
puck!
"Ugh!"
It was a light jab, but because the fist was wrapped tightly in leather, when it hit, the skin was torn and my head rang.
Leon braced his guard against his face, dug into Zeke's arms, and grabbed Zeke's waist.
"I got you, you punk!"
It was over after I grabbed him, threw him down, and broke his joints.
I tried to throw Zeke backwards, but strangely, he didn't move at all.
'What, what is this…?'
Zeke spoke into Leon's ear.
"I told you, if you say anything like enthusiasm one more time, I'll kill you."
Leon, whose whole body was covered in goosebumps, tried to quickly step back.
WHEEK!
But while they were still close together, Zeke kicked Leon in the thigh.
"Huh!"
It was a powerful attack that you wouldn't think was a lower kick coming from an unstable stance.
As Leon's balance was disrupted, Zeke walked inward and tripped him.
puck!
Zeke fell down with Leon, elbowing him in the ribs.
[The vital point stab skill is activated.]
"Cough!"
Leon, whose ribs were broken, could not breathe.
Zeke climbed on top of Leon, grabbing one arm with his leg and pressing down on the other shoulder with his knee.
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Zig, who had taken a mounted stance, clenched his fists and looked down at Leon.
Then he struck Leon in the face with his fist.
[The skill of slicing is activated.]
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Zeke's fists continued to pound Leon's face.
"Ugh, ugh! Stop it!"
Despite Leon's pleas, Zeke's fist did not stop.
Leon, who was struggling, soon fainted from Zeke's merciless beating.
Only after Leon lost consciousness did Zeke slowly wake up.
"That little punk is making a fuss over nothing."
Paramedics who had been waiting dragged Leon, who had passed out, out of the stadium.
In an instant, Zeke, who had turned Leon into a bloodsucker, returned to his original seat.
The other children exchanged glances at Zig's sudden change, trying to figure out the situation.
Then Zeke's voice rang out.
"Kids. I can hear your eye rolls."
The children's eyes all focused on Zig.
Zeke continued, chuckling.
"I've finally started to use my head a little now that I've sweated it out. I can even recognize who's who."
The children just looked at Zig without saying a word, even though he was telling them a story they couldn't understand.
"If you have something to say, come and say it. Don't look around."
That was when.
"Instructor."
A boy with sharp eyes and three hundred thousand eyes raised his hand.
"Can I nominate Zeke for my evaluation?"
Zeke noticed the boy who raised his hand.
'I remember. The name is clearly… … Yes. Jacken Waldeck. Another cousin appears.'
At Jaken's words, Pan turned his head towards Zigg.
"Zeke. What are you going to do?"
Zeke thought for a moment and then got up from his seat.
"What's the big deal? I'll just sweat a little more. But you know."
He said, pointing at Jaken.
"You're so lonely alone."
Zeke pointed to the boy sitting next to Jaken.
"Liam Stone."
The boy who had been sitting silently next to Jaken quietly raised his head.
Zeke looked at him and said.
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"Both of you, jump in together."
Zeke chuckled.
"I think that would make things a little more balanced."