Zeke said in a sharp voice.
"What's going on, Decker?"
Decker said, adjusting his monocle.
"I heard what happened to you at the Pankration exam hall earlier."
Zick turned his head away as if he was not interested.
"What is that?"
"Is it true that you made Leon Conrad and Jacken Waldeck into blood cakes?"
Zeke snorted.
"Why are you asking when you already know?"
Decker stood close to Zeke.
"I have been watching over you ever since you were born, Young Master."
"Zeke said as he changed his clothes.
"I know."
Decker took full charge of Zeke until he was driven out of the family.
The father of the family had not seen his face since he failed to awaken during the blessing ceremony.
His mother died when he was young, and his father was virtually nonexistent, so Decker was like a parent to him.
Even when he was treated like trash by his family, Decker was the only one who stayed by his side.
Decker looked at Zeke and said.
"Can I ask what happened?"
"Those kids were screaming and I beat them up. What more do you need?"
Despite Zeke's harsh words, Decker said nothing.
Zeke looked at Decker and said.
"What are you trying to say, Decker?"
Decker opened his mouth slowly.
"Your Majesty, may I take a moment to check your pulse?"
Grabbing the pulse meant checking whether Aura was awakened or not.
Zeke looked at Decker and silently held out his hand.
"Excuse me."
Decker grabbed Zeke's wrist.
Woohoo!
Zeke flinched at the aura that flowed into his body.
Decker's auror examined every nook and cranny of Zeke's body.
At that moment, Zeke realized something he had never known in his past life.
'Blue Knight?'
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The sight of her freely moving the aura within her body was unusual.
'Even if he is a servant of the main family, is the blue knight going to take care of the child?'
That was nonsense.
In the knightly orders of small kingdoms, it was often the case that a blue knight would serve as the commander.
As Zeke grew suspicious, Decker, who had been examining his body, kept his lips tightly shut.
Seeing that sight, Zeke snickered inwardly.
'No matter how much I look, I can't feel the aura.'
The opening of the middle dantian was a completely different concept from the opening of the lower dantian, and it was a method that few people knew about.
When Zeke himself heard about the interruption from his teacher, he thought it was nonsense.
Because it was a concept that went beyond common sense.
Knights who have opened their lower abdomen after awakening their aura cannot use magic power. Conversely, magicians who have created a circle in their heart after awakening their magic power cannot use their aura either.
It was impossible to hold the lower abdomen and the circle together on one body.
Even Zeke, who could use healing magic, could not use aura.
However, when the Interruption War is opened, you can use mana, which is the source of magic and aura.
As Zeke gained the ability to manipulate mana, he was able to use a different type of power than aura.
Decker looked at Zeke and said.
"Is there something you are hiding from me, Young Master?"
At those serious words, Zeke also looked at Decker intently and said.
"Decker, you're not hiding anything from me?"
Decker shut his mouth at Zeke's words.
In his previous life, he was a loyal servant who protected him until the last moment when he was driven out of his family.
But I couldn't let my guard down once I found out that he was hiding his power.
'Maybe... ...the other direct descendants may have put it there on purpose.'
Decker opened his mouth slowly.
"Can I ask why you suddenly changed?"
Until yesterday, Zeke was wondering how he could skip the Pankration exam.
But even if a person changes in one day, it's too much.
Zeke turned his head and looked at Decker.
"You asked the wrong question."
At those words, Decker's eyes lit up.
Zeke said in a cool voice.
"You should have asked why it only changed now."
Decker didn't respond to Zeke's words. He gestured at Decker as if he didn't expect an answer.
"You know that the test subject in a week is a swordsmanship match, right?"
Decker nodded.
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"I know, your highness."
"Prepare the sword."
"Is it something other than the sword you usually use?"
"What are you sparring with with that empty piece of garbage?"
Zeke said with a frown.
"Prepare me a claymore."
Decker responded to Zeke's words in a calm voice.
"Claymores are longer and heavier than regular swords."
"I know. The heavier the better. We'll re-fit it later, so just grab one from the warehouse this time."
Decker looked at Zeke for a moment and then nodded.
"Understood, Your Majesty."
"And please reserve a private practice room for me in the afternoon. I'll go right after lunch. Leave it in the black practice room."
"I will do as you say."
Decker listened to all the instructions and left the room without saying anything.
Zeke gasped as Decker left.
'Whew... ... As soon as I return, I start to learn things I didn't know before.'
Zeke calmed his mind and organized the future he knew in his head.
Knowing the future is a great weapon.
For 20 years, the continent has been going through a period of great change, with many big and small events taking place.
He planned to use the future he knew to his advantage as much as possible.
'Just wait and see, you Drakers. This time, unlike your last life, I'll use you thoroughly.'
* * *
In the afternoon, Zeke went to the private training room he had reserved.
As expected from a training room built by the Draker family, all the equipment was up-to-date.
There were mirrors on the walls on all sides so that one could see one's posture while swinging one's sword, and there were various muscle training tools and even various training weapons prepared.
While looking around the training room, Zeke discovered a claymore on the table.
"As expected from Decker. He handles things neatly."
He heard of the claymore.
The sword itself was over a meter long and weighed over three kilograms.
It was smaller than the bastard sword, but it was definitely a cumbersome sword for twelve-year-old Zeke to wield.
"Hmm… … This is good, the center of gravity is right."
This is one of the main facilities of the Dragon Slayer family, the knights of knights.
Not a single sword in the warehouse was made in vain.
'It's a lot worse than what I used before.'
In fact, the Claymore that Zeke used before his regression was a special sword, so it couldn't have been compared to anything in the first place.
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Knowing that, he consoled himself with his regret and took a stance, holding the claymore with both hands.
"Phew… … ."
In my previous life, I had swung a sword heavier than this with ease, but it was difficult for me as a child to even hold it.
Zeke slowly swung the claymore.
puck!
Unable to support the weight of the sword, the tip of the sword crashed into the floor of the training ground.
Zeke picked up the claymore again.
"It's really hard to just do it."
He closed his eyes and concentrated his consciousness before the break.
A warm feeling flowed out from near the temple and spread throughout the body.
A training method that uses mana, the pure energy of nature, rather than aura or magic power. Originally, it was a technique that humans could not master.
Zeke, who spread mana throughout his body, swung the claymore again.
Whoosh!
The movements have improved significantly compared to before.
He kept his lower body still and repeated the basic kicking motion.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
With each swing, the sword felt familiar in my hand and made a sound like it was cutting through the wind.
And then, before I knew it, even the sound of the wind cutting through the air disappeared.
Zeke put down his sword.
"Ugh! I need to build up my stamina first. I'm going to collapse from exhaustion from swinging my sword."
As an adult, Zeke had a sturdy build, standing over 180 centimeters tall, and his entire body was filled with flexible, elastic muscles.
On the other hand, he is now barely over 160 cm tall, has a small build, and has almost no muscle mass.
If I hadn't had the combat skills and awakening skills I learned in my previous life, I wouldn't have been able to subdue my other cousins in Pankration.
Zeke clicked his tongue as he looked at the body throbbing with pain after swinging his sword a few times.
"Really… … When I was young, my body was complete garbage."
He decided to use a secret method.
"Healing."
As the light spread throughout my body, the pain in my aching muscles disappeared.
Zeke looked at his restored arm and took up his sword again with satisfaction.
This was how Zigg used healing before his regression.
By overworking the muscles, allowing them to recover through healing, and overworking them again, the muscle fibers were trained to be several times stronger than others.
After training in this way, Zeke was able to cut down opponents larger than himself and knights of higher rank.
It was a harsh training method that was usually impossible without mental strength and will.
"One week. It's a bit tight, but… … I have to adapt somehow."
He swung his claymore again and again without stopping.
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* * *
A week has passed since the pankration evaluation was completed.
For a week, Zeke's performance became a hot topic among the trainees.
This is because Zeke, who had been showing a weak side that was not typical of a direct descendant of the Draker family, showed a completely different side in this year-end evaluation.
Some of the trainees even speculated that Zeke may have used some dark power he had gained through black magic.
And finally, the day of the swordsmanship duel, the last of the year-end evaluations, has arrived.
In the cradle, meal times were set regularly.
As the training is rigorous, the meals are well prepared with a balanced amount of nutrients.
In particular, breakfast was prepared buffet-style, so the trainees could eat as much as they wanted.
A separate dining hall was set up next to the communal dining area used by the general trainees, and only the children of influential families within the Draker clan were allowed to enter.
There, luxurious foods were served on the table, unlike the regular meals that focused on nutrition.
Owen, Reyna, Jaken, and Leon were sitting at the round table that had been set up.
The servants placed before them the food that each of their masters desired.
Owen held a knife and fork and cut the plain fish dish into small pieces with elegance, putting them into his mouth.
Meanwhile, a huge whole steak was placed in front of Reina.
She cut a big piece of steak dripping with blood, put it in her mouth, and chewed it.
It was a hearty meal worthy of the heir of the Tourn family, known to have a stronger body than any other family.
Jaken and Leon sat still without touching the food that was served.
Owen spoke to the two of them as they looked at each other.
"Even though you may not have an appetite, eat at least a little. You'll need a full stomach for the swordsmanship duel in the afternoon."
At those words, Leon raised his head and glared at Owen.
"Are you arguing now?"
Owen shook his head with a bland expression.
"No matter what you say, it's useless to someone who doesn't know how to accept kindness."
Then Leon suddenly got up from his seat.
"Who does this kid dare to… … ."
At that moment, Reina, who had almost finished eating her steak next to her, raised her head and glared at Leon.
When she glared at him, Leon flinched and slowly sat down.
Jaken, who had been quiet, opened his mouth.
"So. What are you going to do?"
At those words, Owen, Rayna, and Leon raised their heads.
Everyone knew what Jaken was talking about.
'Zeke Draker.'
Owen said, wiping his mouth.
"Well… … I don't know if it's luck or what, but I guess there's nothing I can do about swordsmanship."
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He looked calm, but his eyes sparkled coldly as he continued to speak.
"We'll find out what else Zeke is hiding when we test him today."
Reina, who had finished eating all of her steak, jumped up from her seat.
She said, lifting the sword she had placed next to her.
"Did it really seem like a stroke of luck?"
At those words, Owen looked at Rayna.
Reina said, looking at the three people sitting at the table.
"You are not worthy to be knights of Draker."
Reina just said what she wanted to say and left the restaurant.
"That cheeky bitch… … ."
Leon slammed his sledgehammer on the table and trembled.
Owen drummed his fingers on the table and used his brain to the max.
'Reina and Zikra. It looks like something will come out of it.'
A genius who had already awakened his aura at the age of ten, before the blessing ceremony.
It seemed like Reina Tourn had found her prey.