The entire Academy was abuzz with the news of the sudden visit of Arthur Draker, head of the Draker family.
Led by President Howard Draker, the Academy's instructors and cadets lined up from the Academy's main gate to the square, waiting for Arthur Draker.
As the hour approached, a sound was heard ringing through the streets.
Ddddddd!
A black carriage, much larger and heavier than a regular carriage, was pulled by six huge black horses.
Next to the carriage was a painted golden dragon shield.
The personal carriage of Arthur Draker, the head of the Draker family.
And the carriage was followed by hundreds of knights.
The procession, which gave off an overwhelming sense of pressure, made not only the cadets but also the instructors tense.
Soon the carriage stopped in the center of the square.
The huge black horses trotted and breathed heavily.
Howard Draker, the president, approached the carriage.
The door opened and a man came down from inside.
"Howard. Long time no see."
A middle-aged man with a dignified charm and ash-colored hair slicked back.
This man was Arthur Draker, the head of the Draker family, one of the three greatest transcendent families on the continent, and one of the eight strongest men on the continent.
Howard Draker, and everyone else in the square, knelt before him.
"Greetings to the master of Draker!"
Arthur Draker raised his hand and greeted the others.
Then he put his hand on Howard's shoulder.
"You've had a hard time."
"Compared to the hard work of the master, it is nothing but hardship."
"It's very sturdy."
Arthur Draker looked up and saw the young cadets lined up in the square.
He opened his mouth slowly.
"Cadets, rise up."
Although he spoke casually, his voice carried to every corner of the academy.
The cadets sat up, tense up.
Arthur Draker's voice sounded so vivid it seemed like it was right next to me.
"Young dragon slayers. You are the hope of our Drakers, and the new seeds."
Everyone focused on Gaju's soft yet powerful voice.
He was on edge as if he didn't want to miss a single word.
"Be diligent in your cultivation, and be diligent again! Your progress will be the progress of your family."
After the short and succinct speech, the cadets saluted the captain.
"insect!"
Arthur smiled and accepted the cadets' salute.
"You all seem to be very energetic. Okay, let's go in."
The Chancellor entered the main Academy building with Arthur Draker.
The cadets went back to their respective buildings to attend classes again.
The cadets walking were excited at the fact that they were seeing the master in person.
"To meet the lord in person. The other brothers in the family will be so jealous!"
"I will definitely enter Valhalla and go to the Four Seasons Castle."
"With your skills? Wake up."
Among the excited cadets, Zeke tilted his head and headed to the training ground.
'Before the return, the head of the household never came to the academy. What happened?'
I already knew that the future was changing little by little as I regressed.
But I didn't think that the influence would reach the heads of the families who were staying in the Four Seasons Castle.
Zeke tilted his head and returned to the platinum floor.
But soon he had to come out again.
It was because the head of the household had called Zeke.
* * *
Zick headed to the president's office located in the main building.
After my regression, I wasn't easily shaken by anything, but now even my strong mental defenses weren't helping much.
Knock knock knock!
In front of the president's office door, he barely managed to calm his heart, which was about to burst.
The door opened and he stepped inside, taking a deep breath.
He was in the splendid president's office.
"Come in."
Arthur Draker, dressed in casual clothes instead of uniform, greeted him warmly while drinking whiskey from a glass.
Zeke immediately knelt down and greeted him according to family etiquette.
"To Arthur Draker, lord of all knights and defender of the honorable name of the Dragonslayer, I, Zeke Draker, a member of the family, pay my respects."
Arthur Draker laughed out loud at Zeke's old method.
"I've never seen a guy in the whole world greet people so rudely these days. Stop being so noisy and come sit over here."
Zeke was not used to Arthur Draker's friendly reactions towards him.
The last thing he remembers about his mother was when she called him over to him before putting him in his cradle at the age of seven, looking him over once and telling him to leave.
Until he was kicked out of the Academy, he never once contacted Zeke or offered him any help.
In the first place, I had only seen my father, Arthur Draker, a few times in my previous life, so I couldn't even figure out what kind of person he was.
As Zeke sat down, Arthur placed the tea he had prepared in advance in front of him.
"I enjoy drinking tea."
Zeke was startled by his words.
This meant that even the information that you ordered tea every time you drank it at the Platinum Lounge was reported to the owner.
The saying that there may be things the Emperor does not know, but there is nothing the Draker family head does not know really hit home.
Zeke drank his tea, wary of the master's actions whose intentions were unknown.
Then Arthur spoke first.
"Yes, I heard that you became the Duke's disciple."
When Zeke heard those words, he realized why Gaju had come here and why he had been called.
'In my previous life, the wind chime was not properly passed down and was almost lost. Now that a successor to the Jinsanjeolgi created by the black knight of the family has emerged, it's understandable for the head of the household to be concerned.'
Zeke nodded at Arthur.
"The Knight of the Storm has bestowed grace upon you."
"Duke said he was annoyed by you being so irritating?"
"… … ."
I didn't know that a gentleman who was known as a black knight could be this talkative.
Arthur said with a smile.
"Honestly, Duke, I never thought that there would be someone so talented that would catch the eye of that picky friend. I even less thought that it would be my youngest son."
Zeek's heart pounded at the mention of the youngest son.
Arthur said, looking at Zeke.
"Yes. I wonder what your goal is. If you work hard like you are now, you will surely get to Valhalla… … ."
"The strongest on the continent."
Arthur was momentarily speechless at Zeke's words.
Looking at Arthur like that, he spoke again.
"My goal is to become the strongest on the continent."
In an instant, Arthur's gaze changed.
And then he laughed out loud.
"Poohahahahahaha!"
Woohoo!
An intangible energy emanated from Arthur's body.
Zeke clenched his teeth against the energy that enveloped his body.
Any place this energy touches becomes subject to Arthur's will.
It meant that he would hold the power of life and death over the people within that range.
'I guess it's a monster.'
Although he had a kind face, the person in front of him was truly the strongest man on the continent.
So, this was a mountain that Zig had to overcome to become the strongest on the continent.
Arthur Draker stopped laughing.
He said, looking at Zeke.
"That's the most interesting thing I've heard in a while."
In an instant, the energy that had surrounded him disappeared.
Zeke's whole body was drenched in cold sweat.
Arthur Draker looked at Zeke with a satisfied expression.
Then he took something out of his bosom.
"Originally, I was going to give you a gift to commemorate your becoming the successor of the Whirlwind Sword… … But now that I think about it, that gift wasn't enough."
What Arthur took out was a metal card the size of his palm.
The surface of the card was delicately engraved with Drake's Dragonslayer.
Zeke was surprised when he saw the card.
"Do you know what this is?"
"… … I understand that it is a black card that is only given to top VVIPs throughout the continent."
"If you knew, there would be no need to explain."
Arthur handed the black card in front of Zeke.
"It was issued in my name, but I'll transfer the title, so feel free to use it."
The benefits of a black card, especially if it was used by the head of the Draker family, would be unimaginably enormous.
Before his regression, Zeke had never received any attention.
When I became a pureblood awakener and a successor to the whirlwind weapon, a completely different situation unfolded.
If Zeke had been a normal thirteen year old, he would have been thrilled to receive the card.
But Zeke immediately figured out Arthur's intentions hidden in the black card.
'It's a card with great benefits, but it can become useless at any time with just one word from the owner.'
Since the card leaves a record every time you use it, your actions will be completely transmitted to the owner.
Zeke realized once again that the person in front of him was an omnipotent power that could shake the entire continent.
Arthur Draker spoke again.
"It's been a while since we last met, so I'd like to have a nice meal together, but I have other plans, so I'll have to go soon."
"It's an honor just to see your face like this."
"It's definitely different than before."
"yes?"
"No. I'll just go now. I can't waste any more of the precious time of the strongest player on the future continent."
As he spoke and gestured, Zeke stood up, greeted him, and went out.
Arthur, left alone in the president's office, drank the rest of his whiskey.
At that moment, someone walked out from a shadowy corner of the president's office.
"You really are pretending to be a good father."
It was none other than Duke Draker.
The Duke sat down in front of Arthur, completely disregarding any respect or formality for his master.
Arthur smirked at the sight of the Duke.
"Why do you have horns again?"
"I hate you for neglecting me from the cradle and now pretending to be a kind father."
"At this point, I think I could be arrested for insulting the head of a household."
"Take him. Take him."
The Duke acted like a full belly, and Arthur stroked his nicely trimmed beard while watching the Duke.
"So, do you think Zeke will be able to continue the progress of the whirlwind?"
"How would I know that? I have to teach you more to find out."
"Hmm… … I was wondering why you took a piece of trash that couldn't even awaken as your disciple."
Arthur's eyes flashed.
"I think I have a rough idea since I saw it today. It was really weak, but it's been a long time since I've seen someone withstand the aura of the Astral Sword."
"Your bad taste really annoys me."
"I missed your sharp tongue. There's no one in the Four Seasons who would say something like that."
"I feel sorry for the knights who suffer because of their ill-tempered master."
Arthur smiled, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a bottle of whiskey from his subspace pocket.
As he reached out, a glass on the shelf moved and fell into his hand.
Arthur poured whiskey into the empty glass.
As he swirled the glass of whiskey, ice formed on its own.
"Let's have a drink."
He gave the whiskey to the Duke and poured himself a glass.
They both drank the whiskey at once.
"Whew… … What is this? It's not dragon breath. And it's red. Where did you get this precious thing?"
"I brought it because I thought you might like it."
"Your personality is really the worst, but I can't break up with you because of this. You're annoying."
The Duke grumbled and sipped his whiskey.
Then Arthur opened his mouth again.
"Do you know that the situation on the continent is strange these days?"
"How could I know that, when I'm just wasting my time holed up in a remote corner of Troy?"
"I know very well that your eyes and ears, spread all over the continent, are still alive."
"What are you talking about when you already know that? You idiot."
Arthur said, shaking his glass of whiskey.
"It seems like something unusual is happening in the Roman Empire."
"That crazy emperor has always been a troublemaker since he was crown prince. What is he doing now?"
"Duke, do you think you can achieve immortality?"
"Are you kidding me right now?"
"The Emperor seems to believe that it is possible."
"Ha, you're really crazy, seriously crazy."
"The problem is that such a crazy guy is the emperor of an empire that occupies half of the central continent. These days, he even created a unit directly under the emperor called the hunting dogs."
"Hounds? The name itself is cheap."
"The Emperor is sending his troops to find something."
"What are you looking for?"
"Ancient relics."
"You're not looking for an artifact that will grant you immortality or anything, are you?"
"Bad feelings always come true, don't they?"
"That's… … not at the level of a bad feeling."
The Duke stuck out his tongue as he finished his whiskey.
I knew that the Emperor of the Roman Empire was superstitious and surrounded himself with suspicious people, but I never thought he would go astray like this.
"Shouldn't we put pressure on them at the family level?"
"It will be difficult to take a strong stance since we are in an alliance that keeps the Eastern Empire in check."
"Ha, you've lost your temper quite a bit. If it were before, I would have just started fighting."
"It turns out that the family seat isn't always the best."
"So what's the main point? Why are you beating around the bush like this?"
Arthur opened his mouth and looked at the Duke.
"I'm planning to take a break from the Four Seasons for a while."
"The Emperor of the Roman Empire is crazy, so why are you emptying the Four Seasons?"
"I'm going to the Ice Mountains to find an ancient relic that the Emperor is looking for."
"What? Are you crazy? Could it be because of that immortality… ?"
"There is a possibility that the relic is a trace of an elder dragon."