The wooden double doors of the Patriarch's office cleaved in half as Ran stepped through.
Just when Ran stepped inside, his entire body instantly went on lockdown. The air in the room was so thick with raw, crushing pressure that he almost threw up on the spot.
His survival instinct was screaming at him, telling him that just standing here would suffocate him to death.
Somes Bloodrune was sitting behind his desk. He looked completely comfortable, leaning back in a plush leather chair with his hands crossed over his chest.
His pitch-black hair was perfectly in place, and those glowing blood-red eyes locked onto Ran the second he crossed the door.
Seeing the kid turning pale and visibly struggling to even breathe, Somes dialed back his menacing aura.
The invisible weight in the room lifted just enough for Ran to suck in a ragged breath of air.
"Do you know why you were brought here?" Somes asked calmly.
Ran squeezed his small hands into fists to stop them from shaking. He wasn't going to act like a typical, terrified kid.
He had played this game, and he knew exactly how the power dynamics worked in this garbage-heap house.
It was not a surprise. Calmdown, he screams internally.
Then he gave a slight, steady nod.
"Probably because I beat the two potential heirs of the house, Lord Patriarch."
Somes stared through Ran like he was looking at a spreadsheet.
"Do you feel any remorse for what you did to your brothers? Because of your little stunt, they won't be speaking to each other. Kael has a completely dislocated jaw, and Vael is currently in critical condition with severe internal bleeding."
Ran forced his lips into a fake, totally innocent smile. He even put on a slightly sad look, though his eyes remained unshaken.
"I truly regret doing that to my brothers, Father. I will never do that to them ever again. It was my own fault to provoke them."
It was a total lie, and both of them knew it. Kael and Vael had tried to corner him like typical noble bullies, thinking a low-born bastard was an easy target.
Somes leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk.
"So, don't you think they would want you to apologize to them? Go to the infirmary and say you're sorry."
Ran crossed his small arms over his chest. He stopped smiling and let his face go completely blank. He thought about it for a few seconds, letting the silence stretch out in the massive office.
"I'll say sorry if that's what the Patriarch wants me to do," Ran said, his voice dropping into a flat, cold tone.
"But..."
A memory flashed in his head. Back when he was just a player sitting behind a computer screen, he had confronted Somes Bloodrune during a boss fight.
The boss had dropped a line of dialogue that became a massive meme on the online forums. It was the absolute core philosophy of House Bloodrune.
Ran let a dark, menacing smile crawl across his face, completely dropping the innocent kid act.
"Isn't asking for sorry just a pathetic excuse people use when they're too powerless to actually get revenge?"
The words echoed in the quiet room. Then, the corner of Somes's mouth curved upward.
He wore the exact same cruel, satisfied smile as his son. The resemblance between the two was suddenly so striking it was terrifying.
Standing in the shadow near the wall, Old Jim the butler, felt a literal shiver run down his spine.
Jim had been serving the house for decades, and he had never seen the current patriarch show even a hint of amusement.
The old man looked at Ran, his mind racing.
What a terrifying grin! Its as if watching the birth of another patriarch in front of me.
Somes waved a hand, clearly satisfied with the answer. He looked over at the butler.
"Jim. Take him to the kitchen. Let him have whatever candy he wants."
Ran gave a bright, cheerful smile. The kind an innocent child was supposed to have and bowed deeply.
"Thank you, Father!"
He turned and walked out of the office, following Old Jim down the long, cold stone corridors of the estate.
Internally, Ran was doing a mental victory lap. He was one step closer to farming his dad's favorability.
To survive in this family, you have to earn his favor somehow. He needed his favorability high enough so he could eventually get permission to learn the classified Bloodrune Sword Art.
That was only his ticket to becoming stronger.
Before they reached the end of the hall, Somes's voice boomed out from the office one last time.
"The exchange event is coming up soon. Try not to disappoint me kid. That will be the first real fight of your life."
Ran didn't stop, but his shoulders tensed up. He just gave a small nod and kept walking.
When they reached the massive kitchen, the chefs and servants immediately cleared out, bowing out of the way.
Jim led Ran to a large wooden table where several jars of brightly colored sweets were laid out.
To anyone else in this world, these were just expensive treats meant to spoil kids. But Ran didn't see them like a simple candy.
This was an MMORPG world, and these items had hidden enchantments that the NPCs were completely oblivious to.
Ran walked slowly around the table, inspecting the options looking through the exquisite jars.
He looked at a bright blue candy.
If I remember correctly, its a vitality booster. Gives a temporary buff to health pool recovery.
Good, but not what he needed right now. He eyed a vibrant green one.
Boosts stamina. Great for agile fighters. Still, too basic.
Wasn't there anything else? Then his eyes locked onto a jar hidden near the back.
Inside were deep purple, crystalline drops. Ran's eyes practically lit up. It was a pretty rare consumable, a decent find even back when he was playing the game on his PC.
Purple Mana Drops.Permanent two-fold boost to base mana capacity upon first consumption. Can only be used once in lifetime. This was literally broken for high-level players.
He reached into the jar and pulled out one of the purple candies.
Old Jim watched him, looking a bit confused by the choice. The purple ones tasted notoriously bitter to regular kids.
"Is that the one you want, Young Master Ran? There are much sweeter options."
"I like this one, Jim. It is good enough for me."
Jim just sighed, shaking his head. To the butler, candies were just edible things children liked to ruin their teeth with.
The people belonging to this world had no idea about the magical enchantments woven into these small items.
I should keep it for a while. Fornow I just have to focus on training.
Several months passed in a flash. He spent those times in brutal training, exhaustive studying, and small sleep.
Ran was now seven years old, but his body looked closer to a ten-year-old due to the accelerated growth traits of the Bloodrune bloodline and the constant periodic training he was doing.
The day of the academic exam was finally around the corner. It was broken down into two parts: a pure theoretical test and a practical combat exam.
To keep his father satisfied and ensure he didn't get discarded like trash, Ran had to absolutely crush both.
The theoretical exam wasn't even a real concern. The tutors at the estate thought he was a literal prodigy because he could memorize entire history books and political strategies overnight.
In reality, Ran just already knew the entire lore of the game. He had spent hours reading wikis and forums in his past life.
He breezed through the written papers in half the allotted time, leaving the instructors staring at his papers in shock.
But the theory was just the warm-up. The real problem was the practical exam.
The Exchange Event.
Ran stood in the courtyard, adjusting the leather straps of his training armor. The sun was hot, and the air smelled like dirt, sweat, and iron.
Around him, dozens of other seven-year-olds from the family branches and elite class children were stretching, their faces pale with nerves.
This wasn't some friendly school sports day. In House Bloodrune, the practical exam was a literal life-and-death situation.
It was a culling mechanism masking as a school tournament.
Ran looked down at his iron sword. It was the first time they were given actual swords.
His hand felt steady, his mana pool humming right beneath his skin like a live wire.
He could feel his father's gaze watching from the high balcony overlooking the arena.
This is it, Ran thought, his eyes focused as the arena gates began to grind open.
He took a deep breath, gripped the hilt of his blade, and stepped out onto the sand of the arena along with his siblings.
I have to win this somehow.