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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: The Latent Dragon Now Stretches (1)
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Theo couldn't even respond and stared at him blankly for a moment.
Cool.
That thought filled his head.
The openings he'd seen so often when facing Renden weren't visible at all with Julius.
Every hand movement, every sword swing, every moment he drew his aura—it all lingered vividly in his eyes.
-I want to be like that.
Pushing aside the sudden thought, Theo realized his mistake and hurriedly bowed.
"Thank you. Thanks to you, I didn't get hurt. How should I repay this favor…?"
"What favor? We're all family in the Ragnar house, aren't we? Helping family in danger is only natural."
Family.
That word stabbed right into Theo's chest.
"Ahem! Well, if you really want to repay the favor… ahem! After the Awakening Ceremony, join the White Dragon Knights… ahem!"
Julius cleared his throat lightly as he spoke, but strangely, his eyes burned with intensity unlike his tone.
Flinch!
It startled Theo so much he involuntarily stepped back.
'Why that look…?'
He didn't seem like he was planning anything malicious, given that he'd just helped him.
Then, the thought of Observation crossed his mind.
And he couldn't help but wonder what kind of information this giant of a man possessed.
'Observation.'
[Observing 'Julius Ragnar.']
+
Julius Ragnar (41/Male)
· Title: Demon Dragon
· Talents: Leadership. Swordsmanship Genius. Talent Collecting Desire. Purest Love.
· Status: Wants to collect… no, recruit 'Theo Ragnar'.
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'Me?'
Having lived a life of constant dismissal, this was the first time someone of his stature had shown interest.
So his thought was simply, 'Why?'
To Julius, he must seem like a total beginner who hadn't even shed the newbie label.
"The Captain showed up out of nowhere and startled you, huh? Don't worry, our Captain isn't scary at all."
Still dazed, Theo snapped to attention at the hand patting his shoulder from behind.
"Evelyn."
"That spar just now was impressive. But this might not be the best place to talk… Shall we move somewhere else first? The Captain has something he wants to say to you, Young Master."
[You have earned Julius Ragnar's recognition.]
[Luck has increased by 2.]
[You have earned Evelyn Nereville's recognition.]
[Luck has increased by 1.]
As she spoke, Evelyn winked subtly, making it clear that Julius's interest was no joke or lie.
Theo clenched his fist without realizing it.
He had no idea how the White Dragon Knights' Captain had ended up watching his spar.
But perhaps… his wish to rise higher might come true sooner than expected.
* * *
News of Theo and Renden's match spread through the entire family in an instant.
-That cripple in the Rose Palace cut down his own sword instructor!
The Rose Palace was the palace where the Family Head's harem resided, and 'Rose Palace cripple' was the derogatory nickname inspectors whispered for Theo.
And now, that cripple had openly beaten his swordsmanship instructor in a duel.
Of course people would take notice.
Naturally, some doubted it.
-Isn't that bullshit?
-Why?
-The Awakening Ceremony's just months away, so maybe the Rose Palace cripple pulled some trick?
-Nah, apparently not.
-Why?
-The White Dragon Knights' Captain was there.
-What? For real?
Once word spread that Julius had witnessed it, it gained credibility.
Some clicked their tongues, wondering how he could harm his own instructor, while others retorted that a pathetic instructor deserved to lose to his student.
And that was it.
The interest and rumors ended there.
-So? What changes?
No one expected much from Theo anyway.
Renden wasn't well-known either, so the rumors faded as quickly as they'd come.
But people didn't realize it yet.
Lately, rumors about Theo, however small, had been cropping up more and more often.
* * *
That evening.
"What do you think?"
"About what, sir?"
"The talk we had today."
Julius brought up Theo as he followed Evelyn into the management office of the fourth training grounds.
Evelyn shot him a glare as he pulled the most expensive wine bottle from the rack without permission.
"I got a strong sense of how deep your thoughts run. But that bottle in your hand… you're not really going to drink it, right?"
"Right? Rumors really can't be trusted."
Pop!
Julius yanked the cork out effortlessly and chuckled.
Aaaah!
Evelyn screamed beside him, but it fell on deaf ears.
'An interesting encounter.'
Glug glug glug.
As the red wine filled the glass, he recalled the meeting.
-I'm sorry. I appreciate the generous offer, but I'm not ready to tie myself down anywhere yet.
When they'd met separately to recruit him, Theo spoke first.
It left Julius and Evelyn taken aback.
The White Dragon Knights were the dream posting for anyone in the Ragnar house.
They weren't just some ordinary cavalry.
Dragon Knights.
Clad in gleaming white armor, mounted on specially trained wyverns, they guarded the northern skies.
When they took to the air, even the monsters of the Demon Sea held their breath.
As a unique unit only found in the Ragnar house, they were highly regarded even outside.
So they'd assumed Theo would join easily.
They never expected him to flat-out refuse without even hearing the terms.
"Character, talent, and humility to boot. You just can't find that kind anywhere. So how do I reel him in?"
"Ah, aaa… my wine…!"
"Can't let others snap him up first. I've only heard about it before, but getting shot down like this for the first time in my life? My head's spinning."
"Uh, Captain? Th-the glass is about to overflow…?"
"It might sound like bragging, but man or woman, no one's ever turned me down in my life. And that's why this rejection makes me want him even more. Hmm!"
"…Can you please listen to me for once!"
"Oh, is that it? Maybe he doesn't want to draw attention from others yet?"
The wine stopped just before overflowing.
Evelyn's legs gave out, and she collapsed on the spot.
The expensive wine she'd saved up half a year's salary for was being ruined by her former boss.
It wasn't even this tense when she'd faced an 8-star swordsman alone mid-chase.
Regardless.
Julius remained lost in his own world.
"That makes sense. Even a latent dragon ready to stretch its limbs would find too much attention burdensome right now. Plus, he probably doesn't want to see the White Dragon Knights he trusts lose faith from others."
Julius's eyes widened as if he'd realized something.
"Ah, that must be the biggest reason. Worrying about our unit too? What consideration!"
In Julius's mind, Theo's image had now risen to the level of a sage.
"Then we should match that consideration with some help from our side… Hm?"
Julius's gaze turned to Evelyn, who was still staring shakily at the wine glass.
Evelyn flinched back involuntarily.
Julius's eyes had taken on an unusual glint.
She knew from experience that look always dragged her into something weird.
She tried to refuse before he even spoke.
"Evelyn, ever thought about becoming a swordsmanship instructor?"
Flinch.
Evelyn unconsciously gripped her empty left sleeve with her right hand.
"I…!"
"Don't say it's hard with just one arm. You're an arm cripple, not a swordsmanship cripple."
"...."
Arm cripple.
Julius used such harsh words because Evelyn herself called herself that after retiring.
"I approved your retirement because you couldn't hold the reins anymore, not because you couldn't hold a sword. So why not think about picking it up again? Isn't it time to get back up?"
In the wine-filled glass, Evelyn's eyes shook violently.
* * *
"My beloved son, Theo! This mother always believed you'd accomplish something great one day!"
Theo returned bitter smile at Cecilia, who welcomed him with arms wide open.
"And the White Dragon Knights' Captain was there too, wasn't he? Perhaps he took a liking to you…!"
"Mother, sorry to interrupt, but I'm really tired."
Cecilia awkwardly froze mid-hug.
"I-is that so? Well, after showing such an unsightly sight. Rest then. I'll visit tomorrow."
Theo let out a small sigh as Cecilia left.
A sigh mixed with many emotions.
He glanced at the maids and butlers peeking at him.
They bowed their heads in panic as their eyes met.
"No need to be tense. And there'll be more incidents like this, so don't act rashly."
Theo headed to his room without really hearing their replies and flopped onto the bed.
"It's hard. Really hard. I don't even know if I'm doing this right."
Turning down Julius's offer.
To others, it might seem like an arrogant choice deserving scorn.
But unlike his mutter, Theo didn't regret it.
He had faith.
Faith that he could reach even higher.
No, hearing the offer only strengthened his conviction.
'Even if I join the White Dragon Knights, I need to raise my value so high that other places offer me spots too.'
That way, he could start laying the groundwork for his own foundation.
'And the stage for that is the Awakening Ceremony.'
But this Awakening Ceremony had 'once-in-history' hype, with countless geniuses and prospects gathering.
To dominate that brutal field, complacency was forbidden.
'I need to close the gap with others as much as possible in the remaining time.'
Lying on the bed, Theo turned his head sideways.
A full-length mirror stood against the wall.
He saw himself lying on the bed in the mirror.
'Observation.'
[Observing 'Theo Ragnar.']
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Theo Ragnar (15/Male)
· Titles: The Ragnar Blood-Wasting Cripple. Rose Palace Cripple.
· Talents: Ragnar, Player, Observation, [Inaccessible], [Inaccessible], [Inaccessible], [Inaccessible].
· Status: Intense longing for the Awakening Ceremony.
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Theo's eyes gleamed.
If
Then naturally, it should work on his reflection too—and it did.
'The permissions are all under [Talents]. So if I keep completing missions successfully, I can get four more like these?'
He was already excited about what else might be there.
Maybe even a 'permission' to find the items he'd gotten as rewards before.
'But how do I see my ability stats?'
There had been messages about stats increasing, so there must be a status window with numerical values.
Theo fiddled with the window and discovered he could flip it.
Anticipation built.
Just how strong was he now?
[Displaying additional information.]
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Theo Ragnar (15/Male)
· Level: 1
· Stats (▼)
Strength: 13 Agility: 14
Stamina: 12 Mana: 190
Intelligence: 11 Luck: -50
· [Inaccessible]
· [Inaccessible]
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"…What's with the negative?"
But Theo's expectations shattered in an instant.
His [Mana] coefficient from his past life was definitely high.
But the unforeseen [Luck] stat made his head spin.
In absolute terms, it was far higher than the [Mana] from the Aura Heart reward.
He'd definitely raised [Luck] by about 4 against Renden?
'So this is after it went up? Ha… No wonder my luck sucked in my past life and the one before.'
Theo pressed his forehead without thinking.
'Was I under some curse or what?'
He didn't know exactly what [Luck] did yet.
But inferring from what he'd seen.
Short-term, it influenced random lucky breaks in crises; long-term, social standing.
Sure, how do you quantify all of life's misfortunes with a number?
Still, for Theo, just having a way to block bad luck was a blessing.
'The problem is getting [Luck] to zero.'
The conditions for raising it against Renden were different, so he needed more samples.
As Theo's thoughts deepened.
Ding!
[A quest has arrived.]