Damn it! How is his bloodline ability awakening so violently?
Marcus wondered as he struggled to maintain his dignity and face.
His body shook under the weight of this aura coming from Joshua.
As their superior, and also due to his pride, he couldn't afford to fall.
Gritting his teeth, Marcus managed to stand still, albeit with an occasional tremble every few seconds.
Almost no one could easily move from where they were as Joshua's aura continued to soar like waves after waves.
Bradley was sweating profusely on the floor, regretting his decision to come here at night.
Out of everyone present, he was the weakest.
How long is this going to last? I almost can't hold on any longer!
He gasped for air, on the verge of fainting.
[Title achieved: Lord With A Will (Lv1). Passive. Resists pressure and suppression to a certain extent.]
The moment this appeared before Marcus's eyes, he felt every bit of pressure on him loosen up.
He finally stopped trembling and could breathe easily.
What is this? Is such a thing also possible?
Unable to understand how this title could provide him with such an effect, Marcus had even forgotten where he was.
Dum!
The air surrounding Joshua exploded, pushing every bit of dust away from him.
His aura started to recede rapidly and in a few seconds, the pressure that it brought vanished.
Immediately, the knights fell to their knees, gasping for air, as though they had been drowning in water and had only just resurfaced.
It was even worse for Bradley as he had already passed out.
Joshua opened his unusually bright blue eyes, stood up, and looked around.
His sight had changed, and everything was unbelievably clear to him.
First, seeing his comrades all be affected by his bloodline awakening, made him somewhat guilty and proud.
He never thought that he could possess such type of power.
His gaze crossed Bradley who was flat out, before reaching Marcus.
This time, it was Joshua's turn to be shocked.
Out of everyone here, only he and Marcus remained standing.
This young Lord was looking at him with an expectant smile on his face.
Was the lord always this powerful?
Joshua even felt a bit of fear towards this young Lord of his.
Of course, how else would he have known that I possess a bloodline ability when even I didn't know?
Immediately, Joshua dropped to a knee. "I greet the lord viscount!" He shouted with all his might, causing everyone's ears to sting.
Marcus resisted the urge to rub his ears. "You're that excited, Joshua."
"More than you can imagine, milord. You have granted me a new leaf and I shall use it to serve you well." He spoke from the heart.
"Did your rank breakthrough too?"
"Yes, Milord. I am now a Tidal Wave Knight."
That's more than I expected. Is his potential that monstrous?
Brown, Logail, and they were all filled with awe and shock as they heard this.
They didn't think that Joshua would break through upon awakening his bloodline.
Suddenly, their gaze traveled to the other wooden boxes around.
Could it be that it was for them?
More Bloodroot Sunflower?
Their thoughts went through the roof as they suddenly became impatient and excited.
But Marcus hadn't called for them yet, so they remained where they were.
"What about your bloodline ability?"
"I don't know what it is exactly, but it grants me a different type of vision. There's more, but I can't seem to process what they are for now."
Marcus nodded, understanding what he meant by this.
"Good. Rise, knight Joshua. Congratulations on becoming a Tidal Wave Knight."
"Thank you, Milord."
"I would have to ask you to hide this breakthrough from the public for now. Knights of your rank are hard to find in Agard."
"As you wish, Milord."
Joshua obeyed, either way, it wouldn't change the fact that he had broken through.
"Next up, Brown and Logail!" Marcus suddenly called out.
It was at this point that Bradley woke up.
The two knights didn't even know how, but they appeared before Marcus in a flash.
"Yes, Milord!" They replied, acting as though they were back in their apprentice knighthood camp.
Marcus chuckled at their response before handing them a box each.
In each box, following the recommendations he received from his [Inspect] Marcus was certain that they would grow stronger.
Especially after seeing what happened to Joshua.
Everyone but Bradley looked at the two knights with expectations in their gaze.
Bradley stood up and immediately, he began sensing a bad premonition.
"Open your box and see what's in it."
With excited looks, Brown and Logail opened their box.
Brown found an unusual herb in his box, alongside what looked like a dried-up gallbladder of a poisonous snake.
The stench from the gallbladder assaulted his nose, almost making him drop the box.
But Brown held on to it as his life depended on it.
Logail put a bit of space between himself and Brown, before looking at the content of his box.
In his, there was just a simple bag of golden-yellow powder, with no particular scent.
This made him confused.
"You just have to take what's in your box. Don't worry, it should be safe." Marcus said.
He could see the hesitation on these knights' faces.
But he didn't blame them. What he was doing was unheard of, to be able to pinpoint one's talents and how to awaken them. Even the Imperial Capital didn't possess this type of knowledge.
Brown quickly sat down and held the herb and gallbladder in his hands.
It was hard not to trust Marcus at this point, moreover, he was more tempted to see the results.
Without thinking much, he pushed both items into his mouth and almost immediately, he wanted to spit them out.
One made his tongue feel as though it had been set on fire, while the other one made his mouth numb with chill.
"Don't spit it out, you might not get another chance if you do." Marcus lied.
Seeing what was happening, Bradley quietly excused himself from the area.
Logail also took a seat, and unlike Brown, he didn't hesitate. He placed the bag over his mouth and poured its contents into his mouth.
Almost simultaneously, the two of them felt a bizarre change happening within their bodies. They immediately began circulating their Blood Force.
Brown's began changing colors, going from green, to purple, to black.
It was an unusual sight to behold.
As for Logail, his physical changes weren't too obvious. If one didn't focus enough, it would be easy to miss the golden glow his body was emitting.
Unlike Joshua, no suppression or violent energy was coming from them.
The only thing similar was the way their Blood Force moved. It soared, wave after wave, until it achieved a breakthrough.
Almost an hour went by before the two of them were done.
Their Blood Force settled and they returned to normal. Nothing about their physical appearance had barely changed.
However, Brown and Logail felt a bizarre power hidden within them.
They even felt the urge to test out their powers but they refrained from doing anything without Marcus's permission.
"How do you feel?"
"Alive, Milord."
"Great, Milord."
They answered.
"You both broke through your ranks, right?"
"I suppose so," Brown looked at Logail and the latter responded with a nod.
"What about your new abilities?"
"That… I'm not sure." Brown replied.
"I think mine has to do with my body… a type of surging vitality. Logail said.
"We'll test your abilities later." Marcus turned to face the eager knights.
"Everyone but Lesley and Chase should step forward."
Marcus said and they all stepped forward to receive their box.
"Lesley, Chase… Currently, I do not know what talents you possess so I cannot do anything in particular to awaken abilities within you."
The two knights felt their hearts sink.
"But that's just a reflection of my weakness. When I'm stronger, then I'll be able to assist you. As for now, I'm sorry."
Their gazes reached the remaining two boxes, and they realized that they were for Mercidin and Floki.
They felt dejected and left out. They received pitiful looks from the other knights.
Right before they could open their boxes… Bradley, who slipped away earlier, came running back.
"Wait!! Don't start anything yet!" His body still carried dust as he hadn't had the chance to properly clean himself after fainting.
"Milord, I just received word that the irrigation pump is ready!"
Marcus wasn't expecting this news, and so it pleased him.
"Joshua, Logail, with me. Brown, oversee their breakthrough." With that, he left the training grounds.