"Noah, are you nervous?"
My father's hand rested on my shoulder as he asked.
I smiled faintly, trying to say "no" without words, but the beads of sweat breaking on my forehead told a different story.
It wasn't just me—my younger brother, my cousins, and every eighteen-year-old in Gladios Dukedom… no, in the entire world—were probably feeling the same way.
Today was the day our fates would be decided.
The Day of Blessing.
On the first day of the new year, every young man and woman who turned eighteen the previous year would gather at the temple. The High Priest would conduct the Blessing Ceremony, granting each person a Heaven's Blessing, along with a set of skills, and finally—assigning them a job class suited to their blessing.
And today… it was my turn.
I stood in line with my twin brother, my fourteen cousins from our branch families, all sixteen of us waiting our turn. After us, the rest of the dukedom would receive their blessings. The ceremony would last three whole days, and by the end… the future of our kingdom would be set in stone.
My own future would be decided today.
I am Noah Von Gladios, eldest son of Duke Nicholas Von Gladios.
My father's blessing was [Sword Mastery], a high-level blessing that granted him the special skills [Heaven Splitter], [Sword Storm], and [Light Scythe], along with five common skills like [Slash], [Stab], [Roar], [Rage Spike], and [Piercing Strike].
Thanks to these, his job class was the legendary [Sword Lord].
My father was one of the main powerhouses of the kingdom—exactly what you'd expect from the successor of the Hero [Sword God].
---
The Fairhaven Kingdom was formed by four dukedoms, one of which was our Gladios Dukedom.
Five hundred years ago, this entire land was ruled by the Demonkin, and humans were nothing more than slaves. Everything changed when five friends received unprecedented blessings—[Sword God], [Almighty Sage], [Life Deity], [Immovable Celestial], and [Conqueror]. Together, they killed the Demon King and freed humanity. The people hailed them as the Five Heroes.
They built Fairhaven so humans could live free. Four of them became dukes, and the Conqueror became king.
The [Sword God] founded the Gladios Dukedom. I am his descendant, the seventh generation since his time, and the one who is meant to become the 7th Duke of Gladios.
My entire eighteen years of life had been training for this moment.
The Blessing Ceremony today… was my very first step toward that goal.
---
Haaaaa…
I took a deep breath to calm my trembling hands. They were calloused from years of sword practice, still carrying half-healed cuts. Every scar was proof of my struggle since childhood.
When I turned my head, I saw him—standing a little apart, chatting with our cousins.
Nolan Von Gladios.
My twin brother, born just seconds after me.
Despite the fact that I was chosen as the next duke, none of my cousins stood by my side. All of them were with Nolan.
The reason was simple: Nolan was born frail, too weak to even walk steadily after practice. Father never even considered him as an heir. While he spent his time with Mother, at school, at parties, and playing with cousins… I spent every moment in grueling training with Father—swordsmanship, basic magic, languages, culture, history, war tactics.
I never saw a world beyond my room and the training grounds.
And when that's your life… friendship has no place.
Sometimes, when I saw Nolan laughing, or being showered with Mother's affection, I felt… jealous. But it was useless to dwell on it.
---
Ting… Tong… Ting…
The great bell rang. The moment we'd all been waiting for—the arrival of the New Year.
Nolan and my cousins stood up straight. Mother walked right past me without a glance and took Nolan's hand, smiling warmly at him. My chest tightened. She had never once smiled at me like that. Never even treated me as her son.
I glanced at Father beside me. He was as expressionless as ever. In my life, I had never seen him smile. Sometimes, I wondered if I was nothing more than a tool to him.
---
"Noah Von Gladios."
The High Priest's voice pulled me out of my thoughts.
Father gave me a look that told me to go. I forced my pounding heart to steady and walked toward the altar.
The High Priest smiled faintly at me, then extended a crystal orb. I placed my hand on it.
> [Touch of the rumbling legend; discover the inner mirror of this soul! Heaven's Blessing!]
He chanted the incantation, and a pure white light descended from the temple's ceiling, enveloping me.
When the light faded, the High Priest looked into the crystal… and his expression twitched.
---
"Heaven's Blessing: [Dark Web].
No special skills. No common skills. No rare skills. No unique skills. No skills at all.
Class: [Salesman]."
---
After a long silence, he spoke those words.
And in that moment… my world turned upside down.