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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Awakening
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Awakening
For an Awakened One, their Class and Traits were everything.
Classes, in particular, grew rarer and more powerful with higher grades, so an Awakened One's standing was strictly defined by how many stars (☆) they possessed.
From the Normal 1-star.
To the Uncommon 2-star.
The Rare 3-star.
The Super Rare 4-star.
And finally, the ultimate Master 5-star.
Among these, 1-star Classes were so common they were labeled 'Normal,' and most of them were not particularly impressive.
Many Awakened Ones even dismissed them as second-rate.
After all, Classes like [Arsonist]☆ or [Herbalist]☆ had clear uses and limitations, no matter how much genius one possessed.
In that respect, Gerald, the Vlad gatekeeper Dion had chosen as his dueling opponent, could hardly be called a remarkable talent.
An Awakened One could acquire a total of five Classes.
With all five slots filled with 1-star Classes, Gerald was at the lowest rung of Awakened Ones.
He was a mere gatekeeper who, even if he invested immense time and effort and was blessed by luck enough to 'rank up,' would peak at 2-stars.
But to put it another way, this also meant he was more than capable of serving as a gatekeeper for the Vlad family, one of the Hundred Great Houses.
No matter how much 1-star Classes were treated as second-rate, any Awakened One with a Class was a genius.
And Gerald, through decades of training, had raised a total of four combat-related Classes, including his inherent species Class, to the [Expert] level or higher.
His martial prowess was top-tier among 1-star Awakened. He could even hold his own against a higher-ranked [Beginner], though he might not win.
For the newly awakened Dion to defeat such a man was, at least at the moment he challenged him, next to impossible.
So, what was to be done? The solution Dion found was simple.
—All he had to do was become stronger than Gerald.
Not later, but right now.
In the middle of the duel.
Of course, it was a foolish answer to a foolish question. Like asking how many buckets it would take to empty the sea and answering with one bucket large enough to hold the sea itself, it was absurd…
But at this moment, in the Vlad family's training yard, that very absurdity was unfolding.
*Fw-fw-fw-fw-fwoosh!*
The spear lunged.
As fierce as a storm, as dense as rainfall.
And the rain of spear tips tore and slashed at the already blood-soaked boy's body.
*Thwack!*
"Kugh!"
But it was Gerald, the one wielding the spear, who gritted his teeth in the aftermath.
An attack that should have dealt a significant, if not fatal, wound had ended as mostly grazes.
And the fact that the boy's dagger had slipped through that rain of spear tips to wound him yet again left him shaken.
Because…
*『With the blessing of [Bloodfiend Star], Class experience has increased significantly.』*
*『[Murderer]☆ Lv7→ Lv8』*
*『[Hunter]☆ Lv6→ Lv7』*
*『[Petty Thief]☆ Lv5→ Lv6』*
…he could feel the boy's movements change once more, just from that single wound.
Of course, it was a small difference.
He had only become slightly faster, slightly stronger—a change so subtle that even Gerald, his opponent, would have missed it if he wasn't focused.
But even a light drizzle will soak you through if you stand in it long enough.
The changes, having accumulated several times over, now instilled in Gerald a pathological wariness of being wounded at all.
And, quite naturally, Gerald was not the only one to notice the shifting tide of battle.
*'…A Class? Or is it a Trait?'*
Elise groaned inwardly.
Dion's struggle itself was unexpected, but not shocking.
Classes and Traits that made one stronger the more they were hurt, or the more they hurt others, like [Berserker] or [Bloodlust Enhancement], were rare but not unheard of.
There was even a monstrous battle fiend who had survived being half-crippled with nothing but a Trait called [Asura] and still roamed the Labyrinth.
In that sense, if Dion had obtained such a Trait, this sudden enhancement was entirely possible.
It was possible, but…
*'Is this something that can be achieved with just a Class and a Trait?'*
Even as she considered that Dion might have obtained a 5-star Class or a Trait of comparable power, Elise couldn't relax her stiff expression.
Her mind tried to accept it, but her instincts told her otherwise.
This was no temporary boost, but a terrifying growth that was catching up to Gerald's decades of training in mere minutes and seconds. It was too natural.
Most of all, the boy before her was Dion Unlight—the ultimate coward, a pathetic wretch who would grimace at the smallest cut and flee from the slightest danger.
To see that same boy, now covered in blood, charging forward with a grin, as if he felt no fear at all…
*'That fool… he could make a face like that?'*
—how utterly abnormal it was.
"Don't look down on me!!!"
Perhaps he felt something similar.
That must have been why Gerald let out a savage roar and swelled his muscles.
*CRACK!*
His body, drawing on the full extent of his power as a vampiric species, albeit a low-ranking one, rapidly expanded through hyper-regeneration, healing his few injuries in an instant.
With his strength amplified and his reach extended, Gerald pressed his assault on Dion even more ferociously.
*BOOM!*
"Wait, Gerald!?"
The training yard floor exploded where the spear tip struck, and the shaft whipped up a violent gale.
It was a furious onslaught, one that clearly revealed his intent to end the duel before Dion could grow any stronger, even if it meant burning through his stamina.
He seemed to have forgotten to hold back, his spear swinging with enough monstrous force to kill, ignoring Elise's cry of restraint. The sheer force of its wake sent the boy's body flying like a paper doll.
Even if Dion had achieved explosive growth in this short time thanks to his unique Trait, [Bloodfiend Star (Revised)], which gave a transcendent boost to all growth upon a kill, and the 3rd-run inheritance Trait, [2x Experience Gain]…
He was still, at best, a mid-to-late 1-star.
Having not even filled all five of his Class slots, it was impossible for Dion to face Gerald, who was near the peak of the 1-star rank, one-on-one.
If he'd had a month…
No, even just ten days.
If he had steadily grown during that time before coming to the Vlad estate, things might have been different.
But the boy, knowing this better than anyone, neither regretted his rash actions nor grew anxious.
Sent flying backward, he twisted in mid-air to regain his balance and land on his feet. With deep-set red eyes, he watched the arc of Gerald's spear and simply remembered.
*WHOOSH!*
*'Slow.'*
He felt the power of the spear that tore at his cheek with just its wind pressure, though it never touched him.
He remembered the strike of the Malevolent Tree, an attack so incomparably fast and mighty that a single swing could shatter mountains and carve canyons.
*Fw-fw-fw-fwoosh!*
*'Sloppy.'*
His body was torn in countless places by the relentless barrage of spear thrusts that left no room to escape.
He remembered the web of the Malevolent Sword, a technique more intricate than hundreds of these spear tips combined, a dance that had forced him to gamble his life thousands of times in a single instant.
*CLANG!*
*'Weak.'*
His grip tore as the dagger he swung with all his might was deflected by the spear's sturdy shaft.
He remembered the colossal body of the Malevolent Capital—an indestructible and immortal entity, on a completely different plane from the flesh of a slightly large sentient being, no matter how big or tough.
It was a future that had not yet come to pass, but also a past that Dion himself had clearly seen and experienced.
Though his abilities and body had been reset, the memories of those fierce battles remained perfectly intact within him.
So he remembered.
That memory.
That experience.
That technique.
And above all…
—the power of his past and future self, the one who had slain Calamities, each possessing the strength to destroy the world.
*Creak.*
His body, not yet trained, not even fully grown, screamed silently under the strain of the無理な movements, but the boy did not stop, even as muscles tore and joints twisted in agony.
Just as his future self had, he befriended death, reveled in pain, and pushed forward, becoming ever more drenched in blood.
Faster.
Stronger.
More precise.
And in the moment his will, galloping like a crazed stallion, and his body, reluctantly dragged along, finally meshed like misaligned gears clicking into place…
*Ting.*
"…!?!?"
Gerald's eyes flew open.
Dion, who had been frantically dodging his spear like a mouse, had suddenly stopped dead in his tracks and tapped the tip of his spear with a dagger. The next instant…
His spear, caught by that light touch, was deflected to a ridiculous angle as if it were a bull with a ring through its nose.
The exquisite principle contained within that movement, something he couldn't even begin to comprehend, let alone imitate, despite his decades of spear training, made Gerald doubt his own eyes.
*『Special effect of [Bloodfiend Star] has activated.』*
*『Acquired 1-star Class [Knife Fighter].』*
*『Acquired unique Trait [Battle-Hardened (R)].』*
—A Trait that had surpassed its limits fused with another, blossoming into a new possibility.
[Battle-Hardened (R)] + [Quick Calculation (N)] → [Combat Logic (SR)]
[Combat Logic].
It was a Trait that could only be obtained by those who had overcome countless life-and-death situations in the crucible of real combat, snatching impossible victories time and time again.
[Battle-Hardened] allowed one to perfectly draw upon and utilize their accumulated experience even in disadvantageous situations and unfamiliar environments.
This new Trait was a further evolution of that, an art that could find the path to victory based on vast experience, as long as there was even a 1% chance of winning, no matter how unfavorable the fight.
It was neither a martial art nor a field of study, but on the battlefield where only death and victory existed, it was the ultimate principle, more perfect and sublime than any theory.
And following that principle, Dion moved.
He slipped into the wide opening in Gerald's guard left by the deflected spear.
As Gerald reflexively tried to kick him away, Dion spun to evade the foot, instead grabbing the leg and pulling to shatter his balance.
Forced to one knee, Gerald was now eye-level with him. Dion looked him straight in the eye and smiled sweetly.
"Oh, I forgot to mention."
"What is this, how…"
From the moment his spear went wide to him kneeling on the ground, everything had flowed so naturally, so smoothly, like a scene from a play.
As Gerald stared blankly, unable to believe he was on his knees before a boy who barely came up to his chest, Dion whispered in his ear.
"This is a duel to the death."
"…!!!"
Even in his half-dazed state, instinct moved Gerald.
The voice was as soft and gentle as a lover's whisper, but the killing intent it carried was so cold and chilling that he reacted without thinking.
To push Dion away, to stand up, to swing his spear again.
But…
*Whoosh!*
His hand swiped through empty air.
His body lost its balance even further.
Where he fell was the tip of his own spear.
As his eyes widened at the sight of the spearhead—which had slipped from his grasp with just a slight touch from Dion—now positioned at an angle to pierce his own throat…
"Oops, my foot slipped!"
*SHLURCH!!!*
"Kegh?!"
Dion, stumbling as if he'd lost his balance while dodging Gerald's hand, fell forward onto the back of his head. The blunt spearhead tore through his neck as he collapsed.
Gerald's mouth opened and closed as if he couldn't accept this end, but only blood gurgled out before his head lolled to the side.
In the training yard, now submerged in silence, Dion pushed himself up, dusted off his knees, and looked at Gerald's gruesome corpse with a surprised expression.
"Hmm, I didn't mean to kill him. An accident happened."
"…"
"Well, accidents are common in duels."
As if to say it was entirely unintentional.
Watching the boy's cheerful smile, the spectators in the training yard could only fall into a deeper silence.
*『Special effect of [Bloodfiend Star] has activated.』*
*『Stole 1-star Class [Lecher].』*
*『Stole 1-star Class [Strongman]→Stored.』*
*『Stored 1-star Class [Liar].』*
*『Stole Species Trait [Lesser Vampirism (Un)].』*
*『[Murderer]☆ Lv8→ LV10』*
*『[Hunter]☆ Lv7→ Lv9』*
*『[Petty Thief]☆ Lv6→ Lv7』*
*『[Knife Fighter]☆ Lv1→ Lv5』*
*『[Lecher]☆ Lv1→ Lv3』*
*『Upon reaching Lv10, the mark of the [Murderer] Class is engraved upon your soul.』*
[Knife Fighter]☆
1. Attack Boost ↑ (Minor)
2. Sense Boost ↑ (Trace)
3. Endurance Boost ↓ (Minor)
—To risk one's life on the tip of a blade is the minimum qualification to wield it, but he who solves all with the blade alone will eventually die by it.
[Liar]☆
1. Deception Boost ↑ (Minor)
2. Malice Boost ↑ (Trace)
3. Truth Boost ↓ (Minor)
—One skilled in deceiving others may easily avoid loss and gain profit, yet finds it difficult to convey sincerity without distortion and doubt.
[Lesser Vampirism](Un)
1. Recovers health upon bloodsucking (Small)
2. Regenerates wounds upon bloodsucking (Small)
3. Increases bloodlust & libido (Small)
—As blood is life, to drink blood is to claim life itself.