The heavy double doors of the mansion sealed shut, cutting off the noise from the driveway. I suppressed the urge to rub my temples, keeping my face an unreadable mask as Chief Vane and Vice Principal Rosette followed me through the polished corridors.
I did not let any other person enter my mansion, despite those students and Arthur creating a ruckus. I didn't want that trash to enter here and make my mansion dirty.
However, inside my skull, an agonizing, high-pitched ringing throbbed. It wasn't just a headache—it felt like thousands of microscopic needles were piercing my brain stem, twisting with every heartbeat. My vision blurred around the edges, making the marble pillars seem to sway. I clenched my jaw until my teeth ached, forcing my feet to move forward in a smooth, composed rhythm.
What is wrong with me? I thought, fighting through the haze. Was it backlash from awakening my memories? Or some delayed side effect of the truck accident from my past life? I had no idea what was happening inside my own body, but I couldn't afford to show weakness now.
"This way," I said, my voice steady despite the searing pain radiating behind my eyes.
Behind us, Ronald walked with measured steps, his sharp eyes fixed on Rosette. Rosette herself kept her distance, her gaze scanning the high-tech security nodes embedded in the walls.
"You've refitted the estate's defense arrays," Rosette observed quietly, her tone laced with suspicion. "Standard commercial estates aren't allowed grade-4 dampening fields."
"When you inherit significant wealth and business assets as an orphan, caution becomes second nature, Vice Principal," I replied without turning around, forcing every word out through the haze in my head. "I prefer my privacy respected."
We arrived at the reinforced glass doors of the private medical suite. Inside, the room was immaculate, equipped with state-of-the-art life-support monitors and diagnostic scanners. Lina lay on the central bed, looking pale but serene. The monitors beside her displayed a steady, rhythmic heartbeat, though the energy output readouts were off the charts—fluctuating in golden light that mirrored the dragon aura from earlier.
Dr. Keller, my estate's chief physician, stepped forward and bowed respectfully. "Master Ryul. Chief Vane. Vice Principal."
Chief Vane walked up to the glass, his sharp eyes examining the diagnostic screens. "Status?"
"The young lady suffered severe metabolic fatigue and rapid meridian expansion," Dr. Keller reported, pulling up a holographic data pad. "Her body absorbed an immense volume of high-density spirit energy in a short timeframe. However, there are zero signs of physical trauma, force-feeding of illegal stimulants, or hostile spiritual imprint. Her body is stabilizing the newly awakened talent naturally."
Rosette leaned closer to the monitor, her eyes widening slightly as she read the energy logs. "The energy signature... It's pure Dragon-type martial aura. Its something I have never seen before; if everything goes right, she can at least Martial Saint realm or even higher."
Her words hit everyone, Martial saint level talent is something that even I have which I hid from everyone, or my parents hid it on paper I am only Martial Lord level talent, even that is too much for an academy like Golden star academy, but that does not confirm that I can reach that realm it simply means that my limit or limit of my talent is Martial saint, but when she said that Lina could at least reach that realm then she mean, that Lina could become next leader level figure for humanity.
She turned to me, a mixture of shock and lingering hostility in her eyes. "You poured millions of star coins worth of spirit stones into an unawakened girl just to force a breakthrough?"
"I gave her the resources she needed to realize her potential," I said, stepping up beside the bed. "Is there a crime in supporting a student's awakening, Vice Principal?"
Rosette bit her lip, unable to find a counterargument. With the official medical telemetry confirming Lina's safety, their legal ground to detain me or search the premises had completely evaporated.
But still, with her poisonous mouth, she said, "Thank you, Ryuk, for your assistance, but I think Lina should be under the custody of authorities. Martial saint level required immediate notice of authority and empire. I think she should be transferred into a better academy, for better resources and training."
How dare she? I had had enough of her already, and now she even wants to take Lina away from me. I think she is going to die by my hands.
My mind is continuously filled with murderous thoughts, but still managing to calm my mind, I said, "Miss Rosette, I think you have some misunderstanding. Although Lina did awaken a Martial Lord-level talent, saying that her talent is even greater than a Martial Saint-level talent is going overboard."
She refuted my words, telling everyone that Lina has the greatest talent she has ever seen. But I have thought about this, so my guards took out a talent-checking device, which is top quality, and by checking Lina's talent, it only shows Martial Lord-level potential. Rosette was stunned by this; she tried to do it herself, and even after trying multiple times, the results remained the same. She still did not accept defeat and told me that the earlier phenomenon of a dragon appearing is not something that happens without a greater talent, but I kept countering, saying that it is all because of a large amount of awakening stones.
Chief Vane let out a long breath. "The medical telemetry is clear. There was no abduction, nor was there any illegal force-awakening artifact used. Miss Lina is safe, recovering under proper care, and her talent is also something that did not need immediate concern of authorities." He paused, his gaze turning stern. "However, Mr. Ryuk, the commotion outside your gates nearly incited a riot. I expect you to handle your personal affairs with more discretion in the future."
Everything happened according to my plan, as I already used an artifact to hide Lina's talent; it is a necklace-type artifact. I have a keen interest in those artifacts as my parents used one to hide my talent, and thankfully, due to my interest, I acquired a vast inventory of such artifacts for my use, if by chance my artifact got destroyed or lost its power.
"Understood, Chief Vane," I replied politely. "I will also file an official claim for the damage done to my estate gates by Officer Xi Yin and Mr. Arthur's group."
Chief Vane gave a single, curt nod. "That is your legal right. We will take our leave."
He turned and walked out of the suite. Rosette lingered near the bed for a moment longer, her eyes narrowing as she looked at me. "Arthur won't let this go, Ryuk. Neither will the other factions in the academy now that news of a High Dragon-type talent is not something you can hide."
"Let them try," I said softly.
Once the heavy medical doors sealed shut, the room fell dead silent. Ronald stepped up beside me. "Master, I will accompany the Chief and his officers to the perimeter to ensure they vacate the property completely."
"Do that, Ronald," I managed to say, my voice raspy. "Clear the guards. Secure the perimeter."
"Yes, Master."
The moment Ronald's footsteps faded down the corridor, the world tilted violently. The searing pain in my head exploded, cascading down my neck and into my blood vessels like liquid fire. I stumbled forward, gasping for air as my lungs burned.
What... what is happening to me?!
My vision swam with white noise. I felt a strange, terrifying sensation inside my body—as if millions of microscopic entities were multiplying at a chaotic speed within my bloodstream, tearing through my cells and rebuilding them from the inside out. It wasn't martial energy. It wasn't magic. It felt entirely biological, a feral, microscopic surge that I had zero control over.
I reached out blindly to steady myself, my hand landing on the edge of Lina's bed. I looked down at her calm, sleeping face through blurred vision, trying to call out her name, but no sound came out of my throat. The stinging pain reached a fever pitch, making it feel as if my skull was literally splitting open.
My knees buckled. Darkness swirled around the edges of my sight, swallowing the clinical white lights of the medical suite.
Unable to fight the overwhelming agony any longer, my legs gave out completely, and I collapsed onto the floor right beside Lina's bed, slipping into deep unconsciousness.