Time is the most merciless thing in the world; it flows by slowly without people realizing it, and soon it was time for Zeke's 18th birthday Ascension Ceremony.
Due to his education and habits, Zeke had developed a routine of early to bed and early to rise.
He woke up in the morning and, with the help of his maids, donned the attire befitting the eldest son of a noble and a knight house.
This time, he wasn't wearing ordinary clothes, but a set of polished, reflective white armor paired with a white, spotless cloak, as if a mythological hero had been reborn.
After getting dressed, he walked with elegant steps and a dignified demeanor towards his father's palace.
Even though he had made preparations and braced himself for the worst, Zeke still felt fear.
This was an emotion he shouldn't have.
But he did feel fear, and besides fear, there was also excitement.
The excitement came from the thought that if he succeeded, he might actually get to pilot a knight titan —a magnificent titan!
The intertwining of fear and excitement made it difficult for Zeke to maintain his elegant composure, despite his long years of noble education.
However, the aristocratic training he had received since the age of three ultimately overcame his agitation, allowing his face to retain the elegance and demeanor expected of a high-ranking noble.
To be honest, this period had been quite comfortable for him.
Rarely had he had these few days without interruption; neither his tutor nor the stern family steward had disturbed the knight king's eldest son, who was about to undergo his Ascension Ceremony.
Zeke's steps were swift, and he quickly arrived at the Royal Court where his father resided; his father and mother had been waiting there for a long time.
Thanks to his long-term noble etiquette training, he didn't rush towards his father and mother like he used to when he was a child; instead, he bowed gracefully to them and then spoke elegantly.
Honestly, despite having received so much education, having to converse with his parents in such a formal manner still made him feel a bit uncomfortable.
But there was no other way; this was not a private meeting.
At this moment, the Royal Court was not only occupied by his father and mother but also by other knight barons, priests from the Adeptus Mechanicus, and Ecclesiarchy ministers.
There were too many outsiders present; as the heir to the high king, he had to maintain noble elegance and decorum.
Even in private, Zeke had complained more than once that this useless elegance and etiquette were a complete waste of time.
But there was no other way; this was society, and when he couldn't change society, he could only learn to accept this so-called society.
Zeke's etiquette was impeccable and imbued with a strong sense of amiability.
After he finished his bow, everyone around him showed expressions of satisfaction, either of relief or admiration.
Among them, the Archmagos of the Adeptus Mechanicus was the most enthusiastic, as this Archmagos was the one with whom he had previously engaged in some academic discussions.
The Adeptus Mechanicus might be difficult for many to approach, or rather, they were very hard to deal with, but for him, it was different.
He possessed knowledge.
And within the Adeptus Mechanicus, knowledge determined identity and status, and Zeke had knowledge.
This knowledge made the priests and even the Archmagos of the Adeptus Mechanicus very humble in his presence.
Zeke was the first to arrive at the location of the machine throne's Royal Court.
Along with him, four other individuals were also participating in the Ascension Ceremony.
However, since he was the eldest son of the knight king, the high king, he was the first to arrive.
Due to the presence of outsiders, he now had to keep his body tense and display noble elegance.
This was truly a bit too boring, so to alleviate this boredom, he could only sort through the knowledge in the STC in his mind while waiting for the arrival of the others.
Although the STC was truly useful, only the knowledge learned and stored in one's own mind truly belonged to them.
As someone with a great talent for learning, internalizing this knowledge became his wisest choice at the moment.
However, he didn't sort through the knowledge for too long; after all, who would dare to make the high king's eldest son wait here for too long?
The other four individuals soon arrived at the Royal Court; compared to Zeke, their appearances were slightly inferior to his, but they were still as handsome as demons.
Among the four newcomers, one was the last descendant of a family; he was the only male in his entire family qualified to inherit.
As a fallen collateral branch, no one looked up to him, but his eyes were firm and unyielding, and it was this unyielding resolve that caught the attention of Zeke, who was currently sorting through knowledge.
Talent was what Zeke needed right now, so upon seeing this last descendant of a family with firm and unyielding eyes appear before him, Zeke paid him some attention.
If this fellow could truly become a knight of the family, if he was willing to pledge allegiance to him, and if he could fight alongside him and achieve some merits.
Then Zeke wouldn't mind bestowing upon him the title of baron after he became the high king.
When he became the high king, he would need his own core subordinates.
And these peers were naturally the best choice for developing his core subordinates.
Don't even think about promoting the talent he desired from the commoners below; that was impossible. The world of Warhammer was simply too distorted.
Who could imagine an interstellar civilization still needing to worry about literacy rates?
Among the ordinary lower-class people, trying to promote effective management was as difficult as ascending to heaven; at this point, these nobles became his best choice.
Because knowledge was priceless, and this was literally priceless.
Knowledge was precious; its value couldn't be measured, and only these nobles could afford to read books.
Suddenly, Zeke had a moment of trance; he suddenly felt as if he had become a qualified high-ranking noble.
He hadn't even been confident of passing the family's knight Ascension Ceremony, yet he was already planning for actions after becoming the heir.
Besides this last descendant of a family, the other three individuals were not worth a second glance; they were all the children of other barons within the family.
As the heir to the high king, he already had followers, and these three were his followers.
No matter what, they would be tied to him.
Therefore, the other three did not require too much attention from Zeke.
To be honest, Zeke had reflected on everything he could recall these past few days.
But the final result was that he always felt it was impossible for him to become a knight of the family, because he was a transmigrator, and he knew too many things.
He was somewhat unsure if he could pass the interrogation of the machine spirits, or rather, the ancestral spirits, of the machine throne.
However, no matter what Zeke was thinking, the Ascension Ceremony still began.
His identity and status were the highest, so he walked at the very front.
When Zeke stepped through the archway, tall enough for the largest knight to pass, when he heard the ancient and solemn sound of the giant beast-bone horn echoing in the empty hall, and saw countless knights solemnly lined up on both sides, his back was still drenched in sweat.
This time, Zeke could no longer hold back; disregarding noble etiquette, he turned his head to look at his father and mother.
His parents in this life had been truly good to him, and he didn't want to disappoint them, but he truly wasn't confident he could pass the machine throne's assessment.
Leaving aside everything else, the mere fact that he didn't consider the Emperor a god was enough to be deemed a heretic.
His parents' expressions were still gentle; the smile on his mother's face was utterly tender, calming his restless mood slightly, and his father's face also lacked any solemnity or seriousness, instead bearing strong encouragement.
This was encouragement from his parents—
In the man-eating world of Warhammer, it was truly rare and difficult for parents to be so supportive of him.
"Alright, no matter what, let me go through with this!" Zeke silently cheered himself on in his heart, then once again adopted his noble elegance and demeanor.