Chapter 24: Becoming stronger
[mass release 2/3]
Darion Drakon was a hefty man, powerful, with great leadership qualities, and most importantly, one who persevered through the worst situations and came out on top.
Sitting on the soft cushion of the velvet chair, he stared at the three that entered the room with a menacing glare that would make the bravest animals quaver like prey, and that was exactly what happened.
Drake and Luna had their bodies trembling slightly from the pressure the mighty man exhumed from his presence. Even from the distance they were in, it was still very much to process.
’We are awakened, not normal humans, and yet it feels suffocating,’ Luna thought, already finding it hard to take each breath to ensure her fleeting survival.
Then finally, Julius cleared his throat and spoke, "Sir, you are leaking mana, and it’s extremely dangerous to the young awakened."
Darion burst into laughter, and in a second, the pressure disappeared as though it was never there in the first place.
"Sorry! I was just trying to test my son!" Darion spoke, then laughed again.
From Luna’s perspective, he seemed to be a more lighthearted man compared to Drake, who barely had a sense of originality in his smiles or facial expressions.
Drake shook his head with a disappointed look on his demeanor. "I might be a summoner, but I’m still an awakened."
Darion nodded, with his blissful grin still plastered on his face. "Please take a seat, Drake, Mrs. Blade."
Luna bowed her head in respect before going to the farthest seat away from Darion. For some reason, she wanted to avoid him as much as she could, knowing that the smallest mistake in the room could very much cost her her life.
Drake meanwhile walked up to a seat in the middle and sat there silently, his mind dwelling somewhere else.
’I almost fell to my knees from that pressure, even with my Draconic body, which should already be on the level of an average awakened.’
Apart from that, a notification had shown before Drake’s eyes that plunged him into greater worry.
{Threat detected: Escape}
This was a new feature the interface had added, one he was still growing fond of, true. Though even if it was new and he had only a few clues about how the mechanism worked, why did the system command him to escape and not to fight the threat?
Obviously, Drake Drakon knew he was still years away from reaching his father’s strength, but the notification was rather disheartening.
It took a while before Julius returned to the dining room with their food, and during that time, the room held a silent atmosphere.
Drake was buried in his thoughts, Darion was staring at the two, and Luna was doing her best to avoid eye contact with a man that could very much kill her with a swing of his palm.
Then finally, Darion cleared his throat, his smile fading out as he called the two’s attention. "Drake. Your condition as a summoner is a good development—but dangerous."
Drake had already established this long ago, so all he did in reply was a gentle nod.
"You are the first Drakon to become a summoner, which projects you as the weakest Drakon in history. Do you recall what that means?"
Drake shook his head. "Weak in body but not in power, and I very much know what it means."
Luna arched her brows, finding the conversation odd. Like—what did they mean by something going to happen to Drake? She was curious, but knew better than to pry into the business of Originals, and for one, the Drakon.
"So I trust you will take it seriously—getting stronger? I even asked Julius to teach you a few pointers on being a summoner," Darion added. His reasons for all this were only clear to those from the Drakon family and other powerful Originals.
When Originals were born, and even while they grew up, they were targeted by other Originals—killed, slaughtered as if they were pigs.
This had been normalized: killing the heirs of Originals, especially that of the Drakon family, because of an incident in the past that transpired between his father and the other originals. Drake’s current father was not his father, however, but his uncle. His real father had been killed by another Original family long before Drake had been born. His mother died shortly after, killed by Originals again. His elder brother met the same fate, and his current father had his wife taken away from him.
All in all, the Originals killed each other’s heirs, but the Drakon family was one of those with the most targeted heirs.
Sometimes, Drake would ask himself why his father chose to ignore it instead of battling the other Originals for revenge. But that was another reason why Darion was one of the greatest leaders their world had ever known.
He persevered and, despite all he lost, valued human life over his thirst for revenge—not wanting a civil war while the real enemy, the Plague, still laid before them.
Drake was perplexed by this fact. Still, another reason for the calmness in his father was because they had little to no proof of who killed their family. Drake’s brother and father had died in the Plagues, while his mother and Darion’s wife were clearly murdered—but with no proof.
Logically, there was no proof and no way to get revenge.
Drake yawned. "If they try killing me, I won’t die, so don’t work yourself up, Darion." He turned to Luna and rose, signifying for her to follow. "If I do, you still have a daughter, don’t you? So you won’t be the last Drakon, old fart."
Darion burst into laughter once more, the tension in the room shattering into one much lighter—but disturbingly so.
Luna again was in bewilderment. ’What is it with this atmosphere?’
Drake pocketed his hands and turned around in an attempt to leave the dining room. "Thanks for the invite. I’ll be eating in my room as usual."
Darion chuckled again, shaking his head vigorously. "You can’t say I didn’t try."
Luna again was dumbstruck. Maybe it was the fact she grew up in an environment that believed in hierarchy—or maybe it was the unseeable sight of an Original head being so casual and playful.
’Certainly not what I expected.’
Leaving the room behind Drake, Luna took one last look at Darion, the seasoned warrior falling silent almost immediately as they left the room.
’Even he carries a façade even better than Drake’s.’ Now come to think of it...
Luna hurried to Drake’s side, and with a gentle tug on his shirt, she spoke, "What’s your plan now, Drakon?"
Drake smiled, stopping her and himself, then raised a hand to pat her on the head. "It’s time to get insanely stronger."
With the help of his system and his mastered techniques from his first life—yes—it was finally time for him to implement all he could to become stronger.