Chapter 25: Lord class human
[3/3]
It was morning once more, and around the Drakon mansion, the sound of metal striking metal could be heard—heavy, ragged breathing and small-scaled explosions echoing from rapid movements.
In the sparring part of the Drakon mansion, the massive compartment—over a hundred feet wide and made for battles—housed the sparring match between Drake and Julius.
The battle seemed one-sided... as expected.
The clearly outmatched one was Drake, who tried every way possible to break through Julius’ defenses and land even a single hit.
Luna watched from the sidelines, mesmerized by the power and display of skill in the battle.
Power represented Julius. Skill was Drake.
The battle terms were simple—if Drake could land one hit on Julius, he’d win. And if Julius did, then he’d win.
In this particular battle, Drake had been the one on the attack from the very beginning, thrusting his sword, slashing, and feigning swings just to break through Julius’ guard.
However, the formidable butler was something else entirely. Despite being a summoner like Drake, Julius was far stronger than the average Awakened—parrying all of Drake’s attacks as swiftly as they came.
’I surpass him in swordplay, with the techniques from my first life, my experience and all... If only I had the same level of strength!’ Drake gnashed his teeth, his frustration apparent even through his swift movements.
"This is the first time I’ve seen you fight this way, Lord Drake," Julius complimented, effortlessly redirecting a slash that could have sliced his throat while maintaining his calm stance. "Your swordsmanship is truly outstanding."
Drake smiled faintly, swinging again for Julius’ throat and getting blocked once more. But this time, instead of pulling back to attack again, he swung his leg forward for a kick—only for Julius to dodge it with the same ease as before.
’His battle style has changed,’ Julius noticed. The longer he fought Drake, the more spontaneous and unpredictable the young lord’s fighting style became. ’If I were not a seasoned fighter, I would’ve been dead by now. Where did he even learn all this?’
Drake, on the other hand, kept up his unpredictable rhythm. Knowing it was not a fight he could win, he used it instead as an opportunity to learn—observing Julius’ sword style and gradually merging it with his own.
There wasn’t much to analyze from Julius’ battle stance though, as all he did was block.
’But unlike every other style I’ve seen in this life, Julius’ is based strictly on defense—which I highly lack,’ Drake thought, swinging this time for Julius’ gut. This strike, however, was faster and less predictable, slipping past Julius’ defense.
Julius’ eyes widened as he noticed too late, jerking his body back just in time to avoid the attack by an inch.
’I didn’t see that coming! How did he manage to catch me off guard?’ Julius’ mind raced as he replayed the scene in his head. Then, raising his hand, he signaled for a halt.
"That’s about enough testing for your manual defense," Julius said, brushing sweat from his forehead with a composed expression.
Drake slid his sword back into its sheath and yawned. "I already know my swordsmanship is strong, old man, but with the body of a summoner, what does it matter?"
Julius shrugged, taking a long pause before speaking. He was always deliberate—never one to waste words. "Alright, Drake. As a summoner, we naturally have low defense and are considered extremely weak. The only way to build our physique is through rank progression, but even that doesn’t change much.
"For instance, an Awakened summoner could easily match a human in combat, but compared to other Awakened, he’d fall short. Meanwhile, a Knight-ranked summoner could match a peak Awakened in prowess but still struggle against an enemy of his rank."
Drake nodded, taking it all in. The strength of summoners, as it seemed, only allowed them to match those a rank lower in terms of physical power.
’That’s really rich, isn’t it?’ he thought dryly.
The ranks of humans were as follows:
Awakened
Knight
Lord
King
Sovereign
Drake and the newly Awakened were at the first stage. After long periods of training and cultivation, one would eventually break into the next rank—Knight.
The next after that was the Lord rank, which Julius had attained. It wasn’t exactly rare, but many Awakened refused to push that far because of how life-threatening and arduous the breakthrough process was.
And his father—Darion Drakon—was at the Sovereign rank, considered one of the strongest humans alive.
"Seems I still have a long way to go, don’t I?" Drake muttered with a low grunt of indignation, glancing toward his so-called role model.
Julius raised a hand to his chin, thinking deeply before replying in his usual clear, heavy voice. "As a summoner, to progress, you must think wiser than your opponents—know their next moves, find their weaknesses, and use your summons in ways no one would ever predict.
"For instance, while I send multiple summons forward to battle an enemy, I always place one just beneath me to block any incoming attack. That simple tactic has saved my life countless times."
Drake nodded inconspicuously. Each piece of advice Julius gave, he noted carefully in his mind, piecing together what being a summoner truly meant.
And from all he heard, it wasn’t as gruesome or disinteresting as he once thought.
To Drake, it was actually quite handy—an ability that allowed its user to summon numerous beasts under their control. With it came other fascinating traits: some summoners could merge with their summons to become hybrids—gaining immense strength—while others could even transform into their own summons.
It wasn’t half as unimpressive as he’d first assumed. In truth, being a summoner wasn’t that bad. It all depended on knowledge—and how that knowledge was applied.
Then there was the issue of summoning consuming vast amounts of mana, which was tied to the intelligence stat in Drake’s case. The distasteful skill would have to be honed relentlessly, by testing its limits and cultivating endurance.
Drake’s eyes widened suddenly, his face contorting in worry as though he’d been hit by an invisible strike.
This didn’t go unnoticed by Julius, who immediately stretched his hand toward Drake in alarm.
However, the young lord refused his help, raising both hands to halt his butler’s movement. He gritted his teeth and shook his head furiously, as though trying to shake something off mentally.
Finally, Drake Drakon spoke in a deep, agonizing tone, "Those bastards! My cores from the hunt—they took it all! Fuck!"
Hearing his outburst, Julius straightened up, relieved that it was nothing life-threatening. "In that case, I’ll be off. That’s all for today."
Drake realized too late that he had spoken out loud instead of keeping it to himself. He rubbed his face in frustration. ’Of course, mistakes happen—but this one’s costly. Shit!’
Thinking about all the glorious things he could’ve achieved with those cores—feeding them to his dragon, using them for cultivation—his frustration only grew.
They were all gone now. But at least he had gained crucial insight into what he had always wondered about—the gap between an Awakened and a Lord-ranked human.
It was massive.
A loud, high-pitched voice suddenly called from behind, dragging his gaze back from his brooding thoughts. It was the curious girl who claimed to be an assassin—one who had been nothing short of a constant pain in his back.
"Drake!" she yelled again, raising two packages wrapped neatly in metallic boxes. "It’s from the academy! I think it’s our Awakened licenses..." She paused, glancing at another package on the ground before looking back at him with curiosity. "But yours is larger than mine. Why is that?"
A sinister grin crept across Drake’s lips.
’Looks like that old fart kept his end of the deal. It’s finally time to get stronger.’
***Authors note***
We have begun the final arc of volume one. The story finally gets interesting here