They brought me back to the academy clinic, though this time, the accommodations were fit for royalty. I was placed in a private VIP ward filled with the soothing aroma of crushed moon-lilies and enchanted mana-incense.Before the high-healers could even finish checking my pulse, the heavy oak doors burst open. The Dean came running in, his long golden hair swaying as he practically floated to my bedside. His face was flushed, completely ecstatic."Ethan! My boy!" The Dean beamed, his voice booming with pride as he threw his arms open. "The entire capital is singing your name! I have just received urgent letters from the heads of the highest elite houses in the kingdom. They are profoundly grateful to you for saving their heirs from absolute, horrific death in that dungeon!"He gestured to my bedside table, which was already overflowing with high-tier rewards."The House of Marquis Brandon sent two thousand gold coins and a set of rare fire-mana stones," the Dean explained, piling m

That afternoon, the atmosphere in the Sovereign Elite dining hall was thick with tension. I had deliberately picked a table in the furthest, most isolated corner of the room, wanting nothing more than to enjoy a rare, high-grade mana steak in peace.But peace was short-lived.The low murmur of hundreds of gossiping students suddenly echoed through the hall as Lady Seraphine, carrying her lunch tray with absolute regal elegance, walked straight toward the back corner. She didn't hesitate. She pulled out the heavy mahogany chair directly opposite me and sat down.I didn't stop cutting my steak. I just raised an eyebrow as she leaned forward, her silver hair catching the amber magical lights of the dining hall."I know what you did back there," Seraphine said, her voice dropping to a sharp, icy whisper that didn't carry to the neighboring tables. "You didn't panic. You used microscopic mana deflection. You used my own Tier-3 power to burn those spoiled brats and humiliate the professor

“She's crazy, Julian! I don't want the Hoke lineage, I don't want to be a hero! Take it all! Just take me to the branch family elders. I’ll sign the estate over to you, I’ll swear an oath of absolute submission to your father! Just protect me from her!"Julian froze. He looked down at me, his chest swelling with an immense, intoxicating wave of pure, unadulterated arrogance. The humiliation from the courtyard completely vanished from his mind, replaced by the sheer thrill of seeing his ‘pathetic loser’ cousin begging at his feet."Ha... Haha! I knew it!" Julian threw his head back, laughing hysterically. He yanked his tunic out of my grip, looking down at me like I was a cockroach. "A freak tantrum in the dungeon doesn't change who you are, Ethan. You're still just a cowardly piece of trash. Get up."I stumbled to my feet, wiping my eyes, trembling like a leaf. "Y-You'll protect me?""Of course," Julian smirked, a cruel, calculating glint flashing in his eyes as he pulled a glowing

Within three minutes, the grand branch manor had completely transformed into a graveyard of shattered stone, shredded silk, and severed limbs. The air was suffocatingly thick with the copper stench of fresh blood, the grotesque aroma of burning flesh, and the sharp, static sting of magic ozone.I stood in the center of the ruins, leaning heavily against my notched, crimson-soaked guard blade. I was breathing hard, my chest heaving violently. While the newly gorged 10% output from the noble houses' mana stones was intoxicating, the physical limitations of this vessel were finally catching up to me. My almost Tier-2 mana core was beginning to tax me relentlessly, the sudden, aggressive expansion fracturing my unrefined neural pathways.My vision violently blackened around the edges. A wave of crushing dizziness washed over me, tilting the world on its axis. My grip loosened, the broadsword clattering to the stone, and I fainted right into the darkness.*****I don't know how many ho

The Inquisitor's pupils dilated in pure, unadulterated terror as he felt the heavy, suffocating pressure of my 10% sovereign aura pinning his soul to the floorboards.Behind us, Seraphine slipped into the room, quietly closing the door and locking it with a click. She looked at the helpless Inquisitor, then down at the unconscious Julian, and finally at me."We have the room," she whispered, her crimson eyes gleaming with anticipation. "Time to see what our little loose end knows."I stepped around the trembling Inquisitor, keeping my blade pressed tightly against his throat, and used my left hand to violently slap Julian’s pale face. "Wake up, traitor. Your executioner is here."Julian’s eyelids fluttered, and his eyes snapped open. They were bloodshot, swimming with a mixture of dark purple corruption and primal panic. But as he looked up at me, there was no flash of past-life recognition. He didn’t scream the name of the Apex Sovereign. He didn't see the hero who had hunted his k