Chapter 7: Overpowered

A panicked shout tore through the quiet hallway outside.

Before Craig could even adjust to the heavy, pulsing strength radiating through his newborn core, the heavy oak doors were forcefully kicked open, swinging back on their iron hinges with a deafening bang.

Two heavily armored estate knights burst into the bedchamber, their silver broadswords already unsheathed and glinting in the morning light.

They had seen the blinding crimson glare scorching through the seams of the Baron’s window and heard the agonizing scream that followed.

Expecting an assassin’s ambush or a magical breach, their boots slammed onto the hardwood, ready to kill.

Instead, their movements came to a sudden, rigid halt.

Their eyes widened in sheer, unadulterated shock.

To earn the right to wear the silver plate of a Darkstar knight in the harsh West, a soldier had to be an awakened Superhuman.

Yet, like most mortals across the continent, these two had never awakened a Talent.

Their dreams of ascending to the ranks of true Rankers had been buried years ago.

But because they possessed awakened mana cores, their senses were keen enough to feel the violent, suffocating pressure lingering in the atmosphere.

It was an intense, primordial mana, swirling around the young master like a invisible storm.

Craig stood in the center of the room, shirtless.

His silk nightshirt had been incinerated into ash during the violent ignition of his Dragon Heart.

"I am sorry to have stressed you guys," Craig spoke calmly, his tone devoid of the slightest tremor.

His body had undergone a terrifying evolution.

The frail, unconditioned teenage frame he had inhabited just minutes prior was completely gone.

Craig had grown noticeably taller, his shoulders broadening into a powerful, athletic V-taper.

His long, vibrant crimson hair had lengthened, cascading past his shoulder blades and down toward his waist like a sheet of pure flame.

His skin, stripped of all adolescent blemishes, carried a flawless, porcelain radiance, while dense, tightly defined muscle wrapped tightly around his chest and arms.

He looked less like a mortal young master and more like a statue carved by ancient gods.

Craig inhaled deeply, drawing the ambient atmosphere into his expanded lungs, and met the knights’ wide-eyed gazes.

"Call Ser Hughway for me," Craig ordered smoothly.

The lead knight swallowed hard, his throat working beneath his gorget as he slowly lowered his broadsword.

"Yes, Lord Baron... but if I may ask a question..." He hesitated, staring at the visible heat waves distorting the air around Craig’s bare chest.

"Have you... awakened your mana core?"

"Yes," Craig answered, a faint, composed smile touching his lips.

"I got lucky."

The two knights exchanged a rapid, breathless glance, the sudden spark of unbridled excitement written across their faces impossible to hide.

Among all the young master candidates currently competing across the Darkstar territories, Seventh Young Master Craig was the only one to have successfully awakened his mana core before stepping foot into the Temple of Dragons for the Dragon’s Calling Ceremony.

In their eyes, he wasn’t just a Baron anymore—he was a generational prodigy.

The days of serving a mere territorial Baron on the lonely frontier were over.

They were now standing in the presence of a future Duke.

"Right away, Lord Baron!" the lead knight declared, bowing his head in deep reverence before both men backed out of the room, pulling the heavy oak doors shut with absolute care.

Silence descended upon the chamber once more.

Craig turned his attention back to the floating cyan panel anchored in the air before him.

"To think I merged with a Special-Grade Talent," Craig murmured, looking down at his smooth, pristine hands. "No wonder it was a one-time consumable... and a passive transformation at that."

He slowly clenched his right hand into a fist.

Crack.

The raw air between his fingers imploded from the sheer physical pressure of his grip.

"I can feel it," Craig whispered, his golden eyes burning with a cold, predatory light.

"I can feel absolute power coursing through my veins. Am I even still entirely human?"

He remembered the crimson scales that had armored his skin during the assimilation before sinking beneath his flesh.

He felt lighter, exponentially faster, and his perception of the world had expanded a hundredfold.

He could feel his mana core deep within, causing mana to flow through his body but that wasn’t all.

He felt his heart was different.

Like it had become another source of power on its own.

His eyes didn’t just see physical structures now; he could visually trace the faint, shimmering threads of atmospheric mana drifting through the room.

It was that exact sensory shift that had allowed him to instantly read the power class of his two knights the moment they stepped through the door.

They were Sword Runners.

In the century following the Black Winter, humanity had codified the world’s combat capabilities into two distinct realms:

The Spirit Realm and the Sword Realm.

Those with an innate affinity and talents for spirit sorcery were classified as Magicians, while those born into martial bloodlines.

Like the fearsome Darkstars were designated as Sword Experts.

The Sword Realm was divided into ten strict class of ascension:

• Sword Apprentice

• Sword Runner

• Sword Sage

• Sword Master

• Sword Grandmaster

• Sword Dominator

• Sword Emperor

• Sword Demigod

• Sword Legend

• Sword Supreme

When a Superhuman awakened their core, they naturally began at the entrance of a Sword Apprentice.

Each ascended class is divided in three stages.

Initial-stage, Middle-stage and Peak-stage.

However, without the catalyst of an innate Talent, a Superhuman’s ceiling was forever locked at the Sword Sage class.

Reaching the heights of a Sword Master or beyond was a physical impossibility without a Talent to break mortal boundaries.

That’s because the true essence of a Sword Master class is becoming one with your innate talent.

The attainment the Ranker receives during the ascension is what makes them a Sword Master.

Even so, as mere Sword Runners, those two estate knights possessed enough raw physical power to crush a peasant rebellion single-handedly, cleaving through hundreds of mortal men in a matter of heartbeats.

In his previous life, Craig had been the sole anomaly in recorded history.

A talentless Superhuman who had managed to claw his way up to the rank of Sword Grandmaster.

A feat he had only achieved after bonding with Chaosbringer decades after failing his ceremony.

Now, he didn’t even need to claw.

His starting line was already higher than most men’s ceilings.

Craig drew a slow, calculated breath, suppressing the rising wave of dark thrill in his chest.

He refocused his intent on the system interface, directing his attention to the second reward sitting in his inventory.

Ding!

[ WOULD YOU LIKE TO OPEN YOUR REWARD: GOLDEN GIFTBOX? ]

• [ YES ] / [ NO ]

"A second Golden Giftbox..." Craig’s lips curled into a dry, razor-sharp smile. "Let’s see what else this System considers a starting gift. Perhaps another Special-Grade?" ℴ

Without a second’s hesitation, he focused on the prompt.

Yes.

Ding!

A sharp, solemn chime rang out, sounding like the striking of an ancient, celestial anvil deep within his soul.

[ CONGRATULATION! YOU HAVE RECEIVED THE BLESSING OF THE SUPREME BATTLE GOD ]

[ YOU HAVE AWAKENED TWO SPECIAL-GRADE TALENTS ]

Craig’s heart skipped a heavy beat, his eyes widening as he stared at the flashing text.

Four Special-Grade Talents.

He was being given an unfair advantage before the grand war had even begun.

His eyes narrowed as he read the title. "First a blessing from the Ancient Dragon God... and now a blessing from the Supreme Battle God. Who are these gods? Are they entities beyond the Abyssal Rifts?"

There was no answer from the cold interface..

Craig didn’t waste time dwelling on existential questions he lacked the clearance to solve.

He tapped the new reward details to inspect his new martial authorities.

[ REWARD DETAILS ]

• Talent: Monarch of Swords (Special-Grade)

• Status: Partially Awakened

• Description: The Host is one with all blades, and all blades are one with the Host. Grants absolute, instantaneous mastery over any sword or blade technique upon physical contact.

• Talent: Inheritor of the Supreme Battle God (Special-Grade)

• Status: Sealed

• Description: ???