Harry, the Ace of the King’s domain among the most prestigious members of the junior class, studied the sudden shift in Arnold’s expression with an unreadable face of his own. Several other high numbered students sat scattered around the School King, each occupying their own respective seat nearby.
Thalia leaned forward from her chair, a flirtatious, faintly mocking glint flashing behind her eyes. A pointed, reasonable glare from one of her fellow members was enough to make her catch herself, easing back into her seat with practiced composure. It was a silent, familiar warning, one urging her to rein in her usual habit of sly mockery mixed with exaggerated, sensual deference toward the School King.
She had always been the type to test other people’s limits, working her way past boundaries through sly charm and playful provocation. With the School King serving as her favorite, most persistent target, she remained a constant, low grade nuisance around him. Still, no one could simply remove her from the circle outright, given her standing as a respected high numbered student and one of the more critical figures within the King’s domain.
Arnold’s eyes never left Harry’s face. The glass cup in his hand trembled faintly, and Harry registered the small tremor instantly without letting a single flicker of reaction cross his own features.
"She’s already finished her round, and honestly, she was genuinely impressive with what her Phoenix summon is capable of. I don’t think that performance comes purely from her family’s reputation either. There’s real personal effort and drive behind it too, maybe even enough to eventually outgrow her family’s influence entirely. Her scores came back remarkably high across both the short duration measurement and overall battle performance metrics the competition tracks."
Harry delivered the report almost casually, the same flat, detached tone someone might use discussing the weather. That had always been his way. He carried himself with an almost mechanical emotional distance, enough that people sometimes joked he came across more like a finely tuned machine than an actual person.
A slow smirk crept across Arnold’s lips as he settled back comfortably in his seat.
"Oh? Is that so? Genuinely impressive, hearing that. We need to move fast and bring her properly into our league’s influence."
Thalia chimed in eagerly.
"But wait, isn’t that position technically meant for Mia Brookson? I mean, Quinn’s definitely not going to be thrilled about that idea. You know exactly how cold and hot tempered she can get!"
"Relax, I’ll handle it, same as always. Nothing to worry about here. Who knows, maybe we end up with two queens running the school side by side for once, a nice change of pace. What do you think?"
Arnold raised his glass slightly, almost like offering a toast. Thalia bit down lightly on her lower lip, though she shrugged the thought off easily enough, well aware she wouldn’t be the one facing whatever fallout followed his decision.
"Whatever that girl’s actually hiding feels mysterious enough that it’s worth exploiting properly. That kind of uncertainty could raise the tension considerably, and honestly, make her even more valuable to us in the long run. You’re sure this isn’t some kind of decoy situation?" Goro, the Knight of the King’s domain, asked, taking a slow sip from his own drink.
"He’s got a fair point there," Harry said, glancing back out toward the arena below.
His eyes tracked the ongoing matches unfolding across the platform until the next pairing was about to step up.
He turned his attention back toward Arnold.
"Looks like the next round belongs to Kai. Outcome’s genuinely uncertain this time. How much would you actually wager on him? Personally, I’d put it around one and a half percent."
Thalia shot him a knowing look the instant he finished speaking. Whenever Harry started estimating things down to specific decimals, she knew from experience that even a seemingly tiny number like that represented a genuinely staggering probability in his own internal calculations, especially set against the far smaller odds he assigned to a loss or draw.
A long, satisfied smile spread across Arnold’s lips as he took another elegant sip from his glass.
"Oh, this is going to be good. The kid I’ve had my eye on as a potential successor finally steps into the ring properly. What I appreciate most about him, honestly, probably because it reminds me a little of myself, is that same drive toward dominance over everyone else around him. You sure you don’t want to bump that estimate up a bit?"
"Honestly, the most interesting thing about Kai, in my opinion, is that he doesn’t actually belong to any bloodline family or clan tied to draconic creatures at all. That puts him even further outside the usual spotlight, proving he’s built real potential entirely on his own, without leaning on some prestigious family name, kind of like the new girl, actually," Goro added, arms folded thoughtfully.
It was, as it happened, a fairly well documented fact.
"Now, now, let’s not start judging or picking apart our potential new queen so early, shall we?" Arnold said, taking one more slow sip from his glass before setting it down carefully on the table.
He tapped the chessboard lightly with one finger, eyes drifting across the gathered members around him.
"Alright, who’s brave enough to join me for a friendly game? No need to be shy about it."
***
Outside, the scene shifted as both competitors took their positions at opposite ends of the sprawling platform.
Kai’s gaze remained calm and thoroughly unbothered as a massive portal flared open before him. From within it emerged a gigantic, reptilian dragon, its scales a rich, layered green accented with striking, multicolored highlights.
Wide, leathery wings stretched outward like the sails of some ancient warship, extending from forelimbs shaped disturbingly close to those of an oversized vampire bat.
Its sleek, streamlined head carried piercing yellow eyes split by narrow, red slit irises, a gaze sharp enough that it genuinely felt capable of staring straight through someone’s soul. Its long, lashing tail ended in a heavy, spiked ball, swinging lazily behind it with barely restrained menace.
Several students recognized the summon almost instantly.
"That’s Kai’s wyvern! The Multicolored Flail Tailed Wyvern!"
"Wait, isn’t that supposed to be one of the strongest summons in the entire sophomore class?"
Murmurs rippled steadily through the stands as more students leaned forward, genuinely interested now.
This was a true draconic summon, a bloodline long renowned for producing scales prized highly enough to be forged into some of the most exceptional armor known throughout the region.
This particular creature was the Multicolored Flail Tailed Wyvern, currently sitting at a full 6.5 High Tier, easily one of the highest ranked summons among the sophomores, arguably within the entire school.
Kai’s opponent, a somewhat short, wiry boy with his hair pulled back into a tight ponytail, smiled at the sight of the massive dragon rather than flinching the way most opponents typically did.
He tucked both hands casually into his pockets and let out a short, amused snicker.
"So this is what’s supposed to have everyone shaking in their boots? Some overgrown lizard straight out of old mythology, the kind that always ends up riddled with arrows and cut down by swords in every story I’ve ever read. Cute. You’ve clearly got a lot of confidence riding on this thing. Good thing you’re keeping yourself composed, considering what you already know deep down."
Kai let out a small, unbothered yawn before glancing briefly toward his own draconic summon with easy familiarity.
The ponytailed boy finally pulled one clenched fist free from his pocket, raising it high into the air.
"Today, I’m going to prove I’m the one person who can actually stop you. That I’m the dragon’s bane standing in your path. And that you got lucky, staying out of my way until now."
A wave of reaction rippled instantly through the crowd.
"Dragon’s bane? Seriously?"
"Is this guy actually challenging Kai’s wyvern with that much confidence behind it?"
A pair of upperclassmen a few rows up exchanged a skeptical look. "Kid’s either got something genuinely nasty hiding up his sleeve, or he’s about to become a cautionary tale real fast," one of them muttered.
"My money’s on cautionary tale," the other replied flatly, though he still leaned forward anyway, clearly curious despite himself.
Kai remained perfectly still throughout, expression entirely unreadable.
With that, a gleaming, silvery portal tore open beside the ponytailed boy.
A heavy, metallic clinking rang out across the arena as an armored humanoid summon stepped through from within.
It wore thick, polished silver armor topped with a great helm crowned in vivid red plumes. Its pauldrons sat at a moderate, practical size, clearly built for shoulder driven strikes, while its chest plate bore the unmistakable insignia of two crossed, slashing swords.
The sight sent an entirely different kind of murmur rippling through the crowd this time.
"Wait, hold on, I actually recognize that summon."
"That’s a Dragon Slayer! An actual one!"
"No way, is that seriously one of the old royal line types?"
The referee’s expression sharpened with real attentiveness as his gaze settled on the newly summoned knight.
This was the legendary Silver Armored Knight, formally known as Dragon Slayer, a 5.5 High Tier summon that had endured countless brutal, harrowing campaigns throughout history, carrying within it the bloodline of a genuinely accomplished, storied killer.
It had served directly under noble, titled kings and queens throughout generations past, carrying out one singular, well earned task above all others. Slaying dragons.
And here, now, it had been summoned for exactly that same, singular purpose.
To carry out its familiar, well practiced task all over again.
----
A/N: I hope that you’re enjoying it so far. Don’t forget to support with PS, golden tickets, gifts and adding to your library.
If you’ve reached this point, I would already appreciate you to do me a favor of giving your reviews since. It helps a lot to motivate.
And also comment your thoughts and opinions. It would be helpful guys
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter