"To this, my son would visit the Red Crescent Kingdom without consulting his father." A figure stood silhouetted against the fading window light.
His red robe was a deep, bold splash of color in the subdued atmosphere of the office. His hands clasped behind his back.
He gazed out into the distance, his emotionless expression a mask that revealed nothing.
The robe's vibrant hue seemed almost incongruous with the man's age and demeanor, yet it accentuated his strong presence.
His long purple hair fluttered in the wind.
His late fifties had weathered his face, etching lines and wrinkles that spoke of experience and wisdom.
This man is King Alex Ryder.
Ruler of the Morningstar Kingdom and Patriarch of House Ryder. Ranked number six within the top 100 most powerful entities in the Purple Continent.
A Sword Level, Great Grandmaster, and a Mana Convergence Stage, Arch Mage.
A man who perfected both Swordmanship and Magecraft, making him feared amongst his generation.
No news could be hidden from his ears. He had long known about Caden's impromptu travel to the Red Crescent Kingdom.
What pained him the most was that Caden never came to pay him a visit before leaving.
He never sent Caden off with an army like he did to his other four sons. By now, he's becoming fond of Caden.
He softly exhaled, "The Awakening Ceremony will be taking place tomorrow, right?" King Alex asked.
Behind him stood his most trusted aide. The renowned butler of House Ryder and the Chief Advisor of Morningstar. A Mana Convergence Stage, Grand Mage.
Benjamin Ortega.
Just like always, Benjamin Ortega is dressed in his uniformed butler's black suit.
He stood in silence and only spoke when he was spoken to. Benjamin nodded "That's correct my king"
"By now, eighty percent of the Purple Continent's successors are present in the Inner Sector, and your sons must have arrived already," Benjamin Ortega stated.
King Alex nodded "For others, Awakening Ceremony could be taking over and over again"
"But for the successors. This specific seasonal Awakening Ceremony cannot be taken in their generation"
"Once they fail in this Awakening Ceremony, their future will die along with their failure"
"The chance of contesting with their fellow successors will be erased. This is a one in a million chance" King Alex gently stroked his purple long beard.
Chief advisor Benjamin bowed his he."That's correct, my king," He said.
King Alex's eyebrows furrowed. "Benjamin," He paused."Amongst my sons, who do you think will most likely have the best results?" He asked.
Chief advisor glanced at King Alex for a second, his lips curled faintly as he answered "I dare not conclude my king but I believe it will be tough"
"Prince Caden has proven himself to be a worthy entity, his reputation is known even among the hundred supreme kingdoms"
Chief advisor Benjamin paused for a second "But the First Prince Kane is a worthy contender, he may not be as renowned as Prince Caden"
"He may not be a Sword Level, Sword Apprentice, and a Mana Convergence Stage, Mana Trainer at the same time"
"But if there's someone who has the chance of having the highest results in the Awakening Ceremony"
"It would be him" Chief Advisor Benjamin concluded. King Alex nodded, "Well, all we have to do is wait for the result, then."
*****
[Location: Red-Pool City, Inner Sector]
If Red-Pool City is a dungeon. The Inner-Sector could be considered a double dungeon.
While the Inner-Sector is within the Red-Pool City, it's even larger than the Red-Pool City itself.
More beautiful, more renowned. A domain of wealth and they were all guests in this Inner-Sector.
While many successors were busy interacting amongst themselves. Making friends.
Successors of super kingdoms would try to force friendships with successors of supreme kingdoms.
Successors of large-sized kingdoms tried to force friendships with the successors of super kingdoms.
Everyone had their reason to be here.
All except Caden Ryder.
He only came here because the Awakening Ceremony is necessary in his plans.
He had no reason to interact with any supreme kingdom's successor. He knew if he entered anywhere and announced his identity as Caden Ryder.
Many would follow him, trying to be his friend.
He chose to stay hidden in the Inner-Sector, patiently waiting for the Awakening Ceremony.
Each successor was given a hotel room to spend the night in. In the Inner-Sector, there were about one thousand 5-star hotels.
With each hotel having a total of two hundred and fifty rooms, there was abundant space for every successor.
He had personally sent his personal maid, Candy, to the Red-Pool City to get him a few things.
His personal bodyguard, Alyssa, was also instructed to keep an eye on Candy and protect her.
Leaving Caden alone in the hotel room, right now, this is the perfect chance to focus on himself.
"Tomorrow's the day of the Awakening Ceremony" Caden mumbled "I remember it vividly like it was yesterday"
"I failed the Awakening Ceremony" His expression turned ashen as he recalled that fateful event.
He awakened an E-Ranked Innate Skill: Frost Life.
Skills below B-Rank are a failure in this Awakening Ceremony. C-Ranked Innate Skills are nothing noteworthy.
Just mediocre with no proper future. They could still be managed if all hope is lost.
That's for the supreme kingdoms. For Medium-sized and Lowest-tier kingdoms. C-Ranked is a fortune.
They could be considered a future generation king of that kingdom.
But in a supreme kingdom. In the absence of S-Ranked Skills, an A-Ranked Skill stands at the peak.
Only B-Ranked Skills could be managed.
"Back then, only Kane awakened an A-Ranked Innate Skill, and the second prince Fen awakened a B-Ranked Innate Skill"
"The rest of us failed and we were removed from the succession race. After his father died, Kane became the King of Morningstar"
"But in his reign, Morningstar Kingdom fell." Caden clenched his fist in annoyance; these were bitter memories he could not forget.
While sitted he was in deep thought. Just recalling such ugly memories caused Caden to frown, his eyelid twitched.
It's not that he cares so deeply about the Morningstar Kingdom.
It's just like he luckily found himself inside the body of a dead royalty. This was the perfect chance for him to live the mundane and luxurious life he had always dreamt about.
He couldn't help but sigh "Since I've regressed twenty years back into the past. I'm making sure history doesn't repeat itself"
"For now…..I need to check my own progress." He already has a fixed goal, a fixed target.
"Red Continent" Caden mumbled, his eyebrows furrowed "By this time, they should have already set their eyes on this Purple Continent''
"Status," Caden muttered, and the transparent cyan panel appeared before his eyes.
He decided to check his present records.
Skipping his personal information. He went straight to his stats.
[Loading Host's Stats]
Strength: 52
Speed: 52
Agility: 52
Vitality: 32
Endurance: 77
Mana: 81
Caden's eyes gleamed as he read the information displayed on the screen "To think my stats have increased this much in such a short time"
"I do recall that my stats quadrupled after my human physique was altered and replaced with the Primordial Dragon Physique"
"And not only that, after clearing the second task. My stats also increased by 2" He gently nodded in satisfaction "This is good"
While he went through his personal information, only two things caught his attention.
[Host Level: 1]
[Leveling Point: 30/100]
"What do Host Level and Leveling Point signify in my growth?" Caden was curious as he pondered over these two words.
Even his hopes of activating his SSS-Ranked Swordmanship Skill: Dragon-Resonance was halted because of his Level.
Just then the transparent cyan panel flickered as it brought an answer.
[There are 9 Levels Host can climb in the Primordial System. Host is still at the bottom level]
[Each Level is a small realm on its own. The higher the Level the Host's climbs, the stronger you grow]
"Oh?" Caden's eyes widened in amusement "Then what about Leveling Point?" He asked.
[Leveling Point could be considered a digital evaluation of Host's Leveling Stage]
[Once Host has achieved a total of 100 Leveling Points. You'll be qualified to advance to the next level]
Caden's lips curled into a faint smile "I see, I see….that is good, so how can I obtain Leveling Points?"
[Leveling Points can only be obtained through completion of tasks, and conversion of Exp]
Caden breathed in deeply, "That's good to hear, but let's have a discussion, shall we?"
His lips twitched for a second, "I've been curious about something. What exactly are you?" Caden finally asked.
[.....]
[I am the Primordial System]
"I know that already, my true question is who created you, what exactly are you? I'm not asking who you are"
Caden needed to be sure. He needed to know if this system would be a useful tool for him.
[Rejection Notice.....]
[You're unable to access such informations due to your low level]
[Required Level: 6]
Caden softly exhaled "I expected such, then atleast tell me what the reason why I was chosen by the system, the reason why you are guiding me"
For a few minutes, the system stayed mute before answering.
[You were chosen to be the Destruction of the Red Empire, Extinction of the Redmen]
A lopsided grin appeared on Caden's lips as his eyes flickered "So you're basically a revenge system, right?"
[Yes]
'I need to understand the depths of this system, since its goal is the extinction of Redmen, would it prevent me from killing other Purplemen? or does it only focus on the Red Empire?' Countless thoughts flooded his mind.
Caden gently rubbed his nose "So it's safe to say we're both using each other, is that correct?"
[Yes. That's correct]
Caden nodded with a smile "Then we can be considered partners, speaking of using.....I wonder how my old friends are doing"
"Many or them had died during the third invasion of the Red Continent, I should start recruiting them at this early stage" His eyebrows furrowed as he recalled a lingering memory "Especially that man...."
****
Thanks for reading.
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