In the northern lands of the Stoneheaven Kingdom existed one of the most powerful noble families in the realm—the Earldom of Bloodhound.
Despite holding the rank of only an earl, in terms of hard power, only top-tier marquises could contend with it. It stood just below the three ducal houses and the royal family.
And currently, within the residence of Earl Bloodhound, a drama was unfolding in the main hall.
"Fren, starting from tomorrow, you will be granted the title of baron and be given land under our territory," a middle-aged man said to the boy before him.
He had blood-red eyes, black hair, and several scars on his face—marks left by countless battles.
"Yes, Father."
Standing before him was a young man with a strikingly similar face, though with a relatively thinner build.
"Hm. Pack your things today and set off on your journey tomorrow morning," the middle-aged man, Earl Bloodhound, said as he turned and walked away, leaving Fren alone, staring at his retreating back.
"Haah… finally, I can leave this shithole of a place."
Fren muttered with his usual expressionless face as he too turned and walked away in another direction.
He—Fren Frost—was a reincarnated individual from Earth, now the third son of Earl Bloodhound, Lorn Frost, the man who had just spoken to him.
As for his two brothers, both were born of the same mother. Earl Bloodhound had loved and married only a single woman, who died after giving birth to Fren.
His eldest brother, Jerg Frost, was seven years older than him. He was the heir to the Earldom and its current administrator.
His second brother, Nicolo Frost, was six years older and was currently studying at the kingdom's most prestigious Royal Academy.
Despite being blood brothers, there was little love or affection between them—most likely due to their mother's death, which they placed squarely on Fren's shoulders.
But that was not the only reason.
Another reason lay in the power he had awakened.
Fren raised his hand, watching as faint black, smoke-like wisps seeped out from his palm.
Although this world followed a medieval structure, it was filled with magic, monsters, and powerful beings. Every individual awakened their natal power at the age of six.
The Bloodhound family was renowned for producing talented knights in every generation.
Accordingly, his father, eldest brother, and second brother all possessed exceptional talent in that field.
But Fren was an anomaly.
Despite being born into such a family, he was inclined toward the path of wizards—and more specifically, dark wizards.
While wizards could sometimes be even more formidable than knights, the problem arose when the word dark was attached to it.
Those who wielded darkness-related powers were widely despised throughout the world—both due to the very nature of the power itself and because many weak-willed individuals were corrupted by it, eventually turning into mindless beasts.
Aside from knights and wizards, the world possessed many other professions as well—alchemists, beast tamers, martial artists, and many more, each with their own subdivisions.
For example, his father was a Power Knight of Rank 7, his eldest brother a Frost Knight of Rank 3, and his second brother a Golden Knight of Rank 3.
As for ranks, they represented the power scale of this world—ranging from Rank 1 at the weakest to Rank 9 at the absolute peak. Rank 8 experts were said to be the highest powers among the ducal houses and the royal family.
Walking through the mansion, he made his way back to his room, ignoring the looks the surrounding servants cast at him.
Although he was not treated much differently from his brothers, and no servant dared to openly disrespect him, the indifference shown by his father and the occasional bullying he suffered from his brothers when he was younger had formed certain opinions in the servants' minds.
Combined with his awakening, it was only natural that they whispered about him behind his back and showed fear when he was near.
Although he could punish them for it, doing so would be pointless. It would only add fuel to the fire, and besides, he could not punish every servant who spoke behind his back.
After walking for some time, he finally reached his room. Opening the door, he stepped inside.
The room looked no different from what one would imagine a luxurious noble's room to be—if anything, it exceeded expectations.
A carpet woven from the soft fur of some powerful monster, a large and lavish bed, and various expensive furnishings all spoke of the conditions he had lived under in this house.
Lying down on the bed, Fren stared at the ceiling as his thoughts drifted to his newly granted baron title.
To be fair, it wasn't entirely bad, and he was mostly happy about it.
After all, even a baron stood thousands of times above a common civilian. Not to mention the resources gained from one's land and, more importantly, the protection offered by other noble families and the royal house. Even lone powerful individuals rarely dared to offend nobles unless they held a deep grudge.
Yet that wasn't his true reason.
His status as the third son of the Earl of Bloodhound was already higher than that of a baron—or even a viscount.
What he truly wanted was freedom—freedom from those disgusting gazes and from living in such a suffocating place.
Freedom to act on his own terms.
As these thoughts passed through his mind, his gaze fell upon his shadow.
It began to move like a living being. Countless eyes opened within it, gazing up at him like servants looking toward their king.
Though it appeared ominous, this was a power he had recently awakened—one he called Shadow World.
As for how it worked, it was simple.
It fed on the souls of others, and once nourished, it allowed him to summon beings from within it.
Because of this power, he had requested his father to grant him the title of baron, which would make it far more convenient to use abilities that could never be employed while residing in the Earldom.
"And…"
His gaze shifted to his left hand, where a dark, crystal-like mark was etched into his skin.
"…I must break this somehow."
The dark crystal mark was a seal placed upon his power by his father, who feared the possibility of Fren losing control and turning into a mindless beast.
Thus, after consulting several trusted friends, his father sealed Fren's power. As a result, Fren was unable to properly use his abilities.
However, Fren himself never believed he would lose control, as he was mentally far older than his physical age, and those who lost control to power were usually young people chasing quick strength.
He had tried many times to break the seal, yet each attempt ended in failure. If he failed to grow his power before the age of eighteen, he would completely regress into an ordinary human.
With that thought lingering in his mind, he closed his eyes and slowly drifted into a deep sleep.