Lurking Currents

Meanwhile in a manor that was even larger than Rolan's.

A man with a large scar across his face sat with arrogance and prestige on his large iron throne.

He was the Duke of Iron and one of the three Grand-Dukes of the Dragon Clan.

Those within the tribe called him Duke Gilbert.

"Sir, the youth competition starts tomorrow."

The servant was highly nervous while reporting this news as he struggled to hide his emotions.

"What level has Katharsis's golden boy reached?"

Sweat dripped down the servant's head despite the cool temperature as he gulped heavily before responding.

"We were unable to find out. The clan leader has restricted all information regarding the boy and only his personal tutor comes in and out of the prince's territory."

The servant took a deep breath before continuing.

"We could make a move on the tutor as he is only a small figure but considering his background…"

"No. Doing so would lead to immense repercussions and it isn't worth offending the Monarch of the Sky for this."

"This is not your fault as I did not expect Katharsis to protect his son so heavily but this is not a problem."

"Sir your meaning is?"

A tinge of understanding appeared within the servant's eyes as he seemed to understand what his lord was implying.

"Have James settle this and make sure he understands the importance of this task."

The servant nodded heavily before leaving to fulfill his orders.

Within the past few years, there were countless rumors of the talented newborn which was the clan leader's son.

Despite Katharsis's efforts to conceal information, rumors spread amongst the servants which reached the ears of many within the clan.

The boy's name was Rolan and his aura from birth had managed to suppress many of the king's closest guards.

His intelligence was unparalleled and he held great prospects as a scholar.

He cultivated at the speed of lightning and he had reached the second stage of blood refining at the age of two.

Such rumors continued to float around and many that held ambitions towards the crown and especially those that entrusted those ambitions towards their talented children became fearful of these rumors.

The clan leader's attempts in hiding his son just seemed to just confirm their suspicions.

...

It was now the day of the competition and the entire Dragonic Clan was lit abuzz in excitement as servants were in a rush to finish last-minute preparations.

The competition was held in the same location as always, the Colosseum of Blood.

It was forged by stones from abandoned colosseums and each stone was stained with so much blood that it could not be wiped off.

The killing intent within the arena was particularly high and it caused many of the youngsters to huff in excitement.

While the higher-ups did not wish for casualties, they were more than welcome to see injuries within the stage.

Rolan was waiting for his turn in a private room located within the VIP sector of the enormous colosseum.

He knew his father planned to use this as an opportunity to increase his own prestige by bolstering Rolan as an incredible prodigy.

Rolan was unable to hide his progress from his father and he didn't bother trying which was why he was allowed to compete.

'Let's just hope that everything runs smoothly.'

Rolan had been isolated from the rest of his clan for many years so all he knew was bits of knowledge he had gotten from his father and knowledge he had obtained in his past life as a player.

Both sources of information were not descriptive and he only knew a little regarding the clan.

Thankfully, his father had sent him a few documents regarding the clan so that he wouldn't remain ignorant as he revealed himself in front of the public.

This event was notorious around the world and the Dragonic Clan even opened their doors to the public to show off the prestige and might of their younger generation.

Many of these foreign experts would only be interested in the [Expert] competition so he didn't have to pay them much mind.

He continued his meditation while reading the documents his father had sent to make sure he hadn't missed anything important until he was rudely interrupted.

"Phew! I finally got away from that old bag of bones."

Rolan frowned as he disliked having his cultivation interrupted without reason as he analyzed the disturbance.

The rude intruder was a young girl seemingly around the age of 12.

She had an adorable round face with big eyes and was just the type of lolita that those lolicons of his previous life would pay any price to get their hands on.

She held the typical characteristics of the Dragonians, red-hair, and eyes.

"May I have the honor of knowing who has intruded into my room?"

The girl seemingly just noticed someone else was here, jumped in shock.

"Jeez! Don't surprise me like that!"

Rolan was starting to dislike this girl more and more.

He preferred mature and elegant girls like Lora and couldn't relate to those vile lolicons.

(Author Note: This is Rolan's opinion, not mine!)

She coughed slightly before lifting her non-existent chest high.

"I am Isabella Trester, the daughter of Viscount Tim and ranked 3rd in the Junior Ranking!"

'Viscount Tim...Ah, I remember reading about him in the files that father sent me. He is a recently promoted viscount that obtained his position from merit. He had played a crucial role in eliminating heretic groups that tried to steal the Draconic Bloodline.'

'As for Isabella Trester...she appears in the files as well which means she is worth some notice. She holds decent accomplishment amongst the younger generation and considering that her father is only a Viscount and a newly promoted one at that, she is indeed worthy of praise.'

"It is nice to meet you, Isabella. I have heard of you and your father. Now if that is all, I would like to ask you to kindly leave so I can continue my cultivation."

Isabella was just a little talented and he held no interest in this little girl so he kindly asked her to leave.

She frowned in displeasure as the young boy in front of her was hardly amazed by her.

"Do you perhaps not-"

"I'm aware of your father's merit and your reputation within the clan but I must prepare for my upcoming match so I would like you to leave so I could concentrate."

"You're just like my father, boring."

Isabella pouted as she showed no signs of leaving and sat right next to him.

Seeing as she remained silent, Rolan shook his head before continuing his meditation.

'Wait...how did she get here in the first place? I'm pretty sure that father had put up precautions to not allow people to enter his private room.'

Rolan tossed the concern to the back of his mind before continuing to cultivate.

As Rolan was engrossed in his cultivation, Isabella was constantly monitoring Rolan's face.

'How is he so handsome?'

'He seems even almost as good-looking as older brother!'

'Too bad his personality is boorish.'

'He seems pretty hard-working so his cultivation shouldn't be bad.'

'Perhaps he has almost reached the 2nd stage.'

'Who am I kidding?'

Isabella shook her head as she knew the faces of all the talented geniuses in the clan because of her father's education.

'But who is he?'

'This is the VIP room which means his background is pretty large but I've never seen him around.'

The boy held the typical characteristics of red hair and eyes but there seemed to be a slight hue that made those traits seem a little orange.

For other bloodline clans, they would assume this would mean that that the person was a mixed-blood.

Meaning they held more than one bloodline but no other bloodline was able to coexist with the Dragonian Blood which was why she never thought of this possibility.

Or at least that's what was believed.

'Maybe he dyed it?'

She looked at the charming boy's stoic face and chuckled.