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The now Makai ignored the first mission given by the system as he was sensing major transformations in his palace's vital path.

He felt that if he remained standing, he might miss something important and, very quickly, he sat cross-legged on the floor and closed his eyes as he felt the internal changes in his body.

Soon, he found himself sitting cross-legged floating in an empty space that was lit only by a small gray sphere the size of a walnut. Makai knew that this small sphere is the seed of his vital energy that forms in all young people who turn 10 years old in the world of Lazerorth and this is the representation of an Apprentice Knight.

At the moment, his vital seed had a small gray tube connected to another sphere located at the top and that was dark as if there was a barrier preventing the entry of the vital energy contained in the tube which is where the vital energy flows through it to form the palace that it is the sphere dark.

In the center of the dark sphere at the top, there is also what appears to be the shadow of a sword.

According to his memoirs, Makai learned during his studies at the knights academy that when a young 10-year-old awakens his vital seed and becomes an Apprentice Knight, he must choose a knight's path to follow, and the result of that path will be reflected in all the palaces he awakens.

As its predecessor chose the path of a swordsman, the result of this is that within the dark sphere is the silhouette of a sword. This is also why these spheres are called a palace, as they house the result of knights' ways such as swords, spears, axes, daggers, shields, among others.

As his first palace is dark, this is due to the last step he needs to complete when advancing his mastery on the sword path from basic to advanced proficiency.

However, after his predecessor's last soul fragment left this world and departed for the soul world, his vital seed began to undergo a drastic transformation.

The gray sphere which only had one vital path rising vertically to the dark sphere began to create a new branch at its center that extends horizontally to the right. At the same time, all the gray energy that was filled in the vertical vital path connected with the dark sphere, was drying up as if it were a gray liquid in a container that had been punctured.

However, this depleted vital energy was not being wasted and began to fill the new path that was forming horizontally.

Soon, this new path was fully filled with all the vital energy of the vertical path, and a new walnut-sized sphere was also quickly formed at the other right end.

"Is this... A new vital seed?"

Makai didn't know what was happening and was only following his intuition when he allowed all the vital energy to form this new path. However, he didn't expect it to form what appeared to be a new vital seed, after all, it was common knowledge in the world of Lazerorth that everyone only possesses a single vital seed and he was confused by what had happened.

"Who can tell me what's going on?"

He couldn't help but mutter to himself and was taken aback by the voice of the system in his mind.

[The host need not worry. This is a blessing that can only happen as a result of an unusual evolution. As the host is a reincarnated, his soul has merged with his predecessor's soul and has gone through this evolution when forming a second vital seed. This means that the host will be able to follow two paths of a knight while others can only follow a single path]

[However, as the host can see, there will always be two more paths to fill and it will take more effort from the host to awaken their palaces. The advantage is that, after filling the three paths, the host will have three times more vital energy than the other knights, that is, the host will be three times stronger than those at the same level]

"So that's what happened...Three times stronger than other knights... That sounds very nice. However, it looks like my promotion to a Bronze Knight will take longer than expected..."

Seeing his new seed that was dark, Makai had a frown on his expression. He needed to choose a second path to follow, only then would his new seed carve a new path until it formed a new palace.

Although each time he was promoted to a new level, it is necessary to awaken two palaces, that didn't mean he would be twice as strong as his peers, but rather three times, as each vital path increases a knight's strength, agility, and stamina equivalently.

Makai took one last look at his vital seeds that looked like a small carbon chain and decided it choose a second knight path when he had more free time. After all, he needed to run to the family council.

Opening his eyes, he saw that his butler was waiting silently beside him as held up a set of black and red clothes, the colors of the family crest.

"Butler Jonathan, thank you for your care." Makai couldn't help but be grateful as this butler was the only person he could trust and who had always taken care of his needs since he was a baby.

"Young master doesn't need to be educated. I'm just doing what I have to do. By the way, the young master should hurry up, his older brothers, as well as all family members who hold important positions, have arrived at the salon..."

Though he doesn't show any signs as he speaks, Jonathan was happy to see how polite his young master was. He felt the deep affection of a father with a son towards Makai as he watched him grow from a baby to his present age. Although he knew that his young master was despised in the family because of his mother's unknown origins, he didn't mind that and had a happy life with his wife and their son who had just turned 16, a year older than Makai.

...

The sun in late autumn was more refreshing and its rise in this vast blue sky painted its seemingly endless horizons in a beautiful landscape between the green of the forests and the sparse layers of white clouds mixed with their golden glow.

Under this beautiful backdrop of nature, there was an atmosphere of solemnity and tension, as many guards in silver armor held their round shields and long sharp spears as they garrisoned Crimson Castle, a cluster of castles that bears the glory of the Collins family, and which is also the political and military center of the entire Crimson Duchy.

Everyone in the Crimson Duchy knew that today would be the day that Duke Marvin Collins would decide who would be his successor before the family council. Even aristocratic forces from other distant territories across were paying attention to this matter, after all, the choice of a duke's new successor could imply their interests depending on who was chosen.

For example, Duke Marvin Collins has three wives and a child with each of them. This means that each of these three children carried a third surname from their mother's family who naturally belong to different aristocratic families. As for the youngest son, the fourth son, Makai Collins, nobody paid any attention, after all, there has never been a case before of a bastard son succeeding a noble title, mainly a title heavy as that of a hereditary duke.

Duke Marvin Collins' eldest son, Ferdinand Collins, had his third Barth surname, Ferdinand Barth Collins, on his mother's side and was more likely to succeed the title of Crimson Duke. In addition to his own talent being notable as being a knight swordsman, the Barth family is also a powerful family within the Starfall Kingdom, known as the Duke of the West.

As for the second child, Jason Collins, his chances are not very high. In addition to his talent in the way of a spear knight not being as good as his older brother's, his mother's origins are from an earl family and could not compare to a duke family.

The third daughter was different, although she was a woman, there was no discrimination by gender, because in a world ruled by knights, only strength matters. For this reason, Jennifer Collins, who despite carrying the third surname belonging only to a viscount family, seemed to be even more talented in the way of a swordsman than her own older brother. There were rumors that Ferdinand had lost in a duel against her, but no one knew the truth of such rumours.

If there was anyone who could threaten Ferdinand's position in the Collins family, it could only be Jennifer.

Makai was aware of all this, but he still needed to attend this family council. Even if there was no system mission, as the Duke's son, he was still obligated to participate.

After dismissing his butler Jonathan, Makai was heading down the castle steps and heading straight for the meeting room in the basement.

After passing many guards guarding the castle's corridors, two guards in silver armor seemed to recognize him as they opened a large gate 2 meters wide and 3 meters high.

Makai didn't take any longer and entered quickly.

Feeling the heavy and silent atmosphere inside the great hall, to his surprise, he was feeling a little nervous.

As Makai entered, all the main members of the Collins family who sat on either side of a large table with about 12 chairs on each side looked simultaneously at this young man who had dared to be late for an important family council like this.

After calming down, Makai ignored the hostile and contemptuous looks that were watching him and he quickly sat down in the only available chair, the last one on the left and the one closest to the door he entered through.

"Since everyone is here, let's begin..." Duke Marvin Collins seated in the head position at this large smooth black stone table, broke the silent and oppressive atmosphere.

He had short black hair and deep, sharp eyes. From his robust physical appearance, he appeared to be in his mid-forties, but his true age was much greater than appeared.

"As you all already know, today I will decide who will inherit the hereditary title of Crimson Duke..."

His voice sounded a little low, but it felt heavy on the ears of everyone present in this great hall lit by candles inserted in silver candlesticks.

[The host attended the family council and completed his first mission. The system is opening the welcome pack...]

[Congratulations, the host has obtained a summon card of random commander, a summon card of x10 random troops, a summon card of random equipment, and a construction card random]