Chapter 11: The Awakening Ceremony (1)

"Help me kill the system administrator, Cassius."

"...What?"

***

A quiet ambience filled the library as the light from the sunset shone through the window, illuminating Karavan's portrait.

'Ouch.' A boy rubbed his head before standing up and dusting off his suit.

In front of him was a purple orb spinning rapidly, that had just spat him out onto the floor.

As soon as the boy got up, the orb turned into a simple black ring and flew onto his finger.

'The ring's too big,' the boy thought, causing the ring to immediately shrink to fit his finger perfectly.

'Perfect.' The boy looked at the ring on his hand from different angles, pleased.

The boy was Cassius, who had just left Karavan's realm and was now planning to go to his awakening ceremony.

Cassius looked at the window and noticed the sun was setting. 'I am late for the awakening ceremony.'

He immediately left the library before encountering two young twin maids on the floor, searching the carpets in the hallway.

'What are they looking for? Lost jewelry?' Cassius wondered.

"Gahh, just where is the young master!" One maid yelled, pulling her hair.

"Young Master Cassius, where are you?" The other maid said, searching the carpet very carefully.

"They're looking for me? Of course, they're looking for me. But... In the carpet?" Cassius stared dumbfounded as the maids meticulously examined every inch of the hallway carpet, searching for him. He was certain they must be the two stupidest people alive.

"Hey," he said, tapping one on the shoulder, "Are you looking for me?"

"Young master!" The maid sobbed, looking up at him, "Where were you?"

The maid had a perplexed look on her face that Cassius found amusing.

"...The left side."

Cassius pointed to the other side of the carpet, with a deadpan expression on his face.

"Damn it! We already went over that part, we should have looked more carefully!" The maid furrowed her brows.

'Pfft-' Cassius covered his mouth to try and hold back his laughter. 'It has been so long since I last saw something so funny.'

Without warning, the maid seized Cassius by the wrist and took off at a sprint. "This way, Young Master! Hurry!"

'What is wrong with this maid? Doesn't she know she can't just touch a Duke's son like that?' Cassius was bewildered by her audacity.

She had a royal crest on her uniform so she must have been an imperial maid, not a Blackwood maid. How could an imperial maid not know such basic etiquette?

"Unhand him! I'm the one who found the Young Master!"

"Like hell you did! You couldn't even find him in the carpet!"

The two maids bickered childishly as they ran, pulling Cassius's arms in opposing directions like ill-behaved children fighting over a toy.

'I suppose, I will arrive faster this way. '

They kept pulling Cassius between them until they arrived at the grand ballroom where they saw the Duke waiting by the doors.

"Your grace! I found him!" The maid pulled his left hand into the air.

"No! I found him, your grace!" Her sister pulled on Cassius's other arm.

"Thank you for finding him," the Duke smiled politely, tilting his head, his arms crossed.

'Shit. Someone's going to die,' Cassius' eyes widened as he looked up at the maids who were smiling brightly.

"Really? What's the reward for finding him?" One maid asked excitedly.

"Guards," the Duke smiled, calmly waving for the guards to come over.

"He keeps the reward with the guards?" One maid mumbled to the other.

"He has a lot of guards. Must be a big reward," the other whispered back.

'No, you idiots,' Cassius, who was being held between them, heard everything and couldn't believe their stupidity. 'Since they are twins, do they each have half a brain?'

"Cut off their hands," the Duke commanded. "If they can't use their hands properly, then they shouldn't have them."

'He is being merciful today,' Cassius thought, straightening out the creases on his sleeves.

"Why, your grace!? We found him!" The maids yelled as they got dragged away.

"I know, that's why I let you keep your heads," the Duke replied, annoyed. "But on second thought, cut off their heads."

'If they can't use their heads properly, then they shouldn't have them,' Cassius chuckled, he could tell the way the Duke was thinking. Nonetheless, he found the maids' situation unfortunate.

'They went from being the stupidest people alive, to being the stupidest people dead,' Cassius watched pitifully as the guards swiftly cut off the maids heads.

'Father can be far too cruel. How could he cut off these girls heads just because they touched me?' Cassius sighed, shaking his head disapprovingly.

"Cassius, are you ready for your awakening ceremony?" The Duke placed his hand on Cassius's back as they turned to face the doors.

"Yes, father," Cassius tilted his head and smiled. "I will definitely awaken as a swordsman just like you."

The Duke chuckled and patted his head as he opened the doors and slowly entered the ballroom, where they were greeted by many nobles holding gifts.

"Young lord! Here's a gift," a man said, "it's a quill made from the feather of a phoenix."

'Ah, it's starting again. The nobles in the ballroom are surrounding me to try and gain my favor. Just like my past life,' Cassius smiled politely and waved at the nobles.

"Young lord! My gift is even better! It's a youth cream made of elf tears that prevents wrinkles!"

'Now, why would you gift that to a 10-year-old?'

"Lord Cassius, you are so handsome, you will surely be more handsome than your father when you grow up," a man said.

'I remember this guy from last time, he didn't even give me a gift, but he had the most to say when I didn't awaken,' Cassius glared at him.

"Cassius, don't pay them any mind," the Duke whispered, pointing at a fancy door connected to the ballroom. "Just go through there. I'll be waiting for you when you're done."

As Cassius walked towards the door of the Awakening hall, the nobles began to split in two, clearing a path for him to pass through.

"Will he be a magic swordsman?" One of them whispered.

"Will he even awaken?"

"Will he really be an S-rank?"

Everyone whispered as he walked by. In his past life, Cassius also had such questions. After all, no one knew what would happen because his parents had different classes.

But right now, Cassius strode confidently past them, his chin held high, because he already knew what would happen.

Just like he told his father, Cassius was going to awaken as a swordsman.

To be specific - he was going to make it look like he awakened as a swordsman.

A fake status window.

A fake system.

He opened the door and walked inside, before slamming the door shut behind him.

"Kar," he said, leaning against the door with his eyes shut.

[Yes, Cassius?]

Cassius opened his eyes, and a blue system message, the color of a swordsman's system, appeared in front of his face.

"Thanks," Cassius smiled wistfully. He leaned back against the door, eyes closed, as memories of his previous life flooded over him like a crashing wave.

Being back here brought back painful memories from his first life. He slumped to the floor, hugging his knees as sobs wracked his body. Tears streamed down his face. He hadn't intended to break down, but the echoes of the past overwhelmed him in this place.

After getting his emotions under control, Cassius wiped his eyes and took a steadying breath. "And the game begins, Father."