Dragon's Awakening: The Duke's Son Is Changing The Plot
Chapter 69 - 68 - Teaching Others.

Chapter 69: Chapter 68 - Teaching Others.

The training field behind the Vaise compound was still the very picture of chaos.

Rufus was trembling like a wet chihuahua, as if he had been subjected to something terrifying.

Jessy was trying to meditate, but she couldn’t.

Instead, she was frowning.

It was hard for her to focus with all the rustling sounds in the background.

The source of that rustling?

Alex, who had jumped into the bushes, scared that Clara might kill him for breaking her concentration, was the source of that noise.

When Jessy had confronted him, he had said that he was meditating in nature.

Then there was Jake; he seemed to be meditating, but he was too quiet for one to know whether he was awake.

Clara was glowing faintly, more goddess than girl at this point.

Only she was the one who was actually circulating her mana.

However, there was one more person with them—someone still new to them.

It was Siris.

She sat cross-legged in the circle like she was in the middle of a serene tea ceremony.

Raven turned to look at her, a weird tension blooming in his chest.

She sat there with perfect posture, her hands resting on her knees, and her long black hair flowing down her back.

Her expression was utterly calm, almost vacant. It was as if she was processing 42 simultaneous thoughts, and none of them were about the real world.

"Siris," he said.

She blinked up at him. "Yes, husband?"

Everyone paused—especially Clara, her brows twitching.

Raven coughed, glancing at Clara before turning back to Siris. "Can we not—can we not do the creepy wife RP thing in public?"

Siris tilted her head. "Oh... should I wait until we’re alone?"

Rufus audibly gagged hearing that, but Jessy was quick to act, throwing a rock at him and shutting him up.

Clara, however, unlike what others had expected, just gave a small sigh and casually adjusted the sleeve of her robe to prominently show off the thin, simple, yet sober ring on her finger.

She didn’t say a word.

She just... lifted her hand and turned it slightly.

She let the sunlight hit the gem like a glinting declaration of victory.

Siris, looking at that, blinked once.

Twice.

Then her eyes flashed for a moment.

But she said nothing.

After all, she had to pretend not to know anything about common sense.

As expected, Raven didn’t notice any of this.

He was too busy standing over Siris like a teacher deciding whether or not to give his most suspicious student a limited-edition god-tier textbook.

’Should I teach her the Soul-Kiln method?’ He wondered since Siris didn’t really need it.

Mana poisoning wasn’t even a problem for her.

Like she had the Vaise blood in her body, she had many other bloods, including a corrupted beast’s blood.

She couldn’t get mana poisoning.

’Her mana’s probably already some Frankenstein mess that breaks basic energy rules.’

However, that didn’t mean it was useless for Siris.

It was a heaven-grade technique.

Raven didn’t even know how high that was.

It was probably a ranking created by gods.

What he knew, however, was that even if it wasn’t purifying the poison in one’s body, it was still a technique that could help one collect mana at a terrifying rate while purifying it.

He had already seen the effect when he practiced it himself and taught Clara, Jessy, Jake, Rufus, and Alex.

They all, like him, could feel their mana increasing at a 10X speed while using this cultivation technique.

Normally, knights and mages both had to meditate to increase their mana.

Every breath increased the amount of mana in one’s body, but when they did the same thing while using the Soul-Kiln method, their body felt rejuvenated and purified.

Now, the question was—

’Is it worth it?’ Raven wondered.

Unlike Alex, Jake, Clara, Jessy, and Rufus, he didn’t know much about her.

Heck, the only thing he knew about her was that she was someone who wouldn’t hesitate to kill someone who stood in her path.

So, he didn’t know if he could trust her with this technique.

He stared down at her.

She stared back, smiling faintly.

There was absolutely no way that smile wasn’t hiding thoughts of murder.

But still—

’... she’s an Indigo-ranked opportunity.’

Although she hadn’t brought him any profit yet, he wanted to believe that she was someone who should be kept by his side.

After all, his Fate Eyes had never lied.

Even with Crisaius’s case.

They had indicated the old man as an indigo-ranked opportunity, and no matter what kind of hell he made Raven go through, he did teach him something amazing.

So, Raven wanted to trust his eyes again.

’Even if she almost killed me the first time we met, and although she is a psycho—’

He sighed. Deeply.

"—I’ll teach it to you too."

As soon as those words fell, Siris smiled.

It was a wide and dangerous smile, like a cat who got the keys to a dog kennel.

Raven reached out to touch her forehead.

He hesitated mid-way.

"...You’re not going to bite me, right?"

"I wouldn’t," Siris said, her voice soft. "Unless you wanted me to."

Jake’s lips twitched as he heard that while Alex was trembling, trying to suppress his laughter, but the bush shook as his body quivered, giving him away.

Raven ignored that, mostly because if he acknowledged it, he might scream.

He gently tapped Siris’s forehead.

A flicker of light passed between them.

She closed her eyes, and for a moment, nothing happened.

Then—

She began glowing.

Not sparking or twitching. Just a faint, steady silver-blue shimmer that pulsed through her veins like liquid moonlight.

It was the same shimmer Clara had a minute ago.

"...She’s doing it perfectly on the first try," Jessy muttered. "That’s not fair."

"I think she’s cheating," Alex muttered to himself.

Jake opened his eyes, staring at Siris silently.

Rufus was also silent, not wanting to be hit by another rock.

Meanwhile, Clara had sidled up to Raven.

Not clingy—Clara didn’t do clingy—but she casually leaned against his shoulder, arms crossed, and gaze locked on Siris.

She still wasn’t saying anything, but she kept flashing her ring every 45 seconds.

It was subtle.

Deadly subtle.

But Raven noticed that and, for once, caught on.

’Ohhh... she’s asserting dominance.’

The way she was glancing at Siris, he was sure that’s what she was doing.

’It’s as if they’re both alphas and this is the wolf stare-down moment for a bone, which is me. I’m the bone being fought over.’

Clara shifted slightly closer, casually brushing her arm against his.

Siris opened one eye, the glow still radiating from her.

Her lips curled ever so slightly.

But again, she said nothing.

Raven, whose emotional capacity was already operating at 12% due to stress and plot-point burnout, just sat there like—

’This is fine. Totally fine. I’m not sandwiched between a sword-wielding girlfriend and possibly a Yandere girlfriend candidate. Nope. Not at all.’

Then the system chimed in his head.

[You have successfully invested in Psycho killer, trying to change her path.]

[You have received 300 plot points.]

Raven blinked, happy about the plot points yet feeling a bit strange.

"...Why do I feel like I just bought cursed stock in a blood cult startup?"

Siris opened both eyes now, glowing brighter.

"I can feel it," she whispered. "My blood is harmonizing... and I think I can hear Melinda."

Raven frowned. "Who’s Malinda now?"

"Our future child," she said calmly, her eyes locked on Alex’s. "She called me Mommy."

’Wait—! What the fuck?!’ Raven instantly regretted his previous decision, but there was no going back now.

"...I have questions."

Clara’s sword clicked against the scabbard as she twitched her thumb against it, her intent directed toward Siris.

But Siris shrugged.

"None of which you need answered."

Raven sighed again.

He turned away, trying to ignore the burning sense of dread crawling up his spine like a plot twist wearing high heels.

Still, despite the danger, despite the chaos, despite his deep suspicion that he had just unleashed something unnatural into the world, Raven had to admit one thing—

’She’s officially part of the team now.’

Another unique person joined the team.

She was still new to the group, but Raven was sure she would soon get used to everyone.

The training session, however, was wrapped up.

Everyone survived.

Barely.

Even Alex, who finally climbed out of the bush... with a squirrel on his head.

The sun began to set.

The group scattered.

Except for Clara, who stayed at Raven’s side like a knight standing guard over the treasure.

And Siris?

Siris lingered behind, watching them.

Her eyes still glowed faintly.

So did her smile.

..................

Meanwhile, in the distance from the outskirts of the capital, came a sound.

A sound that would forever haunt anyone within hearing range.

"I!!!! AM!!!! ALIVE!!!!!!"

"I AM THE FIRE! I AM THE PAIN! I AM THE REDEMPTION ARC!"

Crisaius Von Vaise, half-naked and blazing with unstable mana, was sprinting toward the Vaise mansion in the academy like a metaphysical bomb on a family visit.

Raven, hearing that voice, blinked.

"Oh goddess," he whispered. "Did you hear my curse or what?"

He couldn’t think of any reason other than the goddess’s curse for him to hear Crisaius’s voice.