Dragon's Awakening: The Duke's Son Is Changing The Plot
Chapter 70 - 69 - Crisaius’s Back.

Chapter 70: Chapter 69 - Crisaius’s Back.

The peaceful aftermath of the training session didn’t last.

It couldn’t.

Because peace, in Raven’s life, was as stable as a one-legged duck on a trampoline.

The sun had just dipped below the horizon, casting a warm golden hue over the Vaise compound. Birds chirped. The trees swayed in a gentle breeze. Clara leaned on Raven’s shoulder, her presence calm and reassuring.

Siris stood a few paces away, still humming what might’ve been a lullaby or a blood pact incantation—hard to tell with her.

Alex was arguing with the squirrel on his head.

Everything was... oddly normal.

Until—

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

The sky cracked open. Not literally, but it sounded like it.

From the far-off mountain trail, a boom echoed. Birds shot up in panic. Mana rippled through the air like a drunk concert wave.

Raven froze.

He knew who it was.

"...No," he whispered. "No no no no no no no."

Clara blinked. "What the—?"

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

Jake frowned. "What is that noise?"

Jessy narrowed her eyes toward the horizon, shielding them from the orange glow spreading through the trees. "Wait... is that... a man on fire?"

"No," Rufus whispered, trembling, "it’s worse. It’s a shirtless old man on fire."

Indeed, sprinting at full speed—wearing nothing but a pair of wildly scorched pants, a suspicious belt made of vines, and an aura of something between glory and insanity—was Crisaius Von Vaise.

He was glowing.

Literally.

Veins of unstable mana blazed around his body like cursed lightning as he zigzagged through the trees, laughing like a villain who got kicked out of the final boss audition.

"I AM THE STORM! I AM THE GHOST OF DISCIPLINE! I HAVE RISEN FROM THE ASHES OF MY SLUMBER AND HEALED MY LIVER!!"

Jessy took a step back. "He’s headed this way."

"Don’t make eye contact," Clara said automatically, leaning subtly in front of Raven like a human shield.

Siris tilted her head. "Is this part of the training?"

"No," Alex hissed. "It’s the final boss event! Everyone, scatter—!"

Before anyone could flee, Crisaius arrived.

With a final burst of speed that turned the grass beneath his feet into charcoal, he stopped in front of the group in a dramatic martial arts pose that made zero sense anatomically.

And then—

Silence.

He stood there. Breathing heavily. Arms wide. Chest glistening with either sweat, oil, or the tears of fate.

Everyone just... stared.

Alex was the first to whisper what everyone was thinking.

"...Crackhead."

Jake slowly nodded.

Clara said nothing but instinctively moved her hand toward her sword.

Jessy frowned, clearly fighting between calling the guards or a healer.

Siris blinked, looking genuinely impressed. "Such strong lunatic energy. Is he your grandfather, Raven?"

Raven, meanwhile, was pinching the bridge of his nose like the weight of the world was being measured in "Embarrassment per Second."

He muttered something.

"...Crisaius Von Vaise."

The words weren’t loud.

But they hit like a meteor.

Every head turned toward him.

Clara’s jaw actually dropped.

Rufus blinked. "Wait. THE Crisaius Von Vaise?"

Jessy looked like her soul had briefly left her body.

Alex fell back into the bush again.

Even Jake flinched. "The myth."

"That’s him?" Clara whispered.

Raven sighed. "Yes. That Crisaius. That’s him."

Silence.

And then—

"Oh shit," Rufus muttered, voice tiny, "I insulted him in my head."

Everyone snapped to attention. Instantly trying to appear formal.

Jake bowed stiffly.

Jessy straightened her posture so hard it looked like her spine was replaced with steel.

Clara tried to speak but settled for silently hiding the sword behind her back.

Only Siris remained unimpressed, eyeing Crisaius like he was a weathered scarecrow that had just yelled at her crops.

Raven, meanwhile, was already emotionally checked out.

’Why is he like this... Why do I have to know this man... Is this what having a master feels like? I don’t like it. I want to return it.’

Crisaius took a deep breath and finally spoke like a human being.

"Disciple!"

Raven winced.

"Yes, you," the old man continued, pointing dramatically. "Did you miss me? Did you miss the light I brought to your life? Have you cried in my absence?"

"No. It had barely been a few days since we met." Raven shook his head, and before Crisaius could even speak, he added, "And I wouldn’t miss you even if we hadn’t met for years!"

"No?!" Crisaius looked heartbroken. "I... see. You’re still emotionally constipated. Very well! I shall return twice the master I once was!"

He dramatically posed again.

Nobody reacted.

However, Raven noticed the old man’s strangeness.

He felt a bit too energetic.

No matter how much he joked, he still maintained a level of stupidity.

This was on another level.

He had a suspicion.

Maybe it was because of him. Maybe it was because of the technique he gave him.

But his mind denied that possibility.

He didn’t want to believe that this old man would recover so fast.

Above all, he didn’t want to accept that it was him who had gotten emotional and gave the guy a cultivation technique to help him recover.

If this crackhead had really recovered, then there was a chance that Raven’s live would be turned into a living hell again.

’Fuck!’

He was so deep in his thoughts that he missed the next few lines of the conversation.

Clara, standing beside him, was squinting at him like he might explode if they breathed too hard.

Alex, on the other had, popped a had up from the bush. "Sir, are you here to kill us?"

"No, boy!" Crisaius declared. "I am here to meet my disciple and thank him! I’ve finally recovered some of my strength!"

Rave missed that part.

Siris blinked. "But you’re underdressed."

"HA! This is how a reborn man appears! Naked before the world’s judgment!"

"Gross," Raven said immediately.

But just then, everyone’s eyes widened.

’Wait—! Disciple?!’

’Raven is Crisaius Von Vaise’s disciple?!’

All of them turned toward Raven, their eyes wide.

"Wut?"

Raven blinked, confused.

"...you were HIS disciple?" Clara asked, her voice filled with disbelief.

"Huh? Where else do you think I was for the past two years?" Raven tilted his head as if it were the most obvious thing, but Clara and the others just stared at him.

"Why didn’t you tell us about it?" Jessy asked, her eyes squinted.

Clara and Jake, however, sighed, realizing what Raven was going to say.

"You never asked," Raven replied, making Clara and Jake shake their heads.

Crisaius, on the other hand, looked around, beaming with pride, speaking again.

"Younglings! Do you want to be trained by me?! I can’t make you my disciple, but I can teach you some things!"

Everyone looked at Raven with the same expression:

"You brought this lunatic into our lives."

Raven shrugged. "...He grows on you."

"Like fungus?" Jessy whispered.

"Exactly."

Siris tilted her head again. "Can I dissect him?"

Raven turned to her. "You may not dissect my master."

"...For now," she whispered.

Crisaius suddenly spun on his heel, eyes glowing.

"You. Girl. With the unsettling aura."

"That’s me," Siris replied politely.

"I sense darkness in you."

"Oh, I murdered a bunch of people. It’s probably that."

"...Good," Crisaius said, nodding like this was completely fine. "We shall get along splendidly."

Raven just closed his eyes and sighed again.

But just then, something clicked in Raven’s head.

’Wait—! Did he say he had recovered?!’

"Old man, did you say you recovered?!" He stomped toward Crisaius, his eyes wide.

"Huh? Yeah," Crisaius looked at Raven with a strange look. "Did you not hear it when I first said it? I haven’t completely recovered, but I can now use mana."

’Fuck...’

Raven had no words left to say.

"It was because of the cultivation technique you provided," Crisaius added, and Raven just closed his eyes.

’Is this what it feels like to dig your own grave?’

But then, something clicked in his head.

’Those 10,000 plot points...’

He stared at Crisaius, and it finally made sense to him, as he understood where they came from.

It was all because of Crisaius.

Maybe Raven was just plot point-hungry, but now that he knew that his crazy master helped him gain 10,000 plot points, his decisions didn’t seem that bad anymore.

’Man, has this old man grown handsome, or am I blinded by the plot points?’