Chapter 455: The Rise of the Vanguard
— Frey Starlight’s Pov —
It had been a long time since I last stood before such a large crowd.
Standing there, face-to-face with the Iron Emperor, Sir Alon, for the very first time.
I withdrew my explosive aura, offering hollow words of apology that meant little to me .. And even less to those present, whose eyes refused to accept what they were seeing.
Their reactions drew a tired sigh from my lips.
Everything was unfolding exactly as I had expected.
Ever since I gained full control over my aura, I’d become capable of pulling off stunts like this.
"So, you say you’ve forgotten how to live among humans... what an interesting thing to hear from your mouth, Frey Starlight."
Taking a few steps toward me,
Sir Alon unleashed his full aura and power,
Trying to reassert his dominance.
The force he released made the very air tremble .. It was truly formidable.
But compared to what I had displayed earlier... It felt lukewarm at best.
When he saw me unaffected by his power,
A wide smile spread across Sir Alon’s face.
"I wonder how far your strength has grown, Lord Starlight, For you to stand so calmly before me like this."
Standing face to face, The tension rose as sparks of radiant light shot from his eyes,
Colliding with the violet sparks flaring from my own.
"If you wish to know what I’m capable of,
Then send me to the battlefield and watch from afar.
Watch as I slaughter our enemies, one by one."
At those words, Sir Alon raised an eyebrow.
"What a bloodlust you have, Frey Starlight.
I’ve heard that in the past few months, your hands have been stained with so much blood .. That I can’t help but be concerned about sending you to the front lines in this state."
Sir Alon was trying to size me up in every way, Since this was our first direct encounter.
To him, I must have looked like a monstrous force in the prime of its youth,
With unknown abilities and even more unknown motives.
"There’s no need to overthink it, Iron Emperor.
You, more than anyone, know that you need people like me."
"Your eldest son once used my father to end the last war.
Now, all you need to do is the same.
That’s why people like us exist."
Mergo once said the same thing to me...
Back when I fought him in the land of the Ultras.
"We are monsters, born for this purpose alone."
With a smile, Sir Alon nodded.
"True enough..."
As he looked at me,Sir Alon recalled the legends he had once heard about my father ..
Abraham Starlight.
"Unfortunately, I never had the chance to meet your father, But I’ve heard much about him. And I suppose a part of him lives on in you—his only son."
Placing a hand on my shoulder,
Sir Alon gave his final words before stepping back.
"You’ll have your chance to spill the blood you crave, But always remember this, Frey Starlight .. Don’t let that blood consume you, And don’t lose yourself.
Even monsters have their limits."
With a simple nod,
I agreed to his words .. Though they meant little to me.
It seemed Sir Alon had already realized the truth:
That only my aura had reached the mythical SSS rank.
And because of that, He had instinctively lowered his guard.
Sharp senses indeed.
I’ll give him that.
He figured out my true level faster than I expected.
As these thoughts crossed my mind,
I glanced at my system interface to check my stats.
---
Host Name: Frey Starlight (Dual Soul)
Class: Swordsman
Talent: SS+
Current Rank: S
Strength: S
Speed: S+
Agility: S+
Endurance: SS-
Aura: SSS
Magic: —
---
Swordsmanship Level 7 (Max Level)
Talents:
{Swordsmanship}, {Aura Manipulation}, {Poison Resistance}
Combat Style:
Ten Thousand Steps of Shadow
Skills:
Hawk Eyes (Rank A)
Phantom Steps (Rank A)
Seduction (Rank D)
Ascension (Rank S)
Ignition (Rank SS)
Screenshot (Rank SS)
Abilities:
Shadow Adaptation 3/7
Stage One: Adapt to all combat styles, creating natural counters against any fighting technique.
Stage Two: Adapt to all physical injuries, triggering rapid regeneration to heal the body automatically.
Stage Three: Adapt to all forms of aura, granting perfect control and absolute dominance over the surrounding aura—and the user’s own.
...
Anti-Magic Level 2
Current Achievement Points: 1,000
...
...
...
I had truly come a long way.
After spending all my Achievement Points to raise my Talent to SS+ and training relentlessly for eight long months, I finally broke through to S Rank.
I even mastered the third stage of Shadow Adaptation, granting me absolute control over my aura.
All of this, combined with the secret training techniques I discovered within Nameless’s mask.
My strength had grown immensely.
At my current level, I felt confident that I could stand against any SS+ opponent—
Even Sir Alon himself, if it came to that.
But despite how far I’d come, I was still not where I wanted to be.
Still far from the level I needed to reach.
The level where I could face all those entities who had marked me,
Those who sought to bend my fate to their will.
In this world, power is everything.
The strong live by their own rules,
And the weak... they have no choice but to crawl through life as slaves, bound by the whims of others.
That’s why I yearned for bloodshed.
Why I wanted to fight again.
To force myself to ascend higher, through blood and fire—through battles where life and death balanced on a knife’s edge.
That’s why I was here.
To slaughter as many of those bastards on the other side of the world as I could.
Now, standing here, in the hall that hosted the World Summit before the war’s official outbreak ..
I took a seat among the special squad I was now a part of, Silently withdrawing from the spotlight after causing a stir.
Taking my place, I found familiar faces all around me.
Most notable among them was Snow Lionheart, seated to my right.
"It’s been a while, brother. You’ve changed a lot."
Just from the look on his face, I could tell ..
Snow was genuinely happy to see me again.
" I’m not the only one who’s changed. I assume I wasn’t the only one training."
Though he hadn’t released the same overwhelming aura I did, Snow had grown tremendously since I last saw him.
I figured he had fully mastered his War King Form by now.
He had grown far stronger than the story’s timeline should have allowed.
But I was glad.
Glad to see he had found his own path forward.
Just like I had my reasons for returning to that cursed continent, he had his own.
Without a word, we clasped hands, our grip firm.
"I’m relying on you there."
"Same here."