Awakening

Aldrich got ready, looking at himself in the mirror. Aldrich had white hair and a handsome face.

"Why do the Nobles get everything" Aldrich sulked, thinking about the massive scar on his face in the previous life.

Aldrich left his room, walking down the stairs to greet the family head, his father, Erik Drakewind, One of the Strongest Warriors of the Kingdom.

Aldrich looked into the eyes of the man before bowing in front of him.

"If only he was alive to aid us in the battle", Aldrich thought,

"You have finally learnt some manners; the maids did their job well", Erik said.

"Son, you know what day it is today." Erik stood up, waving his hand forward, as two servants came forward, handing Aldrich a box.

"Happy Birthday, Son", Erik Smiled.

Aldrich noticed the box in his hand emitting an intense Aura,

"a ring"

"It's your mom's most treasured belonging. She was supposed to give it to you to help you awaken.", Erik said, unable to look Aldrich in the eye.

Aldrich wore the ring as a warm feeling rose in his heart.

"What's this feeling?",

[Host might get affected by the feelings of the real Aldrich Drakewind]

"Son, tomorrow is the day of the family trial as well. You have to be careful" Erik touched the shoulders of Aldrich.

"All your cousins have already reached the first star, and the Elders came to the majority for the trial to be held just after your awakening. It's to push you out of the race for succession but remember, your life is more important", Erik patted Aldrich before returning to his seat.

"Elders", This word left quite a bad taste in Aldrich's mouth. "I don't even remember how many of those delusional "Elders" I had to kill who tried to side with the Dragons to save their asses", Killing intent rose from Aldrich before it quickly dissipated with Aldrich realizing where he was.

Aldrich could understand the situation of his family. The Elders tried to push him out of the line of succession, weakening Erik's position.

Aldrich had heard about these inheritance trials from some warriors in the past life.

The inheritance trial was said to choose the next heir and provided substantial gains as well.

"Thank you, Father", Aldrich bowed, clenching the ring.

"here is your mana technique, which is used by everyone in the family. ", Erik signalled to the servant, who handed out a booklet to Aldrich.

Erik patted Aldrich's head, "Good luck, son, you can do it. And remember, however you perform, I will always love you."

Killian being an orphan had never experienced affection from anyone older than him, always commanded to perform according to others' expectations. He felt a strange feeling welled up in his heart, something he had never felt before.

Aldrich returned to his room to complete his awakening and prepare for the trial.

"In my past life, I was using the shitty technique given to commoners in the Academy until I met Kael, who taught me a mana technique called Soulstream that helped me deal actual damage to the Dragons."

Aldrich remembered the first time he circulated Mana using the Soulestream technique; he felt as if a broken part of his body had been put back.

Changing mana techniques was not an easy feat. One had to completely empty their body of all the Mana from the previous technique before they could start circulating the new one.

Aldrich could still remember the pain he had experienced when he switched the technique.

"It felt like someone ripped my heart out", he said.

"The effects of the technique from Drakewind family should be more effective against Dragons", Aldrich thought as he sat down to read the technique,

Aldrich finally concluded, "It's dangerous, but it's the only way I can beat my past self".

Aldrich sat down to read the technique given to him by Erik,

The technique was called 'Aetherflow' and was considered incredibly destructive when used against non-human races.

He carefully read the manual as he circulated mana essence inside his body.

[Mana is entering your body]

[Mana is entering your body]

[Mana is entering your body]

The real challenge when it came to awakening was controlling the flow of Mana, which is running a rampage inside the body. The wider the mana veins, the stronger the flow of Mana, increasing the warrior's strength.

Aldrich used his experience of circulating Mana for tens of years as he slowly directed the Mana inside his body, increasing the width of his veins.

The process was arduous and painful, but Aldrich had faced situations far worse than this. He gritted his teeth as he felt the intense pain from widening his mana veins. He continued the process for his entire body, first his legs, then his hands, then slowly to his brain, and then to his heart.

As the Mana connected back to his heart, an intense pain erupted throughout Aldrich's body.

[Mana Technique Aetherflow has been learnt]

[Host has awakened]