CHAPTER 48

After listening to Valeria's story, I was able to draw out a few things. First, her love for my predecessor was completely one-sided. I wasn't certain, but I was sure that my predecessor had no feelings for her. Her memories were likely distorted by her obsession with him.

Secondly, she was also an avatar. When I asked her how she didn't die along with the rest, she chuckled and told me how she became an avatar. Apparently, the puppeteer ability was divided into nine aspects. My predecessor and I were the creator, Alexandra was the ruler, Noah was the converter, Damien was the controller, and Patricia was the enforcer. The other four had their own respective aspects, but she couldn't remember what they were.

As Valeria's story unfolded, I began to understand that she wasn't a mere follower of my predecessor. In fact, she was a fount of knowledge about his power, the puppeteer ability. Though she was trapped in the dungeon as punishment for betraying him, I couldn't help but recognize the value of her knowledge. Anya, who had been with my predecessor for far longer than Valeria, knew far less about the puppeteer ability. Despite this, I couldn't shake the feeling of unease that Valeria's presence stirred within me.

As I reflected on all I'd learned that day, I couldn't help but wonder if there was more to my ability that I didn't know about. What I'd initially thought was a game-like ability turned out to be something much more complex. I couldn't help but think about the last skill on my status page, the information about which was still hidden. I wondered if there was some condition I had to fulfill in order to access it. I had a feeling that I was only scratching the surface of my power.

After a few more rounds of questioning, we decided to free Valeria. Even though her level had been temporarily reduced, her knowledge and skills were still invaluable. With her help, we were able to clear the floor and move on to the next one. I was eager to see what new discoveries awaited me. But first, I wanted to learn more about the hidden skill on my status page.

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[JENNA'S PERSPECTIVE]

"And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen! The winner of this year's tournament, the Fire Dragon, Draxus!"

I couldn't stop my eyes from twitching when I heard that name. It all made sense now - no wonder he'd acted so haughty. When he was asked what he wanted for the prize, he asked for a battle of status against me. I had seen this coming, but that didn't make it any less frustrating.

In dragon society, strength was everything. You couldn't claim or keep your status without the strength to back it up, not even if you were a king. Twice a year, a commoner could challenge a noble to a battle of status. If the noble lost, they would forfeit their status and the commoner would take it up. The same applied to royalty, but it only happened once a year and only nobles could challenge royalty. Additionally, the age difference between the two participants couldn't be more than fifty years.

One might think that a fifty-year age difference was a lot, but in the world of dragons, it made no difference, especially for royalty. A dragon with a purer bloodline could fight dragons up to two major realms or twenty levels above them, depending on how pure their bloodline was. Defeating someone with a stronger bloodline could prompt your own bloodline to increase in purity, if you were lucky enough.

The match was set for two weeks from now. They probably thought I would need time to brood, but the truth was, I didn't. I could already tell that no one thought I could win the fight. After all, I could barely use spells, in their eyes. Draxus, the smug fool, gave me a self-satisfied look before walking out proudly. What a fool he was!

As the upcoming fight loomed, I knew I had more ways to defeat Draxus, but I decided not to underestimate him. After all, who knew what could happen? First, I needed to figure out what spells he had at his disposal. Secondly, I needed to assess my own strengths and weaknesses. And finally, I needed to find a way to use my advantages to the fullest. I had a feeling that this fight was going to be more challenging than the one with the dragonoid version of Draxus.

With that in mind, I stood up and left the arena with the rest of my family. I could almost catch the subtle smile on Janet's face. I wondered what was going on in her head. She was probably just enjoying the drama of it all. Either way, I had to prepare for the upcoming fight. It was time to get rid of this shitty reputation.

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[AUTHOR'S NOTE]

Sorry for the delay, guys! Something came up that I had to take care of. I hope you understand. I'm also planning to release a new book called Revenge of the Prince. It's the story of Noah, and it's going to be a thrilling read! I can't wait to share it with you.