"Hmmph..."
A loud beeping sound came past his ears, again and again, in a rhythmical chime that seemed never-ending. At first, he thought it was all in his mind—imagined. However, as the beeping continued, Drake Drakon began to regain a sense of mindfulness.
Soon enough, his eyes sprang open forcefully, and he immediately sat upright.
He was in a room where everything seemed to take a white colour—the walls, the machines, even the tubes connected to his body through those machines were all white.
The only thing that stood out was the blue sickbed he lay on, a large digital transparent screen on the wall opposite him, and the visitor's chair close to his bed, which was made from rich oakwood and brown velvet padding.
On the chair sat a man he was all too familiar with.
Headmaster Stoick, dressed in far more casual clothing than usual—a white shirt unbuttoned slightly to let his broad chest flourish, and dark pants to complete the look.
Menacing, truly, Drake thought.
"You waited for me to recover. That's quite exciting, I'm truly touched," Drake mused, his tone dripping with sarcasm as he mocked Headmaster Stoick.
The Headmaster simply chuckled and replied, "How rude of you, Drakon. Well, I can't say I visited just because I wanted to see you recover—you know that."
Drake nodded in agreement. He knew Headmaster Stoick—a man of respect, with great concerns, and one whose every action came with a particular reason.
For that reason, Drake looked up to him not just as a headmaster, but as a mentor.
The Headmaster, holding a small remote in his hand, turned his attention to the large screen on the wall, then tapped a button that made the display change.
"This is the interview of the raid after you were taken away." With that, the Headmaster played the recording, not waiting for Drake's opinion on the topic at hand.
'Why does he want me to see this?' Drake wondered, lost in thought. Watching the stream, all he could see was the rowdiness of the crowd—the awakened finding it hard to move through the mass of people while others stood and waited to be interviewed, especially the S-ranked awakened.
It took a while before the noise of the crowd dissipated to the point where there was little to no disturbance to the stream.
That was when a reporter stepped forward. A young, stunning woman with long brown hair, a face that could not be overlooked, and a body shape that radiated confidence.
It was Kate Butch, the most popular reporter in the awakened society.
She stepped up to one of the S-ranked—Rumar—who was still in his giant form, looking the most menacing and strongest among the group.
Not just that, but from the stream, his strength had been glorified before the world, and surely he was a good pick to start the interview.
"Rumar Starlight, what can you say about the hunt overall?"
Rumar grinned, running his hand through his silky black hair to give an alluring pose to Kate, as though trying to catch her favor.
However, the high-standard woman remained unfazed and simply waited for his reply.
Rumar, seeing that his pose had been wasted, cleared his throat and spoke.
'How expected. This bastard is an insult to the original title,' Drake thought, shaking his head as he watched.
"Well, it was an easy battle all through. ALCRAN Academy underestimated us for this hunt, and thanks to my leadership, more than half the students that entered the dungeon survived."
Rumar's replies made the demeanors of many S-ranked there frown in resentment. He spoke as though he had pulled everyone through the entire hunt, hogging all the glory.
Nonetheless, none of them could deny that Rumar had done an awful lot against the dungeon beasts and boss. Only a few had contributed just as much, and they stood silent.
Kyle, for one, had no intention of even going through with an interview. He believed, "They've all seen my strength through the livestream—why else do I need words to explain it?"
Kate furrowed her eyes slightly and then scoffed. "And yet, on the livestream, the same can't be said about your battle with the King."
At this, Rumar's expression faltered. He opened his mouth to defend himself, but the young lady had had enough of him.
She walked away and approached Tessa.
The young awakened seemed to have her mind elsewhere, not really bothered about the interview until Kate came into her line of view.
With a friendly smile, Kate spoke, "Awakened Tessa, from what we saw on the stream, you were the only one able to land fatal hits on the King."
Tessa nodded weakly in reply.
"You ran out of steam during the battle; however, you won the fight. It came as a surprise that during the time all the S-ranked awakened were mysteriously teleported from the field, there was only one person left to face the King?"
"Y—yes," she stuttered a little, thinking of her next reply before continuing, "It was Drake Drakon."
The expressions of all the S-ranked, the media team, and even Kyle became stale—some shocked.
Kyle let out a sigh, his gaze wandering until it met Professor Kresha's—the young professor wearing an equally confused and pained expression.
It was at this moment that Drake Drakon knew something was wrong. Sitting on his sickbed, he held his breath, knowing what came next would be ever so decisive.
"Hahahahahahaha!" Rumar burst into laughter, drawing the attention of everyone there. "What a sick joke!"
Kate frowned at Rumar, his arrogant mocking attitude starting to get on her nerves. Then she turned to Tessa again, the young girl's visage pressed with worry.
"I interviewed a few low-ranked awakened who had seen Drake Drakon in battle. He saved them, and they called him the Boned Felon. Many vouched for him and his strength, but still, from what we've gathered from the stream, no one knows his abilities—or even if he has a system," Kate said. Each word that left her mouth felt as though Tessa were being plunged deeper into a dark hole.
At that point, Headmaster Stoick paused the stream and turned to Drake. The face of the young awakened seemed—indifferent.
Headmaster Stoick was puzzled. Why was he so calm about this? The fact that Drake had no system meant he couldn't be ranked against his peers, and no one had seen his abilities or anything he could do during the dungeon raid. So why was he so… calm?
Drake couldn't help but let a small grin form on his lips. "This is good."
Headmaster Stoick's eyes widened in disbelief. "Good? Are you aware this means you can't be ranked against your peers, you can't be streamed to show your strength to the world? And despite all the academy has done, we are unable to reboot your system."
What Headmaster Stoick didn't know was why Drake was still excited.
Before him was displayed:
{Stats}
Name: Drake Drakon
Rank: SSS Rank
Talent: Dragon Necromancy
Level: 5
Soul Core: 1/80
Drake's theories had all been confirmed at that moment. So, the system I have is different from the general one given to everyone else.
This new information certainly placed many new opportunities before Drake—so much that he couldn't help but feel excited.
With this, no one could monitor his growth or control it. With this, Drake could see endless possibilities in this life he couldn't wait to take hold of.