Dragon's Awakening: The Duke's Son Is Changing The Plot-Chapter 40 - 39 - One vs. Five.

In the mansion for the Vaise children in the academy, there was an underground floor.

It was made of adamantium with a lot of enchantment to it.

It cost tons, but the Vaise didn’t lack money, and since every generation of their family went to the academy, it was better to make a durable training or sparring room instead of renewing it every time it broke.

The training room was enchanted in a way that no matter how much damage it sustained, unless completely destroyed, it would mend itself.

Right now, however, cracks like spiderwebs were spread across the floor, splattered with blood—most of it Raven’s.

He stood near the edge, his body swaying slightly, his shirt torn, and his chest heaving.

Blood matted his black hair, one eye nearly swollen shut.

Deep gashes decorated his arms and ribs, but even as they bled, the wounds were closing at an unnatural pace.

Muscles tightened. Bone cracked and straightened. Skin stitched itself back together, the process silent and relentless.

Both the training ground and the boy were healing at the same time.

The boy was just faster.

"...That regeneration rate..." Rufus, standing with others, murmured, a water-like aura flowing around him. "That’s not human."

It was more impactful when it came from Rufus’s lips, as the guy had the best healing factor among the Vaise family children.

He might not be the best in a certain field, but his healing speed was crazy, as he was the one who had survived the mana baptism the longest after Raven, for three minutes.

But it was to be expected, after all—

"He survived the baptism for ten minutes. What else do you expect?" Jessy asked, her stance unwavering despite the bruises littering her forearms.

She had tanked more hits than anyone here—and that was saying something.

She had proven why she was called the best tank despite being a girl and smaller than others in stature.

Across from Raven, Clara flicked her flexible blade, its tip curving like a silver snake.

"You should sit this one out, Raven," she said, her voice light but sharp. "You look like you died three minutes ago and forgot to fall."

Raven coughed out blood, then smirked, wiping the blood on his lips with his thumb. "I was just getting warmed up."

’Man, that’s hot—’ Clara felt her feelings stir, but she waved it off like an annoying fly. "Cool lines won’t save you from a group finish."

Behind her, Jake stood silently, his wind-enchanted sword gleaming faintly with a green aura.

His breathing was calm, his feet already adjusted to pounce again, like the quiet predator he was.

"Go! Go! Get him already!"

A boisterous voice came from beyond the arena.

Alex—big, dumb, bruised, and not in the arena anymore—was jumping and waving his fists like an overgrown child at a sports event.

He was knocked out of the arena at the start as he had charged toward Raven brainlessly without any strategy.

"Don’t let him get back up again! He’s a monster!" He yelled.

Inside the arena, the "monster" smiled wider.

He hadn’t used a single spell.

Hadn’t even drawn his sword.

Every strike, every dodge, every takedown was done with sheer physical force—augmented only by those strange close-combat techniques he had picked up from gods knew where.

Clara and Jake could tell they were similar to the Krav Maga they knew, but also very different. freewebnσvel.cѳm

He had used these martial arts to somehow deflect their sharp, aura-coated weapons.

Of course, not all of them could be defeated, but the fact that he was still standing in one piece as he faced four plate-four magic swordsmen while being a plate three was already hard to digest.

Worst of all, they knew they were at a disadvantage if things continued like this.

Raven wasn’t using mana for attacks and only for healing, so he could heal for a long time, and his physical attacks didn’t seem to be slowing down. It was as if he had infinite stamina.

"We end it now," Clara said sharply, deciding to end it before they were on the losing side.

A nod rippled through the group.

Jake vanished from sight, using his quick sword art, a blur of wind and death. Raven’s knee jerked up instinctively—

CRACK!

—but Jake was already gone, his feint succeeded, and now his sword was a blur inches from Raven’s spine.

At the same time, Clara split into three, her illusion clones spiraling around Raven like ribbons of silver, each blade flickering with deadly promise.

She used her main attack, the thousand sword technique, with her swift footwork.

Jessy lunged like a wall in motion, her aura turning dense as steel—

BOOM!

—Her strike forced Raven to stagger back as she had used her unbreakable fortress attack, followed by the balance-breaking attack from Rufus, who slashed his sword at Raven from the side like a stream of water, wanting to disrupt Raven’s footing.

Again.

As Raven tried to dodge Rufus’s attack, Clara’s real blade struck from the front.

Jake’s sword raced from the rear.

And Jessy rammed him from the side.

THUMP! SLICE! CRACK!

Raven staggered again, his body unable to fully block everything anymore.

His breaths came shorter. His grin remained, but it was tinged with fatigue.

"Gotta hand it to him..." Rufus muttered, adjusting his stance, "He’s still on his feet."

For the first time since the battle started, he was smiling. He felt like he could finally defeat Raven.

Yes, he had help, but defeating the demon of his dream was all that mattered to him.

Jake didn’t say anything, his gaze calm as he turned to Clara.

"Can you tell?" He whispered, and Clara nodded.

They could tell that Raven was still hiding something.

"We shouldn’t give him time."

Hearing Clara’s words, others nodded, their expressions as serious as possible.

They circled again.

"Now!" Clara shouted.

The finishers were coming.

Jake’s Quick Sword would pierce from the blind spot.

Clara’s Thousand Swords swirled to overwhelm him with illusion.

Jessy prepped her Unbreakable Fortress Impact, a tank’s charge meant to break bones.

Rufus moved in tandem, his technique subtly shifting Raven’s balance mid-dodge.

It all happened in the blink of an eye.

SHHHHHK!

Jake’s sword lunged.

Raven barely dodged—

BAM!

—But Jessy’s strike slammed into his shoulder, cracking something. His leg buckled.

Clara’s illusions closed in, and amidst the flurry of blades, one real blade cut through the chaos and went for Raven’s neck.

It was over.

There was no escape.

But just then—

CLANG!

A sound like steel smashing steel echoed across the arena.

Everything stopped.

Dust and aura swirled.

Rufus blinked. Jessy froze mid-charge. Clara’s eyes widened as her sword bounced off something hard, too hard for it to be something good for them.

’Did he take out his sword? But from where?’

They all thought in unison, exchanging uneasy glances.

They gave their all; if Raven still didn’t go down, they wouldn’t win.

However, just when they were wondering what was happening and what the source of that clang was, they saw it.

Through the smoke, they saw Raven’s red eyes shining with a dangerous light.

His face became clear, and they saw his grin—one that none of them liked.

Then, finally, his body was revealed, and they saw those... things.

Black scales, thick and gleaming like obsidian armor, covered Raven’s forearms.

His arms rose to block Clara’s attack, now resting on the sides.

Draconic—that was the word that came to their minds.

They could tell his mana was evaporating like water, but the power he emanated made them wonder if they were seeing things right.

’Plate-four? Plate-five? Or maybe... Plate-six?’

They couldn’t tell.

Was it possible for someone to raise their power this much?

Raven, on the other hand, straightened, his broken posture healing rapidly as the scales pulsed faintly, seemingly alive.

And then he grinned.

That crooked, boyish, and reckless grin.

"Oh no," Jake muttered.

"Oh yes," Raven said.

From the sidelines, Alex leaned in, scratching his head.

"...Uhhh. Guys?" He said, wide-eyed. "I think you fucked up."