Galaxy's First Ruler

Aldrich couldn't find any mention of this Skill on Conrad's record, nor he remembered it reading on the scrolls related to different Houses.

By now he had found out that besides Dungeons, there were other methods to get or transfer a few Skills genetically from one member of House to another. This was one of the reasons why nobles gave such importance to maintaining the purity of the House. And also why they abhorred children born outside the family.

Summoning Ancestral Divine Spirit and House Venomous Rose's Rose Clones were a few of such Skills. And it seemed this Trigon Dagger Formation also came under such a category. None had found out why and how these Skills popped up in a Dreamer's Record. But Aldrich thought of them as a virus, coming alive when a few lucky pureblood nobles became Dreamers.

It didn't come as a surprise that the presence of these Skills became a selection criterion among many Houses.

Aldrich scanned through Conrad's Stats, but he couldn't find any remarkable Skill. His Attributes were only ordinary and his Classes were also above average if not good. For him to get selected as a personal student meant he had shown remarkable talent in learning these innately transferred Skills.

From afar, the daggers running towards Aldrich were like the approaching storm. And the only thing this storm lacked was thunder and wind.

Shu-Shuu-Shuuup!

The 33 daggers sent by Conrad came to rest above Aldrich's head one by one.

They were like thick black clouds churning with the heaviness of the water they carried. Ripples originated and vanished into the layers of daggers, and all their tips were aimed at Aldrich. Conrad had his two fingers pointed at Aldrich, and as the final dagger joined the cloud-like formation, he made a stabbing gesture.

Tip!

A dagger fell downward, but instead of coming towards Aldrich, it stabbed towards the Earth. Aldrich narrowed his eyes as he saw the ripples on earth when the dagger's tip came into contact with the floor. In the next moment, the dagger vanished and appeared in the dense cloudlike dagger formation again.

Tip-Tip!!

Two more daggers fell on Aldrich's right and left, but as soon as they touched the floor, they vanished, too. Contrary to the phenomenon that baffled the Great Hall, Aldrich was concentrating on the ripples within the dagger cloud and the earth. A slight smile came upon his face just as the drizzle suddenly picked up the pace.

Tip-Tip-Tip-Tippppp…

The sound was the same as the people have heard countless times, but instead of raindrops, this rain contained daggers. Daggers sharp enough to rip open a Viscount's body. None could tell this relentless downpour had resulted from only 33 daggers. But something even more outrageous was happening over the stage.

Among the unseen outline of daggers, Aldrich was like an apparition, appearing here and there erratically. The downpour was getting intensified by every passing moment, but even then, it couldn't wet Aldrich's cloth. Many Counts and Viscounts were shocked beyond belief as they saw this flamboyant display of Agility.

But those who had an idea about this particular Skill were gobsmacked.

On one side, Enok was clenching his fist so hard that blood was seeping out of his fist. His nails had dug holes in his palm, and the corner of his eyes had become red. On the other side, Earl Frida had stood up with her face planted on Earl Drago. There was no question on her face but only sheer incredulity about the event happening on stage.

Marquess Harold and Nicholas both had their eyebrows raised high and even Amalia's pupils had constricted. In a hidden corner, Tyra's eyes were squinting in Aldrich's direction, as if he was the brightest star in the Galaxy.

But the most dumbfounded, to the point of being called stunned, was Conrad himself.

Only he knew that this rain couldn't be avoided with just Agility alone unless Aldrich's Agility had already crossed the limit of Count. The only thing one could do was to defend and pray that the number of daggers won't increase. For Conrad, even the idea of avoiding Trigon First Formation was miles away from his thoughts.

There was only one way to avoid every single dagger in this downpour, and that was to know which daggers would fall next. But even Earl Frida knew it had taken Conrad a dozen years to master the first formation.

How could a close-combat-based non-noble Viscount do it in a mere glance?

Conrad's steps faltered as he nonsensically blurted out.

"Im… Impossible… This…"

Throughout history, people had been encountering inexplicable things, which they couldn't accept at face value. And instead of seeing things as they were, they'd rather go with an explanation that soothed their conscience.

Earl Frida's chest heaved up and down as she smirked and scoffed at the same time.

"What a House Venomous Rose! Your spy network even got their hands on the secret of Trigon First Formation. Humph!"

Frida's words echoed throughout the hall, and a man with curly hair appeared a few feet away from both the Earls. His gray overcoat had also the insignia of three daggers in a triangular formation, and the beard on his face was thick and pointy. There was no anger on his face, nor there was any hint of raising a commotion.

He was the current Head of the House Daggers Trigon, Count Einar.

Count Einar bowed towards the six judges and looked at Drago for a moment. But instead of acting out and asking questions, he approached Marquess Harold and implored.

"Marquess Harold, I am sure you will not let the matter rest as it is. If it is indeed theft, I want you to carry out Justice right here and right now."

It was a grave sin for one House to make a show of the secrets of another House's genetically transferred skills in front of others. Aldrich's avoiding the 33 dagger formation was nothing but an open threat to House Daggers Trigon. But the two Marquesses didn't think so.

Harold mockingly gave Earl Frida and Count Einar a glance and spoke.

"I have never been so wrong about a Dreamer in my life. Let us wait for the match to finish."

Nicholas nodded in agreement and added.

"Indeed, there is no hurry. I am quite enjoying these unexpected scenarios."

Earl Frida snapped her head at both Marquesses' suggestion of waiting. She took a step towards the stage and shouted at Conrad.

"Conrad! Don't shame my tutelage anymore. So what if they found the first formation? Use the second and finish it quickly for fuck's sake."

Aldrich was enjoying himself as his mind raced with hundreds of calculations. For him, this rain was nothing but a math problem. He saw Conrad taking a deep breath to calm himself down, hearing Frida's angry voice. Aldrich avoided another round of Daggers as he saw even more Daggers materializing around Conrad.

A light breeze appeared in the Great Hall, lifting the corners of skirts. This breeze felt natural, but Aldrich could tell the breeze had originated out of the rippling daggers around Conrad.

The Level 35 Viscount again made a dagger-like gesture using his two fingers and pointed at Aldrich.

"Trigon Second Formation: GALE of 99 DAGGERS!!!"