Level 0 Summoner

The air was suffocating, the breeze cold sending shivers down Ren's spine as he stood before a grand, heavy, black door that no normal man could even open. He was waiting for the Patriarch's to welcome him, not even bothering to knock. For someone who was over Level 150, detecting his presence was easy as breathing.

Surprisingly, there were no guards around, protecting the entrance to his chambers. Something that Ren had immediately picked up on, founding it strange since it all the memories he had acquired there were always guards.

What did Noah even tell him? There's no way he could have said anything that would have caused such a reaction from that cold father of mine.

Ren's mind was running wild with all kinds of theories. However, he dismissed those thoughts and instead took a deep breath. He did not want the Patriarch to look at him as if he was some kind of lost kid. He wanted to raise his head proudly, staring back into his cold eyes.

Taking a deep breath, the door slowly opened as the mechanisms where activated, prompting the door to open at a snail's pace, only making it possible to glance into the Patriarch's personal room.

At the end of the room was a simple, golden throne. Sitting on it, was a large man that exuded a cold, deadly pressure that no awakened human could even resist.

Even for Ren, the moment he locked eyes with his father, his breath was cut short. His legs were on the verge of faltering. Beads of sweat forming on his forehead and his back. He felt as if his body would falter at any moment.

Is he testing me?

Taking a single step forward seemed to take an eternity and the strain it put onto Ren's muscles was unimaginable. It was as if he had been walking for hours without end. But that much was nothing. If his father wanted to test him, then he would pass with flying colors.

Clenching his teeth and keeping a neutral expression devoid of any emotion. Ren took another step forward, and another… he continued to walk toward his father for as long as it took, no matter the time it took. He would succeed. Nothing else mattered to him right now. Ren ignored why he wanted to prove himself so much, but his mind was set, he wouldn't stop for anything in the world.

Some time later, he finally arrived before the king, a few meters before the stairs to reach the throne were and dropped one of his knees, bowing, his head staring at the ground.

"Ren Allen greets the Patriarch."

"Mhm. Not bad."

The pressure that had been applied onto Ren suddenly disappeared and his ragged breathing slowly but surely recovered.

A bright smile formed on Ren's lips as he rose his head, facing his father's gaze. "Did I pass your test?"

Ren thought he had seen the Patriarch smile for a short moment, but in the span of a single blink, it was gone.

"You did better than what I expected," He muttered slowly, each of words weighting greatly, echoing inside the large chamber. "Still, it isn't anything to be proud at your age. Your brother would have taken less than thirty seconds to reach where you stand. As for you, it took you over two hours."

Two hours? His eyes couldn't help but widen in shock. Ren believed it had taken him five minutes at most.

"However, considering your level, as I said, it's not bad. You definitely changed."

Ren nodded in silence as he waited for the Patriarch to continue speaking.

"You must be wondering why I have called you here," The Patriarch said as he watched his son nod. "The reason is quite simple. I have gotten an interesting report from your youngest brother, and one from your eldest sister. Two reports about you in less than a day. It's the first time I heard so much about you in the past two years. I wondered why your siblings would even bother writing such things about you."

"Noah, the youngest, mentioned you ignored him, completely dismissing him without battling an eyelid—humiliating him as a result. Is that true?"

Ren raised an eyebrow, expecting more. "I didn't humiliate him. I simply told him I had something to do and I did not need his help to do so. If that's what you consider as humiliating someone, then… I guess you could say that."

Ren kept his breathing steady, not looking away from his father's gaze. He did not want to look weak in front of his father. You might say that it isn't his father, however, to Ren, with the memories he had acquired, this man was as much as a father as the one he had on Earth.

His father barely nodded at his words. However, he also didn't say Ren was wrong. He simply didn't voice his opinion. But from the look on his face, he seemed satisfied with the answer.

"As for your sister Luna, what she had to say was… definitely unexpected. And if you want to know, she's the reason you're before me right now. I wanted to verify some of the things she had mentioned in her report. And now that I got a good look at you, I can't say that she was wrong in her assessment. You have definitely gone under a change."

Ren couldn't help but frown because of how cryptic he was acting. He did not say what Luna had reported to him, he simply wanted to verify what she had told in her report. It was completely different from Noah's, which made me wonder what she had reported.

Ren knew that it wasn't about his class evolution. Or, at the very least, he was practically certain that it was not related to his class evolution since there was no way to tell with the naked eye. He believed that it was related to his recent behavior, and the way he projected himself. Still, Ren wanted to be sure.

"Can I know what Luna told you?"

The Patriarch kept his face neutral just like before, devoid of any emotion as he replied, "No. You cannot. Instead, I will grant you a wish. Tell me something you desire and I will give it to you. No matter what it is."

A wish? All of a sudden… but why? Is it because I passed his test earlier?

Instead of trying to think about meaningless answers, Ren immediately thought about the wish he wanted. Many things came to his mind. However, there was one thing that always came out on top and that was a skill for Suki. As much as Ren believed the skill Sofia would give him would be amazing, a single skill wouldn't close the gap. It wouldn't be enough to deal with Noah, who had been nurtured for more than a year.

"I would need a skill book akin to a movement technique. Something for assassins would be best."

I'll just have to hope that Sofia's skill isn't related a movement technique.

The Patriarch smirked slightly for the very first time since Ren had entered this room. "A skill book for an assassin… why would need such a thing when you're a summoner? You wouldn't have obtained a new power, right?"

Damn it. Why didn't I think of that…

Ren had totally ignored the fact that his wish should have been related to himself. Since he was asking for something that would benefit for Suki, his father was bound to think something was amiss. However, as much as Ren was trying to think of a good lie… there was nothing coming up. Revealing the fact he had a class evolution also wasn't an option. This resulted in him just standing before his father in silence for second after second.

"Whatever. It's not my place to ask. If this is what you truly desire then I will give you a skill."

The Patriarch snapped his finger as two endless rows of books appeared on both sides of the throne. A skill book in particular was currently heading in his father's direction. It carried a dark energy. Ren could tell because of the color the skill book was emitting. Still, Ren hoped that it would be something decent that would help Suki greatly.

Grabbing the book with his right hand, barely glancing at it, he threw it in his direction.

"Here. That should do the trick. It's a movement technique that even high-leveled awakened would desire. As long as you reach the requirements to use this skill then it will very hard for anyone below… level 50 to land a strike on you. However, since you're Level 0, the chances of you reaching the requirements for this movement technique are also 0."

Ren did not even listen to the words of his father as a blue panel appeared before his very eyes, telling him everything he needed to know about this skill. With a quick glance, it seemed his father hadn't cheaped out and had given an actual proper skill.

[Dance of Death]

[Skill Type: Passive Movement Technique]

[Grade: Epic]

[Requirements to use this skill: 35 Agility, 20 Strength, 20 Stamina.]

[Effects: +30 Agility, +20 Stamina]

50 Agility and 20 in Stamina… that amount of stats is the equivalent of 50 Levels. If Suki is able to reach the requirements in a month then my victory against Noah would be assured without a doubt.

"Satisfied?" The cold voice of his father echoing.

"Yes. Very much so, thank you."

"Don't disappoint me." He sighed as he waved his hand dismissively. "You're dismissed."

As soon as the doors closed with Ren disappearing from the Patriarch's field of view, a man wearing nothing but black appeared.

"Did you really give him an Epic Skill Book just because Luna mentioned some change in his personality?" The man uttered, confused by the actions of the Patriarch.

The Patriarch stayed silent as he rubbed his chin, pensive about everything he had just seen from his son.

He really obtained a class evolution. Luna did not lie. But how…?

"Keep an eye on him until the Entrance Test for the Awakened Academies. And report everything he does to me once a week."