Chapter 147: What happened to the Legendary Knight
Once the lecture ended, Chloe went to the personal training hall in her dormitory that she had rented, wanting to focus more on increasing her strength.
With every passing day, the gap between their strength only grew wider. Chloe could feel herself falling further and further behind Vlad, the weight of that realization keeping her restless. In just a few days, he would leave the academy for an S-Ranked quest with no fixed date of return.
He would naturally grow even stronger by the time he came back. If she wanted to stand beside him, she had to push herself further in her training.
As for Vlad, once Chloe left, he went straight to the library of the Arcane Archives.
It stood next to the main building. First-years only had access to the ground floor, which held nothing but their syllabus materials and fiction novels for entertainment. As one of the privileges of being a Crownbearer, Vlad could also access the second floor, which contained information reserved for the students that passed the first year in Arcane Academy. The third floor was open only to professors and third-year students. As for the fourth floor, no one was permitted to enter except the Vice Principal and the Principal.
Vlad combed through every history book that recorded the War of Dragons across different territories. Thanks to his superhuman senses, he got through dozens of them in just a couple of hours.
"This one doesn’t have it either," Vlad muttered, snapping the book shut, his brows furrowed in frustration.
His face was hidden behind a stack of books. He had gone through dozens of them, yet none contained a single mention of the post-war fate of the Legendary Knight. He refused to believe that a being as unfathomable as him could simply die.
"Guess I have no choice but to use this," Vlad sighed, opening the Mentor Network on his phone, his eyes settling on the Contact Principal option.
He returned the books to their shelves and left the building. From there, he stopped first at a convenience store before making his way to the roof of the main building to call the Principal.
After a few rings, the call connected.
"What do you need?" A familiar female voice came from the other end. He could never forget that arrogant, childishly sharp tone the Principal always used.
"Good morning, Miss Principal," he said calmly. "I would like to discuss about the Legendary Knight with you."
For a few seconds, no response came from the other side.
"Come over," she finally said.
"How—"
His words cut off as a pillar of white energy suddenly descended on him. His feet slowly lifted off the ground, and in the next instant he was hurled into the sky as though gravity itself had reversed.
"Ahhhhh!!" he screamed, his body tumbling inside the pillar of energy, striking its edges as his ascent accelerated with every second.
Thud!
He crashed onto the white surface of the clouds.
"Hah... hah... hah..." He gasped heavily, his chest heaving from the violent ride. "She could have at least warned me. Why is she always so brutal?"
He rose to his feet, his eyes fixed on the grand architecture of the office ahead. "No matter how many times I see it, this view never fails to amaze me."
He approached the towering structure of gold walls etched with silver patterns and came to a stop before its immense doors.
With a single press of his palm, the door swung open. He stepped inside and found himself in Lirien’s peculiar little office, her plush, stuffed-animal form perched on the chair across the table.
"Good morning, Miss," Vlad said with a slight bow.
"Good morning," she replied, the tip of her fluffy tail flicking. "Take a seat."
Vlad hadn’t even taken a single step before he found himself seated in the chair across from Lirien.
’Just how powerful is a Primordial Dragon, really?’ he thought, clearly stunned. It was as though he had no control over his own body. He was entirely at the mercy of this fluffy white plushie with button-like eyes sitting before him.
"H-how have you been, Miss?" Vlad asked with a strained smile.
"You little rascal. How dare you manipulate the Vice Principal into giving you ten sessions with me?" Lirien demanded, her tail jabbing accusingly in his direction.
"I did not!" Vlad shot back instantly, his hand flying to his chest. "I genuinely suffered trauma from that quest incident. He only gave me these sessions so I would feel better."
’I might have actually believed his nonsense if he hadn’t told me his little revenge plan last night,’ Lirien thought to herself. She was barely restraining the urge to spank that so-called trauma right out of him. ’Let’s see what he’s prepared to take revenge on—’
Her thoughts stopped short as Vlad pulled a paper bag from his storage ring.
"What is this?" she asked, suspicious.
"Well," Vlad said, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly, "it’s for helping Chloe form her core."
She drew the bag closer with her tail and peered inside. It held a dozen chocolate bars, chocolate chips, and assorted candies.
"Vlad," Lirien’s voice dropped low and threatening, "isn’t this a rather cheap gift for bribery?"
"I’m not trying to bribe you," Vlad protested, as though the accusation had wounded him deeply. "I just thought you’re always cooped up here alone, so I brought these to lift your spirits."
"Vlad," she said again, suspicion lacing every syllable, "are these poisoned?"
Vlad rose quietly from his seat, leaned forward, and murmured, reaching for the bag, "My apologies for offering something so cheap. Please forgive the offense."
He was about to take the bag back when Lirien’s tail suddenly swatted his hand away. She pulled the bag onto her own chair and snapped, "How shameless of you, trying to take back a gift?"
By this point, Vlad no longer had the energy to argue with her. She was simply too impossible to deal with.
While he settled back into his seat, shaking his head, Lirien’s mind had already drifted somewhere else entirely.
’How did he know I like chocolate? Is he trying to win me over so I’ll give him the information he wants, or was he genuinely worried about me? Has he already figured out that I’m Lily? N-no! That can’t be it. I need to stay composed. Don’t let yourself get swayed by this manipulator’s honeyed words. He’s definitely here for revenge.’
In contrast to her inner turmoil, she said calmly, sliding the bag of chocolate beneath the table, "So, tell me what you want to know about the Legendary Knight. Fair warning: I cannot reveal his true identity."
"So you’ve seen his real face?" Vlad gasped, his voice louder than he intended.
"Yes, before he became the Legendary Knight," Lirien revealed with a deep sigh, leaving Vlad utterly stunned.
He naturally didn’t press her further on it, knowing he wouldn’t get an answer either way. Besides, he wasn’t interested in the Knight’s identity, only his fate.
His grip tightened on the armrest of the chair, his expression grim, as he asked, "Could you tell me what happened to the Legendary Knight?"
Lirien said nothing for a few seconds, weighing how much she should reveal to him.
"First, tell me why you’re asking," Lirien replied, answering his question with one of her own. "I’ve heard of my share of fans of the five heroes, but your obsession on the Legendary Knight goes far beyond that. No Crownbearer has ever wasted the chance to meet me for asking about the heroes of the war."
Vlad’s gaze dropped to the floor, his jaw tightening. A mixture of grief, anger, and frustration crossed his face.
"To achieve my goal, I must attain absolute strength, strength that nothing could ever overpower," he said, his voice low. "Someone told me the Legendary Knight possessed such strength."
His head lifted, his crimson eyes fixed directly on Lirien as he said, his tone both determined and pleading, "I need to know: was there truly someone capable of overpowering the Legendary Knight? Did he really die? This information is really important to me, Miss. Please, tell me."
This was the first time she had ever seen Vlad wear such an expression. There was no lie in his words, no mask covering his face.
She could feel how important it really was for him although the information he was asking was a closely guarded secret that no one except the major powers of the world knew. Naturally, she should not tell this information to a young boy. However, for the first time, she let her heart make the decision.
With a brief sigh she answered, "No, and yes."
"What do you mean?" Vlad asked, his brows knitting in confusion.
"There is currently no one in this world as powerful as the Legendary Knight," she revealed. "Even the leader of the Dragon Clan, who became a Primordial Dragon five hundred years ago, is no match for him. So the answer to your first question is no, no one has reached the prowess that he possessed. As for your second question..."
She drew a deep breath, the tail coiling around her fluffy body as she revealed, "Yes. He truly is dead."