Once again, I dreamed the same dream.

That scene again.

I stood atop a mountain, gazing down at the wasteland.

The evening glow was sinking beneath the horizon.

[“—, —!”]

Twisted, warped monsters advanced across the plains.

An ogre with two heads.
A cloud of insects blackening the sky.
A massive centipede clad in white chitin.

I’d seen it before—yet it was still grotesque.

[“May all the prosperity built upon your deceitful cornerstone come to ruin!”]

Below the mountain, I saw the rider leading them.

A strange figure wearing a pointed crown and a trailing hood,
astride a deformed horse with eight legs, sword raised toward the cities.

Large and small, one by one, the cities fell.

And as always, the final city left standing was Astrion—
that radiant, glorious city beneath the blue star.

The monsters charged toward its walls.
The blue star did nothing but shine upon them.

“O Star of Thunder!”

I shouted toward the blue star.

“Why do you demand the throne of me?
Why did you give me the Stigmata and make me swear to claim it? What do you want from me?”

The star gave no answer.

“Is this meant to be our future? Are you telling me to become emperor to stop it?”

It only shone from the highest point above.

“Please—speak to me. Say the word, and I, and my entire house, will follow it with our lives.”

A swarm of insects surged in and blotted out the light.

“This—this is absurdly inefficient! You show me dreams like this, and yet won’t say a single word?”

The starlight vanished.

No. It hadn’t vanished—
we simply could no longer see it.

“Why won’t you speak? Don’t tell me you can’t. You were perfectly talkative inside the dome that day…!”

The sky turned black.

You can’t speak?

With the sensation of falling, I woke.

A thought brushed through my mind.

Could it be… because this isn’t inside the dome? What’s the difference between here and there? There’s no fragment of the star here? Is that why…?

I sat up in bed.

“Haa…”

It was just before dawn.

I walked to the mirror and lifted the eyepatch.

The Stigmata gleamed in my pale gray eye.

“…”

I blinked, drawing up a bit of mana.

【Basic Privileges】

【1. Heavenly Thunder Body】
【Electrokinesis training efficiency +150%】
【Further enhancement possible through training】

【2. Whisper Transmission】
【Communication with the Celestial Throne through the Stigmata】
【Additional functions unlockable through training】

The phrases the Star of Thunder had once shown me appeared over the mark.

‘Further enhancement possible through training.’ That means it’s barely active yet—only a minimal link. So for now, all it can do is send me dreams.

I blinked again to dismiss the text and pulled the eyepatch back down.

Whatever the reason—

I changed into my training uniform and stepped out.

First, I need to secure adoption.

Before meeting Andromeda, I had to get in some physical training.

Life isn’t fair. When the main line says something ridiculous, we have to make it real. And this time, it’s a vow to a Celestial Throne—and words I spoke before the Elder and the acting heir. I have to fulfill them.

Fortunately, all the muscle ache and nerve strain from yesterday’s adjustment had completely vanished.

So recovery speed’s gone up too.

My body even felt lighter than usual.

I ran down toward the Blue Knights’ drill yard.

The morning fog was thick enough to hide everything more than a few dozen paces ahead, but it was a road I took every day, and I knew it well.

“Did you hear? That boy Kyrie held out through Stage Three of the adjustment.”

“Stage Three? Even Nereus only lasted seven minutes into Stage Two, didn’t he?”

As I jogged lightly through the fog to warm up, voices of senior Blue Knights reached me.

“I saw him come out myself. Lady Andromeda was the one supporting him.”

“Honestly, wasn’t it kind of satisfying?”

“Satisfying? The brat performed a Physical Sacrifice Vow the Family Head explicitly forbade. Because of him, even Lady Andromeda almost got dragged into trouble.”

“Right. A knight who embarrasses his lord isn’t worth the title.”

They clearly hadn’t noticed me through the fog.

Awkward.

I slowed my pace, keeping some distance.

“No, apparently it was the opposite. He refused to speak Lady Andromeda’s name until the end, which is why he was sentenced to adjustment. Then Trisan jumped in mid-test and raised the output—wanted to make him crack and say her name. But he didn’t. Held on to the very end.”

“Wait, you mean he endured the raised-output Stage Three?”

“Now that’s real mental strength. The kid’s something else.”

Their voices faded gradually.

“They’re already calling him a hero in this year’s class.”

“Sounds about right. Forever like lightning—bright, even if only for a day. He’s learned well.”

It seemed the Blue Knights’ attitude toward me wasn’t all that bad after all.

Good. The Physical Sacrifice story’s been accepted as fact—just as planned.

After a light run, I returned to my quarters before the fog could lift.

“Kyrie, sir?”

“Ah, yes.”

“Lady Andromeda requests your presence for breakfast.”

Just in time—her maid was waiting outside my door.

I washed up quickly and followed her to the acting heir’s palace.

Andromeda’s drawing room glittered with crystals of various sizes, elegant but severe in color. The long wooden table at the center matched its stately tone.

“Are you feeling better?”

“Yes. Thanks to your concern, I’ve fully recovered. In fact, I feel even better than yesterday.”

Andromeda sat across from me, her layered hair neatly tied back.

“Hmph! I don’t believe a word you say anymore.”

“Why not?”

“You told me you couldn’t lie! And yet yesterday, you lied perfectly. Always whining that you didn’t want to be adopted, and then you offer up your eye at the ceremony?”

Despite her mature looks, her tone was utterly sulky.

Can’t blame her. I’d be dumbfounded too.

I was still deciding what kind of flattery might work when she shook her head.

“Well, fine. I’m still glad. If my little brother truly becomes my brother and starts poking holes in the chairs of those idiots sitting in my place—well, you know exactly what I mean.”

A sweet smile curved her lips.

So she’s still annoyed, but pleased all the same.

That changed things.

“Trisan will see reason after one round of adjustment. You’ll see, I’ll make sure of it.”

Instead of groveling, I spoke of the future.

“You mentioned the Border Patrol Corps yesterday, didn’t you?”

Andromeda leaned forward slightly, understanding immediately.

“Yes. They handle many dealings with other houses, so they have the most adopted heirs.”

“Exactly. When dealing with border nobles or other great families, one can’t function without at least that title.”

“It’s dangerous, of course—lots of beasts and military clashes—but that’s the price of changing one’s birth.”

“Of course, the idea of my little brother rolling around on the frontier is so heartbreaking for me,” she said dryly. “But I suppose you’ll build your power steadily there?”

“Leave it to me. I’ll return with loyal knights and elite soldiers under my command.”

I grinned, playing along.

“Good. Then your first goal is to pass the Border Patrol entrance exam. Understood?”

She cleared her throat lightly and continued.

“I looked into the exam.”

“You did?”

My voice rose before I could stop it.

This is it! This is life! Having the acting heir as your backer is the best!

Excitement surged inside me.

“Of course I did. Who do you take me for—a liar like someone I know? It’s a Green-skin extermination.”

Green-skin—
a collective term for goblins, orcs, ogres, and other humanoid monsters with greenish skin.

They often clashed with the Border Patrol, so it was a textbook kind of test.

“Each Blue Knight commands one squad, travels about a week’s distance out, wipes out a nest, and returns. You get the idea?”

“Thank you so much. Even for the acting heir, finding that out in a single day couldn’t have been easy…”

I tried to thank her calmly, but she shook her head.

“I’d like to say I paid a terrible political price and wrestled the information from some secret archive—but no. It wasn’t even hidden. Anyone of mainline or adopted rank could’ve found it.”

“…Really?”

I focused on the implication.

If it was that easy to find, then they never meant to hide it. Which means even knowing it doesn’t give much advantage—so the difficulty must be fixed.

A thought clicked.

“You said it’s about a week’s distance?”

“Mm-hm. That’s what it looked like.”

“A squad—so about a hundred men. Definitely high difficulty. Even with advance info, all you can do is brace yourself mentally.”

“That bad?”

“At that scale, no individual skill can sway the outcome. If it were just five or six of us, we could learn the mission in advance, rent a wagon, and depart the same day. But with a hundred? Impossible.”

“So you’d have to make marching plans, supply routes, all of that?”

She nodded, catching on.

“Have you ever done that sort of planning before?”

“Yes. We covered navigation, crossings, and long-distance maneuvers at the academy.”

I smiled confidently.

“Well, you didn’t graduate top of your class by playing rock-paper-scissors.”

Andromeda laughed with me.

Flash!

The Stigmata in my right eye pulsed suddenly.

Why now?

I nearly choked on my food.

“Something wrong?”

“No, nothing. I’m fine.”

【Twelve-Stage Hero’s Journey】

【Stage 1: Adoption】
【Join the main line of House Astrios and end your life as a bastard.】
【Failure Penalty: Death】
【Success Reward: Thunderstrike】

‣

【Sub-Objective 1: Top Graduation, Top Entrance】
【Enter the Border Patrol Corps as top recruit.】
【Success Reward: Heavenly Thunder Body efficiency +25%】
【Failure Penalty: Heavenly Thunder Body efficiency –10%】

Why did that appear now? And a sub-objective? Entrance?

I forced my face to stay neutral.

No. Don’t overthink it.

I’d have to do it anyway—and it promised a twenty-five percent boost. I’d survived the adjustment at 150%. How much stronger would I be at 175?

We spent the rest of breakfast discussing the expected operation zones and the tactics suited to each.

“There are two weeks left until the induction ceremony,” she said at last. “What will you do until then?”

“Electrokinesis training and sword practice. I’ll keep at both.”

“The lion gives his all even to catch a rabbit, is that it?”

“Well, it’s not like there’ll be much competition for the Border Patrol, right? But I’m not doing this just to get in. By the time I’m officially your brother, I want to be able to call lightning.”

“Reassuring as ever.”

By the time dessert arrived, we were chatting as casually as usual.

Yeah. No way there’ll be heavy competition for the Border Patrol. High mortality, brutal missions, constant disposals—who’d volunteer for that? No one.

Feeling lighter, I left the acting heir’s palace.

Still… didn’t I have this exact thought about a week ago?

I pushed aside the uneasy feeling creeping up in my chest.

In another wing near the heir’s palace—

Andromeda, Andromeda… I knew we’d clash eventually. But I didn’t think you’d bare your fangs before even becoming acting head.

Inside the office of the adopted heir, Trisan, the man muttered to himself.

Did I look that easy to use? That I’d serve as a tool until you came of age and then quietly vanish? Not a chance. Not a chance at all.

He stood before a mirror, slicking oil through his mustache.

When he was done, he turned to the young man seated across the table.

“Kept you waiting long enough.”

The youth’s thick golden hair was tossed back like a lion’s mane; his large teal eyes gleamed with the undeniable presence of a predator. His rolled sleeves and cropped trousers revealed muscular limbs. There was vigor in his appearance—but the uneven twist of his mouth gave him a sinister cast.

“Well, as long as you know.”

The insolent reply came from Nereus—
this year’s runner-up graduate, the violent brawler who had brawled six-to-one before the Elders during the Oath Ceremony and earned his own adjustment sentence.

“You dare show such disrespect to His Excellency—!”

“Enough.”

Trisan raised a hand to silence his attendant’s outburst.

Instead, he opened a drawer and drew out a small wooden box.

Inside were two glass vials filled with a milky fluid that sparked with yellow current, forming intricate luminous patterns.

“Elixir of Thunderclouds.”

Nereus’s eyes narrowed.

The elixir greatly amplified an electrokinetic’s power.

Andromeda… Let’s see if your precious sword still shines when it’s shattered.

It was the lowest grade among the series—Thundercloud, White Lightning, Sky Lightning, Storm Lightning—but still a luxury worth dozens of gold coins.

“Take the Border Patrol exam. Make sure Kyrie doesn’t pass. Succeed, and I’ll get you a vial of White Lightning Elixir as well. What do you say?”

Trisan smiled, confident in his offer.

“Oh, no need for the elixir.”

“…What?”

The answer was not what he’d expected.

“You’re telling me to fight Kyrie, aren’t you? That’s not something I’d take payment for.”

Nereus grinned.

“We’ve been fighting for ten years. One more round won’t make a difference.”

A fierce smile—sharp fangs glinting—spread across his face.

Chapter 6

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