Devouring Dragon Heir

The ranking battle had just concluded with Klaus securing the first position, a decisive and brutal victory that left no room for doubt. The screen in the main hall now displayed the final rankings for the entire competition.

[RANKING LIST:]

Klaus Bennet: 10340 points

Arthur: 1260 points

Julie Ashburn: 1150 points

Damian Blade: 800 points

Ellara Crimson: 740 points

Flora Duskbane: 580 points

...

the list continued.

...

The sheer point difference between the first and second ranks was massive, a testament to Klaus's overwhelming strength that reaffirmed his status as the strongest of his generation.

The rest of the positions had shuffled a bit, but the final rankings were now locked in.

The audience, which had been watching in stunned silence, now stood up from their seats, cheering loudly for the participants.

The VR pods, which had been active for the past six hours, began ejecting the students one by one. A stream of pressure built up in the capsules was released in the form of gases.

There were a few participants who had been ejected early due to their own choice of giving up, their courage or stamina failing them in the face of impossible odds.

Michael and his group were among them.

his face was covered with fury and humiliation, he now walked towards Klaus.

He came to a stop directly in front of him, his posture stiff.

"I accept you are strong, Klaus," Michael said, his voice low and tight with suppressed rage.

"Maybe even the strongest of our generation. But you can't defy the heavens. There is always someone stronger than you in this world, Klaus. There is a reason no one messes with the Legacy Families. You will soon learn your place."

Michael's words were loud enough to be heard by the various media cameras still filming in the hall.

Klaus's recent public brawl with the Legacy Families had already highlighted and confirmed the vague rumors of tensions between the Association and these powerful families among the public.

This pointed comment that hinted at a direct challenge, and a veiled threat attracted every eye in the world towards itself.

All the cameras, which had been following the other participants, now focused squarely on the two of them, their confrontation broadcasting live.

The Paragons on Michael's side, watching from their observation room, smirked.

Michael's public challenge, his reaffirmation of their power, at least saved some of their face in the public and reaffirmed their stance on Klaus's intolerable behavior.

Klaus now stood coldly in the center of it all, behind him stood all the other participants who had just been ejected from their pods.

The faces of Arthur and Elara were grim. They watched with a sense of dread.

Meanwhile, Julie was seething, looking at this "shithead" who had come again to bother her and take all the attention.

She had been ejected earlier, she decided that she would meet Klaus and reinforce their new bond by congratulating him, but as she walked towards him, Michael had swept in and taken all the attention away, delaying her moment.

"Klaus Bennet, you must realize that there is always a heaven above your head that you should always watch out for" Michael concluded, his voice filled with a final warning.

He simply completed his words and turned around, intending to leave before a verbal retaliation came from Klaus.

He did not want a brawl but to assert a final message in public.

But Klaus, being Klaus, simply said "Maybe you are right, Michael, there is always a heaven above you, but sometimes even the mightiest heavens have to fall in front of true strength"

Klaus's words were direct and showed his absolute confidence in his ability.

His statement caused waves around the world. Every news agency in the world had a new headline for today.

Michael just gritted his teeth and left after that without saying anything further. The confrontation was over.

The event proceeded further with the top ten ranks being officially declared.

"An unprecedented record has been set, Klaus Bennet has scored the highest recorded points ever in the history of the academy." Leonard's voice boomed across the colosseum.

Most of the participants were from the Legacy Families, although the truly strong ones had already been defeated by Klaus and had been ejected early.

One could even say that the rankings, except for the top 4, were completely misleading about the strength the individuals possessed, and many people in the spectators and even academy professors realized this.

Famous names like Michael, James, and Henry were nowhere on the top list, since they had opted out of the battle early, their scores were frozen at zero or a very low number.

Although names like Damian Blade and Arthur resounded around the globe for being rare talents that cropped up from a commoner status.

The rags-to-riches type of plot became relevant in their case, and the media got some new stories to share.

Julie's earlier spectacle also didn't go unspoken about as media reporters flocked towards her, taking her pictures.

"Miss Ashburn, is there a thing between you and Klaus Bennet?" a reporter asked.

"Are the rumors of your love affair true? How will you explain Mr. Klaus's sudden burst of anger towards Mr. Veridian when he made vulgar comments about you?" another one asked.

Julie blushed at being asked such direct questions, that was until the media reporters were dispersed by some bodyguards from the academy who came specifically to escort her back.

The overall attention was mostly attracted by four of these individuals.

It was declared that the rest of the instructions would be given on the orientation day, which would also be the first day of the academy. The classes would also be allocated on that day.

Klaus was about to leave, walking towards the exit, when Julie suddenly appeared before him, escorted by several female bodyguards who looked at Klaus with caution.

She handed him a small, folded note before walking away in a shy manner, disappearing into the crowd, leaving him confused.

He looked at her disappearing figure before walking towards Andre, who was waiting to pick up Klaus. Klaus smiled at him and boarded his car to leave.

Inside the car, he unfolded the note only to find a phone number written on the paper.

Klaus saved the number on his phone and wondered what he would talk about on a phone call with a mute person.

In the battle with the EX-ranked monster, the Watcher, Klaus realized that he was not invincible. Although he had expected that, it still hit him hard when it happened.

He had faced a truly formidable opponent.

The monster's attacks, which were mostly telekinetic strikes mixed with some physical claw slashes, were landing on his body despite his incredible speed.

He had won the battle, but it was not the one-sided domination he wanted.

He felt that it was only due to the Watcher's power being related to telekinesis that he was able to win.

The system had told him that telekinetic power used a lot of mental strength to execute.

That was the reason that he could land his attacks on the Watcher since most of its focus remained on its telekinetic control, creating invisible barriers and throwing debris at him.

Had it been more proficient with its powers, had it been able to multitask more efficiently, Klaus would most probably have been defeated.

This fact deeply unnerved Klaus. His instincts, his ingrained Draconic Pride, refused to accept that he could not face an EX-rank monster without a struggle.

It went against his self-image of absolute superiority. So he decided that he would grow stronger in the upcoming week before the academy classes commence. He needed to be more proficient in a wider range of combat scenarios.

"I need to go to that SSS-ranked gate in Antarctica and then also consolidate my earth and shadow elements further" he decided.

The SSS-rank gate was a priority. It was the only known place where he could find monsters of that caliber and continue his progression.

He also needed to strengthen his other elemental affinities, the ones he had neglected earlier, to keep his focus on fire and ice.

As for the second identity as the "Gate-Eater" or "Devourer" (a name Klaus came up with since the former was bad), that would start when he relocated to the Academy campus.

This was a strategic decision, since then, William won't get any suspicion regarding his identity. If he started now, while still living under William's direct supervision in the mansion,

William would instantly know that something suspicious was going on, and Klaus would have to explain his whereabouts.

Even if William was an ally, Klaus still did not want to divulge his secrets to him or anyone else.

"Telling your secrets to your loved ones only brings them more danger' that was the lesson he had learned after reading countless web novels.

He would not try to push his luck and put anyone, including William, in danger, especially when he knew that the Heavenly Will was still out there, silently observing everything.

The system had told him that his true identity as a foreign soul was masked, but that would not remain forever, and that was the greatest headache Klaus had in mind.