Chapter 293: Luke Finally Learns the True Bloodline Hierarchy

Step. Step. Step.

Footsteps echoed through the dark pathway from the opposite direction.

A moment later, a young man’s voice followed.

"The Goddess of Luck is surely blessing me today."

Ivar finally appeared, still surrounded by his black owl feathers.

His gaze immediately settled on Luke and Isaria.

She was still held tightly in Luke’s arms, clinging to him as though she had no intention of letting go anytime soon.

The sight instantly reignited the anger buried within Ivar.

His expression darkened for a brief moment, but he quickly suppressed it.

"First, she sent me straight to Isaria, allowing me to accomplish my goal, and now-"

He deliberately paused as his gaze shifted toward Luke.

Luke was still focused entirely on Isaria, gently caressing her as he tried to calm her trembling body. He hadn’t even bothered to look in Ivar’s direction.

’Bastard.’ Ivar’s hand slowly clenched into a fist.

Still, he forced himself to remain calm before continuing.

"And now, she has even brought me to you, so I can finally remove the obstacles that keep getting in the way of my goal."

His smile widened.

"So, I really am lucky today."

At last, Luke reacted.

His mouth twitched slightly.

The tiny reaction immediately lifted Ivar’s mood, making him think that his words had finally caught Luke’s attention.

What he didn’t know was that Luke’s reaction had nothing to do with him.

It was because of the System.

[Luke, there’s another competitor for your Goddess of Luck.]

[Go teach him a lesson! (ง •̀_•́)ง]

Luke’s mouth twitched when he saw the System’s messages.

It had become far too overprotective whenever women were involved.

And now, apparently, it had already started counting even the Goddess of Luck as another member of his harem.

’I can already feel where this is going.’

’Whatever.’

Luke ignored the System’s teasing and brought out a black coat.

"Lucky? Or... unlucky?"

He still didn’t turn toward Ivar as he spoke.

Instead, Luke gently wrapped the coat around Isaria, covering her trembling body before wiping away the tears still lingering on her cheeks.

Then he gave her a reassuring smile.

That small gesture finally allowed the fear in Isaria’s eyes to settle.

Only after making sure she was calm did Luke turn his attention toward Ivar.

The confusion caused by Luke’s earlier words was still visible on the man’s face, but Luke had no interest in explaining anything.

His expression had already turned completely cold.

The warmth from moments ago had vanished without a trace.

Now, in Luke’s eyes, Ivar was nothing more than a corpse waiting to die.

"If you had told me all of this outside..."

Luke spoke calmly as he took a single step forward.

Step.

His gaze never left Ivar.

"And you had also harmed my friend..."

Step.

"Then I would have simply beaten you until you couldn’t recover properly for months."

Luke took another step forward.

Step.

Ivar listened in silence, his eyes narrowing slightly.

The confidence behind Luke’s words was almost unbelievable. An Early B-Rank stood before him, yet Luke spoke as though he wasn’t even worth considering a threat, despite being only a D-Rank Knight himself.

It wasn’t merely confidence.

To Ivar, it sounded like pure arrogance.

"But here..." Luke’s voice remained calm.

A faint smile slowly curved across his lips as he tilted his head slightly to the left.

"...I can kill you, and no one will ever find out who did it."

His smile remained, but the warmth in his eyes had disappeared completely.

"That means you’re unlucky."

"Heh."

A mocking laugh escaped Ivar the instant Luke finished.

He stared straight into those blue eyes with his own completely white ones, clearly finding Luke’s words amusing.

"Seems like after taking down that High Elf by surprise, you’ve become quite full of yourself, Hero of Light."

His tone carried open ridicule, as though Luke’s threat had done nothing more than entertain him.

The next instant-

"Hah!"

Ivar let out a sharp shout as his body began to transform, shifting into the half-owl, half-human form that was a signature trait of the demi-human race.

His human features vanished beneath black feathers as his face took on the appearance of an owl, leaving behind a sharp beak and those eerie, completely white eyes. His hands underwent an even greater change, transforming into black feathered wings with elongated, razor-sharp talons at their ends.

His legs followed, reshaping themselves as his feet became those of an owl, with long, curved talons extending from each toe.

The transformation gave him an entirely different appearance-less like a human with the features of an owl and more like a night-predator that had merely borrowed a human’s shape.

"I possess a royal bloodline-a bloodline of King tier!"

As his voice echoed through the pathway, a violent force suddenly erupted from his body.

BOOM!

A powerful shockwave swept outward, scattering the dust and debris left behind by Luke’s earlier battles and sending the remnants flying in every direction.

Luke was only hundreds meters away.

The expanding force reached him almost instantly, yet-

Nothing happened.

Luke remained exactly where he was, his body completely unmoved by the shockwave.

"..."

Ivar’s expression stiffened.

’Huh?’ For a moment, even he couldn’t understand what had just happened.

He had released the power of his King-tier royal bloodline, yet Luke hadn’t even taken a step back.

Unfortunately for Ivar, there was only one person in the entire passage who knew exactly why that was-

Luke.

Meanwhile, Ivar’s declaration lingered in Luke’s mind.

’A King-tier...’

’A King bloodline.’

His thoughts naturally drifted toward Aurielle, Selene, and the others. They had all told him that they were children of Emperors, and he already knew that such royal bloodlines could greatly enhance one’s strength and potential.

But now, hearing Ivar proudly declare his own bloodline as King-tier gave Luke a much clearer understanding of the hierarchy.

After Diamond Knight, the A-Rank realm, comes the King-tier... an S-Rank existence.

His gaze sharpened as he continued piecing together what he knew.

And after S-Rank comes SS-Rank... Saint.

Luke paused at that thought.

A Saint was an existence only one step below a Demigod, which belonged to the SSS-Rank.

’No wonder.’

The difference between realms might only be a single step on paper, but the difference between a King-tier bloodline and a Saint-tier bloodline could be unimaginably vast.

It was like taking an ordinary chicken and turning it into a dragon.

Then another thought crossed Luke’s mind.

’But my bloodline is even above the Demigod level.’ Upon this, a satisfied smile slowly spread across his face.

The expression immediately caught both Ivar and Isaria off guard.

Ivar couldn’t help wondering whether Luke had finally realized the difference between their strengths.

Perhaps he had finally understood that he was standing before an Early B-Rank with a King-tier royal bloodline.

Though, judging by that smile, Ivar wasn’t entirely sure.

Isaria’s confusion was even greater.

She had just heard Ivar reveal his King-tier bloodline, yet Luke hadn’t shown the slightest trace of fear.

Instead, he looked almost pleased.

’What exactly was he thinking?’

Before either of them could figure it out, Luke finally opened his mouth.