FLDI CHapter 125

The life-giving fruit had given Count Engel over a thirty percent chance of breaking through. Even without the final key ingredient, combining it with the Star Moon Fruit gave him a fifty percent chance of advancing to Sky Knight.

Its value was beyond words.

In the study, Count Engel couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe.

“Take a few days to rest here at home.”

“And while you’re at it, help me discipline those young ones,” he added after a moment of reflection.

“Yes, Father,” Thor nodded, not objecting.

The two continued discussing various matters, and eventually, Count Engel allowed Thor to leave.

Once Thor had departed, Count Engel summoned Michael.

A few moments later, Michael entered the room.

“My lord,” came the respectful greeting.

“Michael, there’s no need to investigate the life-giving fruit for now. Focus on locating the Purple Gold Grass, and go yourself.”

“And as for the training of the young eagles, temporarily assign it to Thor.”

Count Engel spoke with a solemn tone.

“Yes!” Michael, though slightly surprised, quickly nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, Thor was unaware of these instructions.

After leaving the study, he headed to the training field.

Upon his arrival, two young boys immediately surrounded him.

“Brother Thor!”

“Brother Thor!”

Their excited voices called out, and they looked up at Thor with shining eyes, filled with admiration.

They’d never seen their father show this kind of respect to any other older brother. For them, Thor had swiftly replaced Maurice as their role model.

“Eir, Clay!”

“Have you both been practicing well lately?” Thor asked with a smile, patting their heads.

“Of course! We’ve been working so hard, and Eir is almost ready to form his life seed!” the younger boy, Clay, replied excitedly and with pride.

“Oh?”

“Eir, you’re about to form your life seed?” Thor asked, surprised, turning to Eir, who had a mature demeanor for his age.

At sixteen, Eir was two years shy of eighteen, yet he was nearly ready to form his life seed, which impressed Thor.

“Brother Thor, it’s still a bit away, maybe another six months,” Eir replied shyly.

“Really?”

“Well done, Eir! Your talent surpasses mine. You’ll surely become an outstanding knight in the future,” Thor praised. “And here, I have a gift for you.”

Thor took out a small wooden box.

“A gift!”

“Clay wants a gift too!” Clay’s eyes lit up as he spoke eagerly.

“Of course! Our little Clay will get one too,” Thor chuckled, pulling out another wooden box from his coat.

“Yay! Clay got a gift too! Brother Thor is the best!” Clay cheered happily.

“Thank you, Brother Thor!” Eir hesitated briefly before expressing his gratitude.

“No need to thank me.”

“Take care of it,” Thor said with a smile.

These two were the brothers he was closest to in his previous life, so he had prepared gifts for them.

Each box contained a sacred wood fruit to aid them in their training.

He had prepared gifts for his other brothers, too, though none were as valuable, as Eir and Clay held a special place for him.

The two carefully put away their boxes without opening them and then began bombarding Thor with questions.

“Brother Thor, what’s the Northern Province like?”

“Brother Thor, is the Northern Province fun?”

“Brother Thor, can I become a pioneering knight like you one day?”

“The Northern Province is vast, filled with orcs, and very exciting.”

“Of course, Clay! Train hard, and you can also become a great knight one day,” Thor encouraged.

Boys always have plenty of questions, and their eyes were filled with dreams.

Clay continued to pull Thor aside, asking questions throughout the morning, while Eir occasionally asked one or two of his own.

It was a rare day off, giving them plenty of time.

When lunchtime arrived, Clay and Eir reluctantly let go of Thor’s hands.

Thor patted their heads and led them to the dining hall.

This time, Count Engel was not present, which was usual, as he rarely stayed in the castle for extended periods. Most of the time, only the young eagles of Dressrosa dined here together.

Without Count Engel’s presence, the young ones chattered nonstop, leaving Thor feeling a bit overwhelmed.

Finally managing to get through the meal, Thor enjoyed a bit of peace.

But it would only be for one day.

The next morning, he rose and headed to the training ground.

Count Engel had asked him to train the young ones, so he would take it seriously.

With Michael away, Thor had become their trainer.

“Young Master Thor!”

“Please follow me!”

A knight respectfully spoke, leading Thor to the training grounds.

When the young trainees saw Thor approaching, their eyes brightened.

“It’s Brother Thor!”

“It’s really Brother Thor!”

“Yesterday, Uncle Michael said Brother Thor would train us today, and it’s true!”

“Yeah, yeah!”

“I wonder how strong Brother Thor is now.”

“Could he be stronger than Uncle Michael?”

The boys, full of excitement and flushed with enthusiasm, buzzed with chatter.

Amused, Thor shook his head, watching the lively scene.

Then, a surge of life energy erupted from him.

*Boom!*

A powerful, icy aura spread instantly.

Frost formed underfoot.

The previously noisy chatter stopped, and several young ones shivered.

“Quiet down.”

Thor’s calm voice resonated.

His words settled the entire area into silence.

At the same time, the knights nearby instinctively took a step back, astonishment evident in their eyes.

Even as formal knights, they could feel a chilling cold.

“Gulp…”

“Young Master Thor…”

A formal knight, beads of sweat on his brow, widened his eyes in awe.

The intensity radiating from Thor felt immense—akin to the presence of Knight Captain Michael.

“Young Master Thor… could he have reached Earth Knight?” whispered another knight in disbelief.

“That’s impossible.”

The companion beside him shook his head, immediately dismissing the thought.

“Are you kidding? Thor is so young. Breaking through to Earth Knight at his age is impossible.”

“But…”

The young knight wanted to say more, but Thor’s gaze turned in his direction, prompting him to quickly close his mouth.

“You are the young eagles of Dressrosa, destined to soar across even wider skies. Father has asked me to train you, and I hope each of you will make me proud.”

“For the next week, whoever ranks first in training—not in talent, but in effort—will receive a bottle of intermediate life elixir. However, anyone who ranks last will lose their monthly elixir.”

As Thor finished speaking, the eyes of the young trainees sparkled with excitement.

An intermediate life elixir was a rare treasure.

They were each entitled to one life elixir per year, but it was only the basic type. Only a select few among them had ever seen an intermediate elixir.

“Brother Thor, what does it mean to be first in training?”

One of the boys couldn’t help but ask, his face flushed with excitement.

“Yeah, Brother Thor, how can we rank first in training?”

As he spoke, others quickly joined in, all eyes eagerly fixed on Thor.

“Whoever trains the hardest and completes the most exercises will be first,” Thor replied with a calm smile.

Hearing this, their eyes lit up even more.

If talent wasn’t the criterion, it meant anyone could have a chance. How could that not thrill them?

“Begin!”

“I’ll be overseeing your progress this week,” Thor announced.

With his words, the trainees sprang into action.

Their approach was entirely different now.

In this world, talent often determined one’s fate early on, and most of these boys had already realized their talent wasn’t outstanding.

For them, expulsion seemed inevitable.

This awareness had led some to slack off, losing their earlier dedication.

Thor had noticed this attitude previously, but now, with his promise of rewards, everything had changed.

An intermediate life elixir could alter the trajectory of many of their lives.

With an elixir like this, even those with moderate talent had a real chance to form their life seed before they turned eighteen.

No one wanted to miss this opportunity.

One by one, they began training with newfound intensity, sweat pouring from their brows.

Witnessing this transformation, even the knights in charge of their usual training were taken aback.

But remembering Thor’s promise, they shook their heads with sighs of understanding.

An intermediate life elixir was worth over a thousand gold coins in Frostmoon Province. It could greatly increase one’s chances of forming a life seed. With such a prize, it was no wonder the young Dressrosa heirs were pushing themselves to their limits.

Time passed steadily, and Thor didn’t leave the training grounds.

Instead, he stayed by their side, monitoring them closely.

These young ones were the future of Dressrosa, just as crucial to the family’s development as he was.

In the future, they might even prove indispensable.

Thor was fully committed to their training.

Despite their fatigue, the young trainees gritted their teeth and persevered.

As dusk approached, the day’s training finally came to an end.

Thor clapped his hands.

“Alright, that’s enough for today.”

At his words, many of them collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion.

Thor watched them with satisfaction.

Though his gaze lingered briefly on a chubby boy nearby, who, unlike the others, was only slightly out of breath.

It seemed Thor’s challenge hadn’t fazed him much.

But Thor said nothing and instead stepped to the center of the field.

As all eyes turned toward him, he began speaking.

“Today’s top performer is Carter Dressrosa. He earns one point. The lowest ranking is Leah, who loses a point. At the end of the week, the one with the highest points will be first, and the one with the lowest will be last.”

His announcement drew all eyes to the two boys: one, the chubby boy from earlier, and the other, a frail-looking youth.

Most attention fell on the frail boy, though. Carter wasn’t among the most talented of them; in fact, he was relatively weak. Yet today, he had earned first place, leaving several of them feeling indignant.

“I understand some of you may feel this is unfair, but from dusk until now, Carter took only three brief breaks besides his fifteen-minute lunch. Eir, you took ten breaks and spent half an hour eating. Clay, you rested twelve times and took an hour for lunch. And Monya, you took seven breaks, spending half an hour eating.”

Before any of the boys could argue, Thor’s voice rang out again.

Hearing his explanation, the boys who had felt slighted hung their heads.

“All right, go rest now, and remember to soak in your medicinal baths. Otherwise, you won’t last tomorrow.”

Seeing them bow their heads, Thor waved them off with a smile.

*(End of Chapter)*

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