The next morning—
Lionel woke up to screaming.
"YOU CHEATING PIECE OF SHIT!"
"IT'S CALLED STRATEGY!"
"THAT IS A BRICK!"
Lionel stared at the ceiling silently.
"…I hate this palace."
[And yet destiny keeps bringing you back.]
Lionel dragged himself out of bed before walking toward the window.
Outside—
Kael was currently throwing actual bricks at Fenrir inside the royal training grounds while several knights desperately pretended this was normal.
Honestly?
They were getting pretty good at pretending.
Lionel sighed deeply.
Then suddenly—
KNOCK. KNOCK.
"Enter."
A maid stepped inside respectfully.
"Your Highness, the Emperor requests your presence at the training grounds."
Lionel narrowed his eyes slightly.
"…Why."
The maid hesitated.
"…His Majesty said and I quote…"
She looked down at the paper nervously.
"'Tell the weak one to stop hiding in his room.'"
Silence.
The system immediately spoke.
[DAMN.]
[Bro woke up hating.]
Lionel's eye twitched slightly.
"…Wonderful."
A few minutes later—
Lionel entered the massive royal training grounds calmly.
The moment he appeared—
Kael immediately grinned.
"OI."
Fenrir burst out laughing.
"HAHAHAHA—the corpse prince finally came outside."
Lionel glanced at both of them lazily.
"…One of you throws bricks."
"…The other got hit by them."
"Why both of you acting proud?"
Several knights instantly started coughing trying not to laugh.
Kael pointed aggressively.
"He definitely changed."
[Character development arc going crazy.]
At the center of the training ground—
Emperor Aldric Ashbourne stood calmly with his arms crossed.
The man looked massive.
Even standing still—
his pressure alone felt overwhelming.
This wasn't just an emperor.
This was a monster wearing a crown.
Lionel remembered it clearly.
In the future—
his father fought three Demon Generals alone and still came back alive.
Barely.
The emperor looked toward Lionel calmly.
"You've gotten lazy."
Lionel shrugged.
"I prefer strategic energy conservation."
"…You sleep until noon."
"Details."
Kael instantly laughed again.
The emperor stared at Lionel silently for a few seconds.
Then—
"Draw your sword."
Lionel blinked.
"…I don't use swords."
Silence.
Kael frowned.
"…What."
Even the emperor looked mildly surprised.
Lionel rolled his shoulders lazily.
"Swords too stiff."
"Too many rules."
"If I'm trying to kill somebody, I'd rather use something that actually terrifies people."
Several knights exchanged weird looks.
The emperor narrowed his eyes slightly.
"…Then what weapon do you use?"
Lionel answered immediately.
"A scythe."
Complete silence.
Then Kael burst out laughing.
"HAHAHAHAHA."
"THE FUCK YOU MEAN A SCYTHE?"
Fenrir nearly collapsed too.
"What next?"
"You farming demons?"
Lionel looked at both of them blankly.
"…And yet both of you still somehow weaker than farmers mentally."
[Clean hit.]
Even the emperor looked amused now.
"We don't have training scythes."
Lionel shrugged.
"Then I'll use a real one."
Several knights instantly stiffened.
Kael stared at him.
"…That sounds illegal."
[Because it probably is.]
The emperor suddenly laughed quietly.
A deep dangerous laugh.
Then he looked toward one of the knights nearby.
"Bring him one."
The knight hesitated.
"Your Majesty… a real war scythe?"
"Yes."
"…Understood."
A few minutes later—
a massive black war scythe was brought into the training grounds.
The weapon looked brutal.
Heavy curved blade.
Dark steel.
Tall enough to tower over Lionel himself.
The moment Lionel grabbed it—
his posture changed instantly.
Cold.
Sharp.
Dangerous.
Like the weapon belonged in his hands naturally.
The laughing stopped immediately.
Even the emperor's eyes narrowed slightly.
"…Interesting."
Lionel slowly spun the scythe once.
Smooth.
Natural.
Like muscle memory buried deep inside his bones.
In his previous life—
this weapon became known across battlefields as the weapon of a monster.
The Death Scythe.
Not because of the weapon itself.
Because of the man using it.
Lionel slowly exhaled.
Damn.
He missed this feeling.
The system suddenly spoke quietly.
[…Yeah okay.]
[That look hard as fuck.]
The emperor stepped forward calmly.
"Show me."
BOOM.
The ground exploded beneath him instantly.
Lionel's eyes widened.
"WHAT THE FU—"
CLANG!
The scythe barely blocked the emperor's fist in time.
The impact almost shattered Lionel's arms instantly.
He got launched backward violently.
The system immediately screamed.
[OH HELL NO.]
[THIS OLD MAN TRYING TO DELETE YOU.]
Lionel skidded across the ground painfully.
"…You call this training?!"
The emperor answered calmly.
"You wanted to attend Silverwind Academy."
Another attack came instantly.
BOOM.
Lionel twisted his body barely in time.
The emperor's fist passed beside his face so fast the air exploded.
Several watching knights turned pale.
Kael whistled softly.
"Damn."
Fenrir grinned.
"Father really beating his ass."
Lionel jumped backward quickly breathing heavily.
This body was too weak.
Way too weak.
His experience could barely keep up.
The emperor attacked again.
Lionel instantly activated Solar Breathing instinctively.
Heat spread through his body.
His muscles tightened.
Reflexes sharpened slightly.
BOOM!
This time—
he managed to block properly.
The emperor's eyes sharpened slightly.
"Oh?"
Lionel smirked slightly despite his burning arms.
"…That all?"
The system immediately panicked.
[WHY WOULD YOU TAUNT HIM.]
The emperor smiled faintly.
That somehow looked more terrifying.
Then—
BOOM.
Lionel disappeared.
Or more accurately—
he got launched across the training grounds like a kicked corpse.
CRASH.
He smashed through wooden dummies violently.
Silence.
Lionel slowly lifted his head from the rubble.
"…I hate this family."
[Not with those stats you don't.]
Kael completely lost control laughing.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA."
Even Fenrir nearly fell over.
Only Elena looked horrified.
"Aldric!"
The emperor calmly lowered his fist.
"He's alive."
Lionel slowly stood up painfully.
"…Barely."
But strangely enough—
he was smiling.
Because for the first time since returning—
he actually felt alive again.
Not drowning in regret.
Not trapped in memories.
Just—
fighting.
The emperor noticed the smile immediately.
Then his expression changed slightly.
"…Interesting."
Lionel wiped blood from his mouth lazily before spinning the scythe once more.
"…Again."
The entire training ground became silent.
Kael blinked.
Fenrir frowned.
Even Elena looked surprised.
Because before—
Lionel hated combat training.
The emperor stared at him for a few seconds.
Then slowly smiled.
A dangerous smile.
"Good."
The system immediately groaned.
[Congratulations.]
[You unlocked hidden boss phase.]