Classless Awakening; My Dragon Is Legendary-Chapter 44: Passage of Death

The sound of a loud, ceremonial horn, followed by familiar drums awoke Derrick.

This was the ceremonial sound that indicated an event specifically involving only the Royal family.

And a duel between the first prince and the favored one fell in this category.

"Hear ye, hear ye." The familiar voice of the town crier commanded silence, allowing his voice to be heard by everyone.

"The duel between Prince Derrick and Prince Ivan shall begin in four hours. We are to gather on the palace grounds," the town crier announced.

Derrick took a second to reflect, he had finally come face to face with the choices he made some time ago.

Derrick sprung to his feet. In a matter of minutes, he had freshened up and was ready for the day. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

This time, he was dressed in his official royal attire. This was a royal family event after all, and he needed to be distinguished.

Derrick opened his door, and there Sir Thompson was, waiting patiently for him.

"Are you ready?" Sir Thompson asked. Today was the big day, the one thing Derrick had been training to do for months.

"Yes I am." Every shred of doubt, fear or weakness had been eliminated from his mind.

He was going into this duel not to survive, but to win.

"Let’s go." Sir Thompson held Derrick’s hand proudly, he didn’t want anything more than for Derrick to win.

He personally needed something to take his mind off the whole case with Royal Knight.

Not only that, there was a silent war quickly hitting every kingdom, and Dravania was already stretched thin.

The king was doing his absolute best to prevent being thrown into war. He was scared that Dravania might not recover.

Many other powerful kingdoms like Dravania had been brought to their knees.

The king and his court had decided to suppress any news about the upcoming war in order to avoid panic, and to create a sense of security.

The sound of loud ceremonial drums drew Sir Thompson’s mind away.

Before the duel, there was a short performance, usually by a different variety of people, to not only entertain the crowd while the competitors get ready, but to also give the performers a chance to make money.

The palace had a dedicated colosseum for events like these, and the place was already packed with almost eighty percent of Dravania.

"All these people gathered just to watch you win, never forget that." Sir Thompson’s words continued to strengthen Derrick’s spirit.

Derrick took a deep breath, he entered the colosseum through a special entrance reserved for either the Royal family members, or highly important members of Dravania’s society like Sir Thompson.

As soon as he entered, tens of knights surrounded them for protection.

They led Derrick away to a reserved seating area with his name on it, and Sir Thompson by his side.

Derrick sat high above the crowds, his fingers twitching rapidly.

"Do not be too eager to battle Derrick." Sir Thompson could see the eagerness in Derrick.

He had a lot to lose and even more to prove, there was a lot riding on this win.

Especially now that Royal Knight was dealt a heavy fate, he needed to honor Royal Knight by showing him that his teachings weren’t in vain.

"Why do you say so?" Derrick thought his eagerness would be a good thing.

"Because, if Ivan is smart enough, he can exploit your eagerness and use it against you." Sir Thompson had seen this before, and he didn’t want Derrick to suffer such a fate.

"A thirsty shark is prone to drown Derrick." Sir Thompson’s words held weight and wisdom.

"You may not understand it now, but remember those words." Sir Thompson had a feeling, the same kind he had before any major victory.

Derrick nodded his head and went back to watching the performers on stage.

It was a solo performance by a man using fire magic to tell a story.

The story was fused with acrobatics and complex flashy hand movements, which actually caught Derrick’s attention.

Derrick was fully engrossed in the story, and was gripping the edge of his seat when he felt a cold hand on his shoulder.

He turned around with hope in his eyes, but that hope quickly faded when he saw who it was.

A knight dressed in black armor, his mask was unlike any other, it had a pointed tip protruding from it.

This was a black knight. They were knights often given less noble tasks like executions, assassinations and, in this case, hosting duels.

"It is time," the knight said, and Derrick could feel a weight come over him.

He stood to his feet and so did Sir Thompson. He placed a firm hand on his shoulder, and the lingering weight vanished.

The black knight led Derrick to a strange looking door.

It was big and metallic, designed like a prison with skulls adorning it.

"Enter," the black knight said with his finger pointing at the door.

Derrick took a few steps and Sir Thompson followed closely behind him.

The door led to a dark hallway that was barely illuminated, and had blood staining all over, with flowing water on the sides.

The entire place oozed a pungent smell, and the cold temperatures made it even worse.

The entire place gave Derrick the creeps, it was almost as if he could feel the spirit of death hovering around him.

"Many who venture here never return," the black knight added.

"But, you will!" Sir Thompson quickly countered, not giving the black knight’s words any chance to linger in Derrick’s heart.

He didn’t want Derrick walking into this thing with any negative spirit, he had been doing a good job so far and refused to fail at the final moment.

"You are Derrick of Dravania, you possess a grandmaster talent, and you have been taught by two of the best knights to ever live, you are immune to failure, you will go in there, and you will win!"