I followed Victor to his office, where he sat at his desk, and I stood in front of him. While I could pretend like I was scared, I decided that it was too much of a pain and not worth it. I watched as Victor lit a cigarette.
Letting out a puff of smoke, he then turned his gaze towards me.
"You're already an adult; however, after the ceremony tonight, you will be officially a part of the Van Bismarck family," he said blankly
I nodded, "I understand."
Exhaling another puff of smoke, Victor's face turned serious. "I'm sure you know that the family has a bunch of rules, some reasonable, some not so,"
Hearing that, I nodded, but internally, I really couldn't care less.
"However, all these rules were put in place for a reason, a reason that fundamentally changes the entire world as you know it."
I put on a fake curious expression.
"To make this make sense, I'll start from the beginning, long ago, our ancestor Felix Van Bismarck was exploring an island to find treasure. But he found something that was beyond his wildest dreams. He found an artifact. When he touched the artifact, something strange happened," Victor's face became serious. "A strange alien script appeared in front of him." he paused, which I was sure was for dramatic effect.
"Despite not understanding them, he knew what they said." He then put out his cigarette. "They said [Player Registered]"
Looking at me, I saw a small smile tug at the edge of his lips. "I'm sure you don't need me to explain what that meant, right?"
"Yeah, sounds like something ripped out of a video game," I commented, which earned me a chuckle
"Indeed, what Felix Van Bismarck stumbled upon wasn't a simple artifact, but something much more, a path to obtain great power." Victor narrowed his eyes. "The moment he became a player, he was able to raise our family status; that is the true power of the family."
I then looked shocked before I pointed a finger at him, "Wait th-that means…"
"Yes, I'm also a player," he smirked before lighting another cigarette. A proud smile appeared on his face. "I am a Blade Warrior, with 5 Order points; however, don't tell anyone else about your class or skills, it's considered taboo as you never know who might stab you in the back."
Pretending to be amazed, I remembered the documents I read.
Victor's class wasn't Blade Warrior but a Dracoian Knight with an Order of 6.
He then continued, "Players rely on something called 'Order, ' which determines their system functions and skills. The higher it is, the more functions you unlock. If a player has 1 order point, then they are something called a "Semi-Player" where you gain some benefits, however, you can't level up. 2 or more is where you're considered a full player,"
His face became serious again. "However, remember this: if your order is 0, then you will die."
Hearing that, I couldn't help but remember a certain person
But it seems that Victor took my look as something else "Don't worry, you were able to master the family art in no time, and your bloodline is very pure so there won't be a risk of you dying."
"Being a Player…" I then pretended to think before I "had" a sudden moment of realization. "Then the other families! They must have players too!"
Victor smirked as he leaned back on his chair "Yeah, they do, each of the other 5 great families have their own rules due to their awakening artifacts; however, the one thing that is similar is our bloodlines."
"What do you mean?"
"Each family has their own unique blood. Take our family, for example, our originator is a Dragon; thanks to our bloodline, we are able to live very long lives, even longer than average bloodline holders."
"So each of the major families has its own family originator?"
"Yes," Victor smiled
I folded my arms, keeping up the ignorant act. "So, that's why heirs aren't allowed to have sex before the ceremony?"
"Exactly." His gaze darkened. "Being a virgin is a part of the requirements for the trial. Bloodline purity gives us more power. The ceremony isn't just a tradition; it's a matter of survival and power."
He let out a puff of smoke before he put out his cigarette. Victor's demeanor suddenly shifted as he looked at me with a stern gaze.
"We players have kept our existence hidden, so if you tell anyone about this, then I can assure you, you won't have a happy ending,"
Gulping at this, I nodded.
"Good," Victor then turned to look at the window "Now leave and get your things ready,"
"Yes, father,"
I then left the room while thinking about the system. From the records I had read in many worlds, there were powers that secretly ruled the world through the power of the GAIA system. The GAIA system however, wasn't perfect. And I was going to use that to my advantage.
When I made it to my room, I looked around.
'Damn, I never knew how much I missed this place'
I then looked at a poster of a very popular actress who was wearing very revealing clothes. I looked longingly at the picture. I knew who this was; in fact, she was an ex-lover in my previous life. With a sigh, I grabbed my clothes and put them in a bag.
While I probably would've had a servant to do that, I couldn't risk Toby doing anything.
'Ugh, just remembering him made me want to punch a wall.' However, I sighed.
'Can't do anything at the moment,'
After I packed everything, I was about to leave, however as I was leaving, I was stopped as someone entered my room.
That someone was Toby.
His face was bruised, which the bandages he wore didn't hide.
"Yo-young master!" he bowed
"Huh? Toby? What happened to your face?" I asked, pretending to be confused
I saw his face quickly change, but I ignored it "So what is it?"
He seemed surprised "I-I am ready for the ceremony"
"Huh the fuck are you talking about?" I looked him with a disgusting gaze "Why the fuck would I take a traitor?"
I saw him freeze "Wh-what?"
Kicking him again I watched as he fell to the floor. I crouched down to his level "Don't take me for a fool, I know that you planned something with my brothers,"
I saw his face contort in fear, "H-how?"
With another sigh, I shook my head before I left.
"Wa-wait young master!"
'I suppose he'll kill him'