Galaxy's First Ruler

In front of the main door of the manor, Aldrich was standing to the right of Earl Drago, while Trifon was on Drago's left.

All local Barons from Planet Rosalia had already arrived and they were lining up on one side of the pavement leading up to the trio. Standing on the other side of the pavement were a few white cladded men and women. They were the members of the side branch of House Venomous Rose. The absence of Trifon's cousins from the main branch could be seen as the sheer amount of fear on their pale faces.

And the wrath of this fear fell on Aldrich's shoulders.

All knew that this white-haired man was nothing but a product of Trifon's one-night outing. He didn't even have red hair, a trait of all members of the House. The mask on his face seemed an insult, and the way he carried himself felt superfluous.

Not caring about these gazes, Ancient Oracle's words had still occupied Aldrich's thoughts regarding the King Mana Core.

Is it true that not one King had got King Mana Core so far throughout the history of the Galaxy?

Is it true that not even a party of Kings could clear a Dungeon of King Ranked difficulty?

Questions like these kept popping in and out of Aldrich's mind. He didn't know how raiding worked at that level, and even Rosalia remembered little to nothing of her past self. Aldrich took a deep breath and brought his mind to the current task at hand.

The nobles for whom they were waiting had already stationed their spaceships outside the planet for quite some time. The only thing that needed to be done was to receive them in order. Thousands of Counts had already come to pay their respects to Earl Drago in the last week. And only a few hundreds of them, at least those that mattered, remained to attend the ceremony.

But to receive an Earl and a Marquess, Drago himself needed to be present.

Rosalia's solar system was part of a local cluster of 67 solar systems under the reign of House Divine Enclosure. And the Head of this House ruling this cluster for the last 300 years was a woman. Famous enough to be called the peerless talent of her generation.

Roarrrrr!!!

A deafening roar shook the manor's surroundings and the footing of many Dreamers lined up in front of the Aldrich trio. Aldrich craned his neck up and saw a blue flash in the distant night sky. The flash kept elongating until he could see the image of a blue dragon. The dragon coiled and dashed towards the manor, not giving anyone a chance to come out of their shock.

Aldrich could sense Earl Drago giving him a look. But this kind of pressure couldn't even faze Aldrich's toe, much less his Perception. What Aldrich was conscious about didn't relate to the image of the blue dragon, but the person riding it. As the slithering dragon neared the manor, it lost its outer form, giving everyone a clear view of its actual shape.

It was a blue heavy sword, around 8 ft long and 1 ft wide. This sword was the reason for the terror in many nobles' hearts. This sword was the reason for saving many lives in the previous Galactic War. Known by many, and feared by all, the Crowned Flood Dragon.

And above the sword towered a long-legged beauty in a blue thigh-high slit dress. There were churning and foaming wave patterns on her dress which matched with the curls of her black hair. Her eyes were also deep black, and her face was slightly round. Nothing seemed out of place for her in one glance.

This woman was the Head of House Divine Enclosure, Earl Frida Ingegerd.

Earl descended off the sword, and with a wave of her hand, the Crowned Flood Dragon vanished. Just behind her, a blue rod-like spaceship landed, on the outer wall of which was the insignia of a blue sword planted into a blue cubical box. The door opened, and like the slash of countless swords, 4 blurs appeared behind Earl Frida. Three of them were girls in almost the same blue slit dress and one was a boy in a blue greatcoat.

"Haha! Earl Frida, welcome to my humble abode."

Earl Drago took a step forward and bowed. Following this bow, Trifon and Aldrich also bowed in tandem. A sultry and sweet chuckle resounded in the open area.

"Hehe! You don't need to bow in front of me anymore, Drago. We will soon be colleagues."

As Aldrich straightened his posture, he eyed the Stats over Earl Frida. Gradually, his gaze landed on the four young Dreamers behind her. All looked in their twenties, but looks could be deceiving in the RECORD's world.

The girl directly behind Frida had her chin up and her eyebrows were like two thin swords. The girl next to her was even prouder, but Aldrich could see a hint of jealousy on her face. Aldrich then looked at the boy, whose eyes were filled with disgust for everyone who was wearing white and had red hair.

And a few steps behind the three of them was the fourth girl. Her presence, unlike the first three, was unsubstantial. But unknown to everyone, Aldrich lost control of his breathing for a moment as he saw the stats over her head. It was like a tremendous eruption of a volcano in the depths of an ocean. Which could hardly be felt, but whose presence would be seen as thundering tsunamis later.

Aldrich took a deep breath to calm himself as Earl Frida shook Drago's hand. She took a step aside and introduced the four Viscounts behind her.

"Vivi, the most talented Dreamer of my House. Sonja, the master of formations. Enok, the boy who thinks he can become the next Head…"

Hehehe!

The two girls, Vivi and Sonja, let out a mocking chuckle as Earl Frida openly ridiculed Enok. But contrary to the norm, Enok didn't have an iota of shame on his face. Aldrich could even feel the emotions of pride and defiance surrounding his straight posture.

"We congratulate Earl Drago for becoming an Earl."

The four claimed Viscounts bowed and congratulated Drago. And no one seemed to ask why Earl Frida didn't even bother to introduce the fourth girl. It was as if she was just a last-minute burden who was forced to come along with her.

Earl Frida, done with the formalities, looked at Trifon and smirked. Her gaze then landed on Aldrich, making him hear an illusory sound of waves crashing on high rocky walls. As he saw her coming towards him, step by step, a heaviness landed over him. But this heaviness also had an uncanny sharpness, tearing his flesh from within.

Frida stopped a few feet away from Aldrich, but even before she could say something, Enok blurted out.

"How dare you put up a mask in front of an Earl? Such impudence…"

Hehe!

Vivi took a step towards Enok, laughingly, and put her hand over his shoulder.

"Those whose existence can't be hidden anymore, need to hide their faces in the open."

Earl Frida raised her eyebrows, seeing Aldrich not flinching under the might of her Perception. The corners of her mouth lifted as she said.

"So… You are the famous Bastard."

Aldrich gave the fuming Drago a look and then stared into Frida's black eyes.

"So… what if I am?"