The Myriad Metal Shelter was one of the more recognized of the 7 Great Shelters that were built after the start of the age of awakening.
All the 7 Great Shelters were built in prosperous regions which later became known as mid-earth. The greatest characteristics of mid-earth and the Great Shelters were the unique mineral resources that were enriched with mystic energy.
As its name suggested, the myriad metal shelter was the home of all kinds of mystic metals that were used in creating some of the greatest mystic treasures.
The Ancient mystic families that settled in this shelter did not just have access to the greatest deposits of metals containing mystic energy, they also evolved over the years due to constant exposure to the metal energy.
Over the centuries, the Ancient mystic families adapted to the metal energy which affected their bloodline, making it purer and more potent.
Of the Ancient mystic families that enjoyed this benefit of living in the myriad metal shelter was the Ancient Carter family who was among the rulers here.
The Ancient Carter family enjoyed this advantage a lot as their original bloodline evolved to become the Big bone bloodline today.
The Carter household was experiencing a busy week as, after another 12-month cycle, the time finally came for the bloodline carrier ranking test.
Of the contestants, this time was a new name. A knuckle-headed chubby and dark-skinned youth with a lot of strength and who had a great mastery of the sword, who was also rumored to have a higher variant of the Big bone bloodline.
Ben Carter was having the best and worst times of his life at the same time over the last few months, and it showed in him being nominated for the test.
A few months ago, Lady Charlotte and her niece Anne went all the way to the King Resistance Shelter where they brought out this previously hidden warrior.
After meeting the patriarch and getting his approval, Ben was easily integrated into the family as he started learning the way that things were done here. One of the things he learned first was the carrier rankings.
In the Carter family, every descendant that was able to awaken the Big bone bloodline was referred to as a carrier and had a higher status than non-carriers.
Even among the carriers, there were ranks and they were divided into the Iron rank, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Mithril ranks.
Due to Ben's purer bloodline, he automatically got promoted to the Bronze rank. From that day, he started his journey of training to rise through the ranks.
To have a higher status and to enjoy more freedom in the family, you had to have a higher ranking. The ranks were affected by purity of bloodline, mystic warrior rank, and achievements in battles for the family.
Lady Charlotte became Ben's mentor in the myriad metal shelter and in no time, Ben learned that his dream of a carefree life was not so sure.
Being a family that was ruthless enough to send their descendants to unknown locations just to stimulate them to awaken their Big bone bloodlines, the Ancient Carter was one of the most disciplined out there.
To remain relevant, Ben had to work, there was no other option for him.
At first, on knowing this truth, Ben was sad but after a month, his mentality changed. After a month of not seeing Rex and Cassandra, of not getting to see girls the way that he wanted, the reality of his situation finally dawned on him.
To meet his friends again, to get his freedom back, to get his girls back, and to truly command his fate, he needed to train and become stronger.
The day that Ben realized this was the day that his fate started changing.
Back in the King Resistance Shelter, Ben never saw himself as a genius since Cassandra and Rex always outperformed him but here in the myriad metal shelter, he finally knew that his bloodline was what previously held him back.
Once he awakened his Big bone bloodline, his fate changed. His talent that was previously being suppressed was finally unleashed.
With Lady Charlotte as his mentor, Ben trained as hard as he could. The end goal of meeting his friends and playing with his girls again was his daily motivation throughout all these as he fully gave his all into training.
Ben was never an avid fan of swords, he loved them only because Rex did but once he became determined, he started recognizing his love for swords.
After 4 months of unrelenting and intense training, Ben came out of it all like a Phoenix rising from its ashes and like gold from the purifying fire.
Ben did not just become an Advanced mystic warrior; he also became a mystic swordsman who already unlocked his sword domain. His growth speed was completely outrageous and was what made him known in the family.
His feats warned other contestants that there was a new challenger in town, and after waiting a few more months, the week for the ranking test finally came.
Once he was ready, Ben left his apartment and joined the thousands of other contestants in the waiting hall where they waited for the patriarch to address them.
The patriarch arrived and gave a short speech.
His emphasis was on self-development, which was the main goal of the Ancient Carter family, to build strong warriors that could take care of themselves and by extension, the family.
Once the speech was over, all the thousands of contestants were taken to the Mithril Forest where their task was to kill the metal affinity beasts.
This contest was not just for carriers to jump through the ranks, they could also regress through the ranks if they were unable to fulfill the requirements.
Staying in the Iron rank required a total kill of 500 metal affinity beasts, the bronze rank required a total kill of 1,500 metal affinity beasts, and the Silver rank required a total kill of 5,000 metal affinity beasts.
As for the Gold and Mithril ranks, to climb these milestones required total kills of 15,000 and 50,000 metal affinity beasts respectively.
Once they were dumped in the forest, the contest began.
Having practiced for this moment for a long time, Ben was calm about being dumped into this dangerous forest as he first sought shelter to protect himself.
After finding a shelter where he could retreat in danger to hide, he finally started his hunt. After training for months, apart from unlocking his sword domain and becoming an Advanced mystic warrior, he also had 3 mystic abilities already.
His first mystic ability was a water mystic ability, his 2nd was a power amplifying ability that enabled him to get stronger by expanding and getting fatter.
As for his last mystic ability, it was the Bone Manipulation mystic ability. This was the mystic ability of the first Carter ancestor, and it was given to Ben personally by the patriarch after his astonishing achievements in the past few months.
With this ability, the Big bone bloodline could no longer just amplify his strength, he could also amplify the strength of his bones now while also granting him the ability to manipulate his bones.
Apart from his Advanced level sword, Ben's main weapon and defensive armor were now his bones due to the versatility of his 3rd mystic ability.
Once Ben started his hunt, it soon became clear that him finding a shelter to retreat to was him being conservative as he steamrolled through the metal beasts.
Having studied the metal affinity beasts with Lady Charlotte already, he knew them like the back of his hand and it showed in his performance.
In just the first 3 days, Ben was able to kill 10,000 metal affinity beasts which was a completely outrageous feat at the very top of the participating contestants.
For the next 4 days though, he slowed down not only due to his depreciating stamina but also because the stronger metal affinity beasts finally started emerging. Ben's most dangerous encounter was against a Super beast.
Against this extremely powerful beast, Ben was pummeled to the point of death but what saved him was his bone as his 3rd mystic ability reared its head in this desperate moment again.
After a very close battle, he was able to escape to his hideout to recover. He recovered after half a day and after consuming a healing potion.
After he healed, without fear, he returned to the battlefield to confront more metal affinity beasts. At the end of the 7th day, he ended up killing 16,000+ beasts which enabled him to clinch the 7th spot in the overall rankings.
When the final results came out, the whole Carter household was sent into a frenzy as the new kid in the block snatching 7th place was completely legendary.
As usual, only the 3 previous carriers who occupied the Mithril rank defended their ranking by repeating the same feat.
6 other students who all made it to the Gold rank alongside Ben made the top 10. With this astonishing feat, Ben also broke another record as he became the first warrior to jump 2 ranks straight to the Gold rank.
As his fame grew after the test, so also did his fortune as all contestants who occupied the top 10 got to meet the patriarch again.
"Congratulations, after 12 years, the inheritance ground of a sword grandmaster is about to open again in a month. That is the ultimate prize that I organized to be rewarded to the top 10 of this ranking test".
"As for those whose main battle domain is not swordsmanship, you can exchange the inheritance token with an equivalent opportunity in the household".
While others contemplated, Ben blurted his reply. "I accept!"
This was the opportunity that he sought, and he had no intention to miss it as he flashed back to his friends and his girls.
"Keep waiting, when I get strong enough, we'll meet again".
The 𝘮ost uptodat𝑒 novels are pub𝙡ished on fre(e)webno(v)el.𝒸𝑜𝘮