The heir to the Ashton Clan had accepted a woman in his courtyard.
The news quickly spread throughout the Silverflame city, leaving many people shocked and bewildered.
After all, he had never shown interest in women, so why did he hook up with one all of a sudden? And who was the lucky one who managed to seduce him?
Was it one of his maids?
Only those women had the luck of being in close proximity to him, day in and night out.
Not even in their wildest dreams could they have imagined it was a Goddess.
"Is the news I'm hearing true? Has my son really hooked up with a woman?"
In a grand hall lit by magical glow stones embedded in the ceiling, the head of the Ashton Clan sat atop a throne forged from countless iron swords.
Contrary to what many outsiders would expect, it wasn't a man who held this powerful position.
It was a woman with fiery red hair cascading past her shoulders and heart-shaped pupils.
Her name was Hannah.
She had ascended to her position through a chain of misfortunes.
Years ago, a war broke out with a neighboring territory.
Her husband, the former head of the Ashton Clan, craved a swift victory. But in his impatience, he fell into a trap. The woman Hannah had once seen as her only real competition went to rescue him, leaving her own children in Hannah's care.
She failed to save him… and lost her life in the process.
Yet, in her final moments, she dealt a devastating blow to the Bright Morning Territory, forcing them to retreat in their turtle shell.
The deaths of both the head and mistress left the Ashton Clan in turmoil. With no direct heir of age to take command, the clan elders declared a tournament to determine the next head.
In the Great Sun Realm, strength was everything, and everyone followed the same belief. So it was no suprise that they decided to hold a tournament to decide who would become the next of their clan. Only the strongest member of their clan deserved it!
Hannah knew that if she stayed silent, the children she had vowed to protect would lose their inheritance. And her own position in the clan would become perilous.
So she fought.
And she won.
Defeating every opponent who stood before her, she became the first female head in the Ashton Clan's history.
Kneeling before her was a woman dressed in black robes, her head lowered in reverence. She slowly opened her mouth and replied, "It's true."
Hannah leaned forward slightly on her iron throne, her lips curving into a smile, "Well, he's at that age, so it's not surprising. I am just a little sad that I am hearing about it from someone else rather than hearing it directly from his mouth."
_____
A pop up appeared in front of Eli who was hugging a Goddess who had been fucked to sleep.
[Would you like to grow stronger? Y/N]
"Yes," he said without thinking too much.
What was there to think about?
He needed strength urgently.
Only through sheer strength could he overcome the troubles in the future.
[Ding! A Tutorial quest has been generated.]
—Description: You have been given a second chance at life. Make good use of it. Set new goals for yourself.
—Quest reward: Healing Touch Skill
"Quite an easy quest to complete, no?"
Eli knew what he wanted in this life, so it was effortless for him to set new goals for himself.
"My first goal is to change the result of the Skill Bestowal Ceremony."
He would receive one F-rank skill in the ceremony tomorrow.
His F-rank skill allowed one to dash a little faster than an average person, offering no increment in offensive capability. It was a trash skill that was looked down upon by everyone.
"Since I have gained the C-rank wind blade skill, it won't be hard."
"Secondly, I don't want my birthright to be stolen."
In the Ascension Tower webnovel, while Eli received a trash skill, his younger brother, Kael Ashton, obtained an A-rank offensive skill, causing him to immediately become the darling of pretty much the entire clan.
The elders shifted their support to him and pressured Eli into giving up the position of the clan heir to Kael like a bunch of hyaenas as Hannah rose to defend Eli's right from his own uncles and brother.
Things quickly started to get heated and it seemed like a full blown brawl would break out between the two sides, but Eli didn't want to see Hannah fight others and get hurt for his sake, so he willingly gave up his position to his younger brother.
Just like that, Eli lost his birthright.
Hannah felt extremely sorry for him, and she started to take care of him extensively.
Eli's quality of life only improved.
Who knew that Kael would invite a wolf into their family after becoming the clan heir and gaining a great deal of authority?
By offering quite a lot of resources of the clan, he invited Zerion, one of the most horrendous villains of the Ascension Tower webnovel, to reside in the clan.
Zerion was a deranged self-centered narcissist who treated men as dirt beneath his fingernails and women as his playthings.
When Zerion saw Hannah for the first time, a twisted desire to claim her sprouted in his heart. He stooped to great lows to make his desires come true.
Plotting with the nasty elders and twisted heir of the Ashton Clan, he acted decisively in a foggy wintery night and took Eli hostage.
In exchange for his life, he demanded to brand Hannah with his mark, which would enslave her to his will.
If she refused, he would butcher Eli like a pig in front of her very own eyes.
He knew how much she loved him. He knew she would sacrifice anything to save him. He knew she wouldn't let Eli die when there was a way to save him.
Hannah behaved like he expected. She expressed her willingness to give in to his demands to save Eli.
Eli, however, couldn't digest the idea of a dog tainting his beautiful stepmother.
He chose death over letting Zerion get what he wanted.
Seeing him rush into the sword held against his neck and committing suicide, Hannah went mad, entering a frenzied state and attacking Zerion mercilessly without holding anything back.
She was one of the strongest experts in the entire Silverflame City, but Zerion still managed to escape with his limbs intact.
However, he was greatly injured in the bout and was forced into a retreat to treat his injuries for three whole years in the novel.