Reborn as the Genius Son of the Richest Family

Chapter 756: What is the Antique?

The Professor turned silent for a moment, struggling to digest the words that came out of the princess’ mouth.

“The Draconians?” he doubted. “Why would the Draconians want the Antique?”

He couldn’t understand it. Like Princess Octavia, the Draconians should have no business in wanting an Antique that involved humans. It held no value for them except for a good mantle piece on their tables.

“Purely for its exotic value? No… if it was they would have been bragging about it to the rest of the world. Is it because they want to sell it for a high price? No… as much of a hoarder Draconians might be, they have other means to exchange to gain much more monetary value…”

Professor Lichtenstein began muttering out different reasons as to why the Draconians would possibly want the Antique, leaving Michael and Princess Octavia to themselves.

“What is the Antique anyway?” he asked the princess. As brief as it was, she held the Antique in her hands. Perhaps she was the only other person who knew what this Antique looked like.

Princess Octavia smiled at Michael. “It’s a bone.”

“A bone?”

“Yes, a bone, like the ones you humans have under your skin.”

Michael was shocked that all this time, the piece of Antique they were talking about turned out to just be a piece of bone.

He thought it would have been the equivalent of the Rosetta Stone with its significance. But it was just a bone. How important could it be that it could solve one of the greatest mysteries in the world?

Wait, could it be a bone from an Ancient Human?

“How big is it?” he asked her.

“As tall as me,” she answered.

That was one big piece of bone. If it was just one piece, then it definitely couldn’t have been the bone of a human.

He’d seen Ancient Humans from his brief hallucinogenic visit to the past thanks to the Bratty Goddess, and they weren’t gigantic. They looked like normal humans. “So it’s not a bone from the Ancient Humans,” he muttered.

As soon as he said that, the professor suddenly turned his head towards him. “What did you say?”

“That it’s not a bone from the Ancient Humans?” he repeated.

Professor Lichtenstein suddenly slapped his own forehead before chuckling like a maniac. “Of course! How could I have been so stupid! You’re right… I was so tunneled on the Ancient Humans that I forgot they weren’t the only ones there!”

“Professor?” Michael asked. But the professor was so absorbed in his discovery that he didn’t even hear Michael’s words.

“They have no need for the Antique… unless they do! Princess Octavia, did the Draconians say anything about heritage?”

The Octopus Princess smiled while nodding. “Now you’re asking the right questions, professor. Yes, indeed. I heard them talk about the Antique being their rightful heritage.”

The professor suddenly jumped up while pumping his fist as if he just discovered something. “I knew it!”

Michael couldn’t help but be caught out of the loop. “Knew what, professor?”

“The Antique didn’t belong to the Ancient Humans. They belonged to the Mythical Beasts!”

Princess Octavia seemed to have understood the professor’s words as well. “I see. That would make sense as to why they valued the Antique so much.”

“What are the Mythical Beasts?” Michael blurted out.

“Back in the Ancient Era, it wasn’t just the Ancient Humans who lived on this green Earth. They coexisted with the Mythical Beasts, an ancient extinct race of monsters that battled against the Ancient Humans for supremacy.”

Michael hadn’t heard of these Mythical Beasts before, so it was hard for him to imagine that they were in the same time frame as the Ancient Humans, let alone be powerful enough to rival against them.

After all, Ancient Humans could not only wield Unity, but they could use Aubility Powers as well. Each of them were powerhouses.

“How could Mythical Beasts even battle against the Ancient Humans? I thought they were the apex creatures of the world.”

“They were,” the professor answered. “Ancient Humans were the most powerful beings in this world. But that doesn’t mean that they were invincible. Mythical Beasts could still kill an Ancient Human, especially if they were caught off guard or without support.

Mythical Beasts have this unique strength which allows them to seize control of Aubility Power and render them useless.

It’s been written in the history books that Ancient Humans must not, under any circumstances, fight these Mythical Beasts without their Mithril Artifacts because they would find themselves unable to control their own Aubility Powers, and therefore fall prey to these monsters.”

In other words, Mythical Beasts were akin to tigers, lions, and sharks in the modern world. Although humans controlled the world with technology, had guns and weapons at their disposal, a tiger could still easily kill a human if they got ambushed.

“If this bone belongs to Mythical Beasts, then why would the Draconians need it?”

The professor smiled, pointing at Michael. “That’s the thing! They shouldn’t—unless the theory about the Convergence of Races is correct.

There is evidence that suggests that all demi-humans came from these Mythical Beasts, just like how humans came from the Ancient Humans.

But it’s never been proven and not widely accepted since there’s the problem of procreation: how could beasts turn humanlike? It’s impossible unless they mixed together with humans, but some people think that that’s impossible and even crude.”

In this theory, the evolution path was as follows: Mythical Beasts —> Demi-Humans —> Beastfolks.

“There’s a lot of problems with this theory. First of all, it’s been proven as a fact that Vampires came from the Original Vampire, not as a descendant of Mythical Beasts. Yet, they still have the same Dao Heart as the rest of the Beastfolk.

But clearly, the Draconians still believe this to be true. They believe they descended from Mythical Beasts.”

“That still doesn’t answer why they want the Antique professor,” Michael asked.

The professor nodded at his question. “Perhaps it’s because they want proof of their heritage, or perhaps it’s because they want to strengthen their power.”

“If that is true, professor, then the gap between the Draconians and the rest of the species will become even wider than it is now. They’re already quite dominant as it is,” said Princess Octavia with a serious look.

Thankfully, the professor seemed to have woken up from his initial surprise and noticed Michael’s face full of questions.

“Have you ever wondered why Draconians are considered the strongest, most dominant race in the entire world? It’s because they have within them a much greater control of Aubility Power than everyone else. Some might even say that it bears a great resemblance to the strength that Mythical Beasts have, but that’s always been widely challenged.”

The professor and the princess continued talking about the implications of such discovery. Michael hadn’t seen a Draconian himself yet, but with the way these two were talking about them, it truly did seem like the Draconians were so much more stronger than the rest of the species.

The octopus princess was the one most concerned especially because of her ambitions to have her own kingdom.

“Princess Octavia, guessing about theories won’t get us anywhere. I have to see the Antique for myself,” the professor demanded. “Since you borrowed it from the Draconians before, would it be possible for you to borrow it again so that I could take a look at it?”

The princess stayed silent for a second, her eyes going through the calculations.

Seeing her hesitate, the professor promised her something in return. “If you help me, I will share with you the results of my findings.”

This didn’t interest the princess that much, seeing as her face remained stagnant.

“I had to pay for a lot of concessions after borrowing that Antique, professor. I’m not quite sure if I can pay that again.”

“Darn it!” the professor cursed. “So close!”

But much as the octopus princess denied it, Michael could see that she wasn’t exactly negative about the idea. She just needed a little persuading.

“Do you want something, princess?” he asked her.

Princess Octavia smiled. “It’s so much easier dealing with someone with common sense, unlike the professor who seemed numb about anything except history. You’re right. I do need something. I need some help.”

The professor perked up again. “What is it?”

“You see, I am not the only other royal in this lake. And as much as I would like us Mermen to rely only on each other, we have to make some concessions and rely on other people.

No matter how good we recreate it, this isnt Atlantis after all. We have multitudes of problem here, like the pollution in the water, the lack of diverse food, etc.

We’re not as familiar with the surface world, so we need the help of the humans. A lot of other Mermen camps have already secured their own allies in New Sparta, while I have not.

This isn’t ideal if I’m to be the leader of all Meren here in New Sparta.”

Michael stared at her. “What exactly do you want us to do, princess?”