Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Great City Lutran
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Forced to move from the rural city of Oldor to the great city of Lutran.
If he used Yuri's savings as an orphan, he could probably afford a cheap inn room, but that would just piss off Elena.
‘She seemed really thrilled about it.’
She was trying hard to hide it, but Elena's acting skills couldn't even be called passable by the politest standards. No matter how he thought about it, it looked like he'd have to crash at Elena's place for the foreseeable future.
It was absolutely not because of the spotless bathroom and kitchen.
For now, the key thing to check in this mansion was how much freedom he had.
Yuri quickly scanned the living room. He was on guard for any surveillance magic or the like.
He could sense the flow of mana. Just as Elena had said, the mansion had basic life-support magic, including security spells. Reading the mana flow didn't let him identify exactly what spells they were, but he at least needed to confirm their presence.
Naturally, there was no CCTV in this world, but there had to be magic that served the same purpose. Magic in this world replaced modern technology.
‘Hold on.’
Yuri paused and turned his head. The study on the first floor. It had security magic on the door too, but he'd been given permission to enter.
The bookshelves in the fairly spacious study weren't all that full—there were more empty spaces than books. That made sense. Elena probably hadn't lived here long since moving in, and any truly important books would be at the magic tower.
‘She said there were common magic tomes.’
Among the sparse books, he pulled out fifteen thick magic books.
[Easily and Quickly Mastering Common Magic 1, by Arsen Lucianel.]
.
.
[Easily and Quickly Mastering Common Magic 15, by Arsen Lucianel.]
‘So it was that old geezer who wrote these.’
The lord of Lucianel Magic Tower. The Apex, Arsen Lucianel.
Unlike other magic towers that delved deeply into a single school, this tower specialized in taking "popular" magic and refining it to the extreme.
That actually made him trickier to deal with in the game than other tower lords. If they specialized in one school, you could counter it specifically, but that wasn't possible against Arsen Lucianel.
The old man turned his lack of standout traits into a strength. The anomaly of ordinary magic. Among the tower lords, the most versatile one with no weaknesses was Arsen Lucianel.
Heavenly Thunder Orca Derusia was level 81, while Apex Arsen Lucianel was level 87.
‘Do you know how much grief that old bastard gave me...’
A total of fifteen books established by that damn Apex Arsen Lucianel.
‘Third-tier mages need to know most common magic.’
Did that mean memorizing all fifteen of these monstrously thick books? Were all mages memory prodigies? He wasn't sure if they could really be learned easily and quickly, but Yuri opened one anyway.
[If you claim to be a mage, your goal should be to perfectly understand and cast the magic outlined in this book.]
[You all know the difference between common magic and the magic of towers or schools. Common magic is, as the name implies, magic that ‘any’ mage can use.]
[First, perfectly memorize the incantations, then guide the mana as the incantations require...]
He skimmed the preface. Fortunately, the table of contents came right after.
‘Security... vigilance... guard...’
Yuri scanned down, thinking of similar terms.
He found it in volume 3.
[This section covers basic vigilance magic. You all already know how crucial preparation is for a mage. Thus, you...]
‘Blah blah blah.’
Even in the game, the guy had endless dialogue.
‘Here it is.’
Security magic for homes and such spaces. Alarms, detection, traps, interceptions for unauthorized intruders...
‘Observation, surveillance.’
[There are various kinds of magic for observing intruders in an area. One method uses familiars, but this book focuses purely on common magic and doesn't cover such trivia...]
‘Shut up already, you old fart.’
Maybe [Easily and Quickly Mastering Common Magic] was fifteen volumes because Arsen was just so damn chatty.
‘...Huh...’
As he stared through the incantation, his head spun.
‘Is this the brain overload I never felt during exams?’
No, it was different. The dizzying, complex incantations were forcibly etching themselves into his mind. His eyes burned like they were scorching, and his head throbbed.
‘Comprehension.’
Otherworldly soul. Uniqueness. Blessing.
‘It wasn't limited to just mana?’
This was nothing like when he'd looked at the cookbook. His brain was autonomously accepting the magic incantation. After glaring at it for a while, Yuri's legs gave out, and he collapsed right there.
‘It ain't easy.’
The brain fatigue was no joke.
‘True to its name.’
Arsen Lucianel had added detailed explanations to every complex incantation. That met the possessor's blessing. Yuri took a deep breath and stood up.
‘Can't cast it right now.’
What he'd just done was closer to sensory memorization than perfect understanding. To actually cast it, he'd need more practice and mastery.
Yuri put the magic books back on the shelf.
When he returned to the living room, the scene looked different. Spells he'd only vaguely sensed before were now somewhat identifiable.
‘If someone intrudes without permission, the magic activates instantly.’
That meant Yuri didn't need to worry about surveillance or observation. Of course, he wasn't about to do anything suspicious in the middle of the living room.
He headed up to the second floor.
There was no magic on the door to his assigned room or the storage room. He slid open the storage room. It wasn't overflowing with junk despite the name. Unused furniture and various tools were neatly arranged on shelves.
‘Obsessive clean freak.’
The pure white dress from the day he'd arrived in Oldor flickered in his mind. Yuri shook his head and entered his room.
‘Observation, surveillance...’
He scanned the room with his still-sore eyes, but nothing like that registered.
‘Makes sense. No point putting security on unused rooms.’
Once confirmed, the tension melted away. Standing blankly in the empty room, Yuri let out a hollow chuckle.
‘This room's safe, at least.’
Just in case, he drew the curtains over the window. Only then did he plop down in the middle of the room.
His head throbbed, his eyes ached. He wanted to just lie down and sleep. But he couldn't.
The Veil of Deception perfectly concealed his internal energy from the outside, even during meditation.
Still, he hadn't meditated once during the week riding in the carriage with Elena. After doing it daily for a month in Oldor, skipping a week made his body feel stuffy.
‘Veil of Deception is good to go.’
He stroked his neck, feeling no foreign sensation. The Veil of Deception was still hidden inside.
Neither Elena nor Ha-ryeong had noticed his internal energy.
‘It was a rare item even in the game.’
Impossible to get without reaching the late game, and with a low drop rate. For Lorellia and the Order Church to send him something like this confirmed they were giving him special treatment.
Yuri steadied his breathing and began meditating. As the Heavenly Principle Annihilating Evil Art circulated, internal energy stirred in his dantian.
Thanks to daily practice over the past month, his dantian energy had grown considerably. It had started fingernail-sized; now it was about fist-sized.
‘Thank you, Mr. Lee Soo-hyuk. I, Lorellia, have never taught the Heavenly Principle Annihilating Evil Art to anyone else. This is a martial art unique to me, Lorellia.’
‘Like most heart methods, simply inflating internal energy with the Heavenly Principle Annihilating Evil Art doesn't raise your realm. So don't brute-force your energy—meditate diligently and pursue enlightenment.’
What's enlightenment?
‘I can't explain enlightenment perfectly—that would make one a Martial God. I'm not a Martial God, so I can't explain it!’
How am I supposed to pursue something you can't even describe?
‘Meditation isn't just sitting and absorbing energy! It's filling your ignorance, contemplating and understanding what you've filled, and adding more! Naturally, you'll comprehend what you didn't know, something new, something that perfects you. That's enlightenment.’
But you just explained enlightenment—doesn't that make you a Martial God?
‘I, Lorellia, really didn't want to do this. But since Mr. Lee Soo-hyuk keeps being cheeky, I feel forced to. From now on, every time you spout nonsense, I'll raise my fist.’
I was just asking...
‘I told you how to pursue enlightenment! It comes to everyone differently, so everyone gains it uniquely!’
Lorellia, the priestess of the Goddess of Order who taught him the Heavenly Principle Annihilating Evil Art. He'd learned so much more from her beyond martial arts. Reasons for possession. Precautions after possession. How to fight...
‘What tier is Lorellia?’
From her speech, she was no low-realm. He'd asked, but never gotten an answer.
‘My tier is a secret, but I'll tell you this: If you diligently master the Heavenly Principle Annihilating Evil Art and accumulate enlightenment steadily, you can reach a very high tier.’
Tiers weren't assigned by others—you determined them yourself.
For mages, being recognized as a proper mage was 2nd tier.
Mastering all common magic: 3rd tier.
Composing multiple spells and abbreviating incantations: 4th tier...
For martial artists, accumulating energy in the dantian and surpassing physical limits: 2nd tier.
Freely emitting energy externally: 3rd tier.
Imbuing emitted energy with attributes: 4th tier.
‘Am I barely 2nd tier?’
He had energy in his dantian and could strengthen his body with it. But it wasn't satisfying. He needed more training...
Amid complex thoughts, his consciousness sank. The Heavenly Principle Annihilating Evil Art incantations he'd heard until his ears bled, the common magic from the books he'd skimmed, the vigilance spells he'd read properly—all swirled in his mind.
‘Out!’
From the receding edge of his fading awareness, Lorellia's shout rang out. Memories tangled with his thoughts: before possession, in the waiting room, enduring her "education" disguised as violence.
—He opened his eyes.
Startled, he drew back the curtain. The sun was still up. The clock showed two hours had passed. His head no longer throbbed, his eyes no longer ached. Just two hours of meditation, and he felt refreshed like after a full day's sleep.
“Hss...”
That's where the stench was coming from—his body was soaked in sweat. Not just any sweat, but the black, yellowish stuff like his first time meditating in Oldor. Impurities from his meridians had been expelled again.
“Fuck.”
The problem was, this wasn't Oldor.
Luckily, it hadn't dirtied the floor. Yuri jumped up, opened the window to air out the room, and grabbed spare clothes from the corner.
He'd freaked at first, but it wasn't a big deal. Elena wasn't back yet. Dirty clothes could be washed, body scrubbed clean. He had excuses galore.
‘Got something on me while cooking.’
Elena would just scold him for washing clothes she planned to toss anyway. That'd be the end of it.
“Man...”
Shaaaa...
The second-floor bathroom had hot water. After a month of ice-cold well water, the steaming hot water brought tears to his eyes. Beyond soap, there were other bath products, and the towels were fluffy.
“Thank you.”
Sending thanks to Elena at the magic tower, he grabbed the showerhead.
—Ding-dong.
He was midway through washing, laundering clothes, and hanging them on the garden clothesline when the doorbell rang.
‘What?’
The owner wouldn't ring her own bell, so not Elena. Ha-ryeong?
‘She said tomorrow morning.’
That realization halted his steps toward the gate.
—Ding-dong.
The bell rang again. Yuri stood frozen, staring at the door without responding.
“Is someone there?”
Silence prompted a voice from beyond the gate.
“I sense presence. Who's there ignoring me like that?”
A man's voice. Ding-dong. The bell rang once more.
“A thief? No, unlikely. Ha-ryeong, is that you?”
If he kept quiet, maybe the guy would leave. Ding-dong. Another ring suggested otherwise.
“Answer me. Are you Ha-ryeong? Why stay silent?”
Ding-dong, ding-dong. Rings came in succession.
‘No guests, she said...’
“Pretending no one's home won't work. I sense you. What are you hiding to stay quiet? Not Ha-ryeong, apparently. I don't know who you are, but if you keep this up, I won't stand idly by.”
“Who are you?”
He didn't know what "not standing idly by" meant, but Yuri didn't want to complicate things.
“A man?”
Surprise tinged the voice.
“Who are you? Why's a man inside?”
“I'm a guest of the homeowner.”
“Guest...? Call Elena. I'll speak to her directly.”
“Elena's not home right now.”
“Not home? Then why are you inside?”
“She went out leaving me behind.”
“For now... open the door. Introductions should be face-to-face.”
The man stammered. As Yuri glared at the door, ding-dong, ding-dong—the bell rang again.
“What are you doing not opening?”
“I don't know who you are, it's not my house—why should I open on your say-so?”
“I am Jin of the Namgung Clan. I stake my family's honor: I'm no suspicious figure. And this is the mansion of Elena, the Derusia Magic Tower's Favorite Child, Golden Lily, right? A shady person wouldn't show up in broad daylight without giving a name or asking to enter.”
Yuri sighed deeply at the words.
“I get what you're saying, but Elena's not home. Come back later.”
“No! You might have subdued Elena and be lying, so I need to confirm with my own eyes.”
“Would the Derusia Magic Tower's Favorite Child, Golden Lily, get subdued like that?”
“You refusing to open makes me more suspicious.”
No sign of backing down. Yuri sighed and turned.
“Elena said if anyone comes while she's out, don't open and just say the owner's away. So if it's important, wait at the tower.”
“You'd turn away someone from the Namgung Clan at the gate?”
“Does Namgung Clan let you force your way into an empty house? Especially without the owner?”
“You...”
“Can't help it. I'm just following orders.”
Whether the guy left or waited at the door wasn't Yuri's problem. As he'd told Namgung Jin, he was just doing as instructed.
“How dare you...!”
Heading back to the mansion, a roar erupted from beyond the gate.
“You!”
He turned at the bellow.
A man stood atop the wall. Clad in a navy blue robe straight out of a Chinese wuxia flick, he glared at Yuri.
“...!”
The man, Namgung Jin, spotted Yuri's still-damp hair and widened his eyes.
“You bastard!”
Namgung Jin bellowed and lunged at Yuri. His swung fist flew toward Yuri's face.
‘Fuck, what?’
He thought he couldn't dodge, but his body reacted on its own.
Thud!
Namgung Jin, landing on the ground, turned to Yuri with a dumbfounded look.
“You dodged?”
“Would I just take a fucking swing at my face?”
Having nearly eaten a punch out of nowhere, Yuri couldn't mince words.
Beep, beep, beep—
The security magic activated for the unauthorized intruder.