Chapter 280
Chapter 280
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 280
Chapter Title: How to Survive as the Second Son of a Magical Noble House
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"Hurry up. It was electricity, so the core shouldn't be damaged at all. Make sure he doesn't wake up too soon."
"Ah, yes."
"You're not hurt, are you?"
"Of course not. I blocked it properly."
'Ah... these motherfuckers...'
Why? Why does it have to keep going like this? What karma did I rack up? It hasn't even been half a day since I puked after trying to drink human blood, and now...
Drowsiness poured over me. Someone pressed my forehead to the floor. A faint divine power entered my body, spreading to check vital signs. The lighting changed as my position shifted, and now I lay on a floor covered in sound-absorbing material. The rough texture against my face felt disgustingly gritty. My neck stiffened, the world blurred and shook hazily, and my gaze darted around frantically. No monitoring equipment for anesthesia in sight.
'...Assuming they want to kill me... they've got too much to lose in this situation. It's not premeditated murder...'
Consciousness faded. When I opened my eyes again, I tried to pick up where my thoughts had left off. To keep me from dying, they'd probably keep administering small doses of magical anesthetic at intervals. That meant I'd lose consciousness briefly when they injected more, but otherwise stay in a half-awake, drowsy state—retaining some awareness.
Unfamiliar mana seeped into my wrist and trickled through my veins. A sharp sting like a needle prick soon surged up my inner arm. A dissatisfied voice came from above.
"Why isn't it working? You're doing this because you have some idea, right? This isn't the time for baseless talk."
"But as you can see, it's not. It's just showing normal shock responses."
"Sigh..."
"Even in Bayern, they concluded there were no issues... Honestly, I'm not confident."
No one spoke anymore.
Nervous footsteps shuffled a couple of times. Andrea Friedman spoke in a voice thick with irritation.
"You're wrong. The attack for the core test was too weak."
"Pardon? Ack!"
A startled yelp echoed as someone recoiled, followed by the crackle of clashing mana. I couldn't lift my head or open my eyes, so I pieced it together from the sounds alone.
Andrea Friedman addressed the other.
"Would an attack like that make you want to devour someone?"
"Pardon? Devour what?! Of course not. Why bring that up out of nowhere..."
"Humans can't easily kill other humans. For a healthy person with a normal brain to kill another human without getting sick, they need external help—like mass hallucinations or hallucinogens. But this one's an individual. A defective brain might kill kin without qualms, but those get culled early, so no such inferior new human survives."
No verbal reply came from the other. It was definitely a nonverbal response. Andrea Friedman spoke with utter conviction.
"Even if there were issues, how did this one reach this point without being culled or isolated from society? Fundamentally, he's no different from us—a normal new human. Get it now?"
"Yes, I understand."
"Weak attacks won't cut it. Try everything you can. That's how you'll trigger the survival instinct."
She nailed the essence. It aligned with Leo's experiments and what he'd said. When I'm sane, I don't absorb others' mana—so push me to the brink of death. Then I might show abnormal behavior like sucking in mana or vampirism.
Someone grabbed my arm and injected again. I came to shortly after. God knows what they did while I was out. I needed to get up now. But my body still wouldn't move, stuck to the floor. The floor felt like the ceiling. Or a wall. Maybe I was already standing.
No major dangerous changes registered. Their plan seemed to be using anesthetics to simulate life-threatening peril as part of the 'test,' but it just brought overwhelming sleepiness instead of threat. Soon they'd realize it was useless and switch tactics.
'...Time to jump to the extra chapter...'
Should I? I probably should.
But would it change anything?
I'd rewind time, and they'd come for me again. It was my brother's request, so rejecting the hospital trip outright would be tough. Why give him any reason to suspect me?
I had one piece of good news. Tests showed no issues with me. Blocking this incident in the next timeline would be optimal efficiency. To do that, I had to endure this preview quietly. Whether it truly counted as a preview when I was living it firsthand was debatable...
It'd be nice if I could vividly know the future without experiencing it. No precognition for me, huh? About time...
Lost in those thoughts, I opened my eyes again to find I wasn't face-down on the floor. I lay on a bed staring at the ceiling, with someone pressing a medical staff's tip to my chest. Doctors gonna doctor, but using magic on top was petty—like some 21st-century old human. Such thoughts crossed my mind.
I closed my eyes again, opened them, and drifted back to sleep. That was it.
'Fucking disgusting...'
How long were these bastards planning to keep this up? Next time I woke, breathing came hard. I'd lost count of how many times I'd stirred. My mind felt bleached white. Amid desperate gasps, someone channeled mana into my arm, then wiped sweat from my forehead with a gloved hand.
"...It's not working. No method's getting through, Vice Director. Our hypothesis must be wrong. We should wrap this up and..."
"Not working? Then just shatter the core outright."
"Shatter it?! We'd never live that down. And as a doctor, I couldn't..."
"Vice Director, it's too resilient for our current tools. Even our mana might not cut it. Frankly, just being here terrifies me. Forget the aftermath—His Excellency could wake any moment."
Another doctor chimed in.
I nearly laughed. Now they couldn't even break it. No wonder Adrian Ascanien desperately tried to kill me. How do you beat someone with a future like this without stomping them early?
Andrea Friedman, thoroughly pissed, ground out her words.
"Then try to shatter it."
"......"
"Isn't there a way to activate the trait? Wasn't it active before? How did he kill at five? That core can handle it. Push harder!"
The doctor hesitated a while before calling in nurses. Two new-human and old-human nurses adjusted the IV and strapped restraints across the bed.
"We just haven't found the right test for this core's nature yet. Once mana's full, bring that machine from this morning."
"Now? Didn't you say to conserve it?"
"――..."
"...!"
Boom—
I must've blacked out again. Eyes snapped open right after electricity coursed through me. I jolted up, but the bed straps pinned me. Despite restraints, mana sparked, and a nearby doctor frantically swung his wand to block my hands with his own mana. Someone's mana crushed my throat.
"Guh..."
Were they really trying to fry my brain? Earlier, sleep overpowered my will, bleaching my mind. Now rage did it. Maybe the electricity, but either way, I couldn't cling to reason—like before.
'You said you'd attack the core... why electricity again...'
My head lolled against my will, so I shifted my eyes to look up at those around me.
The doctors' faces had changed.
'...Why.'
A chill ran down my spine as I peered through half-lidded eyes. An unfamiliar machine—no, sensation—encircled my forearm. Silver wrapped my arm, digging into my wrist. Mana drained from my wrist into this artifact.
'Wait.'
Wait! Not just arm mana—every last bit from my body's extremities sucked into the artifact. Maybe delusion. Had to be. Wishful thinking on my part. A cold dread hollowed my gut, chills prickling everywhere. Cold sweat beaded. Not as drastic as in the cathedral, but like blood sugar crashing—my whole body cooled rapidly. Not the drug—emptiness brought the drowsiness. But pain from the void kept sleep at bay.
Then mana flooded in again. Not mine. Leo's mana, barely clinging around my core, got sucked in first, followed by unfamiliar mana clearly stored in the machine. My arm burned like fire. My body twisted involuntarily.
"...!"
"It's working, Vice Director! Not the direction we expected, but...!"
"......"
Working. No reply came. My ears blocking sound? Maybe...
[Good, it succeeded. Just erase his memory and stage it like a rampage.]
Laughter bubbled up. They finally pinpointed my trait's uniqueness. Yes, this was what I'd waited for. Now I could rewind. Only after seeing all their cards could I rewrite the future satisfyingly.
—Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
A divine-power-using doctor pressed my forehead.
"...!"
Something unexpected happened. Divine power got sucked into the core.
Chance. Right on cue, restraints clicked open. Weights lifted from my limbs. Soon we'd warp back to the Imperial Central Hospital, and they'd lie about my rampage. The doctor's cool hand touched my forehead again.
—Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to... through it...
The doctor's voice faded, his expression shifting. His brows twitched in confusion.
Of course. I mouthed words silently.
KABOOM—!
I launched from the bed, swinging a fist at the doctor. Three mages' mana slammed into me. Fast—too fast for luck. One doctor yelled in horror.
"What the—why isn't it working!"
—Unless the LORD watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain!
"......"
Mana seeped into my core. It hit hard enough to make standing tough, but the pain wasn't as bad as their earlier antics. Learning my ability's limits like this? Not something I cared to know.
Arms crossed to block, I swung my hand. No wand returned—nothing in reach. They'd snapped it, clearly. No choice. I kicked off and lunged at the nearest wand.
BOOM—!!
"Aaaagh!"
The doctor whose hand I grabbed screamed. I twisted his wrist backward and hurled him at the wall. Grating screams followed. Wand rolled from his grip; I switched it to staff mode. The crude medical staff channeled mana perfectly—surprisingly ideal.
"Ah, no, warp...!"
—Enter through the narrow gate.
Thud—
Staff slammed down, light bursting out. No time for compliance delay. Eyes shut. The mana clumps in the room froze mid-motion. Mana seeped into me, prickling my skin.
—I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just, for I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.
Spell complete, light faded. First try, but successful. They couldn't defy me now.
"You can't go anywhere."
I muttered, stepping before the doctor slumped against the wall.
This one. He'd contacted me, led me here, ordered my core smashed. Half mind-controlled, his dazed eyes looked up. Terror flickered in those trembling depths.
Andrea Friedman
Affinity: 0* [Targetable (1/5)]
Title: —
Stamina: +4
Mental Strength: +4
Mana: +3
Technique: +7
Impression: +6
Luck: +1
Traits: —
Affinity at 0. Midpoint between -10 and +10—not outright hatred. No strong ill will, yet he could do this inhumanely... Fascinating.
Explains the motive perfectly. He didn't do this out of personal hatred worth killing me for. What drives humans to this against their own kind?
Was it unavoidable because this tied into my brother's plan?
Wrong.
This wasn't my brother's doing at all.
I smiled, grabbing his collar.
"If brother knew, he'd be heartbroken."
Brother would've demanded clean tests only. This happened because I threatened Andrea Friedman's own interests.
Guess: If I became Duke of Anhalt, they'd lose big.
"Why... why..."
"Can't kill a dumb follower who shoots you in the foot, can you? Obvious, right?"
Confusion flooded his eyes. I pushed divine power into the floor, murmuring on.
"You should've done it right. All of you... disappointing."
Same as with Stefan Trout. Brother's follower made what he thought was the best call—for his gain and brother's. Their 'best.' Decisions so dismal they weren't worth engaging.
Causing issues right at the letter's mentioned spot. Begging to get caught? They even brought a divine mage to wipe my memory—too bad. Even if I rampaged in front of Prussians as their ploy, brother wouldn't welcome it. Sending a letter about hospital staff right after my terrorist-hero phase, and boom—issues there? Fresh off Bayern treatment? Curious about brother's face in that route. Can't intuit it—such a shame. That perfectionist doesn't handle messes like this.
No need to explain their problem. Just sore throat for me. Time to achieve what I'd waited for: info truly needed next timeline.
Mana yanked my discarded jacket to me. Inner pocket held a tiny elixir vial, finger-width. Yes, still elixir. No one noticed. Drinking it would look normal to others.
The blue liquid sloshed unlike blood. Elixir's unique taste hit my tongue. Condensed mana dissolved from blood spread through me.
Soft mana clung fiercely to core and veins. Circulation sped up. Now I felt what I'd missed before—stronger than pre-blood drink. Leo's artifact mana absorbed into my core resettled. My mana flowed outward. Color drained from Andrea Friedman's face.
"......"
I looked at my hands, blinking slowly.
The king not viewing this ability negatively seemed true. Body light as rebirth—who'd reject it in combat? Everyone but me would crave it. Didn't need to come to me.
—If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who testifies about me, and I know that his testimony about me is true.
White light spread mid-chant. I dragged Andrea Friedman by the collar to the machine that drained my mana earlier. Slammed him atop it.
"Try it again."