Chapter 146
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 145
Chapter Title: A Complete XX?
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Complete XX?
Didn't I hear that somewhere before?
What was it again? That, uh, oh right.
A complete flame.
Jin naturally recalled the Kill Kit.
Of course, the circumstances back then were different.
Unlike Kill Kit, who had even used a black mage for his own purposes (though the black mage had done the same), the house lord was asking Jin—not himself—to complete the Dark Ice.
He even called it succession.
Secret arts passed down through bloodlines, no less.
Yet here he was, utterly ignoring that tradition by speaking of Margie's future to an outsider.
It wasn't because he was to become his son-in-law.
He wouldn't mention succession over something so trivial.
Bingbaek had seen hope in Jin.
A child blessed by mana.
The talent of a once-in-a-millennium genius, passed down like myth.
The forgotten verse about encompassing all things and uniting with the cosmos had become reality right before his eyes.
And so, Jin's answer was—
"No thanks."
"...What?"
"I have no intention of succeeding it. The Dark Ice."
He refused outright.
Was there a reason?
Of course.
Jin's expression grew deadly serious.
He secretly glanced inward, contemplating his own heart.
If one more came in here, it would really burst.
He was sure of it.
Autonomy, Radiant Flame, Divinity.
His mental space was already packed full with those three.
Back in early 2nd Hierarchy, he'd felt excruciating pain in his left chest several times a day, like a heart patient.
By mid-stage, he'd barely managed to separate the three snarling beasts face-to-face.
And recently.
Entering late 2nd Hierarchy, he'd finally moved them out of a single cramped room, giving each their own.
That was how he'd barely reclaimed peace in his mental space.
Dark Ice on top of that?
Disaster. He didn't even want to imagine it.
This one would be just as prideful, standing tall for thousands of years, and to such a being—
'Sorry, but the house is full... If you're okay with it, could you crash in the living room? Just no bathroom use after dinner, tiptoe at night, and don't mess with Autonomy. He's sensitive—the first tenant here. Upset him, and it's chaos that day.'
—do you think it'd listen?
To something insulting its pride as a secret magic?
As if.
It'd kick the door down—bam!—claim the place, and if it didn't start a fight, you'd be lucky.
Anyway, Dark Ice was impossible right now.
Forget the long-term risks of the Decision Flower; his body simply couldn't handle it.
No matter how great the power, what good was it if his heart exploded or his brain turned to mush?
And so, refusal!
Jin had rendered the house lord speechless in an instant.
"That's not what I meant. Excuse me for a moment."
Just as he'd realized Ena was Sejeong's daughter, he lightly gripped the now-stiffened house lord's wrist and gently pushed in his mana.
It was rude without permission, but Jin didn't even register it as such.
Slipping in.
Observing the interior through his fingertips instead of eyes, his brow twitched.
Beyond the skin under his fingers lay another world.
The mana circuits were on another level. Flawless design, not a single imbalance. The depth of enlightenment was different. They stretched endlessly through his body with overwhelming perfection; if he followed carelessly, he'd lose his way forever.
Now the abbreviated movements made sense.
With circuits branching so intricately, his physical coordination had to surpass common sense.
For a moment, Jin marveled at the realm that still felt distant.
Then he naturally sensed something was wrong.
The mana circuits were frozen solid.
Source of the corpse-like body temperature.
And inside, they were shredded like mincemeat.
Not even "salt in the wound" covered it.
At this state, operating mana must have caused agony every time. How had he kept smiling through fights? Utterly incomprehensible.
Jin's expression turned cautious.
He realized his own mana could cause the house lord pain.
Whoosh.
In that moment, his mana took on warmth.
Not the domineering Autonomy; unsuitable here.
As the Radiant Flame softly burned in his chest.
Jin extended mana again. Cautious steps, like a traveler on frozen seas.
A frigid land tearing at nothing skilled, prolonging suffering amateurishly.
In this world met by fingertips, not eyes, Jin soon found countless flowers.
Black crystal flowers in brilliant bloom—Dark Ice.
A curse like a blessing upon the Margie family.
None of the previous house lords had overcome it.
Whoosh.
Jin guided his mana.
Toward the crystal flowers blocking the way.
And so.
The heat permitted only to Jin in this world surged like gentle waves through the mana circuits.
Hadn't he recovered his own freezing circuits this way? He did it with some confidence.
But.
"......"
Jin's brow furrowed slightly.
Beads of sweat formed as a bonus.
Why wasn't this working?
Despite burning vast mana he'd surpassed early 2nd Hierarchy with effortlessly, he couldn't melt the crystal flowers encroaching on Bingbaek's circuits.
Was their hardness proportional to hierarchy?
Veins bulged on Jin's forehead at the unmoving crystals.
Now it was a matter of pride.
The next moment.
Divinity dwelled within Radiant Flame.
As if to aid his struggling second brother.
Thus, Holy Flame.
The whatever-that-smited-evil initiated round two.
This time, it worked.
The crystal flowers' surfaces softened slowly, like absorbing moisture.
Of course, that was it.
Even full-power Holy Flame couldn't burn them all away; near impossible. Jin settled for the meager progress, steadily pushing more mana.
Whoosh.
Bingbaek's mana circuits were vast beyond words.
Dropped into unknown terrain without a map; even Jin, with innate (injected) mana talent, could easily get lost.
Yet he'd somehow circulated it fully because Bingbaek's mana appeared, guiding the way.
Observing a 4th Hierarchy purist's body.
The process itself was an immense boon, but now Jin regretfully released the wrist.
Not going as planned.
Less than 10% of his initial goal.
Surface-level melting of the crystals. Barely doused an urgent fire.
Drenched in sweat, breath ragged to the limit—yet somehow embarrassing.
Face flushed awkwardly, steadying his breath, he looked at Bingbaek.
"Hm?"
Jin spotted Bingbaek's serene, eyes-closed face.
Much calmer complexion.
Soft, slow breaths.
It wasn't entirely ineffective. As he sighed in relief, Bingbaek lifted his eyelids slightly and murmured.
"As expected..."
Icy blue eyes held Jin.
His following voice brimmed with certainty.
"You're the only one who can complete the Dark Ice."
"No, completion or not—I said I have no interest in succeeding the Dark Ice itself?"
"Why? It's a venomous power, true, but you can neutralize it. Heat more noble than White Flame. If used properly... Hm. Wait. Don't tell me—you find the Dark Ice unappealing."
"It's not that..."
Jin looked utterly frustrated.
Bingbaek's intense gaze said he wouldn't let it slide without explanation. Vague answers might seem like dismissing the Dark Ice, so whatever—he began explaining his body's condition.
Could he learn multiple magics? YES.
Were there limits? YES.
Would adding Dark Ice now cause issues? YES.
Could he overcome it? YES.
Was the solution simple? NO.
"...So you're saying your current body can't handle the Dark Ice. You're barely avoiding saturation now, so to improve, you need to reach 3rd Hierarchy?"
"Yes."
"Makes sense."
Bingbaek nodded, muttering to himself.
"Even a mana-blessed body needs a vessel worthy of encompassing different secret arts..."
He'd concluded Jin was mana-blessed long ago.
Jin didn't bother correcting him: I'm an Irregular; if I'd gone psychic route, it'd be different.
In situations like this, convenient misunderstandings helped.
Look at now.
No need for convoluted excuses.
Bingbaek sorted it out himself.
Plus, mana-blessed sounded cool.
No reason to deny it.
Then.
"Can't be helped, then."
Jin twitched an eyebrow at Bingbaek's low mutter.
Separate from regretting the situation, he thought the old man might back off. For a moment.
"Then I'll just get you to 3rd Hierarchy."
Jin flinched at the follow-up.
Did I hear wrong? He dug at his ear.
"Pardon?"
"If you need 3rd Hierarchy to succeed the Dark Ice, no choice. Come to the training hall tomorrow. I'll guide you personally."
"......"
"Won't be easy, but you can do it. Talent rivaling that Ryukard."
"No."
"I'm a bit tired. See you tomorrow. Tell Katrina it helped a lot."
Bingbaek waved dismissively, business done.
Clear dismissal; Jin awkwardly rose like he needed the bathroom, speechless.
Expression screaming, For real?
But Bingbaek had turned over on the bed, hiding his face.
No choice; Jin moonwalked out of the house lord's chamber.
The healer elder, spotting him enter back-turned, gave a light nod and entered.
Baton passed naturally, Jin blinked.
Turning slowly, he saw Katrina sitting on the floor, knees hugged.
Her pale blue eyes asked what happened; Jin sighed involuntarily.
Where to even start explaining?
He had no grasp yet.
A strange rumor spread through the family.
The house lord was personally guiding Heavenly Thunder.
Reactions were predictably poor.
He might become Katrina's partner, but he was still an outsider with no formal betrothal talks.
Even if engaged, it'd be the same. Backed by Margie, his role was to pass brilliant talent to heirs, past actions aside.
But what was happening?
House lord personally training an outsider.
Like grooming a successor.
"How could he, when his health is frail..."
"His talent is impressive, sure, but isn't this too much?"
Even Solbein, Bingbaek's faction, voiced concerns; others were worse.
Belgant, whose betrothal fell through because of Jin, needless to say; even Clairen hid no displeasure at pushing an outsider branch family.
Nibraks, quiet till now, chilled toward Katrina after learning she hired a corporate tech.
Four factions entangled in sharp interests, history spanning 700 years.
None were soft enough to accept the house lord's solo decision.
Especially with each holding high-caliber candidates for next house lord.
Thus, unseen, factions moved.
"Ugh."
Today too, post-training Jin flung open the workshop door.
"......"
"......"
Brof and Vagmar, deep in heated discussion heads together, turned sharply.
Staggering Jin buried his face in the sofa and collapsed.
The two engineers shrugged.
Resumed their talk.
Since training with the house lord began, Jin always returned wrecked; near-death looks meant nothing now.
He'd spring up hungry soon anyway.
And he did.
"I'm starving!!!"
Bouncing up, Jin yanked open the corner fridge.
Grabbed frozen food at random, microwaved it, ripped open the steaming bag, and dug in.
Chomp chomp chomp, mouth nonstop, he eyed Brof and Vagmar.
The two, serious-faced in talk, soon sighed and returned to seats; only then did Jin speak.
"Still no clue?"
"Don't remind me. Never seen a blueprint like this."
Brof shook his head, irritation plain.
Thick book in hand; his face said he'd bash someone with it.
Jin hummed.
Not easy after all.
Replicating a legendary artifact.
Days ago, via Katrina, they'd received the Eternal East blueprint copy.
Great! Let's start.
Eager, but enthusiasm soon crushed.
'This is a blueprint?'
'Poetry?'
Vague nonsense caused first breakdown.
'Why's this part blank? Copy accurate?'
'What?! Original's like this?'
Even missing sections spotted—second breakdown.
No wonder that 40-year-old Eternal East project tech rambled about blueprint implications.
Not just Brof flustered; Vagmar, forgetting his soul's origins, cried out.
'What are we supposed to do with this?'
Thus, today too, they obsessed over the designer's intent.
Jin grew anxious watching.
"Please hurry... I feel like I'm gonna die."
Hollow eyes.
Murmur dripped sincerity.
Training? More like daily beatings till dusty.
He just wanted to flee the family.
If Eternal East recreated, house lord healed, dump fake relationship with Katrina and bolt.
So now.
"I'm heading out first. Good news tomorrow. Please."
Belly roughly filled, Jin opened the door to return to dorms.
"Watch yourself."
Sharp voice from Katrina; Jin tilted his head.
What now.
Stepping toward the sound—what do you know.
A man gripping Katrina's wrist.
Not hiding presence, his gaze naturally turned here.
Jin sighed deeply.
Busy, busy punk society.
Now playing fiancé too.