Profiling the Perfect Ability
A power like smoke manipulation—something worth trying at least once. Nebula Ducal Residence, top floor, the Duke's room.
"Alright. Let's talk about this drug incident."
The Nebula Duke slowly rose from his bed, detaching the wires from the medical devices attached to his body due to the internal injuries he'd sustained in his fight with Abel.
A crushing pain, as if his lungs were being squeezed, surged through him, but the Duke paid it no mind.
What mattered more was learning about Abel's movements.
"..."
Rin, captain of the Nebula family's execution unit [Baekyeong], watched the Duke's condition with a worried expression before beginning her report on Abel's activities.
"Based on the testimony of the airship pilot we bribed, it appears Abel had already grasped the situation inside the airship using his ability before making his move."
It was simple profiling.
The only difference was that this wasn't a investigative technique for catching criminals—it was a method to infer a mana user's powers. In other words, mana profiling.
Testimonies from those who had been near Abel at the time.
By deducing movements, behavior patterns, and psychology, one could infer the general nature of a mana user's ability.
"The fact that he didn't act immediately. The time he spent casually smoking a cigar inside the airship was likely to assess the internal situation."
The most crucial aspect of mana profiling was accurately grasping the mana user's personality.
Using personality as a foundation, scores were assigned across statistical ability categories to infer the power in question.
Was it an ability focused on destructive power?
Did it excel in reconnaissance and stealth?
Or was it highly versatile?
"Stealth invisible to the eyes of a regular person like the pilot."
Rin then began reading a report summarizing Abel's movements after arriving in the capital.
"Upon reaching the capital, he used a smoke construct to gather information on minor families."
Of course, this observation had been conducted discreetly from dozens of kilometers away to avoid Abel's notice.
Even that had been detected by Abel's senses, forcing them to watch from an even greater distance.
"Tentatively named Smoke Clone. We assessed its strength at roughly knight-level, with a range of about 9-10 km."
Of course, this was likely not his full power, leaving Abel's true strength still unknown.
"Finally, during the confrontation with the drug incident perpetrator Heros, he deployed a barrier that prevented us from discerning what occurred inside."
As she delivered her report, Rin inwardly marveled at Abel's ability, having analyzed hundreds of mana users before.
It was the first time she'd seen a power like this.
"Incorporating all these actions, his ability scores nearly full marks across every metric."
This was unprecedented.
Even the head of the Nebula family before her didn't possess such a well-rounded ability.
It was only upon reaching 2nd Awakening—the realm of a second awakening where abilities manifested more advanced forms—that the Duke could materialize illusions.
By her judgment, only the Duke's 2nd Awakening ability was comparable to Abel's.
"However..."
Rin, who had been speaking almost in praise of Abel, trailed off slightly and glanced at the Duke.
"We believe the ability's trigger is the smoke from cigars Abel smokes himself."
"Hm..."
"The ability itself is extraordinary, but with such a constraint, it's not entirely flawless—that's my conclusion."
"Is that your personal opinion?"
The Duke eyed Rin, who had risen to captain of [Baekyeong] thanks to her mana profiling prowess.
"Rin."
Meeting the Duke's gaze, Rin voiced the odd sense of déjà vu that had been lingering in her mind.
"...There's one peculiar point."
"What is it?"
"Abel's personality as we've assessed it, and the constraint on his ability. The two don't align."
Most abilities didn't come with constraints.
But those that did often produced even greater output as a result.
"I've seen countless ability users with constraints, but never one where they clashed so fundamentally."
For example, there was an ability user who had awakened solely through vengeance.
It was ordinary—below average, even—but devastating against their target of revenge.
Or one whose output was capped at 80% during specific times, strengthening afterward.
In both cases, the constraints were deeply tied to the user's personality.
But Abel?
From the reports, his personality seemed utterly meticulous.
For someone like that to be limited to smoke from cigars he lit himself?
"It's an utterly bizarre situation, but without sufficient evidence, it's just a lingering question."
A faint smile.
Listening to Rin's doubts, the Duke recalled his fight with Abel and smirked softly.
"I see... So, Abel set off today—when will he arrive at the ducal residence?"
"Yes. Airship operations are currently impossible due to the terror incident."
"Fair enough."
An airship hijacking from the sky—the first of its kind.
If they'd ignored it and resumed flights, the Duke would have questioned whether the empire's elderly emperor had lost his mind.
(For reference, Ariel's airship had already departed the Holy Kingdom when the terror began, so it had no choice but to continue.)
"We estimate arrival by car in 3 to 5 days."
The empire was already on edge from the terror, and with its vast territory, inspections at city checkpoints would add delays.
"I see. A shame. Nothing else to report?"
"Ah... One more thing."
"Hm? What?"
"We've detected signs that the other two illegitimate children hired mercenaries to secretly ambush the incoming Abel."
Both viewed each other as rivals and kept each other in check, but learning of Abel's exploits in the capital felt like a sudden predator crashing their turf.
No matter the rivalry, a common enemy prompted cooperation.
"...Those two illegitimate brats asked [Baekyeong] for Abel's location."
"Did you give it to them?"
Rin shook her head firmly at the Duke's question.
Was it her imagination? The Duke's voice seemed oddly subdued.
"No. No merit in it, so we refused."
The Duke nodded in satisfaction at Rin's response.
"Good work. As a reward for handling this well, the entire [Baekyeong] will receive bonuses—collect them from Sebastian."
"Yes!"
Screeech.
Thud.
Leaving the Duke's room, Rin walked down the hall and let out a sigh of relief.
As expected.
The Duke sees Abel as his successor.
It was a natural line of thinking for Rin.
Good thing I warned Lena repeatedly.
That's why Rin had repeatedly cautioned Lena—a [Baekyeong] member who would encounter Abel during the mission—to exercise extreme caution.
As a result, Lena had been overly deferential and submissive toward Abel, but Rin breathed easier seeing it.
Submission was preferable.
No matter how infamous [Baekyeong] was as the family's execution unit, getting on the bad side of the next heir was to be avoided.
"Hand over everything you've got!"
A gang blocking the car peacefully en route to the ducal residence.
Armed with various guns, they looked like low-tier thugs at a glance.
Mana-unawakened folk arming themselves with guns—the easiest path to power.
Mercenaries.
Spotting them, I easily deduced their identity.
Already frustrated from not being able to fly, and now this ambush?
"Hand over everything right now and get out of the car—face down!"
"Whoa, we'll take that maid over there. That's cool with you, right, boss?"
Crude, vulgar words.
"..."
Too annoying to deal with.
I leaned back in the car seat and slowly exhaled a portion of the smoke stored in my body.
The smoke began to coalesce.
Once it formed into a bead-sized orb, I rolled down the car window.
Whoosh.
The smoke bead slipped out the window, reached the car roof, and soon the mercenaries' voices rang out.
"Huh? What's that?"
"Smoke?"
My smoke was normally invisible to ordinary eyes.
Yet they could see it?
What? A mana awakener mixed in?
They looked like low-rank mercenaries, but I needed to reassess.
A planned ambush.
One with camouflage, even.
Hmm...
Hearing their voices, I began manipulating the smoke orb outside.
The completed Smoke Clone.
"Damn it! An ability user?!"
"What?! Ability user?! No one said anything about that!"
Sharing the clone's vision, I saw them not targeting the clone but aiming guns at the car—clearly suspecting the ability user was inside.
Veteran mercenaries, ignoring the clone and going straight for the source.
But too late.
"..."
The first technique I'd tried upon awakening this ability.
From my past life's memories—the most famous smoke user's move.
Though that character got flak for over-relying on just that one trick.
The clone's form shifted in an instant.
It began roiling violently, as if about to burst.
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!
Dozens of fist-shaped smoke bursts erupted from the clone, sweeping over the mercenaries.
"Gahhh!!!"
"Gurk!"
The outside turned into a hellscape in moments. Mercenaries annihilated. The blocking vehicles flipped, clearing the road.
Watching it all, I pulled a cigar from my pocket and lit it slowly.
I'd held back due to the smell seeping into the car, but if I didn't smoke now, I'd pop a vein.
"Let's go."
"Won't you look into the ones behind this?"
Mist, gripping the wheel from the driver's seat, asked as I lowered the window and exhaled smoke outside.
"Doesn't matter. I can guess who. Just drive."
"...Understood."