Chapter 102
Chapter 102
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: Preparations for the Academy Complete
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Krash stood frozen in place.
In front of him, a figure approached with steady footsteps.
Even with late summer still lingering, he was impeccably dressed in a suit, his hair neatly swept back over his ears.
He even wore a necktie and adjusted his glasses with a push.
"Training for the Heavenly Slaughter Star, huh. You're helping out with all sorts of things."
[Do it to the maximum of your ability.]
"It's already way beyond what a 14-year-old can handle."
[No, you need to push further.]
"Pardon?"
At Crimson Garden's words, he voiced his doubt.
What had been cast on Krash was an illusion-type curse.
So by now, he should be fighting desperately within that illusion.
The black flames surging repeatedly from his body were proof of it.
"This is a pretty potent illusion curse."
He shook an empty vial in his hand as he spoke.
But Crimson Garden clicked her tongue.
[See? It's already breaking.]
The moment Crimson Garden finished speaking—
Crack!
A breaking sound rang out, and Krash's black flames roared up fiercely in an instant.
His eyes, heated red by the Annihilation Erosion, gleamed sharply.
The man's eyes widened in shock.
"...How? It's the 6th-grade curse, Dark Eclipse."
As he stammered in confusion, Krash drew in a deep breath and swept back his hair.
The sight reminded him of someone.
'That old coot's disciple was Crimson Garden's servant?'
The world's foremost expert in curse studies—yet so obsessed with curses that he neglected his duties and wandered idly amid the World Erosion.
The greatest curse dispeller, Beltua Rackroad.
The man Krash had once consulted most frequently on curses.
And the craziest bastard Krash knew.
The one standing before him was one of Beltua's twelve disciples.
Curse dispeller Osper.
'Damn, dragging in every weirdo under the sun.'
To Krash, curse dispellers were all nuts.
Dispelling curses was just a byproduct for them.
They could dispel because they wielded curses.
The very idea that they became curse dispellers to dispel curses was flawed from the start.
They researched curses for the thrill of it and stumbled onto dispelling methods by accident.
'They're not curse dispellers—they're curse masters.'
Proof positive: Osper's eyes now sparkled with fascination.
All because Krash had shattered the mid-tier curse Dark Eclipse in seconds.
'Of course. I've been through it before.'
Sorry, but when it came to curses, Krash had endured more than even his "master" Beltua.
After surviving the Forbidden Zone's top-tier curses, a mere 6th-grade one was child's play.
That aside, Krash had caught on to Crimson Garden's scheme.
The Heavenly Slaughter Star amplified curses.
Even mid-tier curses on his body hit with upper-tier force.
Taking that into account, she'd devised this curse training regimen.
[Osper, cast the curses I name next on that kid.]
Curse names flowed from Crimson Garden's mouth.
Yin-Yang of the Heavenly Selection Star, Killing Intent of the Heavenly Fist Star, Power of the Yao Light Star.
Her plan was to awaken these three constellations even stronger through curses.
"Lady Crimson Garden, stacking all those will break him."
And all the suffering and trials in the process would fall squarely on Krash.
As Osper said, piling those on any normal person would drive them insane.
This time, Krash had to endure them raw, no countermeasures.
Amplified by the Heavenly Slaughter Star, no less.
Crimson Garden gazed at Krash.
Her eyes seemed to convey just how treacherous the path was for one seeking the fastest route.
"I told you."
Krash met her gaze with an exhale.
"That's what I'm best at."
It wasn't for nothing his mind had endured until the bitter end of destruction.
"Hmm, you're serious?"
Osper's impassive face curved into merry crescents.
For a curse dispeller like him, getting carte blanche to unleash was a rare treat.
With permission from both him and Crimson Garden?
He wasted no time, fingers darting to draw slender vials from his belt.
"Wonder how far the Valheim flesh and spirit can go."
Osper grinned with manic glee, like a kid at play.
Pop!
The corks flew free, and curses poured out instantly.
Krash eyed the curses charging at him and let out a dry chuckle.
Cold Blood Rampage: floods the body with extreme yin energy; fail to endure, and it freezes you from within unto death.
Murderous Heart Demon: overwhelming killing intent turns you against all life, until you reject even your own.
Stone Flesh Eternity: your body grows heavier by the moment until it crushes you into petrified stone.
All elite curses that killed if you couldn't meet their brutal conditions.
From fretting over unyielding curses to inviting them himself.
Krash couldn't help thinking life was one hell of a ride.
Training repeated, and quite some time passed.
Late into the night.
Krash slept like the dead.
Lately, he'd been drilling nonstop all day, every day.
The Heavenly Slaughter Star boosted curse potency.
Thanks to that, Osper's curses met it head-on and tore into Krash like they meant to kill.
He couldn't fall back on his knowledge or skills to suppress them, either.
To properly seat the constellations, he had to take them full-force.
Exhaustion had Krash sleeping without a sound when he felt unusual warmth in his arms.
Summer had ended before he knew it; autumn was here.
Green leaves yielded to fiery foliage, and bountiful harvests filled the season.
The slightly chillier air made the warmth welcome.
Plus, with his Lunar Yin Physique, his body ran cooler now—so moderate heat soothed him perfectly.
Krash's eyes fluttered open.
Dawn light tinged everything faintly blue.
He peered down into the blankets.
Something wriggled inside.
He lifted the covers just a bit.
Sure enough, a lock of white hair peeked out.
The drop in warmth made its owner burrow even deeper into him.
Naturally, it was Bianca.
Eyes closed—she must've wandered over from the bathroom half-asleep.
They'd shared a room before, so even in separate ones now, she snuck in like this often at night.
'Craving a warm embrace, huh.'
Or maybe just his.
No telling, but Krash tugged the blankets up to keep her cozy.
Lately, it wasn't just him training.
Bianca was deep into serious sessions with Jenna, too.
Krash lifted a hand to inspect her small one.
Scars dotted it here and there.
Proof her training was no joke.
Tough enough she slept like a log, same as him.
That's when her hand seized his.
"Lord Krash..."
Did he wake her? Her sleepy voice murmured his name.
"Why're you in my room?"
You came to mine.
Absurd as it was, Krash gently stroked her hair.
Her eyes were still heavy with sleep.
"They say people sleep better when warm."
"Won't I be cold?"
His Lunar Yin body kept him cool by default.
"Lord Krash has a warm heart. That's enough."
Bianca paid it no mind, nuzzling into his chest.
"I'll warm up the rest."
Like his personal heater.
But it was warming things up, in more ways than one.
"Training not too rough?"
"It is. Master gets real strict during sessions."
"Skip it if it's too much."
"No way."
Stubborn as hell when it mattered.
"I wanna stay with you forever, Lord Krash."
"I'm not going anywhere."
"Even if you do, it's fine. I'll follow."
"Guess I'll have to walk slow then."
"Hold my hand too."
"Already am?"
"Perfect."
Sleepy ramblings.
Amused, Krash chuckled softly—then her forehead bumped his chest.
"Don't forget me at the Academy."
"Got a steel-trap memory. Can't even forget the stuff I want to."
"Then remember just me."
"Not that simple."
Normally she bottled up her wants, but sleep loosened her tongue.
"Lord Krash... so sleepy."
"Plenty of time till morning. Crash out."
"Mmm... okay."
Krash watched her drift off into snores, then closed his own eyes.
To protect this little one tucked snug in his arms—even if it meant staving off apocalypse—he'd do it.
For some reason, tomorrow's training felt conquerable.
Time flies like an arrow.
Impossible to grasp, it hurtles ceaselessly toward its mark.
Who knows when it'll hit.
But the arrow had pierced autumn and struck winter.
Big, fluffy snowflakes drifted down from the sky.
Krash felt the chill of one on his nose and breathed out a plume of white.
Midwinter's heavy snows wouldn't last much longer.
Soon, green buds would sprout, and floral scents waft everywhere.
By the time pink cherry blossoms bloomed, spring would be in full swing.
[How's it feel?]
Crimson Garden, perched on Osper's shoulder, asked.
Krash swallowed a grin and gripped Thunderclap.
With a thunderous roar, golden blade surged—blue aura manifesting as a perfect edge.
"Perfect."
Master threshold.
The moment Krash finally breached the Master wall.
The goal he'd thrashed toward before Raheln Academy.
Gladly, he'd hit it on schedule.
'Meets the bare minimum now.'
Master realm was the genius baseline.
Breaking into it was another beast entirely.
At 14? Undeniable prodigy status.
Even Charlotte hadn't hit entry till 15.
'Raheln'll have Masters lurking, though.'
The Academy had been open a year already.
For 15-year-olds, sans Charlotte, basically none reached it.
Enrollment spanned 15 to 20, though.
Factor in 18+, and Masters were inevitable.
And those were Krash's real prey.
He aimed beyond peers—to the Ten Heavenly Elites, then the Supreme Heavenly Ranks.
Master entry? Not stopping there.
Long road ahead to true strength.
'Starting line, really.'
Time to clash with the real deal.
"Guess my curses are obsolete now."
Osper smacked his lips wistfully.
He'd loved testing his arsenal on Valheim blood.
But that chapter closed.
Krash had solidly embedded three Heavenly Slaughter Stars.
[Preparations more or less wrapped.]
Crimson Garden deemed it passable.
She was right—prep done.
All that remained: Academy enrollment.
'Time to weed out the rotten sprouts early.'
Off to the Academy—for skill hunting.
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