Chapter 55
Chapter 55
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Silver Lake
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Madness. It was exactly as the name implied. Generations of Heavenly Slaughter Stars had occasionally lost their minds and turned their surroundings into seas of blood.
However, as Leonne said, Enoch himself didn't need to worry too much about being consumed by madness yet. He'd grown too strong too quickly.
He sometimes felt the madness rising in his head, but that was it. He could exercise enough self-control not to attack people he knew if they were right in front of him. And being able to hold it back meant it wasn't all that serious.
The Heavenly Slaughter Star's madness had a tendency to grow stronger over time, so it might get troublesome later if he hit a wall. But for now, Enoch's rate of growth was clearly outpacing the madness by a wide margin.
‘Grown too strong too quickly...’
Enoch closely observed Zekeplain standing before him. By the aura he sensed, an upper Expert-level swordsman. His swordsmanship felt decent enough. But this guy was supposedly the Prosperity Star. The one that contrasted with Enoch's own innate Heavenly Slaughter Star.
‘Hmm.’
He turned his attention inward. Where his heart should have been, a plasma ring spun fiercely. Pathos. It had been inspired by the Dragon Heart, but it had since diverged quite a bit into its own unique power source.
Vast energy was constantly generated, surging through his entire body. His mana reserves grew in real time, and even when he drew on it, supply outpaced consumption under normal circumstances.
On top of that, the thunder core he'd created earlier hadn't vanished. It lingered at Pathos's center like a glowing orb. Now the backlash from Supreme Thunder Transformation—no, Thunder Deification—was split between Pathos and the thunder core, letting him sustain even greater output for longer stretches.
Huh? Am I getting pretty strong? Not on Leonne's level, of course, but I doubt I'd get beaten easily anymore. Considering how many more years she's lived, catching up this far is already impressive.
Of course, he couldn't say any of that to Leonne's face. She might just collapse and start bawling. That would be a problem.
“Enoch? What’re you thinking so hard about?”
“Ah.”
He turned toward her at the poke on his cheek. She grinned as she leaned against him. He pulled her into a light embrace and rested his chin atop her small head.
“Just... This is human territory, so I was wondering if showing off power like last time might be risky.”
Leonne was strong, sure, but this was human lands. If the emperor popped up out of nowhere, even she might run into trouble.
“Psh, it'll be fine. That guy's not even gonna notice.”
Really? Well, no issue then.
*
Yonia sat on the wagon, scribbling away in her notebook.
‘Human Ecology Report’
She'd scrawled the huge title across the top line and was now intently observing the mercenaries trailing behind.
“So then I told Hanna, y’know? Gave her a taste of heaven.”
“What the fuck?”
These guys only ever talked about women. Sensing she'd hear the same story again, she shifted her attention to another cluster of mercenaries.
“That little punk’s the one, right? Y’know...”
“Heavenly Slaughter Star dumbass.”
“Oh yeah.”
Oh, Enoch talk? She subtly adjusted into a comfier seat and pricked up her ears.
“Totally fucked us. Fuck, y’know.”
“Ogre?”
“Yeah! That, and... Passed out, didn’t see shit, but yesterday too...”
“Ah, the sword dude?”
“Yeah, fuck that bastard!”
No swearing, no conversation. She pieced together the meaning from tone rather than words.
Yonia jotted down a few lines, then pondered for real. She'd started it out of boredom, but the more she listened, the less sense it made.
How did they even understand each other? Like, y’know. That one phrase packed endless meanings. Could they handle most chit-chat with just that single line?
And one more thing. The magic word: fuck.
“Ah, fuck...!”
That was anger.
“Oh fuck!”
Admiration.
“You fucker!”
Surprise. Hmm. Yonia twirled her pen.
‘Y’know’ and ‘fuck’ cover most communication. Guessing it’s ’cause they’re tight-knit.
Incredible. Over half their words were profanity, yet context gave those swears totally different shades to convey intent.
Probably a mercenary thing—swearing’s second nature. The knights over there, or Zekeplain the marquis’s son, had way cleaner patterns.
‘Maybe section it into chapters?’
Somehow it was turning serious. Plenty of time anyway—might as well turn it into a proper paper?
“Yonia.”
“Yeah?”
She looked up at Enoch’s voice. He was cupping his hands together, giving her a meaningful glance.
“Come here.”
What? She sidled closer, and he opened his hands.
“Lightning squirrel.”
“Oh.”
Power practice? He’d shaped one from lightning, and it looked just like the real deal. Every single strand of fur alive.
[I’m a lightning fox.]
Eri, who’d mewled all day yesterday, had her energy back and was striking poses beside the lightning squirrel.
Looking closer, five tails now. Sure, young spirit and all, but her growth was freakishly fast.
Yonia clapped, and Eri lit up, cycling through poses. Watching her, Yonia mused quietly.
‘At this rate, Grand Master by Elf Union arrival.’
Of course, nothing of the sort happened.
*
Silver Lake, the caravan’s destination, lay near the Elf Union. That meant steady trade ties, making it a mandatory stop for any merchant passing through.
Nail Elf specialties here, and money multiplied like magic. No reason to skip it.
Same logic had landed Enoch the escort gig for this caravan, wrapping up today.
“If our paths cross again, we’d be honored.”
One merchant bowed low while slipping him a coin pouch. Merchants lived on connections, after all. No point fussing—he pocketed it.
After the merchants dispersed, the mercenaries got their turn.
“Catch ya later!”
“No jobs? Hit us up!”
Mercs valued connections too, parting with friendly waves. Enoch gave a lazy hand-wave, then fixed his glare on the last hanger-on.
“You’re not leaving?”
“Haha, got nothing better anyway?”
“Then why’d you tag along?”
“Heavenly Slaughter Star in plain sight—how could I not follow?”
“Then beat it.”
“You said you’re sticking around Silver Lake before the Elf Union. Wanna grab dinner while we’re at it?”
No way. Before he could voice it, Leonne butted in.
“Yeah, Enoch. Go eat with your buddy. Sis’ll snag us rooms.”
She’d said just a quick face-see, but Leonne was still glued to them. Might tag along all the way to the Union.
‘Hmm.’
Actually kinda nice? Mood lifted, Enoch shook his head.
“Nah.”
*
Group dinner it was. Zekeplain’s crew, plus Enoch, Yonia, and Leonne. Knights joining felt off.
“Knights? Nah, just my friendly uncles.”
Yonia cocked her head at Zekeplain’s words.
“Aren’t knights sworn to their lord?”
“Yep.”
“And you’re the lord’s son.”
“Eh, that’s separate. They’re peak Experts—can’t just boss ’em like grunts.”
That so? Enoch glanced Leonne-ward; she shook her head.
“Kid’s an odd one. Protocol’s usually strict. Maybe a family quirk.”
Vague nod of acceptance, then a server waddled up, arms loaded with ten massive beer mugs.
Balancing ten huge mugs at once? No mana vibe—plain folk? Staring in awe, the server grinned and set them down.
“Food’s coming shortly.”
A quick bow, and off he scurried. Whoa, foam rising. Enoch leaned in for a pre-spill gulp.
“Oh.”
Hits like 0.8 Dwarf brew? Solid for a human. Mid-sip, one grinning, jabbering knight piped up.
“Damn, you were somethin’. Same age as the young master, I hear.”
“Yeah, sure.”
“No clue how you stayed off radars, but continent’s gonna light up soon. Witnesses everywhere—rumors’ll fly.”
Fame? Not his thing. More worried about the hassle.
Knight reached out like he’d just remembered.
“Y’know, no intros yet. Jatoom, Demisto House knight captain.”
Enoch blinked at him; Leonne poked his ribs. Belatedly, he extended a hand and shook.
“…Enoch Estor.”
“Oh! Even took the family name?”
“Yeah.”
Proud nod; Leonne beamed beside him. Nice enough guy—maybe drop some advice?
“You’re Master-close. Circulate mana looser, flow it smooth to the rear. Sword insights hit there, star-engraving’s next.”
“…….”
Knights went dead silent. Zekeplain, chugging beer with foam mustache, went wide-eyed.
“Oh.”