Chapter 302
Chapter 302
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 302
>Chapter Title: Frozen Truth
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Messages popped up before he could even read a few lines of the book's preface.
[You have acquired the unique effect of Frozen Truth.]
[Duration: Awakens Cool Darkness (Composite).]
[When all created beings, including Integrated Clone, are destroyed, a frost storm occurs. The frost storm deals damage to enemies proportional to the maximum health of the created beings.]
[Cold resistance greatly increases.]
[Final cold damage received by summons and created beings is reduced by 20%.]
[There are still countless hidden effects of Frozen Truth.]
...
Kang Seol stood there blankly, book in hand.
'...Is this for real?'
- Woo-hyup! A summoner's forbidden catalog!
- What the hell;; Are you talking about that SF academy fantasy light novel released in Japan? Normies don't know about that stuff.
- Please, you guys, stop.
- They go feral whenever something they know pops up lololol.
He couldn't gauge just how much power the book held.
Wondering if reading a bit more might awaken even greater strength, Kang Seol tried delving further into the preface.
Crackle...
- ...Seol, Kang Seol!
Ur called out to him.
Kang Seol shook his head and responded.
"Urk...?"
[Cannot comprehend the content.]
- You almost died just now.
"...I almost died?"
- Yeah. Without the magical foundation to back it up, just reading it would freeze you solid.
Kang Seol jolted in surprise and touched his face.
'No way...'
One side of his face was covered in ice, just like when he'd encountered Azran.
It was melting quickly, but in that instant, he'd truly been on the verge of freezing to death.
'At this rate... what's the point of even un sealing it?'
Something like food you couldn't eat or a book you couldn't read was utterly useless.
- You're lucky to have gained anything at all without being a mage. At your current level, you'd freeze before finishing the preface.
Snicker...
Thud!
Kang Seol slammed the book shut with a loud snap.
He mulled it over and realized Ur wasn't wrong.
Frozen Truth was a tome of such immense power that it warranted classification as forbidden even among magic books.
'Designating something forbidden without even verifying its existence... what kind of idiots are they?'
Of course, the book did exist, and its contents were genuine. But since merely reading it could cost your life, if it fell into the hands of other mages, many might throw away their lives in pursuit of its wisdom.
From that perspective, the forbidden status made sense.
This book belonged to mages.
Even grand mages would hesitate to open it carelessly.
Neither Jone nor Santio would be exceptions.
If there was an exception...
Swoosh...
Kang Seol envisioned the Door of the Void.
Rumble...
Soon, a grand door materialized before him.
This time, a pristine white book was firmly grasped in Kang Seol's hand.
A profoundly dangerous, dank odor wafted from within the Void.
To test if he could cross, Kang Seol tentatively extended his hand toward it.
Swish...
Zzt!
"Urk..."
A sharp, tingling sensation raced up his arm.
It felt like a warning that it was still impossible.
Kang Seol extended only the book.
Whoosh...
Black hands stretched out from within the door like growing plants—an grotesque sight he didn't even want to imagine.
But if you knew who—or what—they belonged to, there was no need to fear.
"Here you go, Ur."
Halt...
The hands paused briefly before taking the book from Kang Seol.
They seemed tense.
They trembled the moment they received it.
A moment later.
A message appeared before Kang Seol.
[Sealed Ur walks the path of Frozen Truth.]
[Sealed Ur's mana properties transform into frost energy.]
Ssshhh...
Chilling air poured from the open door of the Void.
Kang Seol hurriedly escaped his spirit world.
- Impressive... Azran.
Ur was probably already devouring the book's opening at a rapid pace, muttering without any hindrance—unlike Kang Seol.
- The foundational theory alone is on another level. This line of thinking is intriguing... but where's the basis...
Kang Seol felt a twinge of exclusion, but he hadn't grasped the book's nature even by the third line. Like how even the finest poetry fails to move someone with a barren soul, no matter how ultimate the grimoire, it was no different from any common book scattered across the world to Kang Seol, lacking magical knowledge.
That was why he was purely glad.
That Ur could comprehend the book.
That Ur had become the true master of Frozen Truth.
'The first archmage, after all.'
Now a summon dwelling in Kang Seol's Void, helping with this and that, but in the past, he had been a colossal monster.
No one in the world could match Ur when it came to understanding mana—especially the miracle of mana evolving into magic.
Ur was mana itself.
So his brief critique after skimming Frozen Truth...
- Azran... among the living, few mages surpass him.
Kang Seol found the praise oddly embarrassing.
Azran meant something to him too.
- Aside from me, that is.
Ur's brimming confidence was endearing.
Since Azran was Ur's creation, and Ur was his summon, neither would take offense at claims of superiority.
It felt like being the mother of an umbrella maker and a straw sandal maker. Still, his heart leaned more toward Ur, who was aiding him now.
- I'll savor your truth slowly.
Ur had always carried the solitude of the absolute because his life was defined by endless struggle.
He had never fallen behind.
- Looks like I'll be busy for a while. Oh, before that...
'Ur.'
Kang Seol regretted not having a proper conversation with Azran.
'...What can you do.'
He lacked the power now.
He was still far too frail to face Azran squarely, let alone hold onto him.
He entertained grim hypotheticals: what if Ur hadn't stepped in?
Ur was a dangerous entity as the first archmage, but they bickered like old friends. And ultimately, another summon settled in his Void.
'In this case, maybe summon's oath fits better...'
Anyway.
He owed him gratitude.
'Thanks. That was close.'
- Hmph. Without my protection, you'd be Azran's plaything. ...Not that I'm calling Azran some lowly brute.
'...Then?'
- In other words... Azran is a mage. An excellent mage.
To place "excellent" before it—quite the impact from something emerging from a book.
'What did you and Azran talk about?'
He was honestly jealous.
Their exchange must have led straight to enlightenment... and if he'd been the one conversing?
- Conversation? Hm... yeah. A meeting of fine minds.
'What did Azran say?'
- Er... hm... impressive?
'And?'
- Uh... impressive... no, don't pry too much. Mortals trying to grasp dialogues between intellectuals will burst their brains. Want to freeze to death?
Ur grumbled.
Kang Seol chuckled.
From Ur's reaction, Azran seemed unchanged from before.
So the "conversation" was predictably one-sided.
'Just like old times, Azran.'
Post-disappearance, dialogue options had halved to bare-minimum yes/no prompts, leaving him frustrated.
For example:
[You've met a woman in distress. She claims close ties to the local lord since childhood and says he's been acting suspiciously lately. She seeks your wisdom. What advice do you give?]
1. Dunno.
2. Don't care.
3. I'll help.
4. Didn't catch that.
...
Concise options didn't mean clarity. Kang Seol had wished Azran would express himself in at least a full sentence.
Ur must have met that same curt Azran.
Even in conversation, it likely veered off-topic.
- Why the laugh?
With solid gains, his mind felt lighter. Kang Seol decided to sort out the situation first.
"What about them?"
He pointed to the two grand mages and Bron.
And the corpses of the curator and Branka.
- They'll thaw eventually, but it'll take time like this. Shall I handle it?
'What do you mean handle? Azran's power—possible?'
- Azran's spell isn't some higher truth. The thawing induction magic is detailed here, so no issue.
'I mean, can you do it from inside the Void?'
Ur snorted at Kang Seol's words.
- Heh heh... think I waste time? Summon your clone.
He did as Ur said without delay.
Swish...
An identical clone to Kang Seol appeared.
- Watch closely.
Zzt...
[Taking control of Integrated Clone to 'Ur.']
Suddenly, his link to the clone faltered.
Zzt...
The clone's eyes turned blue.
Haaa...
Even its breath fogged the air.
It stiffly thrust both hands forward.
- Ngh... not easy.
The clone began muttering.
Listening closely, it was chanting incantations.
Seeing his exact likeness chant was profoundly alien.
- Damn it, having to do this ugly chanting until I adapt...
Whoooosh...
A sudden gust swept through.
Crackle...
The frozen comrades awoke.
"Gasp... gasp..."
"Urk... what..."
"What happened..."
The culprit clone vanished in an instant—to dodge suspicion.
Kang Seol pretended to have just woken too. Cleanest option. No barrage of questions.
"You alright?"
"I'm fine. But... the threat seems to have crumbled, drained of power."
"Azran! Was it really Duke Azran?"
"Didn't see his face."
"His voice?"
"...Didn't hear it either."
Jone probed like a fanboy, but when Kang Seol feigned ignorance, even that ceased.
Santio marveled.
"Still, astonishing... Layers of resistance spells shattered in one moment."
"Tsk tsk... Probably froze the resistance spells solid too. Child's play for the Duke of Frost."
"How do you know so well?"
"...Felt it firsthand. Haven't been this wrecked in ages."
"Truly a genius at taking hits..."
"Enough. No teasing."
The grand mages could guess the sequence, but not Bron. Kang Seol gave Bron—who'd helped find the book—a concise rundown of events.
Bron burst into laughter.
"Puhahaha! My god, this Bron meets a foe who left me helpless without lifting a finger. A powerhouse unseen till death... First time for everything..."
As Bron admired, Jamad emerged from Kang Seol's shadow.
Swish...
Thud... thud...
Jamad walked slowly somewhere.
Kang Seol and Bron followed.
Where Jamad stopped, Bron spoke.
"...Life is so fleeting yet twists in bizarre ways."
"...Bron."
"I know what you're getting at."
Bron grinned.
"You need Branka's sorcery, right?"
Before them lay Branka's corpse beside the curator.
Nod...
Jamad nodded, and Bron shrugged.
"Take it. Branka's power is useless to me. But not to you."
"But..."
"No permission needed. Branka lost fairly. Victor's right to claim the loser's strength. He'd have no regrets. Probably down there, ashamed of mistaking all creation's power for his own. Begging someone to take it back—far freer that way."
"...Got it."
In the end, fate looped back to its path.
Jamad placed his hand on Branka's corpse.
Whoooosh...
As he activated the sorcery, snow whipped around them.
"Urk..."
"Resisting?"
"No, not that."
Bron said gravely.
"It's joyful."
Crrrackle...
Jamad's muscles swelled.
His bulk grew far larger than before.
Eyes deepened, aura amplified.
Whirrr...
[Absorbing Branka's ancient sorcery.]
[Jamad of All Creation strengthens to Grand Curse Jamad.]
[Summon now upholds the earth's power.]
[Summon awakens primal force: Glacier.]
[Glacier's primal replaces waterfall's primal.]
[Lightning Crash Stance strengthens to Primal Soul.]
[Duration: Awakens Shivering.]
[Duration: Awakens Myriad Paths.]
[Duration: Awakens ancient spirits.]
...
Blue flames—once in Branka's eyes—now flickered in Jamad's.
"...Two steps forward."
"Ha... haha..."
Bron sensed Jamad's transformed presence and backed away unsteadily.
"Th-this..."
"So this is the famed succession..."
The others reacted similarly, retreating instinctively.
While Jamad reined in his aura, Kang Seol turned to the shattered curator.
Who crafted this horrific machine? Where did its power over all creation originate?
He swept his palm over it, checking for clues.
And when his hand reached the head...
Creak...
"...Huh?"
[The Myeong-sang Library's curator is incapacitated.]
[Cannot initiate self-repair.]
[Provisional curator required.]
Whoom...
[You have been designated.]
"...What?"
[Achievement 'New Arrival This Time' unlocked.]
[Acquired unique title 「Myeong-sang (All-Encompassing)」.]
...