Chapter 147
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 148
Chapter Title: Black Fog Thread
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"[Wanna come hang out tomorrow?]" - Lee Se-hun
The moment Erika received the text from Lee Se-hun, she immediately summoned her subordinate and ordered him to buy the get-well gifts she'd prepared in advance.
"Have all of this ready by tomorrow."
"All of it... you mean?"
The gift list was densely packed on the paper.
From common get-well sets like Jason fruit baskets to rare shamanic ritual materials hard to find outside—it felt like she was grabbing everything since she wasn't sure what to pick.
The blond-dyed young man, Seitz, who scanned the entire list, hesitated for a moment before cautiously speaking up.
"Miss. This much might make the other person feel burdened..."
"You'll need a punching bag too since it'll be boring."
"I'll go buy it right now."
Recalling the memory of getting beaten by Lee Se-hun, Seitz bolted without looking back. The next day, Erika stuffed the mountain of gifts into her subspace pocket and arrived at the infirmary.
'I have to improve our relationship somehow during today's visit.'
From watching him up close, the person Lee Se-hun seemed psychologically closest to was Department Head Ryu Eun-ha. Next came Yeom Seong-ha and Louise Valente.
She hadn't paid much attention to the others since they were all similarly distant, but lately Jake Myers was starting to push ahead a bit.
'Same gender, taking Professor Mako-su's class together. And that soft personality must be working in his favor.'
He wasn't a threat yet, but with the Myers family's sword aura mass-production project underway, they'd be interacting more often going forward.
Resolved to drive a wedge in before they got any closer, Erika arrived at the hospital room with sparkling eyes.
"Ah, you're here. Take a look at this."
Her body froze at the sight of the black stake on Lee Se-hun's hand.
"......"
About two finger-widths thick and 20cm long. A faint black mist-like substance seeped from its surface, strikingly similar to the shamanic arts she knew.
"Black Mist Person..."
The Inoue family's secret shamanic art and Ren's specialty curse. Seeing it manifested in Lee Se-hun's hand, Erika quickly stepped forward.
"How did you make this...?"
Had he secretly been taught Black Mist Person without her knowing?
Lee Se-hun calmly replied to Erika, who stared at the stake in disbelief.
"I was trying to make equipment with this function, but it was a bit iffy. So I wondered if there was something similar and thought of shamanic arts, then just made it like this."
"......That's it?"
"Right? Oh, I did reference that curse your brother hit me with before. It fit perfectly."
Lee Se-hun spoke nonchalantly. Erika turned her gaze back to the black stake on his hand.
'A curse made using the core seed as a medium. The structure itself is closer to a magic tool than a curse.'
Originally, Black Mist Person connected the target and the caster to make spells easier to cast, but Lee Se-hun's stake was different.
It connected to the seed used as a medium instead of the caster, structured to tune that relationship.
'It adjusts the amount of dark-attribute mana absorbed by the seed. If he wanted, he could absorb all mana to turn someone into a cripple... but the intent seems more about control.'
A curse that took only the necessary elements from Black Mist Person and combined them aptly with the seed medium.
Mixed with a blacksmith's perspective, it was quite radical in some ways—but astonishingly, the completion was flawless.
'I knew he had some talent for shamanic arts...'
This was higher than she'd imagined, in a certain sense. The structure sparked all sorts of thoughts the more she looked, leaving Erika silently staring.
Subject 'Inoue Erika's' evaluation has increased.
Subject 'Inoue Erika's' Bond Stone has been created.
A notification appeared before Lee Se-hun's eyes.
'Hmm. Looks like I made it well.'
Clear grading results made Lee Se-hun smirk subtly as he watched Erika, who couldn't tear her eyes away.
"See any points for improvement?"
"Hm...... You don't plan to kill the target, right?"
"No. The goal is to draw dark-attribute mana here so it doesn't mix with other attribute mana."
"Then......"
Erika pondered deeply for a moment, then dramatically opened her right palm.
Swish
Silver threads unraveled from her palm like spider silk, crossing in the air one by one to form a special pattern.
"This is a spell formula that excludes other attribute mana while controlling absorption. Apply it well, and it'll be even more efficient than now."
"Hmm. Hold it like that for a sec."
Lee Se-hun examined the spell formula Erika created, then activated his newly acquired skill, 'Black Fog Thread'.
Vmmm
Thin threads like black mist. Lee Se-hun maneuvered them, connecting them directly to Erika's spell formula.
Swish
The Black Fog Threads adhered perfectly, tracing the pattern. Successfully replicating it all, Lee Se-hun linked it straight to the stake.
Vuuung—!
Erika's spell formula melted naturally into the stake's interior. Soon after, the same pattern emerged flawlessly on the surface.
As if it had always been that way, Lee Se-hun seamlessly integrated the formula and showed it to Erika again.
"How's that?"
"......That should do it."
She wanted to offer more advice if possible, but there was nothing else to tweak beyond adding functions.
As Erika stared in awe at the astonishing completion, Lee Se-hun got up from the bed.
"Alright. I'll step out for a bit."
"Where to?"
"Next room over. Won't take long, so wait with some snacks if you're hungry."
Before she could ask more, Lee Se-hun swiftly left the room. Watching his back, Erika turned to survey the room and sniff the air.
'Smell of metabolized waste and elixirs. And from his movements earlier, no injuries left.'
Had he gotten elixirs somewhere and recovered already? Erika pondered Lee Se-hun's feat of instantly healing wounds that should take months.
'Bump shamanic aptitude from A to A+. And with this bodily understanding, A or higher.'
Revising her mental evaluation, Erika sat on the bed and muttered.
"Maybe...... it could work......"
Subject 'Inoue Erika's' evaluation has increased.
Bond Stone already exists. Maturity has increased.
The notification popped up just as he left the room. Lee Se-hun grinned at Erika's evaluation skyrocketing in a single day.
'At this rate, she'll hit level 3 first.'
He'd expected it to some degree, but not this intensely.
Dismissing the window, Lee Se-hun reviewed the info on Black Fog Thread he'd acquired yesterday.
『B+』
A barrier that compresses curse mist into threads.
Specialized in eroding targets to mimic their properties; can connect not just the user but different targets.
If the spell isn't fully removed, it can lurk in the body and reactivate on condition fulfillment.
*Properties change based on eroded target.
*Can link targets via threads. Barrier collapses if control is seized.
*If spell origin isn't fully eradicated, can resupply mana to reactivate connection.
Black Fog Thread incorporated Black Mist Person's linking function into the existing Black Spirit Thread.
Compared to the original, stealth and sustainability dropped, but versatility greatly improved, allowing far more diverse uses.
Even Erika, the expert, acknowledged its excellence. Lee Se-hun was satisfied with the functions, but a question arose.
'Even so, it's too well-made......'
He'd examined the curse embedded in his hand during the exchange meet, but only superficially. Hard to say he'd grasped and cherry-picked its strengths so neatly.
Suspecting another reason, Lee Se-hun mulled it over until something clicked.
'Ah. Could it be from stealing those memories back then?'
On exchange meet day, he'd turned the tables on Ren's attempt to steal his memories, snatching past ones instead.
Maybe he'd naturally understood the structure while using the curse then.
'Did that grant me enough talent to replicate it......?'
A talent he hadn't known about pre-regression—or rather, hadn't existed.
He'd had no clue before, but this incident gave him a hunch.
'The soul, probably.'
Couldn't pinpoint why, but regression altered his soul, birthing new talents.
No hard proof, but it fit best now.
'Good to gain talents, but the restriction on Demon Blood Qi is annoying.'
In the late war against Myriad Demons' Mire, he'd survived through others' protection and Demon Blood Qi—plus the hybrid weapons it forged.
Now restricted, stability plummeted for the time being.
'Revert soul to pre-regression and it'd fix... but lose these new talents.'
Couldn't discard useful tools he'd grown attached to.
One option left.
'Overhaul Soul-Link Divine Demon Art.'
His blacksmith core. Pondering tweaks, Lee Se-hun sighed deeply.
'What a damn convoluted technique......'
Splitting the body multifold and refining nebulous soul power—its structure went beyond complex into cryptic madness.
Especially overhauling fundamentals versus using it: totally different realms. No easy fixes came to mind.
'Tinker sporadically, and if no dice... track down the creator.'
Only one who could overhaul Soul-Link Divine Demon Art: his master, Blood Duke.
Planning to look into that later, Lee Se-hun knocked on Yeom Seong-ha's door, now arrived.
Knock knock
"Hey, Yeom Seong-ha. Coming in."
No objections, so he entered to find Yeom Seong-ha standing blankly in the room.
"......"
Face full of dissatisfaction. Entering, Lee Se-hun asked.
"What're you doing?"
Yeom Seong-ha glanced over calmly.
"Just standing."
"Why?"
At the repeated question, he looked annoyed, then spat it out.
"They said one more workout in the room and they'd tie me up for intensive care. So I'm standing."
"......"
Told to rest lying down, no exercise—he was just standing.
Closer look: balancing on tiptoes.
'Mad Dog traits match perfectly.'
Grinning wryly at the pre-regression identical Yeom Seong-ha, then:
"......You fully recovered?"
Yeom Seong-ha, inspecting his body, asked in surprise.
Yesterday: walking shattered glass. Now: freshly forged metal ingot.
"Yeah. Wasn't a big injury."
"......"
Yeom Seong-ha stared silently at the nonchalant Lee Se-hun.
Words on the tip of his tongue, but reluctance. A familiar pre-regression look. Lee Se-hun chuckled.
"Want me to teach you a quick recovery method?"
At his offer, Yeom Seong-ha's eyes twitched, then slowly opened his mouth.
"Price?"
"Nothing needed now. On credit."
"......"
Finally settling debts? No, piling more.
Not thrilled, but priority: escape infirmary ASAP, assimilate battle insights.
'Deal, no need to refuse.'
Decision made, Yeom Seong-ha eyed him.
"So, what's the method?"
"This. How it works is......"
Showing the shadow tree seed curse, Lee Se-hun briefly explained the injury cause and fix.
Hearing it, Yeom Seong-ha looked surprised, glancing at his body.
"Rampage from latent skill...... Makes sense."
"Don't know when the skill activates, so suppress dark mana with this meantime. Once healed, it'll normalize."
"Got it. Do it."
Approaching without hesitation for the curse. Lee Se-hun sought a spot, then paused in doubt.
'Why's this guy so compliant?'
Confirmed with Erika earlier, but to Yeom: just a curse from a non-expert Forging freshman.
Top student, versatile sure—but still unnerving?
'Mad Dog would've verified repeatedly, sworn oaths, then considered.'
Very different from pre-regression. Pondering, Lee Se-hun asked.
"But aren't you scared?"
"What nonsense."
"Hear me out—I'm no shamanic expert. No worries or anxiety?"
Yeom Seong-ha replied incredulously.
"Foolish talk."
"What?"
"Selling flawed goods deceptively is fraud."
Glancing sidelong calmly, then muttering awkwardly.
"You wouldn't scam even if foisting junk. That's it."
Spitting it out, averting gaze. Lee Se-hun stared blankly, then widened eyes in shock.
'This guy...... trusts me?'
Not full trust, but pre-regression, Lv.4 bond talk.
Now at Lv.2. Like with Ryu Eun-ha. Lee Se-hun gazed wonderingly.
'Relationship shift? But him of all people......'
Checking for head injury, Yeom Seong-ha frowned.
"How long you gonna stare?"
"Ah, right. Got it."
Shelving for later, Lee Se-hun aimed the curse at the solar plexus.
Closer to vitals sped seed activation, max dark mana absorption.
"It'll sting like a real stake at first. Don't freak."
"......"
Yeom eyed the 'like a needle prick' claim like he was mad, then nodded.
"Do it."
"Alright. Here goes......"
Deep breath, Lee Se-hun swiftly stabbed Yeom Seong-ha's solar plexus.
"Kuh...... Cough!"
Yeom staggered, coughing violently as the curse embedded.
Looked problematic, but linked via Black Fog Thread, Lee Se-hun felt his state clearly.
'Separating nicely.'
Indiscriminately mixed attributes forcibly split by curse, stabilizing bit by bit.
No more sudden wound bursts or vomiting blood.
'Feels like I stabbed him.'
Waiting absorption, but looked brutal to onlookers.
Chucking at the silly thought, then:
Knock knock
"Excuse me. Investigator Ha Sun-woo from the Hero Association's Special Task Force..."
Suit-clad young man Ha Sun-woo entered lightly, froze at the scene.
"No, it's not what it—"
Realizing misunderstanding, as Lee Se-hun tried explaining:
"Gahk!"
Dark blood erupted from Yeom Seong-ha's mouth, splattering Lee Se-hun's face.
Black stake in chest, bloodied face. Beyond words. Lee Se-hun froze, sighed.
"Y-You're under arrest!"
Ha Sun-woo drew cuffs, charging.