Chapter 101
Chapter 101
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 101
Chapter Title: Training in Chaotic Mana and the Tebrus School's Scheme
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“That’s a bit strange.”
Cheon Su-wan wore an odd expression at Geon-woo’s words.
“Strange how?”
“There’s definitely a master of the Great Chaos Vein, and it’s clear they intend to seize the minds of those addicted to chaotic mana.”
“And?”
“But that’s it. It’s like their job is done once they’ve increased the number of residents in the Great Chaos Vein, with no further interference.”
“No interference? Then what about the predation or challenges that spur competition among the residents?”
“That feels like it’s just being maintained in a pre-set framework too. It doesn’t seem like the master of the Great Chaos Vein is stepping in directly to meddle.”
“So in the end, isn’t there no point in taking the minds of those addicted to chaotic mana and turning them into residents? The master doesn’t give them any separate orders.”
“No, there is one thing the master of the Great Chaos Vein definitely uses to control the residents.”
“One thing?”
“Residents of the Great Chaos Vein must not leave the vein.”
“Hmm, so they’re penned up in a fence and left to graze? That’s peculiar.”
Even Geon-woo found it hard to gauge the master of the Great Chaos Vein based on Cheon Su-wan’s explanation.
“Anyway, kuhum. There’s a chance to gain the ability to produce chaotic mana yourself through challenges in the Great Chaos Vein, kuhum.”
Muhammad, who had been listening in, strained to join the conversation.
“Well, for now, everyone focus on recovering. Once Tucker and Ivan have pulled themselves together, we’ll talk about the rest outside.”
“Yes, understood.”
“Kuhum. Then I need to focus more as well.”
Cheon Su-wan promptly bowed his head, and Muhammad closed his eyes to finish sorting out the chaotic mana.
Geon-woo quietly closed his eyes too, gradually reducing the repulsive field that was pushing back the chaotic mana before extending his hand beyond it for a test.
Chaotic mana immediately surged into his hand and into his body.
“Ugh. It’s intense.”
The moment the chaotic mana entered his body, Geon-woo pulled his hand back inside the field.
He then began calmly observing the movement of the chaotic mana that had entered him.
“It can’t coexist with any other energy at all. Anything it touches collides with it and annihilates, no matter what it is.”
Even the cells making up Geon-woo’s body were colliding with the chaotic mana and canceling each other out.
“No fusion or anything to consider here. What kind of energy even is this?”
Chaotic mana that pairwise annihilated with anything it encountered.
Geon-woo shook his head in disbelief.
But amid that, a sudden question arose.
“Chaotic mana even annihilates the flesh, forming a body made of chaotic mana. That’s why all the residents of the Great Chaos Vein have non-material bodies composed of chaotic mana. But...”
There, a question all too familiar to Geon-woo emerged.
“Then why doesn’t this cave forming the Great Chaos Vein annihilate with the chaotic mana?”
The idea that the one thing denying the existence of a poison that melts everything in the world is the vessel containing that poison was a tale far too familiar to Geon-woo.
To him, the material forming the walls, floor, and ceiling of the Great Chaos Vein was naturally a subject of suspicion.
Geon-woo carefully examined the surrounding soil and rocks.
It wasn’t long before he frowned.
“No, it’s not the dirt or stones themselves. Some alien force is blocking the spread of the chaotic mana. Probably the system’s intervention.”
Geon-woo suddenly realized the absurdity of the Great Chaos Vein’s existence.
If chaotic mana collided and annihilated with everything in the world, it should have long ago clashed with this world’s energies and vanished.
No matter how much chaotic mana there was, it was a mere handful compared to the energies of the entire world.
Without the system’s protection enveloping the vein, the chaotic mana would have fizzled out ages ago.
“It was probably just the master of the Great Chaos Vein and a few who could produce chaotic mana themselves barely holding onto a small domain with their power.”
Originally, maintaining an area the size of the current Chaos Mountains—no, the Great Chaos Vein within—would have been utterly impossible.
“They couldn’t have produced that much chaotic mana.”
Of course, even so, the amount of chaotic mana dispersing from the countless vein entrances scattered through the mountains and annihilating was tremendous.
All that chaotic mana was ultimately being produced by the master of the Great Chaos Vein and his six retainers.
“Interesting. If they carry chaotic mana and leave the Chaos Mountains, will the system block it?”
Geon-woo glanced at Muhammad and the others with the question in mind, but somehow he felt certain it wouldn’t happen.
The rules of the world weren’t that simplistic.
Even if loopholes were exploited to bend the rules, it punished less by penalty and more by maximizing the gains, so to speak.
Thus, the vessel of chaotic mana born from the fusion of human, bio-armor, and jiangshi factors would naturally be acknowledged.
“Curiosity aside, isn’t there a good way for me to make use of this?”
He no longer needed to worry about Muhammad and the others.
Once they fully contained their chaotic mana, leaving wouldn’t be an issue.
Of course, they’d have to return to the Chaos Mountains to replenish it after using their power.
“Or stockpile chaotic mana stones for recharging? That’s worth considering. No, not the time for that now. Let’s solve my own problem.”
What mattered was that he’d obtained a vessel for chaotic mana.
Human, bio-armor, and jiangshi.
Of those, the one Geon-woo lacked was the bio-armor factor.
“I can’t become the implant host myself, though? That’s too unappealing. So the only option left is...”
Implanting the bio-armor factor into a portion of a bio-jiangshi.
“Wait, does it have to be a human factor? Couldn’t adding another race’s factor to the bio-armor and jiangshi factors work too?”
Geon-woo’s thoughts continued to expand their scope.
When his time in the vein grew short, he hurriedly exited, then returned to where Muhammad and the others were.
After repeating this a couple of times, Cheon Su-wan finally emerged from the vein to begin training outside.
Cheon Su-wan’s training was about fully sealing the chaotic mana in his body so it wouldn’t leak out.
“Now I feel like I can’t even properly use knight-level strength like I used to.”
“But your body seems tougher, at least?”
“Well, trying to securely contain the chaotic mana has led to some progress.”
“So you’ve lost mana and aura, but gained a sturdier body in exchange?”
“But without chaotic mana, it’s not enough to withstand mind power attacks. Though the leader seems capable of that.”
Geon-woo’s jiangshi body maintained an indestructible state capable of withstanding ordinary mind power even without exerting extra strength.
That’s what Cheon Su-wan was referring to.
“You’re too greedy? If you master chaotic mana, you might even beat me now.”
“What nonsense is that? No matter how destructive chaotic mana is, how do you overcome the leader’s indestructibility? It shrugs off even ducal-level mind power.”
“Either way, it’s a relief you’re not at a level where we’d need to baby you, even without using chaotic mana.”
“Were you planning to do that? Baby me?”
“I considered attaching a few jiangshi as guards. But looks like you don’t need it.”
“I’m relieved too. It’d be troublesome if I’d weakened that much. I have my pride.”
“True, Jumper would’ve teased you endlessly.”
“Aigoo, what a terrifying thought.”
“Alright, I’m heading back in. Leaving just the three inside feels uneasy.”
“I’ll come too. I’ve mostly got it contained anyway.”
As Geon-woo said he was returning to the vein, Cheon Su-wan brushed off his rear and followed.
* * *
“He’s not at the Theopoli clinic?”
In a room where the entire white marble wall was regularly punctured with holes, each filled with a black skull.
A man sitting alone on a sofa, his back to the black skull wall, asked the subordinate standing deferentially two steps ahead.
“Yes. The clinic currently has only a woman named Pang and another who appears to be an alchemy scholar.”
The questioned subordinate wore a dark brown robe with the hood pulled low, hiding his face.
But the black serpent emblem on his chest, mouth agape, marked him as a disciple of the Tebrus School.
“Really just those two?”
“Of course, there are about a hundred knight-level guards.”
“That many can be swept away in one go, so not worth considering.”
The man on the sofa waved his hand dismissively.
“Yes. In the end, only that one woman at earl-to-marquis level is a problem.”
“Then, what about that scholar-like woman?”
The sofa man showed interest in the other woman rather than the combat threat.
“Naturally, it’d be best to capture her alive. She’s most likely deeply knowledgeable about the clinic’s secrets.”
Reading his master’s intent, the subordinate promptly gave the desired answer.
“You can manage that?”
The sofa man asked again, as if confirming.
“Of course.”
The subordinate replied with confident conviction.
“One misstep, and we could face backlash from all of Crosus.”
Though Tebrus was a major power, the sofa man didn’t represent the entire school.
If things went awry and implicated Tebrus as a whole, he could end up cornered.
“It’ll be framed as dissatisfied clinic members turning into a mob.”
Meaning Tebrus’s name wouldn’t come up.
“Start small, then escalate to an uncontrollable explosion in an instant?”
“Exactly. The key is making the gap between ignition and explosion as short as possible.”
“What’s the planned deployment level?”
“Six marquis-level, with the rest below that...”
“Our name won’t come up, right?”
The sofa man emphasized once more.
Even if it failed, it was fine—but success with Tebrus’s involvement exposed would be trouble.
That could rally all of Crosus against Tebrus.
“Of course. Once this is done, they’ll promptly be reborn as Tebrus’s guardian undead.”
Sent to the Tebrus School’s undead storage, they’d be erased from the world.
No traces to follow then.
Suspicion might linger, but without evidence.
Better not to go that far, but even if it did, the worst-case of Crosus rising up wouldn’t happen.
“Good. Proceed!”
The sofa man ultimately greenlit the operation.
“Yes, understood. They won’t know, but we’ll firmly plant the Tebrus School’s will.”
The disciple standing before him bowed respectfully, then slashed a black vertical line in the air and vanished into it.
“You dare humiliate me and think you’ll get away unscathed? If you’re a problem, just strike your weak spot. Kuhaha. And if we can extract your secret technique, how much glory for our Tebrus? Kuhahahaha.”
Attacking Geon-woo’s clinic wasn’t that important to him.
It was just a rebuildable building, killing at most one marquis-level woman.
No big loss for Geon-woo.
But capturing the woman who knew the clinic’s secrets?
“I could become master of Tebrus. Rapin Tebrus. I could take that name...”
Muttering to himself, the man—visible only from behind—clenched the walnut-sized skull he’d been rolling in his hand.
Craaaack!