Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: A New Fusion
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Special Training Hall.
A place of great significance for the agents of Rantzverger.
In reality, agents up to the 1st Class were treated as little more than consumables.
One only needed to look at the safe houses, which were no different from anthills, to understand.
While the treatment improved for 1st Class agents, they could still be sacrificed at any time.
Wendy's situation was a case in point.
If she hadn't been a Special Agent, they would have been more concerned with cutting their losses than rescuing her.
Of course, being from the direct line, her case would have been considered a little differently.
'The Special Agents are the core strength of the family. It's the first step to becoming a true member of the Assassination Guild.'
Kairam's offer required no deliberation.
Who would be foolish enough to refuse an early promotion?
Besides, wasn't this what I'd hoped for when I asked Faceless for a letter of recommendation?
I took out the glowing blue identification tag.
It was incomparably more intricate and subtly elegant than the red tag I received as a 1st Class agent.
I had finally obtained the blue tag, proof of my status as a Special Agent.
'Nice.'
Even if it was just a symbolic item, it felt good.
There were fewer than ten people in each branch who had earned a blue tag.
Becoming a Special Agent at my age was the fastest achievement of the current generation.
*Tuck.*
After stowing the blue tag, I came to a halt.
"So this is the place."
Before me stood the wall of a building shrouded in a strange atmosphere.
This was the Special Training Hall.
I had come here straight after receiving the blue tag from the Acting Head.
There was nothing to do back at my quarters anyway, and it would be some time before the summons was complete.
As I passed between two pillars soaring high into the sky, a thick mist obscured my view.
It felt as if the entire building was under the effect of the Form-Shifting Invisibility Technique.
'I can feel them. The presence of Special Agents!'
Inside the high walls, numerous houses were built at regular intervals.
A relatively large building stood tall in the center, which I assumed was the main hall.
Faint presences could be felt from the scattered houses.
Unlike the 1st Class Training Hall with its stone chambers, this place seemed to provide open, personal training spaces.
It was only natural.
The agents had to endure countless trials, including ideological screenings.
Only after their skills and loyalty were confirmed could they become Special Agents, so things were a bit more relaxed from this point on.
Of course, there were still various measures in place to prevent the secret arts from being leaked.
I started to walk along the main path toward the main hall.
But a sudden presence blocked my way.
"I don't recognize you. Show me your identification tag."
He looked like a neighborhood uncle, but the man's aura was anything but ordinary.
He must be one of the Transcendent-level elders who managed the Special Training Hall.
I immediately showed him the blue tag.
"Here you go."
"So you're the direct descendant from the rumors? I heard you're only nineteen, yet you're already a Special Agent…"
After reading the coded message on the tag, the elder knew exactly who I was.
There was only one person named Ray in the Rantzverger family.
I lifted my chin slightly and muttered jokingly.
"At this rate, I might just become the youngest Head in history, don't you think?"
"You're just as strange as they say."
The elder of the Special Training Hall shook his head and turned away.
It seemed he intended to give me a brief explanation on the way to the main hall.
"You've been through the 1st Class, so you should know the rules of use."
"More or less."
"There's only one difference. You're free to interact with other agents and come and go as you please. But you can't take the secret manuals outside, of course."
"Isn't there still a time limit?"
"One week, once a month."
Having finished his explanation, the elder suddenly stopped walking.
Coincidentally, we had arrived at the main hall.
The massive iron doors of the hall opened on their own, making a sound that seemed to shake the very soul.
*Creeaak! Clang!*
The elder didn't follow me inside.
It seemed I had to go on alone from here.
As I walked down the dark corridor, blue lights flickered on one by one, illuminating the path ahead.
At the end of the corridor stood a lone bookshelf filled with countless tomes.
There were some empty spots, but there was no shortage of secret manuals.
Copies were prepared for each secret art.
'Blood-Throwing Burst, Flying Dragon Twin Dance, Line-Drawing Sword Technique?'
The bookshelf held a truly diverse collection of advanced secret arts.
Blood-Throwing Burst was a high-level throwing knife art, and Flying Dragon Twin Dance was a dagger technique.
But among them, I also spotted the Line-Drawing Sword Technique, a secret art of the Felton family.
Of course, it only contained the sword forms, and I couldn't tell if it was the original.
Still, it was quite surprising to see the sword art of another family here.
"Seems pretty popular. I suppose it's good to know its characteristics."
Only a few copies of the Line-Drawing Sword Technique manual remained.
It seemed others had taken them with the intention of knowing their enemy.
But I had no need to read it.
I'd had countless real battles with those Felton bastards.
'I'll just take what I need.'
I no longer had the luxury of learning miscellaneous arts.
After spending several hours browsing the shelves, I finally selected three secret arts.
The latter half of the Konntraeger Energy Arts, Soul Shadow Evasion, and Dark Chain Kill.
With the manuals in hand, I scanned the bookshelf one last time.
My eyes landed on an advanced secret art from the Riverune family, but I forced myself to ignore it and left the main hall.
It seemed I could just enter any empty training room.
The users were scattered irregularly, regardless of the room numbers.
On my way, I witnessed an interesting scene.
Users of the training hall were meeting to discuss techniques and even spar with one another.
The atmosphere was certainly different from that of the 1st Class and below.
They were rapidly improving their skills through a cycle of competition and cooperation.
But I couldn't blend in with them.
The arts I was learning were on a completely different level.
'It's not that I'm being ostracized. I'm the one ostracizing you.'
I shouted inwardly as I walked past the Special Agents.
Of course, they didn't seem to care what I did.
* * *
The latter half of the Konntraeger Energy Arts was incredibly complex.
It was truly an advanced art that only the chosen few, Special Agents and above, could master.
But who was I?
The greatest talent of the Riverune family, a genius whose fame had spread far beyond its walls…
Well, maybe not that far, but I was at least a prodigy who could outperform others even while slacking off.
Having already experienced an advanced mind-art through the Wheel Energy Arts, the latter half of Konntraeger wasn't too difficult for me.
It took me exactly three days to learn and master it.
My in-depth training of the first half likely sped up the process.
"The important thing now is to recreate that phenomenon from before."
The fusion of the energy arts I'd felt in Esmeranta's Tower.
As soon as I mastered the latter half of Konntraeger, I tried to attempt it.
Just as I had combined Riverune's secret arts and killing techniques, I thought it might be possible with the energy arts as well.
'The problem is, I don't know what the result will be.'
If fusing the energy arts was possible, I would gain one certain advantage.
I would no longer need to switch between energy arts every time I used a different secret art.
Simply unifying the source of my power would likely bring about many more positive changes.
As I linked the incantations and attempted the rotation, my aura connected naturally.
*Tssssss!*
With each exhale, an intangible energy filled the room.
An aura both stealthy and proud, befitting a family that ran a massive assassination guild.
If I were to draw upon the Wheel Energy Arts in this state, they should merge naturally.
After all, Riverune's secret arts were famous for creating powerful synergies by mixing aura and magic.
It should be able to encompass Rantzverger's energy arts as well.
'Let's do this. Hmph!'
I swallowed a shout and attempted the Wheel rotation.
Operating two different types of energy arts simultaneously was practically a suicidal act.
If the paths of the auras overlapped even slightly, a massive collision would occur within my body.
However, the Wheel Energy Arts could instantly modify its rotation load to bypass this.
In doing so, it absorbed the strengths of a completely different secret art.
But fusing the Wheel and Konntraeger arts was not so easy.
*Thruuum!*
"Kuh-heok!"
A strange sound erupted from within my body, and I felt a strong urge to vomit.
As I spat out whatever had surged up my throat, fresh blood splattered onto the center of the room.
My attempt to fuse the energy arts had failed spectacularly.
Thanks to the Wheel Energy Arts' ability to modify its rotation load, my internal injuries weren't too severe.
After coughing up a clot of dark blood, my insides quickly settled down.
But the immense pain I had just felt left me unable to even think about moving for a while.
"Ughhh…"
Groaning on the floor, I staggered to my feet and fell into deep contemplation.
'What's the problem?'
Even just the first half of Konntraeger was a sufficiently excellent energy art.
Ever since the first signs in Esmeranta's Tower, my attempts at fusion had repeatedly failed.
I had assumed it was because I lacked the advanced incantations.
But even after completing Konntraeger, the reaction was no different.
To be honest, the result was almost identical to when I didn't have the latter half.
"Let's take it step by step."
After circulating my aura for a while to heal my internal injuries, I tried a few more times.
*Thruuum!*
"Gack!"
But despite trying constantly for over three days, the result was the same.
I hadn't made a single step of progress since completing the latter half of Konntraeger.
No, that wasn't entirely true.
At first, it was just the repulsion between the Wheel and Konntraeger arts, but at some point, my will intervened, turning it into a three-way battle.
'This is the last day. No matter what, I'm settling this today.'
I stared into the air with burning eyes.
An image of two dragons, one blue and one red, trying to tear each other apart, seemed to form.
As I attempted the fusion, the Wheel and Konntraeger energy arts began to clash violently.
My will intervened to mediate between them, but it was still no use.
Then, I reached the limit of my patience.
'Hey, you bastards! If you won't mix, then just both of you die!'
In a flash of will, I seized control of both energy arts and guided the aura in a completely different direction.
It was a rotation load that completely ignored the existing frameworks.
But surprisingly, the energies of the Wheel and Konntraeger, suppressed by my will, suddenly formed an alliance.
The two energy arts, mixed together as they pleased, created a proud current and completed the rotation.
Soon, a round, ash-gray shape burning with light appeared before my eyes.
The illusion of the two dragons vanished, and all that remained was a vertically slit pupil.
I reflexively threw a question at the dark object.
"Who are you?"