Chapter 94
Chapter 94
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 94
Chapter Title: Accidental Demolition
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"H-Him? A man with such an ordinary face?"
The man, who appeared to be a butler, continued, and I scowled.
*This crazy old man is saying that to my face?*
Unless my sense of aesthetics was completely shot, the face I used as Ray Carter was just plain ordinary.
A young man with brown hair you could find anywhere.
Of course, I had to admit that standing next to Adel, I was like a firefly under the sun.
Still, this wasn't how you should treat a guest.
As I glared and tried to take a step forward, the butler shook his head.
"Someone so rude could never be our lady's partner. Ahem! You, carry that baggage over there."
Wow! This old man is a master at getting under people's skin.
I turned to look at Adel with an incredulous expression, and she was covering her mouth, trying to stifle a laugh.
"He's always a bit prickly with men, so please try to understand, Mr. President."
"I'm kind of like that myself, so I can't say I don't understand."
If he's only like that with men, then whatever.
No, wait, why am I just accepting this?
As I shrugged with a bewildered look, the old butler slipped inside the villa.
The way he just said his piece and disappeared was incredibly annoying.
If his hair wasn't so white, I would've landed an iron fist of fury on him.
As I seethed and started walking, Adel sidled up to me and took my arm.
"He must be heavy. Let me help you."
"This much is nothing. I'm fine."
"Then let's go like this."
We moved Camil Felton to the guest room, stuck together in an awkward posture.
The servants following with the luggage began to whisper.
"Oh my! Oh my! The lady must have been blackmailed. To think she'd help such an ordinary man."
"What if that man does something shameless?"
The ladies' gossip hit my ears, and my expression twisted even more.
Ugh, I'm not going to eat your precious lady!
Not yet, anyway.
* * *
Internal injuries meant the foundation of one's aura had been shaken by a powerful impact or the reckless use of force.
Such cases could usually be resolved with special elixirs.
But that wasn't an option for me at the moment.
*I'll have to manage it on my own.*
I watched the soundly sleeping Camil Felton for a moment before quietly slipping out.
Staying here would only get in the caregiver's way.
"Where are you going?"
As I left the guest room and headed to the garden, Adel, who had been admiring the flowerbeds, spoke to me.
"I need to train. Is there a quiet place around here?"
"You came to the empire's finest resort, and you're still practicing swordsmanship?"
"Why not? Just a little while ago, I was on a life-or-death mission in this very area."
"That's true. Come this way."
Shrugging, she led me to the back of the mansion.
A large greenhouse stood there.
"It's a bit chilly outside, so this place should be good."
"You must like flowers."
"Yes, they're pretty and fragrant. Is there any reason not to like them?"
"I'm indifferent to them."
"That's why you don't have a girlfriend."
"What if I removed my disguise and went back to my real face?"
"...You'd have one then."
"So it's just because of my face!"
"You don't look bad now either."
"Don't say things you don't mean. Just go."
I waved my hand dismissively.
Adel Richter beamed like a puppy and backed away.
"Hehe. See you later."
*Click.*
A profound silence fell once she closed the door and left.
The glass was quite thick, making it feel completely cut off from the outside world.
It was the perfect place to train.
*I see why she recommended this place.*
I found a suitable spot, sat down, and reviewed my fight with the Four-Armed Knight.
Tetra Manus had been a powerful foe, one that required my full strength.
Through this battle, I realized I still had some shortcomings.
"Fwooo..."
Taking a long, deep breath, I immediately summoned the Demonic Soul coiled within me.
It was to treat my internal injuries.
*I tried to focus all my power on a single point, but I couldn't do it perfectly. The pressure was insufficient.*
No matter how much aura I poured in, it wouldn't coalesce at the focal point.
This was because mana-based energy had a natural tendency to repel itself and spread out.
To make it possible, I had no choice but to compress it with immense force.
But could I attempt such a thing on the tip of a sword, where there was nothing?
It was practically impossible.
Applying pressure from all directions was incredibly difficult.
*But with the Wheel Energy Arts, I can do it.*
The secret arts of Riverune were based on manipulating not only one's aura but also the mana in the atmosphere.
*Swoosh!*
I created a hemispherical, transparent membrane at the tip of my sword.
Into it, I injected a stream of highly concentrated aura extracted from the Demonic Soul.
Just as when I defeated the Four-Armed Knight, an intense gray flash began to emanate from the Black Dragon Sword.
It was far more stable than before.
*The amount of power I pour in isn't what's important. The key is to build a solid foundation.*
After correcting the part I had overlooked in a real battle, the next step was to fuse it with the Dark Chain Kill.
I had used the Heaven-Severing Annihilation against the Four-Armed Knight because its power was more than sufficient.
I only called it an incomplete technique because it was difficult to merge with an assassination art.
In any case, I felt I could do it now.
I'd gained a great realization while reviewing the morning's battle.
*What is needed to become the ultimate assassin?*
Flawless stealth, a sharp assassination art, a perfect escape.
It was none of those.
The greatest virtue of an assassin is...
*Naturalness.*
A naturalness so complete that even the victim doesn't realize they've been killed.
That was what I considered the ultimate assassin to be.
*It's not working because I'm trying to forcefully melt the Dark Chain Kill into it.*
When so much power is concentrated, what happens if you try to add stealth on top?
The difficulty would skyrocket, and the result would inevitably be sloppy.
So, I reduced the functionality of the assassination art and focused solely on power.
After all, the Heaven-Severing Annihilation was a manifestation of the will to kill an opponent without fail.
It was a secret technique that didn't require much finesse.
"Hup!"
As I inhaled and thrust the Black Dragon Sword, a gray radiance pierced the space before me.
*Spit!*
This time, the Dark Chain Kill must have fused properly, as the sound of it tearing through the air was very faint.
But the result was anything but shabby.
After a moment of silence, a round hole appeared on the greenhouse wall.
*Fsssss!*
Just as when the Four-Armed Knight died, the material turned to dust and scattered.
The influence of the Heaven-Severing Annihilation wasn't limited to a single point.
Its power was so immense that even the indirect shockwave caused the entire greenhouse to shake.
*Rumble, rumble, rumble!*
"Huh? Wait a minute, this feels ominous."
A sense of dread washed over me as I watched the pillars and ceiling heave.
I quickly opened the door, got out, and watched the shaking greenhouse.
As I expected, the building couldn't bear its own weight and began to collapse.
Such a disaster had occurred just from me unleashing the Heaven-Severing Annihilation into the empty air.
*CRASH! RUMBLE!*
Watching the greenhouse crumble into a cloud of dust, I let out a low groan.
"Hmm... I'm screwed."
* * *
Meanwhile, in the first-floor guest room.
While Ray Carter was in the middle of his personal training, Camil Felton's eyes were wide open.
"Ugh!"
His internal injuries hadn't fully healed, but they weren't severe enough to keep him unconscious.
But Camil deliberately pretended to remain unconscious.
He had things to think about.
"It definitely... resembled the swordsmanship of Riverune in form. But the underlying aura energy arts seemed completely different. Is that even possible?"
Normally, one could perform any swordsmanship regardless of the aura energy arts they learned.
But if the two were a pair, optimized for each other, the story was quite different.
When not wielded with its specific energy art, a technique would fail to produce its full power.
This was especially true for the secret arts of the four great families.
"That's why no one bothered to learn Riverune's swordsmanship. The efficiency was extremely low."
Even the Felton Sword Family had plenty of Riverune's secret sword manuals, taken as spoils of war.
Camil himself had tried learning them out of curiosity.
But they weren't impressive enough to be of any practical use.
The aura energy arts were so starkly different that his breathing and rotation were constantly thrown off.
"There's no way the president learned an energy art passed down only by word of mouth... What is his true identity?"
The ultimate move Ray Carter had unleashed was deeply etched in Camil Felton's mind.
There were few among his peers who were that strong; you could count them on one hand.
He would probably rank among the top even among all the direct descendants of the four great families.
"He's someone I want to be like."
Someone who, despite being an admission-by-donation student, rose to become the strongest in Venderford.
Someone who could speak bluntly without hesitation, even in front of the princes.
And someone who had awakened a fighting spirit within him.
These were all descriptions that fit Ray Carter.
"I wish I could be that confident."
Camil had always maintained an attitude of indifference toward the family's succession struggle.
If he didn't, he knew he might be purged.
In fact, coming to Venderford had been a form of escape.
But after meeting Ray, a burning lava had taken root in his chest.
"I don't know who he really is... but I must stick by his side."
By staying with the student council president, he might find a breakthrough.
Just as Ray had digested Riverune's secret arts in his own way.
*Shuffle. Step. Step.*
Pushing himself up with difficulty, Camil approached the window.
It was right at that moment.
*Rumble, rumble, rumble! CRASH!*
A sudden roar erupted, and the building behind the mansion completely collapsed.
Soon after, Camil witnessed a ridiculous scene.
"How could you destroy the greenhouse!"
"I swear I didn't do anything! I just stabbed the air once."
"And the building collapsed?"
"Must have been shoddy construction."
"Get back here! What about my flowers!"
"If I stop, you'll kill me!"
"And you destroyed the greenhouse knowing that?"
Ray and Adel were running lightly, like a couple playing a game of tag.
Though their conversation was quite rough.
In any case, it seemed the culprit behind the building's destruction was the student council president.
Camil shook his head and muttered softly.
"That's one part of him I don't want to be like."