[Translator - Pot ]

[Proofreader - Kawaii ]

Chapter 330: Shame is Not for Twice

“You obtained fire?”

I answered my father’s question.

“Yes. A voice told me it is the primordial fire.”

“…A voice, you say.”

After observing my father’s and Leszek’s reactions, I asked.

“You two have heard it as well?”

“Yes. I believe it might be something like the consciousness of our great ancestor, Vitenfeld.”

Leszek explained.

“The Limitless Heaven-Defying Art has the effect of allowing one to find and obtain an attribute that ‘matches their own disposition’ from among elements like fire, ice, lightning, wind, and steel. It is an incomparably outstanding function.”

“Then what attribute did you obtain, Elder?”

“I was wind.”

Leszek replied.

“A soft and flexible power. Or a power that flows without being bound. That was me.”

I looked at my father.

“I was steel. A firm and solid power. An unbreakable power. That is what I consider steel to be.”

“…Now that I hear it, it seems to suit you both well.”

I tilted my head.

“But why am I fire?”

“Hmm…”

Geninghen said.

“Isn’t it because of your fiery fucking temper?”

“…”

I was at a slight loss for words.

“I have no rebuttal.”

“Hehehe. In any case, whatever you obtained would have become a peerless fire art, or a peerless ice art, or a peerless lightning art.”

That’s right. If Ulbhild had learned this, an ice art the world had never seen would have been created.

“What attribute do you think my brother Verdzig would have obtained?”

The three of them each offered a word.

“Well. Perhaps steel?”

“He feels a bit more flexible and vicious than steel.”

“Then is it poison, after all?”

“Unexpectedly, it might have been lightning.”

I wanted to cast my vote for poison.

Anyway, putting that aside.

“How should I best utilize this power? There aren’t any specific forms to it.”

“Well, at your current level, you’ve already achieved the caliber of a grandmaster, haven’t you? It is for each person to discover on their own.”

Even as he said that, Geninghen shared his own thoughts.

“But speaking as a mage, fire is a truly useful and powerful attribute.”

He explained, folding his fingers one by one.

“Besides burning and melting, can’t you inflict great damage on an enemy just by touching them?”

“Yes.”

“For instance, if a human grabs a hot pot with their bare hands, they can’t endure it for even a moment and will let go.”

“There would be no need to use the art of penetration.”

“Correct. But your mastery of penetration is already at its peak, so you could apply it in any number of ways.”

“That’s right. I could breathe fire, trap them in fire, or inject high temperatures inside them to burn their organs.”

“You could simply add the power of that fire to every attack, every technique. The destructive force would be magnified many times over.”

“Right.”

I spread my palm.

“I actually tried something like this when I first opened my eyes.”

The primordial black flame began to gather in my palm.

“Burn, Black Flame Dragon.”

I chanted the words as if casting a spell.

KRWAAAARARARARA!

Then, with immense heat, a giant Black Flame Dragon ascended into the sky.

“…Black Flame Dragon?”

“Yes.”

“What a grandiose name.”

My father hit the nail on the head.

“Hm, shall we see what its power is like?”

Geninghen’s hands formed a seal. A giant golem emerged, swallowing the gravel, sand, and rocks of the wasteland.

“Uhaha, go and crush that snake’s head.”

The rock golem, following its creator’s command, swung its fist.

“Not a chance.”

The Black Flame Dragon bit off the rock golem’s head and coiled its body around it.

Tsssssssssssssss!

The rock golem melted on the spot, turning into lava.

“…Wow, that’s brutal.”

Its power was enough to surprise even me.

“Shall we test it a bit more?”

“Elder.”

This time, Leszek pulled one of his many swords and threw it into the air.

As if it had a will of its own, it charged toward the Black Flame Dragon.

‘Sword Control.’

The sword flew at a speed no human could produce and…

Pwhak!

It pierced the Black Flame Dragon.

“Huh?”

My surprise was brief.

Tssssss!

The solid aura melted first, and then even the sword melted away, turning into a handful of crimson molten iron.

“…How absurd.”

Leszek shook his head.

“This is truly a terrifying martial art. An army of over 10,000 would be useless before it.”

“It would be good for intimidation, too, wouldn’t it?”

For example.

“If I ride on top of this dragon and sweep through the enemy lines, wouldn’t I literally become a dragon rider? It would be a truly mythical sight.”

Geninghen replied with a dose of reality.

“I think you’d melt away first.”

“Ah.”

So there was that flaw.

“Anyway, get rid of that thing. It’s making me hot too.”

“Understood.”

I skillfully dismantled the Black Flame Dragon and absorbed its heat.

“Hoh.”

My father watched the scene and marveled.

“You’re proficient.”

“Perhaps because I have the Silent Night Soul-Soaking Divine Art and the Seven Stars of the Black Sea Technique, retrieving it doesn’t seem that difficult.”

It felt natural, even though it was my first time doing it.

‘Once again.’

A state where the body finds the optimal methodology on its own, without having to think about the principles of each martial art I had learned.

I could tell that this was the state I had now reached.

“Congratulations, Allen.”

My father patted my shoulder.

“But the power of that flame is only a part of the true value of the Limitless Heaven-Defying Art.”

My father explained.

“The power to reverse the flow of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, and to fully endure and command the counter-flow power gained from it. Is that not the true power of the Limitless Heaven-Defying Art?”

“Yes.”

“From now on, you must re-establish all of your martial arts within that Heaven-Defying state. It will literally be a precarious tightrope walk.”

But it was fine. Because the Ink Soul Sacred Shadow Technique was already a martial art that moved beyond conflict and toward integration, it did not feel like a foreign task to me.

“When you have properly mastered this.”

My father asserted.

“You will be able to surpass me.”

“!”

“After that, surpass Lord Leszek, and then consume the Dragon Heart and transcend everything.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

Several martial arts came to mind.

Light Star, one of the functions of the Seven Stars of the Black Sea Technique. And the Ink Soul Sacred Shadow Technique, which made the powers of black and white clash, and finally harmonized them.

‘I will be able to apply these two martial arts.’

Because.

The Limitless Heaven-Defying Art had elevated the world of my martial arts so that I was no longer bound by form, so that I could make any imagination a reality.

“I will begin meditating now.”

I wanted to somehow organize the thoughts boiling over in my head.

“Good.”

My father smiled.

“The moment your martial arts are completed, and the moment a martial art the world has never seen is born, will soon arrive.”

Leszek placed a hand on my shoulder and urged me.

“It doesn’t matter how long it takes. Do not worry about the affairs of the outside world.”

“I will trust in the three of you.”

This was not a crisis that could be overcome while burdened with worry and anxiety.

‘Do not grow weary, Allenvert.’

Because atop the endless climb, the mountain peak will finally be waiting for me.

***

Inside the Litvaleur Royal Castle, several detached villas were prepared to receive distinguished guests.

“Hm.”

Zamuel was staying in one of them with Ghir, Nagan, Zizek, and Jeffrey.

“You’ve gotten much stronger, Zizek.”

Zizek, who had been rolled around by the three masters Knut, Jeffrey, and Ghir, looked as wretched as if he had been through another war.

“Am I really stronger? I feel like I’m going to die.”

“The fact that you didn’t die after all that rolling around means you got stronger.”

“Ah.”

Zamuel looked at his junior, who was growing stronger by the day, with a strange smile.

“Are you frustrated?”

It was an abrupt question, but Zizek immediately nodded.

“Yes.”

“About what?”

“It’s been a long time since Boss became so strong so fast that I can’t catch up, but I’m as slow as a slug.”

“Kehaha!”

Zamuel laughed heartily.

“What an utterly shameless bastard you are. I’ve made a living with a sword in the underworld my whole life, but you’re the first one I’ve seen grow so fast. Even the Boss had to go through a long period of trial and error because he had no one to guide him.”

“That’s…”

Zizek bowed his head, embarrassed.

“You’re right. I’m complaining with a full stomach.”

“Of course, I know how you feel. You’re thinking, ‘Even after receiving so many opportunities, is this all I am?’, right?”

“Yes. And since we have more and more supernaturally strong comrades, I feel like I’m not being very helpful.”

Zamuel understood his junior’s heart. He too had felt a great deal of shame during his time as Karzan’s second-in-command.

“…Back when I was a subordinate of the ‘real Karzan’ who died 17 years ago.”

Zamuel began his story carefully, under the premise that ‘Karzan was dead, and Allenvert was merely a young lord who admired him’.

“The Boss could not surpass the very late stage of the 6th-tier. I was merely at the 5th-tier.”

“!”

“Looking back now, isn’t it a lower state than you thought? Since I’ve surpassed the 7th-tier and reached the 8th.”

“No, sir. I’m only just at the 5th-tier myself…”

“That’s still a remarkable level. When you were barely surviving on the outskirts of the underworld, what would you have thought if you saw a 5th-tier swordsman?”

“Well, I…”

Zizek scratched his head awkwardly and answered.

“I would have immediately bowed my head and done whatever I could to get on their good side.”

“You’ve become a master of that caliber. Besides, you’re still young, and you might one day reach a state comparable to mine.”

“Me? Come on, the 7th-tier isn’t some household pet’s name.”

“No one knows a person’s potential. And you are a rare and exceptionally talented fellow.”

“…Thank you.”

“So, what I’m saying is.”

Zamuel said, feeling a strange loneliness.

“Everyone has their own time. Even if you don’t play a major role in this upcoming fight…”

He himself was already old. Old enough to have confirmed and accepted his limits.

But if Allenvert was victorious, would he not reign as the Duke of Grunewald and the true king of the underworld?

“You have plenty of time to shine in the future. So for now, just focus on what you can do right now.”

That’s right. His own time was now setting.

But for the young ones, their time was just beginning.

‘Rest assured, Boss.’

Zamuel thought of Karzan, who must be training somewhere even at this very moment.

‘Even if we are defeated by the Dark King once more, this time, I will be your companion on the road so you are not lonely.’

He did not want to feel regret and shame a second time.

[Translator - Pot ]

[Proofreader - Kawaii ]