Chapter 180 - The Ice Dragon's Magic

“The most basic of the ice attribute is ‘Glacis’.”

Sein demonstrated first.

He did not touch his palms together, but brought them close and concentrated his magic.

“I don't know if you remember, but the ice attribute starts from immobility. You have to control the nature of magic, which tries to flow endlessly like water, head-on.”

Magic was originally invisible to the naked eye, but if used openly, it could be felt instinctively.

As he had said, the magic gathered between his palms darted around before gradually slowing down.

And at some point.

Jjeojeojeojeok─

A small ice sphere rose to his palm.

As expected, it was a speed that did not consider the beginner. He had deliberately performed it at a combat speed.

While doing so, Sein feigned ignorance and placed the ice sphere on the table.

“You must be able to do at least this much to move on to the next stage. If you can't get a feel for it with just one demonstration, my ice vision is out of the question.”

“……”

As the Youngest Son stared at the ice sphere without answering, he seemed to get excited and his mouth became loose.

“Do you see? The smooth surface of this ice sphere.”

The ice sphere Sein had created was not only pure, but its surface was as smooth as if someone had polished it.

He had not missed even the minute sensations when immobilizing and concentrating the magic.

He was truly a master, and it was worth it for Wisdom to have thrown him the dog biscuit of 'Ice Chain'.

A guy who, blinded by a title that had no value and was just fancy, had volunteered to be the family's dog.

He himself must have been very proud.

However, in Wisdom or Millesdusk, it was ultimately just the tip of the iceberg, nothing more than a dog biscuit.

“It starts with the water attribute at first, but then it brakes the magic that forms the water attribute.”

The mouth beneath the bloodshot eyes that were staring at the sphere muttered.

“That's right. You were quiet for a while, is that all you've figured out? That won't do.”

“You thought you hid it with your fast construction speed, but when you shape something, you only focus on the center and just let go of the rest.”

“……”

Sein's chattering mouth came to a screeching halt.

“And yet, your ice magic completed itself. This ice ball is like that, and so was it in the neutral zone.”

A pale hand picked up the ice sphere.

The hint that the questioner had intentionally hidden was in here, and the bloodshot eyes saw through it.

“I thought you had hidden something amazing. It's as shallow as your level.”

He put down the sphere. It was time to make something much more amazing than this.

Swaaaaaaa─

He concentrated his magic.

He had said that the ice attribute was the attribute of immobility and had emphasized it several times. But that itself was a trap.

“The magic itself is immobile, but if they are connected to each other, it doesn't matter if they move. At this time, they are not moving, but being pulled.”

Let's think about winding a skein of thread.

The thread that is far away from me will be pulled towards me as I wind the thread.

The sensation that the thread is not moving on its own, but being pulled by an external force.

That was the key to ice construction.

He put the brakes on the blood magic and drew a vortex to wind it into a circle.

If you just wind this first part well so that it doesn't clump together, a beautiful skein of thread will be made on its own afterwards.

Just like this.

“The basics are done.”

A sphere of exactly the same size as the one Sein had made was placed next to his.

The only difference was the color and purity.

The Youngest Son's ice sphere was as exquisite as if a craftsman had spent his entire life carving a ruby gemstone.

The purity, to the point where the other side could be seen, was an art and a masterpiece in itself.

“I won't stop you if you plan on wasting time teaching the intermediate process. It's your freedom how you spend the last 23 hours of your life.”

“……”

The subject of silence had changed.

Just as the Youngest Son had done a moment ago, Sein also stared at the sphere the other had made.

But unlike the other, he could not see through its interior and beyond.

Even though he himself had taught how to make the sphere, he did not know how such a purity was possible.

‘…Glacis is a magic that allows you to freeze magic into any shape you want, but it wasn't the basis of the ice attribute from the start….’

The basis of the ice attribute was two stages below this.

Glacis was a domain that sorcerers who could freely handle the basics challenged.

Sein was momentarily reminded of the old days.

‘Even I learned Glacis from the Ice Dragon two months after learning the basics. Even that Ice Dragon acknowledged that I was a fast learner….’

The Youngest Son had skipped the basics and even the two months of time.

His eyes, which had been fixed on the sphere, suddenly moved to the clock.

…23 hours left. A genius who had learned Glacis beyond the basics in just one hour was given 23 hours.

What kind of monster would the monster in front of him become after about a day?

By then, he would not stop at just a sphere like this. His spine grew cold at the thought that reached that far.

But even at that moment, the flame of inferiority complex flared up again.

‘…No. It can't be. Until now, the basis of the water attribute, Samche, has been helpful. After this, it's absolutely impossible.’

He bit his lip as if to crush it and shook off the fear he had felt for a moment.

“As you said, Young Lord-nim, I will teach you the intermediate process that leads to the secret. It's satisfying to teach since you learn well. Not bad.”

“Not bad? That's a relief. Teach me more. So I can get even better.”

“…Understood.”

.

.

.

10 hours passed.

Starting with Glacis, the Youngest Son had learned four ice magic spells, including the first one.

Just as branches do not grow from strange places, they were all concepts connected to Glacis.

Glacis was a magic that allowed one to freeze magic as they wished.

The second magic was a magic that allowed one to add ice to create a desired shape even after freezing.

The third magic was a magic that remembered the shape of the frozen sculpture and copied it exactly.

The fourth magic was an auxiliary magic that allowed ice to mesh with other attributes.

“Satisfying. It hasn't even been half the time yet, so let's make more progress. It turns out you have a knack for teaching.”

“…Thank you.”

He answered with a face close to that of an undead.

He had received thanks, but Sein was certain.

He was not a good teacher. At least, not at this moment, absolutely, definitely not.

‘I didn't even explain the theory in the middle and only showed a demonstration once! I skipped the activation words and hid the magic circle as much as possible! The runes were barely visible…!’

He vented his frustration inwardly, but there was no one to listen.

Because the only one in front of him was the Fifth Son, who seemed to be possessed by a ghost who had died without learning.

“Time is still flowing. Surely you don't plan on dawdling like this. I am a mediocrity who falls far short of the talent of your direct line.”

To be honest, he didn't even know that anymore.

When he really set aside all personal feelings. If he let this out of his mouth, he would be a dead man, but really, realistically.

‘…The Fifth Son's talent is greater than that of the current family's direct line.’

This was not just a personal opinion. Even if he brought the Ice Dragon, who was probably napping in the polar regions right now, he would acknowledge it.

“…Young Lord-nim. Are you by any chance not interested in other magic?”

“What kind of magic?”

“I know a little more than just ice magic. Those are also very interesting.”

“No. I have no desire to learn anything other than ice magic. I only know the water attribute of the existing Five Elemental Orders.”

“Th-then I will teach you the other Five Elemental Orders! The water attribute also goes well with the lightning attribute! I know a good lightning attribute magic, what do you say…?”

The sorcerer struggled to extend his lifespan somehow, but the Youngest Son shook his head.

“You said you would bring me to my knees with the supreme wall of ice magic.”

“I-I never said such a thing…”

“No. I heard it clearly.”

I didn't, you bastard!

He almost cursed, throwing away his dignity and all.

If he had, the woman called the Head Maid, who must be somewhere here, would have drawn her sword.

No, how could the Head Maid's killing intent be greater than that of a professional assassin?

It was strange. This place was so bizarre. The sun was ominous from the start; it was truly a den of demons.

To get out of a place like this alive, he had to roll the dice in the end.

“Young Lord-nim. I have a proposal. Will you hear me out?”

“What now? I'll hear you out.”

The Youngest Son picked his ear as if annoyed.

Sein of the Ice Chain, who had swallowed hard, threw his gambit.

“Actually, my secret is nothing more than a pale imitation of a certain magic that the Ice Dragon taught me.”

“So.”

“I will teach you the magic that the Ice Dragon taught me. I can follow the Ice Dragon's explanation exactly, but that's all.”

The Youngest Son quickly realized what Sein was trying to say.

“If I understand and master that Ice Dragon's magic, I win. If not, you win, is that it?”

“For the remaining 14 hours from now on, we will settle this with this one magic.”

The corner of the Youngest Son's mouth rose slightly.

“Fine. I accept.”

“A very good thought.”

At the same time, a smile bloomed on Sein's lips as well. However, there was something he should have remembered.

“If by any chance you deliberately get the Ice Dragon's explanation wrong, I can catch the change in your heartbeat. Lies won't work.”

“Of course. There will be no more lies from now on.”

Because it was a difficulty level where lies were unnecessary.

‘Fifth Son. You've made a mistake this time.’

Sein still had nightmares of that day.

The Ice Dragon, who had a relatively high opinion of his talent, had shown him his magic, saying it was a rare talent he had seen in a long time.

What he had shown him as the next step was, in a word, the unknown.

The previous ice magic had not only been turned into scraps of paper but had also felt like it had been reduced to ashes.

After the first demonstration, the Ice Dragon explained to the human.

“The expression 'to freeze' is not used only for water. The body froze. The hand froze. The atmosphere froze. And so on. It is used in various places.”

The Youngest Son listened quietly without interrupting.

This was because it was the Ice Dragon's theory, not Sein's. It was worth listening to quietly.

“The Ice Dragon said this. The expression 'to freeze' is a human language. From the perspective of magic, it is stopping and then clinging to other magic particles next to it.”

The perspective of magic. It was the first time he had heard of it, and so had Sein here. The problem started from here.

“The name of the magic is ‘Whiteout’. It is the magic of a dragon that can instantly change even the weather.”

“……”

Changing the weather. It was not an easy task to approach even as a player.

A player character in Act 3 would be able to wield that much power, but could the Youngest Son, who was right before Act 2, do it?

For the first time, he was not confident.

But in a bet, it was enough to manifest even a very small part of the dragon's power.

Even if completion was impossible, he could somehow reach its feet.

Sein said.

“The Ice Dragon showed me.”

Sein, who was here because he could not do what he was shown, conveyed the emotion of that time with words.

“A white world. It was truly a white world. The ground I was standing on, the sky, everything looked white, and I would lose my sense of direction and fall.”

“Any other hints?”

“The perspective of magic that I mentioned earlier. To the white world where a blizzard is raging, humans are strangers. Strangers who have come into its midst….”

Sein's words trailed off.

“Even after saying this much, when I couldn't understand, the Ice Dragon stopped explaining and left.”

“If you didn't know even after being told this much, does that mean you're just a human who can't do it?”

“I guess so.”

Sein, who answered in a mumble, forgot about the bet and sighed at the despair of that time.

But soon, his downcast mood returned.

Because now it was time for the Youngest Son to feel despair.

As expected, the Youngest Son was in front of him with his chin propped on his hand, thinking silently.

With the same expression he had when he was looking through the ice sphere a moment ago.