Chapter 102
While Kraush stood still in his spot, a figure approached him with steady footsteps.
Despite the late summer season, the person was dressed in a neatly tailored suit, hair stylishly swept back.
Completing the look with a tie, he adjusted his glasses.
“Training for Celestial Slaughter, huh? You’re going out of your way to help in all sorts of ways.”
[ Do it to the best of your abilities. ]
“Come on, a 14-year-old kid is long past the point where this is feasible.”
[ No, you need to do more. ]
“What?”
Kraush raised an eyebrow at Crimson Garden’s remark.
What he was currently experiencing was a curse-based illusion.
So, by now, he was probably fighting desperately within that illusion.
The dark flames continuously erupting from his body were proof of that.
“This is quite a strong curse-based illusion.”
He ruffled the empty bottle he held in his hand.
But Crimson Garden clicked her tongue.
[ See? You’re already breaking out of it. ]
The moment she spoke, crack!
There was a sound of something shattering, and at once, Kraush’s dark flames blazed fiercely.
His eyes, glowing red from the obliteration curse, shone brightly.
The man in front of him looked utterly astonished.
“…How? This is an E-rank curse, Dark Enveloping Night.”
While the man stammered in surprise, Kraush took a deep breath and swept his hair back.
It reminded him of someone.
‘Was that old fool’s disciple one of Crimson Garden’s attendants?’
Famed in the world for his knowledge in curses yet blind to everything else due to his obsession, he roamed the realms without a care.
The world’s best curse breaker: Veltoa Lacroix.
Kraush had received the most curse-related advice from him at one point.
And, among those he knew, he was also the most eccentric.
And the figure before him was one of Veltoa’s twelve disciples.
None other than Osper.
‘Well, here we go. Gathering every weirdo under the sun.’
Kraush couldn’t help but think that all curse specialists were a bit off.
This was because their ability to lift curses was really just secondary.
The reason they could lift curses was because they knew how to handle curses in the first place.
In other words, the premise that they became curse handlers just to lift curses was completely flawed from the get-go.
They simply had fun experimenting with curses, and by sheer luck, they figured out how to break them.
‘These guys aren’t curse breakers; they’re curse maniacs.’
The proof was evident in how Osper’s eyes sparkled with interest.
Kraush had quickly lifted the mid-tier curse, Dark Enveloping Night.
‘Well, having experienced it myself, I guess.’
Sorry, but in the realm of curses, he’s encountered even more than Veltoa, whom he calls a master.
Having dealt with the top curses of the kingdom, a mere E-rank curse like this was like a piece of cake.
However, aside from that, Kraush began to grasp Crimson Garden’s intention.
Celestial Slaughter strengthens the power of curses.
Thus, a curse afflicting Kraush, even if it was mid-tier, struck with the potency of a high-tier curse.
This fact led Crimson Garden to contemplate training with curses.
[ Osper, from now on, I’ll cast a curse on that boy. ]
Names of curses flowed from Crimson Garden’s mouth like a waterfall.
Celestial Harmony of Heaven and Earth, Celestial Authority of Malice, and the Power of Spectral Light.
The plan was to awaken these three powers more strongly through curses.
“Crimson Garden, if you cast all those, he won’t be able to endure it.”
And all the hardships and struggles he would go through in the process would entirely be Kraush’s burden.
As Osper had said, if a normal person were to be afflicted with such overlapping curses, they would undoubtedly go mad.
And this time, Kraush would also have to endure those curses without any offsets.
Especially under the amplified effects of curses because of the Celestial Slaughter.
Crimson Garden looked at Kraush with eyes that seemed to indicate how thorny the path would be for one seeking the quickest route.
“I told you.”
Kraush exhaled in response to that gaze.
“That’s what I’m best at.”
It wasn’t just his mental fortitude that had survived until the end.
“Are you really going to do it?”
Osper’s previously expressionless face curved into a crescent-shaped grin.
For a curse breaker like him, having the liberty to unleash his curses freely was a rare occurrence.
Both he and Crimson Garden had given their permission, so he immediately reached for the long bottles at his waist.
“Just how far can Valheim’s body and mind go?”
Osper’s voice came tinged with excitement as he spoke.
Pop!
And just like that, the cork came off, releasing curses into the air.
Kraush stared at the curses charging towards him and stifled a brief chuckle.
A curse that could rapidly ramp up ominous energy to the point of freezing his insides to death.
A malice curse that led everything living to detest life itself, ultimately driving them to wish for their own demise.
A stone-hard curse that gradually increased the weight on his body—if he failed to bear it, he would turn to stone and die.
These were all high-tier curses that led to death if certain conditions weren’t met.
The irony of willingly putting on curses he desperately wished to escape from was not lost on Kraush.
He couldn’t help but think life was quite a rollercoaster ride.
＊ ＊ ＊
Training continued, and quite some time passed.
Late at night.
Kraush was sleeping like a log.
Recently, he’d been immersed in all-day training.
Celestial Slaughter has a knack for amplifying the powers of curses.
Thanks to that, the curses he received from the curse breaker Osper would gnaw away at Kraush mercilessly.
However, using his knowledge and skills to suppress these curses wasn’t possible.
He had to fully endure them to draw upon the Celestial Slaughter’s constellations.
Kraush, who had fallen into a deep sleep due to exhaustion, now felt warmth emanating from his side.
Somehow, summer had ended, and autumn had arrived.
Instead of lush greenery, the vibrant hues of falling leaves adorned the scenery, and the abundance of harvest foods emerged.
Given the somewhat cooler weather, that warmth wasn’t unwelcome.
Furthermore, with his body being inherently colder due to his unique constitution, a moderate warmth felt comforting.
Kraush slowly opened his eyes.
Whether it was dawn or not, a soft blue gleam surrounded him.
He buried his head deeper into his blankets.
Then he noticed some movement under the covers.
Curiosity piqued, he subtly lifted the blanket.
And there it was—a familiar white strand of hair.
As he lifted the blanket, it seemed that the drop in temperature caused its owner to nestle further into his warmth.
The owner of that hair was, of course, Bianca.
Seeing her with her eyes closed, he surmised that she had probably gone to the bathroom mid-sleep and ended up here.
Having shared a room for some time now, Bianca often snuck into his bed at night, even if she was in a different room.
‘Maybe she just misses being close to someone.’
Or perhaps she only did that with him.
It was hard to tell, but Kraush pulled the blanket tighter around Bianca so she wouldn’t be cold.
Recently, it wasn’t just Kraush who had started intense training.
Bianca was also rigorously training through Jena.
Kraush lifted his hand and studied Bianca’s small hand.
It bore several little marks and injuries.
A clear sign that her training was no walk in the park.
Training must have been quite strenuous, for Bianca was also deep into her sleep.
In that moment, Bianca’s hand intertwined with Kraush’s.
“Kraush-nim…”
Was it the sleep that stirred her, or was she simply dreaming of him?
“Why are you in my room?”
Well, you came in here.
Kraush felt a mix of amusement and bewilderment as he gently patted her head.
This was due to Bianca’s drowsy eyes still clinging to the remnants of sleep.
“They say that people sleep better when they’re warm.”
“If I’m with you, wouldn’t I be cold?”
Given that his natural temperature was lower due to his unique constitution.
“But with you, Kraush-nim, it’s okay because your heart is warm.”
Regardless, Bianca buried her face deeper into his chest.
“I can warm everything else up.”
Is she offering to be a mobile heater?
But in many ways, she was right—he did warm her heart.
“Is training too tough?”
“It is. Master becomes strict when we’re just training.”
“If it’s tough, there’s no need to push yourself.”
“I don’t want that.”
She was surprisingly assertive on this point.
“I’ll stay with Kraush-nim.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“It’s okay if you leave. I’ll just follow.”
“Then I’ll have to walk slowly to keep up.”
“Please hold my hand.”
“I’m already holding it.”
“That’s good.”
Maybe it was her drowsiness that made their conversation a bit silly.
Amused by this, Kraush chuckled in delight as Bianca’s forehead pressed against his chest.
“Don’t forget about me when you go to the academy.”
“My memory’s good. I tend to have a hard time forgetting even the things I want to.”
“Then please just remember me.”
“Can it be that easy?”
Bianca said things she usually wouldn’t when in a light haze of sleep.
She was probably holding back all those desires she had, and now they were spilling out because of her sleepiness.
“Kraush-nim, I’m getting sleepy.”
“There’s still quite a bit of time before the morning. Go back to sleep.”
“Mm-hmm, okay.”
Before long, Kraush found himself watching Bianca snoring softly.
Seeing this small girl snuggled up against him, he resolved to prevent the end of the world.
Somehow, tomorrow’s training felt like it would be a bit more focused.
＊ ＊ ＊
Time flies like an arrow.
No matter how hard you try to catch it, it continues to flow toward its target endlessly.
When it will reach that target remains unknown.
Before one realizes, time has transitioned from autumn to winter.
Fluffy white snowflakes descended from the sky.
Kraush felt the coldness of snow settling on the bridge of his nose as he exhaled a white breath.
Even the winter with falling snow wouldn’t last long.
Before long, green buds would begin to sprout, and the fragrances of flowers would fill the air.
By the time the pink cherry blossoms bloomed, it would be a full-blown spring.
[ How do you feel? ]
Kraush heard Crimson Garden’s voice from atop Osper’s shoulder.
Upon hearing that question, Kraush let out a light chuckle as he gripped his sword tightly.
With a rumble of thunder, a brilliant golden blade soared, with a green aura crystallizing into a blade-like form around it.
“Best ever.”
At last, Kraush had crossed the threshold of mastery.
Before starting the Rahelrn Academy, he had desperately strived to reach this level.
Thankfully, he managed to reach it before it was too late.
‘With this, I’ve met the minimum requirements.’
The realm of mastery was considered the basic foundation for a genius.
While crossing the initial hurdle was another chapter entirely,
Reaching the threshold of mastery at the age of 14 was no small feat and was quite the indicator of genius.
Even Charlotte reached her threshold at 15.
‘But at Rahelrn Academy, there will certainly be many at this level.’
A year has already passed since Rahelrn Academy began.
Among those around the age of 15 who reach mastery, excluding Charlotte, there was virtually no one left.
However, admission to Rahelrn Academy ranges from 15 to 20 years old.
Considering those around 18 and older, some might have reached mastery.
And those are precisely the opponents Kraush should be competing against.
Kraush thought he would eventually have to overcome not only his peers but also the heavenly genius and divine rankings in the future as well.
Thus, he wasn’t satisfied with merely achieving mastery.
He had a long road ahead to grow even stronger.
‘In truth, this is just the starting point.’
The time had come for him to truly compete with real geniuses.
“Now my curses won’t matter as much.”
In the meantime, Osper lamented with a hint of disappointment.
He had relished the opportunity to experiment with every curse on the direct descendant of Valheim.
Yet now, that was essentially over.
Kraush had successfully embedded the constellations of three stars of Celestial Slaughter within him.
[ Looks like you’re ready. ]
Crimson Garden affirmed, stating that it should be sufficient for now.
True to that, preparations were complete.
The only thing remaining was entering the academy.
‘Now it’s time to pick out the rotten ones from the sprouts.’
Let’s head to the academy and steal some skills.
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