My inner vision beca clearer.
No, simply saying it beca clearer was an understatent.
Unlike before, when I vaguely traced my Mana Circuit through a combination of my five senses, the mont I decided to look inside my body, I could examine every nook and cranny of my internal Mana Circuit.
As if looking at an open map, the flow of mana was drawn with vivid clarity.
That wasn't all.
‘…The Mana Circuit.’
I tried activating the Mana Circuit just in case, and not only was the alteration of the circuit drawn vividly, but the difficulty of the alteration itself beca much easier.
What was it like?
It felt like swinging a sword outside of water for the first ti after only ever swinging it underwater.
Or maybe it could be described as the feeling of all the impurities that had clogged the Mana Circuit being blown away.
The strain that should have been felt when handling the transcendent substance of mana seed to have vanished completely.
It felt familiar, as if it had been mine from the very beginning.
The result produced by these two changes was quite astonishing.
Paaat-
Before the system window could even appear, the Mana Chain materialized in my grasp the mont I thought of it.
Originally, the materialization of the Mana Chain should have appeared after going through the three stages of skill conception, Mana Circuit activation, and implentation.
Its speed had more than doubled.
At this rate, it was practically on the level of thinking it and producing it simultaneously.
As the speed of conceiving the skill in my mind and the speed of altering the Mana Circuit within my body to match the skill were shortened, the final implentation speed at which the result appeared naturally beca faster as well.
‘…This.’
Suddenly, a shiver ran down my spine.
The shortening of skill implentation speed wasn't a simple matter I could just be happy about, thinking, ‘Wow, it got faster.’
…At least, not for .
A reduced skill implentation speed ant that the interval between using one skill and then another could be drastically shortened.
In other words, the speed of linking skills was reduced.
And since I employed a brawling combat style, I often changed or linked skills together impromptu.
For soone like , the fact that my skill implentation speed had more than doubled didn't simply an my combat power had increased by a corresponding amount.
Twofold? Threefold?
It wasn't a change that could be calculated on a nurical level like that.
It might not be a perfect analogy, but it was closer to describe it in terms of a ‘dinsion’.
Just as a series of points becos a line, lines combine to form a plane, and planes et to form a solid, this level of reduction in skill implentation speed signified a change in the very frawork I was born with.
While this did increase my imdiate combat power, it held a different significance from a typical skill improvent in that it elevated my growth potential, which had already reached its limit, to a new dinsion.
‘…….’
But.
That wasn't the part that actually gave the shivers.
I had simply grown by a dinsion.
If that were truly all, why would I have gotten goosebumps?
Even if it felt a bit strange, it was sothing to be happy about, like a sudden windfall.
The reason I suddenly got goosebumps was elsewhere.
After swallowing and embedding the Source Stone, a change occurred in my body.
As I confird the evidence of that change, sothing familiar yet unpleasant, sothing I knew, began to surface.
‘…Don’t tell it’s this.’
Thinking it couldn't be, I imdiately moved my body to confirm it for sure.
‘Mana Amplification.’
[Innate Ability: Augntation Circuit has been activated.]
[The 'Dispersion' property has been granted to Skill: Mana Chain(★☆☆).]
Using the Augntation Circuit, I easily produced another Mana Chain.
Chwarararak-
Chains of the sa length twisted and extended.
I twisted the two generated chains into a single strand.
And then.
Kwaaang-
I slamd it onto the training hall floor without hesitation.
And then.
Pasasasak-
With little resistance, it shattered, sending fragnts flying.
The kicked-up dust settled, revealing a long gouge in the training hall floor, following the path of the braided chain.
“…Ha.”
And looking at it, I couldn't help but let out a hollow laugh.
The reason was simple.
The question that had vaguely surfaced from the earlier signs, the faint suspicion that had given goosebumps, had just returned as a certainty because of my action.
‘…….’
The mbers of the Exorcists were by no ans weak.
The top priority in the evaluation criteria for recruiting mbers was, of course, a special talent for dealing with the Demonic Species, but the next most important thing was actual combat prowess.
Although they specialized in catching the Demonic Species, their individual combat power was not lacking compared to other special forces.
Therefore, the training hall prepared for their practice should not be weak either.
A training hall was a ‘permanent’ place created for practicing skills and combat.
While it couldn't be completely prevented from breaking, it was reinforced with a strengthening Magic Circle so that it wouldn't be easily destroyed unless one openly blasted attack magic at the floor.
In other words, the Mana Chain I had just swung hadn't simply broken the floor.
It had easily nullified the ‘strengthening Magic Circle’ and then broken the floor.
‘…….’
Teolseok-
I collapsed on the spot and ran a hand through my hair.
And I tapped the floor with my index finger, organizing my thoughts.
“So…”
Innately familiar with mana, handling it as if it were their own.
Tok.
Skill implentation so fast that it's on a different level from other ordinary beings.
*ok.
And even, a being that can easily nullify the Order's Magic Circles.
Tok.
I knew of one such race.
“…Damn it.”
The Demonic Species.
The detestable race born of the Demon King's bloodline, and the top priority exorcism target that the mbers of the Exorcists here hunted with fire in their eyes.
“…Was it really so kind of prophetic dream?”
Suddenly, the face of Loxy, who had scread ‘You demon bastard’ at , ca to mind. As I looked at the sparking Magic Circle within the reddish crack, I realized.
It seed.
I had beco a Demon.
* * *
“This is so fucked up…”
Buuung-
Jijijik-
Watching the Mana Chain create cracks in the strengthening Magic Circle wherever it touched, a curse escaped my lips unconsciously.
No matter how many tis I checked, it was the sa.
The ability to cause errors in the Order's magic and easily nullify it.
This was definitely the trait of the Demonic Species that I had seen all along.
“This ruins everything…”
First of all, telling Louis about this straightforwardly was a crazy thing to do.
Regardless of anything, the Exorcists were an organization founded to hunt the Demonic Species, and Louis was the leader of that organization.
Even if he had maintained a favorable attitude toward so far, when it ca to matters directly related to his duties, he had no choice but to be strict.
Moreover, this was sothing that had crossed the line by a long shot.
I couldn't precisely define whether this was so absurd thing like ‘Demonification’ or not.
But the symptoms that appeared in after swallowing the Source Stone were not simply on a level similar to the Demonic Species.
If even the peculiar trait of the Demonic Species that interfered with the Order's Magic Circles had appeared, then I was already no different from a carbon copy of a Demon.
No, at this point, it was clear that in the eyes of the Order, I would be classified as a Demon.
Of course, since the Demonic Species were originally born of the Demon King's bloodline, I couldn't be placed on the exact sa level as other Demonic Species, and I could prove my sanity anyti, but with so many signs of being a Demon, no excuse would reach the Order's ears.
The mont they found out, they would surely bind again, if only to prevent any potential incidents.
“What should I do…”
My head ached at the hopelessly tangled situation.
The one silver lining was that while I exhibited traits similar to the Demonic Species, I didn't feel any emission of demonic energy from my body, so it seed I wouldn't be found out unless soone specifically tried to check.
“…If I knew this would happen, maybe I should have hit it a little softer.”
If not for the demonic power that nullifies Magic Circles, I couldn't even begin to think of how to explain this broken training hall floor.
It wasn't entirely impossible to say I broke it on purpose, but honestly, to break through a strengthening Magic Circle this cleanly, I would have had to aim for the floor from the start and use my full power without holding back.
Whether he would accept that at face value was a different story from whether it was possible.
“…Haa.”
Well, even without that, I already had a mountain of things to explain since I had swallowed the Source Stone of Quark.
Tok. Tok. Tok.
Just swallowing the Source Stone would clearly beco a problem if it reached the higher-ups, so Louis had cut off the report at his level.
But that was just a temporary asure.
I didn't know for sure, but the higher-ups at the Order's headquarters would have tried to grasp Louis's intentions the mont he used the Indulgence.
No matter how powerful the authority and power of the Indulgence were, the Order was an organization that could not acknowledge the existence of anything in an unknown domain.
Even if they couldn't challenge the use of the Indulgence itself, they would have figured out the circumstances behind Louis using it on to so extent.
Or, Louis, who knew the nature of the Order well, might have already left a report-like hint when he used the Indulgence.
No, frankly speaking, it was correct to assu that the headquarters' higher-ups had known since the mont he ca to the Darkest Dungeon to get himself.
Despite so procedures being fudged in the process, there had been no confirmation from the headquarters level yet.
In other words, even if they didn't know for sure that I had swallowed the Source Stone, the higher-ups at headquarters must have known that Louis and I had made so kind of deal involving Quarks.
If that weren't the case, they probably would have sent soone when I arrived here under so unnecessary pretext like ‘for consolation’ or ‘re-awarding of a dal’.
To sum up, what I had to do now was: without getting caught for this ‘Demonification’ phenonon, convince Louis of my safety, and also co up with an explanation that would make the higher-ups accept Louis's use of the Indulgence.
To put it simply, I had to create a situation that was ‘no different from the Exorcists having obtained a Source Stone’.
The only person I could get away with giving a vague excuse to was Louis. For him to even make an excuse to his superiors, my story had to be that well-structured.
And so.
As I was contemplating how to escape this current predicant, a voice suddenly ca from a corner of the training hall.
“…Hey.”
It was an uninvited guest.
“……!”
User Comments
0 comments from readers