Chapter 154

“Seriously though. He's spending the entire day just doing physical training?”

“I can’t understand it. I heard he’s a once-in-a-millennium genius?”

“Maybe it’s because he’s a genius that he thinks differently?”

“…But he didn’t really seem all that impressive to me? I mean, I’m just a 3-star, so I shouldn’t be saying this, but he looked a bit lacking in the basics.”

“Come on, no way. That can’t be right, can it?”

“No, I mean it. You should go see for yourself.”

It was an attention-grabbing topic, so several officers of the Dark Demon Army had started peeking in on Chris’s training sessions.

The training ground was open to all magi to begin with.

But those who came to observe left with disappointment.

Contrary to the widespread reputation of the Dark Demonic Energy shaking the land, Christian’s training didn’t seem all that impressive.

Even now—

“Huff, huff.”

Chris was sprawled flat on the ground, gasping for breath.

‘Ah, goddamn it. I’m dying. This kind of exhausting physical effort just doesn’t suit me. I dreamed of luxury and comfort, so how the hell did I end up suffering like this, damn it.’

He wanted to drop this hellish routine right now and enjoy a fat grilled steak with a nice cold strawberry juice.

Marie leaned over with a worried look and whispered sweetly.

[Young master, are you all right? Should I bring you some “Blood Juice” brimming with the fiery spirit of a youthful lad? Or maybe something more refreshing—“Blood Juice of a Maiden”?]

“…No thanks.”

Next to him, Jupien tilted her head and asked.

“Already tired? It’s only the 57th lap. Weakling.”

“…That’s because you’re a stamina monster.”

They’d run the same laps, but Jupien didn’t even look winded.

It wasn’t just stamina.

As expected, Chris was inferior to her in every basic physical category.

He even tried arm wrestling her—couldn’t hold out for even 0.1 seconds.

Granted, Jupien was a training-addicted monster, so it made sense.

“Even that idiot Alros is still going strong.”

“…Damn it.”

Surprisingly, Alros had strong foundational physical ability.

He’d been raised in the strict Count Tyramin household and trained from a young age.

‘Mwahaha. So that devil bastard has something he’s bad at. Never expected him to have such weak stamina.’

Alros looked revitalized for the first time in a while and jeered smugly.

“Why don’t we have a spar, young lord? Just like now, without using demonic energy—pure physical prowess only.”

‘Time to let out all this frustration!’ Chris sighed deeply—

Wham!

—and knocked Alros flat with a single blow.

“W-Why…?”

Alros mumbled, sprawled on the floor in disbelief, while Melin clicked her tongue in pity.

“You idiot. That’s what makes the young lord so remarkable.”

For example—

Even with the same amount of strength behind a punch, depending on the timing, the target point, and the spot where it lands, the result can vary drastically.

Just like that, Chris always managed to produce the best outcome, even with lacking ability.

Melin spoke to Chris.

“Rather, seeing you now gives me chills, Young Lord. To think you’ve shown such overwhelming strength all this time with just this level of basic ability. Even if you were using magic energy.”

The reason Chris’s lack of fundamental physical ability hadn’t shown before was because of the support from his magic energy.

He had used it to enhance his physical abilities.

Of course, other magi did the same—reinforcing their bodies with magic.

But Chris’s body reinforcement was on a completely different level compared to the others.

With his natural talent for manipulating magic and perfect understanding of the human body, he was able to achieve maximum efficiency with minimal magic.

So while others might get 0.5 enhancement from using 1 unit of magic, Chris could achieve more than 10 from the same amount.

That’s why, on the surface, his physical stats didn’t seem significantly lower than others in his rank.

But now, with his magic completely sealed, he could no longer rely on that advantage, and his lacking fundamentals were on full display.

‘The Young Lord’s current physical ability is barely at the level of a 3-star. And yet he’s managed to display that level of prowess all this time with only that.’

Melin shook her head.

It made her wonder the opposite—if this was what he could do with so little, just how powerful could he become once his fundamentals were perfected?

‘The problem, as always, is time.’

Physical ability improves with training.

Given enough time, Chris’s fundamentals could grow to rival or even surpass others.

‘But it’s the lack of time that’s the real problem.’

Melin shook her head again.

“Ah, Young Lord. A letter has arrived.”

“A letter?”

“Yes, from Prince Kashmir of the Destruction Demon House and Lady Marisa of the Venomous Demonic House.”

Names he hadn’t heard in a while.

After parting ways in the underground garden, the two had occasionally sent him letters.

The first was from Prince Kashmir of the Destruction Demon House.

[I heard of your achievements with the Gold Cross. Truly worthy of a prince! I also heard you are undergoing the trial to become the Grand Heir. I’ve heard it’s a difficult one, but I believe in you. I, too, have not forgotten the debt I owe you, and I am striving not to bring shame upon myself in your eyes. I look forward to the day we meet again, and I hope your succession trial….]

The letter went on, mostly filled with heartfelt encouragement for Chris’s succession trial.

‘Why does he always have so much to say?’

With nothing of real substance, Chris skimmed through it and moved on.

Next was Lady Marisa of the Venomous Demonic House.

Her letter wasn’t much better in terms of value.

[Why didn’t you reply last time? I’m sending this letter to confirm our political cooperation, as we discussed before—so don’t misunderstand…. I heard you’re taking the Grand Heir exam. I’m cheering you on, so I hope you pass. Ah, of course, I mean this as part of our political alliance….]

‘…Why does she always send letters for such pointless reasons? I heard she’s busy overseeing the Ten Thousand Venoms Hall, but she sure seems to have a lot of free time.’ Chris tilted his head.

For reference, Chris had previously agreed to form a cooperative relationship with Marisa.

Many major events were going to unfold within the Venomous Demonic House from now on.

Starting with the conflict with the Dark Demonic House.

Then the incident at Jinrok, which would result in a horrifying number of casualties.

At that time, the plan was to use Marisa.

‘But… why did she even send a letter?’

With a puzzled expression, Chris looked at another letter that had arrived.

It wasn’t just Marisa and Kashmir who had sent letters.

…Olivia from the Gold Cross had also sent one.

Of course, since this couldn’t be exposed to the outside, she maintained absolute secrecy.

The sender was marked anonymous so no one could identify her, and neither her name nor Chris’s was mentioned anywhere in the contents.

To go further, the letter had been routed through several third countries, in what could only be described as an espionage-level operation.

But in the end, the content was rather plain.

[The reason I’m sending this letter is to check on your well-being as your Pact Partner….]

The letter, which began like that, was filled with nagging concerns about Chris’s safety as her Pact Partner.

Somehow, it felt different from Marisa’s letter… and yet somewhat similar.

‘…It kind of reminds me of the nagging I used to hear when I played the older brother back in the day.’

Chris cleared his throat awkwardly.

But there was one puzzling line.

[There’s something I must ask you. We need to meet in person, no matter what….]

‘But meeting won’t be easy anytime soon.’ Chris shook his head.

Unless there was a special circumstance, it was not easy for a magus like him to meet with someone like her, the Holy Pope.

‘I’ll probably only see her again if I have some business with the Crusade Union.’

He invoked dark magic and burned the letter Olivia had sent.

At any rate, this wasn’t the time to be getting caught up in letters.

Not wanting to completely ignore the letters from Kashmir and Marisa, Chris handed them over to Mari, who was loitering nearby.

“Mari, you know my handwriting, right? Write some fitting replies.”

[Ohoho. Understood. Leave it to me. Especially… for Lady Marisa, I think she deserves a particularly intense response.]

Marie gave off a chilly aura after reading the contents of Marisa’s letter, though Chris paid it no mind.

He got up from his seat and began jogging again.

Perhaps his stamina had been completely drained—he staggered at times mid-run.

It was a noticeable contrast from the flawless image he usually gave off.

Melin, watching Chris from the side, shook her head.

‘The direction he’s heading isn’t wrong, but… defeating the Five Generals within two months might just be impossible.’

That was what Melin thought to herself.

Even for a genius, there were limits.

She believed this might become the first real setback in Chris’s life.

However, there was one thing Melin hadn’t noticed.

Chris’s movements, as he trained his fundamentals, were steadily improving in real time.

Even though it had only been a few days since he started.

And it was… irrationally fast.

* * *

Between the Fortress of the Four Demon Kings and the Dark Demonic House lay a gray zone—a demon-infested region known as the Black Mountain Range.

Though not a tall mountain range, it was a place teeming with all sorts of magical beasts.

The “Barrier” was built at a strategic point in the Black Mountain Range.

The Marquisate of Shupen lay behind that Barrier, and there was a towering spire—magitech-engineered to overlook the Barrier's condition.

“The Four Kings’ bastards are being disturbingly quiet.”

Marquis Shupen muttered as he surveyed the Barrier through a black-magic-infused telescope from atop the spire.

“What is Young Lord Christian doing?”

His son, Baron Sanin, replied.

“He’s doing fundamental training.”

“Fundamental training?”

“Yes, at the training grounds used by the Magols.”

Marquis Shupen turned the telescope.

Toward the training grounds.

Through it, he saw Chris in the middle of training, looking utterly ragged and chaotic.

“Hmm.”

What did he see through it?

A strange light briefly flickered in Marquis Shupen’s eyes.

Meanwhile, misunderstanding his father’s silence, Sanin let out a scornful laugh.

“Training his fundamentals at this point? I can’t imagine what he’s thinking. People said he was a genius, but I suppose that was all nonsense.”

“Foolish.”

“…What?”

“You’ve reached 6-star level and still can’t grasp why Young Lord Christian is doing what he’s doing?”

At the cold rebuke, Sanin’s face stiffened.

“O-Of course, reinforcing your fundamentals is natural. But to focus on basic training now, that’s just… belated—”

“Shut your mouth.”

Marquis Shupen sighed and pulled out a cigarette.

“Sanin.”

“…Yes, sir. No—Father.”

When Marquis Shupen addressed him by name instead of title, it meant he was speaking to him as a father.

“You really have no idea. Just how absurd Young Lord Christian’s talent is.”

“!!”

“The talent Young Lord Christian possesses isn’t even on the same scale as yours.”

Sanin bit his lip.

Clearly, his pride was hurt.

But Marquis Shupen paid no mind to his son’s reaction and continued speaking.

“But when I first saw him, I was disappointed in Young Lord Christian.”

“…Why is that?”

“His talent was exceptional, but he was so focused on achieving results that his balance was completely shattered. His overwhelming talent had actually turned into a poison.”

Marquis Shupen once again peered through the telescope at Christian.

“But now, he seems to have fully realized his own shortcomings. No… perhaps this was his plan from the very beginning.”

At the admiring tone in his father’s voice, Sanin’s brow twitched.