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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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Chapter 3
Teren's eyes widened.
Chris let out a sigh, raised his hand, and casually pushed the blade aside with his fingers.
Was it because he hadn’t expected such a reaction?
Teren clamped his mouth shut in confusion.
“What are you—”
“I got it.”
“…What?”
“I understood what you said. Not to disgrace the family’s honor.”
“!!”
Chris looked down at Teren and spoke calmly.
“Anything else you want to say?”
“……”
Teren couldn’t say a word.
There was plenty he wanted to say.
But why?
Under that slightly mocking gaze, he found himself unable to open his mouth.
‘What is this?’
Teren was unsettled.
A so-called genius, but still an inexperienced child.
He didn’t realize what he was feeling from Chris at that moment—oppression.
No, perhaps he did realize it and was simply in denial.
Because the idea of feeling oppressed by this pathetic disgrace of the family was utterly absurd.
Still, one thing was certain.
His older brother, Christian, was different from before.
‘He’s changed?’
Impossible.
Teren gritted his teeth and growled.
“I’ll say it again. If you tarnish the name of Baron Khazar once more, I will—”
“Not let it slide, right? Yeah, I heard you the first time. Do you seriously have nothing better to do? You keep repeating yourself, even though I didn’t ask. Or are you hoping I’ll start paying attention to you?”
“!!”
Teren’s face flushed red in an instant.
He shot Chris a murderous glare, then turned on his heel and stormed off.
‘You’ve got a long way to go before you can handle me, you little mutt. I’ve dealt with far worse.’
Chris smirked.
‘Still… he’s kind of cute. At least, he was when he was a kid.’
In truth, Chris had met Teren before.
Back in the Age of Ruins.
Teren had been a fairly well-known dark mage.
But right now, he was still just a child. And in some ways, that made him seem a little endearing.
Not that it mattered.
Pushing all thoughts of Teren aside, Chris placed his hand on the entrance to the Chamber of Punishment.
Creak—
The door swung open.
It was time to grow stronger.
?? ??
As Chris stepped into the Chamber of Punishment, perfect darkness descended.
‘Can’t see anything. Can’t hear anything either.’
He moved his tongue and licked, but as expected, he couldn’t feel anything.
It wasn’t just that light and sound were blocked.
Even his hands and feet had lost all sensation.
‘Is this the effect of dark magic? A curse type?’
The only sensation left was the faint feeling in his fingertips.
It was just enough to let him fumble through the items he had brought with him—a measure to keep him from starving to death.
Spending too much time in a place like this would surely lead to extreme mental deterioration.
It was clear why dark mages were sent here for punishment.
‘But for me, this is hardly an issue.’
He had experienced all sorts of things in the past.
Among them, he had once been a treasure hunter—and not just any treasure hunter, but a top-tier one.
He had earned the nickname Excavator of Light for unearthing treasures that aided the war against the Arcane Empire.
‘Not that it mattered in a world on the brink of ruin. No one had the money to pay for those treasures, so I gave up halfway through.’
In any case, during his explorations, there were times when he had to move with his senses cut off—relying only on faint hearing and a dull sense of touch.
Compared to that, this place was nothing.
‘If anything, it’s far better than the ruins I’ve been to. No traps. No risk of assassination. Completely sealed off from prying eyes.’
Compared to the hells he had endured before, this was practically a luxurious hotel.
And the greatest advantage—
‘With my senses cut off, I can observe my inner self more deeply. This is an environment money can’t buy.’
In certain advanced training methods, sensory deprivation was intentional.
By blocking all five senses, one could maximize concentration and focus solely on oneself.
As it happened, what Chris intended to do now required precisely that—shutting off his senses.
Had this not been the Chamber of Punishment, he would have needed to find another way to achieve it.
‘First, let’s reform this body.’
This body, true to its reputation as that of a degenerate fool, had been subjected to a life of debauchery.
Despite its young age, it had accumulated an alarming amount of toxins.
The damage was severe.
‘But it’s fine. I just have to undergo rebirth.’
A shocking thought.
Rebirth!
Upon reaching a higher state of enlightenment, one’s body would undergo a transformation.
A reborn body would regain perfect health, becoming an ideal vessel for mastering swordsmanship and other martial arts.
It was a dream come true for any swordsman.
Yet, very few ever experienced such a phenomenon.
It required not only great insight but also extraordinary luck.
And yet, he was planning to forcefully achieve it?
‘I can artificially induce rebirth in my body.’
Artificial rebirth.
An unbelievable notion.
But it was real.
‘I learned the related secret technique from an ancient ruin.’
Originally, it was an impossible technique to perform.
One needed an exceptionally advanced knowledge of medical science, an innate talent for mana control, and the ability to use body transformation arts.
There was no one in the world who met all these conditions.
Except for Chris.
‘I’ve worked as a doctor before.’
And not just any doctor—he was once called a Divine Healer.
He had studied with gritted teeth, desperate to make money, but instead of wealth, all he got was the title of a saint and endless hardships.
‘Even heroes and archmages were in awe of my mana control.’
And finally, body transformation arts.
He had mastered that as well.
In the past—before the Age of Ruins began—
There was a time when he had escaped from his hellish family and wandered through back alleys.
During that period, he had picked up all sorts of skills—thievery, street performances, gambling, and more. At one point, he had even joined a circus, where he learned body transformation arts.
Of course, the techniques used by circus performers were crude and barely functional, but once Chris refined them here and there, they evolved into a perfected Bone Compression Technique.
Because of this, Chris was capable of artificially achieving rebirth.
‘Let’s begin.’
Chris took out a mana crystal.
Each phase of rebirth required a mana crystal imbued with a different type of mana, and fortunately, he had managed to acquire them all.
‘First, purification of impurities.’
He extracted mana from a white aura mana crystal.
Then, he guided it toward the areas where waste had accumulated.
Sizzle.
The purifying power within the white mana burned away the impurities.
It was a tedious process.
But a crucial one.
Even the slightest trace of impurities would lead to a failed rebirth, or worse—internal injuries severe enough to cripple him.
‘This is why extensive medical knowledge is essential.’
Beyond just understanding the major mana pathways, one needed a deep comprehension of human anatomy.
Every part of the body where waste had built up had to be meticulously purified using white mana.
This was why an innate talent for mana control was necessary.
Fortunately, Chris’s ability to control mana was unparalleled—beyond comparison to others.
No, it wasn’t just mana control.
It was the same for everything.
—You’re truly insane.
A remark from Hero Evan one day.
—You should have been the hero instead.
Chris shook off the unnecessary thoughts.
After thoroughly burning away every last impurity, he moved on to the next phase.
Chris took out a mana crystal imbued with the energy of fire.
This was the refinement phase, the stage where the body was strengthened.
‘Ugh. This part really hurts.’
But he had to do it.
Chris shut his eyes tightly and focused on his goal.
‘To rise to the pinnacle of the Magus Empire and save the world… Yeah, right.’
Shaking his head, he reaffirmed his true ambition in his mind.
‘I will become the Demon King and revel in the greatest wealth and luxury!!! And, well, I’ll save the world while I’m at it!’
With that thought, a scorching heat surged into him.
The refinement process had begun.
Crack. Crack.
A chilling sound accompanied the unfolding of a miracle.
The beginning of rebirth.
* * *
Time passed since Chris had entered the Chamber of Punishment.
Seven days had already gone by.
Count Kazar, Chris’s father, furrowed his brows.
“He still hasn’t called for help?”
“No, my lord. Shall we check inside?”
Kox, the butler of House Kazar, spoke with concern.
His pale complexion marked him as a half-vampire.
Despite his vampiric nature, he had a surprisingly compassionate heart and had often worried about Chris in the past.
“He might be too broken to even call for help.”
That was a possibility.
Count Kazar gave a slight nod.
The Chamber of Punishment was a horrifying place.
At first, people underestimated it.
‘What’s so bad about losing your five senses?’
That was the common assumption.
But it never took long for that belief to shatter.
Perfect silence.
No one else was around. A void where nothing could be felt. The sheer emptiness drove people to overwhelming terror.
Even if one screamed, the sound wouldn’t reach their own ears.
As time passed, madness was inevitable in the Chamber of Punishment.
‘Perhaps I shouldn’t have sent him in. Even demons with strong mental fortitude struggle to endure it.’
Count Kazar’s expression darkened.
Given his son’s mental strength, it wouldn’t be surprising if Chris emerged as a broken shell of himself.
‘How did things end up like this?’
With a sigh, Count Kazar reflected.
His son, Christian, hadn’t always been this way.
He was once a promising child.
But had his extraordinary talent made him arrogant?
Slowly, he had gone astray—until he was completely ruined.
‘If he’s going to keep living like worthless trash, maybe it’s better if he ends up crippled or dead this time.’
It was not a cruel thought.
In his own way, it was paternal affection.
However, as a demon, his way of thinking was different from those of the outside world.
If his son was going to continue living a disgraceful, insect-like existence, then perhaps it was a father’s duty to end his life.
But—
—I will change.
He recalled the last words Christian had spoken.
The look in his son's eyes as he said them kept surfacing in his mind.
Something was different.
‘Again. After being deceived so many times, what more am I expecting?’
With a sneer, he shook his head.
“And… there is something else to report. These are the items the young master took with him into the Chamber of Punishment. It seems there is something dangerous among them.”
“What is it?”
Count Kazar furrowed his brows.
An ominous feeling crept over him.
“He took a Phantom Dreamstone.”
“!!”
Count Kazar ground his teeth.
Phantom Dreamstone.
A type of mana crystal that, strangely enough, induced hallucinations.
The sensation was similar to that of drug use, making it a favored substitute among nobles and the wealthy.
Unlike actual narcotics, the Phantom Dreamstone existed in a legal gray area.
“Didn’t he swear to quit using it?”
Among the many disgraceful acts Christian had committed, indulging in the Phantom Dreamstone was, of course, one of them.
“That’s true. However… the fact that he brought one this time—”
The butler trailed off.
Count Kazar let out a weary sigh and sank into his chair.
Change? As if.
He had merely taken the stone to get high in secret while inside the Chamber of Punishment.
“Hallucinating in a place where all five senses are cut off… The side effects could be disastrous. We must open the chamber immediately. Otherwise, the young master’s life cannot be guaranteed—”
“…No. Leave him be.”
“…Pardon?”
Count Kazar’s voice was cold.
“Just let him die.”
There was not a trace of expectation left in his eyes.
* * *
At that moment, inside the Chamber of Punishment—
‘I’ve succeeded in my rebirth.’
Chris let out a long sigh.
It was not a cruel thought.
In his own way, it was paternal affection.
However, as a demon, his way of thinking was different from those of the outside world.
If his son was going to continue living a disgraceful, insect-like existence, then perhaps it was a father’s duty to end his life.
But—
—I will change.
He recalled the last words Christian had spoken.
The look in his son's eyes as he said them kept surfacing in his mind.
Something was different.
‘Again. After being deceived so many times, what more am I expecting?’
With a sneer, he shook his head.
“And… there is something else to report. These are the items the young master took with him into the Chamber of Punishment. It seems there is something dangerous among them.”
“What is it?”
Count Kazar furrowed his brows.
An ominous feeling crept over him.
“He took a Phantom Dreamstone.”
“!!”
Count Kazar ground his teeth.
Phantom Dreamstone.
A type of mana crystal that, strangely enough, induced hallucinations.
The sensation was similar to that of drug use, making it a favored substitute among nobles and the wealthy.
Unlike actual narcotics, the Phantom Dreamstone existed in a legal gray area.
“Didn’t he swear to quit using it?”
Among the many disgraceful acts Christian had committed, indulging in the Phantom Dreamstone was, of course, one of them.
“That’s true. However… the fact that he brought one this time—”
The butler trailed off.
Count Kazar let out a weary sigh and sank into his chair.
Change? As if.
He had merely taken the stone to get high in secret while inside the Chamber of Punishment.
“Hallucinating in a place where all five senses are cut off… The side effects could be disastrous. We must open the chamber immediately. Otherwise, the young master’s life cannot be guaranteed—”
“…No. Leave him be.”
“…Pardon?”
Count Kazar’s voice was cold.
“Just let him die.”
There was not a trace of expectation left in his eyes.
* * *
At that moment, inside the Chamber of Punishment—
‘I’ve succeeded in my rebirth.’
Chris let out a long sigh.
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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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