Chapter 173

…At a glance, he seemed ordinary.

The brown-haired boy, who looked as though he hadn’t even hit puberty, smiled brightly.

If he’d been born in Ihan’s previous world, that face alone could’ve made him an idol or actor.

But neither of the knights had the luxury of focusing on his looks.

He didn’t radiate an aura of power like a High Mage.

In fact, he seemed downright ordinary.

But both knights knew—that only meant this mage had achieved complete control over his aura.

Ihan had only encountered two people who could suppress their presence so perfectly.

One was an old butler who played at being a servant.

The other was a drunken bum from the knight order who lazed around like a delinquent.

Both looked harmless, but Ihan knew—

Monsters.

In martial terms, they’d reached the levels of Returning to Simplicity (反樸歸眞) or Flawless Refinement (爐火純靑).

Humans who had become so complete that their very existence defied nature.

Or maybe they weren’t human anymore—just creatures pretending to be.

And this boy was the same.

The fact that he had no visible aura made him even more terrifying.

He wasn’t someone they could even think about fighting.

A Transcendent.

Someone who had surpassed human limits, appearing once in millions—or even billions.

A being that had broken through boundaries and simply kept the form of a human.

Fight that thing?

It wasn’t even a possibility.

And so—

Fwoosh!

Ihan and Raq spun around and ran.

Knights who could reach 200 km/h at full speed vanished from sight in an instant.

Their pace only increased as they fled.

Soon, the Magic Tower shrank into nothing but a tiny dot in the distance.

A testament to just how desperately they had run—

“Hey, that won’t do.”

SLAP!

“……”

“……”

The two knights, who had fled tens of kilometers, were suddenly back at the Magic Tower.

As if their escape had never happened.

“…Spatial movement?”

“Or spatial cutting.”

The knights didn’t panic.

Instead, they analyzed what had happened and quickly calmed their breathing.

“How far did we run?”

“Roughly 9 miles.”

“Fucking miles!”

“…Why are you angry?”

Despite the setback, they calculated the distance they’d covered and turned back to the boy—

No.

The 400-year-old monster.

“How far do we need to go to escape this spell?”

“Hmph. You’re asking me?”

“Not that I care whether you answer.”

“…Haha!”

Turr de Seigan laughed cheerfully.

“I’ll tell you! My spatial magic covers a 100-kilometer radius. So unless you plan on moving at the speed of light, there’s no escape.”

“…I see.”

Ihan nodded.

For once, he believed a mage’s words.

Because this wasn’t a normal mage.

It was a Transcendent.

Ihan had dealt with Transcendents before.

He understood their psychology.

They didn’t lie.

Why?

Because—

‘They don’t need to. They can just do whatever they want.’

Power—not wealth, not politics—was their currency.

Absolute strength.

Why would someone with unlimited power bother to lie?

And this man—

“Let’s talk. I’m really curious about you two!”

“……”

“So, what do you say?”

There was no choice.

It was a command, not a request.

And it was infuriating.

Inside the Magic Tower.

[Wait, Tower Master! We must punish them immediately! What’s this nonsense about talking?!]

[Have you finally lost your mind, Tower Master?!!]

[This is unacceptable!]

[Tsk!]

The High Mages raged.

Of the five, one was dead, one was bleeding out, and another had lost an arm.

[Look at our fallen comrades! Look at the Tower!]

Many mages had died.

The Tower was in ruins.

Sure, they could rebuild with the Tower Master, but the damage remained.

The intruders deserved punishment.

That was the logical response.

But—

“Are you giving me orders right now?”

[……….]

“You’ve grown bold, haven’t you? Questioning me, hmm?”

[I-I apologize…!]

“No, no. It’s fine.”

“……”

“Hahaha.”

Despite his playful laughter, the High Mages were pale with fear.

They’d forgotten who he was.

The Tower Master—

“…If you’re just going to apologize, why did you complain in the first place?”

RUMBLE!

The Tower Master wasn’t just mad—he was the madman of the Magic Tower.

[Aghh!]

[T-Tower Master! Please forgive us!]

[S-Spare us!]

[Aghhh!!]

He didn’t even cast a spell.

Just his will.

Killing intent so strong it crushed them.

If he thought about killing, they died.

If he willed destruction, things broke.

Even High Mages couldn’t resist.

Like prey before a predator, they lowered their heads.

Too afraid to even make eye contact.

“Pathetic.”

Hah!

The boy laughed cheerfully, as if he’d never been angry in the first place.

A bright, carefree laugh.

And then—

“You two are fascinating!”

His eyes sparkled as he gazed at the knights.

The two knights who had somehow remained unscathed despite being exposed to his killing intent.

But their only reaction was—

“What the fuck is this lunatic saying?”

“No idea. Probably fried his brain from living too long.”

“Ah, makes sense.”

Their blatant disrespect was clear in both their tone and expressions.

“Puhahahaha!”

The boy burst into uproarious laughter.

He laughed so hard he nearly fell over, moving as naturally as if he were swimming through air.

He didn’t seem the least bit offended by their insults.

To the knights, it felt like he was broken.

But Turr de Seigan would’ve claimed otherwise.

He wasn’t crazy—just curious.

And right now, his curiosity was overflowing.

“You know what?”

He suddenly stopped laughing and began speaking again.

“Your strength isn’t that different from those old guys over there.”

He gestured toward the High Mages.

“In fact, if we’re just talking about raw energy, those old guys have more.”

“I’ve seen warriors like you before. People they call [Heroes] or [Demonic Humans]. Sometimes, a few of them stand out—fighters as strong as you, or even stronger.”

It was rare, but it happened.

Humans with energy levels that rivaled High Mages.

Not mana—but aura.

A life force visible only to the gifted.

Knights called it combat aura, but Turr preferred “aura.”

And in terms of raw aura, these two knights were slightly weaker than the High Mages.

It wasn’t surprising.

The mages had lived for centuries.

Comparing youth to experience was pointless.

But even so…

“You two have something they don’t.”

A special trait.

The kind only legends possessed.

“You’ve tempered not just your bodies but your very souls.”

Strength of Soul.

“Only those who’ve survived battles, training, or trials that should’ve killed them can achieve it. And when they face others at their level, they come out victorious. Just like how you two overwhelmed the Tower and its mages.”

Make no mistake—the Magic Tower wasn’t weak.

It was filled with people whose energy rivaled these knights.

Not just the Bronze Giants or the five High Mages.

There were six more hidden forces they hadn’t even faced.

But—

“Even those six wouldn’t beat you. Because strength isn’t just about energy.”

“You know how to overcome. You know how to win.”

“So it’s only natural my people lost.”

Turr admitted it.

The Tower couldn’t win.

But he didn’t seem bothered by that.

Not in the slightest.

The deaths?

The destruction?

None of it fazed him.

To him, it was all insignificant.

But there was one thing Turr couldn’t tolerate.

A disease he’d carried for centuries.

And it was this disease that drove him to become great.

His insatiable curiosity.

“You see… I really want to dissect your bodies and souls. So, what do you think? Will you let me?”

A terminal illness called “uncontrollable desire.”

“Oh, but don’t worry.”

“Even if you say no, I’ll do it anyway.”

“So I’m apologizing in advance!”

“Hahahaha!”

Turr laughed as if he’d just found the most precious treasure.

Rare materials.

Irreplaceable specimens.

“—Are you done talking?”

“…Huh?”

“I asked if you’re fucking done, you psycho.”

“……”

“God, you talk so damn much.”

Crack. Crack.

Ihan rolled his shoulders.

Thanks to the mage’s rambling, both knights had partially recovered.

“You got anything?”

“The classics.”

“Oh?”

Ihan pulled out two vials and injected them directly into his veins.

Potion doping.

A crazy stunt he’d already pulled against the Demon King just the day before.

Side effects?

Who cared?

“What about you?”

“Going traditional.”

“Oh.”

Raq popped five pills at once.

Pills that looked deadly even in small doses.

“Dangerous, huh?”

“Like you’re one to talk.”

Ihan liked it.

‘This isn’t a sport.’n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Doping in sports was illegal.

Because sports had rules.

But this wasn’t a game.

It was a fight where only the living survived.

No rules.

No honor.

“Let’s see who gets dissected first, you fucking spellcaster.”

The knights joined forces.

Because history had already proven that numbers were the key to taking down the strong.

Failure meant death.

Success meant survival.

And in their minds—

failure wasn’t an option.