Chapter 51
FANSiA Originals and KakaoPage
I Became the Genius Bastard of a Noble Dark Clan
[Author/Original: Yuin]
[TL: Dekor]
[PR: Spades]
Episode 51
—————————
The Patriarch's eyebrow twitched.
[This is for your sake.]
"I know."
[Are you chasing greed in your youth?]
Christian shook his head.
His talent was part, but a greater reason existed.
"Not greed. It's something I must achieve, succeed or fail. For the clan's sake too."
Nordian's face hardened.
[What do you mean?]
"Forgive my presumption, but a question. Unrelated, but… why do you think the clan, once at its peak, now wanes?"
Merian gasped.
The clan's decline.
True.
Once, the clan rivaled the top of the Twelve Magic Houses.
Not as mystic as Celestial or Necromantic, but equal to Destruction, Obsidian, or Curse.
Yet it gradually weakened, now relatively feeble among the Twelve.
To raise this before the Patriarch.
[Is there a reason?]
Nordian asked coldly.
The air froze.
Skin-prickling chill.
Yet Christian held his gaze, speaking firmly.
"Yes, I didn't know before, but our talk revealed it."
[Speak.]
"It's because of you, Patriarch."
[!!]
Merian's eyes widened, as did Simon's.
They stared at Christian like he was mad.
[What did you say?]
His heart raced.
No oppressive aura.
Just a quiet question.
Yet it froze his soul.
Christian stood firm.
'I'm not wrong.'
Merian urged him to seize this chance to win Nordian's favor.
So he spoke boldly.
To fully capture Nordian's heart.
Even if it angered now, Nordian would see his truth.
"If my words anger you, I apologize. But hear me out?"
Nordian fell silent at his calm response.
Tacit approval.
"The clan is far grander than before. Unprecedented prosperity, thanks to you. Yet others say it's weaker."
Ironic.
Nordian led the clan to prosperity.
Greater influence, immense wealth.
Yet it was deemed weaker.
One reason.
"Lack of supreme masters."
[!!]
"No 8-star mage since you. Only two 7-stars."
Clan strength had many measures.
Influence, wealth, territory.
But one factor trumped all.
Supreme masters.
At least 7-star.
Capable of miracles in human form.
They defined a clan's power.
What use was vast influence?
A single master could crush it.
Take the Blood Demon Queen.
When she invaded, Nordian was dead from 'an incident.'
The clan's forces faced her.
Over 10,000 mages.
She, alone.
A legendary battle ensued.
10,000 charged her.
None touched her.
A horrific slaughter followed.
The clan survived only by her mercy.
Then became her vassal.
'Not just 8-stars. Only two 7-stars.'
Yet 6-stars abounded.
Far more than elsewhere.
Peculiar.
Now he knew why.
"They set their own limits. Without them, the clan would be different."
If the ritual didn't cap Sacred Darkness.
If fair competition was scrapped, letting the strongest monopolize it.
'Why should everyone wield such power? Pearls before swine.'
Christian eyed his Dark Mana Essence.
Not for all.
Unworthy wielders mishandled it, like swinging an ill-fitted weapon. Counterproductive.
To him, Dark Mana Essence was for the rare, exceptional few.
[....]
Silence fell.
Shock.
Nordian, silent long, spoke.
[Your words have flaws. Without limits, many would absorb unfit Sacred Darkness, hit walls, and despair. Countless would fall.]
Fair point.
Many would fail.
But.
"It's regrettable. But with respect, from the clan's view, may I be frank?"
[Speak.]
"What matter if the weak fall? They're just that level. Fewer but triumphant supreme masters benefit the clan more than mediocre fools."
[!!]
All looked stunned.
Christian thought calmly.
'Not wrong, right?'
Nordian chuckled.
[Heh.]
Unexpected.
Not displeasure.
Christian's words struck him.
'Losers are unneeded. Not wrong.'
Harsh, but magic revered strength.
His words pierced magic's core values.
Yet Nordian didn't agree.
Christian's idea lacked realism.
Superhumans surpassing extreme walls sounded simple. Only a chosen few could.
Knowing this, Nordian forbade over 70% absorption.
[I hear you. But no matter how compelling, unproven words are empty. Can you prove yours?]
Christian answered without hesitation.
"Of course."
[Hmph.]
Nordian turned.
[Don't regret it.]
Flash!
His vision shifted.
Illusion magic.
Merian and Simon vanished. So did Nordian.
Christian stood alone in a dense forest.
[I'll begin teaching the Dark Mana Arts. First task.]
Nordian's voice echoed from afar.
[Survive.]
---
Survive.
The meaning was clear.
Flash!
An attack from a blind spot!
Christian twisted instinctively, barely dodging.
A massive rock-skinned lizard beast hissed, glaring.
'4th-grade Rock Lizard. A fiery start?'
At 2-star, he couldn't win.
'Can't use Light Faction powers.'
A chilling growl.
A house-sized bear appeared.
Not just big.
Two heads. Four arms.
A 4th-grade Twin-Head Bear!
Not one—two.
Three 4th-grade beasts.
Even with Light Faction powers, direct combat was impossible.
'Is he mad at my words and using teaching as a pretext to kill me?'
The suspicion arose.
Flash!
The lizard's venom shot.
Faster than an arrow.
He dodged; the struck tree rotted.
Had he failed, he'd be that tree.
'No joke.'
Whatever Nordian's intent, one thing was certain.
A misstep meant death.
- He's not a kind teacher.
Merian's words clicked.
Thud, thud.
The bears approached.
As 4th-grade beasts, they were cunning, circling to trap him, closing in.
The lizard waited for an opening.
A dire crisis, but Christian grinned.
'This is fun.'
An odd thought.
'There's an answer.'
In real combat, he'd be terrified, but this was training.
Nordian wouldn't set an unsolvable task.
The answer tied to the Dark Mana Arts.
'Fail to find it, and I die.'
Flash!
Boom!
Barely dodging a bear's attack, he summoned his Dark Mana Essence.
'Let's do this!'
---
In the training hall, Nordian and Merian spoke.
"That task again?"
[Yes.]
Merian looked exasperated.
'His bad taste.'
Nordian.
A supreme mage, but a poor teacher.
No, dreadful.
His standards were impossibly high, his methods brutal.
None of Merian's siblings escaped his training unscathed.
Like a lion tossing cubs off cliffs.
The biggest issue?
'The training's efficiency is poor.'
Surviving harsh trials yielded little.
Why?
Frankly.
'He lacks teaching talent.'
Understated; he was awful.
Strength didn't make a good teacher.
This task exemplified it.
One she and her siblings endured.
[Struggling to survive in extremes lets you feel the Dark Mana Essence's essence.]
"…"
Merian stayed silent.
'That's not true, Patriarch.'
None of her siblings gained from it.
It made no sense.
Insight into Dark Mana Essence under extreme duress? How?
[To survive those beasts, you must wring out every drop of Dark Mana Essence. You'll naturally face its essence.]
Unconvincing.
But Merian held her tongue.
'I just hope he's not badly hurt.'