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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: How the Half-Breed Grows
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For the sake of future heirs who would find themselves in the same unfortunate position as them, without receiving any blessings.
The half-breed ancestors who resided in the Green Pine Pavilion poured all their techniques and memories into creating secret manuals.
This was the secret archive of the Green Pine Pavilion.
A library meant for half-breeds.
"Ha, me and my luck."
Krash Valheim stepped forward to the bookshelves and slowly pulled out one of the dust-covered secret manuals.
What if he had discovered this place just a little sooner?
If he hadn't been so fixated only on the skills obtainable through contracts with the gods.
Perhaps he could have reached greater heights through the creations of mere humans.
"I was a bit late to the party, ancestors."
Krash raised his head with a wry mutter.
The archive that had been sealed away because of Demaris Valheim, the worst half-breed in their history.
He had finally reopened it.
These secret manuals left by his ancestors were impressive, but the one Krash was truly after was something else entirely.
As Krash turned his head, goosebumps erupted across his skin.
A chilling aura slammed into his body.
This eerie sensation persisted even after he had absorbed countless curses from World Erosion.
No doubt about it.
'Demaris Valheim.'
A secret manual left behind by the devil.
It was there.
Step by step—
Krash's footsteps slowly carried him forward.
A black, ominous book placed in the rearmost shelf of the study.
At a glance, it even seemed stained with blood. Krash slowly lifted it up.
Then, he let out an incredulous chuckle.
'So that's why he went mad.'
Krash gripped the black secret manual tightly as he observed the surging energy emanating from it.
Just touching it caused the tips of his fingers to scorch slightly.
But Krash didn't even groan.
Pain was familiar to him, thanks to the curses of World Erosion.
This much wouldn't stop him.
'Devoured by the curse of World Erosion.'
Through the curse seeping from the book, Krash realized why Demaris Valheim had lost his mind.
The curse of World Erosion was vicious.
Even he had spent years researching ways to counter it, studying relentlessly until he barely managed to offset the curses against each other.
If he had taken even one curse into his body individually, not even Krash could have endured it.
'Besides, stealing a curse halves its effect somewhat.'
A curse's power grows stronger when targeted specifically at someone.
Since Krash had stolen it, the curse had lost its target and weakened.
Of course, the excruciating pain remained all the same.
Flip—
Ignoring the burning skin on his hand, Krash turned the pages.
And began reading the book slowly.
The contents were written in the form of a diary.
Demaris Valheim.
The tale of the man called a half-breed, up until he was ultimately consumed by World Erosion and branded a devil.
Demaris had recorded that harrowing story in full right here.
But the narrative failed to stir much emotion in Krash.
What came after was the real treasure.
'Found it.'
In that moment, Krash's eyes flashed sharply.
The reason Demaris was considered the greatest disgrace of the Valheim Family had nothing to do with him being a devil.
It was because he was a monster strong enough to be called the strongest in Valheim history.
During the time Demaris rampaged, the world's top powerhouses had all challenged him.
But every one of them ended up with their heads severed by his hand.
How could a man like that be so overwhelmingly powerful?
The answer was simple.
He had created a unique secret art that manipulated World Erosion.
A mad technique that involved carving World Erosion directly into his own body to wield its power himself.
And thanks to that madness, he ascended to the pinnacle.
Though he ultimately became a monster devoured by World Erosion.
The secret art he left behind.
Extreme Blood Poison Infusion.
A forbidden alchemy, even in Valheim where absorbing World Erosion into one's body was already taboo.
No one would have ever guessed that its manual was tucked away at the very end of the Green Pine Pavilion's secret archive.
'If I master this, it'll be possible.'
Krash clenched his fists tightly as he pored over the details of Extreme Blood Poison Infusion.
By the time he had discovered it in his previous life, more than half of it had already burned away, making it impossible to learn.
But this time was different.
Of course, Extreme Blood Poison Infusion was extremely dangerous.
But Krash had a way.
'The flaw in Extreme Blood Poison Infusion is the madness induced by World Erosion, and the one afflicted by a curse that can control such madness.'
Krash knew exactly who that cursed individual was.
And that person was someone quite close to him.
It was absurd that he'd have to steal another curse, but it was necessary for the future.
Someday, Krash planned to steal not just curses, but skills as well.
For now, he needed to grow strong without relying on skills.
Closing the Extreme Blood Poison Infusion manual, Krash rose from his seat.
"Aliod."
"Yes, Young Master Krash."
"From today onward, until I've mastered every secret manual in here, no one—absolutely no one—is to enter the Green Pine Pavilion."
This was an order from the current master of the Green Pine Pavilion.
Aliod's eyes widened as he looked at Krash, then he bowed his head deeply.
"Understood."
Krash began pulling out more books.
Watching his back, Aliod fell into thought.
'How on earth does Young Master Krash know about a place like this?'
A secret library filled with astonishing secret arts, as far as the eye could see.
Even Aliod, assigned as the butler of the Green Pine Pavilion, had been unaware of it.
Yet Krash had found it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
As if someone had whispered the secret to him overnight.
Then who could that someone be?
'Could it be.'
There was only one person who could have revealed such a place in the Green Pine Pavilion.
The current head of the Valheim Family.
The Martial Emperor, Balok Valheim.
No one else but him.
'So the family head hasn't given up on Young Master Krash after all.'
After seeing Krash succeed in contracting with a god, the family head must have tipped him off about the Green Pine Pavilion's secrets.
Reaching that conclusion, Aliod clenched the fist he held to his chest.
'I nearly gave up on the young master whom even the family head hasn't abandoned.'
He despised himself for it.
At the same time, emotions welled up within him.
The feelings from back when Krash was first born.
The resolve of a butler to serve this man for life and one day elevate him to head of the Valheim Family.
'Even though Young Master Krash forgave my mistake.'
When a master overlooks a servant's error, the servant must repay that grace.
'One who has fallen can stand even more steadfastly, yet how could I have made such a foolish mistake?'
Having realized whom he had nearly abandoned in his blindness over his daughter's incurable illness, Aliod felt deep self-loathing.
It was ultimately his responsibility as the attendant butler for failing to guide Krash properly.
And he had nearly betrayed him, even if just for a moment.
He resolved to firmly reject the proposal from Krash's third brother.
'My master is Young Master Krash.'
He etched that fact deep into his heart once more.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Several days after Krash entered the secret archive.
Belokin Valheim, the third son among the direct descendants of Valheim, heard some absurd news.
"He rejected my offer for that half-breed's sake?"
Belokin scowled fiercely, recalling Aliod who had just bowed and left the room.
Aliod had rejected his proposal for the sake of the half-breed youngest.
He had sworn to handle everything cleanly without any loose ends.
He had even promised to cure his daughter's incurable illness.
Yet suddenly, the man had changed his tune.
'Damn it, didn't he seem completely on board?'
Aliod had clearly given up on Krash long ago, or so he thought.
So why reject his offer now?
"Trash like that has no place remaining in our family."
Belokin ground his teeth, his face twisted in disgust.
Next to him lay a torn-up newspaper.
Its headline featured none other than Charlotte, hailed as a once-in-a-generation genius.
Belokin shoved the shredded paper into the trash bin and stood up.
The sight of that woman's bloodline running rampant in the Valheim Family filled him with loathing.
One was called a prodigy of the ages, while the other shamed Valheim as a half-breed.
Every last one of them was utterly infuriating.
"Someone out there!"
"Yes, Master Belokin. You called?"
A man in a neatly pressed butler's uniform pushed open the door at his shout.
He was none other than Belokin's personal butler.
"Go to the Green Pine Pavilion where Krash stays. Figure out why that butler suddenly changed his attitude."
Belokin couldn't make sense of it, so he decided to investigate directly.
But soon after, he would fly into an even greater rage upon learning one fact.
The Green Pine Pavilion, following the orders of its master Krash, was barring entry to everyone.
Even if that person was his third brother.
While Belokin's anger grew day by day like that.
In the secret archive, Krash repeated his training relentlessly every day.
A while later, Krash exhaled a long breath from his cross-legged position and opened his eyes.
A refreshing surge of aura flowed from within him, sweeping through his entire body.
He could clearly feel that his aura had risen far beyond its previous level.
'At this level, I've at least entered the Expert stage.'
Aura has several realms.
The first stage is Aura User, the most basic level of aura.
The stage one lingers in right after first awakening aura.
The next is Aura Expert.
The most common stage among aura users, and one that could divide ordinary folk from geniuses.
There's a saying in the world:
Those who fail to graduate from Expert by age thirty will remain stuck there for life.
Expert is seen as the pinnacle for ordinary people.
And Krash had finally stepped into that realm of the masses.
He was currently thirteen years old.
By age alone, it was quite impressive.
But the family he belonged to was none other than Valheim.
Valheim direct descendants entered Expert at age eight.
Even Charlotte, who was two years older than him, had already reached the peak of Expert and stood on the verge of Master.
It wasn't for nothing that she would earn the moniker Sword Star before even reaching her twenties.
'Even now, her talent is ridiculous.'
But even Charlotte had been powerless before the apocalypse.
Compared to her, he had only just entered Expert.
Could he really protect the world at this pathetic level?
"Guess I'll find out when I try."
Krash didn't feel particularly dejected.
He was a half-breed.
That fact was nothing new.
More than anything, he was actually enjoying himself right now.
Expert this, Expert that—in the past, using aura would twist his internals due to a curse.
Moreover, every secret manual in this secret archive had been created by Valheim half-breeds just like him.
Thanks to that, they were easy to understand and master.
He couldn't hope for talent like Charlotte's, but he could grow stronger.
For now, that was enough.
"Young Master."
Right on cue, Aliod's voice came from outside the secret archive.
Krash tidied up the secret manuals and walked out.
"You've entered Expert. Congratulations."
"No need for that."
Krash gave a perfunctory reply to Aliod, who offered congratulations first thing.
His expression asked what the matter was.
"Miss Bianca Hardenharts, your fiancée, has arrived at the Green Pine Pavilion."
Krash thought to himself, Of course she'd come.