Theren’s eyes widened.
Christian sighed and raised his hand, using his fingers to grip the hilt of his sword and move it aside.
Was it an unexpected reaction?
Theren was taken aback and fell silent.
“What’s wrong now…?”
“I understand.”
“What do you mean?”
“I understand your warning not to tarnish the honor of the family.”
“!!”
Christian looked down at Theren and calmly spoke.
“Any additional words?”
“……”
Theren couldn’t say anything.
There were many things he could have said.
But why?
He couldn’t speak, perhaps because of the intimidating gaze directed at him.
‘What’s going on?’
Theren was confused.
Despite being called a genius, he was still an inexperienced child.
He didn’t realize the sense of ‘intimidation’ emanating from Christian right now.
Or perhaps he did but chose to deny it.
Feeling intimidated by that pathetic family’s shame was absurd.
Anyway, one thing was certain.
His older brother, Christian, was different from before.
‘Did he changed?’
It was unbelievable.
Theren gritted his teeth.
“I’ll warn you again, if you insult the name of the Balran Kazar, I’ll…”
“You won’t stay quiet, right? Yeah, I got it. Do you have nothing better to do? You keep repeating yourself without even being asked. Or maybe you’re hoping I’ll show some interest?”
“!!”
Theren’s face turned red with anger.
He glared at Christian as if he could kill him, then turned on his heel and disappeared.
‘I’ve faced more formidable opponents than him. He’s still far from being able to face me.’
Christian chuckled.
‘But still, he seems kind of cute… His young self is too cute.’
In fact, Christian and Theren were acquaintances.
They had encountered each other during the Era of Destruction.
Theren was somewhat famous as him.
But now, perhaps because he was still young, he seemed cute.
Anyway, it wasn’t important.
Christian cleared his thoughts about Theren and grabbed open the door to the Punishment Dungeon with his hand.
Swoosh.
The door opened.
It was time to get stronger.
***
As he entered the Punishment Dungeon, complete darkness enveloped him.
“I can’t see anything. I can’t even hear.”
He moved his tongue to try and lick his mouth, but he still felt nothing.
It wasn’t just light and sound that were blocked.
He felt no sensation in his hands or feet either.
“Is this the effect of Dark Magic? A curse?”
The only sensation allowed was the faint feeling in his fingertips.
It allowed him to grope and feel the items he brought, a measure to prevent starvation.
Being in this space for a long time would surely make someone go insane.
He could understand why criminals or enemies were punished here.
“But it’s of little use to me.”
He had experienced all sorts of things in the past.
Among them was being a ‘treasure hunter.’ He was even a top-tier treasure hunter.
He had found all sorts of treasures that helped in opposing the Magic Empire, earning him the nickname “Seeker of Light.”
“But as the world was collapsing, there was no one to properly reward me for finding treasures, so I eventually stopped.”
Anyway, during the exploration of ruins, relying solely on dim senses like faint hearing and blurry touch was common.
So, this place wasn’t much of a challenge for Christian.
“In fact, it’s much better than the places I visited before. There are no traps or risks of assassination here.”
Compared to all the hell he experienced in the past, this place was like a comfortable hotel.
And the biggest advantage…
“Since my senses are blocked, I can observe the interior more deeply. It’s like having an invaluable opportunity that money can’t buy.”
During his training in his previouse life, deliberately blocking the senses was also common.
By blocking the senses, concentration could be maximized, focusing solely on oneself.
And what Christian was trying to do now required blocking the senses.
If it weren’t for the Punishment Dungeon, Christian would have had to find another way to block his senses.
“Let’s start with improving my physique.”
This body lived a debauched life of a prodigal son.
Despite his young age, he had been exposed to many bad things, and the toxins were severe.
His body was severely damaged.
“But it’s okay. I can undergo a Body Cleansing.”
Body Cleansing!
When reaching a certain stage, the body undergoes a transformation.
A body that has undergone Body Cleansing regains perfect health and becomes a good physique for practicing swordsmanship.
For anyone practicing swordsmanship, it was something they desired.
But Body Cleansing wasn’t something that was easily done. However, for Christian it was different.
“I can artificially induce a physical Body Cleansing.”
An artificial Body Cleansing.
It was an unbelievable story.
But it was true.
“I learned related spells from ancient ruins.”
Originally, it was an impossible spell.
It required extremely advanced medical knowledge, innate mana manipulation senses, and the ability to use ‘body modification magic.’
No one in the world met all these conditions.
Except for Christian.
“I’ve worked as a doctor before.”
He wasn’t just an ordinary doctor, he was even called Godly Doctor.
It was all because of his relentless dedication to study, driven by the desire to make money. But despite all the hard work, he couldn’t make money; instead, he was labeled as a saint and endured a lot of suffering.
‘My mana manipulation skills are even admired by the Heroes and Archmages alike.’
The final Body Cleansing technique.
He was familiar with this too.
Back in the days before the era of destruction began.
There was a time when he roamed the back alleys after escaping from a hellish family.
During that time, he mastered various skills like theft, street performances, gambling, and more. He even joined a circus and learned body modification techniques.
Of course, the body modification techniques used by amateurs were extremely inferior, but with Christian’s adjustments, they evolved into perfect bone compression techniques.
Because of this, Christian could undergo artificial rebirths.
‘Let’s begin.’
Christian took out the mana stone.
For each stage of transformation, a mana stone containing mana of different attributes was required, and fortunately, he was able to acquire all of them.
‘Let’s start with purifying the impurities.’
He extracted mana from the white mana stone.
And then directed it towards the places where impurities had accumulated.
Sizzle.
The purifying power contained in the white mana consumed the impurities.
It was a tedious stage.
But it was crucial.
If even a little impurity remained, the rebirth would fail, and he might end up with severe injuries, even becoming crippled.
‘That’s why you need profound medical knowledge.’
In addition to mastering the major mana veins, one had to penetrate the anatomy of every corner of the body.
So, he had to purify every place where impurities had accumulated with the mana of the white stone.
That’s why an innate sense of mana manipulation was necessary.
Fortunately, Christian’s mana manipulation skills were unmatched, far superior to others.
No, it wasn’t just mana manipulation skills.
It was like that in everything.
‘You’re truly insane.’
‘You should have become the hero.’
Recalling the past, Christian shook off his distractions.
After thoroughly incinerating all the impurities, he moved on to the next stage.
He took out a mana stone imbued with the energy of fire.
It was the stage of strengthening the body.
“Ugh, this really hurts.”
But it had to be done.
Christian closed his eyes tightly and recalled his goal.
‘To climb to the pinnacle of the Magic Empire and save the world… Nah, forget it.’
Christian shook his head and silently shouted his real goal.
‘I’ll become a demon king and enjoy the ultimate glory!!! And, of course, save the world in the process!’
With that shout, a surge of fiery energy entered him.
The process of strengthening began.
Thud, thud.
With eerie sounds, miracles began to happen.
It was the beginning of rebirth.
* * *
Time passed since Christian entered the Punishment Dungeon.
Already 7 days had gone by.
Count Kazar, Christian’s father, furrowed his brows.
“Christian still hasn’t requested to get out?”
“No, sir. Should we go inside and check?”
Cox, the butler of Count Kazar, spoke with concern.
With a pale complexion, he was a half-vampire.
He had a fondness for vampire themes and had often worried about Christian before.
“Maybe he’s in such a bad state that he can’t even request help.”
It might be.
Count Kazar nodded.
The Punishment Dungeon was a terrible place.
At first, it was easy to ignore.
What’s so great about blocking the senses?
That’s what people commonly thought.
But soon after entering the Punishment Dungeon, such thoughts shattered into pieces.
Complete silence.
No one around, and nothing to feel in the void but intense fear.
Even if you screamed, you wouldn’t even be able to hear your own voice.
As time passed, the Punishment Dungeon drove people insane.
‘Why did I send him there? It’s a place even the strongest mind can’t endure.’
Count Kazar frowned deeply.
If it were his son’s mental strength, even becoming completely insane in the Punishment Dungeon wouldn’t be surprising.
‘How did it come to this?’
Count Kazar sighed.
His son, Christian, wasn’t always like this.
He was once a promising child.
But did his exceptional talent make him arrogant?
Little by little, he deviated until he was completely ruined.
‘Rather than living like a worm as he does now, it might be better for me to become a pauper or die this time.’
It wasn’t a cruel thought.
It was his fatherly affection.
However, as a mage, he had a different way of thinking than others.
He thought that maybe it would be right for him, the father, to take his son’s life rather than watch his son tarnish his own honor and continue to live like a worm.
But…
“I’ll change.”
Christian’s last words echoed in his mind.
Something was different from before.
‘To disappoint me again like that, what more do I need to expect?’
He scoffed and shook his head.
“And… there’s something I need to report. These are the items that the young master took into the Punishment Dungeon. There seem to be dangerous items among them.”
“Something dangerous?”
Count Kazar furrowed his brows.
He felt intense.
“He took a dreamstone.”
“!!”
Count Kazar’s eyes widened.
A dreamstone.
A type of mana stone that induces hallucinations.
The feeling was similar to taking drugs, so it was popular among the nobles and the wealthy as an alternative to drugs.
Unlike drugs, however, dreamstones were in a legal gray area.
“Didn’t we decide to stop using dreamstones?”
Among Christian’s various misdeeds, there was naturally the act of indulging in hallucinogens.
“That’s true. But… judging by what he brought this time…”
The butler’s words trailed off.
Count Kazar lay back in his chair, his tension easing.
How things had changed.
Trying to escape the eyes of others, he sought to indulge in hallucinations within the Punishment Dungeon!
“To indulge in hallucinations in a Punishment Dungeon where senses are blocked. We don’t know what side effects might arise, so we must open the Punishment Dungeon immediately. Otherwise, we cannot guarantee the young master’s life!”
“…No, let it be.”
“What?”
Count Kazar spoke in a chilling tone.
“Just… Let him die.”
In his eyes, there was not even a speck of hope left.
—
At that moment, in the Punishment Dungeon.
“I succeeded in the Body Cleansing.”
Christian let out a long sigh.
