Chapter 263

Words : 1522 Updated : Oct 9th, 2025

Chapter 263 The crystal orb didn’t look special at all. And that remained the case even when one pulled up its information message. [Water Jade Orb] [Tier: Hero] [Quality: Poor] [A crystal orb carved from crystallized water. Infused mana can be converted into water mana that can even be amplified beyond a certain limit. It allows the storage of water mana-attributed skills inside, and by consuming mana, the activation process of the stored skills can be skipped and directly used. *Can convert mana into water mana and amplify it *Can store skills that use water mana—Currently used storage: 89% *Enables the use of the skill ‘Spell Release’] Going by its performance, the Water Jade Orb had likely been crafted to support low-ranking heroes. In fact, its Hero tier actually made it more valuable than its actual usage. Compared to the other items in the storage, it was utterly insignificant. And yet... “No, I want this.” “...” No matter how much Raphael tried to explain it to him, Se-Hoon didn’t listen, not even bothering to pretend to. Why... why is he doing this? Raphael nearly grimaced. Se-Hoon had already ruined the Watchers’ most critical plan, and now he seemed intent on destroying even the smallest of gains. She wanted nothing more than to tear Se-Hoon apart in frustration, but barely managed to suppress her emotions with considerable effort and decided to consult Casper. “What should I do?” “...” Looking through Raphael’s eyes, Casper met Se-Hoon’s piercing gaze. From how Se-Hoon stared at them to the way the situation kept turning against them, it felt as if their identities had been exposed. But Casper remained rational and considered the situation carefully. It’s more likely that he’s trying to keep the Seraphim Guild in check. He shouldn’t know about my presence yet. Given that Aria was also monitoring Raphael, Casper thought it was likely Se-Hoon had planted something on Jake as well. Given the circumstances, Se-Hoon might have been simply guessing that there was something hidden in the Water Jade Orb rather than fully knowing its secret. If we show any more attachment, we’ll only reinforce his suspicions. In that case, it’s better to let it go for now. To understand the Water Jade Orb’s secret fully, they needed the other pieces anyway, so there was no need to worry too much for now. “Let him have the orb. If you show too much attachment, it’ll make you look suspicious.” “...Understood.” Swallowing her frustration, Raphael sighed and made sure to manage her expression. “Fine... take it, if you insist.” Practically throwing the Water Jade Orb at Se-Hoon, who accepted it with a slight smile, Raphael yielded with an exasperated look. “Thank you.” “...” Then, not bothering to respond, Raphael stormed out of the room irritably. And once she left, Miles, who had watched the entire exchange, quizzically asked, “Were you trying to rile her up?” “Partly, yes. The orb looked interesting, too.” There were two distinct reasons Se-Hoon took the Water Jade Orb from Raphael. Firstly, it was something that Succession had chosen personally. And secondly, it resembled an item he had heard about before the regression—something tied to a particular rumor. I might as well confirm it right now. Gripping the Water Jade Orb, he infused his mana into it. Woong- Seeping inside, his mana slowly began transforming into water mana. And as the orb filled with what looked like rippling water, the stored skills naturally came to Se-Hoon’s mind. It was something about following the flow... Carefully examining the orb, Se-Hoon watched the water mana inside swirl slowly. Soon, as it got closer to the top, the movements of the water mana inside began gradually becoming visible, even on the surface. Fixing his gaze on the now easier-to-see swirling mana, Se-Hoon noticed a particular flow. Is that it? Finding a subtle flow induced by the mana circuit used for storing skills in the Water Jade Orb, Se-Hoon guided his mana to follow it, drawing a specific shape inside the orb. Click- He felt something click into place at his fingertips the moment the shape was completed.@@@@ “What are you staring at?” “...” Though the Water Jade Orb appeared unchanged, Se-Hoon had obtained the answer to his doubts. This really is the Jade Crescent Mirror. Looking at it with certainty, Se-Hoon recalled the Jade Crescent Mirror—a piece of the Five Element Equipment, just like the Fire Heaven Greatsword once owned by In-Cheol. Miles frowned. Giving such a damaged sword, which looked like it would break with a single swing, to his reckless niece seemed absurd. And it’s way too big for her to comfortably wield... Wondering if Se-Hoon was just planning to pick something random and reap the rewards, Miles got a sinking feeling that it would end badly. But at that moment, Se-Hoon placed his hand on Glare’s blade and slowly ran it toward the tip. “I’m going to fix it up a bit first.” Drip. Seeing the blood flowing from his palm on the blade, filling the cracks, Se-Hoon activated Soul Honing and controlled the flow so that the blood only filled certain sections. Then, just before it overflowed, he drew on the power of Boundaries. Swish- Racing across the blade, a line formed the outline of a new sword, as if a sword was emerging from it. And once the outline was completed, Se-Hoon promptly pressed it into the boundary between life and death. “...” Nothing seemed to happen; the sword remained unchanged. However, Se-Hoon tensed, focusing. Gurgle- Bubbling all of a sudden, the blood within the cracks moved, causing the sword to tremble violently. It was as if something within was being reborn within the blood. Wasting not a second, Se-Hoon swiftly pulled out the Forgefire Hammer from his void pocket at the sight and gripped it tightly. Clang!! Using all of his might, he struck the outlined section with the hammer. *** Aria sat alone at a table in the mansion’s backyard, sipping tea. However, her gaze kept wandering toward the mansion, each glance following a sip. “I’m expecting too much...” Aria muttered to herself, seemingly embarrassed by her anxiousness. The greater the expectations, the bigger the disappointment. Having faced such emptiness countless times, Aria usually tried not to expect anything. But today, she just couldn’t help it. I guess being too proficient at something is also a problem. There had only been two instances in recent years where Aria’s predictions had been completely off. The first was when she wielded the strange sword Se-Hoon had used during the assault on Babel. And the second was when Jake successfully manifested his Essence of the Sword. How could she keep her expectations low when it came to the man who had surprised her twice? “...” However, while that anticipation wasn’t unpleasant, she couldn’t shake the suspicion that it might end abruptly, like the many times before. Unsure of how to feel, she silently drank her tea. And eventually, the moment came. “Aria, we’ve got your sword!” Catching the sight of the door to the backyard opening and Miles walking out, Aria set her teacup down and looked at him. “What kind of sword did he pick?” “Well... you should see for yourself.” Pulling out the sword from his void pocket, Miles handed it to Aria, who looked down at it without a word. A sharp, silver rapier—nothing was particularly special about it, and the information message didn’t show anything remarkable either. [Glare] [Tier: Hero] [Quality: Awful] [A rapier made from special ore. It once possessed great power, but none of its previous abilities remain.] “...” While it was impressive that Se-Hoon had repaired a shattered legendary weapon, it was just a plain sword with no abilities. However, just as Aria’s gaze began to dim in disappointment, Miles spoke up. “If you’re not satisfied with it”—Miles hesitated before continuing—“he said to try drawing out your sword aura on it just once.” “...” Would drawing out her sword aura on a weapon like this really change anything? Uncertain, Aria just stared at the sword for a moment before making up her mind and channeling her mana. Woong- Glare was enveloped in a golden aura in the blink of an eye, and at that moment, something began to surge from within the blade. A second sword aura? A second layer of sword aura, one thinner but distinct, had coated the blade like a sheath. Staring at the phenomenon, Aria felt something unfamiliar. It was as if the weapon was mimicking her movements, as though the sword was synchronizing with her in a way she had never felt before. Then it struck her. She belatedly realized that the assimilation rate between her and her sword, which had been perpetually at zero, had finally climbed and reached ten percent for the first time in her life. “How can I not get my hopes up if he’s like this...” With a golden flash, Aria became the youngest S-rank hero in history.

Chapter 263

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