Chapter 293

Words : 2844 Updated : Oct 11th, 2025

Chapter 293 Watching a fight was always thrilling. And whenever Li Fei’s grandfather asked her what part she enjoyed the most, her answer was always the same: “All of it.” There was something captivating about watching someone push themselves to the very edge, showing everything they had, only to collapse like ashes in the end. The feeling Li Fei got was very similar to watching iron melt in a furnace, and she figured her grandfather probably felt the same way. But he had firmly denied it. “That’s only what you think. Try not to confuse it with what I think or equate it with what other people think. Always keep that in mind.” He insisted she keep thinking about what, exactly, made fights enjoyable for her. Is it some kind of assignment? He never said it was a mandatory one, but it was the first time he ever pushed her to do something like that. That was why, after every fight she watched, she’d reflect on which parts were exciting. But she always seemed to arrive at the exact same conclusion. Is there another reason than just finding it fun? Since that was truly what she was feeling, wasn’t that enough? Yet her grandfather continually insisted there might be more, prompting her to think it over again and again, until contemplating it became a habit. Boom! And today, something unexpected happened for the first time in her life. “Ugh...” Hit squarely in the abdomen, Amir tumbled to the ground as five black wolves rushed toward him, snarling. It was already far too late to regain his stance, so instead of scrambling up, Amir slammed his mana into the ground. Frost Alchemy: Frozen Spines Crack! Massive ice spikes erupted, piercing through the wolves and instantly skewered two. Seeing that, the remaining three hesitated, unable to close the distance. Having gained himself some time, Amir quickly straightened up and activated his frost alchemy on the ice spike closest to him. Crack! Gripping the two handles that appeared on the surface of the ice spike, he pulled backward, pulling out and equipping himself with two new ice daggers. Ready, he braced himself against the wolf charging toward him, when suddenly— “Frost Blast.” An incantation destroyed the ice spikes, shattering them into a blizzard of shards. It released a chilling frost that spread over the wolves, ensnaring their bodies in ice. And though he had been within the blast zone as well, Amir had expertly avoided it, having tracked its range with his Winter Sky Eyes. He pressed his own attack, using the timely support. However, while Amir just barely escaped the immediate threat before him, now a new danger loomed over Luize, his helper. Thud-thud-thud! “What?!” Just as she finished her incantation magic to help Amir, dozens of black arrows rained down from above, forcing her to dodge frantically. But arrows pelted every spot she attempted to avoid, seemingly predicting her every move. Under the barrage, Luize wanted to shield herself by casting another incantation, but she quickly realized that might just provoke her opponent into unleashing an even more powerful attack. She had to make a choice: win the tactical fight or blow up the entire area. As her mind raced, weighing her options, Amir, still battling wolves, suddenly urgently shouted, “Ignite them!” Recognizing his cue, Luize redirected her spell toward Sung-Ha, who was fighting off four undead at the front lines. “Blaze Pillar.” A massive column of fire erupted around the four undead, and Sung-Ha, who had been waiting for that moment, swung his spear. Fwoosh! The flames from the pillar were drawn toward Sung-Ha, spiraling around his spear as he channeled his fire mana to create a fierce, blazing arc. Then, with all his strength, he unleashed the ferocity of the Inferno Ring. Inferno Ring: Black Flaming Wave With a thunderous roar, a dark red wave of fire swept through the enemies before him, carrying on to strike down the undead archers who had been targeting Luize in the back. They had successfully cut off the enemy’s support lines, gaining precious time for them to regroup. “No, you won’t.” But at that moment, Se-Hoon summoned a surge of darkness mana from the Netherworld, as if he had simply been toying with them before. Rumble! A black tidal wave surged from the ground, swallowing the wave of fire and continuing to surge toward Sung-Ha, threatening to engulf the two behind him as well. “Damn it...” “Ah, crap!” Exhausted, neither Amir nor Luize could react in time. And just like that, the three of them were swept away helplessly, leaving them sprawled across the edge of the training grounds when the black tide receded. They’d been defeated by Se-Hoon—again, as they had been all day. “...” Having watched the entire battle play out, Li Fei’s expression was complicated. At first, everything had been exhilarating and interesting, but somewhere along the way, a strange feeling started creeping in. What is this feeling...? It didn’t feel like boredom; she was still curious about how the following battles would unfold. But... she couldn’t enjoy the fight the way she used to earlier. The completely fresh sensation left Li Fei utterly confused. With the battle over, Se-Hoon walked over. “So? Did you find it fun?” Lost in thought, Li Fei hesitated to answer before finally opening her mouth. “I’m... not sure.” “What? Was it boring? Maybe I should give those guys another beating...” Startled by how serious Se-Hoon sounded, Li Fei frantically waved her hands. “No, it’s not that... it’s just...” She knew she needed to say something, but she couldn’t organize her thoughts. Just then, as she was worried Se-Hoon might actually start another fight with the three, Se-Hoon smiled calmly at her. “That’s it.” “What?” “You’re sad right now—so sad it almost makes you cry. That’s exactly the feeling that’s instilled in you right now.” In the face of such unbelievable words, Li Fei inadvertently wiped her eyes and found them actually wet. Indeed, she had tears welling up, prompting her to look at Se-Hoon in shock and surprise. Why...? She was sure she had always found joy in watching fights. Why, then, was she crying right now? Se-Hoon crouched down to meet her gaze, having seen that she was clearly confused. “You don’t know why you’re sad?” “...No,” she replied, crestfallen. Softly smiling at that, Se-Hoon patted her head reassuringly. “Don’t worry about it too much. Not everyone understands these things right away.” “Really?” “Absolutely. I bet even your grandfather felt this way once.” “Even my grandfather...?” Hearing that even her grandfather had felt the same, she thought maybe not being able to understand this whole situation immediately was okay. It comforted her, relaxing her expression a little. “Knowing the answer isn’t what matters right now. It’s about continuing to search for it and hoping you’ll someday find it.” “Searching...” She recalled the “assignment” her grandfather had given her long ago. Why did she find these battles exciting? Why did she find them sad now? Those questions circled her mind, making her ponder deeply. Then, after a moment of thought, she slowly nodded. “I’ll remember.” “Alright. Should we head back now? It’s almost evening.” Although Se-Hoon said that, he didn’t mind going on for another six hours. It was just that it was probably for the best to wrap things up before anyone got too tired. Prompted, Li Fei glanced over at the three sprawled out at the edge of the training grounds. They look exhausted... It was clear they’d all reached their limit some time ago, yet none of them had seemed willing to give up. And though watching them push themselves so hard made Li Fei’s heart ache a little, it only made her want to watch even more. So, in the end, she quietly said, “I want to see a little bit more.” “Alright. Just let me know if you get tired.” “Okay,” Li Fei agreed, giving him a little nod. Hmm. Her situation is more complex than I thought, Se-Hoon thought, standing up. He had initially assumed that Li Kenxie, lacking basic common sense like all the other Perfect Ones, was leading his granddaughter down a questionable path. However, now that he had seen how Li Fei observed the battles along with the emotional shifts playing out in her eyes, he started understanding why Li Kenxie had taken such an unusual approach in nurturing her. Never thought he’d be mending her synesthetic mindscape, Se-Hoon mused. To alter one’s synesthetic mindscape, the optimal timing was when the subject was around ten years old. Yet Li Fei was only around five. Considering how familiar she seems to be with her feelings, he may have started even earlier. But why would Li Kenxie conduct such training when she was that young? Usually, it would be because a child was having trouble controlling their power—but that didn’t seem to be the case with Li Fei. If that was the reason, her father, Li Wen, would have surely been aware of it. Unsure, he only pondered it for a bit before deciding to file the thought away for a later investigation. Now it was time to face the three again, who were lying around as if they’d been utterly drained. Studying them closely, Se-Hoon called out, “We start again in five minutes. Get ready.” “Ugh...” “Tsk...” Realizing their attempt to feign exhaustion hadn’t fooled Se-Hoon, Sung-Ha and Luize clicked their tongues while Amir just looked at them in mild exasperation. “I told you it wouldn’t work.” “Shut up.” “You try coming up with a real strategy, then.” Seeing the three muttering and grumbling among themselves, Se-Hoon smiled. They’re getting the hang of it, at least. At first, the three only cooperated when necessary, but now they were openly exchanging ideas. After that, the more they practiced, the broader their perspective on each of their abilities became, allowing them to build more complex connections with each other. Some of it could be thanks to their natural talent... but I bet the Three Dog’s influence is playing a big role too. The way the three seemed to recall things instinctively was quite telling; in fact, they were probably also aware there was something different about themselves. If it stays like this, I shouldn’t need to limit their influences... Just a few days ago, he thought he might need to make them a control device if any showed signs of being overly influenced by the residual synesthetic mindscapes of the Three Dogs. But none of them had displayed that tendency so far. Maybe it’ll only come out in actual combat situations later on. Mulling over it in his mind, he reflected on the last round of combat. Alright. I think I’ve got the general designs. Thanks to today, blueprints for the pieces of equipment each of them would need were already forming in his head. All he had to do now was just gather the needed materials, though there were some that would be hard to come by. At that moment, just as he started mentally listing possible substitute materials, a skeleton emerged from a rift that opened beside him. “Could we talk for a moment?” Hearing the skeleton ask so casually, Se-Hoon turned to face it. It had clearly been summoned using Valhalla’s facilities and because there were only a few people in Gehenna who could use those so freely, Se-Hoon could easily deduce who it was. “Richard Kruger.” “Quick to catch on, as expected from the honor student,” the skeleton chuckled with approval. “You’re too kind. But I thought you’d show up sooner.” “Hm? What do you mean?” “You’ve been watching from the start, haven’t you? Right over there with your observing device.” Se-Hoon pointed to a spot on the ceiling. And upon following his finger, Richard fell silent momentarily before muttering in amusement, “You could sense that far away?” How could Se-Hoon have detected his presence if he hadn’t even activated any skills? Richard couldn’t help but marvel at Se-Hoon’s potential, which was beyond imagination. But then, Se-Hoon shook his head. “I didn’t sense your gaze.” “Then how did you find out?” “I just assumed that you’d be watching if I’m here.” After all, how could Richard ignore a sparring session taking place in his own facility that involved someone he’d been watching so closely? It was a valid point, causing Richard to sigh. “True.... Perhaps I’m a bit tense due to everything I’ve heard from the President,” Richard admitted, slightly embarrassed by his own fuss. Se-Hoon made an awkward smile, sharing the sentiment. The truth is, I did feel it. Ever since acquiring the power of Perception, Se-Hoon could clearly feel the gazes that fell on him—even those through observation devices or other indirect means. But he kept that to himself. We’re not quite at that level of trust yet. Before sharing such information about himself, Se-Hoon wanted to figure out exactly what kind of person Richard was first. It was one of the main reasons he’d chosen Valhalla as the sparring location, so that he could better assess Richard. But Se-Hoon didn’t let any of that show, calmly asking, “So, what brings you here?” “Ah, nothing much. I just had a question after watching your latest duel.” Richard stroked his jawbone thoughtfully. “Has the President ever offered to hand over the UD group to you?” It was a question that actually caught Se-Hoon by surprise. He’s diving straight into the main point, isn’t he? He had expected Richard to bring whatever it was up more subtly, but Richard’s straightforwardness was refreshing. “He did once propose a matchmaking, but nothing about offering the entire group.” “Really? That’s strange. No one should even come close to your level of mastery...” Richard muttered, puzzled. Finding those words curious, Se-Hoon asked, “By others, you mean the President’s children?” “Yes. As you know, the President has a lot of children, and each one has unique talents, given the way they were created.” Wurgen had long been buying fragments of talented heroes’ souls and merging them with his own to create children. As a result, each child had their own distinct soul, making their innate talents vary widely. “And only a few of them possess your level of skill in necromancy. Gerwin showed some promise, but he.... Well, he made a mess of things and met his own end.” As Richard glanced at Luize across the training grounds, Se-Hoon got a sense of what he was implying. “You mean... none of the children are more skilled in necromancy than I am?” “That’s right. Most couldn’t even match half of what you can do.” Se-Hoon raised a brow in surprise. “That’s strange. I thought he’d be able to produce some capable necromancers.” Though he hadn’t expected Wurgen’s children to match Wurgen’s level of necromancy, he did remember some of his children being quite formidable before the regression. Perhaps they were currently still young and hadn’t manifested their skills yet? While Se-Hoon pondered over it, Richard moved on. “There’s something else I wanted to ask.” “Go ahead.” “If the President offered you his position, are you going to take it?” At the question, Se-Hoon paused, examining Richard closely. He couldn’t see Richard’s exact emotions though the skeleton, but he could sense a general mood from the mana infused in it. There doesn’t seem to be any hostility... Confirming that whatever he said right now wouldn’t turn Richard into an enemy—though it could determine whether their relationship would continue or end—Se-Hoon replied candidly, “To be honest, I haven’t really thought about it. While gaining all that wealth and fame wouldn’t be bad, managing it all doesn’t seem too easy.” “Hmm...” “But...” Se-Hoon trailed off, watching Richard’s slight disappointment. “But if someone else would handle the hassle, I wouldn’t mind taking it.” At that answer, Richard began chuckling. “You’re exactly as the President said.” “What did he say?” “He called you a crazy guy who seems to have ambition but doesn’t, a guy who doesn’t have ambition but somehow does.” To Richard, the description had sounded absolutely absurd, but now that he spoke to Se-Hoon himself, he somewhat understood what Wurgen meant. He’s like a hero drawn right out of a legend. Under Se-Hoon’s watchful gaze, Richard’s gaze sharpened slightly. “I have a proposition for you.” “Go ahead.” They both had a good idea of what was coming, but it was still important to say it out loud. Facing the waiting Se-Hoon, Richard gave him a sly smile. “What do you think about us teaming up and taking over the UD Group together?”

Chapter 293

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