FANSiA Originals and KakaoPage
I Became the Genius Bastard of a Noble Dark Clan
[Author/Original: Yuin]
[TL: Dekor]
[PR: Spades]
Chapter 17
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And so ended the matter of Butler Cox, which had thrown the entire Count Khazar household into turmoil.
Fortunately, there had been no major repercussions.
That was because Chris had swiftly severed Cox's neck.
'Young Master made a wise decision.'
'If he hadn't struck down that bastard Cox back then, the Count Khazar household would've been in deep trouble.'
Everyone believed Chris had killed Cox to cover up the incident for the sake of the household.
Chris's true feelings were different, but on the surface, that's how it appeared, and people admired him for his wise judgment.
'He's really changed completely.'
'He's not the same scoundrel as before.'
People watched with astonished expressions as Chris trained his stamina in the training grounds.
As soon as he had caught his target, that rat Cox, Chris dropped the scoundrel act and devoted himself to training.
The intensity of the training was extreme.
It was clearly grueling, yet he didn't falter for a moment, running with an arrogant and cold expression, like an embodiment of a Dark Being.
Of course, internally, Chris was thinking this:
'Damn this stamina training. It's killing me. Why can't stamina be trained through talent too?! Just endure it for the luxurious life of being the Demon King. The Demon King's wealth and glory! Wealth and glory!'
In any case, the Dark Beings fully acknowledged Chris as they watched him.
That he had changed.
He was no longer a scoundrel.
He was now the proper Young Master of the Count Khazar household.
A moment proving that fact soon unfolded.
Count Khazar appeared at the training grounds.
To personally instruct Christien!
'The Count himself is going to teach him?'
'I heard even Young Master Therne hasn't received personal instruction yet.'
The fact that Therne had yet to be taught directly by Count Khazar was unexpected.
The Count had deemed Therne's fundamentals lacking and had him undergo training with the Black Mire Knight Order.
He only pointed out Therne's shortcomings from time to time, yet now, he was stepping forward to teach Christien directly.
'It must be because he's late.'
'Even if he's come to his senses, he's still far behind.'
The Dark Beings wore expressions of pity.
'Will the Young Master be able to endure Count Khazar's instruction?'
'Even high-ranking members of the Knight Order are terrified of his training.'
Count Khazar had explained that the reason he hadn't begun instructing his chosen successor Therne was because he wasn't yet capable of enduring the training.
The teachings of Count Khazar were infamous for their utter mercilessness.
The Dark Beings were convinced that Christien, who had lived such a debauched life, couldn't possibly endure them.
"Let's go."
"Yes, Father."
Chris followed Count Khazar to the secret training ground prepared separately within the estate.
Seeing Chris's unbothered expression—as if he had no idea of the harsh future awaiting him—the Dark Beings shook their heads.
'Truly, I wonder how long he'll last.'
'If he suffers too harshly and gives up, returning to his old scoundrel ways, that would be a disaster.'
And so, they all worried about Christien, who was now to receive Count Khazar's instruction.
But there was something the Dark Beings didn't know.
What was actually unfolding inside the secret training ground.
Count Khazar couldn't close his gaping mouth.
It was a continuous chain of shock.
"Am I doing this correctly?"
A sword aura with a vicious presence unfolded.
It wasn't the Mud Swordsmanship that restrained the opponent's feet.
It was the Scythe Swordsmanship, a technique that reaped the neck of a cornered enemy.
Like the scythe of a grim reaper, it delivered fatal blows in a single strike—it was the Black Mire Knight Order's main offensive technique.
"…Yes, that's correct."
"So I bind their feet with mud, break them with curses, and harvest the neck with a scythe. Simple enough."
Simple?
If someone else had said that, Count Khazar would have roared in outrage at their arrogance.
That technique required perfect mastery of a complex combo linking control, curses, and attacks.
But Count Khazar couldn't get angry.
Because Chris was truly executing the sequence as simply as he claimed.
-Kyaaaaak!
Magical beasts summoned for training charged at him.
Chris blocked and suppressed their attacks with the light movements of Mud Swordsmanship, and then cast black magic.
It was the basic 1-star curse black magic, "Shadow Vines."
The shadows coiled around the enemies' feet like vines.
It wasn't a strong binding.
With a firm stomp, one could break free from it.
But Chris didn't miss that fleeting opening.
Every time the enemies' movements staggered, the Scythe Swordsmanship sliced through their necks.
"..."
Count Khazar remained silent.
'When did he learn to cast black magic so fluidly?'
Of course, casting black magic while swinging a sword required an immense level of control. In terms of control alone, this was already above 2-star level.
And not just control…
'Scythe Swordsmanship… I only taught it to him today.'
Then what were those movements just now?
Of course, they were still unrefined.
Even so, the core principles were clearly present.
Targeting the enemy's openings to deliver a fatal strike.
There were so many astonishing aspects that Count Khazar didn't even know which part to be shocked about.
And while he was still reeling in disbelief, Chris displayed something even more shocking.
"But… is it necessary to do it this way?"
"What?"
"I think there might be a more efficient method."
Chris flashed a grin.
"Ah, perfect timing—an ideal opponent is approaching. Please watch."
A new training monster was summoned through the magic circle.
A 'Human Mushroom' of 2-magical-beast rank.
Just as swordsmen, mages, and Dark Beings were classified by the Star Stage, magical beasts were categorized using the Ma system.
Magical beasts of the same Ma level possessed power equivalent to the same number Star-class beings.
In other words, the 'Human Mushroom' just summoned possessed power that overwhelmed Chris, who was currently at the level of a 1-star Dark Being.
"Whatever you're planning, keep in mind that thing is a 2-Ma-ranked magical beast. Don't let your guard down."
"I'm not letting my guard down. Why would I, when all I need to do is respond with strength equal to my opponent's? Anyway, just watch."
Thump, thump—the Human Mushroom charged forward.
As its name suggested, it had a mushroom-like body with limbs extending like stalks.
The stalk-shaped limbs were as solid as logs.
Chris launched an attack, just like before.
A probing strike—Mud Swordsmanship.
It was a swift charge, yet perfectly calculated as a feint. Count Khazar couldn't help but secretly admire him again.
'But it won't be as easy as with the previous beasts. The limbs of a 2-Ma-ranked beast like the Human Mushroom are too sturdy to be bothered by a little probing strike from the Mud Swordsmanship.'
Count Khazar thought to himself.
'Perhaps it's not a bad thing if he takes a hard hit this time.'
Chris was gifted, but arrogant.
A solid defeat might be the chance for him to let go of that arrogance.
But that didn't happen.
The moment the Mud Swordsmanship strike touched the beast's leg—
A completely unexpected sight unfolded before Count Khazar's eyes.
Slice!
Chris's sword cleaved through the Human Mushroom's leg.
The beast's leg, as tough as a log, was neatly severed.
"!!"
Count Khazar shot to his feet in shock.
"What in the world—how?"
As had been stated again and again, Mud Swordsmanship was a technique focused on feints and disruption.
Even the strike Chris had just delivered was a light sweep at the leg.
But then, what was that power just now?
By focusing his dark energy?
If he were wielding a Black Blade, the weapon formed from concentrated dark energy that only a 3-star Dark Being or higher could use, it might be possible.
But that wasn't it.
Chris still couldn't use the Black Blade.
Then what was it?
'He combined Mud Swordsmanship with the Scythe Swordsmanship!!!'
Count Khazar couldn't believe the very thought that crossed his mind.
Combining two sword techniques?
Yet without a doubt, the strike Chris had just delivered embodied both the essence of Mud Swordsmanship, which restrained the opponent, and Scythe Swordsmanship, which delivered a fatal blow in a single strike.
"How did you do it?"
"Well, it's nothing special. I just adjusted the movement so that a stronger force could be applied at the moment Mud Swordsmanship makes contact."
"…So, how exactly?"
"Hmm, hard to explain with words. Please watch."
Chris pointed at his feet.
"First, I widened my stance a little compared to the Mud technique and shifted my center of gravity to my back right foot. That allows for a burst of power in the moment."
"…But wouldn't that throw off your balance?"
"I compensated for the imbalance using the weight distribution of the blade."
"..."
"As for my upper body, I kept most of the motion in line with the Mud style. I only contracted the upper arm muscles more tightly, and twisted the wrist slightly—more like a scythe."
"..."
"And also…"
Chris went on to explain in detail how he had executed the move.
Count Khazar was silent for a long time.
He didn't know how to respond.
When he tried to mimic his son's motion, just as described, it truly was possible to preserve the movements of the Mud technique while unleashing the explosive force of the Scythe in an instant.
'…Insane.'
Count Khazar involuntarily swallowed a curse.
'This isn't Mud or Scythe anymore.'
It was something entirely new.
'Did he just invent a new sword technique on the spot?'
Of course, to be exact, it wasn't yet a complete sword technique.
It was just a single motion, and quite unstable at that. There were plenty of aspects that needed refinement before it could be properly called a "sword technique."
Strictly speaking, it was closer to an improvised technique created on the fly rather than a newly developed sword form.
Still, it was an astounding feat.
Unwilling to fully accept it, Count Khazar deliberately tried to downplay what Chris had accomplished.
"The power is impressive, but if you handle dark energy that way, won't it be difficult to cast curses alongside it?"
"Is that so?"
"Yes. You wouldn't know this, but the Mud technique is specialized in a dark energy operation method that works in tandem with curses. The Scythe technique, on the other hand, isn't. It requires concentrated dark energy."
Chris tilted his head in confusion.
Fwoosh.
As he performed the movement of the scythe, a dark, smoky cloud rose from his other hand.
"I can do both at the same time."
"..."
"Was that supposed to be hard?"
Count Khazar said nothing.
For what must have been the umpteenth time that day, a single word rose to his mind.
'Insane.'
Even though it was his own son, it was exasperating.
* * *
And so, time passed.
Roughly half a month?
Chris divided each day into three parts.
The first part was physical training.
His least favorite part.
'Damn it, this running is killing me!'
And it wasn't just running.
Push-ups, sit-ups—basic stamina training was what Chris hated most.
'If only I'd been born into a Dark Mage Household specializing in destruction magic or curse magic, I wouldn't even need to build stamina like this!'
But the Dark Mage Household, when classified, belonged to the Magical Combat category—meaning physical training was absolutely necessary.
He found himself once again resenting the fact that he had reincarnated into the bloodline of a combat-type Dark Mage.
The second part of his day was spent with Count Khazar.
'Still, training with Count Khazar is actually kind of fun.'
What made it fun was the look of shock on Count Khazar's face every time Chris did something.
Despite his sharp, stoic appearance, Count Khazar had an unexpectedly expressive way of looking shocked, which amused Chris to no end.
'My skills are improving fast, too.'
Chris stirred the dark energy inside his body.
The dark energy flowed swiftly.
His stage had clearly advanced.
'If we divide it into lower, mid, and upper tiers, I'd say I'm in the upper tier now. Not that it matters much since it's only 1-star.'
But that wasn't true.
Even within the 1-star rank, there was a strict distinction.
'Lower' meant just barely reaching the stage.
'Mid' meant proficiency and stability.
'Upper' meant the stage was fully mastered, and one had begun to glimpse the next level—in other words, Chris had already reached the peak of 1-star.
And all of this happened in less than a month since reaching 1-star.
'No need to get cocky. There's still a long way to go. Still, I'm gonna take tonight off and eat something good! I can't drink, so… beef and strawberry juice! The happy life of a golden-spoon Young Master!'
And then came the last part of Chris's three-part daily routine.
His sweet rest time.
'If I want to last long, I've got to avoid burnout. Rest is important.'
Chris, being lazy by nature, couldn't keep up the kind of training schedule that meant grinding day and night.
So he made a schedule: train hard during the day, rest well at night.
The Magic Empire, despite being a nation of Dark Beings, did not permit drinking for those under fifteen. So for Chris, ending his day with delicious food and snacks was his small joy.
'Once I turn eighteen—the legal drinking age—I'll try every kind of alcohol there is.'
He was thinking that as he made his way back to the estate.
That was when an unexpected voice called out to him.
"It's been a while."
"!!"
Chris flinched.
From within the darkness emerged a beautiful woman with a cold aura.
Black hair and blue eyes.
Her aging was suppressed by dark energy, giving her the appearance of someone in her late twenties.
It was Melin, the vice-captain of the Black Mire Knight Order!
Chris immediately sensed why she had appeared.
'The agreed time is nearly here.'
One month ago, they had promised to duel—without suppressing their dark energy.
The time of their duel had arrived.