Chapter 142: Cost-Effectiveness Is 2nd Transcendence

Ichinose Jun saw it in Rohan.

A precarious conviction deep within him.

The sense of justice and principle of action that he himself was unaware of, in some ways, was a suitable object to call madness.

To put it coldly, Rohan lacked the power to enforce that forced and mad conviction.

‘He must have lived a life of acting on dangerous impulses without hesitation or second thoughts.’

What Juyeon, who had been closely teaching him, couldn’t find, Ichinose Jun could see at a glance.

The reason why Juyeon couldn’t find it, and he could, wasn’t a matter of skill. Juyeon was a more than excellent educator.

The reason why only Ichinose Jun could easily discover and see it was nothing special.

‘As Momo said, are you going down the same path as my past self?’

This feeling, which could be called a slight sense of kinship.

It was visible because Ichinose Jun himself was a kindred spirit who had walked the same path in the past.

‘The difference is… I escaped the shadows thanks to Momo and Yui, but you’re still trapped.’

In truth, Ichinose Jun wasn’t in a position to offer advice gleaned from his experience and knowledge.

Yet, his mouth opened.

Simply because, if something happened to this Cadet named Rohan here, his daughter would be sad.

The biggest reason for breaking his own rule of “silence is golden” was this.

‘And.’

Ichinose Jun knew that kind of character.

Perhaps it was because of the unique atmosphere and overlapping details, but he felt that Rohan’s appearance resembled a certain man who came to mind.

‘This man named Rohan…’

Although he might be soft and flustered around a crying child on the street, easily swayed this way and that.

He was the tenacious type who wouldn’t be intimidated even on the verge of death and wouldn’t lower his head to a villain no matter what he suffered.

Isn’t it alright?

For the number of righteous Virtuous people to increase in this chaotic world.

He had no complaints.

If Ichinose Jun himself were alone in the world, he wouldn’t care, but the world his family lived in must be like that.

“If you have some thoughts to organize, do so neatly and come back.”

Ichinose Jun left, and Rohan remained alone.

‘…’

Ichinose Jun had simply presented one path to Rohan based on his own experience and knowledge.

To Rohan, who had been feeling dizzy from the countless forks in the road, he pointed with conviction, saying that this path was good.

Establishment of direction.

Whatever the intention, it resonated deeply with Rohan.

Every word Ichinose Jun uttered was like a fateful encounter.

[The Second Transcendence shines.]

───Clang!! The reality unfolding before his eyes shattered like glass, revealing a new world.

Different yet similar to the last Transcendence.

‘What will it show me this time?’

It was a space blacker than night.

There was no moon above, and not a single point of light.

─ Fire illuminates the vile things hiding under the darkness.

A small Fire bloomed in Rohan’s palm.

As the light spread, it came into Rohan’s view.

The hideous monsters surrounding him.

“…”

He wasn’t particularly surprised. He was sick of nighttime attacks.

He only regretted that his body wouldn’t move as he wished.

He simply extended his hand, where the Flames bloomed, gently.

─ Grrrr···.

As the Flames approached, the monsters backed away, retreating.

Just by seeing that, Rohan could tell.

That these hideous things feared Fire.

The monsters fled far into the darkness.

Rohan clenched his palm. The Flames that had bloomed like a flower nestled within.

The embers settled in his soul and heart.

A rising fullness.

The emotion gifted by his enriched soul.

‘My work here is done.’

He naturally realized.

Starting from where Rohan stood, the Flames spread.

The monsters hiding in the darkness screamed as they burned.

─ …

─ …

As the hideous monsters died, silence descended.

The world that had shattered into fragments rewound and restored itself.

Rustle──.

As everything that had been fragmented returned, it reflected Rohan’s form like a mirror.

He returned to reality.

[Weakness Induction can now target multiple subjects.]

[Special items will randomly appear in the Shop Skill.]

[Divine Sun Judgment Sword (天日聖裁劍) will inflict critical damage on targets affected by Weakness Induction.]

‘Good. It ended well.’

Rohan exhaled deeply and pulled out some Mineral Water from the vending machine.

He carefully read the notification windows, feeling his growth.

The growth that came to Rohan wasn’t just Transcendence.

His Consciousness, which had been haphazardly accumulating things he thought he needed, felt somewhat organized now.

Click! He opened the Mineral Water bottle and gulped it down.

The coldness of the water further highlighted his clear mind.

‘Generally, the cost-effectiveness of Transcendence is up to the second time.’

This is Abyss City’s perspective. Among the users, there was something called cost-effectiveness Transcendence.

It was laughable to even call Transcendence, which required pulling the same character again, cost-effective.

For most, there were definite gains even up to the second Transcendence.

The rest showed somewhat sluggish aspects, with the highest efficiency at the final sixth Transcendence.

‘I wonder how I’ll be.’

I don’t know. Anything is fine. I don’t feel the need to think deeply about it.

If there are shortcomings, I can accept them as they are.

It would be good to develop overwhelming skills. Because I can always borrow the hands of my comrades who always watch over me.

‘Ah, both the Main Story and the Perpetrator conditions for the Achievements, I need to find out.’

These things require real-world time, so it’ll be difficult to finish here.

Rohan brushed himself off and stood up.

··

··

In the parking lot, where they were each engaged in conversations on their own topics.

Just as Aeng-ae Nose had finished exchanging numbers with the two girls, Shion and Clara, at Momo’s suggestion.

Ichinose Jun returned first.

And only a few minutes passed. The person the girls were eagerly waiting for approached.

“···Oh my?”

“!”

Juyeon and Momo were startled to see Rohan approaching.

The other girls might not know for now, but Juyeon and the Ichinose couple, who had surpassed a certain level of skill, could recognize the change.

“Hmm, not bad.”

Ichinose Jun was also quite surprised. Enough to unconsciously let out an exclamation, moving his heavy mouth.

Rohan’s face and eyes had become quite good.

‘Even if I push him from behind, enlightenment is his own share and talent.’

Apparently, it wasn’t just mental growth.

Whether he had grasped a new framework for Mana distribution along with his enlightenment, he had grown overall.

Accomplishing even one thing after listening to another’s words makes one a genius among geniuses.

Accomplishing two things together, regardless of the method used, places one in a higher echelon.

‘He said he received proper training only after entering the Academy.’

Compared to his own daughter or Grand Emperor of Snow’s daughter, Noa, it was an unprecedented growth rate.

If he continues at this pace, how long will it take him to reach this point?

‘Soon, our generation will become the old generation.’

His shoulders already felt lighter.

It was a good sense of liberation.

And.

If his daughter wanted to grow as a martial artist, this was the right place for her.

Regardless of their relationship, just being near such an exceptional individual provides motivation and allows one to surpass their limits.

Ichinose Jun controlled his rising lips.

He placed his hand on his daughter’s head and stroked it.

“···Father?”

“Eat well. Sleep a lot. Being happy and enjoying yourself is enough.”

Finishing his words, he smiled faintly at his daughter.

Yui, opening her eyes, smiled brightly and nodded. She shared a hug with her father, who was clumsy at expressing himself, for the first time in a while.

“Momo. Let’s go back now.”

His daughter had returned from the Dungeon, and he had confirmed her safety.

It was perfect.

As a father with a daughter, he had learned things he didn’t want to know, but surprisingly, it wasn’t so bad.

Feeling that way now, it was time to return to the Three Kingdoms Union and deal with the backlog of work.

Ignoring the constant ringing of his phone was reaching its limit.

“Honey. Are you relieved?”

“···.”

When Momo asked with a smile, Ichinose Jun remained silent.

“Ugh···!”

Ichinose Yui, having seen her parents off, was groaning in her Dormitory.

She rolled around, hugging her dolls.

She wanted to organize her thoughts before Noa, whose stomach was full and who had fallen asleep, woke up and made a surprise visit.

But it wasn’t easy.

‘How did this···.’

Looking back on today, there was much joy, but there were too many regrets.

While she had declared that she had Kissed him out of jealousy.

In an attempt to fix it, she had insisted it was merely first aid.

‘It would have been a good opportunity to subtly appeal that I have personal feelings.’

Since she had shown actions close to denial due to various embarrassments and confusion, wouldn’t this be a demerit?

Rather than staking a claim on him as her man, she felt like she had bragged to her competitors and then backpedaled.

“Ha···.”

Would Rohan be spending time with the two beautiful girls right now?

She thought about sending a message, but it wasn’t as easy to contact him casually and thoughtlessly as before.

‘I like him too···! I want to be by his side too···.’

The girl hugged her doll as if she would suffocate it.

She rolled around on her bed, repeatedly recalling meaningless regrets and happy moments.

Ding!

A sound rang from her phone.

Ichinose’s rolling stopped.

It wasn’t the message she was waiting for.

Rohan’s messages had a different ringtone.

Ichinose reached out, grabbed her phone, and checked the message.

“···!”

She abruptly sat up from her lying position.

[Shion Testarossa: If you’re free tomorrow, I’d like to meet you, accompanied by Clara]