Chapter 213

Chapter 213. Inheritance (5)

‘It means that there are plenty of opportunists out there ready to score points by helping him if anything goes wrong.’

And among those opportunists, there might be some who held grievances against the Hamas Clan.

Furthermore, K was only part of a small group with just three party members.

It would be unreasonable for a clan with a total of 200 members to pick a fight publicly because of the massive difference in scale.

‘But if they engage in a one-on-one duel, they’ll be smashed.’

K was subtly regarded as the top-ranked player.

It was foolish to doubt the prowess of someone exploring a 5-star corrupted area with just three people.

Given the circumstances, what else could one do?

“They can only try to strike from behind in secret.”

Getting caught meant bearing a significant risk in many ways.

Mayak wasn’t entirely lacking backup either.

He had none other than Lily Evans, the highest-ranking official of the association, on his side.

“As long as there are no evidences, no problem.”

For years, the relationship between the Saudi Arabian royal family and the U. S. government had been rocky.

However, the two nations were still officially allies.

So, even if the association and K were on good terms.

Without clear evidence, Lily Evans couldn’t touch him.

First, he had to start by investigating K’s surroundings.

Mayak gritted his teeth, contemplating K, the cause of this chaos.

He vowed to teach that arrogant guy a lesson.

Show what happens if he crosses the Hamas Clan and himself.

At that moment, when Mayak gritted his teeth and vowed revenge.

K, the target of his vengeance, faced a familiar message.

*

「Mana Control is attempting to evolve into Mana Domination!」

To transition from Mana Control to Mana Domination, one must first feel the mana as it is.

In essence, I should be able to break it down into elemental units and perceive them individually.

It’s a long, tedious process.

Once that tedious process is over, only then can the work to transition to domination begin.

“Finally.”

It was an indescribable sensation.

As if thrown into a sea of mana.

A feeling that, if not careful, one could lose their sense of self and blend into the mana-filled world.

An odd sensation that made it seem like I would dissolve into the collective of life, losing my individuality.

If I let myself go in that sea, the evolution would fail.

However, if I maintained my self and firmly held on, coloring the vast mana into something defined by me.

「The Mana Control is attempting to evolve into Mana Domination!」

My will began to permeate the mana.

In this state, I could see, hear, and feel the world through mana.

Mana flowing outside my body became my eyes, ears, hands, and feet to exercise my will.

I was filled with confidence that, where my mana resided, I could accomplish anything.

In such a situation, hanging onto cold reason was crucial.

The thrill I experienced was momentary and would vanish if my concentration wavered.

If I let my guard down, the mana tied to me would revert.

But managing not to indulge in the brief omnipotence and exhilaration wasn’t easy.

“Ugh…”

「Evolution failed.」

Yet again, I failed, as evidenced by the familiar message that I’d seen hundreds of times.

Despite the repeated failures, I didn’t feel discouraged.

The speed at which I attached mana to myself was increasing, and the duration was getting longer.

Watching Gretman handle mana personally had been highly beneficial.

It felt like a preview of the path I was meant to take.

“I can do it.”

Thanks to that, I felt assured that I could soon reach the realm of domination through my own power.

“Sigh…”

I let out a languid breath, drawing the corners of my mouth into a satisfied smile.

However, my circumstances were frustrating, despite the smooth mana training.

Running fingers wrapped in attribute mana across the ground drew a line, which reflected my frustrating situation even more clearly.

Every time I attempted or failed to evolve a skill, I recorded it this way.

Four vertical lines and one horizontal line, creating sets of five that filled the ground, were overwhelming to see.

It was even more overwhelming knowing that I had drawn them.

The latest count was 238.

This meant I had tried to transition to Mana Domination 238 times in this bare room.

“I could keep going, but…”

Honestly, it wasn’t that I disliked concentrating solely on training like this.

There were no interruptions, and I didn’t have to exert energy on other plans.

Naturally though, concentration and efficiency improved, so it wasn’t bad.

I couldn’t abandon all thoughts and dedicate myself solely to this, though.

Too much time had passed cut off from the outside world.

“At least a month.”

If my beard or nails grew, I could have gauged the time more accurately.

But my body showed no physiological reactions, as if life functions had ceased.

So I was left with vague estimations.

Perhaps it wasn’t a month, but two months had passed.

Engaging in mana training blurred the sense of time, so it wasn’t impossible.

And yet, nothing had happened.

Finally, I inhaled deeply and broke my silence.

“Hey, system. When will this trial start?”

“Do I need to complain to Palao? Hello?”

“Going insane.”

Neither the statue of Palao nor the system responded to my call.

“How long do they intend to leave me like this?”

The percentage in my line of sight had reached 99% two days after I arrived here.

The problem was it hadn’t budged since, remaining immovable.

I wasn’t sure if it was a relief, but.

I didn’t feel hunger or thirst here, not even sleepiness.

Sure, mana training left me fatigued, but.

“Even though I didn’t sleep and held on, my condition didn’t differ much.”

In these circumstances, all I could do was repeatedly train and ponder.

Aside from that, it was only inquiring impatiently about the trial.

Once again following today’s pattern, I leaned with a deep sigh on Palao’s effigy.

Unlike the cold ground, Palao’s statue felt warm, like human body temperature.

“Maybe that’s why I tend to cling to it more often.”

Although I believed I wasn’t one overly influenced by loneliness or a sense of belonging.

I am, however, a living, breathing person.

Spending time in an empty space devoid of other life wasn’t easy.

So I often found myself leaning against Palao’s warm statue.

And whenever I leaned into that warmth and sat to rest, many thoughts arose.

What changes had occurred outside during my absence?

“Surely, there aren’t rumors circulating that I’m dead?”

If that were the case, the foundations I’d built might crumble.

Adding insult to injury if some pretender seized my absence.

“Just the thought raises my blood pressure.”

Seeing the influence I had built crumble was not something I wanted.

Moreover, I worried about my party members.

The timing—right before stirring trouble with the Hamas Clan—didn’t help.

In my absence, clashing with a major clan might not yield favorable results.

“I set Yul with the association members to aid if needed.”

Unfortunately, going to the association wasn’t the best choice in a clash with the Hamas Clan.

The fortunate part was making connections with Cello and Kirish last time.

“Cello aside, kirish or Joseph wouldn’t ignore my party members.”

Their terms were based on cold profit-and-loss assessments mixed with personal likes/dislikes.

Not always together, but helping and looking out for one another like good comrades.

“With several backup plans, they should’ve averted the worst.”

If both were unharmed, taking down the Hamas Clan wouldn’t be an issue later.

After worrying about my party members, I then fretted about the Cratoll issue.

“Asking for additional people hints a bigger problem might have arisen…”

Even the assumption caused me to let out deep sighs.

The impending power reshuffle among Chinese players concerned me.

Being stuck here with nothing but worries piling up was nerve-wracking.

“It’ll be an issue if this doesn’t secure the divinity.”

Is waiting truly the answer?

Would it have been better to abandon this and head to Agnotia at once?

Anxiety over the future always snared my thoughts, making me consider “what ifs.”

“It’s driving me crazy.”

Thoughts began to entangle, one trailing after another with no end in sight.

Paired with questions at the back of my mind, they formed bottomless depths.

Feeling drained as if entangled in endless contemplation, I closed my eyes.

Even then, the game interface occupied part of my view, asserting its presence.

As if stubbornly reminding me of the war disguised as a game.

Blankly staring at the icons, now as natural as part of my body, when unexpectedly.

The frozen numerical value, unmoved at 99%, blinked.

The moment I snapped my eyes open, it shifted to 100 and disappeared.

「The first trial commences.」

「Prove your resilience, candidate for Inheritance.」

「Our candidate’s stats are limited.」

Right after, new messages flashed, and my body felt heavy.

“Orabang!”

From the side, a familiar voice came.

Turning toward the vivid presence, I found myself face to face with…

“Ugh!”

I had to quickly grab Yeonwoo’s hand, which lunged toward my chest.

Beaming.

Yeonwoo’s usual bright smile compelled her to shove her hand with force, toward me.

With it, the dagger in Yeonwoo’s hand came closer to my abdomen.

Yes, Yeonwoo was gripping a 30cm dagger and aiming to stab me.

I was taken aback.

However, I didn’t let that bewilderment cloud my rational thinking.

It wasn’t hard to realize the figure before me wasn’t the actual Yeonwoo.

Yeonwoo would never stab me.

Besides, it’s impossible for the family that didn’t become players after the third selection to be here in Bihar.

“The system can’t conduct a fourth selection.”

My rational mind deduced the reality, basing on logical outcomes.

Regaining composure swiftly, I seized the dagger from the entity posing as Yeonwoo.

Despite the message about limited abilities, my body felt weighed down.

It was as if I’d returned to the ordinary human state before this game commenced.

“Still, I’m stronger than Yeonwoo.”

Despite feeling sluggish, my experience remained intact.

Seizing the dagger, I took a reversed grip, pushing back at the one posing as Yeonwoo.

Almost concurrently, I sensed movement behind me.

I swung the dagger in reverse.

But before the blade met its target, it halted mid-air.

“Hyung.”

Jinwoo emerged from behind, creating the confusion.

I knew logically it couldn’t be Jinwoo.

The clarity of the vision was overpowering, causing my body to take a moment to react.

This resulted in a stinging heat across my back.

The one mimicking Jinwoo had stabbed a dagger into my back.

Fortunately, the moment the blade made contact, I instinctively leaned away, preventing a deep wound.

Nonetheless, the skin tore, and blood flowed.

“You piece of!”

Rage surged up to my head.

At the creature donning my brother’s appearance.

For allowing myself to be deceived so easily.

And, to the one responsible for crafting this damned scenario!

The blade, which hovered in mid-air, propelled forward on a tide of fury.

Damned System.