NOVEL NEXT Chapter 192
Chapter 192
The Sun Duke finally broke the silence. “Indeed, it’s time to honor the promise made.”
A sly smile crossed his face.
“Speak your desire. If it’s within my power, I shall grant it.”
Yan, taken aback, realized the Sun Duke was not referring to the earlier debacle but to a promise.
‘Could it be he thinks the Ifrit has slipped from my grasp? Better for me.’
With a solemn gaze, Yan addressed the Sun Duke. “I’ve heard you possess an Elixir.”
The Sun Duke’s expression hardened.
But upon recognizing Yan’s origins, he let out a hollow laugh.
“So, the Special Task Force checks such things? Even if it’s for the empire, it’s still unpleasant.”
“My apologies if I’ve caused any offense.”
The Sun Duke shook his head in disapproval.
“That’s a request I cannot fulfill. Ask for something else. If it’s a cure you seek, how about a whole Mandragora?”
The whole Mandragora was a panacea, capable of healing the gravest of wounds and internal injuries.
Yan blinked in surprise, not expecting the Sun Duke to possess such a treasure. Yet, he shook his head.
‘It won’t awaken my father’s mind. If it were so, Momon would have mentioned it first.’
Yan understood why the Sun Duke had instantly refused his request.
‘It’s his most prized collection, after all.’
It wasn’t something to be wagered lightly at a mere banquet.
But Yan had come prepared for this moment.
He pointed to the Ifrit that the Sun Duke had set aside.
“I offer that in exchange.”
“That has already been gifted to you. I put it up as a prize because I had no need for it. I have no intention of taking it back.”
“You will want it back,” Yan said with a sly grin.
“That sword is a sacred relic of the Hestia Sect, worshippers of the ancient flames.”
* * *
Yan stepped out of the office, closing the door behind him.
Merriott, who had been waiting, tilted his head in curiosity.
“Didn’t the Sun Duke give you the sword?”
At his question, Yan chuckled softly.
“He must be pondering over it now.”
“Pondering? The Sun Duke himself?”
Merriott’s brows furrowed in disbelief.
The Sun Duke was known to stand by his word.
He had publicly declared he would hand over the sword to the one who drew it, in front of everyone.
And now he was contemplating over it?
“Is that so?”
Yan nodded affirmatively.
“Yes.”
The expression the Sun Duke wore when Yan explained the origins of the Ifrit was the most dramatic he had seen in both his past and present lives.
Yan wasn’t worried about the Ifrit being taken away.
The Sun Duke was not one to do such a thing.
With light steps, Yan returned to his quarters.
* * *
Upon entering his room, Yan immediately sat down cross-legged on the floor. He sensed a significant change within himself since absorbing the Ifrit.
Whoosh!
As he began to practice the Dragon’s Breath technique, mana surged from his Mana Heart, enveloping the room in a mist-like aura.
In the hazy room, Yan closed his eyes and began to introspect.
Soon, his face tensed.
‘What in the world…?’
The planets that had been orbiting his Mana Heart had vanished.
In their place, Mars rotated majestically, now as vast in mana as the Mana Heart itself.
Though the cause was unknown, one thing was certain:
Mars had absorbed the other planets.
With a sense of disbelief, Yan invoked the Yin Energy (陰氣) that the Moon once harbored.
Suddenly, the blazing Mars darkened to pitch black.
Whoosh!
It began to emit Yin Energy, an enigmatic occurrence.
Mars, surely an embodiment of fire, inexplicably drew forth Yin Energy.
It became more potent and yet more sinister than before.
Yan tested other energies in turn.
The Sun’s divine power grew stronger and more refined, while Mercury’s was the opposite.
Its cold attribute had noticeably diminished.
A flicker of regret crossed Yan’s face, but he quickly shook it off.
‘After all, I seldom used the cold. Let’s be content with this for now.’
Who knows what changes the future might bring?
Perhaps the cold will regain its strength then.
With only one energy weakened and the rest significantly enhanced, this was a satisfactory outcome.
Yan circulated the mana a bit more before opening his eyes.
For some reason, he felt dizzy as soon as he finished his introspection.
“Is it because I introspected for too long?”
Or perhaps it was a side effect of recently absorbing the Ifrit.
Shaking his head, Yan headed outside the mansion to clear his mind.
* * *
At that moment, Viscount Morris, bottle in hand, staggered down the corridor, his drunken gait unmistakable.
The servants, sensing his foul mood, quickly made themselves scarce, leaving him alone in the vast hallway where he began to chuckle to himself.
But his mirth was short-lived.
“Damn it all!”
With a crash, he hurled the bottle against the wall, drenching it with liquor, and shards scattered across the floor.
Blood trickled from his hand, a wound he would not have sustained if not for his inebriated state.
He gasped for air, “Huff, huff!”
He had been certain he’d be the star of the banquet.
After all, wasn’t it logical, given the timing?
Just a week after confirming his ascension to superhuman status during the knight’s exam, the Sun Duke had thrown this unprecedented feast.
And he had thought, naturally, that he’d become one of the Sun Duke’s closest confidants, that the wager prepared was a performance meant for him.
He believed the sword was meant for him alone to draw.
But it was not to be.
No matter his efforts, the sword did not budge, and with time, the realization that he might not be able to draw it began to haunt him.
Yet, he couldn’t give up, not after the words he had already spoken to the Sun Duke.
He tried desperately to draw the sword with his mana, but failed.
His failure was so pitiful that it was enough to turn the other nobles’ laughter into scorn, and to lose the Sun Duke’s interest.
Such an incident made the future all too predictable.
Participation in gatherings for networking would become nearly impossible.
Even if he were invited to a banquet, he’d likely become the butt of jokes.
Nobility, after all, does not associate with those lacking in dignity or honor, no matter their abilities.
“And to think I crossed… the very person one should never cross.”
Viscount Morris began to bite his nails.
The ‘very person’ was none other than Yan.
At the end of the banquet, he learned of Yan’s true identity from the other nobles who mocked him.
“Do you know who that young man is that you dare to challenge?”
“The most notable Baron Yan of the current empire.”
At first, he scoffed at the words.
No matter how notable, the man was just a baron.
But then, the words that followed made his head spin.
“He’s not just a baron, they say he could bring down even an earl as an executioner.”
“Favored by the Crown Prince, isn’t he? Not to mention his connections with the Imperial Teacher and Duke Beowulf. Oh, and it seems he’s quite acquainted with Duke Zion as well.”
“And that fearsome leader of the Special Task Force adores him as a disciple? Well, reaching the level of a fifth-grade knight at the age of fifteen, how could he not be adored?”
“Ah, but more than that, he played a role in bringing down the previous leader of the Special Task Force.”
“Don’t you know? He’s the owner of the Armenian Trading Company that’s turned the empire upside down with their artificial elixirs.”
“What?! Really?! The Armenian Trading Company that could rival the empire’s top trading company in a few years?”
“Well, well, perhaps it’s time to propose a marriage alliance.”
“Ha! My friend, do you think he’d even glance at your ugly daughter?”
“What did you say? You insolent fool!”
Viscount Morris was left stunned, unable to leave the banquet hall until all the nobles had dispersed.
To think such a figure had emerged while he was undergoing grueling training to become superhuman.
“And I, oblivious, picked a fight with him.”
Even if only half of what he heard was true, the man would soon stand tall at the heart of the empire.
And he, whose name was now synonymous with the dispute, would sink further into the mire.
“Huuuuu…”
Viscount Morris struggled to maintain his composure.
Had it been his own residence, he would have smashed everything to pieces, but this was the Sun Duke’s mansion.
Even drunk, Viscount Morris knew better.
“I need to… relieve myself.”
He sighed deeply and entered the restroom.
Just then…
“What…!”
He sensed something and spun around, but it was too late.
“Gah, cough!”
Something had already pierced his chest.
Viscount Morris, eyes wide with shock, collapsed on the spot.
* * *
After Yan’s departure, the Sun Duke leaned back in his chair, slowly caressing the armrest—a habit when deep in thought.
Yan’s words echoed in his mind:
“This sword is not a common magic blade but the sacred relic of the Fire Sect, the Ifrit, devoted to the goddess of fire, Hestia.”
“Fire Sect, and Hestia…”
Murmuring these words, the Sun Duke’s eyes darkened with intensity.
Though now a forgotten ancient religion and deity, to the Sun Duke, they were unforgettable—a religion and a god that could not be erased from memory.
It was the reason he, once an ordinary royal, could be called the Sun Duke.