NOVEL NEXT Chapter 16.1
“Will you marry me...?”
Soniel whispered in my ear.
Soniel’s proposal was as sweet as her voice.
It was so fucking sweet.
I was taken aback for a moment and couldn’t say anything in response.
...Let’s stay calm.
I am sure I heard her correctly, right?
This is confusing.
I came to her to get some bearing on how I should go about handling my attribute.
I could have never imagined that so suddenly would I receive a proposal.
Soniel seemed to understand my confusion, so she untied her arms from my embrace and then stood in front of me with a smile.
Her smile almost caused me to accept her offer as an automatic reflex.
Soniel is a beautiful woman, and one befitting the noble blood of the royal family.
It’s honestly hard to believe that she’s older than me.
Her pretty face, calm atmosphere, and even the shaman robes draped over her exhibited her charms to me.
“Isn’t this the first time we are speaking...?”
“Yes?”
“Um... Did the princess fall in love with me at first sight?”
“That’s not it.”
The answer that came out of her mouth instantly was a little disappointing.
If it is me, don’t I have the looks that would make her fall in love at first sight?
Then why did Her Highness Soniel propose to marry me?
She had clearly asked that earlier.
If I marry her, supposedly I can solve both the attribute issue and the conflict with the first prince at once.
In fact, in the present circumstances where I am in conflict with the first prince, a duel is not that big of a deal.
Even though I can’t effectively use my attributes, I’m confident that I can easily beat an inferior student like Kyle.
A more important issue than the duel is the political pressure that can be applied by the faction of the first prince.
If the duel ends with my landslide victory, there is a very high probability that the 1st Prince, who would suffer from a huge blow to his ego, would choose to make my life a lot harder.
So, in order to prevent this, I was thinking of a plan to come out with a narrow victory in the duel.
But if me and Soniel are connected—
“Do you mean to protect me from the pressure of the first prince?”
“That’s right.”
A cool breeze gently blew her long hair to one side.
“The political faction of Porcus’s is huge. If you win the duel, they will attack you, even if Porcus doesn’t direct them to do so. Of course, they pose no lethal threat to the summoned, but they will always be a nuisance.”
Cherry-coloured petals float behind her while following the path of the wind.
“There are quite a few nobles in the Empire who have benefited from my attribute. It is known to the public that I became tired of politics and secluded myself, but it’s not like I can’t challenge the throne. I just choose not to.”
Soniel’s speciality is reading the stars and divining the prophecies of the heavens.
This is a truly limitless ability in one’s palms.
It seems that there are a lot of nobles who benefited from it.
“I see... That’s right.”
“How about it? Are you a little bit swayed in your decision to marry me now?”
My mind had been on that idea ever since the first time I saw her though…
But there are still more questions to ask.
“I have no idea what the link between our marriage and my attribute is. Do you have any information about [Heaven]?”
“Hmm... What do you think of attributes, Jung Ji-hoo?”
“We know that they are talents bestowed by God on mankind.”
“Talent is secondary. Attributes are the destiny ordained by heaven.”
The moment Soniel said that, a cold, expressionless look flashed over her face for a very short moment.
“The talent that arises at the same time as one’s Awakening is just a tool to achieve that destiny. The Awakener gradually changes according to their attributes and destiny. Literally, everything changes.”
The body, mind, values, desires, goals, etc...
Her words immediately brought Jeon Ji-hye to mind.
Among my classmates, she is the woman who is more attuned to her own attributes than anyone else.
Jihye has changed a lot.
She stays away from Seong Ah-yeong now and has no energy during the day.
Since this was not a change that was brought about by me, I was not happy about it.
“By any chance, among your friends, have any of you already reached the stage where you can manifest an authority?”
“Jeon Ji-hye is able to do that.”
“Oh, I didn’t expect that. So it’s the [Death] Attribute...”
Soniel seems to have memorized all the names and attributes of my classmates.
Hearing my answer, she thought for a moment.
“Could it be that Jeon Ji-hye has killed someone in the past?”
“···!!”
I didn’t expect this at all.
I have goosebumps all over my body.
No, how does she know?
It’s hard to stop my body from acting out.
My eyes begin to shake a little from the surprise of the shock.
It is a secret that no one knows besides me and Jihye.
It was the moment when Jihye abandoned the entire world and chose only me.
It was a shocking incident that made me realize just how much blood is flowing in the human body.
The current Soniel appeared more like a shaman than when I first saw her in any shamanic robes.
“I didn’t ‘see’ it, I predicted it. Even I can’t figure out what happened back on Earth.”
Her eyes were calm and motionless.
My agitation subsided as she continued to hold eye contact with me.
“In order to accept and handle an attribute, you have to act accordingly with the attribute. The more often and deeper one is immersed in the attribute, the more the attribute grants power to the Awoken. I heard that killing is taboo on Earth. But she comprehended the [Death] Attribute easily. I thought there would be a reason for being able to handle it so well.”
“I see···.”
The more one performs actions that match the attribute, the stronger the attribute’s power one can manifest.
The superior aptitude of Jihye can now be understood.
“So you’re saying I have to do what [Heaven] wants.”
“That’s right. Think about it slowly. How your attributes are changing you in real-time.”
Soniel took a step back as if she had laid out all the hints I would need.
I chewed on her hints, recalled how I awakened to my attributes, and looked back on my life in the previous month.
I took magic classes.
Thanks to that, the quantity of mana and my mana manipulation ability have grown at an incredible speed.
I can now use some basic magic.
I trained my body regularly.
My strength and stamina have increased a lot.
I also learned simple taijutsu [T/N: Body technique/martial art] that can be used in battle.
After awakening, my appearance is also much better.
Ji-hye says that not only has my face become more handsome, but it has also gained a more masculine vibe.
Maybe thanks to that, I have managed to become close to countless beauties such as Hyerin, Ayoung, and Amer.
I also lost my virginity.
I accumulated sex experience by fucking my exclusive slave daily.
Besides that, what else is there...?
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