Chapter 110

As Luon’s consciousness began to blur, hallucinations started to appear.

The sky filled with clouds.

Distant echoes reached his ears.

“Oh, Young Master Hersel. The young master and young lady you were supposed to meet are in the reception room, not here.”

It was the voice of a servant who usually looked down on him. That meant today was that day.

The summer when his family kicked him out of the house just because the eldest son of a great noble family had come to visit.

While sitting idly in a secluded corner of the garden, he vaguely recalled hearing a deep voice.

“I have no interest in the offspring of stray cats.”

Perhaps next, a shadow loomed over him.

“Are you Luon Al Banas?”

The man looked down at him with an air of nobility, his brows furrowed in disdain.

“What a pathetic sight for the supposed eldest son.”

He had no interest in responding, and no words came out. He simply thought that since this man had taken an interest in him, he would likely get beaten up later and miss another meal today.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Perhaps feeling ignored, the man kicked him in the stomach.

Thud!

When Luon still didn’t react, a hint of curiosity seemed to flash in the man’s eyes.

“Hmm, you’re like a doll. Hey, is this idiot mute or something?”

“Oh, no, that’s not it, young master. Ahem, Young Master Luon, you should say something.”

The servant, who had long neglected him, finally lifted him up.

When his mother was alive, she often did this for him, but Hersel ordered the servant to bring food.

“He’s so scrawny. Go fetch some snacks and liquor.”

“Y-yes, I’ll get it right away.”

After the servant left, Hersel stared blankly at Luon’s face.

Grateful for the thought of being given something to eat, Luon expressed his thanks.

“Thank you.”

But Hersel tilted his head and said,

“You fool. Did I say I was giving it to you? I’m going to eat it all by myself right in front of you.”

“Your expression is dull. Why? Do you want to eat too?”

It was clear that he was being teased, just like everyone else did.

Still, if he nodded, there might be a sliver of hope.

“I want to eat.”

The response was as expected.

“I was just kidding.”

But then, an unexpected comment followed.

“Of course, if you do something for me, I might give you some. Want to hear it?”

“…Yes.”

Smirking as if he found it amusing, Hersel whispered into Luon’s ear.

“Punch your little sister in the face. Then you can eat to your heart’s content.”

“Is that really okay?”

“Why not? You’ll just get punished a bit. If you’re not up for it, forget it.”

Just then, his half-sister came down the stairs, seemingly concerned about Hersel being outside.

Luon, driven by hunger, stood up and approached his sister.

As usual, she frowned and spat out curses.

“Ugh, you stink, you piece of trash. Get out of my way!”

He punched her in the face.

Thud!

Having been beaten by his father so many times, Luon was well aware of what made a punch hurt and what didn’t. Though it wasn’t intentional, it seemed his arm had gained some strength, making it a painful punch.

Blood started to drip from his stunned sister’s nose.

Pffft!

Hearing laughter behind him, Luon turned his head.

Hersel was holding his mouth, stifling his giggles.

Then, he abandoned all pretense of dignity and grinned wickedly.

“Ahaha, I didn’t think you’d actually do it. Haha, you’re a funny one.”

Luon stared blankly at him.

But then he felt a twitch at the corner of his mouth.

Touching it with his hand, he realized that his lips were indeed slightly curled upwards.

He didn’t understand why.

But for some reason, that day, he wished that this man would stay for at least one more day.

Even as he was beaten by his father, that was the only thought in his mind…

***

It was only after spending time with that man that Luon realized what he had felt back then was exhilaration.

Shaking off his reminiscence, Luon smirked as he recalled what Felia had said.

“You can’t feel the sting of emotional wounds or the thrill of your heartbeat, even if you want to. It’s because your brain structure is inherently flawed.”

Felia was wrong.

‘I can feel the thrill. I can experience pleasure.’

The reason why he had found those moments with Hersel so enjoyable was simple.

Those acts had been like sweet dew that quenched his parched spirit.

“…Ah, that was truly fun.”

To feel that again, he had to break through the thick wall.

Luon felt the sensation of his neck being squeezed.

Arkandric’s grip had slightly loosened, as if he had no intention of actually killing him.

If he had intended to kill, Luon’s bones would have been shattered long ago.

“If you’re trying to knock me out, you should squeeze a bit harder.”

“…You’ve grown stronger since I last saw you, Luon.”

Luon raised his broken wrist and touched Arkandric’s face.

He ran his hand up the bridge of Arkandric’s nose, covering his eyes, and then quickly rummaged through his pocket with his free hand.

He pulled out a vial of medicine.

As he poured the contents into his mouth, Arkandric tightened his grip and asked,

“What are you trying to do?”

“Heh, it’s already gone down my throat, you old fool.”

Luon felt the drug taking effect.

His blood heated up, spreading through his veins.

It was the Monster Transformation Elixir that Felia had personally made for him.

“It’s an elixir made by combining the genes of an Evil Salamander. The downside is that it makes your skin slippery, but even if your limbs get severed, they’ll regenerate quickly, so it’ll be useful.”

“Why did you make something like that?”

“What do you expect in just two days? Gathering materials was hard enough. But I reduced the side effects a lot, so even this is impressive, got it?”

Luon pulled his head downward, almost to the point of snapping his neck.

Thanks to his now slippery skin, he easily slipped out of Arkandric’s arm, though he had to endure the pain of his neck nearly breaking.

“Lu-Luon?”

Arkandric called out worriedly.

Luon swayed his limp neck as he stood up.

Luon’s head, now standing upright, was a grotesque sight that left Arkandric’s mouth agape.

“D-disgusting…”

Luon sneered, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

“Old man, let me give you some advice. If you don’t kill me with those hands, you’ll never be able to stop me.”

Luon took out a sparrow statue from his pocket.

Arkandric quickly closed the distance and threw a punch.

“Do you think I’ll let you do something strange again?”

“It’s too late, old man. I’ve already done it.”

As Luon gripped the sparrow statue with all his might, a faint green protective barrier formed around him.

Arkandric’s punch hit the barrier with a dull thud and bounced off.

Thud!

Luon quickly glanced at the location of the steel box he had dropped earlier.

‘To activate it, I need to disable the barrier. I need to grab it quickly and create some distance.’

Arkandric seemed to realize that the steel box was the key to everything.

Both of their gazes locked onto the steel box.

Whoosh!

Luon concentrated the aura of speed in his legs and sprinted.

Arkandric did the same, but due to the continued stamina drain from the Stone of Binding, his speed was visibly slower.

Luon struck Arkandric’s back with an invisible slash.

However, it only left a small scratch.

Left with no choice, Luon aimed the slash at the steel box instead.

Bang!

The box slid to the left, closer to Luon.

Sling-

Luon drew his sword and ignited the mana blade.

As Arkandric shifted to the left, Luon closed the distance to his back.

He was within striking distance.

Extending his arm, he stabbed Arkandric in the back, only to hear a dull metallic sound.

Clang!

‘No matter how lightly I stabbed, this level of indestructibility is absurd…’

Still, it was a blow delivered with a mana blade.

Since Arkandric had focused a lot of aura on defense, his speed noticeably slowed for a moment.

Taking advantage of this, Luon lunged forward, grabbed the steel box, and rolled across the ground.

Both men panted heavily as they glared at each other.

“Huff, huff… You look exhausted, old man.”

“This leech stuck to my body… What on earth is this? It feels like all the strength in my body is being drained… Huff…”

Both of them sensed it.

The end was near.

‘The barrier’s strength is no joke. I’ll have to give it my all for the final blow… or so he’ll think. He doesn’t know I need to deactivate the barrier.’

Arkandric’s serious attack would be fatal even if it just grazed him.

If Luon couldn’t open the steel box’s lid within range, he would lose.

While Luon was considering this, Arkandric quickly charged at him.

Whoosh!

As Arkandric closed in, Luon deactivated the barrier and tried to open the steel box.

Even at that moment, Arkandric’s fist was hurtling toward him, emanating a dull aura.

But it stopped.

Arkandric’s fist halted right in front of Luon’s forehead.

Smiling slyly, Luon finished opening the steel box.

“I knew you’d stop. You never intended to kill me from the start, not even a little.”

Arkandric chuckled bitterly.

“You really are a sly one, Luon.”

[The Prisoner of Steel]

A mysterious box that turns anyone within its range into smoke and traps them.

Arkandric’s body began to turn into smoke and was sucked into the steel box.

Luon watched the scene with a quiet smile.

“If it were me, I wouldn’t have stopped, barrier or not. You’re strong but weak at the same time. It’s ridiculous that you’ve lost due to something like sentiment.”

Clang!

The smoke was fully contained, and the steel box’s lid closed firmly.

At that moment, a dull vibration emanated from the box.

Bang!

Luon’s eyes widened.

Bang!

As if something was raging inside, a loud sound echoed, and fist marks bulged from the walls of the steel box.

Bang!

However, the strength gradually weakened.

Thud.

The intensity subsided, and things started to calm down.

Realizing the battle was over, Luon collapsed onto the ground.

“What a terrifying old monster…”

Luon decided to recover his strength before moving on to the next step.

But had he fallen asleep for a moment?

When he opened his eyes, Felia was leaning over him, staring down.

“…How long have you been there?”

“Who knows? I’ve been watching you for about 30 minutes.”

Luon got up.

The mucus and sweat on his skin had frozen, making it stiff.

“Felia, could you prepare some hot water? I’d like to wash up.”

“Ah, perfect timing. I brought your dress with me. You can toss that dirty thing and change into this.”

Felia waved her staff, melting a portion of the frozen ice.

As the warmth enveloped him, Luon began to undress.

A sly chuckle echoed.

“Heh, looks like you’re naturally high in male hormones.”

“Turn your head.”

“Want me to make some soap too?”

“That would be nice.”

After finishing his bath, Luon put on the dress.

Felia adjusted his shirt and admired the outfit.

“You said that old man gave it to you? He’s got good taste.”

“I chose the design.”

“Hmm? You did?”

Luon asked, noticing Felia’s surprised expression.

“Is that so surprising?”

“It doesn’t seem to match your usual taste in clothes.”

“It doesn’t mean anything. I just wanted to wear something similar to what someone else once wore. Anyway, let’s get going to the next task.”

As they conversed, Luon and Felia headed toward the fortress.

“The invitations are ready. Once it starts, they’ll arrive immediately.”

“So you’re heading to the Forbidden Library now?”

“Yeah. Oh, right. Luon, since there are people watching outside, call me ‘Professor’ from now on. I’m the professor sent to monitor you.”

Felia puffed out her chest and raised her chin.

Luon gave her a cold look, and she wrapped her arm around his shoulder.

“It wouldn’t hurt to act a bit cuter.”

As they approached the fortress, a man approached Felia.

“Redenic, what are you doing here? Everyone else is swamped, and you’re just lounging around.”

Felia glanced around and tapped him on the head with her staff.

“W-what are you doing? You… How dare you hit your senior…”

A second later, his head exploded with a pop.

Luon, half-closed eyes, asked Felia,

“Didn’t you say there were people watching?”

“Who cares? It’s just the two of us here. Besides, this guy was awful to the original owner of this body.”

Felia used telekinesis to bury the body in the ground.

***

I changed into the outfit I had prepared once it was time.

While waiting for Limberton and Aslay in the hallway, passersby kept glancing at me.

I guess they thought I looked strange wearing such plain clothes.

About a minute passed.

Limberton and Aslay simultaneously opened the door and appeared.

Thanks to the advice of quite a few people, Limberton’s outfit looked pretty decent.

As for Aslay, since he left everything to the designer, his was fairly neutral.

But Limberton, too, seemed fascinated by my attire and stared at me, mouth agape.

“Wow, I’ve never seen clothes like that before.”

“Why, do I look odd to you too?”

“No, no. You look really good. It suits you well!”

“Really? Well then, let’s get going. I’m starving; let’s eat to our heart’s content.”

As we walked down the stairs and through the lobby, the stares, as if we were animals in a zoo, grew even more intense.

It felt like I was the only one who had gotten the dress code wrong…

In hindsight, maybe I should have gone with something more flashy like everyone else.

We exited the Schlaphe Hall and entered the citadel.

Click, click.

Even as we ascended to the floor where the reception was starting, the stares didn’t let up, and soon the entrance to the hall came into view.

Chatting idly with Limberton as we walked, I turned my head towards the door.

At that moment, I made eye contact with Leana.

“Ah.”

Leana widened her eyes, scanning me from top to bottom.

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