How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 51

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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How to Survive as the Second Son of a Magic Family (51)

The false rumor Hyung created is quite elaborate.

It’s a story that’s been accepted as fact for 10 years, so no one questions its authenticity anymore.

Even so, seeing Pleroma believe it completely shows they lack the ability to recognize their own kind.

‘This could be useful going forward.’

Should I test one more thing?

There’s something I’ve been putting off because it was hard to confirm, but now that I’ve met a high-ranking Pleroma, this is my chance.

“Are you not very bright? How could you believe someone who uses divine power is Pleroma?”

Strauchi forced a smile while watching me sneer, but at the same time, his brow furrowed slightly.

“Manners… Right, there’s no way they’d properly teach etiquette to a child locked away in a closet.”

“Am I wrong?”

“You seem to be seriously misunderstanding something, but there’s no law saying Pleroma can’t use divine power, is there? We also have faith in that being.”

‘…Right.’

I did well not to reveal my identity relying only on divine power all this time.

Divine power is the strength of clergy, and as such, pure faith is considered a prerequisite.

But even with the system’s help, it’s a bit suspicious that I can freely use divine power without great faith.

If I use divine power as proof of purity, everything becomes meaningless the moment evidence appears that Pleroma can also use divine power.

Then, Strauchi stroked his chin and nodded as if he’d made some decision.

“It is indeed surprising that you can use divine power to such an extent. Since there’s room for counterattack, making you into a well-known Pleroma should be the priority. Of course, before that…”

Whoooosh—

A fierce wind hit my face, making it hard to open my eyes.

I squinted and checked my surroundings.

“…!”

Seeing the city center below, this is the Capital Clock Tower.

Countless people gathered in the plaza were watching with surprised faces, wondering what was happening.

“Shall I give you one chance?”

“…What…”

“You don’t seem particularly shaken even when threatened with force…”

Strauchi fell into thought, then finally spoke.

—Such stubbornness and defiance break noble positions, and even justice grows weary in infinite suffering.

An emotionless voice flowed rapidly past my ears without inflection.

Nothing seemed to manifest outwardly, but I could instinctively tell. He hadn’t spouted this ridiculous nonsense for no reason—he had cast magic on me.

Whether it was because the fierce wind at this height interfered with breathing, or because the sensation felt too real, my heart began racing.

“I wonder if you’d be unconcerned about revealing who Nicolaus is in the middle of the Capital. Are you starting to feel like listening to me? Wouldn’t it be better to end this cleanly before you actually become Pleroma?”

‘…No.’

Of course this isn’t reality. No need to fall for it.

Since the magic isn’t visible externally, it must be mental-type magic. My excessive agitation right now is probably because of that.

But what’s the evidence this isn’t reality?

The fierce wind completely blocks my breathing.

Even when I try to breathe, I can’t sync with the constantly rushing air.

‘Damn, the magic is affecting my head…’

I don’t have the mental capacity to consider possible options or think of rational paths he might choose.

‘To dispel the magic cast on me, should I deal with it now?’

That’s not a bad option either.

Though I won’t get any useful information.

“Look. Those are Imperial 2nd Education Institute students over there. Since this is near the school, there are probably people who’ve passed you on the street once or twice. Everyone here has come to hear your confession.”

Strauchi turned my face and pointed beyond the railing.

“If you won’t speak, how about this? I’ll directly reveal that Nicolaus Ernst is Pleroma. I’ll become the Righteous Federal Representative of Schwerin, and you’ll become the Pleroma who deceived the public… naturally your achievements will crumble.”

“…”

“This would be a great way to bring down Adrian Ascanien’s reputation in one blow too. Does it make sense for someone who can’t control one family member to go around catching other Pleroma? Right? He’d have no choice but to give up his position and leave.”

Let me think calmly.

When I think about it, there are incomprehensible aspects to him bringing me to the real world.

First, he’s threatening someone by pushing them outside the railing at the Clock Tower Rooftop, which is inaccessible. This situation shows he can openly display wrongful behavior without any consequences, meaning it’s fake.

Second, I don’t have my mask, so what would make people believe I’m Nicolaus? This point isn’t even worth discussing.

Third…

I pushed mana through my fingertips.

I felt something burst.

Despite controlling it thinking I’d use it all at once, blood that had just stopped began flowing again.

“This won’t have any meaning anyway.”

Strauchi giggled, apparently noticing I’d used magic.

I twisted my lips into a smirk while listening to his laughter.

Third, I can’t use magic here either.

Earlier, I thought ‘there’s definitely curse magic here that drains stamina the more magic you use.’ How can magic cast on a space be effective here too?

This means this place is also a world Strauchi created.

“…Perfect.”

Having come this far, it would be a waste to miss this opportunity after meeting such a high-level Pleroma.

At that moment, a familiar window appeared before my eyes.

Ding—!

Chapter 4 Special Reward

Is life only once?

Congratulations! The ‘Retry’ trait has been added!

Retry Lv. 1

— Move to the previous checkpoint within 〈Chapter 4〉

— 1 use costs 2.0 points (0/2)

— 2.0 points until next level

* Current points: 2.0 points

* 0.15 luck points until next point acquisition

‘…Previous checkpoint?’

I don’t know where that checkpoint is, but it sounds like I can turn back time.

Since magic appeared, research on time travel has continued endlessly, but it’s never been completely successful.

Why am I being given magic that no one has ever succeeded with? It’s getting scary now.

‘No, this isn’t the time to think about this.’

I was planning to call this out in emergencies, but it appearing now is a bit suspicious. The fact that it gave me this trait now…

‘Does this mean I should use it?’

I was trying to observe more and get information about Pleroma from Strauchi.

Even though I planned to fold and escape if it got dangerous, giving me this ability suggests there’s information I need to obtain this time.

I looked down at the ground and spoke.

“What’s the point?”

“Hm?”

“What benefit is there in cornering me in a fake world anyway?”

“…This isn’t the situation to be acting like this, is it? I don’t know what makes you think it’s fake.”

Strauchi asked me as if confirming, seemingly not yet certain.

He was displaying composure, but his face wasn’t very comfortable.

“If this were reality, there’d be no reason I couldn’t use magic.”

“…”

The smile completely disappeared from Strauchi’s face.

‘Of course.’

Earlier, he cast mental-type magic on me.

The fact that it was broken by Mind Control means my level is above his. No matter how much he prevents me from using mana, he can’t do anything about that.

Strauchi answered in a cold voice.

“I understand your intention well. Since it’s a choice you made yourself, you won’t blame others later, will you?”

The space changed in an instant. Now the wind had died down, and I was in an unfamiliar place I had never seen before.

It was clearly a religious location. As if they had been given advance notice, hundreds of people in the church looked at Strauchi with bewildered faces.

The priest standing in front of the altar cautiously spoke up.

“…We are in the middle of a service, Bishop.”

“I know. Let’s end today’s mass here.”

‘So he was a bishop.’

Seeing them naturally call Strauchi bishop instead of legislator, it was clear we had crossed over into the world of those Pleroma bastards.

“Bishop, you need to tell us what business you have…”

“Let’s start with the ordination ceremony.”

“Pardon?”

“Since Count Nicolaus has personally chosen this path, shouldn’t we respond without delay?”

Strauchi tightened his grip on my robe and sneered.

As soon as the name Nicolaus was mentioned, the believers’ eyes changed.

“Bishop, you mean…”

“This man is Count Nicolaus.”

Kwaang―!

As soon as he finished speaking, an attack flew toward the altar.

I grabbed my bleeding head after hitting the corner of a decoration and got up from my position.

No, I tried to get up, but someone pushed me toward the church corridor with vitriole.

‘These bastards…’

“Please calm down.”

Strauchi said meaningless words while crossing his arms and laughing.

I tried to draw out mana again, but it didn’t flow smoothly as if there was a problem with my stamina.

‘Then… I’ll listen to what I need to hear first and then turn things around.’

Now that I was in their space, everything I heard and deduced was all useful information.

Just then, the crowd surrounding me stopped attacking and turned around to look toward where Strauchi was.

I pressed my hands against the floor and raised my body.

“Everyone. This situation has quite a lot of meaning for us, doesn’t it?”

Strauchi clapped his hands to focus attention and continued speaking in a relaxed voice.

“I didn’t know this man could penetrate this far. Certainly, this brother’s abilities were not exaggerated. Isn’t that right?”

”Penetrated this far’… Since I’m not Pleroma, it wouldn’t be a rank issue. There must be places you can’t enter depending on your qualifications.’

And that would determine the hierarchy in the Pleroma world.

While I was looking for a place where I could hear Strauchi’s voice among the crowd, he continued speaking.

“Yet the fact that this man cannot use magic means our world is very solidly completed. Isn’t that right? So there’s no need to worry about this matter anymore. We can overcome it as we always have.”

The Pleromas’ reaction grew even stronger.

‘…It’s somewhat surprising that he’s using me for propaganda in this situation.’

All of it was useful information.

Though I didn’t know the details, it seemed problems had recently occurred in their world, and this had become a serious source of anxiety among the Pleromas. Seeing how they extracted connections from seemingly unrelated matters, the disturbance must have been greater than expected.

‘I should remember this.’

“And… I understand your anger as well. But there’s an order to things, isn’t there?”

Strauchi’s voice grew closer.

“The fact that Count Nicolaus could penetrate this far also means the vitriole we can use has increased exponentially.”

Strauchi pushed through the crowd and stood in front of me.

He had a knife in his hand.

“…”

“If you become Pleroma, you won’t even be able to set foot here. You should consider being reborn in this place an honor.”

Strauchi cut my arm to draw blood and spoke.

―Now I can finally say this.

The blood that was falling to the floor began to gain viscosity and stick to my skin.

Strauchi stabbed his own arm without hesitation. Then he pulled his arm from my hand and let his blood flow.

“I’ll at least let you say that I created you.”

Strauchi received a bottle containing black liquid from someone, sprinkled it on my wound, and recited an incantation.

―Moment, stay! You are so beautiful!

‘…This…’

It was definitely an expression I had read somewhere before.

But I didn’t have time to think so leisurely beyond this point.

Kwaaaaang―!

“Kuhuk…!”

Just before losing consciousness, I squeezed out all my strength to infuse mana into my fist and swung it.

I attacked my own arm as well before the vitriole could spread further, and it seemed like a decent attempt. Though my skin wasn’t intact, my mind was clear.

Strauchi collapsed far away, gasping for breath and spitting blood.

“What?!”

“Catch him!”

Several believers rushed at me. I blocked the endless attacks coming at me while approaching Strauchi and pressing down on his shoulder.

“Thanks for the good experience.”

I would have liked to penetrate deeper and extract more useful information…

If word spreads, the leadership gathering here would be a matter of moments. Whether I leave now or hold out longer, what I can gain ends here.

“Kuk…”

Strauchi grabbed my shoes with both hands and desperately tried to shake me off.

I felt the vitriole pouring onto me and called up the retry window, quietly muttering.

“Return.”

* * *

Kwaang―

My eyes naturally squinted from the fierce wind at this height.

The pain caused by mana disappeared as if washed away.

I had returned.

The surroundings were exactly the same scenery I had seen before.

Strauchi was also saying the same things as before.

“…Can’t even control one family member but goes around catching other Pleromas. Does that even make sense? Right? You have no choice but to give up your position and leave.”

“…Ha…haha…”

Living this life, I’ve experienced everything up to nearly becoming Pleroma.

While I shook with laughter, something bright red fell to the floor again.

“What’s this?”

Strauchi looked at me with confusion, but soon began laughing again.

“Well now… This is the first time I’ve learned that Count Nicolaus is such a hollow-minded fool.”

I let out a light laugh, wiped the blood, and tapped my wrist once.

Beep―

“Capital Clock Tower.”

“Hmm?”

I wasn’t sure if it transmitted well due to the wind noise.

By the time we talk about Hyung, it would be when Strauchi still believes the mental magic he cast on me is effective.

Strauchi nodded with a triumphant face.

“Still can’t grasp the situation? If you want to end this amicably, you’d better speak up quickly.”

“…Right.”

I felt the intense sunlight coming into my left field of vision and surveyed the city center. As the talking stopped, now even the sound of wind tousling my hair could be heard vividly.

If it weren’t for being caught by Pleroma, viewing the capital’s panorama from this height would have been a wonderful experience.

I looked down at the ground and slowly opened my mouth. Then, with one hand, I grabbed Strauchi’s shoulder.

Kwaaaaang―!

With a roar, Strauchi’s body flew far away.

Thud―

I felt something burst. I didn’t know what it was.

The scene of blood-mixed vitriol scattering in all directions flowed by slowly.

Strauchi, who had crashed into the railing on the opposite side, lay sprawled there, blood pouring from his stomach.

I tilted my head, trying to restore my senses as I approached Strauchi.

“…Cough…”

At some point when it happened, he stabbed my arm with a knife and said.

“No, it won’t work.”

―Now I can finally say this. Stop, really…

Whether he was thinking of turning me into Pleroma again, I now saw that Strauchi’s own wrist was already covered in blood from the knife he had stabbed himself with. I grabbed his wrist tightly and pressed down.

“Aaaaah! S-save…”

“Save you?”

At my words, Strauchi’s body jerked with vacant eyes. Blood poured from his mouth.

Seeing him use this method to the very end, it was clear that turning someone into Pleroma allowed him to freely manipulate his opponent. He must have thought this was the most rational method for now.

I stared down at his face intently.

“As if I’d kill you.”

“…Then…”

“You have to pay me back for what you did to me before you go.”

I looked into Strauchi’s eyes and smiled.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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