I Conquered the Tower with the EX-Class Character That I Raised - Chapter 52

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 52
I scrolled through community reactions while testing out my newly acquired abilities in various ways.
The moment I carelessly deactivated my synchronization with the Necromancer.
“No! Rat-dol!!!”
Rat-dol, who had been sustained by my dark mana, lost his form and crumbled into ordinary bone fragments.
Fortunately, the moment I synchronized with the Necromancer again, Rat-dol’s bones snapped back together and he was restored to life.
“It’s time we headed out.”
I glanced at the party window.
Lee Ah-woon’s HP had been full for a while now.
And seeing his MP, which had shown no change for quite some time, finally begin to shift ever so slightly, I realized it was time to go.
It meant Lee Ah-woon had regained consciousness and started attempting magic.
“Come here, Rat-dol.”
I tucked the adorable Rat-dol snugly into my pocket and stroked his head.
Seeming pleased, Rat-dol simply savored the sensation of my touch.
‘So smooth and pleasant to pet. Like a polished ping-pong ball.’
[…Me too.]
“Hm?”
[Never mind.]
Whitey, who did nothing but spout nonsense, I secured properly around my wrist.
After one final check to ensure the camera was syncing properly.
I headed toward Lee Ah-woon’s quarters.
* * *
“I’m here.”
“Ah, welcome, hyung.”
Thanks to having sent him a whisper beforehand telling him to train, Lee Ah-woon was drenched in sweat.
“I told you to do magic training.”
If he exhausted himself like this on physical conditioning, what was the point?
“Yes, I was doing magic training.”
“?”
“…?”
Lee Ah-woon glanced down at his own state, then added with an “ah.”
“Ah, this sweat? Well, it’s from enduring the pain.”
“Pain?”
When I asked, Lee Ah-woon answered with an awkward smile on his gaunt face.
“Dark magic—when I try to draw the Necromancer’s mana up from within my body… it feels like black metal shards are scraping through my blood vessels. It hurts incredibly.”
“….”
So that’s what it was?
“While I was suppressing that pain and trying to gather the mana, my whole body tensed up without me realizing….”
“Try it once.”
“Yes, sir.”
Lee Ah-woon straightened his posture and closed both eyes.
A stifled groan escaped his lips as the muscles in his jaw clenched with iron rigidity.
Deep furrows carved themselves across his brow, and the veins in his neck bulged as if threatening to rupture.
To any observer, he appeared to be enduring excruciating agony.
Ssshhhhh—
A dark, murky fog began to rise from Lee Ah-woon’s body.
“Hnngh! Hnngh!”
Lee Ah-woon gasped roughly, forcibly wringing mana from his very core.
‘…Is this similar to Han Seol-ah’s experience?’
Watching him, I recalled Han Seol-ah’s past training sessions.
‘Han Seol-ah also had to endure the agonizing rupture of her mana pathways to master Frost Realm mana.’
To prevent her body from collapsing, she had to personally compute and inscribe extraordinarily complex magical circles—mandalas—within her own flesh.
Even the slightest rough handling of mana would cause her pathways to tear like rags, and she bore that horrific backlash across her entire being.
Lee Ah-woon faced the same ordeal.
No matter how much elixir I fed him, how many curses I dispelled, how I promoted him to EX-rank, or what miraculous Dual Class talent I granted him.
He remained, fundamentally, a human with a mortal body.
Only by ‘enduring’ magic’s backlash with his entire body could he truly manifest his abilities.
“Huff… huff. Brother, did you… see that?”
Lee Ah-woon finally contained the dark magic’s aura, sweat pouring from him like rain.
Despite merely awakening his mana, Lee Ah-woon was on the verge of complete exhaustion.
“What should I do…?”
Lee Ah-woon asked in a dejected tone.
‘What about me?’
I need not understand how magic works or grasp its principles.
How to manipulate mana, how to condense it, which magical circles to inscribe—such tedious, pedantic, and complex matters are all handled automatically by Synchronization.
I need only perform one simple action: recite the incantation from my skill window with intent.
Then Synchronization performs the overwhelmingly perfect calculations for me—billions of gears meshing without even 0.0001mm of error.
While hunters writhe in bone-scraping agony to control mana flow, I merely ‘click’ a button within the perfect interface the system provides.
No complex incantations, no agonizing backlash that tears through blood vessels—none of it exists for me.
Once again, I feel the absurd brokenness of Synchronization.
“How are you currently manipulating your mana?”
“Just… however it happens…”
I paused to gather my thoughts.
First… Dark mana is a force that doesn’t exist on Earth, or at least hasn’t been discovered yet.
Han Seol-ah’s Frost Realm mana has already been researched extensively, with introductory texts well-prepared for beginners.
Elemental or martial arts series typically work this way.
But Dark mana has no reference materials, no training methods, no senior practitioners to teach it.
Therefore, I am the only one capable of transmitting knowledge to Lee Ah-woon.
‘How should I explain this…?’
Just as I was about to sink into contemplation.
[Master.]
“Hmm?”
Rat-dol, nestled in my pocket, called out to me.
[Will you entrust this to me?]
What exactly does he plan to do?
But there’s no way my adorable Rat-dol would do anything reckless.
“Go ahead.”
[As you command.]
Boing!
Rat-dol sprang from my pocket with a bounce.
Thud!
He landed before Lee Ah-woon in a magnificent heroic stance.
“…? Brother, what is this tiny skeleton doll…?”
[Gaaaaaahhhhh!]
“Eek!”
Rat-dol brandished a toothpick-like sword and pointed it at Lee Ah-woon.
[I am Rat-dol, a Death Knight who has been honored with this name by my master. From now on, I shall instruct you in the ways of wielding Dark Mana.]
“…?”
[Answer.]
“Y-yes, sir.”
Whoosh!
“Kyaaahhh!”
Rat-dol darted forward like a flash of light and stabbed Lee Ah-woon’s thigh!
Though the blade was toothpick-sized, Rat-dol was the swordsman who could cleave through automobiles in an instant.
He must have held back enough to avoid fatal injury, yet Lee Ah-woon screamed and collapsed.
[If your response is slow, I will kill you. Do you understand?]
“Y-yes, yes!!”
[All responses shall be unified as ‘Ack.’ Do you understand?]
“Ack!”
Yikes.
This is brutal.
[Dark Mana is also called Death Mana. It is merely a difference in terminology—the essence remains unchanged. As an instructor, I find the term ‘Dark Mana’ that my master bestowed far more agreeable.]
“Ack!”
[Dark Mana is the force of negation. Death, despair, suffering, darkness and shadow, fear, plague—think of it as converting such negative energies into mana for use. Do you comprehend?]
“Eh?”
Whoosh!
“Aaahhh!”
[Whether you comprehend or not, you will die. Still, from this I have gauged your intelligence level. Insect. You are at that level or below. You are now an insect. Understood?]
“Ack!”
[I shall educate you at a level even an insect can grasp. You, here. Here. And up to here.]
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Rat-dol pinpointed the critical meridians through which mana flowed, striking each one with precision.
[Now circulate dark mana along the points I’ve indicated. Begin.]
“Ugh!”
Lee Ah-woon gritted his teeth again, channeling dark mana through his body.
[Incorrect. I told you—dark mana is the energy of negation. Yet your mind is filled only with positivity and brightness. However…]
“Ugh!”
[Deep within your heart, I see an unquenchable flame of vengeance, hatred’s viscous bloodstains clinging stubbornly to your soul. You possess talent, I assure you.]
“….”
Lee Ah-woon fell silent.
‘…Lee Ah-woon’s younger sister.’
I recalled what I’d learned from Lee Hyung-je’s past.
A child who had transcended age to become friends with Lee Hyung-je of the Golden Mine.
A child whose kindness and brightness had made her prey to a monster’s cruel slaughter.
Since then, Lee Ah-woon’s eyes had burned with vengeance.
[Rage. Hate. I shall guide you.]
Tap! Tap! Thrust!
“Ahhh! Ahhh! Aaaahhh!!!”
[Continue circulating mana. Is the pain from the blade piercing flesh, or from circulating mana? Judging by your reaction, the pain of mana circulation seems far worse.]
“Argh!”
[Come now. Scream. Channel your rage through the mana. Block the points I strike with dark mana. Here—I strike.]
‘…Rat-dol. Impressive.’
Teaching magic from the ground up.
This was extraordinarily difficult for me.
Unlike me, who activates magic with a mere ‘click’.
Hunters must manifest magic through casting.
Teaching them how to perform that casting was the challenge….
‘I just do it—how do I explain it?’
I don’t cast at all, as I’ve said.
Rat-dol was handling that in my stead.
A relief.
“Hngh.”
Before long, Lee Ah-woon collapsed.
Rat-dol carefully observed whether Lee Ah-woon was truly unconscious, his toothpick blade still in hand…
‘Oof, that’s terrifying.’
The brutality of his method made me look away.
In any case.
Rat-dol had returned.
[My lord. To what level would you wish this fellow to master command magic?]
“Hmm.”
This is where it matters.
“We don’t need attack-type skills.”
[Then what remains is defense, summoning, and curse-type abilities.]
“Summoning is most critical. Curses come next, and defense last.”
[I inquire how you intend to utilize this individual.]
“There are many tactics available. But first—how far do you think Lee Ah-woon can grow?”
[With a master who can provide clear direction, I believe he could reach a level equal to you, or perhaps slightly below.]
I nodded in understanding.
EX-grade. A superhuman among superhumans.
At that level, being the strongest on Earth would make perfect sense.
‘If Lee Ah-woon can reach my level, my strategic options expand tremendously.’
“What if we only have until tomorrow?”
[Lower-tier summoning and lower-tier curses should be possible.]
“Be specific about summoning capacity.”
Rat-dol paused to gather his thoughts.
[…We’re aiming for the Necromancer’s level 10 beginner spell, ‘Flesh and Bone,’ but that’s essentially impossible. Therefore, I believe we could manage the Bone Dragon Master’s beginner spell, ‘Skeleton Summon,’ instead.]
“I see.”
Flesh and Bone was a Necromancer’s beginner spell that combined two corpses to raise a single elite undead.
Skeleton Summon was a beginner spell from the lower-tier class Bone Dragon Master that summoned two skeletal soldiers from bones.
The gap between them was enormous, but…
“That’s sufficient.”
I’ll fill in what’s lacking myself.
[As for curses…]
“Ah, develop ‘Thorns’ for him.”
[Thorns… you mean that? That’s a power-type spell…]
“Lee Ah-woon already possesses the aptitude for Thorns.”
I pointed to the tip of Rat-dol’s sword.
It was an extremely faint trace, but with the Necromancer active within me, I could perceive it.
Dark mana was seeping from that very tip.
[This is…!]
While Rat-dol flinched in surprise and examined his sword’s edge, Lee Ah-woon, who had been unconscious, began convulsing with foam at his mouth and anguished groans.
“I stabbed lightly, so that’s the extent of it. If I’d stabbed with intent to kill, your toothpick—no, your sword would have shattered, and you’d have been unsummoned.”
[…How is this even possible?]
Rat-dol looked back and forth between Lee Ah-woon crawling on the ground and the tip of his own sword in disbelief.
[Thorns is the Curse Mage’s level 99 ultimate skill. Even using the Necromancer class’s power, it’s a level 40 advanced spell…! How could a beginner who can’t even manage Skeleton Summon…!]
“Hunters in this world possess something called traits.”
A unique trait Lee Ah-woon had possessed from the beginning.
Pure Soul (EX).
I suspected this was the cause.
That inexplicable power—the same force that had left scratches on Nebula, an absolute being, in Lost Honor.
[I shall obey your command.]
“Good. Take care of yourself.”
*Snap.*
Rat-dol bowed with precise courtesy, then turned back toward Lee Ah-woon.
*Thrust!*
‘…Ouch.’
He’d stabbed right into a rather sensitive spot.
“Kyaaaagh!”
Lee Ah-woon leaped into the air with a yelp.
[Snap out of it, you insect.]
“Ugh, g-ghhh.”
Without a word, I thrust a potion toward Lee Ah-woon.
‘…With this, Lee Ah-woon should be fine.’
“Aaaagh!”
[Stop screaming, or scream louder!]
“Aaaaaaaagh!!!”
[Yes, that’s it. Let your rage flow!]

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