BXBX NOVEL Chapter 9
=======
ㅇ Ruin Samael – Skinny Shrimp
ㅇ Talents: Weapon Skills [Swordsmanship (S), Spearmanship (S)], Elemental Affinity [Fire (SSS), Wind (SSS), Water (SS), Others (S)],
ㅇ Traits: Stamina [D], Mental Strength [A], Mana Resonance [SSS]
ㅇ Tendencies: [Steadfast Will], [Wild], [Pleasure-Seeking], [Madness], [Venomous]
ㅇ Overall Grade: Magic [SS]
======
I washed up with cold water and looked in the mirror.
I looked somewhat human now.
Of course, I was still much thinner than the average person.
“Skinny is one thing, but skinny shrimp?”
I tried using the [Inner Eye] or whatever it was called, but again, there was something annoying.
The words ‘Skinny Shrimp’ clearly displayed next to my name.
Still, it was better than being called a good-for-nothing or a loser, so I had to bear with it.
I closed my eyes and immediately expanded my senses.
I clearly felt two rings in my heart. The 2nd circle I had just completed.
Whir— The surrounding mana entered my body and began to rotate powerfully.
It was incomparably richer than when I had only one ring.
“Huh.”
Suddenly, my meager talent in my past life felt insignificant, but it was okay. It wasn’t all bad experiences.
In my past life, I did my best within the 2nd circle.
I had a determination that those born with talent could never understand.
The arrangement, utilization, and flexibility of magic.
For five years, I tried everything to become stronger.
Surprisingly, there were times when I even defeated one or two 3-circle mages.
I could confidently say that I was the strongest among the 2-circle mages back then.
And it was the same now, as I retained all the memories from that time.
I put on my pants and called for Rihan, who was outside. Rihan came in and widened his eyes.
“Wow, what’s this, Young Master? Did you really come to your senses? Your body looks quite different.”
I finished putting on my top and replied,
“I’ll be spending time at the training grounds from today, so if anyone is looking for me, let them know.”
“The training grounds?”
“Yes. The one where the apprentices gather.”
“Why there? Are you going to learn magic or something?”
“As a Samael, I have to learn magic. To be precise, I’m not going to learn magic, but to teach them a lesson.”
“I don’t understand what you mean.”
“Just know that I am.”
I changed my expression to a serious one and looked at Rihan.
“Let me ask you something.”
Rihan also straightened his posture.
“Yes.”
“What’s with the Red Magic Tower and our family? It seems like everyone I see is from the Red Magic Tower. Why are outsiders interfering so much?”
The White Horse Unit was out training at the Red Magic Tower.
The family’s pillar, the Guardian, was the Vice Tower Master of the Red Magic Tower.
Moreover, it didn’t make sense that even the apprentices were being taught by a Red Magic Tower mage.
Was this Samael or a branch family of the Red Magic Tower?
“Isn’t it a good thing to have many people from the Red Magic Tower? It raises the family’s status.”
“What’s good about it? Do you want to go around bragging about being a weak family?”
Rihan thought for a moment and then said,
“I don’t know the exact reason. Maybe the Head asked for it?”
What nonsense was this?
Was he saying that Kazen had asked the Red Magic Tower to teach them magic?
‘Hmm…’
Thinking about it carefully, it made sense.
Outsiders couldn’t just meddle with Samael without the Head’s permission.
Rihan looked at my expression and said,
“My father probably knows.”
“Your father?”
“Wright Ferrer, the head butler. I vaguely heard that our Samael family almost went bankrupt in the past. It was thanks to the Red Magic Tower’s help that we became as prosperous as we are now.”
“What?”
Who had the most pride in the current Samael?
Rihan was probably one of them, if not the most.
For him to say that the family almost went bankrupt meant that they were completely ruined.
“So how much money do we have?”
“Why are you suddenly speaking so scary? I don’t have any money.”
“I’m talking about our family. I saw that the training grounds are completely worn out. Let’s renovate them.”
“Wouldn’t that be tight?”
“…Why again?”
I was getting anxious about hearing the answer again.
I thought there would be some money rotting away in the house since he was always using hallucinogenic herbs.
The training hall was dilapidated, and the only meals served were simple things like rye bread, which was a bit strange…
“I heard from my father that we’re quite in debt. I heard the loan we borrowed from the Magic Tower is running out soon. Because of that…”
“We borrowed money? What about the businesses we own?”
“What’s that?”
“We don’t have any businesses?”
“I don’t know.”
“…Forget it.”
It seemed this crazy bastard was using borrowed money for drugs.
‘Maybe I should have just run away.’
There were more problems than I thought.
* * *
It seemed that Hector was at the center of the strange relationship between Samael and the Red Magic Tower.
He probably had some connection to the Head. That much was obvious. My experience wasn’t going anywhere.
Thud—Rumble—
Suddenly, my foot slipped, and a pile of rocks tumbled down the steep mountainside.
“Whoa.”
Ah, shit. This was a cliff.
Lost in thought, I had misstepped.
I almost fell off the cliff with the rocks.
“Why would they build a training ground in such a dangerous place? It’s a perfect spot to die.”
As I grumbled and walked along, I saw the dilapidated training hall in the middle.
I kicked the rickety door hard.
The doorframe shattered, and a loud noise echoed.
Crash—!
“Hey, servants!”
The apprentices rushed out, all with bewildered expressions.
I grinned, looking at two of them.
“Ah, yes. My proud servants. Get ready.”
Zion scowled and shouted,
“You bastard! You ran away like a coward?”
“I just went to nourish my body. And you seem to have forgotten to use honorifics. I’ll let it slide this once, so hurry up and get ready.”
“Get ready for what, you bastard?”
“To run.”
Zion’s face instantly darkened.
“You come with me. I was caught off guard last time, but this time I’ll show you what I’m made of.”
“Alright.”
As expected of someone who uses their head.
I had anticipated him reacting this way.
He wasn’t the type to submit easily and would always try to climb back up.
That kind of attitude needed to be firmly put down.
Zion started to climb the back mountain, just like last time.
This time, quite a few of the guys surrounded me and went up together.
My unpleasant mood from the whole day instantly lifted.
Let’s see how many of them there are.
‘One, two, three, four… Wow, there are a lot.’
At that moment, Zion turned around and shouted,
“Kill that bastard!”
What a foul-mouthed kid.
* * *
‘You’re really dead today.’
Zion walked with that thought in mind.
He was still furious when he remembered being humiliated by Ruin.
He was even more irritated because the guy had suddenly disappeared, but then…
‘He crawled back on his own?’
What an idiot.
A wicked smile spread across Zion’s face.
As he walked, he arrived at the pre-arranged location.
This time would be different.
“Kill that bastard!”
“I’ll teach you a lesson, newbie.”
At Zion’s signal, Makan formed hand signs and gathered wind around his fist.
Then, he threw a punch at Ruin’s forehead with all his might.
Basic Red Magic Tower martial art.
“Huh?”
Ruin dodged Makan’s attack with a simple head movement.
Then, a low-voiced chant began.
“Hardened…”
Makan threw another punch at Ruin’s face, but this time it didn’t even graze him.
“…Hardened wind, Wind Barrier.”
Swoosh—
A transparent wind barrier shimmered on Ruin’s right arm. He swung his arm and struck Makan’s nose with his elbow.
Crack—!
“Ugh!”
Makan’s jaw twisted violently.
“Wh-What? Makan was hit? Wasn’t that a 2-star spell?”
Surprised cries erupted from all around.
None of them had dreamed that Ruin was hiding his 2-star level skills.
Zion’s expression hardened the most.
But the reason for Zion’s shock was slightly different from the other apprentices.
“He’s using incantation while fighting?”
Zion, who had been focusing all his attention on Ruin, didn’t miss it this time.
He saw Ruin perfectly complete his chants while continuously deflecting Makan’s attacks.
“No way!”
What was the biggest weakness of incantation? Its vulnerability in close combat.
That’s what he had been taught. Incantation using the mana circle would fail if one’s concentration wavered even slightly.
That was the common knowledge Zion knew.
Thud— Thud, thud—
“Ugh!”
But this guy was completely ignoring common sense.
Ruin followed Makan as he was pushed back, continuously striking his face with his elbow.
It was a brutal sight, with the well-built Makan unable to even counterattack.
“…!”
The moment Makan’s waist bent forward after being punched in the stomach.
Ruin forcefully struck Makan’s jawbone with his elbow.
Crack—
A nosebleed burst forth.
“Uh, uh…”
Bright red blood splattered in the air.
The apprentices, who had never witnessed such a brutal scene, froze in place.
“S-Snap out of it! Everyone, shoot Fireballs! Let’s teach that bastard a lesson!”
At Zion’s cry, the apprentices who had barely held onto their senses began forming hand signs.
Rumble—
The ground trembled slightly as Ruin stomped his foot.
The apprentices’ hand signs were disrupted by the momentary tremor.
Only three of them managed to complete their signs properly.
Two Fireballs and one Fire Spear hurtled towards Ruin in an arc.
A Fireball also bloomed from Ruin’s hand.
A total of four fire spells collided, and a loud noise echoed.
Boom—!
“Keke.”
Hearing the strange laughter, Zion instinctively turned his head.
Ruin was smiling with one corner of his mouth stretched wide.
“Gasp!”
It was chilling. It was a creepy expression that would haunt his dreams.
A chill ran down Zion’s spine.
That’s why he didn’t see it.
Ruin’s Fireball piercing through all the other spells and flying towards him.
“…”
When he finally looked up, Zion could only watch.
He couldn’t fathom how a single Fireball could break through the magic of three people.
Or why the tip of the Fireball flying towards him had suddenly sharpened like a Fire Spear.
Boom—!
Zion’s vision went black for a moment.
He came to his senses with a slap on his cheek, only to find that dawn had broken.
He had been unconscious for hours.
“…What?”
Looking around, he saw everyone crying with dejected faces.
He tilted his head in confusion when someone tapped him on the shoulder.
“Are you awake?”
“Eek!”
Ruin was grinning at him.
Zion involuntarily flinched and jumped up, and Ruin burst into a satisfied laugh.
“You’re quick to prepare.”
“Huh?”
“Run.”
It sounded like the devil himself was speaking.