Genius Gamer Reborn into a Family of Heroes

Chapter 49

The Tower of Magic, Golems, and the Trial

The next morning.

After finishing his shower, Harang tidied his hair, tying it back neatly with a white ribbon, and dressed himself in proper attire.

Today was the final day to challenge Natalen. Because of this, instead of his usual casual attire, he wore the full Kaladan uniform, complete with a cape and robe.

“Young Master, it’s raining heavily today. Will you still go out?”

Just as he was about to leave the mansion, a maid called out to him from behind.

It was Soirin, the maid who had been looking after him for the past three months.

“It’s cold because of the rain, so please take this tonic with you. You shouldn’t catch a cold… Huh?”

Soirin, who had been speaking hurriedly, suddenly fell silent.

Harang had been simply glaring at her without saying a word since a moment ago.

Kurrung-!!

When a bolt of lightning struck behind Harang and the world seemed to darken for an instant, Soirin saw it.

The overwhelming presence of those silver eyes filling the entire world.

“…Ah, ah.”

Thud! Her legs gave way, and she collapsed onto the spot.

By the time Soirin came to her senses, Harang had long since left the mansion, leaving no trace of his presence.

But she still felt as though she was paralyzed by the fierce gaze he had given her.

‘Ka, Kaladan… Kaladan’s…’

Trembling as she sat on the ground, staring blankly into the air, other maids and knights hurried over to support her.

“What happened?! What’s going on?!”

“Why did she suddenly…?!”

Unable to respond to their barrage of questions, Soirin could only mumble as if in a daze.

“He knew my sin…”

And with that, she let out a hollow laugh, looking as if her soul had left her body, causing the maids supporting her to feel a shiver down their spines.

“What on earth happened to her?”

The maids didn’t understand Soirin’s state, but the knights quickly grasped the situation.

This was the reaction of an ordinary person exposed to the aura of a predator at the top of the food chain. But there shouldn’t be anyone in this mansion that could be called a predator.

‘…No, there is one. There is one born from the bloodline of predators.’

The knights couldn’t help but have a chilling thought. They had considered him just a fledgling, despite his lineage.

‘It seems… the youngest grandson is growing far too quickly.’

The knight with the red eyes narrowed his gaze.

‘…I must report this to him.’

* * *

When Harang, now exuding a different aura, entered the Tower of Magic’s hall, Natalen’s eyes sparkled with interest.

“Your momentum has become heavier.”

Harang aimed Cheongwolheun. Today, its blue light seemed particularly fierce and pale.

“Today, I will show you everything I have.”

He held Cheongwolheun vertically, supporting its back with his other hand.

Harang gently closed his eyes and channeled mana into his left hand, which wasn’t holding the sword.

“…Let it blow.”

Whoooosh-!!

Slowly, a silver wind began to blow.

Within that sharp and biting silver wind, a black energy was mixed. Seeing this, Natalen could only let out a bitter laugh, as if it no longer surprised him.

“It’s that technique of his… To be using the power of the Dragon’s Words at such a young age.”

Natalen spoke as he observed Harang’s sword, now wreathed in swirling winds of pure white and pitch black.

“In your current state, you don’t even need to use the Dragon Sword to defeat me.”

Indeed, Harang believed there was a 70% chance he could win against Natalen even without using the Dragon Sword.

However, he wasn’t entirely certain, and he didn’t want to show any signs of ambiguity in this final duel with Natalen.

“But showing you all of my secrets and power—this, I believe, is the proper respect due to a ‘master’ whom I must soon part with.”

What if he had encountered a proper battle mage before meeting Natalen?

If he had faced a mage with superior tactical skills, he would have likely been defeated before even having the chance to use the Dragon Sword.

‘Until now, magic has been shrouded in fog, unclear to me.’

Though he had studied magic, he had never actually seen it in action, so he had no idea how mages cast their spells or how they fought.

But now, things were different.

“Thanks to you, I’ve gained a great deal of insight. Although our time was short… I am truly grateful.”

Whoooosh!! The black-and-white wind swirling around Harang’s sword intensified.

It was an overly fierce gesture for a thank you, but Natalen was willing to accept it.

“Fine, come at me whenever you’re ready.”

Raising both hands high into the air, Natalen simultaneously deployed two magic circles, suspending them in midair.

As the two circles rapidly spun and activated, Natalen didn’t stop there. He extended both hands forward, casting two more spells.

This was the ultra-fast auto-completion casting he had developed to overcome the limitations he faced as a child, when dual casting was the extent of his abilities!

Though it was called ultra-fast auto-completion, it wasn’t as convenient as it sounded.

He had repeated the same spell tens of thousands of times until he could finally cast it without the need for precise calculations.

To genius mages, this method might seem inefficient, something that would make them shake their heads. But for Natalen, who had been deemed mediocre—no, even called “dull-witted”—this was the only way to stand alongside Hero Kaladan.

‘The only path I could take to stand proudly beside that most brilliant man.’

This was the path that Natalen had to take.

And it was a path that only Natalen could walk.

The technique he first trained in to lay the foundation for the advent of myth was now unfolding here.

‘Hexa Casting.’

With a mere 5-star magic, Natalen managed to simultaneously deploy six spells.

Two were offensive.

Four were defensive.

It felt uncharacteristically defense-heavy compared to usual, but he had no choice. Natalen’s instincts warned him that if he didn’t do this, he wouldn’t last even a few seconds!

Harang, meanwhile, kept his eyes closed, sword still raised. Natalen, sweeping his arms, shouted:

“If you won’t come, I’ll make the first move!”

On the left, a fiery serpent writhed, while on the right, a freezing serpent bared its sharp fangs.

The serpents of fire and ice spiraled in a vortex, scattering crimson flames and blue frost in all directions.

These two spells, powerful enough that no mere 4-star swordsman could possibly withstand them, exploded with force.

Whoosh… Slish!

Suddenly, two sharp gusts of black and white wind swept through, cleanly severing the heads of both serpents.

At that moment, Harang’s eyes snapped open.

‘…It’s coming!’

His figure vanished in an instant.

Natalen, having anticipated Harang’s approach, activated the third spell he had pre-cast.

Executioner of Alehardin

This ancient spell, said to have been created long ago to execute a hero with seven heads, summoned seven guillotines to strike down sequentially on any enemy within its range. Avoiding or blocking it with ordinary footwork was impossible.

Crash! Clang! Crash!

However, Harang zigzagged forward like a cheetah, effortlessly deflecting the descending guillotines with his sword wrapped in black and white wind, never stopping his advance.

Taking advantage of the slight decrease in Harang’s speed during this process, Natalen immediately summoned his fourth spell.

Mirage’s Path

The space around them seemed to warp, distorting the vision of all within its radius, causing them to lose their sense of direction. But from the moment Harang stepped into the Mirage’s Path, he didn’t blink once as he continued to charge straight towards Natalen.

If he were an ordinary 4-star swordsman, his senses would have been twisted long ago, causing him to run off in a bizarre direction!

‘Hah! What incredible focus and insight…!’

But the Mirage’s Path was merely a setup for the next spell in Natalen’s sequence.

Heaven’s Punishment: Fourth Form

A gentle spring breeze suddenly blew, brushing through Harang’s hair. Feeling a momentary sense of peace, Harang instinctively glanced upward.

Somehow, from somewhere, a warm light was pouring down upon him.

Immediately after, a red beam of light descended upon the wide-eyed Harang!

Heaven’s Punishment: Crimson Flame Explosion

Boom!!!

The beam scorched the ground as it passed, tearing the earth apart. But even then, Harang raised Cheongwolheun, and though he was pushed back, he managed to block the powerful attack with great effort.

‘Ha, he even managed to block this?’

Natalen smirked, preparing his final spell—one of his most confident techniques.

Wrath of the Avatar

…Whoosh!

At first, it was just a small flame.

A tiny flame that flickered atop Natalen’s armor, no bigger than a candle flame. It swayed weakly, as if it would be snuffed out by the slightest breeze.

But Harang could feel it—the overwhelming storm of heat radiating from that tiny flame!

“Ugh…!!”

Although he could only use 5-star magic at the moment, with its power at barely a hundredth of its original might, Harang could still feel a hint of the terrifying force that had once incinerated millions of demon armies in the distant past.

‘It feels like I’m facing a giant of fire…’

But.

‘I can cut through it.’

Gritting his teeth, Harang faced Natalen head-on.

Amidst the towering figure that seemed to be clad in surging flames, Harang’s focus was solely on Natalen.

“Haaa…”

Taking a deep breath in, then out.

Step!

As he took a single step forward—

—What…?!

It felt as if all the space around him, including Natalen, was being pulled toward Harang like a magnet.

[Kaladan Dragon Sword Second Form]

It was an illusion.

It wasn’t that the space was being drawn toward Harang, but rather that Harang was moving through space at a speed that made it seem like the world was being pulled toward him!

‘This technique…!’

The moment Natalen’s eyes widened in shock, Harang’s sword and wind stormed forth.

[Wind Hole Black-and-White Sword]

A single sword strike.

And then, a silence.

All the magic shattered and scattered, and as Harang passed by Natalen, stopping in his stride, he sheathed his sword and whispered softly.

“…Thank you for your hard work.”

As Harang murmured those words and sheathed his sword at his waist—

Void

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Dozens of wind blades tore through the air in a circular motion, shredding Natalen’s entire body. The fierce black-and-white blades, swirling like a small black hole for a full two seconds, sliced him into countless pieces before finally calming down.

All that remained of Natalen now was his helmet, which emitted a faint, flickering light. It was as if he was desperately clinging to his final moments.

“How unfortunate…”

Even as the light in his eyes dimmed, Natalen did not take his gaze off his student.

“If only my avatar had been a little stronger… If I had just a bit more time, I could have taught you so much more…”

How brilliant and beautiful would the history written by this boy become?

“It is my eternal regret that I will not be there to witness it…”

Even as his body was being torn apart, Natalen regretted not being able to teach Harang more.

And with that, he closed his eyes.

But why?

In that final moment, the light in his eyes flared brightly and vanished, almost as if he had become a smiling, beautiful woman.

‘A woman…?’

A short while later, when Natalen’s avatar golem had completely ceased functioning, Harang placed his helmet high upon the altar and gazed at it quietly.

Then, bowing his head slightly,

“The grace you have bestowed upon me is more than I deserve. I will carry it in my heart always.”

He offered his final farewell to the master who had given him a great gift of knowledge and then departed.