Chapter 155
Marquis Schupen was a man of sharp edges—he rarely spoke kindly of anyone.
Even his own son seldom earned his praise, so hearing such words twisted his insides.
“As I said before, this realization comes far too late. How much can basic skills really improve in just two months…?”
“Is that so?”
Schupen cut him off.
“I see it differently. Whatever method he’s using, his movements have noticeably improved in just a few days. At this rate, something extraordinary might happen two months from now.”
“!!”
That meant Saenin was going to lose the bet.
“That won’t happen.”
Saenin clenched his teeth tightly.
“I’ll prove it to you myself, Father. I’m no less capable than those arrogant fools at the main house.”
“…You.”
That was a dangerous statement—denying the main house as a branch family.
Marquis Schupen’s voice turned cold.
“Watch your words.”
Saenin balled his fists.
“I apologize for showing you such a disappointing side. I’ll be going now.”
Before Schupen could respond, Saenin spun on his heel and left.
The marquis sighed, exhaling a plume of cigarette smoke.
“Raising children is no easy task.”
In truth, Schupen’s harsh words were meant for his son’s own good.
“His arrogance is poisoning him.”
Among all the direct and branch families, Saenin was the leading prodigy of the Dark Mage Clan’s next generation.
He had every reason to be arrogant.
But that arrogance, mixed with the inferiority complex of being a branch family, was quietly eating away at him.
“Will Prince Christian be the one to shatter Saenin’s pride?”
Objectively, it seemed unlikely.
After all, as Saenin said, how much could basic skills improve in just two months?
But—
“For a genius like me, two months is a very long time.”
Schupen was curious to see what Christian would show after the promised time had passed.
Time flew by in a blur.
Christian lived the same routine every day.
He spent most of his time wearing a restraint that sealed his magic, focusing on physical training.
The rest of the time was devoted to honing the fundamentals of magic.
“This is tough, damn it.”
Christian cursed silently.
He was pushing through, but it didn’t suit him.
“Why do I have to suffer like this? Damn it.”
Though necessary, bursts of frustration welled up inside him. To calm himself, he recalled his ultimate goal.
“To prevent the world’s destruction and one day enjoy wealth and glory. Wealth and glory! Wealth and glory!”
Meanwhile, the Dark Mage soldiers watching Christian shook their heads in disbelief.
“How many days has it been? Over a month now?”
“Impressive. To train so intensely every day without rest for a whole month.”
Their sneers faded.
A mage who puts in effort deserves respect, after all.
But that was as far as it went.
“Still, no matter what, how can basic training alone beat the Five Generals?”
“Exactly.”
“Such an arrogant challenge.”
As the mages shook their heads, some began to wonder.
“…Did Prince Christian’s movements always look this good?”
“Wasn’t he terrible just a month ago?”
“How many laps has he done now? 120? He couldn’t even do 50 before. Am I remembering wrong?”
They were confused.
It was impossible for someone’s basic skills to improve so drastically in just a month.
There was a reason.
“There’s always a secret. A genius like me wouldn’t just blindly do basic training.”
Christian spat and thought.
“I’m using the secret techniques of the Uiseon family.”
That’s right.
Christian wasn’t simply doing basic training.
He was applying the Uiseon family’s physical conditioning methods.
“Even within the Uiseon family, it’s a forgotten secret technique, preserved only in cryptic texts.”
It was forgotten for a simple reason: it was nearly impossible to practice.
The technique was called the “Extreme Body Tempering Method.”
As the name suggests, it involved pushing the body to its limits and then strengthening it through the recovery process.
“You can’t just mindlessly overwork your body. You have to consciously focus on every muscle, tendon, and soft tissue as you push yourself.”
For example:
You take a step, plant your foot, and push off.
That’s running.
During that process, you must consciously feel how your tendons contract, how your muscles move, and how your soft tissues respond to the force—and deliberately overwork them.
“Even when breathing, you have to focus on your heart and lungs, as if you’re controlling your breath and blood flow with your own will.”
There were many reasons for this.
Moving absentmindedly and consciously focusing on each part made a world of difference in how much you could push and strengthen your body.
Most importantly—
“This way, your ‘will’ can inhabit your body. The will to become stronger.”
A highly focused willpower has a powerful effect on the body.
“That’s why only warriors of at least five stars, who can wield their will, can attempt this technique.”
The problem was, warriors of five stars or higher didn’t need this technique.
Their bodies were already perfectly trained.
That was the first reason this technique had fallen out of use.
“The more important reason is that maintaining such focus is impossible for ordinary people.”
A few hours might be manageable.
But no one in the world could maintain that level of concentration while pushing their body to the extreme all day long.
Except Christian.
Afterward, before sleeping, he took a specially prepared elixir.
It was a potion that thoroughly tempered his battered body.
Repeating this process for just a month had caused his physical abilities to skyrocket.
“Training the basics of magic is my specialty anyway. Even a little effort yields insane efficiency.”
Christian went somewhere private to check his progress.
Whoosh!
His aura blade unfolded.
He could clearly feel the power had grown stronger than before.
As his basic skills solidified, the vessel for his will—the strong energy—had also hardened.
“Not enough.”
He was still far from the ‘perfect strong energy’ he desired.
“It’s time to change my approach.”
There was no need to stubbornly stick to basic training while using the Uiseon family’s secret techniques.
In fact, it was time to move on to the next stage.
Christian stepped outside and headed back to the training grounds.
The demon soldiers were deep in training.
“Prince! You’re here!”
“Training?”
“Yes, sir. We’re about to spar in groups.”
The training instructor looked puzzled when Christian spoke unusually.
“You always do the same thing, huh? How about trying something different?”
“Huh?”
“I’ll teach you a move myself.”
Christian picked up a staff lying on the ground.
“Everyone here can attack me at once. I won’t use any magic.”
The instructor’s face froze.
Though they were demon soldiers, there were about 200 trainees.
“You mean to face all 200 at once? Even for a prince, without magic, that’s…”
“You’re included.”
“…What?”
“You too. Join the others and attack.”
The instructor’s expression hardened.
For reference, he was a three-star warrior.
Compared to Christian, a five-star, he was insignificant—but to face 200 people at once?
And Christian’s magic was sealed.
“Any injuries during the sparring won’t be our responsibility.”
“It’s fine. Come at me. If I lose, I’ll buy you all beef.”
Christian twirled the staff.
The demon soldiers roared and charged.
Christian’s eyes darkened as he watched them.
At the same time, he observed his own body—every muscle fiber, every movement—seeking perfect control.
Time passed again, and the promised day arrived.
People gathered at the sparring grounds.
They had come to watch the duel between Christian and the Five Generals.
Since it was a highly anticipated match, most of the Dark Mage Clan’s officers without missions seemed to have come.
“Who do you think will win?”
“Is there even a question? Of course, Prince Christian will lose. It was never a fair fight.”
“The real question is how hard Christian will fight.”
No one among the crowd predicted Christian’s victory.
They only wondered how long he could hold out.
Even in defeat, how honorably he could fall—that was all they expected from him.
“By the way, where is Prince Christian? Hasn’t he shown up yet?”
“Yeah. He hasn’t been seen for the past week.”
Christian had suddenly disappeared a week ago after only doing basic training.
“Probably off doing secret training, but what can he really achieve in just a week?”
Some even sneered quietly.
“The main house talks a big game, but I wonder how impressive he really is.”
“Doesn’t seem all that great compared to the reputation.”
Though not openly expressed, some in the Dark Mage Clan secretly resented the main house.
When the Nordians were in charge, such thoughts were unthinkable.
But since Marquis Langham took power, the main house had shown disappointing and noisy behavior.
Saenin’s disrespect toward Christian wasn’t just a personal attitude—it was expected.
It wasn’t surprising.
Unlike the alliance, obsessed with rank, tradition, and bloodline, the mages valued strength above all.
The main house ruled only because it was strong.
If that strength wavered, rebellion was inevitable.
That was why the clan’s head candidate had to earn the loyalty of the Dark Mage Clan.
And that was why this duel was so important.
If Christian failed to show his true strength, it would cast a shadow over the Dark Demon Army’s loyalty to the main house.
But if he displayed overwhelming power, it would serve as a rallying point to reinforce their allegiance.
“Of course, the chances of that happening are slim,” they thought.
Just then, a commotion stirred outside.
A boy appeared in the distance.
A familiar, arrogantly noble face.
It was Christian.
“A bit late, aren’t you?”
His voice, dripping with confidence, silenced the gathered demons in the training ground instantly.
They could sense something different about him.
Compared to when he first joined the Dark Demon Army—or even just a week ago—he was unmistakably changed.
As if he had shed his old self and become someone entirely new.
The demons realized why.
“He’s reached 5-star rank!”
It was almost unbelievable.
Rumors of Christian reaching 4-star had only spread about six months ago.
And now, already 5-star?
But that wasn’t even the most astonishing part.
“He’s a lower 5-star, yet how does he exude such an overwhelming presence?”