Chapter 702: The Uninvited Guest (3)

Tick, tock.

A strange sensation of consciousness resurfacing, accompanied by the ticking of a clock.

Lennok concluded his contact with Pandemonium, immediately exiting the consciousness space and returning to reality.

The office was quiet, devoid of a single soul.

Lennok slowly removed his obsidian mask, leaned back in his chair, and pressed a hand to his forehead.

“A subjugation operation.”

Lennok murmured quietly, then let out a scoffing laugh.

The irony of Victor volunteering for an operation being formed to confront Van.

But Lennok was certain that rather than feigning ignorance and backing out, directly jumping into the fray was the right answer at this point.

Once the decision to establish a Magic Tower was made, it was virtually impossible to individually control all its repercussions.

In that case, it would be easier for Lennok to directly intervene in the process to control the situation.

The problem was that unless Lennok had two bodies, it would be difficult to play both Van and Victor simultaneously.

“I need to master a duplication spell quickly…”

Lennok put away his obsidian mask and gazed at the scroll lying on his desk.

The highest-tier sealing spell of Radiance Magic, ‘Circumferential Consecration [전륜축성]’, which he had obtained by requesting it from Olivera.

The reason Lennok had requested the secrets of this spell from Olivera, despite already possessing Jindun’s Barrier Magic.

It was because this spell was the only means directly connected to all the results Lennok desired.

‘What I need most from Radiance Magic is ‘Effulgent Body Projection [요희신궁]’, which creates light clones… but Olivera wouldn’t have given me that.’

Olivera had only granted him the secrets of Circumferential Consecration because she believed it was necessary for capturing Peshia.

Had Lennok directly asked for Effulgent Body Projection, she likely would have ignored him.

But even so, there was a reason Lennok specifically requested Circumferential Consecration first.

While Jindun’s Barrier Magic is difficult to fully unleash its effects without prior installation.

Fundamentally, it was because Circumferential Consecration and Effulgent Body Projection operated on the same principle.

Both spells were among the highest-tier unique spells within the Radiance lineage, form-shaping magic that constructs real concepts by translating the diffuse reflection of light.

Therefore, by thoroughly studying Circumferential Consecration, there was a high probability of understanding the principles of Effulgent Body Projection as well.

Lennok had made a long-term play, going beyond merely capturing Peshia, to acquire the principles of Effulgent Body Projection.

‘At this moment, unable to immediately go to Military Spirit City, Effulgent Body Projection is the only duplication spell worth attempting.’

It wasn’t that Lennok hadn’t attempted duplication magic while moving between various identities throughout his life.

It was simply that Lennok’s transcendently powerful self-identity and mental capacity wouldn’t permit any other existence apart from himself.

Thus, even after observing excellent duplication-type ability users like Glen and Armand, he hadn’t achieved any significant results.

Essentially, a transcendent identity that absolutely forbade any derived existence other than Lennok himself.

That was why Lennok sought to acquire Effulgent Body Projection from the Radiance lineage, rather than other spells or unique abilities.

Because he believed that by applying the diffuse reflection of light, he might be able to indirectly project a clone without directly manipulating Lennok’s own body.

‘It feels very different from obtaining an avatar, but even with this, the scope of what I can do will greatly expand.’

Even if he couldn’t move in a completely different space-time, it would be enough if he could simultaneously present different identities within the same space.

Not only could he establish multiple alibis at once, but it would certainly be a great help in combat.

After a long period of studying the principles of Circumferential Consecration in his office, Lennok eventually checked his watch, rose, and left.

His regular check-up appointment with Murphy, the vampire doctor.

Normally, he would postpone or simply skip the appointment, but today, there was something he needed to personally confirm.

After his consultation with Murphy, Lennok quickly attended to the backlog of his affairs.

He hammered down the prices of catalysts and magical tools listed on auctions to nearly half, placing orders for their delivery.

He secretly extended the submission deadline for the integrated master’s and doctoral thesis at Rebatenon University, borrowing the Dean’s authority.

He confirmed the location of his new mansion, where he was scheduled to move, and then checked the security barriers he had set up in his newly prepared laboratory.

On his way back, he slowly chewed and swallowed the paprika sandwich he had made himself.

“…”

Lennok felt the hand holding the sandwich faintly tremble, and he gave a bitter smile.

His arm was numb.

It wasn’t just the bitter taste of paprika lingering in his mouth, or the fatigue gnawing at his entire body.

The Nine-Fold Dorye martial art he had used against Malacia and Melilda.

The repercussions of forcibly activating Ouroboros were belatedly setting in.

[Master…].

Davi, sensing Lennok’s condition, whispered in a worried tone.

Lennok silently stroked Davi a few times, then took out a painkiller and chewed it down.

As he swallowed the painkiller with the sandwich, the sensation in his arm dulled, and the pain seemed to subside.

Lennok slowly rubbed his elbow, lost in thought.

‘Even with Murphy’s help, accurately identifying the cause is difficult.’

After learning ‘Eight Reverberations [팔경]’, a counter-technique derived from the Eight Reversals of Nine-Fold Dorye, from Lansia.

Lennok instinctively realized that it was a kind of unconventional method to physically activate Ouroboros.

The Ouroboros magic system, which could barely be used only after long preparation, chanting, and pushing intuition to its limits.

The fact that it could be mimicked simply by following a few movements of a martial art.

The Eight Reverberations thus manifested was a degraded version of the true Ouroboros’s power, but it was potent enough to forcibly twist the direction of real forces.

‘There’s no problem with martial arts imitation through Touin and mana thread manipulation. But….’

Although he was learning martial arts from Lansia, physical coordination isn’t something that can be developed in an instant.

Therefore, the method Lennok chose to immediately use Eight Reverberations was to manipulate his own body with mana threads.

By combining manipulation spells and ‘Touin,’ which Krod Azlan had passed down, he could force his creaking body to maintain the posture for Eight Reverberations.

In that state, golden concentric circles manifested through the profound principles of Nine-Fold Dorye.

A recoil technique that created an illusion as if an invisible droplet had fallen into thin air, generating ripples.

He had used Eight Reverberations in the battle against Malacia and Melilda to confirm whether forced activation via mana thread manipulation was possible.

The problem was that the after-effects of forcibly manipulating his body to use Eight Reverberations were by no means negligible.

Lennok silently kneaded his stiff fingers, then smiled and shook his head.

“As expected, I can’t overuse it… my body can’t endure it.”

It was a convulsion, a twisting sensation of his very senses, somewhat different from the penalty imposed on Lennok or extreme fatigue.

Even with various unconventional methods, this frail body couldn’t perfectly manifest a single martial art.

If he forcibly used Eight Reverberations through mana thread manipulation instead of naturally assuming the stance, strong after-effects like these would follow.

After concluding several experiments, Lennok became aware of these after-effects and tried to find their cause through examinations with Murphy, but ultimately failed.

After using it twice in succession during the battle against Malacia and Melilda, Lennok had already reached a conclusion.

‘I’ll have no choice but to refrain from using it unless it’s an emergency.’

A secret life-saving stratagem. In a way, it was like gaining a significantly upgraded version of the technique he taught Jenny.

It was hard to believe he had acquired such a technique while learning Pilates, but Lennok still thought it unlikely that Nine-Fold Dorye was an original martial art of an Ascendant.

‘If it were deeply entangled with Dorye’s karma, others wouldn’t have gotten off so easily.’

Dorye was an Ascendant so utterly corrupted and mad that even Lennok knew their name.

If even a trace of their will-thought remained in the martial art’s form, Lansia couldn’t possibly be sane.

It would have been impossible for it to be passed down in a completely intact form at all.

It was more accurate to think that some profound secret within Nine-Fold Dorye had simply touched upon Lennok’s unknown potential.

The problem was the high likelihood that this phenomenon, discovered by chance, was a physical ability far removed from Lennok’s innate talents.

Because it wasn’t a talent he originally used, it was difficult to control, but perhaps precisely because of that, it felt more powerful than expected.

“Martial arts. The power of a pugilist…”

It wasn’t that he had no thoughts at all about it.

The problem was whether it was a talent truly inherent in him.

Or if it was a premonition of ruin existing in this world, riddled with distortions and unconventional methods, that he couldn’t properly grasp.

“…”

Perhaps his capabilities were simply overflowing at a time when his research into the Libra of Fate, Five Ultimate Arts and mass manipulation spells hadn’t even concluded yet.

Thoughts and concerns only grew as they continued, always beginning but never ending.

Sometimes he thought that not thinking might be the answer, yet he worried whether even that conclusion was something he had thought up.

As Lennok walked, lost in various thoughts, he paused when he saw a commotion at the far end of the street.

“…A gambling den?”

The outskirts of Sector 47’s port. Usually quiet at this hour, the street was unusually bustling with people.

A large-scale underground gambling den, seemingly only opened a few days ago, with its doors wide open and various events underway.

The dazzling lights, music, and scorching heat were palpable even from where Lennok stood on the street.

‘The vibe is a bit different from what’s usually popular in this sector.’

Working in the shadows, Lennok knew the atmosphere of gambling dens, arenas, and auction houses.

By Lennok’s standards, this newly opened gambling den had a completely different feel and imported facilities.

It was probably because the format and system of this gambling den had been imported from a city other than Vulcan.

Normally, he wouldn’t have given it a second thought and simply passed by, but there was a reason Lennok hesitated upon seeing this gambling den.

“A casino…”

A few words Freya had mentioned about Peshia during a Pandemonium meeting.

Hadn’t she been described as loving gambling so much she was called a ‘gambling addict’, usually holed up in Torquepaz?

“…”

After a moment of contemplation, Lennok walked past the crowd gathered in front of the casino and casually entered the gambling den.

“Welcome, customer.”

A server carrying drinks nearby winked and greeted him.

Lennok silently surveyed his surroundings, then asked with an expressionless face.

“I haven’t seen this casino before. Did it open recently?”

“That’s right.”

The server nodded at Lennok’s words.

“It’s one of the establishments built by directly importing technology and facilities from Torquepaz in the Western Continent, a city known for leading entertainment culture.”

“Torquepaz technology?”

While working for Pandemonium, he had once received a direct invitation from The Clown to visit Torquepaz.

He knew it was a city obsessed with entertainment, devoted to gambling and wagers, but he never imagined they would import its facilities.

Seeing Lennok’s apparent interest, the server looked around, then secretly pulled something from his pocket and pressed it into Lennok’s hand.

A small chip, shining like a clear sky-blue.

In terms of unit price, it was an item that easily exceeded 2 million cells.

“I’m not supposed to give these out, but since you seem interested, I’m making an exception as a gesture of goodwill.”

Lennok chuckled, watching the server wink and leisurely walk away.

It was an obvious sales tactic, but few people would be offended by it, even knowing that.

What customer would dislike a server who thought they were worth over 2 million cells?

It was like gifting a fairly large stake for free, but it was also proof that this gambling den was aggressively attracting customers.

Lennok held the chip and slowly walked further into the gambling den.

“I don’t have much interest in gambling…”

Although he had unintentionally participated in a few raffles, Lennok himself had rarely touched gambling.

Complex psychological warfare, diverse tactical battles, the audacity to rely on reckless probabilities, and the madness of throwing down decisive stakes.

All of these were things Lennok had experienced to an overwhelming degree in life-or-death battles.

He had casually entered on the thought that ‘one never knows,’ but he had no intention of wasting time using the chip.

Having made up his mind, Lennok tickled the chin of the spirit sleeping soundly in his pocket.

“Davi.”

[…Mmm.]

Davi, rubbing her sleepy eyes as she woke, poked her head out from Lennok’s pocket and surveyed the surroundings.

Since the goal was just to observe briefly, there was no need to hold onto the chip for long and arouse suspicion.

Since the server had given him the chip, leaving without using it might make him appear suspicious.

Here, it was better to pretend to be a clueless novice, quickly lose the chip, and leave.

“Find me the game table with the lowest odds of winning he—”

“WAAAHH!!”

At that moment, Lennok stopped speaking, interrupted by a roar of cheers echoing from the other side of the gambling den.

In the middle of the gambling den was an expressionless woman, with chips piled high in front of her.

The spectators surrounding her were all excited, unable to take their eyes off her hand as she pulled the machine’s lever.

Cha-rur-rur-ruk!!

Every time she pulled the slot, a jackpot hit, and a cascade of chips poured out.

At the feet of the expressionless woman, spectators were subtly busy picking up chips.

“…”

She looked like nothing more than a customer who had hit a massive jackpot. But Lennok’s expression had already turned blank as he gazed at her.

Outwardly, she had a nondescript, ordinary appearance, but the way her eyes casually swept her surroundings was so sharp it felt chilling.

A state where experience and mental landscapes materialized and leaked out of her body, something that couldn’t be explained by mere aura.

The moment he confronted that ghostly, ominous pressure, Lennok was certain of her identity.

A soldier known on the Central Front for her love of gambling.

A personality that loved Torquepaz’s facilities and entertainment so much she practically camped out there.

Peshia Grisbern had appeared in Sector 47.

Despite the boisterous cheers, the woman only picked up a few of the most valuable chips from the scattered pile on the floor and immediately moved to another spot.

Approaching the massive mechanical devices lined up along the casino wall, the woman unhesitatingly inserted chips again.

Following her, the spectators stood up in a rush and began murmuring behind her once more.

Lennok silently watched her, then chuckled, looking at the chip in his hand.

“…Good.”

Lennok twirled the chip in his fingers and slowly began to walk towards her.