TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 4
For the successors who would find themselves in the same situation as those who were not blessed.
The half-penny ancestors stayed in the Green Pine Mansion, fully recording their techniques and memories to create secret technique books.
That is precisely the Secret Library of the Green Pine Mansion.
A library meant for the half-pennies.
“Ha, seriously.”
Kraush stepped closer to the bookshelf and slowly pulled out a dust-covered secret technique book.
What if he had discovered this place even a little earlier?
Instead of obsessing over the skills granted through contracts with gods.
Could he not have achieved mastery with the creations of mankind?
“I’m a bit late, aren’t I, ancestors?”
Kraush joked as he lifted his head.
The library that had been sealed away due to the worst half-penny, Demaris Balheim.
Kraush had finally reopened this library.
However, while these ancestors’ secret technique books were impressive, the one Kraush sought was something else entirely.
As Kraush turned his head, a shiver ran down his spine.
A chilling aura struck his body with immense force.
Even after experiencing countless curses of World Erosion, this chill was unmistakable.
It was certain.
‘Demaris Balheim.’
The secret technique book left behind by a demon.
It was there.
Step, step—
Kraush’s footsteps began to move slowly.
At the very end of the library, a black, ominous book rested on the shelf.
At a glance, it even seemed to have traces of bloodstains. Kraush slowly picked it up.
Then, Kraush let out a wry laugh.
‘So that’s why he went mad.’
Seeing the swirling aura emanating from the black secret technique book, Kraush gripped it tightly.
Just touching it caused the tips of Kraush’s fingers to slightly burn.
Yet Kraush didn’t even let out a groan of pain.
Thanks to the curses of World Erosion, he was accustomed to pain.
Something like this couldn’t possibly stop him.
‘So he was consumed by the curse of World Erosion.’
Kraush realized why Demaris Balheim had gone mad through the curse embedded in the book.
The curse of World Erosion was relentless.
Even Kraush had barely managed to endure it by researching and researching methods to neutralize the curse over several years, eventually offsetting it with other curses.
If he had taken on just one curse at a time, even Kraush wouldn’t have been able to withstand it.
‘Moreover, stealing a curse slightly diminishes its effect.’
A curse becomes stronger when it is cast on a clearly defined target.
Since Kraush had stolen the curse, it had lost its target and weakened.
Of course, the excruciating pain remained unchanged.
Crack—
Ignoring the burning skin on his hands, Kraush turned the pages of the book.
He began to read the book slowly.
Its contents were written in the form of a diary.
Demaris Balheim.
The story of how the one called a half-penny was ultimately consumed by World Erosion and came to be known as a demon.
Demaris had recorded every bit of that harrowing tale here.
But the narrative didn’t particularly move Kraush.
What mattered more was what came after.
‘Found it.’
In that moment, Kraush’s eyes gleamed sharply.
The reason Demaris was considered the greatest disgrace of Balheim wasn’t because he was demon-like.
It was because he was a monster so powerful that he was called the strongest in Balheim.
During the time when Demaris rampaged, the strongest warriors of the world challenged him.
But all of them were decapitated by Demaris.
How could someone like that have been so overwhelmingly strong?
The answer was simple.
He had created a unique secret technique to handle World Erosion.
A mad secret technique that engraved World Erosion into his own body to wield its power.
And thanks to that madness, he became the strongest.
Though he eventually turned into a monster consumed by World Erosion.
The secret technique he left behind.
Extreme Blood Immersion Poison.
A forbidden technique, even in Balheim, that allowed one to absorb World Erosion into their own body.
No one could have imagined that this forbidden technique book would be tucked away at the very end of the Secret Library in the Green Pine Mansion.
‘If I master this, it’s possible.’
As Kraush read the details of Extreme Blood Immersion Poison, he clenched his fists tightly.
Although when he first discovered it, more than half of it had already burned, making it impossible to learn.
This time, it was different.
Of course, Extreme Blood Immersion Poison was unimaginably dangerous.
But Kraush had a plan.
‘The downside of Extreme Blood Immersion Poison is the frenzy caused by World Erosion, and the need for someone cursed to control such frenzy.’
Kraush knew exactly who that cursed person was.
And he also knew that person was someone quite close to him.
Though the idea of stealing another curse was absurd.
It was necessary for what lay ahead.
Someday, Kraush intended to steal not just curses but even skills.
For now, Kraush had to grow stronger without relying on skills.
Closing the Extreme Blood Immersion Poison book, Kraush stood up.
“Aliod.”
“Yes, Young Master Kraush.”
“From today onward, until I’ve mastered every secret technique book here, don’t let anyone into the Green Pine Mansion.”
It was an order from the current master of the Green Pine Mansion.
Aliod, seeing Kraush like this, widened his eyes before bowing his head deeply.
“Understood.”
Kraush began pulling out more books again.
Watching Kraush’s back, Aliod fell into thought.
‘How does Young Master Kraush even know about this place?’
A library filled with secret technique books that, at a glance, contained terrifying secrets.
Even Aliod, assigned as the butler of the Green Pine Mansion, didn’t know about this place, yet Kraush had found it as if it were natural.
As if someone had told him about it overnight.
Then, who could that someone be?
‘Could it be.’
There was only one person who could have revealed such a place in the Green Pine Mansion.
The current patriarch of Balheim.
Martial Emperor Balrok Balheim.
It could only be him.
‘Has the patriarch not yet given up on Young Master Kraush?’
Seeing Kraush’s contract with a god, perhaps the patriarch had indeed hinted at the secrets of the Green Pine Mansion to him.
Having reached that conclusion, Aliod clenched the fist resting against his chest tightly.
‘To think that I almost gave up on the Young Master, whom even the Patriarch never abandoned.’
He found himself utterly pathetic.
At the same time, emotions surged within him.
The emotions from the time when Kraush was first born.
The resolve he had as a butler to support this person for life and someday elevate him to the position of Patriarch of Balheim.
‘Young Master Kraush forgave me even though I made a mistake.’
If a master overlooks a servant’s mistake, the servant must repay that kindness.
‘When someone who has fallen rises again, they stand even firmer—so why did I make such a foolish mistake?’
Blinded by his daughter’s incurable illness, Aliod realized whom he had forsaken and felt disgusted with himself.
Failing to guide Kraush onto the right path was ultimately his responsibility as the butler in charge.
And to think he had tried to betray him, even for a moment.
He resolved to firmly reject the proposal made by Kraush’s Third Brother.
‘My master is Young Master Kraush.’
He engraved that fact into his heart once more.
* * *
A few days after Kraush entered the Secret Library.
Belorkin Balheim, the third in the direct line of the Balheim Family, received an absurd piece of news.
“He rejected my proposal for that Half-Penny brat?”
Belorkin furrowed his brow deeply, recalling Aliod, who had bowed his head and left just moments ago.
Aliod had rejected the proposal for the sake of the youngest, the Half-Penny.
He had confidently promised to handle everything without any complications.
On top of that, he had even offered to cure his daughter’s incurable illness.
Yet, for some reason, this man had suddenly changed his attitude.
‘Damn it, wasn’t he already on board?’
Belorkin had been certain that Aliod had long since given up on Kraush.
So why had he now refused his proposal?
“Trash like that has no place in our family.”
Grinding his teeth, Belorkin displayed intense hatred.
Next to him lay a torn newspaper.
The newspaper featured an article about none other than Charlotte, hailed as a once-in-a-generation genius.
Belorkin shoved the shredded newspaper into the trash can and stood up.
He found it maddeningly repulsive that the bloodline of that woman was running rampant within the Balheim Family.
One was called a once-in-a-generation genius, while the other was a Half-Penny who brought shame to Balheim.
They were all equally infuriating.
“Is anyone out there?”
“Yes, Lord Belorkin, did you call for me?”
At his shout, a man suddenly opened the door and entered.
Dressed impeccably in a butler’s uniform, he was none other than Belorkin’s personal butler.
“Go to the Green Pine Mansion where Kraush resides. I need to find out why that butler of his suddenly changed his attitude.”
Unable to comprehend it himself, Belorkin decided to investigate directly.
However, not long after, he learned something that made him even more furious.
The Green Pine Mansion had been ordered by its master, Kraush, to deny entry to anyone.
Even if it was his Third Brother.
Thus, Belorkin’s anger grew day by day.
Meanwhile, inside the Secret Library, Kraush was repeating his training daily.
Some time later, Kraush exhaled deeply from his seated meditation posture and opened his eyes.
A refreshing sensation from the aura flowing within him swept through his entire body.
He could clearly feel that his aura had reached a level far beyond what it had been before.
‘At this level, have I reached the entry point of Expert?’
There are several stages to aura.
The first stage is the most basic, known as an Aura User.
It is the stage one remains at upon first awakening their aura.
The next stage is Aura Expert.
This is the stage where most aura users are concentrated and is considered the boundary between mediocrity and genius.
There is a saying in the world:
Those who fail to graduate from Expert before turning thirty will remain Experts for life.
That is how much Expert is regarded as the limit of mediocrity.
And Kraush had barely stepped into that realm of mediocrity.
His current age was thirteen.
In terms of age alone, it was quite an achievement.
However, the family he belonged to was none other than Balheim.
The direct line of Balheim enters the Expert stage by the age of eight.
Even Charlotte, who was two years older than Kraush, had already reached the pinnacle of Expert and was on the verge of becoming a Master.
It was no wonder she would earn the nickname “Sword Star” before her twenties.
‘Even now, her talent is absurd.’
Yet, even Charlotte had been powerless in the face of destruction.
Compared to Charlotte, he had just now entered the Expert stage.
Could he really protect the world with such meager abilities?
“I’ll only know if I try.”
Kraush did not despair.
He was a Half-Penny.
That fact was nothing new to him.
More than anything, he was actually enjoying himself now.
Expert or not, in the past, using aura had caused his insides to twist as if cursed.
Moreover, all the Secret Technique Books in this Secret Library had been created by Half-Pennies like himself within the Balheim Family.
Thanks to that, the Secret Technique Books were easy to understand and master.
While he could not hope for talent like Charlotte’s, he could still grow stronger.
For now, this was enough.
“Young Master.”
Just then, Aliod’s voice came from outside the Secret Library.
After organizing the Secret Technique Books, Kraush walked outside.
“You’ve entered the Expert stage. Congratulations.”
“It’s nothing worth mentioning.”
Kraush gave a modest reply to Aliod’s congratulatory words.
Then he made a face as if to ask what business Aliod had.
“Your fiancée, Young Lady Bianca Hardenhartz, has arrived at the Green Pine Mansion.”
Kraush thought to himself that the inevitable had come.