The Duke's Son :Re-Chapter 280

In the Geum mansion, twenty-three classes of traps combined to give rise to a hundred-forty-one unique synergies, all of which were seamlessly inlaid into the walls and floors.

To enter was to plunge into the belly of a whale.

Death should be assured.

It should be only a matter of when and how.

Even National Treasures should die without leaving a corpse behind.

Should, should. Should...

Geum Tae-Byeok pressed his palms into his eyes, as if simply tired. Then he slapped the table.

“No!”

He turned back to the monitor, the glow of which illuminated the red in his eyes.

“I can’t accept this.”

On the monitor, Jae-Hyeok once again tripped a hidden trap, and, once again, Jae-Hyeok vanished into a trail of after-images. The trap fully activated, spraying the ground with poison and criss-crossing the corridor with magic darts, but Jae-Hyeok was dozens of meters away by then.

No matter how powerful the National Treasure, they had to recognize the threat before they could respond; this natural delay between sight, mind, and limbs had informed the design philosophy behind all of Geum Tae-Byeok’s traps and was the source of his confidence in dealing with National Treasures. And yet Jae-Hyeok...

Whether it’s his reaction or the movements that follow, his speed is simply inhuman—even among transcendents.

Geum Tae-Byeok’s heart sank as he remembered the nickname of Korea’s newest National Treasure.

“Thunder God...”

At this rate...

Jae-Hyeok was already two-thirds of the way through the mansion. In all aspects, the boy was really like lightning itself.

His transcendence must’ve primarily enhanced his Agility stat. Add to that the Kang family’s speed-based footwork... Damnit. Damnit! How can one person be so lucky!

Level 150...

Geum Tae-Byeok himself had never reached it. Little did he know that, for all his research and theories on transcendence, he was ultimately like a child speculating on the properties of the moon.

He had no idea that after reaching level 150, all stats rose, not just one.

He also didn’t know that transcendence had little to do with raw stats.

Transcendence was a transformational experience—one that altered one’s attunement to mana in a deep, profound way. The benefits, to name a few, included enhanced mana control and a level of intuition that bordered on precognition.

Thus, transcendence was far less straightforward and far more powerful than Geum Tae-Byeok could ever imagine.

It was literally a stepping stone to becoming a higher level of being.

***

Jae-Hyeok opened a door and stepped into the room—following which a barrier flickered to life and a magic circle brightened under his feet.

Two Scythes Block a Cart.

Twin crescents of black energy shot forward, one of which split the circle, causing the volatile mana within to disperse harmlessly. Meanwhile, the other arc of sword energy bent away from the ground to instead strike the far side of the magic dome.

The dome shattered like pottery, and Jae-Hyeok emerged unruffled.

Transcendence sure is nice. With my new level of mana mastery, it almost feels like I’m playing on easy mode. All my Skills are far more flexible and powerful. The cooldown is faster, and I can cast them quicker, too.

What?

Jae-Hyeok reached a three-way cross in the corridor and suddenly jerked to a halt.

Distortion...

Both ways appeared as dead ends, yet the mirror at the far end of one hallway betrayed the truth. He saw himself reflected in its surface, but the paintings on the walls were not.

It’s an illusion.

Thinking as much, Jae-Hyeok charged towards the mirror without hesitation.

Bang!

The moment he crashed into the mirror, he felt the shock of the cement wall and the sting of glass cutting his skin. For a moment, Jae-Hyeok wondered if he’d made a mistake.

No, wait...

He was a transcendent. His body was long on its way to achieving true invulnerability to cold weapons. How could common glass so easily cut him?

Just as Jae-Hyeok had that thought, the sensation of the wall vanished and he found himself standing on something soft.

It was grass.

A forest...

Jae-Hyeok looks around at the tall bamboo shoots surrounding him. Insects chirped faintly in the distance.

It seemed he’d finally reached the deepest part of the manion’s grounds.

The scale of the Geum mansion really is something.

The dense bamboo sealed the moonlight, leaving the forest near pitch black. It was clearly the perfect environment for setting traps.

This is definitely an amb—

Magic-enhanced daggers and arrows flew at Jae-Hyeok from all angles.

Augmented as they were, they made not a single sound and were near invisible in the dead of night. Were it anyone else, they would’ve been dead ten times over, yet Jae-Hyeok’s transcendent level sixth sense warned him of the danger.

Jae-Hyeok dropped a hand to his hilt, and the sword—scabbard and all—left his hip in a blur.

I need to find an exit.

The poison coating the daggers and arrows was very strong, and Peak Sword’s Scabbard groaned as if in protest. Fortunately, it was a legendary-rated scabbard. Anything less and it would’ve melted then and there.

Jae-Hyeok kicked off the ground and shot through an opening in the bullet hell. Every step he took triggered more traps—some were simple snares or retractable spear blades, while others were pits filled with poison, or a section of grass scattered with mines built using arcane technology.

Jumping off the tip of a retractable spear, Jae-Hyeok leveraged the protection of Thunder Vessel to pluck six flying daggers from the air. He threw the poison daggers toward a mine field and, moving at several times their original speed, the daggers struck the mines like bullets, immediately triggering a massive chain of explosions.

The entire forest lit red, and when the fireball subsided, moonlight shone through the shattered eaves of bamboo.

There.

Using the light of the moon, Jae-Hyeok quickly spotted the proper exit and turned his body.

Then, a chill went down his spine.

Five Elements Reversal.

Wood, fire, earth, metal, and water—the mana of five different elements were converging at the end of the trail. Such phenomena only arose from the disturbance of multiple active magic circles or arcane devices—but in either case, the final result or lack thereof depended on the intensity and types of mana combined.

Rumble!

Wood and fire attribute mana, or water and earth attribute mana, for example, had volatile effects when combined, whereas wood and earth attribute mana or water and fire attribute mana both yielded relatively more tame results.

As for combining all five elements together? The exact result varied, but the short of it could be summed up by one word...

Disaster.

Jae-Hyeok shielded his face as a dense yellow storm swept through the forest, reducing the bamboo shafts into a spray of razor-sharp fragments.

Are they planning to wipe out the entire mansion?

Jae-Hyeok laughed. He wasn’t sure if he should be amazed or annoyed.

The yellow storm, carrying a swirling cloud of bamboo fragments, came crashing toward Jae-Hyeok.

Even if Geum Tae-Byeok could kill me with his, it’d also cost him his entire mansion. There would be nothing left... At that thought, Jae-Hyeok’s eyes gleamed as he looked down.

Where else could Geum Tae-Byeok hide if he planned to sacrifice his mansion?

He must be underground.

Jae-Hyeok summoned Heavy Moon into his hand.

[Heavy Moon.

Rating: Legendary.

Fully absorbs the shock when blocking attacks.

Cooldown time: 1 minute.

* When equipped, Stamina is increased by 20.

* Once Heavy Moon’s ability is on cooldown, you will be cursed with Immobility.

* Cannot unequip while immobilized.]

Booom!

The storm engulfed Jae-Hyeok.

***

“Kuhahaha!”

In the underground bunker, Geum Tae-Byeok watched the situation through CCTV and burst out laughing.

Jae-Hyeok, you stupid, ignorant brat... Oh, how cocky you were, strolling onto my property. You thought you were strong. You thought you were special. And now look where you are. All these years, my blood, sweat, and tears weren’t in vain. Yes... this is fine.

Geum Tae-Byeok had invested countless years and endless won into the construction of his Geum mansion. To lose it overnight was... No, he could accept it. If the return was Jae-Hyeok’s life, it was worth it.

“Jae-Hyeok, I won’t let you rest even in death. After this, I’ll gather your remains and feed you to the beasts in the back mountain! Repent for my son and regret your sins in the next life!”

The Five Elements Reversal array...

It had taken Geum Tae-Byeok years of tampering and testing to create an array that was both reliably destructive and sufficiently swift in its activation.

At full power, the modified arcane batteries yielded an even more splendid result than I had theorized.

The most lethal aspect of a Five Element Reversal was that the phenomenon it produced was chaotic in nature. No one could guess the exact result, so it was impossible to react and guard against.

Even a National Treasure wouldn’t be able to survive.

“Hoh, impressive...”

Yamamoto also seemed impressed.

A candidate for the title of world’s strongest had actually acknowledged his ultimate trap? Geum Tae-Byeok nodded inwardly. That’s how it should be.

On the screen, Jae-Hyeok looked completely unaware of the situation. He seemed to think he could stop the storm and had summoned a piddling little shield.

It looked like a pot lid.

“This cheeky brat! Even at the end of the line, he’s still underestimating me.”

Who was Jae-Hyeok? Geum Tae-Byeok knew in his heart that he was nothing but a lucky boy, born into a prestigious bloodline and showered with elixirs since birth. In comparison, Geum Tae-Byeok had worked hard all his life.

How dare a child look down on me.

Geum Tea-Byeok ground his teeth, then smiled.

“No matter. It’s all over now.”

Baaaang!

The elemental storm swept over Jae-Hyeok, and the CCTV camera—strengthened and cloaked by magic—momentarily flickered under the force.

In the end, Geum Tae-Byeok felt no exhilaration, only emptiness.

How could anyone believe such a tiny shield could stop a magic storm?

How easy must the world have seemed to him...

“Such is the curse of talent. Born with everything, you’ll sooner waste it than see its worth. What a joke. What a terrible joke!” Geum Tae-Byeok shouted with veins bulging on his neck, only to abruptly fall silent.

His mouth fell open.

He...

Geum Tae-Byeok’s trembling eyes reflected Jae-Hyeok’s figure: black hair whipping, he stood firmly in the eye of the storm—the energy of which was rapidly vanishing.

“Ah...”

Geum Tae-Byeok gulped nervously. For the first time, he wondered if Jae-Hyeok was perhaps something more than a lucky brat.

“I guess the kid isn’t so reckless after all.”

A drop of sweat trickled from Yamamoto’s temple as he shrugged. Even he hadn’t imagined Jae-Hyeok could survive unharmed.

What a potent item.

Soon, muffled booms reached the men’s ears. The door to the bunker—which was as heavy and wide as a vault door—trembled.

Geum Tae-Byeok turned pale and shrank back, while Yamamoto quickly steadied himself and placed a hand on the hilt of his sword.

No, this is fine. Relying on items is a weakness in itself. Killing Jae-Hyeok might not be so hard. First, I’ll analyze his flaws one by one, then I’ll dismantle him piece by piece...

Thinking as much, Yamamoto created a sword barrier and vanished from sight.