Chapter 46: The Returnee Takes Care of Everything

[I will accept the challenge.]

When Gerwin accepted the challenge, the incident from half a year ago had already spread so widely that almost no one was unaware of it. At the time, it was just another event, but upon closer inspection, there were more than a few suspicious points.

"Wasn't it just a coincidence that it overlapped with the period for selecting special students?"

"If it weren't for that incident, Louise would have received it, right? And the person who made the weapon that exploded was Bier Barumot. It's a well-known fact that the Kruger family has a cooperative relationship with the Barumot family..."

"Whether it's Kruger or Barumot... If you think about the rumors, it's hard to know what really happened."

At first, it was just a small doubt, but as it spread through people's mouths, it grew larger and larger. Eventually, it even spilled over from Babel to the outside world.

-Tsk. What a pitiful guy.

Even the UD Group, Gerwin's family, heard the rumors.

-You couldn't even handle a worthless guy properly and caused a scandal? There's a limit to how much you can tarnish the family name.

On the other end of the phone, Daniel Kruger, the third son, spoke irritably. Gerwin bit his lip.

"I'm sorry... Brother."

-If we get involved, it will only make things worse. You need to resolve this on your own. Understand?

"...I understand."

-What a stupid guy...

Click.

The phone was coldly hung up, and Gerwin's hand, which was holding the mobile phone, clenched tightly.

Crack!

The phone shattered in his hand. Despite the unrelenting anger, Gerwin bowed his head and muttered in a low voice.

"Damn old man..."

Daniel, the third son of Wiger, is 73 years old this year.

In reality, their relationship could be described as that of grandfather and grandson, but there was no such harmonious interaction between them.

Regardless of age, they were rivals fighting over numerous subsidiaries of the UD Group. Therefore, to Daniel, this incident was a good opportunity to get rid of Gerwin.

‘If Father helps, it could be resolved quickly...’

Wiger Kruger, the head of the UD Group and one of the few complete ascenders in the world, could easily resolve such a trivial matter if he acted personally. However, that was precisely why he wouldn't get involved.

On the contrary, if he couldn't resolve such a minor issue on his own and sought help, it would lower his evaluation and result in the recovery of his assets and authority.

"Damn..."

How did a situation that was supposed to be handled well end up like this?

As Gerwin clenched his fist and cursed, a young man entered without knocking.

"Gerwin."

A young man with a clean, all-back hairstyle and a strong presence. Gerwin's lips twisted at the sight.

"Who's this? My close friend Bier Barumot, right?"

"..."

"Right. Did you come to tell everyone that we really did clean up that scum half a year ago? Huh?"

Gerwin's sarcasm was met with silence from the young man, Bier Barumot.

As Gerwin's smile twisted, his eyes began to glow with a fierce light.

"Say something, you stupid kid. It was you who changed the plan to lock him up and expel him, right? Or was it Professor Charles' idea, to be precise?"

Originally, Gerwin intended to completely remove Louise from Babel without any repercussions.

However, after Bier received a proposal from Professor Charles and withdrew the complaint, the situation took a turn for the worse.

At the time, he thought it would benefit him, but now the situation has changed.

Bier sighed under Gerwin's sharp gaze.

"There's nothing to say about this. It was my mistake."

"I didn't ask to hear such a useless answer."

Gerwin walked up to Bier, his eyes glowing with black magic.

"Come up with a solution immediately. Unless you want to be excluded from the succession as well."

The struggle for succession in the Barumot family was, if anything, even more intense than in the Kruger family.

Bier looked at Gerwin silently and then slowly spoke.

"On the day of the duel, there will be a simple inspection in the power room of the martial arts hall. Nothing will happen, but if there is a problem, the barrier's response will be slightly delayed."

"..."

"At that time, it would be dangerous if you were 'coincidentally' in the middle of a duel. It would be best to warn the staff to be careful."

Gerwin looked at Bier with a skeptical eye.

"Is that all? If so, I'm disappointed."

"There is an item that can ruin the other party's condition. If it goes well, they will fall, and if not, they won't be able to fight properly."

"Hmm. Good. That should be useful."

The last time, the handling was a bit sloppy, but there's no place as thorough as Barumot. If he's confident enough to say this, it should be resolved cleanly this time.

"Get out."

"Good luck."

Thud.

The door slammed shut, and Gerwin smirked.

'What a presumptuous guy...'

He seems a bit arrogant lately, but ultimately, the one holding the leash is me.

Recalling Bier's stiff face, Gerwin looked at the subspace pocket on his desk.

'Now, I can easily defeat that guy...'

It wouldn't hurt to be prepared. Thinking this, Gerwin opened the subspace pocket and took out his weapon.

Whoosh.

A black mist filled the room instantly. Gerwin's eyes glowed with the magic power that filled his body.

* * *

As Erica and Louise glared at each other, Iseun finished the examination and pulled his hand out.

"That's enough."

"My jaw hurts so much... So, is this it?"

Iseun nodded at Louise's question.

"We just need one more material. Both of you, wait outside for a moment."

"Okay."

"Shouldn't you have prepared that earlier..."

Erica nodded and went out first, followed by Louise, who grumbled.

Taking advantage of this, Iseun pretended to push Louise's back and extracted the bond.

[Bond extracted from 'Louise Valentine'.]

[The bond with 'Iseun' is at Level 1.]

Hum.

The bond seeped into Iseun's hand, and he was slightly surprised by the amount.

'This is more than I expected.'

He had taught her about mana erosion and verbal magic, so he thought some bond would form, but it seems she had a better opinion of him than he thought.

"Don't push me."

"Then get out quickly."

Iseun sent the grumbling Louise out of the room and, before closing the door, looked at the two standing side by side.

"Don't fight and behave yourselves."

"..."

"..."

Erica, who usually answered sharply, remained silent, and Louise averted her gaze. Iseun sighed at their hostile stance.

"Then just fight it out."

It would be better to resolve it through a fight rather than a half-hearted conflict. Iseun ignored the sounds from outside and took a deep breath.

'Louise's bond stone...'

Since he had raised the bond level to Level 5 before the regression, he could easily manifest it, but Iseun was cautious from the beginning.

'A will that doesn't break in any situation. Expressing one's emotions honestly and strongly appealing to others.'

Some might call it emotional and hot-tempered, but Iseun thought it was just stupid.

A vague belief that if he puts his heart into it, the other person will respond. This foolishness was the foundation of Louise Valentine.

'But the Beast saw it as a negative...'

Whether one holds this foolish belief or not.

This was the difference between the Beast and Louise, and also the difference in the bond stone he was now creating.

Hum!

It had a shape like a transparent balloon filled with water.

The texture felt rubbery, and it wobbled slightly, making it look more like a slime than a mineral.

Iseun looked at the wobbly bond stone with a surprised expression.

'This is... too different.'

Originally, the Beast's bond stone was a terrifying object, black like ink, with thorns that sprouted upon contact to erode magic power.

However, Louise's bond stone was the complete opposite in every aspect except for its texture, and Iseun found this interesting.

'This might change the effect significantly.'

Thinking that the process of making the equipment would differ more than expected, Iseun immediately checked the information of the bond stone.

[Bond - Dye Stone]

[Grade: High] [Quality: Best]

A transparent mineral like water.

Reflects the characteristics of the magic power imbued in the mineral, specializing its properties.

*Specializes based on the characteristics of the materials used together.

'The specialization is the same, but the method is different.'

Before the regression, it was written as 'mastering' to specialize, but now it is written as 'reflecting' to specialize.

To clearly see the difference, Iseun carefully picked up the Dye Stone.

Squish.

'This is wobbly. Then the durability... '

Iseun examined the Dye Stone, gently pulling it apart.

Thud.

The Dye Stone split into two pieces with a light bounce. There was no change in quality, and when brought together, it naturally merged as if it had never been separated.

'The strength is weaker, but the recovery ability is better.'

After confirming all the properties of the Dye Stone, Iseun infused his magic power into it.

Sss.

The Dye Stone turned a murky color as the magic power seeped in. When the inside was completely filled, a small tremor occurred.

Hum.

The colors, which were tangled together, sorted themselves out in order of brightness. Seeing this, Iseun clearly understood how the effect of the bond stone had changed.

'It has become more cooperative.'

Before the regression, if the material was adapted to him, now he is adapted to the material.

In simple terms, before the regression, it was selfish, but now it is generous.

'Hmm... Not bad.'

With this effect, he could create better equipment than he had planned. Iseun immediately modified the blueprint of the equipment he had in mind and withdrew the magic power he had infused into the Dye Stone.

Whoosh.

The Dye Stone returned to its transparent color as it was when first created.

After confirming that there was no change in the material, Iseun called the two people he had sent out back inside.

"..."

"..."

Now, Erica and Louise were not even glaring at each other.

Whatever conversation they had, it seemed their relationship had worsened even more in that short time, but Iseun decided not to worry about it.

'They might fight.'

He and Samkyeon had fought fiercely, but in the end, they cooperated. Whether their relationship is good or bad, they will eventually have to cooperate in a situation where they have no choice.

"Now, I'll start. Erica, you watch from there. Louise, come and sit here."

"Huh? Me?"

"Yeah. Come quickly."

Iseun had Louise sit in a chair, then had her place her hands together and put the Dye Stone on top.

"Infuse magic power into it until the color stops changing. You don't need to purify it, so don't worry."

"Ah, got it."

"Don't be nervous. It's like registering a fingerprint."

Louise nodded and carefully infused her magic power into the Dye Stone.

Sss.

The Dye Stone slowly turned a silvery color.

Unlike Iseun's, which was a messy mix of many colors, it seemed that, as her own bond stone, there was no significant change.

"Good. Keep it up."

While Louise infused magic power into the Dye Stone, Iseun sat opposite and grabbed the projection alloy on the desk.

'Compared to the Beast, the teeth are almost undamaged, and the magic circuit is intact.'

Before the regression, the condition was poor, so the focus was on correction, but this time, with the good condition and the support of the material, it would be fine to focus on drawing out power.

Hum.

As magic power seeped into the projection alloy, the flame at the center melted, and the shape began to change like molten metal.

The projection alloy spread out into a square shape, becoming thinner as it grew larger. Erica, watching from the side, had an interested expression.

'Even though it's spread out so thin, the thickness is consistent.'

The projection alloy is a material that reflects the user's subconscious, so it is often affected by even the slightest distraction.

Therefore, when attempting precise work, one must maintain concentration at all times. Iseun maintained this concentration until the thin metal plate was complete.

'But how does he plan to process this...?'

Unlike other metals, the durability of the projection alloy drops sharply if reprocessed, so it must be perfectly made in the first processing.

Therefore, it is usually made directly into the shape of the equipment, but Iseun is making it into a metal plate that requires reprocessing.

'I don't know.'

As Erica watched this unusual attempt, the expansion of the metal plate stopped, and a change occurred.

Crack.

A fine magic circuit appeared all over the metal plate.

The complex structure, difficult to grasp at a glance, made Erica's eyes widen.

'To perfectly recognize such a complex magic circuit...'

Recalling the knowledge she knew, it is different from recalling it step by step. It is more like instantly recognizing and fitting together a puzzle without hesitation.

This is a skill that requires not just the blacksmith's skill but also a natural talent.

'...I might need to revise my evaluation.'

As Erica's eyes deepened at the sight, Iseun, who had confirmed that the magic circuit was fully engraved, spoke.

"Louise. Are you done?"

"Huh? Ah, yeah. It seems to be done."

The Dye Stone, now completely silver, was confirmed by Iseun, who placed the metal plate under Louise's hands.

"Carefully place it on top."

"Got it."

Squish.

As Louise spread her hands and carefully placed the Dye Stone on the metal plate, the magic circuit,