Chapter 33: Crystal of Frost

He had brought half of Lahan under his control.

It was an achievement made even before midnight, before the weekend had even begun.

Carl, who had ordered Dirsen to return to his routine as if nothing had happened, also returned to NOX.

By the time he arrived at the underground headquarters in the slums, the crescent moon was already tilting in the sky.

“……”

The NOX headquarters, which he returned to after a week, had changed significantly.

Previously, only the essential facilities had been relocated, but now, even the interior design was nearly complete.

Everything except for the main structure had been entrusted to Queen.

The black background decorated with gold and red accents gave off a rather antique vibe that suited Carl’s taste.

“Master. How about taking some rest? You’ve been on the move nonstop since the academy schedule.”

“I’m fine. We have more time than expected.”

Carl loosened his tie and brushed back his disheveled hair.

The fight with Shin-Jen had been stimulating even for him.

Although the result had been an overwhelming victory on his side, he wasn’t relaxed enough to feel relieved.

‘Right now, my level is just past the threshold of Peak Stage.’

Until now, even that had been more than enough.

The underworld mercenaries who had infiltrated the entrance exam, Bichain, the leader of Birterso, and even Shin-Jen, the swordsman who had gripped the back alleys of the Western Third Commercial District.

‘But that man’s sword did reach me.’

Regardless of the filthy smell, the old man’s honed skill was genuine.

Even so, Carl had been able to overwhelmingly crush Shin-Jen because he surpassed him in both experience and martial arts, which Shin-Jen had been so proud of.

Of course, even under equal conditions, he wouldn’t have lost.

But the fact that Shin-Jen’s sword had reached him even slightly was important.

“…This world is more advanced than I thought.”

Carl touched the tip of his cut hair.

To be honest, he had slightly underestimated it.

Unlike the Central Plains, the training methods here didn’t feel as refined or systematized.

So he had planned to build his foundation more leisurely, but seeing how things were progressing, it seemed he needed to speed up.

‘My current attainment in the Divine Art is the Second Star.’

It had been 15 years since he came to Artenia from the Central Plains.

Calling it the Second Star might seem trivial, but it wasn’t just any martial art—it was one of the absolute peak techniques even among the Divine Arts.

It was at a level higher than the final stages of most martial arts, so reaching this stage without the guidance of a predecessor was something worthy of praise.

‘The problem is, I don’t know the proper method to reach the Third Star.’

Unlike the explanations given for the First and Second Star levels, the manual of the Divine Art only offered vague descriptions from this point on.

It likely meant that from here on, the realm was beyond cognition, achievable only through intuition and spirituality.

‘The Divine Art is a union of the Righteous Path and the Demonic Path.’

The Bright Heaven Divine Art of the Righteous Path.

The Heavenly Demon Divine Art of the Demonic Path.

Each was a martial art powerful enough to vie for the title of strongest under heaven on its own.

And mastering both at once was the minimum requirement to enter the Primordial Unity Divine Art.

By harmonizing the energies of the righteous and demonic paths, one attained the First Star.

Reaching the Second Star meant refining the Primordial Unity Divine Art’s energy without aid from the two arts.

Carl was a master who had once stood at the doorstep of transcendence as an assassin.

The initial entry into both Bright Heaven Divine Art and Heavenly Demon Divine Art hadn’t been difficult.

Even when he first possessed Carlos’s body, after curing the plague and getting kidnapped during a visit to the cult, he had already been capable of manipulating energy.

‘It took nearly ten years to fully conquer the First Star after that.’

It then took five more years to fully attain the Second Star.

So it was about time to aim for the Third Star.

Tap.

Carl sat down at the center of the training hall constructed in a section of NOX’s underground headquarters.

NOX was expanding its territory with the slums’ underground at its center.

This area was an inviolable space made solely for Carl, where no one else was permitted to enter.

“Hoo.”

He sat cross-legged and exhaled deeply, calming his mind and body.

After completing all preparations, he opened the lid of the wooden box placed before him.

Saaaaa─

A cold chill flowed from within, instantly engulfing the training hall.

It was the Crystal of Frost he had purchased at Flick’s auction.

Called “Ice Crystal” in the Central Plains, it was a rare treasure that couldn’t be bought even with enormous wealth.

‘Absorbing an Ice Crystal is simple.’

Naturally, it wasn’t something to be consumed raw like other elixirs.

An Ice Crystal was a solidified essence of yin energy compressed to the extreme.

Even a master would die if they ate it, as all their internal organs would freeze.

The correct way to handle an Ice Crystal was to keep it nearby and absorb its energy as it dispersed.

It was a traditional training method passed down since ancient times in the Northern Sea Ice Palace.

Tszuzuzuz.

The yin energy, which had been dispersing chaotically, slowly began to be absorbed toward Carl.

Of course, just because it was called the Crystal of Frost didn’t mean it was an actual Ice Crystal.

But since it produced similar effects, it was still a great help to a martial artist.

“……”

Carl immediately activated the Heavenly Demon Divine Art and ignited demonic fire.

To neutralize and absorb the yin energy entering his body, the more domineering Heavenly Demon Divine Art was more suitable than the Bright Heaven Divine Art.

Drip, drip……

Inside Carl, the yin energy and demonic fire were engaged in a fierce battle.

Sometimes half of his body froze over, while at other times, a blinding white heat surged up, creating a shimmering distortion in the air.

When all the internal conflict ended, the Crystal of Frost that had been in front of Carl had vanished without a trace.

“…Hoo.”

Carl exhaled to settle the boiling energy within.

Even without intending to, he had drawn a considerable amount of energy into his dantian.

Thanks to that, he felt a stronger foundation, but unfortunately, his attempt to reach the Third Star ended in failure.

“Difficult.”

Carl shook his head.

Usually, after pushing this far, one would at least gain a clue, but this time, he didn’t even feel a hint.

That likely meant the method itself was flawed…

“I suppose I’m still far from ready.”

Even the peak stage was vastly insufficient.

Carl sighed while touching his lips, then expelled all the residual coldness from his body and the surrounding air, returning to his original state.

“No matter how you look at it, the realm of transcendence is still beyond me.”

The realm of completion for a martial artist.

Where the body is reborn through metamorphosis, the upper, middle, and lower dantians are connected, and the crown chakra opens, establishing a connection with heaven and earth.

It was a level even Mu-ak, known as the Unkillable and Greatest Assassin of the Central Plains, had never reached.

“Looks like I’ll need to focus on the Heavenly Demon Divine Art and Bright Heaven Divine Art for a while.”

The Primordial Unity Divine Art was at a standstill.

So to increase his strength, he would have to train primarily in the two supporting divine arts.

Bright Heaven Divine Art when he was Carl, and Heavenly Demon Divine Art when he was NOX.

Currently, his Heavenly Demon Divine Art had already reached the beginning of the Fifth Star.

Its growth was explosively fast, boosted by the inherent rapid progress of the demonic path.

In contrast, the Bright Heaven Divine Art had matured at the Third Star and was approaching the Fourth Star.

Depending on the nature of the martial art, the speed of growth could differ dramatically like this.

But as more levels were accumulated and he reached around the Seventh Star, the trend would surely reverse.

The explosive growth of the demonic art would slow, while the steadily layered righteous art would gain tremendous momentum and surge upward.

Of course, in the end, both paths had many powerful techniques.

After all, they were called Divine Arts for a reason.

Srrrrk.

After finishing his thoughts, Carl put on his coat again and left the training hall.

Most of the other members had already returned to work or were resting.

So he didn’t expect anyone to be there—but one man was leaning against the wall, waiting for Carl.

“Yo.”

A man with light brown hair.

His hair was tied back in a ponytail, and his chin was rough with untrimmed stubble.

“Gallun, huh.”

Black Label Four.

Since joining NOX, he had changed his name to “Gallun Four,” so those close to him usually called him Gallun.

Carl also preferred that name and often called him that instead of by his number unless in formal settings.

“NOX is getting fancy now. Setting up a headquarters like this in the capital. You’ve got good business sense, Master.”

Gallun patted Carl’s shoulder with a cheeky grin.

If Queen or the other Black Labels had seen it, they would’ve scolded him for his irreverence.

But Carl merely smirked and responded nonchalantly, undisturbed by the lack of formality.

“How did it go?”

“Ah, the Tree of Beginnings was a bust. I couldn’t find what you were looking for. The ruins were already badly damaged by looters—hard to get anything out of them.”

“I see.”

“I left the samples we collected with Seven, so if there’s anything useful, it’ll come up. That’s all for the report.”

“Good work.”

Carl had ordered him to investigate the legends passed down in the southern part of the Empire.

‘The Tree of Beginnings.’

There were tales that the ruins, which had come to be called that, served as a gate to another world.

In the legends, it was described as leading to a divine realm where gods existed, but Carl held a small hope that it might also connect to the Central Plains.

He figured he might need a way to return to the Central Plains someday.

‘It’s worth finding a way, just in case.’

There was a big difference between choosing not to go and not being able to go.

So to raise the chances even a little, he had dispatched some of the Black Labels across various regions, like Gallun.

It wasn’t like he lacked the power to summon all the Black Labels just yet.

King and Ace, who hadn’t shown up in a while, were also away on their own missions.

“I heard about the progress too. Lahan, was it? You got their successor under control. You could’ve just crushed them, but you’ve always liked weird methods, Master.”

“If you look at it simply, that’s true. But you know power dynamics aren’t that simple.”

At Carl’s rebuke, Gallun shrugged.

Gallun was not only powerful but also highly intelligent.

He ranked among the top five within NOX.

But he often avoided using his brain, claiming he hated overthinking things, and preferred to handle things with brute force.

He clearly understood the dynamics at play here, but was pretending ignorance.

Of course, Carl wasn’t someone to fall for such tricks.

“Uncle doesn’t understand complicated stuff.”

Gallun said with a sly smile, making Carl chuckle.

“Anyway, good work. Take some time to rest. You might as well go on vacation while you’re at it.”

“I already got plenty of rest while I was out. Queen’s been nagging me to get back to work since we’re short on hands. That personality of hers… Ah, forget I said that. If she hears I badmouthed her to the Master, she’ll start scolding me again.”

“That depends on what you do next.”

“A leader should overlook a subordinate’s minor mistakes now and then. Anyway, I’ll be off, boss.”

Gallun bowed exaggeratedly in mock formality.

Carl smiled faintly at his ever-unchanging demeanor, even after so long, and waved lightly as he walked away.

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