13 Mink Street

Derron reached up and wiped some tea froth from his beard. After letting out two light coughs, he asked, “Have you studied illusory Arts?”

“Yes. I have a senior with great mastery in this field. I once studied with him for a period of time and benefited greatly.”

What had just happened was Karon’s mistake. After such an incident, he could only do his best to cover things up. Fortunately, his instinctive counterattack had only involved the Chains of Order. If something from the Light faith system had appeared instead, the situation would have become very awkward. It might even have become perilous.

Derron nodded. “You have a fighting chance to compete for the final twelve.”

At that moment, Richard slowly woke. Turning his head and seeing Karon kneeling beside him, he asked in confusion, “Was I really not dreaming just now? Or have I still not woken up from my dream?”

Why do I keep seeing Karon in a daze between sleep and dreams today?

“Richard.”

“Grandfather.”

“You may go upstairs.”

“That’s it for today?”

“Mhmm.”

Richard excitedly stood up, and Karon stood as well, yet just as the two were about to go upstairs, Derron called out behind them, “Richard, go upstairs first. Karon, you stay.”

“Hmm?” Richard froze, then turned to look at his grandfather and Karon.

“You’ve pretty much reached your limit. If you manage to squeeze into York City’s top five, it’ll mostly be a matter of luck. I believed such a result would be quite decent, and would at least be enough to not embarrass the Gorman family. However, Karon has the potential to compete for the final twelve.”

Hearing this, Richard immediately said, “I told you before that Karon has that level of ability. You just didn’t believe me.”

He then smiled at Karon. “Stay here so Grandfather can tutor you personally. Heh, this is a great opportunity, so don’t let go of it. Do your best!”

In regards to Karon, Richard never harbored selfish thoughts. Derron’s differing evaluations of Richard and Karon did not make the young man feel jealous or wronged in any way. Instead, he was simply happy that his friend had gained his grandfather’s genuine recognition.

On the other hand, Karon could not feel happy. He had only been forced into the basement by Ms. Tansley so that he could sit in on Richard’s lesson. He had treated the matter as nothing more than a way to satisfy the old woman’s loving intentions. Karon had only intended to go through the motions, yet the one sitting in on a private lesson had suddenly become the recipient of some one-on-one tutoring.

Karon’s maternal grandfather was different from Tiz, but the difference between them was not in the title itself, but in the fact that Tiz was purely and simply a grandfather. He would tolerate everything about his family, and shield them unconditionally. Derron, on the other hand, was certainly a kind grandfather, but his tolerance was not without limits.

Just let Richard suddenly pull out a flame of Light in front of him one day and we’ll see what happens.

“Mr. Derron, this really would be too much trouble,” Karon said, wanting to refuse.

“There’s no need to be polite. I know perfectly well that Richard doesn’t have much of a chance, while you have a great one. You have been very kind to my Gorman family, so this is something I should do. The twelve finalists won’t only be qualified to enter the Reincarnation Gate. Considering the age restriction on the candidates, this selection process is essentially putting together a priority training list of the younger generation. This will be of great help for your future development. If you were far off from qualifying, that would be one thing. We would simply make up for as much as we could. However, I now feel that you are very close, and even have a strong chance of success.”

Derron spoke with great sincerity, to the point that Karon knew that if he continued to refuse, he would instead rouse the old man’s suspicions. “Mr. Derron, thank you for your help.”

“This is what I should do, and what the Gorman family should do. Richard.”

“Grandfather?”

“Bring a chair over for Karon.”

“It’s fine. I can kneel.”

“Kneeling is fine for Richard, but there’s no need for you to kneel. It’s inappropriate.”

“...” Richard brought over a chair for Karon so that he could sit facing Derron. Afterward, Richard pushed back his bangs. Going upstairs, he deliberately closed the basement door.

“All over?” Ms. Tansley asked. “Why was it so quick today?”

Casey asked, “Why did only you come up? Where is Karon?”

Richard hid nothing and said, “Grandfather said I only have a chance to win the district selection with a huge stroke of luck, but Karon could be one of the final twelve, if he works hard. So Grandfather is keeping Karon behind to train him alone.”

Hearing this, Casey frowned. This came from a mother’s instinct. Typically, a mother would not first question whether her own ability was insufficient and that she was the reason for her child to be inadequate. Instead, she would subconsciously believe that her child was not working hard enough.

Furthermore, Karon had saved Casey once before, so both emotionally and logically, she would avoid extending any sort of dissatisfaction towards him. Thus, Richard unwittingly became the vessel that received all of the transferred dissatisfaction born of his mother’s instincts.

Casey went to the first floor study and knocked on her husband’s door. Knock... knock...

“What is it?”

“Eisen, come out for a moment.”

The study door opened, and Eisen stood before Casey. “What happened?”

“Your father believes that Richard doesn’t have much hope, while Karon has great hope. He now wants to tutor Karon alone, and he even sent your son out.”

Eisen blinked. “Isn’t that normal?”

How could his own son possibly compare to Karon? Eisen clearly understood that matter.

In fact, if not for Karon’s similarly youthful appearance, Eisen would not even believe that Karon and Richard were from the same generation. In fact, Eisen sometimes felt that even he and Karon were not part of the same generation.

Seeing her husband’s reaction only made Casey angrier, but she could not bring herself to lose her temper on a man whose condition had only started to improve, especially after he had even brought her a strawberry ice cream cone yesterday.

In the Gorman family, Derron carried immense authority, but Casey’s mother-in-law merely appeared gentle. She was the one who was more than capable of keeping the family firmly in line. Casey simply could not bring herself to get mad at her husband, which meant that, in the end, the only person she could vent her anger on seemed to be one person.

And that person was currently chatting away with his grandmother, going on and on about how outstanding Karon was and how he had possessed the foresight to recognize such talent early on.

“Call your son into your study.”

Eisen hesitated. He looked at his wife, and then at his son in the other room. In the end, Eisen nodded. He carried a great deal of guilt in regards to his wife, but towards his son, there was not much. “Richard.”

Richard turned his head to see his father standing in the study doorway. Suddenly, the young man trembled.

“Go on. Your father is calling you.”

“No. Grandma, I still want to talk with you for a while longer.” Richard instinctively grabbed his grandmother’s warm hand, only to quickly discover that her hand had slipped free of his grasp, and she was even pushing him towards the study. “Grandma...”

“Go speak with your father first, then come back and talk to Grandma.”

“No, Grandma, I—”

“Richard.” Eisen called out a second time, his tone dropping. This indicated that a third call would result in a far uglier outcome.

Richard had no choice but to go to the study, though he glanced back every three steps. Yet no matter how he pleaded with his grandmother or mother with his eyes, the two women who usually doted on him the most ignored him. At last, Richard entered the study, and Eisen closed the study door.

“Dad, my injuries haven’t healed yet.”

“I think you’ve recovered very quickly.”

“No, no, how could I have recovered quickly? Look here.” Richard rolled up his sleeve. Eh? The bruises on my arm are gone?

“No, look here instead.” Eh, the bruises on my chest are gone too!

“It appears that you’ve pretty much recovered,” Eisen observed.

“No, no, that’s not how it is. Dad, don’t come over. Don’t come over.”

Smack!

“Ah!”

Smack!

“Fuck!”

Smack, smack, smack, smack, smack!

**

Casey walked over to Ms. Tansley’s side. The two women ignored all sounds coming from the study.

Ms. Tansley simply could not be bothered with Richard anymore. Human nature means that people have a tendency to favor the new over the familiar, the only difference being to what extent. Both young men were her grandsons, but while one had grown up before her eyes, the other had only just arrived. Naturally, the newly arrived one felt more novel and precious, and when the two were compared side by side, her maternal grandson was also a closer match to the old woman’s personal tastes. Not only could Karon cook, he understood how to speak pleasantly, and even his talent was outstanding.

From a grandmother’s perspective, Ms. Tansley truly did not feel there was much difference between a paternal grandson and a maternal grandson. In the end, neither would carry on her surname. Whether their surname was Gorman or Immers, weren’t they both still her grandsons?

“Karon is a good child,” Ms. Tansley commented.

“Yes.” Casey could no longer muster much jealousy when hearing this sentence.

“It’s a good thing Karon is willing to spend time with him.”

“Yes.”

“What a good child.” Ms. Tansley turned around. “I’ll go check on the soup again.”

After entering the kitchen, the corners of Ms. Tansley’s mouth could not help curving upward as she thought to herself, That old coot is probably regretting that Karon isn’t his own grandson right now.

***

Sigh, what a pity this child isn’t my grandson. Derron had just completed the second training exercise with Karon. He had raised the illusion by one level, but Karon had still broken through, opening his eyes to look at Derron with a clear gaze. This meant that the young man possessed an extremely resilient character.

Derron understood far too well just how important having a “resilient character” was to a person’s development over the course of their life. Richard was actually passable. If he was properly nurtured and developed slowly, he would be able to inherit the Gorman family’s status in the future. On the other hand, if Karon were Derron’s grandson, he could go with his wife, no longer caring about anything as they soaked in the hot springs every day, awaiting the day the Gorman family’s status reached another step because of this child’s efforts.

Withdrawing from his thoughts, Derron said, “Let’s raise it by another level.”

As he spoke, Karon saw the cube grow larger, and different colors even appeared. Darkness then once again enveloped Karon, but this time, everything was very quiet. No specific illusions appeared. Instead, everything around him seemed to extend and stretch as much as possible, endlessly amplifying the emotion called loneliness.

This was indeed a notch higher in difficulty. In fact, this was an entirely different kind of illusion. Truly powerful illusions could use the target’s own inadequacies to break them down. This kind of infinite loneliness would cause people to instinctively search for something that they could rely on. Once those things materialized, they would serve as weapons within the illusion and would attack the one targeted.

Karon simply stood there and resisted the emotion. If he did not give it anything, it would have no way to attack him.

***

Derron’s expression fell a bit as he looked at the cube before him, and then at Karon sitting in the chair before him with his eyes closed. A quarter of an hour had already passed, yet the cube seemed to be stuck in place, unmoving. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

This boy had blocked the illusion’s offensive before it had even started.

Should I raise it by another level? Derron hesitated slightly, and eventually gave up. This was supposed to be training, not a contest of pride. He had no intention of overpowering Karon to prove anything.

With a wave of his hand, Derron dismissed the cube, and Karon opened his eyes.

“Now, let’s talk about countermeasures during the selection process. Treat it as familiarizing yourself with the process in advance.”

“Alright, Mr. Derron.”

“During the selection, they’ll most likely use ritual arrays to conduct some sort of group testing. It’s impossible for them to assign priests proficient in psychic Arts to examine each candidate individually. To begin with, even though the registration is strict, there won’t be a small number of participants even for a single district. There simply aren’t enough psychic priests of sufficient rank to serve as the examiners. On top of that, the process has to remain relatively fair.

“That means the tests will definitely be conducted with ritual arrays. The same will apply to the final selection later on. That’s why understanding the principles behind combining ritual arrays with Arts will help you to immediately choose the best response to what you encounter. Once certain Arts are integrated into arrays, unavoidable flaws will appear.

“Oh right, do you know much about ritual arrays?”

Does learning the family’s inherited Art, the Cube Key, count as understanding?

“I have some knowledge.”

“Mm. During the district test, try to stay as close to Richard as possible. He can use the Cube Key before things start to conduct a preliminary analysis of the ritual array that will be used for the test. You can obtain some information from him. Of course, you should have no issue passing the district selection, but this can make things a bit easier for you.”

That can work?

After that, Derron spent more than an hour specifically explaining related elements to Karon. After that, Derron patted his leg. “Alright, I’ve said what needs to be said. Seize this time to understand things properly for yourself. After you pass the district selection, come back to me again.”

“Alright. Thank you, Mr. Derron.”

“No need to be polite.”

Karon and Derron left the basement, and dinner began right after that.

Ms. Tansley was truly skilled in the kitchen. Although she had only recreated dishes Karon had prepared last time, the results proved to be remarkable, and the dinner suited Karon’s tastes perfectly. The only flaw was that Richard never made it to the table.

After taking his leave and returning to the funeral home, Karon went to his study and sat at the desk. He opened his hand, and a small cube appeared above it.

“Young Master, these are Mr. Hoffen’s notes that you asked me to organize.”

“Mhmm, good.” Karon raised his hand, causing the Cube to float in the air. He then began flipping through the ritual array notes, and as he read and his understanding deepened, the Cube hovering before him proceeded to carry out rapid calculations on its own.

After going through more than a dozen ritual array case studies in quick succession, even Karon was astonished. It was like solving mathematical problems. The terrifying aspect of the Cube Key was not merely its ability to accelerate calculations, shorten the deduction process, and improve efficiency; Its more frightening aspect was that it could begin from countless possible outcomes and work backward to derive the necessary conditions.

This went far beyond ordinary deduction.

“No wonder the Gorman family holds such a high position in the Church of Order.”

After finishing the notes in his hand, Karon rubbed his eyes. He was still full of energy. Perhaps he could explore other aspects of the Cube?

Karon activated the Darkmoon Blade, and proceeded to use the Cube’s deductions to fine-tune the smaller details of the Art and to systematically refine its overall structure.

Originally, when Karon had formed a Darkmoon Blade in his hand, it had resembled a leather whip or a branding iron that had been heated red-hot. However, the Cube’s calculations allowed for countless subtle flaws to be rectified. Refining those details brought about an overall enhancement of the Art, which led to the Darkmoon Blade becoming purer and smoother in form.

This was the manifestation of lethality refined to its absolute limit.

“It really can... Its function isn’t limited to just ritual arrays.” Karon closed his eyes and began using the Cube Key to analyze and improve all of the Arts he frequently used. In the study lit by only a single desk lamp, light and shadow flowed rapidly as the Cube shifted and changed. It gradually grew larger, and then slowly shrank again. Its movements became faster and faster, then slowed after achieving a certain speed. The cycle repeated over and over, constantly improving.

Karon was using the Cube to reorganize every system and Art within himself, including the storage and circulation of his spiritual power. At the same time, by continuously deducing and analyzing himself, he was steadily improving his mastery of the Cube.

This was essentially using himself to farm experience. After all, his current self was far more complicated than most ritual arrays.

Throughout this entire process, an elderly figure quietly stood behind the closed-eyed Karon, watching over him the entire time. It was like a grandfather accompanying his grandson while he worked on his homework.

Time passed quickly without Karon realizing it. When all analyses were finally complete, Karon opened his eyes to discover that the sky outside was already bright. He had actually sat in the study for an entire night, and the cube before him had become black. Although it was not large, it looked truly exquisite. Moreover, every individual square on it contained a smaller cube, and within each square of those smaller cubes, there were actually more cubes.

This... Even Karon himself was somewhat shocked, because this appearance meant that his mastery of the Cube Key had far surpassed Richard’s.

Alright, surpassing Richard’s perfectly normal. After all, Karon felt that during the two hours Richard had spent sleeping, he had already caught up to Richard’s mastery of the Cube Key. The difference was that Karon had still been somewhat unfamiliar with the Cube at that time. Now, his level of mastery was basically on the same level as Eisen’s, just one level below Derron’s.

But how old was Eisen? Whereas Karon had only spent one night working on the Cube.

“Because my body contains the Gorman family’s bloodline, this is essentially no different from using the Darkmoon Blade while having the Darkmoon Eyes as a vessel, or using the Sea God’s Armor while having the Heart of the Sea God as a vessel. A vessel can break one’s limits, elevating their mastery of a system of Arts to another level. Because I possess this bloodline, the vessel already exists. When learning it, there is temporarily... no, fundamentally, there is no bottleneck or restriction at all.”

This was very similar to a family faith system. Just like Pu’er in the past, who, despite her youth, had advanced through her family’s faith system with astonishing speed. Because she herself was a member of the Allen family, she would not encounter objective limitations before reaching the same level as Progenitor Allen.

But even so, Karon’s own proficiency in learning and gaining mastery of Arts was truly absurd, surpassing what could normally be understood. He looked at the ancient-looking yet exquisite Cube before him and muttered, “The defining trait of the Immers family’s lineage faith system... learning.”

A moment later, he pursed his lips and quietly corrected himself, “Appropriation.”