NoveLight ™
Flames burst out from my right arm, spreading in all directions.
The floor and walls glowed red, and the surroundings heated up in an instant.
The fire raged with an intense energy, as though ready to devour everything in its path.
And with every flicker of the flames, emotions were pulled to the surface.
This was unmistakably Guhwa Fire.
I immediately began to regulate the flames.
I coaxed the flames scattered around me to gather back in. The flames, previously spreading outward, now converged.
It wasn’t difficult, as it was simply a part of mana manipulation.
But that wasn’t the end of it. Controlling Guhwa Fire meant managing emotions as well.
I restrained the emotions that had begun to surge. Once I suppressed them in the early stages, it became much easier to maintain control.
If emotions are allowed to swell, they can easily spiral out of control.
So, it’s best to curb them in advance.
“Your control is impeccable, both of the flames and your emotions... nothing here for me to teach, really.”
The location was the underground facility where I’d completed my verification. Sitting comfortably in the center, I continued controlling the Guhwa Fire, occasionally casting Observation around the room.
Not far away, Hong Jin-hyuk, the Stopfire, sat scratching his head, looking at me with a somewhat troubled expression.
Several days had passed since the verification.
Although the verification process was complete, with a few days remaining until the banquet, I’d decided to stay as a guest until then.
I spent those days focusing on three main things.
First, touring the family grounds with Hong Yeonhwa, meeting a few people in the process.
Second, observing Hwa Byeok-un, the Tan Hwaju, as he crafted weapons.
And third, receiving training from Hong Jin-hyuk on using the Guhwa Fire...
At the moment, I was in a training session with Hong Jin-hyuk.
During the verification.
Upon seeing my manifestation of Guhwa Fire, Choi Jiyeon had worn a complicated expression and asked for a few days to deliberate.
I had agreed, as there was no rush.
There was undoubtedly much to discuss.
An outsider manifesting the family’s unique ability.
Even if they’d already received word from Shioram, witnessing it firsthand must have caused quite a bit of turmoil.
This was a significant issue.
It wasn’t something that could be casually dismissed as a mere coincidence.
After all, Guhwa Fire was a unique ability that had only manifested in those who carried the blood of the family’s founder.
That fact had been maintained over the years, and it helped unify the family’s power under a shared heritage.
Then, suddenly, an outsider who wasn’t of the bloodline had grasped Guhwa Fire.
Of course, the truth was that I had replicated it through my own unique ability, but I couldn’t reveal that to them.
Regardless, from an outside perspective, I was someone who had manifested Guhwa Fire without any blood ties to the family.
This set a precedent that the Guhwa Fire wasn’t exclusive to the bloodline and could manifest without familial ties.
From the family’s perspective, it was undoubtedly a delicate situation.
‘In the third iteration...’
The third iteration included three powers.
Guhwa, Changhae, and Taesan.
It was an iteration where I held a semblance of all three major families’ unique abilities.
The first of these to become publicly known was Taesan.
While on a mission, I found myself in a life-threatening situation and used Taesan to escape.
As fate would have it, Lee Ji-yeon, the heir to the Taesan family, witnessed it.
Just as I had visited Hong Yeonhwa and the Guhwa family now, in that third iteration, I had ended up visiting Lee Ji-yeon and the Taesan family.
After undergoing a verification process similar to this one... there was quite a bit of discussion.
The Taesan family also found it challenging to accept that an outsider had manifested their unique ability.
The result?
In that third iteration, I was added to the Taesan family registry.
In other words, they manipulated the family records to include me as one of their own.
It was a shallow tactic, like hiding behind a flimsy excuse... but it got the job done.
While an outsider manifesting the family’s unique ability was problematic, it wasn’t an issue if a family member had done it.
So, if the person in question wasn’t actually a blood relative, they just created a plausible story.
They could claim that a previously disowned family branch had a descendant who, through atavism, manifested the unique ability—and who would question it?
What mattered was the assertion: “This person is part of our bloodline.”
And so, in that third iteration, I was added to the Taesan family’s registry.
Eventually, Guhwa and Changhae were also exposed, causing a chaotic shift in relationships, but anyway...
‘Will it go that way again this time?’
Adding me to the family registry wouldn’t be too complicated. It was also the simplest solution.
“Hm…”
A cough from the front brought me out of my thoughts.
Hong Jin-hyuk was stroking his chin, seemingly deep in thought, and then he finally spoke.
“Are you aware that there aren’t many techniques associated with Guhwa Fire?”
[I’ve heard that.]
Abilities unique to bloodlines, like those in the Three Great Families, or those similar to such abilities, often developed unique techniques.
These techniques often stemmed from the unique ability and could be either extensions of it or skills not quite as advanced but still highly practical.
A prime example was the Whirling Water Spirit Palm and the Water Mirror Sphere that Baek Ahrin demonstrated in the tournament finals.
The Whirling Water Spirit Palm was a combat technique utilizing Changhae’s water attribute, while the Water Mirror Sphere served as a foundational technique to fully harness Changhae’s power.
While impressive techniques, they weren’t considered extensions of the Changhae power.
Since they didn’t require Changhae itself, anyone using water-based energy could theoretically use them. However, if wielded with Changhae, their potency would increase significantly.
In any case, there weren’t many similar techniques developed for Guhwa Fire.
“Guhwa Fire is a damned difficult ability to work with,” said Hong Jin-hyuk, one of the few in this generation who could skillfully wield Guhwa Fire.
“Fine control is hard to master, and creating techniques from it is even harder. Even when techniques are created, they rarely get passed down in a structured way for future generations to learn.”
It wasn’t that no techniques existed, but the learning curve was clearly higher than in other families.
In short, few individuals reached a level where they could master them.
While the Whirling Water Spirit Palm was developed to bolster the combat prowess of those in the Changhae family who weren’t particularly suited for direct combat, there was no such foundational technique for the Guhwa family.
“But Guhwa Fire is strong in its simplicity.”
Despite lacking foundational techniques, the unique ability’s sheer power made it highly effective.
With the extraordinary output of Guhwa Fire, even an indiscriminate attack was overwhelmingly lethal.
Since it was a power tailored for combat, there was no need to complicate it with elaborate techniques.
And so, Hong Jin-hyuk’s lessons focused more on precise control than on complicated techniques.
“It’ll be challenging. So pay close attention, and practice controlling it on your own later.”
Of course, most people couldn’t manage even that level of precise control.
Thus, Hong Jin-hyuk stressed the difficulty beforehand, advising me to keep up diligently.
“Oh, right.”
Hong Jin-hyuk turned his gaze to the flames with a slightly awkward expression.
The fire flickered at his fingertips, shifting into various shapes.
Circles, triangles, squares, pentagons.
Forms of weapons like swords, bows and arrows, spears, and axes.
The thin, elongated flames undulated like waves before contracting into a small sphere.
The flames constantly shifted forms, requiring fine control for each transformation. From basic shapes to detailed control, it was an extensive practice.
I had absorbed a significant amount of knowledge on precise control over the past few days.
With the foundational guidance provided by Hong Yeonhwa and the diligent instruction of Hong Jin-hyuk, I’d internalized quite a bit.
Of course, achieving a level of proficiency suitable for combat would require further training, but I’d continue to refine it.
“This is absurd. It took me months to get this down, focusing on nothing but this.”
‘......’
“First the young miss, and now you. Lately, I feel like I’m becoming obsolete…”
I thought briefly about responding to Hong Jin-hyuk’s grumbling but ultimately said nothing.
The Confession Necklace chose silence as well.
Time passed, and the day of the Guhwa family’s annual banquet arrived.
With the estate bustling for days in preparation, there was no way not to notice.
Even now, I could see the procession of cars arriving in real-time.
The people stepping out of the cars bore red hair and eye colors. Though their aura differed individually, each one had some fiery attribute to their mana.
It seemed they were either branch members of the Guhwa family or allied forces attending the banquet.
The building, presumably the banquet hall, was similarly abuzz with activity.
Observing the staff moving in and out to make preparations, I could feel the event’s imminence.
It looked like a grand affair. Being an event hosted by the Guhwa family, they were bound to make it a splendid occasion.
While the idea of attending such a large-scale banquet was daunting... there was no way I could avoid it.
In the end, I had no choice but to participate quietly.
“Young Master, it’s Ariel.”
[Yes,]
[Please come in.]
The door creaked open, and Ariel, now a familiar presence in her modern-style maid uniform, stepped inside.
[Thank you for the trouble.]
“No trouble at all. This is my duty, and since you’re staying next to the young lady, there’s not even any extra distance involved.”
Waving off my apology, she held a rectangular box.
After a quick bow, I nodded towards the box in her hands.
[What’s that?]
“It’s the attire you’ll be wearing, Young Master.”
At my question, Ariel opened the box on the table.
Inside was a set of clothes.
Using Observation, I scanned the outfit.
It was in shades of red. Likely crafted intentionally by the Guhwa family, the color evoked the image of intense flames.
The design... What should I call it? Flowing robes... or perhaps battle attire?
The lengths were long, and the fabric quite wide. It wasn’t heavily adorned, with an emphasis on simplicity over flashiness.
[It’s a beautiful outfit.]
“Yes, it’s the traditional attire of the Guhwa family... created specifically for honored guests,” Ariel replied.
[I see...]
Nodding in acknowledgment, I noted how Ariel had subtly emphasized “honored.”
[Unique Ability “Polymath” is advancing]
[Unique Ability “Affinity for Mana” is advancing]
[Unique Abi?it? “?” is advancing]