Trait Hoarder Novel Chapter 205: An Old Bet (2)

An Old Bet — Part 2

The Tower Master looked at .

His gaze was devoid of emotion, cold and crystalline.

The eyes shared by all Level 8 superhumans.

A gaze that seed to pierce straight through the soul.

I t his stare calmly.

I was Level 7 now.

I wasn’t at Level 8 yet, but I was past the stage of being overwheld by re presence.

As we exchanged this silent conversation, the head researcher awkwardly cleared his throat beside us.

“Ahem! Perhaps it wouldn’t be a bad idea to accept so guidance?”

As expected.

A mage who had always been favorable toward .

“Is that necessary?”

“We can handle this on our own just fine!”

“Head Researcher Yu, don’t tell

you’re lacking confidence? We’re counting on you!”

“That’s right! You’re the one who successfully developed Solar Fla. Surely Ultimate Fla will be no problem!”

“Well, about that… Haha…”

One day, the head researcher would succeed in completing Ultimate Fla.

And then, his granddaughter—an SSR character from the Sun Tower—would debut with Ultimate Fla as her ultimate ability.

The problem was that this was still ten years away.

The world was moving too fast.

By dedicating themselves entirely to Ultimate Fla’s developnt, the Sun Tower was inevitably sidelined during the early stages of the major conflict.

That couldn’t happen.

It must not happen.

The Sun Tower needed to step out into the world.

And more importantly, they needed to take part in crushing the Old Father’s Cult.

“Ultimate Fla…”

The Tower Master pondered deeply before turning to the head researcher.

“Sage, how long do you estimate until Ultimate Fla is fully realized?”

“Well… That is…”

“Be honest.”

“At least three years.”

“Three years?”

“Three years?!”

The elders were up in arms.

The head researcher glanced at

once before raising his voice.

“Originally, this was a spell ant to be developed over the course of twenty years! My goal was simply to complete it before I died, while the Tower Master was still in his position. At the very least, it should have taken another ten years. The only reason it’s been reduced to three is thanks to the Sword Star’s cooperation. Without the Black Fla data, we wouldn’t have even grasped the concept yet.”

“But still, three years?”

“A single day feels like a year in tis like these…”

“And you’re using up 10% of the Tower’s entire budget, yet it’s still taking this long?”

“Well then, why don’t our esteed Level 7 elders take a crack at it themselves?”

A calm yet scathing remark.

The elders averted their gazes.

There was a world of difference between using combat magic and researching new spells.

Even though he was only Level 6, the head researcher was undoubtedly the best spell developer in the Sun Tower.

The Tower Master let out a faint chuckle.

“Three years… Well, fine. That much was expected. It’s what the monthly reports have always stated.”

“My apologies, Tower Master.”

“There’s nothing to apologize for. I recall how ecstatic you were last year when you made a breakthrough in Ultimate Fla’s research. And it truly was significant progress. This is our Tower’s ultimate spell, after all. The fact that we can complete it in re years rather than decades is already remarkable.”

His gaze shifted back to .

“So… Sword Star, you claim you can assist in the completion of Ultimate Fla?”

“Yes.”

“If you can truly help us realize Ultimate Fla, then granting your wish wouldn’t be difficult. After all, considering your work with Phoenix Pyromancy, the power you demonstrated in this bet, and the sheer potential you’ve shown—if you also contribute to Ultimate Fla’s completion, even if our Tower sheds so blood, it won’t be a loss for us. Wouldn’t you all agree?”

The Tower Master swept his gaze over the elders.

His eyes burned like torches.

A silent pressure that left no room for dissent.

The elders quickly bowed their heads.

“Well, that’s true.”

“It may be excessive, but if we consider it an investnt in long-term relations, it’s not a bad move.”

“I also approve. But only if he provides significant contributions to the developnt of Ultimate Fla.”

“I agree. Simply accelerating the process by a few months won’t be enough.”

Their gazes returned to .

“Let’s do this. Six months. How about that?”

“Six months?”

“Complete Ultimate Fla within six months. With a total score of at least 750 points. If you succeed, I will personally and fully support you. Not just in my individual capacity, but on behalf of the entire Mage Tower—we’ll forge a magical pact.”

I smiled.

Success.

But they were still underestimating .

“One month.”

“Hm?”

“I’ll complete Ultimate Fla in one month.”

“You… You’re not joking, are you?”

“Do I look like soone who would joke in front of the Tower Master? I’m perfectly sane. Not crazy.”

I had no desire to get roasted by the Tower Master’s Solar Fla.

Even with Supre Fla, the gap between Level 7 and Level 8 was massive.

Level 7 was the Realm of Perfection.

The highest peak a human could reach.

Level 8 was the Realm of Transcendence.

At that point, one was no longer truly human.

They beca sothing else—part god, if not quite a demigod or an archangel, at the very least an angel in their own right.

“In exchange, I ask that you lift the restrictions placed on .”

“What restrictions?”

“The magical pact I signed. The prohibitions against using, leaking, or copying Solar Fla. You can keep the clauses on leaking and copying, but I need the usage restriction lifted. Otherwise, I won’t be able to properly contribute to Ultimate Fla’s developnt.”

“Hm!”

In truth, if he was going to lift one, he’d have to lift them all.

Since the pact was bound as a single entity, selectively removing a restriction wasn’t possible.

The Tower Master deliberated for a brief mont before giving a simple nod.

“Very well. I’ll allow it.”

“Tower Master!”

“However, this is strictly for the purpose of completing Ultimate Fla. If you fail to achieve that within one month, I will reimpose the restrictions—with a few additional ones. Are you still willing to proceed?”

“That’s fine. But in return, I need full cooperation from you and the other mages.”

“Of course! If Ultimate Fla can be completed in just one month, what does it matter? But if you fail, be prepared for the consequences.”

“I understand.”

Failure?

I hadn’t even considered the possibility.

And even if I did fail, the Tower Master wouldn’t be able to treat

like a slave.

I had my own network of allies.

The Eastern Army, the Geumo Group, the Thor Cult, and the Gaia Cult.

With the magical restrictions lifted, I imdiately moved to the research lab.

The head researcher was all that was necessary, yet the Tower Master and the elders tagged along, practically trotting after .

They must have been curious to see how I would approach this.

First, I received a brief explanation of Ultimate Fla’s current developnt.

“Ultimate Fla was designed by combining only the most powerful fire-based magic.”

The head researcher snapped his fingers.

Hundreds of magic icons popped up in midair.

“The base is Solar Fla. On top of that, we incorporated Fla Bombardnt, Fire Dragon Cannon, teor Shower, Fla Tornado, and Fla Giant—all of our Tower’s highest-tier fire spells.”

That didn’t seem like a good idea.

The head researcher waved his hand dramatically.

The magic icons vanished in a cascading sequence.

“All of those were the wrong choices. The spell couldn’t even be stabilized. No matter what catalysts we used or how many rituals we added, we couldn’t control it. Everything just exploded. Our research only progressed after the Sword Star demonstrated Black Fla last year.”

An icon for Black Fla appeared.

The head researcher rged the icons for Solar Fla and Black Fla.

The two spells wavered as they repeatedly combined and separated.

Then, he injected a few more spells into the mix.

Finally, the unstable fusion solidified into a single, stable fla.

“At this stage, we realized Solar Fla and Black Fla complented each other, but sothing was still missing. To bridge the gap, we introduced another fire-based spell.”

It was Hellfire.

When Hellfire was added to the fusion of Solar Fla and Black Fla, the entire simulation detonated instantly.

The breakthrough only ca when a fourth elent was introduced.

A small, seven-colored fla danced in the air.

“This is Elental Infusion. When we incorporated elental properties, Solar Fla and Hellfire finally stabilized. The mana consumption is still imnse, and the casting ti is long, but at least it has taken the form of a usable spell.”

“So this is the current stage?”

“Yes, Tower Master. However, balancing Black Fla and Elental Infusion is proving difficult. If we amplify Black Fla, Elental Infusion weakens, increasing instability. If we suppress Black Fla, Solar Fla and Hellfire trigger a conflicting reaction, causing the entire spell to go berserk.”

That was to be expected.

Black Fla was inherently derived from an evil deity.

With a feeble elent like Elental Infusion, Black Fla would simply consu it.

Supre Fla maintained its balance using Celestial Fla and Chaotic Fla.

“You need to remove Black Fla.”

“Remove Black Fla? That would be unfortunate… There are many fire-based spells in the world, but few are as brutal as Black Fla.”

The head researcher was clearly enamored with Black Fla.

But it wasn’t suitable for Ultimate Fla’s developnt.

Black Fla leaned heavily toward the priest class.

And Ultimate Fla, constrained by its mage-class designation, was fundantally incompatible with it.

“Replace it with Sacred Fla instead.”

“Sacred Fla? We’ve already tried that…”

“And add Refined Fla, then amplify its repulsion against Sacred Fla. Refined Fla works better than Demonic Fla in this case.”

“W-What?”

“There will be an explosive reaction from the repulsion. The key is to condense the mana as much as possible and trigger the explosion at a controlled mont. You can regulate that using Dragon Sovereign Fire.”

“W-Wait… What?!”

With every word I spoke, the head researcher’s eyes grew wider.

“H-Hold on a mont! I need to run so calculations!”

Shwaaak!

A magical keyboard unfolded in midair.

Dozens of tenkeyless keyboards appeared in every direction, stacking on top of one another.

The head researcher’s hands moved like a blur, conjuring mana bullets that struck the keys with rapid precision.

The research lab’s monitors switched to display his calculations.

Green text scrolled across the screens at an insane speed.

Would artificial intelligence look like this if it were coding magic?

An endless stream of 0s and 1s flashed, bizarre symbols and arcane characters appearing and vanishing in rapid succession.

“This… This is it!”

The head researcher scread as if he had been electrocuted.

“This works! It really works!”

“What did you say?”

The elders murmured amongst themselves.

“The solution was that simple?”

“We just needed Refined Fla?”

“Dragon Sovereign Fire? We scrapped that five years ago because it didn’t work!”

“Weren’t we told that we had to choose between Hellfire and Dragon Sovereign Fire? That using both would cause a mana overload?”

“Exactly! But using Sacred Fla, Refined Fla, and Elental Infusion creates a multi-layered reaction!”

“Look at the graph! The conflicting forces between all six spells are balancing each other perfectly!”

“As long as we sync the casting ti and the detonation timing, we’ll have a completed ultimate spell!”

The elders erupted into chaos.

So were laughing in disbelief, while others danced in pure joy, declaring this the end of all their struggles.

“You…”

Only the Tower Master remained with a complex expression.

“Where did you learn all of this?”

Sharp.

He was quick to catch on.

But I couldn’t tell him the truth.

If I ntioned anything about a ga, I’d be labeled a lunatic.

And if he actually believed , that would be an even bigger headache.

So I went with the next best option.

“I learned it through experience.”

I raised a single finger.

[Black Fla]

A black fire ignited, licking the air like the tongue of an evil god.

In that instant, the Tower Master’s eyes sharpened into a piercing glare.

Naturally.

I had just openly used Trait Swap right in front of the Tower Master.

One by one, I extended my fingers.

Each ti, a different fla ignited.

From my middle finger, Solar Fla blazed.

At the tip of my ring finger, the deep crimson of Hellfire.

Wrapping around my pinky, the cool blue of Dragon Sovereign Fire.

Encasing my thumb, the pure white of Celestial Fla.

And finally, in the center of my palm, a strange, swirling Chaotic Fla.

Then, fusion.

I hadn’t even activated my Supre Fla trait, yet all six flas rged, shifting into a golden hue.

“This is my Supre Fla.”

“Hah…”

“Incredible.”

“How did you even co up with the idea of combining them?”

“I didn’t.”

I just copied what I saw.

“They looked promising, so I collected them and tried using them together. There are plenty of other flas out there, but with these six… I just had a feeling.”

“Hah.”

“So that’s a warrior’s intuition?”

“A warrior blessed by the heavens is different, after all.”

“A normal warrior could never pull this off.”

“Perhaps he gained insight by overcoming divine fever? Black Fla was a product of that as well.”

“That might be the case.”

“He’s a warrior who has communed with Thor and Gaia. Maybe he was inspired by that experience.”

“Indeed.”

The elders rambled on, each spinning their own interpretation of events.

But amidst their chatter, the Tower Master remained silent.

His expression was deep in thought.

A heavy, unusual atmosphere settled over the room.

The elders, sensing the shift, belatedly quieted down.

The head researcher cautiously addressed him.

“Tower Master?”

“Speak, Sage. I’m listening.”

“The core structure is complete. The calculations show that by using the six flas as components and making a few refinents, we can finalize Ultimate Fla within no ti.”

“What’s the estimated power?”

“I’ll display it on screen.”

[Destructive Power] 300

[Range] 300

[Mana Consumption] 50

[Casting Ti] 50

[Difficulty] 50

[Total Score] 750

A total score of 750 might not seem like much at first glance.

But the key numbers were Destructive Power and Range, both at 300.

aning that from a safe distance, they could unleash a spell three tis stronger than Solar Fla.

A true, unparalleled magic spear.

A single shot of this could incinerate a Fla Dragon or even a Phoenix to their very bones.

“It’s perfect!”

“At last, finally…”

“To think it would be completed in my lifeti…”

“Hahaha! The Glacier Tower bastards are going to lose their minds over this!”

“It’s ti to shed the na of the ‘Four Great Mage Towers.’ From now on, we should be called the Ultimate Fla Tower! Among the great four factions—legions, conglorates, and cults—only the Mage Tower will remain supre!”

“Hahaha!”

“Wahahaha!”

“Ahahaha!”

The elders roared with laughter, their joy verging on hysteria.

I laughed along with them.

But inwardly, I remained on guard.

Because while the others were laughing, the Tower Master’s face was completely devoid of amusent.

“Sword Star. Have a private conversation with .”

“Of course.”

We moved to the Tower Master’s office.

Gone was his usual air of relaxed authority.

He didn’t even offer

a cup of coffee, which he typically served personally.

Instead, the mont we sat down, he cut straight to the point.

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“Just what are you?”

–TL Notes–

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