The Banished Villainous Noble Son Who Was Used as a Stepping Stone in the Original Work Awakens to Combat and Destroys the Laws of the World - Episode 57: To Know the Answer

Episode 57: To Know the Answer

――Ice magic power.

It was clearly different in nature from my own. It was cold and clear.

When viewed through “Magic Power Vision”, it floated up as if it were a foreign object.

It didn’t stab the skin with sharpness. But rather than spreading quietly, it permeated everything.

But this was not “my magic power.” It had clearly come from “outside.”

(…Magic power intrusion, huh.)

“Magic Power Vision” can focus not only on the range visible to the eyes, but also inward on oneself.

The more I concentrate, the more delicate the flow of magic becomes. Its outlines emerge.

Within the torrent of my own magic power, it lay there silently, sunk deep.

Different nature. Different “intent.” A magic power that just “existed.” It was unaffected by me.

(If it entered, then at what timing?)

Several events come to mind. Contact with the ice monster, gaining “Frost Resistance”, or maybe that dish.

But now, there isn’t enough information to decide. Looking around, I don’t feel any trace of ice magic power. If I strengthen this skill, maybe I’ll be able to see more.

Above all, this magic doesn’t “interfere.” It’s just there. As if—keeping silent while waiting for some kind of trigger.

(…A strange feeling.)

There’s no hostility, no interference. But it isn’t complete nothingness either.

In fact, that “thing with no presence” feels all the more eerie.

(Right now, I can’t understand anything.)

Frustrating, but that was reality.

If not for “Magic Power Vision,” I wouldn’t even have noticed its existence.

I have no means to probe further.

But because I don’t understand—it bothers me even more.

(When I fought that monster, when I endured that pain and cold, I gained “power.” If so…)

“Observation” alone means nothing.

If what’s inside me is connected to something ahead—then to reach its true nature, staying like this won’t work.

An unknown magic power to me.

But in reverse, that means there’s “room to explore.”

(Then—in the end, it leads to “battle.”)

Training, discipline, and real combat.

That’s where the “trigger” of realization lies.

In battle, endure, overcome, and face magic.

Surely beyond that, there’s an “answer.”

I fix my heart. I sink my awareness deeper.

In the “Magic Power Vision”, focusing on the “ice magic power.”

Not that I understood it. Not that I formed a contract.

Just acknowledging it. Not denying it, but accepting it.

Because that one step will give birth to the next.

(I’ll find it. The answer.)

I open my eyes. My vision returns. In the quiet room, the scenery is unchanged.

But inside me—something was surely shifting, little by little.

(To know the true nature of this magic power…)

Right now, I don’t have enough “strength.” I must train, sharpen myself. Ahead, surely, I’ll see “something.”

My thoughts recall the battlefield. That monster in the Miasma Plain.

(First, I’ll overcome that.)

To understand magic power, battle is necessary. To surpass my limits, to dialogue with pain.

Then surely I’ll see something. For that, I must first strengthen “Constant Activity”.

With determination burning in my heart, I stood up.

◆

――Miasma Plain. The sun was hidden by haze. The sky was dyed between gray and purple. My breath wasn’t white. But the mist crawling at my feet seemed to steadily sap my HP.

Because I had already strengthened “Poison Resistance”, this sensation was only faintly ticklish.

In the distance, a black shadow stared at me. It was nearly merged with the mist.

The Maw of Miasma. The monster I had faced many times as training. And today—I would give it release.

“…Alright, let’s go.”

Murmuring briefly, I stepped forward. The monster didn’t roar. It didn’t charge. Instead, it crept closer inch by inch. It did so cautiously.

(Its movements have changed again.)

Compared to before, its patterns had shifted once more. Not simple charges or long-stagger bite strikes. Its gaze was more like a beast “observing.”

And within that gaze, there was a strange “weight.”

(…Even a monster, after repeated battles, learns?)

Suddenly, its jaw opened. “Dense Fog” spread.

In that instant, its strike swung sharper and clearly faster than before. But I didn’t move.

Before my body reacted, I had already “seen” it.

《HP: 98%》

(This much? With “Physical Resistance”, even a direct hit isn’t much.)

I hadn’t planned to dodge anyway. The bite pierced my shoulder. Bl00d spread red. But it was only a scratch.

When I prepared to respond, the monster’s movements paused for a moment.

(What’s this?)

Not fear. More like a gesture of “understanding” something.

—By now, to me this wasn’t a “fight for life.”

When I first met this Maw of Miasma, it was an “enemy I had to defeat” to gain “Constant Activity”. But now—it was a “wall for growth.” And also a “mirror reflecting my current strength.”

Perhaps the monster sensed that too.

But even so, its movements held too much “consistency” to dismiss.

The “breath of battle” aligned. Twisting my body, letting its bite flow past lightly. Sweeping its leg, forcing it to its knees.

While it knelt, I quickly drank a fatigue recovery potion.

The monster rose again, as if in response.

(Fighting… No, more like “being together.”)

It resembled that wordless cooperation with the ice monster. But this time, though still an “enemy,” there was an odd sense of synchronicity.

As if—our souls were resonating.

(Souls… no, impossible.)

I tried to deny it, but couldn’t.

Thinking of souls reminded me of a skill from game knowledge.

“Resonant Oath”… a skill where, upon defeating a monster, there’s a chance to inherit one of its skills.

But only certain skills. And even then, only after repeated battles. There wasn’t much info about it.

Still, inheriting a monster’s skill was significant. Sometimes even enemy-only skills could be used. It was actually a pretty exciting skill.

But that skill only applied to small monsters. Boss-like ones, like this Maw of Miasma, weren’t targets.

(Even so… No, I still don’t know yet.)

Game knowledge and this reality differ. “Resonant Oath” might work differently here.

(Next.)

I set thoughts of that skill aside. I focused again.

The monster’s left jaw opened. A bite was coming—but its angle was slightly off.

(On purpose? No, it was an “adjusted miss” to match my movements.)

In these minutes of battle, there had been many moments where it was clear “its movements were adjusting to me.”

The fight became a “flow.”

Not a kill-or-be-killed. But more like “dialogue” with one who didn’t speak.

(Strange… but not bad.)

I suddenly thought that. Without ending the fight, I simply continued “observing.”

And realized something anew.

The Maw of Miasma wasn’t just a mere monster. At least now, the being before me was—“like someone with will.”

《Skill Level-Up Confirmed》

《Skill: Constant Activity Lv.4 → Lv.5》

How long had I been training? Finally, at this moment, “Constant Activity” reached Lv.5.

Its bite was straight but fast. If I went head-on, I’d be crushed. So instead, at the start I half-stepped back, luring it in—then leapt forward. Its jaws opened. For a split second, in the edge of vision, I saw a “trajectory distortion.”

(It’s coming…!)

My thoughts accelerated. I was already ready to evade.

Twisting my torso. The jaw tore the air—barely missed me. My counter strike swung down. The target: the center. A straight line to its skull.

A dull sound. The monster’s body collapsed.

But this time, it didn’t respawn instantly. Sinking into the mist, the Maw of Miasma looked at me.

Not hostility. Not mere instinct. In its eyes, something close to “understanding” dwelled.

(This is…)

From deep within its crumbling body—I thought I saw its “core”. It was faintly trembling.

Original Author’s Comment:

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Thank you very much for reading to the end!!

I’d be happy if you’ll join me again next time!!

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