[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-problematic-child-of-the-magic-tower":3,"chapter-the-problematic-child-of-the-magic-tower-the-problematic-child-of-the-magic-tower-chapter-258":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","The Problematic Child of the Magic Tower",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1334775,1778,"Chapter 258","the-problematic-child-of-the-magic-tower-chapter-258",258,"\u003Cp>[Translator - Night]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Proofreader - Gun]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chapter 258: Blooming the Flower (9)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the subspace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The mages, who had stepped into the white void where nothing existed, were bewildered for only a moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We should step back.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So that we don’t interfere with the proof of the sacred color, I understand.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At Andre’s words, the mages withdrew to the rear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After confirming that they had put some distance between them, Kudel spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You seem quite nervous.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“……”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lloyd didn’t answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he couldn’t help but agree with Kudel’s words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Right now, he was nervous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘This is the second duel.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just a few days ago, in the first duel… he had suffered a crushing defeat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘I felt the wall.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An unbearably high and thick wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His attacks hadn’t worked, and Kudel had swallowed his flames whole.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even when he used World Liberation, he couldn’t even catch a glimpse of Kudel’s world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was the kind of overwhelming gap it had been.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m looking forward to it. What entertaining sight will you show me today?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“……”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clench.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At Kudel’s mockery, Lloyd clenched his fists tightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sneer that had flown at him as he fled like a beaten dog that day still rang in his ears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well then, let’s finish quickly and head back.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kudel grinned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing that, Lloyd bit down hard on his lip.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘He’s doing this on purpose.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Originally, Kudel’s demand was to seize Lloyd’s flames.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But within a few days, the conditions had changed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His intent was all too transparent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘He intends to torment me to the end.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First, he would order Lloyd to forge the Flower of Refinement at the Red Tower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he refused, endless torture would follow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Lloyd endured even that, only then would Kudel finally take his flames.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The clear malice in his gaze made Lloyd feel sick.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“……”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, fear gripped him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because he wasn’t sure he could win.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the other hand, the visions of what would happen if he lost kept replaying endlessly in his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he could, he might have run away right then.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mr. Lloyd.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was then.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the soft voice, Lloyd turned to see Oscar nodding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s fine to waver. Just remember what you should believe in.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“……”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lloyd’s eyes widened slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Do not waver, never be nervous—those were the words drilled into him countless times when he first entered the army.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But what he heard now was the complete opposite.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘It’s fine to waver?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Normally, he would have dismissed it as a trivial comfort and erased it from his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now, he could understand the meaning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Even if I waver a thousand times, it doesn’t matter.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ember of a dream resurrected from the depths of memory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he held onto that to the end, no matter how many times he wavered, the result would not change.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His trembling fists grew still.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hoo.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a heavy exhale, he let his tension flow out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright then, let’s finish this quickly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because he had a place he must return to.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hm.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Realizing that Lloyd was no longer nervous, Kudel squinted one eye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t like it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But to keep trying to rattle him with words would be unsightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“……Come.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With his hands behind his back, Kudel yielded the first move.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lloyd didn’t hesitate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Exploding flowers—Flame Petals—instantly encircled Kudel in the shape of a ring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh, this is……”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Kudel was about to show off his knowledge of magic—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Explosion Wheel.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boom!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A massive detonation erupted before he could finish, shaking the entire subspace and raising a colossal cloud of dust.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the blast site rose flames as tall as a building.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“……Someone was speaking. Where did you learn such rudeness.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a low voice, the flames vanished instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or rather, it was more accurate to say they were “sucked away.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not a trace of soot remained on Kudel Redmane’s crimson robe after he absorbed all the fire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ha, to absorb the opponent’s flames.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“As expected of the Red Tower Master… worthy of being called the master of all flames.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kudel chuckled as though nothing had happened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s good that you started strong. But is that all?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“……”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was right.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Explosion Wheel was the strongest, most powerful spell Lloyd could use.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it didn’t work, there was no stronger magic left to cast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I see.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lloyd nodded slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just like in the last duel, he felt it with certainty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“……What is it that you see?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That with flames, I can never defeat you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Keuk.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kudel Redmane laughed darkly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Correct. But realizing that now—what do you intend to do?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“……I’ll return it first.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lloyd grasped his chest tightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a pained expression, he forced out stifled groans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he pulled something from within and tossed it before Kudel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“……”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kudel’s eyebrows twitched hard as he looked down at it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He glanced back at Lloyd and asked,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Are you sane?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m fine. As you can see.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lloyd’s face was drenched in sweat, but his expression was refreshed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“……Do you even know what you’ve just done?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I performed the 'Fire Snatching' myself, so how could I not know? Ah, in this case, it should be called 'Fire Shedding.'\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not stolen, but discarded by his own hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lloyd had spat out the essence of all the flames he had built up over sixteen years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He even sealed the circuits used for flame magic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I can’t make sense of this.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kudel shook his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He never imagined the man would be mad enough to abandon his flames voluntarily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Translator - Night]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Proofreader - Gun]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Because you couldn’t beat me with flames, you threw them away entirely?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had thought Lloyd clever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But wasn’t this the height of foolishness?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A laugh escaped him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Foolish. Pitifully foolish. Do you really think this will let you reach me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lloyd didn’t respond.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t know if abandoning flames would let him win, but one thing was certain—he would never reach Kudel by clinging to them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you want, you may absorb it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At Lloyd’s words, Kudel grinned, then crushed the flame essence beneath his foot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do I look like a fool?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter how tempting, he wasn’t foolish enough to pick up such a thing in a duel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t believe Lloyd would act without reason.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching him, Lloyd muttered,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Good. I’m glad you didn’t trust me until the end.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“……What?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even as Kudel asked, radiant light burst at his feet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the move Lloyd had prepared, even at the cost of discarding his flames.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The name of the spell… yes. Smouldering Resentment, aged sixteen years.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boom!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The flame essence exploded, erecting a massive pillar of fire in the white space.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kudel, standing atop it, was hit directly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Graaah!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A ragged scream tore from his mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could absorb and absorb—but the sheer volume of sixteen years of accumulated flame essence could not be absorbed all at once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Now, the next phase.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lloyd didn’t lower his guard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, he hadn’t assumed this single move would end the fight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, his opponent was Kudel Redmane, the master of flames.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hooo.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Closing his eyes, Lloyd focused, drawing forth the power to unleash his own world unlike ever before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ghhk!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the fire pillar subsided, Kudel strode forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His crimson robe was riddled with holes, embers still eating through it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“……I acknowledge it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The burns on his face quickly healed back to normal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With eyes blazing with fury, he glared at Lloyd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In nearly twenty years, you’ve given me the most joy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m honored.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, be honored.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kudel’s mana flared like flames.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cracks spread across the white subspace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“O-Oscar!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ghh… I’m holding it!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oscar hastily pulled more threads of space together, trying to keep the subspace from breaking apart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That mad old man had grown monstrously strong over twenty years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the rifts leaked crimson light and the howling of stellar cores.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Since the war’s end, you are the first to witness my world.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Throne of the Sun, Solar Regia.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Above all their heads rose a massive red sun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its rays did not merely shine downward, but moved like living creatures, dominating the space.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“……”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ground beneath their feet was like obsidian.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As though molten sand had hardened, the earth mirrored the red sun above like a black mirror.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was as if two suns existed simultaneously, in the sky and on the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the center of that obsidian plain, upon a blazing throne of crimson flame, sat Kudel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clad in his crimson robe, he looked every bit a god ruling over the world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“……”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From his throne, he looked down on Lloyd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His eyes asked: against a world like this, what could a mere insect like you possibly do?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So this is your world.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Truly, it was overwhelming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every breath seared his lungs; his skin dried out as if all moisture was stripped away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even his mana felt as though it were evaporating under that sun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“……If I had seen this world when I was young, I might have bowed down.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s not too late even now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kudel spoke, extending one last hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Bow before me now. Forge the Flower of Refinement and dedicate it. Do that, and I will pass all I have onto you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lloyd shook his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From his body, tiny sparks of mana sprouted like seedlings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I refuse. If I inherit that, I’ll truly never be able to go home.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“……I see.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kudel withdrew his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With cold eyes, he pronounced judgment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Very well. Begone.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rumble!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sun fell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its massive weight plummeted from the sky, and Andre cried out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No choice. I’ll intervene! We must stop this—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oscar hastily cut him off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Staring at Lloyd’s back, he continued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s not over yet.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But that spell is beyond what Lloyd Schultz can withstand!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is it, really?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You fool! This isn’t a game! What do you trust in—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Andre was shouting, veins bulging, when half the obsidian plain disappeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“World Liberation—Eternal Bloom.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In place of the obsidian appeared desert sand. Kudel scoffed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Useless. With that world, you can’t even stand against me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had already shattered that world just days ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He hadn’t even needed to summon his own then.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“……”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lloyd looked down at the sand swallowing his feet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the massive sun descended, he closed his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Remember.’Newest update provided by novel fire.net\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Normally, it worked once out of ten tries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that didn’t matter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘It’s okay to waver.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The answer was within him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he trusted in it and kept moving straight ahead, then even if he wavered a thousand times, he would eventually arrive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“……”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A breeze blew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It swept away the clouds covering the sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sunlight poured down—not the searing, destructive sunlight of Kudel’s sun, but the gentle warmth of a spring day in a forest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then the wind scattered the sand on the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beneath it was fertile soil, a vast field of rich earth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At some point, a small flower had appeared in Lloyd’s hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Eternal Bloom.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the place where his dream came true.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A realm where flowers never wither, yet forever bloom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Holding his old friend, Sydney, Lloyd aimed at the sun and whispered softly,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Bloom—Cradle of All Things.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Translator - Night]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Proofreader - Gun]\u003C\u002Fp>",1871,"2026-06-05T20:00:10.789Z",1,"novelbin.me","965aa6da8296637680f59cc7754e482a7cd7581ae8894e8936744857173eb1d9","the-problematic-child-of-the-magic-tower-chapter-22","the-problematic-child-of-the-magic-tower-chapter-21",375,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-problematic-child-of-the-magic-tower-cover.jpg"]