Chapter 172

”…”

I quietly observed her for a moment. With my transcendent senses, I detected something entirely new within her lower abdomen. Closing my eyes, I focused my concentration.

Ba-dump.

The tiny heartbeat made me involuntarily gasp.

“This is…”

“Your Majesty?”

I silently regarded Flower’s puzzled expression.

‘I never expected this to happen now.’

During my 20 years in Ardenia, I had been involved with multiple partners, but no children were ever conceived. I disregarded the nobles’ mocking comments about being “seedless,” as I knew there was a different reason behind it. Just like when I consumed wild boar meat from Ardenia and it disintegrated into text fragments upon returning to Earth…

A part of my body would disappear after a certain period of time once it separated from me. There wouldn’t be even one hair left on the bed where I slept, so there was no need to worry about contraception or pregnancy.

‘This situation seems different now that I have obtained the physical body of transcendence.’

However, this was still incredible. It hadn’t been 30 hours since I had relations with her, yet I could already hear a heartbeat? If Flower wasn’t absolutely trustworthy, I might’ve suspected infidelity.

“Flower, today’s work ends here.”

“Huh? But Your Majesty…”

“You don’t look well. Take some time off and rest. Over there.” I called over a nearby housekeeper.

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

“Summon all Grade 5 administrators related to Flower. Tell them to come up with plans assuming she will be away for three months or possibly even more than a year.”

“Your Majesty?” Flower was startled and rose from her seat, but there was no strength in her voice. My perception skill detected that her legs were trembling. She seemed to think it was due to overexertion in our relationship, but the problem lay not in the relationship itself but its consequences.

I swiftly picked her up in my arms.

“Eek! Your Majesty?!”

“Delegate your duties to other administrators and take some rest. Is there anything you’d like to eat?”

“No, no…but…”

I moved the flustered and blushing Flower to my bedroom and assigned some maids to her.

“Prepare as many diverse types of foods as possible. The quality goes without saying?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Don’t think about one adult woman but assume ten grown men.”

In just two days, I could hear her heartbeat growing louder. If this was related to Extreme Physique (극의지체), she would need a lot of food.

‘But I’m not sure. Despite hearing about Extreme Physique, I’ve never heard that it automatically transfers biofactors to offspring…’

Rather, there were stories about pregnancies being challenging due to the existence of the Great Waiting Period and Ardenia creating unique circumstances.

“Well, anyway.”

I took the bewildered Flower to her room and then went to Haze’s room this time.

Gooooo…

Haze was sitting cross-legged on the bed. The flowing ki around her body showed that she wasn’t just meditating.

“Haze.”

“Sigh…” She gathered her ki and opened her eyes. “What, you’re back already? I’m too tired for another round right now.”

“Stop complaining. Is there any problem?”

In response to my question, Haze nodded. “For some reason, my mana detection ability is gradually deteriorating. I was trying to determine if it is due to overexertion last night or something else.”

“Wait.” I placed my hand on her abdomen, but in fact, there was no need for it.

Vwoom…

My perception expanded. I could share the sensation of biofactors spreading throughout her body.

‘Indeed… it is biofactors. But different from Flower.’

There was no doubt that Flower was pregnant, while Haze’s situation involved ordinary biofactors spreading through her physical body. This was the typical process where accepting biofactors transformed someone into a vitality cultivator.

‘Hmm? Why is there such a difference?’

I pondered for a moment before speaking up.

“Haze, Flower became pregnant.”

“What? Isn’t that impossible for you?”

She was surprised, knowing my previous condition. Before she could misunderstand, I quickly explained.

“It used to be like that. However, there were some changes recently… and things seem different now.”

“Ah, yes. Your body has changed significantly.”

Beyond just increasing in size, my eyes now emitted light, and my breath could create storms! Although Haze hadn’t witnessed these changes directly, her exceptional perception wouldn’t have missed the fact that my basal body temperature exceeded 40 degrees Celsius.

“Anyway, I stopped everything to rest.”

“Eh? But we only did it yesterday…no, the day before yesterday, already?”

“It seems like this isn’t a typical case. As mentioned earlier, there have been some significant changes in my body.”

“Wow. You’re distancing yourself further from being human in various ways…”

She appeared amazed but showed no signs of suspicion. After all, witnessing me single-handedly create castles and spawn Players seemed even more unbelievable to her.

Suddenly, Haze was startled and asked, “Eh? Then I won’t get pregnant?”

“Do you want to?” At my question, Haze hesitated.

“Hmm. Well, it might not be bad if the partner is you… but honestly, I don’t really feel like it. I still want to train with the sword more. And I don’t think I would make a very good mother.”

I pondered her words.

‘Perhaps this could be the reason.’

The direction of vitality was determined by desire. If someone wished for four arms, they would have four arms. The psychic energy transformed the physical body according to their wishes.

“Then there’s no need to worry. My influence on you has taken a slightly different form.”

“My… influence?”

“Yes. From now on, your body will likely undergo some changes.”

I gave her various advice about biofactor training. Of course, there was a risk that accepting ordinary biofactors might weaken her power since she was already a cultivator of inner energy.

‘Well, it could be different for her.’

Perhaps she might obtain my great potential.

“The reason why my mana detection is poor… Well, I understand. I’ll keep an eye on the situation.”

“You should always eat until you feel full.”

“Sure, sure. I am grateful.” Haze smiled and got up from the bed before suddenly remembering something, “Oh, have you met Red yet?”

Red—a young teenager around middle school age—was discovered and brought to me by Haze. As an orphan abandoned by her parents, normally, I wouldn’t have paid any attention to her as Emperor Ming.

However, there was a reason why Haze introduced her to me.

A future hero.

Red had the potential for both Hero Class: Elemental Master and Legendary Class: Master Wizard. Since Haze had encountered Red’s elemental form, she recognized this talent.

“It is an honor to meet you… My name is Red…”

I quietly observed the awkward bow from the young girl. Despite her tender age, her striking red hair and fair skin hinted at her promising future.

‘Well, she is a named NPC after all.’

I asked her, “Yes. You’ve reached Class 3?”

“Sis Haze helped me a lot. She provided magic books and…”

“What magic have you learned?”

“I mastered circling and spells from elemental schools. Sis Haze recommended them to me…”

Red was quite nervous, understandable considering she was an orphaned commoner meeting the emperor.

‘She truly is a genius. It hasn’t been several years since she started learning magic, yet she’s already at Class 3.’

Haze suggested giving Red a class, but I didn’t intend to do so. There was no urgency; it would be better to teach her calmly over time.

“Yes. Any concerns?”

“Ah, not really… Ah.” Red hesitated for a moment.

“What is the problem?”

“Hmm. When deploying more than three spells using overlapping coordinates, the Magic Power circulation slows down. If that issue can be resolved, it might accelerate the circling rotation…”

Silence fell over the truth-seeking hall at Red’s words.

”…”

”…”

”…”

No one dared to open their mouths. The housekeeper who brought her here, the maids waiting nearby, and the knights guarding me - instead of verbally rebuking her, they just glared fiercely with wide eyes. Their gazes seemed ready to kill her on the spot! However, Red appeared completely oblivious to their reactions.

Their eyes seemed ready to kill her on the spot! However, Red didn’t seem aware of their gazes at all.

‘Ah, this fellow. Now I see she is from another dimension?’

The emperor asked if there were any concerns and she brought up a question about magic blockages.

I laughed, “Hahaha! Is that your concern?”

“Ah, sorry! It’s just because I’ve been thinking about it lately…”

“There is no need to apologize. Log out.”

I returned to Earth.

“Haha. What a strange experience.” With a forced laugh, I posted on Knowledgable Person:

Question: Troubled Lü Bu (sprout): Can anyone tell me about circling rotation acceleration ？

I am currently training in the Elemental School’s Circling technique. There has been something constantly bothering me recently.

When deploying more than three formulas using overlapping coordinates, the circulation of magic power slows down. Can this be solved to accelerate the circling rotation? Is there any way?

After posting the question online, I searched the internet. As expected, worrying articles had appeared:

[F-D Member and Apostle Han Jae-yeon’s Home Love Affair?]

[Is Flower♥Han Jae-yeon Really Dating?]

[Reason Behind Late-Night Meeting Between Space Star and Game God’s Apostle?]

[Police Dispatched Due to Manager Assault Incident!]

[Born Transcendent Couple!?]

“Aigo…”

There weren’t too many articles yet. The police had just left, and journalists were still grasping the situation. However, things would change drastically by tomorrow.

“It will probably end up being just a misunderstanding.”

I wasn’t an idol with a no-dating clause so there wouldn’t be any problems. Maybe Flower had it but… ultimately, nothing happened, right?

“Come to think of it… I might be fortunate.”

After having relationships with Flower and Haze, serious damage occurred to my body. My muscles decreased by 27 kilograms and my height reduced by 10 centimeters! This ‘physique’ still couldn’t control itself yet—what if it activated during intercourse with Transcendent Flower? It wasn’t a joke; all the muscles in my body might disappear.

“Meow!”

“Ah, there is a reply.” I accessed Knowledgable Person and read the response. There were five replies.

“Huh, I didn’t put much mana but why did they answer so diligently…”

However, when I thought about it again, this was natural. The population of mages on Earth-34 was huge at 5 billion! Unlike Ardenia, where murders occurred over a single magic spell, millions of mages on Earth-34 wanted to discuss magic.

“Log in.”

I switched to Ardenia and spoke, “Don’t deploy the spell.”

”…What?”

Looking at Red’s confused expression, I explained. Honestly, I didn’t fully understand what they were saying either, but it must be correct since it received the most recommendations.

“Leave the overlapping coordinate spell as it is and just circulate your magic power. If you can maintain the circulation without interruption, the spell will naturally unfold, making it easier to accelerate circling.”

”…”

Red stared at me blankly before closing his eyes.

“No, that guy…”

“Where is this place…?”

I raised my hand to stop the knight and housekeeper from moving restlessly. Regardless of the tense atmosphere, Red remained quietly lying down with her eyes closed. Suddenly:

Woooommmmm---!

Everyone was startled by the strong resonating sound. Despite trying to remain composed, even I couldn’t help but feel alarmed.

‘A fourth class?!’

I detected an increase in circling circles. Her magic power was exploding. She had surpassed the barrier just with some brief advice!

“My goodness…!”

“This can’t be… Isn’t she now a fourth-class mage?” My usually disciplined minions gasped audibly. In the Human Empire, fourth-class mages belong to the top 0.1%, yet here stood a mere teenage girl achieving such a feat!

‘Truly, geniuses stand out. Even without reaching mythical grade, a legendary mage can achieve this much.’

“Sigh…” Red took a deep breath and opened her eyes. Her red pupils shone like stars.

“Congratulations.”

“Oh, thank you! Thank you very much, Your Majesty!” Red smiled broadly, while my subordinates were astonished.

‘Well, it is surprising indeed. She must be a genius beyond their imagination.’

However, their conversations differed from my thoughts.

“She has reached enlightenment in magic that touches the heavens…”

“To raise your circle with just one word… Truly, truly magnificent.”

“I heard His Majesty created a new circling method, and it’s true…”

Their groaning made me pause for a moment.

‘Wait, do they seem to have misunderstood something?’

Yet, considering their reactions, an idea suddenly struck me.