Chapter 6

2. Running Away (1)

Several months passed, and finally, I turned nine.

During this time, I was intensely focused on training while teaching the youngest one.

Recently, I've been very busy since turning nine, and there were various reasons for this, but the biggest one was a change related to my power.

Firstly, as I approached the second stage, I became more focused on training.

One might ask how I could reach the second stage so soon after awakening my mana, but choosing the simplest sword path helped.

With the foundation of basic sword techniques, every time I swung my sword, mana accumulated in my muscles, starting to resonate with my mana heart.

This helped me grow faster.

In other words, the growth promotion phenomenon occurred due to the sword technique imprint.

One might ask why everyone doesn't focus on basic sword techniques, but this method has clear limitations.

As one's level increases, these limitations become more apparent, which is why it's better to start with advanced sword techniques from the beginning, even though it's more difficult.

Secondly, I secretly submitted an enlistment application to the military without my family finding out.

The Northern Army is unique in that one doesn't need parental consent even at the young age of nine.

This is because there are not enough people willing to join, allowing many with special circumstances to enlist.

To be precise, there are enough people willing to join, but many die, which is why the Northern Army is always short of personnel.

Thirdly, I learned what my incomplete talent was.

This was purely by chance. While teaching the youngest one, I suddenly became curious about spirit beasts and asked about it.

"What does it feel like to have a spirit beast? I heard that elementals also have a strange sensation..."

I asked this when I felt that my own abilities were running out during sparring, leading to a sense of self-loathing.

The youngest one looked puzzled and replied, "It feels like communicating with nature? But I also feel really close to animals?"

I looked at him with a "What the hell are you talking about?" expression, and he said it was hard to explain further, looking embarrassed.

Then, he suddenly asked the white lion if I also had a talent for spirit beasts, and that's how I found out.

The incomplete talent the system mentioned referred to a talent for spirit beasts.

"I also have a talent for spirit beasts, right?"

"Well... predators don't like weak individuals..."

"Am I not stronger than you, the weakling?"

"That's... but..."

I was so exasperated that I spoke, and the white lion materialized slightly, growling at Jaden.

It was clear that Aiden had a much stronger aura.

"Anyway, since you also have a talent for spirit beasts, take a good look."

"Hmm... I don't even know what kind of talent it is, so how can I just find it? I'll just keep doing what I've been doing."

"Still, it's a shame."

"I'll look when I have time."

That's how it ended.

Of course, after that, I tried to find some animals.

To be honest, I tried a lot.

I looked for squirrels, hamsters, pigs, cows, dogs, cats, and more.

Strangely, when I saw a chicken, I felt a sense of familiarity, but there was nothing more, so I gave up.

I thought it might be related to birds, but I didn't have time to confirm it yet.

Birds are hard to catch and communicating with them is frustrating, so I kept putting it off until today.

Anyway, while living these busy days, I finally reached the day close to my enlistment date.

"Enlisting at nine... "

And it was a 20-year service in the military.

Of course, after finishing the training camp, I was supposed to receive six years of education at the military academy, but it was still a place with much stricter discipline and a hierarchical structure like the military, making it feel like a children's army.

The good thing is that those six years are included in the military service.

If not, I would have immediately ruled out the 26-year option.

"The Lion's Path..."

Jaden muttered to himself after finishing his training and resting.

At first, I thought about staying with the family for 20 years, but upon reflection, I realized that something crazy would happen in the Leonhardt family soon, so I immediately dismissed the idea.

The Lion's Path involves placing young children in the predator forest and making them survive for over a week.

After that, they are sent into the forest repeatedly, with the duration and tasks increasing each time.

It was a training method created by one of Leonhardt's ancestors, inspired by the story of lions dropping their cubs off cliffs to make them strong.

While it's a truly crazy training method, is this bloodline ordinary?

So many strong individuals have emerged from this crazy training method that other families have started to follow it, thinking it's a good method.

In fact, the current head of the family survived for three months in the predator forest at the age of 13.

He even brought back 100 orc heads.

He entered the fourth stage not long after that, so it can't be said that it has no effect, but thinking about the children dying during the Lion's Path, it's undoubtedly a crazy act.

"Indeed, this place is crazy."

The more I thought about it, the more I felt this place was crazy.

I even thought the military might be easier.

Now, I'm young and have the image of a trash, so I'm free, but once the Lion's Path starts, the family's true colors will be revealed.

When that happens, the true nature of my ferocious younger siblings will also be revealed.

I've experienced this in my previous life, so just thinking about facing them again makes me shake my head.

"Brother, how about a sparring match?"

"Let's rest a bit."

"Haven't you been resting all this time?"

Lately, Aiden has been more confident and frequently requests sparring matches, brandishing a wooden sword.

Seeing this, Jaden couldn't resist his brother's provocation and stood up to spar.

And as usual, he won.

"Kid, you still have a long way to go."

"Sniff! This time, I had a chance..."

Aiden, who lost again today, made a sad face, disappointed. He tried to exploit a weakness by breaking down the cheap techniques he learned last time, but Jaden, who had led him into that trap, easily blocked it and won.

'With the difference in the years we've lived, it would be unfair to be caught up in just a few months.'

It would be embarrassing for a 5th stage knight, who has been trained in real combat, to lose to a kid who hasn't even reached the 2nd stage.

Anyway, Jaden lightly pressed Aiden down again and sat on a tree stump, entering meditation.

He needed to completely replenish the mana he had consumed through mana breathing.

In the past, even when doing sword training, his body was always overflowing with mana, but now, mana consumption is much higher.

This means that his body is gradually adapting to sword techniques.

Every time he uses a sword, all his muscles are engaged, and mana reacts accordingly, increasing mana consumption.

When this reaches its limit, mana is emitted from the sword as an extension of the body, which is the 3rd stage.

In other words, the more mana consumption increases during training, the more it proves that one's skills are improving.

"Hmm..."

After finishing his mana breathing, Jaden sat on the tree stump and took out some sunflower seeds from his pocket.

Dried seeds are perfect as a snack and are good for replenishing stamina when eaten with water.

Aiden, who was training far away, had also started to follow his example, thinking it was the most efficient training method.

"Kid..."

Smiling at the cute Aiden, Jaden was about to put a handful of seeds in his mouth when a cute sparrow flew in from the side.

It was strange that the sparrow, which looked cute just by looking at it, approached him and didn't seem afraid of people, coming close and staring at him.

"Chirp!"

"Huh?"

The sparrow gently landed on his hand, tilted its head, and pecked at his clenched hand with its beak, urging him to open it.

Finding it cute, Jaden watched for a moment and then opened his palm to make it easier for the sparrow to eat.

The sparrow, chirping, climbed onto his palm and started to peck at the seeds, eating them happily.

"This is so soothing."

Just looking at the cute sparrow made his杂念 disappear, and he found himself staring blankly.

The moment he welcomed the magical sparrow, which made him stare without any thoughts, he focused on every detail of the sparrow eating.

When the sparrow had eaten a surprising amount of seeds, it flew up to his nose.

Perched perfectly on his nose, the sparrow stared at him and pecked his forehead with its beak.

"Huh?"

The moment the sparrow's beak touched his forehead, he suddenly felt a strange sensation.

He could feel the wind moving and the trees communicating with it.

He could sense the energy of the earth reacting to the sunlight, and most shockingly, he could feel the will of the birds flying around.

"Could this be...?"

As Jaden looked at the sparrow with a "Could it be?" expression, the sparrow's feathers started to turn bluish.

He could see bluish energy forming in the gaps between the sparrow's red, hollow eyes.

At that moment, it felt as if only the two of them existed in the world. They stared at each other, and a strange feeling arose as if they were the only ones alive in the universe.

As a connection formed between them and their souls gradually intertwined, Jaden returned to the present world, where he could feel the sparrow's senses.

Feeling the sparrow's senses along with his own, Jaden was momentarily lost in this strange sensation.

- You have awakened your incomplete family talent. Your talent is 'Avian Expert'.

- You now have a higher spirit beast sensitivity than anyone else, limited to birds. Take good care of your first contract, the sparrow.

- Blue Sparrow (Common): Has a talent for excellent mana recovery and vitality. With further growth, it can develop the ability to heal internal and external injuries.

- Your common contract slots are full. You cannot make any more common contracts.

- As a special reward for your first talent awakening, you receive one legendary contract slot.

- Remaining contract slots: Rare (1) - Legendary (2) - Mythical (1)

Jaden, who had been staring blankly at the floating bluish letters in the air, gradually regained his senses as the letters disappeared.

He had not expected his spirit beast talent to awaken so suddenly and stared blankly at the sparrow.

"You..."

The sparrow, which had helped him awaken his talent, tilted its head and looked at him adoringly.

In that moment, all the questions he wanted to ask were erased from his mind, and he gently stroked the sparrow with his finger.

"Right, what's important? We have our cute sparrow..."

The eldest son of the Peacock family runs away to the military (6)