Chapter 2

2nd Chapter of The Marquess Family's Magic Genius (2/324)

2

‘Mana, huh.’

Mana.

It is the power utilized by mages.

Just as knights in Fantasy Defense use aura, mana can be considered the exclusive domain of mages.

The sudden possession phenomenon.

And the blue mana particles floating around.

Although these were inexplicable events, there was nothing to be done.

I had to accept it.

‘Still, there are quite a lot of them floating around.’

Is it because this is a fantasy world?

The number of mana particles was more than I expected.

As I observed the particles, a sense of curiosity arose within me.

I wanted to touch them.

Well, touching mana wouldn’t kill me.

As I reached out my hand toward the mana particles, they naturally began to stick to my hand.

I didn’t grasp anything.

But on my palm, the particles clung as if attracted by a magnet.

“...Amazing.”

Unconsciously, I clenched my fist at that moment.

The particles that had been covering my palm were gone.

A moment later.

“...Huh?”

I could see inside my body.

Literally.

The muscles, blood vessels, and bones inside my body.

It was as if I were looking at a projection of what was inside my skin.

The particles that had stuck to my hand earlier.

They had clumped together and were flowing inside my body.

They looked like thin blue worms crawling through my blood vessels.

‘What is this?’

While I was stunned by this unprecedented sight, something began to appear in front of my eyes, accompanied by strange messages.

“...What is this?”

A message window suddenly appeared.

After a moment of confusion, I slowly read the content and began to understand.

First, the Third Eye.

From what I could tell, it was a talent that showed things like this.

It felt similar to the status window function often seen in novels.

‘But what is a Mana Body?’

I had played the game for ten years, and this was the first time I encountered such a talent.

‘Wasn’t the Mana Companion the end of it?’

Fantasy Defense.

While playing this game, you can obtain various talents, and among them, the Mana Companion is the most difficult to acquire and is considered the top-tier talent related to mana.

I had never heard of a Mana Body.

However, I had a hunch.

This talent looked extremely good.

‘If this is really the top-tier talent related to mana... Is this guy actually a talent prodigy? But that doesn’t seem right.’

Kail Seltarion.

From what I knew, he was just a minor supporting character.

A rotten side character who, from being the family’s troublemaker, eventually fell into the dark world of the villain.

The Seltarion Marquess family worships swordsmanship.

But Kail had no talent for swordsmanship.

Did he have any other talents?

From what I remembered, he didn’t.

In short, he had no talents at all.

While his other siblings were renowned for their outstanding talents, Kail spent his childhood as a troublemaker, a nobody.

‘Well... Given his characteristics, it’s understandable.’

A blocked body.

This was one of the worst characteristics related to the physical body.

‘It was a characteristic that prevented the gathering of natural energies like mana or aura.’

Such natural energies greatly assist basic life activities.

It’s not for nothing that Sword Masters and Great Mages live to a ripe old age.

Additionally, the blocked body characteristic reduced the distribution rate of nutrients consumed.

‘That’s why he was so skinny.’

Without the energy that aids physical life activities and with nutrients barely being distributed, he would have inevitably become emaciated.

Most people with this characteristic died before the age of twenty.

To treat it, one would need to consume top-tier elixirs, which are extremely difficult to obtain, or practice special mental techniques or mana cultivation methods from a young age.

From what I could see, this guy hadn’t received such benefits.

NPCs didn’t know the treatment methods for this characteristic, so it was a natural occurrence.

Living a hopeless life, he couldn’t help but become twisted.

‘Still, did this guy have such a talent?’

From what I remembered, he definitely didn’t.

This guy had lived without even knowing the basics of magic. Did something change when I entered his body?

I couldn’t be sure yet.

‘Still, this is amazing to see.’

Mana Companion.

Even when I had this talent, I had never seen mana particles like this. No player of this game had ever seen such floating mana particles.

I suspected that something strange had happened as reality and the game had mixed.

‘Well, it’s not a bad thing.’

Being able to see mana was a very good thing.

Just by reaching out my hand where the particles were, the mana was absorbed into my hand.

‘Definitely a talent above the Companion level.’

Mana Body.

This was an incredible talent.

Despite the terrible characteristic he possessed, mana was gradually gathering inside his body.

When I looked at my body, I could naturally see inside.

In the blood vessels, there were dark, murky energies blocking the pathways.

The blue, worm-like mana that flowed through them would, upon approaching the dark barriers,

Crack!

Vanish with a small sound.

Blocked body.

Now I understood how this characteristic worked.

Strange barriers blocked the pathways where energy flowed between the blood vessels.

This was the effect of the characteristic.

The only fortunate thing was that the dark barriers didn’t block the blood.

If they had blocked the blood circulation, he wouldn’t have lived past twelve.

‘Still, now I have to break through these barriers.’

I wasn’t sure if I could, but this was the only thing I could do for now.

From what I could tell, he had a talent for being a mage, but to become one, he needed to form a circle in his heart.

To do that, the first priority was to clear the dark barriers blocking the pathways.

I targeted the barrier blocking his right wrist.

Once I cleared this path, I could create a route to his heart.

After gathering the mana particles in the room for a while, I looked at the mana inside my body.

‘If I can move the mana in my body at will...’

I wasn’t sure if it would work, but if I left it alone, the mana would flow and disappear upon hitting the dark barriers. I needed to gather as much mana as possible in one place.

In the game, NPCs said they could move mana and aura at will.

Could I do it too?

Since I didn’t know the method, I had to try it out.

‘Move. As I will.’

Shudder!

The moment I strongly willed it in my heart,

The mana seemed to recognize my will and began to move according to my thoughts.

‘Good. Gather.’

Rumble.

When I thought strongly, the particles naturally clumped together, forming a fairly round shape from the worm-like appearance.

I couldn’t help but smile at this.

The process was more interesting than I expected.

Being able to control this mysterious power, mana, at will was a novel and thrilling feeling. The immediate results made it quite enjoyable.

I continued to absorb the floating mana in the room and gather it.

Thanks to the Mana Body, the process was smoother than expected.

The sphere of mana gradually grew larger.

‘This is the limit, I guess.’

It would be difficult to gather more mana. But with this much, I should be able to do something.

After forming a decent-sized sphere, I changed its shape.

The wobbly mana formed a cone with a sharp tip.

Now, I had to experiment.

I needed to see if the mana, gathered to its limit, could break through the dark barrier in his right wrist.

‘Break through!’

The moment I strongly willed it,

The cone began to move quickly through the blood vessel.

A moment later,

Crack!

The cone was deformed.

But it was okay.

A small hole appeared where the sharp tip of the cone hit the thick barrier surrounding the blood vessel.

If this method didn’t work, it would be a different story, but if it did, all I needed was time and effort.

I had plenty of both.

Kail might be weak-willed, but I, inside his body, was not.

Despite being weak-willed, I had lived quite diligently until the age of thirty-six.

Talents and characteristics can be changed through actions, so I could gradually change the terrible characteristics this guy had.

Looking outside the window, the sun had already passed its zenith.

It seemed about two hours had passed.

‘Wow.’

I had never been so engrossed in a game that I lost track of time.

Rumble.

My stomach growled.

Was it because I was so focused?

Well, that’s what maids are for, right?

“Hey.”

A response came immediately.

“...Did you call, young master?”

Her voice sounded somewhat fearful.

Given Kail’s past behavior, it was understandable.

“Bring me some food. This time, mix something else with the porridge.”

One meal of recuperation was enough.

The white porridge was quite delicious, so other foods would be even better.

“Ah... Yes, I understand.”

Her voice from outside the door sounded quite surprised. After all, he had only been drinking wine for three days.

Indeed.

To be surprised by just eating a meal... I waited for a moment, and someone started knocking on the door.

“Young master, may I come in?”

This was a voice from Kail’s memory.

‘Was her name Ersiel?’

She was probably one of the maids who assisted him.

“Yeah, come in.”

A maid with black hair entered my room. She looked about ten years old.

She was quite cute.

She bowed her head as she delivered the food.

“Enjoy your meal.”

“Thanks.”

The moment our eyes met,

A message appeared.

Then, something began to float above her head.

“...Huh?”

Could it be?

Can I see not only my own information but others’ as well?

The Third Eye talent.

This seemed to be more convenient than I thought.