Chapter 2

The continent has six lights and five darknesses.

The six forces that stood tall like a brilliant sun on the continent were called the Six Emperors, while those who dwelled in the shadows, spreading evil and terror, were called the Five Demons.

One of the Six Emperors, ruling the northern region, was the Zighart family.

“Woof.”

Raon met Zighart's eyes and opened his mouth wide.

‘Is this a good thing…?’

Zighart is in a position no less powerful than the Robert family, who had used and killed him in his previous life.

If he could build his strength here, the time for revenge might come much sooner.

“The child, like my father and me, has blonde hair and red eyes.”

While pondering how to proceed, Silvia smiled gently and stroked his head.

“……”

Glen lifted his body, maintaining an overwhelming presence.

‘Huh?’

Raon trembled. The moment he was embraced by Glen, a warm and gentle energy flowed through his wrists.

“Ugh….”

An involuntary moan escaped his lips as he felt the aura for the first time in a long while.

‘What kind of aura…’

Glen's aura was not just warm; it had an immense purity, as if it had been taken directly from the mana of nature.

‘It’s melting me.’

After reincarnation, he had become extremely sensitive to the cold. At first, he thought it was because of his young body, but there was a significant problem with his constitution.

However, when he received Glen's aura, his entire body felt as if sunlight had entered his veins, warming him up.

Uuuu.

Glen used his aura to examine every corner of Raon's body and then handed him back to Silvia.

‘What is it?’

Raon narrowed his eyes. Despite being a martial artist of Glen's caliber, there was no change in his expression, even though he must have known there was something wrong with Raon's body.

Knowing that his grandson was abnormal, yet maintaining such an expression, was incomprehensible.

“Silvia.”

“Yes.”

“I will name this child Raon.”

“Raon? Ah, Father. The meaning of the name Raon is….”

Silvia's eyebrows furrowed deeply.

“It means exactly that. To live quietly like a shadow, to be present yet absent.”

Unlike when he used his aura gently, a chill emanated from Glen's voice.

‘Huh…’

Is this fate?

Not only the name but also its meaning is the same as in his previous life. A hollow laugh escaped him, finding it absurd.

He knew Glen was a cold person, but he didn't expect him to show no concern for his ailing grandson.

“That's all.”

Glen, as if he no longer wanted to be there, flicked his dark red coat and turned to leave.

“Wait! Father! At least a different name….”

Silvia, holding Raon, followed him, but Glen didn't look back. He left the mansion.

It was a believable scene, even if they were not father and daughter.

“Ugh!”

Raon's lips trembled. Despite wanting to remain quiet, a moan escaped him due to the cold wind from outside.

“I, I'm sorry!”

Silvia pulled Raon close, burying her face in his body. She seemed to be barely holding back tears.

‘There’s something. I’m too sleepy to think.’

Feeling the cold wind and Silvia's warmth simultaneously, Raon slowly closed his eyes.

‘A child’s body is really inconvenient…’

* * *

When the moon rose to the center of the sky.

Raon, lying in the baby crib, slowly opened his eyes.

‘He’s sleeping.’

He turned his head. Silvia was fast asleep in the bed next to him.

Thud.

Even when he tapped the bed, she didn’t wake up, indicating she was sound asleep.

‘Phew…’

He let out a small sigh.

The past 100 days had been unbearably frustrating.

Sleep had come endlessly, and even when he was awake, he was always with Silvia, making it impossible to use mana or practice.

Even the slightest touch during practice could cause problems, but finally, an opportunity had come.

‘Baby crib.’

Following the advice of the nanny Helen, he started sleeping in a warm baby crib from today.

Though it was right next to Silvia, she wouldn’t wake up at this hour. It was the perfect time to start practicing.

‘Should I start?’

Raon slowly exhaled.

‘Fire Ring cultivation.’

The continent’s cultivation method involves absorbing natural mana through breathing and accumulating aura in the dantian.

However, the Fire Ring cultivation method he obtained in his previous life was different.

Like a mage creating a circle, it involves forming a circular ring around the heart to enhance physical strength and the body, and to improve mental strength and mana sensitivity.

In other words, while it doesn’t create aura, it provides the most perfect conditions for becoming a martial artist by enhancing the body and mind.

‘Its advantages are not just that.’

The Fire Ring cultivation method follows the natural flow. Even a martial artist of high caliber cannot detect if someone is cultivating the Fire Ring.

Even Delus Robert, the strongest swordsman on the continent, didn’t know that Raon had learned the Fire Ring.

By using the Fire Ring to enhance his body and mind and learning the Zighart family’s sword techniques, avenging Delus Robert is not a dream.

However, there was a significant problem with Raon’s body.

‘Cold.’

The mana circuits, like blood vessels, were blocked by intense cold.

He first noticed this a while ago.

While pretending to sleep, he tried to use mana briefly and was almost startled by the cold blocking the mana circuits.

“Phew.”

Raon slowly inhaled, feeling the mana in the air.

‘It’s dispersing.’

His basic mana sensitivity was poor, and he couldn’t feel the mana as well as in his previous life.

After considerable time, he finally managed to absorb and sink the mana into the mana circuits.

‘Hmm.’

Raon stopped, about to start the Fire Ring cultivation with the absorbed mana.

‘I wasn’t wrong.’

About half of the mana circuit near his shoulder was blocked by a cold chill.

‘This is why I feel sleepy and cold.’

The reason he had been sleeping for over 20 hours and feeling intense cold was due to this cold.

‘Nine places, maybe?’

He let the mana flow through his body. There were nine mana circuits blocked by cold.

‘Serious…’

A child’s mana circuits are wide open, unlike an adult’s. If the cold continues to rise, it might block the entire mana circuit by the time he grows up.

Then, he would experience unbearable cold and pain, or even die.

He needed to eliminate this cold before that happened.

‘I need to use the Fire Ring to break through the cold in the mana circuits.’

The Fire Ring cultivation would take much longer, but survival is the priority now.

Phew.

Raon slowly inhaled, absorbing the mana and piercing the cold blocking the mana circuits with a thin, sharp point.

Squeak!

Tiny pieces of cold fell like a fork piercing a frozen waterfall.

‘Wait. Can I use this cold?’

He could release the cold, but the purity of the cold was a waste.

Raon guided the fallen cold along with the natural mana, following the flow of the Fire Ring.

The cold and the natural mana merged and began to circulate through the mana circuits.

‘Got it!’

Raon clenched his fist. Although it was much slower than in his previous life, he could use the mana according to the flow of the Fire Ring without major issues.

Uuuu.

He felt the cold, guided with the mana, settling in his body.

‘Thanks to the child’s body.’

If it weren’t for the open mana circuits of a child’s body, the cold would have prevented the circulation altogether. At least it was fortunate.

‘Next… Huh? Already?’

After a bit of effort, he started feeling sleepy. His eyelids drooped involuntarily.

‘Damn…’

Raon let out a frustrated moan and closed his eyes.

As he fell asleep, the moon in the sky moved three fingers.

A figure appeared in front of the door.

Without opening the door, Glen Zighart, the head of the Zighart family, entered.

“……”

Glen stared at the sleeping Raon and extended his hand. A soft, sunset-like light bloomed from his palm.

Haa.

The frown on Raon’s forehead, caused by the cold in the mana circuits, smoothed out like velvet.

* * *

“Ahh.”

Raon let out a low sigh.

‘As expected, it’s not easy.’

His waking hours were short, and even then, he was mostly with others, leaving no time to cultivate the Fire Ring.

However, considering the progress despite the limited practice time and the cold, it was surprisingly good. It felt like someone was helping him.

“Raon. Let’s try moving a bit more today?”

Silvia bent down and shook a rattle. She seemed to think he liked the rattle because he kept reacting to it.

‘It’s hard to play.’

Honestly, playing with Silvia and the maids was more difficult than enduring the cold.

With an adult’s mind in a child’s body, it was inevitable.

“Awooo.”

As Raon nodded and tried to crawl towards Silvia, the door opened softly.

A white-haired old man, whose identity was unknown, entered. He wore tattered clothes but had eyes as clear as a lake.

“Eh? Uncle!”

Silvia, who seemed to know the old man, ran to the door with a bright smile.

“It’s been a while.”

“No, no. Saint….”

“Awooo.”

Raon, surprised, let out an involuntary babble. Recognizing the old man as the Saint of Rags, he knew who he was.

‘The Saint of Rags!’

The Saint of Rags, Frederick, is one of the most famous healers on the continent.

Despite his mastery of divine power and medicine, he was a wanderer, making him hard to find.

“Just call me Uncle, like before.”

Frederick chuckled and approached the bed where Raon was lying.

“I heard you had a child. I stopped by on my way. Is this the child?”

“Yes.”

“Oh! Blonde hair and red eyes? Is this the first since you?”

“Yes. Isn’t he beautiful?”

Silvia stroked Raon’s head and smiled.

“That’s right. A child under a year old, and he’s already so beautiful. He’s completely different from the fierce Glen.”

Frederick chuckled and wiggled his fingers in front of Raon.

“What’s his name?”

“Raon….”

“Raon?”

Frederick frowned upon hearing the name.

“Surely it doesn’t mean shadow, does it?”

“Yes….”

“Naming a child Shadow, what is Glen thinking?”

Frederick called Glen by his first name, as if they were close friends.

‘The rumor that Glen Zighart and the Saint of Rags are friends is true.’

Raon, looking at Frederick’s broom-like hair, felt a pang of envy.

As an assassin, he had a lot of information about the world’s politics.

The information that Glen Zighart and the Saint of Rags had a significant friendship seemed to be true.

“Raon. Let me examine you for a moment.”

Frederick gently massaged Raon’s shoulders, arms, legs, and chest.

“Umm….”

He bit his lip with a serious expression and finally released a white light. The warmth of a hot spring spread through Raon’s body.

“Phew.”

Frederick let out a low sigh and turned around.

“What do you think? He’s growing slower than other children and is very sensitive to the cold….”

Silvia approached Frederick with her hands clasped.

“It’s the curse of the cold.”

Frederick frowned.

“The curse of the cold? What do you mean by that all of a sudden!”

“It’s not an actual curse. It’s a constitution where intense cold blocks the mana circuits.”

“Oh…”

“This is a rare constitution in girls, but it’s the first time I’ve seen it in a boy.”

He looked at Raon’s body with a strange expression.

“It’s not a problem now because the mana circuits are open, but after the age of four, when the circuits start to close, he will experience severe cold and pain.”

“Such….”

Silvia bit her lip in anxiety.

‘