Chapter 10

Chapter 4: Until I Turn Ten (2)

In this world, apart from Aura and Magic Power, there are rare individuals who can wield other special powers. Spirit Energy is the rarest of these 'special powers.'

And those who wield Spirit Energy fall into two categories.

Those born from Solderet, like Murakan, and those who have made a contract, like Jin.

At the peak of his power, Murakan, thanks to Spirit Energy, could fight against five 9-star mages without retreating, a level Jin can't even fathom.

Therefore, Murakan couldn't help but be the best teacher for Jin. Especially since Solderet can't communicate with Jin in his current state.

"Opening Spirit Energy is a technique that is both the beginning and the end for those who wield it, like you and me."

"Beginning and end?"

"It means it's both a basic skill and a finishing move. The principle is simple. It's almost the same as when a mage opens their Magic Power."

Mages can open their Magic Power once they reach 3-star.

In other words, if you can open your Magic Power, it means you've reached 3-star. In Jin's previous life, he achieved 5-star, so opening Magic Power is a very simple task.

However, Murakan only knows that Jin has 'Magic Power,' not that he possesses '5-star level magic knowledge.'

This is because Jin hasn't revealed that he is a regressed person. Jin has no intention of telling anyone this fact in the future.

"But isn't opening Magic Power not a finishing move for mages? As far as I know..."

"Just because they share the name 'opening,' does that mean they're the same level? The methods are just similar."

"Hmm."

"So, before you learn to open Spirit Energy, you need to master opening Magic Power first."

"Why?"

When Jin asked, Murakan shrugged.

"Start with the easy stuff. If you can't even use a wooden sword properly, how can you use a real sword?"

"Ah, I see."

Jin nodded as if he understood, but he couldn't help feeling a bit disappointed. He had long graduated from opening Magic Power...

'Well, I can treat it as a review. I haven't opened Magic Power since regressing anyway.'

Murakan made Jin sit in a formal position and suddenly burst into laughter.

"Hehe... This is hilarious. Who would have thought I'd be teaching the child of a Runkandel magic? If your father found out, neither of us would last long."

Learning magic in Runkandel means becoming a traitor to the family.

Most martial families dislike magic, but it's rare to find one as extreme as Runkandel. Since the death of the first family head, Runkandel has considered magic taboo.

This taboo stems from the belief that learning magic prevents one from reaching the pinnacle of swordsmanship. Historically, many sword-mages have appeared, but they all achieved insignificant accomplishments and disappeared.

The opposite was also true.

Magic families didn't reject 'martial skills' but were extremely averse to using 'Aura.' They believed that mixing Aura would corrupt Magic Power.

However, this is not true.

Runkandel's taboo against magic is due to a humiliating pact made with Ziph a thousand years ago.

Until Temar's time, Runkandel was originally a 'sword-mage family.'

Back then, Runkandel wasn't as famous as it is now, and most of its history has been lost or distorted. Currently, only Jin, a regressed person and Solderet's contractor, Murakan, and a few key figures in Runkandel and Ziph know this fact.

"Even just sneaking into this basement, if we get caught, it's over."

"Yeah, given your father's personality, that's likely. We're in this together, so before we start, I'll share a secret. People think 'sword-mages' are rare and can't become strong, right?"

"Seems so."

When Jin pretended not to know, Murakan laughed contentedly.

"That's all nonsense! Nonsense made up by Ziph's fools. While it requires tremendous prerequisites, sword-mages are the ultimate. You're originally from a blessed sword-mage family."

"Really? I've never heard that before."

"Isn't that surprising?"

Murakan asked with a somewhat deflated voice. Jin feigned surprise, but Murakan just shook his head.

"Haha, what could be more surprising than meeting you? Anyway, about the prerequisites?"

"You have them all."

"If you know, then you don't need to fear learning magic. However, promise me one thing. Kid, don't expose magic to the family until you're strong enough."

"I know. I'm only eight; I don't want to die."

"Right, right. Your goal is to stand at the top and make this Murakan proud. Let's start. First, try to generate Magic Power. Hmm, generating Magic Power feels like..."

Woosh.

When Jin floated a walnut-sized Magic Power sphere on his palm, Murakan's eyes widened.

"Damn... kid. What? You did that in one second? I haven't even explained it yet!"

Jin was also surprised.

He had intended to show a controlled level, but he inadvertently created the Magic Power sphere. Controlling it precisely in an eight-year-old's body was difficult, especially since he rarely used magic these days.

As Jin pondered how to explain, Murakan clenched his fist and stood up.

"Right, Solderet! I get it now! Why you chose this kid as the thousand-year contractor! Haha, you're the real deal. The real deal! Kid, you keep surprising me?"

The mistake turned out to be a blessing.

So, scratching the back of his head and forcing an awkward smile, Jin asked:

"Is this really that impressive?"

"More than impressive! In my life, I've only seen three people float a Magic Power sphere on their palm as infants! The first was Ziph's first family head. The second was Ziph's fourth family head. And the third is you!"

Murakan added that Ziph's first and fourth family heads floated Magic Power spheres at five and seven years old, respectively, but Jin wasn't particularly impressed.

He knew himself well.

He was clearly a 'magic prodigy' on par with them, if not better. Reaching 5-star in three years before regressing and contracting with Solderet suggests he might have even greater talent.

'If I had been born in Ziph before regressing, I would have at least reached 8-star by twenty-eight, maybe even 9-star.'

Murakan's smile faded.

"Kid, I thought it would take a few years to reach Spirit Energy opening, but maybe we can start before you leave Storm Castle. Let's move to the next step!"

The next step was Magic Power movement. A basic training method where you extinguish the Magic Power on one palm and move it to the other without any error.

This was as easy as using a fork for Jin, but he needed to control his pace.

He had already given Murakan enough reason to expect, and inflating it further would be burdensome.

Moreover, the mistake itself was important. Proper repetition and review were necessary to handle Magic Power as skillfully as in his previous life.

Following Murakan's explanation, Jin slowly moved the Magic Power from his right palm to the left.

'Hmm... about ten minutes for the first success should be appropriate.'

Ten minutes later, when Jin's Magic Power moved precisely from his right to his left hand, Murakan smiled.

Sweat beaded on Jin's forehead. Deliberately slowing down an easy action was more difficult. It's like lifting a heavy object slowly, which is harder.

"Good. Excellent. When you can do this in five seconds, you'll be ready for Magic Power opening. You'll also be a 3-star mage."

"How long do you think that will take?"

Wiping the sweat, Jin asked.

"Two years."

Then I should aim for about one year.

Jin nodded after calculating.

"Today, just practice Magic Power movement and go back. Don't train in the castle when I'm not around."

"Got it."

After an hour of practice, it was time to return to the castle. As Jin gathered his notebook and basket, Murakan lay down and scratched his thigh.

"Oh, and kid. When you come tomorrow, bring a basket full of strawberry pies. I'm serious."

Murakan said to Jin's back as he left.

"The last strawberry pie I ate was earlier. Do you know how many strawberries you've eaten in the past six months?"

"Damn, then bring any other pie your nanny baked!"

"How about a mouse pie?"

"Because you're so small... Hey! Hey!"

Whoosh!

Jin hurriedly ran through the hole leading to the basement.

"Anything but mice! Please!"

The next day, Jin brought a basket full of apple pies to Murakan.

Murakan was very pleased and patted Jin's head.

* * *

A year passed, and the morning of September 9, 1789 arrived. Today is Jin's ninth birthday.

Celebrating a birthday in the gloomy Storm Castle isn't particularly good for a child's emotional well-being.

While about ten servants, Gilly, and five guardian knights gathered to put candles on the cake, a fierce storm battered the castle windows.

"Happy birthday, Master Jin."

"Congratulations!"

"Thanks, everyone."

Whoosh.

As the cake candles went out, the gathered people clapped.

Clang, clang, clang. The knights' gauntlets produced intense metallic friction sounds instead of clapping. Even a commoner's birthday party wouldn't be as desolate as this.

Still, it was a cozy and luxurious scene for Jin. In his previous life, he never had such a birthday celebration at nine.

While Gilly cut the cake into pieces and distributed them, a guardian knight who had been guarding the castle entrance alone suddenly ran down the corridor.

"Master Jin!"

It was the guardian knight, Kan.

"Kan?"

It's rare for Kan to run in the castle.

Jin instinctively felt that someone from the family had come to Storm Castle.

"The eldest miss has arrived!"

"Luna-nee...?"

Jin stood up and replied.

Jin's eldest sister, Luna Runkandel.

She is the first of thirteen children and is known as the strongest among Runkandel's offspring. At just twenty-eight, she has already become a 9-star knight, a well-deserved reputation.

Despite this, she never participated in Runkandel's 'succession battle' and always acted independently.

'She's not the type to come just to celebrate a young brother's birthday. What's going on...?'

Jin pressed his face against the window and looked outside. He saw Luna, carrying her massive axe-sword 'Cranthel,' which is her symbol, climbing the Storm Castle stairs with confident strides.