Chapter 13

Chapter 5. Departing from Storm Castle (2)

Orgal's pendant.

The Heart of the Phoenix.

And a bundle of transcribed ancient texts.

These were the tangible results of Jin's stay at Storm Castle.

According to Murakan's subsequent explanation, the pendant not only allowed one to summon Luna once but also provided strong immunity against fifth-tier or lower attack magic.

Conversely, the pendant's true value lay in its ability to amplify enhancement-type magic.

The Heart of the Phoenix, which Jin had consumed two years ago, had yet to be fully absorbed into his body.

Starting a month after consuming the Heart of the Phoenix, Jin would place his finger in a candle flame every day to check the absorption rate.

"If Miss Mary saw you now, she would be very proud."

Today, Jin was once again holding his index finger over the candle flame.

The tip of his index finger remained unscathed when it touched the flame. It felt as if he had placed his finger in warm water.

Gilly approached Jin with an expression of awe.

"Gilly."

"Seeing the effects of the Heart of the Phoenix firsthand is a first for me. As a governess, I am simply overjoyed that the young master is the one experiencing this."

Gilly smiled contentedly. Among the governesses of Runcandel, there was probably no one more modest than her.

'If my studies as a mage were correct, it seems to be about 50% absorbed now.'

Once fully absorbed, he would be able to survive even in a blaze capable of burning down a castle. He would gain near-perfect resistance to ordinary, non-magical fire.

In other words, it would not be perfect against magically formed fire.

Of course, a sixth-tier or higher high-level fire magic would be required to penetrate this resistance... However, there is a separate reason why the Heart of the Phoenix is particularly valued among mages.

'Once the heart is fully absorbed, I will be able to summon a phoenix without any restrictions a few years later.'

The flames surrounding the phoenix are inherently of fifth-tier power. Just the movement of the phoenix is equivalent to the continuous casting of fifth-tier fire magic.

Unfortunately, these flames often harm the mage who summoned the phoenix. Therefore, even if one can summon a phoenix at the sixth-tier, it is not easy to handle without fire resistance.

In short, to fully control a phoenix, one must consume the Heart of the Phoenix.

'I'm looking forward to it.'

Jin still had a greater passion for magic than for swords. The three years he spent learning magic in his previous life were the most enjoyable of his 28 years.

"Miss Luna and Miss Mary both seem to like you very much. How will you repay their affection, young master? Hehe."

Hearing Gilly's words, Jin almost burst out laughing.

He was reminded of the personality and anecdotes of 'Mary Runcandel' from his past.

'Mary must have given me the Heart of the Phoenix because she wants me to grow quickly and challenge her.'

Jin's third sister, Mary, was such a person.

A person obsessed with fighting. Among them, Mary was particularly passionate about fighting other Runcandels or the traitor Jip of Runcandel.

Thus, she became a sixth-tier knight before her coming of age and roamed the continent, defeating powerful warriors. She even earned the nickname 'Gale Mary.'

Before that, she was known as the 'Madwoman of Southern Continent,' but she killed everyone who called her that and reclaimed a more impressive nickname.

'While challenging her, this gift also stems from her confidence that I don't need it. She's truly an extraordinary person.'

Jin smiled after finishing his thoughts about Mary.

"I should repay them in the way they want."

In that sense, the way to repay Luna's affection is through excellent growth and survival.

The way to repay Mary's affection is to become strong enough to place a sword at her throat.

Knock, knock.

Someone knocked on Jin's door.

"It's Guardian Knight Kan, young master Jin. It's time for your training."

"Ah, it's already that time. I'll come out."

Currently, Jin is undergoing two types of training.

Spiritual energy opening, guided by Murakan in the basement.

And Runcandel combat techniques, taught by Kan at Storm Castle. As a result, Jin's days are filled with non-stop activities.

When he opened the door, Kan bowed respectfully.

"Kan. What's today's training schedule?"

"Yes, young master. In the morning, we have combat footwork. At noon, we practice fist and leg techniques. In the evening, we focus on joint locks and physical conditioning. That's all."

Despite the tight schedule, Jin nodded in satisfaction. There was a sense of authority in his demeanor, typical of someone receiving a report from a subordinate.

Kan, seeing this, appeared somewhat tense.

Seeing the young master, who is still a child, develop rapidly day by day is a source of immense pride for a Runcandel guardian knight and combat instructor.

However, the reason Kan feels tense when guiding Jin is different.

'When guiding young master Jin, I must not show any weakness.'

Kan has taught combat techniques to six young Runcandels at Storm Castle.

The Tona brothers, who left the castle two years ago. Jin's sixth sister Yona, fifth sister Anne, fourth sister Miu, and Jin.

Except for the Tona brothers, all of them left Storm Castle when Jin was an infant.

'I never felt this way when teaching them. They were all struggling to keep up with my training, and I was in the position of evaluating their progress. But young master Jin... he is evaluating me. Clearly, he is different.'

Evaluation.

The right to evaluate is usually given to the instructor. Even if it's a relationship between a superior and a subordinate.

However, Kan felt that Jin was evaluating his 'teaching ability' in return. This has been the case every day since their first training session.

Even when the intense training made him sweat profusely, his tender skin was torn to shreds, and his body was thrown into the wet ground during sparring, Jin was still observing Kan's teaching ability.

This was the first time he had experienced such a situation.

However, he was not at all displeased. On the contrary, Kan believed that Jin possessed all the virtues a Runcandel member should have.

'Indeed, the head of the family was right to show unusual interest in him. I must proceed without any mistakes today.'

Kan, with determined eyes, led Jin to the training ground within the castle.

"Young master Jin."

"Speak, Kan."

"It is an honor to guide you, young master. Although only a few months remain, I promise to provide the best training without any mistakes."

"Thank you. I'll count on you until then."

After completing his combat training and being completely exhausted, Jin would go to Murakan to start his spiritual energy opening. It was a brutally difficult but happy time.

* * *

"Wow!"

Murakan's exclamation, filled with excitement.

How many times has he exclaimed now? After some thought, Jin concluded it had been over twenty times in the past hour.

"Do you like it that much, Murakan?"

Murakan turned his head sharply to look at Jin.

"Like it? This means I can finally leave this boring place! Tomorrow!"

Two years had passed since the Tona brothers left, and Jin felt as if it had been just one day. There was so much to learn and master that he thought a few more years would be fine.

'Well, before meeting Murakan in the basement, I did find it quite boring.'

He had received a passing grade in combat techniques from Kan ten days ago and had achieved twice the expected progress in spiritual energy opening, according to Murakan. He had also raised his mana to the late third-tier.

No one in Runcandel history had achieved such results and left Storm Castle. The only thing allowed for Runcandels staying here was combat training.

However, Jin was not satisfied.

'It would have been better to leave after achieving second-tier spiritual energy opening and fifth-tier mana. But that was too much to ask.'

It was too much to ask. There was no one in the history books who had achieved such abilities at the age of ten.

'Don't rush. Even what I've achieved so far would be unprecedented if revealed to the world.'

Today is October 30, 1790.

Tomorrow, Jin will leave for the Runcandel main house, 'Garden of Swords,' under the protection of the family's guardian knights.

"But, Murakan. What will happen if someone from the family finds this basement after you leave?"

"What do you mean? They'll just read the ancient texts and leave without noticing I've awakened."

"But the glass container you fixed so carefully will be empty without you, right?"

"Ha ha, that's right, kid. You can only say that because you lack magical knowledge."

"Ha, okay. Tell me the solution."

"I'll create a hologram of myself lying in the glass container using dragon speech magic."

Are you crazy, does that work?

Jin almost said that. As far as he knew, illusion magic couldn't create such a detailed illusion.

"What am I? A dragon, of course. A dragon of shadows. Creating such an illusion is as easy as blowing my nose."

"Amazing. Can it be maintained for a long time?"

"Hmm... It's a bit challenging for me, but what can I do? I have to maintain it until you grow up. So always be grateful to me, and? Show respect."

"That's why I brought something special today."

When Jin opened the basket, Murakan's eyes sparkled. It was filled with strawberry pies made from the first strawberries harvested in the Mittel Kingdom.

"S-Straawberry pies...! My strawberry pies!"

Watching Murakan devour the strawberry pies, Jin smiled. Then he took out a few bottles from the cloth that usually wrapped his notebook.

"Is that... Is that alcohol?"

"Yep, it's the last day, so I brought some without the governess knowing."

"You, you can do such nice things sometimes. It's been worth raising you, hahaha!"

What an easy dragon to handle.

* * *

The next day at noon, two guardian knights from the Runcandel main house arrived at Storm Castle.

There were fewer of them than when Tona was there, but both were seventh-tier knights.

"Young master, you must be mentally prepared. It won't be easy to have strawberry pies baked for you whenever you want at the main house..."

Gilly, who usually had a cheerful face, looked unusually solemn.

"At the main house, you won't have the quiet and leisurely days you had at Storm Castle."

Although Jin rarely had such days at Storm Castle due to his training, he put on a solemn expression to match her tone.

"Sure. Don't worry, Gilly. I know."

"I will also serve you more diligently from now on. Let's go."

"Guardian Knights Jerome and Holtz, we greet young master Jin. We will safely escort him to the Garden of Swords."

The main house's guardian knights helped Jin put on his armor.

A steel carriage of Runcandel was waiting at the foot of the mountain.

And that morning,

A group of bandits attacked the Runcandel steel carriage.