Chapter 9

Chapter 4: Until I Turn Ten (1)

It's enjoyable.

Every day is enjoyable.

It had been six months since Jin met Murakan, and Jin had turned eight, having transcribed over 50 vision books. Today was the day the Tona brothers were leaving Storm Castle.

'For the next two years, there won't be any annoying things.'

Looking out the window at the servants loading the Tona brothers' luggage onto the carriage, Jin thought.

In fact, ever since he had beaten the Tona brothers to a pulp in the corridor and left them at the bird's grave (the servants called this incident 'the bird's revenge' and found it secretly satisfying, as the Tona brothers had not only tormented Jin), he had never felt tired of them.

On the contrary, it was convenient to use them like obedient errand boys.

However, the presence of the nanny 'Emma' had always been a thorn in his side. She had been overtly observing Jin and showing signs of wanting to get closer.

'That cunning woman probably followed me to the basement a few times, pretending not to notice.'

Jin had always cut her off sharply whenever Emma approached. The reason was obvious.

It was a message to take good care of the Tona brothers.

And the hidden truth behind that message was the hope that Jin would one day be inferior to the Tona brothers.

'Emma's unpleasant gaze will end today. If it continues later, I'll have to deal with it somehow.'

So far, Emma hadn't openly shown her teeth or stabbed him in the back.

However, Jin decided to give Emma a farewell that would stick with her for the rest of her life as she left.

"Master, let's go greet your brothers."

"Sure, Gilly. Let's go."

The two descended to the central courtyard of Storm Castle.

Amid the heavy rain, the guardians who had come to escort the Tona brothers back to the main house were visible.

One 7th Rank Guardian and five 6th Rank Guardians. They were the retainers of the main house.

And among them, the Tona brothers, finally looking like they were saying goodbye to that devilish youngest brother.

"Brothers."

"Ah, yeah, Jin."

"Y-Youngest brother."

As Jin smiled and spoke, the Tona brothers stiffened.

"Why are you so surprised? I came to wish you a safe journey."

"Thank you..."

"Thank you, youngest brother!"

"Now, I won't see you for two years. It's a shame, isn't it?"

The Tona brothers, who weren't at all sad, nodded vigorously.

Jin patted their shoulders and turned his gaze to Emma.

"Goodbye, Nanny Emma."

"Thank you, Master."

"And a word in your ear."

Emma bowed and leaned in close to Jin's ear.

'Emma. At the main house, I hope you'll be a bit more careful.'

As soon as she heard this, Emma's face turned pale.

Realizing that this eight-year-old had seen through her attitude all along, she felt a chill down her spine.

Emma could only bow, barely suppressing the trembling in her shoulders.

"We're leaving now. Master Jin, I look forward to seeing you in two years, more mature and strong!"

"Sure."

The guardians saluted Jin with their swords.

Now, they would board the carriage waiting at the foot of Mount Murakan and head to the main house of Runkandel, the 'Garden of Swords.'

In two years, Jin would also go there.

* * *

"Damn brat, it's best if you give me an explanation I can accept."

In the basement of Storm Castle.

As soon as Murakan took the basket from Jin, he expressed his discomfort. Jin ignored his words and sat in front of the bookshelf.

"Why, why... is there only one strawberry pie in the basket? What do you take me for?"

Murakan was angry because of the strawberry pie.

"Hey, be grateful for one. I saved it for you, you know."

"A dragon can't be satisfied with just one strawberry pie!"

Thinking that a dragon would get so angry over just one strawberry pie was troublesome.

To Murakan, 'strawberry pie' was a delicious food he hadn't tasted in a thousand years.

It was also the only food that soothed his tongue, which had been 'trapped' in the basement of Storm Castle since he woke up.

"You don't feel hungry because you're always full from my spirit energy. What do you mean by 'satisfied'?"

"You, you heartless brat! Do you know how picky dragons are about their food? I can't even go outside because of you, and there's only one strawberry pie?"

Since waking up, Murakan had not left the basement.

It was for Jin's sake. Jin needed to keep his relationship with Murakan a secret until he grew up, and Murakan also thought it was the right thing to do.

The basement was a space that only 'Guardians' could enter.

If it became known to the family that Jin was coming in and out of here to transcribe vision books, they would likely hold Murakan responsible, even if he was a dragon that had awakened after a thousand years and was treated as a guardian deity of the family.

In that sense, Jin and Murakan were almost accomplices.

"Ha! Again with your gourmet talk. You said you didn't like anything else besides strawberry pie. Do you think it's easy to get strawberries to Storm Castle?"

Jin had a point.

Storm Castle, located at the top of Mount Murakan, was constantly battered by rain. Bringing fresh strawberries here was not an easy task.

Moreover, this gourmet black dragon... thought all the other food in Storm Castle was trash and only demanded Gilly's strawberry pies.

"Damn... a time when I can't even eat strawberry pies as I please."

"Since that time won't last much longer, why don't you eat quickly and start your training?"

"A time when a great black dragon is at the mercy of a brat without any charm."

Nom.

In the end, Murakan gave in. There was no point in getting angry when there was no extra strawberry pie.

"Delicious... damn, it's insanely delicious. You said something about a nanny? Make sure to introduce me to her properly later."

"Sure, I will. How many times do I have to say it?"

Jin shook his head and replied.

The past six months had been a time that completely shattered Jin's fantasies about dragons.

The image of dragons he had imagined as a mage was of a wise, majestic, mysterious, and powerful being.

However, the actual dragon he met was a brat, with a temper as unpredictable as boiling porridge, and constantly scratching his thighs whenever he got the chance.

Scratch, scratch.

Murakan, who had quickly finished the strawberry pie, scratched his thighs.

'If there's anything similar to my imagination... it's probably just that he's strong...'

Since the second day of meeting Murakan, Jin had been learning how to handle spirit energy and the basics of various martial arts from him.

Although he had never engaged in direct sparring, he could clearly feel that Murakan was strong just from receiving guidance.

However, most of Murakan's power was currently sealed.

This was because Jin's 'spirit energy' was still at a weak level. To Murakan, spirit energy was like sunlight to plants or the sea to fish.

In other words, Jin was like the sun to Murakan.

But it was a sun that needed to be grown. For Murakan to regain his strength, Jin's rapid growth was necessary.

"Transcribe for thirty minutes and then come out to the corridor."

"Got it."

After finishing his transcription, Jin stood facing Murakan.

"What did you transcribe today?"

"The vision book of Attila's swordsmanship."

"Ah! Attila. Their swordsmanship is quite good. It reminds me of the time I bit their head off a thousand five hundred years ago. Did you understand it?"

"About 30%. It's hard to understand more."

"Don't be down. Understanding 30% at your age is an incredible achievement."

Understanding 30% of a famous family's vision book at eight years old was indeed an incredible achievement.

But Jin felt a thirst for achievement. In Runkandel, 'incredible' was the average, and since he was living his second life, he wanted to do even more.

Otherwise,

It would be difficult to surpass the twelve insane geniuses of Runkandel in this life.

"How much of this vision book would the first head of the family have understood at my age?"

"Ha ha. Yeah, yeah. You chose Temar's sword in your selection ceremony, right? So you keep comparing yourself to Temar?"

"No, I've heard so much about the 'strongest in history' being the first head of the family. I just want to compare myself to him."

"The strongest in history. Yeah, Temar was really incredibly strong. Your father, the Founder Knight, would probably be a step below Temar."

It was a realm Jin couldn't even imagine.

In his previous life, Jin had been rapidly growing stronger three years before his death, having obtained the power of Solderet.

But even then, surpassing a Founder Knight was a distant dream. Even if he became an 'unparalleled sword mage' as Solderet had described, whether he could surpass his father was still a question.

"Hmm, yeah. Okay. I should make sure of this."

"Of what?"

"About the difference between you and Temar."

Jin nodded and focused.

"Temar probably couldn't understand a single line of this vision book at eight years old."

After a brief pause, Murakan continued.

"But understanding swordsmanship theory doesn't necessarily mean talent. From what I've seen, you are quite remarkable. No, you might be a talent that comes around once in a few hundred years... but you can't compare to Temar."

"Hmm, a bit of a deflating story."

"Your father, the Founder Knight, must have had a talent far superior to yours."

"So, because of the difference in talent, I can never surpass my father?"

Surpassing his father.

It was the biggest goal for Jin, who had been reborn. If he couldn't surpass Shiron, he would have to live his life in Runkandel, always watching his step until Shiron died.

The meaningless death in his previous life.

The three 7th Rank Knights who attacked the Kingdom of Akkin. Jin suspected that Shiron might have sent them, though he didn't want to believe it.

"If we evaluate purely by swordsmanship, then no."

"By swordsmanship only?"

"Yeah, you. You think the sword is everything. You have spirit energy and magic power."

"Right."

"If you can master magic and spirit energy to their limits, surpassing not just your father but even Temar won't be just a dream. So don't be too hasty."

"I'm not being hasty. I was just curious about my limits."

"Ha! You're thinking about 'limits' even after obtaining Solderet's spirit energy? Are you still a kid? You know too little. Among the gods, Solderet's nickname is... 'Infinite.'"

"Infinite?"

"Right, infinite. You already have infinite potential, more than anyone else in the world. So, grow up quickly. You need to get out of this stifling place and experience things properly."

"In that sense, what's today's training?"

"Opening spirit energy. You'll continue basic martial arts training later, but until we leave Storm Castle, from now on, we'll only focus on training related to this."