Episode 10
Chapter 4. Until Turning Ten (Part 2)
In this world, aside from aura and magic power, there are rare individuals who wield other special abilities. Among these, spirit energy is the rarest of all.
And those who can manipulate spirit energy fall into two categories:
Those born from Solderet, like Murakan, and those who have formed a contract, like Jin.
At his peak, Murakan was so powerful thanks to spirit energy that he could stand his ground against five 9-star magicians without flinching—something Jin couldn’t even begin to comprehend.
That’s why Murakan was the perfect mentor for Jin, especially now that Solderet couldn’t communicate with him.
“Spirit energy release is a technique that’s both the beginning and the end for those who wield spirit energy—like you and me.”
“The beginning and the end?”
“It means it’s both a fundamental skill and a finishing move. The principle is simple. It’s almost the same as how magicians release their magic power.”
Magicians gain the ability to release their magic power once they reach the 3-star rank.
In other words, being able to release magic power means you’ve reached 3-star level. Jin’s past self had achieved 5-star, so releasing magic power was a trivial matter for him.
But Murakan only knew that Jin had magic power; he didn’t yet know that Jin possessed 5-star level magical knowledge.
That was because Jin hadn’t revealed that he was a time-regressor—and he had no intention of telling anyone anytime soon.
“But isn’t releasing magic power just a finishing move for magicians? At least, that’s what I thought…”
“Just because it’s called a ‘release’ doesn’t mean it’s the same level. The method might be similar, but that’s all.”
“Hmm.”
“So before you learn spirit energy release, you need to master magic power release first.”
“Why?”
When Jin asked, Murakan shrugged.
“Start with the easy stuff. You can’t expect to wield a real sword if you can’t even handle a wooden practice sword properly.”
“Ah, I see.”
Jin nodded as if he understood, but deep down, he couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed. He’d long since graduated from magic power release…
“Well, I guess I can think of it as a review. I haven’t practiced releasing magic power even once since I came back.”
Murakan sat Jin down properly and suddenly burst out laughing.
“Ha ha ha… It’s hilarious. Who would’ve thought I’d be teaching magic to the child of Runkandel? If your father found out, neither of us would have a chance to breathe.”
Learning magic in Runkandel was tantamount to becoming a traitor to the family.
Most warrior families disliked magic, but few rejected it as harshly as Runkandel. Since the death of the first head of the family, magic had been taboo.
This taboo stemmed from the belief that mastering magic would prevent one from reaching the pinnacle of swordsmanship. Historically, there were occasional magic swordsmen, but none achieved anything noteworthy before disappearing from records.
The opposite was true as well.
Magic families didn’t reject martial arts, but they were extremely wary of aura use, believing it would taint their magic power.
But that wasn’t the truth.
Runkandel’s taboo against magic came from a humiliating pact made with Ziphl a thousand years ago.
Back when Temar was alive, Runkandel was originally a family of magic swordsmen.
At that time, Runkandel wasn’t as famous as it is now, and much of its history had been lost or distorted.
Only a few knew this truth now: Jin, as a time-regressor and Solderet’s contractor; Murakan; and a handful of key figures from Runkandel and Ziphl.
“Just me sneaking in and out of this basement alone would be enough to get me killed if I got caught.”
“Yeah, with your father’s temper, that’s probably true. Since we’re partners in crime, I’ll let you in on a secret before we start. People think magic swordsmen are rare but weak, right?”
“That’s what I’ve heard.”
Jin feigned ignorance, and Murakan chuckled with satisfaction.
“That’s all nonsense! Just stupid rumors made up by the fools in Ziphl. It takes incredible prerequisites, but magic swordsmen are the ultimate. Your family was originally blessed with magic swordsmen.”
“Really? I’ve never heard that before.”
“…Aren’t you curious?”
Murakan asked in a somewhat deflated tone. Jin suddenly tried to look amazed, but Murakan just shook his head.
“Ha ha, what could be more amazing than meeting you? Anyway, what are these prerequisites?”
“You’re such a little brat. You need insane affinity for magic power and aura sensitivity, a naturally gifted body, and a contract with a god.”
“I’ve got all that.”
“If you understand that, then you don’t need to fear learning magic anymore. But promise me one thing, kid: don’t ever expose magic to the family until you’re strong enough.”
“I don’t need to promise that. I’m only eight years old—I’m not about to get myself killed.”
“Good, good. Your goal is to reach the top someday and treat this old Murakan right. Let’s get started. First, let’s try raising your magic power. Now, what it feels like to raise magic power is…”
Wooooosh.
When Jin conjured a walnut-sized orb of magic power above his palm, Murakan’s eyes went wide.
“You little… What the hell? How did you do that in just one second? I haven’t even explained it yet!”
Jin was surprised too.
He’d meant to show a controlled demonstration, but without realizing it, he’d created the magic orb. Controlling magic precisely was harder with an eight-year-old body than with a twenty-eight-year-old’s.
Especially since he’d hardly used magic lately.
Before Jin could think of an excuse, Murakan clenched his fist and stood up.
“Yeah, Solderet! Now I see why you chose this kid as the thousand-year contractor! Hahaha, he’s the real deal! Kid, you’re making me excited!”
The mistake actually worked in Jin’s favor.
Scratching the back of his head with an awkward smile, Jin asked, “Is it really that amazing?”
“Absolutely! I’ve only seen three people in my life who could float a magic orb above their palm as a baby! The first head of Ziphl, the fourth head of Ziphl, and now you!”
Murakan added that the first and fourth heads of Ziphl had done it at ages five and seven, but Jin wasn’t impressed.
He knew well enough that he was just as much a ‘magic prodigy’ as they were.
He’d reached 5-star in just three years before his regression and had contracted with Solderet—maybe he was even more talented than them.
“If I’d been born in Ziphl before regressing, I’d probably have reached at least 8-star by twenty-eight. Maybe even 9-star.”
Murakan’s smile faded.
“Kid, honestly, I thought it’d take years before you could release spirit energy, but maybe you’ll start before you even leave the storm castle. Let’s move on to the next step!”
The next step was magic power transfer—a basic exercise where you drop the magic power from one palm and transfer it to the other without a single mistake.
This was as easy for Jin as using a fork, but the pace needed to be controlled.
Murakan already had high expectations, and Jin didn’t want to overdo it.
Besides, while the earlier mistake was lucky, the fact that it was a mistake meant Jin needed proper repetitive training and review to regain his former skill.
Following Murakan’s instructions, Jin carefully moved the magic power from his right palm to his left.
‘Hmm… Ten minutes for the first success should be about right.’
After ten minutes, when the magic power transferred perfectly, Murakan grinned.
“Well done. Excellent. Once you can do that in under five seconds, you’ll be ready to release magic power. At the same time, you’ll be a 3-star magician.”
“How long do you think that will take?”
Wiping sweat from his brow, Jin asked.
“Two years.”
Then he’d have to aim for about one year.
After calculating, Jin nodded.
“Today, just practice magic power transfer a bit more, then head back. And don’t train inside the castle when I’m not around.”
“Got it.”
After another hour of training, it was time to return to the castle. Jin packed his notebook and basket, while Murakan lay back, scratching his thigh.
“Oh, and kid, when you come tomorrow, bring a basket full of strawberry pies. Consider this a friendly warning.”
Murakan called after Jin’s retreating back.
“I already ate the last strawberry pie earlier. Do you know how many strawberries you’ve eaten in the past six months?”
“Damn it! Then bring some other pies your nanny baked!”
“How about mouse pie?”
“What? Hey! Hey!”
With a quick dash, Jin ran toward the hole leading to the basement.
“Anything but mouse pie! Please!”
The next day, Jin presented Murakan with a basket full of apple pies.
Murakan was very pleased and patted Jin’s head.
A year passed, and the morning of September 9, 1789, dawned—it was Jin’s ninth birthday.
Spending a birthday inside the gloomy Stormhold during the four seasons was hardly good for a child’s emotional well-being.
As about ten servants, Gilly, and five guardian knights gathered around to place candles on the cake, the wind and rain lashed fiercely against the Stormhold’s windows.
“Happy birthday, Young Master Jin.”
“Congratulations!”
“Thank you, everyone.”
Whoosh—
The moment the candle flames flickered out, the group burst into applause.
Bang bang bang bang. Instead of the usual clapping, the sound was a harsh metallic clang from the knights’ gauntlets. Even a birthday party in a commoner’s home wouldn’t feel this bleak.
Still, to Jin, it was a warm and somewhat luxurious scene. In his previous life, he hadn’t even received such birthday wishes at nine years old.
While Gilly sliced the cake and handed out pieces to everyone, suddenly one of the guardian knights who had been stationed at the Stormhold’s entrance came running down the corridor.
“Young Master Jin!”
It was Kan, one of the guardian knights.
“Kan?”
It was rare for Kan to run through the halls inside the keep.
Jin immediately sensed that someone from the family had come to Stormhold.
“The eldest lady has arrived!”
“Lady Luna…?”
Jin sprang to his feet.
Luna Runkandel, his eldest sister.
The firstborn among thirteen siblings, she was widely known as the strongest of the Runkandel children. At just twenty-eight, she had already achieved the rank of a nine-star knight—a testament to her true strength.
Yet, she had never taken part in the ugly battle for the Runkandel throne and always moved alone.
“She wouldn’t come just to celebrate the youngest child’s birthday. Something’s going on…”
Jin pressed close to the window, peering outside. He saw Luna striding up the Stormhold’s stairs, her massive axe-sword, Krantel—her signature weapon—slung across her back.