Episode 28
Chapter 11: Advancement and Initiation (Part 1)
Successfully unlocking Bradamante was a relief—at first.
But as every shadow in the area was drawn into Jin, he was wracked by excruciating pain, as if his entire body was being torn apart.
Involuntarily, screams escaped his lips, and his limbs twisted uncontrollably in response to the agony. Whether his eyes were open or closed, the darkness was so overwhelming that he feared he might die right then and there.
He was on the brink of blacking out—any moment now, it wouldn’t be surprising if he lost consciousness.
Jin realized this was the “spiritual energy overload” Murakan had warned him about.
After Jin’s first attempt at unlocking his sword, Murakan had exploded in anger but then calmly explained:
“If those lacking sufficient spiritual energy recklessly awaken their swords, they’ll pay a heavy price. Nine times out of ten, those who suffer spiritual energy overload simply die.”
Jin hadn’t opened Bradamante without considering the risk of overload. But he had no other choice.
The sudden assignment to the beginner training squad, the appearance of Kinzello and the White Wolf tribe—it was unlikely that Mesa’s kidnapping was entirely planned, but Jin suspected Siron had anticipated this “unexpected situation” to some extent.
This mission was clearly less about the beginner squad and more about evaluating Jin himself.
“If I had used the pendant to escape this crisis, Father would have given me the worst possible evaluation.”
Siron Runkandel, Jin’s father, was an extremely cold man.
Now that he knew Jin was connected to Solderet and showing remarkable talent, he paid attention. But if Jin ever showed even a hint of disappointment, Siron would mercilessly cut off all interest in him.
Jin, to some degree, welcomed that. As long as his father’s attention remained, his freedom and magical training were restricted. Besides, Jin didn’t have much attachment to the family.
But now was not the time. There was still much Jin needed to gain from Runkandel.
Aaaahhh!
Jin screamed again, his back bending repeatedly. Each time the shadows were absorbed, he felt like giving up on life.
If there was a punishment in hell, this must be it.
He was experiencing burning pain and a cold so deep it felt like it froze his insides—all at once.
“If I lose consciousness, it’s over. I have to hold on…!”
He had never felt pain like this, not even in his past life. Even when his magic master tried to teach him lightning magic by shocking him for hours, it wasn’t this bad.
Time lost all meaning. It could have been minutes or hours since the pain began.
Enduring blindly wasn’t the answer. Jin knew he had to do something to overcome this ordeal.
And what he had to do was clear.
“Release the spiritual energy.”
Struggling to sit upright, Jin slowly began gathering the spiritual energy inside him into one place.
Blood trickled from his trembling lips, his eyes rolled back showing the whites, unable to focus.
Each ragged breath was a reminder that he was walking a razor’s edge between life and death.
But the spiritual energy release he had just reached—rank three—wasn’t enough to control the wildly rampaging energy. As he began the release, Jin spat out a clump of black blood and collapsed forward.
“Again, again… stay calm.”
Dizziness hit him, and phantom voices began to echo in his mind.
They were closely tied to memories from his past life—shame on Runkandel, you shouldn’t have been born into our family, that kind of relentless torment.
But those words had no power over him now. Jin ignored the voices completely and focused even more on the spiritual energy within.
The hot energy on one side, the cold energy on the other.
Like sorting pebbles by color, he instinctively began separating the energies inside him, dividing them left and right by their nature.
The intense pain that had been tearing through his brain slowly subsided.
His milky eyes regained their light. Jin sensed he had successfully brought the spiritual energy overload under control and looked around.
The shadows that had been absorbed were returning to their places. But unlike the cracks Murakan had shown at Storm Fortress, no fractures had formed in the objects.
As the pain eased, it became easier to concentrate. Soon, Jin was able to perfectly separate the remaining spiritual energy inside him.
The outside world regained its colors. The flames died down with the energy, and the burnt forest smelled of ash.
“Phew.”
After a deep breath, the organized spiritual energy stilled.
It no longer caused Jin any pain.
“Did I get through it? The pain vanished all at once, which is unsettling in its own way.”
He stood and stretched, feeling no different than usual. Only the spiritual energy inside him was so full it felt like it might leak out even if he stayed still.
“Well, no problem moving for now. I need to get Mesa and head back.”
Mesa was still collapsed at the entrance of Kinzello’s building, meaning not much time had passed.
Just as Jin was about to lift her onto his shoulders, he suddenly turned sharply toward the building’s interior.
“Who’s there?”
He sensed someone. Footsteps echoed down the hallway, approaching the entrance.
But unlike the trained operatives Jin had faced earlier, this person was careless—no caution in their footsteps or heavy breathing.
“P-please, save me!”
Jin tore open the door to find a young man with a frightened face, arms raised in surrender. He looked delicate, as if he’d never known hardship, which made Jin raise an eyebrow.
“And who are you? Kinzello?”
“No! Absolutely not! I’m Sember Bill, heir of the Bill family from the Kingdom of Jan…”
“Oh, so it’s you. Almost missed you. Good to see you.”
Jin smiled wryly.
Sember Bill—the son of a wealthy merchant family in the Kingdom of Jan. The very son the beginner training squad had been searching for.
“And you are?”
“Jin Runkandel. I was sent by your father to find you.”
“Runkandel! Thank heavens!”
Sember’s eyes welled up as soon as he heard Jin’s name, and he shouted.
“I, Sember Bill, will never forget the life you saved. Thank you so much!”
Hearing such innocent gratitude, Jin couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt.
He had completely forgotten about Sember since Kinzello’s attack began.
“This was a job for pay, so don’t mention gratitude. Just forget it. Now, stop crying and let’s get you home.”
“Sniff… okay.”
With that, Jin hoisted Mesa onto his back and left the ash-covered forest with Sember. It wasn’t until they were far from the woods that Sember regained his composure.
“By the way, Sember, how did you end up kidnapped by those guys? We thought you were just missing.”
“Well…”
“If you don’t want to say, that’s fine.”
“No, actually, it’s because of my lover. But I’m not sure if you’ll believe me.”
“Why wouldn’t I? A love escape?”
“No. I came to the southern border two years ago following my lover, who was already dead.”
Jin, nodding unconsciously, stopped walking.
“Following a lover who’s already dead? What do you mean?”
Had the kidnapping affected his mind? Jin wondered, studying Sember’s eyes. They didn’t look deranged.
“I thought I might have imagined it, but it was definitely her. The same face, even the two moles on her wrist. She handed me a note telling me to come here. And this is what happened.”
Sember glanced at Jin, gauging his reaction.
“Haha, I knew you wouldn’t believe me. I’m at a loss how to tell my family this when I get back.”
“No, keep going. The woman who gave you the note—was she really your lover?”
“Yes, I swear. I couldn’t have mistaken her. Her face, voice, even the way she looked at me—it was all exactly the same.”
At that moment, a name came to Jin’s mind.
“Bubar Gaston. This has to be the work of that shapeshifter.”
Shapeshifting crimes.
A notorious crime that had shaken the world in Jin’s past life. The special forces of the Biment Empire had later revealed that many of those crimes involved kidnappings.
And there was only one reason to kidnap the son of a wealthy merchant.
“To demand ransom, no doubt. I wonder if Bubar has some connection with Kinzello.”
There was no way to know for sure yet. Jin thought it was about time to find Bubar. They first crossed paths when Jin was ten, just after leaving Storm Fortress, but he hadn’t had the chance to confront him since.
“His workshop is in the capital of the Kurano Duchy. I’ll try to make an opportunity while I’m in the intermediate training squad.”
Thinking of Bubar gave Jin an uneasy feeling. If the man was directly connected to Kinzello or Ziphl’s fanatics, poking around recklessly could backfire.
“But I need to meet him in person, see what kind of guy he really is. It wouldn’t hurt to uncover information not revealed in the past life’s newsletters.”
Sember finished his story with an awkward smile.
“Thank you for listening seriously, Jin. Honestly, I was worried no one would believe me when I got back, and it was weighing on my heart.”
“Then that’s a relief.”
After moving on for a couple more hours, Jin pulled a flare from his pocket and fired it into the sky.
“By now, reinforcements from the main house should be on their way. Let’s just wait here quietly.”
“Hah, Jin. Surely you didn’t call in the Rune Candle’s knights just for me?”
Sember looked genuinely touched, as if he’d gladly hand over a few more gold crowns on the spot. Jin, however, couldn’t bring himself to say it was really for Mesa’s sake, so he awkwardly nodded instead.
Sometimes it’s better not to complicate things.
“Jin, I’ll never forget today’s meeting. If you ever need my help, don’t hesitate to ask.”
Though it was unlikely that Rune Candle would ever need to rely on a mere merchant family.
Jin nodded in acknowledgment and shook the hand Sember offered.