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Chapter 23.2: Mana Training (1)
The previous night, after the banquet had ended, Eugene had received a summons from Gilead. Now that the Bloodline Continuation Ceremony was over, and he had even been adopted into the main family, it was time for Eugene to begin training his mana in earnest. For this, Gilead had decided to provide a detailed explanation of how Eugene’s training would be conducted.
His training would take place on top of a leyline, a place where mana was heavily concentrated.
Deep within the forest of the main estate, there was a leyline that only members of the main family were allowed to visit. The leyline wasn’t naturally occurring but instead had been formed by the Great Vermouth himself three hundred years ago.
Only the children of the main family were usually allowed to make use of the leyline’s power. Although part of the reason why Cyan was already able to manifest sword-light was because of his own outstanding talent, the leyline’s help had undeniably played a huge role in his success.
‘He actually created an artificial leyline. Vermouth really was a monster,’ even with the experience from Eugene’s previous life, he still found it difficult to comprehend.
So Vermouth had somehow forcibly twisted the flow of mana deep within the earth to create this artificial leyline? And it was even able to last for over three hundred years?
‘Crazy bastard,’ Eugene silently cursed.
If it was Vermouth they were talking about, this definitely seemed possible. However… instead of feeling admiration for Vermouth’s prestigious accomplishments, Eugene couldn’t help but feel a warped sense of unfamiliarity. Just what the hell had happened to Vermouth’s brain in his later years that he had even thought of ensuring the future glory of his descendants by creating such a leyline?
‘Taking more than ten wives, having dozens of children, splitting them into the direct and collateral lines while preaching the importance of legitimacy, and even creating the Bloodline Continuation Ceremony….’ There was just too much of a difference between the Vermouth that Eugene remembered and the founder of the Lionheart clan.
“Are you nervous?” Gion suddenly asked, pulling Eugene out of his thoughts.
“I’m excited,” Eugene replied with a smile.
He set all his doubts and unpleasant feelings regarding Vermouth aside. In any case, Eugene had been adopted into the main family and then allowed to enter the leyline thanks to Gilead’s kindness. Gion was also going to personally assist with his initiation of mana, so he shouldn’t let his opinions of Vermouth color his view of the main family, especially when they were currently riding to the leyline.
“It won’t be easy,” Gion warned. “Because mana is… something that is always around you, but it’s still difficult to sense it for the first time. Although I’ll be helping you, as someone who’s just started initiating their mana, you’ll have to go through quite a lot of trouble first.”
“Is that so?” Eugene asked.
“Mhm. The younger you are, the easier it is to feel it. As you grow older… your sensitivity to mana dulls. This is because your body gets used to not being able to sense mana,” Gion continued his explanation.
This was something that Eugene was aware of as well. Just as any sense that hadn’t seen regular use became dull, mana sensitivity suffered from the same detriment as well.
“Cyan and Ciel first initiated their mana when they were six. As for Eward… my sister-in-law was a bit too eager, so he initiated his mana when he was only five,” upon saying this, Gion turned to look at Eugene with a bitter smile. “Although they were initiating their mana at such a young age, it still took them around three days to sense the mana. Eward… mmm… didn’t it take him a week?”
“Does that mean he took a long time?” Eugene asked.
“No, it’s actually very fast. The collateral descendants usually initiate their mana when they’re around your age, but it’s said that it takes them around a month just to ‘feel’ slight amounts of mana. Then after slowly absorbing these traces of mana into their body, it takes them a few more months until they can develop a full awareness of mana,” Gion showed some sympathy as he explained all this.
Eugene nodded slowly.
Glancing at Eugene, Gion quickly added, “Ah, but… it shouldn’t take you that long. Because we have the leyline here, which gives you a quick and easy way to sense mana. On top of that, I’ll also be helping you.”
“How many days do you think I’ll take?” Eugene asked.
“Um…. Maybe ten days…?” Gion said with a half-hearted smile.
Gion was lying. In his opinion, ten days would actually be very fast. Although thirteen wasn’t too late of an age at which to initiate mana, it wasn’t a particularly early age either.
‘And even with the leyline, we can’t guarantee he’ll be able to feel the mana…,’ he thought, but Gion kept his doubts to himself.
After all, wasn’t that why Gion was here, to ensure Eugene’s success? So, for the time being, he needed to stick to Eugene’s side.
“First of all… it’s important for you to be able to feel mana. Although the mana at the leyline will already be very dense, in addition to that, I will be directly infusing more mana into your body,” Gion laid out the plan.
“Will that allow me to sense it more easily?” Eugene asked.
“That’s right,” Gion confirmed.
To have a master like Gion personally assist with your initiation into mana was a huge privilege.
‘They really are taking good care of me,’ Eugene remarked to himself.
Eugene had initially expected them to just provide him with a few manastones; instead, they had actually allowed him to enter their training grounds on top of a leyline and even set an expert at his side to guide him.
“Ten days, huh…. If that’s the case, will I be spending the full ten days at the leyline along with you, Sir Gion?” Eugene double-checked the details.
“Although the leyline might be in the middle of the forest, it has everything we’ll need. Although it’s small, there’s even a house…. All our daily necessities and food will also be supplied by servants,” Gion answered his question in detail.
“Wow, it sounds like this will be fun,” Eugene said, smiling childishly.
‘As if it will take me ten days,’ Eugene scoffed behind his innocent smile. ‘It won’t even take me ten minutes.’
Eugene had only kept himself from absorbing any mana into his body by avoiding any sort of mana training. He hadn’t neglected and dulled his ability to sense mana in the first place.
‘Although… sensing mana and accepting it into the body are two different things,’ Eugene acknowledged.
He was feeling some anticipation. Would this cheat body also be good at absorbing mana?
Far away from the mansion, a secluded hut stood inside the forest. Although Vermouth had created the leyline three hundred years ago, the hut looked to be in good shape, as if it had been constantly maintained since then.
Gion ordered, “Stay here for a few moments. It will take some time to undo the security. Unfortunately, there isn't much for you to look at while you wait.”
“Yes, sir,” Eugene smartly responded.
Gion first got down from his horse. Then he took out a keyring from his vest and began unlocking each of the cabin’s locks one by one. These locks weren’t simple iron affairs either. Without the permission of the Patriarch, it would be impossible to undo the locks and open the door, even with the right keys.
During this time, Eugene had also gotten off his horse and turned to take in his surroundings. Although he had also ventured into the forest just two days back, they hadn’t ventured anywhere near this deep.
Eugene looked around at all the dense trees. He could see various small animals and insects, but there were no monsters. This entire gigantic forest was under strict management as part of the main estate.
‘Though, if you just look at this natural atmosphere, it even feels like an elf might appear,’ Eugene observed.
Three hundred years ago, the Demon Kings of Helmuth had begun to run rampant, and the races that had suffered the most from this were not the humans, but the elves and the dragons. More elves had died each time Helmuth’s ominous power had grown stronger, and the dragons who attempted to confront the Demon Kings were killed in droves.
…Even now, when only two of the five Demon Kings remained, the two races had yet to fully recover from their past disasters.
“Okay, let’s head on in,” Gion called to Eugene.
Immersed in a mix of complex emotions, Eugene took a moment to compose himself before turning around.
“It all looks spotless,” Eugene remarked as he saw the inside of the hut.
“There are all sorts of magic that have been cast on it,” Gion answered the implied question as he led Eugene inside.
They headed straight for the stairs leading down into the basement.
“Is it okay if we start right away?” Eugene asked excitedly.
“...Hm?” Gion gave a startled hum as he turned to look at Eugene.
Then after blinking his eyes for a moment, he put on a wry smile and nodded his head.
“If that’s what you want,” Gion acquiesced.
It was a good thing that Eugene was ambitious. However, Gion couldn’t help but feel a little concerned.
This boy, Eugene Lionheart, was truly exceptional. Even Gion acknowledged this fact. Although he hadn’t personally seen Eugene’s performance in the duel with Cyan or during the Bloodline Continuation Ceremony, he could clearly feel the truth from what he had heard about Eugene. On top of that, the habitual movements of his body were so light and agile that it was hard to believe they belonged to a child who hadn’t even trained his mana.
‘...Although being able to move his body well doesn’t mean he’ll be equally as skilled with manipulating mana,’ Gion mused.
Gion was truly well aware of this fact. He was also someone who had heard countless praises calling him a genius ever since he was young. However, even though his talent for the martial arts was amazing, it had taken him a very long time to get familiar with his mana.
‘Hopefully, he won’t be disappointed after fruitlessly getting his expectations up…,’ Gion worried silently.
The more you were aware of your own talent and the greater the pride you felt from it, the worse the pain and frustration that came from your continued failure.
I’m definitely a genius, so why can’t I just do this?
As a child, Gion had needed quite some time to get over the frustration from his failures. Eventually, he had managed to overcome the wall blocking his progress, but initiating his mana for the first time and mastering its uses had still been extremely arduous.
‘...At the moment, he’s especially at risk of this since he’s still full of confidence in himself,’ Gion sighed inwardly.
Eugene’s achievements were unprecedented in the history of the Lionheart clan. It was the first time that a child from the collateral lines had defeated the children from the direct line to win the Bloodline Continuation Ceremony. It was also the first time a child had been adopted into the main family. As if that wasn’t enough, he had even claimed Wynnyd from the family’s treasure vault and then was allowed to enter the leyline.
When even adults could be shocked by this list of achievements, how proud and full of himself must Eugene be as a thirteen-year-old child who had managed to accomplish all this.
Every time this thought went through his head, Gion’s expression softened in concern. Although he knew that his worries were premature, Gion couldn’t help but fear that Eugene would become despondent when confronted with the difficulties of reality.
If Eugene had been able to read Gion’s thoughts, he would have doubled over laughing. Frustration over not being a genius? He had already gone through something like that three hundred years ago.
Standing beside the Great Vermouth, he had had the truth of what a ‘genius’ really was rubbed in his face over and over again. Compared to Vermouth, there was not a single person in this world who could be arrogant enough to call themselves a genius. Only Vermouth was worthy of that title, and the word genius seemed to exist solely for someone like Vermouth.
As Hamel, Eugene had come to fully accept these facts.
‘The Stupid Hamel,’ when he had first seen this name written in a children’s book, Eugene had felt like he wanted to rip a particular anonymous author to pieces. However, after further consideration, he realized that the name wasn’t all that inaccurate.
After all, Hamel had been pretty stupid, unlike Sienna, Anise, and Molon, who had never considered Vermouth to be their rival. To them, Vermouth was just a friend and a companion with whom they had risked life and death together.
Although Hamel also felt this way, he was the only one who wanted to surpass Vermouth. As such, he was the only one who continued to argue with Vermouth’s decisions.
“Sit over there in the middle,” although the basement was completely empty, Gion pointed to the center of the room as he said this. “For the first step, just try to clear your mind as you breathe. Since you’ll need to get started by sensing the mana in your surroundings.”
“Yes, sir,” Eugene obeyed the order.
Mana was always present but was difficult to feel. And if you wanted to accumulate mana inside your body, you needed to be able to feel it first. Full-scale ‘training’ could only begin after that.
“The mana training scripture that has been passed down through the direct line was inherited from our ancestry, the Great Vermouth,” Gion began his lesson.
‘Oh,’ Eugene perked up. He had been waiting for these words.
“Although at the start it might have been the same as the ones used by the collateral lines, by now, it has become completely different. After all, so much time has passed, and… the collateral lines are not allowed to pass down the original scripture,” Gion continued.
The Great Vermouth had drawn a clear line between the main family and its collateral branches. All the collateral branches shared the same roots as the main family. Even Eugene’s ancestor had once been a member of the direct line in the distant past and was pushed out of the main family when they could not become the Patriarch. After they were exiled like this, an inescapable restraint was placed on all the ancestors of the collateral lines.
This restraint made it impossible for them to pass on the mana training scripture that they had learned from the main family to their descendants. The only thing that could be passed down to the descendants of the collateral lines was a poor imitation of the main family’s original scripture. This fake scripture was also made by Vermouth, but of course, it was much less effective than the original copy.
“The White Flame Formula,” Gion uttered the name of their scripture as he roused the mana within his body.
Mana that gave off a pure white light immediately surrounded Gion’s body, appearing as if a flame had just engulfed his entire body.
Eugene hadn’t known that the name of the scripture was the White Flame Formula, but he clearly remembered the unique appearance of the mana generated by this scripture.
The high-quality mana that Vermouth had used had always been expressed in the form of a pure white flame like Gion’s. Whenever Vermouth had charged forward with this white flame-like mana wrapped around his body, the sparks that flew off him had looked just like a lion’s flowing mane.