Eugene suddenly had this thought as he looked in the mirror during the early hours of one morning. He casually tidied up his shaggy mop of hair as he stared at his own face in the mirror.
He was now seventeen years old.
Four years had already passed since the end of the Bloodline Continuation Ceremony and his adoption into the main family. Although his face still looked like that of a young boyâs, his body was almost fully grown. As Eugene examined his own wide chest and broad shoulders, for a moment, he was overcome by his emotions.
âThis really is a great body.â
This was a topic that he had thought of several times over the seventeen years he had lived in this body, but he never got bored of repeating this fact within his head whenever it came up.
First of all, he had a handsome face. Eugene wasnât just saying that because it was his. Even if he was forced to look at it objectively, he would have to admit that his features were good-looking. Although he felt that Hamelâs face from his past life wasnât all that ugly, comparing that face to his current face after being reincarnated as Eugene, the difference in their looks was about as much as the difference between an ordinary elfâs and a humanâs.
âThough not as much as an elf compared to an orc.â
Eugene had no desire to disparage the face of his previous life to that extent. After patting his smooth cheeks a few times, Eugene started stretching his facial muscles by pulling all sorts of expressions in the mirror.
The nasty look in his eyes when he frowned hadnât changed at all since childhood. It was just a part of his innate character. Despite going around with narrowed eyes ever since he was young, Eugene was just glad that he didnât have any wrinkles.
âI had an even nastier look in my eyes during my previous life.â
Relaxing his frown, he gave a broad smile instead.
But was this handsome guy in the mirror really him?
Although he had already graduated from truly thinking such nonsensical thoughts, even after seventeen years of living in this body, he still felt amazed each time he saw this handsome face in the mirror.
âI have to admit it, your blood is strong,â Eugene thought as he raised his eyes to his gray hair.
The older he grew, the more prominent the gray hairs became. Every time Eugene saw this hair color, he was reminded of Vermouth.
Eugene had his reasons for indulging in such self-absorbed sentiments this early in the morning.
After initiating his mana when he was thirteen, Eugene had trained his mana every morning without skipping a single day. And today, Eugene had finally reached the Third Star in the White Flame Formula.
âThat was quick.â
He could feel the split-off cores circling around his heart. Three points of light that showed he had reached the Third Star of the White Flame Formula.
âWay too quick.â
After he had started to train his mana, Eugene had realized something.
The White Flame Formulaâs performance was incomparable to the mana training scripture he had learned in his previous life. Eugene was able to extract the optimal degree of efficiency from just a small amount of mana, and the speed with which he absorbed mana was also extremely fast. The cost of spreading this absorbed mana throughout his body and turning it into strength was also not very high.
However, for him to have achieved this rank so quickly⊠it couldnât just be attributed to the superiority of the White Flame Formula; it was also because Eugeneâs body was naturally âattunedâ to absorbing mana.
â...Although itâs great that this bodyâs performance is so amazingâŠ.â
Sometimes he couldnât help but feel perturbed.
âIf itâs already this fast⊠just how much faster will my progress be later.â
It would be the opposite of subtle.
But this was actually quite a pleasant issue to be perturbed about. Eugene smiled as he looked at his reflection.
âBut the strength I had in my previous life wonât be enough.â
This amazing body had been granted to him, Eugene Lionheart, and it had given him a lot of expectations for his future. With this body, he couldnât be satisfied with just relying on the memories and experiences of his past life. Eugene had become convinced of this fact years ago.
Hamel had definitely been a great talent. Although he wasnât as good as Vermouth, he had also known how to wield all sorts of weapons. Without any formal training, Hamelâs skills had been forged and honed on the battlefield as he toed the line between life and death. This meant his techniques had been refined through constant usage.
Hamel had made a name for himself with just these skills and had even come to mistake himself as a genius. It was at this point that he had met Vermouth and⊠Hamel had suddenly realized that he wasnât a genius after all.
After becoming Vermouthâs companion, he had also gone through a lot. His techniques had been further polished, and heâd added even more skills to his repertoire.
âBut itâs still not enough.â
It wasnât enough to just acquire the strength he had in his previous life. To take advantage of this talented and greed-provoking body of his, he needed more than just his past lifeâs memories.
âI need to learn everything.â
And not just to a basic level either.
The sword, the spear, the ax, and the bow; he already knew how to skillfully handle most weapons. He had confidence in his weapon techniques since he had refined these skills in order to not just survive but thrive in the Devildom.
But he wasnât quite there yet. Although he was still a little slower than he had been in his previous life, he knew in his head how to get there; it was just a matter of when not if. His body would catch up to what he knew it was capable of. So if he would eventually get there anyway, wouldnât it be more efficient to use his time elsewhere.
***
âLooks like I need to learn some magic,â Eugene suddenly spouted.
âWhat kind of bullshit is that?â Cyan gasped.
As Cyan sat on the ground, trying to catch his breath, he lifted his head to look up at Eugene. The monstrous guy standing beside him wasnât showing any signs of exertion even after all the exercise they had just done.
At first, this would have made him flare up in envy, but now⊠after four years of looking at that relaxed expression, he was already used to it.
âI said that I need to learn some magic,â Eugene kindly repeated.
âAnd I said, âwhat kind of bullshit is that?ââ Cyan spat out with a confused expression on his face.
Eugene wasnât the only one whose body had grown during these four years. Cyan had also grown a lot. Of course, it was obvious that Cyan didnât really appreciate this fact, and Eugene was a big reason for that. Although they might be of similar age, Cyan was just a tiny bit shorter than Eugene, and the difference in their skill levels was just as great as ever.
âSpeaking of this morningâŠ.â
Eugene continued speaking without offering Cyan a hand up. Cyan was still a brat with too much self-respect; he wouldnât admit he had lost even when he was defeated, and he wouldnât appreciate it if Eugene offered him a hand up. Even though Cyan would no longer fuss about being insulted or whatnot, like what had happened when they first met, it would only stoke feelings of frustration lingering within the corners of his heart if Eugene were to show him any kindness.
â...I was just training in the White Flame Formula like I usually doâŠ.â
âCould it be, did you reallyâŠ?â Cyan couldnât finish the question.
Cyanâs eyes started trembling as he got a bad feeling. Gritting his teeth, he jumped to his feet.
Eugene smiled as he saw Cyan getting flustered like this.
â...and then this happened."
As Eugene finished speaking, the mana that was usually spread throughout his body gathered near his heart. Once there, the three stars at his core began to resonate with each other. These stars, locked together in a circuit around his heart, began to explosively amplify the power of his mana.
Fwooosh!
Mana, in the form of pure white light, engulfed Eugeneâs entire body. Cyan stared at this sight with wide eyes. The white flame-like light wrapped around Eugeneâs form looked like a flowing lionâs mane.
âWhat⊠the fuckâŠ!â Cyan swore, his voice shaking.
Since he also practiced the White Flame Formula, he was well aware of what that mana cloak engulfing Eugene signified. By covering his body in a blaze of mana like that, he had truly created a fiery beacon that honored the name of the White Flame Formula.
This meant that Eugene had reached the Third Star of the White Flame Formula.