Chapter 006

Ignoring the extremely excited Ibaek, Alex went out into the backyard, drew his sword from its scabbard, and held it with both hands.

“It feels a little strange to hold a sword again after so long.”

His body had been holding a sword until just yesterday, but his soul had not held one for twelve years, creating a strange sense of disconnect.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Alex lightly swung the sword a few times, trying to regain his old sense of familiarity.

Somehow…youdon′treallyfeellikeanoverpoweredmaincharacter?Somehow… you don’t really feel like an overpowered main character?

Watching Alex swing his sword clumsily, Ibaek tilted his head in confusion.

You…areyouactuallyweak?You… are you actually weak?

Alex had no idea why Ibaek sounded so disappointed, but he really did seem disappointed as he answered.

“Of course I am. I’ve never properly learned how to use a sword.”

Evenso,youseemprettygood?Even so, you seem pretty good?

“My older sister and brother-in-law taught me.”

Hmm.Hmm.

When Alex mentioned his missing older sister and brother-in-law, Ibaek fell silent.

Meanwhile,

After warming up and swinging the sword a few more times to get used to holding it, Alex assumed his stance again.

Unlike before, when he had been swinging it casually, his expression was now completely focused.

He had never properly learned swordsmanship, but that was fine.

After all, he had spent twelve years watching the most perfect, amazing, wonderful, incredible, and adorable master in the world.

Alex thought of the ‘Hero Leo.’

His nephew, who had overcome the grief of losing his uncle and begun training on his own using the basic swordsmanship manuals in the study.

Unlike Alex, who had struggled a little even though his older sister and brother-in-law had taught him, Leo had mastered the techniques perfectly by himself.

‘And later, even the teacher he met praised him for having incredible talent.’

Alex had spent twelve years by Leo’s side.

He knew exactly what stance to take, what mindset to have, and how to swing a sword.

Alex calmly settled his mind and gripped the sword’s handle.

Then he swung it down with all his strength.

Whoosh!

The sharp blade cut through the air, producing a completely different sound from before.

Whoooosh!

Without stopping, Alex swung the sword from side to side with the correct posture, keeping his eyes on the blade and using just the right amount of force.

Clack! Clack!

He also paid attention to the way his feet stepped against the ground.

‘Strong when it needs to be strong, gentle when it needs to be gentle.’

Just as the ‘future Leo’ had done.

…Oh.…Oh.

Alex did not hear Ibaek’s quiet exclamation.

He was concentrating solely on the sword.

How much time had passed?

After swinging his sword with such concentration that sweat began to flow, Alex finally stopped and exhaled the breath that had built up in his chest.

Then he smiled faintly and looked at the sword his older sister had given him.

“Not bad…”

GOODGRIEF!!GOOD GRIEF!!

The words ‘-at all’ were drowned out by Ibaek’s scream.

Myback!Myshoulders!Myarms!My back! My shoulders! My arms!

Whydoeseverythinghurtsomuch?!Why does everything hurt so much?!

“…It can’t be helped. Your flexibility is lacking, and you’re using different muscles.”

It was only natural that there would be strain when he tried to perform proper sword techniques with the body of a farmer who had only practiced clumsily on his own.

Doesn′tithurtyou?Doesn’t it hurt you?

I′mhurtingbecauseyou′rehurting!I’m hurting because you’re hurting!

Alex touched his stiff joints here and there. They did hurt, but not enough for him to worry about.

“I think I’ll have some muscle soreness, though.”

Goodgrief!!Good grief!!

Ibaek, who was experiencing pain for the first time in several decades, groaned miserably.

Sharingsensesisn′tnecessarilyagoodthing…Andit′snotlikeIcanblockthisthewayIcanblockyournostrils.Sharing senses isn’t necessarily a good thing… And it’s not like I can block this the way I can block your nostrils.

Alex,becarefulwithyourbodyfromnowon.Alex, be careful with your body from now on.

Idon′twanttofeelpain.I don’t want to feel pain.

Hmm.

Alex, who wasn’t sure he could promise that, ignored Ibaek’s groaning and continued thinking.

Thanks to meeting countless swordsmen in the ‘future,’ Alex had developed a good eye for swordsmanship, and he could tell.

‘Just like my brother-in-law said, I do have quite a bit of talent.’

If he trained step by step, using the sword techniques he knew and following the example of the ‘Hero Leo,’ he thought he could become a skilled swordsman.

“Good.”

Alex tightened his grip on the sword.

The magic lesson began immediately afterward.

Allright.Let′strymakingacircle!All right. Let’s try making a circle!

Thistakesquiteabitoftime,butIwonderhowit′llgoforyou.This takes quite a bit of time, but I wonder how it’ll go for you.

“If I borrow your senses, shouldn’t it be easy?”

With the abilities of a Lich like Ibaek, Alex might even be able to become a great mage in just a few days.

It′snotlikethat.It’s not like that.

JustbecauseIborrowyoursightandsenseofsmelldoesn′tmeanIcancontrolthem,right?Just because I borrow your sight and sense of smell doesn’t mean I can control them, right?

JustlikeIcan′tcloseyournostrils.Just like I can’t close your nostrils.

Ibaek chuckled.

Ionlyletyousensemana.Therestdependsonyourownabilities.I only let you sense mana. The rest depends on your own abilities.

Hearing that, Alex felt a little disappointed, but he let out a light sigh and steeled himself.

Right.

Life wasn’t that easy.

“What should I do?”

Ibaek, who was about to teach the first Magic Swordsman, excitedly began explaining.

Yesterday,Itoldyouthatmanaislikerocks,right?Yesterday, I told you that mana is like rocks, right?

Evenamongrocks,therearetinygrainsassmallasgrainsofsand.Imaginedrawingthoseinthroughdeepbreathing.Even among rocks, there are tiny grains as small as grains of sand. Imagine drawing those in through deep breathing.

Theimageyouformisimportant.The image you form is important.

Following Ibaek’s instructions, Alex breathed in an attempt to absorb the tiny grains of mana floating in the air.

Inhale, exhale.

Then, among the mana filling the space around him, the smaller particles began to flow smoothly into his body, like water.

…Already?…Already?

Ithoughtyou′dneedtotryseveraltimesbeforesucceeding!I thought you’d need to try several times before succeeding!

Alex,youhaveincredibletalent!Alex, you have incredible talent!

Even as he listened to Ibaek, Alex concentrated and continued trying to draw in the mana.

Nowimagineasmallstreamofwaterflowingthroughyourbody.Now imagine a small stream of water flowing through your body.

Themanacircuitsinyourbody—thepathsthroughwhichmanaflows—aretoonarrow.The mana circuits in your body—the paths through which mana flows—are too narrow.

Ibaek explained step by step.

Normally,manacircuitsarewidestwhenyou′reborn,andtheygraduallybecomenarrowerasyougrow.That′swhymagestrainfromayoungage.Normally, mana circuits are widest when you’re born, and they gradually become narrower as you grow. That’s why mages train from a young age.

Bythetimeyou′rearoundyourage,themanacircuitsarealmostcompletelyblocked.Nomatterhowtalentedsomeoneis,it′sdifficultforthemtobecomeamage.By the time you’re around your age, the mana circuits are almost completely blocked. No matter how talented someone is, it’s difficult for them to become a mage.

Alex knew that, too.

That was why mages refused to take anyone as a disciple unless they were young, no matter how talented that person might be.

Just how many talents had been lost because of that?

If those people had been given a chance, perhaps the Age of Destruction might never have come.

‘And to think that person was me.’

As a child, Alex had wandered from place to place with his older sister. When he grew a little older, he had devoted himself to farming and never realized his own talent.

He could only smile bitterly to himself.

Even now, after returning to the past, that talent would have remained useless.

Butnowyou′vegotme!But now you’ve got me!

That is, if his teacher hadn’t been a Lich.

Thismuchofamanacircuitisnothing!This much of a mana circuit is nothing!

Let′sslowlyopenapathallthewaytoyourheart.Let’s slowly open a path all the way to your heart.

Ibaek taught him the route through the body, making a complete circuit that reached the heart.

No,alittlelower.Good.Nowmoveitjust2mminthatstate.No, a little lower. Good. Now move it just 2 mm in that state.

Since Ibaek and Alex shared the same body, teaching him was much easier.

Hecanactuallydoit.He can actually do it.

When Ibaek told him to move the mana by 2 mm, Alex actually moved it that exact distance.

Ibaek couldn’t help being amazed by his talent.

Ifyou′dstartedlearningwhenyouwereyoung,youreallycould′vebecomeagreatmage.If you’d started learning when you were young, you really could’ve become a great mage.

To control mana, which naturally resisted being moved, with such precision—and Alex was a human who had only sensed mana for the first time today.

Even Ibaek, who had seen countless geniuses, couldn’t help being impressed.

‘Phew.’

Alex moved the mana while concentrating on Ibaek’s instructions.

Ibaek said it was easy, but Alex was concentrating as hard as he could, to the point that sweat was flowing down his face.

If he hadn’t developed the mental strength he gained in the ‘future’ while accompanying the Hero’s party (although the Hero’s party had never known he was there), he would have quickly become exhausted and collapsed.

As the mana flowed along his mana circuits, he felt even the subtle sensations that he normally couldn’t notice.

Imagineformingthemanainsideyourheartintoaring.Pressitfirmly,likekneadingdough,sothemanadoesn′tscatter.Imagine forming the mana inside your heart into a ring. Press it firmly, like kneading dough, so the mana doesn’t scatter.

It was a somewhat strange comparison, but Alex followed Ibaek’s instructions and moved the mana gathered inside his heart.

Then he tried to form it into a round ring.

However, the tiny particles of mana refused to gather. They kept scattering like drops of water slipping through his fingers.

Alex concentrated so hard that his brow furrowed slightly, carefully shaping the mana into a ring.

And finally…

The mana ring was complete.

Tothinkyou′dmakeitthisquickly!To think you’d make it this quickly!

Andit′sthick,too.Thefirstringisnormallymuchthinnerthanthis.And it’s thick, too. The first ring is normally much thinner than this.

Atthisrate,reachingtheSecondCircleshouldn′ttakelong,either!At this rate, reaching the Second Circle shouldn’t take long, either!

Ibaek praised him sincerely.

If he had hands, he would have clapped enthusiastically.

ThisisaFirstCirclering.Themanainsideitwillnowobeyonlyyou,Alex.This is a First Circle ring. The mana inside it will now obey only you, Alex.

Unlikethedisobedientmanaoutsideyourbody.Unlike the disobedient mana outside your body.

Whooo…

Alex let out a deep breath and opened his eyes.

With a dazed expression, he moved his hand and touched the area around his heart.

He could feel his heart beating and the First Circle ring slowly rotating inside it.

He had actually become a mage.

He could hardly believe it, but his heart was overflowing with emotion.

‘Now…’

It would be even easier to make Leo happy.

That alone was enough to satisfy Alex, and he felt grateful to Ibaek.

Sincewe′vecomethisfar,let′stryusingmagic,too!Since we’ve come this far, let’s try using magic, too!

Itwouldprobablybebesttolearnelementalmagicfirst,right?It would probably be best to learn elemental magic first, right?

Idon′tknowhowthingsarehere,butinmyworld,blackmagicwascompletelyforbidden.I don’t know how things are here, but in my world, black magic was completely forbidden.

Ibaek said this despite having become a Lich in such a world.

“It’s the same here. If they find out, the Holy State will come after you immediately.”

ThenIguessIshouldonlyteachyouelementalmagicornon−elementalmagic.Then I guess I should only teach you elemental magic or non-elemental magic.

At Ibaek’s words, Alex fell into thought for a moment before speaking.

“No. Once I’m skilled enough to hide my black magic properly, teach me that, too.”

Blackmagic?Black magic?

At Ibaek’s surprised voice, Alex spoke seriously, as if he had already made up his mind.

“We don’t know what the future holds.”

If the worst moment came again, Alex was prepared to sacrifice even his own soul to save Leo.

Hmm.Allright.Hmm. All right.

Understood.Understood.

Thenlet′sstartbylearningfiremagic.Then let’s start by learning fire magic.

Ibaek taught Alex, who was encountering magic for the first time today, in a way that was easy to understand.

Magiciswill.Magic is will.

“Will?”

That′sright.Youformaperfectimageinyourmindandwishforitfromthedepthsofyourheart.Powerfully,desperately,andsincerely.That’s right. You form a perfect image in your mind and wish for it from the depths of your heart. Powerfully, desperately, and sincerely.

Youhavetoreallywanttousethemagic.You have to really want to use the magic.

Thenmanamakesthatwillareality.Then mana makes that will a reality.

After listening carefully to Ibaek’s explanation, Alex asked,

“Don’t I need incantations or formulas?”

Youneedthemwhencreatingmagiccirclesoritems.Andwhenusingmagicthat′sbeyondyourlevel.You need them when creating magic circles or items. And when using magic that’s beyond your level.

Butbasically,allyouneedismanayoucancontrolandaperfectwill.But basically, all you need is mana you can control and a perfect will.

Ibaek’s magic was different from the magic used by Solenium’s mages, who generally relied on magical formulas.

Doyouunderstand?Do you understand?

“Yes.”

Thenlet′stryusingit.Then let’s try using it.

Alex and Ibaek prepared to cast a spell.

Theactivationwordis′Fire.′The activation word is ‘Fire.’

Sincethisisyourfirsttime,raiseyourhandtochoosethelocation.Later,it′llbemoreconvenientifyoutrainuntilyoucandoitwithjustyourthoughts.Since this is your first time, raise your hand to choose the location. Later, it’ll be more convenient if you train until you can do it with just your thoughts.

“Got it.”

Alex stretched his hand forward.

Imaginecreatingfireinfrontofyourhand.Imagine creating fire in front of your hand.

Thinkabouthowbigitshouldbe,howhotitshouldbe,whatcoloritshouldhave,andhowbrightlyitshouldshine.Think about how big it should be, how hot it should be, what color it should have, and how brightly it should shine.

Themorespecificyourimage,thehigherthechanceofsuccess.The more specific your image, the higher the chance of success.

Following Ibaek’s instructions, Alex imagined a flame in his mind.

It was about the size of his fist, as hot as the heat he felt while cooking, red in color, and glowing about as brightly as a campfire.

ThenrotateyourFirstCirclering.Sendthemanareleasedfromtheringthroughyourmanacircuitsandoutthroughyourhand.Then rotate your First Circle ring. Send the mana released from the ring through your mana circuits and out through your hand.

Useaboutthismuchmana.Use about this much mana.

Following Ibaek’s instructions, mana gathered in front of his hand before he knew it.

His own mana.

A perfect will.

And the activation word.

“Fire.”

At the same moment, a flame appeared in front of Alex’s hand.

A flame as big as his head.

It was burning fiercely, blazing with intense heat.

Oh!Yousucceededonthefirsttry!Oh! You succeeded on the first try!

See?Itoldyouthatyouhadtalent!See? I told you that you had talent!

Butwhyisitsobig?!But why is it so big?!