Awakening Mana
Perhaps due to the PTSD from his encounters with the mutants, his body had reacted with razor-sharp sensitivity to the creature's every movement. Thanks to that, he had been able to clearly perceive the unique wavelength it emitted.
The roar had likely been accompanied by a release of mana.
If the mutant possessed mana, it made sense why it had looked directly toward where Jeron was hiding.
According to Count Hanes's mana cultivation manual, the moment an ordinary person acquired mana, they underwent a massive transformation.
Not only did their five senses sharpen, but their sixth sense also awakened.
A sixth sense was something science could not define.
It was an ability akin to premonition—feeling someone's gaze or sensing an impending threat.
What if the mutant had accumulated mana in its body, and its awakened sixth sense had reacted to Jeron's gaze?
This allowed him to form a hypothesis: that sharp sensation he felt earlier was mana.
Jeron sat cross-legged, determined to recall and feel that sensation once more.
It won't be easy.
Trying to detect a specific, subtle sensation from the empty air was no simple task.
For over two hours, he fell into a deep trance, quietly observing his surroundings.
After a while, Jeron noticed that the Golden Key was faintly drawing something in.
The Golden Key was absorbing that sharp, elusive presence.
Only then did Jeron realize.
This sharp sensation was indeed mana.
As he sensed the faint mana drifting in the air, he began to understand its characteristics.
"To describe the sensation, mana is simultaneously warm yet cold, tingling yet soft."
The author of the manual had described the feeling of mana with absolute precision.
It possessed both warmth and coldness at the same time, and Jeron now understood what it meant for it to be tingling yet soft.
The sharp sensation he felt was the tingling, and the soft sensation was best described as a cool, swirling mist.
These were the inherent properties of the four major elements: fire, water, lightning, and wind.
It felt as mysterious as if a second nervous system had opened within him.
Mana was dispersed everywhere, and it was even circulating inside Jeron's own body.
The Golden Key was connected to Jeron's mana.
The Golden Key, which could be defined as the power of the Guardian Dragon, was a type of magic artifact.
Because Jeron had been unable to sense mana, the key had been charging and activating on its own.
He realized that, depending on how he used it, the Golden Key could serve as a second mana hole.
This was a monumental discovery.
Now that he could feel mana, he also understood what it meant to move it using his willpower.
The surrounding mana moved according to Jeron's will, repeatedly being absorbed into his body and then released.
In the process, a tiny amount of mana began to accumulate inside him. If he gathered and condensed this energy, it would form a mana hole.
Jeron emerged from his trance after several hours.
"I've found the answer."
He had felt the mana and understood how it moved.
However, the mana on the Karen Continent was far too sparse to proceed any further.
He now fully understood why Count Hanes had stopped training after reaching only the 1st Circle.
He also understood why magic had declined on the continent.
If the mana on the Karen Continent was this sparse, what about Earth?
It seemed that mana existed in a finite, absolute quantity. Unlike the Karen Continent, where mana had been consumed for a very long time, Earth might not have experienced any depletion of mana at all.
Because of this, he expected the concentration of mana on Earth to be incredibly dense.
Just like the massive wave of mana he had felt from the mutant's roar.
"Of all things, to think I'd get help from a mutant."
Even to him, the thought was absurd.
Jeron decided to drastically revise his plans for Earth.
He would dedicate at least thirty percent of his time on Earth to training.
The next time he crossed over, he planned to find a safe location and train for at least an hour.
The remaining two hours would be spent farming resources, but if his hypothesis was correct, he would be able to rapidly extend his stay time.
"Today is a lucky day."
Sometimes, life threw you a bone.
Jeron offered a silent thank you to the owner of the camcorder who had helped him realize this truth, and went back to reviewing the footage.
[...Month 2 of Year 8 since the fall. The mutants are growing stronger, and not long ago, I discovered that they practice cannibalism. Like many wild beasts, they establish their own territories. I captured footage of one fighting and defeating another mutant that entered its territory, then devouring its own kind.]
A monster eating another monster.
The creature tore its kin apart with brute strength. Its mouth stretched to nearly thirty centimeters, chewing and swallowing the meat in a single gulp.
As it did, a blue energy seeped into the red mutant's body.
It was a deeply shocking sight.
The mutant's mana had become even stronger than before.
Even watching it on screen made Jeron's heart race.
How strong was the heart of the woman who had filmed this scene from just dozens of meters away?
Perhaps living in absolute isolation had driven her mad.
As time passed, the woman's appearance grew increasingly haggard.
She looked as if she were suffering from a deep illness, and she occasionally threw tantrums throughout the recordings.
From this, Jeron realized something.
"When humans are exposed to extreme isolation, they slowly lose their minds."
Humans were not meant to live alone.
Trapped in that suffocating neighborhood, living all by herself, her loneliness must have been unbearable.
Simply being alone was a terrible torment, but to have mutants constantly hunting for her life on top of that?
A person's mind would inevitably crumble.
Just like the woman on the screen.
[Hehehe, look at those bastards. Ah, what a waste. I could have killed them with the special net I made this time. What a shame. Next time, I'll have to try a more brutal method. Even if they look like that, those monster bastards are incredibly stupid. The only thing we can rely on is our superior intelligence, right?]
As more time elapsed, the woman's face looked half-ruined.
Driven by extreme loneliness and the constant threat of the mutants, she had begun to view the predators as mere prey.
The light in her eyes was no longer sane.
Her hunting methods grew bolder and bolder, until she finally did not hesitate to use herself as bait.
[Heehee, today I plan to lure that bastard into my yard. It's going to be so much fun, right?]
[Skreeeech!]
[Ahahaha! You stupid piece of trash! Die, you bastard! Just die!]
Bang! Bang, bang, bang!
Crunch!
[Aaaaargh! Ahaha! You motherfucker!]
"..."
That was the woman's end.
The woman, who had been filming from the master bedroom, was dragged straight into the living room and brutally torn apart by the enraged mutant.
The camcorder had fallen over, capturing the exact moment the mutant ripped her to pieces.
Tears streamed from the woman's eyes, and her mouth twitched as she barely managed to squeeze out one last sentence.
[Please... remember... me.]
With those final words, the mutant grabbed her by the hair and dragged her outside.
That was the last image of the woman recorded on the camcorder.
Beyond the flickering screen of the camcorder, a pool of blood was visible. After feasting on the woman for a long time, the mutant let out a screech and bounded away.
Jeron closed his eyes tightly.
The scenarios and scenes were so extreme that they felt like a glimpse into hell.
Jeron had certainly gained a wealth of information from the footage, but he felt a deep pity for the woman who had slowly lost her mind before losing her life so pointlessly.
A young woman with that level of beauty would have lived a very popular life before the fall.
To go from receiving so much attention to suffering in absolute isolation, with external threats constantly fraying her nerves, she had ultimately ended her life in what was essentially suicide by mutant.
A bitter feeling washed over Jeron. He offered a brief moment of silence before closing the camcorder.
Taking a deep breath, he shook off the negative emotions.
Perhaps because he had seen so much death in his life, he was able to detach himself quickly even after getting emotionally invested.
"Starting tomorrow, I must begin the true transformation of the territory."
Every time he went to Earth, his body and mind suffered to the point of fraying his nerves.
Yet, he had farmed diligently, and now it was time to make those efforts bear fruit in this world.
The next morning.
Jeron woke up before dawn. After practicing his mana cultivation for two hours, he went out to the training ground to swing his sword.
Swish!
His body felt lighter than yesterday.
As someone who trained in swordsmanship daily, Jeron knew his own physical condition well.
While it wasn't a dramatic transformation, he didn't tire easily, and he could feel a slight increase in his strength and agility.
Is it because of the mana?
His sword fell in a sharp arc.
The blade sliced diagonally through the air, instantly severing the wooden training dummy.
Slash!
He couldn't be certain yet if this was the influence of mana.
Jeron had only just begun to sense mana and accumulate it within his body.
It seemed he needed to study it further.
Yesterday had been a lucky day in many ways.
Would such days continue in the future?
Normally, he would feel exhausted after an hour of intense sword swings, but today he managed to keep going for about ten minutes longer.
This alone was a significant physical improvement.
His cotton shirt was drenched in sweat.
Summer was fully setting in over the Farrow Barony, and even the mornings were no longer cool.
Sweating in this weather meant his entire body was soaked.
When Jeron reached out his hand, Violet handed him a canteen.
After taking a refreshing drink of water, Jeron poured the rest over his head and wiped away the sweat with a towel.
Standing beside him, Violet naturally took his damp clothes.
"Go and summon all the vassals."
"All of them?"
"Yes, all of them."
Jeron returned to his room to prepare for the day's work.
The meeting hall was quite noisy.
Although they had regular meetings about once a quarter, it was extremely rare for all the vassals to be summoned so suddenly.
Fitting for a impoverished territory, the meeting hall was shabby. The old marble floor was cracked and discolored, and the table brought in for the meetings was completely worn out.
On one wall hung a map of the territory, but the parchment looked to be at least a hundred years old.
Who knew when anyone had last looked at it with interest?
Even then, the map was crudely drawn, making it useless for military purposes.
Jeron, who was about to enter the hall, paused his steps at the various speculations the vassals were tossing around.
"It must be that war is imminent. Unless it's something that urgent, there's no reason for us to be gathered here."
"I don't know. I did hear that skirmishes with the Lapis Kingdom are in full swing. But even if war does break out, wouldn't it take at least a year to mobilize troops?"
"Or maybe the Lord got into some trouble?!"
"..."
The voice was filled with absolute certainty.
It was Sir Garcia's voice.
The vassals hung on Garcia's words.
"Lately, the atmosphere between Violet and the Lord has been unusual! Judging by my long experience with women, those two have already done it. They did it."
"...!"
"I-Is that so?! If it's Sir Garcia saying it, since he's reached the master level when it comes to women, it does sound plausible..."
"I'm telling you, it's definitely true! As you all know, Violet is quite pretty, isn't she? The Lord is already eighteen. Isn't that the age when a young man's blood boils? Unable to contain his urges, the Lord must have secretly called Violet in one night. And with his sleeping wild instincts awakened, an illegitimate child was conceived, which is why he summoned us..."
Unable to listen to Sir Garcia's nonsense any longer, Jeron rushed in and threw himself forward.
He delivered a flying high kick.
Thwack!
"Ack!"
"Ha! You damn bastard! Who are you calling a pervert who lays hands on his maid? This is absurd."
"M-My Lord, you've arrived?"
"And you all! How could you just sit there and listen to this bullshit?"
"Ahem."
"Cough."
After a warm round of greetings, the atmosphere in the room settled down significantly.
Sir Garcia now had a black eye, and he was placed at the very end of the table to prevent him from spouting any more nonsense.
With a sigh, Jeron handed out a sheet of A4 paper, which he had scavenged from Earth, to each of the vassals.
The vassals looked at the paper with great surprise and confusion, staring intently at the sheets as if trying to pierce holes through them.
They had never heard of paper with such a white and excellent texture.
Slam!
Jeron struck the table with his fist and declared in a clear, resonant voice.
"Forget the dirt-poor days of the past! To escape this dreadful poverty, we are implementing the Three-Year Development Plan for the territory!"