Chapter 5
Chapter 5
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: The Thousand Kills Star Grows
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The Thousand Kills Star grows.
All sorts of martial arts, spirit arts, and even magic.
Lione was an exceptional elf who handled them all at a masterful level.
But among them, there were two she held particular affection for.
Swordsmanship and magic.
"Hmm. Enoch, magic is like this..."
Since Enoch seemed more talented in hand-to-hand combat than swordsmanship, she couldn't teach him the blade, but when he showed aptitude for magic, Lione was thrilled.
"Originally, magic was the dragons' exclusive domain. And for good reason—to wield it properly, you need your Middle Dantian open first. For other races, just opening the Middle Dantian earns them the title of grandmaster."
Dragons are born with a 'Dragon Heart' that lets them freely manipulate their Middle Dantian.
But for other races, even opening the Middle Dantian is an enormous challenge, so magic should have remained solely the dragons' privilege.
It only made sense.
The entry requirement for magic is opening the Middle Dantian?
Unless you're some kind of eccentric, who'd even attempt to learn it?
By the time you've properly opened it through the right process, you're already among the continent's top powerhouses.
"But there were always a few of those eccentrics."
In ancient times, impossibly far back, one elf devoted his lifespan to the path of magic.
For someone with no talent in martial arts, opening his Middle Dantian was a pipe dream.
Everyone mocked his efforts.
But he never gave up.
After countless trials, spanning 600 years, he finally discovered a method.
"That's the 'Circle' that's widespread in the modern world."
It creates rings of mana in the heart to substitute for the Middle Dantian.
Easier said than done—creating an entirely new system was no simple task, and that elf is still hailed as a great archmage to this day.
That elf was none other than
the father of mages, 'Pargandal Majishion.'
[Lione, the kid's falling asleep.]
"Ah..."
Seeing Enoch nodding off, Lione scratched her head sheepishly.
It wasn't like they were in history class; she'd gotten too excited and rambled on about useless trivia.
"Up you go!"
Lione slipped her hands under Enoch's armpits and hoisted him up.
The child blinked awake blearily, then naturally snuggled into her arms.
The elf patted his back and said.
"Anyway! Enoch, you've somehow already opened your Middle Dantian, right? So instead of making a Circle, I'll teach you the way dragons use magic."
Yes, that was the real conclusion.
All the talk of Circles and Pargandal Majishion had just been excited side chatter.
"Now, let's see..."
To hide her embarrassment, Lione intently examined the charred black sprout.
The result of Enoch's magic.
It had come out a bit odd due to his lightning authority, but for a child who'd never learned magic, achieving this much was astonishing.
"First off, Enoch, can you feel the two dantians in your body?"
"Yeah."
"The one closer to your heart is the Middle Dantian. Try focusing on it."
Enoch turned his awareness inward.
Thump, thump. Mana spread faintly in time with his heartbeat.
The mana flowed powerfully, brimming with the sense that it could do anything, though it sometimes hit walls and rerouted.
"Can you feel the mana spreading with your heartbeat?"
"Yeah."
"What about the mana around your body rippling in response to those pulses?"
Enoch tilted his head for a moment, then nodded.
"Yeah."
"Really?"
Lione beamed brightly.
"Then you're almost there! Use that ripple to shape the mana like this..."
Lione's slender finger traced a pattern in the air.
The magic circle she drew slowly and clearly for Enoch glowed blue.
"Water, rise."
With her clear incantation, a head-sized orb of water formed in her palm.
Enoch watched in wonder, then mimicked her.
- Swish.
Enoch's finger moved.
Thump, thump. The mana waves spreading with his heartbeat.
He hooked the wave onto his finger to draw the pattern, then chanted the spell.
"Water, rise."
Crackle-crackle-crack—!!!
A head-sized orb of electricity formed in Enoch's palm.
It even had a bit of water mixed in, as a glimpse of heated water evaporating flashed by.
[Pfft!]
Enoch shot a fierce glare at the snickering Undine.
"Uh... why is this happening? Is it because he's still unskilled with his authority...? Then..."
As Lione pondered, Enoch tugged lightly at her arm.
"Hm? What's up?"
Without a word, Enoch pointed at the scarecrow Lione had made earlier.
Seeing it jogged Lione's memory of something she'd forgotten.
"Oh, right. I promised to teach you the Claw Strike Technique."
Martial arts, magic, and knowledge besides.
There was still so much to teach.
"Well... you've got about 150 years until Enoch becomes an adult anyway. That should be plenty."
"?
[Even if that idiot's a total moron, he'll learn it all by then.]
"Yeah. Enoch's a genius, so he might finish even sooner."
The human boy tilted his head, watching the elf and spirit converse among themselves.
What did 150 years even mean...?
*
Enoch chose to keep his mouth shut.
Whatever it was, having 150 years left was fine by him too.
"Alright! The Claw Strike Technique is super simple. Let's wrap it up quick and move on to magic!"
Lione, brimming with enthusiasm, curled her fingers like an eagle's talons.
"The basic form is like this—rip into your opponent with your hooked fingers..."
Ripping and tearing might be a bit much for a kid.
"Uh... attack them."
Lione demonstrated simply.
She kicked off the ground lightly, advancing to rake the scarecrow with her claws.
Crunch-!
A massive beast-like gash marred the scarecrow's torso.
"Oh, right."
Come to think of it, she hadn't taught footwork yet?
The foundation of all martial arts is footwork.
It had been so long since she'd taught anyone that she'd even forgotten basic principles.
"Well, we've got 150 years left!"
She could take it slow!
*
Simple footwork, Claw Strike Technique, magic, general knowledge studies, forest exploration, and authority control practice.
Enoch's days seemed like they'd be insanely packed, but in reality, they weren't.
It was mostly a leisurely life of play and food!
About a month later, Lione made a big decision.
"Undine, I've been studying pretty hard, you know?"
She pointed to the stack of books in one corner of the room.
『The Essentials of Child-Rearing』, 『My Kid's a Genius!』, 『Easy Child-Rearing for Everyone』, 『What to Do with My Smart Kid?』, and so on.
Undine grimaced dramatically.
[What kind of books are those...]
"Anyway. I think it's about time to have him run some errands."
[Just tell him to do it. What's the problem?]
Undine sprawled lazily in midair, scratching her soft belly.
[Do you think he's really an idiot? The kid's sly as hell. He acts all innocent and dumb around you, but you should see how he treats me!]
"You're too much. Would you say that about a child?"
[Nooo...! I'm serious!]
Undine flailed about in frustration, but Lione ignored her.
She was just sulking from getting less playtime lately, but slandering the adorable Enoch was unbecoming.
"Deer mushroom..., one rabbit. Hmm... a bit of Three Yin Herb too."
Lione jotted the needed items on a scrap of paper and double-checked the list.
'This shouldn't be too hard, right?'
Satisfied, she headed to the yard.
Enoch was crouched in the yard, drawing on the ground.
Crackle-!
Electricity briefly traced a scarecrow shape before vanishing.
Enoch poked blankly at the sprout where the current had faded.
It had definitely grown since a month ago.
"Enoch!"
At Lione's call, Enoch's head snapped up.
Lione spread her arms with a bright smile, and Enoch toddled over on short legs to hug her.
"Lione."
"Hehe, practicing?"
"Yeah. But it's not working well."
"You're good at lightning magic instead."
Lione stroked Enoch's head.
At the gentle touch, Enoch closed his eyes and leaned into her hand.
"By the way, Enoch. Take a look at this."
Enoch took the paper she offered and examined it.
It listed items, all easily found in the forest.
Enoch tilted his head, and Lione explained.
"Sis is a bit busy, so could you fetch these for me?"
"Yeah."
"Really? Aww, our good boy Enoch."
The petting intensified.
Enoch savored it contentedly.
"Now?"
"Yeah. It's not urgent, so no need to rush. But it's dangerous, so come back before it gets too dark."
"Yeah."
Enoch nodded and immediately set off.
Lione watched him go, then signaled Undine.
"Let's go."
[Huh? Where?]
"After Enoch."
[What? He's a kid. He can go alone just fine.]
"So is Enoch a kid or an adult?"
[Uh...]
It was a fair point, but was there anything dangerous for the little guy in the forest?
She couldn't think of any, but there was no stopping mama-mode Lione.
[Sigh... my fate.]
In the end, Undine joined the Enoch tailing mission.
*
Enoch strolled through the forest calmly, without a hint of tension.
He didn't like being apart from Lione, but since it was her request, he had no real objections.
It was Lione, after all.
She was probably secretly following him right now.
Enoch deliberately amped up his innocent, blank expression.