Chapter 4 – Magic Faster Than Anyone
Montemer Family Estate's main house was truly breathtaking. The grounds were artfully arranged around two towers and a grand mansion. Whenever Lawrence walked these paths before, he had shrunk like a criminal.
He hadn't even noticed the beautiful lakeside. Nor the vibrant flowers blooming in the gardens, displaying their colorful splendor. The faint floral scent had always felt like the stench of death blooming amid corpses.
So this place was this beautiful, after all.
Seeing the mansion anew, it was undeniably stunning. Lawrence clenched his small fist tightly and stepped forward.
The evaluation was held at the Grand Training Ground.
Lots of people from external families must have come today.
The Montemer family valued bloodlines, but they never forgot to infuse fresh talent from outside. To keep the family strong, they needed talented genes continuously.
Thus, on evaluation day, visiting mages from elsewhere underwent assessments alongside the family.
"This way."
"Has everyone arrived now?"
"Yes. The young master was farther away, so it took a bit longer."
"I see."
Lawrence nodded and headed to the Grand Training Ground. There, he beheld it—the surging blue clouds roiling over the arena.
That...
The mana emanating from the grand mage, perhaps the very embodiment of nature itself, the head of Montemer. The undulating mana proclaimed his overwhelming presence.
Lawrence pushed through the faint cosmic horror he sensed and kept walking.
"Stand over there in an empty spot."
"Yes. Thank you."
Nikolai finished guiding Lawrence and approached the patriarch, Edward.
He reported loudly that his mission was complete.
"I have fulfilled the great patriarch's command. I have brought the fourth son of the Montemer family, young master Lawrence."
"Well done."
The patriarch's single word echoed thunderously across the Grand Training Ground. Lawrence saw the mana churn as his lips moved. While everyone else grimaced, he stood calmly.
Such mana manipulation stimulated mana roads. But Lawrence had none, so it had no effect on him.
Unless that immense mana manifested as magic, this mere intimidation was meaningless to him. Thanks to that, Lawrence could observe the patriarch's mana calmly.
So that's how he wields mana.
Perhaps the mana simply resonated and moved on its own. Glancing around, he saw familiar faces everywhere. The eldest and second brothers, already at unfathomable heights. The first, second, and third sisters... and even Loras Montemer, his three-years-older brother who had tormented him the most among those his age.
Along with young mages from various kin families. Most looked at Lawrence with sneers.
It must seem ridiculous to them.
Lawrence finally gazed at the patriarch's face. He also took in the woman beside him.
Today, their expressions would change.
"We will now begin the evaluation."
With the patriarch's rumbling words, the assessment started immediately, no time wasted.
Everyone's eyes bored into him like predators—it didn't seem fun at all. He'd thought about it endlessly.
Not a speck of mana in me, standing above all of you.
Lawrence's eyes gleamed with venom and madness.
The woman seated beside the patriarch wore a pleased expression. She couldn't fathom why her husband had summoned that brat, but what could a boy without a mana road possibly do?
If it had been a daughter, she could have married her off somewhere useful. But a son? Useless trash, nothing more or less.
"We'll start from age ten."
"Mm."
The patriarch nodded, and mages of the same age stepped forward—including Lawrence.
Yes, time to thoroughly humiliate him. The woman, Montemer's matriarch Media Montemer, chuckled softly.
If you're thinking of nipping it in the bud once and for all, that's perfect.
The mother who had crushed her pride as a woman. She loathed Lawrence insanely as that woman's child. She'd never even considered him due to his lack of mana road, but seeing him here... Perhaps even patriarch Edward wanted to erase her traces.
That's what she thought.
"We'll follow the usual rules."
"......"
The patriarch nodded slowly. His eyes were vacant, his chin-propped pose almost bored. Some mages began watching him carefully.
The key to this evaluation: proceed quickly but without irking him.
"External mages will name their opponent. The named mage cannot refuse. Understood?"
"Yes-!"
The children's resounding reply echoed. Lawrence answered half-heartedly. Memories of that previous day's regression flooded back: his terrified self, the others eyeing him like prey, young mages eagerly naming him... Adults' sneering gazes, his father impassively watching his son.
All those scenes flashed through his mind like a montage.
"First up is Arthur Goldvein, eldest son of the golden mage family Goldvein."
Arthur, the Goldvein heir with golden hair wielding earth magic. In the same situation as before regression, Lawrence couldn't help but laugh.
<Hahaha! Run more!>
<It's a disgrace that trash like you was born into a great family! Why not switch with me!?>
Pure malice. The humiliation solely because he lacked a mana road was unforgettable.
Lawrence turned, etching into memory those indifferently watching him.
You're all the same.
They merely watched as a child was brutally humiliated. Siblings snickering while his little brother wailed desperately. Aside from a few pitying looks, they were all the same humans.
"Name your opponent."
"I name Lawrence Montemer!"
"Knew it."
Murmurs rippled everywhere. Some said it was a free win, others that Arthur was lucky, and so on. Crucially, not one pitied Lawrence.
"Tsk tsk..."
"Can't read the patriarch's intentions."
"Exactly. Just send him off to research quietly."
"Shh. Let's watch."
Lawrence stepped forward, facing the golden-haired brat. His smug grin was so repulsive he wanted to smash his face.
"You really have no mana road, right?"
"Who knows."
"I still can't figure out why trash like you was born into this great family."
"......"
Lawrence stared silently. The golden kid spewed words like garbage from his flapping mouth.
"Why would a defective come from such noble blood? Maybe... because of your mom?"
From his Earth days in Korea, Lawrence hated one thing above all: people dragging his family into their mouths to insult them.
No matter this second life, his deceased mother was this body's birth mother. Yet they kept invoking and cursing her.
Mom insults were what Lawrence despised across past and present lives. And Arthur spat out what he shouldn't.
"Wasn't there something wrong with your mom? Huh? Otherwise... how could someone blessed by the patriarch produce trash like you?"
Lawrence didn't reply. He only pondered how to shatter that jaw.
Abandoned child, and no one steps up—hilarious.
A Montemer was insulted. The patriarch's favored child humiliated, yet no family member intervened.
Strict meritocracy. Exclude those who couldn't prove their worth as mages. Nothing pleased him.
"No one will help you. You'll just be discarded. Like your mom."
"Enough chatter. The match begins now. It ends when one admits defeat or faints."
"Yes!"
Seeing Arthur's vigorous reply fueled Lawrence's rage further.
Magic evaluation. In truth, just pitting kids against each other to see who fought best.
Everything disgusts me.
First, deal with the brat who insulted his mom to vent some stress.
Guardians or whatever—he'd figure it out. Methodically change what he hated, and things would shift.
Arthur Goldvein was a prodigy. The Goldvein family had long specialized in earth magic—powerful with versatile applications, but with a flaw: terribly slow casting.
In magic's stages—mana control, mental image realization, manifestation—Goldveins lagged especially in mental image realization.
But Arthur has abundant imagination, compensating for it.
The Goldvein patriarch wanted to change his surname to Montemer. Then, their family would bask in wealth and glory.
Just a name change could bring immense fortune and honor.
"So, show them."
Clear away that useless trash and take his place!
He watched his son with eyes gleaming in ecstasy.
Krunch—!
Casting began.
"Mother who governs the earth, here in this place, your servant..."
Arthur Goldvein began chanting, eyes narrowed. As expected, the defective without a mana road just stood blankly.
Realizing how worthless he was, he'd give up and slink away!
Whoosh—.
The anomaly struck while Arthur focused on chanting.
Fire Arrow
"-Huh?"
"What!?"
The defective—halfwit, cripple, family disgrace, child to be discarded—had manifested magic.
At an insanely fast speed.
"Mm......"
Patriarch Edward's eyes sparkled.
Rumble—!
A streak of red flame traced a line through the air. Feeling the scorching heat, Arthur failed to finish chanting.
"Ugh!?"
Boom—!
No illusion or pre-prep. It was real magic.
The ten-year-old Lawrence rushed at Arthur, lips moving. His second artifact, forged overnight as insurance for this evaluation, spewed blue lightning.
Lightning Bolt
Crackle—!
A lightning orb formed in an instant. Stunned, Arthur gaped wordlessly. As the blue orb hurtled toward him, the golden-haired boy yelped and rolled aside.
Boom—!
Another explosion. Smoke billowed thickly.
This, this can't be real!?
"H-how!?"
"Haven't admitted defeat yet, have you?"
Crunch—!
Rough hands gripped Arthur's mouth and jaw. Lawrence's venom-filled eyes pierced the smoke.
"Can't even dodge this, and you call yourself a mage? Right?"
"Uwaaaah—!"
Dragon Body
Physical abilities are greatly strengthened.
Hitting with magic from afar was fine, but this punk deserved a fist to the face. Even as a hatchling, a dragon was a dragon—the guardian and ruler of all things. Lawrence's body, inheriting that will, was far too powerful for a mere ten-year-old child to handle.
"Bite down hard."
Crack—!
The price for insulting his mother would be steep.