Chapter 9: Until Turning Ten (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 9: Until Turning Ten (1)
Life was good.
Every single day brought him joy.
It had been six months since he met Murakan. Jin was now eight years old, he had transcribed over fifty secret manuals, and today was the day the Tona brothers were finally leaving Storm Castle.
For the next two years, I won't have to deal with any annoyances.
Jin thought to himself as he watched the servants through the window, loading the Tona brothers' luggage into a carriage.
In truth, they hadn't been particularly bothersome ever since he had thrashed them in the hallway and dumped them at the Bird’s Grave. The servants, who had also suffered under the twins, secretly called the incident "The Bird’s Revenge" and found it deeply cathartic.
If anything, the brothers had been quite useful, acting like obedient little errand boys.
However, the presence of their nanny, Emma, had remained a constant thorn in his side. She had been blatantly observing Jin, making no secret of her desire to get close to him.
If she’s as shrewd as I think, she would have eventually followed me to the basement while pretending it was an accident.
Jin had shut Emma down with cold precision every time she tried to approach him. Her motives were transparent.
She wanted him to go easy on the Tona brothers in the future.
And behind that motive was the unspoken wish for Jin to remain forever inferior to them.
Emma’s unpleasant gaze ends today. If she keeps this up later, I’ll have to create an opportunity to deal with her permanently.
So far, Emma hadn't openly bared her teeth or stabbed him in the back.
Nevertheless, Jin decided to give the departing nanny a parting word that would serve as a lifelong lesson.
"Young Master. You should go say goodbye to your brothers."
"Yes, Gilly. I should."
The two of them headed down to the central courtyard of Storm Castle.
Despite the heavy rain pouring down relentlessly, the Guardian Knights sent to escort the Tona brothers to the main house were already waiting.
One 7-star Guardian Knight and five 6-star Guardian Knights. They were retainers from the main family.
And in their midst stood the Tona brothers, their expressions practically screaming relief at finally parting ways with their devilish youngest brother.
"Brothers."
"Ah, uh, Jin."
"M-M-Maknae!"
As Jin approached with a smile, the Tona brothers froze stiff.
"Why so surprised? I just came to say goodbye."
"Thanks..."
"Thank you... Maknae!"
"I guess I won't see you for another two years. It’s a shame, isn't it?"
The Tona brothers felt the exact opposite, but they nodded their heads vigorously all the same.
Jin patted them on the shoulders before shifting his gaze to Emma.
"Goodbye to you too, Nanny Emma."
"Thank you, Young Master."
"And, could you lend me your ear for a moment?"
Emma leaned down, bringing her ear close to Jin.
"Emma. I hope you'll be a bit more careful at the main house."
The moment she heard those words, Emma’s face turned deathly pale.
The realization that this eight-year-old child had seen through her intentions all along sent a chill down her spine.
Emma couldn't even muster a reply; she could only manage a shallow bow, struggling to suppress the trembling in her shoulders.
"We are departing. Young Master Jin, we look forward to seeing you in two years, even more dignified than you are now!"
"Understood."
The Guardian Knights offered Jin a sword salute.
They would now take the carriage waiting at the base of Mount Murakan and head to the Runcandel main residence, the Garden of Swords.
In two years, Jin would follow them there.
*
"You damn brat, you’d better have a good explanation for this, and fast."
In the basement of Storm Castle.
As soon as Murakan took the basket from Jin, he voiced his displeasure. Jin ignored him and sat down directly in front of the bookshelf.
"Why? Why... is there only one strawberry pie in the basket? What do you take this Murakan for?"
Murakan was furious because of the strawberry pie.
"Oh, come on. Just be grateful for the one. I saved that from my own portion."
"Do you think a single strawberry pie can fill a dragon's stomach?!"
It would be a mistake to think a dragon was getting this angry over just a strawberry pie.
To Murakan, "strawberry pie" was the first magnificent food he had tasted in a thousand years.
Furthermore, it was the only food that could satisfy the palate of a dragon still "trapped" in the basement of Storm Castle.
"You don't even need to eat; you always feel full because of my Spirit Energy anyway. Why the sudden fuss about your stomach?"
"Y-You heartless brat! Do you have any idea how picky dragons are as gourmets? I can't even go outside because of your situation, and you only bring one strawberry pie?"
Murakan had not left the basement once since waking up.
It was for Jin’s sake. Jin needed to hide his relationship with Murakan until he grew stronger, and Murakan agreed that was the right move.
The basement was originally a space only Flagbearers were permitted to enter.
If the clan found out Jin had been sneaking in here to transcribe secret manuals, Cyron would likely hold Murakan responsible as well—even if he was a dragon who had awakened after a thousand years and was treated as the clan's guardian deity.
In that sense, Jin and Murakan were essentially accomplices.
"Ha! There you go again with that gourmet nonsense. You said you hated everything except the strawberry pie. Do you have any idea how hard it is to procure strawberries here at Storm Castle?"
Jin had his own grievances.
Storm Castle sat at the peak of Mount Murakan, where rain lashed down all four seasons. Procuring fresh strawberries in such a place was no easy feat.
Moreover, this gourmet-loving Black Dragon claimed all other food in Storm Castle tasted like trash and demanded only Gilly’s strawberry pies.
"Dammit... To think I live in an era where I can't even eat strawberry pie to my heart's content."
"That era won't last much longer, so why don't you eat that and start the training?"
"It’s also an era where a brat with zero charm has a Great Black Dragon in the palm of his hand."
Nom.
In the end, Murakan yielded. Getting angry wouldn't make more strawberries appear out of thin air, so there was nothing else he could do.
"It’s delicious... Damn, it’s insanely good. Did you say she was your nanny? You must formally introduce her to this Murakan later."
"I get it. How many times do I have to tell you?"
Jin replied, shaking his head.
The past six months had been more than enough time for Jin to completely shatter any fantasies he had about dragons.
In his past life as a mage, he had imagined dragons as wise, dignified, mysterious, and powerful beings.
But the dragon he experienced in reality was a whiner, quick to anger and just as quick to cool, who spent every spare moment lying down and scratching his thigh.
Scratch, scratch.
Having finished the strawberry pie in an instant, Murakan scratched his thigh.
If there’s one thing that matches the legends... it’s that he’s strong, I suppose?
Since the second day of their meeting, Jin had been learning how to manipulate Spirit Energy and the basics of various martial arts from him.
Though they had never sparred directly, Jin could feel Murakan’s immense strength just from his instruction.
However, most of Murakan’s power was currently sealed.
That was because Jin’s Spirit Energy was still at a weak level. For Murakan, Spirit Energy was like sunlight to a plant or the ocean to a fish.
In other words, Jin was essentially a sun to Murakan.
But he was a sun that needed to grow. For Murakan to regain his strength, Jin needed to grow quickly.
"Transcribe for only thirty minutes, then come out to the hallway."
"Got it."
After finishing his transcription, Jin stood facing Murakan.
"What did you copy today?"
"The secret manual of the Atilla family's swordsmanship."
"Oh! Atilla. Their swordsmanship is quite decent. I remember biting their patriarch to death about fifteen hundred years ago. How much did you understand?"
"About thirty percent. It’s hard to grasp more than that."
"Don't look so down. Understanding thirty percent at your age is incredible."
Understanding thirty percent of a prestigious family's secret manual like the Atilla's at age eight was, of course, incredible.
But Jin felt a thirst for more. In Runcandel, "incredible" was the average, and since he was living his second life, he wanted to achieve more than that.
If he didn't...
It would be difficult to defeat the twelve crazy geniuses of Runcandel who stood above him in this life as well.
"If it were the First Patriarch, how much of this manual would he have understood at my age?"
"Khahaha. Right, right. You said you chose Temar’s sword at your Selection Ceremony. Is that why you keep comparing yourself to him?"
"No, it’s because I’ve heard until my ears bled that the 'strongest in history' was the First Patriarch. That’s why I want to compare."
"The strongest in history. Yeah, Temar was truly, monstrously strong. Even your father, a Creation Knight, would probably be a step below him."
It was a realm Jin couldn't even imagine.
In his previous life, three years before he died, Jin had been growing at an insane pace after obtaining Solderet’s authority.
Even so, reaching the level of a Creation Knight felt distant. Even if he had become an "unparalleled magic swordsman" as Solderet had described, he still wondered if he could have ever surpassed his father.
"Hmm, right. Good. I should probably make one thing clear."
"Make what clear?"
"The difference between you and Temar."
Jin nodded and focused.
"At age eight, Temar wouldn't have understood a single line of that secret manual."
After a brief pause, Murakan continued.
"But the ability to understand swordsmanship theory doesn't necessarily define talent. From what I’ve seen, you possess a talent that might appear once every few centuries... but you can't be compared to Temar."
"Hmm, that’s a bit discouraging."
"Your father, the Creation Knight, surely possessed a talent far superior to yours as well."
"Then, because of that difference in talent, will I never be able to surpass my father?"
Surpassing his father.
That was the greatest goal for the reborn Jin. If he couldn't eventually surpass Cyron, he would be forced to live under Runcandel’s shadow until the man died.
His futile death in his previous life.
The three 9-star knights who had raided the Akin Kingdom. Jin secretly suspected that the person who sent them might have been Cyron.
Even if he didn't want to believe it.
"If we evaluate purely by swordsmanship, then yes."
"Purely by swordsmanship?"
"Yes, you brat. You talk as if the sword is the entire world. You have Spirit Energy and Mana."
"That’s true."
"If you can master magic and Spirit Energy to their limits, then surpassing not just your father, but even Temar, isn't just a dream. So don't be so impatient."
"I’m not being impatient. I was just curious about my limits."
"Ha! You dare to speak of 'limits' after obtaining Solderet’s power? Is it because you’re still a kid? You really don't know anything. Among the gods, Solderet’s epithet is... 'Infinite'."
"Infinite?"
"Yes, Infinite. You already hold more infinite possibilities in your hands than anyone else in the world. So, hurry up and grow. You need to get out of this stifling place to experience anything properly."
"In that sense, what’s today’s training?"
"Spirit Energy Release. You’ll be doing basic martial arts later anyway, so until you leave Storm Castle, we’ll only focus on training related to this."