Chapter 3
Chapter 3
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: The 7-Year-Old Black Sorcerer (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Jamie returned to his room with a weary expression.
His mother, Sears, had been so worried that she kept asking if he was okay, what they should do, and even said she would scold that old man herself. It had left him mentally exhausted.
"Still, it had been a while since I saw some proper magic."
Linmel Marquis, was it?
That level of skill would have held its own even in the Mythical Era.
But what surprised him even more than the marquis was his father, Count Welton.
'I knew he was strong, but I didn't expect that strong.'
Sword Masters were known as superhumans.
And among them, Count Welton was undoubtedly one of the strongest.
His skills hadn't dulled just because he was older; his eyes were as sharp as ever.
In the past, he had slain countless Sword Masters with his own hands and fought alongside just as many.
Count Welton was a powerhouse who wouldn't bow to even the Sword Masters of the Mythical Era.
The current era was infinitely weaker compared to the Mythical Era.
Magic had advanced far beyond those times, but it couldn't bridge that fundamental gap.
For the count to wield such power in this era made him more than worthy of claiming dominion over a nation.
'I'm curious about his Authority.'
Even as his closest family, Jamie didn't know the Authority of his father, Argent Welton.
Since ascending to Sword Master, he had unleashed it only once.
That was to prove his realm before the king, and even that was kept secret.
Not even his children knew.
Even so, just his physical prowess alone was formidable. If he wielded his Authority effectively as well, few humans could stand against him.
'As the father of this body, that's only fitting.'
Jamie nodded with a proud expression.
"What's got you so pleased?"
"Eek!"
At that moment, a familiar voice came from behind.
Jamie jumped in surprise and fell on his butt.
"You little rascal, you really do look like a kid up close."
"H-How did you get into my room?"
"Teleportation."
"Ah."
Teleportation was child's play for an 8th Class mage.
Jamie didn't know he was exactly 8th Class, but he had a rough sense of it.
"You didn't get killed by Father, I see."
"Kahahaha! What a delightful child!"
The marquis laughed heartily, clearly amused.
"I hear you act like a proper child around your parents, but you don't bother hiding your true self from me?"
"True self? Family and strangers aren't the same, are they?"
The marquis sighed with genuine regret at Jamie's smiling response.
"If only my abilities were a bit greater."
"Pardon?"
"No point saying more. Take this."
The marquis handed Jamie a book.
The moment he took it, Jamie realized it was a grimoire.
"That should be enough for you."
"Why give this to me?"
"The mana breathing method you're practicing is too outdated."
The word "outdated" hit him like a blow to the head.
"It's a breathing method I created myself. No one else knows it."
He had read a newly published mana breathing method in the library today.
It was almost identical to what he was currently using.
Would this one be different?
'He called my breathing method outdated.'
He wouldn't throw around "outdated" for something so similar.
"I have high expectations for you."
The marquis said it seriously, without smiling.
Jamie looked at him silently.
"I wonder how you'll be next time we meet."
The marquis's body was enveloped in light and vanished.
Jamie stared at the spot where he had stood, then sat on the edge of his bed.
He began poring over the grimoire the marquis had given him.
Mana breathing was a pulmonary respiration method through the mouth, absorbing mana and storing it in the body.
It was known as the most efficient way, but the amount one could inhale at a time was limited.
However, as long as one could breathe, it allowed lifelong accumulation of mana.
It was the method adopted by nearly all mages, with a history stretching back to the Mythical Era.
In the magical world, "mana breathing method" immediately brought this to mind, and calling it "the only one" wouldn't feel out of place.
No human possessed a superior method; it was considered common sense.
"Interesting."
Jamie gazed at Linmel Marquis's grimoire with tired eyes.
It was intriguing.
He wondered just how impressive it could be to call the standard method outdated, and this was certainly impressive—worthy of praise.
'But it can't replace the standard method.'
Its efficiency was superior, but there was a clear entry barrier.
It required extremely precise mana control.
Mages naturally improved their mana control with higher circles, but this demanded more than that.
'Feel the mana particles one by one, then break them down to a size the skin can absorb.'
Full Body Breathing Method, as it was called.
The reason mana was breathed through the mouth was the size of its particles.
If those particles could be finely divided for skin absorption, far more mana could be inhaled.
But as mentioned, it demanded exceptional talent.
And beyond talent, it had another flaw.
The standard mana breathing accumulated mana with every breath, even if in small amounts—a tremendous advantage. This method lacked that.
It could exceed a day's worth from the standard method in one go, but continuous breathing was impossible.
'If the two could be combined...'
After one session of Full Body Breathing, the body fatigued rapidly, preventing further intake.
Jamie's lips curled upward.
"That's a concern for him, not me."
Full Body Breathing.
It was advanced enough to deem the standard method outdated.
But its clear limitations prevented calling it truly superior.
At least, not Linmel Marquis's version.
He had given something very good.
The marquis probably thought he would simply learn it to supplement his mana, but regretfully, the soul in this small body was that of the mighty black sorcerer, Diablo Volpir!
"Alright, time to tear it apart!"
Behind his innocent childlike face, the black sorcerer's gleaming eyes began dissecting and reconstructing every sentence and word in the grimoire.
The flaws in the Full Body Breathing Method were clear.
Fix those, and it would become an irreplaceable technique.
Go beyond mere fixes and upgrade it further, and it would reach the "ultimate" breathing method.
It wasn't easy.
Linmel Marquis believed his version was the most perfected form.
He asserted no better method existed.
He hadn't said it outright, but the grimoire implied as much.
The marquis wasn't wrong—at his level.
But to the near-omnipotent black sorcerer, flaws were everywhere.
'If I hadn't seen this method, it might have been one thing, but now that it's in my sights...'
First flaw: Breaking mana particles to a skin-absorbable size required a fixed location and posture, unlike the standard method.
Second flaw: After one session, the body rejected further mana.
It exceeded a day's standard intake, but stopped there.
These two needed fixing.
'Can't change the breaking method itself.'
If possible, the standard method wouldn't have lasted so long.
Use Full Body Breathing without fixed location or posture.
If it could naturally break and absorb mana even at rest, it would be a perfect upgrade.
And Jamie had the means.
"I need your help."
As he raised his hand, black energy gathered, and a black something floated up.
A familiar made of black magic: a black bat.
Its official name was Night Bat, nicknamed Black, with the ability to "assist" in magical rituals.
Its prowess scaled with its master's.
Kik!
Black flapped its wings joyfully, flying around its master.
Jamie raised his index finger, and Black landed softly on his arm.
Keek!
"Break the mana from now on."
Black was the familiar Jamie—Diablo Volpir—had painstakingly crafted in his past life.
Bound by a soul contract, it required no mana to maintain summoning.
So if Black handled the breaking, the first flaw was solved effortlessly.
Kikik!
Black cried out as if to say "leave it to me," spreading its wing membranes wide.
The surrounding mana vibrated.
Black's eyes glowed blue as particles began breaking down.
"As expected, you're my best partner."
Kigik!
Black twisted its tiny body bashfully at the praise.
The second flaw remained.
But solving the first made the second simple.
The issue was the heart—the mana repository—reaching capacity after massive intake.
Simply distribute storage across multiple sites.
An act that shattered human "common sense."
"Let's begin."
Keek!
At Jamie's signal, the broken mana particles surged wildly.
Count Welton stood before Jamie's door early in the morning.
His nanny, Anna, stood beside him with a worried look.
"My lord."
"......"
The count didn't respond to Anna's call, peering through the open door crack into the room.
There sat his son Jamie in the lotus position.
If it were just sitting, he wouldn't use such an uncomfortable pose.
The count could see it clearly.
'Mana... it's swirling.'
Sword Masters handled mana too, albeit differently.
Thus, he sensed the mana flowing around Jamie.
He knew the marquis had met Jamie before leaving yesterday.
'What did he pass on?'
The count recalled Linmel Marquis's sly smile.
'Does my son truly have that much talent?'
The Welton family had produced swordsmen for generations.
Its true prominence came in his era, and no mages had been born before.
He hadn't specifically wanted Jamie to follow the sword path.
But magic—and talent beyond imagination—was hard to believe.
Was it his maternal blood? The great Bell family had mages, but none exceptionally strong.
"Leave him be all day today."
"But."
"It's fine."
Anna nodded reluctantly at the count's words.
"Assign a servant since we don't know when he'll emerge."
"I'll do it."
"I'd appreciate that. I have an important guest this afternoon, so I'll head out. Contact me when Jamie finishes."
"Don't worry."
Anna had served as the family's nanny since the count was young.
He could trust her.
"I'm counting on you."
As he walked away, the count mulled over the marquis's words.
'9th Class.'
Did Jamie truly have such talent?
He couldn't be sure yet.
But if the marquis was right...
The count's lips curved up.
"As expected of my son."
His steps felt lighter than usual today.