Chapter 58
Chapter 58
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: The Mana Cultivation Method
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“Mana cultivation method...?”
Isaac’s eyes trembled widely.
Seeing him ask again as if he’d misheard, Rian let out a small sigh.
“Follow me.”
This wasn’t the place for such a talk.
Rian quickly left the training grounds and headed to the outskirts of Bieltuna.
This was the spot where Rian had gotten permission from Barus to train his mana cultivation method alone.
No other soldiers came here, and there were no civilians around, making it the perfect quiet place for training.
“......”
Neither Rian nor Isaac said a word on the way.
In the midst of this strange silence, Rian arrived at the mana cultivation training area on the outskirts.
The mana cultivation training area wasn’t anything special.
It was just like an ordinary room with no props whatsoever.
Upon arriving, Rian immediately drew up his mana.
After all, showing it once was far more reliable than explaining it a hundred times.
“Watch closely.”
Pew-!
“......!”
The moment he infused mana into the bracelet on his wrist, Rian’s figure vanished.
Isaac jumped in shock at the sight and looked around frantically.
How could a person just disappear like that?
Tap.
Rian, who had moved behind Isaac, lightly tapped his shoulder.
Isaac flinched in surprise and turned around to look behind him.
“H-How did you do that?”
“It’s the ability of this artifact I have. It allows instant teleportation over very short distances like this.”
“An artifact?!”
He looked even more shocked than when Rian had asked if he wanted to learn the mana cultivation method.
Rian scratched the side of his head awkwardly at Isaac’s reaction.
Still unable to calm his excitement, Isaac asked Rian,
“An artifact—you mean the kind where you just infuse mana and it lets you use magic or incredible abilities?”
“That’s right.”
“N-No way.”
It wasn’t unreasonable for Isaac to be shocked.
Even artifacts that simply produced flames fetched astronomical prices.
An artifact with the kind of advanced ability Rian had just demonstrated was worth the price of an entire castle.
“H-How do you have something like that, Lieutenant?”
“Don’t ask about the reason. I have my circumstances. More importantly, what you need to learn from now on is far more crucial. Of course, only if you want to learn it.”
“I do! I absolutely want to learn it!”
Isaac shouted, grabbing Rian’s arm.
The moment Isaac grabbed his arm, Rian unconsciously furrowed his brow.
Pain shot from the injured wound.
“Ah, ah! I’m sorry.”
Isaac flinched at Rian’s expression and released his arm.
Rian shook his head as Isaac bowed his head in apology.
“No, it’s fine. That much enthusiasm is good. However, there are two promises you must make if you want to learn the mana cultivation method.”
“Promises?”
Nod.
“What are they?”
“First, master the incantation I’m about to teach you perfectly, but do not use it.”
“......Pardon? Why learn it if you’re not going to use it?”
“There’s a prerequisite condition that must be met before you can learn this mana cultivation method. Once your body fully heals, we’ll take care of that first, then proceed. Until then, focus on memorizing and understanding the incantation perfectly.”
“Understood. And the second one?”
That was actually the real reason.
“Second, from the moment you learn the mana cultivation method, until you can wield aura as freely as your own limbs, you absolutely—absolutely—must not let anyone know or find out that you’re learning it.”
“......Huh?”
Isaac tilted his head, unable to comprehend.
“Why?”
Isn’t learning the mana cultivation method a good thing?
Was it because he might want to tell others?
“Asking to be taught the mana cultivation method is one of the continent’s taboos. My comrades won’t covet it just because I’ve learned to use mana.”
“That’s not the reason. Though it could be a factor.”
“Then what is the reason?”
“I can’t tell you right now. But if you don’t keep this promise, I can’t teach you the mana cultivation method.”
“......”
Isaac’s expression turned complicated.
Unlike the first promise, there was no reason given.
Rian simply waited silently for his decision.
Given Isaac’s personality, he’d need time to think in a situation like this.
But the deliberation didn’t last long.
As if he’d made up his mind, Isaac nodded to Rian and said,
“I’ll do as you say, Lieutenant. I’ll definitely keep the promise.”
“Good.”
“......You’re just trusting me like that?”
Isaac asked, a bit flustered by how readily Rian accepted.
What if he didn’t keep the promise?
Rian smiled faintly at Isaac and said,
“You thought it over and promised it yourself. Of course I trust you.”
The fact that Isaac had pondered and decided meant he would absolutely keep it.
Rian knew him well, so he had no hesitation in his choice.
“The mana cultivation method I’m about to teach you is just the mana cultivation method. It has no name. And it’s a bit different from existing ones.”
Rian explained the principle of conventional mana cultivation methods.
He told him about forming a mana hall in a convenient location in the body and storing mana there.
“Normal mages create their mana hall in the heart. It manifests as a ring, which they call a ‘circle.’ But knights or warriors who move their bodies a lot create theirs here.”
“The dantian, right?”
As Rian pointed to his lower abdomen, Isaac asked.
Rian nodded.
“But the mana cultivation method we’re learning now doesn’t create a mana hall.”
“No mana hall? How do you store mana without one?”
“You don’t store mana.”
“......Pardon?”
Isaac’s expression turned baffled.
That was understandable.
His mind must be quite confused.
Most people reacted the same way when first encountering the Child Mana Cultivation Method.
That’s why no one wanted to learn it until its practicality and safety were proven to some extent.
Those who first learned the Child Mana Cultivation Method were only the truly desperate ones.
To be precise, the Child Mana Cultivation Method didn’t mean not storing mana at all.
It opened mana pathways to mainly use external mana, but prolonged training would accumulate mana in the pathways themselves.
‘No need to get into those details.’
He planned to send Isaac back to Velotra as soon as his arm healed anyway.
Isaac had learned the mana cultivation method from Duke Russell at a similar age...
‘I’ll trust in the kid’s talent.’
“Then let’s begin.”
“Yes!”
With that, Rian placed his hand on Isaac’s back.
He planned to explain verbally while subtly infusing mana to forcibly imprint the incantation’s direction onto his body.
But the moment Rian infused mana into Isaac’s body,
“......Huh?”
Why does this kid already have mana in his body...?
* * *
It was late at night.
The moon hidden behind clouds today made the darkness seem even thicker.
The torchlight’s range looked narrower than usual. But the soldiers on watcht duty in the watchtower didn’t pay it much mind.
The barbarian raids weren’t as frequent as before.
No, had the barbarians even launched a single preemptive attack in the last couple of months?
It was strange—living like this made their vigilance loosen bit by bit.
“Yawwwn-!”
Kennel was a third-year soldier at Bieltuna.
The previous stay at Bieltuna had been pure hell day by day, but lately, it felt somewhat livable.
Polbint furrowed his brow at the yawning Kennel beside him.
“You gonna stay that lax?”
“Come on, cut me some slack. Honestly, the barbarians haven’t come at all lately.”
“You never know when they will. Stay sharp.”
“After getting beaten so badly just a few days ago, you think they’ll come again? I heard their supreme commander got seriously injured.”
“That’s true, but......”
Polbint was a seventh-year veteran soldier at Bieltuna.
Having survived the hellish battle five years ago, he trembled at the mere mention of the barbarians.
But as Kennel said, their attacks had completely stopped recently.
And after their supreme commander was injured in the operation a few days ago, attacking made no sense.
“Still, keep your guard up properly. Don’t slack off where others can see. You’ll get chewed out.”
“Heh heh, don’t worry.”
Polbint sighed helplessly as Kennel grinned cheekily.
“......?”
Then, suddenly, Polbint furrowed his brow and stared ahead.
Did he just hear something...?
“What’s that noise?”
At Polbint’s question, Kennel turned to look ahead.
“What noise?”
“Something like... thumping...”
“What, maybe some beasts running around? You’re used to the wildlife around here, right? Heh heh.”
Kennel chuckled lowly.
The cries of roe deer or owls echoing in the forest were familiar enough.
The thumping? Probably wolves out on a night hunt.
But Polbint didn’t let his guard down, leaning forward with a serious expression, focusing on the sound.
“......Mr. Polbint?”
Kennel straightened his posture and cautiously called out to his overly serious senior.
His grave expression gave him a bad feeling.
“Polbin......”
“Shh!”
As Kennel tried to call again, Polbint scowled and raised a finger to his lips.
Then his eyes widened in shock.
“Fuck!”
Dong-dong-dong-dong-dong-dong-dong-dong-dong-dong-dong-dong-!
Cursing, Polbint madly rang the bell in the watchtower.
Kennel stared at him in shock.
“Shoot a fire arrow that way!”
“Yes, sir!”
Unlike moments ago, Kennel was now fully disciplined as he hurriedly lit an arrow from the torch and shot it in the direction Polbint indicated.
Pew-!
The fire arrow sliced through the thick darkness. And in the direction it fell, a mass of black shapes became visible.
Polbint’s face twisted in horror.
“Enemies! The demons are here! The demons are here-!”
It was total chaos.
Bieltuna entered full emergency alert at the sound of Polbint’s bell.
And at that moment, as the emergency bell rang throughout Bieltuna,
Sleeping soldiers rushed to the armory, while armed ones moved to their positions.
“Run, run-!”
“Hurry up! Move faster!”
The officers distributing weapons in the armory shouted.
The soldiers moved even more frantically.
“What’s going on?”
Meanwhile, Eagle Company couldn’t hide their confusion at the sudden emergency bell.
But years on the battlefield had ingrained habits in them, so even as they panicked, they quickly prepared for combat.
“Damn it, I thought we’d get through easy for once.”
“Fucking hell, that’s just our luck.”
The Eagle Company members, scheduled to return in a few days, cursed as they grabbed their weapons.
They had no specific assignment, but they prepared to sortie outside the walls at any moment if battle broke out.
“Enemies?”
“Yes, Captain Raymond. Seems the barbarians have appeared.”
Barus let out a small sigh at Raymond’s question.
After months of quiet, they were showing their true colors again.
Raymond furrowed his brow at Barus’s answer.
Their supreme commander had taken a major injury in the last battle, yet they were attacking?
It didn’t add up unless it was an impulsive strike driven by rage.
But pondering it now wouldn’t yield answers.
Raymond said to Barus,
“We’ll prepare too. Call us if you need us.”
“Thanks. I need to check first, so if you’ll excuse me.”
Barus hurried up to the watchtower.
Soldiers on the walls fired fire arrows to illuminate the area.
Barus’s expression twisted at the sight.
“Crazy bastards......”
He couldn’t count exactly, but it was roughly five hundred strong.
No, considering those hidden in the brush, it might be more.
Given the barbarians’ current state, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say their entire force capable of fighting had come out.
‘What are they thinking...?’
They’d launched dozens of attacks so far, but never on this scale.
Revenge for the last operation?
“......Hoo.”
Whatever the reason, it didn’t matter.
As long as they didn’t defend along the Porhen Gorge, the fight here favored them.
Plus, unlike usual, they had three hundred battle-hardened veterans from Eagle Company.
Adding them in, Bieltuna’s forces exceeded a thousand.
“Open the gates and light up! Archers, stand by on the walls!”
“Move it!”
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud! Tatadak!
The archer units rushing up the walls quickly took their positions, ready to fire at any moment.
Barus watched the barbarians now fully revealed.
He didn’t know why they’d launched this attack, but...
“You’ve brought death upon yourselves.”
Barus’s gaze turned icy toward them.