Chapter 20
Chapter 20
'Today's the day to finish it.'
Recently, Delam had been wholly absorbed in mana techniques.
To be precise, the combination and recreation of mana techniques.
The Vistache Secret Technique he'd obtained not long ago was the subject.
'My Fleurex Arts, the mana techniques of other great families... and the Vistache Secret Technique Rubian shared with me.'
The ingredients were plentiful.
Among them, his primary focus was the Vistache Secret Technique.
Mana techniques, having been refined over dozens of generations, inevitably developed extremely complex structures.
But ultimately, their origin was singular.
What Delam had been doing for the past two months—
Was tracing back to that very origin.
Delam meticulously moved the tweezers in his mind.
He dismantled the intricate mana technique piece by piece.
He stripped away the unnecessary additions of later generations, peeled off the remnants of other mana techniques that had been haphazardly grafted onto it under the guise of "improvement."
What remained in the end was the [True Core].
The pure intent of the founder, who had valued nothing but raw power.
'Finally done. Now, let's touch this up.'
Delam began reassembling the True Core.
The broken fragments piled high in one corner of his mental world—
He gathered them all and began reconstructing.
Of course, not exactly as they were.
There'd be no point in dismantling it otherwise.
He maintained the fundamental framework but streamlined inefficient parts, boldly cutting away tangled or bloated sections.
Likely remnants lost to some past incident, or traces of a talentless Family Head's forced modifications.
Snip, snip.
Delam excised them all.
In this world, people and mana techniques were no different.
When wielding a blade, one had to cut decisively to survive.
'Hmm... What would work best here?'
Delam pondered as he examined the gaps left by his excisions.
Various mana techniques decomposed and vanished within his mind.
The result? The most effective adhesive was selected.
The Fleurex Arts.
Fleurex wasn't vast enough to be called an ocean.
Not nearly wide enough to encompass everything.
But it could be a great river.
One that never ran dry, no matter the drought.
A main current that traversed the land unbroken, flowing ever toward the sea.
It kept everything moving.
Ensured nothing withered away.
Thus, it would perfectly fill the gaps and severed connections in the Vistache Secret Technique.
'With this... complete!'
Before he knew it, the Vistache mana technique was whole again.
No—it was now the Vistache-Delam mana technique.
He couldn't resist attaching his own name for bragging rights.
The completed technique far exceeded his expectations.
Even Delam, who knew countless mana techniques, was impressed.
'This is seriously good.'
The Vistache mana technique had transformed.
It now possessed something entirely new: [Focus].
The scattered concentration toward a single point, lost through generations of modifications, had been restored.
And with this focal point established, its power had increased by at least 50%.
'But this isn't because the Vistache Secret Technique is amazing... It's the Fleurex that's insane, isn't it?'
The Fleurex Arts seemed all the more remarkable now.
And faintly, he began to see the path forward.
Why had Delam modified the Vistache Secret Technique?
Of course, to repay the kind-hearted Rubian.
More precisely, to raise Rubian into a hero capable of slaying demons.
But his primary goal had been his own strengthening.
Specifically, to further evolve the Fleurex.
[Fleurex Arts of Stability]
[Vistache Secret Technique of Destruction]
The attributes of these two mana techniques were polar opposites.
Which meant there was much each could learn from the other.
So then, Fleurex's weakness—
Should he compensate for its lack of destructive power with the Vistache technique?
That would be the conventional approach.
But Delam made the opposite decision.
Dismantling the Vistache Secret Technique had revealed something.
The exact structure—how to manipulate which formulas to maximize a mana technique's destructive potential.
Surprisingly, Fleurex also had a destructive aspect.
The part that overlapped with the Vistache technique.
A minuscule portion, but it was there.
Delam eliminated it entirely.
From the already low-damage Fleurex, he excised even the vestigial remnants of destructive capability.
'The path beyond Advanced!'
Before his regression, Delam's final realm had been Advanced.
No matter how hard he tried, progressing beyond that had been impossible.
But now, he faintly understood why.
The reason his progress had stagnated.
Ironically, it was because of his knowledge.
He knew too many mana techniques—and all of them high-level ones—making it impossible to boldly discard any.
[Selection and Focus]
Take what you must, discard what you must.
Only after dying once did Delam finally realize this.
That's why he modified Fleurex.
To create a mana technique at the pinnacle of fluidity.
To glimpse the end of a single path.
"Obtaining the Vistache technique was a stroke of luck."
Delam murmured as he sensed the surrounding mana.
The mana approached him with even greater intimacy.
Moreover, Fleurex's stability had advanced another step.
Now, mana accumulated even as he inhaled.
And that wasn't all.
When he exhaled, the impurities within his body were expelled along with his breath.
[Cycle]
The cycle of water, the cycle of humans, the cycle of mana.
Delam had finally grasped its profundity.
In any case, Delam had gained much.
So he decided to selflessly share the Vistache-Delam mana technique he'd painstakingly crafted over two months.
Delam gave the modified technique one final check.
If there were any flaws, Rubian could be in danger.
Of course, no such issues were apparent.
But he did find something dangerous.
'I shouldn't provoke Rubian anymore.'
In a word, the modified Vistache technique could be described as [Monstrous Strength].
Naturally, since it converted all mana into pure force.
And now it was even stronger...
If Rubian mastered it properly and punched him?
Instant one-way ticket to the afterlife.
Swish, swish.
Delam's hand moved automatically as he thought this far.
Brushing away snack crumbs from the barracks floor.
Because this was Rubian's barracks.
Honestly, it was strange.
A man in a knight's—moreover, a female knight's—private barracks?
It was proof of how much Rubian trusted Delam.
A willingness to endure any strange rumors that might arise.
'She wouldn't suddenly drag me by the hair to the Bistache family as a live-in son-in-law, would she?'
Rumor had it she'd beaten her cheating ex-fiancé half to death.
Some said he was still bedridden.
"If I want to avoid that, I'd better start climbing too."
Muttering to himself, Delam focused his mind.
Six months had passed since his regression.
From his days as a potato farmer in a rural village, he'd steadily accumulated mana until his heart was now full.
Like a cup on the verge of overflowing.
The left and right ventricles, the left and right atria.
The densely packed mana within them growled as if ready to race through the aorta and vena cava at the slightest provocation.
So where was Delam climbing to?
The answer was simple.
'To the realm of a low-rank knight!'
The last drop of mana was absorbed into his heart.
Simultaneously, a powerful pulse reverberated through the barracks.
Thud— thud—
It wasn't his imagination.
The beats were loud enough for anyone nearby to hear.
The evolution from mana user to low-rank knight.
Simply put, it involved releasing the mana gathered in the heart all at once to expand the space occupied by mana.
But it was far from easy.
Being his first attempt, knowing how much and how far to expand the mana was difficult.
This was why having a mentor mattered.
Though the exact expansion range varied by person, even general tips were invaluable.
Not to mention the protective aspect.
Gathering mana already left one vulnerable—attempting a rank leap was exponentially riskier.
'Not that I need that.'
Delam was different.
He'd been a high-rank knight with titles to his name.
Reaching low-rank was as easy as blinking.
Moreover, the Fleurex Arts represented the pinnacle of stability.
And he'd just enhanced it further.
At this point, even if someone stabbed him with a sword, he'd die from excessive blood loss before mana overload became a concern.
'Then let's begin.'
Whoosh!
Delam released the mana in his heart.
The mana spreading outward soon hit an invisible wall, then formed a circle centered around his heart.
The mark of a knight—
'The Knight Circle... It's been a while.'
The circle was twice the size of his heart.
As one advanced from low-rank to mid-rank and beyond,
This circle would grow exponentially.
What was the benefit?
The circle represented a mana domain—naturally, mana capacity increased.
So did reactivity.
The time for mana to race through his limbs shortened, enhancing the quantity, quality, and speed of his aura.
'They say a Sword Master's circle expands beyond their body.'
From that point, assassination became impossible.
Within that range,
Nothing could escape a Sword Master's notice.
An absolute barrier in every sense.
"Boy! Boy!"
Frantic footsteps sounded outside.
Soon, Rubian pushed through the barracks entrance.
"Are you alright?!"
"Ah, Knight Rubian."
"Whew! Thank goodness. I was returning to the barracks when I sensed a mana disturbance—startled me so much I ran here."
Rubian exhaled in relief upon seeing Delam unharmed.
Delam spoke nonchalantly.
"Ah, that was nothing."
"Nothing?!"
"I was practicing the mana technique you taught me when the mana in my heart suddenly fluctuated. As I watched, my mana domain roughly doubled in size."
"......?"
Instead of answering, Delam picked up a nearby knife.
Focusing his mind—
Huum.
The knife vibrated faintly.
A dim but unmistakable light shimmered above it.
As a knight, Rubian could confirm it beyond doubt.
This was the mark of a knight... Aura!
"Th-that's impossible. Aura...?"
"Ah, so this is aura."
"But you've only been learning the mana technique for two months... And with a dining knife, not even a sword..."
"It just felt possible."
Though Delam answered earnestly, it was futile.
Rubian kept muttering as if not hearing him, her face pale with shock.
Becoming a knight was easier than becoming a mage.
But that was only relative.
No matter how advanced the mana technique,
Without sufficient talent, one's limit remained a mana user.
To produce aura—the kingdom's criterion for a [true knight]—even geniuses needed two to three years of grueling training.
But Delam?
Just two months!
Yet Delam scratched his head.
He hadn't even shared the truly shocking part yet.
"Actually, it didn't work at first. After some thought, I realized there was an issue with the mana technique."
"An issue?"
"I noticed some awkward parts. After adjusting them, this happened."
"Gah!"
Rubian outright screamed at this.
Her face wasn't just pale now—it was deathly white.
A mana technique wasn't mere methodology.
It was a meticulously crafted blueprint!
Not a single line or process was carelessly designed.
No matter how trivial a part seemed, each was a masterpiece born from profound theory and countless experiments.
And he'd just modified it on a whim?
After just two months of learning?
Rubian's mind conjured images of what was to come.
Delam, bleeding from every orifice as he died......
"No—!"
Rubian lunged at Delam in panic.
And seized his wrist.