A Starlit Night
There was a man named Zeke von Goethe. He suffered from Mana Rampage. His mana circulated at an abnormally fast speed, and even if his vessels shattered, they regenerated in an instant. Yet according to some authorities, Zeke von Goethe had reached the 10th Class realm. He was a being beyond the boundaries no human had ever touched, in the realm of the transcendent.
For some reason, he clashed with the royal family and, in his rage, reduced the royal palace to ruins. He burned the capital. No one could stop him. The king bowed his head to the emperor. After weighing the gains and losses, the empire dispatched its elite knight order to the kingdom. Hundreds of elite knights and two Sword Masters from the empire died. Zeke von Goethe was executed on the spot. The kingdom survived, but this incident turned it into a vassal state of the empire.
By the king's mercy, the Goethe family barely avoided extermination. Instead, they were demoted from a ducal house to a count's house. They also had to surrender their vast, fertile lands, second only to the royal demesne. They were exiled to the barren northern frontier.
This was the account Isaac had confirmed in the records of his ancestors. Zeke von Goethe was Isaac's great-grandfather. The symptoms of Mana Rampage were identical to Isaac's unique constitution. Isaac had been able to create Rune Stones only because he had closely examined Zeke von Goethe's records.
Before drawing his last breath, Isaac—unlike Zeke von Goethe, who had reached the 10th Class—had been content with merely igniting a single flame. Because of that, he hadn't realized it. He hadn't noticed how the mana circuits inside him were changing.
But now, Isaac clearly perceived that something was different.
Whoosh—
A fire spell that anyone with mana sensitivity could use without forming a circle in their heart. A basic spell that anyone with even the slightest magical talent could cast. Even mercenaries shelled out big money to learn it for convenience.
Crackle, crackle.
But the flame Isaac ignited was a little different. It burst forth as if exploding, sparks flying wildly as it flared up savagely, signaling that Isaac's mana circuits were far from normal.
'The output isn't consistent. And this sensation...'
It was like a tree splitting and branching out. Isaac's mana circuits were expanding—one circuit splitting into two or three. It brought an itchy tickle deep in his heart, along with a strange sense of elation.
Whoosh—
Another flame rose from Isaac's hand.
Whoosh—
And yet another.
Three flames of varying sizes hovered above Isaac's hand, each maintaining its own form.
This wasn't multiple casting. Multiple casting meant creating spells simultaneously, something impossible for nine out of ten mages and too mentally taxing even for the talented tenth. In contrast, the three flames Isaac had ignited were something else entirely.
'Multiple Circulation Paths would be the accurate term.'
To prevent mana explosions, the vessels must not shatter. To keep the vessels intact, the madly fast mana flow had to be slowed or dispersed. A Rune Stone guided this process—intentionally damaging the single circular mana circulation path. For a normal mage's mana, that wouldn't create a new channel. But for Isaac's torrential, vast mana, it was different. The damaged path received continuous impact, carving out a new waterway.
When those branching channels rejoined the original circulation path, another mana cycle was born. It required pure luck and coincidence, and the resulting paths varied in size and width. That's why the flames they produced differed slightly in size and nature.
In any case, Isaac now had three circulation paths. As long as his mana held out, he could manifest three spells almost simultaneously.
'It works.'
Isaac felt his heart pounding. It had been just a hypothesis. Since there was no way to physically expand non-existent mana circuits, this was the next best option. He'd considered Multiple Circulation Paths merely a possibility.
Yet it had actually happened.
'But it's still not enough.'
Isaac's goal wasn't multiple circulation. It was preventing explosions. Ensuring no one died because of him. There were still unstable elements. To permanently prevent vessel rupture, more channels needed to open. More fine circuits had to extend inward, dispersing the shock.
The more spells he cast, the more frequently, the more mana-intensive, the more his circuits would extend. If he was lucky, more circulation paths would form. It wouldn't be easy. The farther the branches extended, the more distant they grew from the original path. Multiple circulation had limits too.
But if he pushed to that limit, at least he'd never worry about explosions again. Until then, he couldn't let anyone near him.
—I should have been colder.
—I should have distanced myself.
—I should have kept my feelings in check.
Isaac never wanted to mutter those words again. He never wanted to feel that same loss again.
Isaac invested another half day to make one more Rune Stone, just in case. By the time he finished, the sun had already set.
"Where have you been?"
When he returned to his chambers, Hans was tending the fireplace to keep the flames alive.
"Didn't I tell you to let it go out?"
"Don't be so upset, young master. I just came to add more wood. It's especially cold today."
"I can handle that much myself."
"Aigoo. If you catch a cold, I'll be the one getting scolded."
Hans grinned slyly. His gaze toward Isaac brimmed with affection. Isaac deliberately avoided it.
"Hans, how old am I?"
"Hm? Twelve this year, right?"
Hans answered with a puzzled look.
"Must be because I'm twelve."
Isaac dredged up memories. What had happened at twelve? He'd been throwing tantrums. He'd caused an explosion, injuring those around him. Then he'd wallowed in his own pain, young and foolish.
"Dinner's on the table. It's cold—should I reheat it?"
"No, it's fine. Get out."
"I'll watch you eat. You haven't been eating properly lately."
"Don't make me say it twice."
Isaac's voice was icy.
"Nanny's worried. If eating in front of me bothers you, just show me a single piece of bread. Then I'll leave."
But Hans didn't budge.
"You won't even pretend to listen. Are you ignoring me?"
"I'm worried."
Isaac tried to get angry, but it was futile. He wasn't the type to deceive his own emotions.
"Just one piece."
At Hans's persistent urging, Isaac reluctantly picked up a slice of bread from the table. The soft wheat loaf was neatly cut for easy eating—Nanny's consideration.
Isaac felt something surging in his chest. Wheat didn't grow in the north. It was too cold. They grew rye at best, but rye bread was tough. Isaac had whined to Nanny every time rye bread appeared. Once a week, she'd take a carriage to a distant city, buy fine wheat, and bake wheat bread herself. In the manor, only Isaac ate it.
"...Nanny's not around today."
Isaac spoke as casually as he could.
Nanny was like a second mother. Lady Goethe showered him with love too, but Nanny was the one who cared for him with unwavering devotion.
"As you know, Hinder has pneumonia. The physician His Lordship sent said he might not last the night. So."
"So she went home?"
"...Yes."
In another family, that would be unthinkable. A nanny abandoning her noble charge for her own child.
"Things run smoothly, don't they."
"..."
Isaac chewed the wheat bread slowly, his voice and expression deliberately cold. They had died because of him. Even if he failed to be harsher, he didn't want to keep those he cared for close.
"What was the name of Nanny's village again?"
"...Black Goose Village."
Hans answered cautiously, gauging his mood.
"Is Hinder the only one with pneumonia?"
"No. All the children in Black Goose Village have it."
"I see."
Isaac nodded. At this time, knowledge of mana poisoning was scant. Only after conflicts between kingdom and empire intensified, with mana poisoning deaths rising everywhere, did physicians, priests, and scholars begin serious research. The Black Goose children's pneumonia deaths were later identified as mana poisoning cases.
A poisoning that afflicted low-resistance lifeforms exposed to dense mana. Like a toxin slowly tightening around the throat.
"When did Father subjugate the monsters in that area?"
"About one or two months ago."
"Did you hear what kind they were?"
"I saw the corpse when the magic tower bought it for research. Looked like a giant spider."
"White fur?"
"Pardon? Oh, yes. Covered in white fur with a slight silvery sheen."
"I see."
Isaac realized his father had slain winter spiders. Persistent ones that crept down from the White Snake Mountains, nesting in the territory's forests. Prolific breeders. Not powerful monsters, but enough to affect weak children nearby.
'A few years from now, winter spiders swarmed the Black Goose area in droves.'
At this point, the winter spiders around Black Goose hadn't been fully eradicated. They'd have laid eggs somewhere. They'd devour local beasts, grow, then raid villages when food ran low.
Isaac swallowed the bread and organized his thoughts.
"There, you've seen me eat. Now go."
"Ah, yes. Good night, young master."
Hans tilted his head at Isaac's unusual demeanor before leaving.
After sending Hans away, Isaac tested a few spells. A fireball spell condensed a flame and used phase change to propel the fireball to a target. It required 2nd Class mastery, but with multiple circulation, he could chain three sequentially.
Whoosh—
Crackle, crackle—
Whoosh—
The flames gathered at one point, growing brighter. The blazing fire coalesced into a bright orb. Isaac flicked his finger.
The fireball shot toward its mark.
"Hoo, hoo, hoo."
After dismissing the spell, Isaac panted. His face was slick with cold sweat. The wall was slightly scorched, but nothing had caught fire.
"Again."
There was so much he wanted to do. Meet his father and mother. Play a piano duet with Yonas. Spend a day bantering with Hans, free of worries.
But right now, his task was clear: save Nanny's son, Hinder.
He could ask his father for help, but the count spent most of his time at frontier fortresses. Sending a messenger and convincing him would take time. His mother, a skilled warrior, was wandering the continent for a cure to Isaac's condition. Meanwhile, precious time would slip away.
Every delayed day exponentially raised Hinder's death risk. A monster's mere presence harmed nearby weak lifeforms.
—I'm glad, young master. This time, I'm leaving first.
In the past, shrapnel from the explosion pierced Nanny's abdomen. As she bled out, dying, she'd said that.
—By now, my boy would be about your age. When he left first, my heart tore apart. This time, I'm going first. I'm glad.
Seeing Nanny's tearful eyes fading, Isaac had felt the depth of her endured loss. He didn't want to go through that again.
A few days after realizing he'd returned to the past, Isaac practiced the same spell over and over. The unfamiliar sensation grew familiar, proficiency rising. His circulation paths hadn't increased, but the flow in the three existing ones was far smoother.
Whoom.
Once he judged he could control the fireball adequately, Isaac pulled a fur cloak from his storage chest and draped it over himself. He packed rations and materials into his satchel for the short journey. There was probably a curfew, but he ignored it.
The outside air was cold and biting. The sky was clear, but the paths beyond the manor were pitch black. Moonlight was bright enough to see, though.
Isaac headed toward Black Goose Village. Though it was night, memories flooded back of toddling hand-in-hand with Nanny down this road.
'Just wait a little longer, Nanny.'
He wasn't sure if he could hunt winter spiders yet. But he had ample knowledge of how to exterminate them. While training his magic, he'd simulated battles in his head countless times. Their real-world efficacy was unknown.
Still, he had to do it.
—Go on ahead and wait. When you come to me, leave all regrets here.
On a starry night, Isaac recalled his father's choked voice from their final farewell.