Chapter 3
Chapter 3
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Regression-2
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"But there's something I don't understand."
[What is it?]
The sage, darting back and forth around the inn room, asked in return.
"Why did I return to the past?"
In truth, that was the first question he should have asked.
The sage becoming his master and his regression to the past were entirely separate matters.
[It's probably because the magic power in the Sage's Stone reacted.]
"The magic power reacted?"
[Your mind reacted to the aggregate of pure magic and magic power, so a kind of miracle occurred.]
"...Is that even possible?"
Honestly, it was hard to believe. No matter how miraculous, time travel couldn't be that simple a spell.
[Most people just get crushed by the magic and magic power, losing their minds.]
"...Pardon?"
This guy...?
[Think of it like blowing a massive blob of air into a tiny balloon. No matter how tough it is, it pops in less than a second.]
"So you're saying you did that insane thing to me?"
[Something like that. Of course, I planned to adjust it with my thoughts. Not enough to drive you mad, just enough for nightly nightmares.]
At this point, was he a sage or a demon?
[But you didn't need it.]
"Pardon?"
[You didn't need it at all. Your mental strength had already endured my Sage's Stone.]
So that's why he said earlier that he never gave up.
"Then coming to the past..."
[I told you. If you endure, a miracle happens.]
"...And that miracle is this regression?"
[Exactly. Probably your intense obsession right before death manifested as this miracle.]
Obsession... That was...
"Fighting Ariasfil..."
[Such a steadfast kid. Still sore about losing to that girl earlier?]
"...Yeah. She was the one I wanted to beat no matter what."
Ariasfil was more than just someone to talk about—she was Leo's goal and aspiration. To surpass her, he had honed himself into a blade.
[But you won in the end, didn't you?]
He had won, true. But...
"I don't like winning like this."
[Oh?]
"This victory is against an Ariasfil who hasn't fully grown. Meanwhile, my mind is the same as an adult's."
[True enough. Though bragging about it does stroke the ego.]
"Plus, she let her guard down, so it's hard to call it a complete victory."
It wasn't just a matter of talent.
This situation was cheating—Leo himself had used a loophole.
"Ariasfil's skill is impressive, but her potential is higher than mine. When I barely awakened my Aura, she was already launching it repeatedly."
Beating her before she fully matured wasn't what Leo desired.
[So what now? Wait until she grows? That'll take at least ten years.]
"Then I'll wait, whatever."
[...What?]
Ten years wasn't a weight one could casually accept.
Ten years? The realm Leo aimed for might take even longer.
[You serious? Is it worth that much stubbornness?]
Even so, he could wait.
"At least for me, it is."
That answer brought a moment of silence to the sage's spirit. Soon, the sage spoke again.
[...You got a thing for her or something?]
"Huh? No."
[Why so quick to deny?]
"Because there's nothing there. I lived as a squire in her family for over five years, and those thoughts never crossed my mind."
Ariasfil was undoubtedly a beautiful woman. The men courting her could form a line across the kingdom.
But to Leo, she was a rival.
Spending time loving her felt less efficient than researching martial arts to beat her.
[...Man... You're crazy in the weirdest way.]
"I want to win. So..."
Now came the most important dilemma.
"What do I do now?"
History had changed, so it was time to think about his next actions.
Ariasfil Reinhardt
She was the warrior hailed as possessing the greatest innate talent under the Hero Family.
At ten, she slew an orc, a slayer of novice adventurers. At thirteen, she subjugated even a wyvern hatchling—a genius.
No warrior could stand against her sword.
But
"...I lost. For the first time."
Not today.
"Why...?"
Clearly, the one who challenged her was an ordinary mercenary.
'You're supposed to be some great knight, right? No need to drag it out. Let's fight.'
It was a duel proposal without manners or formality, but she accepted without hesitation. Fighters like him broke on their own once defeated.
To force complete surrender, she even planned to face the boy with a dagger instead of a longsword.
Yet
'But hey, fighting with that fruit knife? You'll lose.'
In mere seconds, the boy's aura shifted completely.
And then came her defeat.
...No, not even that.
'I lost. If you hadn't let your guard down, the outcome would've been uncertain.'
Despite his burning competitive spirit, he spouted strange logic and arbitrarily declared his own defeat.
She didn't want a victory like that.
Even so
'So what? Whether you accept it or not doesn't matter. I won't be satisfied with my win.'
With those words, the boy leisurely went his way. Leisurely enough that she couldn't even stop him.
"My lady, are you alright?"
Jehard, the knight tasked with her escort and guidance, checked her complexion.
"...I'm fine."
Her face was expressionless, but shadows lingered.
"My lady, don't take it to heart. It wasn't a proper duel—just a cowardly..."
"It wasn't cowardly. And he wouldn't accept his own victory either."
At the time, Jehard had left Ariasfil alone briefly to find an inn. Though her escort knight, Ariasfil was a knight strong enough to rival him.
'...So I left her for a moment... and in that time...'
In that time, Ariasfil had been challenged to a duel and lost. Even if not official, this could be a great disgrace to her and her family.
"...Jehard."
"Yes, my lady."
"Find that boy."
"...Pardon?"
Jehard repeated in surprise at the sudden request.
"I said find that boy."
Ariasfil—for the first time today—felt humiliation and a thirst for victory.
[Hey, kid.]
"..."
[Hey, Leonardo.]
"..."
[Hey, you deaf?]
"Shut up for a bit."
He was meditating to gather mana, but the sage had been nagging since earlier.
[How about considering my optic nerves, stuck watching a guy sit naked for four hours straight?]
"Then go outside. You can fly, can't you?"
[Can't. The Sage's Stone in your heart keeps me from going far.]
Wait a second.
"So I have to live with you forever?"
[Pretty much. We'll be stuck together most of the time.]
"Ugh... this is the worst."
[What'd you say, punk?]
"Bathroom breaks, showers... you'll be there too...!"
[Urp... Just thinking about it makes me wanna hurl...]
Leo was the victim here, so why was the ghost dry-heaving? As a spirit, he hadn't eaten anyway.
"Fine, 30 more minutes, then I'll head out."
[What've you been doing without making a Mana Core at your age? Back in my day, I made one every meal...]
"Mom died, I became an orphan—no time for that. Didn't know how either."
[...Oh... uh... right.]
Maybe too curt? The sage awkwardly ended his lecture without more words.
[Want me to teach you a better method instead?]
"A better one? That exists?"
The mana breathing technique Leo used was the empire's finest, developed by House of Reinhardt.
No ordinary method could surpass it.
'But there's something better?'
[Leonardo, I'm the Sage.]
"Yes."
[I'm the Sage, I said.]
"Yes."
[I'm the Sage!]
"Ah! Yes, got it!"
What answer did he want? Had he gone senile as a ghost?
[As the Sage, I've already developed a new mana training method! Got it?]
"Then just say so!"
Like some doddering old man circling around.
[Should I not tell you then?]
"Sigh... Please teach me."
[Properly. Politely.]
Fine, he'd saved his life despite the senility.
"Oh great Sage, please bestow your exalted teachings upon this lowly mercenary."
[Very well. Hear me, you lowly, mad mercenary. I shall teach you personally.]
Forget master—maybe rip out the stone in his heart.
[Huuuuh...!]
Suddenly, the surrounding air began to tremble.
"Wha...?"
Mana around Leo started swirling. It slowly adhered to his respiratory system and skin.
[Hoo... Hard in spirit form, I tell ya.]
"...What... what did you do?"
[Guess. It's a test from your master.]
Typical mana training involved inhaling mana particles from the air through nose and mouth.
Then activating mana in the lungs to draw particles into the body like a magnet.
"But this..."
This made the mana particles absorb directly into his body and skin. Normally, they'd clumsily stick to the skin and fall off, but these seeped in like fine cosmetic powder.
[Getting it?]
"You broke the mana particles finer and absorbed them into my body?"
[My ultra-efficient mana training method. Compresses your four hours of hard work into one.]
This idea was... incredible, nothing less.
The theory alone was astonishing; executing it was unbelievable.
It was like a human breathing not through lungs, but solely through the skin.
"Is it possible?"
[I only order what's possible.]
Worth trying.
He crossed his legs again and began the new mana breathing.
'...Not focusing on attaching particles to the skin.'
The key was pulverizing the mana particles fine enough to absorb.
"...Not working."
After about 30 minutes, Leo stood up.
[What? Giving up already?]
"No."
Leo picked up the sword on the floor.
[Why the sword? What for?]
"Let me do it my way."
With that, he headed outside the inn.
[For the record, you can't cut mana particles with a sword...]
"I know. I get it."
[Such an insolent mouth.]
Baring his torso, Leo began swinging the sword.
[...Huh?]
The clumsily adhering mana particles now properly absorbed into his skin.
[...Did the particles get finer?]
No, even on second look, they were still fairly coarse.
[I see...!]
After three observations, he understood the principle.
What Leo was doing wasn't reducing the mana particle size.
[He's expanding the skin's pores. With swordsmanship.]
Activating the body through sword swings to widen narrow pores—a novel application the mage sage hadn't thought of.
[...Kid, and you say you're not a genius?]
The sage wasn't the only one shocked.
"...Wha... what's that? My lady?"
"......?"
The two knights from House of Reinhardt, who had come looking for Leo, couldn't close their gaping mouths.