The First Spark
A week had passed since then, and I had grown accustomed to the tedious prison life.
Having lived as a wandering mercenary and camped in all sorts of harsh environments, even this leaky prison cell felt as comfortable as my own home.
"Phew—"
I didn't have the luxury of wasting precious time.
I trained my mana inside the cell.
Drawing the faint mana floating in the air through my breathing, I used it as fuel to interfere with the magic engraved on the iron bars.
Even tiny water droplets can eventually pierce a rock if they fall continuously.
Pouring my mana into it consistently yielded results. I had only managed to warp about ten percent of the entire magic circle, but it was an impressive feat considering my current, mediocre body.
"It's not enough."
No matter how much I trained, there was a limit to the mana I could utilize without a mana core.
A mana core was an essential organ that both mages and swordsmen had to form within their bodies. It was the crucial first step.
I absolutely had to form a mana core inside my body.
To do that, I needed a mage's mana cultivation technique.
"I don't have time to waste like this."
Time was of the essence.
Wasn't it about time for me to get out?
Just as I thought that, a woman approached from beyond the bars.
She had pitch-black hair and equally pitch-black eyes. Judging by her appearance, she didn't possess the Benheim bloodline.
"I am Sheryl, the maid assigned to serve you starting today, Lord Raygan."
The woman stepped up to the cell and bowed politely.
"A maid?"
"Yes. I will be attending to your needs during your stay in the annex. Please feel free to call me Sheryl."
It seemed this woman was the servant Chief Seneschal Arlet had promised to assign to me.
I narrowed my eyes and scrutinized the maid, Sheryl.
Although she introduced herself as a maid, I could sense a peculiar aura radiating from her.
'Is she... a shadow mage?'
Just as not everyone who wielded a sword was a true swordsman, there were mages who took on covert contracts, much like assassins.
Because they practiced secretive magic, they were referred to as shadow mages.
The Archduke of Demonic Magic had several shadow mages under his command, and they used to infiltrate the Imperial Army or Lunia's resistance to commit sabotage.
I had been harassed by them so much in my past life that I could identify a shadow mage just by the scent of their mana.
The maid standing before me was a textbook example.
'She's only scratched the surface, but she's definitely trained in shadow magic. It seems the patriarch still doesn't trust me.'
Stern assigning a shadow mage as my servant meant he hadn't let his guard down yet.
He was probably still considering the possibility that I was a spy from another family.
In that case, I needed to watch my step and act with Stern's suspicions in mind. Having finished my thoughts, I spoke.
"Uh, well. Then, you..."
"You may speak casually to me. I am merely a maid, after all."
"Alright, Sheryl."
"..."
Sheryl blinked.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"It is nothing... I just did not expect you to drop the formalities so without hesitation."
"You were the one who told me to speak casually. I'm just doing as you said. Anyway, are you going to get me out of this dreadful cell and show me to the annex now?"
"Yes."
"What's in the annex?"
"Everything you need is provided. If there is anything lacking, please let me know, and I will procure it as quickly as possible."
"Are there magic books?"
"There is a library."
Hearing that, I stood up.
Spending a whole week doing nothing but meditating had made me incredibly restless.
Sheryl reached into her pocket to look for the key, but I ignored her and placed my hand on the iron bars.
"What are you doing?"
"Pardon?"
"Hurry up and lead the way."
I pushed the iron bars with force. Although I had only warped ten percent of the magic formula, its structural integrity was incredibly weak now that a key stroke had been eroded.
*Groan.*
"..."
Sheryl stared with wide eyes at the bent iron bars and the wide-open cell door.
Before my regression, Lunia was an incredibly optimistic woman.
Aside from her burning desire for revenge against the Archduke of Demonic Magic, she possessed a gentle personality, easily brushing off most incidents with a lenient "it happens."
But even Lunia had one thing she refused to compromise on, and her complaints were always directed at the outdated tents used by the resistance.
"Raygan, you know what? I wasn't going to say anything, but this tent is absolutely the worst place to sleep! When I close my eyes, the toads go croak-croak, the stream goes babble-babble... at this rate, I might end up wetting myself in the middle of the night!"
"Hmm. Is it really that bad?"
"It is! I firmly believe that a comfortable sleeping environment is the most crucial element of human survival."
"In that sense, this tent? Even with soundproofing magic and anti-shake magic, it fails to meet the basic standards of a dwelling."
No matter how great of a mage she was, Lunia's philosophy was that she couldn't sleep in an uncomfortable bed.
At the time, I couldn't understand her at all. The state of the barracks was far superior to the lodgings I had back when I was in the mercenary group, and with Lunia's various spells layered over it, it was comfortable enough to rival a blanketed bed in a decent inn.
But now that I had returned to the past, I finally understood why Lunia had been so utterly disgusted by the resistance's barracks.
"You will be staying here in the annex, Lord Raygan."
"Ha."
Guided to my new quarters by Sheryl, I let out a hollow laugh.
The design featured a pristine white base accented with gold trim, luxurious furniture, and spacious corridors polished so thoroughly that not a single speck of dust could be found. It was so grand that I almost felt like I had stepped into a palace.
Having spent her childhood in such a luxurious place, it was no wonder a mere tent couldn't satisfy Lunia.
What was even more shocking was that this was just the annex. If the annex was this grand, the main house would be even larger and far more opulent.
"The lower floor is the library, and the upper floor is the bedroom. Your meals will be delivered here to the first floor. If you are hungry, please ring this bell to summon me."
Sheryl handed me a small, magically treated bell.
As soon as I took the bell, I headed downstairs.
Just as she said, the entire lower floor was a library, lined with rare magic grimoires and other books. Even the most common magic book here would fetch an incredibly high price on the black market. It was truly fitting for a prestigious magic family that was not just wealthy, but practically drowning in gold.
"Am I allowed to read all the books here?"
"Yes. All the magic grimoires in the annex are books permitted for external mages to read."
"So the restricted ones are in the main house's library?"
"That is correct."
Even if I was a mage affiliated with the Benheims, I was ultimately an outsider. The family's core secret techniques would only be shared among direct blood relatives.
The grand magic Lunia used in my past life wouldn't be here. Feeling a twinge of disappointment, I turned to Sheryl.
"But the basic Benheim magic books are here, right?"
"Yes. Rune magic classified as 3rd-tier or below is available."
"Not bad."
"However... if I may offer a piece of advice, when first learning magic, instead of the Benheim grimoires, you should start with the common magic books on that shelf over there..."
I raised my hand, cutting Sheryl off.
It seemed Chief Seneschal Arlet had assigned Sheryl to act as a guide to lead me, but I didn't need anyone's help. Especially not a shadow mage's—it only triggered my aversion.
I rang the bell I had just received, making sure she saw.
"Never mind that. Sheryl, could you prepare some food?"
"Food, you say?"
"Yeah. You're my servant, aren't you? You should at least prepare that much. Make it meat-heavy, if possible."
"Meat...?"
"A meat-centric diet is crucial during a growth spurt."
Ordering Sheryl around to my heart's content, I sat down.
'It's about time... I formed a mana core.'
I had felt it acutely while training my mana in the prison cell.
To grow truly strong, a mana core was absolutely necessary.
But just because time was pressing didn't mean I could form a core using some third-rate mana cultivation technique that any random nobody would use. If I did that, I would never reach a higher realm than in my past life. What I needed was a mana cultivation technique that could surpass Lunia—no, the Archduke of Demonic Magic.
"Hmm."
It was too vague of a goal.
For now, it was better to read something. I pulled a thick magic book from the adjacent shelf and spread it open on the desk.
Looking at the table of contents, it seemed to be the most basic of the Benheim rune magic grimoires.
Skipping the useless prefaces praising the family or detailing the history of rune magic, I flipped to the pages that efficiently broke down the structure of spells.
It was a chapter explaining several of the most fundamental Benheim runes.
"...Kenaz."
The first rune introduced was Kenaz (ᚲ).
It was a rune I was familiar with.
'If I recall... it was a rune spell that generated fire.'
It was a spell Lunia used frequently. For a simple, single-step spell, its firepower was quite decent, making it useful in many situations.
"Raygan, could you bring some firewood?"
"I never expected you to use your family's prestigious, unique magic just to light firewood."
"The very meaning of this rune is 'torch.' And in magic, application is far more important than meaning. Keep that in mind. It's knowledge that might come in handy when you least expect it."
Lunia's voice, buried deep in my memories, echoed back to life.
"Magic is more about application than meaning, huh..."
A maxim very characteristic of Lunia.
Well, in that case, it only made sense to try applying it.
I raised my hand. I didn't have a mana core, but I could still condense the mana floating in the air. I should be able to cast a simple spell.
"Magic has a grand principle."
It was something Lunia said often.
Unlike the aura used by swordsmen, mages processed and utilized mana efficiently.
"Every single spell follows this grand principle. It's also called the Trinity of Casting, divided into three elements: perception, construction, and manifestation."
"Among them, the first step, 'perception,' begins with understanding the concept of the magic itself."
According to Lunia, perception was the process of grasping the essence of magic.
Although it was my first time attempting to cast magic, perception wasn't difficult.
The moment I looked at the structure of the rune written in the book, a scene from my memories flashed through my mind.
"Fascinating, isn't it?"
Sitting in front of a campfire, Lunia had conjured a tiny flame at the tip of her finger.
"Most mages simply clump mana together to mimic the shape of fire and overlay an attribute onto it. It's a fake fire that only looks the part."
"Are you saying your magic is different?"
"Yes. It's different. This isn't an imitation. This is the realization of the rune's essential concept."
"Essential concept?"
"The ancient characters used by humans in the Age of Gods. You could say we 'translate' the meaning embedded within them using mana. That's why this fire isn't just fire. It represents a torch, heat, and the light of knowledge."
"...I don't really get it."
"You'll understand later."
At the very least, I could understand that what she described was the true essence of runes.
Perception concluded with disappointing ease.
Next was construction.
The process of how to structure the magic.
This was the most critical stage in magic. If the construction was even slightly off, the spell itself would collapse.
In fact, most of the magic grimoire was dedicated to construction. The explanations were detailed and spanned dozens of pages, but I ignored all of them completely.
"I've already witnessed the ultimate textbook. There's no way this basic stuff would satisfy me."
No matter what anyone said, I was someone who had stood alongside the world's greatest rune mage.
I didn't know much about magic theory.
But I remembered exactly what structure Lunia's rune magic took.
The perfect form of Kenaz that Lunia had woven, its three-dimensional blueprint, was vividly engraved in my memory.
I only had to replicate that perfect model.
"...I think it went like this."
Though it was just a crude imitation, a single-step spell was well within my capability to manifest.
Since I had seen this spell thousands, if not tens of thousands of times, mimicking it was a breeze.
I wove the thread-like mana into the shape of Lunia's rune from my memory.
Having finished the construction, now came the manifestation.
Manifestation was easy.
"Just release the constructed mana the way you usually project your aura, Raygan. See? Simple, right?"
*Whoosh—*
I projected the woven rune into the air. The manifested rune burned crimson, embers trickling down between its strokes. As I suppressed the surging mana, the flames wrapped around my hand exactly as I willed.
The flame wasn't hot, nor did it burn its surroundings.
It existed purely as a form.
This was magic.
"Fascinating."
I was internally impressed.
It was similar to a swordsman's aura, yet fundamentally different. The method of manipulating mana was far more efficient and systematic compared to aura.
If the most important aspect of using aura was instinct, the core of magic was intellect. Magic belonged to the realm of calculation, following standardized procedures rather than spontaneous intuition.
Thanks to this, I felt like I had grasped how to structure my mana core in this life.
"With this flow... I might be able to use both."
Aura and magic. Because the two forces possessed opposing natures, it was generally considered impossible to house both in a single mana core.
But I was different.
I possessed the experience of reaching the level of a Sword Master in my past life, and now I had a second chance to rebuild everything from scratch.
Aura and magic. Housing both simultaneously was by no means impossible.
An ultimate cultivation technique that would surpass the Archduke of Demonic Magic.
A unique mana cultivation technique of my own creation, made possible only because I had reached the very pinnacle of life.
Could I make it?
"I have to."
I shook my head, clearing my thoughts.
"Let's set the goal... to entering the 3rd-tier by next month."
Normally, it took three years after first entering magic to reach the 2nd-tier. To rise from the 2nd-tier to the 3rd-tier took more than seven years.
But right now, I had already reached the 2nd-tier.
The very fact that I was casting magic without a mana core proved it.
Even Lunia used to praise me, saying my sensitivity to mana was extraordinary.
Once I had a mana core, reaching the 3rd-tier within a month wouldn't be difficult at all.
First, the 3rd-tier. Reuniting with Lunia and building a new relationship with her would have to wait until after that.
"Alright. Let's keep the goal modest for now."
As I muttered that, I suddenly sensed a presence.
"How long have you been standing there?"
My servant Sheryl was standing in the doorway, holding a tray piled high with food. True to her nature as a shadow mage, she was exceptionally skilled at erasing her presence.
"H-How on earth..."
Sheryl stammered. Her eyes were fixed not on me, but on the rune magic I had just drawn in the air.
"H-How are you using rune magic...?"
"What do you mean, how? This book is meant for learning. I just did what it told me to do."
I closed the thick magic book and tossed it onto the table.
Dust billowed from between the pages. Waving my hand to disperse the dust, I spoke.
"Anyway, give me the food. I'm hungry. You brought plenty of meat, right?"
Sheryl could only nod blankly.