Chapter 5
Chapter 5
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Episode 001 (5)
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Suuup, suuuup—.
With every deep inhale and exhale, his lungs swelled and deflated in rhythm.
Along with it, the mana of Monstrous Strength and Chaotic Spirits spread through his body on the waves of his breathing, soon circulating steadily throughout his entire form. Feeling this, Kuhn gradually roused his consciousness.
Hwaaaak—.
While practicing the Aura Breathing Method, he also planned to sort through the memories that had surfaced by the well earlier, one by one, in his mind.
Memories that felt like his own, yet weren't truly his.
All of them were remnants embedded in the body of this boy, Kuhn Jordic.
Perhaps because of the headache he'd felt at the well moments ago, the memories—which until now had only bubbled up in disorder—were starting to connect piece by piece, falling into place like a puzzle.
There were still plenty of gaps, but the moment was ripe for gathering and organizing what had emerged.
'Anyway, it was something I had to sort through sooner or later.'
Thinking that, Kuhn slowly exhaled.
The air filling his lungs drained away, clearing his mind to crystalline sharpness.
'First...'
The first things to surface were the broad outlines forming the overall framework of his memories.
『...Lost his parents young due to some accident』
『...Youngest grandson of Ernst Jordic, the Sword Emperor and head of the Jordic Family』
Memories that, in a way, described the boy Kuhn Jordic in the broadest strokes.
From there, other memories of the boy began pouring out like a burst dam.
『...Owner of a frail body utterly unlike the Sword Emperor's bloodline, and a weak mind prone to visions of illusions from childhood』
『...Thus, despite being direct lineage, sent to the Lion’s Den by the elders' council decision』
『...And even stripped of all rights and status as a Jordic for the next fifteen years』
Not the amber gem-like eyes characteristic of the Jordics, but faintly golden-tinged crimson irises.
The reason the boy used magic to alter his eye color and go by the alias 'Ethan' stemmed from exactly that.
And—.
『Defective runt lion』
'Lions drop their cubs off cliffs, and the cubs must prove themselves from there.'
Recalling the elders' council decision tacked on as so-called justification, Kuhn let out a small scoff.
Now he could finally understand why this boy, Kuhn Jordic, had been sent to the Lion’s Den.
'I wondered why a direct descendant of the family was sent to the Lion’s Den... so that's the reason?'
Innate talent and strength from their bloodline.
The environment forcing competition among siblings from birth, along with the support that came with it.
There were plenty of ways for them to grow strong without ever choosing the Lion’s Den.
And that wasn't just true for the Jordics—direct descendants of other great families were no exception.
Which was why direct heirs from colossal families were rarely sent to training facilities like the Lion’s Den.
Even across the entire long history of such families, the number wouldn't even reach three.
'Yet he was sent there anyway...'
Orphaned young, a body incapable of forming a mana heart, and a spirit so frail it frequently beheld illusions.
For the Jordics, who flew the banners of Winner Takes All and Survival of the Fittest, how they must have viewed this child was obvious as day.
He probably seemed like a discarded child, or easy prey.
'And then the elders' decision came down.'
The excuse of "building strength befitting a direct heir" was mere pretty rhetoric. In truth, it amounted to little more than "go die."
'A family that can cast out even direct blood kin if no talent shows?'
A choice truly befitting a house that championed Winner Takes All and Survival of the Fittest.
The problem, however—.
'...Is that I awoke in precisely that body.'
Muttering to himself, Kuhn continued his steady inhales and exhales.
'Never mind the curse of the Dream of the Dead eating away at the body...'
Being stripped of all status and rights for fifteen years and thrown into the harsh environment of the Lion’s Den.
Survival in the present wasn't even guaranteed, let alone any thought of the future.
But he was no longer the frail-willed boy Kuhn Jordic.
And besides... he might even use the Jordic Family for his revenge.
Such a thought flickered through Kuhn's mind.
'──?'
Suddenly, a small question mark rose in his head.
It was none other than: "Then, did Myeong intend all this from the start?"
'A body optimized for learning cursed arts, and even a family background to exploit.'
Otherwise, things wouldn't align so perfectly for him. It was less a question than a near-certainty.
As if to refute him, a certain voice echoed in Kuhn's mind.
-Help... you?
.
.
-Help... you?
With the voice came goosebumps rippling across his skin.
It was the voice of the being that had spoken to him through his shadow at the brink of death.
The monster who, in a world different from this one, had reached the pinnacle of demonic sorcery with its unique power—.
The one who called itself Myeong, king of all vengeful spirits and unholy things.
'A being that can glimpse one's next life and even reincarnate them.'
Such a monster might well have orchestrated his current situation.
As that thought spread like ink through his mind...
-Then, my reincarnation.
-By our pact, I shall grant you one more fate and chance!
The memories Myeong had left behind churned through his head once more, as if on cue.
Hwaaaak—!
Memories riddled with holes, deliberately fragmented and incomplete.
Yet... they were enough to glimpse Myeong's power.
'An absolute being who lived a life utterly unlike my own as a mere hunting dog.'
'One who could find and speak to his next-life self purely through his own power, even reincarnating him into another body.'
So what should such a being be called?
Whatever it was, it clearly transcended human understanding by far.
'And that being is my past life.'
Kuhn chewed over the memories he'd left once more.
Mirrors reflecting each other, skies and earth facing one another.
Honestly, such words still didn't make perfect sense.
But—.
'That doesn't mean I can't believe it.'
After all, his very survival now was already an impossibility.
-Live as you desire, just once!
To that voice swirling in his mind again, Kuhn carefully mulled the words.
'As I desire?'
A life spent as someone's hunting dog. The phrase didn't quite resonate sharply.
'But—.'
That didn't mean he had no desires.
What Kuhn desired.
Naturally, it was the ruin of Loberian Dun Bringer and the vassal families beneath him—.
...He no longer wanted to be a hunting dog but a true knight.
...He wanted to reclaim the family lost in childhood.
Pushing aside the hallucinated voices of his subordinates echoing in his ears, Kuhn slowly gathered his focus.
To cross-reference the memories and information lingering in his flesh.
'The southern civil war ended about ten years ago, right?'
And now, Loberian and the heads of twenty-four vassal families still led Dun Bringer.
'Then...'
A chill spread around Kuhn's eyes.
As if in response, a sound unlike any before trickled into his ears.
Sak, sak...
.
.
...Sak, sak.
The sound continued, like ants digging a tunnel.
So faint and subtle that only Kuhn himself could hear it. And it came from none other than inside his own body.
'This is...'
It was the sound of Monstrous Strength and Chaotic Spirits mana devouring the deathly resentment energy piled thick within his body.
Sak, sak, sagak—.
The mana was gnawing away bit by bit at the resentment clogging his mana roads, growing in the process.
'Of course, compared to the vast amount accumulated, the amount being cleared is pitifully small...'
But given enough time, he could overcome some of the Dream of the Dead curse's drawbacks.
'It'll take at least a few months for visible results, and to clear all the resentment inside... at least ten years?'
Counting the time in his head, Kuhn murmured softly.
'Now I see why a body afflicted with the Dream of the Dead is optimized for Monstrous Strength and Chaotic Spirits.'
Come to think of it, it wasn't theoretically impossible.
After all, Monstrous Strength and Chaotic Spirits was fundamentally based on the energy of wandering souls of the dead.
'More precisely, an Aura Breathing Method that devours corrupt and twisted energies to nourish itself.'
So if the resentment from the Dream of the Dead filling his body was just such an energy—.
'Depending on the perspective, this body itself is like a massive spiritual elixir for the Monstrous Strength and Chaotic Spirits mana.'
In the meantime, he felt the mana circulating through his body return toward his heart.
Woooung—.
Confirming it, Kuhn quietly curled the corner of his mouth into a smile.
At this rate, he could reach the level of a first-rate aura practitioner by the time he graduated the Lion’s Den, without much extra effort.
A growth speed that could only be called terrifying. But—.
'That's still nowhere near enough.'
Even so, Kuhn shook his head lightly.
His revenge targets were none other than Loberian and the heads of his twenty-four vassal families.
Enemies on a scale rivaling the entire southern continent.
Moreover, Loberian had already been a grand master monster back then.
And now, ten years later, gauging how much further that monster had grown was impossible.
To topple such a monster, he had no choice but to become a monster himself.
'...A monster.'
Thus, Kuhn etched the word clearly into his mind while steadying his breath once more.
He swept away lingering stray thoughts and immersed himself in Monstrous Strength and Chaotic Spirits practice again.
Hwaaaak.
Thus, he failed to notice.
The shadows encircling him as he trained were gradually deepening in hue—.
And—.
Half a year passed.