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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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Chapter 4
‘That was close at the end. If I had messed up, I could have died or ended up crippled.’
Rebirth went through multiple stages.
Purification with white to cleanse impurities, refinement with fire, fortification with earth, and fluidity with water.
Each stage was a grueling process.
The most difficult was the final stage—the dream stage.
‘Because I had to experience enlightenment artificially.’
Rebirth was a supernatural phenomenon.
The body was completely reshaped in accordance with enlightenment.
Thus, enlightenment had to be artificially induced.
‘The Phantom Dreamstone was essential. Luckily, I got one easily.’
By using the Phantom Dreamstone to simulate artificial enlightenment, Chris had completed his rebirth through secret arts.
He let out a long sigh.
His breath, far clearer than before, flowed smoothly.
His outward appearance had also undergone a striking transformation.
His body remained gaunt—a consequence of malnourishment and muscle deterioration.
However, his internal state was entirely different.
He was now in optimal condition for swordsmanship.
Additionally, with his skeletal structure refined, once he gained weight and muscle, his physique would become ideal.
His face had changed as well.
He still looked insolent.
But as the impurities trapped in his skin and veins were expelled, his complexion cleared, exuding an air of nobility.
He now had the refined appearance of an aristocratic young master.
‘And more importantly—’
Chris examined his inner body.
What he observed was an unbelievable phenomenon.
His Mana Heart—located below his navel.
There were two Holes within it!
‘Heh… Chris-style rebirth, complete.’
This was why Chris had suffered so much during his rebirth.
During the process, he had forcibly created a second Mana Heart.
An Inner Mana Heart within and an Outer Mana Heart surrounding it.
It was a mad experiment.
There was no precedent of anyone possessing two Mana Hearts.
But Chris had conceived a bold idea.
‘Mana Hearts are just conceptual. And since rebirth reshapes the body according to one’s enlightenment, wouldn’t it be possible to create a second Mana Heart by believing in its existence during the process?’
If others had heard his reasoning, they would have cursed him for spouting nonsense.
But he had succeeded.
Though he had nearly died when things went awry midway, he had pulled through.
‘Heh, not bad.’
There was a reason he had divided his Mana Heart into two layers.
‘This way, I can wield the power of the Light Faction.’
A burst of radiant energy erupted from Chris’s hand.
A 1st-tier spell—Light!
‘There’s no need to limit myself to just Dark Mana, is there?’
In his past life, Chris had mastered the Light Faction’s swordsmanship and magic up to 4-Star.
If he had more time, he likely would have reached an even higher level.
He didn’t want to abandon that power.
‘This Light ability will be my hidden trump card.’
He had no concerns about being discovered.
Chris had concealed his Light Mana Heart within his Dark Mana Heart.
Thanks to the outer Dark Mana Heart, the Light Mana Heart was completely hidden.
Furthermore, he had connected the Light Mana Heart’s energy channels to the Dark Mana Heart, creating a double-layered disguise.
Even if someone directly examined his Mana Heart, they wouldn’t notice it.
‘I need to master as much of the Light Faction’s swordsmanship and magic as possible before I leave.’
Once he was outside, training in the Light Faction’s power would be difficult.
He had about 20 days left.
He had to achieve as much as possible within that time.
Chris devoted himself to training.
Since it was a path he had already walked before, retracing it was easy.
“Hoo…”
He took a deep breath.
It was the breathing technique of the Meyer family—the most prestigious swordsmanship lineage of the Crusade Union, once used by the Hero.
After observing it long enough, he had unintentionally picked it up.
‘That got me into a lot of trouble.’
When Chris imitated the Hero Evan’s breathing technique, he was relentlessly interrogated.
They asked how he had copied it, whether he had seen his family’s secret manual, and so on.
Even when he insisted that he had merely learned it by observation, they refused to believe him.
In the end, he had to demonstrate exactly how he had copied it, showing them the breathing technique at a slow pace.
‘The expression on his face back then was priceless.’
It was the first time he had ever seen Hero Evan look so dumbfounded.
—“H-How?”
And after observing Chris’s breathing technique in detail, his expression became even more shocked.
—“It’s similar, but… different. Different, yet… better?”
In the first place, the Hero’s breathing technique was too advanced for a beginner like Chris.
So he had simply adjusted it to suit himself.
You could call it the Chris-style version.
—“It’s simpler… more efficient. How is this even possible?!”
Hero Evan couldn’t recover from the shock.
‘I just followed the basics of breathing techniques.’
Breathing techniques.
In nature, there is vital energy.
By absorbing this vital energy through breathing and converting it into the energy of Light, it becomes Mana.
By converting it into the energy of Darkness, it becomes Dark Mana.
As their names suggest, Mana was more stable and pure, while Dark Mana was unstable yet destructive and sinister.
Chris discarded all the unnecessary aspects of the Hero’s breathing technique, keeping only the core principles—absorbing vital energy from nature and converting it into Mana.
How did he manage that?
‘I don’t know. It just works, so what can I do about it?’
Chris recalled the exact words he had once said to the Hero’s party when they couldn’t believe what he had done.
It just happened.
If it works, what else is there to say?
Fwoosh!
Light gathered around Chris.
Mana was accumulating within the Light Core.
And before long—
Chris felt a sense of fullness.
A vessel had formed.
He had stepped into the realm of 1-Star.
‘I did it even faster than before. Is it just natural since I’ve done this once already?’
How long had it taken in his past life?
It hadn’t taken a full day back then either.
Well, it was just 1-Star, after all.
The Runner stage, which merely signified the beginning of learning. And he had only just stepped into it.
Of course, for others, it usually took at least a year, and even prodigies needed six months.
But Chris didn’t think much of it.
‘I still have a long way to go.’
After that, he continued training.
Time passed quickly.
How many days had gone by?
Five? Seven?
Mana continued to fill the newly formed vessel.
Rapidly.
At an abnormal speed.
The once small vessel grew larger and more solid.
And when even that vessel could no longer contain the overflowing mana—
Fwoosh!
Mana surged through Chris’s body.
The stage where mana could be used to strengthen the body—
He had reached 2-Star, the realm of a User.
Now, his physical abilities had grown far beyond those of an ordinary person. He had become faster, stronger.
“So, I’m as strong as a decent knight now?”
Outside the Magus Empire, there were plenty of so-called knights who hadn’t even reached 2-Star.
And that wasn’t all.
“Flames, rise.”
Fwoosh!
Fire erupted.
A 2-Star elemental spell—Fireball!
‘Well, I already had it in my head.’
Normally, whether one was a knight or a mage, reaching 2-Star wasn’t easy.
It wasn’t just about accumulating mana.
Knights had to grasp the technique of reinforcing their bodies with mana, while mages had to understand 2-Star spell structures.
But in Chris’s case, he had already done it before.
With experience, it was bound to be easy.
…Well, to be honest, it hadn’t taken that long in his past life either.
‘2-Star is just the basics, after all.’
If the swordsmen or tower apprentices—who shed blood and sweat to reach 2-Star—heard that, they would cough up blood in outrage.
For ordinary practitioners, reaching 2-Star usually took five to ten years.
‘Either way, I need to reach 3-Star before I leave.’
3-Star.
At that level, one was recognized as an elite force anywhere.
A crucial asset in a knight order.
A core combatant among mages.
‘It’s a tight schedule. I’ll push as far as I can.’
Just as Chris was about to intensify his training—
He suddenly stopped moving.
As his rank increased, some of his senses had returned, and he detected a presence outside.
‘It hasn’t been a full month yet, has it?’
Chris tilted his head.
‘Are they ending the punishment early?’
But that didn’t seem to be the case.
The footsteps were quiet and cautious.
As if the person was worried about being discovered.
‘An assassin?’
A chill ran down his spine.
It was entirely possible.
‘I won’t go down without a fight.’
Chris steeled himself.
The intruder likely thought he was nothing more than a foolish wastrel.
That meant he could take advantage of their carelessness.
‘Come on. I’ll make you regret it.’
Then—
The presence reached the door of the Chamber of Punishment.
Chris tensed his body, bracing himself for a confrontation.
But something unexpected happened.
The intruder didn’t open the door.
Instead—
Through a faint gap in the door,
Plop.
Something was dropped inside.
‘What the hell?’
Chris was taken aback.
That was it.
The presence disappeared without a trace.
As if the sole purpose had been to deliver an item.
‘What is this?’
Chris carefully examined the object—then let out a dry chuckle.
‘Those bastards.’
It was a Dreamstone.
* * *
The intention behind dropping the Dreamstone was obvious.
‘They wanted me to fall into ruin, completely intoxicated by it.’
Chris recalled that he had brought the Dreamstone with him for the sake of his own rebirth.
Whoever this person was, they knew that and had devised a scheme to ensure Chris would be utterly consumed by it.
‘If one becomes severely intoxicated by a Dreamstone, the consequences are more disastrous than any drug.’
He tapped the Dreamstone lightly, deep in thought.
‘Who could it be? Alright, let’s sort this out.’
Chris could deduce a few things.
First, there was someone who wanted to see him ruined.
‘Maybe the reason this body became a wastrel in the first place was because someone intended it that way.’
Second, the culprit was a significant figure in the family.
‘They knew I brought a Dreamstone with me when I was sent to the Chamber of Punishment.’
And they had managed to approach a heavily guarded area undetected.
That meant they were intimately familiar with the security gaps.
‘Or they might be in collusion with the guards.’
Chris smirked.
‘What a mess.’
The Dark Magus House—the once-honorable Khazar County, a branch of the Baron family.
It seemed rotten from the inside.
And the head of the family, Count Khazar, had no idea.
‘Well, this isn’t bad. No, actually, it’s great. This works out perfectly.’
An unexpected thought.
How was this a good thing?
There was a reason.
‘I’ll use them as stepping stones for my rise.’
His goal was to stand at the pinnacle of the Magus Empire.
The first target—Dark Magus House.
To achieve that, he needed to seize control of his own family, the Khazar County, first.
If there were people corrupting the family, they would serve as the perfect leverage for his ascent.
‘But first, 3-Star.’
Chris took a deep breath.
Fwoosh! A radiant glow swirled around his body.
And so, the promised month passed.
* * *
“Today is the appointed day with the young master. Are you not planning to go?”
Count Khazar kept his lips tightly sealed.
He had no desire to go.
He didn’t want to give himself false hope.
He would only be disappointed anyway.
But the butler cautiously suggested,
“This may be the last time you see the young master. Would it not be better to check for yourself?”
“……”
“Or perhaps, he may have endured better than expected.”
Count Khazar let out a hollow laugh.
“Do you truly mean that? He’s probably lost in hallucinations by now.”
The moment he heard that his son had taken a Dreamstone with him, Count Khazar had abandoned all expectations.
“…My apologies.”
“Still, I’ll heed your words. It may very well be the last time.”
A sharp glint flickered in Count Khazar’s eyes.
“I shall accompany you.”
“No, I will go alone.”
If he opened the Chamber of Punishment’s door and found Chris intoxicated by the Dreamstone, he wasn’t sure he could suppress his murderous intent.
Count Khazar dismissed his butler and made his way to the Chamber of Punishment alone.
Taking a deep breath, he opened the door.
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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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