Chapter 5
Independent Circle.
The first thing Kain did after a brief rest, having become the first on the continent to complete it, was to wash himself.
"Water."
Cool water wet Kain's head and body, swirling according to his will and washing everything clean.
Ice magic fundamentally deals with 'ice,' but its foundation lies in the mana of water.
Therefore, it was only natural for an ice mage to be able to manipulate water.
'No, rather, manipulating water is much simpler.'
The reason ice magic was generally considered inefficient and weak was precisely because it required going through the process of converting 'water' into 'ice' every time.
'Lower-circle water magic is far less powerful than ice magic, so it's unavoidable even if it's cumbersome.'
Things changed a bit when one ascended beyond the 7th Circle, but that was literally a story for later.
However, despite such disadvantages, ice magic had a clear advantage.
'In the process of converting it to ice, the stability of the water mana can be drawn out to its extreme.'
In his previous life, Sein Siers had honed that advantage and eventually became the strongest mage on the continent.
'...And feeling the limits of that method, he researched how to use fire mana.'
Although he had crossed over into a new life, Kain had at least succeeded in obtaining something akin to the special paper on which to draw the blueprint for creating the key to unlocking the secret of the 10th Circle that he had so desperately sought.
'That just means I'm still at the starting line. I have a mountain of things to do.'
While solidifying the fundamentals of ice magic more meticulously and perfectly than in his previous life, he had to train in fire magic and draw inspiration from it.
"Fire."
After completely washing his body, Kain summoned a small flame to dry himself.
'Indeed, just creating the circles and directly using fire magic gives a fresh sensation.'
Within Kain's heart now coexisted a vitality ready to burst forth at any moment and a calm coolness.
Like soaking in a hot spring at the snowy mountain's peak, the two sensations pleasantly intertwined.
A faint smile appeared on Kain's lips.
Just experiencing a sensation that he, who had dedicated his entire life to studying magic, had never felt before was enjoyable in itself.
'However, I understand it clearly now.'
Completing two circles together.
And operating both of them.
Kain was directly experiencing that this was a more difficult task than he had imagined.
'In my case, my affinity was so strong that it was actually dangerous... but even in the opposite case, it would probably have been just as dangerous.'
The fire mana that had entered his body emitted a much more unpredictable energy than he had thought.
Kain had been able to strongly control the mana with his high affinity, but conversely, if his affinity had been too low, it would have been difficult to cope with even small variables.
Kain Siers' innate talent and his previous life's experience in handling water mana.
It had to be said that he was able to complete the circles so perfectly thanks to both of those.
'Come to think of it, I still haven't figured out why someone with this much talent didn't learn fire magic.'
Perhaps he simply didn't want to learn magic, or maybe he was just lazy.
If he was really just lazy, it was a bit infuriating, but what could he do?
Thanks to that, Kain had succeeded in accepting two incompatible manas based on a very clean circle room and mana circuits.
The moment Kain, who had been thinking this, rose from his seat.
'...Wait.'
Perhaps it was because his senses had expanded while creating the circles, two of them no less, but he suddenly felt a sense of unease coming from the bookshelves.
'Come to think of it, the interior seems a bit small compared to the overall size of the training room.'
Kain, striding quickly towards the bookshelves, instinctively reached his hand into a gap that had opened up in the bookshelves.
And when he firmly pressed a suspiciously recessed part on the side of the bookshelf.
Click.
The bookshelves opened, revealing a space inside.
And within it.
"...Hoo."
Surprisingly, the reason why Kain Siers hadn't learned any fire magic despite having such talent was contained within.
「Theory of Ice Magic」
「Everything About Ice Magic」
…
Especially one old book that was carefully placed to one side.
「Siers clan Secret Scroll of Ice Magic - Volume 1」
The inscription beneath it.
「by Sein Siers」
Kain couldn't help but utter as he looked at it.
"Kain Siers, I'll have to revise my assessment of you."
***
Stepping into the small room behind the bookshelves, short memories flashed through his mind.
Kain's figure, entering this small training room every day and picking up the book from behind the bookshelves with expectant eyes, quickly passed before his eyes.
-Today, for sure...
-Haa... There's a limit to how long I can keep enduring like this.
-Still, knowing that the Siers clan's roots were in ice magic, I can't just stand by.
-I will definitely succeed!
Now the question was resolved.
So, Kain Siers wasn't talentless as the clan members thought, nor was he simply lazy.
'He wasn't learning fire magic in order to learn ice magic.'
But it must not have been easy.
'This body's talent is completely optimized for fire magic, after all.'
In Kain's view, his affinity for fire magic was probably the most outstanding in the entire clan.
But conversely, his affinity for water mana was shockingly low.
If Kain Siers hadn't regained his memories from his previous life, he would probably still be struggling just to separate the water mana.
'Commendable. That Kain fellow. No, well, Kain is me, but anyway.'
The foundation of the Siers clan was, no matter what anyone said, ice magic.
And the book that organized that foundation from beginning to end was this secret scroll.
'It's already this old. How was it stored...?'
In any case, he felt relieved.
Whether the past Kain had accidentally discovered the secret scroll and learned that the Siers clan was an ice magic clan, or had learned that they were an ice magic clan and discovered this secret scroll while investigating, didn't matter.
Kain Siers had wanted to continue the legacy as an ice magic clan.
That fact alone was enough.
'Perhaps, that's why I was able to regain my memories from my previous life.'
The theory section of the secret scroll was so worn out that the paper was about to tear, showing how many times Kain Siers had read it.
Kain picked up the secret scroll with a pleased feeling.
At the same time, the memories of when Kain Siers had read the secret scroll flooded in.
-Haa... it says if I do this, I'll be able to feel the water mana...
-Seriously, what am I supposed to make of this explanation? The person who wrote this must have been a genius who thought everyone else was too.
'......'
-How am someone like me supposed to understand this? Ugh, damn it! Hooo... I still have to read it though. Ancestor, I'm sorry for cursing.
The image of Kain diligently reading the secret scroll while grumbling was vividly replayed in his mind.
"...I thought I wrote it in a way that was easy to understand."
He had even shown the contents of the secret scroll to some disciples for an objective evaluation.
-How is it? This part, in particular, is something I spent a month agonizing over to write in an easy-to-understand way.
-Ah... yes. Lord. I think I might be able to understand it at this level!
-If the Lord himself wrote something this easy, then it must be incredibly simple...!
Even those guys had acknowledged it.
'Anyway. Kain Siers. I've created the ice magic circle you wanted. You probably wanted to reclaim the clan’s roots after that. I will make that happen too. And once again, I will raise the Siers clan and make it the best magic clan on the continent.’
“...”
'Definitely.'
Kain placed the secret scroll back in its original spot.
'I succeeded in creating two circles, and I recovered some memories. Somehow, I've achieved both of today's goals.'
Kain sat down with a satisfied feeling, organized the mana within his body for the remaining time, and then returned home.
When he returned, Alice and Nefty greeted him warmly.
"Young Master! Welcome home."
"Welcome back. Dinner is prepared according to the usual time. Shall I bring it to your room right away?"
"Yeah. Thank you."
Alice carefully asked Kain as he entered his room.
"Um... Young Master. Is your training going well?"
Her eyes held a hint of expectation.
Although that gaze was a bit burdensome, Kain nodded slightly and answered honestly.
"It's just the first step, but I've achieved as much as I had hoped."
"Really?"
Alice's expression brightened at those words.
So bright that it made him wonder if it was possible to be that radiant.
"That's a relief. I'll bring your meal right away. Please eat quickly. You need to eat well to have the energy to train."
"Alright."
While Kain ate dinner, Alice watched him from outside with a pleased expression.
And then, Nefty abruptly tugged at the hem of Alice's clothes.
Bringing Alice closer, Nefty quietly opened her mouth.
"Sister. About the Young Master. He seems to have changed somehow. Do you know anything? Especially his way of speaking..."
Alice shrugged and shook her head.
"I don't know either. He's been like that since he came home after the declaration today."
He suddenly used an archaic way of speaking that even the Lord, no, the former Lord, wouldn't have used...
"Still..."
"Still?"
A spark momentarily lit up Alice's eyes.
"I somehow feel like he's made up his mind for the better. He told me he wouldn't be expelled and that he would show results."
"The Young Master?"
A brief look of surprise flickered across Nefty's almost expressionless face.
"And you just heard him, right? It's just the beginning, but he said he's achieved as much as he hoped. Maybe today he was finally able to feel the presence of fire mana."
The given time wasn't much, but a change had finally occurred in Kain.
Of course, to completely avoid expulsion, he would have to complete the 1st Circle, cast the 'Fire' spell in front of the clan head, and succeed in moving it even a little...
"Even if you can't summon or move a flame, if you just succeed in completing the circle, the Lord might take that into consideration."
"Yeah, that's what I mean."
Alice closed her eyes with her hands clasped together.
'Please, don't let Young Master be expelled from the clan...'
He had said it was nothing much, but Alice couldn't forget that moment when she had sworn lifelong loyalty to Kain.
As Kain finished his meal, Alice returned to his room to tidy up, thinking repeatedly.
She wished nothing more than for Kain to grow up healthy, get along well with others in the clan, and gradually build up his skills.
"Hmm, Nep... oh, Alice. How did you make this small bread? Your skill is quite good."
Of course, it would be even better if he corrected that way of speaking too.
***
Kain spent most of his time alone in the training grounds.
'There's nothing particularly good about wandering around.'
With the exception of those who were outside the clan estate due to missions or exterminations at the time, almost everyone had clearly heard Blake Sier’s expulsion declaration.
Wherever he went, Kain's story was bound to come up, and probably none of it would be positive.
There was no reason for him to go out and hear such things.
Kain's daily routine was to eat breakfast every morning, take the lunch Nefty packed for him, go to the training grounds, and return in the evening.
For about a month, he focused on laying the foundation for ice magic in the morning and training in fire magic in the afternoon.
Finally, as the scheduled expulsion date Blake Siers had mentioned drew near, Kain Siers succeeded in reaching the 2nd Circle in both ice and fire magic.
Now, all that was left was to check his skills one last time before the deadline and go out to the snowy mountains to catch a snow leopard.
"Ice Needle."
"Fire Needle."
When he cast the 2nd Circle magic as a test in his room, sharp needles made of ice and fire respectively appeared in the air.
'Good. This isn't bad.'
Even when he had just reached the 2nd Circle, the sharpness of the Ice Needle was no match for the Fire Needle at all, but in just two days, it had reached a fairly decent level.
-Young Master, you can definitely do it...!
-Have a good day today!
A faint smile appeared as he recalled Alice's eyes, which had been encouraging him every day and had become slightly more earnest as the date approached.
Click!
Just as he opened the door, Alice's eyes widened as she met his gaze.
"Young Master, you're leaving a bit early today?"
"Yeah. It's time to show results now."
"Young Master...! Could it be!"
Alice's eyes welled up with emotion.
Those words meant that he would face the clan head alone and successfully demonstrate the basic magic, Fire, in one go.
Wondering if he had really succeeded in creating a circle, Alice waited for his reply with trembling hands clasped together.
And soon, Kain nodded.
"Yeah. I'll be back."
Kain left the room, leaving behind the answer Alice had longed for.
And he headed towards the snowy mountains.
