Chapter 6
There was a subdued gap between being talentless and being lowborn.
KRARARARANG!
In terms of aura accumulation alone, the Antaria aura cultivation method ranked one tier below the Breio family’s method.
If you offered both techniques to a knight trainee, they wouldn’t hesitate to choose the latter.
‘The one that suits my body is better.’
I trust my theory.
I had faith in the lifetime of research I had done.
Even just to overcome the ridicule of being called a theoretical genius, I had to prove it, without fail.
‘It begins with the crown of the head. Grace that begins in the heavens flows through the dantian and reaches the earth. Thus, man, who stands between heaven and earth, is the proxy of all things.’
The Antaria cultivation method was closely tied to their religious beliefs.
The King of Antaria had claimed to be the agent of the divine, and this belief was deeply embedded in the cultivation method itself.
Thanks to this background, Antaria's aura cultivation harmonized particularly well with holy magic.
The mana in the air seeped through my whole body, converging at the crown of my head.
It passed through the dantian, surged into the lower body, and then radiated outward.
The energy that had flowed out formed a circular path and returned to me once more.
Again, from the crown to the dantian, then to the lower body—two symmetrical cycles were formed.
KRARARARANG!
Mana poured into me, and I could withstand it.
Crunch!
Even if I couldn’t endure it, I had to grit my teeth and push through.
This was an opportunity.
A stroke of luck that would never come again—for either version of Louis.
* * *
“Inferno.”
A flame the size of my head flickered before me.
A burly, legless avatar with a stony expression stared silently at me.
As he examined it carefully, Brown said.
“It seems the spirit has grown.”
“It might be considered a low-tier spirit now.”
“W-what do you mean by that?”
I had originally introduced Inferno to Brown as a lowest-tier spirit.
But in just three days, it had evolved into a low-tier one. No wonder Brown was astonished.
The truth was, I could increase Inferno’s power even further.
But if I did, my aura would be completely drained, and I’d collapse.
Using aura instead of spirit energy to command a spirit was very inefficient—but I had a solution for that.
“Inferno is actually a mid-tier fire spirit. I just can’t draw out its full power yet.”
Brown’s pupils shook.
You can’t make a contract with a spirit using talent alone.
You must accumulate mana to match your aptitude, and only then can you make contracts with higher-ranked spirits—step by step.
But I had broken that convention.
Brown wasn’t aware of all these details.
All he knew was that I had formed a contract with a mid-tier spirit—and that fact alone shook his world.
To a knight, the growth of his lord meant the expansion of his entire world.
If what I said was true, I was far too exceptional to remain in a Barony.
As soon as word spread that a spirit summoner had contracted a mid-tier spirit, noble families would clamor to recruit me.
With the title of heir to the barony, nobles might even offer their daughters for marriage.
But such things no longer satisfied Louis.
‘At best, I’d marry a count’s second or third daughter—not even the eldest.’
I had lived near the pinnacle of power.
Low-ranking nobility no longer caught my eye.
Even if countless nobles showed interest in me, it wouldn't capture the attention of the man who had never once looked at me properly in my past life.
—Breio has no need for mere talents!
—Reputation? The people? Are those more important than the prestige of the Breio family?
The voice of the man who had once been my father still echoed in my mind, though he had likely forgotten me by now.
I remembered the man who had been my father.
The humiliation I had endured in the Breio family was engraved into my soul.
I couldn’t just brush it off and live a new life.
That wasn’t my way.
It was even less in line with the way of Breio, which I had internalized for nineteen years.
—Never forget the ones who hurt you. Even if they forget, you must remember. Take revenge and bring them to their knees. Only then will the world stop looking down on you. Only then will they fear Breio.
Those words were like a sacred commandment.
I intended to confront House Breio using their own methods.
To do that, I didn’t need to stand beside them. I need to be sharp enough to press a dagger to their throat.
“You seem greatly changed.”
“Yes. I don’t plan to live the way I did before.”
“I ask this of you—please continue on this path.”
Brown's attitude toward me had shifted.
He now treated me with the utmost respect—like a true heir to a noble house.
“Yes, with everything I’ve got, and you shall too.”
“Yes, young master.”
We faced each other in the training yard.
We had planned to duel two days ago, but at my mother’s insistence, I was only now stepping into the sparring grounds.
Swoooosh!
Flames surged from my longsword.
Just as I had when hunting the Ash-gray Wolf, I restricted Inferno’s power to compensate for my weak aura.
‘To wield a spirit with aura alone, I have to modify my aura to match Inferno.’
I knew the theory.
There were many types of aura in the world—some cultivation methods even specialized in pursuing elemental attributes.
I had memorized those methods too, but I had yet to find a stable way to incorporate them into Antaria’s cultivation method.
Still, if I set aside the issue of stability, I could derive six or seven possible approaches.
Gulp.
Sir Brown swallowed dryly. He had never fought an opponent wielding a flaming sword.
Most would shrink back instinctively, overwhelmed by fear, but Brown charged in with sharp eyes.
Clang!
Our swords clashed.
After just three exchanges, we leapt back and stared each other down.
“A straightforward sword, as honest as your character. But that makes it predictable—easy to read.”
Sir Brown adjusted his grip on his sword.
He straightened his posture and locked eyes with me.
Until just moments ago, Brown had been my teacher.
Now, he was my student.
He was trying to receive my sword strikes with all his strength.
‘Sir Brown truly is remarkable.’
Brown was a knight whose integrity surpassed his swordsmanship.
As a teacher, as a student, as a knight, he was worthy of the highest respect.
“There’s nothing more I can teach you.”
“Then it’s my turn to teach. Thank you for your kindness thus far. In my entire life, I’ve never known someone like you. If not for you, I wouldn’t be who I am now.”
Brown gave a small nod.
His flushed face seemed to twist slightly with emotion.
He bowed his head.
Before his tears could touch the ground, he bent forward as if to hide them.
“…Then I won’t hold back.”
This time, I struck first.
Using Antaria footwork, I moved to exploit Brown’s blind spot.
No matter how brilliant the swordsmanship, it was meaningless if the knight’s body couldn’t support it.
I lacked foundational strength.
The muscles of my body weren’t anywhere near the ideal state I had defined in theory.
Clang!
Brown blocked my attack.
In that instant, I applied a technique.
My blade shifted subtly, grazing past the edge of Brown’s sword.
He realized my ploy.
He tried to knock my sword away, but the more he resisted, the more my sword clung to his.
Reinhardt Sword Style – Fourth Form: Adhesive Blade.
A technique passed down through the Reinhardt Count family.
It involved sticking your sword to the opponent’s and defending from close range—but due to a critical flaw, it came with a warning: Do not use against strong opponents.
Brown couldn’t shake my sword off.
No—just as he thought he had freed himself, my blade was already at his throat.
I deliberately stepped back.
It was because of the flames surging from my sword.
Had this been a battlefield and Brown my enemy, I might’ve at least scorched one of his eyeballs.
Swoooosh!
The hair at the front of Brown’s head was slightly singed.
Still, he didn’t retreat. He stared at me with trembling eyes.
“…..Did you develop that sword style yourself?”
“I modified the Antaria sword style to suit my body. The technique I just used was the Adhesive Blade, a form from the Reinhardt style.”
Brown sheathed his sword and stepped back.
“How did you come to know both the Antaria and Reinhardt sword styles, young master?”
“In the library of House Hebron, there are books of every kind. Our ancestors were once marquises. The original texts were all sold off, but fortunately, many copies remain.”
Despite the Hebron Barony’s decline, it was a house with an ancient lineage.
Anyone aware of that would find it hard to refute my words.
Brown did not doubt me either.
Instead, he saluted me.
His fist struck over his heart with a firm thump.
“I ask you to teach me, young master.”
“I was planning to anyway. The barony is short on capable people. Let’s start with some endurance training, shall we?”
I forced a generous smile, but I was breathless. Had the match with Brown lasted any longer, no amount of swordsmanship or Inferno would’ve saved me from defeat.
‘The difference between a wolf and a knight is vast. Wolves are much easier to deal with.’
Building up my body was my top priority.
Only then could I fully utilize the knowledge I possessed.
Only then could I prove to the world that a dragon could rise even from a humble stream.
…And only then could I uncover the bastard who stabbed me—and those pulling the strings behind him.
‘The Breio swordsmanship style would suit Sir Brown best. If House Breio finds out, not just Brown but the entire Hebron Barony could be burned to the ground. Still, there are ways around that.’
* * *
Hebron didn’t keep dogs.
Keeping pets—cats or dogs—was a popular trend among the nobility, but Hebron didn’t have the luxury for such things. And even if they did keep animals, they’d likely be devoured whenever a beast from the eastern forest invaded.
‘He’s like a dog.’
There were two people who followed me around like loyal dogs: Sir Brown and Tom, the boy whose life I had saved.
Ever since I saved him, Tom had sought me out, begging to be given any menial task.
Truth be told, I wanted to hire Tom properly. But the Hebron Barony was poor.
Hiring even one more servant would plunge us into unbearable poverty.
And once I accepted Tom, it was likely that other residents of the territory would start flocking to me as well.
“What is this?”
Brown looked down at the circular diagram I had drawn in a corner of the training ground.
It didn’t exactly look like a magic circle—it was too crude for that. But in truth, it was an ancient magical formation, one that had been lost to time.
What I had drawn was only the most basic form.
I had become intrigued by this method because it allowed magic to be performed without using any internal mana.
But in truth, only one type of magic circle could actually be realized this way.
And that wasn’t enough to understand the full structure or logic of magic itself.
“I’m just testing to see if I have any talent for magic.”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s a basic elemental magic circle. Simple enough to activate using only magical energy in the atmosphere.”
“You mean… you know magic, young master?”
There were no mages in the Hebron Barony.
That’s how rare mages were.
Not only was it hard to find someone with magical talent, but even sensing mana wasn’t enough to become a proper mage.
Plenty of people in the barony had gone bankrupt gambling on weak, half-baked potential.
“I read it in the study. <How to Become a Mage in 100 Days>.”
“Ah…...”
Brown quickly withdrew his budding hope.
But Tom’s eyes widened, filled with curiosity about what might happen next.
Swoooosh.
A gust of wind blew.
That was all. But the magic circle activated properly.
‘I’ve drawn this magic circle over a hundred times.’
The circle I had drawn created a conduit for wind.
