TMFATS 16

Chapter 16

“This is… unprecedented.”

Cheryl, who had brought me the elixir, continued speaking in disbelief.

“The elixirs produced by Benheim are superior to any artificial potion made in magic workshops. Moreover, for someone who is not of the bloodline to receive an elixir is something that only happened a handful of times in Benheim’s thousand-year history.”

“Yeah. I can tell without you saying it.”

I looked at the long case on the table, and the slender flask inside it.

In my previous life, I had seen so-called elixirs being sold many times. From small pills to dried roots. Whatever it was, they were ridiculously expensive, and people still bought them at a premium.

Whether swordsmen or mages, elixirs were the fastest and easiest way to increase one’s rank.

Absorbing the pure energy contained in an elixir brought far greater results than training mana day after day.

If even cheap elixirs were like that, there was no need to say anything about Benheim’s elixir, the highest-grade artificial elixir.

“In Benheim, there is an elixir. Excluding natural elixirs, it is the best! It is a family treasure that takes years to make one.”

When Renia talked about elixirs, her eyes would shine. In reality, the elixir was a treasure of Benheim, and even she, a direct bloodline member, had only tasted it three times.

Such a precious item was now in front of me.

“So this is compensation for helping expose the family traitor.”

Benheim’s head, Stern, was a magnanimous man who did not act like a typical noble.

“Will you consume it now?”

Cheryl asked with a strange sense of anticipation. It seemed she was also seeing an elixir in person for the first time, unable to take her eyes off the golden bottle.

“Well, there’s no point in saving it.”

Normally, a good elixir should be taken when one has the proper level to support it. Saving it and using it later when one’s rank improves was also an option.

But for me, that assumption was meaningless.

“Impossible for me to fail.”

I had already reached the level of a Swordmaster in my previous life. No matter how precious the elixir was, absorbing its energy completely was not difficult for me.

I picked up the bottle and opened the lid. The mysterious liquid inside, as if it contained the light of dawn, gave off a strange scent that was both sweet and bitter, as if it contained all the fragrances of the world.

“Please be careful, Sir Reagan. This is extremely concentrated. You should take it slowly, in three separate doses…”

Cheryl, who had been speaking, opened her eyes wide.

Because I had already poured the elixir straight into my mouth.

“Hmm.”

The taste was not good. But the energy was real.

As the cold, slippery liquid flowed down my throat, a violent sensation spread through my body, as if every mana circuit inside me was expanding.

I had once received elixirs as payment during my mercenary days. But they were all low-grade, barely reaching average quality, and did not help much.

But this elixir was different.

“This is insane.”

A roaring flow of energy surged inside my body.

The elixir contained mana condensed over several years.

Its pure energy swept through my entire body. This feeling was similar to when I received Renia’s mana at the ley line last time.

But the stability was different.

It was comfortable.

The elixir’s energy seeped into my body as if it were already mine. As expected of the highest-grade artificial elixir, it naturally matched the characteristics of my mana core and began to integrate on its own.

“Sir Reagan, you must meditate now and guide the elixir’s energy into your mana core. It will be difficult, but follow my guidance…”

Cheryl was explaining, but I raised my hand to stop her.

“Cheryl, thanks for the help, but can you bring me a sword first?”

“A sword?”

“Yes. A sword. Something about one hand’s length, easy to wield.”

I had once used a sword taken from the mercenary leader Gherkin, but it had been confiscated when I was imprisoned.

Even if Benheim was a house of magic, there was no way they had no swords. I had heard they even operated a small knight order.

“But now is the time for meditation…”

“Exactly. This is for meditation.”

Though doubtful, Cheryl quickly brought me a sword.

It was a standard iron practice sword.

“What are you planning to use this for?”

“What else? I’m going to swing it.”

I took the sword and stepped into the annex garden.

Normally, after taking an elixir, one would meditate for half a day or more. One must circulate mana through the body and accelerate the mana circuits to improve absorption.

But meditation was not only about sitting still in one position.

Sshing.

I drew the sword.

For me, a method of meditation I was not used to as a mage was unnecessary. Swinging a sword and spreading energy through my body was more familiar.

After all, even if I chose to live as a mage in this life, my foundation was still that of a swordsman.

Whoosh.

I rotated the sword and swung it.

A simple horizontal slash.

Not flashy. In fact, it was ordinary. There was no grand technique in my sword. No famous martial art.

Only basic slashes and thrusts from a street-level sword style I had learned in my mercenary days.

That was enough.

My vision was enough to support it, and I had talent.

With just simple sword techniques, I had reached Swordmaster in my previous life. In this second chance, I was confident I could go even further.

I had a clue now. The fusion of magic and aura. A stepping stone toward Sword Saint.

A second chance given by Renia.

Whoosh.

At that moment, my movement stopped quietly.

The pure mana of the elixir spread throughout my body, and my mana core adapted to the new energy.

I opened my eyes.

At the tip of my sword, pale blue mana had gathered like dew.

A blue layer wrapped around the blade, an all-too-familiar sight.

I smiled.

The feeling of grasping the first hint of enlightenment was always thrilling.

So it has begun.

The entry into a 3rd-tier mage, and at the same time, an aura user.

Cheryl, the dark mage, quietly watched the sword dance under the moonlight.

When Reagan first asked for a sword, she could not understand it. Why would he suddenly swing a sword after taking an elixir? Normally, one would sit calmly and meditate.

However, the moment Reagan began his sword dance under the moonlight, Cheryl could only watch in awe.

That was…

She was a mage and had no understanding of swordsmanship.

Yet the sword dance before her was enough to astonish even her.

It was not beautiful or flashy. In some ways, it could even be called rough.

But it was razor sharp. Clean. Precise.

Cheryl felt it was not ordinary. In her eyes, Reagan’s sword movements were those of someone who had walked through countless life-and-death battles. His expression showed no emotion, but his sword carried a strange tremor and intensity.

Just what is that boy…

Soon, moonlight gathered on the sword in his hand.

A faint bluish glow rose.

It was clearly condensed mana.

“Or, aura?”

She was shocked.

Why was someone who entered as a mage using aura?

It was beyond common sense.

“Cheryl.”

While she was still stunned, Reagan had already opened his eyes. He looked satisfied, swinging the moonlit sword.

“How is it? Doesn’t my body feel different?”

“…No way.”

Not only was he using aura, but the mana inside his core had also clearly changed.

He had successfully guided the overwhelming energy of the elixir into his mana core.

In just one consumption.

“Sir Reagan, have you ever taken elixirs before?”

“No. Never. As you saw, I was an ordinary person with no mana just recently.”

“Then how did you absorb all of the elixir’s energy… no…”

What mattered now was not that.

Cheryl, as a mage, sensed the change in his body. The dramatically increased mana density.

“Sir Reagan, did you reach 3rd tier?”

“Something like that. A half-formed one. I relied on the elixir.”

“….”

It was an unbelievable speed.

Cheryl had been called a genius since childhood and had trained for years before reaching 3rd tier.

But Reagan had reached it in just one month since entering magic.

How was that even possible?

More importantly…

“Sir Reagan, what is that on your sword?”

Cheryl asked while looking at the mana surrounding the blade.

She already knew what it was.

It was undoubtedly aura.

A man who had awakened a mage’s mana method was now using aura.

She had heard that he modified the mana method to suit his body, but even after seeing it directly, she could not believe it.

However, Reagan simply replied indifferently.

“A mirage.”

“A mirage?”

“Yes. The moon drives people mad, they say. Fragments of the past or future reflect like a mirage on the blade.”

Reagan smiled faintly and withdrew the thin thread of mana from the sword.

Looking at the moonlight reflecting on the blade, he murmured.

“That’s all.”

His expression was filled with melancholy.

Cheryl had many questions, but none of them were permitted to be asked. She could only nod quietly.

That evening.

“So Reagan reached 3rd tier. The elixir must have worked.”

Stern did not seem particularly surprised upon hearing Cheryl’s report.

Unlike Cheryl, who was at most 5th tier, Stern was a 7th-tier mage. He already understood how complete Reagan’s modified mana method was, and how great his talent was.

“But he used aura.”

Mage and swordsman realms are usually separate. A swordsman using aura is called an aura user.

In other words, Reagan could now be considered both a 3rd-tier mage and an aura user.

“So he also has talent as a swordsman.”

He had already heard that Reagan killed assassins with a sword alone and cut through Arno’s magic with a branch.

Reagan clearly had talent in swordsmanship. So it was not strange that he could use aura now.

“Well, having many skills is a good thing. Cheryl, call Allet. I have work for him.”

“Yes.”

Cheryl left the office.

Stern sat quietly in thought.

What does the mage who gave that pendant to Reagan want?

Reagan was a strange young man.

Overwhelming magical talent, experience beyond his age, and insight that even he could not fully read.

Moreover, the mage who gave Reagan the artifact even hinted at internal family matters and a hidden culprit that even Stern had not fully discovered.

Stern could roughly guess the identity of that mage.

A descendant from the future who knows the family’s situation.

A descendant who saw a hopeless future and went back in time to guide a single heir.

Why did that descendant choose a boy with no blood connection to Benheim?

Reagan must be a chosen vessel.

Then what exactly is that mage trying to achieve through Reagan?

“I don’t know.”

But one thing was certain.

A major event would soon occur.

Otherwise, a mage powerful enough to control time would not interfere with the past.

Soon, a knock was heard.

“Head of the family, it’s Allet.”

“Come in.”

Allet entered.

Stern adjusted his posture and spoke.

“Allet, Reagan has reached 3rd tier.”

“…Yes. That is astonishing.”

Allet sincerely admired it.

Not only had he consumed the elixir, but he had turned it into a foundation of enlightenment.

A once-in-a-lifetime genius.

“Then he is now a proper mage. Move his residence to the annex where branch family mages stay.”

The annex for branch mages was a place of competition. Staying there would help him grow further.

Stern continued before Allet could speak.

“And I intend to make Reagan a member of the family.”

Allet’s expression darkened.

“Head of the family, I think that is premature. That boy is an outsider of unknown origin. The investigation into the attack on Lady Renia has not even finished yet.”

“Allet, it has already been confirmed that my younger brother Markel is a dark mage.”

“…!”

“Even in that situation, you still speak of origins?”

“But…”

“More importantly, Reagan has intuition. You saw it yourself. He immediately saw through Markel’s disguise that had fooled us for years. He understands the nature of dark magic and their way of thinking. If that is not insight, what is?”

“….”

Allet hesitated.

Then a small voice came from the table.

“I like it. So we’re family now with Reagan?”

Renia had popped her head up, smiling.

“Renia, this is not your place.”

“Okay.”

She quickly left.

Stern sighed.

“Anyway, Allet, you are still suspicious of Reagan?”

“Yes.”

“Then there is a simple way.”

Stern already had an idea why a future descendant had brought Reagan here.

A hound.

Soon, a great crisis would come to Benheim.

And the presence of Markel as a dark mage was only the beginning.

“There is only one thing to do. We prove that Reagan is truly on our side.”

“And how do we do that?”

“Simple.”

Stern smiled.

“We will take him to the upcoming Hunting Festival.”

The Hunting Festival.

A ceremony held once every four years in Benheim.

A test for both direct and branch family members.

There, Reagan would have to prove his worth.