NOVEL NEXT Chapter 5
Chapter
Various martial arts, spirit techniques, and even magic.
Rionne was an exceptional elf who mastered all of them at a master level.
However, among these, there were two things that Rionne felt particularly attached to.
Those were swordsmanship and magic.
“Ahem. Enok, magic is…”
Since Enok seemed to have more talent in physical techniques than swordsmanship, Rionne was unable to teach him the sword. When Enok began to show talent in magic, Rionne was ecstatic.
“Originally, magic was the exclusive domain of dragons. This is because, to properly handle magic, one must first have a opened Central Dantian, and other races, upon merely opening their Central Dantian, are considered great masters!”
Dragons can freely manipulate their Central Dantian from birth thanks to an organ called the ‘Dragon Heart.’
But for other races, simply opening their Central Dantian would be an immense challenge, which is why magic was originally meant to be the exclusive property of dragons.
It’s only natural.
Is opening the Central Dantian the entry requirement for magic? Who in their right mind would even attempt to learn magic unless they were some kind of eccentric?
If one had properly opened their Central Dantian through a rigorous process, they would already rank among the continent’s strong.
“But it’s not like there were no such eccentrics at all.”
A long, long time ago, an elf devoted his life to walking the path of magic.
It was a distant dream for someone lacking talent in martial arts to open their Central Dantian.
Everyone laughed at his attempts.
But he did not give up.
After trying all sorts of methods and enduring for 600 years, he finally discovered a way.
“That’s the ‘Circle’ that has spread widely in modern times.”
Creating a ring of mana in one’s heart to substitute for the Central Dantian.
It’s easy to say, but creating a whole new system was no simple task, and that elf is still hailed as a great mage today.
That elf was none other than
The father of mages, ‘Pagandal Magicion.’
[Rionne, is he sleeping?]
“Ah….”
Seeing Enok dozing off, Rionne awkwardly scratched her head.
It wasn’t a history lesson or anything, and she got so excited that she ended up babbling about unnecessary things.
“Oops!”
Rionne slipped her hand between Enok’s armpits and lifted him up dramatically.
The child rubbed his eyes awake and nestled comfortably in Rionne’s embrace.
Rionne gently patted the child’s back and said, “Um… Anyway! Enok, you’ve somehow opened your Central Dantian, right? So instead of using Circles, I’m going to teach you the way dragons used to use magic.”
Yes, this was the conclusion.
The Circle and Pagandal Magicion—those were just extra chatter that spilled out during her excitement.
“Let’s see…”
Rionne tried to hide her embarrassment as she observed the completely charred sprouts.
The result of Enok’s magic.
Maybe due to the powers of lightning, it had a bit of a strange outcome, but it was impressive that a child who had never learned magic achieved this much.
“First of all, Enok, can you feel that you have two Dantians in your body?”
“Yeah.”
“The one closer to your heart is the Central Dantian. Can you try to focus on it?”
Enok contemplated his own body.
Thump, thump—the mana spread softly in rhythm with his heartbeat.
From the flowing mana, he felt a power that seemed capable of anything, but sometimes it hit walls and had to take other routes.
“Can you feel the mana spreading based on your heartbeat?”
“Yeah.”
“Can you also feel the mana around your body shaking in rhythm with those waves?”
For a moment, Enok tilted his head, then nodded.
“Yeah.”
“Really?”
Rionne beamed with joy.
“That means you’re almost there! If you use that shaking to do this with the mana…”
Rionne’s slender finger drew shapes in the air.
The magic circle slowly and clearly drawn for Enok emitted a blue light.
“Water, rise up.”
With her clean voice, a water sphere the size of a human head appeared on Rionne’s palm.
Enok looked at it with fascination and tried to replicate it.
– Swish
Enok’s finger moved.
Thump, thump—he felt the mana waves spreading in sync with his heartbeat.
He guided the waves through his finger, drawing a picture and chanting.
“Water, rise up.”
Fizzled────!!!
A sphere of electricity the size of a human head formed on Enok’s palm.
There was a hint of water mixed in it, as the heated water evaporated right before his eyes.
[Pfft!]
Enok glared at the grinning Undine with annoyance.
“Uh… Why is it like this? Is it because I’m still inexperienced at handling powers…? Then…”
As Rionne pondered, Enok tugged lightly at her arm.
“Huh? What’s wrong?”
Without a word, Enok pointed to the scarecrow that Rionne had created earlier.
Rionne also recalled a fact she had forgotten upon seeing that.
“Oh, right. I said I’d teach you the technique, didn’t I?”
With martial arts, magic, and knowledge to share, there was still so much to teach.
“Well… Anyway, Enok still has about 150 years until he becomes an adult. That should be plenty of time, right?”
“?”
[Even if he’s an idiot, he should be able to learn that much in that time.]
“Yeah. Enok is a genius, so he might even have more time than that.”
Watching the elves and spirits continue their conversation, the human boy tilted his head.
What on earth does 150 years mean…?
*
Enok chose to keep his mouth shut.
Whatever it was, having 150 years left was probably a good thing for him.
“Alright! The Buneung Technique is really simple. We’ll finish it quickly and move on to magic!”
With overflowing enthusiasm, Rionne flexed her fingers like an eagle’s claws.
“The basic form is like this, using the bent finger to rip apart the opponent…”
Hmm, saying “rip apart” might be a bit harsh for a child, huh?
“Um… It’s an attack.”
Rionne simply demonstrated.
She lightly sprang forward, claws slashing through the scarecrow.
Craack-!
A massive wound appeared on the scarecrow’s body as if it had been clawed by a fierce beast.
“Oh, right.”
Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t even taught him footwork yet!
The foundation of all martial arts is footwork.
It had been so long since she taught someone that she even forgot about such basic knowledge.
“Well, we’ve got 150 years!”
She figured they could take their time!
*
With simple footwork, the Buneung Technique, magic, common sense study, forest exploration, and practice with powers, Enok’s day seemed like it would be wildly busy. But in reality, it wasn’t like that at all.
It consisted mostly of a laid-back life filled with mostly play and relaxation!
About a month later, Rionne made a significant decision.
“Undine, I’ve been studying hard, you know?”
Rionne pointed to the stacks of books in one corner of the room.
‘The Basics of Parenting,’ ‘My Child Might Be a Genius!’, ‘Easy Parenting for Everyone,’ ‘What Should I Do About My Smart Child?,’ etc.
Undine scrunched up her face in confusion.
[What on earth are those books…?]
“Anyway. But you know, it feels like it’s about time to give him some errands to run.”
[Then just assign him some tasks. What’s the problem?]
Undine lay languidly in mid-air, scratching her soft belly.
[You think he’s really just a fool? He’s actually clever! He always pretends to be innocent and stupid in front of you, but just watch how he acts with me!]
“You don’t really mean that, do you?”
[No…! I’m serious!]
Undine jumped up in a frenzy, but Rionne ignored her.
It seemed she didn’t spend enough time playing with Enok lately, so she was in a bit of a huff. However, no matter what, undermining adorable Enok was unbecoming of her age.
“I need some Deer Mushrooms… and a rabbit. Hmm… I’ll also need a bit of Samumcho.”
After writing down what she needed on a small piece of paper, Rionne double-checked her list.
‘This shouldn’t be too hard, right?’
Having confirmed, Rionne went out to the yard.
Enok was crouched in the yard, drawing on the ground.
Zap-!
A current momentarily shaped the scarecrow and then vanished.
Enok tapped the new sprout that appeared where the current had disappeared with a blank expression.
It certainly seemed to have grown bigger compared to a month ago.
“Enok!”
At the sound of Rionne’s call, Enok perked up.
As Rionne smiled brightly and opened her arms, Enok dashed over with his short legs and jumped into her embrace.
“Rionne.”
“Hehe, were you practicing?”
“Yeah, but it’s not going well.”
“But you’re doing great with brain-type magic.”
Rionne scratched Enok’s head.
As she gently patted him, Enok closed his eyes and leaned his head into her hand.
“By the way, Enok. Take a look at this.”
Enok received the paper Rionne handed him and examined it closely.
The paper contained a list of items.
All of which could be easily found in the forest.
Seeing Enok tilt his head, Rionne explained.
“Big sister is a bit busy, so could you find these for me?”
“Okay.”
“Really? Aww, my good Enok.”
She patted him a bit more tenderly.
Enok savored the affectionate strokes.
“Right now?”
“Yeah. It’s not urgent, so there’s no need to rush. Just make sure to come back before it gets too dark, for safety reasons.”
“Okay.”
Nodding in agreement, Enok immediately set off.
As Rionne watched him go, she exchanged glances with Undine.
“Let’s go.”
[Huh? Where to?]
“We have to follow Enok.”
[Why? Can’t he just go alone?]
“Is he still a child or an adult?”
[Uh…]
That’s a fair point, but what could possibly be dangerous for that little guy in the forest?
No matter how much she thought about it, there seemed to be nothing, but as an overprotective mother, Rionne simply couldn’t turn back.
[Sigh… It’s my fate.]
In the end, Undine also joined the operation to shadow Enok.
*
Enok strolled through the forest without a care in the world.
He didn’t want to be apart from Rionne, but since it was something she had asked him to do, he didn’t feel much resistance.
After all, it was Rionne.
Maybe she was secretly following him from behind right now?
Enok deliberately pretended to be naive and wore a more clueless expression.