Reincarnated as the Descendant of a Fallen Noble

Chapter 8:  First, This Damn Body. (3)

Hardin took a deep breath behind the door.

‘You finally came.’

I’d been worried, even if only a tiny bit, that something might have happened, but it looked like things had turned out alright.

Hardin let out a wide grin and spoke.

“Come in.”

Bang!

The door swung open, and beyond it, Gadolph came into view.

But...

“You... What’s with your appearance?”

His cheeks were hollowed in.

Dark circles drooped black beneath his eyes.

And his clothes were a complete mess, caked with dirt and dust.

Anyone who looked would think he’d been through hell, with a thousand stories to tell.

Gadoloph spoke with a face that looked half-dead.

“There were really, really so many things that happened...”

A hoarse voice, as if scraping against iron, flowed out of his throat.

“...”

“...Shall I tell you what happened?”

Gadoloph’s lips quivered, and there was a dampness in his voice.

At that moment, Hardin felt it instinctively.

‘That’s going to take at least a few hours.’

If I let him start talking now, Gadoloph would pour out the entire saga of the last three days without stopping.

Well, if I’d had time to spare, maybe I’d have sat and listened to it all.

But right now...

‘I don’t have time to listen to something like that.’

Even now, this body was inching closer to death with every moment.

If I didn’t fix it as soon as possible, I could drop dead any second.

Hardin waved his hands dismissively as he spoke.

“Let’s save that story for later. Just give me the item first.”

“But still, shouldn’t I at least tell you what happened...?”

“I said later.”

“Why? You don’t want to hear it? I busted my ass for days out there.”

Gadoloph’s eyes bulged as he brought his face closer and closer.

...Oppressively close.

Hardin started to sweat and turned his head aside.

“Later, later. It’s urgent now.”

“...What’s so urgent?”

“There’s something.”

“You’re really too much.”

Gadoloph shot Hardin a glare full of curses, then let out a deep sigh and spoke.

“Here it is. The item you asked for.”

Then he reached into his robe and pulled out a small chest, handing it over to Hardin.

A plain wooden chest, with no particular ornamentation.

“Let’s see here.”

Click!

Hardin rubbed his hands together and opened the chest.

‘Hm.’

Inside, seven potions emitting a blue glow revealed themselves.

Hardin licked his lips and picked them out one by one to check their contents.

Swish, swish.

Each time he gave them a gentle shake, the blue particles inside floated about.

‘Mana particles are clean... The color’s not bad.’

They weren’t the finest quality, but they were good enough to be considered proper merchandise.

It was a little disappointing, but with this, I could at least attempt ‘that.’

Hardin gave a small nod and spoke.

“Mm, you did well bringing them.”

“...Yeah, yeah, I had to do it well. I really scoured everywhere until I found the veeeeery best ones I could get.”

“That so.”

“Yeah. You don’t even know how much trouble I went through just to buy them... If I could just briefly tell you about that part...”

Gadoloph began once more to build up to a long speech at that moment.

Tap!

Hardin stretched his arm out in front of him to block Gadolph and spoke.

“Later, later. I told you, I’m busy right now.”

“Just five minutes, five minutes. Can’t you at least hear how many times your servant almost died?”

Nope, I didn’t believe that.

Five minutes would turn into ten, ten into an hour.

And your eyes right now didn’t look like five-minute eyes, you know?

“Come on, I said I’ll listen next time. You don’t trust me?”

“Uh-uh-uh? Young Master, wait a moment. Please don’t push, don’t push...”

“Alright, alright, out you go.”

Bang!

Hardin shoved Gadolph out as he was and shut the door.

Then...

Click!

He locked the latch firmly.

“Huuuuu...”

Sorry, Gadolph.

In my heart, I really would’ve liked to hear you out, but I truly didn’t have time right now.

“...Let’s begin.”

Hardin nodded with a resolute expression.

You had to strike while the iron was hot.

The chance of survival was higher if I did this while my body still had some strength left.

He sat straight down on the floor and laid out the potions Gadolph had brought in a row in front of him.

‘I’ll start with just one bottle.’

Gulp! Gulp!

As I drank down the cool blue liquid, a chilly sensation spread down my throat.

That unique feeling of liquid mixed with mana.

If I just let it pass through me, some of it would be absorbed and the rest discharged as waste.

But...

‘I won’t let a single particle slip away.’

Hardin gathered every shred of will and focused it on the blue liquid.

‘Come here, all of you.’

His body trembled as he pressed inward with all his strength, as if wringing the liquid dry from the inside.

“Uuuuuugh...”

A little more, a little mooooore...

A cold shiver coursed through his body, and sweat beaded across his furrowed brow.

‘Come to me, all of you.’

Bubble! Bubble!

The liquid churned under Hardin’s will, emitting light without pause.

...How much time had passed since he began this ordeal?

“Haah, haah, haah... Damn it.”

Drifting.

Near his chest, a single blue wisp floated like a speck of dust.

He’d extracted almost every drop of mana from one potion without significant loss.

“This is unbelievably exhausting...”

Thump-thump.

His heart pounded like mad, though all he’d done was take the first step.

The road ahead was still long.

“Next!”

The work continued.

Gulp! Gulp!

He drank down another mana potion, drew the energy out, and sweated like rain.

‘...What kind of damned ordeal is this.’

By the time he’d extracted the power from the seventh potion...

“Haah, haaah... Done.”

Before he knew it, seven clusters of light were drifting inside Hardin’s body.

All that remained was to compress and compress them again, shaping them into the form of a core.

The real part started now.

Up to this point, the worst that could happen was wasting the cost of the potions, but from here on, a single mistake could send me straight to the afterlife.

“Let’s goooo!”

Hardin shut his eyes tight and clenched his teeth.

‘...You, come here.’

He drew one of the clusters of light over and moved it down toward his lower abdomen.

Then Hardin gathered every ounce of his will and began compressing it inward from all directions.

Compressing further and further so that not a single particle of energy could leak out.

“Uuuuuuuugh!”

Crunch! Crack!

His teeth ground so hard they cracked, and blood seeped out between them.

A contest of strength between the mana that tried to burst free and Hardin’s will that locked it down.

‘You bastards... I’m Varlach!’

With a needle-sharp focus, he allowed no gaps, no escape, and forced the mana to stay trapped.

The sphere, now shrunk to the size of a grain of millet, blazed with an even fiercer light.

Sizzle!

A searing heat rose from his lower belly, as if an iron skewer were burning into him.

Damn it all.

I wanted to leap into cold water that very instant, but I held on and held on.

‘Just a little... a little more...’

And after he endured that agony for more than ten minutes—

“Cough!”

He coughed, and blood streamed from his nose in a thin red line.

At the same time, Hardin bared his teeth in a smile.

‘That’s one done.’

Because there, floating near his lower abdomen, was a sphere no bigger than a fingernail.

At last, he had succeeded in solidifying the first portion of mana.

‘Keep pushing forward.’

His body felt as if it were about to tear apart, but there was no stopping now.

Like everything in the world, this too was a matter of momentum.

‘You two, come here.’

This time, he drew two more clusters of mana down to his lower abdomen.

‘This time, make it bigger.’

He spread them out in a thin layer and began forming a new sphere atop the one he had just made.

Not too thick, but not too thin either.

“Grrrrrrr!”

Again, Hardin clenched his jaw and blocked the mana that struggled to erupt outward.

Stay right there and solidify, you bastards.

The amount of mana had doubled, and the mass that had already settled inside began to throw its weight around, making control even harder.

It felt like walking a tightrope with no harness.

‘I’m gonna die from how exhilarating this is.’

The veins on his forehead bulged, his skin turned pale, and the trembling in his body and heart grew worse by the moment.

After dozens more minutes passed—

“Phaaaah...”

Hardin exhaled deeply, wiping away the blood that soaked his face.

‘This is the last one.’

If he could finish this, even this wreck of a body would finally be usable again.

Good, good.

Hardin’s lips curled back into a crooked grin as he gathered the four remaining clusters of energy inside him.

‘Let’s go!’

He moved them down to his lower abdomen and began to spread them out.

Above the mana spheres he had layered in two tiers.

Once more, he spread the remaining mana wide, shaping it into a sphere.

Big enough to fill the empty cavity left where the core had been severed in his belly.

If he could complete this, the mana circuits would activate, and the rotting blood vessels would come back to life.

“Hrrrrrgh!”

He wrung out every last shred of energy and began shaping the final sphere.

The amount of mana had grown to nearly four times what it had been at the start, and the area he had to control had widened just as much.

‘Don’t come out, you bastards...’

Like mole heads popping up from underground, the mana clusters writhed without rest, each one trying to assert itself.

Get back in there. Just get back in there.

The ones that slipped free were smacked back down, the ones that tried to rise were pinned in place.

‘There’s really no end to this.’

His whole body was soaked with sweat, and his head spun dizzily.

His feeble body had already reached its limit and was screaming in protest.

And then—

Wuuuuuum!

‘What’s this?’

The old mana circuits clinging to his veins burst out in a violent glow.

They slowly began to drift toward the mana sphere Hardin had shaped.

Thud!

As if they’d been waiting for it, they latched onto it all at once.

In that instant, the sphere that had barely been holding its form began to shake violently.

“Ghuuurk!”

A torrent of blood poured from Hardin’s mouth.

That shock just now had slammed his already scarecrow-like body even further.

‘Goddamn it, I’m really going to die.’

Slosh! Slosh!

Gripping the churning mana sphere, Hardin clenched his teeth so hard they might break.

Hold on. No matter what.

If I let go here, I’d really die.

“Uuuuuuuuuu...!”

A groan slipped out, and his skin turned a lifeless white.

If it had been like walking a tightrope before, now it felt like balancing on a single thread.

What did that mean? That it was unbearably hard.

‘Stay still, you bastards!’

How long did that tug-of-war with the mana sphere last?

Wuuuung... Wuuuuuuung...

Little by little, the writhing sphere began to calm down, and the mana circuits in his veins started connecting with it.

‘Good, this way... come this way.’

At last, they each began to regain their light.

Gurgle!

The blocked veins started to carry blood again.

And finally... the mana sphere reached a perfect state of stability.

“Phaaaaaah!”

Flash!

Hardin’s tightly shut eyes flew open, and he let out the breath he’d been holding in ragged gasps.

The coppery reek of blood filled his mouth, and a foul stench rising off his whole body stung his nose.

His body trembled so badly he looked ready to collapse at any moment, and his vision swam.

But... but still...

“Huuuu, it’s done.”

He could feel it clearly in his lower abdomen.

In the place where there had been a gaping hole, there now rested a round mana sphere.

It was far smaller in size, but it was the same kind of core that bastard Shagrath had used, embedded in him at last.

“Hey, you squid bastard, how about that.”

If you could do it, of course I could too.

Hardin grinned wide just then.

Thump thump thump!

“Young Master! Are you alright? Young Master?”

Gadolph’s voice called through the door, pounding it roughly.

He must have run over when he heard the screams.

Hardin smiled as he answered.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Completely fine.”

“Really? I heard strange noises coming from inside. Are you sure you’re not hurt somewhere again?”

“That’s not it...”

At that moment, Hardin looked down at his clothes and frowned.

He was covered in sweat and blood, a complete mess, and the stench was awful.

“You, you’ll have to help me for a bit.”

“Uh... help you with what exactly?”

“You’ll see when you come in.”

First, I needed to change out of these clothes completely and wash myself.

I was so filthy I couldn’t stand it anymore.

Clack! Creeeeak!

Hardin pushed himself up, unlocked the latch on the door, and swung it open.

And in that instant—

“...?!”

Gadolph froze stiff in place.

His eyes went wide, and his mouth hung open.

“Uh... uh...”

Hardin waved his hand.

“Bring me some clothes and heat up water so I can bathe.”

“...”

“What are you doing? I said bring me some clothes.”

Why was this guy just standing there...?

Hardin tilted his head, then grabbed Gadolph’s shoulder and shook him.

“Hey, hurry and get the clothe—”

Thud!

Gadolph collapsed on the spot.

“Ku-heu-heu... kuhuhuhuk...!”

Foam bubbled out of his mouth, and his eyes rolled back to show only the whites.

What the hell was wrong with him?

“Hey, hey! What’s the matter? Get a hold of yourself!”

“Gh-ghost...”

“What?”

“A ghost... a ghooost...”

“What ghost?”

And with those last strangled words, Gadolph—

“Urgh...”

Thunk!

His head lolled forward, and he lost consciousness completely.

“Eh?”

What was this? Why had he suddenly fainted?

Hardin blinked in confusion and lightly tapped Gadolph’s cheek.

“Hey. Wake up, hey.”

Step, step!

Just then, footsteps came from further down the hallway.

“Uh... uh-uh?”

Down the hall, a maid stood holding a lantern, her eyes round with shock.

“Oh, you came at the right time. This guy just collapsed—can you fetch a physician or—”

As Hardin gestured and started toward her—

“Kyaaaaaa! S-somebody help!”

“Hey, wait! Hey! Where are you going!”

The maid let out a scream and bolted down the corridor, leaving a trail of dust behind her.

Naturally, a thought came to mind.

‘Is there something wrong with the way I look?’

...Was it because I had blood on my clothes? Or because I smelled so bad?

Even so, anyone could recognize me by my face, right?

‘This is... strange...’

Frowning, Hardin walked to the mirror hanging further down the corridor and looked at his reflection.

“Ah, shit! Damn it!”

In the mirror, a man appeared, white as a skeleton and smeared with blood from head to toe.

His heart thundered in his chest, and his whole body trembled uncontrollably.

“This... is pretty extreme.”

First things first, I had to get cleaned up.

Hardin nodded to himself as he touched his face in the mirror.