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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Heavenly Death Star Grows
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From all sorts of martial arts and spirit arts to even magic.
Rionne was an exceptional elf who wielded them all at a master's level.
But among them, there were two she held particular affection for.
Swordsmanship and magic.
"Ahem. Enoch, magic is like this..."
Since it seemed Enoch had more talent for body techniques than swordsmanship, making it impossible to teach him the blade, Rionne was thrilled when he showed aptitude for magic.
"Originally, magic was the exclusive domain of dragons. To properly wield it, you need your Middle Dantian open first—and for other races, just opening that makes you a top-tier expert, you know?"
Dragons are born with a 'Dragon Heart' that lets them freely manipulate their Middle Dantian.
But for other races, even opening the Middle Dantian is an enormous challenge, so magic should have remained solely the dragons' privilege.
It only made sense.
The entry requirement for magic is opening your Middle Dantian?
No ordinary person would even attempt to learn it unless they were some kind of freak.
By the time you'd properly opened it through the right process, you'd already be among the continent's elite powerhouses.
"But there were those freaks out there, weren't there?"
In ancient times, so far back it was mind-boggling, one elf devoted his lifespan to the path of magic.
For someone with no talent in martial arts, opening his Middle Dantian was a pipe dream.
Everyone mocked his efforts.
But he never gave up.
After endless trials spanning 600 years, he finally discovered a method.
"That's the 'Circle' magic that's widespread in the world today."
Create a ring of mana in your heart to substitute for the Middle Dantian.
Easier said than done—establishing an entirely new system was no simple feat, and that elf is still hailed as a great archmage to this day.
That elf was
the father of mages, 'Pagan Dal Majishion.'
[Rionne, isn't this kid sleeping?]
"Ah..."
Rionne scratched her head sheepishly at the sight of Enoch dozing off with his head bobbing.
It wasn't like they were in history class or anything—she'd gotten too excited and rambled on with useless trivia.
"Up you go!"
Rionne slipped her hands under Enoch's armpits and hoisted him up.
The child blinked his sleepy eyes open and naturally snuggled into her arms.
The elf patted his back and said,
"Well... anyway! Enoch, you've somehow got your Middle Dantian open, right? So instead of making a Circle, I'll teach you the way dragons use magic."
Yeah, that was the real conclusion.
All that about Circles and Pagan Dal Majishion was just excited chit-chat that had spilled out.
"Let me see..."
To hide her awkwardness, Rionne intently examined the charred black sprout.
The result of Enoch's magic.
Maybe because of his lightning Divine Power, the outcome was a bit off, but for a kid who'd never learned magic, pulling this off was impressive in itself.
"First off, Enoch, you can feel the two Dantians in your body, right?"
"Yeah."
"The one closer to your heart is the Middle Dantian. Try focusing on it."
Enoch turned his awareness inward.
Thump, thump—the mana spreading faintly in time with his heartbeat.
The mana flowed powerfully, brimming with the sense that it could do anything, though it sometimes hit walls and rerouted.
"Feel the mana spreading with your heartbeat?"
"Yeah."
"Can you also feel the ambient mana around you vibrating to that pulse?"
Enoch tilted his head for a moment, then nodded.
"Yeah."
"Really?"
Rionne beamed brightly.
"Then you're almost there! Use that vibration to shape the mana like this..."
Rionne's slender finger traced a pattern in the air.
The magic circle she drew slowly and clearly for Enoch glowed blue.
"Water, rise."
With her clear incantation, a head-sized orb of water formed in her palm.
Enoch watched in fascination, then mimicked her.
- Swish
Enoch's finger moved.
Thump, thump—the pulse of mana spreading with his heartbeat.
Hooking that pulse onto his finger to draw the pattern, he chanted the spell.
"Water, rise."
Bzzzzt────!!!
A head-sized orb of electricity formed in Enoch's palm.
It even had a bit of water mixed in, so he glimpsed steam rising from superheated droplets for an instant.
[Pfft!]
Enoch shot a fierce glare at Undine, who was snickering at him.
"Uh... why is this happening? Is it because you're still unskilled with your Divine Power...? Then..."
Enoch tugged lightly at the pondering Rionne's arm.
"Hm? What's up?"
Without a word, Enoch pointed at the scarecrow Rionne had made earlier.
Seeing it jogged Rionne's memory of something she'd forgotten.
"Oh, right. I promised to teach you crafting, didn't I?"
Martial arts, magic, and now knowledge too.
There was still so much left to teach.
"Well... you've still got about 150 years until you become an adult, Enoch. That should be plenty, right?"
"?"
[No matter how much of a dumbass that kid is, he'll learn it all in that time.]
"Yeah. Enoch's a genius, so he might not even need that much time."
The human boy tilted his head, watching the elf and spirit converse among themselves.
What did 150 years even mean...?
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Enoch chose to keep his mouth shut.
Whatever it was, having 150 years left was better for him anyway.
"Alright! The Furious Eagle Claw Technique is super simple. Let's wrap it up quick and move on to magic!"
The enthusiastic Rionne curled her fingers like an eagle's talons.
"The basic form is like this—rip into your opponent with your curved fingers..."
Ripping and tearing might be a bit much for a kid?
"Uh... attack them."
Rionne gave a quick demonstration.
Kicking off the ground lightly, she raked the scarecrow with her claws.
Kwachik-!
A massive beast-like gash remained on the scarecrow's torso.
"Oh, right."
Come to think of it, she hadn't taught footwork yet?
The foundation of all martial arts is footwork.
It had been so long since she'd taught anyone that she'd even forgotten basic common sense like that.
"Well, we've got 150 years left!"
She could take it slow!
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Basic footwork and Furious Eagle Claw Technique, magic, common knowledge studies, forest exploration, and even practice handling his Divine Power.
Enoch's days seemed like they'd be insanely busy, but in reality, they weren't.
A leisurely life of mostly playing and eating!
About a month later, Rionne made a big decision.
"Undine, I've been studying pretty hard, you know?"
Rionne pointed to the stack of books in the corner of the room.
『The Essentials of Child-Rearing』, 『My Kid Might Be a Genius!』, 『Easy Child-Rearing Anyone Can Follow』, 『What to Do with My Smart Kid?』, and so on.
Undine grimaced dramatically.
[What kind of books are those...]
"Anyway. I think it's about time to have him run some errands or something."
[Just tell him to do it. What's the problem?]
Undine sprawled lazily in midair, scratching her soft belly with indifference.
[You think that kid's really an idiot? He's sly as hell. Always acts innocent and dumb around you, but look what he does with me!]
"Come on. Would you say that about a child?"
[Nooo...! For real!]
Undine threw a tantrum, flailing about, but Rionne ignored her.
She was probably sulking because Rionne hadn't played with her as much lately, but badmouthing the adorable Enoch was behavior unbecoming of her age.
"Deer antler mushrooms..., one rabbit. Hmm... a bit of three yin grass too."
Rionne jotted the needed items on a small scrap of paper and double-checked the list.
'This shouldn't be too hard, right?'
After confirming, Rionne headed to the yard.
Enoch was crouched in the yard, drawing on the ground.
Bzzt-!
Electricity briefly traced the shape of the scarecrow before vanishing.
Enoch poked blankly at the sprout where the current had faded.
Sure enough, the sprout had grown a bit since a month ago.
"Enoch!"
At Rionne's call, Enoch snapped his head up.
Rionne spread her arms with a bright smile, and Enoch toddled over on his short legs, burying himself in her embrace.
"Rionne."
"Hehe, practicing?"
"Yeah. But it's not working well."
"You're good at lightning-attribute magic, though."
Rionne stroked Enoch's head.
At the gentle touch, Enoch closed his eyes and pushed his head into her hand.
"Hey, Enoch. Take a look at this."
Enoch took the paper Rionne offered and examined it.
It listed various items.
All easily found in the forest.
Enoch tilted his head, and Rionne explained.
"Sis is a bit busy, so could you fetch these for me?"
"Yeah."
"Really? Aww, our good boy Enoch."
The head pats intensified.
Enoch savored them contentedly.
"Now?"
"Yeah. It's not urgent, so no need to rush. But it's dangerous, so come back before it gets too dark."
"Yeah."
Enoch nodded and immediately set off.
Watching him go, Rionne gave Undine a look.
"Let's go."
[Huh? Where?]
"We have to follow Enoch."
[No, he's a kid? He'll be fine alone for a while.]
"Then is Enoch a kid or an adult?"
[Uh...]
It was a fair point, but was there anything dangerous for that little guy in the forest?
No matter how she thought about it, probably not—but there was no stopping mama-mode Rionne.
[Sigh... my fate.]
In the end, Undine joined the Enoch tailing operation.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Enoch strolled through the forest casually, without a hint of tension.
He didn't like being apart from Rionne, but since it was something she'd asked, he didn't mind much.
It was Rionne, after all.
She was probably secretly following him right now, wasn't she?
Enoch deliberately put on an even more innocent, blank expression.