Genius Wizard Hides His Sword Skills [EN]: Chapter 4

4. Ah, I’m a Baby! (3)

Hole Delemma. The arrival of the family head immediately chilled the room.

“Titania. It’s been a while since we’ve had a moment alone like this.”

The family head casually settled onto the sofa by the window, his gaze turning towards Titania, who held me close.

“…What brings you here?”

“Am I not allowed to visit?”

“That’s not it. I’m just surprised you came without any warning.”

At Titania’s carefully chosen words, Hole Delemma pointed at me.

“It’s because of that child.”

Titania hugged me tighter.

“Is there something wrong with my child?”

“Yes. Because the child chose black magic.”

Titania’s voice trembled even more.

“Are you saying it’s because he chose a cursed attribute?”

Overcoming her fear, she barely managed to speak. Hole Delemma shook his head at her tense voice.

“No. Quite the opposite. I came to tell you that it’s not cursed.”

His words were unexpected.

‘What is he talking about?’

My ears perked up.

‘Come to think of it, he came alone without any attendants…’

The fact that he came alone meant he had something he wanted to tell only Titania. I couldn’t move, but I focused all my attention on his voice.

“Have you ever heard of the magicians who used black magic a thousand years ago?”

“…Were there such people?”

“Yes. There were five of them.”

“Five? How wicked.”

Titania didn’t seem to know much about it.

“They are beings you’ve heard of.”

Oberon and my eyes widened.

‘Is this old man talking about…’

I knew who the family head was referring to.

“I’m sorry, but I’ve never heard of such people.”

The old man, who had been looking out the window, slowly spoke.

“They are the Five Stars.”

Titania and I were surprised for different reasons.

‘Does the family head know the story?’

I was surprised that anyone knew the truth about the Five Stars.

“The Five Stars used black magic…?”

Titania was surprised to learn the hidden story of the Five Stars, who were only known as virtuous figures.

“Yes. The fact that the Delemma family is what it is today is all thanks to them.”

Titania seemed shocked, but the family head didn’t seem to care.

“So, I hoped that a child in your generation would choose the black magic card. But no one did.”

The corners of the old man’s mouth, which usually held no emotion, slightly turned up.

“But fortunately, your child has. His potential talent is greater than anyone else’s.”

“But, you can’t use that power…!”

“Why do you think you can’t? Because it requires the sacrifice of so much blood? No. That power is the source of Delemma’s strength. And it’s the power that will make Delemma even stronger in the future.”

Titania couldn’t say anything more under the family head’s intense gaze.

“Your brothers will call that child cursed, but raise him well. When he endures hardship and rises above it, he will become an even greater vessel.”

With those words, Hole Delemma got up from the sofa.

“Consider this a gift to a grandchild who has given me a little joy in my old age.”

He placed his necklace on me.

“This is…”

“I don’t need it anymore anyway.”

The family head left the room, leaving Titania standing there blankly, holding me.

‘What’s around my neck right now…’

Oberon and I focused on the necklace the family head had given me.

[It’s a guardian necklace.]

‘Huan Delemma, that’s the one he was wearing, right?’

[That’s right. I don’t know if it’s the exact same one.]

An artifact that summons a spirit once. It was said to be given directly to those favored by the spirit.

‘For choosing a card well in the appraisal ceremony, this is a jackpot.’

[I agree. It’s like having an extra life.]

A spirit would have magical skills of at least 9 stars. In other words, it meant you could receive the help of a great mage once.

* * *

Hole Delemma’s appearance also sparked a flurry of thoughts between Oberon and me.

‘So you don’t know what happened to the Five Stars after that, right?’

Our chatter continued long after he disappeared.

[Yeah. After you died, contact with the underworld was cut off, so I haven’t done anything for two hundred years. Of course, I still can’t contact the underworld.]

Oberon gritted his teeth.

‘By underworld, you mean the place where the constellations gather, right?’

[Yeah. So I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know what happened to the other constellations either.]

Even for a constellation, what the Five Stars did was unknown.

What on earth did they do? How could mere humans affect even the constellations?

‘Hoo. Those sly old foxes…’

But one thing was fortunate.

‘At least it’s a relief that he’s talented in magic.’

The family head, Hole Delemma, directly said that the child who chose the black magic card would have more talent than anyone else, so there was no room for doubt.

[Well, the black magic card pulled you in first, right?]

Choosing the card was my will, but the black magic card’s attraction pulled me in first.

‘Yeah. That’s good. If I have to learn it anyway, it’s good to have talent.’

[So you’ve decided to become a magician?]

From Oberon’s point of view, who worships the sword, it might not be pleasing.

‘Can I grow up in Delemma without learning magic? Especially since Hole Delemma’s eyes are focused on me.’

It was impossible for a child of a magical family to grow up without learning magic.

‘And to know the Five Stars, I have to learn magic, of course.’

Moreover, to uncover the secrets of the Five Stars, who were magicians, I had to be able to use magic at their level.

[Well. You won’t even reach the Five Stars’ toes with a mediocre level.]

‘Rather, I should see it as a good thing that I was born in Delemma.’

If I had to learn magic anyway, Delemma, the best magic family on the continent, was the best place to do it.

‘Don’t worry. I’ll definitely hold a sword too.’

[You’re going to learn magic and wield a sword?]

Only then did Oberon, who had been depressed, brighten up. He was a typical constellation of the sword.

‘Of course. Even if you look at me like this, I’m nothing without a sword.’

Oberon’s expression, who had been smiling, became serious again.

[But it won’t be easy to train.]

‘Well, I guess it’s because it’s a magic family. I’ll train secretly. I have plenty of time.’

[No, that’s not what I mean. Didn’t you feel it?]

‘What?’

[The Five Stars cursed everyone on the continent.]

Oberon shuddered.

[They got rid of people’s dantian [energy center]. That’s the most annoying thing they did.]

Dantian. The source of power where knights gather their aura. Getting rid of it meant blocking the achievements of knights.

‘Ah…’

No wonder I couldn’t gather energy in my dantian even when I tried. I thought it was because I was a baby, but they got rid of it altogether.

‘But I have to try.’

[Is there a way?]

‘If I don’t need to gather aura in my dantian, wouldn’t it be okay?’

[What are you talking about?]

‘I’m going to accumulate aura in my muscles.’

[Muscles?]

‘I felt something when I died. I’ll have to try it when I get bigger.’

If I could reproduce the feeling I felt when I died, there was a possibility. It was the aura that naturally flowed through the muscles.

[Muscles…]

Oberon nodded with a strange expression.

‘If it doesn’t work, I’ll just learn magic. Wouldn’t it be okay to become a great mage and sweep them all away?’

It was a joke, but.

[Haa… How did I end up like this.]

As expected, Oberon extremely hated magic.

* * *

Time flew by.

Before I knew it, I could walk and talk on my own, dramatically faster than other kids.

Nanny Anna didn’t spare any praise, saying, ‘As expected, young master is an unparalleled prodigy!’ But it was only possible because I had the mind of an adult.

Huff- huff-.

There was something I did every night, avoiding Titania and the nanny’s eyes.

‘Is this really helping?’

I was endlessly repeating sit-ups as Oberon instructed.

[I thought about what you said, and there was one constellation who didn’t put aura in his dantian.]

‘That constellation did muscle training every day?’

[Yeah. He spent more time on it than sword training. If you can control your muscles in detail, you can hold aura with your muscles.]

Certainly, the burning muscle pain was similar to the feeling of aura I felt when I died.

‘Hoo. But it’s still too difficult.’

But maybe it’s because I don’t have the talent as a swordsman. No matter how hard I tried to control my muscles and feel the aura, it wasn’t easy.

‘First of all, I have to feel the aura to hold it with my muscles.’

[If you do it every day, you’ll realize it. The first step is difficult for everyone. Once you feel the aura, you’ll do better than anyone else.]

It was as Oberon said.

‘I’m confident in the aura training method.’

Even if I felt just one grain of aura right now, I was confident that I wouldn’t miss it. Because I was the one who reached 9 stars.

‘Hoo. Yeah. Let’s not be too impatient.’

I finished sitting up and was about to lie down to do more.

Knock, knock!

A voice followed the knock.

“Ian?”

It was Titania’s.

I quickly got up and wiped the sweat from my forehead. I opened the door, catching my breath, and Titania tilted her head.

“Are you sick? Why are you sweating so much?”

“No. I was just doing some exercise.”

“Exercise?”

She raised one eyebrow, but shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“Let’s go out for a while. There’s somewhere to go together.”

Titania grabbed my hand and led me without asking my opinion. It was the first time she had ever done this, so I followed her, curious.

[Where are we going?]

She walked for a long time. We passed the building where the appraisal ceremony was held.

‘I was told never to go this way.’

We headed to the most secluded area of the family grounds.

[What is this place? It feels ominous.]

A wide field came into view, scattered with various stones.

‘What are these stones?’

My curiosity was short-lived as Titania stopped in the middle of the field.

“Ian, you’re already seven years old.”

Her warm gaze swept over me.

“You’ll have to go to Delemma’s Academy at the age of ten.”

When I nodded, Titania sat cross-legged on the field.

“To do that, you have to be able to feel mana before then, right? You’re from the Delemma bloodline, after all.”

She spread her palms.

Woo-woong!

Blue energy gathered on her jade-like hands.

‘Is she going to teach me magic?’

Only then did I understand why she brought me here.

“You sit down too.”

When I mirrored her posture, a chilly wind shook my hair, created by the mana currents emanating from Titania’s fingertips.

“For this time, you must not see me as your mother.”

Titania’s low voice, deeper than usual, spread across the field with the wind.

“Pay your respects to Titania Delemma.”