I Became a Magical Genius After Regression

Chapter 11

“Haa.”

Manwellin sighed deeply as she took off her helmet.

After searching all over the lord’s castle for more than two hours, sweat poured down.

The red hair stuck to her cheeks didn’t move even with her sigh.

As Manwellin gathered and tied up her hair, she heard a knock.

Knock, knock.

“Miss, it’s Chief Butler Robert.”

“Come in.”

The one who entered was an old butler with a vintage look.

Despite the room being filled with the smell of sweat, he didn’t frown and said,

“You seem very distressed.”

“Yes, a bit. I’ve been running around trying to catch that arrogant guy, so I’m tired.”

“About that person…”

“Did you investigate?”

“He had contact with mercenaries, so I focused on them. But no one knew him well.”

“Then he must not be a resident of the castle.”

“That seems to be the case. However, a merchant said he once came to sell herbs on his master’s errand.”

“Anything else?”

“I’m sorry.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about. Sigh, back to square one.”

Manwellin sighed again, seemingly distressed.

Usually, she didn’t show her emotions much due to her position as the lord’s eldest daughter.

But today seemed different, so the old butler asked curiously,

“May I ask you one thing?”

“Are you curious why I’m looking for that person?”

“Yes, he is a wizard, but judging by his age, he seems to be at most a 2nd circle wizard…”

“That’s right. Even though wizards are rare in the north, it’s not enough for me to go looking for him.”

“Then why…”

“The captain of the guard reported. They interrogated the ones who were defeated by that wizard, and they reported that his casting was extremely fast.”

“How fast was it?”

“They said it looked like he wasn’t casting at all.”

The old steward was startled by those words.

Although he was a commoner, he had quite a bit of knowledge about wizards, as he managed the affairs of the lord’s castle.

But he didn’t cast a spell?

He had never heard of such a thing.

“With all due respect… could they be lying or mistaken?”

“At first, I was unsure too, so I just tried to talk to them. But…”

“Now you are certain.”

“Yes, because I experienced it myself.”

Manwellin said as she took off her gauntlet.

Inside, there was a blue bruise.

It was a mark from rolling vigorously on the market floor.

Just thinking about it still made her blush.

Since she and her guard were the only female knights in the lord’s castle, the townspeople must have recognized her.

The old steward’s face hardened at those words.

“I will do my best to find them.”

“If necessary, mobilize the territory soldiers. But make sure they are never rude, understand?”

“I will keep that in mind.”

The old steward bowed his head and left.

Manwellin stood by the window and looked outside.

Her eyes, revealed through the blowing wind, sparkled with more than just curiosity.

It was the same look that Randel from another time, who she did not know, had seen.

And every time, it had given him chills.

* * *

A warm cabin.

Six family members were tightly packed around the table in front of the fireplace.

A middle-aged woman handed a bowl of soup to one of the boys and said,

“Randel, I’m glad you came back safely.”

“Well, there’s nothing dangerous on the way to the lord’s castle.”

The younger brother, who was sipping soup, chimed in.

“The herbs sold for a better price than usual, didn’t they? I thought you’d get ripped off and come back with nothing.”

“I was worried too, but when I actually went, they treated me generously. I guess I have a talent for buying and selling.”

“Even a dung beetle has a knack for rolling.”

“It might be fun to work in the merchant guild later.”

Their father, who had been listening to their conversation, asked.

“Are you thinking of becoming a merchant?”

“Well, I haven’t thought that far. First, I want to learn everything about herbs from you, then I’ll think about it.”

“Herbs? What can I teach you…”

“If I don’t learn from you, who will I learn from? As far as I know, you’re the best herbalist in the north.”

“Hmm.”

Their taciturn father silently broke and ate his bread.

But Randel could tell that his father was secretly pleased.

Why hadn’t he noticed before? When you look closely, he has such a variety of expressions.

Randel smiled contentedly to himself.

Then his youngest sister asked him.

“Third brother, was there anything interesting at the lord’s castle?”

“Hmm… there was.”

“What was it, what was it?”

“I met the lord’s eldest daughter.”

“Wow! A lady?”

His sister’s eyes sparkled. She was at an age where she was very interested in words like princess and lady.

“So? So what did you do? Did you greet her?”

“Greet her? I ran away.”

“Ugh, what’s that…”

The disappointed look on his sister’s face made the family chuckle.

They thought Randel was joking.

In fact, running away was the wisest thing to do if you really encountered the lord’s eldest daughter.

The chances of a commoner getting entangled with a noble and coming out well were extremely low.

There were even nobles who would beat you just because they didn’t like the way you looked at them.

“I’ll get up first. Ah, today I’m going to take a walk around and rest a bit.”

Randel said, having cleaned his plate.

Then, as if she had thought well, the mother chimed in.

“Yes, you must be tired from going to the lord’s castle, right?”

“Third brother, what are you going to do?”

In response to his younger sister’s question, Randell smiled broadly and said,

“Preparing to meet the lady.”

* * *

All life is defined by its limits from birth.

A snake cannot walk, a fish cannot fly. Humans cannot breathe underwater.

The reason is simple.

It’s just the way they were born.

‘But there is one exception.’

Mana.

The fundamental force that a planet possesses.

The smallest unit that constitutes all life.

Only this force can allow living beings to transcend their innate limitations.

Therefore, many creatures instinctively desire mana.

Among them, humans handle mana in two ways.

[Mages who create circles in the world of imagery]

[Knights who spread mana throughout their bodies to enhance their physical abilities]

But mana is not exclusive to humans.

Monsters are the same.

So, how do monsters use mana?

‘Simply, well.’

Literally.

Monsters do not particularly train their mana.

Mana just dwells in the parts they use frequently.

If there is an unusually fast orc, it is likely that mana dwells in its legs.

And when that orc dies, the mana in its legs crystallizes and hardens in that spot.

‘That’s what a magic stone is.’

However, humans cannot absorb magic stones.

It was not the mana that existed in nature, but the mana that had been altered to perfectly suit its owner.

In fact, that was a very fortunate thing.

The ability to absorb magic stones meant the ability to absorb other people’s mana as well.

‘If that were the case, the world would have been a mess.’

Wizards and knights, blinded by the desire to increase their power, would have gone wild trying to suck each other’s mana.

Countless confusions would have occurred in the process.

In the end, there was only one use for magic stones.

Artifact creation.

They were used to make magical items.

But there was one person in the world.

A slightly special person.

* * *

Randel, standing in the clearing, rummaged through his pocket.

Clink.

The magic stones rolling at his fingertips made a pleasant sound like pebbles by the river.

Randel took one out.

To the eyes of an ordinary person, it would look like a rough, ordinary crystal.

However, to someone who handled mana, they would be able to see the light specks embedded sporadically inside the stone like a core.

When making artifacts, the outer crystal part is shaved off, and only the core part is used.

“…….”

Randel, examining the magic stone in his palm, placed his other hand over it.

And he focused his mind.

Swoosh―

What unfolded before his eyes a moment later was the deep, deep abyss.

It was inside Randel’s mental world.

As the name suggested, the mental world was still as dark as ever.

A first-circle sun had risen above the surface, but it was not enough to illuminate the depths of this sea.

But something different from usual was visible.

Mana bubbles quietly rising through the faint light of the sun and the darkness.

And even deeper than that.

Near the bottom of the deep sea, a large green mass of mana was embedded like a fossil.

Its size was about one meter.

Randel approached and tapped the mana mass.

Thump, thump.

A transparent membrane pushed Randel’s hand away.

The true nature of this mana mass was the magic stone that Randel held in his hand.

The transparent membrane was the crystal part of the magic stone, and the mana mass inside was the core of the magic stone.

‘As expected, it can’t be mixed.’

A magician could summon the mana of the magic stone into the imaginary world like this, but that was the end.

There was no way to use it.

Because it wasn’t the magician’s own mana.

Countless magicians had tried to use this mana somehow until now.

But in the end, none of them could make it their own.

Absolutely none.

But there was one person in the world.

Randel shouted grandly.

‘Come to me!’

Come― Come― Come―

Randel’s voice echoed heavily throughout the imaginary world, like the ringing of a bell.

Brrrr.

Then the transparent membrane that enveloped the mana began to vibrate faintly.

Finally, the 43-year history of the human named Randel.

And the mighty will accumulated over those years created a crack in the membrane.

Crack―

Clang.

With the sound of the hard membrane breaking, the mana inside regained its freedom.

The mana unraveled like threads, soon becoming thousands of strands that swayed upwards.

It looked just like a school of fish swimming in the sea, or a bundle of seaweed.

This is the end.

Now that mana will never escape.

Randel’s Imaginary World.

Forever bound in this sea of darkness.

* * *

“Whew.”

Randel exhaled a hot breath and opened his clasped palms.

Thud.

A colorless stone fragment fell from his hands.

The fragment was no longer transparent, nor did it contain a green light orb within.

It was proof that Randel had perfectly absorbed the mana from the magic stone.

“Still tough as ever.”

Randel muttered as he wiped his forehead with his sleeve. His sleeve was soaked with sweat.

Absorbing the magic stone.

It seemed simple at first glance, but it was never an easy task.

It was practically impossible for a human to forcibly extract the mana from a magic stone.

There was only one method.

To inspire the mana to come out on its own.

To call it to oneself, to become one with it.

Endlessly courting it, endlessly approaching it.

Only then would the mana liberate itself, and it would be confined to the imaginary world.

Naturally, an enormous affinity for mana was required.

That was why only one person in the world, among tens of thousands of magicians, could do it—Randel.

‘Let’s see, the mana…’

Once his sweat had dried to some extent, Randel checked around his heart.

He felt a significantly increased amount of mana compared to before.

‘I’ve gathered about ten days’ worth.’

It seemed like nothing, but it was an enormous amount.

If Randel concentrated all day, he could gather about five times the mana of other magicians.

That alone was impressive, but what Randel had just obtained was the amount of mana he would gather if he repeated that for ten days.

Moreover, it was practically impossible to gather mana all day long.

One had to sleep and eat, after all.

So, in terms of time, the amount of mana obtained from the absorption just now was almost equivalent to 15 days’ worth.

‘Good, let’s move on to the next.’

Clatter.

Randell put his hand back into his pocket.

There were still plenty of magic stones left.

And a week later.

Whoosh…

A second sun rose in the deep sea.