Eugene had been in this focused state for a good long while. Although the length of time was actually shorter than Gion had expected their first session to be, what Eugene had managed to accomplish during these few hours broke all of Gion's beliefs and certainties.
The mana of the leyline had actually thinned enough that a difference could be felt. Although it would recover with time, this was a sign that Eugene had absorbed as much mana as his body could possibly handle in just a few hours.
Cyan, Ciel, and Eward had taken several days just to sense mana. Then it took them a lot longer to absorb mana into their bodies and eventually form a core from it.
That went for Gion as well.
Eugene, however… had been able to sense mana as soon as he took a seat and, immediately after forming the mana breathing cycle, had gathered the mana around his heart in order to form his core. Eugene had even managed the whole process without much help from Gion. All Gion had done was provide an initial influx of mana and transmit the flow pattern of the White Flame Formula.
'...The size of his core is also alarming,' Gion observed.
It was so large that it was impossible to believe that Eugene had just initiated his mana. If you didn't know Eugene's circumstances, the size might lead you to believe that he'd been training his mana for a few years now.
'It's usually much smaller than that, but….'
When Gion had first started training his mana, his core was much smaller than Eugene's, but as he diligently trained his mana, the size of his core grew larger.
"...So you really are a monster," Gion finally managed to choke out the words.
While wiping away the sweat running down his cheeks, Eugene smiled calmly and asked, "That's a compliment, right?"
"It's definitely… a compliment," Gion muttered in a dull tone as he gave Eugene a hand up. "...Well… um… let's start heading back."
Gion's thoughts were preoccupied with a single question, how exactly should he explain what had just happened to his brother?
'Thanks, Vermouth,' Eugene smiled as he thought of this comrade from his previous life.
Eugene continued to learn more about the White Flame Formula on the way back.
The biggest difference between the White Flame Formula and the Red Flame Formula was the former's ability to split off part of the original core to form a new core. No matter how much you developed and trained in the Red Flame Formula, in the end, you could only have a single mana core inside your body. However, when the White Flame Formula grew past a certain level, the core would split into two. In this way, the body would become able to absorb even more mana, and the split cores could resonate with each other to amplify both cores' power.
Each of these cores, both the original and the one that had split off, were called 'stars,' and the number of stars you had reached marked your progress in the White Flame Formula.
The Great Vermouth, the progenitor of the Lionheart clan and creator of the White Flame Formula, had held ten stars in his body. In the entire history of the Lionheart Clan, Vermouth was the only one who had managed to reach the Tenth Star of the White Flame Formula.
"Both my brother and I are at the Sixth Star," Gion revealed.
This seemed like nothing next to the Great Vermouth. However, in the history of the Lionheart clan, the number of people who had managed to reach the Sixth Star of the White Flame Formula could be counted on one hand.
"Cyan, Ciel, and Eward are all at… the First Star. Although I'm not sure about Eward, the twins should reach the Second Star after a year or so," Gion cited as an example of how fast progress in the White Flame Formula usually was.
"What about me?" Eugene asked.
"...I really can't tell," Gion replied with a wry smile.
The unbelievable sight he had seen back at the leyline caused Gion to answer very cautiously out of fear of having to eat his words.
Gion continued the lecture, "In my case… it took me eight years to go from the First Star to the Second Star. It was around the same for my brother. Since Cyan and Ceil initiated their mana when they were six… if they manage to reach the Second Star by next year, it would have taken them eight years, just like my brother and me."
"Then will it take me eight years as well?" Eugene guessed.
"No," came the immediate reply.
Although he couldn't guess how long it would take Eugene, Gion felt certain as he said, "You'll be a lot faster than that."
Gion could at least be confident of this belief. In the records of the Lionheart clan, there had never been a child who was able to sense mana and begin practicing the White Flame Formula as fast as Eugene. At the moment, just looking at Eugene's core, it seemed to be bigger than Cyan's when the boy was ten.
"It definitely won't take you eight years. Well… as long as you don't become lazy, that is," Gion reminded Eugene.
"I'll make sure to work hard," Eugene replied with a grin.
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As if Eugene would be lazy, there was no way he would do something as brain-dead as that. Now that he had been reincarnated into a body that was overwhelmingly better than the one from his previous life, he didn't want such a body to go to waste out of his own slothfulness.
'On top of that, I've even learned Vermouth's mana training scripture,' Eugene mused in excitement.
How often had he been left feeling frustrated by that damned white flame and the shining lion's mane that had sped ahead of him? Until the very end, Stupid Hamel had never been able to surpass Vermouth. No matter how hard he had worked, he had never been able to match Vermouth in strength.
But now, was it possible for him to catch up to Vermouth?
After some thought, Eugene decided, 'No way.'
Eugene didn't want to just match the hero. What he wanted, what he had always wanted, was to surpass Vermouth.
It wasn't for the sake of bragging rights. He had never even thought about doing something like that. You should be grateful for your hard-earned strength and make sure to use it properly. Why do needless shit like that and waste your own hard work?
'For now, I should just focus on learning all I can about the White Flame Formula…. But the Tenth Star… I'm not sure if I'll be able to reach it.'
Of course, there was no way that Eugene was just going to follow the lesson plan obediently. Although he would have to try and dig deep into the structure of the White Flame Formula first, if there was anything that didn't quite suit him, then he would make his own adaptations to fix it.
'Guess I'll have to deconstruct it as I'm learning it.'
Hamel's abilities weren't as exceptional as Vermouth's. Eugene was well aware of this fact. Still, his inherited abilities were better than most people's, and they could perhaps even be better than those of the previous Lionheart Patriarchs.
'Although I'll have to give it a go to know for sure.'
He would have to try out various ideas based on the original White Flame Formula. Now that he had initiated his mana, Eugene was currently capable of doing much more than he could before.
"I'll explain things to the Patriarch. As for you… you must be tired, so go get a good rest," with these words, Eugene parted ways with Gion in front of the annex.
Eugene sent Gion off with a bright smile.
Eugene had clearly heard the order to go and rest. Truthfully speaking, his body was quite tired. Although his body wouldn't let out a single protest no matter how much abuse he put it through, just absorbing a lot of unfamiliar mana was enough to make it feel exhausted.
However, Eugene had no intention of resting. Since there was no one to tell him otherwise, why should he rest? This kind of fatigue would get better with just a full night's sleep anyway.
'First of all, why don't we go have a look at my new abilities,' Eugene thought to himself.
Eugene pulled off his sweat-drenched clothes and tossed them aside. Nina, who had come running out of the annex, stopped and stiffened as she saw his current appearance before turning around and heading back inside. This was because Nina realized that she needed to go and fetch a few necessary items for Eugene, such as a new set of clothes, a towel, and a washbasin.
As she was leaving, Nina turned her head and called out, "Ah…. Hold on, Master Eugene! What would you like for dinner?!"
"Meat!" came the answering shout.
"Yes, master!"
It was just as she had expected. Nina ran back into the annex, hurrying to prepare for Eugene's unexpected return.
Eugene stood still and turned his attention to the core inside his body. From its appearance, it truly deserved to be called a star. Created through the flow of mana guided by the White Flame Formula, the core centered around his heart looked as if all the stars in the night sky had gathered into a sparkling sphere.
'It's small,' Eugene frowned.
It was so small that it couldn't even be compared to the one he had in his previous life, but this wasn't something to be disappointed about. At thirteen, Hamel had yet to even initiate his mana. At that time, Hamel was… just trying to survive….
When he was young, Hamel had lived in a village frequently attacked by monsters, a small village at that. There had only been occasional attacks in the beginning, but by the time Hamel turned ten, the attacks had become more frequent and even more ferocious.
In order to protect the village, everyone needed to know how to fight the monsters. So all the adults carried weapons like swords and axes, and the children held smaller versions of these weapons.
Hamel was like that as well. As soon as he received a weapon, he had learned various ways of fighting….
But then, before too long, the village was destroyed. The reason behind the steady intensification of monster attacks was the Demon Kings of Helmuth. Finally, a sudden assault wiped out the village and left a young Hamel as the only survivor.