Gulp, gulp—
Theo downed an entire 700g pork steak in a few bites, washing it down with his pre-made 'special celery juice' in a single chug.
"Ugh… This stuff is never going to grow on me." He grimaced, casually throwing the empty 500ml beer mug on the floor.
Shatter—
A surge of energy coursed through him alongside the sound of glass breaking.
"How did the Bloody Sword Emperor manage six years of this? Or maybe this is what broke him."
Nine years in the future, a great master, the same age as Theo, would rise to prominence in the southern area of the continent. Known as the "Blood Fiend" or "Blood Demon" for his morbid fascination with blood, the man was rumored to have trained using a unique form of traditional Eastern alchemy.
Theo had once come across a confidential report on the Bloody Sword Emperor that the Ragnar Clan had compiled after a failed recruitment attempt escalated into an all-out war.
'They thought my swordsmanship was subpar back then and had me excluded from the military staff.'
Those were the events of a future that would no longer exist.
'My time there was short… but it was long enough to memorize bizarre alchemic recipes.'
In his past life, swordsmanship held no appeal, but the pursuit of magic power interested him.
Breathing techniques formed the foundation of magic cultivation. If simple breathing could improve health, then why would one not embrace it?
The Bloody Sword Emperor's eastern alchemy followed a similar principle—gather specific ingredients, mix them, and consume them consistently.
Theo had followed such a regimen religiously in his previous life, but his blood vessels and ki pressure points were already blocked due to his age, limiting the positive effects. Still, his stamina noticeably improved.
'It'll be different this time. I'm young, and my ki pressure points are still relatively clear.'
The knowledge he carried from his past life extended beyond that…
Running every day at 6:00 AM, without fail, was his method for rapidly building endurance.
During his runs, he incorporated his master's breathing technique, which was, as of then, unknown to the world.
In just a month, his endurance and muscles already saw significant gains.
The books with cryptic titles he borrowed from the library would have later been discovered and revealed as secret manuals hidden by bored ancestors, containing mostly 'Upper-High Grade' swordsmanship techniques.
With his intervention, those manuals would never see the light of day.
Finally…
Theo was ready to open his Aura Hall.
His approach, however, differed from the conventional method of simply accumulating magic power in his dantian.
'First, I have to detonate the magic power accumulated in my body through alchemy; then I should draw it toward my heart…'
Theo went through his memories, circulating his magic power accordingly, when…
"Theo! My son, Theo! Are you in here?!" A shrill, hysteric voice pierced through the air, reaching him from outside the room.
The maids' faces paled.
"Mother?" He hadn't seen her in over a month. What did she want, and why did it have to be now?
Bang—!
His door slammed open before he could finish the thought.
A noblewoman, nearing forty but still possessing the youthful beauty of her twenties, stormed in. Her elegant appearance stood in contrast to her frantic movements and the sharp glare she directed at the maids.
"M-Madam! You can't just barge in…!"
"Unhand me! How dare you stop me from seeing my son?!"
"But…!"
The maids, who'd trailed her in and attempted to stop her, wrung their hands and glanced apologetically at Theo.
"It's alright. You all may leave," he instructed his maids.
They bowed and hurried out.
His mother snapped, "You must discipline your staff. Their insolence is appalling. Blocking me from my own son? You've been too lenient with them, my dear son. They're completely out of control."
Left unchecked, it would indeed become a serious issue.
"I instructed them to do that," Theo told his mother.
"What?!"
"I told them no one was allowed to enter my quarters without my permission."
"Even me, your own mother?"
"Yes."
"Why…?!"
'Because interruptions like this could cause ki deviation.' Theo suppressed a sigh, swallowing the explanation he couldn't voice.
Creating a Dragon Heart demanded intense focus and time; any disturbance could trigger a surge of magic power, leaving him permanently disabled.
That was why he had specifically requested, even bribing the maids with sweets, that they keep everyone out—including the clan head.
'It's a good thing I hadn't started yet. Phew!' Theo looked at the noblewoman, who was a constant source of disruption in both of his lives…
Cecilia Ragnar, the birth mother of 'Theo Ragnar'. She was the only commoner in the clan head's harem without her own family name. This insecurity fueled her relentless pressure on Theo, as she believed his rise in status would elevate her own.
The problem was that Theo hadn't displayed any exceptional talent thus far, leading her to constantly criticize him whenever she saw him.
This time was no different. If he let her continue, he knew he'd be in for another lecture.
"What brings you here, Mother?"
Barely containing her anger, Cecilia directed sharp criticism at him.
"Rendon says you were daydreaming during his lesson again."
'So that's what it was.' Theo gave her a wry smile.
The lessons weren't beneficial in the slightest, so he had been going through the motions during Rendon's lessons while planning out his Dragon Heart instead.
"How long are you going to keep disappointing me?!"
"'..."
* * *
"Answer me! You're not mute! Why do you insist on just standing there in silence all the time?!"
'What do I do?'
He had never felt any filial affection toward her, but that didn't mean he disliked her.
It was more like he felt pity for her, trapped in the gilded cage of the harem, without her husband's love or any true friendships to note.
That was why he tried to be compassionate with her, but…
'She makes it so difficult.'
"Say something…!" she screamed.
"Mother…" Perhaps that was why Theo's voice sounded unusually cold.
"Ha! You finally decided to speak, I see. A guilty conscience, I presume?"
"Rendon is a fraud."
"What…?!"
"I know how much you invested in order to bring him here, but he's nothing more than an unskilled mercenary with inflated credentials."
"...!"
"I'll expose him soon enough, so please stop nagging me about it."
It was the first time Theo had ever been so sharp with Cecilia. He was usually tame and pretended not to hear or busied himself with other things.
At that moment, he was looking her directly in the eyes.
Cecilia was taken aback. She had plenty to say, but the words caught in her throat. Everything felt off. He had her son's face, but he didn't seem like her son.
"If you have nothing else to say, then please leave, Mother."
***
"How dare he speak to me like that?! After everything I've done for him! Protecting him from those wolves…!" Cecilia's hysterical wails echoed down the hallway.
Theo ignored the whispers of the maids and butlers.
'That was harder than I thought it'd be.' He sighed and shook his head. 'She's still my birth mother. I have to find a way to save her.'
In three years, Cecilia would be executed for attempting to poison one of the clan head's favored concubines. Though much of the evidence was questionable, her reputation was so bad that nobody had questioned it.
Theo wouldn't let that happen again.
'Her appearance aside, Mother isn't hardened enough to do something like that. It has to be connected to the struggle for succession.'
Who was responsible for framing her, and who was behind the assassins who had killed him and his staff in his past life?
He suspected both incidents were linked.
'For now, I need to concentrate on my Dragon Heart. Ultimately, my own strength is what matters most.'
Theo again told his maids to not allow anyone to enter and slowly settled into a meditative posture.
Closing his eyes, he focused his mind inward and sensed pockets of magic power scattered throughout his body, accumulated over the past month of his alchemic regimen.
It would serve as critical fuel for creating the «Dragon Heart».
"Fuu…!" He inhaled deeply.
The clumps of magic power stirred, slowly flowing along his magic circuits, following his will. Clockwise, it moved toward the left side of his chest, his heart.
The magic power flowed like a river at first, coalesced like an ocean… and slammed in like a tsunami!
Bang—!
"Ugh!" Theo's upper body spasmed. It felt like someone had taken a hammer to his chest.
Pain blurred his vision, but he kept his lips tightly sealed—a misplaced sound could disrupt his breathing and trigger a magic power surge.
What would he do next if that happened? There would be no 'next'. He'd be completely disabled.
'This is making me lightheaded.'
He ground his teeth as he forcibly etched a magic power factor onto his heart, transforming it from a simple biological organ into a magical organ.
It was excruciating, of course, but Theo was confident in himself. In his previous life, he had researched the Dragon Heart extensively with his master, even successfully completing it.
'I've built up a substantial amount of magic power.'
Finally…
Bang! Bang! Bang—!
He put all of his effort behind it, breaking down the sturdy wall of his heart and sending magic power pouring in.
Bang, bang, bang, bang—
Ba-thump, ba-thump, ba-thump, ba-thump!
His heart raced.
KABOOM—!
As the magic power flooded his heart, his body convulsed.
'I did it…!' He had succeeded. Theo rejoiced internally and attempted to stabilize the magic power in his heart.
But then…
'What's this?' He found something unexpected… A significant amount of magic power was already present in his heart, as if it had always been there.
[Congratulations! You have successfully completed the Tutorial Que■■ #1]
Evaluation: A
You have obtained '■■■'s ■■' as a reward.]
[As an additional reward based on your evaluation, you have discovered the magic power of your past life.]