Chapter 5

The Swordsmanship Genius Possessed by a God — Chapter 5

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After obtaining the elixirs, Allen returned straight to the inn.

He had expected Lucas to insist that they hurry back, but his brother went along with him more readily than anticipated.

Allen entered his room with a broad smile. In his hands were the elixirs he had purchased at the black market.

Silver Moon Grass and Blue Moss Extract.

They weren't particularly extraordinary elixirs. The Blue Moss, in particular, was barely worthy of being called an elixir.

But as Allen looked at them, his heart pounded harder than ever before.

‘Will it work?’

He was still half in doubt.

In truth, if not for the message floating before his eyes, he wouldn't have believed even half of it.

[Allen Vishken]

[Strength: 17]

[Agility: 19]

[Stamina: 21]

[Mana: 0]

[Trait: Soul of Ten Thousand Demons – Details]

A translucent window hovered in his field of vision.

It was proof that what had happened the previous night had not been a mere dream.

Rows of information composed of letters and numbers.

The system.

Perhaps it was another miracle that had occurred alongside his return to the past.

Allen sighed as he looked at one particular piece of information.

“Phew.”

Zero mana.

Judging by that alone, his condition was still no different from being afflicted with the Curse of Mana Deprivation.

For a swordsman, the Curse of Mana Deprivation was like robbing a musician of his hearing or cutting off a sculptor's hands. It was like a chef who had lost his sense of taste or a painter who had gone blind.

A body incapable of becoming even an ordinary swordsman of the family, much less reaching his father's level.

That was the fate of a human afflicted with the Curse of Mana Deprivation.

“—I still don't know who you are.”

Allen spoke as he recalled the being he had seen beyond the iron bars.

An unidentified entity that had been represented by question marks in the system.

He still didn't know who that being was, but he wondered whether it might have been the one who had sent him into the past.

“Actually, I don't care who you are.”

Even for the faintest glimmer of hope, he would willingly risk his life. If a god appeared and demanded his soul, he could even surrender it with a smile.

If only he could break this curse.

He didn't care what the entity represented by the question marks truly was.

If that being really had sent him into the past.

If it truly possessed such tremendous power, then perhaps—

“Please... help me.”

Perhaps it could free him from this damned curse as well.

Allen sat down and brought the Silver Moon Grass to his mouth.

He had consumed countless elixirs far more precious than this one, but never before had he opened his mouth with such a trembling heart.

Allen wished with all his heart.

Just as the miracle of returning to the past had occurred, he prayed that another miracle would happen.

Crunch.

Allen chewed the Silver Moon Grass and closed his eyes.

A refreshing sensation, like mint, spread through his stomach.

It was a feeling he had never experienced before in his life.

At that sensation, Allen found himself thinking,

‘It's cool and pleasant.’

It was like a refreshing breeze encountered beneath the scorching sun. That pleasant energy was slowly coiling itself within his body.

Allen gradually became absorbed in the sensation.

And as he surrendered himself to that cool feeling he was experiencing for the first time, he took a deep breath.

[You have consumed Silver Moon Grass.]

[Mana has increased by 1.]

* * *

Lucas stood outside the door to Allen's room.

He was standing guard for his younger brother while he consumed the elixir. For an elixir to take full effect, someone needed to protect the person absorbing it.

If someone were to interrupt the absorption process, the elixir might not produce its full benefits.

Of course, it was a completely pointless endeavor.

‘Has he still not given up?’

After all, overcoming the Curse of Mana Deprivation was impossible.

That was a fact proven by more than a thousand years of history.

The family, the Empire, and even the Transcendents of the Demonic Realm.

Every one of them had shaken their heads, declaring that nothing could be done about the Curse of Mana Deprivation.

Silver Moon Grass?

As a child, Allen had consumed elixirs a hundred, even a thousand times more precious than that.

There was no possibility that something as insignificant as Silver Moon Grass could overcome the Curse of Mana Deprivation.

“That foolish brat.”

Lucas closed his eyes in frustration.

In the darkness behind his eyelids, the image of Allen as a child appeared.

“I'm going to become a swordsman even stronger than Father!”

The little boy had casually made a declaration that would have shocked anyone who heard it.

At the time, Lucas had responded to those audacious words with a question.

“What do you intend to do once you become that strong?”

“Do I have to do something just because I'm strong?”

“Great power comes with great responsibility. If you become that strong, responsibility will follow you whether you seek it or not.”

“...?...??”

“Did you understand what I said?”

“No!”

Allen, who had been only six years old, had merely tilted his head in confusion.

Thinking back on it now, Lucas wondered what on earth he had been saying to a child that young.

Back then, he had seated his little brother on his lap and delivered a lengthy lecture about what it meant to be a swordsman and what responsibility entailed. Even though he himself had been too young to properly understand those things.

Allen's talent had been exceptional.

Not only among swordsmen his own age, but even among those several years older, it was difficult to find anyone who could match him.

Considering that all those opponents had been swordsmen of Vishken, Allen's talent had ranked among the finest on the entire continent.

However.

“The second young master is afflicted with the Curse of Mana Deprivation.”

“The Curse of Mana Deprivation?”

“It is a congenital condition that prevents him from sensing or accumulating mana.”

They had discovered this while investigating why he was unable to accumulate mana.

A wall had appeared before his once-brilliant younger brother.

But that wall was so enormous and thick that it was utterly impossible to overcome.

After learning about the Curse of Mana Deprivation, Allen had gradually begun to change.

Fortunately, he had not abandoned the sword or surrendered to despair, but instead, he had become even more stubborn and withdrawn.

Whenever anyone offered even the slightest advice, he would become defensive. As though he believed everyone looked down on him, he always seemed strangely sensitive and anxious.

He had behaved the same way toward Lucas.

“Allen, if you keep pushing your body so hard, you'll only make yourself ill. Rest is also part of training, you know...”

“Brother.”

“...?”

“You think I'm an idiot too, don't you? That's why you keep telling me things like that. Because you think all my efforts are useless anyway, right?”

Of course you do. Naturally.

Watching Allen mutter to himself and begin swinging his sword again, Lucas had been unable to say anything.

For a long time afterward, an invisible wall had remained between him and his younger brother.

‘And here I thought he'd finally gotten better.’

Lucas fiddled with the small bottle of liquor Allen had given him.

He had expected his brother to be disheartened by the failure of his first mission, but Allen had seemed strangely cheerful. He was no longer as gloomy or defensive as before.

It was almost as though his younger brother had returned to the boy he had been in childhood.

At first, Lucas thought Allen had finally overcome the despair caused by the Curse of Mana Deprivation.

But that wasn't it.

Seeing how desperately Allen had sought an elixir, it seemed he had once again begun to harbor hope that he could overcome the curse.

“I hope he won't be too disappointed.”

Lucas feared that this latest failure might cause Allen to revert to his old self. From a bright and affectionate younger brother back into someone gloomy and consumed by defeat.

Hope had a cruel side to it.

If you climbed toward the clouds because they looked beautiful, the betrayal you felt when you fell was all the greater.

Some time passed, and a faint sound came from inside the room.

Hearing it, Lucas opened the door slightly and looked inside.

Allen was sitting with his back toward the door.

It appeared that he had finished consuming the elixir. His duty as a guardian complete, Lucas entered the room.

“Allen.”

Allen did not answer when called.

Lucas could see his shoulders shaking.

When he stepped closer, he saw that Allen was sitting with his head lowered, sobbing uncontrollably.

The sound he had heard from outside had been Allen's sobs.

“...”

No matter how many times Allen had been frustrated, he had never once shed tears, even when his behavior had grown twisted and bitter.

Lucas hesitated, wondering how he should comfort him, before finally opening his mouth.

“...What did you expect from something as insignificant as Silver Moon Grass? You've already consumed countless elixirs far superior to it.”

This time as well, rather than offering comfort, he chose to treat Allen as he normally did.

“If you're finished, let's head back. If we leave right now, we can still arrive without being too late. Strictly speaking, your mission wasn't a failure, so there's no need to worry too much.”

Allen did not answer. Instead, he shook his head.

Was he refusing to return?

Lucas raised his voice.

“Don't be stubborn, Allen. Even without mana, you are still a swordsman of Vishken and a child of the family head. Don't forget that...”

It was then.

Allen, who had been sitting silently, raised his hand.

A small but bluish energy gathered in his trembling palm.

Lucas was startled at the sight.

It was such a faint energy that it would have been impossible to sense without concentrating, but it was unmistakably mana.

“You...!”

Lucas's eyes widened almost to their limits.

Allen could not say a word.

He merely continued shedding tears.

As though savoring this very moment, when he had finally been freed from the curse that had tormented him his entire life.

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After quite some time, Allen was smiling broadly with a face swollen from crying.

One moment he had been crying, and the next he was laughing. Lucas let out a disbelieving chuckle at the sudden change in his expression and asked,

“Finished crying?”

“Yeah. Just pretend you didn't see that. I'm so embarrassed I could die.”

“How could I not see it? You were crying so loudly.”

Lucas turned and left the room.

“I'm hungry. Let's get something to eat.”

Allen had expected Lucas to insist that they depart as soon as he composed himself, but his brother was the first to suggest a meal.

Having worked up quite an appetite from crying, Allen sprang to his feet. Rather than continue talking about his tears, it seemed better to eat something.

Lucas went down to the restaurant on the first floor, took a seat, and ordered several dishes.

Normally, Lucas preferred bread and soup, meat, and coffee. But the dishes he ordered this time were somewhat different.

Smoked meat and sausages, grilled cheese with herbs, and several kinds of dried fruit.

Rather than a proper meal, the selection resembled snacks meant to accompany alcohol.

Sure enough, the quick-witted server brought them drinking glasses.

“Can you handle your liquor?”

Lucas took out the liquor before the food had even arrived.

It was the precious liquor Allen had bought at the black market and given him as a gift. Judging by how he removed the stopper before Allen even answered, he had already decided they were going to drink.

“I've had some before.”

That was only half the truth.

He hadn't merely tried alcohol. There had even been a period when he'd practically lived at the bottom of a bottle. Perhaps because he was in such a good mood, he had already been craving a drink.

“Then have a glass.”

“This is our first drink together, Brother.”

“That's because you were still young.”

To Allen, those words sounded almost like an invitation to drink together more often from now on.

Allen nodded and held out his glass.

As Lucas poured liquor into Allen's glass, he spoke.

“Congratulations.”

Allen, who had been accepting the drink without much thought, suddenly felt a lump rise in his throat.

This was a celebratory drink for having overcome the Curse of Mana Deprivation.

Once again, the reality that he had truly overcome the curse struck him. It felt as though the day he had longed for had finally arrived.

But he couldn't very well start bawling again.

Allen swallowed the liquor in one gulp, along with the tears that still lingered.

“It's delicious!”

The liquor he had drained to the last drop was truly delicious.

Who would have thought such strong alcohol could taste so sweet?

Without a hint of exaggeration, it was the most delicious liquor he had ever tasted in his life.

“I think I'll have to visit the black market to buy liquor from now on. I've never tasted anything this good before.”

“Allen.”

At that moment, Lucas, who had likewise emptied his glass in one gulp, asked,

“Do you want to become the family head?”