Chapter 9

Chapter 9

9. Louiswell (5)

Looking back, Benrik had never particularly harbored something called a dream.

The life in the newly born world was too harsh so there was no leisure to dream such things,

···With that kind of words to gloss over everything, the fact is that if human life is that hard it is also difficult to maintain sanity.

This absence of orientation was actually continued from the previous life, that is, the life in the Republic of Korea.

In his past life he moderately graduated elementary, middle, high school, entered a university matching his grades, moderately enlisted, and returned to society again.

Without particularly anything he wanted to do or a dream, following what others do, he lived a calm life like a stream flowing along the valley.

There were times when he seriously considered it tired of the gazes looking at him as pathetic, but even that consideration was not something that came from the heart.

If he hadn’t been hit by a dump truck before graduating university, he probably would have lived smoothly and without features and died like that.

‘Thinking about it, the time in the army was when the heart was most comfortable.’

There, as long as he did well what was told, he didn’t have to receive gazes that crush him like looking at a person with no potential for development.

This was ironically also the reason the reborn Benrik could adapt to this life without great difficulty.

If it was a life with a lot accumulated, just by the fact of dying young at the age of twenty-five, wouldn’t there have been many days unable to sleep at night.

Is that why.

Even though life is hard and harsh, Benrik considered the life here not so bad.

Because it made him not need to, nor feel the necessity to, soak in useless thoughts.

Rather it was also the side he liked.

When facing killing intent that seemed like he would lose his mind, or looking at the inside of the throat of a magical beast draped right in front of his nose, he only thought that dreams and whatever, he was glad to be alive.

So why am I telling this story now.

─Thump thump thump···!

···It seems he has something he wants to learn.

***

Benrik thought.

‘Have I ever had my heart race this much except when being chased by a magical beast?’

Even when he knew the existence of the reincarnation privilege he was happy, but it didn’t seem to tremble like this.

The reincarnation privilege was a useful privilege without needing to say.

Of course he is glad it appeared.

Thanks to it he saved his life several times, dozens of times, and the fact that a way to live opened is also true.

But is it because he peeked at their memories.

There was always a thought in one corner of his head that he just received for free what others poured years, decades into achieving.

To compare, um···.

Isn’t it similar to the feeling of inheriting luxury clothes someone else wore.

“Hmm?”

How much time had passed looking at the light cluster along with the thoughts.

“If you came why didn’t you call.”

Along with a puzzled voice Jenkinson sheathed the sword.

Benrik who approached as if running asked.

“Just now did you move mana? Are you going to teach me? Even though it’s the probation period?”

Jenkinson nodded reluctantly. The voice and tone were ordinary, but there was excitement that couldn’t be hidden in the expression.

‘It is true that I called him to teach the mana operation method but···.’

The uncharacteristically excited appearance, the strangely sparkling eyes, even the faintly wafting smell.

“Did you drink alcohol?”

The cheeks being slightly flushed seems correct.

···Who fed alcohol to a kid? It can’t be Hodge, is it the Matthew bastard?

“That’s not what’s important, what is mana?”

“I said I’d teach, don’t be impatient.”

At the gaze sparkling to the point of being burdensome Jenkinson was inwardly flustered. The gap with the guy who acted transcendent like an old child was considerable.

“No not that. Why didn’t you say you are an aura user.”

What kind of out of the blue words is this. Only then understanding the child’s words Jenkinson raised his eyebrows.

“Aura?”

“Don’t pretend. I clearly saw the light gathering to the sword just now.”

What he was saying was this.

That he saw the appearance of light particles floating in the air like dust being absorbed into his beloved weapon.

“Hmm.”

Jenkinson who briefly dug through his memory said.

“I don’t know how you saw it, but that is probably not aura.”

“Then?”

“I myself have never seen it with my eyes so I can’t be sure, but it would be mana.”

He had heard a story that those with high mana affinity sometimes see unrefined atmospheric mana.

Jenkinson recalled Benrik who once asserted that he had no talent.

‘No talent my ass, such nonsense.’

Mana affinity was an element that depended on talent more than anything.

He who injected short common sense about mana to Benrik who doesn’t know well about mana said.

“For reference a little while ago I was absorbing the atmospheric mana. What you saw was probably that process.”

It is a process one must go through to handle mana.

“Mana exists in all places. But to handle mana one must go through a certain refining process. The process of sucking in for refining. This is called tonap.”

Jenkinson said so and pointed at the ground.

“Sit.”

Benrik readily nodded and sat down.

“First it starts from feeling mana. In a stable state block external senses and concentrate solely on sensing the mana scattered in the air.”

It was the reason Jenkinson disliked being disturbed during training.

In this state external senses become dull while instincts, that is instincts like rebound from stimuli, are maximized.

For Benrik it was an unnecessary process.

The child would be feeling mana more clearly than Jenkinson even without particularly concentrating his mind, even without closing his eyes and deliberately blocking senses.

“But you don’t particularly need to. Think of pulling the mana visible to the eyes. Just pull the visible light cluster with breath and confine it in your heart. When you get used to it you can absorb mana not with breath but with skin like me.”

“······.”

“If you understood try once.”

He said simply, but he knew it was by no means an easy process.

Even he himself felt mana around when a year had passed. It took another 3 years from there to tonap and refine mana, and it took 5 years to make the refined mana dwell in the body.

Jenkinson becoming a mana user was only a little over two years ago.

‘This guy seems to have ridiculously high mana affinity, so it will be shorter. How long until refining? One year? Half a year?’

It was when Jenkinson was gauging. Benrik, as if confused, frowned the corners of his eyes and asked.

“So Jenkinson’s words mean that the light cluster floating in the air now should be visible?”

Actually being confused was correct.

Because right after Jenkinson stopped that tonap the light cluster also disappeared.

In fact even while listening to his explanation there was a puzzling part.

Among the extremely few people with high affinity there exist those who can see mana with their eyes. And there is no method to develop affinity postnatally.

‘Then···.’

Then shouldn’t he have seen it from childhood?

But the first time Benrik witnessed mana was today.

Then as if realizing something Jenkinson asked.

“Surely you can’t see it···? Hmm. Close your eyes and concentrate your senses.”

As said he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Atmospheric mana, atmospheric mana···.

“······.”

After a long while opening his eyes Benrik confessed with a miserable heart.

“···I don’t feel it.”

“No, you saw it earlier? Affinity doesn’t fluctuate like that? Did you concentrate?”

“I did?”

Jenkinson who was looking at Benrik with eyes of disbelief crumpled his eyebrows as if frustrated.

“No, then why can’t you see that!”

“Why are you asking me that.”

The frustration is the same for Benrik.

Hadn’t he already been nailed once by Gerik that you have no talent, you can’t.

In a state of being broken once he harbored hope but that hope disappeared. Originally it is harder to endure being given and then taken than not being given at all.

“Strange.”

Muttering he drew the sword.

And like the first time Benrik saw, he held the sword in a middle stance and closed his eyes.

“···Uh?”

─Paaaat···!

Then without even needing to concentrate the mind a sparkling light cluster appeared in the air.

“Uh uh! Now I can see!”

Looking a bit closer he could even clearly see the appearance of the light particles absorbed into the sword going down to the handle and seeping into his palm.

“Hmm.”

Jenkinson who opened his eyes along with a groan made a troubled expression. And said awkwardly.

“······I don’t know well either.”

“Yes?”

Jenkinson who vigorously scratched his brown hair said irritably.

“Damn, I also don’t know what is what. It seems I can only see the moment I tonap. What is this? Why is it like this? Do you really not feel anything at all? Not even one gram?”

“I said so.”

Jenkinson’s understanding of mana is not that high.

“Huh, what on earth is it? This is a case I’ve never heard of either.”

It seems he needs to seek advice from someone with richer knowledge than him···.

‘For example a knight or···.’

Pause, at the face that suddenly came to mind a faint conflict appeared on Jenkinson’s face.

‘Tch, can’t be helped.’

He didn’t want to disappoint the child who was full of expectation.

“When we arrive at Bromwood I’ll introduce a suitable person.”

“Who?”

“···A former knight. If unlucky you might even be able to see the aura you so desire.”

“Really?”

Seeing the appearance brightening quickly he thought the child is certainly a child.

“By the way didn’t you say you didn’t have dinner? Today Matthew said he’s treating everything, it probably hasn’t ended yet so let’s go in and eat together. I also emptied my strength so I’m starving to death.”

“···? Emptied strength? What strength?”

“The strength left my heart.”

Unlike the deflated words the hope harbored again was not something easily broken.

***

The mercenary group and Oswald’s who thoroughly relieved the travel fatigue in Louiswell gathered in front of the checkpoint on the village outskirts.

The merchant Johansson whose shin was bitten by the snow leopard had surprisingly recovered to the point of being able to move in four days.

When Benrik admired the magical thing, he smiled weakly and said.

“Thanks to the priest’s grace. There was a healing priest at the church. Of course also thanks to you, Benrik.”

“What did I do?”

I haven’t even seen his face since coming here?

Hearing the story, he said if it was a bit later he would have had to live limping for life.

It seems because he didn’t miss the treatment timing there were no aftereffects left.

“Fortunate.”

But somehow the expression didn’t look that happy.

As Benrik was puzzled Oswald whispered.

“···Because as compensation he donated almost all the profit obtained from this trade trip.”

···I see.

Jenkinson who finished the procedures approached.

“As expected, they took out a lot.”

Looking around the noticeably reduced merchants he said. As he said the number of merchants who left the group with Marcel was six.

Compared to when departing from the village it was a number corresponding to almost one-third.

Oswald let out a troubled groan.

“Sorry, I tried to persuade but they had firmly made up their minds.”

“No, what persuasion. Rather it turned out well, if we continued together either I would have died of anger or that guy would have died.”

He didn’t show it so he didn’t know, but it seemed he had endured a lot too.

Ending with words unknown whether joke or serious the group left Louiswell.

And less than a full day after departing, they discovered six corpses horribly cut to pieces.

“······.”

They were the merchants who left the journey a day earlier.

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