How to Live as a Swordmaster of the Enemy Nation

Forbidden Grimoire

"Go on."

As soon as Gregory received permission, the butler scurried out of the room in a hurry.

'Practicing mana cultivation is my assignment?'

For Gregory, who in his previous life had been a swordmaster, cultivating mana was an exceedingly simple task.
However, the problem lay in the lack of time.

No matter how talented a person may be, drawing forth mana into one's body in a short time is difficult.

The fundamental problem was with 'Gregory' himself. This was a renowned house of swordsmen. He must have tried every cultivation method available, yet still failed—there had to be a reason.

Time was running out. If this assignment had been postponed three times already, there was hardly any room left to put it off further. His father's trust must have already hit rock bottom.

'So this is the only conclusion left.'

Gregory retraced the memories of his previous life as if feeling his way through with his hands. Among the scattered fragments of shattered memories, what he chose was the forbidden grimoire.

He had had the chance to read that grimoire when he became the commander of the 1st Order of the Blandi Kingdom.
The grimoire was kept in a place only accessible to those appointed to the kingdom's inner circle; in other words, a place one might only see once in a lifetime, if at all.

Though the memory was hazy and clouded, if what was written in that grimoire was to be believed, he could have mana bloom within his body in a week, or, if done well, even in five days.

Furthermore, once mana was inscribed into the body, the method of mana control could not be changed again, so even if most people read the forbidden grimoire, they still could not use it.
That's right. Though the pretext was only for those in the kingdom's inner circle, in truth, it was a method of mana control exclusively reserved for royalty.

To Gregory, that grimoire was forbidden by name, but in theory, it felt more like a hidden grimoire.

Currently, Gregory's body had not yet learned a method of mana control.
Yet, since he knew the contents of this book, he could expect tremendous gains.

Certainly, if he used this grimoire, he could inscribe mana of higher purity into his body than the norm.

Gregory felt it. If he were to use this method of mana control, he might suffer some unknown side effects or gain unforeseen abilities—there was that uncertainty as well.

But did it matter? His will was blazing uncontrollably, like an unquenchable fire. If he did not resort to this, he might face expulsion or even death.

'So this 'Gregory' was a useless failure who couldn't even manifest mana by the age of sixteen?'

Most other siblings awakened their talents and began sparring at seven or eight years old, but Gregory had no such talent, nor even the experience of sparring—he was the family's burden.

Gregory muttered as he looked up at the ceiling.

"Haha... Is that how it is? Now it makes sense. How entertaining."

He let out a bitter laugh.

If they hadn't discarded such garbage, and instead went so far as to treat him with contempt like this, perhaps it could even be considered good fortune in its own way.

Indeed, in his previous life, it wouldn't have been just a matter of missing an assignment—he would have lost his life, like trash set ablaze.

Placing a hand over his heart, Gregory vowed firmly. He would trample that proud nose of his father, who looked down on him like a bug. He swore to become the greatest swordsman and take his revenge on the Kingdom that cast him aside.

First, he sat down on his bed.

Then he began to recall what he remembered about the forbidden grimoire of the Blandi Kingdom.

Back then, he entertained the fanciful thought that maybe one day it would come in handy, so he had studied and focused intently on that grimoire.

So, from memory, he recited what he could, cautiously and with difficulty.

'I remember the early parts clearly.'

First, Gregory took a deep breath, then inhaled sharply. The reason was to draw in the mana suspended in the air into his mouth.

Next, he exhaled, swallowing only the mana and accumulating it in his lungs. The fact that one could swallow atmospheric mana was a peculiarity unique to this grimoire. Being able to draw mana from the air was a huge advantage.

Once mana accumulated in the lungs, it would spread via the alveoli and flow through the bloodstream.

'But....'

There was something Gregory had to do first—identify why mana did not circulate in his body.

Gregory intuitively knew: this body was afflicted by a vicious curse.
A blood vessel somewhere was cursed, absorbing all the mana. That was the problem.

The primary suspect was the heart. The heart supplies blood to the whole body and is the source of mana, so it was of utmost importance.

This was doubtless the Curse of Verk. A curse that made you frail and unable to use mana as a child, and as you aged, your body gradually decayed. Since it only afflicted the heart, it was easy to identify.

No ordinary cultivation could break through it easily, and, even with the utmost effort, it was said that the curse would only be lifted after the age of seventeen.

In his past life, Gregory had struggled with this curse and only managed to break it at nineteen, so he knew it well.

It seemed that this 'Gregory' had not quite given up either; he had just collapsed before a wall greater than himself.

'So we really do share the same constitution. No wonder I felt an odd sense of kinship.'

But this forbidden grimoire was powerful enough to offset Verk's curse. It was perfectly suited for Gregory's body.

To use this method, he had to stop his heart temporarily.

The brain would twist, muscles would lose their strength, the lungs would ache as if about to burst, and blood would run backward in pain. With ordinary mental fortitude, it would be impossible to endure.

'If I can withstand this, I'll be able to awaken tremendous power.'

He needed to focus all his nerves. For that focus, he had no choice but to lock his door. He'd already warned Magnus not to let anyone in, but there was no knowing what might happen. This was the path for himself.

Gregory stood at the crossroads of death or risking death by failure. Naturally, Gregory chose the latter.

First he lay back down on his bed, in case he lost strength and his posture faltered, risking injury.

Gregory controlled his breathing and gathered as much mana as his body could contain. As much as it would take.

The next step was the most important: he had to stop his heart from beating.

Who could ever imagine stopping the contraction and relaxation of one's own heart? Incredibly, that forbidden grimoire described the process exactly.

Gregory whispered the mysterious characters recorded in the forbidden grimoire, sharpening his focus to the utmost.

"Siste."

His whole body began to tingle, his throat tightened, and his complexion turned deathly pale as if all of his blood were drained.

He had to endure it.
For the overwhelming power that would be his reward.

As the heart and bloodstream stopped, he was able to control them naturally.

He gathered blood to his heart and accumulated mana there.

Gregory said the words he'd been reciting with difficulty.

"Cur hoc vertis."

As he uttered the incantation from the grimoire, a burning sensation filled his heart. It was agony, as if being torn apart. The pain that followed as the curse disappeared—he recognized it clearly from his previous life.

Mana with the grimoire's incantation fused with the curse in Gregory's body, and the acute pain gradually subsided, replaced by a lingering ache.

Once that pain reached its end, he uttered the final incantation.

"Operare."

Then his heart beat—once, twice, and then faster and faster.
It began to pulse again.

A faint afterimage, shaped like a ring, appeared around his heart.

'So I'll have to repeat this process several times going forward.'

He had only performed one round of cultivation, yet was already drenched in cold sweat. And naturally so—a forced blooming of mana through a forbidden method. It would have been stranger still if there had been no side effects.

It was truly agony of the worst sort and an ordeal of the highest difficulty. Still, that was fine.

Gregory had already gone through this once before.

'Let's do it again.'

The tightly closed door. In that room where no one else could enter, heat swelled and filled the air.

***

Six days passed.

Even as his mind grew faint, he gritted his teeth and endured, determined to have his revenge. The once-feeble ring was already whole, and mana began to flow through his body. With each ring, one advanced a star; in other words, he had reached the level of a 1-star knight.

All he had done was practice the mana control method, yet before he knew it, his body had grown as well. New lean muscle formed, and his breathing became much smoother.

'Is this the power of the forbidden grimoire?'

Compared to the method of mana control he used in his past life, the difference in power was overwhelming. He was more excited for what lay ahead.

Just as Gregory was marveling at his newfound power, things became noisy outside. Growing curious, Gregory pricked up his ears and listened.

"Hey Gregory, still not done yet? Are we going to find you dead in there at this rate?"

"Puahaha. If you're sixteen and still haven't manifested mana, you're just a retarded moron."

That taunting voice. It could only be Gregory's siblings.
To think that the ones making a fuss like children were his brothers. He wanted to believe they'd merely aged, not matured.

It stung to think he had to tolerate such treatment from such worthless beings simply because they manifested mana earlier than him.

The butler scolded them loudly.

"Ah... you mustn't do this. Young master said not to let anyone in."

Reino threatened the butler haughtily.

"Would you react the same if it were the head of the house telling you to move aside?"

The butler stayed silent.
And no wonder—if House Head Hemingway commanded, he would surely have to step aside.

This time, Kylo rebuked him.
The butler looked soft-hearted for fearing even the simple threats of his younger brother Reino, so Kylo was much more aggressive.

"Come on out. Are we really going to let our status be pushed around by some worthless bastard like him?"

The butler hesitated, but in the end, moved aside.
Gregory was grateful just for the effort he had shown in guarding the door.

As the door opened, sultry heat spilled out of the room.

Reino and Kylo strode in with their hands in their pockets.

Kylo waved his hand around his face, cringing at the stifling atmosphere.

"Ugh, what is that smell? Seriously, wash up, would you?"

Reino sneered wickedly at the sight and began hitting him.

"Kekeke. Moron, did you manifest mana yet? Don't tell me you're asking Father for another week's extension?"

Gregory hung his head low. Reino and Kylo assumed he was ashamed over his continued inability to manifest mana. Their mockery continued.

"Can't even talk? Just looking at you, the result is obvious. Why don't you just go die already?"

"Haaa, pathetic. You should learn a thing or two from us."

But what was there to fear now? Gregory, now armed with a powerful mana cultivation method. As he bowed his head, he was waiting for something else.

Reino grabbed his hair and shook it roughly, as if to toy with him, finding Gregory's lack of reaction amusing.

"When your elder brother speaks, you should look at him, shouldn't you? How about a sparring session for old times' sake? I feel like beating you up."

How timely. Gregory grinned slyly. There was a clear, sturdy ring formed around his heart. He needed a chance to warm up and adapt.

"Oh, yeah. You're here?"

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Right on time, the annoying siblings appear.
I'm guessing they're from different mothers...
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】