Reincarnation of the Abandoned Genius

Chapter 1

The Duke of Brayo raises even dogs as dragons.

This was not just a rumour but a well-known fact.

I am living proof.

Louis de Brayo, a genius of the century.

People called me “the genius of the century,” as I was the third son born into the Brayo family.

All eyes were on me, and I became the genius they expected me to be.

At three years old, I could speak three languages.

At four, I memorized the famously difficult Brayo Aura Technique.

At five, I created a three-class magic formula.

It was a type of invisibility magic.

By eight years old, my nickname had changed.

The genius of theory.

The Duke of Brayo gathered not only the family’s retainers but also experts invited from outside.

Only the King, besides the Duke of Brayo, could gather such talented individuals.

Everyone wore a serious expression.

They examined the young boy’s body, each in their own way.

None of them volunteered to take responsibility for the boy.

“Does he really have no talent at all? No spirit magic? No divine magic?”

The Duke turned to the high priest of the Harrian Church, who had been sent as a representative.

The high priest was a candidate to become the next pope.

The high priest bowed deeply.

“I apologize, Your Grace.”

“No, there’s no need for you to apologize.”

The Duke’s sigh made the atmosphere even heavier.

After a brief moment, he spoke.

“Then what can this child do?”

Everyone looked around at each other.

As a human being, the child could do anything.

Even if it was just unskilled labour, it would be something.

But the bloodline of the Duke’s family couldn’t just do anything.

They had to choose a recognized profession and become the best within it.

Pachus, the family’s chief mage, carefully opened his mouth.

“…I can become a theoretical magician.”

“Wasn’t it you who claimed that the magic theories of a theoretical magician, who can’t even sense dominion, are nothing but illusions?”

“Yes, that’s true. But perhaps, one day, the young master may surpass that limit.”

It was an unclear answer.

Pachus knew better than anyone how much the Duke hated vague answers.

Pachus lowered his head deeply and didn’t dare to look the Duke in the eye.

If a theoretical magician can exist in this world, that person would be the third son of the Brayo family.

But Pachus didn’t say this out loud.

It was just another vague statement, and it could upset the Duke.

Sword Master Brayo.

He was the head of the Brayo family and a legendary figure known as the greatest swordsman on the continent.

He was revered like a living god by knights across the land.

“There happens to be an opening in our church for a position in doctrine studies…”

“That’s a position perfectly suited for the child of a baron. Go offer it to Hebron’s sheep. Those fools would probably accept it with tears in their eyes.”

The high priest’s face twisted bitterly.

Doctrine studies were all about memorization, and that was the Brayo third son’s strength.

He could memorize anything.

Not only that, he could even spot errors in the theories and even create new ones.

The third son of the Brayo family was more talented than the high priest who taught doctrine, but a person who couldn’t even use divine magic could never inherit the position of high priest.

“The young master excels in medicine.”

A man in his early forties spoke up.

The Duke glared at him.

His gaze was fierce, but the man didn’t avert his eyes.

He was the Duke’s butler, responsible for the upbringing of the Duke’s children.

“Medicine? Are you suggesting my son should live a life of healing commoners?”

“Every year, hundreds, even thousands, of people die from disease and plague. You cannot cure them with divine magic. But if the young master seriously studied medicine, he could save those lives. Brayo’s fame would reach the heavens.”

“Fame? The common people? Do you think that’s more important than the prestige of the Brayo family?”

The butler tried to respond.

He believed that medicine was the perfect field for the third son of the Brayo family.

But the butler hesitated.

He had to risk his life with his next answer.

He briefly pondered if it was worth it.

The butler closed his eyes, recalling the third son’s past. Then he opened them again.

The butler’s stiff face and the Duke’s murderous gaze locked in a tense standoff.

At that moment, the child, who had been shrinking away from the adult discussion, spoke up.

“…I will find it.”

His voice was small but firm.

He was a small boy, no more than six or seven years old.

He raised his head and looked at the adults, speaking clearly.

“I will find it myself. I will become someone who will not bring shame to this family.”

The Duke raised his right hand.

On his finger was the family seal, signifying a command that could not be undone.

“Feed the child the Dragon’s Breath.”

The room stirred.

Dragon’s Breath.

It was a potion that could raise one’s mana and aura, something that could not be bought even with money.

However, for someone without even a small amount of energy, it was more like poison.

It was known that even a healthy man would not survive for more than three years after consuming Dragon’s Breath.

It meant the boy would either grow or die.

If the boy showed signs of growth, he would rapidly improve thanks to the Dragon’s Breath.

The Duke looked down at the boy with indifferent eyes and said, “A common human cannot be a part of the Brayo family.”

I would die in three years.

Everyone said so with certainty, but I endured it for ten years.

I even had a vague belief that I might survive even longer, but each day was painful.

I was trapped in a small room, unable to even use my abilities.

For the last five years, I hadn’t left my room.

It was my father’s will and my own choice.

Louis.

The “de Brayo” attached to my name was gone.

Rumours had spread for ten years that I had contracted a terrible illness and was suffering.

It was all part of the Duke of Brayo’s plan to prepare for my death after consuming Dragon’s Breath.

Just surviving wasn’t enough to prove myself.

In the Brayo family, mere survival was looked down upon.

Those who were alive had to prove their worth.

I studied continuously in my room.

I devoured all medical books and memorized the effects of every plant that grew on the continent.

I combined them to create new medicines.

Thanks to that, my life expectancy, which was initially thought to be three years, was extended to ten.

‘If I can just get past this next hurdle, I can live for five more years. Maybe even longer.’

The toxicity of Dragon’s Breath, combined with the effects of various medicines, pushed my body to its limits.

To escape my doomed fate, I needed to break all common sense.

I needed a new theory that no one had ever attempted.

‘I’ve done my best.’

I memorized every magic and swordsmanship theory I could find.

I spent four years inventing new magic, hoping to find something even someone without talent like me could use.

The next three years were spent learning all kinds of techniques, but my body couldn’t gather even a drop of energy.

I studied medicine, herbalism, elemental magic, and divine magic.

I made full use of the Brayo family’s resources.

I borrowed books from the royal library and even found and studied ancient texts that had not yet been deciphered.

I searched tirelessly to find cases where someone had learned powers through extraordinary methods, but there were almost no records in the endless history of humanity.

If there were any, they were dangerous methods, like risking one’s soul, and none of them were practical.

Five years after consuming Dragon’s Breath, the Duke of Brayo gave his command.

“Lock the door and control access.”

My brothers didn’t come to see me.

My mother turned her back on me.

My little sister occasionally visited, but even she stopped coming after a while.

Adults had forbidden her from visiting.

‘Because I’m not of their blood.’

As I stayed locked away in my room, I stumbled upon the secrets of the Brayo family.

‘I am a created genius. The Duke of Brayo bought talented slaves and even resorted to kidnapping to create geniuses. I found signs that they were trying to form a specialized organization for this. Though I couldn’t find concrete evidence.’

Unfortunately, my access to information was limited in the basement room.

Based on the family’s forbidden books I read as a child, accounting ledgers, and the documents I could access, I could only speculate.

Perhaps it was all just paranoia that came from being isolated in the room.

Otherwise, how could they so easily abandon their own flesh and blood?

‘It’s not entirely impossible. My two older brothers and sister’s talents are average. No, they’re slightly better than average, but the stories of them being the ones to shape Brayo’s future are just exaggerated rumours.’

Despite the public’s high praise, the internal evaluation of the Brayo family was cold and even cruel.

The family needed a genius like Swordmaster Brayo, but my siblings didn’t meet that standard.

‘Maybe my father placed his hopes on me.’

It didn’t make sense to feed Dragon’s Breath to someone with no talent.

I was the only one born with genius, but I awakened abilities that were completely different from theirs.

Abilities that were useless to Brayo.

‘But I still have to survive. I have to survive and prove my abilities to become part of the Brayo family. I’ll survive and become the Duke of Brayo.’

The servants who were in charge of me stopped speaking to me.

Even Dante, the butler who used to visit me, had stopped coming three years ago.

I became a ghost in the Brayo family’s basement.

‘I was once praised as a genius, but now I’m a flaw in the family that can raise dogs as dragons. No, my name has probably been erased from this world. They’ve likely deleted all records of me as if I never existed.’

That was the way of the Brayo family. Even the firstborn who should inherit the title was no exception.

For the brilliant talents!

That was the Brayo family’s slogan.

The inscription was hung in the centre of the dining hall, and when I was young, I always felt a suffocating heaviness whenever I ate.

‘It’s over.’

I tried everything, but I failed every time.

Neither existing magic, aura techniques, nor medicine could cure me.

I tried elemental magic and shamanism, but nothing worked.

‘The only thing left is…’

I had been studying ancient languages in my spare time.

To understand high-level magic theory, ancient languages were essential.

Magicians wouldn’t admit it, but most modern high-level magic is based on ancient magic.

Foolish modern magicians couldn’t create high-level magic above class 7.

They were limited to studying and implementing the magic left in ancient artefacts.

I studied the ancient language and memorized ancient magic books.

If I had the ability, I was confident I could create class 9 magic, not just class 7.

But in reality… I couldn’t even cast a basic class 1 spell.

‘All that’s left are ancient fairy tales.’