Sir Hero, It’s Time to Train!

“Whew. This feels refreshing.”

After completing his daily tasks, washing up neatly, and lying down in bed, Christian found himself questioning whether there could be anything happier than this feeling.

Truthfully, about eighty percent of this elation probably came from having teased—no, properly engaged with Aira, even if just a little.

“Now, I think I understand why master always pushed me so hard and made me move against my will.”

Back then, he had not understood.

To make that frail body more human-like, she had to exert more effort than her stubborn apprentice. To fill in the deficiencies, she had to work tirelessly and earn money.

“Seeing her so upset, I can finally comprehend why master was always angry.”

“If she just put in a little more effort, she’d mature quickly! No, no, she shouldn’t be doing that! Oh goodness, doing that there is asking for trouble! You brat, I told you everything, so why don’t you understand!”

Anyway, seeing the rejuvenated Aira made Christian eager to help her improve as soon as possible.

“Well, even so, I won’t completely take charge of her……”

Ultimately, what he could obtain from sparring with Garcia was an incredible allowance and training time with Aira.

The extent of that training time had to be coordinated with Liana again. He wanted to be entrusted with Aira entirely, but he knew well that it was impossible.

“Even if I really give up everything, aunt won’t believe me, and my mother will be strongly opposed.”

Being in an ambiguous position like this was inconvenient. While he worked as a “hero,” he didn’t bother with any unnecessarily high ranks or titles.

Being in a high position restricted one’s movement, and being part of an organization involved too much unwelcome consideration of others’ gazes.

Thinking about future plans, the position of ‘family head’ seemed nothing but cumbersome baggage.

“In any case, let’s proceed step by step. After all, time is on my side, and I shouldn’t rush the peace of this damn family only to ruin it.”

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Christian closed his eyes and began to summon his mana quietly.

“I should wrap it up and get some sleep.”

Aira often criticized Christian for putting so much focus on physical training, but he never neglected his daily training to heighten his mana sensitivity.

Of course, his still immature body limited him to this level, but once his body was fully developed, he would incorporate mana sensitivity training.

As they say, a healthy body houses healthy mana. It’s a necessary process since mana doesn’t magically appear just by building a strong body.

“Hmm……”

Christian circulated the drawn mana throughout his body, even letting it flow to his fingertips and hair, ensuring even distribution. Simultaneously, he cautiously directed it to his heart and nudged the troublesome tenant residing there.

“I really feel like forcing the door open.”

If he truly wanted to, he could do it, but the moment he tried, it would inevitably lead him back to his grave.

“Really, having a treasure right before my eyes—or rather, within my body—and yet being unable to use it at all!”

Christian sighed deeply with regret, as he tried to channel even more mana, which quickly coursed through his veins.

This was also a method to cultivate a meticulous control over his mana and served the purpose of paving the way for smoother movement of mana.

“Hmm?” he murmured.

When one of the many streams of mana coursing through his veins came to a sudden stop, he couldn’t help but sigh deeply again.

“Could it be that I’m still not accustomed to this body?!”

Christian pondered.

In his previous body, performing something like a mana shower was a task he could have done in his sleep. So making such a mistake while being fairly focused was perplexing to him.

“Huh?”

Another stream of mana stopped.

“Uh-oh…?”

Then three more streams of mana froze.

“Wh-why is this happening?”

In the short span, six more streams of mana had halted.

The hundreds of slender streams of mana that had extended throughout his entire body were not only stopping sequentially but also unraveling one by one.

This was not an unusual phenomenon. It often appeared in those who were unskilled in handling mana.

However, the issue lay in the fact that Christian did not fall into that category of “unskilled” people.

Even if it was someone else’s body, the handling of mana should essentially remain the same.

Moreover, while disturbances in a few might be understandable, the fact that all the mana streams moving throughout his body were sequentially unraveling as if they had been waiting for it…

“Are you a mana distorter too?!”

A mana distorter.

That had been the reason his master had taken Christian under her wing in his previous life.

***

Mana Distortion or Mana Corruption.

Every living being in this world existed submerged in the vast sea of invisible mana contained in the atmosphere.

Therefore, each living being held mana within its body, and its form would change based on how it was processed.

Breathing in the mana contained in the air naturally and exhaling it back out likewise was an instinctive act of survival.

During this process, filtering out harmful impurities, or the remnants of mana, from the body served as a kind of survival instinct.

However, mana distorters were different. They accepted all these impurities and failed to filter them out, allowing them to accumulate within their bodies gradually.

Imperceptibly slow, the impurities would settle throughout the body, absorbing internal mana and growing in size.

And once those impurities had grown enough to fill the interior, the person would lose all the energy needed for survival, ultimately leading to death.

“Why is this happening now?!!”

Christian exclaimed.

The onset of mana corruption typically occurred around age five at the latest.

During this critical growth period, the body could only handle a small amount of mana. Thus, even the slightest accumulation of impurities posed a dire threat.

However, if someone with mana corruption possessed exceptional mana sensitivity and accumulated more mana than what was lost to impurities, the timeline could change.

In his previous life, Christian experienced the onset of mana corruption at age ten. Yet, delaying the onset offered no comfort. As the onset was postponed, the amount of accumulated impurities increased, which severely warped the mana and made treatment more difficult.

If it hadn’t been Aira Worden, a person who could barely count as one of the continent’s top experts, who managed to correct Christian’s mana corruption, he would surely have died.

Of course, even Aira found it insufficient to handle alone, eventually requiring the help of friends to barely treat Christian.

The later the onset of symptoms, the exponentially greater the amount of mana needed for treatment. And now…

“At fifteen, it’s manifesting?!”

No wonder death was likely. It would be a miracle not to die.

Even if the onset occurred before age five, nine out of ten cases resulted in death. Only someone born into a good family with caregivers nearby might survive an onset.

“I was too complacent! Too careless!”

This wasn’t even considered a reason for dying young. Instead, it was expected he might get caught up in family infighting and be assassinated or fall in battle.

There were plenty of ways to deal with those two scenarios, but who could have predicted the sudden emergence of mana corruption, unmanageable alone?

Especially at fifteen, long past the average onset age.

“Damn it, damn it all!”

The strands of mana coursing through his body fragmented along the way.

Although he couldn’t ascertain the impurities lodged within, now—before full onset—was definitely the last chance to treat his body.

But the problem was that no one nearby had the overwhelming mana required to wash away the impurities.

When he manifested symptoms at age ten, to correct his mana corruption…

“I remember using what seemed like two Ether Weapons then.”

Now, at fifteen, how much mana would be necessary?

As Christian calculated who might willingly step forward for a complete stranger and the time it would take for them to arrive, he suddenly shuddered as something occurred to him.

“No, I still have the Ether Weapons… don’t I?”

He knew how to expel the impurities. The vast mana, the Ether Weapons, was still dormant in his chest.

The thought crossed his mind, bringing some hesitation.

“Is it possible?”

He had to attempt healing himself without the aid of a supervising doctor. Though he hesitated briefly, the growing heat and pain rising from his gut lightened the weight of his doubts.

“If I’m going to die anyway, there’s no point in hesitating, is there?”

Taking a deep breath, Christian forcibly squeezed out his remaining mana to quickly forge a strand leading to his heart.

Once he confirmed the connection to the massive mana orb lodged in his heart, he murmured to himself.

“Arsenal…”

If you don’t want to die either, respond.

“Open.”