abcnovels
Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Chapter 3: Theo Ragnar (3)
Traditional families or factions generally aim for their disciples to first sense mana between the ages of five and ten.
However, the House of Ragnar was different.
Fifteen.
They delayed the process as much as possible, fearing that the overwhelming talent of the Ragnar family might consume its members instead of being controlled by them.
Instead, before that time, they would push their bodies to the extreme, building a foundation that would allow their talents to bloom.
And the moment when they opened their Aura Hall was called the .
A grand ritual where one’s status is elevated from an apprentice to a practitioner.
In the House of Ragnar, this prestigious event forced not only the direct and branch families who reached fifteen years old to participate, but also the descendants of their allied families.
Thus, with only five months left until the Blossoming Ceremony, Theo, by the rules, should never have been able to open his Aura Hall.
Because that was the ‘ancient tradition’ of the Ragnar family.
What if he opened it and got caught?
Immediate execution—death.
But.
Five years later, someone would appear who would break this tradition.
‘The Martial Monster, Newitz.’
A recluse scholar who once quietly studied in some remote mountain.
That was Theo’s master.
* * *
The House of Ragnar prided itself on being descendants of the ancient dragon. Yet their breathing techniques were different from a dragon’s, their way of using mana was different from a dragon’s, and even their method of constructing aura was different from a dragon’s…
One day, Newitz threw out a statement that turned the House of Ragnar upside down.
To summarize it briefly, it went something like this:
– You all claim to be descendants of the dragon, right? Then why do you use mana like humans, not like dragons?
– Are you all liars?
Theo still remembered it vividly.
The sight of all those arrogant elders, who normally carried themselves with such pride, bouncing around like wild boars hit by a stun shot.
Because what Newitz said was undeniably true, they couldn’t even protest and had to swallow their anger.
In the end, the entire council of elders and all thirteen of the House’s leaders gathered in one place and put their heads together.
To breathe like a dragon, to use mana like a dragon, to construct aura like a dragon, they came up with a single vision.
That was .
Traditionally, the Aura Hall was placed below the navel to the right, in what Theo called the .
However, the Dragon’s Heart was placed on the opposite side, in the left chest, near the heart.
The reason was simple: because dragons used their hearts as the core of their mana circuits, storing their energy there.
The problem was that, unlike dragons, who could freely control mana by nature, the knights of the House of Ragnar were ultimately human.
When they tried to install the Aura Hall in the heart, a significant number of people couldn’t withstand the rampaging mana and ended up either dead or crippled.
Eventually, the council of elders ruled it “impossible” and scrapped the Dragon’s Heart.
They had concluded that it was impossible to stabilize mana in the constantly throbbing heart.
However.
‘My master revived it.’
Newitz managed to obtain the abandoned Dragon’s Heart, repeatedly improved upon it, and successfully implanted it in Theo.
He even gave the refined Dragon’s Heart a different name:
Aura Heart.
It was described as a second mana organ that resonated with the Aura Hall in the Danjeon.
– A dragon is a dragon, and a human is a human. Forcing them to match doesn’t work. Idiots.
Theo could still hear his master’s laughter echoing in his ears.
Hehehe…
“But now, the Aura Heart we created back then is here again?”
[As an additional reward for evaluation, you have discovered the mana of your previous life.]
[All of the mana from your previous life has been bound to the newly created Aura Heart.]
Theo was dumbfounded, unsure how to process this.
The fact that he had been reincarnated or regressed was already surprising enough, but now his Aura Heart from his past life had been restored, despite his body having reverted to a younger state?
‘This is incredible.’
Of course, Theo had no intention of rejecting such a gift that had fallen into his lap.
In this era, the concept of an Aura Heart didn’t exist yet.
This meant he could train his aura as much as he wanted, away from the eyes of the family.
‘This will be my hidden trump card.’
The amount of mana he had accumulated in his previous life was far from small.
It was equivalent to that of a 5-star knight.
He could be considered a “master.”
Furthermore, if he could open his Aura Hall in the Danjeon and operate both mana organs simultaneously…
If he could amplify his abilities through resonance…
The resulting power would be beyond words.
‘It would be like having two engines.’
Moreover, his body, blessed with the unyielding martial bones of the House of Ragnar, only became tougher the more it was trained, rather than wearing down.
He had no concerns about his body being overburdened by the explosive power.
“Well, then. Let’s get to some serious training now.”
Just how strong could he become by the time of the Blossoming Ceremony?
He was already growing curious.
* * *
“Theo, young master, did you perhaps spill something on your clothes?”
“Why? Is there a problem?”
“Oh, no. It’s just that the clothes you usually wear have suddenly started smelling sour and are beginning to rot… Ah! I mean, it’s not that you smell bad or anything…!”
“I know. Don’t worry, I’m not offended. I was cooking something in the kitchen last night and spilled it on my clothes. That’s probably why. Sorry about that.”
“No! There’s no need to apologize! I didn’t mention it to get an apology…!”
As Theo left the room, he scratched the back of his head.
‘Circulating mana all night was so fun that I kept at it… I should probably wear some old clothes next time.’
The Aura Heart, which had absorbed the mana from his past life, was performing exceptionally well.
While constantly circulating mana to develop his mana circuits, he felt physically tired, but the mana itself never seemed to deplete.
Thanks to that, Theo spent the entire night honing his mana circuits, successfully completing the first line.
In the process, he had expelled a significant amount of waste from his blood vessels and meridians, ruining the clothes he was wearing.
Considering he’d need to continue focusing on constructing and expanding the circuits for some time…
He would definitely have to be more careful about the clothes he wore during mana training.
‘Still, whether it’s because of the Aura Heart or because I have more mana than before, the efficiency seems much better than in my previous life. I’m feeling really great.’
Humming a light tune, Theo headed toward the Fourth Training Hall.
Having polished his mana circuits and awakened his aura, what was next?
Of course, swordsmanship training.
‘This additional reward has made things easier, but what exactly is it?’
Theo pondered as he walked, still focused on the message that hovered in the center of his vision.
Receiving a nice gift didn’t erase the suspicion that had already taken root in his mind.
In fact, his doubts had only grown sharper.
In this world, there was no such thing as kindness without strings attached.
‘I’m sure it’ll ask for something in return eventually.’
He had already received the next message.
[Qu??st has arrived.]
+
[Tutorial Qu??st #2]
Train your Aura Hall.
· Difficulty: E
· Reward: ???’s Neck??
· Failure: ??
+
Train the Aura Hall?
Was it asking him to train his mana, or to strengthen his body to contain the aura?
‘And so many of the characters are corrupted, almost as if someone intentionally did that.’
This gave him an uneasy feeling.
Specifically, the sections labeled [Reward] and [In case of failure].
‘I’m sure something isn’t right about this…’
Were these [Rewards] truly good enough to be on par with additional rewards?
And what would be the penalty for [In case of failure]?
How dangerous could that be?
In the end, he couldn’t organize his thoughts easily. At that moment—
“Ah, hello, young master! Have a great day today, too!”
Suddenly, a maid ran over, greeted him, and disappeared before he could even respond.
Theo was dumbfounded.
‘…It feels like the maids can’t even properly look at my face today. Their cheeks keep turning red. Could something have happened?’
* * *
“Yawn.”
Evelyn let out a long, lazy yawn as she scratched her empty left shoulder with her hand.
She was bored.
It was a thought that crossed her mind several times a day.
Maybe it was because she once lived fiercely, having even served as a senior knight. Managing the 4th Training Ground was just too dull for her.
‘If I didn’t have that guy to watch, I’d be in serious trouble.’
It was like a little spark in her monotonous routine.
At least these days, there was something entertaining to watch.
Theo Ragnar.
Among the many children of the head of the house, he was the most quiet and unremarkable young master to observe.
However, while Theo’s name wasn’t well-known to veterans like her or the active knights, he was quite famous among the maids and stewards.
No, to be precise, he was very popular.
Unlike the other arrogant and selfish members of the Ragnar bloodline, his personality was exceptionally kind.
Because of that, Evelyn found herself secretly liking Theo as well.
He was entertaining to watch.
But today, Theo’s routine was a little different from usual.
The morning run that began at the crack of dawn was the same.
Just a month ago, he couldn’t even complete a single lap, but now he was running several laps without any trouble, which made her quietly impressed…
‘Huh? The weapon storage?’
Instead of heading back to the palace afterward, he walked toward the storage room attached to the training ground.
There, they stored various weapons for the beginner and training knights who visited the grounds to practice.
Theo spent quite a long time inspecting each practice weapon.
He picked them up,
Swung them around,
Gripped them with both hands,
And even took a stance with them.
But if a weapon didn’t seem to suit him, he would put it back in its place and move on to the next one, examining it for a long time.
At first, Evelyn thought Theo was simply trying to find a weapon that suited him. However, even when it seemed like he had found a good fit, he would shake his head and put it back.
‘What in the world is he trying to do? I can’t figure it out.’
By the time the weapon search had gone on for over five hours, Evelyn’s curiosity was piqued as well. Then, Theo, after rummaging through the storage again, suddenly found something, his eyes widening as he lifted it high.
Evelyn gasped when she saw it.
“A… a Zweihander?”
A massive sword, nearly 2 meters in length and weighing at least several dozen kilograms, was now in Theo’s hands.
Reflected in the old greatsword’s blade was Theo’s face, beaming with a wide smile.
As if he had just discovered a hidden treasure.
* * *
“T-Theo, sir?”
“That thing in your hand… what is it?”
“Oh, don’t worry about it. Just continue with what you were doing.”
As Theo moved forward, every knight and servant training in the Fourth Training Hall stood agape.
The sight of a young boy with such a youthful face dragging around a sword over two meters long was shocking to say the least.
‘He’s… going to use that? He hasn’t even had his Blossoming Ceremony yet.’
‘But… he’s lifting it?’
‘It even looks light in his hands?’
‘Was Theo always that strong?’
While the onlookers whispered in a mix of shock and awe,
Whoosh, whoosh whoosh—
Theo swung the Zweihander through the air, gauging its center of gravity.
‘This is it.’
Even swinging the massive greatsword one-handed didn’t strain him.
It was proof that his body had undergone a significant transformation after weeks of running and completing his Aura Heart.
His master had once told him:
With the powerful heart of a dragon, the next step was to wield a sword worthy of that heart.
The Zweihander was perfect for that.
Big, heavy…
And massive.
It was the ideal tool to push his body to its limits and grow faster.
– I want to grow stronger.
A powerful voice echoed deep within his chest.
At that moment, Theo realized something.
The desire, this hunger, this drive—it had been there all along. He had just been ignoring it. In truth, it had been waiting, hidden in a corner of his heart, longing for him to finally acknowledge it.
And at that very moment, when he finally faced those desires head-on, they burst forth from his chest, filling his entire body.
All the worries about the message had completely vanished by now.
‘I guess I really am a bloodline of Ragnar after all.’
With that thought in mind,
‘Let’s give it a try.’
“Hoo…”
Theo took a deep breath and slowly began lifting the Zweihander.
He emptied his mind, pouring all his concentration into the sword he held in his hands.
A calm serenity enveloped his entire being.
Thump, thump, thump!
In contrast, his heart pounded harder than ever before.
The blood and mana surging from the Aura Heart coursed through his veins, infusing every inch of his body with immense power.
And then—
Boom!
Theo took his first step forward.