SWNOVELXO Chapter 5: Irregular
Surely, having the body of a descendant from a Swordsman Family wouldn't be that bad, right? Well, that's what Vonn thought at first before deciding to focus on brains instead of brawn.
There was a reason why the mana pool, also known as the Mana Heart, and its capacity were crucial to a swordsman's future success. Even at birth, it was already predetermined.
Of course, Vonn knew this, which was why he didn't give up on himself initially. He could have taken the more brute path of a swordsman, one that didn't rely on mana. Yet, he gave up on that idea as soon as he realized why he was considered useless. The Silverfein family didn't believe in familial affection.
In this family, talent was everything, and each descendant was viewed as an investment. The matriarch invested more in the children with better talent and potential for the future. Since Vonn lacked that predetermined potential, he was cast aside.
However, there was still pride running through his blood, which might have been the reason he was still alive. Now, at four years old, Vonn was planning to tap into the benefits of his bloodline. Despite being hidden away from the others, he was kept safe. That wasn't a bad thing, and he knew it.
For now, all he had to do was stay calm and assess the situation...
No way! There was no way he could just stay calm! He had already been deemed unimportant to the family. And with each second that passed over the last four years, his chances of being supported grew slimmer.
So, he began exploring another possibility, separate from the family's affairs.
The two memories!
Now sitting in a lotus position, controlling his breathing, Vonn closed his eyes and dove deep into himself.
He had learned how to cultivate... er, rather, understand himself. The memories held significance because they contained knowledge of different power paths—Mage and Exorcist. Both were complex, but powerful when mastered.
Mages were common in this world, but not so common that you'd find one in a busy street. The truth was, the concept of magic and mages was rooted in mana, which everyone had... except Vonn, of course.
Mana was the fuel for every kind of physical power. Mages, monks, swordsmen, and warriors all depended on it to unlock powerful offensive skills rooted in techniques and spells.
For mages, they used mana for spells, while monks, swordsmen, and warriors used it for techniques.
There were various uses for mana, and if someone didn't have it… well, it was pretty much equivalent to doom.
But not total doom. One could still pursue any of those paths, even without mana—if they had double the lifespan of a normal person.
A well-trained swordsman who had spent ten years putting in their blood, sweat, and tears couldn't overpower a swordsman who had mastered even a simple technique using mana. That was the sweet reality for those who had mana at their disposal.
And it didn't stop there. Each year of training made a swordsman with mana even stronger. They climbed the ranks, showcasing their prowess through a system of quantified assessments. These ranks were called Tiers, starting from First-Tier Mana Heart up to the Sixth-Tier Mana Heart.
"I need to at least have a Second-Tier Mana Heart if I really want to survive. So… my mage memory… what can you really offer me? I still can't feel mana."
Diving into the sea of his soul, waves of his three different memories surged around him. He believed he was more of Luxer, but he didn't deny the other two memories were his as well.
"Now... espera isn't present in this world. I don't know what to do with that knowledge, so probably... just maybe the mage one can help me now."
He continued to dive deeper into the memories, focusing on Frain's younger years. All around him, under the sea of his soul, there was only one source of light—a huge, peculiar ball of light, though he couldn't discern why it was able to provide illumination. In that light, he found memories of the younger Frain's studies.
Vonn had discovered two ways to access these memories. He could force himself to recall them, but they wouldn't be vivid. If he wanted a clearer view, he had to enter a sort of mental cultivation, allowing the memories to flow freely.
So far, there hadn't been any issues since he started doing this. At first, he had been surprised, but later he got used to it.
"The Mana Heart is a crucial part for every mage. But if someone doesn't possess a strong Mana Heart, they can try using the surrounding mana."
Vonn pondered this. It was new knowledge he had stumbled upon while reading the books that younger Frain had studied. No character in the novel had ever been shown to accomplish such a feat.
"So… Frain isn't from this world either… Which is why I can't recall any continent called Dysvrio."
He continued his study, but each second that passed made the memories blurrier. He focused harder, pushing himself to get a clearer view of this deep memory. But as time went on, he was rejected and forced to open his eyes.
"That kinda hurt." His tiny hands reached for his temple, cursing under his breath. "That's dangerous… Seems like I can't access the deeper memories very well."
Since he'd started doing this, he could only count a few times he had visited those memories. Aside from the fact that they almost made him nauseous, they gave him an unsettling feeling he couldn't quite explain, likely the cause of the piercing pain in his temple.
"At least I got some useful information. I just need to see more about this concept of controlling exterior mana. I don't know if it's possible in this world, but I'll try to see if I can apply it to swordsmanship," Vonn mused to himself, scratching at the fading pain he felt earlier.
"Exorcism… How can I apply that in this world? Should I learn how to tap into espera as well?" he asked himself, but knowing that sensing mana was already a problem for him, he shook his head. "I should focus on mana first. Maybe it could change my fate a little."
Still, a faint thought flashed in his mind, suggesting that the exorcist path might offer some sort of opportunity.
"Or… I should at least try to sense espera. How about this—first three days of the week for espera, then the rest for mana?" he asked himself, his tiny body swaying side to side as he thought of a reasonable approach. "But how do I even know what espera is? I should learn that first."