The God-Possessed Swordsmanship Genius - Chapter 5

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 5: The Swordsman Blessed by a Divine Spirit

* * *

Having obtained the elixirs, Allen hurried straight back to the inn.
Allen had expected Lucas to hound him about hurrying back, but Lucas went along with him far more easily than Allen had anticipated.

Allen walked into the room grinning from ear to ear, a bundle of elixirs clutched in both hands, purchased from Amsang.
Eunwolcho and Blue Moss Extract.
They were hardly grand elixirs. The Blue Moss in particular was barely worthy of being called an elixir at all.
Yet as he gazed at them, Allen’s heart pounded harder than it ever had before.

‘Will it work?’

He was only half convinced.
In truth, if not for the message hovering before his eyes right now, he wouldn’t have believed even half of it.

[Allen Visheken]
[Strength: 17]
[Agility: 19]
[Stamina: 21]
[Mana: 0]
[Trait: Soul of Myriad Demons – Details]

A translucent window floated into his field of vision.
It was proof that what had happened last night had not been a mere dream.
A string of information made of letters and numbers.
The System.
Most likely, another miracle that had arrived alongside his regression.
Allen sighed as he looked over one piece of information within it.

“Hoo.”

Mana: 0.
Judging by that alone, he was no different from someone still bound by the Curse of Non-Mana.
For a swordsman, the Curse of Non-Mana was like having a musician’s ears torn away or a sculptor’s hands cut off. It was a cook who had lost his sense of taste, a painter gone blind.
Reaching his father’s level was out of the question. He couldn’t even become an ordinary swordsman of the family.
That was the fate of a person afflicted with the Curse of Non-Mana.

“-I still don’t know who you are.”

Allen spoke, recalling the presence he had glimpsed beyond the iron bars.
A being whose identity was unknown, shown in the System as a question mark.
He still had no idea who the being was, but a thought crossed his mind: perhaps it was that being who had sent him back in time.

“Honestly, it doesn’t matter who you are.”

Even a thread of hope would be worth staking his life on. If a god appeared and demanded his soul, he would smile and hand it over.
As long as he could lift this curse.
Whatever the question mark turned out to be didn’t matter in the slightest.
If it really was that being who had sent him back.
If it truly possessed that kind of power, then perhaps—

“Please… help me.”

Couldn’t that wretched curse be lifted, too?

Allen sat down and brought the Eunwolcho to his mouth.
He had swallowed far more precious elixirs than this one, but Allen parted his lips with a heart trembling more than it ever had before.
Allen sincerely hoped.
That, just as a miracle like regression had happened, another miracle would happen once more.

Crunch.

Allen, having chewed the Eunwolcho, closed his eyes.
A bright, mint-like sensation spread through his belly.
A feeling he had never experienced in his life.
Caught in that sensation, Allen unconsciously thought.

‘It’s cool, and it feels good.’

It was like a cool breeze met under a scorching summer sun. That pleasant energy was slowly coiling itself within his body.
Allen gradually sank into that energy.
It was the moment he surrendered himself to that cool sensation for the first time, drawing a deep breath.

[You have consumed ‘Eunwolcho.’]
[Your Mana has increased by 1.]

* * *

Lucas stood at the door of the room where Allen was.
It was a protective watch for his younger brother as he took the elixir. To see the true effect of an elixir, someone had to guard it like this.
If anyone interfered while the elixir was being absorbed, it might not work properly.
Of course, it was a pointless act.

‘He hasn’t given up yet, has he?’

After all, the Curse of Non-Mana could never be overcome.
That was a fact proven by more than a thousand years of history.
In the family, in the empire, even among the transcendents of the Demonic Realm.
Everyone had shaken their heads, saying the Curse of Non-Mana was beyond help.
Eunwolcho?
As a child, Allen had swallowed elixirs a hundred, a thousand times more precious than that trash.
There was no way the Curse of Non-Mana could be overcome by something as paltry as Eunwolcho.

“Stupid kid.”

Lucas shut his eyes in exasperation.
In the dark of his vision, the image of young Allen surfaced.

“I’m going to become a swordsman stronger than Father!”

That brat, who would say things that would make anyone’s jaw drop without the slightest hesitation.
Back then, Lucas had responded to that audacious declaration with a question.

“And what do you plan to do once you’re that strong?”
“Do I have to do something just because I’m strong?”
“Great power comes with equal responsibility. Once you become that strong, responsibility will follow you whether you try to do anything or not.”
“…? …??”
“Did you understand what I said?”
“No!”

Allen, who had only been six years old, merely tilted his head at his own words.
Looking back now, Lucas wondered what on earth he had been telling a little kid of that age.
Back then, he had sat his younger brother on his knee and delivered a long lecture on what a swordsman was and what responsibility meant. Even though he himself was still too young to really understand those things.

Allen’s talent was outstanding.
Among swordsmen of his own age, and even among those several years older, it was hard to find a rival.
Considering that every one of those opponents was a swordsman from Visheken, Allen’s talent was rare even across the entire continent.
But.

“The Second Young Master carries the Curse of Non-Mana in his body.”
“The Curse of Non-Mana?”
“He was born unable to sense Mana, and his body cannot accumulate it.”

It was a truth discovered while they searched for the reason his Mana refused to gather.
A wall had risen in front of his brilliant younger brother.
And it was so vast and thick that there was no way to climb over it.

From the moment Allen learned of the Curse of Non-Mana, he began to change.
It was a relief that he hadn’t abandoned the sword or fallen into despair, but he had only grown more bitter and more clouded.
The slightest piece of advice was enough to make him bristle. As though he believed everyone around him looked down on him, he always seemed on edge and uneasy.
The same went for himself.

“Allen, if you keep driving your body like this, you’ll end up sick. Rest is part of training, too…”
“Brother.”
“…?”
“You think I’m a fool too, don’t you? That’s why you keep telling me that no matter how hard I try, it’s pointless.”

Of course he would think that.
Watching Allen mutter to himself and take up his sword again, Lucas could say nothing at all.
For a long time after that, an invisible wall stood between him and his younger brother.

‘I thought he had finally gotten better.’

Lucas turned over the small liquor flask Allen had given him as a gift.
He had expected his younger brother to be discouraged after the failure of his first mission, but Allen seemed somehow brighter. He was no longer gloomy as he had been before, and his edge was gone.
It was as if he had returned to the boy he once was.

At first, Lucas had thought Allen had finally overcome the melancholy brought on by the Curse of Non-Mana.
But that was not the case.
Seeing how desperately he had sought out a Mana elixir, it seemed he had once again clung to the hope that he could overcome the curse.

“I hope he doesn’t get too disappointed.”

Perhaps this failure would drag Allen back to who he had been. From a bright, affectionate younger brother back into someone dark, steeped in a sense of defeat.
Hope had a cruel edge to it.
Climb up to admire the clouds, and the sense of betrayal when you fall is all the greater.

As time passed, a small sound came from inside.
At that sound, Lucas cracked the door open and peered into the room.
Allen sat with his back to the door.
The taking of the elixir seemed to be over. Lucas, having finished his meditation guard, stepped into the room.

“Allen.”

Allen gave no answer, even when called.
His shoulders were trembling.
As Lucas moved a little closer, he saw Allen with his head bowed, sobbing openly.
The sound Lucas had heard from outside was Allen’s sobbing.

“….”

No matter how many times he had been crushed before, however twisted he had become, this was a boy who had never once let tears show.
Lucas hesitated, unsure how to comfort him, before at last he spoke after a long while.

“…You expected something from a mere Eunwolcho? You’ve already taken countless superior elixirs.”

This time, too, instead of offering comfort, he chose to treat him as he always did.

“Now that it’s all over, let’s head back. If we set out right away, we should still arrive without being too late. If you want to split hairs, your mission hasn’t failed, so there’s no need to worry too much.”

Allen didn’t answer. Instead, he shook his head.
Did he mean he wasn’t going back?
Lucas’s voice rose.

“Don’t be stubborn, Allen. Even without mana, you’re still a swordsman of Visheken and a child of the household head. Don’t forget that…”

That was when it happened.

Allen, who had been sitting in silence, raised his hand.
A faint bluish glow gathered in his trembling palm, small but unmistakable.
Seeing it, Lucas let out a gasp.
It was a glow so faint that you wouldn’t feel it unless you concentrated, but it was undeniably mana.

“You…!”

Lucas’s eyes widened until they looked ready to split.
Allen couldn’t say a single word.
He could only keep on pouring out tears.
As if savoring this moment of freedom from the curse that had tormented him his whole life.

* * *

After a while, Allen grinned from ear to ear, his face swollen from crying.
Crying one moment, laughing the next. Lucas let out a short, incredulous laugh at the sudden change in his expression and asked.

“Are you done crying?”
“Yeah. Pretend you didn’t see that. I’m dying of embarrassment right now.”
“How could I not see it, when you were bawling so loudly?”

Lucas turned and stepped out of the room.

“I’m starving. Let’s go eat.”

Lucas, who had seemed like the type to insist on leaving the moment they came to their senses, was the one who suggested a meal first.
Allen, who had worked up a healthy appetite from all the crying, jumped to his feet. Rather than dwell on the subject of tears, eating something sounded like the better option.

Lucas went down to the dining room on the first floor, sat down, and ordered several dishes.
Lucas usually favored bread, soup, meat, and coffee. This time, though, his order was a little different.

Smoked meat and sausage, grilled cheese with herbs, and a few kinds of dried fruit.
It was more of a drinking snack than a proper meal.
Sure enough, the server quickly brought over the glasses, as if she’d read the room.

“Do you drink at all?”

Lucas had taken out a drink even before the food arrived.
It was a fine bottle Allen had bought in Amsang and given him as a gift. Judging by how he opened it without waiting for an answer, he had clearly made up his mind to drink.

“I’ve tried it.”

It was only half the truth.
He hadn’t merely tried it. There had been a time when he’d practically drowned himself in liquor. Maybe it was his good mood, but he was already craving a drink.

“Then take a glass.”
“Our first drink together, Brother?”
“You’re still young, after all.”

Those words sounded like an invitation to drink together from now on.
Allen nodded and held out his cup.
Lucas poured the liquor into Allen’s cup and spoke.

“Congratulations.”

Allen, caught off guard as he accepted the drink, felt his throat tighten.
This liquor was a toast to himself, to the man who had overcome the Curse of Non-Mana.
It was only now that it truly sank in that he had overcome the Curse of Non-Mana. Finally, this day had come, was all he could think.
But he couldn’t very well start blubbering again.
Allen knocked back the drink in one go, tears still clinging to his lashes.

“Ah, that’s good!”

The liquor, drained to the very bottom in a single swallow, was truly delicious.
Who would’ve thought strong liquor could taste this sweet.
No exaggeration, it was the finest drink he’d ever had in his life.

“I’m going to make Amsang my go-to place for buying liquor from now on. I’ve never tasted anything this good.”
“Allen.”

Just then, Lucas, who had also emptied his cup in one go, asked.

“Do you want to become the head of the family?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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