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“I’m saying it won’t be like this from now on. I will change, and to do that, I need to stay here a bit longer. It’s not too late.”

“…Hmm. You’ll be different a year from now?”

“Yes. A year.”

“Just a year? Even the most talented geniuses…”

Dior suddenly closed his eyes, seemed to think for a moment, and then nodded.

“Alright. It’s not like you have no talent at all. You’d better keep this in mind. When I come back in a year, if there’s no change or if you say you need more time, I won’t listen to any nonsense. You’ll have to come back without fail. Understand?”

“What if I don’t go? Will you drag me back?”

Dior chuckled. It seemed amusing just thinking about it.

“That wouldn’t be so bad. But considering your little bit of honor, it’d be better to walk back voluntarily rather than being dragged. Don’t forget. One year.”

Having said his piece, Dior pushed back his chair and stood up.

“Aren’t you going to eat more? There’s still a lot left.”

“You finish it. I’m leaving now. Do you need anything?”

“Clothes. I’d like some training gear.”

“Oh right. I noticed they were quite tight. Lose some weight.”

Ian frowned.

“It’s not that I gained weight; my physique has just grown.”

“Sure. Anything else you need?”

“Nothing I can think of right now…”

“Then I’ll let Sir Arot know. If you need anything, just ask him. But don’t request something ridiculous like artifacts.”

“I won’t.”

“Once again, keep your promise. I’ll come to get you in a year, so don’t even think about running away. I’m really going now. No need to see me off.”

Dior left without looking back.

Ian, left alone, sat for a moment before finishing the food Dior had left behind.

“Ah.”

He was satisfied. After finishing a glass of water, Ian unconsciously glanced down.

Despite eating so much, his stomach wasn’t bulging; it was the same as usual. Thanks to his excellent digestion.

This was one of the traits inherited from the Berger family, which not only enhances digestion but also significantly boosts recovery based on what was consumed.

It was like adding logs to a dying fire to make it blaze up again. Truly fitting for a family known for controlling fire.

‘I’m worried.’

He had heard that when one reaches level 6 and becomes a vessel of spiritual energy, their appetite becomes even stronger. It was already a concern. Although eating was enjoyable, he couldn’t afford to spend too much time on meals.

‘There are solutions, but it’s not something I need to worry about right now.’

Ian rose from his seat. His body, which had felt so tired after the training, was already fit enough to train again.

However, he would not head to the training grounds today.

In the afternoon, he planned to use the remaining magical energy from the elixir in his veins with the Berger family’s unique cultivation method.

But first, there was something he needed to do.

Ian went to his room and picked two bottles of relatively expensive liquor from the display cabinet.

He looked around to find Sir Arot but couldn’t see him. Reluctantly, he called over a servant who was cleaning the floor.

“Yes, young master?”

“Where is Sir Arot?”

“He should be in the vegetable garden by now.”

“The vegetable garden?”

“Yes. It’s behind the villa. Should I fetch him for you?”

“No, I’ll go myself. Finish your task.”

Ian waved his hand and moved on. The vegetable garden was located behind the villa.

Upon reaching there, he found the gamekeeper and the manager working in simple clothing, covered in dirt.

Ian approached them. Hearing his footsteps, they turned around, quickly got up, and dusted off their hands, moving closer.

“Young master.”

“Sir Arot. Are you very busy right now?”

“No, not at all. There’s not much to do at this small villa.”

That was true. Hence, there was time for him to tend to the vegetable garden.

“Then why are you here? If you had sent a servant, I would have come to see you directly.”

“Oh, I thought it wouldn’t be appropriate.”

“Appropriate?”

Arot, puzzled, looked at Ian, who calmly continued.

“I should have said this earlier. In my eagerness to wash up, I didn’t even thank you. I heard from my brother that you personally drove a carriage to fetch a priest. Thanks to that, I felt refreshed when I woke up this morning.”

“It was only natural.”

Ian was relieved that he had returned to this time. If it had been two years later, he would have been more cautious about making such statements.

By then, he might have been in a state where relationships had deteriorated beyond repair, or something equivalent.

If he had said such things, he might have been suspected of having some ulterior motive.

“So I’d like to offer a small token of appreciation.”

“If it’s about that, I’ve already received it from Lord Dior. It was more than enough.”

“I still feel bad just saying thanks. So, I’d like to give each of you a bottle of this.”

“Liquor…?”

Ian handed over the bottles.

Sir Arot, seemingly surprised that he would offer such a gift, hesitated briefly but soon accepted. Like most older people, he enjoyed a modest amount of liquor.

Moreover, these were considered somewhat rare and valuable. It would be unwise to refuse such a generous gift.

“Hm, in that case, I won’t refuse. Please, take one for yourself as well.”

The gamekeeper, Seongjin, approached eagerly as if he had been waiting for those words. Ian handed him a bottle along with his thanks.

After the two bottles were handed over, Ian felt a slight emptiness, but he didn’t show it and moved on to the main topic.

“And in the afternoon, I’ll be visiting the spiritual vein. If I’m late, there’s no need to come looking for me.”

“The spiritual vein?”

“Is there a problem?”

“It’s not that, but there might still be some aftereffects. I’m concerned that you might be overdoing it.”

“I’m fine.”

“In that case, I’ll accompany you.”

“No.”

Ian shook his head.

“I’ll go alone.”

Sir Arot stared at Ian intently and then slowly spoke.

“…I don’t know if it’s appropriate for me to say this, but you’ve changed. Overnight, it seems.”

“Really? Yes, indeed. I’ve come to my senses. So, don’t worry. I’ll be back before it gets dark.”

Ian left these words and headed towards the forest behind the mansion.

Ley Line.

A land where magical energy accumulates or flows. Usually, when people think of such places, they imagine harsh, remote mountainous regions far from human reach, but this isn’t the case here.

Although it was said to be far away, it would only take an hour to get there if you take your time. It would be even quicker if you walked or ran faster.

Ian looked up. As he got closer to the ley line, the forest became denser.

It felt like something might jump out at any moment, but Ian was not at all nervous. He knew there were no monsters here.

There might be wild beasts, but even those could be handled with bare hands.

As Ian reached the entrance to the ley line, he took a deep breath.

‘Just as I thought.’

The air was filled with a deep yet pure magical energy, making the atmosphere qualitatively different. Even just breathing it in filled his body with vitality.

Even someone who couldn’t sense magical energy would instinctively know something was different upon arriving here.

That’s why people would go to great lengths, even paying enormous sums, to acquire such land.

Even the Berger family, who effectively control the eastern part of the El Kardar Empire, monopolize only a few ley lines.

Other locations are shared or leased to other factions.

However, this place, like the main family’s ley line, was exclusively used by members of the Berger family.

There was no one else coming here, so he could use it with peace of mind.

The surprising thing was that this ley line, when classified as high, middle, or low, was only considered low-level.

Yet, it still gathered and flowed an immense amount of magical energy.

In the case of mid-level or high-level ley lines, the concentration of magical energy could be so high that one might suffer from magical intoxication or even be overwhelmed, but he wasn’t sure if that was true.

Unfortunately, in his previous life, he never had the chance to visit such places nor made connections with those who had.

‘No, actually, there was one.’

The hero and his party. They had once talked about ley lines.

‘They mentioned that there were rare magical elixirs in mid-level or high-level ley lines.’

Since he had regressed, if he could find those ley lines, he might be able to obtain those elixirs.

‘Don’t forget and remember it.’

If he ever got close to such ley lines, he would make sure to collect those elixirs. With this determination, Ian stood in the center of the ley line and closed his eyes.

“……”

His senses became gradually more acute, and he could feel the magical energy all around him. It felt like being submerged in water.

If he stood still, it seemed as though his body might float, and if he waved his hands, he might be able to swim.

Ian consciously took a deep breath, feeling the magical energy dissolved in the air draw in with each inhale.

As the magical energy entered his lungs, it merged with his blood and flowed through his veins, heading towards his lower abdomen, the dantian.

There, a core of magical energy had already formed.

After being dormant for a long time, the core began to creak and activate with the influx of external magical energy.

It felt like waking from a long slumber. Just like stretching after waking up, a faint warmth began to rise from the dantian and spread throughout his body.

Ian was not surprised.

This was a completely natural phenomenon.

It was a characteristic that appeared when using the Berger family’s unique secret technique, “Bane of Evil”, which was both a technique and a style developed by their founder after defeating the emissaries of foreign deities.

If someone else saw this, they might notice a shimmering heat rising from his body.

However, this was just the initial stage; if Ian had achieved a higher level of mastery, the heat would have enveloped him like a fiery armor, befitting the name “Bane of Evil.”

To achieve that, Ian continued to breathe deeply, repeatedly absorbing and accumulating the ley line’s magical energy into his dantian.

The accumulated magical energy was gently heated by the “Bane of Evil” technique and flowed through his veins.

This faint warmth reacted with the magical energy that had accumulated in his body but hadn’t been fully dissolved by the elixir he had taken.

‘…Something feels off.’

The magical energy, which had been neglected for a long time and mixed with impurities, was integrating faster than expected.

It seemed to be due to the experience and techniques accumulated from his previous life. At this rate, absorbing the remaining magical energy in his veins would be quick.

‘Quick? No, this is still late.’

Others typically digest magical elixirs within a day at the fastest, or within six months at the slowest.

However, Ian had taken the elixir on the day of his coming-of-age ceremony, and considering that it had already been two years, it was already far too late.

‘It’s alright. I can hurry up from now on.’

With the current pace, he should be able to finish within a week at most. At least he was saving the time he had originally planned to spend for half a year.

Ian opened his eyes a few hours later, having been deeply focused.

‘This is tough.’

His eyelids were twitching, and his legs were trembling. He could feel beads of sweat running down his jaw.

Even though he had only been standing still and circulating magical energy, it was more exhausting than the intense physical activity he had done in the morning.

Eventually, Ian wobbled and sat down. A self-deprecating smile formed on his lips.

‘Lack of stamina.’

One of the drawbacks of “Bane of Evil” was its high consumption of stamina.

Therefore, the people of the Berger family valued physical training, but Ian’s stamina had deteriorated since he had lived like a recluse after his coming-of-age ceremony.

“…Haa.”

Ian looked up.

Though the sun was still out, it was autumn, and the forest’s nightfall came quickly, so it would be dusk soon.

‘I should head back.’

He wanted to continue despite the exhaustion, but given his current condition, it would be better to stop.

‘No need to rush.’

As long as he didn’t slack off, reaching level 5 would be quick. Since he had already traveled this path once, it should be easier this time.

Ian stood up with a determined face and refreshed himself.

———