[Translator - Kiteretsu]

    [Proofreader - Kyros]

    Chapter 5

    Kaylen sat on the bed with his eyes closed.

    He had spent three days focusing on normalizing his body, but progress was slower than expected.

    ‘The mana heart is the problem.’

    When he lived as a Grand Sword Master, he had no such thing as a mana heart.

    Perhaps it was because Kaylen was a mage.

    When trying to use the mana of Infinity, a considerable amount of mana flowed into his mana heart.

    Not only did it flow, but it barely consumed any mana.

    Since his mana heart wasn’t used, and Infinity’s characteristic was that it didn’t recharge unless mana was used, this was a completely negative factor.

    Because the usable mana was decreasing, Kaylen was troubled by the mana heart, which was like a thorn in his side.

    ‘Is there any way to use it?’

    Based on his experience from his past life, Kaylen had extensive knowledge about the structure of mana hearts.

    He had broken through many of them while fighting against enemy mages.

    ‘Circles 1 and 2 form inside the heart, and Circles 3 through 5 form on the outer wall of the mana heart.’

    A mage’s first major hurdle: 3rd Circle.

    Until Circle 2, one could reach it with effort even if they lacked talent, but from 3rd Circle onward, it was entirely the realm of talent.

    Forming a circle on the outer wall of the mana heart was so difficult that once you surpassed 3rd Circle, the path to reaching Circle 5 opened up.

    ‘The mana absorbed from Infinity is trying to form the 3rd circle.’

    The third circle was being drawn on the outer wall of the mana heart.

    The mana was being slowly consumed as it cleared hia mana path.

    If he continued to absorb the mana from Infinity and cleared the path like this, it seemed like he would eventually reach 3rd Circle.

    Should he wait until then and find a way to use it?

    Or...

    Kaylen reached a conclusion.

    “Using it... is best left for later.”

    There’s an order to everything.

    Right now, it wasn’t the mana heart that mattered, but clearing the mana flow.

    Zziing.

    Kaylen shaped the mana released from Infinity into a small sword inside his body. A sword of mana, smaller than a fingernail.

    That tiny sword moved towards the third mana circle being formed.

    ........

    Swish. Swish.

    Kaylen began to dismantle his mana heart.

    Even as he bit his lip from the intense pain in his chest, he continued dismantling the mana circle.

    Srrr _

    The dismantled mana circle didn’t stay still.

    It used the remaining mana to try to continue the path.

    And that was exactly what Kaylen wanted.

    As the mana contained in the circle was consumed...

    Wing. Wing.

    By maintaining his focus to the very end, he gathered every bit of the star’s mana.

    “...It’s a success.”

    Thus, a total of six sword hilts were created.

    Although the mana heart and his entire body were completely drained of mana, he had achieved a meaningful result.

    ‘With this, I can call myself a sword user.’

    Kaylen thought to himself, feeling a sense of pride that would surprise other knights.

    Typically, a sword user is at the stage where they can manifest mana as an aura.

    For them, their mana heart are simply filled with mana, but they cannot shape weapons.

    Shaping a weapon in the mana heart...

    ‘That’s the stage of a ‘Master.’’

    Only after reaching a supreme level through bone-crushing training can one finally shape the mana in their mana heart into the form of a sword.

    But Kaylen, a Grand Sword Master, was different.

    Having already reached the peak of swordsmanship, once his mana was sufficient, he could form a sword without much difficulty.

    Though he had only created the hilt for now due to insufficient mana, the foundation of the sword was already established. It was just a matter of time before he could craft the perfect sword.

    ‘The sword of Meier, I’ll recreate it with the body of my descendant.’

    Satisfied, Kaylen checked his condition and rose from the bed.

    “Indeed, I feel lighter.”

    Maybe it was because he had become a sword user, but he could definitely feel his body being lighter.

    His body was in quite good shape.

    Though he had gained a lot of weight, apart from that, he was tall and had a sturdy frame.

    ‘If I just work on my body a little more, I could transfer to the Knight Academy, but right now, it’s an opportunity to learn magic.’ A knight collects mana. A mage spreads mana. The two paths start from completely different points. ‘After becoming a Grand Sword Master, my understanding of mana is unparalleled...’

    However, Kaylen didn’t fully understand how a mage used mana.

    His path was that of a swordsman, so it was only natural.

    ‘If I fully awaken my understanding of how mages use mana, I might be able to reach a higher level...’

    Kaylen decided to make the most of this opportunity.

    He walked toward the magic academy''s academic building with familiar steps.

    As he climbed the stairs to the third-floor classroom, a voice calling him from behind reached his ears.

    “...Kaylen?”

    Thud. Thud.

    Hearing that voice, his heart suddenly began to race.

    Heat rose to his face, and his whole body involuntarily tensed up.

    Along with that, a memory flashed in his mind in an instant.

    In the dull, gray days of academy life, a memory of a female student, who was Kaylen''s only source of joy along with food, came to mind.

    She was the only one who treated him kindly and didn’t ignore him.

    Lina de Florence.

    In the memories of his original body, she had been like a goddess.

    But after reading that memory, Kaylen thought...

    ‘What a fool.’

    His thoughts were completely different now.

    ‘I’ve fallen into the trap of the queen bee.’

    [Translator - Kiteretsu]

    [Proofreader - Kyros]