Fortunately, Jin successfully awakened Bradamante.
Unfortunately, as all the shadows in the area were sucked into him, Jin felt the searing pain of his body tearing into thousands of pieces.
His mouth was screaming on its own volition, and his limbs were subconsciously twisting around. Whether he opened or closed his eyes, he still saw the same muddled and dizzying darkness. Jin wondered whether this was going to be the end of him.
It was a miracle he hadnât fainted yet.
Jin realized this was the âspiritual energy congestionâ Murakan had warned him about.
When the boy first attempted to awaken Bradamante and Murakan became infuriated, the dragon later sat down and calmly explained the dangers of the sword.
When individuals with insufficient spiritual energy try to awaken the sword recklessly, they pay the price for it. If one experiences spiritual energy congestion, nine in ten people immediately perish.
It wasnât as if Jin had forgotten about the energy congestion when awakening Bradamante during the fight.
He simply didnât have any other solution to win and survive, other than Orgalâs Pendant. But Jin didnât want to break it yet, as it could only be used once in his lifetime.
The sudden mission issued to the beginner class cadets. The appearance of Kinzelo and a White Wolf beastman.
Jin believed that while Cyron hadnât predicted Mesaâs kidnapping, his father had planned for this unexpected incident to occur to examine Jinâs handling of the situation.
This mission wasnât to test the cadets. Itâs true objective was to evaluate Jin, and Jin only.
âIf I had used the pendant to survive the life-threatening situation, Father wouldâve given me the worst possible score.â
Jinâs father, Cyron Runcandel, was an extremely cold-hearted person.
The patriarch was only showing interest in Jin because the boy was connected to Solderet and because of his prominent results and skills in class.
However, if Jin disappointed his father a single time, Cyron would ruthlessly abandon all hopes and interests in his youngest son immediately.
In truth, Jin was hoping for that to happen. As long as Cyronâs interest in him persisted, the boy would have a harder time to act covertly and train his magic. Jin didnât really hold any attachments towards the clan and his reputation in the first place.
However, today wasnât the right day to disappoint his father. Jin still had a lot to learn and receive from the Runcandel Clan.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRGHHH!
Jin cried out in agony again as he bent his back on the wrong side. Each time a shadow got absorbed in his body, Jin thought that death wouldnât be a bad solution to escape this pain.
If there truly were punishments waiting for sinners in hell, would it feel like this?
The boy was experiencing the sensation of being burned alive as well as having his organs frozen at the same time.
âI canât lose consciousness. If I do, itâs over for me. Stay focusedâ¦!â
He had never experienced such pain even in his first life. The suffering wasnât as bad as this back when his teacher struck lightning at him for several hours to make him understand the essence behind lightning magic.
Jin had no idea whether time was flowing or not. He wasnât sure whether a couple of minutes or several hours had passed since the agony began.
He couldnât resist this forever. Jin had to do something in order to overcome this crisis.
And the answer to this âsomethingâ was obvious.
âSpiritual release.â
The boy barely managed to sit cross-legged on the ground and began gathering the spiritual energy inside his body to one location.
Dark red blood poured out between his trembling lips, and his eyes had completely rolled back, unable to return to their original positions.
He constantly coughed and gasped for air. Jin could feel that he was walking on a thin line between life and death right now.
However, he couldnât control the violent and chaotic spiritual energy inside him merely with 3-star spiritual release, a stage he had just recently reached. Having started the spiritual release, Jin spat out a clot of dark blood and fell forward.
âAgain, again⦠Again. Keep your cool.â
A strong dizziness took over him as he began to hear auditory hallucinations.
Most of the hallucinations were related to the events in Jinâs past life. Stuff like âYouâre the disgrace of the clanâ or âA failure like you shouldnât have been born in our clanâ. Those kinds of auditory hallucinations kept constantly bothering him.
However, such words and slander had no effect on the current Jin. He completely ignored what his ears were telling him, and concentrated on the spiritual energy inside him.
Hot energy on one side, cold energy on the other.
Jin instinctively separated the spiritual energy inside his body to the right and left according to their properties, as if he were sorting out pebbles on the ground according to their colours.
The violent pain rooted in his brain slowly started to dissipate.
His eyes rolled back to their normal positions and light returned to his vision. Jinâs intuition was telling him that he was about to successfully gain control over the spiritual energy congestion inside him. As the agony diminished, Jin slowly inspected his surroundings.
The shadows Jin had absorbed had returned to their original positions. However, unlike what Murakan had shown him in the Storm Castleâs underground chamber, the objects that had their shadows stolen from them didnât get damaged or broken.
The more the pain disappeared, the better Jin could think with a clear mind. Soon enough, Jin fully separated the two types of spiritual energy remaining inside him.
His surroundings regained their original colours. The blaze died down under the influence of the spiritual energy, and the burnt forest smelled of ashes.
âPhew.â
As he exhaled deeply, the disciplined spiritual energy came to a standstill.
The energy no longer harmed Jin in any way.
âDid it work? The pain disappeared unnaturally quickly that itâs making me nervous now.â
Jin stood up and started stretching his body. He felt nothing out of place. In fact, everything was as usual.
However, the one difference compared to before was the abundant spiritual energy inside him. It felt like it was about to leak even if Jin stood still, doing nothing.
âIn any case, I donât think Iâll have any problems moving around now. I should quickly head back with Mesa.â
Mesa was still unconscious in front of the Kinzelo building. In order words, not much time had passed since the beginning of his battle against Quazito.
As he passed Mesaâs arms over his shoulders, Jin suddenly turned around to face the building again.
âWhoâs there?!â
He had detected someone. Someone was walking down the corridor inside the building towards the front door.
However, unlike the Kinzelo members he had fought against earlier, this person didnât feel like a trained fighter. The unknown individual was walking carelessly as Jin heard their ragged breath.
âP-Please save me!â
As Jin ripped the door open, he saw a terrified young man raise both his hands in defense. He looked delicate and weak, as if he hadnât faced any hardships in life. Jin couldnât help but tilt his head in confusion.
âWhoâre you? Another Kinzelo member?â
âNo! Absolutely not! I am Cember Bill, from the Bill Clan of the Zhan Kingdomâ¦â
âAh, so itâs you. I almost missed you. Nice to meet you.â
Jin grinned as he spoke.
Cember Bill. He was the heir of the âBillâ Merchant Clan of the Zhan Kingdom. He was the missing individual the cadets were searching for.
âY-You are?ân/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
âJin Runcandel. I was looking for you after receiving a request from your father.â
âRuncandel?! Thank the heavens!â
As soon as Cember heard Jinâs name, his eyes began to glisten in tears.
âYou have saved my life. I, Cember Bill, will never forget this favour, Lord Jin. Thank you very much!â
As he received the heartfelt gratitude, Jin could only stand awkwardly and feel guilty.
Ever since the Kinzelo members had attacked the cadets, he had completely forgotten about Cemberâs existence and their mission to search for him.
âThereâs no favour to repay. We received this mission after being remunerated. Now, stop crying. Itâs time to go home.â
âSob, sob. Sniff. Yes.â
And so, Jin and Cember left the ashen forest as the former carried Mesa on his back. Cember only recovered his senses a while after they had left the forest.
âCome to think of it, how did you get captured by them, Cember? We only heard that you had disappeared in this area.â
âThatâsâ¦â
âIf itâs difficult to talk about, you donât have to.â
âNot at all. In truth, it was because of my lover. But Iâm not sure whether Lord Jin will believe me.â
âWhy wouldnât I believe you? Did you elope with her or something?â
ââ¦No. I came to the southern border because I was following my lover, who passed away two years ago.â
Jin stopped nodding along and froze in his footsteps.
âYou followed your deceased lover here? What do you mean?â
Had he lost his mind from the shock of being kidnapped? Jin thought to himself as he observed Cemberâs gaze. However, his eyes seemed clear and alive.
âIâm also wondering whether I saw a ghost or not. But it was definitely her. She had the exact same face, and also had the two moles on her wrist. She gave me a note that told me to come here. And you know what happened afterwards.â
Cember awkwardly turned to Jin.
âHaha. As I thought, you donât believe me. Iâm also not sure whether I should tell my clansmen about this or not once Iâm home.â
âNo, keep talking. The woman who gave you the note⦠Was it really your lover?â
âThatâs what Iâve been saying. Thereâs no way I wouldnât recognize her. Her face, voice, her gaze as she looked at me. Everything was exactly the same as before.â
At those words, Jin thought of a single name.
âBouvard Gaston. This seems to be that transformation masterâs handiwork.â
The transformation crimes.
A series of uncommon crimes that shook the world in his past life. When the Vermont Empireâs special forces revealed Bouvard Gastonâs crimes to the public after capturing him, a majority of them were kidnapping cases.
And there was only one reason why he would kidnap a rich tycoonâs son.
âHe was planning on demanding a ransom. What is the relation between Bouvard and Kinzelo?â
Jin couldnât find the answer to that right now. The boy decided that it was about time he went to find Bouvard himself.
Ever since the Zipfel followers tried to kidnap Jin when he left the Storm Castle, he and Bouvard were fated to meet one day. However, Jin hadnât gone to find the criminal until now as he was still growing and had no opportunities.
âThe âfragmented workshopâ he manages is located in the Curano Dukedomâs capital. I should find an opportunity to go see him while Iâm in the intermediate training class.â
Jin felt a sense of incongruity whenever he thought of Bouvard.
If the criminal was truly connected to Kinzelo and the radical Zipfel followers, Jin couldnât recklessly stir trouble with Bouvard as the backlash would be immense.
âI need to meet him face to face and find out what kind of person he is. It would also be a good idea to obtain more information about him that wasnât written in the newspapers in my past life.â
Having finished recounting his story, Cember smiled bashfully.
âThank you for taking me seriously, Lord Jin. In truth, I thought no one would believe me if I went back home, which was giving me a heavy heart. But seeing you listen earnestly is a breath of fresh air.â
âThatâs a relief to know.â
After walking for another two hours, Jin took out a flare from his chest pocket and shot it in the sky.
âThe main house mustâve sent some reinforcements by now. Let us wait for them to arrive here.â
âHuh? Lord Jin, did you actually call for Runcandel guardian knights just to rescue me?â
Cember was moved by Jinâs sincerity(?) and appeared as if he would willingly pay several golden crowns to Jin if the latter asked for it. Jin didnât have the heart to say that it was all for Mesa, so he only nodded awkwardly.
Ignorance is bliss.
âI will never forget today, Lord Jin. If you ever need my help in some way, please donât hesitate to come to me.â
Cember Bill spoke as he extended his hand.
Jin didnât think the Runcandels would ever need the help of a mere clan of merchants, but again, he didnât say that out loud.
Jin replied positively as he shook Cemberâs hand.