Chapter 2

Gulp, gulp—

After devouring more than 700 grams of pork all by himself, Theo gulped down the “special celery juice” he had prepared in advance in one go.

“Ugh… I can never get used to this taste.”

He scowled deeply as he carelessly tossed the empty 500ml beer glass onto the floor.

Clang—

The sound of shattering glass echoed, and he felt something rapidly moving inside his body.

“How on earth did the Blood Sword Emperor endure drinking this for six whole years? No, wait… Could this be the reason he went mad?”

Nine years from now, a peer of Theo’s age would emerge as an absolute master in the southernmost part of the continent. Half-mad with bloodlust, the figure, who earned nicknames such as “Mad Blood” and “Blood Demon,” was said to have trained through a peculiar method called Alchemy from the Eastern lands.

Theo once had the opportunity to access special investigative records related to the Blood Sword Emperor.

These were records that remained after the House of Ragnar, aiming to recruit the Blood Sword Emperor, clashed with him in a war, leading to a thorough background investigation.

‘Back then, they said I had no talent for swordsmanship and forcibly assigned me to the strategic command department.’

It was now an event from a “nonexistent” future.

‘It wasn’t for long, but… thanks to that, I managed to memorize the strange materials and formulas used in alchemy.’

In his previous life, Theo had no interest in mastering swordsmanship, but he was deeply interested in accumulating magical power.

The foundation of accumulating magical power was breathing techniques. Just by breathing properly, one could maintain good health.

Then, why wouldn’t he do it?

The Blood Sword Emperor’s alchemy was similar. All one had to do was gather specific ingredients, mix them, and take them regularly.

Even in his previous life, Theo had consumed this mixture consistently. Though he was too old and his blood vessels and energy pathways were heavily clogged, he still gained a significant boost in physical stamina.

‘But things will be different now. I’m younger, and my energy pathways are relatively less blocked.’

The knowledge Theo had from his previous life wasn’t limited to this alone.

—Running without fail every morning at 6 a.m.

It was a method to quickly boost stamina in a short period of time.

In addition, the breathing technique he used during this time was one that had not yet been revealed to the world, a method taught by his master.

Thanks to this, within a month, Theo’s cardiorespiratory endurance had greatly improved, and his muscle quality had become much firmer.

—Books with strange titles taken from the library.

They would all later be revealed to be secret martial arts manuals that “bored ancestors hid away in secrecy.”

Most of them were sword techniques that would eventually be rated as top-tier, “Highest Rank” techniques.

However, now it would never be revealed to the world.

And.

Now, Theo was finally about to open the Aura Hall.

But the method he was about to use differed slightly from the conventional way of simply accumulating magical power in the lower abdomen.

‘First, I need to trigger all the magical power accumulated in my body through alchemy, gather it toward my heart…’

Just as Theo was recalling the steps to circulate his magical power in the correct order, it happened.

“Theo! My son, Theo! Are you in here?”

A high-pitched voice, tinged with hysteria, echoed from outside.

The faces of the maids turned pale, and they were visibly restless.

“Mother?”

Why would she show up when she hadn’t even appeared for over a month?

Bang!

Before Theo could finish his thought, the door swung open with a loud bang.

A noblewoman, approaching her forties but still maintaining the youth and beauty of her twenties, strode into the room.

However, contrary to her graceful appearance, her steps were frantic, and her gaze toward the maids was sharp.

“M-Madam! You mustn’t act like this here…”

“Let go of me! Who dares to stop me from seeing my own son?”

“B-but…”

The maids, who had followed her inside, were frantic and at a loss. They occasionally cast nervous glances toward Theo, as if silently asking for his forgiveness.

“Enough. All of you, leave.”

The maids bowed to Theo and quickly exited the room.

“You should discipline your maids. Such insolent creatures. To think they dared stop a mother from seeing her son. They’ve grown too bold, thanks to how indulgently you’ve treated them.”

If this continued, it could become a serious problem in the future.

“It was on my orders.”

“What?”

“I instructed the maids not to allow anyone inside without my explicit permission.”

“Even if it’s your mother?”

“Yes.”

“How dare you…”

It was because if she caused such a commotion like she was now, it could lead to a deviation in his magical circulation, potentially resulting in severe internal injury.

Instead of voicing these thoughts, Theo let out a deep sigh, choosing to keep the dangerous truth to himself.

Creating the Dragon’s Heart required immense effort, concentration, and time.

If interrupted during the process, the magical power could spiral out of control, possibly leaving him crippled. That’s why he had even bribed the maids with special desserts, asking them to ensure no one disturbed him, even if the head of the family came by.

‘At least I hadn’t started yet. Phew!’

Theo stared blankly at the troublesome noblewoman who seemed to interfere in both his past and current life.

Cecilia Ragnar.

She was Theo Ragnar’s biological mother.

As her name implied, she was the only one in the harem of the head of the family who lacked a noble surname, as she was born a commoner.

Because of this, Cecilia harbored a deep inferiority complex about her origins, and she poured all her ambitions and frustrations into her son.

She believed that if Theo’s status rose, no one would dare to look down on her.

The problem was that Theo had never particularly excelled or stood out.

Because of this, she constantly berated him whenever she saw him.

Now was no different.

If he left her unchecked, she would undoubtedly subject him to more of her tiresome nagging.

“So, what brings you all the way here?”

Cecilia barely managed to suppress her rising anger, but her voice still dripped with venom.

“Rendon told me. He said you were distracted again during today’s lesson!”

‘As expected, it was about that.’

Theo smiled bitterly.

It was true that while preparing for his plan related to the Dragon’s Heart, he had been neglecting Rendon’s lessons.

The lessons had been of little use to him anyway.

“How much longer do you plan to break this mother’s heart!”

“……”

“Say something! You’re not mute, and you can speak perfectly fine, so why do you refuse to answer me every time?”

‘How should I handle this?’

Theo had never felt any real affection toward his mother.

But it wasn’t as if he hated her. If anything, he felt pity for her.

A life devoid of her husband’s love, trapped in a harem that was like a prison, with no friends to confide in.

For that reason, Theo had tried to treat her kindly whenever possible.

‘But that’s easier said than done.’

“Will you at least say something…!”

“Mother.”

Perhaps that was why the voice that came out of Theo’s mouth sounded so cold and distant.

“Hah! You finally decide to speak. So, you do feel guilty after all?”

“Rendon is a fraud.”

“What are you…!”

“I know how much effort and money you spent to bring Rendon here. But he’s nothing more than a mercenary, lacking both skill and experience.”

“……!”

“I’ll expose his true nature soon enough. So, please stop interfering with me any further.”

It was the first time Theo had ever responded so sharply to Cecilia.

Until now, he had always pretended not to hear her or acted distracted, obliging her nagging without complaint.

Today, he stared directly into her eyes, something he hadn’t done before.

Because of this, Cecilia found herself at a loss for words.

She had much she wanted to say, but couldn’t bring herself to speak.

Everything felt strange.

Even though it was clearly her son’s face in front of her, it didn’t feel like it was really him.

“If you have nothing more to say, please leave.”

* * *

“How could my son speak so cruelly to his mother! How much I’ve done for you all these years! To protect you from those wolves…!”

Cecilia’s hysterical voice echoed loudly from the distant hallway.

Because of her outburst, Theo could sense the maids and butlers murmuring amongst themselves, but he chose to ignore it.

‘This isn’t pleasant either.’

Theo sighed lightly and shook his head.

‘Still, she is my birth mother. I’ll have to find a way to save her somehow.’

Three years from now, Cecilia would attempt to poison the head of the family’s favorite concubine and be executed after being caught.

There had been many suspicious elements surrounding the case, but no one questioned it because everyone was well aware of Cecilia’s usual behavior.

Theo didn’t want to see that future repeat itself.

‘Despite appearances, my mother doesn’t have the strength or resolve to do such a thing. It must have been related to the competition for the position of the family head.’

Who could it be, the true culprit?

And who was behind the assassins that killed Theo and his household in his previous life?

Somehow, Theo felt the two incidents weren’t all that different from each other.

‘For now, I should focus on the Dragon’s Heart. In the end, my power is what matters most.’

Leaving the maids with strict orders not to let anyone in, Theo slowly sat in a cross-legged position.

He closed his eyes and focused his consciousness.

He could feel the lumps of magical power scattered throughout his body.

These were the results of over a month of consistent consumption of alchemical mixtures, layers of magic built up inside him.

These would be essential ingredients and fuel for creating the Dragon’s Heart.

“Hmph…!”

Theo took a deep breath.

The lumps of magical power stirred heavily, slowly beginning to flow through his circuits, guided by his will.

The direction was clockwise.

The destination was his left chest, the heart.

Like a river flowing steadily, the power gathered like an ocean… and then crashed like a tidal wave!

Bang!

“Ugh!”

It felt as if a hammer had struck him hard in the chest.

Theo’s upper body jerked from the force.

Despite the pain making his vision spin, Theo refused to utter a sound.

If he lost control and made any noise, his breathing would falter, and the magical energy could spiral out of control.

And after that?

What “after” would there be? He’d be left half-crippled.

‘This is really dizzying.’

Theo clenched his teeth tightly.

What he was attempting now was forcibly engraving a magical core into his heart.

Since the heart circulates all the blood in the body, converting it from a simple biological organ into a magical organ was no easy feat.

But Theo was confident.

He had conducted extensive research on the Dragon’s Heart with his master in his past life and had even successfully completed it once.

‘I’ve gathered a decent amount of magical power too.’

Finally,

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Theo pushed to break through the solid walls of his heart, trying to flood it with as much magic as possible.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

His heart began pounding wildly in rhythm with his effort.

Booom!

Theo’s body convulsed more violently than ever as the magic gushed inside his heart all at once.

‘It worked…!’

It worked. Theo felt triumphant as he focused on stabilizing the magical energy within his heart.

But then—

‘What is this?’

Something was off.

Inside his heart, a substantial mass of magic was already gathered.

As if it had always been there.

[Congratulations! You have successfully completed Tutorial Quest ■ #1.]

[Rating: A]

[You have received the reward: ‘Fragment of ■■■.’]

[As a bonus reward for your performance, you have discovered the magical power from your previous life.]