* * *
I immediately ran to the abandoned training ground I used for practice. Then, just as I had while performing Energy Circulation and Regulated Breathing in my room earlier, I set up a simple Formation around the area to conceal my presence.
It would not allow me to respond perfectly to every possible situation, but I had become nervous enough that I needed to take at least some precaution.
Then I immediately attempted to circulate the mana in my heart―
HUM― HUM― HUM―
“It seems… my assumption was correct.”
I could clearly sense the mana flowing through two separate paths inside my heart.
I did not know how Circles could form within the heart, but this was unquestionably a Second Circle.
TZZZT―!
When I closed my eyes and concentrated, clusters of colorless light appeared in the air around me.
It was Magic Missile, a First Circle spell, and the spell had manifested far more steadily than before.
‘Oh, this is good.’
I should try using a Second Circle spell next.
The spell I cast immediately afterward was ‘Shield.’
HMMMM….
Colorless mana poured from my entire body and spread outward, forming a faint barrier around me.
‘Urgh, this is more difficult than Magic Missile.’
Still, what other choice did I have?
I would simply have to keep practicing and researching it.
I believed that anything I possessed ought to be used properly.
In that respect, there was another mysterious power I needed to investigate.
‘…It truly is fascinating.’
Reviewing everything I had confirmed over the past several days, this peculiar body could regenerate from virtually any injury in an instant.
Whether I was cut by a blade.
Whether I was burned.
Whether my bones were broken.
GLIDE….
Whenever I circulated the mana in my heart, my body regenerated on its own.
Small wounds disappeared almost the instant they were inflicted, while even severe injuries returned completely to their original condition after enough time had passed.
There were not even any lingering aftereffects or reductions in my physical capabilities.
However, I still felt all the pain when the wounds were inflicted, so testing this ability had been extremely, extremely, extremely painful!
‘Haaah, but I still have to do it, don’t I?’
The test I planned to conduct today was far more brutal and extreme than anything I had attempted thus far.
Honestly, I truly did not want to do it, but if I intended to use this ability properly, I needed to understand it properly.
I raised my hand.
Beneath the cold moonlight.
The chillingly bright blade of my shortsword rested against the ring finger of my left hand.
More precisely, against the segment at its very tip.
What I intended to do was obvious.
I was going to test how Hyper-Regeneration responded to ‘severance.’
‘…Will it really work?’
THUMP-THUMP. THUMP-THUMP.
I was rather nervous.
After all, I was about to cut off a part of my own body.
In case something went wrong, I had also prepared a Healing Potion.
If it seemed as though the ability was not working, I would immediately press the severed piece back into place and pour the potion over it.
‘Here goes…!’
SLASH.
The blade severed the final segment of my left ring finger.
SPURT―
“Urgh……!”
Blood sprayed outward, and a groan of pain escaped through my lips.
A crimson stream(川) flowed from the severed surface, running down my wrist and forearm as I circulated the mana in my heart.
GLIDE―
The wound began healing while maintaining the severed surface exactly as it was.
What was astonishing was that the wound attached to my left hand was not the only part being healed.
Even the finger segment that had been completely severed and fallen away was regenerating.
Furthermore, despite being entirely detached from my body, I could still feel it vividly, as though it remained connected.
‘Could I move it as well?’
WIGGLE! WIGGLE!
…….
I had tried moving it without thinking, and it had actually worked.
The bleeding had already stopped, and I no longer felt any pain.
‘H-Haha… I’m not dreaming right now, am I?’
The situation was so absurd that I felt completely dazed.
How could something like this be possible?
…….
No matter how hard I tried to understand it, I could not find an answer.
‘Do I need to press it against the wound for the severed part to reattach?’
I briefly wondered whether the severed segment might fly through the air on its own and SNAP―! back into place, but that proved impossible.
I had also imagined that a new segment might grow from the stump, but that did not happen either.
‘If it did, I might look far too much like a monster….’
Though I was already monstrous enough as it was.
In any case.
I picked up the severed segment of my finger and pressed it against the stump.
It automatically aligned itself at the proper angle, and the bone and flesh reconnected, attaching the segment to the severed surface.
WIGGLE. WIGGLE.
‘…This body truly is insane.’
I tried moving the finger, but it did not feel uncomfortable in the slightest.
Not even a scar remained.
I could do nothing but marvel.
Even if one of my arms or legs suffered a severe cut, I could probably recover without leaving the slightest trace in the same manner.
However, countless new questions began flooding into my mind.
* * *
For some reason, I felt restless throughout that night.
I swung my sword for several hours.
The blade flashed endlessly beneath the moonlight as I struggled to cast aside the worries in my heart, but it was not easy.
Only when the night had passed and dawn began to break did I finally lower my sword.
Afterward.
Over the next several days, I organized my thoughts regarding the various questions that had arisen.
First was the extent of ‘Hyper-Regeneration’ as an ability.
If I were cut in half at the waist, could I survive by reattaching the two halves?
If my neck were severed, would I be fine as long as my brain remained intact?
What would happen if my heart or brain were destroyed?
If I could recover even from injuries like those….
Was this body ‘immortal’?
‘Just how far does this ability go?’
I was curious, but testing such things personally was a little….
No, it was more than a little unreasonable.
I decided that I did not need to know and would simply make certain that I never ended up in such situations.
Next, I considered how the power known as ‘Hyper-Regeneration’ had manifested.
‘No matter how much I think about it… it seems to have something to do with the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.’
In fact, there was an ability that manifested once the Heavenly Demon Divine Art reached the Sixth Stage.
「Heavenly Demon Immortal Body」
Its effects were almost exactly the same as those of Hyper-Regeneration.
However, there were clear differences, so I could not be certain.
Hyper-Regeneration seemed to manifest through the mana in my heart rather than Heavenly Demon Qi, though I did not understand the precise mechanism.
Furthermore, because it could heal even a completely severed body part, it appeared superior to the Heavenly Demon Immortal Body.
‘Perhaps the Dimensional Transfer affected it somehow.’
That was entirely possible.
When I had crossed dimensions into Murim in the past, I had undergone Body Reformation.
Of course, it was also possible that this body had possessed a Special Constitution from birth or that its original owner had learned some form of magic….
‘He supposedly spent his entire life as a commoner. There was no damn way he had learned magic.’
As for the possibility of a Special Constitution… I would have to continue observing it.
For the time being, that was the conclusion I reached.
* * *
Three days passed.
The representatives from the Imperial Palace and the Magic Tower arrived.
Apparently, they had traveled to the nearest territory with a Warp Gate and ridden in carriages from there.
There was no Warp Gate in the Verdin Marquisate.
The Marquis personally went out to greet them with the members of his household, including me.
“You must have endured a difficult journey.”
“Hahaha! I cannot remember how long it has been, Marquis.”
The man sent by the Imperial Palace was Klein Luke.
Though he was not as enormous as Haver, he had a powerful build, and the pressure radiating from him was extraordinary. At the same time, his handsome face possessed the refined and gentle impression befitting a nobleman.
‘Haaah… They sent someone truly extraordinary.’
He was one of only three dukes in the empire and, like the Marquis, one of the ‘Five Swords of Asron.’
Moreover, he was a renowned Swordmaster whose reputation was known throughout the empire.
He was the undisputed leader of the nobles belonging to the Emperor’s faction.
The fact that Duke Luke had come personally made the Emperor’s interest painfully obvious.
The representative from the Magic Tower was no less remarkable―
“Thank you for your hospitality.”
“Not at all. I sincerely hope your stay in Verdin will be pleasant and comfortable.”
Yandel Cliverd.
The middle-aged man wearing the robes typical of Mages was a Sixth Circle Mage, of whom fewer than a hundred existed throughout the empire.
“Please follow me. This way.”
“Ah, before that… there is something for which I must ask your understanding.”
The Marquis was about to lead the two important guests away.
However, there was one final person who descended from the carriage while holding Duke Luke’s hand.
“…Duke Luke?”
Everyone from the Verdin Marquisate, including Pervan, appeared bewildered.
The person who emerged was a girl around my age.
“My name is Ainsera Luke. I believed this would be an excellent opportunity to broaden my horizons, so I took the liberty of accompanying my father.”
After stepping down from the carriage, the girl lowered her head slightly in a proper greeting.
However, the people of the Verdin Marquisate still wore expressions that clearly asked, ‘What exactly is happening?’
“Ahem… She is my daughter. She insisted that she wished to visit Verdin, so I brought her with me. I apologize for not informing you beforehand.”
Duke Luke seemed somewhat embarrassed and offered an unnecessary explanation.
The Marquis quickly recovered from his surprise and responded naturally.
“Ahem, it is no trouble. The young lady still appears quite young, yet she is remarkably mature.”
“I am grateful for your praise, Marquis Verdin.”
“Oh…….”
I had heard that she was the same age as me, but the look in her eyes, her movements, and the way she spoke made me wonder whether she was truly a child.
Ainsera Luke.
I already knew who she was.
‘She was an extraordinary woman in many ways.’
During my time as the Third Prince, we had attended Hebron Academy together, where she had been a celebrity known by everyone.
Her beauty alone was remarkable, but she also possessed extraordinary natural talent and never once surrendered first place in the Department of Magic.
However, since I had belonged to the Department of Swordsmanship, we had rarely crossed paths.
Now that I had returned to the past, this was naturally the first time we had met.
Then why did she keep staring at me?
SMILE.
She met my eyes and smiled.
Hmm… Could a sculpted face like mine be precisely her type?
It felt slightly burdensome, but I needed to introduce myself regardless.
“I am Evan Verdin, the third son. May the glory of Asron accompany the three of you. I sincerely welcome you to our territory.”
“Oh…?”
The three guests each reacted differently to my greeting.
Duke Luke, the Swordmaster, seemed extremely intrigued, as though he had sensed something from me.
Yandel appeared considerably surprised by my etiquette.
Well, he had probably arrived believing that I was an illegitimate child who had been living as a commoner until several months ago, so his reaction was understandable.
Was that also the reason?
A meaningful smile appeared on Ainsera’s face as she looked at me.
* * *
The guests entered the castle, and luncheon followed immediately afterward.
Their attendants were escorted to the dining hall, while six people were seated at the Marquis’s table.
“Marquis Verdin, you were informed beforehand that we arranged our visit to last ten days, were you not?”
“Yes. We have also prepared an itinerary for how best to receive our distinguished guests.”
I pretended to focus on eating while listening closely to the adults’ conversation.
It would be helpful if I could accompany them whenever something was scheduled.
However, someone beside me kept distracting me.
“My, Young Master Evan, how can even the way you dine possess such remarkable grace?”
“…I have worked very hard since entering the castle. It is all thanks to Father and those who have instructed me.”
“Oh, I see. How impressive! Learning proper etiquette could not have been an easy task.”
“Yes… Well…….”
Ainsera Luke!
Why did this little girl keep bothering me?
However, considering the influence wielded by House Luke, I could not allow my displeasure to show.
I was trying to treat her as kindly as possible, but….
GLARE.
Why was Duke Luke glaring at me?
Had I failed to control my expression?
“Um… Marquis Verdin.”
“Hmm?”
Eventually, Ainsera spoke to the Marquis.
The unexpected address caused a strange gleam to appear in his eyes.
Though he did not show it openly, he seemed just as uneasy as I felt.
“I would like to look around the lord’s castle. Would that be all right?”
“Hmm, then once we have finished our meal…….”
“No.”
Apparently, the lord’s castle was not what Ainsera was truly interested in.
“I would like to ask Young Master Evan to show me around now.”