Leon was writing a letter addressed to the king, reporting everything that had happened at his estate. Without a doubt, his suspicions were directed toward the original Leon's biological family.
'This feeling of anger because they touched what is mine...'
He had already gained natural control over that body. Even so, there was something that bothered him: his mind seemed to find countless ways to kill anyone who irritated him. It was as if those thoughts arose spontaneously, even when he had no intention of acting on them.
After finishing the letter, he rolled up the parchment and carefully fastened it to the messenger eagle. With a powerful flap of its wings, the bird took flight and quickly disappeared over the horizon. Leon picked up his coat, put it on unhurriedly, and left the room, walking toward the garden.
"Time for a little training."
Today he would strengthen his fire spear and perhaps create a new technique. The technique he had in mind was designed to destroy multiple enemies at once. Fighting large numbers of people was exhausting in a war. If he could eliminate or weaken his opponents somehow with his fire magic, it could become an enormous advantage on the battlefield. After reaching the courtyard, he summoned his fire spear.
[Of course. I just got back, and you're already training.]
'Are you still surprised?'
[Not at all.]
Now there was only one person capable of stopping him from training, because he was under the effect of the spell that made him love Rebecca. But since his future wife had gone into the city with several guards and maids, no one could waste his time.
'I hope she's safe.'
[Disgusting.]
'Quiet, almost useful system.'
[What do you mean, "almost"?]
As always, he began ignoring the system and focused all of his attention on the fire spear. Intense heat spread throughout the courtyard as the weapon began to vibrate slightly in his hands. He simply strengthened it by increasing the amount of mana being used, but that would be wasteful. What he wanted was to increase the efficiency with which it was used.
Closing his eyes for a few moments, Leon slowly reduced the amount of mana feeding the spear while simultaneously increasing the compression of the flames. The vivid red gradually darkened into a denser shade, as though the fire itself were being crushed to its limit. The temperature continued to rise, but without increasing the size of the weapon.
'Hmm... let's see.'
He spun the spear once before throwing it at a massive stone block in the corner of the courtyard. The spear pierced straight through the rock without the slightest resistance, and only a second later the entire stone disintegrated in an explosion of concentrated flames, turning into ashes.
'It improved.'
[From what I can see, your mana consumption dropped by almost twenty percent, and the power increased by around fifteen... pretty good.]
'It's not enough.'
[...Of course.]
The system sounded as though it wanted to roll its eyes after hearing that. Leon extended his hand again, and another spear instantly appeared. This time, instead of throwing it, he began altering its structure. The tip became thinner, while small branches of fire appeared along the shaft.
'The problem with a spear will always be that it only hits one target... So I'll just make it hit several.'
He observed the spell for a few seconds. The small branches gradually grew until they resembled burning tree limbs. Then Leon hurled the weapon into the sky. The instant it reached dozens of meters in height, the spear exploded.
Hundreds of small fire spears appeared around the original one, like a scarlet rain, falling across the entire training ground. Each projectile pierced the earth, leaving behind small pillars of fire that continued burning wherever they struck. He was trying to recreate his arrows in a better and stronger form.
'The area coverage is good... but the individual power dropped too much.'
[If that's the result, it would be better to use arrows... Even if this body can't generate your Ego Weapon. Besides, don't you already have a technique that creates multiple spears?]
"Yes, but this one is different. Even so, I still need to improve in other areas."
He walked among the burning impact points while analyzing every detail. Some spears had lost stability during the split, while others consumed too much mana for relatively low damage.
'I shouldn't create hundreds... fifty should be enough.'
The fire marks gradually disappeared as he mentally reconstructed the entire technique.
'Fifty spears. Each one strong enough to kill an ordinary knight, and upon impact, release an explosion of compressed flames within a small radius. That way I can still cover a large area without wasting mana... after that, I'll try to apply a better secondary effect.'
[That's a lot of text. Have you thought of a name yet?]
"Maybe... Scarlet Spear Rain?"
The system remained silent for a few moments, as if seriously analyzing the suggestion.
[...Believe it or not, I think the name turned out surprisingly good.]
'Now I'm worried. Is it really that bad?'
[Idiot.]
Leon merely smiled faintly before returning to his training. Without wasting time, he resumed his starting stance. The new technique still had many flaws. The creation speed needed to increase, the mana consumption was still high, and the accuracy of the spears decreased as the distance increased. He took a deep breath as his eyes turned crimson, activating the Crimson Eyes technique.
'Again.'
The fifty spears fired simultaneously, illuminating the sky with an intense crimson glow before descending like a true storm of fire upon the training grounds. This time Leon did not avert his gaze for even a moment, carefully analyzing every impact, every flaw, and every detail. To him, a technique was never complete after it was created. It had merely taken its first step toward perfection.
Meanwhile, in the neighboring city, Leon's future wife walked through the streets accompanied by her maids, Knigrave, and Jirena. She had gone out to shop for the mansion. Now that it would also become her home, she wanted to decorate several rooms and purchase items that suited her own tastes. The purpose of the trip was simple: to buy furniture, utensils, and decorations for the mansion. After visiting several stores, Rebecca stopped in front of a display filled with fine porcelain.
"These teacups are beautiful..."
"My lady, they would match the tea room perfectly."
Rebecca simply smiled faintly and gave the maid a small nod of approval.
"Oh, what a coincidence. You must be Leon's fiancée, right?"
Hearing the unfamiliar voice, Rebecca turned her head in confusion. Standing before her was a young woman with light-colored hair and a friendly smile... or at least that was how she appeared at first glance.
"Sorry, I should introduce myself. My name is Elara. I'm Leon's sister... I mean, his adoptive sister. After all, he was adopted by my family."
Rebecca subtly narrowed her eyes. The way that girl had emphasized "my family" sounded strange. It wasn't exactly a direct provocation, but it felt like a subtle way of marking her territory. She did not like it one bit.