"Did you buy the rune pen?"
"Yes, young master… but why do you need a rune pen?" August reached out his hand, and a red pen with ancient carvings appeared on his palm.
"Mana control." Reinh took the rune pen, looked at it, and analyzed it a little.
'How interesting! I can feel the power of the gods inside it. What is this, human?' Arceus asked while staring at the pen with fascinated eyes.
He was floating above Reinh's head, and as he saw the pen, his eyes locked onto it. In the era he lived in, such an item did not exist at all.
'It's a rune pen. It is made using the ancient language of the gods, and it lets the user draw symbols that have divine power.' Reinh said in an emotionless tone inside his mind, but the dragon heard it clearly.
"Sorry? Mana control?" August stared at him with wide eyes. He completely failed to understand what Reinh meant.
A possibility appeared in his mind for a moment, but he pushed it away. There was no way his young master really wanted to throw himself into death, right?
Reinh did not answer. Instead, he took off his clothes and revealed his body.
Using the pen, he drew symbols on his stomach, his two arms, his legs, his chest, and finally on his forehead. The background shape was "III," and in the center of the symbol he drew a deer antler.
"These symbols…" August frowned when he saw them. He recognized these runes, but how could a child draw them so perfectly?
These runes were used to control different types of energy. However, only people who had formed at least one mana ring could use them.
"Push your mana into my body." Reinh threw the pen toward August, and the old man caught it.
"Young master, are you insane? Your body will explode! It hasn't even been a few hours since you woke up from two days of unconsciousness." August's tone was completely serious and full of warning.
"In theory, I will explode. But it's fine. I can keep the mana flow stable." Reinh already knew the risk of exploding.
But to reach the peak potential of this body, he needed to take this risk. If he succeeded, the power of his body and mind would reach the limits of a mortal.
What he was trying to do was basically suicide, but that was only in theory. He was confident that nothing would happen to him.
His confidence came from the strength of his current body. Even though he had tempered only one-fourth of his bones, that alone was enough to make his body stronger through a leap.
His body was strong enough to endure mana flow and control it with the help of these runes.
The reason he wanted to do something this crazy was simple. Tempering his body was still his goal. He wanted store mana inside his organs and then use that mana as fuel again
If he succeeded, he should be able to make the Star of Eternal Ruins shine again, finish tempering his bones, and then move to other parts of his body.
"Young master, you are not the only person in history who tried such a foolish thing. In history, millions of geniuses tried to temper their bodies with mana as mortals, but ninety-nine percent of them exploded in a horrible way."
Mana was the energy of heaven and earth, and in theory, it could also be used to temper the body. But it only worked for people who had formed less than two mana rings.
For mortals? The effects were huge and could even increase future potential. August mistakenly thought Reinh had such a plan.
"But one percent succeeded."
"This is absolute madness."
"Enough. If you don't want to help, then leave. There are other methods for pushing mana into my body." Reinh said coldly.
August looked into his eyes and saw the same emotionless look as always. He sighed.
"I will help you, young master. But if I feel even for a moment that you are in danger, I will burn all the mana in your body."
Burning mana inside a mortal's body was extremely dangerous and could destroy all internal organs. But at least it was better than exploding and dying.
Reinh said nothing and emptied his mind. The smallest mistake in controlling mana could turn his brain into powder and blow up his whole body.
'You really want to do this, human? This old human is right. What you want to do is pure madness.' Arceus said as he realized the boy was serious.
But Reinh did not answer. He did not even open his eyes. His answer was clear, and he saw no need for extra words.
'You are insane. But that is what makes it interesting. It has been a long time since I saw someone this crazy. You better try your best not to die.'
August stepped forward and placed his hand on Reinh's shoulder. A colorless and faint energy leaked out from his fingertips and entered Reinh's body.
As mana entered his body, Reinh's face suddenly turned pale and his eyes became red. Mana flowed through all parts of his body: blood vessels, veins, tissues, and even his bone structure.
At the same time, an overwhelming pain covered his whole existence. The pain was so horrible that he knew if he fainted, he would never wake up again.
He quickly took control of the mana flow. He clenched his teeth from the pain, and his skin slowly turned red.
His whole body shook from the agony. Fear and pain tried to take over his mind.
By controlling the mana flow, he started moving mana through his tissues and bones. Slowly, he pushed mana into every place he could and made sure none of it leaked.
"His heartbeat is dropping a lot," August frowned. He was ready to act at any moment to save Reinh.
Slowly, several hours passed. Reinh finished the work on his tissues and bones. Now the most important and dangerous part remained: the brain.
He did not actually want to place mana inside his brain. But after thinking that leaving it empty would be a waste, he decided to try it.
The smallest mistake would make his brain explode. He guided the mana toward his head.
When mana entered the brain area, the pain multiplied several times. His vision slowly started to darken.
His consciousness was in danger. He could barely keep his eyes open. A part of him whispered to sleep. If he slept, he would no longer feel this nightmare of pain.
But another part of him replayed the memories of his death, all the humiliation he suffered, all the laughter from those bastards.
He clenched his teeth harder and started pushing the mana into the space inside his brain.
Because the brain was so sensitive, he had to work much more carefully. It took several more hours.
August looked at the clock. More than twelve hours had passed, and he had not moved from this spot even for a second.
His worry had reached its highest point. He had watched Reinh grow up with his own eyes. He saw him not as a young master, but as a "son."
"He is fine." August checked Reinh's body and saw something he could hardly believe. Reinh was actually fine in this state.
And just as August predicted, Reinh's body slowly returned to normal.
He collapsed on the floor. All his energy was gone, and he could barely stay awake.
"I feel a bit tired. Take me to my room." Reinh said in a cold voice before closing his eyes, but he did not sleep yet.
Now it was time to feed this mana to the Star of Eternal Ruins and make it shine. If the amount of mana was enough, he might even be able to do more than tempering, like evolving his bloodline.
"He succeeded. He really succeeded." August could not believe what he was seeing.
It was not impossible that people in history had achieved this, but in the entire five-thousand-year history, fewer than eight people had done it.
And today, another person succeeded right in front of his eyes.
"I cannot wait to see their faces." A smile appeared on his face.
He still remembered how the Council of the clan wanted to classify Reinh as illegitimate even after he made the Ancient bells ring, and they even wanted to remove his right of succession on the spot.
He also understood how terrifying the physical power of his young master truly was.
But one question formed in his mind, how was Reinh's physical strength this high…?