— She's still so young… — I murmur to myself.
— And yet she already resorts to such horrible means to get what she wants.
I close my hand around the small bottle.
— I'll keep this for now. You never know when something like this might be useful in the future.
After Lucy left, no one else knocked on my door.
No one called for me.
No one tried to speak with me.
A rare moment of peace.
Even knowing it was only temporary.
I sprawled carelessly across the bed.
My body relaxed.
My mind did not.
My gaze drifted to the wooden ceiling of the cabin as thoughts collided with one another, forming scenarios, risks, and possibilities.
The white-robed magi…
I had crossed paths with them several times in the ship's corridors.
None of them showed the slightest sign of noticing the biochip hidden within me.
— So… using it inside a Mage academy might be easier than I imagined… — I thought.
But in the very next moment, an unpleasant memory surfaced.
The words of Saly Edson.
The father of this body's former owner.
"Mages are reserved."
"Cruel."
"And their academies are nothing more than battlefields in disguise."
Even if deaths were not officially permitted, the competition.
The intrigues.
The power games.
All of it could be just as lethal as any sharpened blade.
— I need protection… — I murmur.
— Something that will allow me to survive in that environment. Even if I have to fight alone.
Almost by instinct, I slip my hand into my trouser pocket.
My fingers touch something cold and smooth.
I pull the object out.
A blue stone.
I hold it before my eyes and examine it carefully.
At first glance, it is simple.
Unassuming.
Nothing special.
But when I tilt it against the faint lamplight, something changes.
Intricate patterns emerge within its inner surface.
Delicate lines.
Enigmatic symbols.
— This is… unbelievable.
I slowly run my fingers over the markings.
They are too precise.
Too detailed.
How did someone manage to engrave something like this onto such a small object?
Even with modern tools, it would already be difficult.
Considering the technological limits of this era…
It is absurd.
Then an obvious conclusion forms in my mind.
— If it involves Mages, nothing should be dismissed as impossible.
— Biochip, analyze the blue stone in my hands.
Immediately, the familiar mechanical response echoes inside my mind.
["Beep! Task established!"]
["Initiating scan!"]
A bluish light emerges from my eyes, projecting outward in thin, precise beams.
The movement resembles an old printer, moving back and forth across the surface of the stone, over and over again.
In my peripheral vision, a digital progress bar appears, advancing slowly.
["Analyzing... 1%"]
["Analyzing... 2%"]
["Analyzing... 3%"]
I watch in silence, attentive to every minimal variation.
Then, suddenly.
["Error..."]
I instantly frown.
["Unknown metallic components."]
["Comparing with databases... Insufficient data."]
["Analysis not possible!"]
My lips curl into a frustrated grimace.
I tighten my grip around the stone between my fingers, feeling its cold surface press against my skin as I try to contain the irritation spreading through my chest.
— Just as I thought… — I murmur quietly.
— The biochip's current level is still insufficient to analyze something left behind by a Mage.
I let out a deep sigh.
For a moment, I remained sitting there, motionless, feeling the crushing weight of the weakness of this body I now inhabit.
My physique was mediocre.
Fragile.
Ridiculously incapable of comparing to other youths of the same age.
That thought pierced into me like a needle, corroding my patience and my pride.
— How can I increase my power…? — I murmured, almost like a muffled lament.
— This body is truly too weak.
I clenched my fists, feeling the muscles respond in a slow and disappointing manner.
— If I continue like this, I have no doubt I'll be dead in a few years.
My mind inevitably returned to my past life.
A time when manipulating genetic code was something trivial.
With the knowledge and resources I possessed back then, transforming this body into something strong, resilient, and efficient would have been a simple task.
Ridiculously simple.
— Unfortunately… — I murmured, grinding my teeth.
— …there is no such option here.
I lay down on the bed and closed my eyes.
My breathing became slow and controlled as my mind entered a state of absolute concentration.
— Biochip, examine all of the previous Eduard's memories and organize them.
The familiar sound echoed inside my head.
["Beep!"]
["Task established!"]
["Initiating arrangement!"]
Suddenly, a vast ocean of images, sounds, and sensations emerged before my mind, as if a holographic projection had been activated behind my closed eyelids.
At first, it was pure chaos.
Disconnected fragments spun in every direction — laughter, screams, forgotten faces, punishments, failed training sessions, humiliations.
It was like trying to locate a single grain of sand in the middle of a storm.
["Initiating full memory scan."]
["Segmenting by life phases: childhood, adolescence."]
Gradually, the chaos began to subside.
The memories started organizing themselves, separating into well-defined areas.
The ocean became an archive.
Folders floated in an infinite virtual space, each labeled by years, events, and important milestones in the former Eduard's life.
["Subdividing categories: significant events, acquired skills, social interactions, relevant knowledge."]
It was like watching a next-generation computer operating at maximum capacity.
Within each folder, the memories were reorganized, refined, and categorized with almost obsessive precision.
When the turmoil finally transformed into order, I felt my mind clear.
Now, everything was accessible.
Controllable.
I took a deep breath and issued a new command.
— Create a new file called Primal Eduard and save it.
["Beep!"]
["File created – Primal Eduard!"]
A faint smile appeared at the corner of my lips.
This file would be different.
It would be the foundation of my rebirth.
— New task — I continued, my voice firm even within my own mind.
— Search the Primal Eduard file for all possible methods to rapidly increase my strength.
["Beep!"]
["Task established."]
["Initiating search!"]
Behind the darkness of my closed eyelids, a torrent of data began to flow.
Memories transformed into visual fragments, passing like beams of light, overlapping and reorganizing into complex patterns.
After a brief interval, the virtual laboratory responded.
["Search complete! Research results – 50 methods found!"]
I remained silent for a few seconds.
Fifty possibilities.
However, I did not need quantity.
I needed efficiency.
— Remove those with an estimated success rate below 80%.
I paused briefly, mentally adjusting the criteria.
— In addition, add another requirement: I must be able to execute the method immediately.
— Begin filtering.
["Beep!"]
["Applying filters..."]
["Filter complete. Remaining methods: 1!"]
My eyebrows arched.
Surprise.
Curiosity.
— Show me.
A single window appeared in my mind, highlighted with absolute clarity.
The words engraved themselves deeply into my consciousness.
[Method 1: Become a Knight.]
I read those words and, for a moment, remained in absolute silence.
My first instinct was to doubt.
— A knight…? — I murmured to myself.
I had truly expected something related to magic, bodily mutations, or some lost technology.
The simplicity of the answer, however, stirred something different within me.
Curiosity.
I adjusted my posture on the bed, crossing my arms as I organized my thoughts.
Then I spoke in a low, steady voice:
— Laboratory, compile all memories related to knight training.
— Organize them properly and transmit everything to my conscious mind.
The response came immediately.
["Beep! Task established. Initiating compilation!"]
A faint tingling sensation spread across my head.
It was as if thousands of microscopic needles were touching my mind at the same time.
Then images began exploding behind my closed eyes.
Movements.
Stances.
Breathing.
Pain.
Sweat.
Discipline.
The knowledge did not arrive in words, but in direct understanding.
And then, at last, I understood.
In this world, while Mages were rare and dependent on innate talent, Warriors — or Knights — were the true foundation of human societies.
They were not born special.
They became special.
Through brutal training, relentless repetition, and extreme endurance, they awakened something hidden within their own bodies.
Vital energy.
It was not magic.
It was life condensed.
While Mages required gifts granted at birth, anyone willing to pay the price could walk the path of a Knight.
The price was high.
But the path existed.
That was why Knights were common among commoners and the lower nobility.
They protected cities.
Led armies.
And, in some cases, ruled entire kingdoms.
Their bodies surpassed ordinary human limits.
Strength.
Speed.
Endurance.
All elevated to absurd levels.
Furthermore, they mastered weapons as extensions of their own bodies.
Swords.
Spears.
Axes.
Unarmed combat.
But there was more.
Some memories revealed something even more dangerous.
Secret techniques.
Abilities activated in critical moments, capable of multiplying a Knight's strength in an instant.
Tripling it.
Quadrupling it.
Always at a cost.
Internal injuries.
Extreme exhaustion.
Or even their own lives.
Among all those memories, one stood out with frightening clarity.
The training courtyard of the Edson estate.
Spacious.
Filled with destroyed dummies, blade marks, and scars carved into the ground.
At the center stood Saly Edson.
The viscount.
The former Eduard's father.
Wearing full armor, his presence was overwhelming.
I saw a child standing before him.
Small.
Fragile.
Frightened.
It was the former Eduard.
— Today — Saly said, his voice deep and unyielding — I will teach you the secret ability passed down from generation to generation in our family.
— The supreme fast-sword technique and the breathing methods that accompany it.
— Remember one thing.
— Never teach this to anyone outside our family.
The stern look on his face was unwavering.
Even now, reliving that memory, I could feel the pressure.
But the former Eduard was only a child.
He did not understand.
He did not value it.
With time, those techniques were forgotten.
Buried.
Locked away in the depths of his mind.
I slowly opened my eyes and let out a deep sigh.
— So even my own blood carried the potential of a Knight… — I murmured.
— And the other me simply ignored it.
A faint, cold smile formed on my lips.
— What a waste.
...
1700 Words
Please. I need power stones and a 5-star rating. I know it sounds cliché, but it helps me because I work as a writer and without your support, I couldn't continue. So please, help this poor writer.
Please!!! Reader-san.