It was true that with Spiritual Techniques healing someone’s physical injuries was a simple matter. However, alchemy had never been about healing physical injuries so much as spiritual ones. There were many diseases and ailments that couldn’t be cured with Spiritual Techniques. In fact, there were many problems that Spiritual Techniques would make worse. Alchemy had been created for the purposes of fixing those problems that Spiritual Techniques could not heal. What’s more, alchemy wasn’t used for just healing either. This was common knowledge in Midgard. However, it seemed as if Nevaria lacked this common knowledge that I had been taking for granted.
Dispelling those thoughts, I continued traveling home. This knowledge I had unwittingly picked up wouldn’t benefit me right now. Perhaps I could do something about the Alchemist Association’s problem in the future, but for the moment, the most important thing I could do was train and grow stronger. I could figure out the benefits to introducing the true value of alchemy at a later date.
Chapter 5
Beginning to Train
These past two months had been the best months of my entire life. Kari would often show up at the library, same as always, but whenever she and I saw each other, she would invite me to sit with her and talk. I enjoyed our conversations. It was nice discussing the stories we were reading, the dreams we had, and our aspirations in life. Being able to talk with her left me feeling like I was floating on a cloud.
That said, I always felt a faint sense of sadness lingering around Kari during our talks. There would be times when her eyes would grow distant, or when she would say something in a disillusioned voice, and then try to laugh it off as a joke. I wanted to ask her about what she was thinking during these moments, but I felt like she might stop talking to me if I did. I kept silent on the matter despite my better judgement.
I had just left the library after closing shop. Kari hadn’t shown up today, but she went to the Spiritualist Academy, so I wasn’t worried. She’d probably stop by tomorrow since it was her day off.
As I was turning a corner, a faint current of air brushed against me seconds before something powerful slammed into my stomach. I gasped and doubled over, falling to my knees and curling my arms around my stomach as whatever hit me retracted. I-I couldn’t breathe! I coughed several times. My mouth released a strange sucking sound as I tried to take in oxygen, but my lungs weren’t working properly.
“Is this weakling really the person Kari has become so obsessed with?” a voice asked above me.
I looked up. Although my vision was somewhat blurry because of the pain, I was able to see the person in front of me. He was a young man with dark blond hair and blue eyes. His light skin was the kind most people living in Nevaria possessed. However, there was a softness to it that suggested he was a noble. Members of nobility always had skin that looked softer than the finest velvet. Likewise, the clothing he wore, a beautifully woven leather tunic that glistened in the sun and silk pants, lent him the air of someone from a prestigious family.
Currently, this young man was looking down at me with disdain in his eyes.
“How could Kari possibly enjoy spending time with such a pathetic weakling?” he asked. “He doesn’t even look like a man. Are you two sure this isn’t just a girl she’s recently become friends with?”
“We’re sure, Master Grant,” an older man said. He looked to be in his twenties, but my vision was a bit blurry so I couldn’t see his features well.
“Hmph! Well, I suppose I should just teach him a lesson then.”
The young man whom the older man called “Master Grant” cracked his knuckles. I tried to stand up, but then he abruptly extended his foot. Pain exploded inside of my head as his foot connected with my jaw. My head snapped back, the world blurred around me, and then I landed on my back.
I could taste blood in my mouth. His kick had caused me to bite my cheek, but more than that, it had rattled the inside of my skull. Groaning, I rolled onto my stomach and tried to push myself up.
Something struck me in the torso, causing me to gag as all the air left me. I dry heaved as my legs instinctively curled around me as though to protect my body.
“This kid is pathetic. What does Kari see in him?” “Master Grant” asked as he kicked me again. The force of his kick was enough that I was flipped onto my back. As I coughed and tried to regain my breath, “Master Grant” placed a foot on my chest and pushed down. I bit back a groan as I felt my ribs slowly collapse under his strength.
No one else was willing to help me. I saw people staring at what was happening out of the corner of my eyes, but whenever I looked at them, they would look away as though they hadn’t seen me. From their response, I guessed this man had a very high social standing.
However, just as it looked like my beating would continue, a powerful beam of light suddenly surged in from out of nowhere. “Master Grant” was given no time to respond as this beam slammed into his face. A loud cracking noise echoed around the street. The foot swiftly left my chest as “Master Grant” was knocked back several steps and fell onto his butt.
“Eryk!” Someone rushed over and knelt next to me. “Eryk, are you okay?”
That person was Kari. She was wearing a simple white dress with a golden cord around her waist today. Her expressive blue eyes were wide with concern as she held out her hands.
“I-I’m fine,” I coughed.
“You’re injured. Hold on a second.”
As she spoke, Kari placed her hands on my chest and began moving them in strange patterns. I recognized the movements as something necessary for a person to perform Spiritual Techniques. As I wondered what technique she was using, light seeped from her fingers, gentle wisps that drifted into my chest. I felt better almost immediately. The pain that had been wracking my body vanished like it had never existed.
When she was finished healing me, Kari grabbed my hand and helped me stand up. She checked me over one more time. After sighing in relief upon seeing I was no longer injured, she turned her head and presented the one called “Master Grant”, who had just gotten back to his feet, with a fierce glare.
The young man wore an ugly expression as blood ran down his nose. He looked like a rabid beast who might attack at any moment. However, when his eyes landed on Kari, the vicious look was replaced by an insincere smile.
“Lady Kari,” he greeted, clapping his hands together and bowing once. “It is a pleasure to see you again. You’re looking lovely. Have you been doing well since our families last spoke?”
Something about the way he talked about their families made my bones grow cold. However, Kari did not respond to his provocative tone or his words. Her frosty glare could have frozen a volcano.
“If you or your friends, or anyone who is even remotely associated with you, touch Eryk again, I will consider this a slight against me,” Kari spoke in a slow, deliberate manner. “Should it come to that, I will challenge you to a duel within the arena.”
Those words had the effect of wiping the insincere smile from “Master Grant’s” face. What remained was a cold anger.
“Fine,” he spat. “I won’t touch him again. It’s not like it matters. Nothing is going to change between us. The talks are already proceeding quite smoothly. You know our families have already reached an agreement. It’s just a matter of me winning the Spiritualist Grand Tournament two months from now.”
Kari gnashed her teeth together, but she didn’t say anything, and “Master Grant” left with the older man in tow. She watched them with eyes like a hawk. When they were gone, she sighed and turned to me.
“I am so sorry,” she apologized in a soft voice.
“Why are you sorry?” I asked. “It isn’t like you did anything to me. Rather, I think I should be thanking you for stepping in when you did.”
Kari shook her head and choked back a reply. I didn’t know it at the time, but I would eventually come to find out why the young noble named “Master Grant” had acted so violently toward me.
The ne
xt two days were spent planning my training regime. I used the map I had bought to mark several locations that looked like ideal training spots. It seemed there were sixteen waterfalls surrounding Nevaria that would suit my purpose, and all of them were thankfully far enough away from the city that it was unlikely anyone would sense it when I released my Spiritual Power.
Because I worked during the day, I could only head out at night. At that moment, however, most of my work at the library was already done. There were no books that needed to be returned to their shelves. I had swept the floor. The tables and shelves were cleaned. I had even gone ahead and rearranged the paperwork in the backroom.
Which was why I found myself sitting next to Kari and chatting.
I hadn’t seen Kari since that first time she and I met by the stairs, but that was because she had been attending classes. The girl was so polite she’d even apologized to me for not being around these past two days despite how it wasn’t her fault.
Our topic of conversation had originally been about one of the books Kari was reading. It was an adventure story about a young woman who travels across the land to find ingredients that her dying husband needs to live. She braved dangers, fought vicious Demon Beasts, and discovered new sides of herself that she never knew. However, this was a story that ended in tragedy. The woman returned home after years away only to learn that her husband died while she was gone.
“That seems pretty depressing,” I said as Kari finished talking about the book.
She nodded, though her smile hadn’t diminished. “It is, but I also think it’s an accurate portrayal of real life.” Her smile grew a bit distant, a bit melancholy. “Sometimes no matter how hard a person tries, there are things they can do and things they can’t. There are just things in life that we have no control over, no matter how much strength we gain or how hard we try.”
“Yes, that is true,” I muttered in a soft voice.
I knew that Kari was actually talking about her marriage arrangement with Grant Leucht, but I was thinking about how the Great Overlord of the Seventh Realm had killed Kari in my previous life. I kept thinking about what I could have done differently. However, even if I wracked my brain for a thousand years, I knew there was nothing I could have done. I didn’t have the strength at the time.
Things were different now. I was back in the past. I had a chance to do things over, and I would make damn sure that what happened last time didn’t happen this time.
Our conversation changed after Kari finished talking about her book.
“I’ve heard that there are numerous ruins from ancient civilizations in the Demon Beast Mountain Range.” Kari’s eyes were sparkling as if she were imagining what it would be like to explore those ruins. “I really wish I could go out and explore them.”
I smiled as I watched her. “Can you not?”
The sparkle in her eyes left as she sighed. “I sadly cannot, or rather, I am not allowed to.”
“Why is that?”
“Reasons.” Kari’s eyes shifted away from me.
“Because you’re the princess of the Astralia Royal Family reasons?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.
Kari gasped. “H-how did you find out who I was?”
A single droplet of sweat trailed down my face. “Er… it really wasn’t that difficult to figure out. You speak in a manner that is very polite and refined; your clothes might be simple, but they are obviously expensive and made from the finest materials; you are exceedingly beautiful; also, every time I leave the library after you and I talk, I find numerous people glaring at me and whispering behind our backs about how it’s unfair that I’m spending time with ‘Princes Kari.’”
The more evidence I gave that lent credence to her identity, the redder Kari’s face became, until it looked like her face might catch fire. I couldn’t stop myself from smiling.
“I’m sorry,” she apologized.
“For hiding the truth?” I asked. Kari nodded, causing me to study her for a moment. “I do not think that is something to be sorry about. I assume you didn’t want me to know because you thought I would treat you differently. Lucky for you, everyone is equal in the library. It doesn’t matter if you’re a princess or a pauper. Every person needs to keep quiet.”
As I raised a hand to my lips in the universal gesture of silence, Kari stared at me like I had said something really dumb, but then she held a hand to her mouth and began giggling. My smile widened. I was glad I could make her feel better.
“Saying that, if you really do feel sorry about not telling me your identity, there is something you can do for me,” I said.
Kari stopped talking and suddenly looked guarded. “What is it?”
“I eventually wish to go out and explore the world as well,” I said. “There is so much out there that I think the people of Nevaria know nothing about.” So so much more. “Currently, I am unable to do any exploring, but I plan to at some point.” I stared at the now wide-eyed girl with a soft smile. “And when I do, I would like you to come with me.”
“That… I don’t know,” Kari hedged.
“Do you not want to?”
“N-no, I do!” she said hurriedly. “I would love to go exploring, but I…”
“If you are worried about your family, then don’t worry.” I gave her a slow, deliberate wink. “When the time comes, you and I can just run away together.”
Kari obviously mistook my words for a joke. She giggled some more, seemingly not realizing that I was being quite serious. I didn’t correct her. Right now, I really couldn’t do anything for her except lighten her mood. However, in time, I would fix this. The girl before me was not someone who belonged in a cage.
A phoenix could only spread its wings by soaring through the sky.
It was fortunate that I only worked until the afternoon. Once Ms. Nadine came to relieve me, I grabbed my map and immediately headed out of Nevaria.
I used the eastern gate to leave this time. It was a lot further than the northern gate, taking about two hours to reach by carriage, but I wanted to be cautious right now. I slipped out alongside a number of other individuals. Anyone was free to leave the city. The surrounding forest before reaching the Demon Beast Mountain Range was part of Nevaria. There were no Demon Beasts present, though there were other potentially dangerous animals like wolves and snakes, and a type of large boar that people hunted for food.
Traveling past trees and bushes, I made my way deeper into the forest, using the map as my guide. There was a waterfall about six kilometers up ahead.
It took longer than I would have liked to reach the waterfall. However, when I stepped into the large clearing, I could not help but nod in satisfaction. Aside from being quite wide, the waterfall itself was a towering thing that was easily a dozen or so meters high. A series of boulders also sat underneath the waterfall, which flowed into a large lake.
Taking off all of my clothes and folding them up, I quickly dove into the water and swam to the waterfall. It was brisk. Goosebumps broke out on my skin as the cold water surrounded me, but I ignored that and kept swimming.
The only problem I discovered while swimming was that my physical strength was… well, not good. Once I reached a certain distance, the force of water flowing from the waterfall made it difficult to swim forward. It felt like I was staying in one spot no matter how hard I stroked my arms. Even so, I gritted my teeth and slowly pushed forward, until I eventually reached the rocks.
If I thought swimming against the current of a waterfall was hard, then standing underneath said waterfall was impossible. Almost immediately after I had gotten beneath it, my body was crushed against the boulders as who knew how many tons of water pushed against me. I couldn’t even move much less stand up. It felt like my bones were being battered by thousands of unrelenting fists.
Biting my inner mouth hard enough to draw blood, I opened the floodgates for my Spiritual Power.
It was just as I expected. The moment I released my Spiritual Power, it burst from my
body like a neverending torrent. Pale blue energy flew everywhere and would have created another column that shot through the sky had the water not been there.
The pressure on me suddenly disappeared, allowing me to sit up. Now that I was prepared for the incredible outpouring of energy, I didn’t pass out. That said, as I looked at the column of Spiritual Power pouring out of my body, which was now keeping several tons worth of water from falling on my head, I could not help but release a sigh.
Controlling this was going to be exceedingly difficult.
I did not know how long I spent underneath that waterfall, but the sky had become dusky by the time I exhausted all my Spiritual Power. Once I felt only a small trickle of Spiritual Power left inside of me, I slipped out from underneath the waterfall and swam back to the shore, where I then put on my clothes while still wet and proceeded home.
The chill didn’t bother me too much. I had dealt with cold weather many times in the past while traveling the continent. Dealing with a wet body and damp clothes wasn’t an issue.
While I walked back home, I quickly went over what happened while training today. Just like I thought, regaining control over my Spiritual Power was going to be difficult. Just training wouldn’t help either, not if I wanted to quickly regain control over it. However, I at the very least succeeded in doing what I had come here to do. And if I continued with this for several more days, I should be able to gain at least an intermediate level of control.
I arrived home about an hour after entering the city. Despite being tired from having exhausted most of my Spiritual Power, I didn’t go right to bed. Instead, I took out my alchemy set and the ingredients I had bought several days ago.
Because I didn’t have a table to work on, I just set up my alchemy set on my floor.
WIEDERGEBURT: Legend of the Reincarnated Warrior: Volume 1 Page 8
