Chapter 2

How to Live as a Hero in a Magical World

Hundreds of magical artifacts poured forth from the reinforcements.

As time passed, thick beads of sweat multiplied across the Valentin patriarch’s forehead. No matter how powerful a mage was, their mana could never be infinite.

Meanwhile, the capital of the only continued to grow.

This was unmistakably a war of attrition.

The eldest and second sons, who had evacuated the members of the household, came to stand behind their father.

“Father!”

“We’ll handle the rear!”

Since the brothers’ minds were connected through [Mind Link], there was no need for any additional communication.

―Crack!

When the eldest summoned vines to bind the enemies’ feet—

―Shing!

The second cut their throats with blades of wind.

Perfect coordination.

It was the result of a bond forged through blood, something that a temporary alliance formed for the sake of profit could never imitate.

But the enemy still had overwhelming numbers.

Far too many.

―BOOM! KABOOM!

The patriarch shouted as though he were vomiting blood.

“Riana! Hurry and take Kaian!”

Behind the patriarch, the pale-faced mistress of the house, Riana, was casting a body-enhancement spell on her youngest son.

“[Enhance, Full Body.]”

―Fwoooooosh…!

White mana continuously flowed from her into her youngest son, Kaian.

Riana carefully examined every part of Kaian’s body and face.

Perhaps this would be the last time she could imprint the sight of her child upon her eyes.

She engraved the sight of Kaian’s black hair and blue-green eyes, which resembled her own so much, deep into her soul.

‘He’ll only be eight tomorrow… He’s still just a baby who hasn’t even learned a single spell…’

Riana felt as though her heart were collapsing, but she could not afford to show weakness in front of her child.

Suppressing her sobs, she pulled the trembling Kaian tightly into her arms.

Riana’s body shook faintly.

Yet when her voice finally emerged, it was astonishingly calm, filled with an almost mystical force.

“[Kaian, listen carefully. You have relatives in the Sylvaris Alliance on the eastern continent. Once you enter the eastern forest, the spirits will guide you to a safe place. Until then, don’t look back. Don’t stop.]”

“No, Mother! Please! I can’t run away by myself!”

―BOOM! BOOM!

Explosions continued to erupt outside without pause.

The patriarch shouted again.

“We have to hurry!”

Kaian’s stomach churned.

The fear that his family would not be going with him.

The helplessness of knowing that, despite everything, there was nothing he could do.

At that moment, he felt as though he could vomit up even his own stomach.

But Riana’s command, said with the most powerful voice in the Empire, held fast to Kaian’s soul.

“[I’m begging you, my child. Survive to the very end and live beneath the bright sun. Never let them cover your world in darkness. And… remember that we will always be with you.]”

She knew why this noble family had to perish tonight.

Their crime was refusing to bow their heads when the world compromised with falsehood.

And their punishment was the destruction of their entire family.

She did not regret the choices she had made.

But her young son, who had not even awakened his mana, had no reason to bear that responsibility.

‘Magic is a power meant for the weakest.’

That was the belief of the House of Valentin.

And that belief did not waver, even in the face of death.

Riana looked straight into her youngest son’s eyes and said,

“[Kaian Velore Valentin. You must survive. So don’t look back. Run!]”

Guided by the power of the command, Kaian ran into the secret passage beneath the Valentin estate.

―Patapatapat…!

A fierce resolve appeared in Riana’s eyes as she watched her youngest son disappear.

Every explosion filled her with searing anger and resentment.

―KABOOM! BOOM!

She could sense the life force of her family members gradually fading away nearby.

Blood vessels stood out in Riana’s eyes.

“I will leave a mark upon you that you will never… ever forget.”

She gathered the last remaining traces of her mana and began chanting an ancient curse.

Terrifyingly white mana rose from her body.

―Fwoooooosh…

She concentrated her mind so that she would not miss even a single trace of the intruders’ mana outside the estate.

“[Those who have set foot upon the border, driven by greed. May the wrath of the earth flow through your blood.]”

She could no longer sense the mana of her eldest and second sons.

“[Those who share your bed shall be tormented by disease until nothing but bone remains, and those who share your cup shall have their throats filled with ash and perish.]”

Tears of blood dripped from her eyes.

“[Your lifespans shall dry up like morning dew.]”

Yet there was not the slightest tremor in Riana’s voice.

And finally—

“[And this curse shall never end, passed down through generation after generation.]”

No one heard the curse.

But in the end, it would become a curse that the entire world would come to know.

“Hah… huff…”

The border forest, where Kaian arrived after running through the underground passage beneath the estate, was pitch-black.

Branches scratched his tender cheeks, while sharp rocks caught at his ankles.

His young body and mind quickly reached their limits.

Kaian pleaded with himself.

‘Stop! Go back to your family, please! You should die there with them…!’

But whenever that thought surfaced, Riana’s command tightened its grip around his soul even more strongly.

Kaian could not stop.

His lungs heaved as though they were about to tear apart, but he ran and ran.

He did not know how far away the eastern forest was.

He simply followed where his body led him.

“Huff… huff…”

Kaian felt how fragile and insignificant his life was, like a candle flickering in the wind.

If not for Riana’s command, he was certain he would already have died.

Amid those helpless thoughts, the moment he had been separated from his family kept returning to him.

The acrid smoke.

The flashes of mana in various colors.

His father’s shouts and his brothers’ screams.

The horrific sound of something being crushed.

And the fate of his family that he had never been able to witness to the end…

No matter how far he ran, those terrible images would not be washed away by the wind.

Instead, the farther he ran, the clearer they became.

As he pushed through the pitch-black darkness, Kaian asked himself:

‘Why? Why did this happen to us?’

Only a few hours ago, everything had been peaceful.

Kaian had begged his mother to read him stories about heroes, while Riana had looked fondly at her youngest son, excitedly awaiting his eighth birthday.

The neighbors had been kind.

The wind had been gentle.

The world glittering beneath the sunlight had been nothing but beautiful.

So why had everything suddenly turned into a catastrophe?

Kaian asked himself again.

‘Was it because I was weak? If I had been strong enough to protect everyone, would everything have been all right? But how?’

Like blood that had repeatedly flowed and dried until it clung thickly to his entire body, the guilt of knowing that his family had sacrificed themselves to save him clung to his soul with a foul stench.

Fear and helplessness gnawed away at Kaian’s mind, and the darkness within his soul grew deeper with every passing minute.

“Huff… huff…”

Kaian finally reached a point where he could think of nothing but death.

When he thought of death, he even felt a sense of relief rising within him.

‘No matter how powerful Mother’s command is, it can’t raise the soul of someone who’s already dead.’

Yes.

If he died, everything would become peaceful.

He would be with his family in the embrace of merciful mana.

Thinking that way, Kaian waited for the strength to drain from his body.

Then—

The pursuers who had somehow caught up with him shouted from behind.

“We found him! He’s over there!”

“If we kill that brat, Valentin is finished!”

―Throb!

The moment Kaian heard the name of his family from the enemy’s mouth, a violent pain struck his heart.

‘Finished…? Valentin?’

His pupils twisted strangely.

The death he had desperately longed for was right before him.

But he could not accept dying this way.

Guilt and the instinct to survive collided, violently tearing through Kaian’s mind.

―Thump. Thump. Thump.

And the more they clashed, the more clearly a single emotion began to boil within his veins like magma.

It was—

Rage toward those who had trampled upon his world.

‘Don’t make me laugh. You think I’m going to die at your hands?’

Kaian ground his teeth.

The command Riana had burned into him by sacrificing her own life began to pulse violently.

―[You must survive.]

―[You must never let them cover your world in darkness.]

As though molten metal were being poured into his freezing veins, fierce heat surged into Kaian’s heart.

The sound of his heartbeat became unnaturally loud in his ears.

―Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

And finally—

The dam within Kaian violently collapsed.

It was the moment his mana awakened.

‘What is this?’

Kaian could now tell how many enemies were behind him without even looking.

He could also tell that they were taking out their [Crimson Nights].

That they were taking out their [Superior Scrolls].

No.

He could feel it.

His instincts whispered to him.

‘It’s dangerous if I stay like this.’

Kaian knew clearly what he needed to do.

He focused on the pulse pounding as though it would burst from his left wrist.

Then, before long, blue-green mana surged up his left arm, flickering violently.

―Fwoooooosh…

His instincts whispered again.

‘Now…!’

At that moment, Kaian swung his left arm backward with all his strength.

At the same time, with a voice so hoarse it seemed to have been torn apart, he spat out a message to the world.

“Burn it all.”

It was far too rough to be called an incantation.

And far too sorrowful to be called a curse.

It was Kaian’s first spell.

―Whoooooosh!

The flames that began with a small movement spread throughout the entire forest in an instant.

Those engulfed by the flames screamed horribly, but their voices soon turned to handfuls of ash along with their bodies.

Kaian did not see the sight.

Riana’s command was still urging him to survive.

―[Don’t look back. Run!]

Unceasing tears seeped into the scratches on his cheeks.

His left wrist was burning hot, as though it had been seared by fire.

The forest flickered orange, as though embracing a sun that had risen far too early, drawing Kaian deeper into the darkness.

And so, on the day of his eighth birthday—

Kaian lost his entire family.

And became the youngest mage in the history of the Empire.

The first thing Kaian sensed when he regained consciousness was unfamiliar mana.

‘Someone is here. Who?’

But that question soon faded away.

His five senses were gradually returning.

The scent of old wood and dry leaves tickled the tip of Kaian’s nose.

The bed beneath his exhausted body was as soft as a pile of feathers, while sunlight streaming through the gap in the window was pleasantly warm.

That peacefulness grated against Kaian’s nerves.

Every sense in his body began screaming a warning.

‘Where am I? I was definitely…’

Fragments of memory rattled around, struggling to find their proper shape.

The burning estate.

His father’s shouts.

His mother’s trembling body.

The flames that had erupted from his left wrist.

And finally, the sensation of suddenly falling into darkness…

“Gasp…!”

Kaian shot upright from the bed like a spring.

Every muscle in his body screamed, and pain throbbed around his ribs.

His startled lungs contracted as though refusing to breathe.

But he had no time to indulge in the pain.

Riana’s command remained burned into his soul like a vivid brand.

‘I have to live!’

He instinctively looked around.

His vision swayed.

Even so, Kaian managed to grab the heavy brass candlestick sitting on the bedside table.

Then he pointed it toward the unfamiliar mana he had sensed at first.

He looked like a small animal backed into a corner, baring its teeth.

“Who are you…?! Come any closer and I’ll kill you!”

Where Kaian pointed the candlestick, a woman sat with her back to the sunlight, turning the pages of a book.

―Rustle.

Kaian could not make out her expression.

The sunlight pouring through the window was simply too bright.

But even from her silhouette, it was easy to tell that she was not human.

‘What…?’

Silver hair fell all the way to her waist.

Long, pointed ears rose through the waves of silver.

And elegantly curled atop her head were…

Goat-like horns?

‘Huh…? Did I see that wrong?’

He had only just awakened.

Perhaps he was hallucinating.

Kaian quickly rubbed his eyes and glared at the woman again.

“…”

No matter how many times he looked, there was no doubt about it.

She was an elf with horns.