Chương 69: One Year Underground and Half a Sword

Sieghart dismissed the final illusion hovering above his desk and opened his status screen, allowing the translucent display to fill most of his vision. His progress during the previous year looked considerable when represented through numbers. His magical options had expanded far beyond the four basic elements learned on the farm.

Health: 80/80 Mana: ∞ Stamina: 100/100 Strength: 8 Endurance: 10 Vitality: 8 Dexterity: 13 Magic: 67 Mentality: 40 Resistance: 18 Perception: 1 Sieghart inspected the branches beneath his attributes. Black Magic remained at Level Five, while White Magic and Arcane Magic stubbornly remained at Level One. That lack of progress no longer bothered him as much as before. The parent categories possessed hidden requirements, but their individual spells continued providing attributes and practical abilities.

Mana Rune granted one point of Mentality and Dexterity with each level, making it especially valuable. Greater Dexterity improved physical precision, while Mentality strengthened magical control. Phantom Image provided one point of Mentality and Resistance per level. Improving it would make his illusions stronger while also increasing his ability to endure hostile effects. Both skills possessed excellent long-term potential.

Sieghart wanted to advance them faster, but concentrating exclusively upon existing abilities would narrow his options. He had decided to learn Summoning Magic instead. Focusing on one powerful spell might produce faster immediate progress, but that spell could eventually become useless against enemies capable of countering it. Sieghart had already experienced that problem with Fireball. The spell devastated ordinary monsters, yet the Firians absorbed its heat and transformed the attack into additional strength.

If he had specialized entirely in fire, the eastern battlefield would have become his grave. Water, wind, earth, Protection, and improvised combinations allowed him to survive. Sieghart wanted more cards available before committing himself to improving any single one. A large selection would let him change strategies instead of relying upon overwhelming force. Some abilities might eventually be abandoned when superior versions appeared.

Spending years perfecting a spell he later replaced would become an inefficient use of time. That did not mean he planned to leave everything weak. Sieghart merely wanted to establish a broad foundation before selecting the skills deserving deeper investment. First, build the deck. Then figure out which cards are actually worth upgrading. The comparison pleased him despite the absence of collectible card games in this world. His spells already functioned like a hand filled with situational answers.

Fireball provided ordinary explosive damage. Wind Blade handled speed, Earth Bullet delivered physical impact, and Water Cannon created sustained pressure across a larger area. Frozen Floor restricted movement, while Ice Shuriken allowed guided attacks. Protection, First Aid, Phantom Image, Mana Rune, and Elemental Imbuement filled defensive and utility roles. Summoning Magic could provide something he currently lacked: persistent creations capable of remaining active after leaving his direct control.

At least, that was what the introductory book claimed. Sieghart closed his status screen and examined the training room. Several clocks had been installed along one wall, but he rarely remembered to check them. Remaining underground for an entire year had damaged his sense of time. Without sunlight, changing weather, or seasonal work, one day looked exactly like another. The mana lamps remained equally bright during morning and night.

Meals appeared at regular intervals, although Sieghart occasionally forgot to eat until someone brought another tray. Grinding without seeing sunrise or darkness was a new experience, even for someone who once hid inside a library for increasingly unreasonable periods. His former life contained clocks, phones, calendars, classes, and complaining parents to remind him whenever another day had been wasted. The basement offered none of those pressures.

Time became something measured through completed books, broken targets, leveled spells, and improvements in magical control. One month represented the time required to stabilize Mana Rune. Another became the period necessary to create a convincing apple through Phantom Image. Sieghart had turned seven without noticing until Ronan appeared carrying a cake. If the man had forgotten, Sieghart might have remained six inside his own mind for several additional months. Perhaps living underground for years was unhealthy.

Mira occasionally suggested that Sieghart spend time in one of the concealed courtyards during the night. Sieghart always refused. Leaving the basement created unnecessary opportunities for guild members to see him, and he had everything required for training where he was. The truth was less practical. The basement felt safe. Its reinforced walls lacked windows, concealed doors, weak wooden ceilings, and beds with enough empty space beneath them for explosive magical devices.

Sieghart checked the protective runes every night before sleeping. He also maintained several Mana Runes near the entrance and awakened whenever one became disturbed. No assassin had entered the basement. Nothing exploded while he slept, and every unexpected visitor approached through the same reinforced corridor. Remaining belowground required no courage. Leaving would force Sieghart to discover whether he could walk beneath open skies without imagining an invisible killer nearby. He preferred training.

Sieghart once believed that time might weaken his desire for vengeance. A full year had passed since he buried Edric and Elara beneath the tree. The anger remained. It no longer escaped as uncontrolled heat or caused black Fireballs to appear whenever someone mentioned the attack. Meditation gave Sieghart enough discipline to contain it. Calmness was not forgiveness. He still remembered every broken section of the farmhouse.

He could reconstruct the bedroom from memory, including where he discovered each part of his grandparents. Those images had not faded. Sieghart merely learned to place them behind everything else while working. His revenge remained the destination. Training determined whether he reached it alive. Mira's warning continued influencing him despite how much he disliked admitting it. Blind anger would make him predictable and encourage fatal mistakes.

Sieghart needed enough control to investigate patiently, eliminate innocent possibilities, and wait until the people responsible believed they were safe. Afterward, he would decide whether the appropriate punishment qualified as justice or revenge. The label mattered far less than the result. For now, he returned his attention to Summoning Magic. The branch was considerably stranger than its name suggested. Sieghart initially imagined summoners calling monsters, spirits, or creatures from distant locations.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Some summoning traditions actually worked that way. Practitioners created contracts with living creatures and transported them through specially prepared magical formations. Other summoners contacted spirits, elemental beings, artificial familiars, or entities inhabiting places ordinary humans could not reach. Sieghart could not use any of those methods.

He knew no creatures willing to form contracts, and calling an unknown entity without understanding the destination sounded like a creative form of suicide. The introductory book described a safer foundation known as material summoning. Instead of calling an independent being, the mage created a temporary object from condensed mana. That description sounded more like construction or conjuration than summoning.

Magical classifications in this world remained inconsistent enough that Sieghart stopped worrying about the name. The technique began with Mana Transfusion. Normally, Sieghart transferred mana into a weapon, tool, rune, or living body. Summoning required him to send that mana into an empty location. The difficulty became immediately obvious. Empty air possessed no enchantment or physical structure capable of receiving his energy. Mana dispersed the moment it left his body.

Sieghart solved the first problem through Mana Rune. He created a containment symbol in the air and used it as the foundation for receiving Mana Transfusion. That allowed raw mana to remain outside his body for several seconds. Unfortunately, shapeless energy still refused to become a physical object. Sieghart needed to harden the mana while defining its form, density, purpose, and internal structure. Every requirement demanded simultaneous concentration. His first project was a sword.

Sieghart possessed no particular attachment to swords, especially after spending years surrounded by people who believed every problem could be solved by swinging one. However, a sword contained relatively simple components. It needed a blade, guard, handle, and enough internal strength to survive impact. Creating an animal or humanoid summon would require muscles, joints, senses, movement, and some method for understanding instructions.

A sword merely needed to remain sword-shaped while cutting whatever Sieghart placed in front of it. That seemed like a reasonable starting point. Reality disagreed. Sieghart extended his right hand and formed a Mana Rune in front of his palm. The pale-blue symbol stabilized after several seconds. He activated Mana Transfusion and filled the rune with raw energy. A dense sphere of blue-white mana appeared in the air. Sieghart imagined the handle first.

The sphere stretched downward, gradually taking the shape of a grip sized for his current hand. Sieghart added shallow grooves to prevent it from slipping. He hardened the material until touching it produced faint resistance. The summoned handle remained lighter than metal but heavier than an illusion. Sieghart added the guard next. Two extensions formed above the grip, curving slightly toward the unfinished blade. Every addition increased the strain.

He needed to maintain the completed sections while shaping new mana above them. The Mana flickered. Sieghart steadied his breathing and guided additional energy through the exact channels supplying Mana Transfusion. The structure stabilized. He began creating the blade. A short section emerged above the guard. Sieghart compressed its center for durability and refined the edges until they became thinner. The handle immediately began losing cohesion.

Sieghart redirected mana toward it, but supporting the lower portion weakened his control over the blade. Its unfinished edge dissolved into floating particles. He attempted to stabilize both simultaneously. The guard twisted, the handle became transparent, and the entire weapon dispersed. Blue sparks filled the training room before disappearing. Sieghart stared at his empty hand.

"One handle and four centimeters of blade." That represented improvement. One week earlier, he could not complete the handle. The mana dispersed before he added the guard. His unlimited supply did not solve the problem because the limitation involved control rather than quantity. Pouring more mana into an unstable structure merely made it collapse more violently. Sieghart could create the sword using a fixed quantity of mana and allow it to exist independently for a limited duration.

The greater the initial investment, the longer the summoned weapon could remain. However, excessive mana required a stronger structure to contain it. Alternatively, Sieghart could continuously feed the sword through Mana Transfusion. That method might preserve it indefinitely, but maintaining the connection would occupy part of his attention throughout a battle. Losing concentration would immediately destroy the weapon.

An enemy capable of disrupting mana could also remove it from his hand at the worst possible moment. Sieghart wanted the completed sword to last at least ten minutes without further support. That duration would cover most ordinary battles. The first successful attempt would probably survive for seconds. Sieghart attempted the formation again. The Mana Rune appeared, received energy, and transformed into another incomplete handle. This time, he created the blade's internal spine before refining its outer shape.

The approach extended the weapon farther but caused the guard to collapse. Sieghart dismissed the remains and massaged his forehead. He had spent one week attempting to create a mana sword. Progress continued, but far more slowly than with his elemental spells. Increasing Mana Rune level would improve Dexterity and Mentality simultaneously. Greater Dexterity could help him draw more precise structures, while Mentality would strengthen overall control.

Phantom Image provided Mentality and Resistance but would contribute less directly to the construction process. Sieghart could also increase Mana Transfusion. The skill improved his ability to transfer exact amounts of mana without overwhelming the receiving structure. Each path offered advantages. The fastest method might involve temporarily abandoning Summoning and leveling all three supporting skills first. Returning with higher attributes would make the sword easier to create.

That approach risked becoming another delay. Sieghart could spend years preparing to learn new magic while never actually learning it. Skills developed through relevant challenges. Attempting the sword trained Mana Rune, Mana Transfusion, precision, visualization, and raw-mana control simultaneously. Slow progress was still progress. Sieghart sat cross-legged and entered meditation. His breathing became steady while he examined every mana channel involved in the failed attempt.

The pathways supplying his fingers remained overloaded during the transition between guard and blade. He had attempted to control too many separate surfaces through the same channels. Dividing responsibility might solve the issue. One hand could maintain the completed handle while the other shaped the blade. That method would require both hands during creation but might reduce the mental burden enough to complete the first summon. Sieghart stood and created another Mana Rune between his palms.

His left hand stabilized the lower structure, while his right guided energy upward. The handle formed, followed by a straight guard. A narrow spine emerged above it. Sieghart added compressed mana along both sides, gradually producing a translucent blade. The edges remained blunt, but the weapon reached nearly half its intended length. For several seconds, everything held. Sieghart's eyes widened slightly. Then someone knocked once and opened the door without waiting. Sieghart's concentration broke.

The half-formed sword exploded into harmless mana particles that struck Ronan across the face and chest. Ronan stopped inside the doorway with one hand still raised. Sieghart stared at him. Ronan wiped glowing particles from his cheek.

"I knocked."

"You didn't wait."

"You usually tell me to enter."

"Then why bother knocking?"

"To demonstrate personal growth." Sieghart released a long sigh and massaged his eyebrows. Sometimes he wondered whether Ronan's entire existence had been designed specifically to annoy him. The man wore travel clothing beneath a dark cloak, suggesting that he had either returned from an assignment or was preparing to leave. Two curved knives rested behind his waist, and a compact crossbow had been attached beneath his left arm. A small pack hung over one shoulder.

Ronan looked more serious than usual despite the interruption. He glanced toward the remaining mana particles before studying Sieghart.

"Was that supposed to be a sword?"

"It would have been if you waited five seconds."

"It looked short."

"It wasn't finished." Sieghart lowered his hands.

"What do you want?" Ronan stepped fully into the room and closed the door. For once, he did not begin with a joke, complaint, or request for help avoiding his creditors.

"I have a job."

"Congratulations."

"I need your help." Sieghart looked toward him more carefully. Ronan had completed dozens of guild assignments without requesting magical assistance from someone officially hidden inside the basement. If he needed Sieghart specifically, the job probably involved abnormal mana, enchanted equipment, healing, or something connected to the investigation. Leaving Lunar Arc would also violate the strategy they followed for the previous year. Mira would never approve without an important reason.

Sieghart felt something unfamiliar beneath his caution. Excitement. The emotion was faint, almost buried beneath habit and suspicion. Even so, the idea of leaving the basement after an entire year made his body feel unexpectedly lighter. He immediately suppressed the reaction. Any job capable of requiring his involvement would probably include danger.