Chương 9: The Magic Beneath His Skin

Sieghart tried to remain quiet about his training. He failed. His grandmother was the first to begin looking at him differently. Elara never accused him of anything. She continued preparing his meals, helping him dress, and taking him into the fields whenever the weather permitted. Her affection remained unchanged, but her eyes lingered on him whenever she thought he wasn't paying attention. Sometimes, she watched his hands. Other times, her gaze moved toward the scorched patches behind the barn.

Sieghart understood the reason. He had fallen asleep immediately after creating his first fireball, and Elara had apparently found him lying near the impact mark. Even without witnessing the spell, she could probably connect a sleeping child, burned grass, and a blackened patch of soil. There weren't many reasonable explanations. Sieghart could pretend a bolt of lightning had struck the same place, but the sky had been clear that evening. Blaming a careless farmhand wouldn't work either.

None of them had any reason to hide behind the barn and burn a target made from old boards. A few days later, his grandfather began acting the same way. Edric found several scratches on Sieghart's wooden target and examined them closely. The marks had been created when Sieghart accelerated grains of sand with wind. They were too shallow to attract attention at a glance, but Edric had spent decades working with tools, wood, and magic. He knew the difference between ordinary damage and something produced by mana.

After that, Edric started watching Sieghart whenever they visited the fields. He didn't hover nearby or prevent him from wandering around. He simply became more observant. His grandparents didn't treat him badly. They weren't afraid of him, and they didn't seem angry. If anything, both looked more thoughtful than before. Their expressions contained curiosity, concern, and perhaps a little hope they were trying to suppress. Sieghart assumed he had made a mistake somewhere. That wasn't surprising.

His stealth skills had never been particularly impressive. He was a toddler attempting to hide magical experiments from two adults who had used magic for decades. The difference in experience was slightly unfair. Training fire magic so often was also bound to leave traces. Flame scorched wood. Fireball burned grass and cracked stones. Steam made the air damp, while Water Creation left puddles where no water should have been.

Sieghart could erase some evidence with his other elements, but he couldn't remove everything. His grandparents probably knew that something was happening. They simply hadn't confirmed what. Strangely, they didn't question him. Elara could have asked why she found him sleeping behind the barn. Edric could have demanded an explanation for the burned grass and damaged target. Instead, they waited. Perhaps they wanted Sieghart to tell them willingly. That should have encouraged him to trust them.

Unfortunately, it produced the opposite result. Sieghart became even more cautious. If his grandparents couldn't confirm anything, they couldn't tell anyone else. That thought made him feel terrible. Elara and Edric had taken care of him after his parents sent him away. They fed him, protected him, and treated him with more warmth than either of his previous families had shown after his failure. They had earned his trust. The problem was that Sieghart's secret was bigger than trust.

He wasn't merely a talented child who had discovered magic earlier than expected. He was a reincarnated adult possessing infinite mana and an unknown system. Even Sieghart didn't understand the full extent of what had happened to him. If his grandparents learned the truth, they might contact his parents. Perhaps they would do it with good intentions. They could believe that House Emberhart should know its supposedly defective heir had awakened magic. They might expect his parents to welcome him home.

Sieghart expected something different. His father was a powerful Aura Knight. His mother belonged to a respected warrior family. If they learned that their abandoned son possessed impossible magical abilities, their interest in him would return immediately. They might not even believe his grandparents. They could send Master Oswin to examine him again. If the old man discovered the infinity inside Sieghart, everything would change.

Sieghart was now three years old, but his mind had already lived twenty-one years in another world. He possessed enough experience to understand that extraordinary power attracted attention, and attention usually came with people who wanted control. When push came to shove, he didn't want to place his life in anyone else's hands. Not even those of the two people who had treated him kindly. Sieghart hated thinking that way.

He hated the suspicion that accompanied every act of kindness and the instinct that told him to prepare for betrayal before allowing himself to trust anyone. Perhaps his first life had damaged him more deeply than he realized. Still, regret couldn't erase risk. He would tell his grandparents eventually. Just not yet. Sieghart changed his training schedule. He stopped practicing fire during the day and avoided using Fireball anywhere near the farmhouse.

When he experimented outside, he carried water to erase scorch marks and used earth magic to cover damaged ground. He also began practicing farther from the house. That required patience. At three years old, he could walk and run without trouble, but wandering too far alone would alarm everyone. He had to wait for opportunities when his grandparents and the workers were occupied. His progress slowed. The secrecy frustrated him, but frustration was familiar. He had used it to create fire for years.

This time, however, the emotion stirring his mana felt different. Sieghart sat alone in his room one evening, thinking about his decision not to trust anyone with his secret. The choice made him feel guilty, but beneath the guilt was something firmer. Determination. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. He would protect himself. He wouldn't depend entirely on his parents, grandparents, or anyone else.

Kindness was welcome, but his survival needed to remain his responsibility. The mana inside him stirred. Sieghart froze. He hadn't attempted to cast anything. His anger remained controlled, so the reaction wasn't coming from Fire Magic. He wasn't calm enough for water, free enough for wind, or stable enough for earth. This was something else. Sieghart closed his eyes and focused on the sensation. The mana wasn't moving toward his hands. It remained inside him.

"Another path?" If emotions and intentions unlocked elemental magic, then perhaps his need to protect himself had touched a new branch. Sieghart tried to expel the mana. Nothing happened. He extended one hand and imagined the energy forming a barrier in front of him. He pictured a wall, a shield, and even a suit of armor made from pale light. The mana refused to leave his body. Sieghart frowned. Perhaps he had misunderstood the sensation. He tried again, pushing harder this time.

The pressure inside him grew, but no visible spell appeared. Attempting to force the mana outward only made it resist him. That was unusual. Black Magic wanted to be expressed. Its elements moved from his emotions into the world, producing fire, water, wind, and earth. This new power wanted to remain within him. Sieghart changed his approach. Instead of expelling the mana, he attempted to circulate it. He imagined the energy moving from his chest toward his right shoulder, down his arm, and back through his hand.

For several seconds, nothing happened. Then he felt a faint current. It wasn't warm, cold, heavy, or restless. The energy possessed none of the qualities of his elemental mana. It moved silently beneath his skin, responding to control rather than emotion. Sieghart's breathing slowed. He guided the current through his arm again. The mana moved farther this time. It passed beneath the skin of his hand and reached his fingertips before returning. The sensation was faint, but undeniably real. Perhaps this was aura.

That thought nearly ruined his concentration. Sieghart calmed himself and continued circulating the energy. He moved it through his other arm, then toward his shoulders and chest. The process demanded precision. Elemental magic relied on strong feelings and clear intentions. This required him to visualize every part of his body and guide the mana through it without allowing the current to disperse. Sieghart spread the energy across his chest. Then his back. Then his legs.

The farther it traveled, the harder it became to control. Several times, the current broke apart, forcing him to begin again. Infinite mana didn't help when the spell required exact placement rather than more power. Sieghart persisted. The need to protect himself remained at the center of his thoughts. He didn't imagine attacking anyone. He focused only on keeping his body safe. Gradually, the mana spread beneath his skin. It covered his hands like invisible gloves.

It climbed his arms, surrounded his chest, and descended through his legs. Sieghart guided the final current toward his face and scalp., The moment the energy covered his entire body, something changed. A thin white light flashed beneath his skin. It lasted less than a second, but Sieghart felt his body become denser. His skin tightened, and a faint pressure surrounded him like a second layer. Several notifications appeared. A second fundamental magical affinity has awakened.

You have unlocked: White Magic White Magic uses mana for support, using discipline and protective intent to preserve, reinforce, restore. Unlike Black Magic, White Magic does not require mana to be expelled from the body. New magical branch unlocked: Support Magic Support Magic alters the condition of a target by reinforcing natural abilities or providing temporary magical effects. New spell acquired: Protection — Level 1 Create a thin layer of mana beneath the skin to reduce incoming physical damage.

Current Target: Self Physical Defense Increase: Minor Duration: Dependent on concentration Mana Cost: Continuous Sieghart stared at the screens. White Magic. The name sounded like the opposite of Black Magic, but the descriptions didn't mention good or evil. Black Magic projected his mana into the world. White Magic directed it inward to support and preserve. One was external. The other was internal. Sieghart looked down at his hand. No visible barrier covered it, but he could feel mana resting beneath his skin.

He pressed one fingernail against the back of his other hand. The pressure remained. He pressed harder. The skin barely yielded. Protection worked. The improvement was minor, but it strengthened his entire body. More importantly, the spell consumed mana continuously rather than demanding a fixed amount with each use. For an ordinary mage, that would be a serious limitation. For Sieghart, it was irrelevant. His mana would never run out.

His concentration was the only thing preventing him from maintaining Protection indefinitely. Sieghart summoned his status screen. Name: Sieghart Race: Human Age: 1 Level: 1 Health: 40/40 Mana: ∞/∞ Stamina: 40/40 Strength: 4 Endurance: 4 Vitality: 4 Dexterity: 4 Magic: 5 Mentality: 17 Resistance: 4 Perception: 1 Class: None Skills: Black Magic — Level 1 White Magic — Level 1 Sieghart examined the numbers. His Magic remained at five. That was surprising.

Unlocking each elemental path had increased Magic by one, while advancing Fire Magic had granted another point. He expected White Magic to produce the same result. Instead, Mentality had increased. It had risen from sixteen to seventeen. Sieghart focused on the new magical tree. WHITE MAGIC — LEVEL 1 └── Support Magic Branch — Level 1 └── Protection — Level 1 That explained the difference. Black Magic depended on magical power, emotion, and external control.

White Magic relied on discipline, concentration, and awareness of the body. Its awakening strengthened his mind rather than his spell output. Sieghart smiled faintly. He had spent months trying to control raw mana around his body in imitation of aura. He failed because he approached it like an external power. The energy had never wanted to form a visible shell. It belonged beneath his skin. Protection might not be aura, but it offered a similar result.

It strengthened his defenses without requiring an elemental spell, and it could remain active as long as he maintained concentration. Sieghart's infinite mana had finally found an ability that could exploit it continuously. The possibilities immediately multiplied. If White Magic contained Support Magic, then Protection was unlikely to be its only spell. He might eventually increase his Strength, improve his speed, sharpen his senses, or reinforce his body in other ways. Perhaps healing existed on another branch.

Perhaps he could learn to place Protection on other people. For now, the spell was weak. It required most of his focus, and the increase in defense was minor. That was how all his magic began. Sieghart dismissed the system and circulated mana beneath his skin again. The white light didn't return, but the protective layer formed more quickly. He pressed his fingertips against his arm and felt the resistance. His grandparents' growing suspicion had driven him to become more cautious.

His caution created a need to rely on himself. That need had awakened an entirely new form of magic. Sieghart almost laughed. Apparently, his trust issues had become a progression method. There were worse foundations for power.