246 Richard
Upon returning home, Adam finally managed to close the shop and retreat to his room. His gaze was fixated on the reward he received for helping Julia, the chief's daughter.
[Reward: Julia's goodwill, magical energy management technique (random)]
The first reward didn't interest him at all; all his attention was drawn to the second one. To obtain detailed information, he tapped on the second reward, and information appeared before him.
[Name: Advanced Magical Energy Control]
[Description: A technique that enables more efficient management of magical energy, encompassing both basic and advanced knowledge.]
"Wow!"
Adam was impressed, even if it wasn't as cool as his perfection enhancement technique. After all, magical energy management techniques weren't always decisive, primarily focusing on the quality of the magical energy. Moreover, a basic-level technique for managing magical energy costs over a million rihms, an unbearable amount for Adam.
After contemplating the possibility of acquiring this technique, a soft object suddenly landed in his hand. Adam narrowed his eyes and looked at a journal that resembled a fashion magazine or something similar. However, the title "Advanced Magical Energy Control" indicated that it was not something ordinary.
Ignoring the peculiar format of the technique, he immediately began to read. However, after just one paragraph, Adam raised an eyebrow in puzzlement.
"I... don't understand anything," he thought with embarrassment.
Although the technique seemed ridiculously simple at first glance, he had to strain to grasp anything. Even so, he couldn't string it all together into a coherent sentence. It was a complete mess!
"I was sure that mastering magical energy control techniques would be challenging since they are so helpful, but... who would have thought they were so complicated," pondered Adam, furrowing his brow in frustration.
However, at the very least, he could try again. If learning techniques were that easy, terrifying experts would exist all over the world. And so, the night passed in attempts to learn the technique.
The next morning, Adam sighed with a tired look, but the corners of his mouth twisted into satisfaction. Almost invisible semi-transparent blue serpents danced on his fingers, indicating that he had reached a certain level of magical energy management.
It took him an incredibly long time, and numerous attempts, but in the end, he achieved significant results. According to the journal, such progress was already considered good, and the memories of "Demon Adam" suggested that learning this quickly was nothing short of a miracle. Even if it wasn't some supernatural technique, years of training were still required.
However, even after Adam achieved success, he was dissatisfied. It wasn't due to his arrogance but rather because he was already starting to despair. While staying at one level in the Lower Realm was normal, given the substantial support he had there, in this world, he was alone.
"Annoying..." he thought, grinding his teeth. But after some deep breaths, he managed to control his emotions.
"You've been sighing a lot lately. What's the reason?" Suddenly, a voice behind him surprised Adam. When he turned his head, he saw Calissa, chewing something.
"Calissa... This early in the morning, and you're already eating? You'll spoil your appetite," Adam said with a smirk, picking up Calissa in his arms, and supporting her by her upper paws.
"H-h-h! Let me go, you jerk!" irritatedly hissed Calissa, swallowing her food and preparing to scratch his face.
"Alright, alright. Don't be mad; I'm just joking."
Adam shrugged, noticing clear aggression from his friend-pet, feeling that he was getting better. Calissa sighed in frustration but quickly got distracted by sleep.
Fortunately for Adam, he could spend the weekend on himself. It only bothered him that he couldn't break through to the next level yet, but he felt that he was close - he just needed to fully master the magical energy control technique, and things would go more smoothly.
The first stage of the Mortality Realm, Strengthening the Body. At this level, one needed not only good control but also to strengthen the body. But strengthening the body wasn't just about workouts, weightlifting, or something like that; it was a terrifying trial where you had to suffer from pain while trying to absorb magical energy into your skin, muscles, and limbs.
Outside magical channels, magical energy was too powerful, creating a dangerous situation for the mage if they lost control. Allowing magic to stay in the body was extremely perilous unless you were a magical being, such as a nymph.
"And how the hell am I supposed to strengthen my body?" Adam thought with a sigh.
It would be a lie to say he wasn't nervous; in reality, he was in a hurry. He wanted to create a strong foundation for himself as soon as possible to always be superior to his opponents, and not to lose the upper hand at any moment. It was his kind of obsession, as Adam was a terrifying perfectionist and, in a way, arrogant.
For the sake of his mental health, he decided to take a walk and forget about these problems for now.
His destination was the city square, lively as always. However, Adam quickly noticed a subtle atmosphere of trouble. His intuition suggested that a battle might be imminent. Narrowing his eyes, he began to look around and finally spotted the source of his feelings.
"This..."
On the square, there was a commotion due to an impending conflict. Minutes ago, it was a cheerful atmosphere, but everything was interrupted by the sharp scream of a young man.
Near the confectionery stall, a young man lay on the ground. He had short black hair and brown eyes, showing pain and suffering. His slender body trembled like leaves in the autumn wind.
He grasped his right arm around the forearm area, where blood was flowing. The smell of iron lingered in the air, and even the delicious aroma of baked goods couldn't mask it, terrifying many children who were now horrified and crying.
Before the young man stood three tall, muscular men, their eyes filled with contempt and irritation. It was evident that they considered the person before them worthless. This was conveyed through their eyes, which showed nothing but disdain.
"What a horror. Why did a freak like you decide to stand out? Didn't you know this place belongs to my shop, huh? Damn idiot," the man in the middle, with thick eyebrows, bald head, and muddy brown eyes, said with irritation.
His name was Rico, the owner of a large shop that sold a variety of goods, from baked goods to meat products and more. In general, he tried to grab everything within his reach. The reason was simple - Rico was a retired mercenary who, having accumulated enough money, decided to open his own business and live carefree.
His approximate level was Mortality Realm, at the level of Soul Strengthening, barely a step away from breaking through to Magical Energy Condensation. On his own, he was a formidable opponent, but his magical energy was very weak, as if in decline, which was abnormal. It indicated that he was injured.
However, even under these circumstances, a mortal like the young man could only tremble in fear and suffer from pain.
The strong were always right. This rule worked even in the village of Bin, where magivolve was scarce, and therefore, the guards turned a blind eye unless it crossed the line. Moreover, Rico had shown good support to the village, protecting it from monsters, which automatically gave him some influence.
Standing at a distance, Adam raised an eyebrow, noticing the appearance of the young man. He frowned a bit, looking dissatisfied.
"Richard... this brat is Aunt Lina's son. It would be bad if he died," Adam thought, massaging his temples, and sighing heavily. "How annoying. I don't want to join the battle for him, but... I would feel ashamed in front of Aunt Lina, especially after she treated me so warmly."
To his disappointment, Adam didn't have the necessary techniques, and on top of that, he was inferior to Rico in level, so fighting on one would be foolish.
"I have one option... fortunately, there's a crowd around me, and few can notice my movements," Adam thought and sighed.
He raised his index finger and made a surprised expression as if pointing at someone. Others in the crowd didn't notice anything unusual, but a golden frost appeared at the tip of Adam's index finger, which soon transformed into a small circle. He shot it towards Rico.
"So, you bastard, you should..." Rico, who was still insulting Richard, suddenly froze. His eyes widened, and then he collapsed.
An awkward silence ensued. No one understood what was happening until one of Rico's followers began shaking him in an attempt to wake him up. But after checking, they exchanged shocked glances.
"The boss's soul... is damaged?!"
Both of them understood that soul damage could sometimes be much worse than losing a limb. After all, a limb could be restored with medicine, but repairing soul damage was very difficult and expensive.
While chaos erupted, diverting attention from the young man, Adam, with a tired look, dragged Richard aside, making sure no one noticed. Using his last strength, he reached Aunt Lina's backyard and then entered the building.
"Eh? Adam and... Oh God, Richard! What happened to you?"
Unfortunately, inside the warehouse that served as Aunt Lina's storage, Lina, who was initially delighted to see Adam, paled upon seeing her son's condition.
"Lina, he's injured, but it's not a serious injury, so healing medicines should suffice," Adam quickly said, as his consciousness blurred. He sighed and sat down, closing his eyes. Before that, he warned, "I need a little rest. I'm relying on you."
To be continued.
New book!
Read 𝓁at𝙚st chapters at (f)re𝒆we(b)novel.com Only