Chapter 207

‘How do I pull this out? Can I just grab it with my hand?’

Roka was flustered. This was the space within her own mind. A place where thoughts become reality.

Thinking it was worth a shot, the girl imagined a ridiculously large hand. She envisioned a hand shaped like a glowing token, trying to grab and pull it out.

“Ugh!”

A bewildered voice escaped her lips. The hand passed through the token as if grasping at thin air. If the token was also something she had imagined, it should have been graspable. After all, things created by her thoughts should move according to her will.

But this was a trace left by the greatest swordsman of all time. A thing born from the condensed emotions of another’s heart. Naturally, it didn’t move according to her will. Groaning, the girl sank into deep thought.

‘I need to pull that out. How do I pull it out?’

Setting everything else aside, she realized that someone else’s heart was embedded within her own.

This was more unsettling than she could have imagined. The self is the pure power of the heart, untainted by others. Even if it was a gift, it was still uncomfortable.

Forget about creating a sword. Now that she had seen it, she wanted to pull it out no matter what. It was like a piece of meat stuck between her teeth. But how on earth could she pull it out?

‘Magical power… Ugh.’

Roka, who had been trying to wrap her magical power around it, suddenly opened her eyes wide. A natural vitality filled her body, forcibly pulling her out of meditation. Ugh. The child swallowed a groan.

Magical power couldn’t be brought into the world of the mind. Drawing on magical power only filled her real body with energy, but nothing changed inside. Fine. There was no other way.

‘I use the Devouring Technique… I use the Devouring Technique… I use the Devouring Technique…’

Closing her eyes, she decided to try using Power Techniques in the dream world through self-suggestion and self-hypnosis. In dreams, what couldn’t she do? She could go to the moon, or even rule the world.

That little Power Technique could be used in reality. If she couldn’t use it in a dream, that would be even stranger. After all, she already knew how to use it and understood its principles.

It was also strange that she couldn’t perform something she had already mastered in reality within her imagination. Imagination allowed her to do things she couldn’t do in reality.

Soon, the Devouring Technique roared menacingly. A wolf-like figure within Roka’s inner world rampaged and swallowed the token. But the moment it swallowed the token, it howled like a dog with its tail between its legs.

-Splat!

The moment it touched the token, the Power Technique shattered and began to revert to the purest form of magical power. Roka’s eyes widened. She couldn’t grasp the principle behind this.

No, it was strange to even question the principle. Wasn’t this the world of meditation?

Whatever happened in the mind, digging into it might be foolish. But was it okay to let it go so easily?

‘What on earth is this?’

She reached out toward the magical power that had returned to its purest form, but the magical power refused to gather into the shape of the Devouring Technique. Clearly, the magical power was there, but it didn’t respond to her will. It completely ignored her, flowing in a grand current.

“I told you. The heart can alter reality.”

Startled, Roka opened her eyes at the voice coming from the real world. Urban, sitting on a cushion with his eyes closed, continued speaking.

“That is the pinnacle of the purest heart. Just as powerful magical power can influence a weak heart, a strong heart can also wield weak magical power as it pleases.”

If one handles magical energy, a type of magical power, for too long, even an ordinary person’s way of thinking can change like that of a demon. The heart, knowingly or unknowingly, becomes invaded and transformed by the attributes of magical power.

But if a person with a truly strong heart accepts magical energy, that energy is transformed by the heart into a different attribute of magical power. They can influence each other.

“How do you know that, old man?”

The answer was obvious even without hearing it.

What she thought had happened in her mind wasn’t just in her mind.

“Ah, my magical power…!”

“Just now, you were enveloping your entire body with Power Techniques. A wolf figure was roaring behind you. Whatever you were doing in your thoughts, don’t think it doesn’t affect reality.”

The magical power in her body had greatly decreased. The surrounding magical power flowed in to fill the gap, but for a moment, she felt drained. She thought she had consumed magical power in her mind, but she had actually consumed it in reality.

But in the process of the Devouring Technique scattering completely, she seemed to have realized something. The child closed her eyes again and entered meditation. The blue wolf appeared once more and roared.

Growl!

Its eyes shone with the light of the sun and moon. The wolf swallowed the token again. This time was no exception. The moment it swallowed, it shattered into pieces.

But as the magical power was swept away by her heart, something faintly familiar was felt. Something so natural.

Something she couldn’t even imagine using without magical power.

Her own heart was there.

Originally, one’s own Power Technique was like the essence of life, created by summing up a person’s life.

All the joys, sorrows, and resolutions experienced in life. And the heart condensed to give birth to it. The difference between ordinary techniques and one’s own Power Technique is that the heart is embedded within it.

Because her heart existed here, could it not be called her own Power Technique?

Isn’t it because one can use such a thing that those who reach the end are called Masters?

-Child. Refine magical power with your heart. If magical power is water, the heart is the vessel. The shape of the vessel determines the shape of the water. You must be able to move magical power with just your heart, without relying on magical circuits, to be considered Second Tier.

A forgotten phrase surfaced amidst too many events. Thinking about it, Heron had given her the answer from the very beginning. She just hadn’t realized it was the answer and had been digging in the wrong place.

‘The heart!’

Everything has an order. No one is born able to open heaven and earth with their heart.

Everyone starts by training their body. A strong body houses a strong heart.

The next step is magical power. As one trains in magical power and becomes stronger, the heart also grows stronger in proportion.

When the heart finally becomes strong enough to surpass a critical point, it becomes an independent existence separate from the body and magical power. This is what Heron considers First Tier. To him, the body is a cocoon that one must eventually break free from, and magical power is the nourishment that transforms the cocoon into a butterfly.

Compared to that grand standard, the level humans call Master is merely the beginning of Second Tier.

Even now, people cling to their old ways of growth, refusing to realize the power of the heart.

Training in magical power and the body is ultimately about creating a foundation to grow the heart. Expanding that foundation to its limits is not Heron’s path.

Of course, there’s no guarantee that others’ paths are wrong. But a proven answer is right before her eyes. The wolf, having glimpsed Heron’s path, had no intention of seeking another.

‘Even if the Devouring Technique shatters, I still have something left.’

Gathering all the remaining magical power, she formed a giant wolf figure and had it chew and swallow. The moment it bit into the token, its teeth shattered, and its jaw broke.

No matter how strongly she condensed the Devouring Technique, it couldn’t overcome the fundamental gap and reverted to pure magical power. But something remained unchanged. Even as the Power Technique disappeared, something briefly illuminated its presence.

‘The pure heart that remains, not decomposing!’

Without the ability to wield the power of the heart alone, she had no choice but to resort to such brute force to mobilize her mental strength. As her own Power Technique crumbled, a small wolf, like a puppy, leaped out from the collapsing Power Technique and bit into the token.

Something that felt like an illusion, with no trace of magical power.

The moment it swallowed the token, their hearts touched. Her mind went dark. She flew far, far away. She glimpsed the life contained within the token.

The girl was in the dark age of the continent, five hundred years ago, when all nations were in a fierce struggle.

She was in the most chaotic era of war.

*****

Difficult times always come in waves. During the continental war, nations bit and held hands repeatedly. Even in such hard times, a drought struck.

In this harsh world, everyone suffered. Her father died on the battlefield, struck by an arrow, and his body wasn’t even brought back. The pittance of compensation was swallowed by the conscription officer.

Her mother tried to make a living despite her grief, but the ways of heaven were cruel. No matter how hard one tries, if it goes against heaven’s will, the effort is in vain, and even life is lost. In the severe drought, no one would spare a single grain of rice.

She tried to find work, but everyone was struggling to feed themselves. Everyone pitied her, but no one could spare a single coin. They were all in dire straits.

Running around trying to find work, she fell ill. Even as she collapsed, she smiled in front of her son so he wouldn’t worry. But the boy couldn’t possibly be unaware of his mother’s true feelings.

‘What on earth is the way of heaven?’

Growing up witnessing all this, the boy often glared at the sky. Even with his small fists clenched tight, he couldn’t understand.

Why is the world so cruel? The boy wanted to know the reason.

The day his mother passed, the boy dug the ground with his bare hands. The shovel had long been sold. He didn’t even ask to borrow one. He no longer trusted people.

After burying his mother and setting up a grave mound, he packed his belongings. The only remaining asset in the house caught his eye.

The last thing his father left. That’s why it was the exception when everything else was sold. He strapped the iron sword, prepared for his young son, to his side. Without hesitation, he left the house.

It wasn’t a legendary sword or a treasure that could change the world’s fate.

The material wasn’t rare either. It was just an iron sword. But to the boy, it was more precious than anything else. He could leave everything else behind, but he couldn’t let go of this.

“Who holds the greatest power in this country? Of course, it’s the king, right?”

“It’s Duke Ezwill. With his skill and status, even a bird flying in the sky would come down trembling. He can kill the living, revive the dead, turn the rich into paupers, and paupers into the rich!”

He decided on his destination based on stories overheard at a tavern. Without looking back, he left the village. Selling everything, including the house, he had enough provisions to reach Duke Ezwill’s mansion.

The boy didn’t hesitate.