Chapter 4 – Magic Faster Than Anyone
#1
The Montemer family’s main house was truly beautiful.
The estate was designed around two towers and one mansion.
Whenever Lawrence walked here, he would shrink like a sinner.
He hadn’t even known there was a beautiful lakeside.
He hadn’t noticed the brilliant colours of the flowers in the garden.
The fragrance from the flowers had always smelled like the scent of death to him.
‘So, it was this beautiful.’
Seeing the mansion again, it was indeed an incredibly beautiful place.
Lawrence clenched his small fists and kept walking.
The evaluation would be held at the Grand Training Hall.
‘There must be many guests from outside the family today.’
Though the Montemer family valued blood relations, they never forgot to bring in external talent as well.
To keep the family strong, they needed a steady influx of skilled genes.
So, on evaluation day, even mages from outside the family gathered to participate.
“This way, please.”
“Has everyone arrived already?”
“Yes. You were delayed because of the distance, Young Master.”
“I see.”
Lawrence nodded and headed toward the Grand Training Hall.
And then he saw it.
The swirling blue clouds inside the Grand Training Hall.
‘That must be…’
The mana of a Grand Mage.
Perhaps, it was the presence of nature itself—Edward Montemer, the head of the Montemer family.
The swirling mana radiated an overwhelming presence.
Lawrence braved the cosmic horror he faintly sensed and walked forward.
“Please stand over there, in the empty space.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Nikolai, after guiding Lawrence, moved toward the family head, Edward Montemer.
Nikolai loudly reported that his task was complete.
“I have fulfilled the order given by the Great Family Head. I have brought Lawrence, the fourth son of the Montemer family.”
“Well done.”
The family head’s words echoed throughout the Grand Training Hall.
Lawrence watched as the mana surged the moment Edward’s lips moved.
While everyone else frowned, Lawrence stood normally.
Such manipulations of mana would only stimulate a Mana Core.
But, since Lawrence didn’t have a Mana Core, it had no effect on him.
Unless that overwhelming mana was manifested into a spell, this battle of wills was meaningless to him.
Thanks to that, Lawrence could calmly observe how Edward manipulated mana.
‘So that’s how mana is controlled.’
Or perhaps the mana was simply responding naturally, without Edward consciously directing it.
As he glanced around, he saw many familiar faces.
The eldest son, who had already reached a high level.
The second son.
His first, second, and third sisters.
And his brother, Loras, who was three years older and had tormented him the most.
In addition, there were many mages of similar age from allied families.
Most of them looked at Lawrence with mocking eyes.
‘Of course, they’d find me laughable.’
Lawrence turned his gaze to the family head one last time.
And to the woman standing beside him.
Today, their expressions would change.
“The evaluation will now begin.”
At the booming words of the family head, the evaluation began without delay.
All the eyes glaring at Lawrence made the moment all the more interesting.
He had thought about this moment many times.
‘Imagine the day when I, who have not a single trace of mana, stand above all of you.’
Lawrence’s eyes gleamed with a mixture of malice and madness.
***
#2
The woman sitting next to the family head wore a pleased expression.
She didn’t know why her husband had called that child here, but what could someone without a Mana Core possibly do?
If he had been a daughter, they could have at least married him off somewhere respectable, but a son?
He was nothing more than useless trash.
“Let the evaluations for the ten-year-olds begin.”
“Hmm.”
The family head nodded, and the mages of the same age group, including Lawrence, stepped forward.
So, they planned to humiliate him thoroughly this time.
‘If they intend to settle this clearly now, then that’s good.’
The woman, Medeia, the Matron of the Montemer family, smiled faintly.
It was Lawrence’s mother who had crushed her pride as a woman.
The woman who could never view Lawrence favourably despised him deeply.
She had never considered him seriously because he lacked a Mana Core, and yet, here he was.
She started to wonder if Edward, the family head, was trying to erase all traces of [Her].
That was the conclusion she arrived at.
“We will proceed with the rules as we always do.”
“……”
The family head slowly nodded.
His eyes looked empty, and the way he rested his chin on his hand made him seem almost bored.
Some of the mages started to take notice.
The key to this evaluation was to proceed quickly but without drawing too much attention to oneself and upsetting him.
“The external mage will nominate their opponent. The nominated mage cannot refuse. Do you understand?”
“Yes-!”
A loud chorus of responses from the children filled the air.
Lawrence also responded absentmindedly.
He recalled this day from before his return.
How scared he had been, how everyone had looked at him like prey, how the young mages had eagerly nominated him…
The mocking gazes of the adults, and how his father had looked at him, his own son, with complete indifference.
All those scenes flashed through his mind like a lantern of memories.
“The first to go is the eldest son of the Golden Mage family [Arthur Goldvain].”
Arthur, with his golden hair and mastery of earth magic, belonged to the prestigious Goldvain family.
Lawrence couldn’t help but chuckle at how similar the situation was to his previous life.
<Ha! Keep running!>
<It’s a disgrace that someone like you was born into a great family! Why don’t we trade places instead?>
Pure malice.
The humiliation he had endured simply because he lacked a Mana Core was something Lawrence could never forget.
He glanced at the faces of those who were looking at him indifferently.
‘You’re all the same.’
Even though a child was about to be mercilessly targeted, they all stood by and watched.
Even his siblings, who had giggled when he had cried out in despair.
Except for a few who looked at him with pity, everyone else was the same.
“Please select your opponent.”
“I choose Lawrence Montemer!”
“I figured as much.”
Murmurs erupted from the crowd.
Some said Arthur had it easy, others commented on how lucky he was, and still others…
What was clear was that not a single person among them felt any sympathy for Lawrence.
“Tsk, tsk…”
“I don’t understand the family head’s intentions.”
“Exactly. He could have just sent the boy to a research position instead.”
“Shh. Let’s watch for now.”
Lawrence stepped forward, standing in front of the golden-haired boy.
The smug grin on Arthur’s face made Lawrence want to crush it.
“You really don’t have a Mana Core, do you?”
“Who knows?”
“I still don’t get why someone like you was born into such a great family.”
“……”
Lawrence remained silent, simply staring at him.
The golden-haired boy continued to ramble on, spouting words that were more like filth than speech.
“Why would such a defective child be born from such a great bloodline? Maybe it’s because of your mother?”
There had always been one thing Lawrence despised, even back when he lived in Korea:
People who insulted his family.
Even in his second life, his mother was still his biological mother.
And yet, they constantly brought her up, slandering her.
Insulting someone’s family was the one thing Lawrence could never tolerate, in both his previous and current life.
And Arthur had crossed that line.
“Maybe there was something wrong with your mother? I mean, there’s no way someone like you could have been born from the family head’s grace.”
Lawrence didn’t respond.
He only thought about how he could break that mouth of his.
‘It’s absurd that no one is stepping in to defend me.’
Someone from the Montemer family was being insulted.
They insulted a child born from the affection of the family head, and yet none of the Montemer family members intervened.
A family built on strict meritocracy.
If you couldn’t prove your abilities as a mage, you were ruthlessly excluded.
Everything about it disgusted Lawrence.
“No one is going to help you. You’re just going to be abandoned. Just like your mother.”
“Enough chatter. We will now begin the match. The duel will end when one side concedes defeat or loses consciousness.”
“Yes!”
Arthur’s enthusiastic reply only fuelled Lawrence’s anger further.
The so-called “Magic Evaluation.”
In reality, it was nothing more than a show, watching children fight to see who was better.
‘Everything about this is disgusting.’
For now, it seemed that taking care of the foul-mouthed brat in front of him would help relieve some of his stress.
Whether it was the Guardian or whatever else, Lawrence didn’t fully understand it yet.
But he was determined to start changing everything he didn’t like, one thing at a time.
***
#3
Arthur Goldvain was known as a prodigy.
The Goldvain family had long specialized in earth magic.
Their magic was powerful and had various applications, but it had its drawbacks.
The casting speed was incredibly slow.
Magic was composed of three stages: controlling mana, manifesting the image, and releasing it.
For the Goldvain family, the step of “manifesting the image” was especially slow.
‘But Arthur has a vivid imagination, so he’s able to compensate for that.’
The head of the Goldvain family had always hoped to change Arthur’s last name.
If he could take on the Montemer family name, the Goldvain family would enjoy even more wealth and glory.
Simply changing his name would bring untold fortune and honour.
“So, show them.”
Clear out that useless trash and take his place!
With eyes full of glee, the head of the Goldvain family watched his son.
Crackle-!
The chanting began.
[Mother who rules the earth, to you I offer…]
Arthur Goldvain squinted slightly as he began his incantation.
As expected, the defective child without a Mana Core stood there doing nothing.
Once he realized just how worthless he was, he would give up and disappear on his own!
Whoosh-!
The unexpected happened while Arthur was still engrossed in his chanting.
[Fire Arrow]
“-What?”
“What the-!?”
The defective child, the half-wit, the cripple, the shame of the family, the discarded kid…
That boy had cast a spell.
And at an astonishing speed.
“Hmm…”
Edward, the family head, blinked, his eyes flashing with interest.
Boom-!
A streak of fire shot forward in a brilliant red line.
Arthur, who had yet to finish his incantation, couldn’t react in time as he felt the searing heat.
“Ugh!?”
Boom-!
It wasn’t a trick or something prepared in advance.
That was Real Magic.
As Lawrence ran toward Arthur, he muttered under his breath.
The second artifact.
The insurance he had prepared for this evaluation after staying up all night flashed with blue lightning.
[Lightning Bolt]
Crackle-!
In an instant, a sphere of lightning formed.
Arthur’s mouth dropped open in disbelief.
As the blue sphere flew toward him, the golden-haired boy screamed and rolled out of the way.
Boom-!
Another explosion.
Smoke filled the air.
This couldn’t be happening.
“How, how-!?”
“I don’t think you’ve admitted defeat yet, have you?”
Snap-!
A rough hand grabbed Arthur’s mouth and jaw.
Through the smoke, Lawrence’s eyes gleamed with malice.
“If you can’t dodge something like this, are you even a mage?”
“Ughhh-!”
[Dragon Body]
[Physical abilities have been significantly enhanced.]
While long-range magic was effective, this brat’s face was one that Lawrence wanted to crush with his fists.
Even though it was still in its Hatchling Stage, a Gragon was a Dragon.
As the Guardian of all things and the ruler of creation, the body Lawrence had inherited with the will of a Hatchling was far too powerful for a mere ten-year-old boy to handle.
“Clench your teeth.”
Crack-!
Arthur was about to pay dearly for insulting Lawrence’s mother.
—
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