Chapter 2
Before I made a plan for what to do next, there was something I needed to check.
My body’s current condition.
They say if you know yourself and your enemy, you’ll win every battle. I already knew a lot about the enemy—thanks to reading the original novel. Now I had to learn about myself.
Not just the surface-level info about Raphael Isaac—the body I now lived in—but his real abilities.
The Isaac family believed sword skills were the most important thing for a lord. So of course, the mansion had a big training yard. I went there to stretch and lightly move my body.
Just then, someone called out.
“Big brother, what are you doing?”
It was my younger brother, Jericho Isaac—Raphael’s brother. His face looked like mine, but rougher. If Raphael had the face of a punk, Jericho looked like a thug.
He tried hard to look manlier and stronger. Growing muscles was one way he did that.
With his big build and messy hair, he looked more like a mercenary leader than a noble.
“What do you think? I’m here to exercise,” I said.
“Haha, you, brother?”
“Yeah. I’m the lord. I should train sometimes.”
“Now? That seems kind of pointless. Why don’t you just give up?”
Jericho was strong. He had listened to our younger sibling Evelyn’s idea: “If you beat Raphael, you can take everything.” Since then, Jericho had trained with a sword nonstop.
His skill was way beyond a normal knight’s. Even if he was mocking me, I couldn’t say anything back. If I made him angry, he might actually hit me—and I didn’t want that.
Jericho gave me a look, then nodded.
“Well, do what you want. Not my business. Good luck.”
He was already sweaty, so he must’ve trained earlier. Wiping his forehead with his sleeve, he walked off. I waited until he was gone, then let out a deep sigh.
“Haah…”
Why does he look so scary?
If things go wrong, I might end up fighting him for the lordship.
Ugh. I better take this seriously.
So first, I tested my physical ability. I lifted some weights in the training yard, ran a few laps, and checked my strength and stamina.
“Huff! Huff!”
I was gasping for air, head tilted back. It was hard to breathe.
Raphael’s body was in terrible condition.
I had hoped he’d be at least average since the original novel said he trained a little when he was younger. But no. His body was barely better than a normal person’s.
Even lifting light weights was hard, and just a little running made it feel like my lungs would burst.
“But I have to do this now.”
At the academy, I’d have a chance to grow stronger quickly. But not when it came to stamina. That always took time, no matter where I trained.
So I needed to start now.
Time at the academy would be more precious than here. I had to save it.
So I pushed through the pain.
Usually, people say you should go easy when you first start working out. You need time to adjust, or you’ll get sore. It’s a common bit of advice.
“Huff! Huff!”
But I didn’t have time. I overdid it on day one. I clenched my teeth and endured.
I might have to fight that guy soon. I couldn’t afford to take it easy.
My belly felt full of air like it might explode. Sweat dripped down. My wet shirt stuck to my skin. It felt gross.
I wanted to give up. But I didn’t.
If I suffered now, I’d suffer less later. After running hard for a while, I finally stopped.
That was enough for today. If I pushed more, I might hurt myself.
So that was my physical condition done.
Next, I needed to check if I could use mana with this body.
After washing off the sweat, I asked Koromang to bring me a few small mana stones. These stones are like batteries—they power magic tools.
I needed to learn how to sense and control mana. No matter what I did at the academy, mana would help.
There are three types of talent when it comes to mana:
- Natural amount of mana inside the body
- Mana perception (ability to feel mana)
- Mana control
Each talent leads people to different magical careers.
But if you want to awaken your mana, you must have mana perception.
The good news? Your total mana and control can grow over time if you train hard.
The bad news? Mana perception is mostly something you’re born with. If you don’t have it, that’s it. Game over.
Unfortunately, the novel never said whether Raphael had mana perception or not. So I assumed he didn’t.
Still, because I knew how this world worked, I remembered a way to test it.
Tuk-tuk-tuk.
I threw some mana stones in the air and closed my eyes. The small stones scattered on the floor.
Then I stood still for five seconds.
Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.
Once I could hear my own breathing, I began.
With my eyes still closed, I slowly felt along the floor to find the mana stones—not by touching them, but by sensing the tiny vibrations of mana from them.
Mana flows through your whole body, but your fingertips are the most sensitive.
I moved my hand like a slow snail across the floor.
This wasn’t just about finding the stones with my eyes closed. The real goal was to feel the mana and follow it.
I barely moved my fingers. Then I touched something. When I opened my eyes, a stone was in my hand.
“Huh?”
I had prepared myself to fail for the first 30 minutes. Even if I couldn’t find a stone for two hours, I told myself not to be disappointed.
But I grabbed one in under 3 minutes.
Maybe I threw the stone too close by mistake? But I found another one again within 3 minutes.
This was not normal.
No beginner should be able to do this.
“…It actually works?”
In my past life, I couldn’t use magic or sense mana—of course not, I lived in the modern world.
So I assumed this ability was just normal here.
But now I realized—Raphael’s body had a lot of mana.
And I could sense it clearly. That meant I had mana perception.
He probably didn’t train with mana, so this must be pure natural talent.
I could actually see a way forward now.
Meanwhile…
Jericho Isaac was the second son of the family. That meant he wouldn’t inherit anything.
If their father had written a will, maybe the inheritance would’ve been split. But their dad had died suddenly—killed by a dark mage.
Jericho got nothing.
Then his sister, Evelyn Isaac, had whispered to him:
“If you beat Raphael in a duel, everything will be yours. I’ll help you. Let’s take it all together.”
Jericho knew Evelyn was clever—but also lazy. She never tried something unless it seemed possible. So if she was suggesting this, it meant the plan could really work.
They made a deal: Jericho would become the lord, and Evelyn would hold the real power behind the scenes.
Jericho had sword talent. Evelyn had strong connections within the family.
It worked. Together, they took over the household step by step.
Now, even if Jericho officially challenged Raphael to a duel, nobody would protest much.
“How much longer will this take?” Jericho wondered.
Even if things moved slowly, the plan would be complete in less than a year.
“This morning though… what was he doing?”
Jericho had run into Raphael at the training yard. That hadn’t happened since they were kids.
Back then, both had trained seriously because their father made the exercises easy and manageable.
But as they grew up, real training became painful. You had to push through hardship to improve.
At that point, Raphael had run away.
Jericho had stayed.
Now, those early efforts had become the roots of his strength.
Raphael? He was trash. Maybe not even third-rate anymore.
Jericho now saw himself as a true knight.
If they fought right now, he could finish it in under 5 minutes.
But he waited—because Evelyn told him not to act yet. She said to wait until all the family supporters were in place. Just a little longer.
Still…
“Did he notice something?”
Jericho considered the possibility that their plan had leaked.
But then he laughed. “What can that fool even do?”
He was more confused than worried.
Raphael had zero patience. He always threw down his sword when training got hard. He’d run away from the training ground when he felt even a little pain.
But this morning… he trained hard—even when it was tough.
“Eh, whatever. He’ll quit soon anyway.”
Even if Raphael was serious now, it was too late. He had no options left.
