Chapter 09
In the end, Renia hung onto the wall until sunset, watching my training and offering various bits of advice before leaving.
None of it was particularly useful—but there was no denying that simply training alongside her had a significant effect on my state of mind.
“Am I… smiling?”
That evening, the corners of my lips were slightly raised in the mirror.
“Has my mental age regressed along with my body…?”
Getting this excited just from reuniting with an old connection—it made me realize I still had a long way to go.
But at the same time, it couldn’t be helped.
To me, Renia von Benheim was someone I had shared an entire lifetime with.
It was only natural that seeing her again stirred something within me.
“Now’s not the time for that.”
I let out a small, bitter laugh and straightened my expression.
More important than my relationship with Renia right now was improving my own level.
If I wanted to truly be accepted as a member of the Benheim family, I needed to become a proper magician in my own right.
Above all, the Magic Emperor would still be growing stronger even now. If I wanted to surpass him, time was of the essence.
My next goal: the 3rd Circle.
The next day, I continued my training. I practiced rune magic as much as possible and also learned common spells.
Some time passed while I immersed myself in training.
“Um…”
Sheryl approached me.
It was unusual—she hadn’t been summoned by the bell.
“Apologies, Sir Reagan… but I believe you need to step outside.”
“What is it?”
“Well… a mage from the family has come to see you.”
She looked troubled.
There was only one reason a Benheim mage would come all the way to this annex. It wasn’t even surprising.
Especially since Renia had come personally yesterday to warn me.
“So, they’ve come to cause trouble.”
Renia had told me to hide—but avoiding a fight wasn’t something a mercenary would do.
After wiping my face with the damp cloth Sheryl handed me, I stepped out into the garden.
A young boy stood there with his arms crossed, waiting.
Golden hair. Violet eyes.
A direct descendant of Benheim.
“Ahem! Criminal Reagan, kneel at once!”
The boy awkwardly mimicked the tone of a guard, looking every bit his age.
Having dealt with all kinds of people as a mercenary, I immediately realized—he just wanted to pick a fight.
“May I ask your name?”
“I am Arno Benheim!”
“I see. I am Reagan. I come from low birth, so I have no family name.”
“R-right…”
I stepped closer and offered my hand.
Arno instinctively moved to take it, then quickly snapped out of it and shook his head.
“How dare you! Trying to touch the heir of Benheim with those filthy hands! Have you lost your mind?!”
“The heir of Benheim… so you are the lord’s son?”
“That’s right.”
As expected, Arno von Benheim was Stern’s eldest son.
Just as Renia had said—her brother had come to see me.
‘Renia’s brother…’
Arno von Benheim.
The name wasn’t unfamiliar.
Renia had spoken of him often in my previous life.
- My brother was a great mage. But not a great heir.
- What do you mean?
- He lacked the capacity. And he was a coward. He kept delaying the fight against the Magic Emperor.
As she had said, the Arno standing before me now didn’t quite measure up to the title of heir.
Even accounting for his young age, the weight of that position was no small thing.
Still, I didn’t look down on him.
- My brother… died fighting the Magic Emperor in our territory.
Renia’s expression when she said that had been filled with sorrow.
To her, Arno was someone precious.
So I decided to treat him with the respect he deserved.
After all… you could say he was my future brother-in-law.
“On what grounds do you call me a criminal, Young Master Arno?”
“You stole a treasure of Benheim, attacked Renia, and now you’re deceiving us while consuming the family’s resources. As the heir, I cannot tolerate this.”
“…Ah, I see.”
I clapped my hands lightly.
“So what do you intend to do about it?”
Arno’s eyes shook at my blunt response.
“W-what did you say?”
“Even if I were a criminal, what exactly can you do about it?”
“…!”
He clearly hadn’t expected such confidence.
“Whether you’re the heir or not has nothing to do with me. I’ve been granted my rights by the lord himself as someone who helped this family. Are you saying you intend to deny his decision?”
“N-no… that’s not what I—”
“Then why are you here?”
Pressed by my words, Arno’s eyes darted around.
In the end, he fell back on childish stubbornness.
“You cunning bastard! I’ll expose whatever you’re hiding…!”
“…And then?”
“Ghk…! Fine! I’ll follow Benheim’s law!”
He shouted triumphantly.
Sheryl, who had been silently watching, narrowed her eyes.
“I’m still new here, so I’m not entirely familiar—what law are you referring to?”
“A real battle! True ability is proven through combat! That is the Benheim way!”
“A real battle… you mean a duel?”
After a moment’s hesitation, Arno nodded firmly.
“Are you serious?”
“Of course!”
“A duel means risking your life. Are you prepared for that? Not just to win or lose—but to die?”
He flinched.
Of course he did. At his age, he couldn’t truly understand the weight of death.
But only for a moment.
Still the heir of Benheim, he struck his chest and stepped forward.
“Yes! A duel! Prepare to risk your life as well!”
“Young master, this is—”
Sheryl tried to intervene, but I raised my hand to stop her.
Things had been getting dull anyway.
I smirked.
“Very well. I accept your duel.”
I picked up a suitable tree branch from the garden.
Arno was at the peak of the 3rd Circle.
I, on the other hand, didn’t even have a defined circle.
By common sense, the outcome was already decided.
‘By common sense, that is.’
I was a regressor.
I had fought across countless battlefields—and cut down many renowned mages.
For me, the difference in rank didn’t decide a fight.
I intended to make Arno understand that.
Arno von Benheim was deeply dissatisfied with the recent events.
First, the family treasure had been stolen.
Then his precious sister Renia had been attacked.
Yet his father, Stern, defended some unknown outsider, calling him a benefactor.
Even though the stolen heirloom had been found in his possession, there was no punishment. No interrogation.
It was far too lenient.
‘I can’t accept this.’
Benheim was a prestigious house.
Its power belonged to those of its bloodline.
Allowing an outsider to share it was an insult to the family’s authority.
As the heir—and as a mage—Arno couldn’t understand his father’s decision.
“Cunning bastard.”
If Reagan had passed the proper trials to become an external mage, that would be one thing.
But some nobody freeloading off the family?
Unacceptable.
So Arno took matters into his own hands.
He would expose the truth himself.
He had heard Reagan hadn’t even formed a mana core yet.
There were rumors he had killed Renia’s attackers—but Arno didn’t hesitate in the slightest.
Still, when he actually faced Reagan…
“Very well. I accept your duel.”
Arno was thrown off.
He hadn’t expected such an immediate acceptance.
‘Does he have something up his sleeve?’
Arno examined the mana around Reagan.
Nothing.
No mana gathered in his core. No signs of intense physical training. No artifacts. No enchanted weapon.
Just plain clothes and a simple branch.
‘It’s bluffing.’
Arno was a 3rd Circle mage—on the verge of reaching the 4th.
There was no way he could lose.
“Criminal Reagan. Are you ready?”
“I’ve been ready. But do you really have to keep calling me a criminal? Aren’t you getting a bit too into your ‘hero of justice’ act?”
Arno was momentarily speechless.
“Sh-shut up! You’ve tarnished our family’s honor! I will pass judgment on you!”
Reagan only sighed.
“Do as you like. But before we start, one question.”
“A question?”
“What does the winner get? A duel should have stakes, don’t you think?”
Arno frowned but answered anyway.
“If I win, you leave this family of your own accord!”
“Understood.”
“…What?”
Reagan accepted without hesitation.
“And if I win? What will you give me?”
“…What?”
“You hadn’t thought about it, had you?”
Arno believed he couldn’t lose.
No—he had to believe it.
Even Sheryl, watching nearby, didn’t doubt the outcome.
Yet Reagan continued, smiling casually.
“If I win, will you hand over your position as heir?”
“Don’t be ridiculous!”
“I figured. You don’t even have the authority.”
His tone was polite—but the meaning wasn’t.
Grinding his teeth, Arno glared.
“Then give me an elixir.”
“An elixir?”
“Yes. The high-grade elixir stored in your family treasury. I don’t remember the exact name… but I think it was three syllables.”
“…Elixir?”
“Ah, right. That one.”
Now Arno understood.
“You bastard! So you were after the elixir all along! How does an outsider like you even know about it?!”
“I wasn’t particularly aiming for it. I just heard about it from someone.”
“Lies!”
Arno was furious.
The elixir was a secret known only among great mage families.
For someone like Reagan to know—it meant he was a spy.
“Fine! If I lose, I’ll give you the elixir! But if you lose, you leave this family!”
“Agreed. One last thing.”
Reagan tapped the branch in his hand.
“Can I use this?”
“…A branch? What do you plan to do with that toy?”
“I wasn’t properly trained, so I’ll make do with this.”
Arno scoffed.
Using a branch in a magic duel—absurd.
“Fine. If that’s all you’ve got, your skill must be pathetic.”
He snorted.
Then Reagan stepped forward.
Arno raised both hands.
Recognition. Construction.
Three rune symbols appeared simultaneously at his fingertips.
The mana surrounding them distorted the air.
Manifestation.
Rumble.
Blazing flames. Razor winds. Writhing earth.
Three runes—cast simultaneously.
‘What do you think?’
At just eighteen, casting even one spell without incantation would mark someone a genius.
But Arno had cast three.
And each one was highly refined.
Watching the three runes form a semicircle, Arno was certain.
This duel was already over.
‘There’s no way he can break this.’
And yet—
“…Not bad.”
Reagan simply stood there calmly, facing the magic.
Something felt off.
‘How is he… still standing?’
Only then did Arno realize.
The sheer force of his magic should have already knocked Reagan down.
But he stood there—perfectly balanced.
‘How?’
And then—
Reagan moved.
Crack!
In an instant, the branch swung.
And the next moment—
Arno’s mana flow twisted.
