Reincarnation of the Abandoned Genius

Chapter 03

The blood activated the magic circle, stimulating the spirit.

Whoosh!

The flame grew larger.

The flame took the shape of a lizard.

It was a low-level fire spirit, a salamander.

It looked up at me with a face full of annoyance and flicked its tongue.

“I’m glad to see you too, but today, I need to meet your older brother.”

Drip, drip!

This time, I poured a large amount of blood.

It was between the second and third circles.

This was a magic circle created by top spirit mages of the kingdom, researched and perfected over generations.

I had even enhanced its power.

Boom!

A pillar of fire shot up.

It looked like it would burn through the low ceiling, but the spirit’s fire didn’t apply physical force.

It hadn’t contracted with a mage.

It was merely a reflection of the spirit realm shown through the magic circle, so I didn’t even feel the heat.

‘The magic circle is showing an illusion.’

Knowledge was power.

Without a moment’s hesitation, I walked into the blazing pillar.

Though I would have preferred to contract with a higher-level spirit, in this dire situation without even an elemental stone, an intermediate spirit was the best I could summon.

‘I hope Ruby is doing well.’

My younger sibling, Ruby, had the talent to summon low-level water spirits, and at thirteen, she had contracted with a high-level water spirit.

Thanks to the support of the Brayo family.

Even after I was locked underground, Ruby would often visit me.

She was the only one of my blood relatives who never showed any hostility.

‘I wish she could use this magic circle; she could have contracted with a top-level spirit… but, well, it’s not my concern anymore.’

Inside the pillar of fire was another world.

It felt like a dimensional shift, and I found myself in a completely different space facing an intermediate fire spirit.

“I am Louis de Hebron. I want to make a contract with you.”

-You are not qualified…

It wasn’t words, but a resonance of emotions.

It felt as though the spirit had entered my mind.

‘Yes, this is the space, the inside of the contract magic circle.’

It was a space I had only learned about through words and books.

To actually be there, my whole body shuddered.

The spirit couldn’t form words.

I had been taught that spirits didn’t show emotions, but this one clearly looked flustered.

“Do I truly not have the qualifications?”

-How… How did you get in here?

“I’ll ask again. Do I not have the qualifications?”

-Not at this moment.

It was a decent answer.

In my previous life, I never had a chance to meet a spirit.

The spirit clearly saw potential in me.

That’s why it seemed to hesitate.

It was unsure whether to make the contract now or wait until my talent fully bloomed.

I decided to end its indecision.

“Then I’ll make a proposal. Seeing my potential, would you make a contract with me?”

-Return when your vessel is ready.

The spirit’s tone changed.

Its attitude toward me became more polite.

In the space of the contract, both the spirit and the aspiring spirit mage were bound by a preliminary contract.

It was extremely rare for a spirit mage to be well-versed in this space theoretically.

Spirit magic was a talent that awakened naturally, without needing any external training.

‘It’s not just emotions we share. In this place, your heat and binding are also transferred to me.’

I took a dagger from my waist.

The blade wasn’t aimed at the flame, but at my own throat.

“Do you want to live with me, or do you want to disappear with me?”

Flames rose before my eyes.

They flickered as though they were about to go out.

The spirit’s confused emotions were directly transmitted to me.

‘As expected, we are connected.’

I wasn’t sure until I saw it with my own eyes.

I had never experienced what I’d learned from books before.

“I am greater than you expect. I can make you grow. I know the Brayo family’s vision. If you want, you can verify its truth.”

Whoosh!

The spirit’s flame enveloped me.

This brought us into a deeper synchrony, and within that, the spirit confirmed I was telling the truth.

-…Alright. I will follow you. The day the flame of your soul fades, my flame will also fade.

I had heard that once a contract ended, the spirit became a part of the spirit realm.

Spirits didn’t call it destruction.

They called it return.

Their existence wasn’t fully erased; part of it remained, passing on through generations.

“Your name is Inferno.”

Inferno.

It was once the name of a divine being that shook the world.

A spirit’s status was determined from birth.

From the lowest levels to the spirit kings, spirits lived using the talents they were born with.

But Inferno, the divine being, broke that order.

Born as an intermediate spirit, he became a high-level spirit, and eventually challenged the spirit king before returning.

I, Inferno, will live as the flame of Louis de Hebron.

The process of the contract I knew ended here.

Then the real contract, which was kept secret from outsiders, began.

Whoosh!

The flames that filled the space suddenly poured into me.

I felt the heat in every opening of my body—eyes, nose, mouth, ears.

Soon, I began to feel the burning pain of my internal organs being scorched.

‘This wasn’t in the records…! These damn spirit mages!’

The spirit mage’s contract was kept strictly secret.

I had heard rumors that those who were not chosen by a spirit would die, though it wasn’t common.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, my vision became bright.

The red flames faded, and the pain became as faint as a distant dream.

I was back in my room.

It was a shabby room where the eldest son of the Louis de Hebron family resided.

The memory was vivid, but there were no signs of it on my body.

‘Was it a dream?’

“Inferno.”

Whoosh!

A small flame appeared before me.

It quickly transformed into a human shape.

Inferno had a muscular, imposing appearance.

It was no longer than 10 centimeters, with a strong upper body, but no legs to support it.

It flickered as though it would go out at any moment.

‘It wasn’t a dream. I really have a spirit… and talent too.’

“Why the sour face?”

“You cannot handle me. If I use all my power, you will die.”

That was an obvious statement.

One of the reasons why spirit magic is considered part of magic was because of “mana.”

Wizards use mana, spirit mages use spirit power, and divine mages use divine power, but in reality, they all stem from the same source.

The difference in their magic came from how each used their power efficiently.

‘Aura is less efficient than mana.’

I didn’t even have talent in mana.

In a rush, I used aura as fuel to summon Inferno, but he looked like he had eaten something tasteless.

It seemed he hadn’t had enough to eat, and that had caused trouble.

“I haven’t fully adapted to this body yet. I’ll replenish the lacking spirit power soon.”

A spirit mage needed to awaken their spirit power.

It was similar to mana, but it was energy used exclusively for spirits.

I didn’t have any spirit power.

Well, I did, but it had been absorbed into my energy centre.

My small energy centre had consumed all the other energies.

This was a side effect of learning aura cultivation first.

Maybe that’s why Inferno was burning brightly using the aura from my energy centre as fuel.

It was an inefficient source of energy.

“I’ve confirmed the spirit magic, so now it’s time to check my affinity for mana.”

“Can you use magic too?”

Inferno didn’t know everything about me just because we were synchronized in the contract space.

He only understood my true feelings and began to trust me.

I was planning to help him grow, just like how the spirit Inferno, once a lower-level spirit, challenged the spirit king in the past.

“Spirits can grow, that’s just nonsense.”

If there was enough mana in my dantian, I could elevate Inferno to a higher-level spirit.

“Actually, I’m not sure myself. I’m planning to figure it out from here on out.”

There were two main ways to test magical talent.

One was using a mana stone to check for mana affinity, and the second was to consult with a wizard.

But there were no wizards in the Hebron family.

“There isn’t even a single mana stone here.”

Mana stones were common in noble houses, but for me, in the Hebron family, I had never even seen one in my life.

“Maybe it’s because I’ve lost so much blood. I feel dizzy.”

Right now, my body was in a poor state.

I only had some aura accumulated, but my physical condition was terrible.

I had wasted time memorizing royal and high noble bloodlines while aspiring to become the next lord.

“Inferno.”

“Why call me?”

“You believed in me. I will make sure you don’t regret that decision. That’s the one promise I can make.”

“Hmph.”

Two streams of flame shot from Inferno’s nostrils.

“This is a mess.”

My body, as well as the territory, was a mess.

Even though it was a poor land, the people had lost their vitality long ago.

No matter how hard they worked, they couldn’t escape their tough lives.

The population of the Hebron barony was around 400, a small number.

These people lived trapped in their land.

Most would die without ever seeing another region.

The only time a path opened to the outside was once a year when the taxes were sent to the royal family.

At that time, the baron’s soldiers would be fully mobilized, and professional soldier would be hired.

‘The Hebron lords have always been incompetent, but that alone doesn’t explain the current situation. Who would isolate Hebron and why? Are they waiting for Hebron to collapse and then seize it? If not…’

I had no evidence to back up my suspicions.

At times like this, it was better to focus on gathering information than making hasty judgments.

“I need to break through from there first.”

To get to the closest land, the Nurha Barony, I had to pass through the eastern forest.

To the west were cliffs, and to the south, the wasteland.

The wasteland was the southern border between Hebron, Nurha, and Delgain baronies.

It was a barren land, much like a desert, stretching endlessly.

The adults made up stories about wild dogs in the wasteland to keep the children in line.

These wild dogs were said to be monsters from the fallen Antaria kingdom, capable of spreading deadly diseases.

If you went far enough into the wasteland, you would reach the ruins of the Antaria kingdom, which had been destroyed a century ago, filled with monsters.

To the north was a forest, and the vast forest connected to the eastern forest.

For convenience, both the northern and eastern forests were referred to as the Eastern Forest.

“The idea that it wasn’t managed is nonsense. Even though Hebron is a barren region, they still pay taxes to the royal family every year, and yet they haven’t received even the grace of having a great noble send forces to clear out the monsters. Hebron must have upset the royal family. If not…”

The word that came to mind when thinking of Hebron was ‘the grazing Hebron,’ a saying my father often used.

Why did he always mention Hebron among all the noble houses?

Why was he so attached to this insignificant barony?

The forest was part of Hebron’s territory, but it had not been managed.

Not only beasts but also monsters had infested it.

They multiplied rapidly and frequently attacked the territory, just like today.

Ding! Ding! Bang! Bang!

The bells rang loudly.

The soldiers and peasants seemed used to it, rushing to their designated places.

‘We’ll defend by the walls…’

For now, that was the best option.

The problem was that the walls were too small, and only the baron’s mansion and the houses were protected.

Beyond that, the fields were left undefended.

‘No wonder there’s so little harvest.’

Farmers working in the fields rushed towards the gates.

Behind them, the beasts followed.

They were the ash-gray wolves that lived in the eastern forest.