Genius Gamer Reborn into a Family of Heroes

Chapter 68

A Harmonious Family Meal

Harang felt a strange sense of refreshment as he stepped into the private training grounds of the Green White Palace. The reason for this was undoubtedly the hefty sensation of the sword in his hand.

‘I’ve been consistently doing image training in my quarters, but still…’

In modern Earth, the effects of image training were fairly well-known.

‘Like the gold medalist swimmer Michael Phelps, or the golfer Jack Nicklaus…’

In a certain Korean movie, the protagonist spent over ten years locked in a solitary cell, eating nothing but dumplings, and only imagining fights through TV, yet he still managed to completely overwhelm gangsters in real life.

Of course, since it was a movie, there was a considerable mix of fiction and exaggeration, but the effects of image training were certainly not a lie.

“Still, you have to actually move your body for real training.”

Image training alone cannot produce results. If it were the best form of training, then no one in the world would bother physically practicing.

Although Harang could conduct image training in virtual reality with the most vivid and heightened senses, even he needed to physically move his body for that sensation to fully come alive.

Harang opened a pocket dimension and, for the first time in a long while, took out the Cheongwolheun. He crouched down, hugging it close, and pressed his cheek against it.

The cold touch.

‘This is the feeling…’

Whiiiiiish…!

A gentle breeze blew, causing his hair to flutter and brush against his cheek. The cold sensation of the Cheongwolheun had a calming effect on Harang’s anxious mind and helped relieve the stress that had been building up.

After a moment of meditating while hugging the Cheongwolheun, Harang slowly opened his eyes. Even though it was still bright midday, his silver eyes glowed softly.

‘First, the initial step.’

To confirm his transformation, Harang visualized his stats.

━━━━━━

[Blessing] Synchronization Rate …… 20.618%

[Silver Heart: 2 Stars]

[Swordsmanship: 4 Stars] [Magic: 3 Stars] [Dragon Speech: 2 Stars]

[Stamina: 70] [Strength: 69] [Agility: 68]

──────────

Kaladan Swordsmanship

└ Third Moon Style / Fifth Technique / Dragon Sword Second Form

Mythic Descent: Form 1

Sacred Prayer: Blessing, Healing, Purification

Eyes of Truth: Two Stars

Tangakhyang Descent

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

After removing the impurities from his magic core, his body had undergone significant changes. The skill slot for ‘Silver Heart’ had disappeared and merged with the ‘Magic Core,’ becoming [Silver Heart].

‘Still, just 2 stars?’

During the process of eliminating impurities, Harang mercilessly purged all the dirty magic. Thanks to the purity of his divine power, it wasn’t difficult.

However, it was precisely because it wasn’t difficult that it became a problem. Harang had removed everything in sight as if he were playing a cleaning game or sweeping a minefield!

As a result, the remaining mana was only at the level of 2-star. At that level, using a 3-star magic spell a few times would completely deplete it.

‘But thanks to that…’

Harang imbued the Cheongwolheun with sword energy.

Buzz, buzz, buzz!! Simply emitting the sword energy made it feel as though his fingers would be cut by its sharpness.

‘As expected, the sharpness and intensity of the sword energy have grown ridiculously.’

No one in the world would look at this sword energy and think it belonged to a mere 4-star swordsman.

‘Though I won’t be able to maintain it for long because my total mana capacity has been halved.’

Harang quickly retracted the sword energy, then planted the Cheongwolheun into the ground. He formed a hand seal with both hands and began casting a spell.

Whoosh!!

“Oh…!”

It was clearly the same “Fireball” spell he had used yesterday, but the casting speed had become unbelievably fast, and the power was so strong it was hard to believe.

‘So this is what it meant… By removing all the impurities from my blood and energy channels, the circulation rate of mana has improved to an absurd level. I’m really glad I did this.’

The total mana capacity could be restored if he utilized the ‘Golden Wheel Elixir’ he still had stored in his subspace and practiced the White Silver Sky Dragon Heart Technique. It might take some time, but it was entirely possible.

Feeling the significant increase in his strength, he didn’t even feel the slightest regret over the impure mana he’d discarded.

Moreover, the changes didn’t stop there.

[Skill ‘Sacred Prayer’ has been created.]

[The prayer can be used in three forms: ‘Blessing, Healing, and Purification.’]

[‘Eyes of Truth’ has been enhanced, engraving two stars into the pupils.]

[‘Eyes of Truth’ has gained wisdom and can convert knowledge into messages for intuitive understanding.]

Having acquired divine power, he could now pray, his mana core transformed into a Silver Heart, and his Eyes of Truth also underwent changes.

As he focused his gaze, two shooting stars twinkled in his pupils before disappearing, expanding his field of vision.

It felt as if he was looking through a telescope.

When he looked at the Cheongmok Fossil statue beside him, his Eyes of Truth analyzed it in detail, converting the information into a message that revealed what type of wood it was, when it was made, and even the reasons, timing, and type of weapon that caused the scratches on it.

‘So the Cheongmok Fossil was coated with natural mana like a skin… I’m learning all sorts of curious bits of knowledge.’

Harang learned that the Cheongmok Fossil was enveloped in mana. An idea suddenly struck him.

“…Then, why don’t I try using this?”

Harang spread out his left hand, pouring all his willpower and concentration into it. After expending so much mental energy that a cold sweat ran down his face, he quietly muttered.

“…Flames, arise.”

Whoosh!!

For a moment, it felt as though the world had gone dark, and black-and-white flames erupted in Harang’s left hand.

There was no heat, but anything that touched these flames would be completely incinerated.

‘The dragon spells I mastered totaled three. Among them, wind and lightning had fully settled as ultimate techniques of the Dragon Sword, but fire had yet to do so.’

It had already been several years since Harang had tried to incorporate fire into the Kaladan Swordsmanship Third Form – Lunar Eclipse, but failed.

The reason was very simple.

Unlike lightning and wind, the black flame was too heavy to be contained within the sword and wielded.

How could he possibly use a sword technique when he couldn’t even swing the sword properly?

Think about it. If a child who couldn’t even properly swing a sword suddenly tried to practice an advanced sword technique, anyone would laugh at them.

That was exactly Harang’s situation.

Until now, Harang had been nothing more than a child who struggled even to hold a sword.

But now, things were different.

“…Light.”

The flame, which had always felt unbearably heavy, now felt as light as a feather.

The reason was simple: Harang had significantly reduced his mana.

‘To be honest, a 5-core mana capacity was a bit excessive for me.’

Usually, when a swordsman reached 4-star, their mana would typically stabilize at a 3-core level. Occasionally, a prodigy from a renowned swordsmanship family might reach 4-core, but such cases were rare, occurring only once in several decades.

‘This level of mana density is just right for my current capabilities.’

Harang noticed that the white within the black flame had deepened slightly.

It was likely due to the reduction of his overall mana and the increase in the amount of divine power left behind.

‘Wasn’t the black flame the trademark of Hero Kaladan?’

There were countless records describing how, with a single swing of Kaladan’s sword, black-and-white thunder would descend from the heavens, the earth would split, and storms would rage. Among these records, one description was never omitted:

‘The hero’s sword always burned with black-and-white flames…’

This implied that Kaladan used it frequently and that its effectiveness was guaranteed in various situations.

With his eyes closed, Harang aimed his sword at the crystal tree.

‘For now, the flame feels lighter because my mana has decreased, but once I restore my mana, the weight will surely return.’

Harang didn’t particularly favor the “Heavy Sword Style,” which involved infusing weight into the sword and swinging it.

Though the technique had devastating effects when it hit, the process was arduous and required enduring considerable damage. Moreover, if the strike missed, it would result in a complete disaster.

‘But if I use the method that came to mind while reducing my mana this time…’

The flame embedded in the Cheongwolheun gradually diminished until it reached a level slightly larger than a regular sword energy.

Sweat beaded on Harang’s forehead.

Compressing the 2-star mana as much as possible had significantly reduced the weight, but it had also consumed an enormous amount of mental energy. If his synchronization rate with the system hadn’t exceeded 20%, he wouldn’t have been able to attempt it at all.

‘But thanks to that, the weight has definitely been reduced… With this, it’s possible!’

Harang slowly assumed a stance, thinking that he could now replicate a certain skill from his past life that he had only ever imagined but never actually tried.

At the beginning of his pro-gamer career, one of the S-rank skills that became his trademark.

[You have acquired the forgotten skills from your past life, ‘Mana Compression’ and ‘Mana Release.’]

In Harang’s field of vision, there was only one target—just that divine tree at a moderate distance. Nothing else was in sight.

‘Is there a Kaladan sword technique that can be combined with this skill?’

No, there isn’t.

‘Is it effective to combine this skill directly with the dragon spells?’

Not particularly.

‘In that case…’

He would create a new sword technique to match this skill.

[Kaladan Explosive Sword Style]

[Black Flame Compression]

Thud! With lightning-fast speed, Harang dashed toward the Cheongmok Fossil and thrust his sword into its chest.

Though he had only pierced it with the very tip of his sword, the Cheongmok Fossil statue was quickly engulfed in black flames.

Before it could completely burn away, Harang swiftly activated his second skill.

[Black Flame Explosion]

…Immediately after, the black-and-white flames shot through to the end of the training hall, piercing through the ceiling and walls. The recoil was so intense that Harang had to step back, unable to withstand it!

“Ugh…!”

Harang widened his eyes and stared at the scene he had created. He couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief as he watched the flames not just scatter but sweep through everything in front of him like an explosion.

“Ha, it seems like the skill’s power has multiplied several times over compared to the original…”

This skill, inspired by the “Claymore Mine” from Earth, was designed to compress mana within the enemy and detonate it forward, effectively targeting multiple enemies.

Since all NPCs and players inevitably had mana within their bodies, he could use that as a kind of membrane to burst his own mana outward, causing an explosive forward blast.

He had been curious if it would work on the Cheongmok Fossil as well, and as expected, since the material was coated with mana, it was more than effective.

If used on a living being, the skill’s power would undoubtedly be even greater.

‘This is still an incomplete technique.’

Harang imagined what it would be like once his mana was fully restored.

Even if he restored just up to a 3-core level, he would likely struggle to handle the weight of the black flames, making it difficult to properly swing his sword. At 4-core, he might even lose his grip on the sword entirely.

What would be the solution to overcome this?

It was quite simple.

‘If I train my physical strength to the extreme or become a 5-star swordsman, allowing me to wield mana even more skillfully, everything will be resolved.’

In other words, if he kept training and growing stronger, this incomplete technique could eventually be used in real combat.

Despite feeling dizzy from completely depleting his mana, Harang wrapped his entire body in weighted bands and tied his hair back.

He had no intention of resting today.