Chapter 172: Verification is More Than Enough (2)
Changing the family’s Mana Circulation Method? I’ve never heard such nonsense in my life.
Forget about arbitrarily altering the family’s vision; what kind of crazy danger are you thinking of taking on if it goes wrong?
Zvalter leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms, lost in thought.
It was ridiculous, but he didn’t blow up immediately. He could listen to the details first before making a judgment.
“Say it again.”
Despite Zvalter’s majestic tone, Ghislaine replied without a hint of intimidation.
“We need to change the family’s Mana Circulation Method.”
“The Mana Circulation Method is the vision of visions. What exactly are you saying you want to change? Did you find some other good method somewhere?”
Thud!
Ghislaine pulled out a book from his cloak and placed it on the table.
Zvalter, staring down at the book, asked, “What is this?”
“I’ve written down my improvements to the family’s Mana Circulation Method.”
“Huh? You?”
Zvalter smirked, looking at the book Ghislaine had brought out. For a moment, he thought maybe Ghislaine had found something good, but now that he said he improved it himself, it seemed a bit silly.
Zvalter clicked his tongue and waved his hand dismissively.
“Enough. It seems you’ve gained some sort of realization and scribbled down some ideas, but changing the Circulation Method is utterly unrealistic. What makes you think you have the time to research and improve that?”
He didn’t even consider that Ghislaine had made the improvements himself; he assumed Ghislaine meant to outline a draft for joint research.
Thinking it was a waste of time, Zvalter rejected the idea, but Ghislaine shook his head.
“I’m not suggesting we do joint research. I’ve already completed the improvements.”
“Hah, so you mean to say we should practice what’s not even been verified?”
“Verification is more than enough.”
“What? What verification?”
“I’ve already practiced it.”
“Whoa!”
Zvalter jumped up, completely astonished.
Not only did Ghislaine engage in the dangerous act of changing the Mana Circulation Method, but he also actually practiced it!
That was a solid proof that he had completely lost his marbles.
“Are you… are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m completely fine. And the improvements were done a long time ago. Didn’t you see my abilities during the war? That was all possible thanks to changing the Mana Circulation Method.”
“……”
Zvalter couldn’t immediately respond to that.
It was true that he was surprised to see the notorious troublemaker’s son handle fights so well.
But to think it wasn’t just secret training but a result of changing the Mana Circulation Method?
Even though it came from Ghislaine’s own mouth, he couldn’t believe it.
Ghislaine looked straight at Zvalter and said, “We already have many enemies. We need to become stronger than we are now. This Mana Circulation Method will make our family and territory even more powerful.”
“I will make our territory stronger.”
“No, but… how can you arbitrarily change the Mana Circulation Method that has been passed down for generations!”
“To get stronger, we must not be picky about means and methods. Even if it’s a Mana Circulation Method passed down from our ancestors, if it’s not good, it’s right to revise it.”
Zvalter’s jaw dropped at those words.
While it’s true that one should not be choosy in a situation like this, it was too dismissive of the tradition and authority that the family had built over the years.
“But that’s the Mana Circulation Method that has sustained our family for a millennium! What guarantee do you have that your improvement is better than our family’s?”
Ghislaine chuckled at this.
“Honestly, does it even make sense that our family has existed for a thousand years?”
“…Well, it is! Ah, the year you were born was the thousandth year of our family. It was truly a glorious day.”
“Got any evidence?”
“Well… all the documents from two hundred years ago were lost, so… I heard it from your grandfather.”
“So, it seems our family is only two hundred years old then.”
“…”
Zvalter shut his mouth in response to Ghislaine’s sharp remark.
Honestly, he thought a thousand years didn’t make sense either.
They just kept saying that for generations without knowing why.
Outside, no one dared to bring it up because they’d get scolded.
They merely learned and taught it within the family, clinging to some pride.
Ghislaine sighed and said, “A thousand years is just like a founding myth. It couldn’t possibly be true. Other families have similar stories, don’t they? The Duke Delphine is a descendant of some dragon or whatever.”
“That’s true, but…”
“Don’t put too much meaning into that. Frankly, whether it’s a thousand years or two hundred, what’s the difference? In a war, everyone dies anyway. Count Desmond must be itching for a fight.”
“Uh-huh, that’s right.”
Zvalter understood what Ghislaine meant.
What he feared most right now was the war with Count Desmond.
Things were improving a bit, and Marquis Branford had been acting as the guardian of his son by turning a blind eye, but he didn’t know why the other side was staying quiet, and he couldn’t afford to relax.
Actually, the silence made him even more anxious.
Ghislaine firmly said to her contemplating father, “So, we need to master this quickly and get stronger. The sooner, the better.”
“Right, then…”
Zvalter paused, tilting his head. Mastering the Mana Circulation Method was a different issue than the threat posed by Count Desmond.
“Almost forgot! Anyway, no! Even if you’re fine now, side effects could happen at any moment! You need to stop training and do it the proper way! Rushing brings problems!”
“There’s no time for that. I need to learn this to get stronger.”
“Our family’s Mana Circulation Method does not lag behind others at all! Honestly, it’s our poverty that gets laughed at, but our knights have never been mocked for their skills!”
Randolf, who had quietly been listening to their conversation, chimed in.
“Your Highness, both the Lord and I are also evaluated as high-ranking knights. The Mana Circulation Method of the Perdium family is definitely not lacking.”
That wasn’t completely wrong. The Mana Circulation Method of Perdium was not inferior to that of other families.
But that only meant it was on par with others; according to Ghislaine’s standards, it was still painfully lacking.
“The family’s Mana Circulation Method has its limits.”
“What?”
“Aren’t both of you stuck against the wall already?”
“……”
Zvalter and Randolf couldn’t even muster a response and lowered their heads.
How Ghislaine knew, he had no idea, but the fact remained—they were facing a wall. No matter how hard they trained now, there was no progress.
The more they practiced, the more they felt like something was missing, an empty feeling that lingered.
Yet no matter how much they studied the circulation method, they couldn’t figure out what was wrong.
This was a problem not just for Zvalter, but for all the past heads of the Perdium clan.
“The family’s mana circulation method appears to have no issues on the surface. However, the more you train, the more you’ll sense something is lacking.”
At Ghislaine’s words, Zvalter nodded.
To think his young son would realize something that he only felt in middle age!
‘Could it be… my son is truly a genius?’
When he thought back to his son’s contributions during the war, that might actually be true.
While Zvalter was deep in thought, Ghislaine continued.
“I’ve discovered the root of the problem and filled in the gaps. If you learn the revised version, you’ll be able to overcome the wall.”
“You… how did you even know that?”
“I had a random realization.”
Ghislaine used the ultimate excuse!
It wasn’t a lie. It was true that he had obtained enlightenment thanks to an ancient magic book he stumbled upon in his previous life.
That half-baked magic book contained explanations on how ancient mages gathered their magic power.
From there, with a new concept in mind, Ghislaine successfully filled the gaps in the mana circulation method he had learned and improved it.
It fit so perfectly that he sometimes wondered if the family’s mana circulation method was derived from that book.
‘It’s too bad it was only half.’
Through that small realization, Ghislaine improved the mana circulation method and even ranked among the top seven on the continent.
While his tireless efforts and innate talent played a part, without the magic book, it would have taken much longer.
‘I should definitely revisit it when I have some leisure time.’
Ghislaine shook off his thoughts and stood up.
He had no intention of persuading any further. He pointed out the issue and provided the solution.
He didn’t want to suppress them with force or show off his skills.
‘They’ll learn it eventually anyway.’
Knowing the nature of knights well, Ghislaine said in a relaxed tone.
“Well, the choice is yours, Father. I won’t push you any further. I’ve detailed everything in the book, so please have a look. If it seems problematic, you don’t have to learn it.”
“Umm….”
“Well then, I’ll take my leave now. If you decide to learn it, please pass it down to all the knights of Perdium. Now isn’t the time to hoard honor and tradition senselessly.”
“Umm….”
Zvalter didn’t even properly respond and merely hummed in thought.
Having claimed to solve the problem made him incredibly curious about the contents. However, his face and social standing kept him from opening it right away.
Seeing Zvalter lost in thought, Ghislaine chuckled softly, nodded his head, and turned to leave.
Seeing his son off casually, Zvalter couldn’t help but glance at the book Ghislaine had left behind and muttered.
“Well, since it’s something my son brought, I guess I’ll take a look at how well it’s done.”
Randolf chimed in next to him.
“There’s no urgent need to learn it, but let’s at least see what it says, right?”
“Cough, cough, yeah. Since he brought it with such effort.”
Sitting down, Zvalter began to flip through the pages lightly.
Ghislaine had annotated it so thoroughly that understanding the content was incredibly easy.
With each page he turned, Zvalter’s expressions changed dramatically.
With each turn of the page, Zvalter’s expression shifted dramatically.
“Who…?”
A gasp of admiration slipped out. Just looking at it was enough to clear the pent-up frustration within.
Randolf, who had been waiting beside him, leaned in with curiosity.
“What do you think? Let me see too, brother.”
“Ah, don’t crowd me! I want to look first!”
After a bit of tussling, Zvalter finally managed to read through the content, his hand moving to pass the book to Randolf, lost in deep thought.
A few moments later, Randolf wore a similar expression to Zvalter’s.
“Who…?”
“Huh…?”
The two could hardly speak and simply sighed.
While they’d need to practice it to see the real effects, the mana circulation method Ghislaine had brought was theoretically sound.
In fact, it even gave them confidence that mastering this could break the wall that had been blocking them.
Snapping back to reality, Zvalter cautiously asked Randolf, “What do you think? Do you believe it’ll be fine?”
“It’s amazing. Truly astonishing. If we master this, we will become stronger for sure.”
“Right? But how on earth did Ghislaine come up with something like this?”
No matter how hard he thought, he couldn’t comprehend it.
The guy who only caused trouble suddenly changed as if he were a different person, achieving remarkable things. He didn’t even feel like his son.
However, Randolf raised his eyebrows nonchalantly as if to say, “So what?”
“Maybe he truly gained realization, or perhaps there was a stroke of good fortune? The real issue now is how to handle this.”
“Hmm, but isn’t it really dangerous?”
“The method of explosively releasing mana might indeed be risky. But as long as our bodies are healthy, I think we should be fine? We’ll need to wait and see a bit longer, but on paper, there shouldn’t be any issues.”
“Yeah, on paper. It’s that ‘on paper’ that worries me.”
Even as Zvalter spoke, he couldn’t shake off his uneasy feeling.
Interactions with Ghislaine always had positive results, but the process was usually painful.
As Zvalter hesitated and couldn’t make a decision, Randolf urged him from the side.
“Brother, what are you thinking so deeply about? Isn’t the strongest here in Perdium both of us? If we think it’s fine, then it’s fine.”
“Ugh, but it was made by that brat, so it’s a bit… uneasy.”
“Regardless of how strong the Grand Duke is, would he really be stronger than us? Our experience gives us more insight. After all, the reason we excelled during the war was thanks to the explosive power of this mana circulation method.”
Hearing this, Zvalter shut his eyes again, deep in thought.
Randolf, trying to hide his own anxiety, waited for Zvalter’s decision. Honestly, he wanted to dive into that perfected mana method right away and break through the wall.
After much deliberation, Zvalter finally suggested a compromise.
“How about we gradually increase the difficulty as we train? If there’s even a hint of trouble, we can stop.”
Randolf clenched his fist, beaming with joy.
“Exactly! If anything seems off, we just stop.”
But there was a part Ghislaine hadn’t told them—once you started this mana circulation method, you couldn’t stop.
That they had yet to realize this was simply their unluckiness.
Zvalter nodded several times before standing up.
“Alright, let’s give it a go. Summon all the knights. It won’t hurt anyone to get stronger together quickly.”
For a moment, he was struck by an inexplicable chill running down his spine, but both men shrugged it off, attributing it to mere nerves.
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