Age: 3 Years Old.
Pain is a loyal friend. It never lies to you.
The "Mana Void" gravity was still crushing me, but I had made a truce with it. My bones, once soft cartilage, were now hardening into steel under the pressure of the Heavenly Demon Bone Forging technique.
"Waaah! Nii-ni!"
A squeaky voice pierced my meditation.
I opened one eye. Crawling across the grass at a pathetic speed, I might add was Elena. My one-year-old sister.
She was a sphere of pink flesh and slobber. But looking at her hurt my eyes. Literally.
She was glowing. A faint, rhythmic pulse of Golden Light hummed around her skin.
It wasn't Mana. I knew Mana; it was blue, chaotic, and heavy. This was different. It was warm, aggressive, and incredibly dense.
‘What is this energy?’ I thought, narrowing my eyes. ‘In the Murim, only the High Monks of the Shaolin Temple possessed Golden Qi. But this... this feels divine. It feels arrogant. It feels like the sky looking down on the earth.’
I remembered the day she was born a year ago. Unlike my silent, ominous birth, hers was an event. The entire bedroom had lit up with a blinding golden flash. The withered flowers in the vase had instantly bloomed.
I saw my father, Baron Arthur, hold her that day. He smiled, but he was crying. And it wasn't tears of joy. It was fear.
"A Saintess..." I heard him whisper to my mother that night, his voice trembling. "Of all the places... why here? Why now? We were happy in exile, Sarah. I thought they had forgotten us. But if the Church finds out about this light... they will come for her. The peace is over."
That was when I realized three things:
- Holy Power exists. It is separate from Mana and Qi.
- My Father is hiding. He was exiled for being weak (Low Mana), but he loved this quiet life. Elena’s talent was a curse that would drag him back into the political hell he escaped.
- I am ignorant.
‘I thought I knew everything,’ I critiqued myself, watching Elena drool on a clover. ‘But I don't know what a "Saintess" is. I don't know the geopolitical rank of the Church. I don't know the properties of Holy Force.’
My ignorance was a tactical liability. I needed information.
‘I need to raid the library,’ I decided. ‘As soon as I can walk without wobbling, I’m going to read every book in this house. I need to know what I’m up against.’
"Nii-ni! Up!"
Elena grabbed my leg with sticky hands, the Golden Light stinging my skin slightly.
"Go away," I poked her forehead. "I am training. And turn off your aura. You are like a walking torch in a dark forest."
"Ehehe!" She laughed, having no idea how to control the devastating power inside her.
I sighed. This creature was the reason our family was getting attention. The Church priests had already visited twice. They said she had "The Light of the Sun Goddess." Basically, she was a genius. I was the trash brother.
‘Good,’ I calculated coldly. ‘Be the genius. Draw all the attention. Let the enemies focus on you while I sharpen my blade in the dark.’
I patted her head stiffly. "Fine. You can stay. But if you drool on my shirt, I will throw you into the pond."
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
"Yay!" She cheered, understanding nothing.
The Ant War
Elena fell asleep in the sun (weak stamina). I got bored.
I sat near the rose bushes, looking down at the dirt. Two armies were clashing. The Black Ants vs. The Red Ants.
It was a brutal skirmish. The Red Ants were larger and had stronger mandibles (likely a minor mutation from the mana soil). The Black Ants were smaller but more numerous.
"Foolish," I muttered, watching the Black Ant Commander charge straight into the enemy line. "You are abandoning the high ground. The Red Ants have a +2 size advantage. A frontal assault is suicide."
The Black Ant Commander was ripped apart. His squad panicked.
I sighed. "Pathetic. Is this the level of generalship in this world? Even bugs are incompetent."
I picked up a twig. ‘I suppose I will intervene. Call it... charitable consulting.’
I didn't just poke them. That would be childish. I used the twig to reshape the battlefield.
I dug a small trench on the left flank of the Red Army. Then, I used a leaf to divert a tiny stream of water from the watering can. Whoosh. A flash flood cut off the Red reinforcements.
"Now, Black Battalion," I whispered, eyes narrowing. "The enemy is isolated. Flank them."
I used the twig to gently nudge the Black Ants toward the exposed side. The Black Ants, realizing the opportunity, swarmed. They overwhelmed the Red vanguard. It was a massacre.
"Good. Ruthless. Acceptable performance."
I felt a strange sense of satisfaction. I was the God of War of the flowerbed.
Buzz.
A sound broke my concentration. It wasn't a normal insect buzz. It was heavy. It vibrated the air.
I looked up. Hovering above the sleeping Elena was a Horned Wasp.
It was the size of a sparrow. Its stinger glowed with a faint, neon-green light. ‘Rank 1 Mana Beast,’ I analyzed instantly. ‘Venomous. Wind Attribute.’
The Wasp wasn't looking at me. It was looking at Elena. Her "Holy Mana" was leaking out while she slept. To a monster, she smelled like a delicious, glowing candy bar.
The Wasp dove. It aimed its stinger right at her soft, baby cheek.
‘Time slows down.’
My tactical mind ran the simulation:
- Scream for Father: Too slow. The wasp strikes in 0.5 seconds. Father is inside. Result: Elena dies.
- Throw a rock: Accuracy 80%. But the Wasp has a Mana Shield (Wind Barrier). A rock will bounce off. Result: Elena dies.
- Intervene directly.
‘Tch.’
I didn't move because I loved her. I moved because she was my meat shield. If she died, the Church would look at me for talent. I couldn't have that.
I stood up. My "Trash" body moved faster than any toddler should.
I didn't have a weapon. But I had Qi.
I raised my right hand. I extended my index finger. I drew a tiny thread of my "Heavenly Demon Qi" from my Dantian. It wasn't much barely a droplet. But I compressed it. I squeezed that droplet until it was hard as a diamond.
‘Magic is gas. Qi is solid.’
Demon Art: Piercing Finger.
I didn't swing wildly. I waited until the Wasp was one inch from Elena’s nose.
Thwip.
I flicked my finger. Just a flick.
But my Qi-coated fingernail struck the center of the Wasp's head.
The Clash: The Wasp's Mana Shield met my Qi. If they were the same energy, they would have repelled each other. But my Qi was Heavy. It punched through the green wind barrier like a steel needle going through smoke.
Crunch.
The Wasp’s head exploded. Green ichor splattered onto the grass, missing Elena’s face by a millimeter. The body dropped to the ground, twitching once before going still.
Elena woke up. She blinked, looking at the dead bug, then at me. "Nii-ni... bug?"
I stood over her, wiping the green blood off my finger. "It's sleeping," I lied. "Go back to sleep."
"Okay!" She closed her eyes immediately. Simple creature.
"Cain?"
A voice from the porch. I froze. The mask slipped back on instantly. I dropped my hand and widened my eyes, looking at the dead wasp with fake shock.
Father walked over. He saw the giant insect next to his sleeping daughter. His face went pale. His hand flew to his sword hilt. "A Horned Wasp?! Next to Elena?!"
He rushed over, checking Elena frantically for bites. She was fine. He looked at the dead wasp. He saw the shattered head. He frowned. He looked at me.
"Did... did you step on it, Cain?"
I looked up at him, tilted my head, and drooled a little. "Bug... bad," I pointed a chubby finger.
Father exhaled, the tension leaving his shoulders. He patted my head with a heavy hand. "You were lucky, son. If that thing had stung her... By the Gods."
He picked up the wasp to throw it away.
"Wait," I grabbed his pant leg.
"What is it?"
"Hungry," I said, staring intensely at the carcass.
Father laughed. A deep, booming laugh that shook his chest. "No, Cain! We don't eat bugs! Haha! You truly are fearless, aren't you? Always trying to put things in your mouth."
He threw the wasp over the fence into the deep woods.
My heart shattered. ‘You fool! That was a Rank 1 Core! That was pure protein! That was three days of cultivation!’
I watched my lunch fly away into the bushes. I didn't cry. The Heavenly Demon does not cry. But I made a mental note in my Book of Grudges.
‘Tonight. I escape. I find that bug. And I eat it.’