Chapter 06
Unaware of Anne and Anna’s thoughts, Daphne was at the training grounds early in the morning, sitting cross-legged in a meditative pose.
It was to practice mana breathing.
[Daphne Akion]
Stamina: 10 Charm: 300
Strength: 1 Mana: 0
It was to somehow improve this pathetic body.
Every being in the world possesses a certain amount of mana. Even a newborn human baby has a faint trace of mana. But Daphne’s body had a mana value of 0.
This was undoubtedly due to the curse.
‘So, I need to create a mana vessel first.’
Mana refers to the amount of magical energy.
And a mana vessel is the container where mana is stored.
The larger the vessel, the more mana it can hold, and thus the higher the mana value becomes.
Back when she was a dragon, the vessel imprinted on her soul was so vast that she rarely ran out of mana.
‘But not now.’
She had to build it up step by step from the beginning. And she couldn’t overdo it either, because her body itself was frail.
So, the priority was to make the mana vessel settle in this wretched body.
After that, she would be able to draw out the ‘dragon’s mana’ imprinted on her soul.
‘It’s no easy task.’
But thinking of it as a foundation for the future made it bearable.
“Phew.”
Daphne slowly inhaled.
Then she fixed her gaze on the mana stone placed on her lap.
It was something she had ordered Teiti to prepare before parting ways yesterday.
—“Hey, put some power into this mana stone.”
—“Yes. I am a being who does as the great Lady Daphne commands.”
Utilizing.
Teiti infused the mana stone with his own mana, resulting in a vortex of mana trapped within it.
Daphne took a deep breath and put the mana stone directly into her mouth.
*Crunch.*
The finely shattered mana stone slid down her esophagus and into her body. At that moment, Daphne felt a burning pain coursing through her.
“Arghhh…!”
Daphne curled up into a ball, clutching the sandy ground.
It hurts. It hurts so much. It’s excruciating pain!
‘Damn it!’
If another being had witnessed her swallowing the mana stone whole, they would have been horrified.
Inferior beings wouldn’t even understand what this act meant.
Consuming a mana stone directly is the most effective way to create a mana vessel. It forces mana into the body to establish its place.
This was something Cellus had discovered by occasionally chewing on mana stones, so other beings wouldn’t know about it.
“Phew, phew…”
After writhing in pain for a while, Daphne gradually felt the agony subside. So she quickly sat cross-legged again and composed herself.
The mana stone that had entered her body settled in the center of her chest.
The vortex swirling inside the mana stone soon escaped outward, resonating deeply as it stirred her chest.
[Analyzing the amount of mana consumed.]
[A small amount of mana has been detected.]
She could feel the mana flowing through her blood vessels. But it couldn’t flow smoothly. Her blood vessels were completely blocked.
It was as if a massive boulder was clogging a narrow path. Daphne focused her mind even more.
She could feel her blood vessels gradually clearing. The blocked mana began to flow little by little. A response came slowly.
“…”
Hm?
Something felt off.
Before she could think further,
Daphne’s hands and arms began to tremble involuntarily. Her chest started to heave.
“Cough, urk!”
*Thud!*
Something shot up through her throat. What splattered onto the ground was a pitch-black liquid.
‘That’s…’
There was no time to think further. Black liquid began pouring out from her eyes and nose as well. It gushed out through her sweat pores too.
‘Get a grip. I can’t let myself be swept away like this.’
Daphne exerted desperate focus.
Her chest was filled with pain. A twisting agony surged through her. Clenching her fists tightly, she accepted the flow of mana.
At that moment,
[Mana is being absorbed.]
“…It worked.”
Feeling her body lighten, Daphne let out a cheer.
[A mana storage, mana vessel, has been formed.]
Her mana value became 1.
Now, if she continued her mana training as before, she would be able to increase her mana sufficiently!
“Woo, awesome!”
Taking a step toward her goal, Daphne giggled and praised herself. *Great job, Cellus, you’re the best.*
“By the way, this black liquid…”
Daphne cautiously reached out toward the liquid spilled on the ground.
“It’s a trace of the curse.”
Her guess that the curse was the reason her mana was 0 was correct. This curse had been consuming her body, preventing it from absorbing even a bit of mana.
“Just in case, I should keep some of it.”
Daphne took out a small glass vial, collected a small amount of the liquid, and covered it with sand to erase the traces. Others might see it and make unnecessary assumptions.
“What a nasty curse.”
Even for the great dragon Cellus, the energy it emitted was far from pleasant.
With this level of malevolence, the dark sorcerer who cast the curse must have been filled with considerable rage.
It didn’t seem to be solely because the hero killed the dark sorcerer…
“Well, it’s none of my concern.”
She had created a mana vessel and increased her mana, so now all that remained was to steadily accumulate mana through breathing exercises. Then she would devour the hero’s family! Devour the world!
“Heh heh heh.”
A wicked smile formed on Daphne’s lips. At that very moment,
*Smack!*
Daphne clutched the back of her head, where a stinging pain had struck, and snapped her head up. There stood a boy, arms crossed, smirking confidently.
The boy had neatly combed reddish hair with a faint pinkish hue. Despite his mature style, his chubby cheeks still carried a youthful charm, making him quite adorable.
But the sharpness in his blue eyes was no less intense than that of an adult.
“You insignificant thing…!”
Daphne scowled.
“How dare you hit me? Are you begging to get beaten to a pulp?”
Daphne clenched her fists tightly.
“Tell me your name. I’ll make it your last will before you get thrashed.”
“Hah?”
Despite Daphne’s menacing words, the boy only twisted his lips with a look of disbelief.
“Hey, you.”
The boy flicked his finger.
“You’ve really changed, haven’t you?”
He was none other than the third son of the hero’s family.
Arius Akion.
☆☆☆
Arius Akion was the third son of the hero’s family, the Akion family.
Above him were an older sister one year his senior and an older brother five years older. Below him was a younger sibling three years younger, Daphne Akion.
But Arius didn’t consider Daphne his sister.
It wasn’t just because everyone except Daphne was adopted. Nor was it only because Daphne was the legitimate heir of the Akion family’s bloodline.
The reason Arius hated Daphne was because she was the cursed child who killed their mother by being born!
Their mother was a wonderful person. She had saved him when he was waiting for death in an orphanage, not even knowing his birth parents.
And that wasn’t all. She showed him deeper and warmer love than his real parents ever could have. So Arius was happy and prayed that this happiness would last forever.
But happiness was fleeting. When Daphne was born, that happiness shattered into pieces.
Their mother died after giving birth to Daphne.
‘If you were going to kill Mom to be born, shouldn’t you at least live well?’
Daphne was terminally ill.
A life with only a short time left.
Strangely, Arius didn’t feel any pity for Daphne. He didn’t even feel sympathy or sadness.
It was as if someone had erased those emotions from his mind entirely.
He just felt angry when he saw Daphne. Irritated. Hateful. He despised her. He wished she would just disappear.
Of course, he knew in his head that he shouldn’t feel this way, but somehow, his instincts drove him to act like this. Daphne felt repulsive to him.
So, for the next five years, he lived treating Daphne as if she didn’t exist.
For those five years, Daphne, knowing she was the sole heir of the family, used her illness as a weapon to act like a spoiled brat.
There wasn’t a day when screams didn’t echo from the annex where Daphne stayed.
But one day,
She suddenly died.
It was as if her breath had stopped in an instant.
When Arius heard this news, he felt as if a nagging tooth had finally been pulled out.
She’s finally dead.
*Ptooey.*
That’s what he thought…
‘And then she came back to life.’
Arius narrowed his eyes as he looked at Daphne sitting there.
It had been a while since he last saw her, and her face was gaunt, almost skeletal.
Of course, her shiny blonde hair and pretty green eyes were still adorable… but she was so emaciated that it was hard to see her as a five-year-old child.
‘…She does look pitiful.’
But that thought lasted only a moment.
As mentioned, Daphne was the wicked child who killed his mother by being born. There was no need to feel pity for someone like her.
“Hey, you.”
So Arius deliberately looked at Daphne with a mocking sneer.
“You’ve really changed, haven’t you?”
Based on what he overheard from the maids, Daphne seemed very different from before.
She wasn’t acting like a brat anymore and was even taking the initiative to train.
But Arius was convinced that this change in Daphne was only temporary.
Because Daphne was a spoiled brat, the most ill-mannered person in the world, and the bad kid who killed his mother by being born!
“Hey. No matter how much you struggle, you’re going to die anyway. So stop this pointless nonsense and go back to your room to harass the maids like you always do.”
“…”
Daphne slowly stood up. Then she stared piercingly at Arius. A murderous glint appeared in her green eyes.
*Flinch.*
Arius was momentarily intimidated by her gaze.
No, why does a five-year-old have such a murderous look in her eyes?
Arius prided himself on being a promising swordsman with a sharp gaze, but Daphne’s was even more intense. Looking at her made his legs feel weak.
*Gulp.*
Arius swallowed hard without realizing it.
“For now.”
Daphne, who had been staring at him intently, slowly opened her mouth.
“Let’s start with one hit.”
*Thwack!*
Arius’s body flew backward.
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By Anna 💓
I’m really enjoying translating this novel a lot . i love the way Daphne act 😂😂😂😂
