I Became a Magical Genius After Regression

Chapter 7

Squeeze.

Randel bent down and tightened the laces of his leather shoes.

With this, all preparations for departure were complete.

“I’m off.”

Randel turned his head towards the house and said.

But there was no one inside.

Father was gathering herbs, Mother was doing needlework, the eldest brother was hunting, and the younger brother was on vigilante duty…

The family had all gone to work as soon as the sun rose.

‘In a rural herb-gathering family like ours, it’s hard to make a living if we’re not this diligent.’

The northern winter is harsh. Since herbs can’t be found in the snowstorm, they had to work hard now in the fall.

Having said his farewell, Randel left the house.

He carried a small bundle on his back, which contained the herbs he had picked.

Although the quantity was not much, selling them would probably bring in about three months’ worth of his father’s income.

This was because Randel had spent time refining the herbs with mana.

Randel headed straight for the village entrance.

At the palisade, young men of the village were taking turns standing guard as vigilantes.

Today’s vigilante was someone Randel was familiar with.

“Hey, are you keeping watch properly without slacking off?”

It was Randel’s younger brother.

He ruffled Randel’s hair and said,

“You lazy bum. The sun’s been up for a while, and you’re just leaving now?”

“I had some herbs to sort out.”

“No matter how I look at it, I’m worried… Should I go with you?”

“No, there are no monsters between here and the lord’s castle. It’s just a walk, nothing more.”

Randel was heading to the lord’s castle with his bundle.

It was quite a large city for the north, and he planned to sell the herbs and buy some daily necessities there.

Although Randel’s village was in the forest, it was fairly close to the lord’s castle.

Moreover, merchants occasionally traveled back and forth to collect herbs and leather, so all the monsters had been exterminated.

As long as he was careful of the occasional bear or other wild animals, there was no major problem.

“Well, that’s true. Anyway, be careful. Now that you’re a bit older, don’t go flirting with women. A naive guy like you will get your soul completely drained.”

“Women? Whatever. Got it.”

When Randel grumbled in response, his younger brother chuckled. It seemed he found his suddenly mature brother endearing over the past few days.

But only for a moment.

His expression hardened, and he approached Randel, lowering his voice.

“Randel, the lord’s castle is to the south, so you won’t have any reason to go there… but don’t go to the northern forest.”

“Why the northern forest?”

“They say a mad wizard has appeared.”

“A wizard in this rural area?”

Randel asked back, puzzled by his brother’s words.

Magic required special talent to even begin learning.

Naturally, the number of wizards was not that high.

Moreover, it was even less likely for one of those few wizards to come to a remote rural estate like this.

But a wizard near the village?

“You know the cliff in the northern forest?”

“Yeah, we used to play there a lot when we were kids.”

“They said they heard strange noises coming from there, so the vigilantes went to investigate. But the place was a complete mess.”

“A mess?”

“Yeah, the cliff was full of huge holes as if something had carved it out. And―”

“…there were about a dozen deep pits?”

“Huh? Yeah.”

“And one side of the cliff was scorched as if a huge fire had been lit?”

“What the… Randel, you’ve already been there?”

Randel scratched his head and answered.

“Yeah. Well, sort of…”

“The village chief told us to keep quiet about it so the villagers wouldn’t get anxious. Don’t tell anyone else.”

“Got it.”

Ordinary commoners were wary of wizards.

They were basically quasi-nobles. Moreover, they were often temperamental and eccentric.

There was nothing good about getting involved with them.

But Randel’s little brother wouldn’t know.

That eccentric wizard who lives in the northern forest.

That he is standing right in front of him.

“Anyway, be careful.”

“Yeah, you too, take care at work.”

Randel waved his hand and left the village.

Feeling sorry for unintentionally making the village tense.

* * *

“Oh dear, I guess I’ll have to rest here today.”

Randel arrived at a clearing in the forest, unpacked his bundle, and sat down.

Creak.

After walking all day, his knees made a cracking sound.

Perhaps because it was a place where people often stayed, the center of the clearing was piled high with ashes from a campfire.

Randel gathered dry branches from the nearby forest and stacked them neatly on top.

Then, with his hand extended towards the logs, he muttered.

“…Fire.”

Whoosh.

With the incantation, a fireball the size of an adult’s fist appeared above the campfire.

As the fireball created sparks, he added more logs before it went out.

“Smack.”

Randel warmed his hands by the campfire and smacked his lips. It was because he remembered the conversation he had with his little brother in the morning.

“This wasn’t the original plan…”

When he first returned, Randel didn’t put much emphasis on magic.

He just wanted to graduate from the Magic Academy and receive a minor noble title.

How did he get this life back?

Moreover, he was with the family he had missed so much.

But to spend his life obsessively learning magic that wouldn’t even work like in his previous life?

Then there was no point in coming back.

‘I should do what makes me happy.’

So he decided to put magic aside and spend as much time as possible with his family.

While processing herbs, making money, buying a house, and fulfilling the dreams of his family.

That was the plan.

But those plans changed completely.

It was after he saw the reduction in casting time with his own eyes.

The casting time that had never decreased despite a lifetime of effort.

But this time was different.

It wasn’t even difficult. Just by repeatedly using magic, the casting time decreased by a few seconds each day.

So every day, as soon as dawn broke, he went to the deserted cliff and used magic like crazy.

Until all his mana was exhausted.

When it was depleted, he recovered and used it again.

Just one more time, just one more time… and then.

The cliff ended up like that, just as his older brother had said.

The countless holes in the cliff were traces of the magic arrows he had used thousands of times.

The blackened cliff was likewise a trace of the fire magic he had used thousands of times.

‘I didn’t know magic could be this fun…’

For Randel, magic was pain.

Seeing his insurmountable limits every time he used it, it was strange to find it enjoyable.

Was it fun when people around him praised him as a genius when he was young?

But once the casting problem was solved, he became so addicted to training magic that he experienced withdrawal symptoms if he didn’t.

As he organized his thoughts, Randel suddenly muttered.

“Show me the Magic Arrow task.”

[Repeated use of Magic Arrow]

∥Magic Arrow 1,500/19

∥Magic Arrow Casting -10%

“This is unbelievable, even when I see it.”

Randel muttered as he looked at the task in front of him.

The casting time decreased just by using magic without any special effort, could this be real?

But it was an undeniable reality.

And currently, Randel’s Magic Arrow casting time was 2 seconds.

Only 1 second remained to reach the time Randel had aimed for.

“It’s really crazy…”

Randell shook his head and covered himself with a blanket.

Soon, the sound of snoring echoed through the clearing.

* * *

Three days later.

After walking and walking, Randell finally arrived at the lord’s castle.

When he looked up, he saw a tall castle wall in front of him.

‘Is it because I’ve gotten shorter? It looks incredibly high.’

In fact, the lords in the central region, except for the border areas, did not build their castle walls this high.

However, this castle was a bit special, as it was built 500 years ago.

At that time, it is said that thousands of monsters would swarm from the mountain range behind Randell’s village every harvest season.

This castle wall was built to block those monsters.

At that time, it was one of the shields protecting the kingdom…

‘Well, having such a castle wall and still losing in the territorial war is a talent, if you can call it that.’

When Randell was in his twenties, this territory was defeated and occupied in a territorial war.

An ancient relic was discovered in the territory, and the nearby lords attacked to take it.

“Where are you from?”

“I’m from Forton village, here to sell herbs.”

Randell handed his identification tag to the guard who asked. He also turned around to show the pack on his back.

“Alright, you may pass.”

That was it.

He didn’t have any weapons, and he was just a boy from the neighboring village, so there was no reason to stop him.

Moreover, it had already been 100 years since the last war.

It was a time steeped in peace.

‘No one can imagine it now. In about ten years, the kingdom will be divided into three and there will be fierce battles…’

Thinking this, Randell entered the castle.

* * *

The lord’s castle was one of the top ten cities in the north.

As such, it had a large population, and commercial activities were vibrant, overflowing with food and sights.

If Randell were like most people his age, he would be busy looking around, distracted by all the sights.

Literally, he was a country bumpkin.

But Randel just kept walking towards his destination without getting distracted.

Occasionally, he would look around, but that was because of pickpockets, not to sightsee.

‘Even if the city grows in the poor north, it’s nothing compared to the capitals of various countries… whatever.’

Randel, who had worked as a mercenary for a long time, had visited most of the major cities.

To him, even seeing the lord’s castle after more than a decade did not evoke any emotion.

After walking for a while, Randel arrived at a street lined with shops.

As expected of a territory famous for its herbs, there was a place where only herb shops were gathered.

‘Let’s see.’

Randel paused for a moment and began to explore which of the five herb shops to enter.

It was obvious that if he entered anywhere with the body of a 13-year-old boy, he would be ripped off.

So he had to find a decent place.

The method was simple.

“……”

Randel closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them.

His eyes, now tinged with green, were revealed.

He had enhanced his vision with mana.

Randel scanned the herb shops with those eyes.

And soon, he stopped at one place.

‘Anyway, ordinary people can’t recognize herbs processed with mana.’

Processing herbs with mana didn’t drastically change their appearance.

Moreover, it was rare for a wizard to sell herbs, so there were few people who could recognize them.

Either someone who could sense mana.

Or someone who had traded with him before.

The first person was unlikely to be a herb dealer, so he had to find the latter, which was a simple task.

He just had to find a place where he could feel the remnants of mana.

Randel approached the old man sitting at the stall.

“Hello?”

“What’s this, a little kid. Are you running an errand for your father?”

The old man grinned with a face missing a few teeth.

‘It’s so obvious.’

Randel scoffed inwardly at those words.

When you call a 13-year-old boy a kid, it always hurts their pride and makes them act tough.

Using that to coax and cajole them into lowering the price of herbs was no big deal.

But that didn’t apply to Randel.

A kid?

Yes, a kid.

‘And it’s great to be a kid!’

Being a kid in the body of a middle-aged man in his 40s made him feel like he could fly every morning.

The old man in front of him was probably desperately wishing he could go back to his childhood, just like Randel.

Randel chuckled and said,

“I’m not here for my father, I’m running an errand for my master.”

“Your master?”

It was a phrase rarely heard in an herb shop.

At those words, the old man leaned his upper body towards Randel.

Without further ado, Randel took out the herbs from his bundle.

As he unwrapped the cloth covering the herbs, a slightly different scent from ordinary herbs wafted out.

“This is…”

The old man, surprised, reached out his hand involuntarily.

Randel quickly pulled the herbs back and said,

“50 silver.”

“What?”

“My master told me to get exactly 50 silver, no more, no less.”

“Who is your master?”

“Is there anyone other than a wizard who can imbue herbs with mana?”

“Hmm…”

The old man alternated between looking at the herbs and Randel, letting out a groan.

He wanted to rip off the young boy somehow, but the fact that his master was a wizard made him wary of the consequences.

And what did that mean?

It meant that this boy was also learning magic.

At that moment, Randel spoke.

“Buy it with a clear conscience.”

“What?”

“Then my master asked me to tell you that he would trade with you again in the future.”

“Ah, ahem…”

The old man, who had cleared his throat, examined the herbs and obediently handed over a pouch containing 50 silvers.

Then he flicked a coin with his finger.

When Randel caught it, he saw it was 1 silver.

“Here, that’s your pocket money. Come again next time.”

“Hehe, thank you.”

Randel grinned and left the herb shop.

Now that he had secured the capital.

‘I should start preparing for the 2nd circle in earnest.’