The Life I Refuse To Waste [Slow Burn | Isekai | Remastered ]

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Zeldryn immediately felt irritated when he heard Kera's question.

The problem was that Kera was right.

Zeldryn's original reason for leaving his room really had been to find him. He wanted to ask about mana, especially the limits of his control and why he had ended up vomiting blood after trying to control sixteen particles at the same time.

After everything that had happened in the kitchen, however, admitting that directly felt incredibly annoying.

'Damn it. Why does he have to ask with that irritating look on his face?'

Zeldryn stared at Kera for several moments. Part of him wanted to respond with an insult, but he quickly held himself back. There was no point. Just this once, he had to act like an adult.

He sighed. “Yes. I was looking for you because I wanted to ask about mana.”

The servants in the kitchen quietly listened to their conversation. Not one of them dared to speak, and the atmosphere, which had already been tense before Kera arrived, had become even quieter since his appearance.

Kera observed Zeldryn for several seconds before giving a simple response.

“Follow me.”

“Huh?”

Kera had already turned around before Zeldryn could ask anything else and immediately started walking toward the kitchen exit. Zeldryn stared at his back with growing irritation.

'At least tell me where we're going first, damn it.'

In the end, however, he said nothing and simply followed Kera out of the kitchen.

The two of them walked through several sections of the mansion, eventually passing through the main hall and heading toward the entrance. Kera remained silent the entire way, and Zeldryn decided to do the same.

When they finally reached the main door, Kera opened it, allowing bright sunlight to pour into the mansion.

Zeldryn instinctively narrowed his eyes and raised one hand to shield part of his face. The light was far brighter than what normally entered through his bedroom window, and the moment Kera stepped outside, a fresh breeze swept through the doorway and brushed against Zeldryn's face and hair.

He slowly lowered his hand and followed.

One foot crossed the threshold, followed by the other. Only after he had completely stepped outside did Zeldryn suddenly stop.

It was only then that he realized something.

This was the first time he had actually stepped outside the mansion since arriving in this world.

Until now, Zeldryn had seen the outside only through the window of his second-floor bedroom. He had already observed the village, the trees, the forest, and the clear sky from there, but standing directly beneath that sky felt completely different.

He slowly looked around.

Various plants had been arranged neatly throughout the area in front of the mansion. Several servants were tending to them, with some carrying water, others cleaning sections of the courtyard, and a few caring for the plants lining the road that led toward the main gate.

Farther away, guards stood near the entrance to the estate. Some remained at their posts while others spoke with fellow guards without completely taking their attention away from their surroundings.

The air itself felt remarkably clean. There was no smell of vehicle exhaust, no rumbling engines, and no modern buildings crowding the landscape. All Zeldryn could hear were the wind, rustling leaves, footsteps, and the scattered sounds of people going about their work around the mansion.

He took a deep breath.

“...Damn.”

Zeldryn continued staring at the scenery around him as the corner of his lips lifted slightly.

“Even though I've already seen it from the window, seeing it directly like this is still damn beautiful.”

Kera, who had already gotten several steps ahead, did not stop.

Zeldryn quickly noticed and snapped out of his fascination.

'Oi. At least wait for a second, bastard.'

Stolen story; please report.

He hurried after him.

Several servants and guards were watching the pair as they crossed the courtyard, but strangely, none of them attempted to approach. Some of the people who noticed Kera immediately looked away and resumed whatever they had been doing, almost as though they had deliberately decided to pretend he was not there.

Zeldryn noticed their reactions, but since Kera continued walking and his own priority was learning about mana, he chose not to dwell on it.

The two passed through the mansion's main gate and followed the road beyond the residence. The farther they traveled, the fewer people Zeldryn saw, while the surrounding buildings gradually became more sparse until the land around them was dominated by grass and trees.

Eventually, they entered the forest.

Zeldryn recognized it almost immediately.

'This is...'

It was the same forest he had repeatedly seen from his bedroom window. Once again, however, observing it from a distance and actually standing beneath its trees proved to be completely different experiences.

The scent of soil and trees filled the air around him. Wind moved through the canopy overhead, producing rustling sounds from every direction, while sunlight slipped through gaps between the leaves and scattered irregular patches of light and shadow across the ground.

Zeldryn continued following Kera deeper into the forest, but the man showed no indication that they were close to their destination.

A minute passed, then several more. The trees around them gradually grew denser, and Zeldryn eventually began to frown.

'Where the hell are we actually going?'

He nearly asked. His mouth even opened slightly before he looked at Kera's back and reconsidered.

'Pointless.'

Zeldryn could already imagine the answer.

'Just follow me, brat.'

Or perhaps Kera would say something even more irritating.

'Shut up and walk, you troublesome brat.'

Zeldryn sighed.

'Whatever.'

He abandoned the idea and continued following him.

A short while later, Kera finally stopped. Zeldryn came to a halt behind him and looked around, realizing that they had traveled quite deep into the forest. The trees here stood much closer together, creating a denser canopy overhead.

Kera briefly examined their surroundings before focusing on one particular tree. It was considerably larger than most nearby, with a thick, sturdy trunk and heavy branches spreading in several directions above them.

He raised one hand and pointed toward it.

“Try using your mana.”

Zeldryn looked from Kera to the tree.

“Blow up that tree.”

Zeldryn immediately turned toward him.

'Blow up the tree?'

His gaze returned to the trunk, which was significantly wider than his own body.

'Is that even realistic?'

The only thing Zeldryn had learned to do so far was move several mana particles. Even the explosion he had successfully produced earlier had been nothing more than a small blast.

'I can barely make something like a firecracker, damn it.'

He kept the complaint to himself. By now, he knew Kera well enough to understand that complaining in front of the man was practically an invitation for more trouble.

“Fine.”

Zeldryn positioned himself in front of the tree and focused his vision. Gradually, yellowish-golden mana particles became visible throughout the forest, countless tiny points floating in the air around him.

He selected six, the same number he had used when trying to attack Kera inside his room.

'Six first.'

Zeldryn concentrated, and one by one, the particles began responding to his will. He guided them toward the tree trunk until all six approached the same point on its surface.

Then he imagined them colliding.

BOOM!

A small explosion struck the trunk, producing a brief cloud of smoke. Zeldryn immediately examined the result once it cleared.

The tree was still standing exactly as before. It had not shaken or cracked, and the blast had not even managed to create a hole in the wood. The only visible damage was a slightly blackened mark on the bark.

Zeldryn stared at it.

'Forget blowing up the tree. It barely did anything at all.'

As he continued looking at the mark, however, a memory suddenly resurfaced.

Six particles.

The exact same number he had used not long ago to create an explosion directly behind Kera's neck.

Zeldryn's expression slowly changed as he looked at the tree, then at Kera, before returning his attention to the blackened trunk.

'Wait.'

The explosion had barely affected an ordinary tree, yet earlier Zeldryn had genuinely expected the exact same attack to injure a Level 3 Manholer.

He clicked his tongue.

“Tch.”

'I'm really an idiot.'

The more he thought about it, the more embarrassing the realization became. If even an ordinary tree had taken almost no damage, expecting the same attack to hurt Kera had been ridiculous.

Kera was a Level 3 Manholer, someone supposedly capable of defeating an entire army by himself.

Kera, who had apparently been watching Zeldryn's expression the entire time, suddenly smiled.

“Looks like you just realized something, huh, little bastard?”

Zeldryn immediately glanced at him.

“Kekeke.”

'This guy... Can he read minds or something?'

Kera pointed toward the tree again.

“Try again.”

Zeldryn looked at him.

“This time, increase the power.”

Zeldryn found the casual instruction irritating. Kera made it sound as though increasing the strength of the explosion were as simple as deciding to do it.

Still, he turned back toward the tree.

This time, six particles would not be enough.

Zeldryn began selecting more, gradually increasing the number from seven to eight, then ten and twelve, until he eventually settled on fourteen mana particles.

He deliberately stopped there.

Zeldryn had already confirmed that he could control fifteen particles simultaneously, but that was precisely why he refused to use all fifteen now. His earlier mistake had taught him something important.

Being able to move fifteen particles did not necessarily mean he could safely use all fifteen to perform another action at the same time. Moving the particles and forcing them to explode were clearly different processes, and Zeldryn still had no idea how much additional strain his Mana Hole would experience when he tried gathering and detonating such a large number at once.

After what had happened when he attempted to control a sixteenth particle, he had no intention of immediately testing his absolute limit again.

'Fourteen. This is enough.'

Zeldryn began controlling them.

One after another, the particles responded to his will, and the familiar sensation beneath his navel returned as his Mana Hole began to fluctuate. The feeling was already considerably stronger than when he had controlled only six particles.

Zeldryn held his breath and carefully monitored his body. There was pressure, but no pain.

'Still safe.'

He continued.

All fourteen particles slowly moved toward the tree while Zeldryn focused his attention on keeping every one of them under control. This time, he did not rush. He guided them toward a single point on the trunk, gradually bringing the particles closer together.

The fluctuations from his Mana Hole intensified as the distance between them narrowed, but Zeldryn continued concentrating despite the increasing strain.

'Just a little more...'

Finally, all fourteen particles gathered at the same point.

Zeldryn focused on them and imagined every particle colliding simultaneously.

BOOM!

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