Chapter 1: The Third Son of Ophern

“Let’s eat well again today.”

“I’ll enjoy the meal!”

The meals at the House of Ophern, who commanded seven Barons and five Viscounts, were always lively and bustling.

Unlike the stern appearance seen from the outside, this meal time shared only among family was filled with warmth and harmony.

Outside, the father was known as the Silent Knight, but at the dining table, he was smiling broadly.

“Today’s meal is great! The new chef really put in a lot of effort!”

“It’s good, right? I told you he was worth recommending.”

“Hah! I know your good eye for things!”

No one outside could imagine the father, who smiled so warmly like this during meals.

Even the eldest brother, who had made a name for himself as a knight since childhood.

“Not eating? Then give it to me!”

“Oppa! No way!”

“You said you’re trying to lose weight, right? I heard you were upset after what happened at the Marquis of Hwian’s place?”

“I’m supposed to start losing weight tomorrow!”

“…And tomorrow will come scary as always.”

“Oppa!”

Who would have imagined that my slender sister, known as a knight and the flower among knights, would show such appetite alongside me!

‘…No one would imagine it.’

Silence. Sternness. Weightiness.

These were the words used to describe our House of Ophern from the outside, where I am the third son and youngest.

Rumors said that not even a word or breath could be heard inside the house.

But contrary to these rumors, at least inside our Count’s house, it was lively and filled with warmth.

Only outwardly were we a silent family.

‘Their image management is no joke.’

Not just a lady’s pretenses, but the entire family’s facade!

From the outside, our House of Ophern was known as a solemn and dignified knightly family.

My eldest brother and second sister had already made names as swordsmen by the age of 15.

Among them, I was considered the family’s concern.

I’m currently 13 years old.

Born as a scion of a knightly family, I was born frail and weak, and the frailty has continued to this day.

With my feeble body, becoming a knight was impossible.

Even in the mighty House of Ophern, there was concern that one of their own might never become a knight.

The outside world expressed worry, but inside the family, the decision was settled by a single word from my father.

“Still, you were born with something. Geirn says you have talent in Mana.”

The family magician, Geirn.

Uniquely, although he is a high-ranking 5th Circle mage, he is loyal to our family through his connection with father rather than belonging to the Magic Tower.

He vouched for my talent.

Instead of a strong body, I had a talent for Mana.

Thanks to that talent, I could follow the path of a mage.

‘The problem is, even that talent isn’t certain.’

Just the bare minimum talent.

It was difficult even as a knight, and as a mage, I was far from gifted.

I’m only just 1st Circle.

The only spell I can use is Light.

‘It’s tough.’

I’m not stupid, but I’m not outstanding like other mages.

Even with family support, I doubt I’ll ever reach beyond the 4th Circle in my lifetime.

That’s how late I am.

If I weren’t the second son of a Count’s family, maybe I could aim for the 4th Circle, but my talent was shallow.

‘I’m really neither here nor there.’

My parents and eldest brother pitied me.

My second sister, whenever she attended family gatherings, worried over the rumors she heard about me.

There’s even a famous story where she threw gloves at me and slapped me in defense of me after getting fed up with those rumors.

‘She’s kind.’

A near-perfect family, with me as a tiny thorn.

“The youngest, eat up quickly. You need to eat well to stay healthy! Haha.”

“Y-yes!”

Still, having a family that cared for me kept my spirits up.

They didn’t pity me or make a melodrama out of my failings; they embraced me.

“I’ll enjoy the meal!”

“Alright.”

Though I was young and naive, I understood that my family valued me.

‘Well then…’

Fully savoring the warmth, I raised my spoon and filled my mouth with stew.

Just as I was about to taste the dish prepared by the new chef, instead of the flavor, something else filled me.

Unfathomable echoes.

“Satisfy yourself. There is no way to change what must be.”

“That is why I seek. Was it not wrong for a Son of a Martial Family to be born without mastering martial arts?”

The echoes continued.

“Born a Son of a Martial Family and understanding all martial arts… but it was useless.”

I felt grief.

The bitterness of someone who possessed but could not claim as their own.

The echoes followed one another.

“In the end, the unresolved Jeongmak. How can life be precious, what can be important in this?”

“Even if you are not a martial family, you are strong. The revival of the Heon clan is thanks to you!”

“…It’s useless. I will find a way without fail.”

These were memories of someone else.

Memories from another world, not this one.

Jungwon. And Murim!

A completely different world where rare black-haired people ruled the world.

In an instant, the memories naturally burrowed into me.

He was about my age but weak.

‘It was hopeless.’

Even the talisman bestowed by the elders from birth was useless.

“Call yourself Jegal Hyeon. You will become blessed…”

Born as a child of the prestigious Jegal Clan, he had a prison from birth.

The Gueum Jeongmak.

His body was the prison.

“I will find a way!”

He struggled mightily to overcome the Jeongmak.

He sought to learn all martial arts of his clan.

Even if not physically, then mentally.

“Ah…”

Even with a brilliant mind, he realized it was impossible.

His mind reached great heights, but his body did not follow.

He even tried martial arts outside the clan. More despair.

“There must be a way.”

“Hyeon…”

Only his body was trapped by Jeongmak, but his mind continuously sought solutions even in despair.

He mastered formation arts.

The supreme formations of the Jegal Clan!

He learned medical arts.

But even the healing arts he learned from the best doctors only showed him there was no cure.

“Still, there must be something…”

He began to learn Daoist Arts.

‘That’s just magic!?’

His last hope.

Alchemy, Shamanism, Spellcasting, Divination.

What others called illusions, he studied endlessly.

He started all he could.

But the conclusion was.

“Perhaps it is something that cannot be done in this life.”

There was no other way. The treatments he painstakingly devised were impossible to realize in this world.

“If not in this life, then maybe in the next…”

The Soul-Refining Reincarnation Art!

A grand method that tempers and connects souls to extend life.

Having despaired in this life, he sought a way to continue into the next.

Others would say it’s impossible, but he risked his last breath on this futile hope.

That was Jegal Hyeon’s last, at age twenty-eight!

His short life compressed into each bite of food, containing both life and death.

“What is this…”

“Why? Doesn’t it taste good?”

“No, not that… ummm…”

Among the family’s peaceful everyday life, strange memories kept coming.

The Soul-Refining Reincarnation Art was naturally seeping in as a foundation.

The next memories were not Jegal Hyeon’s.

They belonged to someone else.

Not from Jungwon, but Korea. Not ancient times, but 21st century with different clothing and ways.

Another self continued.

“Studying again today?”

“I don’t want to go.”

“Then! PC room?”

“No way, man. Come on. The college entrance exam is right around the corner.”

An ordinary life.

‘No, it’s not ordinary.’

A life completely different from this one.

1980s Korea. Born healthy and strong.

His name was Kim Seonggeon.

‘His name is unusually short.’

Compared to the names in a Count’s family, this was a short name that called him.

No magician’s power, no warrior’s aura.

Yet he lived every day fiercely.

A poor family with no inheritance. Even attending academies was difficult, but he worked hard.

“We can at least buy some practice books, right? Haha. Not that poor.”

“…Sorry.”

“It’s okay. I can’t work part-time anyway, so I’m the one who should be sorry. Just wait a bit more.”

He knew how to smile at his struggling father.

Instead of denial, he wielded positivity and found what he could do.

“To bring the family up, part-time jobs won’t cut it. Yeah.”

Not briefly, but far into the future, he prepared.

***

After taking Korea’s first-ever college entrance exam, he entered a prestigious university in Seoul.

The business department.

“With your grades, you could have gone science, right? You’re not bad at math.”

“Medical school is good, but it’s long. And these days, if you can’t open a clinic, it’s useless.”

“Ugh. You’re too mature for your age.”

“It’s okay. I chose this. Thank you, teacher.”

He bowed to the teacher who watched over him and ran fiercely through university.

Even in the military, he was called a tough guy and persevered with his studies.

All of it.

After graduating, he joined a large corporation and never took a single day off. No, he didn’t know how to rest.

“Soon, what’s next… maybe a little rest would be good. A trip with my wife, right?”

“You’ve been saying that for years… Don’t you think you need a break?”

“I’m fine. Just a little more… then…”

“Always half-hearted!”

“That’s my nickname. Haha.”

Kim Seonggeon dreamed of retiring and taking frequent overseas trips with his beloved wife.

Smiling brightly, moving fiercely.

He was filial to his parents and cared for his children but never took a proper rest.

“Ot…”

Middle age. Just as he had settled down, he suddenly collapsed.

That was the last thing Kim Seonggeon remembered.

Jegal Hyeon. Kim Seonggeon.

These two selves melded together.

‘Both lived too short a life…’

Though the memories were new, they were not unfamiliar.

They were my past lives and kindred souls.

According to Jegal Hyeon’s memory, memory inheritance was supposed to be painful, to the point of losing oneself.

But it came naturally.

The power of the Soul-Refining Reincarnation Art, which tempers and connects souls, passed on to me!

There was no pain. No confusion.

Just naturalness.

All three of us—myself, Kim Seong-geon, and Jegal Hyeon—shared one wish.

“Live.”

To live well.

To live without pain.

To live happily.

Not to be swept away, but to walk our own path.