Chapter 3: Forging Body and Soul

Gaon had braced himself for the possibility that decades might have passed.

Yet he had hoped against it. 

Fifty years was a chasm of time, long enough to sever most bonds he held dear.

‘Fifty years?’

A low groan escaped his lips as he snapped the pocket watch shut and sank onto the bed.

‘This is the worst.’

Fifty years. 

A span so vast that even those closest to him might no longer walk the earth. 

Not all, of course. 

His mentor, Ferbeng, a dragon, would endure—not just for fifty years, but for five hundred. 

High elves like Karin and Bleia, blessed with long lifespans, were likely still alive.

And it wasn’t just non-humans. 

Those who had reached the rank of Swordmaster or the 7th Circle saw their lives extended significantly. 

Gaon knew many such individuals—Swordmasters, mages on the cusp of or within the 7th Circle. 

Even Kerhen, the boastful alchemist who swore to craft an elixir of immortality, might still live if he had succeeded and consumed it.

‘But…’

A sudden thought creased Gaon’s brow.

‘Why hasn’t the demonic invasion been stopped in fifty years?’

The lingering magi in Viard Forest was proof that the Demon Realm’s incursion persisted. But fifty years? 

That was incomprehensible.

Demonic invasions were not new. 

Though Gaon had never faced one himself, historical records documented over a dozen. 

According to those accounts, such invasions typically ended within ten years—twenty at most. 

Yet here, fifty years had passed, and the magi remained?

It made no sense. 

Curiosity gnawed at him, urging him to uncover the truth of this strange future.

‘No use sitting here speculating.’

Answers wouldn’t come from idle thoughts. 

To understand the situation, he needed solid information, and that meant reaching a large village or city.

The problem was Viard Forest’s location. 

Nestled in the heart of the Central Great Forest—one of the continent’s three most remote regions—it was far from any major settlement. 

And while he had encountered only one demonic beast so far, others might lurk in the surrounding areas. 

Worse, with the demonic invasion unresolved, he could cross paths with a demon itself.

Facing even a low-tier demon in his current state? 

Depending on the demon, his chances of victory were slim at best.

‘First, I need to grow stronger.’

Strength was his immediate priority. 

Rising from the bed, Gaon approached the desk and opened a small box atop it.

‘Good, they’re still here.’

Inside were two pills—not ordinary, but elixirs crafted from a blend of rare spirit herbs.

‘These will get me to the 2nd Circle.’

He had walked this path before. 

With enough mana, he was confident he could forge a new circle. 

The two elixirs would provide more than enough for the 2nd Circle.

But that wasn’t all.

Glancing toward the wall behind the well, Gaon murmured, ‘Fifty years… they should all be spirit herbs by now.’

He had created a small herb garden there, planting herbs that were at least fifty years old. 

By the standard of spirit herbs—requiring a century to mature—those plants, now a hundred years old, would have transformed into potent spirit herbs.

With their aid, the 3rd Circle might even be within reach.

‘The variable is the Heaven-Shattering Method.’

There was no guarantee. 

His calculations were based on the Varta Method. 

If the Heaven-Shattering Method proved less efficient with elixirs, the 3rd Circle could be out of reach. 

Even if it was efficient, the method’s dual focus on physical and magical enhancement meant the herbs’ energy would be split between body and mana, potentially making the 3rd Circle unattainable.

‘Still, the Heaven-Shattering Method is the right choice.’

He couldn’t abandon it. 

The entire purpose of the Time Reversal Magic Circle was to forge a body strong enough to withstand the 9th Circle’s output. 

Even if the 3rd Circle eluded him, the Heaven-Shattering Method was his path forward.

‘If Cheon Muhyeok’s body is any indication, even the early stages will be formidable.’

Gaon recalled Cheon Muhyeok, the Swordmaster who had mastered the Heaven-Shattering Method. 

Cheon had reached only the ninth of its twelve walls, yet his body was as unyielding as the legendary metal Alkandeum. 

If Gaon could break through even the first wall, he would be well on his way.

‘If I fail at both, that’s a problem.’

The worst-case scenario would be missing the 3rd Circle and failing to breach the first wall.

‘That won’t happen.’

The likelihood was low. Cheon Muhyeok had said the first wall was easily surmountable, and Gaon trusted his words.

Click.

Closing the box of elixirs, Gaon moved to the wall behind the well to check the herb garden. 

If the hideout was intact, the garden likely was too. But if something had gone wrong, he’d need to rethink his growth strategy.

Reaching the wall, he placed his hand against it.

Swish!

A magic circle flared, and the wall parted, revealing a passage. 

Gaon stepped through and soon arrived at the herb garden.

“Well, look at that.”

A gasp of awe escaped him. 

Like the hideout, the garden was pristine.

“It’s a spirit herb garden now.”

The youngest herb was at least a hundred years old, qualifying every plant as a spirit herb.

‘And they’ve absorbed magi too.’

Viard Forest was saturated with both mana and magi, and the garden was no exception. 

The herbs had absorbed both energies, their potency far exceeding what their age alone suggested.

‘This makes the Heaven-Shattering Method the only choice.’

Even if he hadn’t chosen it already, the garden’s condition would have forced his hand. 

Only the Heaven-Shattering Method, which embraced all energies, could fully utilize these mana-and-magi-infused herbs. 

Any other method would render them useless.

‘Fate, perhaps.’

Gaon reached for the nearest spirit herb, a Luin Flower. 

Not all spirit herbs required processing—some, like the Luin Flower, were more potent when consumed raw.

Pop!

Plucking the flower, Gaon sat cross-legged on a patch of bare soil beside the garden. 

Cheon Muhyeok had advised cultivating in a cross-legged position until the second wall was broken. 

When Gaon had asked why, Cheon had only smirked, saying he’d understand when the time came.

Though he hadn’t cared then, curiosity now stirred within him. What would happen when he broke the second wall?

Whoosh!

Using mana, Gaon brushed the dirt from the Luin Flower’s roots. 

He popped the flower into his mouth, chewing thoroughly. Its essence slid down his throat, swiftly vaporizing into mana—and magi.

Left unchecked, the conflicting energies could wreak havoc on his body. 

Without hesitation, Gaon began circulating them through the Heaven-Shattering Method.

Well, now…

A silent gasp of wonder rose within him. 

As the mana and magi coursed through his body, their nature began to shift, transforming into the unique energy Cheon Muhyeok had wielded: Heaven-Shattering Qi.

Soon, all the absorbed mana and magi had converted fully into this new energy. 

But Gaon didn’t stop. 

He had two tasks: confirm the method’s effects on his body and locate the first wall.

A smile spread across his face.

‘So this is how it strengthens.’

The Heaven-Shattering Qi was fortifying every part it touched—blood vessels, organs, everything.

‘Now, where’s that wall?’

Confirmation done, he turned to his second task.

‘Found it.’

It didn’t take long. 

There it was—the first wall of the Heaven-Shattering Method.

Probing it gently with his qi, Gaon thought, Good. I was worried it might not appear yet.

The walls only revealed themselves when the qi reached a certain threshold. 

Its presence meant he was ready to take the next step.

‘Breaking it will make me much stronger.’

His body was already growing more robust, but shattering the first wall would elevate him to another level entirely. 

Excitement surged within him, tempting him to break it immediately.

But he held back. 

Probing the wall had shown him he needed more qi to breach it.

Reluctantly, Gaon halted his cultivation but remained seated. 

One task remained: transforming his circle.

The single ring in his heart, his 1st Circle, was filled with mana refined through the Varta Method. 

Now, he would replace it with Heaven-Shattering Qi.

There was no issue with keeping the mana—it would function perfectly. He had initially planned to wield both energies. 

But experiencing the qi firsthand changed his mind.

Channeling Heaven-Shattering Qi into his circle, Gaon began pushing out the condensed mana, simultaneously converting it into qi through the Heaven-Shattering Method.

The circle’s transformation finished first. 

Gaon tested it, setting it spinning.

Swish!

The circle whirled with ferocious speed, far beyond his expectations. Its output was staggering.

‘This is 3rd Circle-level power.’

He could scarcely believe it. 

He was still at the 1st Circle, yet the output rivaled that of a 3rd Circle mage.

‘Is this the power of Heaven-Shattering Qi?’

The speed was only part of it. 

The qi itself amplified the output far beyond what mana could achieve.

‘And no strain.’

At this speed, his heart or body should have protested, but they held firm, fortified by the qi.

‘This is promising.’

If the 1st Circle was this potent, what would the 2nd or 3rd be like? And the 9th?

‘Switching to qi was the right call.’

Satisfied, Gaon stilled the circle and focused on converting the remaining mana. 

Once finished, he rose and extended his hand.

“Magic Blade.”

Swish!

A sharp blade formed—not of mana, but of Heaven-Shattering Qi.

“Well, now…”

Gaon marveled. 

The qi-forged blade was incomparably superior to its mana-based counterpart.

Thud.

The ground trembled.

Thud.

Not a coincidence—another quake followed. 

Gaon’s senses sharpened.

‘Footsteps?’

The rumbling came from the cave’s entrance, where his hideout lay.

‘A demonic beast?’

No ordinary animal could produce such tremors.

‘Or a monster?’

It was either a demonic beast or a monster.