A boy was outside, swinging a wooden sword in his hand. He stood at 1.25 meters, with black hair and black eyes. His facial features already hinted that he would grow up to be handsome. He was seven years old.
Sweating from the swings, he made his way toward a nearby stream to wipe his face. When he reached the water, a grin spread across Eugene's face — the kind that showed he liked what he saw in his reflection.
"In my previous life, I was handsome too… but even at seven years old in this life, it's clear I'm going to be even more handsome."
Seven years… It had been seven years since he arrived in this world, and in that time, he had learned a great deal about it.
While Eugene was lost in thought by the stream, a voice called from a nearby house.
"Eugene, come eat!"
It was his mother, Carla. Her brown hair and amber eyes made her already beautiful features even more striking. It was obvious where Eugene had inherited his looks from. At her call, he left the wooden sword outside and went in.
"You really do love using that sword, my little miracle."
Miracle — that was what Carla liked to call him.
The day Eugene was born, the phenomenon known as the Black Sun had occurred. On that day, no new life was born in the world — neither human nor beast. Any pregnant woman who gave birth delivered a stillborn child. But Eugene was alive.
He had a pretty good idea why. (Because my soul is not from this world.) A simple but logical deduction. That was why he believed his reincarnation had a reason behind it, not mere chance. Still, he didn't dwell on it. After all, the second chance he'd been given came with things his previous life never had.
Mana. The very foundation of this world, something his old life had lacked entirely. With it, the impossible became possible — like what Carla was doing right now.
While setting the plates on the table, she wasn't touching them — they floated in midair. To warm the food, she conjured a small flame at her fingertip.
The first time Eugene had seen this, he was a baby, so excited he clapped his hands together. Carla laughed at the sight and showed him even more magic.
Once she finished setting the table, she placed the food down. Eugene loved his mother's cooking; the taste far surpassed anything he had eaten alone in his previous life.
"When you were a baby, no matter how small the spell, you'd always clap your hands. But now you've chosen the sword. I thought you'd be a mage."
"How could I remember what I did as a baby?"
Of course, he did remember — and secretly blushed in embarrassment. But what could he do? It had been his first time witnessing magic.
Carla chuckled softly and hugged him.
"How can you be so adorable, my miracle?"
Eugene didn't resist her affection. In fact, he enjoyed it. In his previous life, his lonely existence had left him longing for such simple moments.
As she stroked his hair, she continued:
"Eugene, whatever you wish to become, I will always support you. So there's no need to hold yourself back."
With a faint smile, he replied:
"Thank you, Mom."
Carla pulled away and smiled warmly. Mother and son continued their pleasant conversation as they ate.
After dinner, Carla began clearing the table while Eugene took his wooden sword outside.
He walked a short distance to a large rock. Sword marks covered its surface — the result of Eugene's training. Sitting cross-legged in front of it, he began circulating mana through his body.
Although different races had various ways of using mana, in humans there were generally two: strengthening the body and imbuing weapons, or casting spells. In the first path, progress was marked by the formation of Stars; in the second, Circles of Power were formed.
A human could form at most nine Stars or Circles. In ancient times, there were those who reached the ninth level, but in the present day, the eighth was the limit — and even that was rare. Most never made it past the fifth in their entire lives. That was why people usually chose one path and focused solely on it.
But Eugene had no reason to choose only one. Why settle for a single path when he could walk both? The key was simple: if he could make his Stars revolve around his heart, he could form a Circle as well. Of course, it was easier said than done.
Right now, Eugene had one Star. Reaching that level at seven years old was something only those from blessed bloodlines or true prodigies could do — but Eugene's adult mind from his previous life had made it possible.
The real challenge was spinning the Star to form a Circle. Every time he tried, the Star would stop spinning before the Circle could form, causing backlash through his body.
Once again, he failed. Wincing from the backlash, Eugene let out a pained smile.
"Ahh… failed again. I guess my mana just isn't dense enough."
After catching his breath, he murmured:
"If I had two Stars, could I form a Circle? No… my heart couldn't withstand that much spinning mana. Then the answer must be to improve its quality. That means more mana training — or consuming something rich in mana."
"Well, since I'm not going to stumble upon something like that out of nowhere, I'll just have to keep training."
Eugene picked up his sword and slowly infused it with mana. The wooden blade glowed pale gray as he began swinging it. His training was simple: break the rock without breaking the sword. It sounded easy, but it wasn't. If he infused too much or too little mana, the sword would shatter. This training was perfect for sharpening his mana control.
He had already broken around fifty wooden swords, but now he was used to it. He knew how to control his mana and was applying that knowledge. For the past six months, he had been adding more mana to the sword, trying to damage the rock without breaking the blade.
As he exhaled calmly, he thought:
"Two weeks… that's how long it'll take to break this rock. Then I'll have the mana density I need to attempt forming a Circle."
With the sense of drawing closer to his goal, Eugene continued training. The end of his session was marked by his mother's voice.
"Eugene, it's getting dark — come inside."
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Eugene glanced at the rock. The cracks were now clearly visible. His grin showed he was pleased with the result.
"Alright, I'm coming, Mom."
And so another day came to an end.