The Return of the Talented Monopolist is Special - C2

“Eh?”

Suddenly, the sound of a baby crying could be heard.

‘What’s this?’

Eugene, who had his eyes closed, tried to open them to assess the situation.

He tried to open his eyes, but it wasn’t easy.

Opening his eyes felt unfamiliar and difficult, as if it was a task he wasn’t used to.

At first, he thought it was because the poison had spread throughout his body, causing his muscles to stiffen.

But soon, Eugene realized.

“Ugh… baby.”

The whimpering sound of the baby wasn’t coming from somewhere else—it was the sound produced by his own vocal cords.

‘No way. This can’t be happening.’

“Ahh… eh.”

He tried to make a sound with his mouth, but only awkward mumbling echoed in his mouth.

After some time, Eugene found the muscles that controlled his eyelids and, after a few tries, succeeded in opening his eyes.

Shhhh…

When his eyelids opened, faint light poured into his pupils.

What he saw was a luxurious-looking wooden ceiling.

Turning his head, he noticed a safety fence surrounding him so that a baby wouldn’t fall.

When he moved his arms and legs into view, he saw his tiny hands and feet.

‘This… this is… real?’

He couldn’t believe it, but after a few hours, the fact that he had turned into a baby was confirmed.

Squeak—

A woman opened the door and approached Eugene.

Upon seeing the woman with long, braided brown hair, Eugene didn’t recognize her immediately.

But then, upon hearing her voice, which was full of laughter, he realized.

“Oh my, my little one. You’re awake already? That’s strange. Did you pee or something?”

Eugene just stared at her silently, not crying or whimpering.

The woman was none other than Eugene’s mother, Lilian.

‘Mother…!’

It had been over ten years since Eugene last saw his mother’s youthful face, so it took him a moment to recognize her.

Lilian looked at Eugene’s face with affection and, smiling, rubbed her cheek against his before picking him up in a tight embrace.

“Today, you’re being so good, my little one. You’re usually not this quiet.”

Eugene could feel every sensation—the warmth of his mother, her voice, her smile, and even the sweet scent of powder in the room.

Confirming all these sensations, Eugene realized one thing for sure.

‘…I’ve gone back to being a baby.’

Despite the surreal feeling, Eugene decided to try and understand the situation.

It wasn’t a dream.

It wasn’t an illusion.

Eugene felt tears start to well up.

Before his regression, feelings of inferiority had consumed him—he couldn’t use swordsmanship or magic, and those feelings had overwhelmed him.

If it had only been inferiority, that would have been fine.

Eugene had also harbored unspoken resentment toward his parents.

Seeing his peers, who stood out from a young age with their shining talents, naturally triggered such emotions in him.

Because of that, after he turned ten, his relationship with his parents had become distant, and he had buried himself in books.

But now, having returned 30 years into the past, Eugene felt a completely different emotion toward his parents.

“My, you’re so cute.”

‘…Mother.’

His mother, who loved him unconditionally.

As the second-in-command of the Sun God Church, Eugene had spent much of his life suspecting everyone and suffering from insomnia. Yet now, he relaxed and allowed himself to be enveloped by the warmth of his mother.

* * *

Late at night, after Lilian had left and Eugene was alone in the room…

The warmth Eugene felt from seeing his family was short-lived.

He woke up and fully realized the reality that he had regressed, accepting the fact without a choice.

‘I remember the Madman holding my hand at the end.’

Then, after opening his eyes, he found himself suddenly back 30 years in the past.

He couldn’t fully understand what happened or why, but one thing was clear:

‘The energy of the Madman that transferred to me just before I died—that’s the cause.’

He didn’t know why the Madman transferred his energy to him.

But Eugene began to think about what he would do in this second chance at life.

‘I will surpass the Pope of the Sun God Church, the man who betrayed and killed me.’

Eugene, who had always stayed in the second-in-command position, understood well why he ended up with such a tragic fate in his past life.

He realized that he should not have been satisfied. He had to discard the thought that “this is good enough.”

Complete perfection.

It was only by reaching the absolute peak that he could prevent the same tragedy from repeating. He realized this when standing on the brink of death.

‘I can’t die twice.’

He swore that such an event would never happen to him again.

But how easy would that be?

With extraordinary talents like perfect memory and a sharp mind, Eugene’s rise to second-in-command in the Sun God Church, which once conquered the continent, was something ordinary people could only dream of.

But in this life, Eugene had to achieve more.

‘Just relying on my mind isn’t enough. In the end, strength is also necessary.’

He had scoured all the training manuals he could find using the Sun God Church’s influence, but he found no suitable method.

‘But if I could improve my constitution from the time I was a newborn…’

It is commonly said that newborn babies are in a pure state before any waste or impurities accumulate.

Given that, Eugene thought it might be possible to improve his body now, in this pure state.

With a glimmer of hope, Eugene pondered his body.

But something felt different.

‘The mana circuits aren’t damaged?’

It was known that Eugene’s mana circuits were naturally severed, meaning his aura and magical power had no way of flowing.

This had led to him suffering from chronic illnesses throughout his life.

However, now his condition was completely different.

‘Did something change when I regressed? Or did something happen to me?’

Eugene’s delicate brow furrowed slightly.

Although he possessed perfect memory, he didn’t have clear memories of his earliest years, around one or two years old.

If what happened was something that took place before his consciousness was fully formed, Eugene wouldn’t have any way of knowing.

The important thing now was that he could use both aura and magical power.

‘Then…’

When the battle between the Sun God Church and the Black Earth Rebellion began in earnest,

The Sun God Church created a unique martial art by combining all the martial arts manuals it had stored, in order to fight the Madman, who was leading the rebellion.

Among them were martial arts texts from families destroyed by the Sun God Church, ancient books on fire magic written by masters, and even a legendary swordsmanship manual written by a 9-star knight and transcribed by his disciple.

These were priceless books that ordinary people could never even dream of seeing, let alone reading.

The result was the creation of a martial art called *Seonghwa* (Star Fire).

The 101 elite knights of the Sun God Church, the Baekyeom, were able to suppress the Madman using this technique.

Eugene had also participated in the creation of this martial art, as his genius had been recognized.

To be precise, Eugene had laid the foundation for *Seonghwa*.

Since the beginning is half the task, it could be said that he effectively created it.

‘But the one I want to master is different.’

*Mukgwang* (Silent Light).

It was a martial art that Eugene had developed further from *Seonghwa*.

Eugene often felt that something was missing even after creating *Seonghwa*.

‘*Seonghwa*, which was modeled after the Sun God, is ultimately a technique that can only use aura. According to the Sun God Church’s scriptures, the Sun God used both aura and magic…’

Using the natural mana, a warrior forms an aura hall in the lower abdomen, while a mage creates a circle in the heart.

It is a well-established theory that mastering both aura and magic simultaneously is a suicidal act.

However, Eugene was different.

He intended to overturn this major premise.

Of course, even after creating it, Eugene was not able to use it.

This was because his aura hall had already solidified, and his mana circuits were broken into pieces.

But what about now?

‘Just mastering *Seonghwa* would guarantee some level of growth. But it’s not enough. I’m going higher.’

*Mukgwang* was the technique that allowed the simultaneous use of aura and magic.

If successful, Eugene would become the continent’s first *Magical Swordsman*.

Moreover, *Mukgwang* had additional effects.

The effect of the first stage was to change his constitution to become more sensitive to both aura and magic.

‘As expected, the higher the stages—2nd, 3rd, and so on—the more new abilities will emerge.’

Eugene immediately began to grow the aura sprout in his lower abdomen and gathered the mana near his heart.

Whoooom…

The energy was so minimal that it made it difficult to control.

It felt like trying to grab an incredibly thin thread with just two fingers.

Still, he tried, moving the energy as best he could.

Just as he was beginning to grasp the energy, a sweaty arm, still warm from training, enveloped Eugene.

“Honey, Eugene really is something special. Most babies are busy crying at this age.”

“You’re right.”

Even in the middle of this, Lilian continued to shake a rattle, and Eugene couldn’t help but smile in response.

‘She’s completely addicted to seeing me smile after just one response.’

As a baby, Eugene wasn’t doing what a normal baby should be doing, and when Lilian saw his worried expression, she had responded once. From then on, every time she saw Eugene, she was busy shaking the rattle.

There seemed to be dozens of different kinds of rattles.

‘The smiles I learned for missionary work at the Sun God Church are now paying off here.’

Unaware of Eugene’s true thoughts, Lilian and Richard continued their conversation.

“Lilian, when do you think the monster hunt will be?”

“Probably in about a week. I’ll need to lead the troops. The anxiety of the serfs is growing.”

“I see. I’ll tell the commander by then.”

‘Mother’s going on a business trip?’

Eugene’s family was quite unique compared to others.

His mother, a descendant of a northern swordsmanship family, was an 8th-tier knight, and his father was a merchant with no martial prowess at all.

Their marriage had caused quite a scandal, shaking both the north and south, and now they were famous as a beloved couple in the south.

‘Then… if Mother is going on a business trip, that will be my opportunity.’

Eugene smiled at the rattle while planning his next move in his mind.

* * *

From the day Lilian left on her business trip, Eugene’s efforts to create *Mukgwang* gained momentum.

‘Alright, just a little longer…’

His blood was rushing madly to his lower abdomen, and the mana that had been swirling near his heart was finally moving toward the lower abdomen with great effort.

It was a long, agonizing process.

And in the end…

Just as Eugene’s plan succeeded and the circle formed in his lower abdomen, he was struck by a shocking pain, as if his body were about to burst.

*Thud…!*

“Ugh…”

The pain was so intense that Eugene couldn’t even scream, but the result was satisfying.

A small, pea-sized sphere had formed in his lower abdomen, an aura hall, and a circle that orbited around it.

The white light gathered and blazed, while the blue ring spun steadily in its precise orbit.

It was the moment when the fusion of the aura hall and the circle—*Atom*—became a reality.

Eugene decided to test *Atom*.

It seemed as if he was condensing the aura in his lower abdomen, but it wasn’t quite that.

Nor was he concentrating the mana in his heart.

It was simultaneous.

The sharp sensation of the aura and the soft feeling of the mana surged at once.

Then…

Whoooom…!

The white aura mixed with the blue mana, emitting a mysterious light.

The conversion between aura and mana was fluid, and *Atom* helped amplify the energy. It could increase the power output by at least double, and at most ten times.

In simple terms, it was an engine with far better energy efficiency.

And the most important fact: *Atom* was a mana organ that existed but didn’t, making it impossible for even the Pope of the Sun God Church or the Mad Demon to detect that Eugene possessed such a special mana organ.

“Whew…”

Eugene let out a sharp sigh.

Though his lower abdomen still felt numb, a sense of pride overshadowed the discomfort.

He wanted to cheer with joy. After all, a major breakthrough had just happened in the dead of night.

A smile unconsciously spread across his face.

“Giggle!”

Had Eugene ever personally practiced the cultivation techniques, he would never have attempted such a crazy feat.

The aura hall and mana circle were extremely volatile; a mistake in handling them could lead to a deadly collision.

However, because he had only observed the cultivation methods with his eyes, his imagination had made this possible.

It was the moment the continent’s first magical swordsman was born.

The return of the talent monopolizer was truly exceptional.