Sword Saint's Reincarnation

Rylan and the Warden continued to clash. Each collision only sent its giant figure sliding backward, but it continued to attack. Meanwhile, Rylan focused most of his attention on his casting of Magic Missile. The first three attempts were failures.

The Warden swung its sword, making Rylan meet its blow. Once the darkness-coated giant broadsword and Silver Twilight collided, Rylan intentionally put more strength into his weapon, forcing the Warden back. Once the distance between them had widened just a bit, he pointed at the Warden with his finger.

Magic Missile.

Both his Aura and mana flowed into the world, resonating with it to create a small arrow of energy. Within it, both types of energy tried their best to coexist, supported by Rylan’s mastery and determination. For a second, as the Warden raised its sword above its head, the spell floated in the air stably.

But this isn’t enough.

What he was looking for wasn’t mere stability. He wanted both Aura and mana to feed off each other to increase the spell’s power, just like he could empower his body. It was too early to be happy. Rylan made the twin energies flow into each other, melding their domains. The Missile trembled almost immediately, shaking in place even though the Warden hadn’t yet attacked.

Focus. My Profession also increases my own learning speed. I can do this.

Rylan gathered almost the entirety of his perception, with only a sliver still paying attention to the Warden. He focused on the spell, trying to make it viable. Could the Warden sense this? It raised its broadsword above its head a bit higher.

In the next moment, it brought it down, darkness covering the entire blade and extending its range. Almost simultaneously, Rylan’s spell collapsed into itself, breaking apart. Rylan clicked his tongue and sidestepped with Snowstorm while swinging Silver Twilight. The blade hit the side of the Warden’s broadsword as it fell, deflecting it. It hit the ground right next to him. The darkness flowed into it to create a long scar, but the sunset flames kept the energy from reaching Rylan’s group.

Undeterred, the Warden looked at Rylan and started moving again. Meanwhile, Rylan had pointed at it. Another Magic Missile had already taken shape.

There’s no rush. Do it at your own pace. What matters is getting it right. As long as you do it even once, you’ll have a better idea of what to do.

Of course, repeating the same method was unlikely to yield any results. He needed to create variations.

The battle raged on. The weapons collided countless times, with Rylan always having an advantage, despite the sheer difference in weight class. Magic Missiles took shape and fell apart repeatedly, but the sunset flames didn’t close in on the Warden. The ghostly green fire and the oppressive darkness tried to dominate the arena, cracking the ground and the gray walls. The Warden swung its weapon over and over, but none of the attacks reached Rylan, who used Snowstorm to avoid most of them and parried the rest. With each clash, the Warden was forced further back, even though Rylan wasn’t using more power.

In such a fashion, almost ten minutes passed.

Rylan tilted his head to avoid a thrust. The broadsword almost grazed his cheek as the Warden lunged forward, as if trying to make the attack reach him desperately. The green flames flowed around him, encircling him. In the last moment, he jumped straight upward, using Snowstorm to step on the air and quickly ascend several meters into the air. The Warden raised its head to look at him as the green flames tried to follow his movement, chasing after him.

Rylan stepped on the air again, rising and pointing his sword at the enemy.

Pretend the Missile is your body. You’re just trying to empower it. Think of it in that way.

Back when he had awakened Aura, for a second, he had thought of himself as a spell about to be cast. Aether was undeniable proof of the link between Aura and mana. If his body could be a “spell about to be cast,” his spells could be like his body, empowered by the twin energies that flowed through him.

Magic Missile.

The arrow of mana took shape in front of him. It was a mix of white and blue that flowed into each other. However, the two colors didn’t compete for territory; even though they invaded the other, they flowed freely, like two streams of water that happened to merge.

They have the same goal, after all.

Rylan smiled. He willed his energies to prepare to circulate throughout the spell, as if it were his own body. He pretended the spell had its own Mana Core and Aura Heart, then used these imaginary focus points to spread out a network through which the energies would circulate. Roland’s experience and Rylan’s own studying of mana were what made it possible. In fractions of a second, the network was complete. Without missing a beat, Rylan willed for the twin energies to proceed.

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The change was almost immediate. The Magic Missile grew in size, its density also sharply increasing. It only stopped once it was the size of Rylan’s torso, then pierced forward, carrying his mastery. It got through the green flames to reach the Warden’s chest, hitting the dark armor’s breastplate. The Warden slid backward, almost falling as its armor cracked.

Rylan rose even higher with Snowstorm, attentively watching the spectacle in front of him. The darkness surrounded the Warden, then tried to create a layer between the Missile and its armor. The moment it got close to the spell, however, it was forced to contend against both Rylan’s Aura and his mana, one strengthening the other. It failed to achieve anything. It was only after the ghostly flames supported it that the two forces finally managed to drown out the spell, smothering it into nothingness.

Rylan rubbed his chin as he watched the Warden. The creature’s breastplate was cracked, and a black fog even darker than the surrounding environment leaked out of the gaps. The Warden was looking at its own chest, as if in disbelief. For a second, there was a momentary lull.

Rylan smiled.

Good enough. Not bad for the simplest spell.

Even though it had been a Magic Missile, it had been supported by both his Fourth Circle mana and his Aura, as well as his mastery over both energies, including the way they synergized.

“Alright, I get it now,” Rylan said out loud, making the Warden raise its head to look at him. The empty eye sockets seemed especially piercing. “Time to finish this.”

He pointed Silver Twilight at the monster. Both the darkness around the Warden and the green flames flowing out of its lantern intensified. The darkness created various shapes, ranging from complex weapons to simple spikes, and the flames madly left the lantern, creating a blazing hurricane. However, it was as if Rylan couldn’t even see them.

“Fireball.”

The Fireball that coalesced in front of him was different from any previous one he’d cast. Just like the Missile, it was a mix of white and blue, not the color of ordinary fire. It was by far the biggest one he’d ever cast, and the hottest one. At the same time, Rylan gripped Silver Twilight’s hilt with both hands. He needed to add the finishing touch.

Setting Sun Sword Style, First Movement: Sunset’s Glow.

The omnidirectional sunset-colored flames merged with the white-and-blue Fireball, one feeding the other as they rushed toward the Warden. The green fire and the darkness shot forward at the same time, creating a large, rushing mass of mana that sought only to stop Rylan’s attack in its tracks. However, it was futile. The glowing sunset annihilated the darkness, while the twin-colored Fireball overcame the ghostly flames. In a harmony of both Aura and mana, both Sword Art and spell pushed forward to reach the enemy, devouring its figure.

The Warden’s armor and broadsword melted in real time. The dark steel turned into glowing liquid, and the deeper darkness within the Warden leaked out before being consumed by the fire. Its head was the last to go. Until the end, it never stopped staring at Rylan, as if trying to pierce through him.

A moment later, the helmet disappeared, marking its end. The kill notification rang out in Rylan’s mind, as well as another message.

[You have reached Level 92.]

Rylan let out a breath. He couldn’t help but smile.

I succeeded.

Now, he knew how to cast spells using both Aura casting and ordinary mana casting. Unexpectedly, the answer had been to make them more like his body.

The body must be like a spell, and the spells must be like the body. Aura and mana must empower both in similar ways. It’s all connected.

He clenched his open fist. One step at a time, he was getting closer to Aether. His Aspect was what made it possible for him to channel it, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t try to get as close as possible to it without needing to use up his precious few seconds.

And the time limit will increase as I get stronger.

In his current state, he estimated he could do it for seven or eight seconds. The improvement was palpable.

Rylan stopped channeling Snowstorm, falling to the ground as the air beneath him could no longer be stepped on. He turned around to stare at the people who were standing by the Boss room’s entrance, focusing on the Mages he’d saved.

“Now,” he said loudly as he smiled coldly, walking toward them. “Mind telling me why you were here at all?”

The Mages looked at each other, shivering in place.

***

Melvin stared at Rylan with shaking eyes. What the hell had he just witnessed? What kind of entity could even fight like that? All he’d recognized were a few spells, but only their appearance was the same. Everything else was different, down to their very structure. They had been cast through mana, but that hadn’t been everything. What had Rylan even done? How was this possible?

“Melvin,” he heard Philip say in a low tone from beside him. “Can you beat him?”

Melvin blinked, processing the question for a second before scoffing.

“No fucking way,” he replied. “I have no idea what just happened, but I don’t think there’s anyone in the Sixth Circle capable of winning against Rylan Flameheart. Those flames were no joke.”

He glanced at Philip. The man was nodding with a look of admiration.

“He’s nineteen,” the man said in a dreamy tone, smiling. “And I have never been more glad to have someone as an ally in my life.”

Melvin grinned.

“I’m certain Her Majesty will be thrilled to meet him. I had heard the stories about his fight against the imperial Mages, but I guess I hadn’t truly believed in them until now. Rylan is the continent’s greatest monster.”

“No shit,” Cecilia said from the other side. “He could defeat all of us put together. I have no idea how he achieved so much at such a young age, though.”

“Geniuses have always been beyond comprehension,” Krysta said, her voice almost a whisper. “But I guess I never thought I would meet one like this.”

Melvin and the other two nodded almost at the same time. He only watched Rylan’s cold smile as the boy walked closer to the Mages.

He couldn’t help but feel admiration blooming in his heart.