The Swordmaster Who Returned After 1,000 Years

Chapter 111

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 111

"The mask’s color has turned pure white."

Violet, who had received Theresia’s blessing, curiously touched her mask.

Originally, it had been a blue ice mask, but now it had a soft white glow.

"This is light mana…"

The amount of light mana emanating from the mask was considerable.

‘So, Glacia had this much power hidden within it…

Even just using water mana is impressive.

I wonder how much stronger Glacia will become now.’

Since arriving at Melzrek Fortress, Violet had felt like everything was falling into place.

"Yes. From now on, if you use magic while wearing the mana suit, the power of light will be infused into it as well."

"Even if I use water magic?"

"Yes. Even if it's a mana eater with anti-magic runes, your magic will still be effective."

Anti-magic runes that disrupt lower circle magic.

But they couldn't block light mana, which was a contrasting element.

"So, Princess, I’m counting on you for the upcoming defense."

"I understand. Thank you so much for coming all the way here and bestowing your blessing on me."

"No. It’s my duty."

Theresia smiled brightly and then looked toward Kaylen.

"The life blessing I gave you last time, Lord Kaylen… it seems its effect has worn off."

"Yes. It seems the blessing disappeared after my body was reorganized during the experiment."

"I’d like to reapply the blessing, but today I’ve used up most of my divine power awakening Glacia. Would it be alright to give you the blessing of life at a later opportunity?"

The blessing of life.

While it had excellent recovery abilities, it also carried a hidden effect that made those who received it worship the Saintess.

The effect had dissipated when the fourth sword, the Flame Sword, was created, and Theresia seemed to have noticed that.

Since Kaylen had taken on Ernstine’s form,

Saintess Theresia had shown a peculiar obsession with him.

So, receiving a blessing from her this time might strengthen that obsession.

‘I can manage it.’ Kaylen agreed right away.

"Yes. I’d be grateful. Please give me the blessing next time when you can."

"Of course. I will make sure to give you a very powerful blessing."

From the Saintess’s smile, Kaylen could feel intense obsession.

This time, the blessing might take the obsession further.

"Well, I’ll be on my way now. The enemy’s main force is probably about to arrive soon… Please, don’t push yourselves too hard."

"Yes, Saintess."

Saintess Theresia, along with Knight Ress, turned to leave.

As she walked away, she glanced back at Kaylen several times, then repeated the gesture.

Violet, noticing the gaze, smiled and said,

"It seems like the Saintess is very concerned about you, Lord Kaylen."

"Perhaps it’s because of this appearance."

"You mean, the appearance of Emperor Ernstine?"

"…Yes."

"We also have records about the Emperor in our royal family. The founding king was famous for being a handsome young man, but he was said to have been no match for Emperor Ernstine."

Kaylen silently watched Violet as she spoke those words.

She spoke of the resemblance to Bormian with such familiarity.

"Anyway, Lord Kaylen, since Glacia has awakened its light, would you join us in the experiment tonight? We need to strengthen the magic as quickly as possible before the enemy’s main force arrives."

Although the Saintess had warned not to overexert themselves,

Princess Violet, on the other hand, was brimming with enthusiasm.

Since Glacia had awakened and turned white, she was eager to test its new power.

"Alright. I’ll stay with you until you’re satisfied, Princess."

"Hehe. I don’t think I’ll be satisfied with just today… Shall we make a bet on who falls asleep first?"

"Let’s do it. What will the conditions be?"

"The loser has to do something for the winner."

"Agreed."

Kaylen chuckled.

Trying to make it a test of endurance...

‘I should think of something for her to ask me to do.’

With that thought, Kaylen began the 5th Circle magic experiment with Violet, whose mask now glowed pure white.

In the fortress, where a brief peace had settled,

Eldir was having a difficult time.

"Lord Stein, I heard you are founding a swordsmanship school. Could you tell me what the requirements for joining the school are?"

"Lord Stein, Prince Bellos is eagerly awaiting to meet you."

"Lord Stein."

"Lord Stein…!"

Many people had gathered around Lord Stein, who had made the greatest contributions as a Sword Master.

Naturally, the majority of them were knights.

Among them, those who had received the Blessing of the Sword Seat were practically worshiping Stein.

‘I want to experience that power again.’

‘Ah, but he said he wouldn’t summon the Sword Seat until after the enemy's main force arrives… I wonder when they will come.’

As knights who had already experienced that power spoke of it, those brought by the Second Prince as reinforcements grew more and more excited.

Especially since those knights had obtained 50 normal mana suits and 10 expert suits from the Myorn Workshop.

‘These mana suits are already incredibly powerful.’

‘Once the Sword Seat is summoned, they’ll probably get even stronger, right?’

‘I’m really curious to see if it’s as amazing as the other knights say. I hope I get to try it soon…’

As they waited for the day they could fight under the Sword Seat,

the knights, energized, hovered around Stein, trying to get one more word with him.

‘Beheading an ogre is easier than this.’

- Eldir, your dual identity as Stein won’t last long. So, while you’re Stein, you can act freely. Just avoid drinking too much.

Kaylen had told Eldir to relax and enjoy being in Stein’s body, but

even though he had received that advice, he couldn’t just act carelessly.

Eldir, using training as an excuse, avoided knights who worshiped him and only gave minimal responses to unavoidable encounters.

‘It’s better to keep contact to a minimum and maintain the air of mystery.’

And when something was lacking, Alkas filled in the gap.

Alkas, the top graduate of the Knight Academy, was much younger than the knights in the fortress but...

"Did you see that knight fight?"

"I heard he just graduated from the Knight Academy not too long ago… He’s really strong for his age."

"Well, it’s probably because of the mana suit from the Myorn Workshop’s Mana Suit Expert line."

"No, he’s not just strong because of the mana suit. I heard he’s Lord Stein’s first disciple."

"Really? Then he must be someone extraordinary."

The first disciple of Sword Master Stein.

The significance of that title was immense.

As the knights hoped to learn swordsmanship at the new academy Stein was establishing, Alkas was the first to actually become a disciple.

"Alkas, how about having a duel with me?"

Among the knights who came as reinforcements for the Second Prince, an impatient one requested a duel to test how strong Stein’s disciple really was.

"Alright."

Alkas accepted the challenge from every knight who came at him.

And the result was…

An overwhelming victory for Alkas.

Not a single knight lasted more than a minute.

"We... lost..."

The knight who was the tenth to duel with Alkas bowed deeply after seeing the blade near his neck.

Alkas’s swordsmanship.

It was solid and unyielding.

There was no flashiness or pretense, just honest, weighty trajectories of the sword.

Thrusting, cutting.

It was the basic movement every knight practiced at the beginning.

The most fundamental moves, but once a knight learned Aura, they often neglected these basics of the sword.

Thrusting, cutting.

Alkas was showing the extremes of these two simple actions.

‘To think such simple movements can’t be blocked?’

From a third-party’s perspective, the movements were so simple that it seemed possible to defeat them.

So, the knights challenged Alkas one by one.

But none of them lasted more than ten moves.

"Ho. That knight, the one who used to guard Kaylen... Was he this strong?"

After hearing the story of Kaylen’s Aura Experiment, Lioness became interested in the sword.

He, along with his older brother Guntrian, watched the duel with keen eyes.

"Lion, do you know that knight?"

"I don’t know him in detail. He was just the knight who always followed Kaylen around at the academy. I never imagined he had such exceptional skills."

"…Really? I do remember him."

"You do?"

"Yes. He once submitted a resume. He wanted to join our El Salvador Knights."

"I see. He seems very skilled, so why didn’t you accept him?"

"Though he graduated at the top of the Knight Academy, unfortunately, he didn’t have the aptitude for becoming a Meister. Still, I felt regret, so I offered him a position as a shield knight, but after hearing the salary, he never came back."

Guntrian looked at Alkas with a regretful expression.

"Well… I didn’t know he had such talent, but seeing him now, I’ve changed my mind."

"What do you mean?"

"Until now, only Knight Meisters could wear knight-class mana suits, but… once Myorn Workshop starts full-scale distribution, cases like Alkas will become highly sought after."

"Although he doesn’t have exceptional talent in a single attribute like a Meister, his Aura level is outstanding. For a mage, he’d be about at the 4th Circle."

"Right. The performance of the Myorn Workshop’s mana suits is quite impressive. Now, highly skilled sword experts will get recognition. Once this war ends, I’ll need to recruit those types of knights quickly."

Although he looked like a muscular knight on the outside…

Guntrian had a unique sense when it came to predicting the future.

Lioness quietly nodded at his words.

‘But knights have their limits. I think my brother is overestimating them because he’s a knight.’

No matter how strong an ordinary sword expert is,

if they can’t break a Dungeon Core, the superiority of a magic Meister will continue.

‘After all, the core of the Civil Squad is our Meisters.’

You can’t forget the basics.

Lioness thought this to himself as he continued watching Alkas’s swordplay.

‘But, wouldn’t I be able to respond like this to that sword style?’

In his mind, his sword and Alkas’s sword automatically came to mind.

His own sword, engulfed in flames, and Alkas’s steady Aura.

The Flame Sword, which creates bizarre changes, and the sword that pushes forward steadily collided fiercely.

‘...Ha. Am I crazy? I haven’t even swung my sword yet, what kind of imagination am I having?’

Lioness found it absurd himself,

‘But still, it looks fun.’

Just imagining it seemed more enjoyable than he expected.

Meanwhile, Kaylen was staring at Violet with a stern expression.

"Hehe..."

As the sun rose anew, intense light mana erupted from Violet’s body.

The white light of Glacia grew stronger.

Flash.

Light began pouring from Violet’s pupils in both eyes.

"It’s been a long time."

"You..."

Then, the surging light mana gathered behind Violet, forming a pair of pure white wings.

Kaylen could guess what it was.

"An angel sealed within Glacia."

"Correct. I am a descendant of the Sword King."

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]