The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 110

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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Chapter 110

I entered a quiet tea house in an alley outside the Black Market with Griere de Owen, the Third Prince of the Owen Kingdom.

“Hmm, did I arrive at an inopportune time?”

Griere de Owen frowned as he touched his teacup.

“No, your arrival was most welcome.”

I shook my head and smiled.

‘He came at exactly the right moment.’

Thanks to Griere’s arrival, I had managed to escape the crisis while unable to reveal my identity due to the test’s restrictions.

The test only forbade me from revealing my own identity—it said nothing about others doing so. Therefore, there was no issue with the test evaluation.

‘I deceived her perfectly.’

Since Griere had mentioned only that I was a sword genius without mentioning the Branch Family, Jeina seemed to have assumed I was from the main family. Her expression when I removed the hood made that clear.

‘Well, I would have found a way even if he hadn’t come.’

There were many ways I could have escaped that situation without Griere’s help. Of course, this method was far cleaner, but that went without saying.

-The King sees clearly. You are indeed wickedness incarnate. A demon would suit you better than a human.
‘Perhaps he’s right.’

Rion chuckled softly. I was no virtuous human. I was prepared to become a demon far worse than Wrath if it served my goals.

“So what brings you all the way out here?”

Griere took a sip of tea and spoke.

“I stopped by to purchase equipment before taking the exam.”
“Exam?”
“The examination to become an Inspector.”
“Ah, the graduation exam then. So I’m a step ahead?”
“Pardon?”
“Hehe.”

Greer smiled faintly and drew the sword at his waist, placing it upon the table. The partially unsheathed blade bore the emblem of a lion.

“Oh! The mark of a Knight!”

Dorian, who had been half-dazed, shot to his feet.

“Well, being a prince and all, calling me a knight feels odd, but my skills have at least been recognized.”
“Congratulations.”
“Haha, thank you.”

Greer carefully caressed the lion emblem before sheathing the sword once more.

“But you certainly experience all sorts of troubles. The genius Inspector of Zigheart being suspected of theft—what a tale.”

He muttered that it was hardly believable.

-That foolish bastard! It’s true! This idiot really did steal it!
“Ugh!”

Wrath, unable to speak, released a wave of cold fury, and Dorian let out a groan.

“Don’t worry too much about Jeina. She was raised too privileged and has no manners. I’ll straighten her out.”
“Thank you for your consideration.”
“But what kind of equipment are you looking to acquire?”
“I’d like to look at swords first. We can’t possess personal blades unless we become official Inspectors.”

I tapped the sword I carried. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t particularly good either, and I wanted to acquire a new one before the battle.

“Hmm, then let me recommend a good place. There’s a Craftsman Street at the Western End, and in a corner there….”

Greer gestured several times to point out a particular smithy.

“Small and shabby, but undeniably skilled. I’d like to introduce you properly, but I haven’t finished my current tasks yet….”
“That’s not necessary. The introduction alone is more than enough.”

I shook my head. Beyond the introduction, I was already grateful enough that he had come today.

“I would have liked to spar again. It’s a shame we can’t.”
“I feel the same way.”

Greer’s technique, now that he had earned his knighthood, was on an entirely different level than before. It seemed he had overcome his limits through the same cycle of missions and training that I had.

“You must visit Owen sometime. I want to have a proper match with you without any distractions.”

He vanished with the same smile I had seen when we last parted at Zigheart. From the direction he headed, it appeared he was descending back into the Black Market.

“Wow, we barely made it out alive.”

Dorian exhaled a long, tangled sigh.

“I never expected you to charge in like that, Young Master. Phew….”
“I had a plan for everything.”

I smiled faintly. Dorian must have been anxious, but I hadn’t been alarmed for a moment. Every situation had been within my grasp.

“I don’t quite believe it, but if you say so, Young Master, then it must be true. Shall we head to the Smithy first?”
“No.”

I shook my head, feeling the subtle writhing of the butterfly in my inner pocket.

“There’s something I need to do first.”

*

*

*

After securing a room at the Dormitory, I withdrew the Black Butterfly from my inner pocket.

The butterfly, wrapped in a subtle dark radiance, fluttered and alighted upon my finger.

It was a light so beautiful that one could gaze upon it endlessly, yet this was not the butterfly’s true form.

-What on earth were you thinking, stealing such a useless butterfly?
“There’s no such thing as useless in this world. Everything has a place where it’s needed.”
-Nonsense! The world is overflowing with unnecessary garbage.
“You won’t think that once you see this.”

I pulled a flower bud from my backpack—half crimson, half azure. It was the Two-Tone Flower I had obtained from the Seolho Bandit Leader long ago.

“I’ll give you a gift.”

As I waved the Two-Tone Flower, the Black Butterfly perched on my left hand descended onto the unopened petals.

Whoom.

The Black Butterfly buried its head into the Two-Tone Flower. The petals’ colors deepened as if paint had been applied to them. Conversely, the Black Butterfly’s dark wings were drained of color, turning white.

Whoooosh!

The Black Butterfly’s darkness faded, and the Two-Tone Flower’s petals radiated brilliant light.
The luminescence born between the two mystical beings spread throughout the entire room.

As the flickering azure light slowly subsided, the Black Butterfly’s dark wings had become pure white as snow, and the Two-Tone Flower’s tightly closed petals had bloomed, releasing a crystalline fragrance.

-What, what is this! A butterfly that merely devours mana is now making flowers bloom!
‘I told you. There’s no such thing as useless.’

As I laughed, the Black Butterfly—now with the Two-Tone Flower in full bloom—took flight. Its wingbeats were vigorous, far different from when I first saw it.

“You’ve become even more beautiful.”

I raised my hand, and the Black Butterfly circled through the air before alighting on the back of my hand.

“Congratulations on breaking your curse.”

The Black Butterfly and the Two-Tone Flower each carried different curses.

The Black Butterfly was cursed to consume mana but unable to digest it, while the Two-Tone Flower was cursed to be unable to gather mana.

Due to the two curses, both spiritual creatures remained at the lower end of the rare grade.
But.

‘When those two come together, everything changes.’

If the Black Butterfly, saturated with mana, transferred its mana to the Two-Tone Flower, which couldn’t condense mana on its own, the curses binding them both would be lifted.

The Black Butterfly, which would drift away freely after transferring its mana, and the Two-Tone Flower, which would bloom in radiant splendor, existed in a symbiotic relationship that could only be completed together.

‘No one else knows this.’

Even I would never have discovered this truth if not for the knowledge inscribed in the Craftsman’s Manual.

Buzz.

As I gazed at the vivid light of the Two-Tone Flower, the Black Butterfly tickled the back of my hand.

“Yes. I understand. I understand.”

I smiled and opened the window, extending my hand to let the Black Butterfly take flight.

Buzz.

The Black Butterfly rose slowly with cheerful wingbeats. It circled around the building before descending once more to gaze at me slowly.

As if bidding farewell, it folded its wings once and departed into the vast sky.

“Live well.”

I waved my hand and closed the window, then sat on the floor to admire the fully bloomed Two-Tone Flower.

Two of its four petals gleamed crimson while the other two shimmered in azure. It was beautiful and fragrant enough to serve as decoration in its current state.

‘This is the real thing.’

The Two-Tone Flower, which had contained only small amounts of fire and water attribute mana, had bloomed through the Black Butterfly and now drew in vast quantities of mana—this was its true form.

‘Now I can consume it.’

Now that I confirmed the flower had bloomed, it was time to make the energy contained within those petals my own.

Spirit elixirs are composed of nature’s accumulated energy, but impurities settle during condensation, making their purity inevitably lower than natural mana.

But the Dual-Tone Flower was different.
It hadn’t bloomed alone—it had been refined once while borrowing power from another spirit creature, and having split into two attributes, the purity of both manas was so pristine it could be called raw essence itself.

‘This spirit elixir is perfect for me.’

I was cultivating the Ring of Fire, and I possessed both the Infernal Forge’s technique and the Aura of Extreme Cold. I was more suited than anyone to absorb the Dual-Tone Flower’s energy.

‘Then.’

I tossed the Dual-Tone Flower into my mouth like swallowing a pill. There was no need to chew. The Dual-Tone Flower dissolved like sugar before its sweet floral fragrance could fully bloom in my mouth, sliding down my throat.

‘Ugh….’

My stomach alternated between burning hot and freezing cold. A sensation like alternating fire and ice. Seeing my abdomen thrashing as if it would tear open, the Dual-Tone Flower’s energy was genuine.

I smiled faintly, sat down on the floor, and began operating the Infernal Forge while circulating the Ring of Fire. As the pure energy surging from my dantian swept through my entire body, the Dual-Tone Flower’s energy that had been ravaging my abdomen began to settle.

Whooooom!

The Infernal Forge’s scorching aura traveled through my mana circuits, beginning to guide the Dual-Tone Flower’s energy. My shoulders grew hot, my heart turned cold, my forearms felt refreshed, and my thighs grew heavy.

The Dual-Tone Flower’s energy, following the flow of the Infernal Forge, began spreading throughout my entire body.

‘Truly pristine.’

The dual-attribute energy contained within the Dual-Tone Flower was as clean as freshly fallen snow. It clung to me like a magnet with each circulation of the Infernal Forge.

Roooaaar!

My entire body trembled. Not from pain.

It was from the exhilaration of the Dual-Tone Flower’s energy spreading throughout my body and accumulating steadily in my dantian. Evidence of this was the excited smile playing at the corners of my mouth.

Thoom!

Each time I repeatedly activated the Heavenly Circulation technique, my dantian and body vibrated, expelling the impurities that had accumulated like rust within my mana circuits.

Whoooosh!

I felt the grain of my body and aura evolve to the next stage, sinking deeper into a state of perfect absorption.

*

*

*

I opened my eyes. Dark gray lightning flickered across my crimson irises.

[One strand of the Curse of Bitter Cold has been removed.]
[The durability of your dantian and mana circuits has increased.]
[Your vital energy has greatly increased.]
[Your mental fortitude has greatly increased.]
[All attributes have increased.]

I didn’t need to read the messages. The pure energy filling my dantian, the expanded mana circuits, and my lightened body were enough to tell me exactly what state I had reached.

‘Better than expected.’

I had thought that even with the Dual-Tone Flower, I couldn’t absorb all of it, but that was a grave miscalculation.

The purity of the Dual-Tone Flower exceeded ten times that of a standard flower. I was able to absorb most of its energy without waste.

【Status Window】
Name: Raon Zigheart.
Title: 【The Unbreakable】.
Status: Curse of Bitter Cold (Four Strands).
Traits: Wrath, Ring of Fire (5-Star), Water Resistance (4-Star), Mythic Sense (3-Star), Heavenly Circulation (3-Star), Bitter Cold Aura (3-Star), Fire Resistance (3-Star), Bleeding Curse (1-Star), Ambush (1-Star), Indomitable Will (1-Star).

Strength: 72.
Agility: 73.
Stamina: 66.
Aura: 70.
Perception: 79.
Wrath: 10.

All my stats had increased, but the most significant rise was in Aura. My Aura stat had climbed over ten points, reaching 70.

With this level of power, I might be able to fight for half a day.

The magnitude of the Myriad Flower Sword’s aura and the frigid energy of Absolute Zero that filled my dantian had grown proportionally to my Aura stat. It seemed I could now endure prolonged battles rather than just short, decisive confrontations.

At my current state, I could defeat even an advanced Sword Expert without difficulty.

My strength had increased not merely from having more aura.
With sufficient aura, I could now access other sword techniques from the Myriad Flower Sword that I previously couldn’t use, making me more than twice as powerful as before. Of course, there were still many techniques I couldn’t employ yet.

There was nothing I could do about that.

The Myriad Flower Sword’s techniques demanded vast quantities of aura. Even with purification through the Ring of Fire, the sheer volume required was unavoidable.

I needed to grow stronger as quickly as possible.

There was so much to accomplish.
I had to elevate Sylvia to the direct line, rescue Judith’s brother, and sever the head of Derus Robert.

To achieve that, I needed to become stronger at the fastest pace possible. Not just in aura, but in body and spirit alike.

I exhaled slowly.

I rose from my seat and gazed out the window. The sun would soon rise—it seemed I had spent the entire night cultivating since the afternoon.

I decided to test my progress.

Despite having cultivated through the night, I felt no fatigue whatsoever.

I made my way to an empty Training Courtyard to test my transformed body and inner strength.

I loosened my body with a few light movements, then stamped down with true force.

Boom!

Footprints carved into the already-scarred ground as sand scattered in all directions. It was the same technique as before, but the quality of my inner energy had transformed—the sound reverberated across the entire Training Courtyard.

Whoosh!

I channeled the force from my footwork through my waist and drew my blade downward. The cold dawn air split like paper.

Whirrrrr!

A deep crimson light began to bloom along my extended blade. The swordsmanship of the Myriad Flame Art, which had been sealed away, now flowed freely.

Crack! Whoosh!

With each swing, lightning-like sword strikes erupted forth. It was a breathtaking sequence of techniques that even a qualified swordmaster would struggle to defend against.

Boom boom boom!

The explosive heat radiating from the flaming blade had left the area around me devastated, as though artillery had struck.

“Hah…”

I straightened my stance, breathing heavily after unleashing the Tempered Blade Art, the Light Demon Sword, and the Myriad Flame Art in succession.

‘Excellent.’

A satisfied smile crossed my face. As impurities drained away, my body and meridians had improved significantly. My inner energy moved faster, and my reactions had sharpened.

There really is no substitute for moving the body.

Viewing messages and actually moving my body are worlds apart. Only by putting myself through direct action could I truly understand how much I had changed.

“Well then.”

I tapped my blade against my palm as I gazed at the rising sun.

“Time to go find that sword.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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