The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 16

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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 16

The Zigheart Family Estate emanated an aura so sharp it seemed as though a colossal blade had been honed and planted upright.

Glen Zigheart, the master of that magnificent manor, sat upon his throne with narrowed eyes.

‘Now that I think about it….’

Before the charlatan who had earned the title of the Saint of Rags departed, he had said something.

‘He mentioned there were cases where individuals possessed exceptional talent.’

Pedrick had said that among children bearing the constitution of the Curse of Bitter Cold, there were those who awakened special talents.

‘Has that talent manifested?’

There was no other explanation for why Raon, whom I had expected to be eliminated immediately, was still enduring.

“Hmm….”

Glen exhaled a heavy breath—a sight he could never reveal before others, he who was revered as the God of War of the Northern Region.

‘A mistake. A grave one.’

There had been a time when I transcended the mortal realm, and my emotions withered like desert sand.

To Sylvia, born during that period, I gave no familial affection unlike the other children. I treated her not as a father, but merely as a keeper assigning tasks.

The youngest, deprived of a father’s warmth, a mother’s love, and the bonds of kinship, lived like a puppet on strings, creaking with each movement, until she left the family with a man she met from outside.

‘I truly felt nothing then.’

I was aware that Sylvia’s departure stemmed from discord sown among siblings and insubordination from my subordinates, yet I paid it no mind.

At that time, I had no interest in what became of Sylvia. My thoughts were consumed only with growing stronger, with expanding the family’s power.

Five years later.
Only after crossing the Demonic Barrier and reclaiming my humanity did I realize the magnitude of the irreversible mistake I had committed.

Though I managed to send guards in time to save Sylvia and the unborn Raon within her womb, my son-in-law and granddaughter were reduced to bloodstains before I could even lay eyes upon them.

‘Pathetic.’

I bit my lip at my own contemptibility. As the Patriarch of the Zigheart Family, the Northern Sovereign, the Sword Emperor—no title could undo the past.

The chasm of resentment between Sylvia and me ran too deep to ever bridge.

‘Raon.’

And so I resolved to protect my youngest grandson at all costs, even if it meant bearing the hatred of both Sylvia and Raon.

Knock, knock.

As I reaffirmed my resolve, a knock sounded at the door.

“Sigh…”

Glen erased the weariness from his expression and spoke, his voice carrying an icy pressure.

“Enter.”

*

*

*

I steadied my excited breathing as I entered the Indoor Training Hall.

‘My body finally feels loose.’

Two weeks of consistent training had elevated my performance to the middle tier across most disciplines.

At this rate of growth, I believed I could reach the level of Burren or Luna before the examination.

‘Let me get started today as well.’

The moment I picked up the shoulder training equipment, Runaan approached from my left.

“Mmph!”

With a vacant expression as if drool might drip from her mouth, she began lifting equipment far heavier than herself.

-That dull-faced girl has shown up again.
‘Leave her be.’

Since she wasn’t causing any harm, I ignored her and continued my training. Then I heard someone sit down on my right.

“I-I’m sorry. Did I get in your way?”

A round-faced trainee with a pouch attached to his belly scratched his head. He was the only one who actually spoke to me.

‘His name was Dorian, wasn’t it.’

He always cowered under Rimer’s commands and grew frightened, but he possessed remarkable perseverance and quick feet.

“Would you like some?”

Dorian pulled out a round pastry from his bag pocket and offered it once again.

“Uh…”

I accepted the pastry without thinking. As I was about to return it, I felt an intense gaze from beside me. Runaan’s violet eyes sparkled like fresh snow.

-I’ve never seen that dull girl make such an expression before.
‘So she likes sweets.’

Her gaze remained fixed on the pastry.

“Want some?”
“…”

I held out the pastry in my hand to Runaan. Like a wild cat, she hesitated with a twitching hand before snatching the pastry away.

“…Thank you.”

She thanked Raon and Dorian in turn, then bit into the pastry like a rabbit nibbling grass leaves.
As the sweetness melted on her tongue, her rigid expression softened into something almost gentle.

When carrying it, she moved like a cat. When eating, like a rabbit. Most of the time, like a dull-witted dog. Quite the peculiar one in every way.

“Um, Raon?”

Dorian tucked the remaining pastry into his pocket and turned to face me.

“Would it be alright if I trained beside you?”

He said he wanted to learn the proper form.

“Go ahead.”

I nodded. My rapid growth stemmed from the Ring of Fire and the experience of my past life. There was no harm in letting him mirror my posture from the side.

“Thank you so much!”
“No need to thank me.”

I waved off Dorian’s gratitude and returned my focus to training.

Screech!

As I concentrated with maximum intensity, stimulating my muscles, I heard the equipment moving from Dorian’s side at the same speed and range.

The same held true for Lunan on my left.

‘Peculiar ones, the lot of them.’
-This green raccoon-like fellow pleases me.
‘Why?’
-He did not bow his head to me. It is the first reverence I have received since awakening.
‘….’

I started to tell Wrath that bow wasn’t meant for him, but it seemed too tedious, so I held my tongue.

‘Three kids now.’

*

*

*

Week 5.
Raon surpassed the intermediate group during the dawn run and joined the upper-intermediate tier.

That evening during autonomous training, two additional trainees had gathered beside me—Lunan and Dorian were no longer alone.

Week 10.
Raon ran at the very front of the upper-intermediate group, and that evening another trainee attached themselves to my side.

Week 15.
Raon entered the elite tier. The performance of the six trainees who had gravitated toward me skyrocketed in tandem.

*

*

*

Four months had elapsed since the provisional training at the 5th Training Ground commenced.

The exercises Rimer prescribed grew increasingly diverse, and their difficulty seemed boundless in its ascent.

Training that began at dawn stretched into the evening, and exhaustion etched itself across the faces of even the elite group’s children, whose stamina had been exceptional.

Of course, the fundamental framework remained unchanged.
Both the training from dawn through afternoon under Rimer’s direction and the personal cultivation conducted from evening onward were entirely voluntary.

Whether a trainee abandoned the exercises midway through fatigue or skipped autonomous training entirely, Rimer and the instructors offered no reaction whatsoever.

They would correct posture or provide guidance if asked, but nothing more. There were no exhortations to work harder or persist steadily—they appeared less like instructors and more like observers.

A training methodology that entrusted everything to the autonomy of twelve and thirteen-year-old children was revolutionary, if nothing else.

In reality, the Branch Family members confident in their abilities and the recommended trainees did not exert themselves fully during training and abstained entirely from autonomous practice.

They believed they were confident enough to become official trainees without needing to engage in such low-level training.

However.
There was one catalyst that changed the behavior of these children.

Raon Zigheart.
He, infamous for all the wrong reasons, began to bring positive change to the 5th Training Ground.

When training first began, Raon’s stamina ranked among the lowest.
In the first run, he managed to complete it, but fell short of the middle tier, his face turning deathly pale as though he might collapse at any moment.

But he endured.
He persevered through training that caused even the most athletic children to drop out, and he began self-directed training first while continuing it the longest.

Raon didn’t merely gasp for breath—white vapor streaming from his mouth, he continued conditioning his body until the very end, and the very next day, he demonstrated the results of his training.

His stamina, strength, and agility all showed remarkable growth, and his ranking, once at the bottom, had now climbed to 10th place among 160 trainees.

The children who witnessed this transformation firsthand were astounded.

The Branch Family and Vassal Family children, along with the recommended candidates, no longer held back. They trained with all their might and participated in self-directed training without exception.

Raon, whom they had once dismissed as merely a laughingstock, had become their rival.

Of course, not all of them changed.
Varen of the Main Family and the Branch Family children who followed him dismissed extreme physical conditioning as unnecessary, instead practicing the sword and martial arts techniques they had learned from their families.

Thus, as each person gave their utmost effort, time flowed like a river.

*

*

*

“Huff!”

I exhaled roughly as I ran through the pre-dawn darkness.

As time passed, my stamina and agility improved considerably, yet the exhaustion remained unchanged—I was always running at full capacity.

‘Still, something has changed.’

The countless children who had blocked my path during the first run were no longer visible ahead of me.

Thanks to my elevated stats and the Ring of Fire, fewer than ten trainees remained ahead of me now.

-Pathetic. A month has passed, and you still have so many insects crawling ahead of you.
‘This rapid progress is remarkable in itself.’

Wrath remained unchanged. Still brimming with complaints, he constantly demanded I push my body harder.

‘I thought I could catch them soon, but those two are clearly different.’

My gaze turned toward Lunan and Buren, running in the distance. I had sensed it before—these two operated on an entirely different level than the other children.

Born with exceptional talent, possessing unwavering mental fortitude, and having received rigorous family training, they spared no effort in their pursuit.

Though they had their quirks, at only twelve years old, such peculiarities were hardly unusual.

‘I’ll push a bit harder today.’

I maximized the Ring of Fire and drove my feet against the ground.
My lungs felt as though they would shred like paper and scatter, but I continued running, using the Ring of Fire as my anchor.

“What—what?!”
“Raon Zigheart!”
“No way!”

The top-tier children, suddenly overtaken, widened their eyes in shock.

Whoooosh!

At the sound of wind rushing from behind, Buren and Lunan glanced back.

“Hmm….”
“….”

Buren’s expression crinkled like tree bark, while Lunan’s eyes sparkled like a cat discovering jewels.

The two of them turned their heads forward again and began running, as if inviting me to follow as much as I wished.

‘They’re definitely different. Different, but.’

I watched their retreating figures and lifted the corners of my mouth slightly.

‘The remaining time should be sufficient.’

At my current growth rate, by the time the examination came around, I should be able to surpass both of them in stamina, strength, and agility.

Of course, if they used aura, that would be a different story entirely.

‘Aura….’

The children of the direct line, Branch Family, and Vassal Families—including Lunan and Buren—were already learning aura cultivation methods.

Meanwhile, I was learning the Ring of Fire, an ancient cultivation method, but I possessed not a single trace of aura.

‘I’ll need to learn it eventually….’

As the time to learn aura drew near, I found myself growing somewhat troubled.

‘The previous method wasn’t bad either.’

The Shadow aura cultivation method I had learned in my past life was quite a formidable technique.

It could be learned through attributes, was discreet and sharp, excelling in assassination and one-on-one combat.

‘But.’

With the Shadow aura cultivation method, I could never reach the pinnacle. Since I had decided to live as a warrior rather than an assassin, I needed to master a superior aura cultivation method.

‘To do that, I’ll need to earn merit.’

Glen, as I had observed thus far, matched the information I had gathered. A cold-blooded man who thought only of the family. Because of this, his rewards and punishments were certain.
If I graduated from basic training as the top student, he would surely grant me a reward befitting that achievement.

‘My objective has become clear once more.’

To restore Sylvia to her rightful place and master superior cultivation techniques, I needed to train even harder.

-What are you doing? Don’t settle for surpassing mere insects—seize those two ahead. Running before the King himself is intolerable.

Wrath’s fury surged through me, my chest tightening. I suppressed the feeling and continued running, and after some time, a message appeared.

[You have endured the provocation of 【Wrath】.]
[Your Stamina stat has increased.]
-Tch, again!

I nodded, observing Wrath’s irritation.

‘This creature is quite useful if I know how to leverage it.’

*

*

*

“Today’s training ends here. Those who wish to continue with autonomous practice may do so; those who don’t, refrain.”

Rimer left the Training Ground without hesitation after finishing the afternoon session. He hummed a tune as he muttered something about heading off to drink.

“Huff….”

Buren exhaled in exasperation, watching Rimer’s departing figure.

‘This is truly displeasing.’

I knew Rimer was called the Radiant Blade, but lately he resembled nothing more than a dissolute wastrel.

During regular training hours, he would sprawl about and merely observe casually, showing no interest in autonomous practice whatsoever.

Yet he intended to take the examination to become a regular trainee—it was like watching a grasshopper leap about instead of an elf.

“Buren. Won’t you participate in autonomous training today?”

As I furrowed my brow watching Rimer’s back, Crain and the Branch Family children approached cautiously. They had become quite close to me.

“Let’s begin.”

I nodded and grasped the wooden sword. A pleasant firmness emanated from the hilt, drawing a smile to my face.

“Start.”
“Yes!”

The Branch Family children and I separated and practiced the swordsmanship we had learned before arriving here.

I became so absorbed in sword training that I didn’t lower my blade until the sun had completely set.

‘Indeed, sword training is when my mind feels most at ease.’

As I trained with the swordsmanship my father had taught me directly, the irritation that had been gnawing at me subsided.

“That’s enough for today.”
“Yes!”
“Thank you for your instruction.”

At my command, the children bowed respectfully. Though I was the youngest among them, my position as a direct descendant and my absolute talent had naturally elevated me to the role of leader.

“Those who wish to continue with additional training, follow me.”

I set down the wooden sword and entered the Indoor Training Hall. My expression darkened immediately.

‘That bastard.’

Raon was conducting strength training with equipment, and beside him, Lunan and several other trainees clung to his every move.

“Tch…”

I exhaled a heated breath. In truth, what truly infuriated me wasn’t Rimer or the instructors.

‘Raon Zigheart.’

The lowest-ranking member of the family—someone I had never even bothered to acknowledge—was becoming increasingly irksome.

‘Why is she sticking to that guy’s side?’

Lunan. I couldn’t understand why the daughter of Slion, called the strongest among the Vassal Families, had attached herself to Raon when she possessed talent that rivaled my own as a direct descendant.

‘Damn it.’

Lunan, whom I had considered my rival, showed no interest in me and only followed Raon around, which made my blood boil.

Lately, even the recommended trainees I had come to respect were gathering around Raon, which only irritated me further.

“Do not concern yourself. They are merely gathering because they are all mediocre.”
“It seems even the strongest cannot escape the limitations of a Vassal Family.”
“What could they possibly accomplish by clustering together like that?”

The Branch Family members sneered at Raon and Lunan, but I did not laugh.
To be honest, Lunan possessed far superior talent compared to the Branch Family members behind me.

“Tsk.”

I clicked my tongue and entered the Training Ground.

I went to the spot beside Raon and Lunan, who were training their lower bodies, and lifted a weight heavier than what either of them was using.

“Wow!”
“As expected of Lord Buren!”
“How is he lifting such weight…?”

Not just the Branch Family members, but everyone in the Training Ground gasped in admiration and applauded.

I received gazes filled with amazement and awe, yet my expression hardened like tree bark.

‘Those bastards!’

Raon and Lunan didn’t even glance in my direction—they simply continued their training.

Thud!

I set down the equipment roughly and stood, but the two of them didn’t even turn their heads. As if they had made each other their rival, they focused entirely on lifting the weights.

“Tch….”

Burren’s face flushed crimson like an apple. He yanked the door open with a bang and stormed out of the Training Ground.

‘Let’s see if he can keep that pathetic expression when I dominate him and claim first place!’

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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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