The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 176

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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 176

—Now I need to eat dessert, and who’s interrupting me!

I tossed the struggling Wrath aside and stepped into the lobby. An elderly man with neatly combed gray hair stood waiting.

‘His name was Tias, wasn’t it?’

He was one of the Central Intelligence Agency’s butlers, assigned to Burren, and I’d seen him frequently during my training days.

“Young Master Raon. It’s been a long time.”

Tias bowed deeply, his hands clasped together.

“Indeed.”

I returned the bow. We’d crossed paths many times and exchanged bows before, but this was our first time greeting each other with actual words.

“What brings you all the way here?”

I asked while blocking the view of Sylvia and her attendants, who were peeking out from the Dining Hall with only their faces visible.

“I apologize for the late hour.”

Tias’s wrinkled eyes trembled slightly.

“Shameless as it may be, you are the only one I can turn to for help right now.”

I watched Tias quietly as he bowed. I could sense why he was doing this.

“It’s about Burren.”
“Yes. Since the Selection Ceremony, Young Master Burren has been locked away in the Abandoned Annex and refuses to come out.”

When Tias lifted his head, his eyes clearly reflected bitter emotion.

“In two days, the additional registration period for new swordsmen will close, yet he shows no sign of coming out.”

He clenched his parched lips, wondering if despair had consumed him entirely.

“Right now, only you can awaken Young Master Burren. Please, I beg you to help!”

Tias dropped to his knees before the Entrance Hall without a moment’s hesitation.

“Why do you believe I’m capable of awakening Burren?”
“Young Master Burren speaks of you often. He calls you his benefactor—the one who pulled him from the well and saved his life. He’s sworn that one day he’ll catch up to you and repay that debt.”
“….”

A benefactor who awakened his spirit, one who saved his life, and a vow to catch up—these were all things Burren said every day. It seemed his inner and outer selves were more aligned than I’d expected.

“Because you are such a person, I’m certain you can draw Young Master Burren out! Please, I’m begging you!”

Tias bowed his head while remaining on his knees.

“Don’t do this.”

I grasped Tias’s trembling shoulders.

‘Help, he says….’

In my past life, I wouldn’t have helped no matter what Tias said. I would have thought it was something I couldn’t do. But living as Raon Zigheart, I’ve come to understand many things.

‘Bonds.’

Lunan Slion, who gave me the treasure of Cold Blood without asking for anything in return. Balkan, who used the precious Golden Bullets and Golden Threads without hesitation, pouring all his strength into forging the sword. The word “bonds” that they had spoken came to mind.

‘Now that I think about it….’

I recalled how Burren Zigheart had given me a jeweled thread before the selection ceremony, saying my formal attire looked bare. Like a thread connected to the jewel, there must be at least one small strand of fate connecting him and me.

“Sigh….”

I knelt down and met Tias’s eyes.

“Understood. Let me try.”

It might not work, but I wanted to offer at least some help, so I nodded.

“Well done, my son!”

Sylvia approached from behind and patted my back.

“If you can help, you should help.”

She turned to the attendants behind her with a bright smile, as if proud of raising such a fine son.

“Wonderful!”
“As expected of the young master!”

Helen and the attendants clenched their fists in encouragement.

“Th-thank you so much! I’m truly grateful!”

Tias bowed repeatedly.

-This human truly loves bowing. I find him quite pleasing, indeed.

Wrath placed his hands on his hips as if receiving the gratitude himself.

-However, interrupting my dessert time is unforgivable!

He was pleased one moment and angry the next. His temperament was truly incomprehensible.

“Let’s go then.”
“Y-you’re leaving right now?”
“If we go now and get him focused, he should be ready by the time the additional registration period ends.”

I helped Tias to his feet.

“Ah, understood!”

Tias sprang up, offering to guide the way, and hurried out of the Annex Building.

“I’ll be back.”
“Do well.”
“Come back safely, young master!”

Sylvia and her attendants nodded with satisfied smiles.

—There’s still dessert to come….

Only Wrath, his belly full, gazed toward the Dining Hall and licked his lips.

—Truly, that eye-ball fellow is utterly useless!

*

*

*

I followed Tias toward the Junmujeon Annex, built at the foot of Bekmang Mountain. Being a branch facility of the Central Intelligence Agency, it was far larger than the Annex Building where I resided.

“This is where the Master once taught you swordsmanship, young master. Though the Master no longer visits, you would occasionally stop by to rest here.”
“So this place holds memories of the Central Intelligence Agency Master.”
“Indeed. That is why you lock yourself inside when you come here and refuse to leave.”
“I understand.”

I nodded and approached the door. I could sense Burren’s presence within the annex.

“Burren.”

I infused my voice with aura so he could hear me from inside, calling out to him. Despite calling repeatedly, there was no response from within.

“Hmm.”

I clicked my tongue and scanned the entire annex before looking at Tias.

“May I destroy this place?”
“Pardon? Ah… yes!”

Tias seemed to understand my intent, nodding with his lips pressed together.

“It will be loud, so please step back a bit.”
“Understood.”

He nodded and stepped back about ten paces.

“Phew.”

I stood before the Abandoned Annex’s door and exhaled deeply.

“It’s been a while since I’ve had to play the villain.”

I smirked and kicked the door open.

Crash!

Without restraint, the door and wall shattered into fragments, and the entire Abandoned Annex trembled violently.

“Ugh!”

Burren burst out from within the billowing gray dust, his face twisted in panic.

“What are you doing!”
“To flush out a mole, you have to dig up the ground first.”
“A mole? What are you—”

Without answering, I swung my clenched fist. The pillar and wall that met my knuckles crumbled like clay.

“Stop!”

Burren leaped from the collapsing wall, screaming.

“You kept spouting off every time you saw me that you’d catch up.”

I laughed coldly and flicked my fingers.

“If you want to stop me, come at me.”

With those words, I kicked the left wall this time.

Boom!

A massive hole tore through the wall as if struck by a giant’s maul.

“Don’t you dare!”

Burren charged forward and threw a punch. A fist brimming with excitement, devoid of any martial technique or flow.

Crack!

I deflected it lightly with the back of my hand, then drove my fist into Burren’s abdomen.

“Ugh!”

Burren clutched his stomach and staggered backward. His legs nearly buckled beneath him.

“Fetch your sword and fight me properly.”

I let out a derisive snort and kicked him away.

Boom!

Burren didn’t even attempt to resist, flying through the air before crashing back into the Abandoned Annex.

Rumble, rumble, rumble!

From the trembling Abandoned Annex, which looked ready to collapse at any moment, Burren emerged with sword in hand.

“Damn you!”

Burren drew his blade while actively channeling his aura. Wind-infused aura wrapped around his entire body, unleashing a formidable wave of energy.

I narrowed my eyes as I observed Burren’s power.

‘He’s certainly grown.’

His boast about catching up to me wasn’t mere bluster—the magnitude and quality of his aura had transformed markedly since before.

“You should be careful. I’m not the same as I was before!”

Burren gritted his teeth and stomped the ground. In an instant, he slashed upward from the left, extending his blade. Both his speed and velocity had reached a different tier than before, yet I had surpassed even that growth.

Clang!

I deflected Burren Zigheart’s sword strike effortlessly with the scabbard of the Heavenly Sword.

“Tch!”

Burren Zigheart bit his lip, his expression hardening with resolve, then unleashed his next strike. The sword form came faster and more magnificent than before, cascading like violent waves.

Clang!

I blocked every one of Burren Zigheart’s strikes—each flowing seamlessly into the next like a current—using only the scabbard, then swept a kick toward his ribs.

Crash!

Burren Zigheart cried out from the unexpected blow and crashed to the ground.

“Ugh!”

Despite the impact, Burren Zigheart staggered to his feet, eyes blazing with intensity. He steadied his breathing and raised his sword once more. The way he calmed his excitement even in such a situation—he truly deserved the name Zigheart.

“Now it begins in earnest.”

He gripped his sword with both hands and drew up his aura. A raging torrent of momentum surged forth. But it wasn’t merely raw power that had intensified. A different quality of aura emanated from Burren Zigheart—something altogether distinct from before.

“Cutting Wind Sword.”

With those words, Burren Zigheart’s form dissolved into empty space. In an instant that seemed like teleportation, he appeared before me and brought his blade down.

‘Fast.’

Without my heightened perception, I would have missed it entirely. His claim that the real battle was beginning held no falsehood. Yet once my senses had already locked onto him, speed became meaningless.

Clang!

I lightly raised my sword to meet Burren Zigheart’s strike. Once again, his blade could not penetrate my space.

Screech!

But a strange aura erupted from Burren Zigheart’s sword, beginning to tear through the aura wrapped around my scabbard.

“This is….”

Burren’s aura-clad blade transformed into granules that spun endlessly. It seemed the rotational force of this aura had torn apart my own.

“No matter who you are, you won’t be able to withstand the Gale Slash!”

Burren regained his confidence, treading in circular footwork patterns as he unleashed the Gale Slash technique.

With the gale energy infused into his normally solid and majestic sword force, my aura was ground away like wood shavings before a saw blade.

“I see.”

I drew my blade with a cool smile.

“Now I understand.”
“All bluster amounts to nothing!”

Burren stomped his foot and drew his blade diagonally downward. He aimed the Gale Slash’s technique at my waist.

Clang!

I blocked the strike at precisely the right moment. But it was futile. The Gale Slash would shred the defending aura regardless.

‘If he retreats, I’ll chase immediately…hm?’

Burren had prepared to pursue, expecting me to fall back, but I didn’t move an inch and endured the Gale Slash head-on.

“How—how is this possible!”

Burren’s jaw dropped. The rotating Gale Slash’s blade couldn’t grind through my aura and remained frozen in place.

‘It’s definitely still spinning…’

Though the granular aura rotated fiercely, my aura showed no signs of fracturing.

“What did you do!”
“Simple.”

I chuckled, watching Burren’s bewilderment.

“Before your aura could grind mine away, I simply pushed new aura in—rotating in the opposite direction of yours.”

Just as water refills a river after being cut by a blade, I pushed new aura in before the existing aura could shatter, blocking the technique known as Shattering Wind Sword.

“Y-you can manipulate aura that quickly?”

Burren Zigheart’s eyes trembled like a sailboat struck by a blue wave.

“E-even Shattering Wind Sword didn’t work….”
“Shattering Wind Sword didn’t fail—you’re just weak.”
“Ugh!”

I smacked Burren Zigheart on the head as his lips trembled.

“If that Shattering Wind Sword technique had faster rotation and greater power, my aura would have shattered no matter how much I pushed in. This is a problem of your skill level.”
“Argh!”
“Did you really go around saying you’d defeat me with just that level of achievement?”
“That’s….”

Burren Zigheart lowered his head, his jaw trembling.

“You can’t even draw my sword from its sheath, yet you claim to catch up to me? You’re just like someone who wasn’t chosen—giving up on everything and running away with your tail between your legs.”
“What do you know to be spouting off like that!”
“That’s right. I don’t know what feelings bind you to the Central Intelligence Agency Master. But I know one thing.”

I gestured toward the ruined Abandoned Annex as I continued.

“If you stay cooped up in that dump, he will never look back at you.”
“Ugh….”

Burren Zigheart couldn’t refute me and bit his lips hard.

“Since you told me your life’s goal, I’ll share mine with you.”
“A goal?”
“My goal is to restore my mother to the position of the Main Lineage.”
“Insane!”

Burren Zigheart’s face went pale.

“That’s impossible! The Main Lineage members who hate you, and the upper Branch Family members—they won’t stand idle!”
“It’s nearly impossible, but not entirely impossible.”

Raon met Burren’s doubtful gaze with a smile.

“Results. If you have enough results to silence all their voices, it’s possible. That’s why I chose the Gwangpung Unit, which will undertake the most missions. Of course, if you stay buried like you are now, it would be impossible even in a lifetime.”
“Ah….”

Burren’s hands trembled, unable to imagine that Raon harbored such a goal.

“You said you wanted to face your father and earn his recognition, didn’t you?”
“Y-yes. But it’s all over now. Father is a cold man. He won’t look back at me anymore….”
“There’s more than one way to face your father.”

Raon shook his head, watching Burren’s furrowed brow.

“What?”
“Don’t make your father look back at you. Instead, surpass him and move forward. As you forge ahead, you’ll look back at the Central Intelligence Agency Master following behind you. Then he won’t be able to help but acknowledge you.”
“Surpass Father? That’s impossible!”
“This is impossible. That is impossible. Will you live like that your whole life?”
“T-that is….”
“It will be difficult. It will certainly be grueling enough to kill you. But is it truly impossible?”
“….”

Burren couldn’t answer the question. The living proof of transformation from weakest to strongest stood right before him.

“Which is harder—your goal or mine?”
“….”

Again, Burren remained silent. There were countless members of the Main Lineage and upper Branch Family who despised Raon. It was only natural that Raon’s goal of earning their recognition was far closer to impossible.

“A tree won’t fall unless you swing the axe. Whether you stay buried or step out now and grasp the axe—that choice is yours.”

Raon turned to leave. He started toward the Annex Building but stopped and glanced back slightly.

“Lunan and I forged our swords, and Martha received hers. All of us are moving forward. If you choose, you should do it quickly. Later, even if you want to walk, there may be no path left to walk.”

Leaving Burren with his head bowed, I headed toward the grove where Tias was.

“I apologize. This crude method was all I had.”

Raon approached Tias, who stood at a distance, and laughed awkwardly.

“Thank you. I’m simply grateful beyond words.”

Tias bowed deeply, his hands clasped together, his weathered neck trembling.

“Then.”

I offered Tias a faint smile as tears glistened in his eyes, then turned toward the Annex Building.

Tias offered one final bow of gratitude to my departing back, then gazed upon Burren, who remained on his knees.

“Ah….”

A faint glimmer of light was beginning to kindle in eyes that had been drowning in despair.

*

*

*

Crunch.

Burren clenched his fists so tightly that blood welled from his palms.

‘What a fool I am!’

I had sworn to grow stronger, to mature, yet nothing had changed. I had merely mouthed empty words, pretending to be doing something. Nothing more.

I found myself unbearable. I was no different from when I had been consumed by obsession at the 5th Training Ground. No—I had become even more of a coward.

“Become part of the Main Lineage?”

A bitter laugh escaped me. Everyone in Zigheart would call that goal impossible, yet Raon spoke of it with absolute seriousness. And hearing it from him, it truly seemed achievable.

‘He’s extraordinary.’

He had been holed up in his room in despair at not being chosen by his father, yet here was someone from the Branch Family rising up to the Main Lineage. It was a mental fortitude that was unimaginable for someone the same age.

‘To surpass Father and then look back….’

I had only wanted to make Father look back at me—I had never dreamed of surpassing him. The very thought of such a thing seemed to be what created the gap between Raon and myself.

‘Very well. Let me try.’

Now that it had come to this, I would overtake Father and make sure to witness his regret. Compared to Raon ascending to the Main Lineage, catching up to Father was a far easier task.

‘Wait for me.’

I will surely come find you.

*

*

*

Rimer, standing halfway up Bekmang Mountain, whistled.

“Incredible!”

He let out a hollow laugh as he watched Raon leave the Abandoned Annex.

“I thought he’d offer some clumsy advice, but I never expected him to reopen the wound and then apply medicine to it.”
“Hmm….”

Glen nodded slowly. He too seemed not to have anticipated that Raon would draw out Burren in such a manner, letting out a low hum.

“It’s remarkable. Sometimes he seems utterly naive, yet other times he appears to understand the world far better than I do.”

Rimer grasped his interlaced fingers to his head and grinned.

“It’s all thanks to my excellent teaching. Indeed, one must find a good master….”
“Before being your disciple, he is my grandson.”
“Still, I’ve spent far more time with him.”
“I have looked after that child more than you have.”
“Who will acknowledge what you do behind the scenes?”
“I never sought acknowledgment. It matters not if no one knows. I simply did what I desired to do.”

Glen glared at Rimer, his brow furrowing.

“Hah…”

The Heavenly Sword Master, who had been standing quietly in the back, widened her eyes at Glen’s reaction. She seemed flustered by the sight of the family head she was seeing for the first time.

“Ahem!”

Glen felt the Heavenly Sword Master’s gaze and cleared his throat, turning his head away.

“Anyway, Burren will wake up soon. Want to make a wager with me?”
“A wager?”
“Yes. When Burren wakes up. Since the additional registration period extends until the day after tomorrow, I’ll bet my next month’s salary that he wakes up tomorrow.”

Rimer wagged his finger, pointing at Burren, who remained kneeling.

“Then I’ll bet on today.”
“You know once you say it, that’s final, right?”
“Of course.”

Glen nodded as if it were obvious.

“Hehe, there’s barely any time left today—wait!”

Rimer, who had been laughing with his hand over his mouth, let out a gasp.

“That bastard’s already awake! Damn it! Stay down a bit longer!”

Burren rose to his feet, sword in hand, and approached the Abandoned Annex.

“Aaaaaaaah!”

He unleashed a roar, pouring every last ounce of his aura toward the Abandoned Annex.

Boom!

The Abandoned Annex, which had been half-destroyed by Raon, collapsed completely.

“Phew…”

Burren, satisfied with his work, turned toward the direction of the Central Intelligence Agency. Tias followed quietly behind him.

“M-Master? We haven’t confirmed the wager yet….”
“Rimer.”
“Y-Yes!”
“You’re laboring under a misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding?”

Rimer’s eyes, which had been smiling brightly, turned pitch black as if staring into the abyss upon hearing Glen’s next words.

“You already received an advance on next month’s salary. What just vanished wasn’t next month’s pay—it was the month after that.”
“Ugh! Damn it!”

Only now grasping the full weight of his situation, Rimer clutched his head.

“Fool.”

The Heavenly Sword Master clicked her tongue in disdain.

“I don’t even have money to eat! The others won’t lend to me anymore!”
“Then there’s only one way.”
“A way?”
“Complete a mission and claim the reward.”

Glen nodded, watching Raon and Burren as they grew distant in turn.

“I’m assigning the Gwangpung Unit its first mission.”

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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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