The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 29

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

Chapter 29

“You’re saying you’ll tell me my attribute right now?”

I furrowed my brow as I observed Rimer’s disheveled hair and wrinkled clothes. He hardly inspired confidence.

“You’re looking at me like I’m a con artist.”

Rimer chuckled softly, bending his waist slightly.

“I may be lazy, but my teaching methods are solid.”
“….”

That was true. While his approach didn’t produce many students, those few he took under his wing showed remarkable growth.

“Stop doubting and come with me.”
“We’re not doing it here?”
“Of course not. Prepare yourself quickly and follow.”
“…Understood.”

I went into my room and retrieved my outer robe.

-Encountering pointy-ears at dawn—today’s luck is terrible.
‘We meet every time anyway.’

After donning my robe, I left the Annex Building.

“Where are we headed?”
“Bekmang Mountain.”

Rimer pointed to the mountain looming behind the Annex Building. It was a colossal peak that encircled the entire Zigheart estate, touching not only the Annex Building but the Main Mansion as well.

“Let’s go.”
“Understood.”

I followed Rimer up the mountain.

“This should suffice.”

Rimer stopped after climbing the mountain for roughly twenty minutes. The terrain was flat and barren of trees—a clearing of sorts.

“Why have we come here?”

My voice remained composed, yet internally I had already prepared myself to react to any movement Rimer might make.

“There’s no need to be so tense. I simply wish to let you feel it.”
“Feel it?”
“Yes.”

With Rimer’s laughter came a deep emerald wind.

“Trust me and stand still in that spot.”
“Even if you ask me to trust… hm?”

A gentle breeze, like the spring scent that erases winter, rustled through my bangs.

Following that came a cool wind reminiscent of summer forests, calming the body heated from climbing the mountain.

The third was winter. A bitter wind, sharp as a harsh blizzard, pressed against my skin with biting cold.

The wind transformed once more.
The deep emerald wind that had contained all four seasons became a keen blade, spiraling around me.

“I desired to forge a blade from wind—one to protect my lord.”

Rimer’s voice echoed from within the emerald tempest.

Roooaaarrr!

A slashing storm that would tear apart everything around it surged forth, yet I neither retreated nor advanced.

“This is the wind I have chosen.”

I stood motionless, feeling the emerald tempest wash over me.

Whoooosh!

The fierce wind’s momentum dissipated, and a sly smile bloomed at Rimer’s lips.

“Weren’t you frightened?”
“You had no intention of striking me, Instructor. And you told me not to move.”
“No matter how I look at it, you’re definitely not thirteen years old.”

Rimer chuckled and snapped his fingers. The wind that had existed around us vanished completely.

“Cultivation techniques infused with elemental properties can exert far greater power than ordinary methods, but they’re not easy to master.”

At his calm voice, the wind seemed to dance and ripple.

“As an elf, I’ve felt the wind since birth. But you’re human—it’s different for you. Your mana circuits are saturated with cold energy, so it will be even harder.”
“That’s true.”

I nodded. While the Mana Circulation Technique itself was difficult, I had to manipulate an energy fundamentally opposed to the cold that had existed within me since birth, making it exponentially harder.

“Wind has many forms. Warm, cold, sharp. I desired a wind blade that could pierce through all things, and I achieved it.”

When Rimer spoke in the past tense, his expression was confident rather than sorrowful.

“You must find yours too. Think carefully about what image of fire you wish to possess.”
“Image
….”
“To create an image, sensing the essence of that element is most crucial.”
“But we’re in the Northern Region. Unless I set the mountain ablaze, it’s difficult to see proper flames.”
“If you did that, both you and I would have our heads rolling together.”

Rimer laughed softly and waved his hand. Green wind stirred at his feet.

“Follow me.”
“Where are we going now?”
“You’ve felt the wind, so now we need to see fire.”

*

*

*

I followed Rimer up the mountain. After running for roughly twenty minutes, his pace began to slow.

Whoosh!

A thick haze shimmered upward from the frigid forest as if a scorching wind had swept through. My skin prickled at the drastically different temperature compared to before.

‘That must be it.’

A house built of red brick stood adjacent to a gray kiln. Heat radiated outward from within the kiln itself.

‘It’s hot.’

We were in the Northern Region, the coldest place on the Continent. The fact that it felt hot here despite that spoke volumes about the intensity of the heat emanating from that place.

“Hey there, old man. I’m here!”

Rimer strode forward as if entering his own home. I followed behind him.

The closer I approached the kiln, the more intense the heat became. Sweat seeped through my clothes, drenching them.

“Ugh
….”

The unfamiliar heat caused the cold energy within my mana circuits to surge violently. Wincing at the intensifying pain, I stepped into the house.

Inside, only a single apparatus existed.

The firebox. The kiln’s firebox—an opening that expelled such tremendous heat it distorted the appearance of the entire house.

Before the firebox sat an elderly man with hair turned white and a face etched with countless wrinkles. Despite sweat drenching his clothes, his eyes never left the firebox.

‘Is this really the flame I once knew?’

I swallowed dryly. Through my previous life, I had witnessed countless fires—from campfires I kindled myself to high-tier flame magic unleashed from a sorcerer’s hands.

Yet none of them seemed capable of matching the heat radiating from the flames rising out of that firebox.

Roooar!

The cold energy within my mana circuits shrieked as the surrounding mana moved in accordance with the flow of the Mana Circulation Technique I had yet to master.

The roar of flames assaulted my ears, and my heart pounded with each undulation of heat. Like a man possessed by spirits, I could not tear my gaze from the furnace.

“Old man. Your concentration remains unchanged.”

Rimer dispersed the heat with a gust of wind and brushed off his hands.

“The heat refuses to die because of you.”
“From the look of things, you’re going to fail again today anyway.”
“Ugh….”

The old man glared at Rimer, then sighed and tossed some mysterious gray mass into the furnace.

Whoosh.

The heat that seemed capable of melting even the earth itself subsided, and the flames lowered to a gentle warmth.

“Ah….”

A sigh escaped my lips. The moment the flames died, the flow of the Mana Circulation Technique that had been racing through my mana circuits scattered. My fingertips trembled with regret.

“What did you bring with you this time? What is that?”

The old man squinted at me. From his downturned mouth and raised eyebrows, I could discern his stubborn nature.

“Goodness! How dare you! The House Lord’s grandson deserves better manners!”

Rimer spoke casually himself while lecturing about propriety.

“Hmph, I am merely a retired old man. Unless the House Lord comes himself…hmm?”

He began to rise upon seeing my eyes and hair, then stopped.

“Golden hair and crimson eyes? And that face
….”
“Resembles the House Lord, doesn’t it? Though Raon is far more handsome.”
“Mm.”

The old man nodded in agreement.

“I am Balkan. If you wish to show respect, take your business elsewhere.”
‘Balkan!’

I stared at the old man’s hazy eyes, which resembled burnt charcoal, and pressed my lips together.

‘So he was here all along.’

A master craftsman—a man who bore the title of a Continental master craftsman renowned across the world, famous for forging Glen Zigheart’s Divine Heavenly Sword.

Yet his last notable work was thirty years ago, and since the Divine Heavenly Sword, he had failed to create any blade worthy of being called a masterpiece.

“I am Raon Zigheart.”

I paid no mind to Balkan’s casual speech and bowed my head—a gesture of respect befitting a giant who had reached the pinnacle of his path.

“Hmm….”

At my courteous greeting, the wrinkles on Balkan’s face eased slightly.

“You didn’t tell him about me….”
“Not at all.”

Rimer shook his head and turned away.

“This old man is a master craftsman of the Zigheart.”
“Retired.”
“Right. A retired master craftsman. Anyway, this old man has been tending the flames here for over ten years now.”

Rimer gestured toward the extinguished furnace and turned his body.

“This is the place in the Northern Region where you can feel the hottest and most passionate fire.”

*

*

*

“A fire-attribute cultivation technique….”

Balkan furrowed his brow upon hearing Rimer’s explanation.

“So that’s why you brought him here?”
“The old man spends the entire year nurturing nothing but embers here. Where else could he properly experience true fire?”
“There’s the blacksmiths’ workshop.”
“That’s far too conspicuous. It wouldn’t be wise for him to be seen while he’s still mastering this technique.”
“Wouldn’t be wise?”
“Because Raon is Sylvia’s child.”

At the mention of Sylvia’s child, Balkan’s gaze swept over me once more.

“Hmm….”

Whether lost in thought or not, he turned his body to observe the blazing crimson embers.

“I won’t interfere. Just allow me to feel the fire.”

I bowed my head to Balkan.

‘I want to experience it once more.’

When Balkan ignited the embers, my heart raced and my mana circuits surged violently. I yearned to feel the breath of those flames again.

“I’m simply making charcoal.”
“Charcoal?”
“White charcoal or black charcoal—gold charcoal produces far more intense heat than either. As long as you don’t interfere with the work of making gold charcoal, do as you wish.”
“Thank you.”
“Hmm….”

I bowed again, with even greater courtesy this time. Balkan seemed embarrassed by my deference and turned his head away.

“Since I’ve permitted it, that settles it. Raon, come here at dawn during your cultivation time and practice your technique. There’s no one around, and this old man knows nothing of cultivation methods anyway. Don’t worry about it.”
“Understood.”

I nodded. Just as Rimer had said, I couldn’t sense even a trace of mana from Balkan.

“Old man, come with me for a moment.”

Rimer clapped his hands in satisfaction and led Balkan outside the house.

“The old man’s still got a good heart.”

Rimer draped an arm across Balkan’s shoulder with a chuckle.

“If you take good care of Raon, I’ll bring you some fine fruit wine later. You like that, don’t you?”
“It’s not because of you.”
“Huh?”
“When that boy arrived, the flames in the furnace burned far more intensely. The sudden heat was so fierce it damaged the charcoal.”

Balkan narrowed his eyes as he gazed at the charcoal that had turned yellow from the heat.

“It’s been a very long time since I’ve seen this color.”
“So you felt it too, old man.”
“I am a craftsman. I’ve watched flames my entire life—how could I not notice when they wavered?”

Balkan’s ashen gray eyes, which seemed to have turned to ash themselves, stirred with life.

“That boy’s breathing carries a power that moves fire itself.”

*

*

*

The next morning, before dawn.
Raon rushed to Balkan’s Charcoal Kiln before the sun rose. Finding the kiln was effortless—the crimson heat blooming from within the dark mountain made it unmistakable.

Whoosh!

Balkan heard the footsteps but didn’t glance at Raon, keeping his gaze fixed solely on the furnace’s mouth.

The way he stood there, sweat streaming down his face without once looking away from the flames, proved he hadn’t earned the title of Continent’s finest craftsman for nothing.

‘This heat….’

I moved to the spot where the flames burned most intensely and stood there.

The fierce heat wave sent my clothes fluttering upward, my skin burning with sharp intensity. The cold energy thrashed desperately through my mana circuits, stabbing relentlessly.

“Hah….”

A grinding pain clenched my teeth. Gray breath escaped from my lips.

The agony was so overwhelming I wanted to flee immediately, yet my heart thundered with exhilaration from sensing the flame’s breath.

Joy kindled within my mind. Following the flame’s breathing that resonated through the pain, I recited the incantation of the Mana Circulation Technique.

The mana I inhaled carried scorching breath, while the air I exhaled expelled murky energy.

I closed my eyes. Rotating the ring of fire, I operated the Mana Circulation Technique.

Gooooo.

As my concentration reached its peak, the pain vanished, and only the ecstasy transmitted from the heat filled my chest.

“….”

Balkan turned away. Watching me breathe with my eyes closed, his hand gestures became noticeably gentler.

Crackle.

Before the furnace where the two of us stood, only the quiet sound of burning firewood echoed.

*

*

*

Three months had passed since I began visiting Balkan’s Charcoal Kiln for aura cultivation training.

Now the mountain path had become so familiar that I could reach the Charcoal Kiln in just ten minutes.

Whoooosh!

The Charcoal Kiln now unleashed far more intense firepower than when I first saw it, oppressing the space around it. The area surrounding the furnace shimmered with heat mirages as thick as fingers.

‘Still the same, I see.’

Balkan knew I had arrived, yet he neither turned around nor opened his mouth. He simply remained focused, staring intently at the furnace opening.

I approached silently, my footsteps making no sound.

With each step toward the kiln, scorching air wrapped around my entire body.

My breath came in short, stifled gasps, and sweat drenched my back. The cold energy within my mana circuits growled like a beast baring its fangs.

“Haaah….”

It was a pain I had yet to grow accustomed to, but I laughed. Now, merely seeing the flames set my heart racing.

‘Fire, then….’

Now I was beginning to understand.

As Rimer had said, by spending time with fire, I had come to comprehend what it truly was.

People spoke of fire as the most fearsome and powerful attribute, yet when wielded properly, it proved more stable than any other element.

Feeling the heat that seemed ready to sear my skin, I took another step forward.

Whoooosh!

The essence of the Mana Circulation Technique, which I had not yet fully mastered, awakened of its own accord, drawing in the heat that scorched the earth.

As if responding to that mana, the embers in the furnace opening blazed up crimson like a demon’s tongue.

“Hah….”

I exhaled the breath remaining in my lungs and accepted the ripened mana.

I guided the mana, boiling like molten lava, through my mana circuits. The cold energy, which had been fleeing from the heat, was drawn down to my dantian along the flow of the Mana Circulation Technique.

‘Imagery.’

As my cultivation entered its proper orbit, I recalled Rimer’s counsel. He had said I must paint the image I desired.

‘The fire I need is….’

I contemplated my objective.

To elevate Sylvia to a direct heir and sever Derus Robert’s neck—that goal would be as arduous as walking through darkness where I cannot see even an inch ahead.

Sometimes I needed a flame to become a torch illuminating the path, and sometimes a blade to strike down beasts.

Whether snow fell or rain poured, the fire must never extinguish. An eternal flame that would never go out—that was the fire I had chosen.

Roaaah!

The moment the image of the flame crystallized in my mind, lightning struck through my consciousness and my heart pulsed with vigor.

My mana circuits expanded and contracted repeatedly, stimulating the frozen cold energy within.

Heat surged forth like magma melting a glacier, piercing through my mana circuits and finally reaching my dantian.

Roooar!

Just as the essence of the Ten Thousand Harmony Technique condensed to form an aura sphere, an eerie voice echoed through my mind.

-Now it is my turn, it seems.

A chilling sensation crawled up my spine as I remained lost in the depths of my cultivation.

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