The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 349
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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 349
As the dust settled, the sea returned to its emerald hue, and Derus Robert surfaced from the water.
His face, smeared with mud, was filled with an eerie coldness unlike his usual demeanor.
“ROOOAAARRR!”
As Derus Robert roared toward the sky, the entire sea churned and dozens of waterspouts erupted upward.
The waterspouts collided with each other, merged together, and transformed into a black tempest that swept across the entire sea.
CRASH!
The colossal storm uprooted and obliterated fish and monsters from the nearby depths, as well as trees from the land, before finally subsiding.
Whoosh!
From within the cascade of blood and flesh, Derus Robert descended onto the beach.
Despite the crimson rain falling from the sky, not a single drop of blood touched his body or face.
Even after reducing both land and sea to ruins, Derus’s stern expression remained unrelenting. A piercing coldness gleamed in his eyes, almost unbearable to witness.
Derus turned to gaze at the sea where a massive tsunami had surged, grinding his teeth.
“Damn it….”
I descended into the Deep Sea and examined the remnants of the Wizard Dungeon, but the aura of the artifact and spirit creature I had sensed before was nowhere to be found.
I searched for corpses afterward, but in that brief moment, they had been torn apart by deep-sea creatures and monsters, leaving only bones. It was impossible to identify them, let alone determine how they died.
There was one relatively intact corpse, but it bore only the marks of being crushed by the collapsing dungeon—bones and flesh pressed together.
‘I’ve salvaged nothing.’
I had lost Matio and Kosini along with the Shadow operatives, the artifact and spirit creature had vanished, and I couldn’t even comprehend what had transpired.
It was the worst outcome I could never have imagined.
‘But one thing is certain.’
This is the work of a human.
If it were Matio with his strong sense of responsibility, perhaps. But Kosini, whose specialty is mental manipulation, would never fall to a mere spirit. If she thought she couldn’t capture it, she would have found a way to escape.
The fact that the aura of both the artifact and the spirit had vanished meant another human or faction must have intervened.
‘Who could it be?’
To evade Matio and Kosini’s senses, kill everyone, and take the spirit and artifact required no ordinary master. It was certain they were at least Grand Master level.
“Show yourselves.”
At Derus Robert’s call, the shadows hiding in the beach sand rushed out frantically and dropped to their knees.
“Has anyone passed through here?”
“Only residents from the nearby village have come through.”
The shadows, heads bowed, recited the names and descriptions of the residents who had passed through the area.
“Useless wretches.”
“Ah….”
“Ugh….”
At Derus Robert’s crude gesture, the shadows’ bodies went rigid.
Without even a scream, they scattered across the beach as crimson dust.
“Head of House.”
Rezel, who had arrived late and been waiting, bowed his head and offered a pristine white towel.
Derus Robert removed his shirt and gloves, wiping away the mud caked on his face and body with the towel.
“H-Head of House! There’s blood….”
Rezel’s jaw trembled as he saw crimson blood staining the towel Derus Robert had used.
“It’s not a wound.”
Derus Robert narrowed his eyes as he watched blood drip steadily from the sword scar etched into the back of his hand.
‘How strange, if I had to describe it.’
Whenever I suffered a loss or encountered a problem, blood would seep from this old wound, delivering a sharp, piercing pain.
Whether coincidence or inevitability, it was truly peculiar.
“Rezel.”
“Yes.”
“Investigate the surrounding villages. No—search the entire Robert Territory and find anyone whose movements seem even slightly suspicious.”
“Understood.”
Despite the task being nearly impossible, Rezel nodded calmly.
Derus Robert sucked the blood from the back of his hand into his mouth, a cold smile spreading across his face. A dark, sinister aura began to seep from his eyes.
‘Even if they flee to the edge of the Continent, I will find them.’
I never let go of my prey.
*
*
*
A forest near Motrun City.
A fierce wind cut through the dawn air.
The source of that wind was Dorian. He was striking his sword in a small clearing of the forest.
Whoooosh!
With each swing of his blade, cold sweat dripped from Dorian’s brow. This was a training method called “Single Stroke Mastery”—executing swordplay with extreme concentration on every single movement, as if locked in combat with an opponent.
The sound of Dorian’s sword wind, which had begun at dawn, only ceased once the sun reached its zenith in the sky.
“Haaah….”
Dorian exhaled deeply and lowered his sword.
‘The Head of House was right.’
The stronger I became, the more difficult swordsmanship grew.
With each increase in strength, what should have been simple and straightforward swordsmanship instead erected new barriers with every step forward. Now I understood why the saying went that there was no end to the martial arts.
‘When will I finally grow?’
To keep pace with the other swordsmen of the House, I had trained relentlessly during my time here, yet the more I practiced, the less I understood what swordsmanship truly was.
I was certainly growing stronger, but my mind only became more tangled with confusion.
‘Let me just eat something.’
After training from dawn until midday, my stomach rumbled loudly. I finished the lunch box I’d brought from the Dormitory and leaned my back against a tree.
‘When exactly is the Head of House coming back?’
It had been quite some time since Raon left, yet he showed no signs of returning.
He hadn’t even told us where he was going, which worried me somewhat—though not about Raon himself, but about the people connected to him.
Dorian swallowed hard as he gazed up at the sky dappled with sunlight.
‘Surely not….’
He wouldn’t be going to provoke the Six Emperors Five Demons, would he?
From everything I’d witnessed, Raon was a man to whom the word “reckless” fit better than anyone else.
He’d stormed into the Auction House to steal goods, threatened a foreign Princess, leaped over Castle Walls to slaughter monsters, and even returned plumper after being kidnapped by Oma—he was exactly the type of eccentric who might do something like that.
“No, no! That can’t be it.”
Dorian shook his head vigorously and rose to his feet, grasping his sword.
‘I should just train.’
To dispel the idle thoughts, I drew my newly learned Meteor Swordsmanship and focused all my concentration on the technique.
…
Dorian swung his sword until sunset using the One Sword Sect’s training method, then collapsed onto the ground.
“Haah….”
This should be enough, right?
In truth, I wasn’t training swordplay to avoid falling behind—I was doing it because Raon terrified me.
‘I have no idea what he’ll say when he returns.’
He might claim my skills hadn’t improved and force me into concentration training, or challenge me to a duel. So I’d been training with everything I had.
‘At this level, even that demon won’t be able to say anything.’
Since arriving here, I’d trained from before sunrise until nightfall, and my skills had grown noticeably.
With this much growth, even the training fanatic Raon would surely praise me.
‘That’s enough for today.’
Dorian sheathed his sword with a satisfied smile and stood up.
Clap clap clap!
As I was about to return to the Dormitory after tidying the area, crisp applause echoed out.
“W-who’s there!”
The moment Dorian drew his sword with trembling jaw, a tall red-haired man dropped down from a tree.
“Huh?”
Dorian’s mouth fell open. Though his hair and eye color were different, he was unmistakably recognizable.
“Vice-Leader!”
“You recognized me right away?”
“Of course!”
Having seen him countless times, I couldn’t fail to recognize him even in disguise.
“Did your errand go well?”
“Yes. Thanks to you, it went smoothly.”
I nodded while shaking my spatial pouch.
“That’s good. But where did you go….”
“Never mind that.”
I cut off his words and swept my gaze across my entire form.
“I’m genuinely moved right now.”
“Pardon?”
Dorian’s mouth fell open in confusion.
“What do you mean all of a sudden….”
“I never expected you to be training so diligently when I thought you’d just loaf around and eat here.”
I smiled warmly, impressed.
“Ah….”
Dorian scratched the back of his head and lowered his gaze.
‘He was watching me the whole time?’
Perfect!
Today, except for mealtimes, he’d done nothing but swing his sword continuously. If I’d witnessed that, even as the True Demon King, I had no choice but to acknowledge his efforts.
“Your skill has improved considerably. It seems you’ve been training consistently, not just today. Your swordplay carries both power and finesse.”
“No, that’s not it.”
Dorian broke into a bashful smile, caught between the joy of being recognized and relief that I wouldn’t demand additional training.
“As the Deputy Sect Leader said, the stronger the sword becomes, the more difficult it grows. I still have much to learn.”
“Khuuuh!”
I let out an exclamation as if I’d just downed a mug of beer.
“That’s impressive.”
Seeing his broad smile, it seemed my plan had worked perfectly.
“I’ll do my best to train hard from now on!”
“That’s a good attitude. I should give you a gift.”
“A souvenir? Then let’s go. Today I want to unwind and….”
“Hm? Go where?”
Just as Dorian turned with an excited smile, I grabbed his shoulder.
“W-we should head back to the Dormitory. It’s getting late.”
“No. I said I’d give you a gift.”
“You can give it to me at the Dormitory….”
“I can’t. This is a gift I can only give here.”
“W-what kind of gift is it?”
I chuckled and pointed at myself with my finger.
“A sparring match with me.”
“You’re insane….”
Dorian’s jaw dropped as a curse slipped out.
“W-why suddenly spar….”
“You’ve been training so hard on your own that I can’t just leave you be. Let me help you break through that wall you’re stuck on.”
“That’s not necessary! I can break through it myself….”
“No. If you just take a few hits, I mean, if you just spar with me, you’ll improve.”
I drew the Cheongeom Sword, eager to begin.
“You said you’d work hard from now on, right? Not from now on—let’s work hard starting right now.”
“…I’ve been training all day.”
“Then your true strength will show now. Draw your sword quickly.”
“N-no….”
Everything was unfolding in the exact opposite direction of my plan to avoid sparring matches and concentration training once I grew stronger.
‘Why. Why did it turn out like this!’
Dorian’s lips trembled as he lifted his head to meet Raon’s gaze. The moment he saw those eyes blazing with crimson madness, understanding dawned.
‘Right, of course.’
This man was truly insane….
*
*
*
My instruction and beating of Dorian, driven by his passionate resolve, finally ended the following morning.
“Haaaa….”
Dorian lay sprawled on the floor like a wrung-out towel, gasping for breath.
“I’m… dying….”
He released the sword from his grip, admitting defeat.
“My belly’s done for. I don’t even have the strength to twitch a finger anymore.”
I chuckled softly at the sight of Dorian’s belly puffed out like a frog’s.
“I was planning to stop anyway.”
I nodded and sheathed the Heavenly Sword. After a full day of training and sparring through the night, exhaustion was inevitable.
“You did well.”
“…I thought you’d want to continue.”
“Should we?”
“No! Absolutely not!”
Dorian sprang to his feet and shook his head so rapidly he became a blur.
“If you overexert yourself, you risk aggravating your injury. Though you still seem to have plenty of energy?”
“N-no, that’s not it!”
He flopped back down onto his back, breathing heavily.
-Pathetic.
Wrath shook his head as he watched Dorian.
-To think such a wretch serves the True Demon King….
‘Still, it’s admirable that he trained on his own.’
I felt Dorian’s growth and let out a faint smile.
Since he was returning to a household that had only ever criticized him, I’d told him to rest and not strain himself. Yet he’d been training all this time—it was truly commendable.
Originally, I’d planned to have him consume the Inner Elixir and Sea Spirit Flower immediately and cultivate, but impressed by Dorian’s achievement, I’d instead created a stepping stone for further growth through sparring.
‘Perhaps I should help him a bit more.’
I reached into the subspace pouch and plucked off one of the Haeryeong flower’s petals, handing it to Dorian.
“What is this?”
“Consume it and cultivate.”
“A transparent petal? You certainly bring strange things.”
Dorian accepted the petal with trembling hands, drained of strength. Trusting my judgment without further question, he immediately placed it in his mouth.
“W-wow, it’s delicious. And…huh?”
The boy chewed the petal and immediately sat down on the ground, beginning his cultivation.
-Delicious, you say? Let me have a taste!
Wrath bounced up and down excitedly, pointing at the petal Dorian had consumed.
‘Sigh….’
I shot Wrath a look of exasperation.
‘Nothing ever changes.’
This gluttonous True Demon King was now finding flavor even in spirit herbs. Dorian had called him pathetic, but I was proving to be worse.
-Just one more—
‘I’ll eat them all later. Wait a bit.’
I pushed Wrath away while declaring I would consume both the leaves and flowers.
Goooooooh!
Black energy flowed from between Dorian’s pores. The detoxifying power of the Sea Spirit Flower’s leaves was drawing out the turbid energy from within his body.
‘Now it truly begins.’
I placed my hand on Dorian’s back and pushed my aura into him.
I helped him absorb all the Sea Spirit Flower’s energy while using Manhwagong to guide his cultivation, ensuring the waste expelled more efficiently.
The cultivation that had begun at dawn reached its completion when midday arrived, and Dorian’s eyes snapped open.
“Wow…”
He gazed at his own hands, swallowing hard.
“What… what did you give me? My aura increased, and why does my body feel so light?”
“Sea Spirit Flower leaves.”
“Sea Spirit Flower? What was that again… Gasp!”
Dorian jolted upright in shock.
“The Sea Spirit Flower? That legendary Sea Spirit Flower?”
His eyes widened to the point of nearly bulging from their sockets.
“Yes.”
I nodded lightly. Unlike his tendency to talk excessively, Dorian was quite good at keeping secrets, so there was no harm in telling him.
“That’s… that’s the elixir from the legends! Where on earth did you get such a treasure?”
“I went to the sea and picked it.”
“Huh… what?”
Dorian lost his words, his mouth falling open in shock.
‘Of course he picked it.’
But was that really all there was to it?
It wasn’t even a cave—just “went to the sea and picked it”—and I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity.
“…That’s all there is to it?”
“Yeah.”
Raon took out a single flower from his subspace pouch. Blue petals that sparkled like the Sea, a smooth stem, and even transparent leaves. It was unmistakably the Sea Spirit Flower he had only heard of in legends.
“It really is the Phantom Jellyfish Flower…”
But could a human even obtain such a thing?
Even my trading house, one of the Five Great Trading Companies of the Continent, had concluded that the Phantom Jellyfish Flower no longer existed. Yet here it was, held in the hands of a human not even twenty years old. It was incomprehensible.
“I have this too.”
Raon reached into his spatial pouch once more and withdrew a spherical orb. A suffocating, nauseating poison emanated from within it in waves.
“What… what is this?”
“An Inner Core.”
“An Inner Core? Where did you get that?”
“I hunted a spirit creature and extracted it.”
“…”
Dorian squeezed his eyes shut.
‘He hunted a spirit creature and extracted its core…’
I can’t keep up. I really don’t understand anymore!
It’s common knowledge that spiritual creatures attach themselves to naturally occurring elixirs. However, if an inner core was releasing that level of toxicity, there should have been spiritual entities far beyond the level of mere monsters—yet he returned without a single wound. What truly terrified me was Raon’s casual tone, as if he’d simply gone to the neighborhood and picked an apple.
“Ah….”
Dorian shuddered at the thought of what Raon might become once he passed twenty years old.
‘He’s going to destroy one of the Six Emperors Five Demons, isn’t he….’
*
*
*
Raon surveyed the Training Courtyard where Dorian had been practicing and smiled.
“You’ve chosen a good spot. It was impossible to cultivate in the Dormitory because of the inner core.”
The toxicity dwelling within the Phantom Jellyfish’s inner core was far too potent to cultivate in the Dormitory. This place was spacious and shielded from view—perfect for cultivation.
I installed an illusion formation to keep monsters and people away, then returned to the Training Courtyard.
“Now it’s your turn. Watch carefully.”
“I-I can watch, but are you really going to consume that inner core?”
Dorian swallowed hard as he watched the toxicity blazing within the inner core.
“Yes.”
I plucked a petal and a single leaf from the Sea Spirit Flower and nodded. The petals contained concentrated mana infused with the essence of the sea, while the leaves held pure mana and detoxification properties. It was the Sea Spirit Flower’s leaves that had purged the impurities from Dorian’s body.
“I’m starting to think you’re beyond what I can handle, Master.”
“When could you ever handle me?”
“W-well, that’s true….”
Dorian scratched the back of his head and nodded.
“Watch carefully. I’ll finish quickly.”
“I’ll guard with my life!”
He nodded while keeping his hand pressed to his forehead.
“There’s no need to go that far.”
I chuckled softly and placed a petal of the Sea Spirit Flower into my mouth. Five petals melted away on my tongue and slid naturally down my throat. Along with the scent of the sea, a refreshing energy filled my entire body.
-That…
Just as I was about to consume the poison core and leaves of the Sea Spirit Flower next, Wrath raised his hand.
-If you wrap meat in those leaves, it’d taste delicious…
‘Quiet.’
-Ugh!
I swatted Wrath away with the back of my hand as if brushing off a fly.
‘Focus.’
If my attention got drawn to that creature, I’d only waste my mental energy. Refocusing my concentration, I placed the poison core of the Phantom Jellyfish into my mouth. As with the other ingredients, the concentrated mana caused it to dissolve immediately upon contact, and the scorching toxin contained within the core spread throughout my mouth, bringing a sensation as if my entire mouth was melting away.
-Kueeeek!
Wrath rolled across the floor, trembling violently throughout his entire body.
-Tastes awful! I’m dying!
‘Just endure it a little longer.’
I chewed the leaves of the Sea Spirit Flower and pushed the toxin from the poison core straight down into my stomach along with the refreshing energy.
-Hey! You won’t even taste it if you eat it that way!
‘Be quiet.’
The petals of the Sea Spirit Flower, the poison core of the Phantom Jellyfish, and the leaves of the Sea Spirit Flower harmonized together, unleashing a tremendous force that felt as though it would tear my entire body apart.
The oceanic energy of the Sea Spirit Flower and the toxin of the Phantom Jellyfish clashed fiercely against each other, pushing back the flows of Manhwagong and Glacia.
‘It’s manageable.’
This combination of the Sea Spirit Flower’s petals, poison core, and leaves was something I had been contemplating since arriving here. I could definitely handle it.
Whoooooosh!
I swallowed the shock that threatened to make me cough blood, resonating the ring of fire. Pressing down the two turbulent energies, I curled my trembling lips into a smile.
‘I happen to enjoy rough things too. How convenient.’
I’ll make it all mine.
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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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