The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 4

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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 4

Cradled in Sylvia’s arms, I left the Annex Building for the first time, heading toward the Main Mansion of Zigheart.

‘So that’s the Main Mansion.’

The Main Mansion loomed in the distance. Its height reached toward the heavens themselves, and its breadth was so vast that even from this far away, I couldn’t take it all in at a single glance.
It wasn’t a house—it was a fortress that deserved to be called a castle.

‘Truly befitting the ruler of the Northern Region.’

Though Zigheart was merely a single family, it possessed territory and military might that surpassed kingdoms. It was no accident that they stood as one of the Six Sovereigns.

‘They all live there, then?’

Helen had told me that all the direct bloodline members except Sylvia and myself resided around the Patriarch’s Hall in the Main Mansion.

There was surely a reason why Sylvia alone lived separately in the Annex Building, but she hadn’t revealed it.

‘The aptitude assessment….’

As I gazed upon the Patriarch’s Hall erected at the center of the Main Mansion, my thoughts turned to the aptitude assessment that would take place today.

‘They really do everything.’

A child’s skull, open to the heavens, begins to close at the age of four, and from that moment onward, the child’s mana talent becomes fixed and unchanging.

The aptitude assessment held today was an event where children whose skulls had closed were gathered to determine the extent of their mana talent.

‘It matters not what I become.’

Even if my current talent proved meager, the Ring of Fire would elevate both my body and mana affinity to their absolute peak. My innate talent was irrelevant to my destiny.

“Raon.”

As I slowly rotated the Ring of Fire, Sylvia lifted me slightly. When I glanced to the side, we had already arrived before the Main Mansion.

“Your mother doesn’t care what you do, Raon. I just want you to grow up healthy.”
“Yes, I understand.”

I smiled innocently, like a child who knew nothing of the world.

“That’s right—my son is the cutest!”

She began rubbing her cheek against mine again. At this rate, I wouldn’t be able to move for the next five minutes.

“Ahem, Sylvia.”
“Oh, I’m sorry!”

Helen’s deliberate cough brought Sylvia back to her senses. I was grateful she had come along.

“Let’s head inside. We’re running a bit late.”
“Of course.”

She carried me into the Patriarch’s Hall.

I narrowed my eyes.

I surveyed the people within the Patriarch’s Hall with a measured gaze.

‘Impressive caliber.’

Perhaps because this was the Main Mansion’s Patriarch’s Hall, there wasn’t a single ordinary person inside. Not only the warriors, but even the servants and attendants possessed a sharp gleam in their eyes.

“We’ll arrive soon. Just be patient a little longer.”
“Okay.”

Sylvia and I walked down the central corridor on the first floor. At its end stood an enormous iron gate, massive enough for giants to pass through. It was the entrance to the Audience Chamber, where today’s assessment would take place.

“Sylvia Zigheart, Raon Zigheart, Helen Kabin. Confirmed.”

The warrior guarding the Audience Chamber bowed and opened the gate.

Creeeeak!

With a heavy, grinding sound like metal warping, a new world opened before us.

Radiant light of five colors cascaded from the ceiling, while the golden walls were lined with ornaments beyond measure.

This magnificent chamber—where one’s breath caught merely from beholding it—was the Audience Chamber where I could meet Glen Zigheart, the Patriarch of Zigheart.

Boom!

As the door shut, the gazes of everyone in the room pierced toward me like arrows.

“Sylvia? Then that child is Sylvia’s?”
“Why does the boy’s face look so….”
“Golden hair and red eyes.”
“The frame is small. I heard he was sickly—is it true?”
“He inherited the blood of a failure, so it must be.”
“Not a failure, but a castaway, rather.”

Strangers fixed their attention upon me. Of course, their gazes held no warmth.

In this small body—or perhaps because of it—I could feel the bitter contempt they radiated without filter.

“Even such a wretch enters the Audience Chamber.”
“Do we really need to conduct the evaluation for the castaway’s child?”
“Exactly. It’s beneath us.”

I don’t know what they mean by “failure” or “falling behind,” but they were openly criticizing Sylvia and themselves.

‘Hmm….’

My fists clenched. Their remarks about my small stature didn’t bother me, but hearing them insult Sylvia—my chest tightened with frustration.

“It’s alright, Raon. Just look at me.”

Even as she was called a failure and a fugitive, she smiled at me.

‘She truly is strong.’

Sylvia possessed an indomitable spirit. At the gentleness in her voice, the turmoil in my chest subsided.

‘Are they direct descendants?’

As Raon regained his composure and swept his gaze across the Audience Chamber, his eyes halted upon the elevated platform.

Seven figures seated in crimson chairs.
They gazed downward, radiating an aura fundamentally different from those below—a presence that commanded absolute respect.

‘The disparity is striking.’

If the collateral branches below were foxes and wolves, the direct lineage upon the platform emanated the overwhelming presence of dragons that had ascended to the heavens themselves.

Unlike the collateral branches, they did not speak, yet their eyes regarded Sylvia and me as one might regard refuse.

‘Are they all enemies?’

When I considered the Zigheart family a fractured household, Sylvia did not head toward the elevated platform, but rather downward—to the very end of the lower section.

‘That’s strange.’

Multiple inconsistencies troubled me.
Ordinarily, an insurmountable chasm exists between direct and collateral branches of a family. For collateral members to openly provoke was highly irregular.

Moreover, Sylvia lived in isolation and had not ascended to the platform. Despite being direct lineage, she was clearly subjected to discrimination for reasons unknown.

‘What could the reason be?’

Perhaps she was deemed a fugitive or an outcast—someone who had failed in duels or combat.

Boom!

As I contemplated why Sylvia faced such discrimination, the warriors standing before the Audience Chamber’s entrance struck the ground with their spears.

“The rightful master who reigns over the Northern Region, Patriarch Glen Zigheart, makes his entrance!”

With those words, the massive iron doors of the Audience Chamber swung wide open.

A deep, resonant boom echoed through the chamber.

Glen Zigheart appeared, accompanied by an oppressive aura that made the very air tremble.

His mere entrance seemed to intensify gravity itself, constricting my heart. A suffocating tension crawled down my spine.

“Greetings to the Patriarch!”

The dragons perched upon the dais looking down, and the wolves baring their fangs below—all knelt simultaneously.

Thud.

That footfall.

Glen Zigheart entered with that same crisp, measured stride I had heard five years ago. He radiated an absolute presence that pressed down upon the entire Audience Chamber as he took his seat upon the golden throne at the center of the dais.

“Begin.”

At a snap of his fingers, a sword erupted from the center of the Audience Chamber—a colossal stone blade so massive that even a giant would struggle to lift it.

‘Is that the Sword of Discernment?’

That blade was said to be a thousand years old, and placing one’s hand upon it would reveal the mana talent possessed by that person.

Today’s aptitude evaluation was to be conducted using the stone sword’s power to judge the children’s talents.

“First: Burren Zigheart.”

At the announcer’s call, a boy with blue hair who appeared to be around six years old rose from his seat in the second row of the dais.

“Please place your hand upon the sword.”

As he descended from the dais, the master of ceremonies gestured toward the stone blade. Burren nodded and placed his hand upon it.

Whoooosh!

A verdant light bloomed from Burren’s fingertips, engulfing the entire stone sword, while a deep wind essence swirled near the blade’s tip.

“Remarkable!”
“Wind! It’s wind!”
“The light radiating from the entire blade indicates mana of the highest quality!”
“Truly a talent worthy of Lord Karun Zigheart’s son!”
“Our congratulations!”

The branch family members standing below the dais offered applause and cheers to the middle-aged man seated before Burren.

“An excellent attribute befitting a swordsman. From now on, focus on sensing the wind.”
“Understood!”

As Glen nodded, Burren broke into a radiant smile like a sunflower turning toward the sun, then returned to his seat.

“Next, Lunan Slion from the vassal house Slion.”
“Yes.”

A silver-haired girl sitting at the right end of the platform rose quietly.

‘So she’s from the vassal house Slion.’

Just as noble houses served the king, the vassal houses were the great families of the Northern Region that served the Zigheart.

Since Slion was the representative of the vassal houses, it seemed she occupied a place on the platform alongside the direct line.

Whoooosh.

The girl called Lunan approached the stone sword with an impassive gaze and raised her hand.

Zing!

The moment her hand touched the stone sword, a silvery radiance like melted moonlight erupted from the blunt blade’s edge.

The surging light filled the entire blade and overflowed, climbing up the hilt and coating the whole sword in a silvery frost.

“Frost? And covering the entire blade!”
“Is she on the same level of talent as Burren…?”
“No wonder she’s from Slion.”
“Another genius has emerged from the Slion house.”

Yet unlike when Burren had awakened, the cheers and applause were muted. There seemed to be a competitive relationship between the vassal houses and the cadet branches.

“You possess a fine attribute. If you hone it as sharply as a blade’s edge, you will be able to pierce through any aura.”

Glen Zigheart nodded to Lunan as well.

“Thank you.”

Lunan gave a slight nod without much change in expression, then bounded back to her seat like a cat.

After that, two direct descendants and numerous collateral relatives and vassal family children placed their hands on the stone sword, but none possessed talent comparable to Burren and Lunan.

‘Now I understand.’

I flicked my finger. Observing the judgment formulas of the others, I could discern what was good and what was lacking.

‘The purity of mana determines how far the light of the blade extends, and the attribute of mana manifests at the tip of the sword.’

When the quality of mana was exceptional, like with Lunan or Burren, the entire blade would gleam brilliantly, and it seemed the special attributes of mana could be discerned through the sword’s form.

“Finally, Raon Zigheart. Please come forward.”
“Let’s go. Raon.”
“Okay.”

As I nodded, Sylvia laughed brightly and lifted me up.

“You saw what the other children did, right? Just do the same.”

Sylvia set me down before the stone sword, then extended her hand as if demonstrating.

“Okay.”

I answered briefly and gazed at the stone sword.

‘It won’t show much.’

Though the Ring of Fire had advanced to two stars, the chill remaining in my mana circuits was terrifyingly abundant.

Considering my current physical condition, I wouldn’t be able to display the brilliant radiance the other children showed.

“Huh.”

I exhaled slowly and extended my hand toward the stone sword.

Thump.

The moment my hand touched the stone sword, a wave rippled through my heart like a pebble dropped into a still pond. The small pulse reverberated from my chest throughout my entire body.

‘What is this?’

As I tried to pull my hand away from that strange sensation, a brilliant flash erupted before my eyes.

A golden-haired man clad in silver armor came into view.
Before him, countless monsters surged forward like a tidal wave.

What is this….

Despite being clearly a vision, the sensation was so vivid that cold sweat dripped down my forehead.

My hands trembled and my breathing grew ragged as the man raised his sword.
Golden flames blazed across the blade’s crystalline edge with piercing beauty.
He brought the sword wreathed in fire down like a thunderbolt.

In that instant.
A torrent of golden fire erupted across the earth, consuming the world.

I squeezed my eyes shut against the golden flames flooding my vision, and when I opened them, the world had shifted again—a message hung before me.

[You are acquiring Ring of Fire (2-Star).]
[You failed to acquire ???.]
[Insufficient achievement.]

Tilting my head at the cryptic message, light suddenly surged from the stone sword.

Vwoooom.

The rising light faltered and came to a halt at the center of the blade.

Unlike others, I possessed no special abilities, no refined mana purity—talent that fell far short of even a distant branch, let alone the direct line.

“Already finished?”
“Couldn’t even reach the middle?”
“Kahahaha! I’ve never seen such a pathetic amount!”
“Poor mana quality and no abilities whatsoever—just colorless.”
“There’s nothing worth seeing except his face.”
“It seems the Almighty doesn’t even bless the child of a fugitive.”

The direct descendants who witnessed the aptitude test furrowed their brows in disdain, while the collateral branches burst into outright mockery.

“….”

Glen, who had been offering brief counsel to both the direct and collateral lines, remained silent as well.

“It’s alright. Raon. You did well.”

Sylvia embraced me with the smile she always wore, while Helen, who had drawn near without my noticing, bit her lip and covered my ears.

“Sigh….”

I exhaled a low breath.

Contempt was familiar. Raised as a beast rather than a human, brainwashed into submission—I had long since abandoned such frivolities as emotion. Criticism and insult were things I could accept without hesitation.

I was merely a body passing through, here only to obtain what I needed and leave. I had resolved not to concern myself with whatever transpired in this place.

Though Sylvia and her handmaidens treated me as true family, that resolve had not wavered.

Yet now, my spirits sank in a way that felt strangely uncharacteristic.

Watching those fools mock not only me but Sylvia and Helen as well, my chest seized as though struck by lightning.

‘Good.’

I clenched my teeth firmly. Sylvia and her handmaidens were the first to treat me as a human being.

I resolved to show those direct and collateral descendants who mocked them just how worthless their innate talent truly was.

“I’ve attended every aptitude test, but I’ve never seen anything like this.”
“Are they really from the Zigheart?”
“All of Sylvia’s talent has vanished. There’s nothing to see except the golden hair and crimson eyes like the Patriarch.”

I committed every face of those loose-tongued fools to memory.

“Enough.”

Glen’s cold single word froze the entire Audience Chamber.

“The trial of discernment is over. Everyone is dismissed.”
“Patriarch?”
“Do I need to repeat myself?”
“All of you, leave at once.”

As Karun Zigheart, Glen’s second son, rose to his feet, the others exchanged glances and filed out of the Audience Chamber—though not before muttering curses about Raon and Sylvia under their breath where they couldn’t be heard.

Before even five minutes had passed, only two remained in the Audience Chamber: Glen Zigheart, the master of the hall, and his chief steward, Roen.

“There was no helping it.”

Glen gazed upon the Sword of Discernment standing at the chamber’s center and nodded with calm acceptance.

“Patriarch….”

Roen was about to approach him when it happened.

Crack!

Light surged from the base of the Sword of Discernment, climbing the blade and flooding to the very tip of the hilt.

Whoosh!

The light burned with a rich golden hue like the sun itself, and blazing flames erupted from the end of the hilt.

“Golden flames?”

For the first time, a tempest of emotion swept through Glen’s eyes.

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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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