The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 5

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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 5

Snap!

As Glen flicked his finger, the mana within the Audience Chamber stirred.

Rumble, rumble, rumble!

The mana flow, which had been as tranquil as a still lake, began to surge violently, and a colossal iron gate erupted from the floor.

Whoooosh!

The magnificent iron gate, towering to touch the ceiling, burned with golden flames.

“P-Patriarch?”

Roen’s eyes widened. That gate was the Treasury of Zigheart, which only the Patriarch could summon. This was the first time Glen had summoned it in ten years.

“I’ll be back shortly.”

As Glen raised his hand, the golden iron gate opened smoothly as if oiled.

He glanced back briefly, confirming the golden flames burning above the stone sword once more, before stepping into the Treasury.

The interior of the Treasury was stacked with countless treasures.
Supreme-grade elixirs and weapons, jewels that could purchase castles, and various tomes—each one a treasure that could shake the entire Continent with bloodshed if it were to emerge.

Glen paid no attention to the weapons and jewels that gleamed ostentatiously, nor to the neatly stacked elixirs.
He walked in a straight line through the Treasury and headed toward the colossal bookshelf erected at its deepest point.

The cylindrical bookshelf rose to the end of the Treasury as if it were the World Tree itself, with books of various kinds arranged in each compartment.

Tap.

Glen lightly kicked the ground, and his body defied gravity, lifting into the air. He stepped through empty space toward the first compartment of the bookshelf.

Unlike other sections, the first compartment held only two books.

He reached for the yellowed, worn book wedged in front of him, attempting to pull it free. But the book remained immovable, as if pinned beneath stone.

“As expected, it won’t budge.”

Glen clicked his tongue and instead withdrew the crimson-hued book beside it.

The second book slid out smoothly, unlike the first, and its excellent preservation meant there were no issues in reading it.

Tap tap tap.

Glen’s hand, which had been rapidly skimming through the book’s contents, came to an abrupt halt midway.

“Hmm….”

He furrowed his brow as he read the passage written in the book.

“The aura of the first Patriarch of Zigheart was a golden radiance like the sun, displaying transcendent firepower capable of melting even the flames of the demonic realm….”

Glen closed his eyes and recalled the golden inferno that Raon had created.

“Golden mana, golden flames.”

Yellow auras had appeared frequently throughout history, but deep golden mana was a color that had appeared only once in all of Zigheart’s records.

“Raon. Just what are you….”

*

*

*

“I’m sorry, my son.”

The moment Sylvia returned to the Annex Building, she embraced Raon, holding him so tightly it was difficult to breathe.

“It’s alright.”

Raon felt Sylvia’s shoulders trembling and gently patted her back.

‘I still don’t quite understand it.’

In my past life, I lived without knowing what emotions were.

If told to kill, I killed. If told to abduct, I abducted. If told to steal, I stole. We were nothing but a keeper and a beast—a relationship of command and obedience.

But now it was different.
Sylvia, Helen, and the maids gave to me without asking for anything in return.

Since this was my first time receiving without giving, I couldn’t precisely explain what this emotion piercing through my chest truly was.

Still, I knew one thing.
I wished Sylvia and the maids wouldn’t cry. Even if they couldn’t always smile, I hoped they wouldn’t be sad.

‘If they had mocked me, I wouldn’t have felt anything.’

But those in the Patriarch’s Hall had mocked Sylvia.
The branch families below the platform laughed openly, while the direct line above wore expressions of disgust as if looking at insects.

‘I should teach them.’

I would teach all of them who had mocked Sylvia. I would show them how their vile conduct today would come back to haunt them.

*

*

*

In the afternoon, warm sunlight streamed down.
A boy sat upon the grass of the Garden.

His deep golden hair swayed in the gentle breeze, and despite his youthful appearance, his features already possessed an almost perfect harmony.

The only flaw was his pallid complexion, as though his body was in poor health.

“Haa….”

The boy, who had sat with his eyes closed for some time, slowly opened them.

‘The Ring of Fire is about to become three.’

Raon, who had grown enough to be called a boy rather than a child, smiled faintly.

‘Seven years have already passed.’

Seven years had elapsed since the first diagnostic test, and I had already turned twelve.

Thanks to consistent cultivation during that time, the two Rings of Fire were on the verge of becoming three.

‘It’s a bit regrettable.’

Had it not been for the chill spreading throughout my body, I would have reached the third tier long ago, but unfortunately, cultivating alongside the cold had inevitably slowed my progress.

Still, it wasn’t as though I gained nothing.

‘Status window.’

I called out the word that had become familiar by now.

【Status Window】
Name: Raon Zigheart.
Title: None.
Condition: Curse of Extreme Cold (Nine Strands), Poor Constitution, Reduced Physical Capability, Reduced Mana Sensitivity.
Traits: ???, Ring of Fire (2-Star), Water Attribute Resistance (2-Star)
*Additional abilities have not been unlocked.

Water Attribute Resistance had risen to 2-Star, and thanks to the disappearance of full-body chilling from my condition, the stiffness in my hands and feet that plagued me before had vanished.

Of course, moving my body was still difficult due to my different constitution, but that was a problem that would naturally resolve itself as the Ring of Fire’s achievement increased.

“Hmm.”

I closed the status window and rose from the grass.

‘Now I need to begin physical training as well….’

With the cold affecting me less, Sylvia and the maids’ worries had diminished, but whenever I try to move my body, they rush over and stop me.

To rapidly elevate my mastery of the Ring of Fire, I needed physical training as well. I had to find a way to practice openly.

‘Is there no way to train without hiding?’

I could force myself to train in secret, but for some reason, Sylvia’s words were difficult to defy. It wasn’t a command, yet I found myself unable to refuse.

“Young Master!”

As I was pondering the matter, Helen came rushing out from the Annex Building.

“You need to participate in the Evaluation, yet you’re still like this. You’re just like the Lady, I tell you.”
“Ah, that’s right.”

The Evaluation required everyone to participate except those who were away or on missions, so I had no choice but to attend.

“I’ll have to see those irritating fools again.”

When I participated in the second Evaluation years ago, I was subjected to blatant ridicule. This time, they would likely hurl the same insults—coward, deserter, words I couldn’t even comprehend.

“Y-Young Master. Such words should be spoken quietly….”

Helen glanced around and raised a finger to her lips.

“You mean others might be listening?”
“The eyes and ears within this family are always open.”
“You worry too much, but I understand.”

I clicked my tongue briefly and entered the Annex Building. Inside, Sylvia waited, dressed in formal attire.

“If you’re tired, would you like to rest in your room? Mother can go alone.”

Sylvia, with fine lines now creasing the corners of her eyes, gently stroked my head.

“I’m fine.”

I shook my head and entered my room.

‘I need to see how those who mocked us have changed.’

For an assassin, monitoring changes in their target was a task of paramount importance.

I decided to participate in the Aptitude Test with genuine interest.

*

*

*

I entered the Audience Chamber with Sylvia and Helen, where the Aptitude Test was being held.

“Still so short.”
“Scrawny too. If not for that golden hair and red eyes, I’d believe he was from another family.”
“The only thing befitting the Zigheart name is that arrogant appearance.”
“Pale complexion too—his face isn’t even that impressive, is it?”

It was as expected. The direct descendants who ignored me with indifference and the branch members who sneered in hushed tones remained unchanged.

‘How fortunate.’

They were still mocking Sylvia and me. I was actually satisfied that their attitude hadn’t shifted.

‘Joanna, Henry, Denier….’

I surveyed the platform and below, mentally reciting the names of the direct and branch descendants one by one.

After waiting about thirty minutes in the back row below the platform, Patriarch Glen Zigheart entered.

He ascended the platform with an even more commanding presence than seven years ago, proceeding with the Aptitude Test.

Since there were no direct descendants and only branch members and children from vassal families participating, the ceremony concluded in less than three hours.

The branch members’ mana purity was high, and I heard mockery comparing me to them throughout, but I paid it no mind.

“Today’s Aptitude Test is concluded. Everyone, thank you for your….”
“Wait.”

Glen raised his hand, cutting off the announcer’s closing remarks.

“Raon Zigheart.”

For the first time, the gaze of the absolute ruler seated upon the jade throne—one who gazed down upon all creation—turned toward me.

Silence fell like a curtain, and every eye in the chamber converged upon me.

‘Me?’

I swallowed hard, my throat dry. I had never imagined my name would be called so suddenly, and panic seized me.

“P-Patriarch?”
“Hmm….”

Sylvia’s eyes trembled with alarm. Helen, standing beside her, squeezed her hand firmly.

“An order was issued for you to participate in the foundational training as a member of this family. Why have you not sent a response even now, a month later?”

‘Foundational training participation?’

I had never received any such order. Glancing to the side, I saw Sylvia biting her lip. She had known about this all along.

“P-Patriarch. Raon is different from the other children. There is still residual cold energy within his body….”
“Those who bear the name Zigheart know neither exception nor refusal.”
“He can barely walk properly. He will not be able to endure the training.”

Sylvia shook her head with firm resolve.

“If he cannot walk, then let him crawl through the training. That is what it means to be Zigheart.”

Glen rested his chin on his right hand, his eyes narrowing.

“I-I cannot accept this. At the very least, could we not have some time…?”
“If you cannot accept it, will you leave the house again? With that scrap of life?”
“T-That is….”

I felt Sylvia’s hand, which held mine, grow damp with perspiration.

“On this land, one can only live as Zigheart. If you despise it, then leave.”

Glen’s voice was cold, as if speaking to a stranger with no blood relation whatsoever.

“Is she going to run away again?”
“That would be worth watching, but she has no dantian or mana circuits left to break.”
“To think such a person was a direct descendant of the family. Tsk tsk.”
“….”

I observed Sylvia, Glen, and everyone else in the room, suppressing the chill in my gaze.

‘Now I understand.’

Now I could finally comprehend why Sylvia, despite being a direct descendant, received such deplorable treatment. Why she was scorned not only by the direct line but by the collateral branches as well.

‘She left the family.’

She bore traces of martial training, yet possessed no aura. This meant either her dantian had been sealed or she had never cultivated an aura—and as I suspected, it was the former.

Sylvia had undoubtedly destroyed her dantian and mana circuits before leaving the family to marry my father.

‘After becoming pregnant with me, Father must have died, forcing her to return against her will.’

I understood.
Having voluntarily relinquished her position as a direct descendant of Zigheart and then returned, the treatment she received from the collateral branches and below was justified.

‘But.’

That was the external perspective, their circumstances. As Sylvia’s son, I could not tolerate the treatment she endured.

Tap.

I released Sylvia and Helen’s hands and stepped forward.

“Y-Young Master!”
“Raon. Mother will handle this herself….”
“It’s fine.”

I shook my head at both of them and stood directly before Glen.

“Patriarch. As you instructed, I will begin participating in training starting next month.”

I lowered my head, meeting his gaze—the look he cast upon me was not that of a grandson, but of an insect beneath his notice.

“You weren’t unaware that you had training scheduled, were you?”

Denier Zigheart, Glen’s third son and my uncle, opened his mouth. He was the only one among the direct bloodline who had shown me a pitying gaze.

“That is correct.”
“Even basic training is beyond what you, as a patient, can endure. Withdraw now while you still can.”
“I am fine.”

I looked not at Denier, but at Glen.

“I have been given the name Zigheart. I must prove myself worthy of it. I will participate in the training.”

My voice was resolute, unbecoming of a child, and a subtle shift rippled through the gathered eyes.

Though their gaze still regarded me as little more than a pebble, that was enough for now.

I had risen from the lowest hunting dog to the greatest assassin, and I was mastering the legendary Ring of Fire spoken of in continental legends.

If I wielded all those abilities, standing tall within this family would not be impossible.

Revenge delayed? No. Perhaps this path would be faster still.

Crunch.

I clenched my small fist tightly.

‘Let me show you how hard this pebble you’ve trampled can become.’

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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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