The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 585

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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 585

Siyan peered through the hole in the blanket at Raon, her mouth falling open in shock.

“W-what?”

Bewildered, she trembled without even understanding what sound she was making.

‘E-examine me? What does he mean?’

Siyan’s lips quivered as she glanced down at her own limbs hidden beneath the blanket.

‘Does something smell bad? Or does he find me so ugly that he doesn’t want to be near me?’

The moment Raon mentioned examining her, her mind spiraled with countless anxious thoughts.

Unable to decide how to respond, she was still trembling when Raon continued speaking.

“I cannot say with certainty, but I may be able to improve your condition somewhat.”
“M-my condition?”
“You mentioned that resonance isn’t working, correct?”
“Yes. Still….”

Siyan glanced at Raon and nodded slightly.

“I would like to investigate why that is.”

Raon narrowed his eyes as he looked at Siyan.

‘The possibility is certainly there.’

Siyan’s mother had come to this place when she became pregnant with her, and Wrath had said that since Siyan’s birth, a massive something had blocked the pathway leading to her upper dantian.

It wasn’t certain, but I suspected that the aura of the orb left behind by the Zigheart Ancestor might have seeped into her.

‘Because she’s a High Elf.’

High Elves are beings as close to nature as the World Tree itself. If Siyan was special among them, it was hardly surprising that the aura that had nurtured the World Tree would transfer to her.

“So, what should I do then? Should I remove my clothes first?”
“…No. Your hand will suffice.”
“Oh! Ah, I understand.”

Siyan wriggled beneath the blanket for a while before extending a trembling hand.
I had seen the hands of quite a few women, but never an arm so pale it seemed almost translucent. It was as if she had never once gazed upon the sun.

“Forgive me.”

As I grasped Siyan’s hand and attempted to activate the Manhwagong, her arm trembled as if struck by lightning before I could even channel my aura.

“Siyan? Are you in pain somewhere?”
“Oh, no!”

Siyan shook her head rapidly.

‘How can I tell him I’m trembling!’

For the first time in her life, she held the hand of someone other than family, and that someone was Raon, her idol. Her heart felt as though it might leap from her chest and dance away.

Raon held her hand firmly to steady her trembling, then simultaneously pushed the aura of the Manhwagong and Glaceria into her mana circuits. Because I had mapped out the Elf’s mana pathways when treating Rimer before, I was able to navigate swiftly.
When I treated Rimer before, I was able to quickly find the way because I had already grasped the Red-haired Elf’s mana circuits.

“It’s clean.”

To possess such a body from birth was nothing short of a blessing.
To be born with such a body was nothing short of a blessing.

“It’s strange that despite having a body like this, I can’t use aura well.”

The middle dantian was as clean as the lower one, but its realm was so low that it had barely developed.
The middle dantian was just as pure as the lower dantian, but due to its low realm, it had barely developed.

Finally, when moving the aura toward the direction where the upper unit exists, passing through the middle unit, a section suddenly appeared where the mana circuit was completely blocked, as if a massive boulder was standing in the way.

“It’s hardened quite firmly.”

It was a critical mana circuit that remained sealed from birth for both humans and elves alike, only opening upon reaching Grand Master rank—and I sensed nothing amiss about it.

Though it was a part no one else should touch, I trusted Wrath’s words and pushed the energies of Manhwagong and Glacia into that sealed passage.

Whoooooosh!

The pathway should have been impenetrable to anyone but the body’s original owner who had achieved enlightenment, yet strangely, the heat of Manhwagong and the cold of Glacia carved through the tightly sealed crevice and seeped inward.

‘Was it truly not unnatural after all?’

As I considered my hypothesis correct and prepared to push denser energy into the passage, Rimer’s voice reached my ears.

“Raon! Siyan! Come over here. We’re starting now.”
“Mm….”

Raon withdrew his aura with a furrowed brow and released Siyan’s arm.

“So, how was it?”
“I’m still uncertain. Could we try again after the purification ceremony is complete?”
“Ah, yes….”

Siyan nodded, her voice trembling slightly as she remained wrapped in her blanket.

“Thank you.”

Raon bowed and made his way toward where Rimer and Sterin stood.

Siyan watched Raon’s retreating figure and gently rubbed the area above her solar plexus.

‘So warm….’

And refreshing too.

She followed after Raon, her hands clasped tightly together as if to preserve the warmth she had felt for the first time in so long.

*

*

*

As we headed toward the Center of World Tree, the Elves emanated a sharp, fierce aura as if preparing for war.

“Come closer.”

Sterin gestured for me to approach.

“Yes.”

Raon drew near to Sterin alongside Siyan.

“Listen carefully, both of you.”

Sterin indicated his ears, as if about to share something crucial. He seemed genuinely intent on treating Sepia as his benefactor.

“Resonance means merging my consciousness with this world. However, if I were to truly fuse my consciousness with the world….”

His voice dropped to an icy, spine-chilling tone.

“I would almost certainly perish.”
“Perish?”
“Yes. My consciousness is far too insignificant compared to the vastness of the world—we cannot become one. But if I were to diminish the target of fusion, it becomes possible.”
“Diminishing the target….”
“Swordsmen like yourself achieve certain realms, do they not?”
“You don’t mean Divine Sword Unity?”
“Precisely.”

Sterin nodded calmly.

“High Elves like myself are born with the innate ability to achieve resonance with the World Tree from birth.”

He shook his head, explaining that resonance with the World Tree was not something cultivated through training—it was an ability possessed from birth.

“But using resonance solely for purification rituals seems wasteful, does it not? That is how Influence was born….”
“I see now.”
“You understand at last.”

A faint smile bloomed at the corners of Sterin’s lips.

“You may not be able to become one with the World Tree, but learning to flow with resonance might be possible.”

He nodded toward me, seeming to hope I would glean something from him.

“Then let us begin.”

Sterin leaned his back against the World Tree and closed his eyes. His steady breathing gradually subsided, and his presence blazed through the Forest like wildfire consuming everything in its path.

The moment Sterin’s aura—which had been rising endlessly as if shedding the constraints of flesh—grew vast enough to engulf the World Tree itself, his breathing abruptly ceased.

‘He’s dead… No, he isn’t.’

The instant I thought Sterin had perished, brilliant emerald light began to bloom from the World Tree, which had been wrapped in a soft azure glow.

The noble yet gentle essence of Sterin’s soul was undulating from the Center of World Tree.

I lowered my gaze to see Sterin leaning against the World Tree.
His body remained in place, but the presence of the soul that should have filled it was nowhere to be felt.

“The purification ritual has begun! All units, stand guard!”

As the Grand Elder, who had regained some color to his face, gestured, the Elves surrounded the World Tree with a chilling aura.

The Grand Elder was stubborn and set in his ways, but his devotion to the Elven realm seemed genuine.

I activated the Ring of Fire and gazed up at the World Tree once more.

‘Is this resonance?’

Just as a swordsman and blade become one, Sterin had shed his body and become one with the World Tree.

‘Divine Blade Unity. When I and my blade become one…’

Recalling Heart-Blade Unity, I remembered the duel with Sterin from two days ago.

When I threw the Soul Reaper Sword and thought I didn’t want the duel to end like this, the Soul Reaper Sword grasped my will and obeyed my command to descend.

‘Now I understand.’

My unwillingness to lose and the Soul Reaper Sword’s unwillingness to lose had become one, allowing me to taste the essence of the sword dance, however faintly.

Raon’s gaze, growing hazy and distant, quietly followed the trace left behind by Sterin’s departing soul.

“R-Raon… sir? Huh?”

Siyan attempted to speak to Raon but was stopped by Rimer.

“Brother?”
“Don’t touch him right now.”

Rimer pointed to Raon’s eyes, which had become clouded like a dream, and placed a finger to his lips.

“He’s fallen into a state of transcendence.”
“T-Transcendence?”
“Yeah. Most people experience it once in a lifetime, if at all—but this bastard enters it as casually as taking a shit.”

He led Siyan to the side, warning her not to disturb Raon.

Whoooooosh!

The World Tree, as if to protect Raon, spread its branches to shield him from the sunlight pouring down from the sky.

“….”

The Grand Elder and the elders, aware that Raon had fallen into transcendence, refrained from disturbing him and simply watched with narrowed eyes.

Rimer let out a quiet laugh upon seeing the Grand Elder and the elders.

‘They haven’t completely rotted after all.’

He had been prepared to strike if they attempted to interfere with Raon, but fortunately, they showed no signs of moving.

As Rimer turned back to regard Raon with a calm smile, there was one being weeping alone, unknown to anyone.

-Damn it!

Wrath cursed as he looked up at the sky.

—Why does this bastard receive favor wherever he goes?! I suffer everywhere I go, and my abilities are stripped away, so why is only this bastard so blessed?!

I flailed my hands wildly at how absurd this world had become.

—I want to be happy too! And….

Finally, I screamed the most important thing.

—This bastard left without eating again!

*

*

*

Siyan bit her lip as she watched Raon lost in enlightenment.

‘Raon is truly remarkable.’

To achieve enlightenment the moment she saw resonance and fall into a state of transcendence—it was something she couldn’t even imagine as someone without talent.

‘The contents in the book actually diminished his abilities.’

While reading the biography of Raon Zigheart, she had thought there was some exaggeration, but the real Raon exceeded even that.
Just from the fact that he received a greeting from the World Tree and made the Grand Elder kneel, he was a monster far beyond human limits.

‘I must protect him.’

As she watched him from a distance to ensure he came to no harm, the voices of other elves reached her ears.

“How does that human achieve enlightenment the moment he sees resonance, yet Siyan still remains unchanged?”
“Right? She participates in every purification ceremony, yet she still hasn’t achieved resonance….”
“If Sterin passes away like this, won’t the World Tree be in danger too?”
“Why did such a High Elf appear….”

The elders and elves poured mindless criticism toward Siyan as if it mattered not whether she heard them.

“The World Tree’s future looks bleak. Perhaps it would be better to ask that human instead….”
“Can you shut your mouth?”

Rimer glared at the elves, his brow furrowing deeply.

“The consciousness ceremony hasn’t even been completed properly yet, so why are you all running your mouths like that? Keep quiet and maintain your guard properly.”
“Ahem….”
“Hmm….”

The elves averted their gazes, reading Rimer’s mood, though they continued to mutter that his words weren’t entirely wrong.

“These bastards.”

Rimer spat and was about to approach the elves when Siyan grabbed his sleeve.

“Brother, I’m fine.”
“But….”
“I really am.”

Siyan shook her head, telling him not to interfere.

“I’m used to it. And they’re not wrong anyway.”

Their words were crude, but not inaccurate. If Sterin left, there would be no elf capable of conducting the purification ceremony.

‘I’m really useless.’

Just as the elves said, Raon had glimpsed the ceremony once and drawn enlightenment from it, yet despite my continued participation in the purification ritual, I had gained nothing. It was clear that from birth, I had been blessed with nothing—talent was beside the point.

‘But this time, I won’t give up.’

Because there was Raon who told me that I stand where I am now because I didn’t give up on myself, I didn’t want to just sit down and give up, at least not today.

She closed her eyes and exhaled the resonance breathing her grandfather had taught her.
He closed his eyes and exhaled the resonant breathing technique that his grandfather had taught him.

“Hm? Something seems a bit different.”

Strangely enough, my body and mind felt lighter than usual.

I hope it’s just my imagination.

Siyan closed her eyes with a faint smile playing at her lips. Above her solar plexus, where her breath rose and fell in gentle waves, crimson and azure auras shimmered like heat haze.

*

*

*

I lifted my eyelids and drew a subtle smile across my face.

‘I’m beginning to understand.’

Thanks to witnessing Sterin’s resonance firsthand, I grasped what it meant to become one with the blade.
Though I hadn’t achieved Divine Blade Unity yet, I felt as though I’d laid down a small stepping stone to walk that path.

When I lifted my gaze, the World Tree stood exactly as it had before I fell into oblivion, swaying its branches, and Sterin remained seated in his original position.

‘It wasn’t as long as I thought.’
-Not as long as you thought?

As I tilted my head in wonder, Wrath thrust his haggard face forward.

-You’ve been out cold for a whole day and you say it wasn’t long? Have you truly lost your mind!

Wrath grabbed my collar and shook me, insisting I come to my senses.

-I’m starving to death!
‘A whole day?’

Hearing his words, I realized that twenty-four hours had passed, yet it felt as though almost no time had elapsed.

‘Then it was longer than I thought.’

As I let out a soft chuckle, Rimer approached with a wave of his hand.

“You really have no sense of timing.”

Despite the sigh that escaped his lips, a smile played at the corners of his mouth.

“How do you slip into that transcendent state as casually as eating a meal?”
“I was fortunate.”
“When will my luck finally strike like that?”

Rimer muttered his frustration and waved his hand dismissively.

“So did you gain anything from it?”
“I grasped a rough sense of what unity truly is.”
“That’s more than enough.”

He nodded, acknowledging it as a remarkable achievement.

“Then let’s head out.”
“Head out?”
“A day has passed, and Grandfather has now fully entered the purification ritual. He’ll remain in that state for two weeks, so there’s no need to wait.”

Rimer gestured for me to leave, saying the Elders and other Elves would keep watch.

“But….”
“You’re a guest and a benefactor. There’s no need for you to stand guard.”

He grasped my shoulder and pulled me along, assuring me not to worry. Siyan, who had been beside him, stirred and rose to her feet.

“Are you alright, Siyan?”
“Ah, yes.”

Siyan nodded slowly, her voice carrying a faint weariness.

Rimer gazed at her briefly, then placed his hand in empty space just as Sterin had done when opening this chamber.

Whoooooosh!

A verdant light tore through space, and Sterin’s Tree House—which we had passed through upon entering—materialized before us.

“I… I’ll head back first….”

The moment Siyan stepped out of the space where the World Tree had stretched, she bowed her head and rushed toward her residence.
I kept noticing how remarkably well she moved despite being completely covered by that blanket.

“Why is she like that?”
“There was a reason for it.”

Rimer exhaled shortly.

“I’ll take her there. You head back to the Dormitory. We’ll grab a meal in a bit.”

He made a gesture of picking up a fork before following after Siyan.

‘What happened?’
-While thou fell into a trance, those other pointy-eared bastards gave this elf wench a hard time.

Wrath nodded with a frown.

‘A hard time?’
-Thou fell into a trance immediately, but the elf wench had witnessed countless purification rituals and they kept grumbling about why she couldn’t achieve resonance.

He twisted his mouth, saying he couldn’t stand those pointy-eared creatures.

‘I see….’

I watched Siyan’s retreating figure and clicked my tongue.

‘I wanted to check it properly.’

I had wanted to confirm whether the wall blocking Siyan’s upper dantian was a barrier everyone possessed or if it was the aura of ancient magic emanating from the World Tree, but it seemed I’d have to postpone it for now.

-Enough already, go eat something! Haven’t you been starving all day!
‘Since I’ve been starving all day. How about some hardtack?’
-G-go ahead and try to kill the True Demon King! If thou eat that now, my intestines will twist into knots!

Wrath shook his head, pleading with me to come to my senses.

‘All right, all right.’

I chuckled and nodded.

‘This time, I’ll eat the Elven food you’ve been craving.’
-What? Since when do you care about such things?
‘It’s time.’

Wrath despised Siyan for her terrible cooking, but upon learning that the Elves ostracized her for her lack of talent, he had actually defended her instead. Seeing such a human side of him, I wanted to show her a little consideration.

As I walked while conversing with Wrath, we arrived at the Dormitory before I knew it.
There was no sign of Yua and Dorian—they must still be learning music.

Just as I reached for the Dormitory’s door handle to enter, the bushes on the right rustled, and a small baby fox suddenly bounded out.

“A fox?”

How could a fox possibly be here?

Rimer had said that only creatures invited by the Elves could enter this place. In other words, that fox could never be a wild animal.

‘Could it be…?’
-Kyaaaah!

Wrath, who had been grinning at the thought of the Elven food he was about to eat, suddenly recoiled in horror.

-It’s the Mad Woman! It must be the Mad Woman!

The moment I swallowed hard, sharing Wrath’s suspicion, human speech burst from the fox’s mouth.

“Raon!”

As expected, the baby fox was Merlin, but her voice was urgent and trembling, unlike her usual tone.

“Leave here right now!”

—————
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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