The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 66

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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 66

I narrowed my eyes.

‘Thank you?’

I couldn’t comprehend it.

He had casually shattered the strategy I’d carefully constructed, defeated me in single combat, and struck my chest in the end—yet he bowed his head in gratitude. I couldn’t fathom his reasoning.

“Your eyes betray your confusion.”

Cain Zigheart chuckled as if he’d expected precisely this reaction.

“I was absolutely certain I could defeat you in this full-scale battle. I could have won regardless of when we clashed. I’d already analyzed your personalities and combat abilities before the match was even decided.”
“You were certainly formidable, I’ll grant you that.”

After identifying Martha and Burren’s personalities and swordsmanship, providing them with matching opponents and strategies had proven effective. Had I not sent Lunan, both of them would have fallen there.

“Exactly. But formidable doesn’t mean victorious. I believed one small victory meant everything was finished. I never imagined you possessed sharper senses than me, nor that you were so skilled at concealing your presence. And I never anticipated Martha and Burren would change so dramatically.”

Cain exhaled deeply.

“I couldn’t even fathom losing to you in single combat. During my recovery, I only cultivated my aura, so I was confident in my internal energy. Yet I was shattered by such a small spark—I still can’t believe it.”

He still believed the Flame Burst technique was weak. It was a misconception, but there was no need to correct him, so I remained silent.

“Through this battle, I’ve learned so much. I must always remember that among my enemies, there might be someone younger yet superior to me, and I must remain constantly vigilant.”

I observed Cain’s eyes. They gleamed with satisfaction, like someone whose belly had been filled with delicious food. It seemed everything he’d said thus far came from his heart.

‘Not bad for a direct descendant.’

As he said, I must always operate under the assumption that enemies could conceal their abilities. During my days as an assassin, I’d prepared for every conceivable scenario, which was why I could be called the greatest.

“Yes.”

Raon nodded to Cain and swept his gaze across the Dining Hall.

The trainees from the 5th Training Ground and 6th Martial Grounds now laughed and chattered like old friends, eating their meals together.

“What do you think about when you draw your blade?”
“Think? I just thrust by feel. And didn’t I tell you to leave?”

Even Martha, who had been irritable, seemed to soften as she received the praise, responding just a little. Very little indeed.

“If you’re to become a swordmaster of Zigheart, you should possess at least that much resolve.”
“Of course. A Zigheart swordmaster would offer their left side even if a blade pierced their right—all for victory.”

Burren and Decal laughed heartily, their faces flushed as though they’d been drinking.

Crunch, crunch.

Lunan had finished his conversation with Karin and was eating fruit. He seemed to enjoy it so much that he’d piled them high in front of him—he looked just like a squirrel.

‘How curious.’

It was strange how they’d fought as though ready to kill each other, yet now they were so close.

When they first announced this gathering, I’d thought it would feel like a funeral. It was the complete opposite. The restaurant now felt like a small festival was in full swing.

“You’re quite peculiar yourself.”

As I pondered this, Cain, tearing into his chicken, chuckled softly.

“What do you mean?”
“Aren’t you wondering why those who were fighting just moments ago have become so close?”
“Well…”
“I thought so.”

Cain nodded as if he’d known it all along.

“Want to know why? Because they fought.”
“I already know that. But why would fighting make them…”
“No, not just because they fought, but because they fought within the name of Zigheart.”

He pointed at the trainees who were chattering about today’s battle.

“We’re all Zigheart. We didn’t resort to cowardly tactics, and we clashed with everything we had to overcome each other. Everyone who crossed blades knows that.”

Raon’s gaze softened. Those words rang true. When I crossed swords with Cain, I felt his resolve clearly. He wanted only victory.

“Since you’ve poured everything you could into your opponent, whether you win or lose, your heart feels refreshed. Those guys aren’t just pretending to be close—they’ve actually formed a genuine bond.”

Cain said that and gulped down juice like it was beer.

“I see….”

A faint understanding began to dawn on me. Why they seemed so close to each other, and why I hadn’t grasped it.

‘It wasn’t like this in my past life.’

Even during assassin training, there were full-scale combat drills.

But unlike here, the weak lost their lives even in training, so I never thought of building bonds—I merely survived each day with gratitude and despair.

‘This must be the right way.’

When people bound by the same name stand in the same space, clash with their full strength, and leave no regrets, this outcome was inevitable.

In contrast, what the instructors wanted in my past life wasn’t human beings—they wanted obedient dogs. Since training involved death and killing, it was only natural that suspicion and resentment resulted.

“During the fight, you seemed as composed as a seasoned veteran, but now you look your age. Quite an intriguing quality.”

Cain chuckled while chewing meat. It was more amusement than mockery.

“Perhaps.”

I smiled back at him. Of course, it was a different kind of smile than Cain’s.

‘I truly know nothing.’

My strength grew steadily, and assassination techniques and experience remained intact in my mind, but the human aspect was more deficient than anyone here. It was a smile of self-deprecation.

“Sigh….”

I exhaled slowly, gazing out the window. The setting sun pressed down on my eyes with a sharp, piercing light.

Was it because of this situation? Or was it the words that stirred memories of my past life?

Old memories surfaced.
The days before I had the codename Raon. The era when I clutched a dagger for survival, when I struggled desperately—those memories flooded my mind.

Children who rushed at me during practical training, trying to kill me. Even those whose faces I didn’t know because they wore masks—if I hadn’t been taken away, I might have lived the same life as them.

I would have met kindred spirits, laughed together, and talked freely. No matter how difficult things became, I would have lived a better life than dying like that. My hands trembled with regret.

‘That’s right. All of it was….’

Derus Robert.
The former king of the south, that damned schemer called the Heavenly Sword Saint—because of him. After a long time, rage toward him surged in my chest.

“Raon?”

As I clenched my teeth, Lunan Slion’s clear voice reached me. I snapped back to reality.

-Tsk. That damned brat is getting in the way!

Wrath’s voice rang out from the bracelet with a tone of regret. It seemed this bastard had subtly stirred my emotions from the sidelines.

‘You’re something else, aren’t you.’
-Wait, wait! Why are you suppressing such righteous anger! Stoke it higher! You must seek vengeance! I, the King….
‘Leave it.’
-Ugh! You….

I pushed Wrath back into the bracelet.

“Sigh.”

Though Wrath had provoked me, this emotion was genuine. No matter what happened, I would kill Derus Robert.

“I’m fine.”
“Okay.”

When I gave Lunan Slion a faint smile as he stared blankly at me, he resumed eating his fruit. The way he ate was just like a squirrel.

“Raon Zigheart.”

Cain Zigheart, who had already finished devouring an entire chicken, tapped the table and called out my name.

“I have a proposal.”
“A proposal?”
“What if we occasionally held sparring matches between Training Grounds like this? One-on-one duels are fine, but I think full-scale battles like today have their own merit.”

His voice had grown loud enough that the dining hall fell silent. Every trainee who had been chattering turned to look our way.

“Hmm….”

I scanned the faces of the trainees around me, but I didn’t see anyone who seemed particularly opposed to the idea.

Martha frowned as if to say I shouldn’t agree, but I paid no mind to a single dissenting voice.

“Sure. It sounds good.”
“That’s what I like to hear!”

Cain Zigheart slammed the table and stood up.

“Ohhh!”
“This is going to be fun!”
“Next time, we won’t lose for sure!”
“What are you talking about? We’re definitely winning next time too!”

The trainees’ voices grew louder. Everyone was delighted at the prospect of this new rivalry.

“Damn it!”

Only one person—Martha—cursed under her breath and glared at me.

I ignored her gaze and looked toward the far right. In truth, the most important figures in deciding Cain Zigheart’s proposal were lost in their own thoughts.

“Wait, this meal isn’t the price of losing the bet, is it?”
“Of course not. Have I ever told you to pay for a meal because I lost a bet? I just told you to pay.”
“But you already took money from me.”
“That was a deposit.”

Rimer and Methun were chattering about the wager rather than discussing the trainees’ performance or shortcomings.

“Where in the world does such a rule exist….”
“This is this, and that is that. Fundamentally, the price of a wager is gold coins. Come now, hand them over quickly. And calculate the meal cost here too.”

Rimer grinned and opened his hand.

“There’s probably no elf as money-loving as you.”
“Ah, that’s a compliment.”
“Ugh, this is infuriating.”

Methun brought down a heavy pouch of gold coins onto Rimer’s outstretched hand.

“Thank you, my generous patron. I hope you’ll grace us with your presence again next time.”

Rimer scooped up the money and rose with his beer mug in hand.

“You all worked hard today. Rest tomorrow, and I’ll see you at the Training Ground the day after!”

He waved his hand in a circle and left the Dining Hall.

‘Where is he going?’

I let out a scoff and followed after him.

‘I can’t let him pocket all the gains alone.’

*

*

*

“Betting on Raon is a guaranteed win.”

Rimer headed toward the Gambling House with a cheerful stride.

‘Raon is my lucky charm. My lucky charm indeed.’

The trainees were pushed back one-sidedly, which made me a bit uneasy, but it unfolded exactly as I’d anticipated.

The moment Raon moved, the disadvantageous situation reversed, and we achieved a perfect victory. Going forward, as long as we rely on Raon, there’s no way we’ll ever lose.

“A 100% guaranteed bet—what a golden calf, truly golden! I wish we could do this every day.”
“No such bet exists in this world.”
“Huh?”

I spun around at the clear voice from behind. Raon stood there, his cold gaze fixed on the pouch of gold coins in my hand.

“R-Raon? Why are you here? Go back and eat more….”
“It seems you’ve won quite a bit by betting on us.”
“Uh, well….”
“And not just once or twice, either.”
“Ugh.”

Both statements were true. I’d profited considerably thanks to Raon. Well, more than considerably.

“Half.”

Raon raised a finger, pointing at the pouch of gold coins.

“Half?”
“Since you won because of us, please use half of your winnings for us.”
“H-Half?! That’s too much!”
“By tomorrow, it won’t be half anyway—just dust will remain.”
“I could win three times as much!”
“I haven’t seen you win anything at the Gambling House yet.”

The boy scoffed. It was infuriating, but his words held truth. Still, this time felt different. My luck seemed sharp and ready.

“This time the feeling is good. If I win ten times over, I’ll give you half of—”
“That’s enough. Half is sufficient for us.”
“No! I’ll take it all—”
“Then I won’t cooperate anymore.”
“What?”
“It’s obvious where you’ll place your bets, so I could always lose on purpose.”
“You wouldn’t actually do something like that… hmm.”

Rimer swallowed hard. That sunken gaze in Raon’s eyes meant he was serious.

‘Did I push too far?’

Now that he thought about it, when he’d sparred with Burren and Martha, he’d only taken and taken, completely wiping them out.

“I’m not asking for something for myself, sir. I’m asking you to buy equipment for the trainees.”
“Sigh, fine. What is it? What do you need?”
“After watching the 6th Martial Grounds trainees fight today, I realized something.”

Raon continued, offering his first faint smile.

“What the trainees need is….”

*

*

*

Two days later.

“Huh? What’s this?”
“A dummy?”
“These are sword training dummies.”

The trainees’ eyes gleamed as they beheld the dummies installed on the left side of the Training Ground.

“Sword training dummies?”
“Right. When you strike the dummy with your blade, it rebounds with greater force than you put in. They’re excellent for practical combat training.”
“Really? But why did these suddenly appear?”

The trainees tilted their heads in confusion as they gazed at the dummies.

“The instructor brought them.”
“What?”
“Really?”

At Raon’s words, the trainees turned to look at Rimer sprawled across the Platform with astonished eyes.

“You felt it during this practical exercise, didn’t you? When your blade clashes with your opponent’s, the rebound makes it easy to lose your grip or injure your wrist. I bought these as a countermeasure for that.”
“Gasp!”
“That gambling addict….”
“So he used the money he won the other day?”
“Instructor….”

The trainees approached Rimer with eyes full of admiration.

“Hmm….”

Even Burren, who openly disliked Rimer, widened his eyes in surprise.

“Yes. Use them well.”

Rimer waved his hand and laughed weakly.

‘Damn, they’re expensive.’

The dolls cost more than I expected. After buying several, barely half my gold coins remained. And the rest I recklessly spent in a fit of anger, losing it all. Just as Raon said, I’d truly become penniless.

Yet as I watched the trainees enjoying themselves striking the dolls, a thin smile played across my lips.

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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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