The Son-In-Law of the Magician Is a Transcendent Sword Master - Chapter 116

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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 116
After eliminating the Chimera, I ventured deeper into the Hall to search for the Mage.
However, amidst the debris shrouded in dust, there was no sign of the Mage anywhere.
Well, I hadn’t really expected to find her anyway.
“It seems she fled. She used that Chimera as a diversion.”
The timing of the Chimera’s emergence had been far too convenient. She must have escaped while we were locked in combat with it.
“Alright then. Let’s search for anything useful.”
“Okay.”
Together with Renia, I used magic to sift through the wreckage.
Yet all we discovered among the collapsed debris were traces of the Workshop where the Mage had been staying.
The important materials and medicinal pills she had consumed were all gone—she’d taken everything of value before fleeing, leaving nothing worthwhile behind.
There was only a single clue we managed to uncover.
“Is this… a mask?”
A grotesquely crafted fox-shaped wooden mask.
The Mage must have discarded it in her haste to escape.
‘…A fox-masked Chimera sorcerer…’
One possibility came to mind.
A fox mask. A Chimera sorcerer I’d encountered in my previous life.
More precisely, there had been an entire organization of Chimera sorcerers comprised of members wearing animal masks.
They called themselves….
‘The Beast Face Society.’
They were vicious operatives among the Archmage King’s subordinates, spearheading bioexperiments and Chimera synthesis.
Of course, they weren’t particularly formidable as enemies themselves, but the Chimeras they commanded were notoriously troublesome.
‘Could the Archmage King have already extended his reach into the Southern Forest?’
If the Beast Face Society had deeply infiltrated the Southern Forest, then eliminating them all now would be necessary to prevent future complications.
I handed the fox mask to Renia and asked her a question.
“Renia, would you be able to track them down through this mask, perhaps?”
“Hmm….”
I’d hoped that Renia’s mana sensitivity might allow her to pursue the Mage, but she shook her head.
“The stench here is too overwhelming. I can’t distinguish anything.”
“I see.”
Five Sword Experts alone had bled out, and the Chimera was dead.
The mana in this space was already chaotically tangled with the reek of blood and dark magic. Even for someone like Renia, isolating a single sorcerer’s trace from this chaos was nearly impossible.
“I wish Sheril were here.”
“Indeed.”
Feeling anew the absence of the capable Covert Mage Sheril, we emerged beyond the debris.
In the Chongchae courtyard stood Rashek, and the moment he saw me, he strode forward with great strides….
“I, Rashek, have been deeply impressed by your prowess! Please, allow me to exchange blows with you!”
“….”
What in the world was this fool babbling about?
I tried to understand what Rashek was saying.
“…So, mixing fists means….”
“Ah! He’s asking for a sparring match.”
“Now? In this situation?”
“Yes!”
Rashek Maelrn shouted triumphantly.
“You are undoubtedly a powerful warrior. Surely you must be a Mage of 6th Rank or higher! Then there must be something I can learn from you.”
“…What in the….”
I swallowed the absurd retort that threatened to escape my lips, and Rashek Maelrn, as if the matter were already decided, took his stance in one corner of the courtyard with his fists raised firmly.
“Come now, I’ll even let you have the first move! Come at me!”
“…No, I never even agreed to spar.”
I scratched my cheek as I regarded Rashek Maelrn. The wounds that had covered his blood-soaked body from the recent brawl had, remarkably, already healed.
‘Impressive recovery.’
Was this also thanks to the power of spirits flowing through his body?
‘He’s more like a swordsman than a Mage.’
He was completely different from the Mage of Maelrn I had imagined, but Rashek Maelrn’s abilities were far from poor.
Having lived as a mercenary of sorts, I had faced many formidable opponents. Perhaps that’s why a competitive spirit stirred within me.
It wouldn’t be bad to broaden my horizons and test myself against a Mage of Maelrn this once.
Moreover, I had just discovered that the Beast Face Society was involved in the Southern Forest. To track them, cooperation with Maelrn was essential.
Most importantly, Rashek Maelrn didn’t seem like the type to give up if I refused. I could tell just by looking at those gleaming eyes.
But still….
“Renia.”
“Hmm?”
“He’s asking me to fight him?”
“I heard. Why?”
“…I was just wondering if it was okay to fight.”
At my question, Renia’s eyes widened in surprise. Then she let out a deflating sound before bursting into laughter.
“Why are you suddenly laughing?”
“Oh, Reagan… what was it… back then… you remind me of our father.”
“Hmm…?”
Renia wiped away the tears gathering at the corners of her eyes as she explained.
“When Father had urgent business and needed to stay out overnight… he would always ask permission from our mother first.”
“….”
“Right now, Reagan, you look exactly like that, ahahaha!”
Renia burst into uncontrollable laughter.
I stood there frowning, and then Rashek Maelrn shouted.
“Oho! So you’re a married couple! Excellent! Actually, my father too….”
“You, be quiet.”
“Understood.”
A dull ache throbbed faintly in my head.
Indeed.
Without realizing it, I had been watching Renia’s expression.
Embarrassed by this realization, I scratched my cheek. Renia gazed at me with evident amusement and spoke.
“If you want to fight, do as you please. You always have, haven’t you? Just don’t get hurt. If things get too intense, I’ll step in.”
With Renia’s tacit approval granted, I turned my gaze toward Rashek.
“You said you’d let me have the first move, right?”
“That’s right!”
Rashek thrust both fists forward with unbridled confidence.
I hesitated for a moment, then drew the Benheim longsword and Barisa from their sheaths and dropped them to the ground.
“…You won’t be using your blade?”
“That’s correct.”
Rashek’s expression darkened. He must have felt utterly disrespected.
But in the next instant.
Whoosh!
I closed the distance in a heartbeat and threw a punch. Rashek’s eyes widened in shock.
Boom!
Rashek instinctively pivoted and drove his fist forward, and our knuckles collided head-on.
However…
“Ugh…!”
My fist did not yield to Rashek’s in the slightest.
It was thanks to the Rune Uruz (ᚢ) inscribed on my arm—a character that amplified physical force to its absolute limit.
“After watching your combat, I thought something.”
Crack.
My fist gradually began to push Rashek’s backward.
“I figured I could replicate it to some degree.”
Crash!
With the recoil, Rashek’s body was hurled backward and slammed into the rubble of the collapsed hall.
* * *
As the match began,
Rashek watched the fists rushing toward him and smiled.
‘Truly magnificent.’
It was Rashek himself who had requested this duel. And his opponent was vastly stronger than he was. Given this, he had not expected his chances of victory to be high.
Yet through struggle comes the recognition of one’s shortcomings, and even in defeat there is wisdom to be gained.
Rashek had anticipated that his opponent would use the magic or refined swordsmanship he had displayed before.
But the man did not. Instead, like Rashek himself, he relied on his fists. And remarkably, his movements bore a striking resemblance to Rashek’s own.
The mages of Maelrn master fist techniques alongside suppression magic.
In other words, this man was employing Maelrn’s distinctive martial art…
‘He was imitating it.’
In that brief span of time, he had observed Rashek’s movements and adopted a form that closely mirrored them.
Maelrn’s fist technique was a martial discipline devised to complement suppression magic. Used alone, it left many gaps. But this man filled those voids by grafting his own magic in place of suppression magic.
What an extraordinary talent this was.
Truly astonishing….
‘I cannot lose.’
Losing to the opponent’s full strength would be one thing, but to fall to some crudely imitated martial technique would bring shame upon the name of Maelrn’s heir.
Rashek Maelrn roared without restraint, his fighting spirit blazing as he charged forward.
Fist after fist. Blocked. Then I withdraw and strike again.
With each exchange, the power of spirits flows through me. What I need now is strength alone. The essence of the stone spirit settled heavily into both of my fists.
Clang!
Yet with the sensation of striking a wall, Rashek’s arms thrummed with numbness. Despite pouring the stone spirit’s power without reservation, he could not break through my fist and was pushed back.
What magic the man had used, Rashek did not know. He was ignorant of all magic outside his own family’s arts. Yet he could not deny that it was truly magnificent magic.
Hum.
Then a distinct rune appeared inscribed upon my fist. Uruz (ᚢ). A devastating punch came hurtling forward in succession.
Rashek raised his guard, eyes widening. This was different from before. The man’s crudely imitated martial technique had become far more refined.
‘Indeed….’
Even as he exchanged blows with Rashek, he was perfecting his martial technique in real time.
What Rashek focused on most was the man’s footwork. Martial technique must always be accompanied by proper stance and movement. Yet footwork varies always depending on a person’s stride and build.
In that sense, the man’s footwork was similar to Rashek’s yet different. Even in this moment, he was adapting his stance to suit his own body, refining his technique accordingly.
‘…As if I were being drained….’
The expression was strange, but it was like a leech.
The longer I fought this man, the more it felt as though he were stealing the precious treasures I had cultivated through my own sweat and blood.
The longer the fight continued, the stronger he would become. Then I had to stake everything on a decisive move.
Rashek withdrew his fist and stepped into the true stance.
Whoosh!
The power of the wind spirit touched the ground for but a moment. Both our bodies lifted slightly into the air.
In the air, one cannot employ footwork. I, who was accustomed to fist-to-fist combat, knew this well. Rashek clenched his withdrawn fist and drove it forward with all his might toward my defenseless form.
A sure killing blow.
So I thought.
Yet….
Thud.
The man took Maelrn’s attack head-on, then used the rebound to spin his body backward.
As the man’s head pointed toward the ground, his lower body naturally rose toward the sky. Having received the punch that contained all of Rashek’s strength, his rotational force was equally exceptional….
Crack!
The man’s kick struck Rashek’s brow with perfect accuracy.
Rashek lost consciousness on the spot.
* * *
“Hey! Why did you knock the kid unconscious like that!”
“He’s not a kid.”
“By my standards, you’re both kids!”
After the match ended, Renia scolded me.
This time, I had no particular excuse to offer.
The sparring match had grown so heated that I simply lost control of my strength.
But there was nothing I could do about it.
‘…That final move was quite tricky, after all.’
Rashek’s strike—launching me into the air by releasing wind from the ground, then driving his full weight behind the blow.
If I hadn’t reversed the force and absorbed it completely….
‘I would have shattered several ribs.’
It was a subtle yet devastating technique.
Rashek Maelrn.
No one could deny he was hollow-headed, yet he was still a formidable fighter.
But still….
“…Maybe I did go too far knocking him out….”
“You’re saying that after doing it?”
“I’m not a kid anymore.”
Though we had agreed to a fair match, the fact remained that I had knocked Rashek unconscious.
In other words, I had beaten Maelrn’s heir like a dog on a holiday.
Maelrn’s support was absolutely essential for my journey ahead. I had to find some way to smooth over this situation.
Just as I was searching for an excuse,
he bolted upright.
“Uooooh!”
“Ah, he’s awake.”
Rashek’s eyes snapped open with a strange cry, and he leaped to his feet with his fists raised. But seeing Renia and me standing together, he touched the swollen lump on his reddened forehead.
Then Rashek let his fists drop and spoke.
“I see. So I was knocked out. The match is decided then. I have lost.”
I approached the dejected-looking Rashek and spoke carefully.
“…I’m sorry. I ended up using too much force….”
“Magnificent!”
“….”
Rashek cried out loudly and tapped his own skull. A clear sound rang out.
“I, Rashek, swear this is the most perfect defeat I have ever experienced! Especially that final move! The subtle technique of turning an opponent’s own strength against them! Truly magnificent!”
“W-well….”
It seemed Rashek had a bold, carefree nature unlike Arno, unconcerned with defeat itself.
Or perhaps he was simply foolish.
They say mages rely more on reason than intuition.
But that didn’t seem to apply to Rashek.
“I have learned a lesson. There is always another sky above the sky.”
Rashek laughed heartily and approached me.
“This too is fate. I wish to know your names.”
“….”
I paused, doubting my ears for a moment.
“…So you’re saying you didn’t know who we were this whole time?”
“But then?”
“Didn’t you see me using Rune magic earlier?”
“…What is Rune magic?”
“….”
Even the mercenaries of Harfen knew of Benheim’s Rune magic. Could the heir to the Continent’s greatest magic family truly be this ignorant?
In the end, I placed my hand on Renia’s shoulder and introduced her.
“This is Lyrnia Erahan von Benheim, a direct bloodline of Benheim. And I am this woman’s… well.”
As I paused for a moment, Renia shot back sharply.
“Reagan, why can’t you say it? That we’re married, that you’re my husband?”
“…I am Reagan von Benheim, her consort.”
“Hehe.”
Renia giggled, and Rashek’s eyes widened as if he truly hadn’t known.
“Ah… of course! You were from Benheim! That explains everything!”
Rashek nodded as if he understood completely.
He showed no suspicion whatsoever about why mages from Benheim had come all the way to this forest, or what our true intentions were.
That was actually better.
I got straight to the point.
“We need to pass through the Southern Forest. I heard it’s under Maelrn’s jurisdiction, so we’ll need permission from Maelrn’s Head. In that sense, Rashek, we desperately need your help.”
Upon hearing my words, Rashek’s face brightened and he slapped his chest enthusiastically.
“Ah! If that’s the case, leave it to me! Since I’m the heir to Maelrn! I can easily open the way for you….”
But soon after, Rashek’s expression darkened.
“That… it seems it will be difficult after all.”
“Why again.”
“Actually… I… left the family without permission. If I return like this, I’ll be grounded for nearly a month.”
“….”
Perhaps I shouldn’t have asked for his help.

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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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