The Son-In-Law of the Magician Is a Transcendent Sword Master - Chapter 133

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 133
Arno and Rashek made their way directly to the Magic Tower Courtyard, where the Rune Surveillance Unit’s headquarters was located.
An unusually large crowd had gathered in the Training Ground right before the tower—researchers from the tower, members of the Rune Surveillance Unit, and even branch family mages.
They all seemed to have come to watch a duel between Valen and Reagan.
“What… what’s suddenly happening here?”
Arno frowned. This was an unexpected duel. As Benheim’s heir, he should have heard about it beforehand—there was no way such news wouldn’t reach his ears.
Just then, Renia was sitting at one edge of the crowd. Arno approached her and asked.
“Renia, what’s going on? Why is Reagan suddenly fighting Vice-Commander Valen?”
“…I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“I don’t know. Don’t ask.”
“…”
Only then did Arno realize that Renia was in a foul mood.
When his sister was upset, the wisest course was to leave her alone. That was the wisdom Arno had gained from being Renia’s brother for over a decade.
However, Rashek clearly possessed no such wisdom.
“Ah, indeed! I can certainly understand Miss Renia’s feelings!”
This tactless fool nodded his head vigorously while making his own assumptions about Renia’s state of mind.
“You must be uncomfortable with the fact that your husband accepted this duel without consulting you first, Miss Renia. Now that I think about it, even during the Red Pirate Guild incident, Reagan sought your consent before dueling me…”
“Hey, hey! Rashek! Shut up!”
Arno hastily clamped his hand over Rashek’s mouth. Rashek looked bewildered, but once he caught Renia’s piercing glare, he quietly took a step back.
Arno quickly found someone better suited to explain the situation to him.
“Wasn’t it Brock?”
“Ah, Young Master Arno?”
It was Brock Benheim, a branch family mage. From what he’d heard, Brock was exceptionally talented among the branch family mages, and judging by the Rune Surveillance Unit insignia he wore, he appeared to be in a probationary period.
“What in the world is going on here? Explain it to me.”
Brock answered Arno’s question with a bewildered expression.
“The Commander suddenly called Reagan to the Training Ground, saying he wanted to see his abilities.”
“And Reagan agreed?”
“Yes.”
“…Is this some kind of wager?”
“That’s correct.”
At Brock’s answer, Arno recalled a wager that Valen and Reagan had made years ago.
Reagan had won that bet and obtained wyvern leather gloves.
So what were they wagering this time?
“The position of Commander of the Rune Surveillance Unit…”
“…Insane.”
At Brock’s explanation, Arno was shocked.
The Rune Surveillance Unit was Benheim’s greatest military force. More than that, it was considered the finest in the Great Mage Alliance, second only to the Imperial Battle Mage Corps.
And yet Valen was willing to stake the position of Commander.
“Wait, why would Reagan propose such terms? And how could Vice-Commander Valen accept it? Over a mere duel?”
“…Actually… it wasn’t a wager that Reagan proposed.”
“Huh?”
Only then did Arno realize the conversation had taken a strange turn. Brock continued with an awkward expression.
“If Commander Valen wins, Reagan will become the Warden of the Runes.”
“…What?”
Arno found himself even more confused about the situation.
* * *
“Are you ready?”
From across the Training Ground, Valen, the Warden of the Runes with his robe collar raised, spoke.
I shrugged my shoulders.
“Can I really use anything?”
“Yes. Use everything at your disposal. Come at me with full force.”
Valen straightened his palm. Then, rune characters began to shimmer like heat waves from his fingertips.
“I have no intention of holding back either.”
Whoooosh—.
A gentle breeze infused with mana brushed across my face. I gazed at Valen, lost in thought.
‘…I have no idea what he’s plotting.’
After hearing the story from Steren and heading to the Benheim Magic Tower Underground, the Rune Watchers Headquarters, Valen was waiting there.
– Hey, you brat, shouldn’t you at least greet me after returning from your honeymoon?
– …Now that I think about it, I forgot to visit the Rune Sentinels.
– Well, you’re at least a member of the Rune Sentinels in name. So you should at least pretend to follow your commander’s orders.
When I laughed awkwardly, Valen grinned as well.
– So, how’s married life treating you?
– Well… isn’t life just the same for everyone?
– How bland.
– Which is why I wanted to ask about the reason you called me here….
Before I could finish, Valen tapped my shoulder and spoke.
– Come with me. Let me see what you’re made of.
– …Are you serious? You want to spar with me, Commander?
– Yes. This is… a sort of wager.
– A wager?
– If you win, I’ll grant you one wish.
– …A wish. You certainly think big. So what do you want from me if you win, Commander?
– Simple. Inherit the position of commander.
– What are you suddenly saying?
– You’re Benheim’s son-in-law. Renia’s companion. You’ve come of age, and your rank is already mid-6th Rank. In name it’s mid-rank, but in reality, you wouldn’t fall far behind even fighting against the strongest of the 6th Rank. Valen pointed directly at my face and added.
– In other words, you’re perfectly suited to become the Warden of the Runes.
– …That’s…
I couldn’t deny it.
I can’t deny it.
However, understanding and acceptance are two different things.
I couldn’t fathom why Valen would hand over his position as commander to me, nor could I discern his true intentions.
‘…In my past life, he remained Renia’s steadfast ally until the very end. So why now?’
Suspicious as it was, the duel had already begun.
Then I would defeat Valen first and uncover the truth afterward.
But….
‘Can I actually win?’
Valen’s realm was the pinnacle of the 6th Rank.
Yet the vague category of “6th Rank pinnacle” made it difficult to define Valen’s true combat power. By that logic, weren’t the Thorn Mage Tower Lord Rosalindr, the Azure Flame Tower Lord Alexei, and the Ochre Tower Lord Melchior also at the 6th Rank pinnacle?
However, from what I knew, Valen was slightly stronger than those tower lords. If a tower lord is a researcher, then Valen is a battle mage. The position of commander isn’t something anyone can hold.
Yet I wasn’t without a chance of victory. If I utilized all the tools and artifacts at my disposal, I could narrow the gap to some degree.
And closing the remaining distance would come down to experience.
Valen, too, was more than worthy of being called a seasoned veteran.
But as a returner, I would have the advantage in experience.
‘It’s worth a try.’
I finished my deliberation and drew Barissada from Andvari’s Cube.
A smile bloomed across Valen’s face upon seeing the blade.
“Indeed, an artifact? You’ve obtained something remarkable. That sword must be an Ether River specially crafted in Arcamen.”
“You seem well-informed.”
“A commander must know the details of his unit members. Remember that—it will soon be your responsibility.”
“That’s something I’ll only know after the duel ends.”
A quiet stillness followed.
Valen struck first.
Without warning, the ground beneath my feet suddenly collapsed.
Hagalaz (ᚺ).
The effect of the Rune of Collapse.
“Tch!”
I hastily rolled my body to evade. In that instant, a cloud of dust swept across me.
The Rune letter Laguz (ᛚ). I raised the flat of Barissada’s blade to block the sand particles that came flying like arrows.
I had allowed two surprise attacks. Yet I hadn’t seen the movements of Valen casting magic—or more precisely, using Rune letters.
How was this possible? But as the sand dust cleared, I caught sight of Valen with one hand hidden behind his back, and I let out a hollow laugh.
‘Of course….’
Wasn’t this the same technique Steren had used when I subdued Markel after his identity was exposed?
Among Rune mages, there was a need to conceal which Rune letters one was using.
“…Truly, you intend to go all out against an opponent who’s merely twenty years old.”
“Did I not say so? I will give my all.”
Valen laughed, baring his white teeth.
* * *
Valen Wirth von Benheim, Warden of the Runes, kept his hands clasped behind his back as he glared at Reagan.
Reagan von Benheim. He remembered their first meeting. A monster who had succeeded in triple incantation of Rune letters merely four months after beginning his magical studies.
But three years have passed since then. What of now?
Reagan had become a mid-rank 6th Rank mage. Yet even if Valen, the strongest among them, unleashed his full power, it remained uncertain whether he could suppress Reagan.
Then there was no choice but to test it.
Valen selected and deployed countless Rune characters, and Reagan responded in kind.
A wand slipped from Reagan’s left sleeve.
Eclara. A treasure of Iridia. Soon, a wave of light poured forth from the Prism embedded in the wand.
In other words, spectral magic.
Boom!
The instant Valen deployed Algiz to block it, Reagan inscribed a Rune character into his legs and charged forward, gripping a crystal blade forged from the Ether River in his right hand.
He meant to engage in close combat immediately.
But Valen, a mage, had no intention of allowing it.
He stomped his foot at once. The Rune character Thurisaz materialized at Valen’s feet, and the earth itself became jagged spear points, blocking Reagan’s path.
‘He reads magic. Comprehends it, and cuts it down.’
Then he would not give him time to read it in the first place.
Yet Reagan seemed to have anticipated this as well, leaping high into the air. Light gathered in Valen’s left hand, which hung at his side.
Nauthiz. The Rune of binding.
Reagan, suspended in midair, was ensnared by chains of Rune characters that stretched through the void. Valen seized the moment, intending to neutralize Reagan with Rune magic.
But then….
—A sharp ring.
A pale blue mana blade materialized in the empty air.
Rucen’s auxiliary sword magic.
The blade was not held in Reagan’s hand, yet it corrected its trajectory in midair and surged toward Valen.
“…Heh.”
Valen let out a dry chuckle.
So he had learned Rucen’s unique magical formula by watching it, and now he wielded it without hesitation.
Such resolve was admirable. After all, one should use everything one is capable of using.
“You are no mage, after all.”
Valen spoke with a broad smile.
“You are a magic user, like myself.”
“Yes. I agree with that assessment.”
Reagan then freed himself from the restraint and swung Variscada through the air. He must have believed that engaging in close combat would grant him victory.
But he was sorely mistaken.
“Do you know this, Reagan?”
Valen’s powerful hand had already seized Reagan’s right wrist, twisting it. Reagan’s expression contorted from the surprise attack.
“I too am a mage who knows how to fight at close range.”
And using his hips, he threw Reagan over his shoulder. The difference in body weight was difficult to overcome. Reagan spun through the air, but in that instant, stars bloomed before Valen’s eyes.
Only after sensing the impact strike his nose did Valen realize that Reagan had abandoned Variscada and thrown a punch.
Moreover, that fist bore a Rune character inscribed upon it.
Uruz. The Rune of strength and physical force.
“…Ha. Where in the world did you learn such dirty tricks, you bastard?”
“I learned it on my honeymoon.”
Reagan raised both fists. The stance felt oddly familiar.
“Maelrn will be furious.”
Valen finally released his clasped hands. Against an opponent wielding such diverse magic, there was no point in concealing his cards. He had no choice but to clash directly and sever the match.
“Are you prepared?”
“That’s my line.”
Before the words even finished, Reagan rushed forward. Valen unleashed rune magic in rapid succession.
A composite spell of Kenaz (ᚲ) and Isa (ᛁ). But it was multi-chanting.
Four icicles materialized in the air and poured down toward Reagan, while a pale blue mana blade materialized above Reagan’s head to collide with them.
In that instant, Reagan was already before Valen with his fist raised. A punch came in a flash. Valen did not dodge. Instead, he inscribed new rune characters on both his hands.
Sowilo (ᛊ). Its meaning was victory.
And the golden wheel.
—A brilliant flash.
Light erupted.
The moment the radiance faded, the victor was decided.
No, that was not quite right.
“…Hmm. I suppose this would be called a draw.”
“Indeed it would.”
Reagan’s fist remained pressed against Valen’s jaw, yet Valen’s hand blade was already touching Reagan’s chest.
Had this sparring match been a fight to the death…
‘We would have destroyed each other.’
A monster of a boy.
Valen swallowed a bitter laugh.
Was this truly the level of skill expected from a mere novice who had studied magic for only three years?
Rune magic, blade magic, prism magic, and even the combat techniques of seal magic.
Every single aspect was formidable. Though Reagan’s rank was mid-6th Rank, there was no other variable like him among the 6th Rank. None.
“…Since it is a draw, what shall we do about the wager?”
“I’m not sure.”
“I happen to have a good idea.”
“What is it?”
“Since it’s a draw, let’s say we both won.”
“…Both of us?”
Reagan lowered his fists and grinned widely.
“I shall become the Warden of the Runes. And you, former Warden, shall grant me a wish.”
“…Former Warden, you say.”
Valen found that keenness quite appealing. He nodded with satisfaction.
“Very well. What is your wish?”
“Become the Warden of the Runes once more, Warden.”
“…”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————