The Son-In-Law of the Magician Is a Transcendent Sword Master - Chapter 7

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 7

A week had passed since then, and I had grown accustomed to the tedious prison life.

Having lived as a wandering mercenary and camped in all sorts of harsh places, even this leaky prison felt as comfortable as home to me.

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“Huu―.”

​

I couldn’t afford to waste precious time.

I practiced mana cultivation inside the prison.

Through breathing, I absorbed the faint mana floating in the air into my body, then used it as fuel to interfere with the magic engraved on the iron bars.

Even small water drops can eventually pierce through rock if they persist.

My steady infusion of mana bore fruit. The strokes I managed to twist were only about ten percent of the entire spell formation, but it was impressive progress for my inadequate body.

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“Not enough.”

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However, I wasn’t satisfied.

No matter how much I wanted to cultivate mana, there was a limit to the mana I could utilize without a mana core.

A mana core was an organ that both mages and swordsmen had to create within their bodies. It was the first step.

I definitely needed to create a mana core within my body.

For that, I needed the mana cultivation methods of mages.

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“I don’t have time for this.”

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Time was of the essence.

Wasn’t it about time to get out of here?

Just as I was thinking that, a woman approached from beyond the prison.

She was a woman with jet-black hair and equally jet-black eyes. From her appearance, she wasn’t of Benheim bloodline.

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“I am Sheril, the maid who will be serving Lord Reagan from today.”

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The woman approached the prison and bowed politely.

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“A maid?”

“Yes. I will be attending to Lord Reagan during your stay at the separate residence. Please feel free to call me Sheril.”

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It seemed this woman was the attendant that Captain Allet had promised to assign to me.

I observed the maid Sheril with narrowed eyes.

Though Sheril introduced herself as a maid, I could sense a strange atmosphere emanating from her body.

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‘Is this… a covert mage?’

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Just as not everyone who wielded a sword was a swordsman, among mages there were also those who took on secretive contracts like assassins.

These individuals were called covert mages because they had learned hidden magic.

There were several covert mages under the Archmage King’s command, and they would infiltrate the Imperial Army or Renia’s Resistance to carry out sabotage.

I had suffered so much from them in the past that I could identify their nature just by smelling the scent of mana that covert mages emanated.

The maid before me was exactly like that.

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‘She’s learned covert magic, though only superficially. It seems the family head finds me untrustworthy.’

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The fact that Stern had assigned a covert mage as my attendant meant he hadn’t let go of his suspicions about me yet.

He was probably considering the possibility that I was a spy from another family.

In that case, I needed to be extremely careful with my behavior here, considering Stern’s suspicions. Having finished my thoughts, I spoke.

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“Uh, um. Then you, I mean…”

“You may speak casually to me. I am just a maid, after all.”

“Right. Sheril.”

“….”

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Sheril blinked her eyes.

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“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“It’s nothing… I just thought you were quite straightforward.”

“You’re the one who told me to speak casually first. I’m just doing as you said. Anyway, are you going to get me out of this damn prison and guide me to the separate residence now?”

“Yes.”

“What’s in the separate residence?”

“Everything you need is prepared. If there’s anything lacking, please let me know and I’ll arrange it as quickly as possible.”

“Are there magic books too?”

“There is a library.”

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Having heard that much, I stood up from my seat.

After a week of nothing but meditation, I was getting restless.

Sheril reached into her pocket to find the key, but I paid no attention and placed my hand on the iron bars.

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“What are you doing?”

“Pardon?”

“Why aren’t you showing me the way?”

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I applied force and pushed the iron bars. Though I had only twisted about ten percent of the magic formation, with the key strokes now worn away, its strength was weak.

Crack.

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“….”

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Sheril stared wide-eyed at the bent iron bars and the wide-open prison door.

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* * *

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Before my regression, Renia was an extremely optimistic woman.

Except for burning with vengeance against the Archmage King, she had a generous personality that could overlook most incidents with a “these things happen” attitude.

Even such a Renia couldn’t compromise on just one thing, and that complaint was directed at the old-fashioned barracks used by the resistance.

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– Reagan, you know what? I wasn’t going to say anything, but this tent is absolutely terrible for sleeping! When I close my eyes, toads go ribbit ribbit, the stream goes babble babble, at this rate I’ll wet myself all night!

– Hmm. Is it that bad?

– It is that bad! I believe that the most important factor in human life is a comfortable sleeping environment.

– In that sense, this tent, you know? Even with soundproofing magic, even with anti-shake magic, it fails at the basics of being a dwelling.

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Renia’s principle was that even the greatest archmage couldn’t sleep in an uncomfortable bed.

At the time, I couldn’t understand it at all. The condition of the barracks was much better than the lodgings when I was part of the mercenary group, and with Renia’s various magic added, it provided comfort that didn’t pale in comparison to the quilted beds of decent inns.

However, now that I had returned to the past, I realized why Renia had been so disgusted with the resistance barracks.

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“Lord Reagan, you may use this separate residence.”

“Huh.”

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I let out a hollow laugh as Sheril guided me to where I would be staying.

The design emphasized golden borders on a pure white base, luxurious furniture, and spacious corridors that gleamed so spotlessly that not a speck of dust could be found. It was so magnificent that I almost had the illusion I had entered a palace.

Having spent her childhood in such lavish facilities, it was no wonder the barracks didn’t catch Renia’s eye.

What was even more shocking was that this was the separate residence. If the separate residence was like this, the main house would be even larger and much more luxurious.

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“The lower floor is the library, and the upper floor is the bedroom. Meals will be brought to the first floor here. If you get hungry, you can ring this bell to call for me.”

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Sheril handed me a small bell that had been magically treated.

As soon as I received the bell, I headed to the lower floor.

As Sheril had said, the entire lower floor was a library, lined with precious magic books and other texts. Even the most common magic book among these would sell for quite a high price on the black market, truly befitting a great magic family that was wealthy beyond measure, with money rotting away in abundance.

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“Can I read all the books here?”

“Yes. All the magic books in the separate residence are texts that external mages are permitted to read.”

“Then the books that aren’t permitted would be in the main house library?”

“That’s correct.”

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Even though I was a mage belonging to Benheim, I was still ultimately an outsider to the family. The family’s core secret techniques would be set up so that only direct bloodline members could share them.

The great magic spells that Renia used in my previous life wouldn’t be here. Feeling somewhat disappointed, I turned my head to Sheril.

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“But there are some basic ones among Benheim’s magic books, right?”

“Yes. Rune magic classified as 3rd tier and below is available.”

“Not bad.”

“However… if I may offer advice from my limited knowledge, when first entering magic, instead of Benheim’s magic books, the general magic books on that bookshelf over there…”

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I raised my hand to cut off Sheril’s words.

It seemed Captain Allet had assigned the maid Sheril to act as an advisor to guide me, but I didn’t need anyone’s help. Especially when it came to help from a covert mage, I felt nothing but aversion.

I rang the bell I had just received conspicuously.

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“That’s enough. Sheril, could you prepare a meal for me?”

“A meal, you say?”

“Yes. You’re a servant, aren’t you? You should be able to prepare that much. If possible, bring it with a meat-focused composition.”

“Meat… you say?”

“A meat-focused diet is important during the growth period.”

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Making full use of Sheril, I sat down.

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‘I should start constructing a mana core soon…’

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I had keenly felt it while training mana in prison.

To become truly strong, I needed a mana core.

However, just because time was pressing didn’t mean I could create a core with some third-rate mana cultivation method that any mediocre person might use. That would only prevent me from reaching a higher realm than in my previous life. What I needed was a mana cultivation method that could surpass Renia, no, the Archmage King.

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“Hmm.”

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It was too vague a goal.

For now, it would be better to read something. I pulled out a thick magic book from the nearby bookshelf and spread it open on the desk.

Looking at the table of contents, it seemed to be the most basic among Benheim’s rune magic books.

I skipped the unnecessary preface about praise for the family and the history of rune magic, and opened to a page that efficiently explained the composition of magic.

It was a chapter explaining various basic rune characters of Benheim.

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“…Kenaz.”

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The first rune character introduced was Kenaz (ᚲ).

It was a rune character I knew.

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‘Definitely… it was rune magic that created flames.’

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It was magic that Renia used frequently. For a simple first-tier spell, it had quite good firepower and was often utilized in various ways.

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– Reagan, could you bring some firewood?

– I never thought you’d use that supposedly great family’s unique magic just for lighting firewood.

– The meaning of this rune character is ‘torch’ to begin with. And magic is more about application than meaning. Remember that. It’s knowledge you never know when you might need again.

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Renia’s voice from the depths of memory came back to life.

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“Magic is more about application than meaning…”

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A maxim befitting Renia.

Well, then it would be right to try applying it.

I raised my hand. Though I didn’t have a mana core, I could condense the mana floating in the air. I should be able to use simple magic.

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– Magic has a fundamental principle.

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It was something Renia often said.

Unlike the aura used by swordsmen, mages efficiently process and use mana.

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– Any magic follows this fundamental principle. It’s also called the trinity of casting, divided into three elements: recognition, construction, and manifestation.

– Among these, the first process, ‘recognition,’ begins with understanding the concept of the magic itself.

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According to Renia, recognition was the process of grasping the essence of magic.

Though it was my first time using magic, recognition wasn’t difficult.

The moment I saw the structure of the rune character written in the book, a scene from my memory came to mind.

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– Fascinating, isn’t it?

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In front of a campfire, Renia was creating a small flame at her fingertip.

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– Most mages just clump mana together to imitate the shape of fire, then add attributes to it. It’s fake fire that only looks plausible.

– Are you saying your magic is different?

– Yes. It’s different. This isn’t imitation. This is the manifestation of the character’s essential concept.

– Essential concept?

– Ancient characters that humans of the Divine Realm supposedly used. I ‘translate’ the meaning contained in the characters themselves with mana, you could say. That’s why this fire isn’t just fire. It’s a torch, heat, and the light of knowledge.

– …I don’t really understand.

– You’ll understand later.

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At the very least, I could understand that what Renia spoke of was the essence of rune characters.

Recognition ended surprisingly easily.

Next was construction.

The process of how to compose magic.

It was the most important stage in magic. If the construction went even slightly wrong, the magic itself would collapse.

In fact, most of what was written in magic books was about construction. The explanations were detailed and spanned dozens of pages, but I completely ignored all of it.

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“I’ve seen the best textbook there is, so this stuff wouldn’t catch my eye.”

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No matter what anyone says, I’m someone who worked alongside the world’s greatest rune mage.

I don’t know about magic.

But I remember what structure Renia’s rune magic had.

The perfect form of Kenaz that Renia created, that three-dimensional blueprint is clearly etched in my memory.

I’m just copying that textbook exactly.

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“…I think it was like this.”

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It’s just for show, but I can implement simple first-tier magic well enough.

Since it’s magic I’ve seen thousands, tens of thousands of times, imitating it wasn’t difficult either.

I wove the thread-like mana into the form of Renia’s rune characters from my memory.

Now that construction is finished, it’s time for manifestation.

Manifestation is easy.

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– Reagan, you just need to shoot out the constructed mana like you normally draw out aura and you’re done. See, simple right?

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Whoosh――.

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I projected the rune character woven from threads into the air. The floating rune burned red and sparks flowed down between the strokes. When I suppressed the fluctuating mana, the flames wrapped around my hand as I willed.

The flames were neither hot nor did they burn the surroundings.

They existed purely as form.

This is magic.

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“Fascinating.”

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I was inwardly amazed.

It’s similar to swordsmen’s aura yet different. The way mana is utilized is more efficient and systematic than aura.

If the most important thing in using aura is intuition, what magic values is reason. Magic remained in the realm of calculation, following standardized procedures rather than improvisational methods.

Thanks to this, I seemed to have grasped how to construct my mana core in this life.

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“With this flow… I could use both.”

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Aura and magic. These two powers have opposing natures, so generally they can’t be contained in a single mana core.

I’m different.

I have the experience of my previous life when I reached Sword Master, and now I have a second chance to build it all up again.

Aura and magic. Containing both simultaneously isn’t impossible either.

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The ultimate mental technique to surpass the Archmage King.

My own unique mana cultivation method that I can create because I’ve reached the end of life.

Can I create it?

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“I’ll have to create it.”

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I shook my head and organized my thoughts.

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“My goal… let’s set it at entering 3rd tier by next month.”

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Normally, it takes three years after first entering magic to reach 2nd tier. To rise to 3rd tier from 2nd tier takes more than seven years.

But I’ve already reached 2nd tier now.

My current situation of using magic without a mana core corresponds to that.

Even Renia used to praise me, saying my sense for feeling mana was exceptional.

If I just get a mana core ready, reaching 3rd tier within a month wouldn’t be difficult at all.

3rd tier first. Reuniting with Renia and building a new relationship with her will come after that.

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“Good. Let’s set the goal modestly for now.”

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As I was muttering like that, I suddenly sensed someone’s presence.

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“How long have you been standing there?”

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Maid Sheril was standing in the doorway with a tray full of food. As befitting a Covert Mage, she was skilled at suppressing her presence.

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“H-how…”

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Sheril stammered as she spoke. Her eyes weren’t on me, but on the rune magic I had drawn in the air just before.

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“H-how are you using rune magic…?”

“How? There’s a book here to learn from. I just did what it told me to do.”

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I closed the thick magic book and tossed it onto the table with a thud.

Dust rose from between the pages. I waved my hand to scatter the dust as I spoke.

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“Anyway, just give me food, I’m hungry. There’s plenty of meat dishes, right?”

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Sheril just nodded blankly.

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