Sword Saint's Reincarnation
Book 2 Chapter 14: Veria Woodlands (5)

The next day.

Rylan dashed to the side, then pointed his wand at the enemy in front of him, finalizing his chant.

“Firebolt.”

Mana gathered and ignited into a small bundle of fire that shot toward the monster. It flew through the air and crashed against its tree bark, crawling over the wood before disappearing. No, was that even wood? Rylan smiled at the thought as he took in his enemy, still running.

The creature looked like a mix between a humanoid and a tree. Standing at several meters tall, the Treant seemed to be entirely made of tree bark. The torso closely resembled a tree, but it was adorned by wooden arms that ended in hands with three fingers and long legs. On its head, the wood was contorted unnaturally to create the shape of a face seemingly frozen in anger. The eye sockets were filled with green mana, which glowed slightly under the shade cast by the crowns of the trees around them. Branches spread out of the back of the Treant’s head, covered in leaves.

Overall, it was a strange creature that made Rylan feel like one day, a tree had suddenly gotten angry and decided to beat people up. His smile became a bit wider, but his amusement was tempered by caution.

It reminds me of Elementals.

Roland had faced creatures that looked like different aspects of nature incarnate. Ranging from fire to thunder and lightning, Elementals represented the unison between the breath of life and the forces of nature. In a way, the Treant was similar to them, to a lesser degree. Most importantly, every Elemental was a difficult foe to face due to their ability to wield the element that was part of them. It would be better to assume the Treant could do the same, since Gerard had told him it was capable of magic.

We’re in the middle of a forest.

Even if the Treant’s manipulation abilities were limited, this was the perfect environment for it.

As if on cue, the Treant raised its right arm and pointed one of its fingers at Rylan, its expression still unchanged. The green mana that was its ‘eyes’ glowed brighter.

Here it comes.

The mana around them resonated with the Treant’s will. The trees rumbled as if coming to life. Rylan lowered his center of gravity. The previously still branches twisted like snakes before pointing their sharpened tips at Rylan in unison. A moment later, they quickly shot toward him. It was a sight that reminded him of a rain of arrows from Roland’s early days. He stared at the dozens of different attacks falling toward him with calm eyes.

Falling Snow Steps: Snowfall.

His speed increased abruptly as his mana coursed through him like a raging flood. The first branch arrived. It pierced at his heart, dividing the air. With a sidestep, Rylan avoided it, but that only meant the arrival of the second one, which he dodged by slightly twisting his body. The branch grazed his right forearm’s skin, drawing a thin line of blood. Without missing a beat, he continuously avoided the rain of spear-like branches.

Every avoided attack meant one less possible movement path. To remedy this, Rylan jumped and stepped on the air, adjusting the distance and angle between himself and the branches as needed. One after the other, they nearly reached him, only to fail all the same or graze him at most. Space was limited, but his senses and experience allowed him to weave between the attacks with nearly perfect accuracy.

With one last leap, Rylan stood up on the air, floating above a veritable forest created by the sharp branches. The Treant’s expression didn’t change, but it raised its other arm. The branches trembled. Without hesitating, Rylan jumped upward. He barely rose two meters before the branches started moving once more, turning their tips toward him. He jumped again, then suddenly pushed to the side, making him shoot toward the Treant like an arrow.

The spear-like branches started quickly slithering through the air to catch him and pierce his flesh, but he was faster.

Stormcaller Sword Style, Second Movement: Crackling Edge.

With one last leap forward, Rylan swung his sword. Mana crackled around it like lightning, granting it the sharpness it needed. The blade forced the air to split apart as it reached the Treant’s neck and sliced through the wooden exterior. A second later, the creature’s head was sent flying through the air, its expression still the same. Tree sap gushed out of the ‘wound’ before the headless body collapsed like a broken doll. The branches, which had been persistently chasing Rylan’s back, lost their power and fell to the ground like dead snakes.

Rylan let out a breath as he watched the wooden head fall on the grass underneath. The forest went still again. He looked at the System window floating in front of him.

[You have reached Level 34.]

With a grin, he turned to the right, looking at the man who had been waiting for the battle to be over with while holding his staff tightly. Gerard breathed a sigh of relief before waving at Rylan, who nodded and stopped channeling Snowfall. The air ceased to support him, making him fall to the ground, perfectly steady. He sheathed his blade as he walked closer to Gerard.

“What do you think?” Gerard asked once they were close enough to each other.

“They’re strong, but weaker than a Spriggan. I should be able to fight a few at the same time,” Rylan replied with a serious expression.

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Gerard narrowed his eyes.

“…You know better than to underestimate our enemies.”

Rylan nodded.

“Of course. We’re deep into enemy territory right now. The moment two Spriggans guarded by an Ogre appear, there will be no room for mistakes.”

Gerard’s concerned expression returned to normal with a breath.

“Yeah. But the fact neither of us can let our guard down is tiring as hell.”

Rylan looked up, gazing past the crowns of the trees, which almost blotted out the sun.

“There’s still some time before the sun starts going down. Let’s keep going for now, without going in deeper.”

It was a simple strategy. By roaming the Woodlands horizontally instead of proceeding further inward, Rylan hoped to meet more monsters and acquire more XP. At the same time, because they would do so at the same ‘depth,’ it was unlikely for stronger groups of monsters to appear.

We’ll keep going deeper tomorrow.

The further in they went, the longer it would take to return to Cantavega to rest and sleep. As such, unless they decided to sleep in the middle of the Woodlands: which would be far too risky: looking for ways to get deeper into the Woodlands was best saved for the start of the day.

The enemies here are at the right level for my current self, but…

For now, the groups of monsters they had encountered were just at the right level to push him without posing serious danger. However, to work toward awakening Aura and to grow the fastest, Rylan knew he needed to take risks. The biggest problem with this was Gerard; he had no desire for his father to be injured while fighting alongside him in some risky battle. Rylan’s expression darkened.

“…Father,” he said after a second.

“No,” Gerard replied before he could continue, interrupting him. The man looked at the Treant’s corpse for a few moments before turning to look at Rylan. “I’m not letting you stay here alone.”

Rylan flashed a bitter smile.

“I just need to grow as fast as I can.”

“Sure. But your growth speed won’t matter if you just end up dying. Out of the question. I’m here to back you up.”

“Be reasonable. The faster I develop, the faster—”

“No.”

Rylan stared at Gerard’s serene face for a few seconds. He reached a simple conclusion.

He won’t budge.

Arguing about it would be pointless. It was more than obvious that this was Gerard’s bottom line. He let out a sigh.

“…Fine. Let’s keep going, then.”

Gerard nodded.

“That we can do.”

Shaking his head, Rylan attuned his senses to the world around him. The sounds of the forest became clearer. The cries of birds, both big and small, superimposed the sound of the wind drifting through the gaps between the branches. The rustling of leaves served as the backdrop for the heavy footsteps of the enemies he was hunting.

After a few seconds, Rylan looked northeast and pointed in that direction with his chin.

“There. A few enemies, probably three or four. Two Spriggans, I think.”

Gerard shook his head.

“Too many. At a similar level, even one more enemy makes a huge difference.”

Rylan smiled.

“Exactly what I need. Only by pushing through challenges will I develop. Let’s go, Father.”

Gerard sighed deeply and shook his head slowly.

“Lead the way.”

Rylan smiled and started running. Gerard followed him a second later. Soon, they would face another group of enemies, only to defeat them and go find another one. Still, Rylan found the cycle of battles refreshing; after all, fighting had been everything Roland knew. This road of going around defeating strong opponents for his own development was the one thing he was most familiar with.

His steps were firm.

Time passed slowly.

Rylan spent the rest of the second day fighting every monster he could find, alongside Gerard, who provided backup. He tried to fight alone to keep all of the XP as often as possible. With every battle, he became a bit stronger. Leveling up was part of it, but equally important was his improvement in using both spells and swordsmanship seamlessly during a battle. This was, naturally, to explore both his Class’ perk of increasing his stats when using both magic and swordsmanship and to hone this skill itself.

Once the sun started to set, both of them started making their way back to Cantavega. They ran through the Woodlands. As they did, Rylan suddenly slowed down, going to Gerard’s side.

“There are enemies to the northwest,” he said with a serious expression. “Follow me.”

Right now, avoiding more fights was what was important. They shouldn’t still be in the Woodlands once nighttime arrived.

Gerard nodded.

Rylan changed directions slightly, followed closely by his father. A bit later, the same thing happened, then once more. In such a fashion, they made their way out of the Woodlands while avoiding as many fights as possible.

Rylan slowed down and let out a breath. In the distance, Cantavega’s houses could be seen.

“We made it,” Gerard said as he approached Rylan from behind.

Rylan nodded with a smile. He glanced at his father. Gerard looked considerably more relaxed. It was only natural.

They soon reached the town itself and entered its streets. As they gradually approached the Flameheart estate, Rylan noticed more and more stares from the pedestrians by the sides of the roads. They poked each other and exchanged whispers in hopeful tones.

“Did they go into the Woodlands? That’s Gerard and Rylan, right?”

“Oh gods, this will finally get solved.”

Rylan nodded to himself. It was only obvious that the people would be terrified of such a large threat right by their doorstep.

Finally, after walking for a while, they reached the entrance of the Flameheart estate. The guards automatically bowed at them before opening the gate. After some more walking, they arrived in front of the manor itself. Awaiting them were Elizabeth, Aelfric, Sarah, and the professors. The moment Rylan locked eyes with his mother, she hurriedly walked forward.

“Rylan!” she said loudly before wrapping one arm around his shoulder and another around Gerard’s. “Is either of you injured? How was it? Do you need healing?”

Rylan smiled warmly.

“We’re fine, Mom,” he replied. “Just a few scratches.”

She breathed out a sigh of relief and dove into Gerard’s embrace. The man blinked before hugging her tightly with a wide smile. Rylan looked at this scene and only felt more warmth. How long had it been since he had been able to see something like this? Roland had lost both parents far too early.

After watching his parents for a few seconds, Rylan turned and looked at Alice. She was staring at him.

“We ran into several Spriggans and Treants. Sometimes, they were even supported by Hobgoblin Shamans,” he said as he walked closer to her. “We didn’t even go in that deep. Still, it was pretty manageable."

Her expression darkened. She glanced at Gerard with concern.

“…Then it’s getting worse. Are you sure you don’t need us to step in yet? Your father can't protect you forever.”

Rylan raised an eyebrow. As expected, she thought Gerard had done all of the heavy lifting so far. It was only natural, since the power he displayed when fighting Hayden hadn't been enough to fight several Spriggans and Treants.

“We’re fine for now. I’ll tell you if it becomes too dangerous.”

Alice let out a small sigh. Rylan stretched his body and ignored Nathan’s burning stare, then looked at Sarah.

“Is dinner ready?” he asked with a grin.

She smiled and bowed.

“It is, my lord,” she replied.

Elizabeth and Gerard parted but were now holding hands. Elizabeth looked at Rylan.

“Follow us inside,” she said. “Let’s eat together.”

Rylan nodded. The group entered the manor.

Tomorrow, he would fight again.