Sword Saint's Reincarnation
Book 2 Chapter 31: Beginning of Classes (1)

Vallius looked at the shining artifact in front of him. It looked like a table covered by lights of different colors, each labeled with a single name. They were the names of different nations. Some territories were bigger than others, but each was clearly delimited in the ethereal map. The mana that made up the lights ebbed and flowed, but the nations’ boundaries didn’t change. He listened to his aide’s report.

“Pholon and Slaidor have both expressed their desire to yield. They have complied with our demands and surrendered.”

Vallius glanced at the left half of the table. It was entirely blood-red, with a name much bigger than the others at its center. The words ‘Gaidar Empire’ shone brightly in golden, adding a regal air to the crimson territory around them. The lights changed. He watched as the territories of the Pholon and Slaidor kingdoms, which were almost puny in comparison to the Empire’s, were consumed by the red color. It almost looked like a wave of blood was flowing across the table like a river, tainting whatever was in its way. As his thoughts reached this point, Vallius clenched his jaw. After a couple of seconds, the territories of Pholon and Slaidor had also become blood-red. Their names vanished.

“On the other hand, Mar hasn’t backed down. We might have to send the army.”

Vallius looked at the territory of the Mar Kingdom. It was rather small, blue as the sea, at the edge of the continent. In front of it, in direct contact with the Empire’s boundaries, were two other kingdoms that were inconsequential. They wouldn’t be able to even reject it if the Empire said it would need to move its forces through them.

“And our sanctions?” Vallius asked. His voice was deep and grave. He didn’t look away from the map.

“They were effective. Mar’s maritime commerce has been crippled. There are barely any kingdoms still trading with them, most of which are large enough to be able to negotiate with the Empire.”

Vallius raised his head and looked to the right, through the room’s large window. Beyond, a vast city stretched across the land. Tall buildings mixed with ordinary taverns and training grounds. To the right, in the distance, he could see the entrance to the Military Academy. Red banners adorned most of the buildings, engraved with the image of a golden hawk in proud flight with the sun behind it. The sky above was clear, as if even the clouds weren’t willing to intrude on the city’s territory. It was a familiar sight, but for some reason it felt different.

The sunlight refracted on the glass and shone upon Vallius’ green eyes. His messy brown hair and neat beard seemed to almost glow. Finally, he turned to his aide. Nikolas’ long silver hair reminded Vallius of the moonlight. The young man pushed his glasses up, his emotionless grey eyes staring right at Vallius. Ironically, they comforted him. Those were the eyes of someone who wouldn’t make a mistake out of emotional attachments. It was part of the reason why he had chosen Nikolas in the first place.

“Sir?” Nikolas asked after a second without changing his expression.

Vallius wordlessly turned to look at the ethereal map once again.

“You said ‘most.’ That means that among the nations still doing trade with Mar, there are some that are too small to be so daring,” Vallius replied.

“Yes, Commander. Among them, the most powerful one is the Ceotha Kingdom.”

Vallius scoured the map. His perception almost instantly honed in on a small cyan territory closer to the edge of the right side of the map. It was surrounded by large forests and mountains.

“And why are they still doing it?”

It was an incomprehensible situation. Even though they likely knew that the Empire was seeking to conquer Mar, they continued to disregard the Empire completely. Were they blinded by the financial gains of Mar’s maritime commerce, which was hailed as one of the best on the continent? To the point where they were willing to risk enraging the Emperor?

It's possible.

Ever since the Empire recently began its expansion, he’d learned that kings and queens could be surprisingly stupid. He scoffed.

“I don’t know, but I can find out within a few days,” Nikolas replied. “I suspect it’s because of a bond between the two kings, or an alliance.”

Vallius nodded.

“Do it. What were the orders from above?”

Nikolas looked at the map.

“That we shouldn’t worry about Ceotha and other small kingdoms for now. Mar’s a much more worthwhile target. Once it’s conquered, we will be in a much better position to pressure or negotiate with those kingdoms.”

Vallius nodded again, keeping his gaze on Ceotha’s territory.

…A bond, huh?

It hadn’t been long since the Empire had something similar with almost the entire continent, but what had any of it been worth? He resisted the urge to frown.

Nikolas continued his report. As he spoke, the territories changed. The Empire’s blood-red color spread throughout the map like ink on paper. According to Nikolas, the higher-ups had already drafted plans to go to war against the nations that hadn’t outright surrendered. In fact, some conflicts had already started. When Nikolas talked about those nations, the Empire’s color slammed on their territories and recoiled, as if angry that it couldn’t continue its advance.

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Additionally, some kingdoms had tried to curry favor with the Empire, to the point of betraying their alliances to other royal families.

All’s fair in love and war.

To avoid having their cities razed to the ground and their citizens killed: or worse: they had given up on their ideals. Sadness filled Vallius’ eyes, but he tried not to show it. Finally, Nikolas finished his report. Vallius took one last look at the map, which had changed considerably, and looked at his aide.

“Thank you, Nikolas. You can go.”

Nikolas bowed deeply with pristine form. Under his simple grey robe, Vallius could see the crimson shirt with the insignia of a golden hawk.

“Thank you, Commander. I’ll bring you news as soon as they reach me.”

Vallius nodded and waved his hand. Nikolas bowed again before leaving the room, closing the door behind him. Vallius took a deep breath as he looked at the map again.

…Our color has become quite fitting.

He gritted his teeth. Through Nikolas’ reports, he was aware of the number of wars the Empire had chosen to wage against kingdoms and smaller nations. Their expansion was stepping over the corpses of countless men and women, young and old. What color should they have on the map if not the same as that of blood?

Vallius clenched his fists and walked to the right, closer to the window. His sad eyes beheld the city that he loved so deeply. It was his hometown and the place he’d chosen to act as a commander, even though it wasn’t a particularly noteworthy city in the Empire.

…This is wrong.

Everything had begun once the new Emperor ascended to the throne. The mere thought of the man was enough to make Vallius angry and resentful. But what could he do? He wasn’t a high-ranking officer or one of the Empire’s most powerful Mages. There was no way for him to affect the Emperor’s decisions at all.

He turned around and looked at Ceotha Kingdom’s territory, filled with some appreciation. To think they would continue to trade with the Mar Kingdom and not back down, even under the threat of the Empire. What could that be considered if not ‘admirable?’

I wonder if I should send a delegation to that kingdom.

A second later, he shook his head. There would be no point. The orders from the higher-ups had been clear. All he needed to do was keep his head down and follow orders.

Even if the Empire was turning into something he despised.

***

Rylan looked through the window at Caer Rhelon’s walls with a light smile.

And here we are.

Their journey had been unremarkable. Through the six-legged lizard creatures’ efforts, it had also been quick. His mother had left for the Astassier estate shortly after arriving in the city, despite her distaste in doing so. As his thoughts reached this point, his eyes were filled with sadness. He glanced at his younger brother’s anxious expression and raised an eyebrow.

“What is it?”

Aelfric sighed.

“…I wonder if I got in.”

“I think you did.”

“Why, though? I wasn’t particularly good at anything.”

Rylan shook his head.

“Because of the way several of the exams worked, you could show your talents. Sure, you weren’t the best in the tournament, but fighting ability comes with time and experience. You’ll be fine.”

“Hayden and Jasmine are only sixteen,” Aelfric grumbled, making Rylan blink. It was true.

“…Jasmine had training from a young age, including combat training.”

Aelfric raised an eyebrow, his eyes filled with the triumphant edge of someone who knew he was about to prove his point.

“And Hayden? He’s a commoner.”

Rylan shrugged.

“He still has a long way to go. He could have beaten me if he had more experience. He’s a genius, but geniuses aren’t experienced soldiers from birth. Besides, you’re a genius too.”

Aelfric flinched and lowered his head with a complicated expression.

“Trust me, you are,” Rylan said before his brother could reply.

Aelfric scoffed.

“I agree with young master Rylan,” Sarah suddenly said from the side. Rylan glanced at her. She was smiling at Aelfric, green eyes curved in crescent moons. “All you need is time, young master Aelfric. With the guidance of the Sword Saint, you’ll become much greater than anyone else.”

Rylan raised his finger to flick her in the forehead, but she hurriedly widened the distance between them with a grin. He sighed and lowered his hand while shaking his head, smiling.

The carriage slowly made its way inside the city proper, past the Mages guarding one of the four cardinal entrances. Rylan had only needed to pop his head out of the window once before all the guards almost jumped in place and made way. After enduring some traffic, the carriage arrived at the same place where Rylan, Sarah, and Aelfric had stayed during the tournament.

Rylan stepped out of the carriage, followed by the other two, and nodded at Pedro with a wave.

“Thank you, Pedro. It was great.”

The chubby coachman nodded repeatedly.

“Of course, masters! It was a pleasure!”

Rylan got their minimal luggage out of the carriage and watched it leave. After a second, he went inside the inn. Sarah got them a room in less than two minutes. Once they arrived at their designated room and settled in, Rylan looked at the other two.

“I’ll go to Damian now. I need to ask him a few things. I’ll also ask him if you made it into the Academy, Aelfric.”

Aelfric let out a sigh, hand over his chest, and nodded. After some brief goodbyes, Rylan left the room, leaving behind his luggage.

Naturally, he attracted attention from the moment he stepped outside the inn. As if he could perceive a disturbance in the very atmosphere, a little boy immediately snapped toward him as he closed the door behind him. He pointed at him with a wide smile. Rylan hurriedly brought his finger to his lips.

“Daddy! It’s Rylan!”

Of course, it didn’t work. Rylan sighed deeply as every passerby within earshot turned to look at him. It took less than five seconds for them to gather around him, drawing even more attention. With a bitter smile, he tried to deal with all of them the best he could while making his way to the Academy grounds.

After almost twenty minutes, he reached the Royal Magic Academy’s entrance. Waving his goodbyes to the large crowd that was still following him, Rylan hurriedly entered the Academy. It didn’t take long for him to reach Damian’s tower.

The doors opened automatically, allowing him to behold the arcane sight of the moving stairways and drifting mana particles, alongside the floating books. The same woman as before stood behind the circular wooden counter. She bowed at him and pointed at the stairway leading up.

Rylan nodded at her and started climbing the stairs. Just like before, the scenery around him shifted and changed constantly until he reached Damian’s doors. Taking a deep breath, he opened them and stepped inside the simple study. His white-haired new master was looking through the windows. Damian started turning toward him.

“I’m glad you’re back—” Damian caught himself in the middle of his words, narrowing his eyes at Rylan.

Rylan nodded at him.

“I’m back, Damian. Everything went well.”

“…You.”

And here we go.

Damian slowly stood up with a dumbfounded expression, like he couldn’t even begin to believe what he was seeing.

“What the hell happened to you?” Damian asked, incredulous.

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