Sword Saint's Reincarnation
Book 2 Chapter 32: Beginning of Classes (2)

Damian stared at Rylan, dumbfounded. He scanned his student from head to toe. His mana flooded into the atmosphere around him and wrapped itself around Rylan. His ability to understand Rylan’s current state surged, strengthening his disbelief even more. A single thought filled his mind, almost reflexively.

This is impossible.

His senses merged with his mana to allow him to realize how Rylan had changed. Muscles that were incomparable to before, both flexible and tough, but also capable of great explosive strength. Skin without a single blemish that was even more resistant than a beast’s hide. It was likely that Rylan’s organs and bones had followed suit. To top it all off, the entire atmosphere around the boy had changed. The mana within him was resonating with Damian’s, allowing the man to grasp Rylan’s level in a flash.

He reached the Third Circle.

Truthfully, that was the least surprising part of Rylan’s current self. Damian had partially expected this development from the moment Rylan had left to return to Cantavega and fight in an Open Dungeon, given the boy’s talent and skills. The Third Circle, by itself, did not merit such a reaction from him.

But this is different.

It was one thing for Rylan to go through Class Evolution, increase his Level, and reach the Third Circle after investing his Free Points and receiving advice from Gerard and the Academy professors. It was another entirely for Rylan to have done so while strengthening his body to such an incomprehensible degree. Based on what Damian could perceive without trying to force his mana inside Rylan’s body, and on the swordsmanship Rylan had displayed when fighting against Hayden, Damian could confidently say that there wasn’t a single Third Circle Mage capable of beating the boy in a fight. No, was there even anyone in the Fourth Circle who would be able to deal with Rylan’s speed without dual casting? Nobody came to mind.

How? Even if he got a good Class that gives him plenty of Free Points, this shouldn’t have been possible.

Rylan’s current state was something he would have only been able to achieve with a Class that not only gave him a great amount of Free Points but also increased his magical stats even more than many other magic-focused Classes. A perfect combination that represented Rylan’s infinite potential. But did such a Class truly exist? Even though Rylan was capable of both swordsmanship and magic, had the System truly chosen to offer him an unprecedented Class?

“Well,” Rylan suddenly said, making Damian flinch. “I just went through Class Evolution and Leveled up. The enemies in the Dungeon were pretty strong, so I got to a much higher Level.”

Damian blinked dumbly at Rylan before remembering the question that he’d asked in the first place. He slowly rubbed his temples and closed his eyes.

Calm down. This is reality.

After a few seconds, he opened his eyes and looked at Rylan, who had tilted his head. With a sigh, Damian sat back down on his chair.

“…Alice told me. Spriggans, Treants, Moss Golems, and even a Basilisk as the Boss. You did well,” he replied after a second, his voice growing stronger as he spoke.

Rylan raised an eyebrow.

“I thought you’d scold me for going straight to the Boss without the professors’ support.”

Damian shook his head, looking serious.

“No. Alice told me the Dungeon locked any raiders in until the Boss was defeated. I have enough experience raiding Dungeons to know that it wouldn’t end at just that. You went to the Boss because you needed to, didn’t you? Hiding and waiting for the professors to enter wasn’t an option.”

Rylan blinked before nodding with a grin of appreciation.

“The Boss could tell our locations at all times and constantly sent monsters after Father and me. Our only choice was to kill the Boss before we got too exhausted by the waves of enemies.”

“And that’s how you Leveled up so much. Constant battles.”

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Rylan nodded, but Damian only narrowed his eyes. Based on what he knew from his investigations, Gerard wasn’t powerful enough to defeat a Basilisk on his own, especially when worn down by preceding battles. That could only mean one thing: either Rylan was capable of even more than Damian was aware of, or he’d simply become that much stronger by Leveling up.

Just how impactful are these higher stats?

Memories of Rylan’s battle against Hayden flashed through Damian’s mind. Peerless battle sense and a pioneering fighting style. Damian reached a single conclusion: given the scaling nature of stats, even marginally higher ones would have been enough to overhaul Rylan’s combat ability. Not because the stats themselves were too impactful, but because the person was.

And he went a lot further than ‘marginally.’

A chill went down Damian’s spine as he stared at his student. The realization that even he couldn’t truly tell how much stronger Rylan had become hit him.

“Yes,” Rylan said, dragging him out of his thoughts. “It was a good experience.”

“…A good experience?”

Rylan nodded again, smiling.

“I got to hone my fighting style after so much fighting. I’d say I improved quite a bit.”

Damian let out a disbelieving scoff and looked at the ceiling with a complicated expression. Various emotions swam in his chest, but the greatest ones were anxiety and concern.

Seconds went by in silence as Damian contemplated all the possibilities. The future he’d predicted had gone completely out the window from the moment Rylan stepped in. Damian frowned.

“…Do you know what you are, Rylan?” he asked after almost a full minute of solemn silence.

“A student,” Rylan readily replied, furrowing his brow.

Damian lowered his gaze and stared right into Rylan’s blue eyes.

“A double-edged sword.”

Rylan tilted his head, but his expression abruptly changed. Had he realized the point of Damian’s words? Even still, Damian knew he needed to make his point as clear as possible. There could be no margin for interpretation.

“I’m sure you’re aware of this continent’s current situation. War is coming,” Damian continued in a firm tone. Rylan nodded. “And this country’s military power can’t even begin to compare to the Empire’s. Right now, we aren’t drawing too much attention, even though we’re still trading with a kingdom that the Empire wants to take over. But the golden hawk will come for us eventually. At that point, your existence will become a variable.”

“You think they’ll come after me specifically,” Rylan completed. “And since I’ll soon be a student at this Academy, my mere presence would be enough to endanger the lives of all other students.”

Damian nodded with a deep sigh.

“The Empire won’t care about collateral damage if they want to assassinate someone who can become a powerful enemy. Truthfully, the best possible outcome would be for them to try and get you to join the Empire, but… I don’t think the current Empire will go in that direction.”

As he spoke, Damian gradually frowned. Rylan rubbed his chin with a pensive expression.

“Then, isn’t there a single thing left for this kingdom to do?”

Damian furrowed his brow and stared at Rylan.

“Gather up and form alliances,” Rylan continued, shrugging. “Just like wolves form packs to increase their hunting success rate. Against an overwhelmingly powerful enemy, what choice is there other than to search for allies? Even if the Empire is stronger than all of the continent’s kingdoms combined, an alliance’s words would hold much greater weight than any lone kingdom’s. Isn’t the king already doing that?”

Damian narrowed his eyes.

“You don’t expect me to actually share military intelligence just because you asked, do you?”

“No,” Rylan shamelessly replied.

Damian scoffed. Naturally, Henry had already begun the process of trying to strengthen the kingdom’s existing alliances and create new ones. The problem was that the threat the Empire posed was so great that many kingdoms outright gave up on any form of resistance, sometimes even before the wars truly started.

…I wish I could have hope.

The future looked grim, but going through it was their only choice. They only needed to prepare as much as they could. There was no way for Rylan to become powerful enough to overcome the Empire before they came for him, no matter how talented he was. People needed time to develop, and how much of it would he truly have? Two years? Less?

“There’s something else we can do,” Rylan stated, looking into Damian’s eyes. “And that is to prepare ourselves. Ensure that the Empire doesn’t hear anything about me for a long time.”

Damian leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.

“Since this kingdom isn’t particularly remarkable, and the Empire is waging war against the entire continent, I’d guess they can’t invest too much into keeping tabs on our kingdom,” Rylan continued. “So we bide our time and get ready for when the moment does arrive, assuming we won’t be able to avoid it.”

“We won’t,” Damian immediately replied. “The stronger you become, the faster it’ll arrive. But it will happen all the same. Still, you’re right.”

Damian stood up and turned around to look at the window, beholding Caer Rhelon’s magnificence from his high ground. There was much to think about, but he would only be able to do so when alone.

“Your brother was accepted into the Academy,” Damian continued in a calmer tone. “And classes will start three days from now. I’m glad you managed to deal with your hometown’s Dungeon issue. Once the school year begins, we’ll talk about it. Good work, Rylan.”

He didn’t turn around, but his mana managed to perceive Rylan’s nod.

“Thank you, Damian. I’m going, then.”

Damian didn’t reply. Soon, the sound of the doors opening then closing resounded. His mind raced with plan after plan.

It was his duty to this kingdom to ensure Rylan grew to become as great as he could be.