Sword Saint's Reincarnation
Book 2 Chapter 38: Prelude

Three days later, at dawn.

Rylan sat cross-legged on his bed, shirtless. His attention was completely turned inward, to the point he almost didn’t notice the day’s first few warm sunrays shining upon his body.

His consciousness perceived the Mana Core deep within his spirit. It wasn’t as if he could see it or feel it, but he knew it was there all the same. His conversations with Damian over the past few days had resulted in him knowing much more about the Core. All he felt was wonder.

How can it be so different from Aura and yet so similar?

It wasn’t the first time he was struck by this thought. Aura was a power borne from the body and spirit, while mana and the Mana Core were created out of the connection between the mind and spirit. This small distinction should have made them entirely different. Yet, now that he had experienced both, he could see the similarities that shouldn’t exist.

Is it because of the soul?

Both types of power required a connection to the spirit, which acted as the common point between them. It was likely why he had been able to adapt his Mana Core and Circles into something that resembled an Aura Heart. For now, it was all he could do. He didn’t know enough about mana and magic to try and improve his Mana Cultivation.

Soon. I’ll be able to do so eventually.

He had created his mana circulation and acquired his Mana Cultivation Skill back when the threat of Evenon hung over his head like a guillotine. Using the memories from his past life had been the quickest path to power, which had allowed him to solve that situation. In the months following Evenon’s defeat and death, he had focused on getting rid of his previous Trait. This, coupled with the Flameheart library’s limited collection of books, meant that he had never had much time to properly study mana. However, things had changed. He had been able to enter the Academy and become the Headmaster’s disciple. It was only a matter of time before he managed to learn enough about it to make his Mana Cultivation evolve.

Rylan turned his attention back to his Mana Core. It throbbed like a heart, surrounded by three circles of light. He took a deep breath. The atmospheric mana followed his breathing and sank inside his body like water flowing downstream, rushing toward his Mana Core. Once the flood of mana reached it, the Core seamlessly absorbed it. Shortly after, another wave arrived.

Time to try it out.

After a second, Rylan drowned out all unnecessary thoughts. All that remained in his mind were various, dream-like images. A soft drizzle falling upon lush, green blades of grass. A raging river flowing, only to end at a waterfall. The waves of the ocean repeatedly crashing upon yellow sand. It was as if he had entered some type of trance. He felt like he could hear each scene, the sounds of the water moving, like he could smell the soft, wet earth. Time lost all meaning. He no longer knew if he had been “seeing” these scenes for seconds or hours. All that remained was his desire to use them to improve his mana circulation. He was devoid of all conscious thought.

An unknown amount of time later, Rylan opened his eyes. The sunlight immediately invaded his previously serene, dark world. The bedroom remained the same. Simple wooden furniture, two large windows, a chandelier, and two wide beds. The difference was that Aelfric was no longer lying on the second bed. Instead, the boy was drying his hair with the Gust spell in front of the farther window, fully dressed up. The blue robe with a golden insignia over the heart covered him, the insignia almost glowing under the sunlight.

Aelfric absent-mindedly looked at Rylan, blinked, then smiled widely.

“Oh, hey! Good morning. I didn’t want to disturb you, so I just got ready on my own. You should go take a bath.”

Rylan smiled back and stood up, barefoot. Aelfric lowered his gaze and scanned Rylan from head to toe with an envious expression.

“…You weren’t this muscular before,” he said after a second.

Rylan raised an eyebrow.

“I did Level up a lot. And my muscles haven’t even grown much.”

Aelfric hesitatingly nodded.

“Sure, but they look… different? They aren’t much bigger, but you look like you got another body. I don’t know how to explain it.”

Rylan smiled at his brother.

“My past life left me with a few tricks. And reaching the Third Circle allowed me to get rid of a lot of impurities.”

Aelfric gave Rylan’s torso another glance.

“Do you think I can have a body like yours?”

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“Sure, I can train you. If you want to impress Luna that much.”

Aelfric flinched.

“I-I don’t want to— I mean, I do, but not because of—” Aelfric replied, stumbling over his words like a child who had been caught doing something wrong.

Rylan laughed, gave his younger brother a tap on the shoulder, and entered the bathroom.

“I’m going! Don’t take too long!” Aelfric spoke loudly from outside as Rylan shut the door.

“Of course. Don’t want to keep her waiting,” he replied with a mischievous grin.

“You! I already said it’s not like that! Anyway, I’m going!”

Rylan chuckled to himself as he heard Aelfric leave the bedroom. A boy and his first love were such a simple thing to see through. After undressing, he took a proper bath and put on his Academy uniform, including the robe. Giving one last glance to the Academy grounds beyond the glass window, he left the bedroom.

As he walked through the hallways of the dorms and toward the exit, he put his hand over his chest. His heightened senses could perceive his heartbeat with almost perfect clarity.

It won’t be long now.

Rylan couldn’t help but feel a sense of urgency. With war on the horizon, he needed to awaken his Aura as soon as possible. However, it was a process that took time by default, and he didn’t have Roland’s Complete Prodigy Trait. Could he do it before the Empire caught whiff of his scent?

No. That’s not the right question.

Would he or would he not? There was no room to consider what he could and couldn’t do. To protect his family and everything he stood for in this life, he would succeed. No matter who his opponent was, just like in his past life. To do so, he would learn more about mana as he continued to train his body.

As if responding to his determination, his heartbeat grew more intense.

Somewhat lost in his thoughts, Rylan left the male dorms and walked through the Academy grounds until he got to the same classroom as usual. Waiting outside the classroom by the door was a tall, black-haired teenage boy with golden eyes.

“Good morning, Hayden,” Rylan said with a grin as he approached.

Hayden nodded at him.

“You’re late. Class is about to start.”

“Which means it hasn’t started yet. I’m exactly on time.”

Hayden scoffed.

“It’s unlike you to be ‘almost’ late.”

Rylan shrugged.

“Don’t worry about that. Have you followed my advice and talked to Damian?”

Hayden nodded and stopped leaning against the wall, straightening his posture.

“Yes. Master said my journey is just beginning. We’ve discussed how I can improve from now on and how to do it.”

Rylan smiled.

“Good. I hope you can finally fully spread your wings.”

Hayden only stared at him in silence, making him raise an eyebrow.

“What?” Rylan asked.

“…I wonder if I can catch up to you soon. You’re in the Third Circle now, aren’t you? Took me a while to be able to tell. That’s why I felt you were different when we met a few days ago.”

Rylan blinked.

“Yes, I am,” he replied after a second. “But that only means I’m the one who has caught up to you. No, since you can dual cast, you’re still ahead of me.”

“Yeah, right. You beat me when you were at the Second Circle. Once you learn some Third Circle spells from our master, you’ll be able to wipe the floor with me,” Hayden grumbled.

Rylan gave him a helpless smile and threw his arm around his shoulders.

“Now, now, don’t sulk. We’ll grow together. You’re a great Mage, Hayden, and you’re only going to become greater. Now, let’s go into class before the professor calls us out.”

Hayden sighed and walked into the classroom. Rylan looked at his back with some appreciation.

I didn’t think he would notice.

It seemed that the boy had figured it out over the past few days, even if he hadn’t managed to properly feel Rylan’s Circles. Rylan smiled and followed Hayden inside. As usual, they drew over a dozen stares from the moment they stepped inside the classroom, but Rylan didn’t mind and only scanned the seats. Barely a second later, he located Aelfric, Luna, Jasmine, and her friends Isa and Maria, who were all sitting close together. Aelfric waved at him, sitting next to Luna. Jasmine smiled at him, as did the others.

This isn’t too bad.

It felt warm. It was something that he hadn’t experienced for decades.

***

Gael rubbed his beard with a serious expression. Nathan was sitting in the chair in front of his desk and looking at him. The sun shone on Gael’s back and granted him some warmth, but it was irrelevant to him. He frowned.

“What are we going to do, Father?”

Gael turned to look at the window and stayed silent for a while.

“I need to see him,” he finally replied. “I need to gauge how much he’s grown.”

He kept his frown. From what his son had told him, this situation could quickly spiral out of control.

A Basilisk and the Third Circle.

Rylan had fought and killed a Fourth Circle Mage when he was only at the First Circle, even though Gerard had helped him. Once he reached the Second Circle, he had been able to defeat Hayden of Lindsor, a genius by all accounts, who was in the Third Circle. Soon after, he went into an Open Dungeon that he shouldn’t have been able to survive, and even managed to clear it.

Gerard isn’t enough to raid a Dungeon like that on his own.

Naturally, Gael had investigated the Flameheart family thoroughly, from Gerard himself to every employee they ever had. It was a mere consequence of his daughter’s childish tantrum to marry that man. That was how he knew that Gerard couldn’t have cleared that Dungeon almost by himself. It only meant that Rylan was even more powerful than he’d proven himself to be at the Royal Magic Academy’s tournament. And now, the boy had reached the Third Circle and was Damian’s disciple.

Gael narrowed his eyes at the horizon, as if trying to see past it.

“As long as Elizabeth keeps telling him not to trust us, he won’t come around,” Nathan said. “It’s what I noticed over my time there.”

Silence.

“Then,” Gael spoke up, turning around to look at his son. “We only need to make him understand the necessity of joining us.”

Nathan furrowed his brow.

“…How?”

“There are many ways to do so. But for now, it will suffice to show him what we can offer him. Once the noose around this kingdom’s neck tightens, he will realize what the support of our family would mean.”

It would be incredibly foolish to rashly make a move and end up making Rylan outright hostile to the Astassiers. Threatening the Flameheart family and employees or trying to take Rylan by force would only massively backfire, especially given how quickly the boy was developing.

The only thing more powerful than the desire to survive is the desire to protect one’s loved ones.

Once the blade fell, Rylan would realize that there was no way for him to be in two places at once or crush entire armies by himself.

From now, it was only a matter of time.