Sword Saint's Reincarnation
Book 2 Chapter 41: Assignment (2)

Rylan rubbed his chin as he inspected his Status Window.

Status Window

Name: Rylan Flameheart

Level: 48

Race: Human (E)

Class: The Dreamer

Profession: none.

Trait: Determined

Stats

Strength: 238

Agility: 238

Endurance: 240

Body: 242

Intelligence: 268

Wisdom: 255

Free Points: 44

Active Skills

Magic Missile (F), Magic Shield (F), Stormcaller Sword Style (S), Mountainpeak Swordsmanship (A), Second Imperial Swordsmanship (B), Falling Snow Steps (A), Earth Grab (F), Earth Spikes (E), Firebolt (F), Wind Blades (F), Water Bullets (F), Gust (F), Ray of Frost (F), Water Sphere (D), Fireball (D), Frost Lance (D), Rupture (D), Tide (D), Fire Ring (D), Lesser Lightning (D).

Passive Skills

Mana Core (Third Circle), Sword Handling (E), Stamina (E), Blade Affinity (D), Precision (E), Force (E), Overpower (D), Balance (E), Cutting Edge (D), Persistence (D), Mana Affinity (E), Faster Casting (D), Lionheart (C), Mana Sense (E), Mana Control (E), Capacity Expansion (E), Efficiency (E), Mana Empowerment (E), Silent Casting (E), Mental Fortitude (D), Concentration (D), Heightened Focus (D), Sharpened Mind (C), Dual Casting (D), Dreams of Transcendence.

Hybrid Skills

Sword Mastery (Master), Mana Cultivation (Intermediate).

Titles

Young Mage; Reincarnator; Swordmaster; Expert Monster Slayer; Hard-working; Duelist; Bladedancer; Swordseeker; Battlemage; Dedicated Student; Moonlight’s Eternal Promise.

Rylan nodded to himself.

Not bad.

His improvement had been less dramatic than when he cleared the Basilisk Wilds, since he hadn’t Leveled up even once, but that didn’t mean he was the same as back then. He slowly scanned his Status Window. His Level and Class had naturally remained the same, and he hadn’t decided what Profession to pursue. However, all his stats had increased.

My physical stats’ growth wasn’t as great as Intelligence and Wisdom, but this is good enough.

The higher one’s stats, the harder it was to improve them through training. This, in addition to the fact that he was unable to push himself to his limits just in case Damian would be able to watch and realize his true abilities, meant that his physical growth hadn’t been outstanding. Besides, there was one more factor. Rylan gave his physical stats one last glance.

I chose to focus on magic.

Roland’s memories hadn’t vanished or even grown easier to forget. As if they were imprinted upon his soul, not a single one had been forgotten. This naturally meant that he recalled every single sword style and Sword Art that he’d known in his past life. Acquiring them as proper Skills and having them appear in his Status Window would be easier than trying to learn spells, which were still mostly foreign to him. As such, Rylan had chosen to prioritize his magic’s development over acquiring new sword styles and physical Skills. The Academy was the type of place where he could afford to do so.

Rylan looked at his Intelligence and Wisdom stats. They had grown well even after he stopped Leveling up. He had no complaints. He moved his gaze to his Active Skills. His efforts in trying to learn several Third Circle spells had been fruitful. He had chosen to start with the Third Circle spells he was already familiar with, since he knew how strong they were and what they could do. Most were spells that the other contestants had used in the tournament, while Fire Ring was a spell he’d first come in contact with because of Gerard.

Now that I have dual casting, Lesser Lightning and Water Sphere or Tide will likely become my greatest combinations.

Now, he would be able to summon both water and lightning at the same time to amplify the damage of the spells. His gaze hovered over Lesser Lightning for a few seconds.

This is still the Third Circle, but…

To think there was a spell that already used lightning. None of the enemies he’d faced so far would be able to avoid a lightning bolt for one simple reason.

Lightning is too fast.

Lesser Lightning had several limitations, including a long casting time and low accuracy, but it was still a lightning bolt, even if a small and weak one. To dodge it, one would need to be able to perfectly predict its path before it fully activated, or simply move faster than it, which was likely impossible without incredibly high physical stats or Aura with a speed-related Aspect. The only choice of his enemies would be to block it. Nevertheless, now that he had Dual Casting, he could amplify the spells’ effects.

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Rylan looked at his Passive Skills. They were the second pillar of his current strength. The new Skills appeared in his Status Window in the order that he’d learned them. First, he and Damian had chosen to acquire basic Passive Skills that provided a boost to almost everything a Mage did, starting with Mana Sense, which would improve his ability to perceive mana and therefore create new Circles, as well as sense others’ mana more accurately. After that came Mana Control, which improved his ability to control his mana and spells.

Capacity Expansion and Efficiency sought to increase his mana pool and reduce his mana consumption, allowing him to fight for longer. Mana Empowerment slightly boosted every spell he had, as well as a few mana-related Passive Skills. The next Skills they had gone after were the ones related to improving the effectiveness of his Intelligence and Wisdom stats, to the point of creating a chain reaction that resulted in the increase of his overall power.

Sharp Mind was a good turn of fate.

It was a Skill that not only affected his stats but also allowed him to think more effectively and quickly, which even affected his learning speed. In short, every new Passive Skill had a synergy with the others. Their effects added on top of each other, combining to create his current self. And there was one more thing.

Rylan stared at his Status Window for a few seconds, but his awareness was focused almost entirely on his Mana Core and Circles.

My Mana Cultivation has become stronger.

At their core, his Mana Cultivation and the mana circulation that derived from it used mana as their source of power. It was only natural that acquiring so many mana-related Passive Skills would improve his Cultivation. Rylan narrowed his eyes and glanced at his new Title. Dedicated Student simply improved his learning speed by a bit. The bonus increased as he put the effort in, up to a maximum.

“Damian,” Rylan suddenly said, still looking at his Status Window. “How strong do you think I am?”

It wasn’t the first time he’d asked his master this question, but he still considered it an important one. Damian knew far more about this world’s Mages and their power than him. He’d only spent a bit less than a year among Mages, after all, since everything before his eighteenth birthday consisted of a pathetic story. Rylan’s eyebrow twitched as his thoughts reached this point.

“With or without your swordsmanship?” Damian replied. Rylan looked at him. The old man had his arms crossed and was staring at Rylan with a serious expression.

“Both.”

Rylan didn’t need to ask if his swordsmanship would make too much of a difference. Over these two months of daily contact and sparring, Damian had become familiar with what Rylan’s swordsmanship could do. Of course, Rylan hadn’t circulated his mana even once, but even his normal skills had been enough. He had realized that Damian had only grown to respect him even more over time.

“Well,” Damian started, his green eyes almost glowing under the sunlight. “Now that you have Dual Casting, everything changes. Everything. Yesterday, I would have said you would struggle against a good Fourth Circle Mage without your sword. If you used swordsmanship, you would have been deep into the Fourth Circle in terms of combat ability, maybe close to the Fifth. But now…”

Rylan waited for his master to finish. Damian let out a small sigh.

“Now, I don’t know. I’m at a loss, since I’ve never felt this from a student.”

Rylan tilted his head. The Status Window in front of him disappeared.

“What do you mean?”

Damian frowned, then let out a small sigh. He started lowering his body as if he were going to sit down on the floor, but his descent stopped suddenly. A moment later, Damian was sitting cross-legged on the air itself, floating in place.

“You were limited by your inability to cast more than a single spell at a time. However, you managed to overcome that flaw through swordsmanship and even beat a genius like Hayden.”

Rylan nodded. By using his swordsmanship in the match against Hayden, he’d been able to attack and retreat as needed, without needing to struggle to cast a spell.

“But now,” Damian’s frown intensified as he continued. “Your body is at the strongest it’s ever been, you’re in the Third Circle, you finally have some of the basic Passive Skills, and you have learned some Third Circle spells. To top it all off, you’ve just acquired Dual Casting. I don’t know how you will use these weapons to improve your unique fighting style. Your battle sense is frightening enough. I don’t know how strong you are.”

Rylan blinked.

“…I didn’t think you could say something like that, old man.”

Damian didn’t reply. Instead, he only stared at Rylan.

“Rylan,” Damian suddenly said after a few seconds of silence. “I’m sorry.”

Rylan raised an eyebrow.

“What do you mean?”

Damian smiled bitterly.

“I might need you, after all.”

Rylan furrowed his brow.

“This isn’t like you, Damian.”

Still, he wasn’t surprised. Damian’s demeanor had gradually changed over time because of the continent’s political situation. His warm, serene expression, which was previously so common, had become increasingly rarer.

But this isn’t his limit.

Damian took a deep breath and closed his eyes. A few seconds later, once he opened them, he looked calm and collected again, as if he would still smile even if the heavens fell. It was the expression of a man who had lived and fought for a long time. He grinned at Rylan.

“Yeah, you’re right. I just felt like I needed to warn you. From one fighter to the other, you might need to fight.”

Rylan slowly nodded.

“Are things worse than what you’ve told me? Is it because of the Kingdom of Mar?”

Damian chuckled and extended his legs, slowly falling to the ground.

“Let the adults worry about that. For now, just focus on completing today’s assignment and becoming stronger. You have a hobgoblin to kill.”

Rylan let out a small sigh and shook his head.

“One thing,” Damian continued, keeping his eyes on Rylan. “I feel like you already know this, but there’s no harm in saying it. The Astassier house will move. I might dislike him, but Gael is a man who knows exactly what he’s doing.”

Rylan nodded. It truly was the right time for the Astassier family to reach out again.

They’ve been quiet, but if things are truly getting worse faster than before…

In a dangerous situation, people sought protection and support from the powerful more than ever. Any other eighteen-year-old, no matter how talented, would feel increasingly pressured given the continent’s atmosphere, and there was no greater family in the Ceotha Kingdom than the Astassier house. It would almost be a matter of course for students and adults alike to try and get protection from the Astassier house. Rylan frowned.

Do I need to talk to Hayden and Jasmine?

Did he really have the right to interfere with their choices? He hadn’t joined the Astassier family because of his mother, but Hayden and Jasmine weren’t in such circumstances. Rylan shook his head and sighed.

One day at a time.

“I’m going, then,” Rylan said as he looked at Damian. “I need to see how Aelfric will do.”

Damian nodded.

“Yeah. We just need to keep going. I’ll protect this kingdom, Rylan,” he stated in a firm tone. “So just focus on getting stronger.”

Rylan smiled at him.

“Sometimes, you feel like a real master.”

Damian scoffed and gave him a dismissive wave. Rylan chuckled and walked toward the empty room’s right wall. As he approached, it suddenly rippled before crawling over itself to create a large hole. Beyond, a single staircase led downward.

Rylan stepped out of the room.

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