Sword Saint's Reincarnation
Chapter 89: Finals (4)

Rylan ran to the side toward the nearest stone wall, which stood next to a slope. Surprise filled him completely as he watched the scene before him.

Mana ignited into orange flames and gathered into a spherical shape. In nothing but a few seconds, the Fireball became half as large as Evenon’s version of the spell. A wave of heat struck Rylan, as if the atmosphere itself were boiling. The air shimmered and trembled like a mirage because of the Fireball’s temperature. Hayden’s figure had been completely hidden behind it. The glowing sphere of fire looked like the sun.

Two seconds later, the Fireball shot toward Rylan like a meteor. The heat intensified. Once Rylan got behind the wall, he ground to a halt and ran backward, hiding in its shadow. The spell soon arrived. The moment it touched the stone wall, the Fireball exploded into a roiling wave of fire that wrapped itself around the wall and continued toward Rylan, swallowing the wall completely.

Rylan continued to run, his eyes glued to the fire that approached him. The wall had done almost nothing to block its advance; the flames had simply continued. Rylan’s judgment was almost instant.

They’re faster than me.

That left him with only one choice.

“Magic Shield,” he said while drawing a circle with his wand.

The layer of blue mana took shape above his skin, but this wasn’t enough.

Expand.

With a clenched jaw, Rylan turned as much of his focus as he could to the Shield. Slowly, it grew. The Fireball’s flames were almost upon him. They covered the view of the sky and burned the ground like a demonic force. Eyeing a large hole in the ground, he pushed his body to its very limits, increasing his running speed for a brief moment. His Magic Shield became a vague sphere around his body. The flames closed in on him from almost every direction. Just before they wrapped themselves around him, Rylan jumped into the hole.

The first wave of fire passed by above him. It went straight past the hole and landed on a stone pillar, then enveloped it as if trying to turn it into cinders. Crouching, Rylan observed this unblinkingly. He pushed himself to keep his senses and perception at their current limits as he tried to feel the mana within the flames.

Rylan knew that the flames wouldn’t miss him again. He needed to leave before he was surrounded by the next wave, but it wasn’t time yet.

His heart thumped within his chest as the world slowed down dramatically. Fire gathered above him and flowed toward him like a living creature. His Magic Shield protected him from the sizzling heat. Rylan stared at the flames as his legs tensed up. That was when he saw what he had been looking for. A small gap between the flames, too minute to be exploited by an ordinary Mage. It was all he needed.

He ran toward the fire with large steps, covering as much distance as he could as fast as possible. Rylan took one strong step and let out a breath. The Fireball’s flames arrived. They wrapped themselves around his spherical Magic Shield, but he continued to run. Even as the magical fire melted through the Shield and touched his skin, he didn’t stop. New burns appeared on his body, bringing along extreme agony, but Rylan only gritted his teeth. With a leap, Rylan jumped through the gap.

He landed just beyond the flames as they destroyed what remained of his Magic Shield. The breeze dug into his burn wounds, making him shiver slightly.

The flames moved in a circular fashion and started to seal off his possible escape routes. It was as if he were in the eye of a hurricane of fire.

They’re going to surround me again.

There was no time to be lost in his pain. Rylan ran as fast as he could through the nearest opening, looking to the right. Hayden came into view beyond the fire, still covered by a golden Magic Shield. Rylan pointed his wand at him as he ran away from the storm of fire, which had started to chase him once more like a hungry beast. His arm trembled.

“Magic Missile.”

The Missile took shape and shot toward Hayden’s chest, carrying Rylan’s hopes with it. It pierced through the atmosphere only to be stopped by the Shield. It collapsed into a burst of shimmering particles without inflicting any damage at all. The wave of fire behind and around Rylan slowly disappeared, allowing him to see the damage it had caused in its wake. The ground had been scorched, as had the nearby pillars and walls. It also allowed Rylan to have a better grasp of how much the flames had spread. He glanced at his surroundings.

That was a Fireball, not Fire Ring, and yet…

Once more, he realized how wondrous it was for a boy as young as Hayden to possess such incredible spellcasting abilities, especially because Hayden was a commoner who needed to work to survive. Rylan’s evaluation of his opponent rose. A genius was indeed different from everyone else.

Rylan didn’t stop running or chanting even as his mind raced. He cast another Magic Missile, but the result was the same: it hit the Shield and fell apart. Hayden shot Magic Missiles and Firebolts at Rylan as sweat flowed down his brow, forcing Rylan to dodge continuously. Rylan tried to retaliate, but all his spells were either blocked or avoided.

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His blood flowed into the earth. Racked by pain, his muscles trembled, as if about to fail him. He heaved, struggling to maintain the breathing Roland’s memories had taught him. Right now, he was face to face with his limits.

Keep going.

His casting speed became faster as he forced his body to keep running. His senses had already reached their limits, but it was as if the world were still gradually becoming clearer. Step after step, Rylan challenged these limitations as he avoided Hayden’s spells. Small, different injuries slowly piled up, each bringing its own type of suffering.

Keep going.

However, he couldn’t stop. It was only by pushing himself past his limits that he could awaken Aura. More than that, it was the only way for someone like him to reach the peak again and protect his family. The only way to atone for Roland’s mistakes.

These wounds were not enough to make him give up.

Rylan felt as if he were floating, his spellcasting becoming more accurate. This feeling continued to build up, even as more wounds were carved into his skin and flesh. Hayden was now visibly frowning, but Rylan didn’t care. Every second felt like an eternity as his entire body shook, about to fall apart. Suddenly, a voice rang out in his head.

[You have acquired a new Title.]

Rylan smiled. Finally, some reward for this bitter struggle. He kept his eyes on Hayden. The battle wasn’t over. Roland’s battle sense and experience allowed him to avoid most of what came after him, but he simply couldn’t get through Hayden’s Shield without a more powerful spell. Something needed to change before he collapsed from his injuries.

“Ice Rain,” Hayden said as he raised his wand and pointed it straight at the sky.

Rylan reflexively glanced up. Mana was gathering and turning into liquid, which then froze into sharp blades. He looked back at Hayden after a second. There was no reason to stop and witness the spell in its full glory; he needed to attack.

After chanting for a few seconds, Rylan pointed his wand at Hayden.

“Earth Spikes.”

Above him, more than twenty blades of ice had taken shape, all pointing at him. They fell toward him the moment the first Earth Spike tore its way out of the ground and pierced at Hayden.

Focus.

Rylan let out a breath, then looked up. Like Hayden’s other spells, part of the Ice Rain sought only to eliminate possible movement paths to ensure the rest of it inflicted damage. With a leap to the side, he avoided the first icy blade. It sunk into the ground. Almost immediately afterward, a layer of frost started spreading from the point of contact. Rylan slightly widened his eyes, but he was already moving as quickly as he could.

He threw a glance at Hayden. The boy was moving around, doing his best to avoid the Earth Spikes and blocking the ones he couldn’t with the Magic Shield. The Ice Rain kept falling toward Rylan, making him scoff.

Dual casting is bullshit.

The blades fell like rain, making the frost spread throughout the ground. Rylan avoided stepping on the frozen earth the best he could, but there were simply too many ice blades. He had become faster, likely because of the new Title, but it wasn’t enough. A thought took over his mind as he narrowly avoided a blade and jumped to the side not to slip on the frost.

Am I going to lose?

He threw another glance at Hayden as his Earth Spikes crumbled into nothingness. The Magic Shield had disappeared, but this wasn’t an opportunity. It only meant that a second spell was coming. As he expected, the earth around him rose as tendrils that shot straight toward his legs. The combination of offensive spells: it was the most aggressive use of dual casting, but Hayden could afford to do it, especially since he had only sustained a few deep gashes.

…Defeat.

It was a foreign concept. Roland hadn’t tasted a single loss for many, many decades. A strange emotion filled Rylan’s chest as he forced his trembling body to keep running around, trying his best to avoid the Ice Rain and Earth Grab. The earthen tendrils were almost faster than him. It was only after a few seconds that Rylan realized what the emotion was.

I don’t want to lose.

One option would be to lose this battle and keep all his abilities hidden. It was the safest choice: none would be suspicious of his prowess with the sword. He had already proven himself and would almost certainly get into the Royal Magic Academy all the same, as the second place overall in the tournament. But…

No.

Rylan refused to do so. The moment he accepted defeat, it would only become easier the second time. Deep within his heart, he didn’t want to simply give up. Besides, that wasn’t all: this was a matter of respect. Hayden had shown his dual casting, but Rylan still hadn’t drawn his sword. In the end, Roland’s abilities were part of him too.

But if I circulate my mana…

There was no telling if Damian or the king would be able to perceive it; he didn’t know what powerful Mages were capable of. This momentary hesitation hindered his movements, resulting in another gash on his shoulder. Rylan let out a breath.

So be it.

The others wouldn’t suspect him too much if he only revealed a bit of his true strength. He wouldn’t throw caution to the wind and pour out Sword Arts, but he was going to stop holding back so much.

He would deal with the consequences in his own way.

Rylan moved his wand to his left hand, which shook because of his wounds. His free right hand grasped the sword’s hilt as firmly as it could. As the last blades of ice fell toward him and the earthen tendrils were about to wrap themselves around his legs, his mana roared within him. Only part of it circulated, but it still reached every corner of his body like a raging flood that had broken through a dam. Its wrath was something only he could perceive. Rylan lowered his center of gravity.

Falling Snow Steps: Drifting.

His speed easily surpassed its previous limit. He unhesitatingly drew his sword, the sound of steel sliding against leather sounding especially loud to him. With light movements, Earth Grab was avoided, as were the blades of ice. Rylan stepped on the frozen ground without losing his sense of balance in the least, then jumped. He landed on top of a stone pillar, surrounded on all sides by an icy forest.

Hayden was staring at him. The boy blinked rapidly in confusion before smiling brightly.

“You drew it!” Hayden shouted excitedly. “You drew your sword!”

Hayden’s excited expression was marred by a furrowed brow as his eyes went back and forth between Rylan’s current position and where he had been before using the Falling Snow Steps. Rylan couldn’t help but smile as well.

“I’m sorry for only doing it now. I probably shouldn’t have, but I don’t want to lose. Get ready!” he shouted back.

Hayden blinked again, raising his wand. Rylan gave him no room to say anything else. He leaped to the ground and shot forward like an arrow.

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