The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1188

 Chapter 1188

 

Chiaaaang!

Burren’s sword fell with precision and sharpness, carving a line thinner than a strand of hair into the floor of the training ground. He poured out consecutive sword strikes with not even the slightest deviation from that line, etching hundreds of fine cracks across the floor of the Central Martial Palace training ground.

Hooooooh!

Burren did not stop even for a brief rest, swinging his sword for more than two hours as if trying to shake off not only the training he had been unable to do until now, but his emotions as well. Only then did he finally halt his hand.

“Damn it!”

As if dissatisfied with his own sword, Burren stared at his slightly trembling hand and pressed his lips tightly together.

‘Lacking competitive spirit….’

The competitive spirit the monarch of Envy spoke of was not directed at others, but at me. That was why Martha had been chosen.

‘To think I lost in competitive spirit….’

From childhood, I had lived with the resolve to never lose to anyone so as not to become a burden to my father. I acknowledged Raon and, even if Raon was a monster beyond a genius, I had vowed that I would catch up someday.

‘No, I only thought I had made that vow.’

If I had truly resolved, from the bottom of my heart, to catch up to Raon, there was no way I wouldn’t have been chosen by Envy. At some point, it seemed I had given up on catching up to Raon and was simply accepting reality.

‘Honestly, it’s not a strange thing.’

Raon possessed talent so extreme it felt inhuman. He had reached a level even my father, whom I respected most, could not reach and displayed the might to cut down the Dragon Lord itself, giving up was only natural.

‘But….’

Martha hadn’t given up.

Unlike myself who gave up the competitive spirit against Raon, Martha had resolved to keep chasing him no matter how slow or difficult it was. That difference had clearly produced yesterday’s result.

‘How can she do that?’

Raon saved her mother!

Martha must have seen and felt more than I did because she saved her mother thanks to Raon.

A being who had risen to what felt like an absolute height beyond Transcendence, and yet how could she still retain competitiveness toward the benefactor who saved her mother?

‘Damn it….’

Burren bit his lip until it bled.

‘I found out the reason, but there is no way.’

After much agonizing, I learned why Martha was chosen, but I don’t know what I must do to catch up to her competitive spirit.

‘Because Raon is too huge.’

To me, the person named Raon Zieghart is a wall and a God of Martial Arts. I don't know how to have a competitive spirit against such a person.

“Haa….”

Just as Burren was about to lift his sword again with a drained hand—

“You seem deep in thought.”

A low voice came from behind him.

“Ah!”

When Burren turned around, his father, Karoon, was standing there with his hands clasped behind his back.

“What happened?”

Karoon tilted his chin as if telling him to speak if he had worries.

“Well….”

Burren swallowed dryly as he met Karoon’s calm eyes.

‘Father must be having a hard time too.’

Karoon was a rival competing with Raon for the position of head of house, and Burren wondered whether it was right to burden him with his worries.

‘I’ll definitely get scolded.’

If it’s father, he would surely frown, muttering that I’am pathetic.

But if not now, it felt like I might never get another chance to seek father’s advice, so I needed to gather my courage.

“Actually….”

Excluding the story about the Demon King, Burren explained that he had missed his chance at enlightenment because he lacked competitive spirit toward Raon.

“Raon is such a perfect warrior that I don’t think I can harbor competitive spirit toward him by any means anymore….”

He ended his words with a long sigh.

“I see.”

Rather than getting angry, Karoon closed his eyes briefly as if acknowledging that such a thing could happen, then opened them again.

“Everyone has a wall that blocks their path. When you see that wall up close, it looks impossibly high and solid.”

As if recalling his own experience, he gazed up at the sky.

“But if you look at that enormous wall from afar, or from above, it turns out to be smaller and thinner than you thought.”

Drawing from his own experience, Karoon spoke calmly about how one should view such walls.

“Raon may seem perfect as a warrior, but as a human being, he still has many shortcomings. It seems he only recently came to understand human emotions as well.”

He nodded, telling Burren to keep those points in mind and train himself to see the wall called Raon as something lower and less absolute than it appeared.

“Ah….”

As Burren listened to Karoon’s words, he felt a shiver run up his spine.

‘Certainly….’

Raon was undoubtedly a swordsman who had reached the absolute, but as a human being, he was still lacking in many ways.

When overlapping the warrior Raon Zieghart and the human Raon Zieghart, he could see the wall forming him becoming much lower.

“Th-thank you.”

Burren bowed his waist to Karoon who gave him important advice.

“If you have worries in the future as well, you may come find me anytime. Since I too have finally....”

Karoon gave a very faint smile and nodded his chin.

“Become able to act as a father.”

As if slightly embarrassed by having said the word “father”, he cleared his throat once and turned his back.

“Then.”

Karoon lightly waved his hand and left the training ground.

“…….”

Burren pressed his lips together as he watched Karoon’s back.

Unlike the wall called Raon, which had grown lower and thinner, the wall called Karoon now began to look taller and broader than before.

‘Thank you.’

Father.

*   *   *

Raon pushed aside Wrath, who was boiling red like tomato stew, and checked the newly obtained reward messages.

[You have slain the King of Dragons!]

[You have toyed with <Envy>!]

[You have achieved a great feat!]

[All stats increase by 100 points.]

‘One hundred points, huh.’

After cutting down the Dragon Lord with my sword and toying with the monarch of Envy, Envy, using nothing but words, one hundred points honestly felt insufficient. Personally, I thought it wouldn’t have been strange to receive two hundred points.

‘Seems like 100 points is the limit.’

There had been times when my total stat increase exceeded 100 points because multiple achievements had piled up while I hadn’t checked my rewards. However, I had never once received more than 100 points from a single reward message.

It seemed 100 points was the maximum value for rewards received through messages.

You shameless bastard!

Wrath’s jaw trembled as if he couldn’t believe it.

You stole a full 100 points of the King of Essence’s stats, and what’s with that dissatisfied expression! Do you really want to die!

He raised his fist, as if threatening to knock some sense into him.

‘No, I’m just thinking that after killing three ancient dragons and the Dragon Lord, and even toyed with Envy through words alone, shouldn’t I get a little more?’

Raon tilted his chin, saying that since he had achieved a far greater feat than before, wasn’t it strange to receive the same amount.

Hmph!

Wrath snorted briefly.

Compared to back then, your current might and experience are on an entirely different level. That’s why the system evaluates your achievements using a higher, stricter standard.

He nodded, saying there was nothing strange about it.

‘Because my might and experience….’

Raon repeated Wrath’s words and nodded.

‘That’s not wrong.’

Just as Wrath had said, my might, mental strength, and experience were on a completely different level than before. If I were to accomplish my past achievements now, it would be difficult to even receive fifty points, let alone a hundred.

Now you’re finally making sense.

Wrath let out a puff of white breath.

The feat you achieved this time is indeed worthy of this King of Essence’s recognition, but there must still be a cap!

Just as he was nodding, saying it was worthy of recognition this time—

[You have received high recognition from <Wrath>.]

[All stats increase by 20 points.]

As soon as Wrath acknowledged that he did well, an additional reward message came up immediately.

“See? Giving more was the right call.”

Raon accepted the extra reward with a satisfied smile. As 120 points rose at once, he felt new vitality surge through his already superhuman body.

…Eh?

Wrath’s eyes went blank.

What is this! He acknowledged it, but this isn’t what he wanted!

He screamed, demanding why rewards were being handed out as it pleased.

‘Shall we go to the next.’

Leaving Wrath to start throwing a tantrum, Raon checked the next reward message.

[A new trait <Measure of the Heart> has been created.]

‘Measure of the Mind?’

He couldn’t tell what kind of trait it was from the name alone, so he checked the details right away.

<Measure of the Mind>

By firmly fixing the direction of one’s heart as one has chosen it, this trait strengthens the power and durability of the Heart Sword.

“Oh!”

The moment Raon saw the description of the new trait, an exclamation escaped his lips.

‘This is pretty good.’

Perhaps because he had created a new Heart Sword, Die to Live, the reward was also a trait related to the Heart Sword.

And since it strengthened the two most crucial aspects of the Heart Sword, its power and durability, a smile rose to his face on its own.

D-damn it….

Wrath ground his teeth as if he didn’t like it at all.

Do you have any idea how much of the King of Essence’s power is being consumed just to create the traits that he needs?!

He shouted at the unseen system, telling it to please stop already.

‘It has to make what is needed, what isn't needed is meaningless.’

Raon covered Wrath’s screaming mouth and checked the remaining messages.

[The rank of trait <Bleeding Curse> has increased.]

[The rank of trait <Poison Resistance> has increased.]

[The rank of trait <Snowflower’s Veil> has increased.]

[The rank of trait < Snow Flower Attraction> has increased.]

[The rank of trait < Snow Flower Repulsion> has increased.]

[The rank of trait <Celestial Slayer> has increased.]

[The rank of trait <Flying Spirit> has increased.]

[The rank of trait < Authority Amplification> has increased.]

[The rank of trait <Authority Control> has increased.]

[The rank of trait <Light Resistance> has increased.]

[The rank of trait <Crisis Detection> has increased.]

[The rank of trait <Heart Sword> increases by two levels.]

[The rank of trait < Soul Transfer Transformation> has increased.]

Raon’s mouth fell open as he looked at the trait growth messages.

‘Thirteen at once?’

There were so many trait growth messages that he counted them, thirteen in total. They were all traits he had used this time, but seeing them rise all at once left him both pleased and bewildered.

‘And the Heart Sword went up two levels in one go.’

Perhaps because I had subdued the Dragon Lord with Heart Sword, Die to Live, the Heart Sword had jumped up by two levels at once. It was a far more satisfying reward than I had expected.

T-thirteen?

Wrath’s lips trembled, drained of all color.

Please, stop already! Are you really going to leave nothing but bones of the King of Essence’s body?!

He ground his teeth, as if asking just how far it intended to keep giving.

‘Don't worry. Since there isn't much left now.’

Raon lowered his hand as he cleared away the reward messages he had finished checking.

‘Once Derus Robert is dealt with, after that….’

Just as he was about to tell Wrath his plan for after dealing with Derus Robert—

Whooooooom!

A powerful wave surged from the direction of the annex building garden.

“This is—!”

Swallowing dryly, Raon flung open the door of the annex building and rushed outside.

“Huh…?”

He gaped as he saw a man standing confidently at the front of the garden.

“I look forward to working with you.”

The absolute warrior, called the strongest on the continent and known as the Sword God. Glenn Zieghart revealed a chilling energy wave, his eyes cold and sharp.

“G-Grandfather?”

Raon’s jaw trembled as he looked at Glenn, who was radiating an intense energy.

‘Did he really come thinking only about training?’

Judging by his gaze and energy wave, it was clear that, contrary to Raon’s expectations, he had come here with nothing but training in mind.

‘I’m sorry, grandfather.’

He had thought Glenn was only thinking about spending time with him, but that wasn’t the case. Feeling guilty for having misjudged him, Raon instinctively bent at the waist.

“A promise was made, so it must be kept.”

Glenn untied the bundle he brought as if he came to keep the promise. It was when he was about to take out a book with no name written on it yet from the slightly opened bundle.

Thudududuk!

Along with the book, cards, rubber balls, a chessboard, toy soldiers, and other toys and board games spilled out of Glenn’s bundle all at once.

“…….”

Raon stared at the toys scattered across the ground, unable to speak for a while.

“Ahem! K-khehem! W-why are these even here….”

Glenn, seemingly at a loss for words himself, flushed red and cleared his throat repeatedly.

That geezer, seriously….

Wrath drew deep wrinkles on his forehead as if Glenn was more dumbfounding than the rewards he had seen so far.

He regrets ever acknowledging that geezer!

Enough already, stop ruining the dignity of an absolute being!

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