The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1192

 Chapter 1192

 

Woooooong!

Nine rings erupted with a crimson radiance, spinning violently around Raon’s heart.

Amid the rings that poured out heat fiercer than a furnace, a faint red glow began to rise.

The tenth Ring of Fire, flaring into existence, struggled desperately to carve out its own path while avoiding the nine rings that were resonating like mad.

Chiiiiiiang!

At the same moment he formed the tenth ring above his heart, Raon analyzed Glenn’s swordsmanship, which surged toward him like the vast waves of the sea.

With Heavenly Drive gripped as if it might break, he executed the countermeasure he had created in that fleeting instant.

Kyaaang!

Glenn’s twig smashed apart Raon’s counter and drove Heavenly Drive back.

Jjeeeong!

As Heavenly Drive was knocked away, the tenth ring, already more than halfway formed, failed to connect to the end and fizzled out, scattering red sparks.

Ppeooooeok!

Raon was struck on the head by Glenn’s sharply descending twig and collapsed forward as if knocked unconscious.

“Hmm.”

Glenn smacked his lips briefly, as if he were used to this now, and lowered the twig that seemed absolutely unbreakable.

“See you tomorrow.”

He lightly flicked his hand as if to say he would see him in the morning, then returned to the annex building.

“Ugh….”

The moment Glenn left the clearing, Raon opened his eyes and rubbed the spot on his head where the twig had struck.

“It feels like he’s hitting me harder and harder.”

After realizing that Raon’s body was quite sturdy, Glenn seemed to be hitting him a bit harder than before.

If another Transcender had taken that blow to the head, they would not have been able to get up for quite some time, and if someone had not yet reached Transcendence, their skull might have shattered, killing them outright.

That geezer seems to be having fun hitting you.

Wrath nodded, seeming to sense as well that the force behind Glenn’s swings had increased.

After all, if a toy doesn’t break no matter how hard you hit it, why wouldn’t you play with it?

He sneered, saying that right now, he himself was nothing more than Glenn’s plaything.

‘I think I get what you mean.’

After brushing the dirt from his hand, Raon stroked his chin.

‘Honestly, I’ve got one of those roly-poly dolls too, no matter how much you hit it, it just keeps getting back up, so it never gets boring.’

Saying that it was always fun, he looked steadily at Wrath.

Eh? You’re talking about a roly-poly doll, so why are you looking at the King of Essence, w-wait, don’t tell me!

Wrath widened his eyes in disbelief.

The King of Essence is your toy?

He waved his hand violently, as if telling Raon to stop spouting nonsense.

What kind of insane nonsense is that!

‘Think about it. When I’m bored, you rush in and get smashed, and when something feels lacking, you hand over stats and traits.’

Raon shrugged, telling him to think back on everything so far.

Uh? Uh….

Wrath’s lips trembled as he realized he couldn’t refute it.

You bastard! You called the King of Essence your friend!

For the first time in a while, he trembled all over, his face turning into strawberry cotton candy, as if he were genuinely furious.

‘It’s a joke.’

Raon burst out laughing and patted Wrath on the back.

‘But it’s true that having you by my side is fun and enjoyable.’

Wrath had given him stats and created traits, helping his growth tremendously.

But that wasn’t what made Wrath precious.

To him, Wrath was a best friend, a grumpy brother, and a warm sibling-like existence. Since this idiot Demon King himself was a great comfort to him, he felt he would be very sad if this guy disappeared.

Ahem….

Wrath cleared his throat, his face reddening again as if embarrassed.

Anyway, you really can’t do anything without the King of Essence!

He snorted, acting as if he were magnanimously tolerating it.

‘Thanks.’

Raon smiled faintly and nodded.

By the way, why are you insisting on creating the tenth ring while fighting that Nadine bread geezer?

Wrath floated down in front of him and flicked his tail.

You could just focus and create the ring when you’re alone like now. Why are you stupidly splitting your focus?

He frowned, unable to understand.

‘When I fight grandfather, I’m not splitting my focus, if anything, I’m strengthening it.’

Raon chuckled and waved his hand.

‘Training alone can’t push focus to its absolute limit.’

He closed his eyes and stopped his breathing. Making the Ring of Fire resonate to their extreme, he observed his inner state.

Woooooong!

The nine rings of fire spun around his heart at a terrifying speed, spewing heat like the sun itself.

‘Shall I try?’

Through the gaps between the rotating nine rings, Raon raised a thread-thin flame.

Kyaaaaaang!

He slowly stretched the flame to connect it into the tenth ring, but it collided with the irregularly moving nine rings and shattered into pieces like glass.

‘Again.’

He drew up a new flame and tried to create the tenth ring again, but this time it was broken by the eighth ring coming in at an unexpected angle.

“Haa….”

Raon paid no mind to the failures and continued attempting to create the tenth ring, only giving up and opening his eyes once moonlight had completely filled the clearing.

‘See? It doesn’t work. Compared to when I’m sparring with grandfather, I can’t even make half of it.’

He shrugged, saying that he couldn’t even complete a quarter of the ring, let alone half, unlike during his spar with Glenn.

Huh!

Wrath tilted his head in disbelief.

How can that be? Why does your focus work better while fighting?

‘Because I’m raising my focus while treating grandfather as an enemy.’

Raon erased the smile from his lips and gripped Heavenly Drive.

‘It’s not just about making the ring. It’s training to immerse myself more deeply in combat.’

The more he raised his focus through the Ring of Fire, the slower time felt, and the more clearly the flow of this world came into view before his eyes.

Forming the ring while fighting Glenn was also part of training meant to further strengthen that ability.

You really do turn your entire life into training.

Wrath let out a hollow breath in disbelief.

Others call you a sword genius, but in the King of Essence’s eyes, you’re nothing more than a madman obsessed with effort.

He lightly furrowed his brow, as if thinking the way people referred to Raon was inaccurate.

‘Thanks for recognizing it, at least.’

Raon rose to his feet with a faint smile.

Haa, just looking at your face tells me you’re going to train all night again.

Wrath let out a deep sigh, saying his sleep was already ruined.

‘No, training is good too, but….’

Raon brushed the dust from his clothes and tightened his fingers. Looking up at the moon-filled sky, he nodded.

‘Today, there’s somewhere I need to go.’

*   *   *

“Hoo!”

Krein lowered his sword while wiping the sweat running down to his chin.

“Good! This is what training is!”

He curled his lips upward, clearly satisfied with today’s training.

“What is?”

Dorian walked up beside Krein and blinked.

“If that training-crazed guy were here, there’s no way we’d be training this comfortably. On a day like today, he’d have dragged us up that mountain, saying we were doing focus enhancement training again.”

Krein spread his arms wide, saying he was incredibly happy that Raon was tied up training with Glenn.

“Hmm! That’s true.”

Dorian nodded, rolling his eyes from side to side.

“If the palace master were here, it wouldn’t be easy to relax like this.”

He smacked his lips, agreeing with Krein.

“Being comfortable isn’t always a good thing.”

Burren spoke while swinging his sword.

“If you keep doing the same training, it’s natural to adapt and for it to become easier. But Raon’s training changes every moment, so it’s always effective.”

He shook his chin, saying that was why he liked Raon’s training.

“That’s true, but sometimes you also need time like this to rest.”

Martha smiled and shook her head.

“To run farther, you have to make sure you properly maintain yourself.”

She shrugged, looking more relaxed than usual after receiving Envy’s authority.

“Personally, I prefer the palace master’s training more than simply refining saber techniques by myself.”

Mark Goetten said that Raon’s training had the effect of strengthening one’s might itself, clenching his fist as he spoke.

“Gororong….”

Runaan was sleeping with her back against the wall, as if she had no interest in whatever the others were saying.

She seemed so used to sleeping while standing that she looked as though she had simply become part of the surroundings.

“Raon doesn’t seem like he’ll be coming for a while, so we should come up with new training methods ourselves.”

Burren nodded, saying it would be good to present new training to the Light Wind Palace swordsmen.

“It’s late today, so everyone head back, and starting tomorrow—”

Just as he was about to declare the end of today’s training for the Light Wind Palace swordsmen—

Kuuuuwoong!

The door of the fifth training ground burst open, and Raon strode in with heavy steps.

“P-Palace master?”

“Why all of a sudden at this hour…?”

“Y-Your expression looks stiff.”

The swordsmen widened their eyes in confusion at Raon’s sudden appearance.

Step!

Without saying a word, Raon climbed onto the platform, releasing a cold energy wave.

“Line up!”

Sensing that Raon had come not as an individual but as the palace master of the Light Wind Palace, Burren lined up the swordsmen who were scattered throughout the training ground in front of the platform.

“……”

Without speaking, Raon lowered his red gaze and slowly swept his eyes across the Light Wind Palace swordsmen.

“Ugh….”

“W-What kind of look is that….”

Unable to meet that sharp stare, the swordsmen trembled and lowered their heads.

“It’s been two weeks, yet nothing has changed. No—”

Raon exhaled coldly.

“It feels like you’ve actually regressed. Do you think anything will change just by swinging your swords comfortably?”

As if he had heard everything, his gaze turned toward Krein and Dorian.

“Hhk!”

“Aaagh….”

Krein and Dorian trembled all over, as if chilled by Raon’s icy energy wave.

“I was only going to stop by briefly and leave, but that won’t do. Everyone, head up to the North Grave Mountain just as you are.”

Raon lifted his chin, a frigid smile spreading across his face.

“Starting now, we’ll begin focus enhancement training.”

He stomped his foot and ordered that the large-scale training start at once, with no preparation time whatsoever.

“What? R-Right now?”

“No, we trained hard today already….”

“T-That’s too sudden. At least let us—”

The swordsmen stammered, flustered by Raon’s sudden order.

“We start immediately. The one who reaches the mountain last will be granted special time to meet with me one-on-one. One….”

As Raon began counting without allowing any objections, the Light Wind Palace swordsmen’s faces turned pale.

“Aaaaargh!”

“R-Run!”

“If we’re late, we’re dead!”

“That’s not a one-on-one meeting, it’s a one-on-one spar!”

Shouting in panic, the swordsmen sprinted toward the North Grave Mountain, clearly eager to avoid drawing Raon’s attention.

“Hmm!”

Only then did Raon nod, as if finally satisfied with the look in their eyes.

No….

Wrath let out a hollow breath in disbelief.

Is this what you do, drag the kids around to relieve your stress?

He shouted, asking why Raon had bothered putting on such a serious expression if this was all he intended to do.

‘Sometimes you need to push them like this, to give them a sense of urgency.’

Raon shrugged, saying it couldn’t be helped.

Urgency, my ass! You can see they’ve all been training just fine even without you!

Wrath ground his teeth, saying there wasn’t a single swordsman who had regressed and that all of them had been training diligently.

‘Depending on how you look at it, things can appear differently.’

Don’t lie! You know it too!

He let out a sigh, saying Raon really was impossible to understand.

From the looks of it, you’re just dragging the kids around to blow off your stress. Honestly, you lunatic….

‘Hrrm.’

Just as Raon rolled his eyes and quietly whistled—

“Raon!”

Light flashed in front of the platform, and Evelyn burst out, her purple hair neatly tied back.

“I finally figured it out!”

With a rare flush of excitement coloring her cheeks, Evelyn grabbed Raon’s hand.

“What Derus Robert has been up to!”

 

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