Sword Saint's Reincarnation

Book 3 Chapter 22: Profession (2)

For a while, Rylan simply listened to his family’s updates. All of them were making progress on learning Mana Cultivation.

“The soldiers are doing well, too,” Aelfric said with a grin. “Especially Jack and Scott. Jack seems to have become more determined lately.”

Rylan raised an eyebrow. Now this was interesting.

I’ll talk to him about it.

The man had likely either come to a realization or someone had told him something that changed him. Either way, Rylan would find out soon. For now, he only wanted to enjoy his time with his family.

“Aelfric’s the one improving the fastest out of all of us, but your friends Hayden and Jasmine are close to him. Damian is also getting better at it really quickly,” Lillia said.

Rylan smiled at her.

“Of course. He’s this kingdom’s sole Sixth Circle Mage for a reason. He doesn’t lack talent. Still, I’m glad everyone’s doing fine,” he replied.

Within him, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of pride at hearing how Aelfric was the one improving fastest.

We’ve been through so much together.

Even before he remembered his past life, Aelfric was the one who had never left his side, even though Rylan exploited his brotherly love.

I want you to succeed.

He smiled at Aelfric, then looked at Sarah.

“And you, Sarah? How are you doing?”

She shook her head with a sigh.

“You know my talent is limited, young master. Still, I think I’m doing a good enough job,” she said.

Rylan nodded. Sarah was only at the Third Circle, even though she was older than him and his siblings. It made sense that her rate of improvement would be slower.

But that’s not everything.

He narrowed his eyes as he scanned her from top to bottom. He could tell her body had become stronger and leaner.

Is she exercising with the soldiers?

It hadn’t been long since he left for the Arid Wastelands, but it seemed like she had already made progress.

“Please don’t look at me like that when your family is around, young master,” She said in a disappointed but mischievous tone, dragging him out of his thoughts.

He scoffed.

“What exactly have you been trying to do with Mana Cultivation?” he asked, choosing to ignore her comment.

She tilted her head.

“Just trying to make my body stronger. All I’ve managed is to keep my mana circulating. I think it’s made me a bit stronger, but I haven’t learned the Skill yet.”

Almost at the same time, everyone else snapped to look at her. Regis and Lillia widened their eyes, while Aelfric only smiled at her. Rylan followed suit.

“You can already strengthen your body?” Regis asked, incredulous.

Sarah slowly nodded at him.

“Only slightly,” she replied.

He blinked. Rylan’s smile widened.

“I think we might have found your real talent, Sarah,” Rylan said in a proud tone. “I think you’ll do just fine with Mana Cultivation and Aura, later on.”

She blinked at him, then smiled back.

“If it means I can stay with you and help this family, I’ll do anything. Thank you for changing, young master. I’m proud of the person you’ve become – no, of the real you, with all the memories that belong to you. I’m glad you remembered.”

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For a moment, they only smiled at each other.

“I agree,” Regis said, breaking the silence and making Rylan look at him. The young man took a deep breath, his gaze conflicted. “I know I haven’t been treating you well, even though we all already know that you’re not who you were anymore.”

Rylan blinked, caught by surprise. His heart beat a little faster. Was it right to hope for this conversation to go in a direction of forgiveness? Did he deserve to hope so?

“It’s been a year since you changed,” Regis continued. “And after talking with Lillia, we decided to… accept the new you. The pain you’ve caused will never go away and can’t be forgotten, but you’ve changed. You’re not Roland, but you’re not the Rylan we knew, either. We want to get to know the current you. Thank you for still fighting for us.”

After taking a deep breath, Regis extended his hand for a handshake. Rylan only stared dumbly at him for a few seconds before catching himself and shaking his older brother’s hand. Lillia smiled.

“It’s nice to meet you, Rylan,” she said playfully.

He smiled at his older siblings, myriad emotions swimming in his chest. Finally, the day he had been hoping for had arrived.

“Thank you,” he replied simply.

Elizabeth clapped once, making everyone look at her. Rylan blinked at the tears welling up in her eyes.

“I’m so glad,” she uttered before she abruptly wrapped one arm around his shoulders and the other around Regis’.

Caught in her embrace, Rylan kept his smile.

“You’ve done well, children. I’m proud of all of you,” Gerard said. Rylan glanced at his father. The man was smiling widely.

For some time, he simply enjoyed his family’s presence. It was more precious than anything else in the world.

***

Rylan took a breath and pushed the classroom’s doors open, then entered, followed by both Hayden and Jasmine. It was the same classroom as usual, but it was empty except for a single, crimson-haired woman. Alice looked at them, staring straight at Rylan with a complex expression.

“Good morning, Alice. As promised, we arrived early,” he said with a smile.

Hayden and Jasmine nodded, but Alice only kept up her stare.

“…It’s probably the fastest ascension to the position of professor in the Academy’s history,” she finally said after a few seconds. Then, she smiled. “And I don’t have a problem with it. Welcome to the faculty, Rylan.”

Jasmine puffed up her chest and nodded as if she were the one being congratulated, while Hayden smiled. Rylan walked closer to his previous professor and looked at the empty rows where the students sat.

“It feels a bit empty,” he said, then looked back at Alice. “Should we discuss how today’s going to go?”

It was the reason why she had called them here early. She nodded.

“Sure. But first, I want to ask what you’re planning to start with.”

“Since I’ll be the second Battle Fundamentals professor, I’ll start with combat basics, just like you, especially when it comes to melee combat. In the class’s second half, I’ll introduce Mana Cultivation and say I’ll be the discipline’s professor from now on.”

Alice rubbed her chin.

“Sounds good to me,” she then smiled at him. “I knew you were amazing, but I didn’t think you’d be an even better fighter than me. Let me tell you, I was shocked out of my mind when we ascended the Headmaster’s Mage Tower and saw what you did.”

“Three Sixth Circle Mages,” Jasmine said from the side before Rylan could reply, sounding proud.

“You aren’t the one who did it,” Hayden replied, earning him a dissatisfied stare from her.

Rylan left the two of them to their budding argument and walked closer to the professor’s desk, then looked at the seats.

…A teacher.

In his past life, he’d never even come close to doing anything like it. Roland had fought and died almost entirely alone, with Moonlight as his only friend and companion. In this life, however, he’d already guided many people, from the soldiers shortly after his memories returned to the Academy’s students when he helped Alice with the assignment. And now, he was aiming to get a teaching-related Profession, for the sake of his kingdom and everyone in it. To spread his knowledge. Rylan’s eyes darkened.

How can someone like me dare to teach others?

He’d killed enough people to create mountains made of corpses. He’d fought for decades and struggled for even longer. And now, he was going to teach teenagers how to become greater. It was almost comical. Still, it was what needed to be done. Rylan took a breath and gathered his thoughts, then turned to look at Alice, who was looking back at him, while Hayden and Jasmine were busy throwing ugly looks at each other.

“You’ll do fine, Rylan,” the older woman said. “And I’ll be here to help.”

He smiled at her, making Jasmine abruptly look at him.

“Thank you, Alice. Let’s see how it goes.”

He walked up to the nearest seat and sat down, then tapped the seats next to him and looked at Hayden and Jasmine.

“Come on, you two, I’ll answer your questions about Mana Cultivation while we wait for the other students to arrive,” he continued.

Their eyes veritably burned with excitement at the same time. As if they were racing, they rushed to the seats next to him. Alice also perked up with an interested look.

Right, it’s her first time learning about Mana Cultivation.

Even though the kingdom’s entire high society was already aware of Mana Cultivation’s existence, he’d only taught it to his family, the soldiers, Damian, and his two friends. For the first time, Alice would hear the specifics.

“How do I make my mana circulate throughout my entire body instead of only staying near my Mana Core?” Hayden asked first.

“Try to picture it following your bloodstream and flowing alongside it. The amount doesn’t matter. Just focus on making it reach every corner of your body. That’s the first step,” Rylan said. “It takes time, but you can do it.”

“And how do I spread it evenly? I’m having trouble with that,” Jasmine followed up.

Rylan continued to answer his friends’ questions, while Alice only watched from the side, looking increasingly more shocked by the minute.

After a while, the first students started arriving in the classroom.