Sword Saint's Reincarnation

Book 3 Chapter 30: Last Days in Ceotha (1)

After some time, Rylan resumed his lesson.

Gerard called the soldiers back to Damian’s study, and Rylan welcomed them. Once the soldiers had settled in once again, he continued his explanation about Mana Cultivation and its implications. As usual, everyone listened with rapt attention, including even Scott, who had vowed not to use mana. The first hour went by.

“Alright, questions?” Rylan asked as he ran his gaze over everyone.

As usual, multiple people raised their hands, almost at the same time. Rylan grinned. In that sense, these students of his were similar to the Academy’s teenagers. He first looked at Hayden, pointing at the boy. Hayden lowered his hand and nodded.

“I’m having trouble changing my Mana Core,” he said. “I know what must be done, but it still feels like too big a change from an ordinary Mana Core. I’m trying, but it keeps returning to the default state.”

Rylan tilted his head.

“Are you scared that there will be negative consequences to the change?” he asked in reply.

Hayden shook his head.

“No. Your spells haven’t gotten any weaker or more unstable, so I know it can be done. I just can’t transform it fully. It always reverts halfway through.”

Rylan furrowed his brow and approached the boy.

At least he’s embraced the knowledge quite readily.

Hayden hadn’t spent much time dwelling on what could go wrong, but Rylan knew that didn’t mean that the boy hadn’t thought it through. Hayden wasn’t such a simple person. It only meant that, after observing Rylan carefully, the boy had determined that it was the right path.

Rylan went around Hayden and placed his hand on the teenager’s back.

“Can I take a closer look?”

Hayden nodded.

“Of course.”

Rylan slowly sent his mana inside Hayden’s body, supported by his Aura. It coursed through the boy before finally reaching the metaphysical Mana Core, allowing Rylan to perceive it.

“Try to change it.”

Hayden nodded and closed his eyes. His mana roiled, gathering around his Mana Core like a whirlpool. Slowly, it began to throb.

So far, so good.

The process continued. Almost exactly at the halfway point, however, the delicate balance collapsed. The Mana Core went still, and the mana lost its focal point, dispersing. Understanding dawned upon Rylan, making him withdraw his energies and pull his hand back.

“It’s a consequence of your specialization,” he said as he walked around Hayden again to look at the boy in the eye.

Hayden cocked his head with a frown.

“What do you mean?”

“After training on your own for a long time, you went under Damian to learn more about magic. During that whole time, you used your genius to make your Mana Core as efficient as possible, improving its spellcasting abilities.”

Hayden nodded.

“Yeah.”

Rylan grinned at him.

“Simply put, you’re having trouble abandoning that, even if unconsciously. Because Mana Cultivation is entirely uncharted territory, and because your Mana Core is so attuned to magic, it’s taking more time for you to get over that.”

Hayden’s frown deepened.

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“So I’m hesitating?”

Rylan shook his head.

“It’s more complicated than that. Don’t worry, you’ll make it. It just might take a bit longer.”

Hayden clicked his tongue.

“You did it over a year ago, though,” he replied, almost muttering.

Rylan chuckled.

“I had nothing to abandon. I was in the First Circle.”

Meanwhile, everyone else in the room had been watching them. He could hear the soldiers’ whispers.

“I know he’s teaching it to us, but how the hell did he think of that? Back when he was in the First Circle, even,” Daniel whispered to Raniel.

“Maybe that’s why. He just said he had nothing to give up on, and that Hayden is having trouble because he’s too much of a good Mage. It makes sense when you think about it. He created Mana Cultivation exactly because he wasn’t a proper Mage yet and could see things differently,” Raniel whispered back.

The soldiers around them nodded in agreement, making Rylan smile and look at them.

“And you guys? Questions?” he asked.

Two soldiers spoke up. The first asked about Mana Cultivation’s effects on the body, and the other one asked about how to develop the Mana Core once it had been changed. Rylan answered both of their questions and continued to talk to everyone, following suit. Slowly, the sun began to sink beneath the horizon, but he continued his lesson.

After an hour, he decided to call it a day.

Rylan clapped once and smiled at everyone else.

“For now, this will be it. Damian is on his way back, and I’m sure he’ll want to talk to me, so I’m ending this lesson here. Of course, I made sure to get all the key points across, so just keep training. I’m certain all of you will succeed.”

The soldiers smiled and bowed deeply, while Calan tried to awkwardly follow suit. As usual, Sarah bowed with pristine form. Rylan looked at Jasmine. She hadn’t said much during the lesson after he returned from talking to Mar’s delegation, and she still looked sad as she stared at the floor. He furrowed his brow and sighed. In the end, there was nothing else he could say to her. He was going to leave to go to Mar, and he couldn’t change that direction just for the sake of her feelings.

I’m doing this to protect you, too.

He sighed again and watched the soldiers leave the study. Soon, the only ones who remained were his family and friends.

“Is Damian really heading back?” Aelfric asked.

Rylan nodded at him.

“He’ll arrive in fifteen seconds, give or take,” he replied.

Hayden whistled.

“I only just sensed him. Your Fourth Circle and your Aura are still working fine, I see.”

Rylan chuckled at him. Once the fifteen seconds were up, as if on cue, everyone looked at the door, which promptly opened to reveal Damian, who entered the study with a serious expression.

“So?” Rylan asked.

Damian shook his head.

“The general gist of it was the same as what you told us,” he replied. “Most of our discussion was centered around what Mar could do for Ceotha. Henry really liked that part.”

Rylan furrowed his brow and nodded. It made sense, given the fact that Ceotha was now in the Empire’s sights and in an unknown amount of danger.

“Did he tell you what Mar thinks about the Empire’s silence?”

Damian frowned and slowly shook his head again.

“There are theories, but that’s all they are. Catherina’s main one is that the Empire is going to try to talk to you soon.”

Everyone else turned to look at Rylan, who sighed.

“As expected.”

It had been on his mind since his conversation with Jonathan about the Empire’s conquest wars. It was true that he’d been the one to kill the Empire’s three Sixth Circle Mages, but it had also turned him into a valuable asset, one that Catherina herself was trying to recruit. It made sense that the Empire would try to talk to him before trying to kill him again.

But I don’t know if that’s how the Emperor truly operates.

He frowned. He knew too little about Lucius to make a solid guess.

“What are you going to do, son?” Gerard asked, making Rylan look at him. His father’s expression was dead serious, but Rylan felt no judgment in his gaze. It was as if Gerard would understand and accept whatever he said. It warmed his heart.

“I stand with Mar,” he replied. “I know too little about the Empire’s motives, but I don’t like the way Lucius is going about it. War is never the good answer.”

In his past life, he’d already seen too much of it. Regardless of Lucius’ reasons, a continental war was a terrible thing. How many kingdoms had the Empire already subjugated, and how many people had been killed? No matter what, he couldn’t agree with it.

Damian let out a sigh of relief.

“That’s good,” he said. “I don’t like the new Empire, either. Well, we can worry about that later. For now, just focus on teaching.”

Rylan nodded.

“Yeah. Still, what has Mar offered Ceotha?”

“The main thing was just protection, really. Which is what we sorely needed. Jonathan will stay behind, as I’m sure he’s already told you. If we agreed to deepen our alliance with Mar, they would send more powerful Mages. Of course, Henry agreed on the spot.”

Rylan smiled.

“Nice. I can breathe a bit easier.”

Damian scoffed.

“You’re not this nation’s protector, kid. I am. Just focus on developing the best you can. I’m already making progress with Mana Cultivation, so don’t worry too much about me either. I can only hope I can awaken Aura before I die.”

Rylan kept his smile.

“On the bright side, Aura extends your lifespan. Make that your motivation, old man.”

Damian waved dismissively at him, but he could see the man’s eyes had started shining. Rylan chuckled and looked at his family.

“We’ll follow you wherever you go,” Elizabeth said in a heavy tone as she approached him to grab his face gently.

He smiled warmly at her and grasped her hands.

“Thank you, Mom.”

He looked past her at his father and siblings. They were his most precious treasure, after everything he’d put them through. He couldn’t let them down or give up on them, no matter what.

He only needed to keep going.