The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 22

20. Breaking Free

[I’ll give you one piece of advice, now that you’ve found your way here. It’s a bracelet that stabilizes mana. It’s a cursed item that leeches mana, but it will be a lifesaver for you right now. It can calm your raging mana veins. Haven’t you felt chest pains from time to time?]

“……!!”

Caryl’s eyes widened at the message, as if it knew his exact situation.

At Kaie Essir’s words, he stared at the bracelet on his wrist, regarding it with a newfound awe.

[You’re lucky. Without this, your body wouldn’t have been able to handle the Dragonic Mana, and you would have exploded and died in less than a month. No exceptions, even for a Great Mage.]

“Huh…….”

He delivered such chilling words so casually.

[Congratulations. If you’re reading this, it means you’ve survived.]

Caryl felt a chill run down his spine, and beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

‘If I hadn’t found this… I, too…’

Might have died.

He had been so confident because he thought he knew the future.

‘The world is truly full of unknowns…….’

He let out a low sigh to calm his trembling heart.

At that moment, the written words changed again.

[Breaking through five meridians to obtain 4th class mana makes you a mage. Breaking through eight meridians to obtain 7th class mana allows you to become a Great Mage.]

It was as if he could hear Kaie Essir’s voice echoing in his mind.

[I reached 8th class.]

“…….”

The ultimate level beyond even a Great Mage.

Just as Caryl had reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship.

Kaie Essir must have been the only one to reach the pinnacle of magic.

[Surpass me.]

Clench-

Caryl’s fist tightened without him realizing it.

[If you’re a guy who survived eating a dragon’s heart, don’t ever be satisfied with just this. Greedily climb higher. To the summit that no one else can reach.]

A being who would surpass the one and only 8th class mage, the pinnacle of magic.

Perhaps Kaie Essir had been waiting for someone to achieve that.

[Let me tell you an interesting story.]

The letters changed once more.

[There are two more bastards like me. They won’t be found in the history books. Those guys were even weirder than me. You know what that means. If you’re lucky, you might find them and obtain their power, just like you got my power now. Maybe then, surpassing me won’t be impossible.]

‘Two more……?’

Caryl couldn’t help but be surprised by his words.

Even Narr Di Maug hadn’t told him about this.

That means,

‘Perhaps this is a secret only I know.’

What could it be?

His heart pounded with excitement.

‘Kaie Essir, as you say, I will greedily obtain power.’

A fact that even this great man, born 250 years ago, could never have foreseen.

‘Not only swordsmanship but also magic.’

A faint smile appeared on his lips.

‘You’re hiding it, but I also know that you have hidden power besides those two.’

The memories of the Flame Dragon resurfaced in his mind.

Even the Archmage didn’t know that much. The bracelet emitted a brilliant light.

‘Besides, this is definitely not a human item. Then……. It must be from a dragon.’

Caryl’s mind raced.

‘The Flame Dragon’s Lair.’

The bracelet’s whereabouts would naturally be there.

He hadn’t heard that the dragon’s lair had been discovered, even though the dragon had died a long time ago.

‘Maybe it’s still preserved as it is.’

And the countless artifacts inside.

‘I’ll get them all. Everything left by humans and dragons.’

Clang…….

Caryl took out the gold coins that were piled up in the box.

And inside were jewels of various colors. Caryl exclaimed without realizing it as he looked at the familiar stones.

“Attribute stones……. And only the highest purity ones. Even the emperor in my previous life didn’t have many of these, but I’m seeing them here…….”

[It’s up to you whether you use them or not.]

The phrase was written on the box.

[But if you decide to use them, don’t hesitate and use them all up.]

“Hmph…….”

Caryl chuckled without realizing it at his uninhibited words, which he could feel even without seeing his face.

[You have gained power, life, and wealth here.]

[What can’t someone like that do now? Don’t be bound by anything. You are now more valuable than anyone else. Establish your own existence.]

[I think of it as free will.]

At that moment, Caryl felt as if he had been struck by lightning.

“Free will…….”

A feeling as if his mind was suddenly clearing.

[What are you trying to protect, why are you trying to fight, what are you trying to gain? In all those questions, it must be *me*, not others, that dictates the answer.]

It was an arrogant and confident tone to the end.

But his words resonated deeply, as if he were speaking to himself.

[Go wild.]

[What are you dreaming of right now? What are you going to do with this power? Are you just going to be a loyal servant of the king? Or are you going to be satisfied with being a noble who runs a tiny city?]

The written words felt like they were rebuking Caryl.

[Don’t be under anyone. This is what someone who has obtained my treasure, Kaie Essir, must do.]

“Ha…… Hahaha…….”

Caryl laughed.

He couldn’t stop the laughter that suddenly burst out.

He once again pondered the words left by Kaie Essir.

“Don’t be under anyone.”

Becoming a knight of the Empire, upholding the oracle, and changing the future?

‘From the very first step, I was thinking wrong.’

Why couldn’t he break free from the shackles of the Empire until now, even though he killed his friend and emperor to change the future?

‘What is the blood flowing in my body?’

He killed prisoners to prevent his other brothers from giving credit to the Empire, even though he had the blood of a foreign race flowing through him.

It’s pathetic.

It’s something that doesn’t need to be done.

‘Why was I trying to be recognized by the Empire?’

Why was he still trying to fight, bound by the Empire, when he had this power?

Why……??

An unknown frustration washed over him.

The reason.

‘I finally realized it.’

It wasn’t power, life, or wealth.

‘What I truly want to do.’

Caryl pressed his forehead with his palm.

Then he slowly lowered his hand.

As he focused his mana, the bracelet on his wrist emitted a brilliant light and disappeared.

There was no pain when using mana, as he had felt before.

The lips under his palm curled up in a satisfied smile.

‘To make the Empire recognize me… that was my mistake.’

Following his touch.

The black eyes that his palm passed over had turned light brown, and his jet-black hair had become ordinary blonde. No one would recognize him as a foreigner.

‘Why are there only Imperials in the future I want to change? I took it too much for granted.’

Foreigners and Imperials.

Why did he divide the two?

Can’t both of them exist in the future he needs to save?

‘It’s clear now. Olliver, when I meet you, I will not kneel before you.’

Not under the emperor, but at an equal level.

‘I will face you.’

Crack-!!

He stomped on the mask in his arms, shattering it.

No more needed.

‘Now it begins.’

Like the mask shattering, the shackles that bound him are gone.

‘When I come back, everything will be different.’

The dawn was beginning to break.

Caryl’s appearance as he left Ain Helle was completely different from what it had been.

Caryl McGovern.

His real new life begins.