The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 63

56. Aftermath (1)

‘Why is he just sitting there? We’re done here, aren’t we? Why isn’t he leaving?’

Aidan, peering in from outside the window and watching Caryll’s back, was growing restless.

It had been at least 12 hours since he had seen Caryll sitting cross-legged.

“What kind of training is it?”

“I don’t know.”

After Caryll returned from the Lord’s manor and went into his room, he didn’t come out for a whole day. Mikhail and Aidan came upstairs to wake him.

However, they hesitated to touch the doorknob because of the magical energy flowing from inside the room.

‘What is this intense magic?’

A feeling of prickling skin.

Aidan nervously swallowed hard and knocked on the door with a tense expression.

Knock- Knock-

“Caryll, it’s Aidan.”

But there was no answer. Mikhail, looking at each other with uneasy eyes, spoke first.

“This is… Caryll’s magic, right?”

“I guess so.”

Mikhail, who had reached the 3rd class [a level of magical proficiency], could now sense the magic flowing from the outside.

Caryll, who had disappeared for several days after saying he was going to the Gray Church, seemed like a different person.

Mikhail looked at him as if he were a wonder.

‘Well, so am I. Did I ever imagine that I would reach the 3rd class? I thought I had nothing to do with magic. My life changed after coming to Azor.’

He smiled bitterly.

His life, which had been just a mercenary, had completely changed. And he knew this was just the beginning.

If he was like this, it would be even stranger if Caryll hadn’t changed.

The expectation that if he followed Caryll, he would be able to reach unimaginable realms.

It might sound strange to say this, but before he knew it, the dissatisfaction he had when leaving the Mercenary Corps had long disappeared.

“…….”

It was then.

“Mikhail.”

Mikhail was startled and shouted at Caryll’s voice calling his name without looking back.

“Yes? Yes!!”

“There’s a man named Thompson on the first floor. Bring him here.”

“……I understand.”

Caryll slowly got up and opened the door.

Aidan, who was standing right in front of him, hurriedly hid his surprised expression.

“How much time has passed?”

“Um… about a day and a half. Are you sick or something?”

“It’s okay. More time has passed than I thought.”

For some reason, Caryll’s face had turned pale.

He hadn’t eaten anything for more than a day, but his face, which had turned around, looked like someone who had been starving for weeks.

“Shall I… prepare a meal?”

“Good.”

Caryll nodded with a hungry expression.

“Y-yes, I’ll prepare it right away.”

Aidan found it difficult to make eye contact with Caryll for some reason. Moreover, unlike before, when he tried to find a gap, he was now very docile.

He hurriedly moved his body as if running away and went down the stairs.

Stop-

At that moment,

His steps stopped as he went down the stairs halfway.

Crack…!!

Then, without realizing it, he put strength into the hand holding the railing.

‘Could it be…’

Aidan’s face was as crumpled as the broken railing.

‘Am I being overwhelmed by his energy now?’

It wasn’t a favor for the hungry him that he moved so quickly.

It was instinct.

It was an excuse to run away.

“…Damn it.”

It was completely different from before.

‘Whenever I leave my seat, he changes as if he’s become a completely different person? What the hell happened in the meantime?’

Aidan looked at the upper floor once again and thought.

He was curious.

But his feet were pointing down.

Because he couldn’t bring himself to go up there again.

* * *

“It’s been a little over a day. Aln, it’s good that I can create a space even after leaving the Gray Church, just like you said. With this, I can train anywhere.”

[Of course. It’s also because your magic power is that vast. But aren’t you overdoing it?]

“I have to leave this place soon. I want to finish as much as possible before that.”

[Don’t be impatient. Calnare’s swordsmanship can’t be done just by knowing it in your head. Besides, aren’t you just now properly handling magic? It’s not something that can be solved in a day or two.]

Caryll smiled lightly at his words.

“By the way, the space you create. It’s like Phare [a pocket dimension]. It feels like I’ve been in there for at least a month.”

After everyone disappeared.

Caryll slowly clenched and unclenched his hands and said in a low voice.

[I’m a little surprised too. Maybe it’s similar. Even the monsters that came out of it were corruption.]

“Phare, which resembles a space that can handle time and illusions… Maybe the magic you guys use is related to the power of God.”

Aln shrugged lightly.

[Well. As I said before, Dragon Magic relies on Spirit Magic. Let’s just call it ancient magic for now. I don’t know about what God did before I was born either.]

He pointed to the magic books piled up on the desk that he had received from the Lord’s manor and said.

[But at least it’s a truth that can’t be compared to those low-level formulas.]

Caryll smiled bitterly at his words.

[So how is it? How’s your body?]

“It’s okay.”

Caryll recalled the space created by Aln Zabiuss.

The corruptions that respawned endlessly in the darkness.

Even though he knew they were all illusions, he still felt the pain.

While blocking the attacks of monsters whose trajectories were unknown, Aln Zabiuss taught Caryll swordsmanship.

[Honestly, I didn’t think you could fight that well. I wasn’t the owner of the Ice Claw. I just showed you the video of that guy based on my memory.]

“It wasn’t easy with my current body. It was more difficult swordsmanship than I thought.”

One of the seven elders.

Among the elders who were proficient in all kinds of magic, including magic, holy law, spiritism, and even curse magic, there was a unique person who used a sword.

Perhaps he was the first person to establish the current standard of Sword Master.

The founder of Magic Swordsmanship, Calnare.

[So how many forms have you learned?]

Excluding variables in the 49 sword forms, he summarized them into a total of 7 forms, but the Colorless Sword was not something that could be easily learned as Caryll said.

Among them, acquiring the most basic first form was the most difficult.

Unlike the general method of simply putting magic power into a weapon, the first form allows one to store magic power in the body and condense only refined magic power into the weapon.

When you reach the realm.

[You will be able to exert several times the power of the Mana Blade used by a Sword Master.]

Aln Zabiuss was sure.

In fact, Calnare had also reached that realm.

[You’ll have to do it a few more times in the future. It’s possible to create an illusion space because your magic power is sufficient, but you can’t create it every time. It consumes not only your magic power but also your mental power.]

“I see.”

Caryll realized that the reason why he couldn’t shake off the feeling of fatigue was because of that.

“Honestly, I can’t do it many times. The reason why I rushed was because my real body becomes defenseless when I enter the space. I won’t be able to react if I get ambushed.”

[It’s something you have to endure to become stronger. You said you have something to do? I don’t know what it is, but take care of your body.]

“No. It’s enough now.”

[……What?]

“I mean, if it’s for learning sword forms, there’s no need to do it anymore. Of course, it would be useful for learning magic, but it doesn’t seem to make sense until I open my bloodline.”

Aln Zabiuss looked at Caryll with an expression that he didn’t understand what he was saying.

“Today, I have learned all 7 forms of the Colorless Sword.”

[……Wh, what.]

“There are restrictions on using swordsmanship because my body isn’t perfect, but I’ve become somewhat familiar with the swordsmanship in your memory through today’s training. I’ll have to use the rest in real combat, not in illusions.”

Aln Zabiuss was shocked at Caryll’s words, who spoke as if it were nothing.

[You’ve learned all of Calnare’s swordsmanship in just a few days? The one that guy created over 150 years?]

“It’s not a few days. I went into the illusion a few more times at the Gray Church after that. If you count today, it’ll be two or three months.”

Even so, it was unbelievable.

What kind of person was Calnare, who created the Colorless Sword?

He may have been behind the other 7 elders in terms of magic power, but his swordsmanship was unmatched by anyone else on the continent.

The swordsmanship he created was by no means ordinary.

He traveled to many countries to find a successor, but he couldn’t find anyone with the qualifications to learn his swordsmanship.

“And I think I need to fix a few things.”

[……What?]

“The swordsmanship is excellent, but there are unnecessary sword forms to properly unleash the power of the Ice Claw, so I removed them.”

Caryll took a low breath and said.

“Do you remember me saying before that it was derived from 7 forms, not 49?”

Aln Zabiuss nodded at his words.

“But it seems like Calnare was a person who liked to show off.”

Caryll said with a calm expression.

“There are things that are flashy in the sword forms, and there are things that were deliberately added to reach the number 49 in places where there was no need to divide the sword forms.”

But Aln Zabiuss just laughed helplessly at his calm appearance.

[Kuh… Hahaha!! Yeah, I underestimated you too much. You, who wielded a sword for countless hours even after reaching the realm of Sword Saint.]

Only,

150 years.

The time Calnare wielded a sword may have been just a fleeting moment for Caryll.

[Are you creating a new Colorless Sword? Calnare would hit the ground in the afterlife if he saw it. Hehe… Yeah, what will you call the name of the swordsmanship?]

Aln Zabiuss asked as if he was having fun.

“Not really….”

But unlike him, who was excited, Caryll’s reaction was calm.

“I don’t think there’s any need to name it.”

[Why?]

Swordsmen considered it an honor to name the sword form they created.

From cheap martial artists to great knights.

Everyone wants their swordsmanship to be passed down to future generations.

“Even if I fix it, I don’t think I’ll use it much. I’m just getting a little help with the framework for magic and swordsmanship. It’s embarrassing to name swordsmanship that isn’t perfect.”

Whoosh-

Caryll swung the Ice Claw in the air.

“It doesn’t deny the Colorless Sword. It’s a swordsmanship that can’t be used without the power of the dragon. Its power is also great.”

As the name Colorless, which means the magic power of the dragon, the swordsmanship contained ever-changing magic powers.

“Thanks to you, I think I know a little bit about how to melt magic power into swordsmanship now….”

Wooooo…!

A faint aura blade rose from Caryll’s sword.

Unlike before, the aura was emitting sharpness like a sharp sword blade without shaking.

“But I’ll still use my own swordsmanship.”

He had a satisfied expression on his face.

[Calnare would fall backwards if he heard that.]

Aln Zabiuss shook his head as he looked at him. But it was by no means a negative meaning.

Rather, a slight tremor.

He was feeling the thrilling pleasure of being thrilled by his growth beyond imagination.

“Still, shall we try using what we learned?”

He raised his head and looked ahead. One energy rising from below the stairs.

Unlike before, the stagnant energy like stagnant water was clearly felt.

It was none other than Thompson’s.

* * *

“The report?”

“Is my safety… really guaranteed? If this gets out, Bargo will definitely kill me.”

Thompson, with a face dripping with sweat, kept looking around.

“You’ll die even if you just stay still. Magic addiction has a 100% mortality rate. It’s the same whether you get beaten to death or die of illness, but I think I’d choose a way to live even one day longer.”

Thompson’s face crumpled at Caryll’s words, who spoke as if it were nothing. Then, as if resigned, he carefully took out a document hidden in his robe.

Aln, who was flying around him, sniffed next to Thompson as if smelling something and said.

[Magic addiction? Hasn’t that disease been cured yet? Well, it’s like a cold, so there’s no perfect medicine, but… You look like you’re dying. You’re making a fuss.]

Caryll smiled bitterly at Aln Zabiuss’s words.

‘I don’t know what it’s like in the Magic Age, but it’s an incurable disease now. You can say that everyone who gets magic addiction dies.’

[What? Is that true?]

‘The cure will be known a few years later. Nardie de Maug found a magic book at the Gray Church and told me. I gave Fabio junk, but the ancient book with various cures, including magic addiction, would be more necessary than anything else.’

Aln snorted.

[You found a cure at the Gray Church? I can’t believe it. There’s no way the Platinum Dragon wouldn’t know about magic addiction. Besides, he’s the one who made us leave the magic book.]

“…….”

‘We’ll be able to confirm the truth when we go to the lair.’

Caryll’s expression hardened at his words.

Thompson, looking at his face, flinched, thinking that the murderous intent he felt was directed at him.

‘Damn it… When I saw him back then, I felt like I was walking on thin ice, but he seems even scarier now. How can a kid make such an expression?’

Caryll read Thompson’s letter without saying anything. Then he slowly raised the corners of his mouth.

“Where did you find this?”

“I searched the guild based on what you told me at first, but… I couldn’t find anything.”

Caryll’s eyes lit up.

The task he gave Thompson was clear.

Unlike Baker, a goblin sorcerer belonging to the Gaji, an action unit of Bargo, who was from a merchant, Caryll thought that if there was a connection with Wooden Cloud [a criminal organization], it was likely to be the stem, the delivery person.

That’s why the first method that came to mind.

Quest.

He thought that the orders of Wooden Cloud would be naturally delivered through the requests that came into the guild.

But Thompson couldn’t find anything special.

“So then I searched the stores that Bargo was trading with. I found it there. The black market itself doesn’t discriminate against customers, but there was something strange. I don’t know if this will be helpful….”

Was it because his life was at stake?

He went beyond what Caryll had ordered and found the evidence. Caryll put the documents he handed over into his arms and had a satisfied expression on his face.

“Not bad. You definitely deserve to get a disease that geniuses get.”

“…….”

“Don’t worry. I’ll guarantee your safety. Bargo will never be able to harm you.”

“Re… Really?”

“Of course.”

Caryll smiled sharply.

‘Because he won’t be alive.’