The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 72

61. Twin-Headed Eagle

“No matter how I look at it, our leader doesn’t seem to want to help us…”

“Then we’ll have to do it ourselves.”

“Damn it…”

Aidan glanced back, a bitter smile on his face.

‘How did I end up clearing a demon’s cave? Juke would be shocked to death if he heard about this.’

Following Caryl started with simple curiosity and suspicion, but it had already exceeded his expectations and was moving according to Caryl’s plans.

‘First of all…’

Watching Caryl observe him with arms crossed as if testing his skills, Aidan gripped his dagger tighter and thought.

‘I have no choice.’

Aidan turned his head and said,

“Mikhail.”

“Yes?”

“How many times can you use Blade Wind?”

Maintaining distance from the Twin-Headed Eagle, Mikhail answered his question with a nervous expression.

“Up to 5 times, but if I do that, my mana will be completely depleted and I won’t be able to move my body at all, so realistically, I can only use it 4 times…”

“4 times, huh…”

Aidan bit his lip.

[Hey, is this really okay? No matter how I look at it, these two are pushing it too hard.]

Alrn Zabiuss said anxiously.

However, Caryl’s eyes gleamed as he watched Aidan’s figure.

‘He’s starting.’

Although his current skills might be inferior to his past life, at least one thing hasn’t changed.

That’s his habit.

‘He’s still the same. The fact that he’s biting his lip is proof that he’s become serious. Maybe he thought there’s no point in hiding it anymore.’

Whichever it is, the important thing is that he can properly confirm Aidan’s current skills.

‘I have high expectations for you. The difficulty of taking over the South depends on what you do.’

Mikhail’s talent, already reaching the 3rd class, is outstanding, but he started learning magic too recently.

‘It wouldn’t be wrong to say that he has no practical experience as a mage. To fight alongside him, you have to do the work of 1.5 people.’

Caryl watched Aidan take his stance.

‘Show me what you’ve got. The best assassin on the continent can’t possibly be inferior to Mikhail’s talent.’

Whoosh—!!

As if reading his thoughts, Aidan’s figure blurred and disappeared.

“……!!”

Mikhail, who was right next to him, looked around in bewilderment, unable to find him.

Tap… Tap-tap…!!

Aidan, running on the wall, dashed into the Twin-Headed Eagle’s territory and bent his waist.

Bang-!!

As he stretched out his hand and brushed past his ankle, a faint sky-blue light rose and disappeared from both of his legs.

‘That’s…’

Wing Step, one of the wind-type auxiliary magics.

It’s a 2nd class magic that maximizes the caster’s movements, but it was abandoned because most people couldn’t control the reaction force due to becoming too fast.

Even Mikhail, who uses the same attribute, gave up on learning it.

However, Wing Step, which is difficult for physically weak mages, was one of Aidan’s specialties.

“Mikhail!! I’ll lure the monster’s head. Cast the magic according to my instructions!”

He shouted, appearing above the Twin-Headed Eagle’s head in an instant.

“Yes… Yes, sir!!”

At his shout, Mikhail hurriedly grabbed his staff and began to gather mana.

“Auxiliary Acceleration!”

Aidan shouted, narrowly avoiding the monster’s beak above the Twin-Headed Eagle’s head.

As Mikhail’s staff emitted light, droplets of light began to gather around him.

“Next is Eagle Eye!”

“Yes, sir!!”

Aidan, as if already picturing the magic incantation time in his head, focused on the Twin-Headed Eagle and announced the next stage of magic as soon as Mikhail’s magic ended.

“After Haste, finally Mana Impact!! You must never let the incantation be interrupted!!”

“Understood!”

Despite his continuous orders, Mikhail soon connected the magic in succession.

[Hooh……. That bouncy brat. He’s quite good.]

Alrn Zabiuss smacked his lips as if he was interested, looking at Aidan.

[I just thought he was a servant, but he knows quite a bit about practical magic. The four auxiliary magics he chanted in succession just now consume the mana of one Blade Wind.]

‘Really?’

[Besides, it’s amazing that he knows that linked incantation helps with mana consumption, but what’s even more surprising is the compatibility of auxiliary magics.]

‘Compatibility?’

Caryl looked at Alrn.

[Yeah. I was thinking of telling you someday, but it’s not very meaningful to you who has an absurd amount of mana.]

‘What is it?’

[You know the auxiliary magics you have on your body right now: Strength, Haste, Dex (short for Dexterity, enhancing agility), Eagle Eye, and even Weight to increase the weight on your limbs. Even a great mage could be exhausted if they kept it on 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.]

At Alrn’s words, Caryl smiled lightly and shrugged his shoulders.

[Anyway, even low-level magic has compatibility with each other. Haste and Dex have similar effects in some ways, so casting both is a waste of mana.]

‘I see.’

[Human mana is limited, after all.]

Caryl could understand Alrn’s words that it didn’t apply to him, who had eaten the Dragon’s Heart.

[In that sense, you have to think about how to be the most efficient and increase the power of even the same level of magic before using a single spell.]

The 1st class auxiliary magic that Aidan ordered Mikhail to cast first, Auxiliary Acceleration, was a magic that mages learned as a necessity.

It increases the casting speed of magic.

The reason why he cast this magic first was to ensure that the rest of the auxiliary magics could be used without interruption.

[It’s an easy magic for experienced mages to forget, but not for beginners.]

Caryl nodded at Alrn’s words.

[They don’t know that strong magic isn’t just about pouring mana and using high-class magic.]

Alrn continued to explain.

[Besides, Haste and Eagle Eye, which increase reaction speed, are essential to accurately hit magic on monsters that show fast movements like the Twin-Headed Eagle.]

‘…….’

[Finally, Mana Impact, which reduces the range of magic but increases the power of magic instead. But if the order in which the buffs are applied is different, the duration of each magic will be messed up.]

‘I see.’

[In short, that guy. Even though his mana is low, he’s more knowledgeable about auxiliary systems than most mages. Think about it. Has there ever been a guy who uses that in a magic competition?]

‘Hmm…….’

The mages who appeared in the Expert Competition were at least 4th class users who had risen to the ranks of mages. However, Caryl, who had secretly dealt with the contestants of the magic competition, couldn’t know if they would use that magic in the competition.

But on the battlefield, not in the competition, he had seen more mages’ battles than anyone else.

‘No one has.’

[See? They’re just full of useless pride. That guy is better than the morons who blindly think that only strong magic is the best.]

Caryl felt a hot feeling in his chest at Alrn Zabiuss’s words.

‘Serica, did the concept of battle mage that you were trying to establish exist back then?’

The fact that the strongest great mage of the Magic Era was saying this was proof of how much magic had regressed now.

The imperials who decide heresy only based on the presence or absence of mana without even utilizing it properly.

They were frustratingly ignorant.

That’s why it was most important to break their thoughts before the oracle was given and the battle with the Fallen began.

‘The way to do that is to use the power of the South and North, which the Empire considers heretical.’

Clang……! Clang……!!

Clangclangclang……!!

With a loud noise, Aidan’s dagger sharply struck the left head of the Twin-Headed Eagle.

Swoosh—!!

Red blood poured out like a fountain, and Mikhail’s Blade Wind was accurately lodged in the open wound.

[Kreeeeeeeeak……!!]

“Good!!”

Even while hearing the Twin-Headed Eagle’s scream, Aidan didn’t let go of the attack.

“Mana is being transferred! Focus!”

“Ah, yes, sir!!”

Looking at the two, the difference in experience was clearly visible. Unlike Mikhail, whose concentration was scattered after the attack was successful, Aidan maintained the same appearance from beginning to end.

[He knows magic combat well, unlike what he looks like. What is he?]

Caryl chuckled at his words.

‘As you said, even if I don’t know, he’s excellent at auxiliary magic. How about it? Do you have any thoughts on raising Aidan along with Mikhail?’

Caryl asked with a slight expectation, but Alrn shook his head mercilessly.

[His innate body is different from Mikhail’s. No matter what he does, that guy can’t cross the wall of the 4th class. It’s better for you to train him.]

‘Really? Is there nothing even a great mage can do?’

[Hmph……. Mana isn’t omnipotent. If there’s a way, it would be to feed that guy the highest grade attribute stone that suits him. An 8-sided stone could break through the wall, but it’s not easy to get.]

‘Well……. Wind attribute isn’t easy to get. I can get one or two, but…….’

Alrn Zabiuss made an absurd expression, looking at Caryl who was speaking casually.

‘I’ll have to think about whether to give it to Aidan as you said. He’ll do his part even as he is now.’

[You can get an 8-sided stone? Two of them? You can do things that were difficult even in the Magic Era? What the hell are you?]

‘I’ll have to watch a little more. It will be decided whether to continue using him in the South.’

[Scary guy…….]

Thud–

It was then.

The inside floor of the demon’s cave shook with a heavy sound. Aidan, covered in blood with rough breaths, walked out from inside the Twin-Headed Eagle’s corpse.

Thud- Thud- Thud-

Wiping the blood off the dagger on his clothes, Aidan held out the severed other neck of the Twin-Headed Eagle to Caryl.

“Huff…… Huff…… Huff.”

He was just panting, as if he didn’t even have the strength to speak.

It felt like he was seeing a different person than before.

He was exuding a sharp aura like a sharply honed dagger, standing in front of Caryl, not the clumsy and seemingly inept man.

“You succeeded.”

“Yes.”

“I thought you would succeed.”

“…….”

It was a situation that should have been happy, but somehow a cold chill flowed between the two people in the cave.

Mikhail didn’t know what to do, looking at the two of them, and was restless.

“How much do you know?”

“About what?”

“I can’t do it anymore. If I leave it like this, I can’t even guess how much you’ll use me.”

Caryl raised the corners of his mouth as if he was amused at his words.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“If you take the monster’s head, they will definitely not stay still. The barbarians of the South move only with the logic of power.”

“So?”

“You’re going to make me fight again, aren’t you? Until Caryl’s sword can reach the head of their leader. I’ll have to fight to the death.”

“Not to the death. It’ll be at most 3 times.”

“…….”

“No matter how I think about it, I can’t shake the feeling that you’re playing with me.”

However, Aidan’s eyes were saying that the mask he had been hiding was no longer meaningful.

“Is that so?”

It was then.

Caryl also lowered his voice from a joking tone.

“What about you? How many have you killed so far? If you’re going to be used the same way anyway, isn’t it better to kill monsters than to kill people?”

“Yes?”

Caryl lightly patted Aidan’s shoulder, which was covered in blood.

“It’s all the same. I knew from the beginning that you weren’t some escaped slave. As long as you’re still on that guy’s side, it’s not a good thing for us to know each other completely.”

“……!!”

Aidan was startled.

‘Is that guy talking about the Second Emperor, Olyvern? Is he saying that he knows everything beyond just the fact that I’m an imperial?’

Unlike him, who was confused, Mikhail had an expression that he couldn’t grasp the conversation between the two at all.

Caryl casually patted Aidan and Mikhail’s shoulders and said.

“So let’s enjoy this relationship a little more. Think about it slowly. But if you’re going to get blood on your hands anyway, stand on the side that you can be proud of.”

At that moment.

Aidan’s pupils, which he thought were firmly hardened, shook.

“I’ll make that path for you.”