The 9th Class Swordmaster: Blade of Truth

Karyl closed his eyes.

The realm within his subconscious was endlessly vast, yet at the same time, it felt so small that he could barely squeeze himself into it.

“...”

A small flame appeared before him, flickering with an unusual clarity. It was almost transparent, like a ripple in the darkness if not observed carefully.

Swish...!

The flickering flame quickly split into two, then once again into a third flame. Karyl focused intently on it.

Fwoosh—!

At that moment, the central flame ignited. It made no sense for fire to catch fire, but in this space, it simply was. The central flame burned a vivid red.

Just a bit more...

Karyl aimed to give color to the colorless flames, maintaining his concentration within the realm of his subconscious.

Ramine...

Karyl murmured the name of the Blazing King in his mind. In response, the single red flame among the three flickered as if acknowledging his thought.

However, the red flame was feeble, and it seemed like it would be devoured by the other two forces at any moment.

Calm down, Karyl said urgently.

For some reason, the two transparent flames, which seemed like they were about to consume the red flame, couldn’t close in on it. Instead, they circled around it menacingly.

Endure.

He gritted his teeth, concentrating on the red flame.

Crack... Crack...!!

Despite his urging, the two transparent flames began to spin even more violently.

Ramine!!

Suddenly, the red flame exploded, rapidly expanding toward the two transparent flames.

Boom—!

The darkness turned red in an instant, and Karyl’s vision was filled with a blinding white light, forcing him to close his eyes.

“Ugh!!”

At that moment, Karyl awoke from the subconscious space, finally exhaling the breath he had been holding.

It was the opposite—Ramine’s flame seemed vulnerable, about to be devoured, but in reality, the two transparent flames were wary of his power.

“Hehehe... Finally an amusing look on your face. Reality finally hit you, huh? The gods may have blessed you with talent for the sword, but it seems they weren’t so generous when it comes to magic, eh?” Allen teased Karyl, who was drenched in sweat.

“Shut up...”

Karyl groaned as he began to read the magic book next to him.

“And don’t speak of gods... in front of me.”

Having read it multiple times, he almost had the contents memorized.

“Combining elements. It’s essentially the same as erasing elements. If it were easy, everyone would have done it. That's why only half of the Assembly of Seven Elders could use colorless dragon mana.”

“Phew...”

Karyl was spent.

“Gustav, for instance, wasn’t even chosen by a dragon. Well, perhaps not being able to learn dragon mana led him to create this makeshift method.”

Allen looked at Karyl and chuckled, as though stumbling this early in the training was only natural.

“It’s similar to how the Immortal Council change their magic element to the dark one. Of course, Gustav’s method is crude, and the Immortal Council is worse. That’s why Nain is stuck at the 7th Class.”

Allen opened his palm. Then, the forces of light and darkness formed spheres, intertwining and separating.

“Do you finally understand why a swordsman with enough mana to become a sorcerer is limited by the mana threshold of a Sword Master? Those thick-headed types who only know how to swing a sword can’t rise any higher than that.”

“Then... are the five Sword Masters also stuck at the 4th Class?” Israphil chimed in.

“You shut up and focus on controlling the Dark Giant. You’re getting distracted.”

“S-Sorry!” Israphil jumped at Allen’s scolding and apologized. Encased in Allen’s dark aura, it felt like Allen himself was sitting on his head.

“Those five might have surpassed the 4th Class in terms of magic. I once saw that giant fight Gordon. His mana was above the 5th Class.”

“Th-Then... Are you saying they’re at the 6th class?” Israphil ventured to ask.

“Will you continue to interrupt me with questions? Just listen, fool. Or you’ll end up like him.”

Israphil glanced at Karyl, his pale complexion and exhausted eyes betraying his lack of sleep.

“The division of Classes isn’t just about the amount of mana. Opening your meridians is easy enough, but you also need the brilliance to use advanced magic. If this were just about mana, even that guy would have been called a Great Sorcerer.”

Karyl merely nodded.

“But from the 6th Class onward, it’s a completely different system. Karyl, you need to overcome your limitations by yourself, get it? You’re trying to do something that even the five Sword Masters couldn’t. Naturally, breaking through a wall as hard as iron won’t be easy.”

“But this isn’t something I can control. Gustav’s magic is spirit magic. It’s not just about combining mana. Merging Ramine’s power with my mana makes it unstable.”

Irritated, Karyl tapped the Ein Trigger embedded in his hand.

“Ramine, you could cooperate like Allen does with Israphil. Why do you keep resisting?”

Fwoosh–!

At that moment, a tiny flame figure appeared on his hand, pointing a finger at him.

[Israphil’s mana is dark energy, and Duaat’s power is also darkness. Since their elements are the same, there’s no need to combine them.]

“And what about you?”

[It would’ve been easier for you to use spirit magic if you possessed only one element. But you have both light and darkness, and whenever you use your magic, both elements come out simultaneously.]

Then, the small flame giant angrily walked behind Karyl, who was still slouched on the floor, and kicked him in the thigh repeatedly.

[Besides, both those elements are completely at odds with me. You think you can put me into that? You think it makes any sense?]

Ramine’s voice grew louder.

“Humans can do it, so why can’t a Spirit King?”

Karyl pushed the little flame on the floor with his hand, irritated.

[Both you and that old man have colorless dragon mana, so you can do it. I am the pinnacle of flames. Expecting me to absorb not one but two opposing elements? Not a chance.]

“...”

Fwoosh...! Pop!

With those words, Ramine circled Karyl’s face a few more times before disappearing with a puff of smoke. ƒreewebɳovel.com

“...Instead of making progress, I’m just getting more frustrated.” Karyl sighed, exasperated. Then, he threw the magic book he had been reading on the floor.

Gurgle... Gurgle...

From somewhere, a small, round figure began to slither across the floor. It resembled a sticky blob of slime, but slowly, it rose and took on the form of a doll, wobbling as it walked.

Gurgle... Thunk!

The creature struggled with each step and eventually tripped over its own feet, sprawling out flat on the floor. After a while, it slowly got up, picked up the discarded magic book with its tiny hands, and held it up to Karyl.

“...”

Karyl looked at the doll with a blank expression.

“Hehe, Israphil, well done. You’ve still got a long way to go, but you’ve learned the Dark Giant. This guy is very bright, unlike someone else. It’s satisfying to teach him.” Allen’s voice echoed with laughter.

Surprisingly, the small black doll standing in front of Karyl was one of the Original Spells, the Dark Giant.

“Ha... haha... It’s all thanks to you, Master,” Israphil replied awkwardly. Unlike Karyl, who hadn't even managed to combine his magic elements yet, Israphil had already mastered one of the Original Spells within a week.

“It seems like you understand how to build magic power for learning the Original Magic. The other two should come quickly now.”

“Thank you!” Israphil bowed his head toward the invisible Allen, and the small Dark Giant in front of Karyl mimicked his gesture.

“...”

Karyl smacked the back of the Dark Giant’s head, causing it to fall on its face and splay out on the floor. He then stood up.

“Heh... Where are you going? Didn’t you say you were out of time?”

“We have the talented Israphil here. Once he masters the Superior Vision, finding the dungeons won’t be a problem. I’m just stepping out for a bit.”

“But where are you going?”

“Since you’re not helping, I’ll ask someone else,” Karyl said nonchalantly, not wanting to reveal his true intentions.”

“Hah, who are you going to ask? That toad-like descendant of Celine Han? Don’t bother. He’s useless.”

“Don’t worry. The one I’m going to ask is already dead.”

Allen laughed quietly as he watched Karyl leave the mansion.

“Sulking like a child.”

“Will he be okay? He seems to be struggling a lot... Maybe you should help Lord Karyl,” Israphil suggested hesitantly.

Thud—!

At Israphil’s suggestion, the black smoke surrounding him stretched out like an arm and smacked him on the head.

“Help him with what? He said he’d do it himself. Besides, I need you. You have to learn the Original Magic to strip Gustav of his façade.”

“Façade?”

“Yes, something like that. In any case, who are you worrying about? A wolf worrying about a tiger? Hah!”

Allen stared at the door through which Karyl had just left.

“That guy has learned a type of magic that only one among the Assembly of Seven Elders succeeded in. Gustav’s cheap magic is nothing compared to that. But my magic? It can’t be mastered just because someone lends a hand. Without talent, it’s absolutely impossible.”

Israphil grew even more pale. Struggling with the Original Magic was daunting enough, so something even more difficult than that was beyond his imagination.

“That’s right, my secret technique.” Allen chuckled. “He’s learned that. Isn’t that explanation enough? Gustav’s magic is easy to learn with help, but mine isn’t. You need some real talent for that.”

“I see...”

Israphil’s heart raced, a mix of awe and fear.

“So stop worrying about him and focus on mastering your magic. It took you a week to learn one of these basic spells.”

“Then why did you speak that way earlier?”

Israphil recalled Allen’s harsh words regarding Karyl’s failure.

“That guy reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship without a teacher. That’s impressive. But aren’t you curious...?”

It wasn’t about creating an opportunity to surpass the 6th Class. For Allen, it was just another milestone.

Perhaps the gods made him an outsider because they feared him, Allen pondered.

“...To see how far he can go with magic?”

He smirked at Israphil.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen this.”

“...?”

“Someone talented in both swordsmanship and sorcery,” Allen whispered.