Rebirth of the Ruined Noble

As I slowly opened my eyes, I was greeted by a stark white ceiling, devoid of any decorations. The room seemed sterile, and a wave of confusion washed over me. As the room's sterile atmosphere enveloped me, the whiteness of the ceiling contrasted sharply with the chaos of my thoughts.

'Where am I?'

Consciousness slowly dawned upon me, and I began to wonder where I was.

'Where is this place?'

Attempting to look around, I was met with a sharp pain that invaded my muscles, causing me to tremble. The Pain pulsated through my body with every movement causing tremors of discomfort, serving as a painful reminder of the recent events that transpired.

Memories flooded back, reminding me of my journey into exile with Zephyr and our merciless defeat at the hands of the king of Oni.

Amidst the recollection of memories, I gradually realized the gravity of my situation. Perhaps I had been brought to the academy's infirmary. The distinct aroma of herbs and medicine filled the air, confirmed my assumption.

The room was illuminated by soft, natural light streaming through the windows, casting a gentle glow on the white walls. Medical equipment lined the countertops, and the sound of distant footsteps echoed in the corridor outside. It was a place of healing and recovery, a sanctuary amidst the chaos of the academy.

'But what happened to the demon?'

Yet, the question still lingered in my mind, What had happened to the demon? I vaguely recalled attempting to unleash a dark power, only to be overwhelmed before collapsing. A faint memory resurfaced—I had caught a glimpse of an old man. Could it be that he had saved us?

Zephyr referred to him as his master, which meant that the old man must be...

None other than Aralion Stromblade, one of the four Supreme Stars—a wandering swordsman and the renowned Sword Saint.

'So that's how he cleared the dungeon in my past life.'

It suddenly became clear how Zepyr had cleared the dungeon in my previous life. My involvement with Zephyr did not alter the dungeon; rather, Zephyr had utilized the pendant to summon his master, the sword saint. Everything fell into place, connecting the dots of my newfound understanding.

The Mauryan Empire resided in the eastern continent, where a unique ranking system acknowledged extraordinary individuals. Those who had transcended the realm of ordinary power and reached unimaginable heights were ranked among the ten strongest beings—known as the Strongest Ten Heavens of the continent.

However, above this ranking stood another tier of individuals—those possessing power far beyond mortal imagination—the Supreme Stars. Presently, four Supreme Stars graced the eastern continent, with Aralion Stromblade being one of them.

In my previous life, it was revealed much later that the Sword Saint had taken on a disciple, a commoner named Zephyr. Armed with this knowledge, it became easy to deduce the old man's identity.

As I pondered these thoughts, a grumpy voice interrupted my reverie.

But as I knew about this, it was easy to guess the identity of the old man.

"You finally woke up, kid."

I heard a voice beside me, it was a grumpy voice filled with annoyance.

I slowly turned around fighting off the pain that lingered in my muscles.

"...!"

To my surprise, it was Aralion Stromblade himself, sitting cross-legged beside me. Despite his advanced age, his muscular physique remained impressive, evidence of his unwavering dedication. If it weren't for his white hair and occasional wrinkles, it would have been difficult to discern his age.His black eye gazing at me were like endless abyss. A deep scar that ran across his face, above the nose was particularly intimidating, giving him a terrifying aura.

'So this is the Sword Saint.'

I thought, taking in his presence.

Though I had heard countless tales of his prowess in my past life, this was the first time I encountered him in person. In fact, it was nearly impossible to have never heard of him—the swordsman who had severed the heads of many monarch rank demons that were invading the mortal realm. Merely uttering his name struck fear into the hearts of demons during my previous life.

Standing before him, I couldn't help but be awestruck.

Observing my expression, Aralion raised an eyebrow. "Looking at your expression, you seem to know about me?" he remarked.

Panic seized me momentarily. I couldn't let him know that I was aware of his true identity. It would be disastrous as we had never met each other, nor did I have any excuses.

'Oh, crap! I can't let him know that I know he is the Sword Saint'

I thought, desperately trying to hide my knowledge of his identity.

"....I saw you decapitating that demon's head, aren't you the one who saved us?"

I said trying to hide that I knew his identity. Although I said that to hide the fact about his identity, it wasn't a lie.

I had indeed seen him decapitating the King of Oni's head. The display of peerless swordman's ship that he displayed as he separated the demon's head from his body in a single fluid motion.

The scene was still fresh in my eyes.

"Oh! You saw that? I thought you were unconscious. That makes things easier for me," he replied cryptically, which puzzled me about what he was talking.

"...?"

"You see, Zephyr, that damned disciple of mine, claimed that he dragged you into the dungeon and that you sacrificed yourself to buy him time."

'I sacrificed myself? When did I do that? Where is this coming from?'

A surge of confusion washed over me. Sacrifice? When did I do that? This was not part of my plan. I had launched that final attack under the assumption that Zephyr would somehow triumph over the demon but I didn't think that he would summon his master instead.

In the first place, it was me who stalked Zephyr and planned to enter the exile along with him, not him dragging me into the dungeon.

but, it seems like he has misunderstood my intentions.

'There is no need to clear the misunderstanding.'

After all, a misunderstanding that benefited me could turn out to be a stroke of luck.

"I will not beat around the bush, What you did was very impressive"

He said gazing at me up and down, with a hint of doubt that was obvious in his eyes.

"To be honest, I still can't believe the fact that you risked his life to buy time for him. but as his master, It is my duty to thank you."

A supreme star thanking me? A sense of pride filled in my heart even though a part of my consciousness was poking at me.

"Therefore, I want to repay you somehow. Is there anything you desire?"

At that moment, a golden opportunity presented itself in front of me.

Aralion Stromblade. One of the four Supreme Stars and the one who had reached the pinnacle in the field of sword arts, a being who is known as the Sword Saint. A figure that was akin to the sky above the sky.

Such a person was asking me if there was anything that I desired from him.

I couldn't help but think about one thing.

'The dragon!'

The rampage of the fire dragon, Ugram, that is going to happen in 3 years. The incident came to my my without even need of me to ponder.

Aralion Stromblade was easily one of the strongest beings in the current mortal world. If it was him... then...it might be possible.

'I could ask for help from him to stop the dragon!'

To prevent the disaster that would trike the Mauryan empire and also to save my family.

But I couldn't act hastily. There was no way for me to explain if he asked me questions about why he needed to stop the dragon or something else.

Although it could be cleared just by saying that I regressed, I wanted to hide the fact unless I had any other options.

So I asked him cautiously.

"You... how strong are you?"

The old man once again raised his eyebrow at my question.

"How strong I am...? Hmmm, that's a difficult question."

A smile formed on his face.

"Let's just say that I am very strong."

He said, looking at me.

Then I asked him, my voice filled with caution.

"Then... can you defeat a dragon?"

---***---