Sword Saint's Reincarnation - a LitRPG Adventure

Rylan sped through the forest with Snowstorm, faster than ever before in this life. His Mana Core throbbed within him like a beating heart, making his four Circles resonate with it. He snapped his fingers and burned away what remained of the impurities he'd released, then continued to run.

Just a little left…!

He didn't know how long he had been running for, but in the distance, through the trees, he could see Caer Rhelon's imposing walls. His improved senses allowed him to grasp his surroundings as he avoided as many people as he could. Simultaneously, he listened to their conversations. He ran to the side of a large group of people, staying in the shade of the canopies and making next to no sound.

"Man, I'm glad we're back in the city," a male voice reached his ears.

"I know, right. Nothing beats staying behind some city walls," another replied.

"Both of you, shut up and walk faster. I want to sleep on a bed today," an irritated female voice said.

Rylan listened to all other conversations, but none mentioned Caer Rhelon being attacked or imperial Mages. He looked back at the city walls, leaving the group of people behind. The walls looked as sturdy as ever, and the guards outside and on top of it were patrolling normally. It was obvious that the enemies hadn't attacked the city itself.

They infiltrated the Mage Tower.

But Damian was a Sixth Circle Mage. To infiltrate his Mage Tower so cleanly, to the point the surrounding city and people hadn't even noticed anything…

There's at least one Sixth Circle Mage, probably more.

His left hand gripped Silver Twilight's hilt tightly. His Circles resonated with the world around him.

I've managed to reach the Fourth Circle, but will it be enough?

There was only one way to find out. The enemies hadn't contacted him again, which likely meant that he was still on time. Still, through his anxiety, Rylan perceived the world around him. It was even clearer and more vivid than back when he'd reached the Third Circle. The colors were brighter and more detailed, and each sound was outstandingly clear. The air as he stepped on it to dash forward, the voices from the people walking toward Caer Rhelon, the smells of damp earth and the forest all around him. They all joined to create a symphony that he couldn't appreciate in his current state of mind.

Rylan shook his head and focused on running. The city walls got ever closer. As a few of the guards noticed and started raising their mana, he simply took a deep breath and pushed his speed to its limits. By stepping on the air, he quickly rose above the city wall's level and flew over it. He could see the Academy's grounds in the distance.

Faster!

He shot forward as if he were on solid ground, speeding past the buildings from above to approach the Academy, his eyes focused on Damian's Mage Tower.

Even faster!

His heart thundered within his chest. He was struck by that same, familiar feeling once again. It felt like the world was pouring into his body, flowing like a river into his heart. It became even sharper, but it didn't stop. Rylan continued to run increasingly faster. Every step was enough to push him more than ten meters forward.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he entered the Academy's space. Behind him, he could feel and hear the movements of the guards who had been trying to follow him. He had obviously alerted the city's military, but he didn't care in the least. To begin with, from the moment he reached Caer Rhelon, being stealthy was no longer possible. Not when every second counted against enemies that could kill his family.

And so, Rylan ran, getting closer to Damian's Mage Tower. His senses went into overdrive as his mind tried to find where in the Mage Tower the enemies were. Suddenly, a small flare-up of mana caught his attention. He recognized it as Damian's mana. Rylan widened his eyes and zeroed in on the window closest to the flare-up's location. It was right in the middle of the Mage Tower, close to its very heart. Through it, he could see the indistinct figures of several people. At the same time, he could perceive the Mage Tower's defensive magic lowering and calming down to grant him passage.

There.

Damian was helping him. He couldn't let his master down.

Unhesitatingly, he jumped toward the window, which opened as he was about to crash into it. Rylan landed and pushed his senses to their absolute limits, his eyesight expanding to allow him to fully grasp the situation inside the room as he unsheathed Silver Twilight. On one side, he saw Damian and his loved ones inside a barrier. Jasmine and Hayden were staring at him with wide eyes, as was Elizabeth. Aelfric was smiling at him, and Gerard and Damian were looking at him with complex expressions.

On the other side were three people in red robes that he didn't recognize. All three of them looked like they had been expecting his arrival, but the blue-haired man in the middle appeared even calmer and more collected than the other two. They made his senses scream at him.

Each of them is stronger than Damian.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Three Sixth Circle Mages. It explained how they'd managed to infiltrate the Mage Tower. It was likely that one of them had cast Teleport and moved them close to the Tower, while the other two dismantled the Tower's defensive magic. Behind them, close to the floor's main entrance, there were two Fifth Circle Mages in the middle of turning around.

But there are more of them.

He could feel the surroundings' mana roil like a wave. Eight other Fifth Circle Mages. Rylan let out a breath and held his sword tightly. In the next moment, he jumped straight up. The floor he'd just been standing on rippled, then rose in the shape of spikes. They ramified into smaller spikes, similar to what Hayden had done in their battle, but much faster and much more accurately. Still, Rylan easily avoided them with Snowstorm and looked to the side to find the caster. The Mage was hiding behind one of the bookshelves and staring at him.

At the same time, a Fire Ring dominated the room and approached him from behind in the shape of a wave of pure fire. From above, a small hurricane took shape, feeding the flames and making them even greater. A combination of Fifth Circle spells. In response, Rylan only kept channeling Snowstorm and dashed toward the Mage hiding behind the bookshelf. The man flinched and opened his mouth, but Rylan didn't even give him a second. Faster than ever before, supported by his higher stats and his Fourth Circle, he reached the man in less than a second. His sword flashed.

In the next second, the man's head rolled to the floor, his expression frozen into one of surprise as the light left his eyes.

Rylan let out a breath and looked at the three Sixth Circle Mages with wide eyes. His breathing was steady as his heart continued to beat strongly. He felt like his entire body was about to erupt into flames. He used Snowstorm to avoid the flames and the hurricane of sharp wind, landing lightly on the floor right in front of Damian's barrier.

The atmosphere in the room froze. No more spells came his way.

The red-robed Mage in the middle, the man with navy-blue hair and beard, was staring at him with a frown. The other two, a woman and another man, looked like they had just been slapped.

"…You've reached the Fourth Circle," the blue-haired man stated. "And to think you would kill a Fifth Circle Mage so easily. Now, I truly understand why we need to get rid of you."

"Unbelievable," the woman next to him said, shaking her head. "Eighteen years old…"

Rylan only narrowed his eyes at them. Should he try to extract as much information as possible from them? No, it would be pointless. There was no way trained soldiers would say even a word about anything worthwhile. He glanced over his shoulder at everyone within Damian's barrier. After making sure his family was unharmed, he looked at Damian. The man was missing his left arm, but he was still frowning at him.

"I'm here," Rylan said softly but clearly.

Aelfric readily nodded with a smile, but Damian kept his frown.

"You shouldn't have come," the old man stated.

Rylan looked back at the three imperial Mages and rose to his full height.

"That was never a possibility to begin with."

"…I guess so," Damian said bitterly. Rylan could hear him standing up.

Rylan kept his eyes on the enemy Mages.

"Rylan," he could hear Gerard say from behind. "I'll fight with you."

"No," Rylan immediately replied. "I don't want you to die. I'll do this."

The green-haired Mage took a step forward, making Rylan lower his center of gravity.

"Are you done discussing your strategies?" the man asked. "Now, it's time for you to die, genius."

The man raised his right arm and pointed at Rylan, who felt like the world had slowed down. His heartbeat thundered on, and all he could hear was the sound of his rushing bloodstream. Every muscle, every organ, felt like it was about to burst forth with unlimited power.

I just need to kill one of them.

He stared at the three Mages with bloodshot eyes, still perceiving all the other Fifth Circle Mages. As long as he could take down one of the red-robed ones, he would be able to fight the second one as Damian stalled the third one. But for that to happen, he needed to kill one of the Sixth Circle Mages as quickly and as cleanly as possible. His heart continued to beat strongly.

They didn't know how powerful he was, exactly. They'd watched him kill one of the Fifth Circle Mages, but they hadn't seen any of his Sword Arts. None of the three red-robed enemies had cast a defensive spell yet. Was it because they still underestimated him? Or was it the confidence of having spent years as figures capable of destroying entire kingdoms? It didn't matter.

This was his first and last chance. He needed to make something happen, and now. Otherwise, he risked having his whole family butchered after he was killed and having his kingdom be conquered. All of its people, all of its families, would go under the banner of a warmonger. There was no way to know how many would be killed in the process or after it was over. His heart continued to beat as his body got hotter and hotter.

It was as if he were a spell about to be cast. As his thoughts reached this point, an idle thought struck him.

No, not a spell.

Wasn't he all too familiar with this sensation? It was closer to becoming a well-sharpened blade. Actually, wasn't it a bit of both? Both a spell and a sword, both steel and mana. They weren't so different. It was what he'd learned in this life. They complemented each other to the point where he was only as powerful as he was because of this realization. It was the foundation of his strength.

That was why he could still fight. Rylan readied himself, his eyes filled with steeled determination. With or without Aura, he would struggle. It was all he could do, powerless as he was.

But he wouldn't remain powerless forever. For the sake of his loved ones, for the sake of his country's innocent people, he would continue to grow stronger. No matter what.

As this thought struck him, it was as if a dam had been broken. A familiar sensation flooded him. A flower bloomed within his heart, filling it with untold energy. The pure white energy followed his bloodstream, flooding his entire body like a tide. It was both sharp and intense, like his magic swordsmanship. His blood followed the white light, melding with it. The flower finished blooming, transforming his heart into something he recognized, and System notifications appeared at the edge of his vision.

[You have awakened Aura. The Aura stat has become available.]

[You have awakened your first Aspect.]

[Aspect

Harmony of Twin Lives

The threads of fate that bind both of your lives have united at last. You are both Sword Saint and Mage, both swordsman and spellcaster, both brother and son. You never gave up on either of your lives or on the hope that they would be meaningful. Only you, who has lived twice, have the right to sing the ode on harmony.

* Allows you to temporarily merge both Aura and mana into Aether. The higher your mana and Aura, the greater the effects. The duration is affected by all of your stats.

* Increases the effectiveness of all stats by 15%.

* Increases the effectiveness of all magic and all swordsmanship by 20%. Effects are amplified when using magic swordsmanship.]

Rylan smiled savagely. His Aura Heart beat strongly.