The Sword Genius of the Magic Empire - Chapter 37



Only Noblemtl

A hazy dawn.

The citadel of Elseid covered in dark blue twilight.

A tense silence hung over the place.

A completely different look from the busy, usual citadel.

Although it was not yet dawn, numerous magicians, including those from outside the clan, were gathered in the large castle hall of the Zhou clan.

Because the rumor was heard before dawn.

Enoch Elseid.

The 9th level of the current Elseid stock market.

An incompetent person who can’t even lead a single family of followers, and a non-magician who is not fit for the Magic Empire.

– There is a rumor that he succeeded in the ‘exemption mission’, which was considered impossible until now.

Of course, it was something that no one could believe.

News about the bloodlines that hold the right of succession to the House of Zhu, or the ‘direct line’, is a topic of considerable discussion in the Empire.

Accordingly, the fact that Enoch was given the task of exemption had already been widely spread through various media outlets, including newspapers, in a short period of time.

But among those who heard the news at the time, no one expected this outcome.

It was natural.

In the first place, the exemption mission was the last resort for a direct descendant who had been expelled from the family to prove himself.

It is a given that one will be given a harsh ordeal that is far beyond one’s capabilities.

In the long history of the empire, not a single person has ever accomplished this.

In other words, it is no exaggeration to say that this mission is virtually the execution ground for the family.

Did ‘that’ Enoch Elseid succeed in that mission?

If he were a normal human from the Magic Empire, who would believe that?

Sigh.

“Hey, over there…”

At that time, on the other side of the castle hall.

Someone walked in.

The gazes that saw him became a little stiff.

Even within the Zhou clan, which consists of only the best battle magicians in the empire, a magician wearing a black uniform and hat symbolizing the best.

The best of Elseid’s elite organizations.

A knight of the “Nemesis Knights”.

All eyes in the room were focused on him.

chuck.

He approached the head of the household and bowed politely. Then he opened his mouth in a low voice.

“As you commanded. The current 9th rank has completed the on-site inspection that was dispatched as an exemption mission.”

He reported briefly.

“We have confirmed the annihilation of the 10th-grade Vendetta Warlock Persona and his subordinates, which was the mission objective.”

The crowd was a little swarmed.

None other than the Nemesis Knights, who symbolize ‘absolute neutrality’ in the Elseid clan. Because it was a fact they confirmed.

Damn it.

And at that moment.

Beyond the darkness of dawn that fell over the hall.

A silhouette appeared, carrying a thousand bags.

Enoch Elseid.

A boy with black hair was walking slowly down the middle of the hall, carrying a cloth bag.

The halls of the citadel became silent for a moment, as if they were filled with invisible chunks of ice.

The eyes of the magicians standing on both sides of the long hallway were all focused on him.

Only the sound of Enoch’s footsteps echoed through the hall.

It was a completely different attitude from when Enoch first became a gossip, as if he was telling people to listen.

Enoch walked calmly between them.

Finally, when he reached the head of the household through the crowd, he slowly knelt down on one knee.

“Current 9th rank Enoch Elseid. Completed the exemption mission and returned.”

He declared so.

The dawn that had just risen wiped away the shadows of night around Enoch.

The head of the household, who had been looking at him for a while, slowly opened his mouth, breaking the heavy silence that had settled over the hall.

“You finally proved it.”

At that moment, a small wave of commotion spread through the audience.

Something everyone thought could never happen.

That was the moment it happened before my eyes.

A boy imprisoned for 17 years.

A non-magician who was treated as a failure of the family.

Enoch himself has now proven his worth, and this has been announced by the head of the household himself.

In fact, the rumor had been spreading far and wide since Enoch first took up his duty.

As the Zhu family is the pillar of the empire, it is a group that receives the attention and interest of the people of the empire.

Therefore, the issue of Enoch, who would have been expelled for being a non-magician, being given an exemption mission was a hot topic enough to attract the attention of all the people of the empire who heard the news.

But everyone thought of it as the last desperate attempt of a failed family.

There was no need to even say how many people had expected such success as today.

Should I say it was as expected?

The expressions on the faces of Enoch’s brothers and sisters standing next to him were all different.

From those who smile faintly to those who click their tongues in blatant disapproval.

But this was only the beginning.

Swish.

Enoch slowly raised his head while still kneeling on one knee.

His dark blue eyes met the gaze of the master straight away.

I had to prepare for the next incident that was coming soon.

Judging from the future history that we already know, the beginning of the next incident will appear before us soon.

For that time, we had to prepare sufficiently.

***

Enoch returned to his room and opened the door.

The room was still filled with an empty silence.

Just like Enoch in the past, the large room, not even furnished, seemed lonely and empty.

But it wasn’t all bad.

It was also a good environment to calmly think about the future.

“I will prepare a meal.”

Lien left the room as usual, leaving only those words behind and closing the door.

Enoch looked at her back for a moment at her soft voice that still seemed to lack emotion.

She was the one who strongly opposed the last mission, saying that it would put Enoch’s body at risk.

But this time, even though his life was threatened by a formidable enemy called Persona, he didn’t say anything, which felt a little odd.

‘… I guess it doesn’t matter for now.’

It’s just a feeling. It’s not something to worry about right now. Enoch glanced away. The first thing he had to do right now was… .

‘We have to prepare for what’s to come.’

For a moment, Enoch grabbed the black cloth bag. Inside it, he could feel the solid feel of a sword.

Now, the real stage is about to begin.

The primary objective of the immunity mission was achieved.

But in reality, from now on, the full-fledged was only just beginning.

Enoch knew that the events that lay ahead would not be easy.

‘Above all, Tantalus is still alive.’

As long as he continues to experiment in the shadows, it is safe to say that Enoch Elseid’s death flag remains.

Including such threats, there was still a mountain of work to be done and prepared for in the future.

Enoch sat up straight.

‘I guess you finally have some free time.’

Now that Liendo is away for a while, it is a perfect opportunity to enter the world of Mu-sang.

“Swoop.”

Enoch slowly closed his eyes and concentrated.

He repeated this to himself, feeling the sensation of a world of nothingness that he had begun to enter.

Woof.

Enoch opened his eyes, accompanied by a swirling flow of dark blue mana.

Before I knew it, infinite space was reflected in his eyes.

Shadows that flicker beautifully and constantly change.

It is an inner world that cannot be expressed in any other way than as a “world of impermanence.”

Enoch looked back at himself for a moment.

‘First of all, from the process of entering the world of free, you can definitely feel the growth.’

Is it because I got Persona’s horse?

The process of entering the world of free has become much faster and easier than before.

Compared to before, the entry time was significantly shorter and fatigue was noticeably reduced.

It was clear that this alone was a tremendous advancement.

Originally, it was impossible to enter the world of nothingness if one had accumulated fatigue in the body or was unable to concentrate due to an injury.

However, despite having accumulated considerable fatigue from the current battle with Persona, he was able to enter the world of nothing without any problems.

It was a significant growth.

at that time.

Something appeared before Enoch’s eyes.

A message from my inner world that I haven’t seen in a long time.

But this time, the content was a bit strange.

? “Magic Resistance” 1 → 2 stages

‘Magic resistance.’

What was this?

As he pondered for a moment, a memory from a while ago came to mind along with a strong scent.

‘That’s right, mint chocolate flavored potion!’

A potion consumed in the underground laboratory of the former Leopolis.

Enoch shuddered inwardly at the terrible taste he had felt at that time, and only then did he realize.

‘I’ve been so busy with my mission to get exemption that I forgot about the effects of the potion I took!’

“Growth-type magic resistance reagent”

Whether in the original or now, its effectiveness grows the more it is exposed to enemy magic.

To put it more simply, the more you are hit by magical attacks, the stronger your magic resistance becomes.

‘I didn’t notice it because there were no noticeable results, but I didn’t realize that the level had already increased.’

Besides, I had forgotten about it, so this is a bit of a sudden news, but if you think about it, you can guess the reason for this sudden increase in magic resistance.

‘It’s because of the unique magic that was exposed during the confrontation with Persona.’

At that time, she was dragged into an inner world created by her unique magic during the battle.

After all, that place too is a realm formed by magic.

Perhaps the magic exposed at that time acted as a factor that increased resistance.

‘By the way, it’s stage 2.’

This is an item that existed in the original work, so I had already guessed the performance of each stage.

‘This is a potion that has 10 stages of growth.’

When it reaches the highest level, stage 10, it is a reagent with incredible potential that provides ‘strong resistance to the unique magic of wizards of level 10 or higher.’

‘Stage 2… There’s still a long way to go.’

According to the original, at best, it is only to the extent of being able to develop some resistance to weak, fast-paced magic used by level 16 magicians for control purposes.

Of course, the effect was still too weak to be satisfactory.

The wizards that we may have to face in future missions are increasingly stronger.

‘If I want to increase my magic resistance in the future, I’ll need to be hit with a lot of magic whenever I get the chance.’

Persona’s unique magic was powerful, but fortunately it was not a direct hit but rather a mental manipulation, so it did not cause much damage to the body.

But that is just a rare, unique magic that she has manifested.

It would be easier to encounter wizards who throw fireballs or ice spears the size of houses while performing their regular missions as enemies.

then?

Naturally, there was only one thing to do.

‘I have to go and take on all the magic I see, starting with level 16 magic that I’ve developed resistance to!’

Enoch concluded, rubbing his chin with a rather solemn expression.

The original story’s old man and extreme performance addict’s brain’s thought circuit had completely excluded his own pain from consideration.

‘First, you need to raise this value for Enoch to grow → When exposed to a magic attack, the level will rise → Then, first, raise it by getting hit with as many magics as possible without dying!’

Enoch nodded in satisfaction after applying this very, very common-sense and simple logic.

‘By the way, the way you grew up is quite obvious.’

In addition to the previous swordsmanship that was capable of ‘preemptively blocking magic’, he inherited a swordsmanship specialized in ‘cutting down magicians’.

In addition, you can gradually increase your magic resistance with the magic resistance potion.

At this point… …

‘Literally, it’s an Anti-Mage concept?’

A growth form that is completely focused on countering magicians.

Enoch smiled faintly as he found himself adjusting his specs to match the specs for specialization against magicians.

This is the nation of wizards, the Magic Empire of Atlas.

The story that it grows in the form of countering the wizard there, in other words… .

‘Isn’t this really a crappy performance?’

[Enoch’s character] theory, which I had vaguely guessed before, has now become a complete certainty as it clearly shows its growth direction.

A faint smile appeared on Enoch’s lips.

The potential of this area, including swordsmanship, has already been sufficiently proven, so if we continue to ride the wave and continue to grow in the future, that’s all we have to do.

After completing a brief inspection and releasing his inner world, Enoch opened his eyes.

The judgment is over. Now all that remains is to continue growing in our own way.

The tasks we face in the future will become more diverse and difficult.

Even the task that we have to overcome right after this won’t be easy.

‘The moment when the next mission will occur must be approaching at this very moment.’

According to the official history, soon, ‘an event of considerable magnitude’ will befall the family.

‘That mission is our next target.’

Of course, while waiting for the right time, there was something obvious to do.

Enoch glanced at the black cloth bag leaning beside him.

‘I guess I’ll have to stay locked in the training grounds for the rest of the time until the incident that will be my next mission occurs.’

Swish.

Enoch thought about that, then absentmindedly looked down at the large window that filled one wall of the room.

At that very moment.

I felt someone’s gaze.

‘… … ?’

Enoch turned his eyes towards her.

Opposite the window.

Balcony next to the walls of Elseid.

Someone was standing there, looking this way.

She was a beautiful woman with a neat and dignified air.

Violet hair that flows down to her waist.

Straight, blue-green eyes, slightly hidden by the shadow of a deeply pressed hat.

Her chest and slender waist were clearly visible above the uniform that fit the lines of her mature body.

An appearance that is hard to forget once seen.

So Enoch could easily recall her identity.

‘The Knights of Nemesis.’

She was staring at me silently.

Enoch’s eyes narrowed as he confirmed that.

‘Theano… was it?’

He was an unforgettable person.

When I first encountered Enoch.

It was she who arrested him when he staged a theft to go to the underground prison.

“… … .”

She looked at Enoch for a moment, then slowly turned her head and walked away beyond the wall.

Following Theano’s back, Enoch had a feeling.

‘… It has come.’