The Sword Genius of the Magic Empire - Chapter 89



Only Noblemtl

“Master Enoch.”

Grantal’s absurd voice echoed in the office.

Enoch, who had come to report on the mission to Rhodes, stood there looking at him with his usual blank expression.

“I’m listening.”

“So. What on earth are we going to do on this mission… ?”

Anyone could tell that it was what was written in the report, that he had received the explosive with his bare body.

“It is exactly as reported.”

“No. I understood because I heard about the explosives first. It’s not something else, but you personally did it yourself… .”

“It was just the best decision I could make. I’m fine too.”

At his immediate response, Grantal looked at him for a moment as if speechless. Then he let out a sigh.

“Huh, Lord Dionil’s squad that was on the scene also reported the same thing. But still, wasn’t it too risky to jump into the situation?”

Enoch shook his head calmly.

“I didn’t feel my life was in danger during the operation. There were some scary moments though.”

It wasn’t a lie.

When I encountered the flare, and when I escaped from the collapsing underground passage thanks to the Scirocco, it was quite a thrill.

But even though it clearly felt threatening.

My body didn’t stiffen or anything, even though I felt like I was going to die.

Now that I think about it, I feel like the threshold for recognizing death has become a bit lower than before.

Is this also a kind of growth?

Or maybe, after crossing the line of death so many times along with the succession of the sword, I have become insensitive to the threat of death.

Enoch shook his head inwardly at the question he had asked himself. It was not a question with an easy answer.

“You’re a complete newbie. It’s only been a while since you’ve been on a mission. To be honest, it’s surprising sometimes.”

Granthal shook his head quietly.

“Anyway, I’m glad you weren’t seriously injured. However, please be a little more careful in the future. It might cause trouble for the family.”

“The stock market is in trouble. Why?”

“I don’t know if you’re aware of it, but your highness is becoming more and more famous. If you get seriously injured during an operation, the repercussions could be even greater than before.”

It is to make you aware of the position you have recovered on your own.

It’s a new order, but it’s a very typical order.

“I’ll try.”

“And, as the steward of Elseid, I would also like to strongly recommend that you, Your Highness, take some rest.”

Enoch tilted his head slightly.

“Are you talking about rest?”

“Yes. Your Majesty, you have been given too many tasks in too short a time. The results are good, but you also need to reorganize.”

“… … .”

“This is not simply a matter of efficiency or health. It is also part of the mission.”

Grantal turned on the tablet-like terminal, manipulated the display, and held it out in front of Enoch.

The screen that appeared on the terminal was littered with mass media text that featured [Enoch Elseid].

“I don’t know if you realize it, but given Lord Enoch’s current popularity and reputation, it wouldn’t be strange if he were to receive mission requests in the future.”

Request for designation.

The authority held by high-ranking officials who can directly request dispatch to the stock market.

Enoch tilted his head inwardly, wondering if it was time to consider such a step already.

It is true that he has been successfully completing missions in a row recently. However, his cumulative achievements are probably low compared to those of other direct descendants.

Of course, it is possible that Enoch’s reputation was inflated simply because of the topicality.

And even leaving that question aside, Granthal’s advice just now was clearly not false.

“… So this is a break to prepare for the next mission.”

“Yes. In the case of a request for a designation, there are many cases where the schedule is tight due to the nature of the mission. If you are not prepared, it will be difficult.”

Enoch nodded, lost in thought for a moment.

Although it is true that we need to consider variables such as the request for nomination, we also need to prepare for the future in the plans we are making.

And crucially.

There was still some time left before the next important incident requiring intervention.

“Then, I will do as you say.”

At those words, Grantal’s eyes looked somewhat relieved.

But regardless of his reaction, Enoch also definitely felt the need to take his time.

It was literally a time of reorganization.

It’s a bit different from the reorganization that Grantal mentioned.

Enoch suddenly remembered the items he had brought into his room. The items he had brought in wrapped tightly in a charred bomb-proof robe.

He chuckled lightly to himself.

……okay.

Reorganization was reorganization.

***

Enoch, who finished his mission report first and returned, went straight to his room and went straight to the shower room.

His dark room, with only a bed and a desk, was dyed in the colors of the sunset shining through the window.

After washing my dirty body and the scabs from my wounds with the warm water from the shower, I finally felt a little refreshed and like I could live.

I threw myself on the bed, feeling exhausted all over my body, but surprisingly, sleep did not come easily.

It’s not like I’m going to rest for long in the first place.

After telling Shiroko, who followed behind, to wash up first if she was going to stay in this room.

Only after I had forced her into the shower room in the room, did I finally find some peace.

Enoch lay down carelessly, as if he had just shoved himself into the bed. He slowly closed his eyes.

I don’t think so.

But when I closed my eyes, I felt like I was getting at least a little bit of rest.

His head, having finally found some quiet time after a long time, was already lost in thought.

I wanted to reflect on the experiences I gained in Rhodes and use them as a learning tool to prepare for the future.

Suddenly, an encounter with Flare flashed through my mind.

First of all, the magic resistance that was planned from the beginning would have increased.

When she encountered the real Flare and deliberately activated her explosion magic, Enoch’s body was unharmed by the explosion.

Even if Flare is an explosive magic with extremely low power, the fact that it didn’t break any bones even though it was hit right under your feet by an explosive magic must mean that.

However, even though this resistance to magic was created, it was by no means an omnipotent ability that could indiscriminately block all types of attack magic.

A description from the original work came to mind.

「… … The concept of magic resistance is, paradoxically, a concept that cannot be applied to all magic. It is a difficult temperament to standardize… … .」

Even in the original work, the concept of magic resistance was applied very restrictively. This was because there were clear limits to its activation.

Enoch also clearly remembered that condition.

‘Magic that directly utilizes only mana.’

There was no need to go far in the first place.

A good example would be Flare’s explosion magic, which I experienced firsthand.

「… … The mechanism of the explosion magic used by Flare is to directly condense mana to the extreme and detonate it, constructing the phenomenon of the explosion itself with mana… … .」

That’s why magic resistance was activated.

If something like a fragmentation grenade, which deals damage through blast fragments, had exploded in front of me, my body would have been torn to pieces.

And of course, magic that corresponds to it or has a similar effect was widespread throughout the Magic Empire.

Suddenly, a thought about the future flashed through Enoch’s mind.

“… … .”

Many strong men of the Magic Empire who appeared in the original work.

Thinking about the people I would meet in the future based on their interests and the possibility of them becoming enemies depending on their circumstances, I felt my body tense up.

Magic resistance will most likely not be an effective defense against such powerful characters.

I think it would do a great job if it could just reduce the amount of splash damage from area-of-effect magic that high-level magicians use, which is beyond common sense.

‘And crucially, the level of magic resistance itself is not yet high enough.’

So, rather than increasing magic resistance and relying on it, you should approach it with the concept of the possibility that you might be able to avoid instant death even if you are hit by an enemy’s magic during a fierce battle.

But, that was what mattered most to Enoch.

In reality, if you die, everything is over.

In the end, you have to not die so that there is a next time.

If so, it was imperative to have these survival conditions.

And Enoch was gradually realizing that he had done it.

It was clearly a significant growth compared to before.

‘I guess I’ll have to keep these factors in mind in the future.’

Surprisingly, even at this very moment, when Enoch was quietly closing his eyes and thinking, he could clearly feel that he was growing without rest.

The sensation in my fingertips as I held and swung the sword came back to life.

The fruits of the battles fought so far, crossing the line between life and death, were being realized right here, right now.

He inherited the sword of the Black Sword and raised his sense of battle. Now that he has sufficient combat and mission experience.

In this way, the most important tasks, such as judging battles or predicting the future, have become possible.

I always had to keep that in mind.

This is reality, and Enoch is not a wizard.

Unless you can use magic yourself, you will never be able to fundamentally understand its mysteries.

However, in this way, we can estimate the enemies we will face in the future,

Furthermore, with the talent of the sword, which is the only thing I can rely on, I may one day find a way to reach a level where I can surpass countless strong opponents.

“… … .”

Enoch, who had thought about that, suddenly smiled faintly.

It was ironic.

How many times have I had to risk death to survive so far? How many times have I experienced death and falling in my inner world to become stronger?

In such contradictions, all the battle experiences that Enoch had personally accumulated were finally pulsating quietly for the next leap.

If you don’t want to die, you have to work hard enough to die.

And the same was true of what had to be done from now on.

Slowly opening his eyes, Enoch checked his physical condition.

You shouldn’t think too deeply about something.

At least for now, action had to take priority.

‘Nothing gets solved by just sitting still.’

Now is not the time to rest.

At least for now.

Enoch slowly got up from his bed.

I don’t know how long I was lying down.

I wondered if Shiroko was playing with the shower. Inside the shower room, the sound of water and splashing happily tickled my ears.

Enoch glanced at the door.

Even though she may be away for a moment, Lien will be coming to your room soon.

The wounds I got in Rhodes weren’t too serious, but if they find out, I’ll just get scolded again.

But I didn’t have time to worry about that.

Because there was something I had to do right now.

‘For now, it’s best to avoid Lien as much as possible.’

Of course, being hit by Flare’s magic was necessary for his growth, but he felt a prickly feeling at the sight of Lien’s cold gaze passing through his head.

Anyway, there was something I had to do right now.

He grabbed a long, rolled-up piece of tinfoil that had been left by the bedside.

Inside, the feel of a solid weapon that had been hidden from the eyes of the world reached my fingertips.

Enoch opened the door and stepped outside.

Before I knew it, the sun was setting.

Outside the glass windows of the huge castle, a gloomy dusk was falling. Enoch walked, watching the lights on the tall buildings of the city come on one by one.

Night comes.

But I had no intention of going to sleep now.

Whether it was because of the brief rest or the anticipation, his mind was already clear.

It wasn’t anything strange.

What he was about to do was something Enoch had been looking forward to for quite some time.

***

The spacious interior of Elseid Castle had quite a few modern facilities, and had a rather comfortable and unique atmosphere.

However, managing the entirety of such a large and expansive fortress would be difficult even for the most powerful clan, and among the facilities that had been abandoned by humans, there were certainly some that were not properly managed.

The basement, where Enoch’s personal training room was located, was just such a place.

As we passed through a dilapidated underground passageway that looked like it could be used as a warehouse, a personal training facility came into view.

Enoch opened the door and went in.

When he turned on the wall, the white LED lights lining the ceiling came on. A modern interior with large glass panels on the wall greeted him.

In fact, it was a nearly empty facility, but the previously ominously blinking magic stone lanterns had been removed by Lien while cleaning, making it look quite pleasant.

Enoch walked into the spacious training facility.

There is, of course, only one reason why he came here.

It was for the sake of passing down swordsmanship.

Of course, in order to focus properly, it was more like Shiroko came out of the bathroom and took refuge here before causing another incident or bothering her in the room.

“… … .”

Enoch glanced down at the charred piece of cloth in his hand.

Let’s unwrap the piece of cloth that was the bomb-proof robe.

A sword appeared within it.

A long sword.

A very long two-handed sword, approximately 1.3m in length.

Whether it was a sword blade or a sword handle, it was a double-edged, two-handed sword that was much longer than the swords used up until then.

Enoch grabbed the hilt of his sword and drew it.

The sword slowly came out of its scabbard, letting out a low, freezing cry.

A sleek sword with no special decoration. The hilt was finished with a solid matte black material.

A simple and sophisticated design sword with a contrasting silver color of the blade, crossguard, and pommel and the pitch-black color of the hilt.

“… … .”

And as soon as he took the sword in his hand, Enoch realized, to his surprise, that he already knew how to handle the longsword, which he had never held before.

Two-handed sword.

Unlike the free and light single-handed sword, this is a sword that combines offense and defense, thoroughly suppressing the enemy with a balanced swordsmanship and long sword blade range.

Enoch’s eyes narrowed as he looked down at the sword.

‘… … This is the knowledge that Enoch had in the past.’

Even though I clearly don’t remember it, I have a strange feeling that I know everything about how to use a two-handed sword and fight.

It wasn’t unfamiliar. It was the same when I held the sword of the last swordsman of the empire before.

Enoch had already mastered the use of a one-handed sword to the extreme, as if it were a given.

‘Come to think of it. Those countless swords in the training ground.’

Enoch glanced around. He noticed the graveyard of Enoch’s old swords, still left abandoned on one side of the training facility.

It was clear how he ‘remembered’ the sword he was holding for the first time.

“… … .”

It is a fact that we have naturally learned while fighting between life and death with the sword. The use of the sword and the fighting techniques are inevitably dependent on the form of the weapon.

This is because, depending on the length or shape of the sword, there are limits to the physical movements that can be made to the body.

Therefore, there is bound to be a sword that fits a one-handed sword and a sword that fits a two-handed sword.

You can tell because you’ve already mastered it all.

Enoch looked down at the sword coolly and judged it.

Talents such as the sword form or mana sense that were previously inherited can be used without any problems.

The existing sword forms of JeChoiGeom. [Explosive Sword] and [Fire Wheel] can also be used not only with his one-handed sword but also with the two-handed sword of the newly acquired sword master.

Of course, since the length and shape of the sword are different, it would be impossible to reproduce 100% of the power of the swordsmanship.

‘But it’s not a big problem.’

If you can use different sword techniques from one sword without any problems, it will greatly expand the choices of cards you can pull out in battle situations.

The more you can take out in battle, the better.

Besides, learning another sword form may produce more synergy than you might think.

Enoch’s intuition about the sword was whispering so coldly.

“Swoop.”

Enoch took a short, deep breath, concentrating his mind. In an instant, the sensation of the world changing around him enveloped his body.

In the world of nothingness, Enoch slowly opened his eyes.

A world where translucent water forms the earth and the night sky filled with twinkling stars forms the firmament.

Enoch slowly raises his head and looks straight ahead.

On the land made of clear water like a mirror of the world of nothingness, the silhouette of someone standing as if it were nothing came into view.

‘The Silver Knight.’

As if to prove that Enoch had definitely grown from before.

Unlike when he first inherited the Empire’s Last Swordsman, his appearance is clearly visible.

The knight standing with the sword was a slender woman with long, light blue hair.

Although covered by a clear silver armor and helmet, anyone could tell at a glance that the body part that was not covered by the armor was thin and delicate.

But it is certain.

Enoch, facing the knight in front of him, realized it clearly with a creepy feeling running down his spine.

─It’s a black star.

Enoch smiled faintly.

Before he knew it, his heart was beating loudly.

Up until now, we have been fighting on the border between life and death.

He devoted himself to becoming stronger by mobilizing all the knowledge he had, and aimed his sword at the death that would come in the future.

So now,

Now, having crossed the chaotic battlefield where the boundary between life and death unfolded over and over again with only one sword, I have reached this point.

Now it’s time to see for yourself how much your sword skills have improved.