L.E. Miranda
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SSR Chapter 12 - The Mire (4)
🕑 Added 2025-01-02 15:00:06 +0000 UTCRylan left the room and narrowed his eyes. Robert and Sarah waited for him side by side; he wore a strange smile, while she merely looked at Rylan with a slightly furrowed brow. Robert bowed in an exaggerated motion.
“I’m sure your discussion was very fruitful, Master! Please, allow me to lead you to your destination!”
Sarah frowned while Rylan stepped forward, grabbed the man’s shoulder, and leaned in. Once his mouth was almost against Robert’s ear, he growled in a low voice.
“Make sure Aelfric stays off the Dust as long as he can, and only does small dosages for the withdrawals. He must quit permanently. If I hear that you or anyone else made him relapse,” his grip tightened, “I swear that I’ll kill you myself, Robert.”
Robert’s face was frozen in the middle of a smile. He turned his head and looked at Rylan, but it was obvious that Rylan’s tone had been serious enough. The man’s eyes shook. His smile fell apart quicker than it had appeared. He glanced at Rylan, before silently bowing in place. Not a single word escaped his lips. Rylan continued to speak.
“Never forget that. I’ll be watching you.”
This was the best he could do at the moment. He would rather have swapped Robert out entirely, but his current self didn’t have nearly enough influence in the family to replace one of his siblings’ personal attendants. Robert was a slimy opportunist, but that was still better than someone who willingly led their master down a bad path. To his knowledge, Robert had only been a willing accomplice of his and Aelfric’s escapades. It was bad, but it could have been worse. With this warning, Robert would try his best to keep Aelfric clean, even shielding him from harmful people and situations out of a desire for self-preservation.
Next to them, Sarah stared at Rylan fixedly. He didn’t know if she had heard his words, but it didn’t matter. Nodding at her, he walked away. A few seconds late, she caught up to him. The duo walked in silence until they were far enough away from Robert. Rylan spoke.
“I’ll meet Evenon at dusk.”
Sarah said nothing. The duo arrived in front of Rylan’s room. He entered it, his gaze immediately drawn to the sword lying on the table. Before Sarah could say anything, he walked up to the sword and lifted it in the air. His gaze scanned it from top to bottom before he swung it a few times.
The balance is good.
At his current level, there was no need to worry about the weapon breaking due to too much force. As such, the most important factors were cutting power and balance. He dragged the blade on the side of the table without hesitation, creating a long scar. Satisfied, he nodded. This would do.
“Where did you get this sword?”
Sarah bowed slightly.
“It was obtained by the Family Head some time ago as a piece of decoration. He agreed to give it to you. One of the Mages must have brought it here while we were busy.”
It was certainly miles above the swords in the soldiers’ barracks. Rylan tried not to think too deeply about what his father was planning. He grabbed the weapon’s scabbard, sheathed it, and tied it to his waist with practiced ease.
“I’ll do mana training until I leave. You’re free to take a break.”
“I can’t do that, young master.”
He let out a sigh. He wouldn’t be able to practice his swordsmanship with her watching him; he had no way of explaining his sudden mastery. His match against Jack had already been far too much, even though it had been the best way to establish himself among the soldiers and grasp Jack’s abilities.
Without another word, he took off his shoes again and sat down on his bed, as he had after the morning drills. He looked through the bedroom window, judging the sun’s position.
I have around seven hours.
It was enough time for him to understand his own mana more and make some progress. He closed his eyes. He quickly returned to the state he was in before Robert interrupted him. Gathering every strand of mana he could perceive into the whirlpool around his Mana Core, he analyzed his mana itself. He needed knowledge beyond what the introductory texts he’d read could offer him. While seeking more books and teachers was good enough, it was primordial for him to understand his own power clearly, and that only came with experience.
I might have to fight today.
It was the first time in his current life, but Roland had been a legendary warrior. There was no trace of nervousness or anxiety within him. Instead, he was trying to do anything he could to have an advantage, in case something went wrong with his plan. At the same time, he would try his best to act like the person he used to be to fool Evenon.
He turned his attention back to the mana.
It’s still very different from Aura.
He had already come to the conclusion that at a high enough level, both energies could function similarly. Yet, at his current level, that wasn’t true. He needed to understand his mana better, and that meant experimenting with it. Sarah was still watching him, so he couldn’t do too much, but there were ways to test a few things out without it being obvious. Within him, the whirlpool changed. It spun faster, following the revolving of his Circle.
His idle thoughts disappeared without a trace. It was as if the entire world around him had vanished. All that existed was himself. His mind’s eye focused solely on his mana’s movement. In a way, it was both novel and mysterious. As he had noted before, it was very different from Aura. Of course, that was also due to Aura’s high degree of individuality.
Rylan breathed in. He followed the pacing of his breathing, trying to draw in more mana. While Aura could only be strengthened and increased through harsh training and self-understanding, mana could be directly absorbed from all around him. In practice, he was imposing his will on the world around him, making the idle energy follow his lead. It was a wondrous experience that never got old, even though it was very different from Aura. No, maybe that was why he liked it so much.
The strands and droplets of mana entered his body and joined the ethereal whirlpool. Bit by bit, his Circle seemed to become brighter and larger. The process was extremely slow, but that didn’t hinder his motivation in the least. It was many times less strenuous than honing Aura.
Time passed by like grains of sand falling in an hourglass. Rylan remained fully focused on drawing in the environmental mana and making it his. Every time the energy gave his body a jolt, he grinned. This feeling – of becoming stronger – was what Roland had lived for. All of his objectives and goals had revolved around it and the pain of losing his parents.
Like water flowing downstream, mana kept entering his body. While he had no idea if his progress was faster or slower than that of others, it was still satisfying. The process was uninterrupted. He only opened his eyes several hours later.
He clenched his fists, then stretched his arms.
I could get addicted to this.
It was different enough from Aura that it made him feel like a novice all over again, discovering the wonders of training. Now, there was something he wanted to try. He closed his eyes once more.
He tried his best to make strands of mana reach every corner of his body. This was the standard empowerment. But, there was something else. It was derived from the ways one could manipulate Aura.
Focus on a single body part.
Instead of letting the mana flood his entire body, he attempted to gather it on his right arm. The mana within him flowed, following his command. He could feel the rest of his body getting weaker, but his arm was dramatically strengthened.
This is it.
He flexed his hand. This was the method he would use to be powerful even though his mana wasn’t developed and he only had a single Circle. By weakening certain body parts to empower others, he could heighten his combat abilities. Naturally, such a fighting style required careful control over one’s mana or Aura, alongside impeccable battle sense and quick judgement. However…
I spent decades doing it in my past life.
Roland’s experience in manipulating Aura and battling was enough. Rylan was mostly concerned about his ability to manipulate his own mana in a way that could keep up with Roland’s memories and capabilities. After all, as he had noted before, mana and Aura were different.
He continued to practice relentlessly. He had the strands empowering his back focus on his legs, then on his left arm.
One’s entire body is important in a fight.
The lower body supported one’s fighting style and sense of balance and allowed one to put their weight into the attacks. Simultaneously, the upper body was the crux of a swordsman’s abilities. Both were tremendously important; it was why he had decided to train with the soldiers and do full-body workouts as soon as possible. However, what if he could alter his empowerment right at the very point of impact? Or strengthen his legs so as not to be flung away by an enemy’s attack? All applications of this fighting style were extremely demanding, but Roland’s precise skills allowed them to be done.
Rylan continued to gather the mana in the atmosphere, feeding the whirlpool and strengthening his Circle.
I need to ask Father about the second Circle.
Of course, he would only be able to do so once he fulfilled the task he’d been given. He was determined to see it through. Time passed by as he concentrated on his meditation. When he opened his eyes, he saw his entire bedroom being bathed in the sunset’s orange glow. Sitting on the chair in front of the table, Sarah was staring at him. Without a word, he took his clothes off and put on the ones he had set apart; they were the set he used to wear the most. He then put on the belt with the scabbard attached to it. Finally, he looked at her as she stood up.
“I’m going.”
Sarah bowed.
“Good luck, young master.”
Her expression revealed that there was more than she wanted to say, but had clearly held back. Rylan paid it no heed. He was completely focused on his current plan. As he walked through the estate, he thought of everything he knew about Evenon’s network. It wouldn’t be enough to act like the person he used to be while in front of the man; he needed to pay attention to his actions from the entrance of the shopping district. Before reaching the district, he had a destination in mind.
Finally, he walked through the estate’s gates. He was now in the city proper.
