Inside the shack, unseen currents of magic gathered toward Lynn.
His face was focused, every movement precise as he practiced the White Crow Sword Art.
With each motion, magic energy pooled and vibrated in his chest, resonating peculiarly.
That resonance allowed the normally fleeting magic energy to take on a stable, condensed form as a magic core.
Over time, more and more energy gathered, and the magic core grew larger and denser…
Until finally
Lynn sensed that even without actively replenishing it, the magic core in his chest could remain for long periods.
He realized he had broken through to the second layer of the White Crow Sword Art!
Stopping his practice, Lynn drew his longsword.
He gave a light slash toward the ground.
The magic core in his chest responded to his resonance, imbuing the blade with an unseen power.
Whoosh!
The sword light flashed like a shadow.
Though Lynn had used only half his normal strength, the strike was faster than his full-force swings had ever been.
And beyond the speed, something even stranger happened.
The silver-white tip of the blade never touched the earth, yet a clean furrow appeared in the dirt below.
Lynn was unsurprised. Raising the sword, he recalled the sensation of resonance during the slash, channeled the magic core, and observed the blade.
Soon, he noticed the air around the edge subtly warping an invisible, razor-sharp current swirling along the steel.
This was what the White Crow Sword Art called Sword Qi, the White Crow's Sword Qi.
But Lynn understood its nature: at its core, it was much like a wind blade spell, consuming magic energy to produce cutting wind.
Similar to wizardry…
The thought sparked a sudden idea, a flash of inspiration.
He frowned, trying to grasp it, but like a spark in the night, it flickered out and was gone.
Clink.
He sheathed his sword with a shake of his head, turning his attention to his own body.
Tiny golden motes appeared, coalescing into a translucent screen before him.
He scanned it carefully.
Sixteen years old still… Come to think of it, the original Lynn's birthday is in November, almost seventeen now.
Level: White Crow Sword Art, First Layer 100/100; Second Layer 2/100. Skills unchanged… Wait, self-origin energy, 0.4?!
He froze, checked again, and confirmed yes, it read 0.4.
And his energy hadn't even fully recovered; it wouldn't until tomorrow.
Meaning, at full recovery, it could be 0.5.
The second layer of the White Crow Sword Art had boosted his source energy this much?
Lynn's heart lifted.
After making his preparations, he set off toward the Emerald Shadow Market.
With the White Crow Sword Art now advanced, it was time to find Kersey.
...
The Emerald Shadow Market was as lively as ever.
Stalls filled the open space, and the crowd bustled past in waves.
Disguised in a hunter's outfit with a face scarf, Lynn moved with the flow of people, eyes fixed on Wayne not far ahead.
The middle-aged man was buying White Shadow Mushrooms from various sellers.
Lynn had been shadowing him for almost an hour.
His mind was calm, free of impatience.
He knew once Wayne finished buying mushrooms, he would lead him to the man Lynn had longed to confront these past few days.
When that moment came, everything would end.
Wayne completed his purchase at one stall and moved to the next.
Lynn followed.
Soon, Wayne stopped and asked,
"How much for your White Shadow Mushrooms?"
"Seven gold dragons for the small ones, eight for the large."
The stall owner's voice sounded oddly familiar, and Lynn glanced over, then froze.
Giggs?
Though his skin had darkened and he looked noticeably thinner, Lynn still recognized the stall owner a short distance away, it was the long-unseen Giggs.
Wayne nodded, bought the White Shadow Mushrooms, and continued forward.
At that moment, from the corner of his eye, Lynn spotted Kersey ahead of Wayne.
He withdrew his gaze from Giggs, tore a page from the small notebook he carried, and quickly scribbled a few words. As he passed by Giggs, he slipped the note into his pocket without a sound, then hurried to catch up with Wayne and Kersey.
Kersey led Wayne out of the Emerald Shadow Market, the two of them carrying the mushrooms as they walked on.
Lynn followed silently.
When they reached a narrow alley, Lynn noticed Kersey pause briefly, patting his chest a bit awkwardly.
Lynn frowned slightly. Was it his imagination, or did Kersey seem weaker than when they last met?
His breathing was uneven, and his steps heavier than usual.
Could he be injured?
Either way, this was good news.
Perhaps today was the perfect day for revenge.
Over ten minutes later, Kersey and Wayne entered a shack.
Lynn moved in without a sound, pressing his ear to the wall, but the thick mud wall muffled everything.
After a moment's thought, he eyed the shack's roof and leapt lightly, landing level with it like a falling feather, almost without a sound.
The roof was nothing more than wooden slats covered in thatch thinner than most, and easier for sound to pass through. Lynn crouched carefully to avoid collapsing it, finally catching the conversation inside.
"…Water. I need more water." Kersey's voice was hoarse and muffled, almost unrecognizable compared to the forceful man he'd been before.
"Here's your water," Wayne replied.
Gulp, gulp
Kersey sighed in relief, then grumbled,
"No idea how much longer I have to endure this… Emerald Shadow said it would take only a few days to complete the missing part of my Wild Bear bloodline, but it's already been a week, and I still feel awful."
"Just hold on a little longer, my lord," Wayne said, his tone oddly strange. "Five more days. In five more days, your bloodline will be complete, and you'll be delicious."
"…What?"
"I mean, strong, Lord Kersey! You'll soon be more powerful than ever, unprecedentedly powerful!"
Kersey chuckled, then drew a few heavy breaths, coughed twice, and said wearily,
"I'm going to rest. Leave the rest to you."
"Yes, my lord."
The room fell quiet.
Creaaak
The groan of overburdened wood. Kersey had lain down on the bed.
Up on the roof, Lynn silently drew his longsword, shifted to where the sound had come from, and waited patiently.
Creaaak, creaaak
Cough, cough
Kersey was uncomfortable, tossing and turning.
It wasn't until over twenty minutes later that soft snores began.
Two minutes after that
Lynn's eyes snapped open. His expression turned cold as he drew a deep breath. Lifting his right foot, he suddenly stomped down hard without warning.
Bang!
Crack, snap
The fragile wooden slats broke instantly.
Through the thatch raining down, Lynn dropped like a meteor, sword in hand, lunging straight at Kersey!
Hiss!
The razor edge of his sword aura reached Kersey's left chest in an instant.
Had the moment been slowed, one could see the man's tough skin dent sharply inward, before a pale yellow glow rushed to that spot, hardening his flesh to a stone-like texture to block the thrust.
But Lynn's strike was like one from beyond the heavens enough to pierce steel, let alone mere rock!
The yellow light was useless.
Pchhk!
In the next heartbeat, the longsword plunged through Kersey's chest, smashing into his heart, bursting out his back, and even gouging a hole in the bed beneath.
"Ah!" Kersey woke with a scream of pain.
Lynn wasted no time. He bent his knees, sprang backward, and drew his blade free in one smooth motion.
Only then did Wayne react.
He tried to flee in panic.
Lynn simply turned and slashed, severing both of his legs, then thrust again.
A spray of crimson burst from Wayne's chest as he let out a rasping gasp and collapsed.
"It's you?!"
On the other side
Kersey rose from the bed, clutching his chest, his voice hoarse.
"I was going to wait until my bloodline was fully restored before dealing with you… But I didn't expect you to come looking for trouble first…
"Do you have any idea…
"…that you've made a terrible mistake!!"
Roar!
With a furious bellow, Kersey charged at Lynn, his skin now a deep yellow.
His eyes were blood-red, as if he couldn't even register that he was already on the brink of death.
Lynn frowned slightly, retreating quickly to avoid the brunt of Kersey's attack.
Is this because of that so-called bloodline restoration?
He could tell something was off about Kersey.
The Wild Bear bloodline was known for bolstering strength and defense, and while it could indeed grant its bearer stronger vitality… it certainly couldn't allow someone to ignore a mortal wound to the heart.
Before long, Lynn realized Kersey was simply forcing himself to keep going.
Blood kept pouring from the wound in his chest, quickly soaking him until he looked like a man-shaped wineskin of crimson.
That ferocity… it was nothing more than a final burst before the flame went out.
Relieved, Lynn stopped pressing the attack, focusing instead on nimble evasions.
Even so, in his frenzy, Kersey's strikes were brutal, forcing Lynn to concentrate fully just to avoid them.
Gradually, he found himself slipping into a strange state.
He felt the rush of air around him. He tried, as he did when swinging his sword, to harness the airflow to increase his speed.
He failed at that, but the thought of the air currents coiling around his blade sparked sudden realization.
The rudimentary wind-manipulation from the White Crow Swordsmanship's second layer… was essentially a crude form of wizardry.
And to cast a wizardry, both mana and mental strength were indispensable.
By his current mental strength alone, he shouldn't be able to gather that much mana, let alone cast something as potent as the sword art's "spell."
Which meant
There had to be some technique that allowed his mental power to exert far greater leverage.
Resonance, it's that special resonance!
Like a jolt of lightning, clarity flooded his mind.
The resonance that drew mana together and wreathed his blade in air currents… was essentially a technique to amplify the effectiveness of mental power, much like a meditation method!
It was weaker than a true meditation method; it couldn't refine mental power enough for fine mana control or direct enhancement.
That was why it couldn't break through a transcendent bottleneck, only manifest minor, trick-like supernatural effects.
But that was fine.
With this understanding, Lynn suddenly gained deeper insight into Hossen's Meditation Method.
This resonance felt like a key, finally letting him glimpse the unfathomable complexity of the method's meditation runes.
If before I needed three or four more insights to grasp it, now I might only need one more to master Hossen's Meditation Method!
His heart pounded with excitement.
Meanwhile, Kersey's assaults were slowing… until they stopped altogether.
The bear-like man had reached the end of his life.
The deep yellow energy could no longer mask his pallor; half-kneeling, clutching his chest, he panted heavily. The blood-red haze in his eyes cleared a little.
He looked up at Lynn, fear filling his gaze. Blood dribbled from the corner of his mouth as he mumbled incoherently.
"P-please… please… spare…"
He had only just begun to beg for mercy when the breath he'd been forcing himself to hold finally left him.
Kiddie's eyes dimmed instantly, and the hand clutching his chest fell limp.
Thud
He collapsed heavily to the ground, utterly lifeless.
Lynn came to a slow stop, nudging a nearby wooden chair with his foot and sending it crashing down on Kiddie.
Bang!
The deep yellow energy had already faded; the chair leg smashed hard against Kiddie's skull, leaving a dent.
Kiddie gave no reaction.
After waiting patiently for a moment, Lynn stepped closer, then brought his sword down in a clean arc, severing Kiddie's head.
The head rolled half a turn across the blood-slick, dark earthen floor.
A deerskin-booted foot came down on it, pressing harder and harder.
Soon, a series of sharp cracks rang out.
Splurt!
Kiddie's head burst apart.
Lynn shook his leg calmly.
Two months ago, he would never have dared to do such a thing.
But people adapt far faster than they imagine; he was already used to this kind of brutality.
The stench of blood filled his nostrils as he looked down at Kiddie's corpse. He felt no disgust, only a rush of satisfaction, a clarity of thought.
Unbidden, he recalled the day he and the other boys and girls had first arrived in the wizard's domain.
A wizard named Hossens had addressed them in one speech, the only time most apprentices would ever meet him.
Nine years later, the halo-shrouded figure of that man was already fading from memory, but fragments of his words remained.
"…Children, the road a wizard climbs is destined to be arduous and long…
You will experience many things, learn much… and you will come to understand that this world is chaotic and disordered; many of those experiences and much of that knowledge will be painful, despairing, even maddening…
But when boundless darkness descends.
Never forget, humanity is the only light that anchors sanity…"
To Lynn, Hossens' words still felt too distant.
He didn't think too deeply about them.
He simply chased strength with fervor and followed his own heart without hesitation.
Bending down, Lynn began to search the body.
This shack seemed to be one of Kiddie's hideouts. After looting his corpse, Lynn found a hidden compartment in the corner of the floor.
It was fairly large, and the wear marks showed it had long held something heavy.
But when Lynn opened it, there were only a little over thirty lesser magic stones inside…
Did he store them elsewhere?
Or did the bloodline restoration drain them?
After checking the rest of the shack to be sure he'd missed nothing, Lynn pocketed the stones, grabbed the white-shadow mushrooms from the nearby table, and left with a light step.
…
…
Before long, Lynn arrived at a spot just outside the Emerald Shadow Market.
Giggs was already there, waiting for him.
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