Genius Swordsman of the Mage Empire

Chapter 4. Successor of the Sword (1)

“…Huff!”

A sharp breath stabbed into Enoch.

He desperately corrected his posture, which was faltering as if about to fall.

He still couldn't believe it.

Oxygen rushing rapidly into his lungs. The scent of his own blood, intensely imprinted in his mind.

And the cold sensation of the sword felt at his fingertips.

“Just now, I died….”

He quickly groped his neck, but it was attached just fine as if nothing had happened.

But the death he had felt in that instant was still vivid.

It was definitely not a hallucination. Then….

‘Did I revive?’

He quickly checked his condition.

The floor and his body, which should have been a mess with the blood that had been sprayed out, were also intact.

So, in this bizarre space, even if you died, it was as if nothing had happened.

‘What the hell is this space?’

The world made up of black shadows surrounding Enoch.

It was unbelievable, but the only thing that could be pointed to as the reason for his revival was this unknown space.

What the hell was this place?

Was it related to Enoch's 'trait' , which had been activated as soon as he grabbed the sword?

But there was no time to think deeply.

Feeling an intense killing intent, he hurriedly raised his head, and once again, the shadow was pointing its sword at him.

Whoo-oong─

The next moment, red mana bloomed on the blade of the sword held by the Sword Saint. Seeing it, Enoch's eyes widened in surprise.

‘Mana, on the blade?’

While inwardly surprised, semi-transparent letters appeared before Enoch's eyes once again.

? Absorbing the Experience of 「The Empire's Last Sword Saint」 (Basic)

? Inheriting 「Sense of Mana」…

? Progress: 11.5%

‘Sense of Mana, huh.’

Questions arose in his mind for a moment, but of course, there was no time to pay attention to them.

Once again, the shadow's fierce attack mercilessly cut through his body.

“Cough!”

In an instant, his breath was violently exhaled along with excruciating pain.

An endless series of one-sided attacks that were impossible to defend against or counterattack followed. No matter how desperately he resisted, he couldn't even react to the enemy's attacks.

As a result, countless indiscriminate deaths continued.

Swish.

His neck, arms, and legs were chopped off and flew away by the sword wielded by the shadow.

Pain that made normal thought impossible ran through his body. The smell of blood stung the tip of his nose.

? Progress: 33.8%

The continuous pain of being endlessly cut by the sword. The consciousness, shrinking from the intense pain, was losing its ability to think.

But, just as that last remaining thread of reason was about to disappear.

? Progress: 50.0%

……Wait.

Enoch opened his eyes wide.

‘Just now, what was that?’

Something momentarily caught Enoch's eye.

Something drawn very faintly in the air. But he could definitely see it.

‘A line?’

A red line was being drawn in the air ahead of the opponent's attack.

There was no mistake.

The movement of the sword, seen 'first' before the enemy's sword rushed in.

At first, he thought he was seeing hallucinations due to the pain, but it was definitely not a mistake.

The more he was cut by the sword strikes, the clearer those lines became.

To the point where he could now see them clearly.

─Once again, a line was drawn in the air.

Enoch's jet-black eyes slowly followed the trajectory of that line.

In that moment, where moments overlapped and seemed to be in slow motion, Enoch instinctively realized where the next attack would come from.

A downward slash from the upper left.

‘It’s coming!’

Enoch desperately threw his body to the side of the line. And at the same time, a chilling sound of tearing air ripped through his ears from the side.

Swoosh!

The blade passed Enoch's body by a hair's breadth.

A chill ran down his spine, crossing his entire body with that eerie sensation.

‘It’s not a mistake.’

The opponent's attacks were gradually coming into view in the form of lines, one step ahead.

‘…Sense of Mana, huh.’

The 'mana' dwelling in the Sword Saint's sword. Was it possible to see the flow of its movements itself?

? Progress: 89.9%

I don't know how many times I've died so far. I didn't even count, since it was over a dozen times.

But with this, I was able to learn one of the most certain facts.

? Progress: 95.0%

In this alien, endlessly unfolding world, Enoch Elsyde never dies.

Until he completely absorbs the 'Sense of Mana' from the Sword Saint before his eyes.

‘Judging from the circumstances, there’s no reason for me to be resurrected continuously without meaning unless that’s the reason.’

Swoosh!

The trajectory of a red line carved towards Enoch's neck in the next moment. Enoch opened his eyes wide.

‘I see it!’

He instinctively threw his body.

The sword strike that he had been unable to react to until now barely brushed past the spot where Enoch had been just a moment ago.

‘Now I can avoid it!’

Enoch finally became convinced.

That shadow, the Empire’s Last Sword Saint, was teaching him by cutting him.

A moment of realization flashed through his mind.

This was the operating principle of the trait . This entire process of learning the skills that the original owner of this sword used to use, by experiencing them directly!

The sentence he had seen earlier suddenly came to mind.

‘Using the sword as a medium, you can absorb the experiences of the original user, huh…….’

He looked down at the sword in his hand.

‘There’s really no other bug skill like this.’

Enoch Elsyde, who was just an insignificant supporting character in the original story. To think he had such an absurd trait.

Swoosh!

Once again, the Sword Saint raised his sword along with a sharp sound of tearing air.

Once again, the prelude to the attack was drawn before his eyes.

A red line was drawn in the air towards Enoch's heart.

But this time, Enoch also swung his sword at the same time.

Clang!

The trajectories of the two swords unfolded by the Sword Saint and Enoch formed a symmetry with not even an inch of error, colliding in the air.

Sparks flew along with an intense sound of metal friction.

Through the two obliquely meshed blades, Enoch and the shadow's silent darkness exchanged gazes.

Enoch, breathing heavily, quietly repeated in his mouth.

“…I understand.”

Enoch suddenly raised his head.

Beyond the sword meshed with his and the Sword Saint’s.

As if carving lines of light into space, the countless attacks that the opponent would inflict as he moved his sword were being clearly drawn across the air.

─A world made of lines of motion.

Without anyone teaching him, he knew.

This was the world that the 「Empire's Last Sword Saint」 saw.

‘…Beautiful.’

Before Enoch's eyes, who had unintentionally been captivated by that world of lines, a transparent sentence appeared again.

? Progress: 100.0%

? Basic: 「Sense of Mana」 Acquisition Complete

The moment the goddess created, all existence in this world contains mana.

‘Swordsmanship,’ which is also a movement that completes by projecting one’s own will, is no exception.

Therefore, in order to truly master the sword, one must first master the sense of mana.

? Effect: You can focus your senses and grasp the flow of mana.

? The unique talent possessed by 「The Empire’s Last Sword Saint」

‘Crazy.’

His heart was suddenly pounding rapidly.

To be able to block the spells of mages in advance!

As a hardcore player who had done nothing but play this game, Enoch knew for sure.

‘There’s no other skill that’s this broken.’

A world where 90% of the Empire's citizens are mages.

Most of those mages must construct magic circles in order to cast spells.

If so, what I've learned now was bound to be a skill that could be used against almost any opponent.

Was that all?

Depending on how it was used, it might be possible to arbitrarily scatter the enemy's mana, graft it onto other magic, or even return it directly to the enemy. There might be endless combinations possible in the future.

That’s what my hardcore instinct was telling me.

‘All possibilities for growth should always be left open.’

From the beginning, was that kind of game.

‘What’s more, the 「Sense of Mana」 was called ‘basic’.’

If so, that meant I hadn't even properly learned the Sword Saint's swordsmanship yet.

Enoch recalled a chapter from the original game.

‘There’s an episode where Enoch showed his ‘swordsmanship’ in front of the player exactly once.’

But in the story, that scene had such a huge impact.

Enoch, an extra who was originally not even known to exist, burned up as a medium-sized topic in the community thanks to that episode.

Of course, that was the end of Enoch's activities, but it was an impressive event that made everyone remember Enoch, who was just an extra.

Enoch glanced down at the sword he was holding.

‘So, if it’s not just the basics, but I start to inherit that ‘swordsmanship’ in earnest?’

Enoch's eyes deepened as he thought that far.

It's worth a try.

Enoch, who would have been nothing more than an expendable supporting character in the original .

Even with such a character, I can survive in this irrational world filled with mages.

He felt that conviction.

Swish.

But in the next moment, the Sword Saint and the mages, and the surrounding scenery suddenly became faint.

Looking around, Enoch was now alone in the empty world.

? The Experience Absorption of 「The Empire's Last Sword Saint」 Temporarily Suspended

Buzz

In the world that was losing its shape.

Messages that were blurring like the surrounding environment appeared.

? 「Enoch Elsyde’s」 Lack of Understanding of Mana

? When Activating Skills Acquired Through Traits, Power Limited

? Condition for Absorbing the Next Stage of Experience: 「Enoch Elsyde’s」 Understanding of Mana Increases