NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 7
Chapter 7. Successor of the Sword (4)
The cyan mana was faintly connected across the corridor of the fortress.
The mana, which seemed to guide Enoch, was still so weak that it seemed to break off.
As if he would lose it if he let his attention slip even a little.
Enoch carefully blended into the numerous crowds moving around the corridor and looked around.
‘First, I need to be careful not to stand out.’
He walked along the edge of the shaded corridor to avoid the surrounding gazes, focusing his attention on the faint flow of mana.
As he walked for a while, the message he had seen in the inner world suddenly came to mind again.
-? Enoch Elsyde's Lack of Understanding of 'Mana'
Lack of understanding of mana.
Come to think of it, there was one thing that had been bothering me.
‘Why didn’t I absorb how to handle mana from the Last Sword Saint?’
Then, shouldn’t I have absorbed even the understanding of mana from the Last Sword Saint, or whatever he was called?
In the first place, the Sword Saint I saw in the inner world directly showed me how to deal with mages by projecting mana into the sword.
So, logically, he should have already understood mana…….
I gained the sense of seeing mana from that Sword Saint, but I didn’t absorb how to use mana?
‘There’s another reason.’
Thud.
The next moment, Enoch stopped walking.
He had followed the faint path of mana for a long time. The corridor, which had been crowded with other people, was now over.
What appeared before his eyes was a secluded fortress basement staircase that showed no signs of people having come and gone for a long time.
But it wasn't as deep underground as the prison he had been trapped in before.
‘A storage? It’s quite dusty for that.’
Following the flow of mana that was gradually getting stronger, Enoch moved down below.
The underground was lit by dim green magic stone lamps.
A red mana thread crossed the air in that corridor.
The end of the red line was connected to a small door at the end of the corridor.
Enoch stopped walking for a moment.
An abandoned room like this at the end of a remote underground corridor. No matter how you looked at it…
‘If this was a game, this would definitely be a room with an event!’
Enoch gripped the string of the black cloth bag he was carrying on his back.
I have a weapon even if an emergency situation arises.
Besides, although there was no one here, this was still inside the Elsyde family's fortress. From the beginning, if it was a really dangerous place, it would have been controlled separately.
There was no reason to be afraid.
Creak-
When he opened the rusty door, the dim scenery of the interior, which was dimly lit by the light of the magic stone lamps shining from the corridor, came into view.
It was a dark room where he couldn't even see anything.
However, most of the interior structures, such as pillars and chairs, were shattered miserably, and he could barely recognize that they were covered with dust and cobwebs.
But that style was somehow familiar.
‘It’s a similar facility to Dionil’s personal training ground.’
It was a personal training ground with almost the same structure as that place. At this point, it was not difficult to guess who the owner of this place was.
Enoch opened a ‘Training Journal’ with a pile of dust on the table.
‘Enoch’s handwriting.’
The same handwriting as he had seen in his room.
It seemed that this abandoned training ground was a space that Enoch had used personally.
He picked up a magic stone lamp that was about to go out, which was hanging on the wall of the training ground, and held it high in the sky.
The dim light stained the room.
Enoch paused his breath at the sight the light shone on.
Countless swords of many unknown kinds.
Various types of swords were randomly stuck on the floor of the training ground covered in a dim darkness.
‘Come to think of it, the current Enoch is seventeen.’
According to the canon of
Since he was evaluated as having a talent for swords even before he was imprisoned in the underground prison at the age of 13. Then the young Enoch would have used his own sword separately.
‘Then this is all….’
Enoch looked around at the countless swords and repeated.
‘Are these the swords that the original Enoch used to use?’
Enoch, who stopped using swords after the age of thirteen and tried to focus on magic.
Were these the things he had virtually abandoned along with the training ground?
‘The condition is serious.’
All rusty and cracked swords.
It was a scene that seemed like a graveyard for swords.
Not flashy or made of good metal. Just ordinary iron swords.
Even so, they were barely maintaining their original shape. It was impossible to repair them and use them again.
They were completely opposite to the Sword Saint’s sword, which was fine even after being left unattended for a much longer time.
Well, if this was a Magic Empire that was overflowing with magic tools for mages, it was amazing that he had even managed to get a cheap sword that was so easily corroded.
The name of the game was
Step, step.
Enoch walked through the swords that were stuck in various places on the ground and left unattended.
The swords lurking in the darkness resonated with his footsteps and welcomed him with the cold sound of metal echoing.
And Enoch finally stopped in one place.
A long two-edged longsword that was stuck randomly in a large rock fragment.
He slowly grabbed the longsword.
He could now predict what would happen if he pulled this out.
He took a deep breath and put strength into the hand that was holding the sword.
Hwaaaak─
And once again, a pitch-black world unfolded before my eyes.
? Proceeding with Memory Synchronization of 「Enoch Elsyde」 (Basic)
? Inheriting 「Meaning of Swordsmanship」…
? Progress: 0.1%
Enoch's inner world.
But even there, the surroundings were still unchanged from the training ground.
Except for the swords that were stuck on the floor.
The numerous swords stuck on the floor were all emitting sharp and keen sword light.
As if going back to the past before they rusted against the flow of time.
Swish.
And in the middle of the swords that had regained their old appearances, a familiar form of shadow appeared.
‘…Enoch?’
As expected, a form covered with glitches in the form of noise.
But I could tell.
It was definitely his own appearance.
He was much shorter than he was now.
Was it Enoch's childhood appearance?
The small Enoch of the past was standing alone among the numerous swords.
In front of him.
Another ‘shadow’ appeared.
It was a form of someone I had never seen before.
[…Enoch.]
That unfamiliar shadow was saying something quietly to the young Enoch in a voice that was difficult to understand.
[In swordsmanship that unfolds with mana, there is a transcendent meaning created by each movement, the form.]
It was an unknown voice.
A voice I had definitely never heard before.
Yet, it was echoing so familiarly in my mind.
[The highest level that only a very small number of swordsmen can reach is called Sword Saint.]
[Only after reaching that level can you project your own mana into the sword. The mana contained in the sword in that way forms the movements with the will contained in the swordsman's entire life, completing 'swordsmanship'.]
Enoch. It was definitely his previous memory.
[It has been forgotten by the mages of the Empire who only draw in mana from the surrounding environment, but mana can originally be constructed with one's own will. It is a unique mirror that reflects all the self of that person.]
Someone with a hazy appearance was saying while looking down at the young Enoch in the past.
The stuffy voice submerged in that memory said.
[Therefore, swordsmanship made up of unique mana is something that cannot be inherited by others. A swordsman completes only one swordsmanship that he can use throughout his life, and dies and is forgotten.]
‘…What?’
A swordsman completes only one swordsmanship?
Then does that mean that each of the Sword Saints all has different swordsmanship?
[Listen well, Enoch. Swordsmanship that burns space with raging flames. Swordsmanship that can cut down targets dozens of steps away. Besides this, there were countless forms of swordsmanship in the world that you cannot even imagine, and they existed and disappeared by the Sword Saints who lived countless forms of lives.]
‘As I expected.’
The ‘swordsmanship’ they were talking about here didn’t just mean moving the sword. Well, the movements that used mana wouldn't be ordinary.
‘By the way, who is speaking now? Is it the young Enoch’s teacher?’
I wasn't sure, but judging from the atmosphere, it might be.
[But you are different. You have the potential to understand the swordsmanship created by others, and the unique mana contained in that swordsmanship.]
Listening intently, I could tell that it was a woman's voice.
But I still couldn't guess who she was.
[You can be called a genius of unprecedented talent.]
Enoch looked down at the sword at the strange sensation.
For some reason, the more I listened to her words, the more the skills and senses for the sword were coming alive from the fingertips that gripped the sword.
There was no mistake.
The knowledge of handling the sword was becoming clearer and clearer. Like a memory I couldn't forget even if I wanted to.
[In order to truly unfold the meaning of swordsmanship, you must first project mana that contains everything about you into the sword.]
The movement of the hands and legs.
The meaning and connection of movements.
All those meanings were understood with a chilling clarity. Like a memory I couldn't forget even if I wanted to.
[Only those who have built their own world through constant reflection and strong will can operate ‘unique mana’, which manifests their own mana. That is the essence of the mana that swordsmen who have reached the level called Sword Saints project into their swords.]
I was overwhelmed with new sensations and understandings.
Before I knew it, countless knowledge about swords was whispering coldly in my ear.
Enoch looked at the old sword in his hand.
The old sword that Enoch gripped in his hand was like a key to the memories he had experienced in the past.
[That is the mindset of those who become swordsmen who put their own will into the sword.]
The voice in the faded memory quietly said.
[So, Enoch. You must find out for yourself.]
His past was melting into the simple sensation of holding a sword.
The senses concentrated to the extreme wriggled on their own and pulled something from deep within.
[What is it that you truly want to achieve with the sword?]
Hwaaaak─!
At that moment, the dark blue light was faintly blooming on the blade, driving away the darkness.
Cyan mana.
Enoch watched that mana with no change in expression.
I had never handled a sword in my life.
I had never handled anything called mana before.
But at the same time, Enoch already knew how to use them.
It was a sensation that was so confusing that it was impossible to describe.
?「Meaning of Swordsmanship」Inheritance Progress: 100%
He was already feeling the previous Enoch through the sword.
─His childhood, the sword he learned by swinging it countless times.
Training that I desperately repeated even when my hands were blistered.
At that young age, the sword I wielded while shedding tears, fueled by hatred for myself who was despised by the world.
A talent that no one recognized.
The movements of the sword were engraved in Enoch's entire body.
‘Is it being shared?’
Enoch’s childhood, which I had never experienced.
The fragmented memories that came to mind the moment I grabbed the sword. And the sword techniques he had learned that kept flowing in.
All of that was being transmitted from the sword I was holding.
A sudden dizziness washed over me.
He was Enoch.
At the same time, he was not Enoch.
At the feeling that his identity was shaken in an instant, he felt an unbearable dizziness.
But even in this confusing situation, only one thing was certain.
The sword.
The sword coldly stretched out and pointed towards the world.
I was certain that only that was my own.
Thud.
Suddenly, the inner world changed with a low roar.
The surrounding scenery was changing again.
And just like when I saw the Sword Saint’s performance before, an unclear form appeared before Enoch’s eyes.
‘A silhouette of a mage?’
I knew for some reason.
In the memories of the young Enoch, a scene was replaying where he had fought against a mage in the past.
I don't know who the guy in front of me was.
I don't know why he was attacking Enoch.
But the mage who was forming a magic circle in front of me had a clear murderous intent.
‘…What happened to Enoch in his childhood?’
But that distracting thought disappeared the moment I saw the cyan mana that was shining coldly on the sword.
The sharp blade cut off the agony.
Swish.
He quietly pointed his sword forward.
The end of the sword, which didn't move even an inch, was aimed at the lines of mana that the mage had spread in all directions.
The next moment, Enoch swung his sword. The sword, emitting a cyan light, cut through the air and made a sharp sound.
Swoosh!
And the next moment. The line of mana that had crossed before his eyes was cut off with a sharp sound.
The mage seemed flustered and tried to step back, but Enoch swung his sword continuously.
Clang!
Finally, when he had cut off all the lines of mana spread out before his eyes.
The mage's magic circle, which had been emitting light, shattered into particles of dazzling mana and scattered.
? Magic Block Successful!
Ah. So this was the feeling.
Among the crystals of light that were scattering while brushing past his cheeks, Enoch smiled faintly.
He could now reproduce what the Empire's Last Sword Saint had shown him in the inner world.
? Partial Synchronization of 「Enoch Elsyde's」 Memories Through Mana
? Understanding of Knowledge About Basic Sword Skills Acquired in the Past
“…Ugh.”
But that was it.
The strength suddenly drained from Enoch's body. The memories of the past Enoch that I had been feeling vaguely were also cut off.
The cyan mana that had been on the sword soon disappeared.
Enoch barely grabbed his faltering legs to stand.
‘I didn't know that projecting mana into the sword for a short time would be this exhausting.’
It wasn't difficult to guess the reason.
‘It’s probably because I still lack understanding of mana.’
He was not Enoch. There was no way he could wield the sword as skillfully as the original him. Not to mention the unfamiliar element of mana.
But it's okay.
This was just the beginning.
‘I can slowly learn how to handle mana and the sword.’
What things will happen in this world in the future.
Where can I get what.
And I knew better than anyone how to deal with those things.
‘By the way, I heard earlier that there were countless Sword Saints in the Empire.’
Smirk.
A faint smile of a seasoned player who had found a way to improve the character's stats appeared on Enoch's lips.
‘Then I have to go around searching for the ruins left behind by various Sword Saints?’
Places where I could upgrade my stats were popping up in my head.
I didn't become a seasoned player just for show.
There were quite a few places that I could roughly guess.
‘Just you wait.’
As he was making plans for the future and raised his head.
Pale letters were appearing in the inner world, which was beginning to fade.
? Condition for Absorbing the Next Stage of Experience: …