Regressing as the Reincarnated Bastard of the Sword Clan

Chapter 84: Hilda Ragnar (4)

Kirsion was rubbing her temples once again, irritated by the unwelcome guests who had arrived at the crack of dawn.

“So…”

“Yes.”

“…Theo… that damned… No, I mean, our lo—lovely grandson… sent you, is that it?”

“That’s right…”

“And he offered to do it for ‘free’?”

“Yes, ma’am…”

Tremble!

Kirsion’s hand, which was gripping her long pipe, shook uncontrollably.

She had heard vague rumors that the 5th unit of the White Armored Dragon Cavalry had suffered heavy casualties.

But she never imagined those injured soldiers would be dropped right in front of her.

And for free, no less!

‘That brat… does he think I’m some kind of pushover?!’

The real problem was that she had no way to protest against Theo.

His influence was still skyrocketing.

Even her business ventures were riding the wave of the ‘Theo syndrome,’ growing steadily alongside it.

Of course, that rascal knew all of this, which was why he had dumped the responsibility onto her.

Meanwhile, the trainer and the injured soldiers, oblivious to these dynamics, exchanged uneasy glances.

‘Is this really going to be okay?’

‘Let’s just hold on and see.’

‘Right! Both Evelyn and Theo said it would be fine.’

On their way back after the battle to take Blanky Fortress, Theo had spoken to them as they worried about what might come next.

– Thank you for your words, but do you really think the Vasque Workshop will help? It seems unlikely to me.

– Why do you say that?

– We don’t have any money. And something like this would be expensive. If the master artisan takes it on… well, it’s way beyond the means of ordinary wage workers like us.

– Ah, so that’s what you’re worried about.

– Of course. It’s a legitimate concern for us.

– Don’t worry. Just go and tell her.

– What?

– Just say I promised to do it for free.

– …?

– You’ll understand what I mean once you tell her.

At the time, they hadn’t understood what Theo meant.

But now that they were here, it all made sense.

‘Who would’ve thought that Lady Cecilia was the adopted daughter of Master Artisan Kirsion?’

‘So that makes Theo, the master’s grandson?’

‘Who knows how this will turn out!’

As the trainer and the injured soldiers’ eyes glimmered with anticipation,

“Haa… I suppose there’s no choice. Since you are my grandson’s… coworkers, I can’t very well charge you, now can I? Haha… Hahaha.”

Kirsion eventually forced a laugh, a strained smile tugging at her lips.

Watching this, the injured soldiers thought to themselves.

‘The master artisan is known to love money and gold, but it seems her affection for her grandson is even more extraordinary, isn’t it?’

A misunderstanding that wasn’t quite a misunderstanding began to spread.

Meanwhile, Kirsion was already calculating how to make the most of this opportunity.

* * *

「…What’s wrong?」

「Oh, my apologies. My ear suddenly felt itchy.」

「I don’t repeat concepts twice. Make sure to grasp it properly.」

「Understood.」

Swaaaang—

Theo and his companions were swiftly traveling toward their destination.

Along the way, Theo was receiving a lecture from Kleve.

‘Is someone talking about me?’

Theo momentarily brushed off the strange feeling and focused on Kleve.

After all, there were only a handful of swordsmen in the House of Ragnar who were qualified as “instructors.”

Evelyn was one of them, but her expertise was in a different field.

‘This is also a gift from the Black Dragon. I can’t let this slip by.’

「What do you think ‘thunder’ is?」

A fundamental question.

「It’s one of the most intense natural phenomena we can witness, or perhaps a natural disaster?」

「Let me ask more specifically. What do you think thunder is composed of?」

「Hmm… Thunder and lightning?」

「Wrong. It’s made of light and heat.」

Theo’s eyes momentarily lit up.

「Light is fast. The term ‘speed of light’ wasn’t coined for no reason. The closer you get to that speed, the more destructive it becomes. And if weight is added to it? It’s perfect.」

「Light…」

「Heat is different. Unlike light, which moves in a straight line, heat spreads outwards. And the higher the temperature, the wider the area it affects.」

Kleve’s explanation continued.

「Light can only be mastered through discipline, as it’s directly tied to swordsmanship. But heat is linked to magic power. The higher the purity and efficiency of your magic power, the higher the temperature you can emit. That’s what ‘heat resonance’ (열결) refers to.」

「In other words, it increases the efficiency of magic power.」

「Exactly. That’s why I also gave you the Purity Pill, which enhances the purity of magic power.」

The Purity Pill and the principle of heat resonance—these two would undoubtedly strengthen the heat of the Thunderlight Breathing Technique.

And that heat would translate directly into destructive power.

‘How much stronger can I become?’

Why was he already so eager?

「Now, take the Purity Pill.」

Following Kleve’s instruction, Theo opened the wooden box and swallowed the Purity Pill in one gulp.

As soon as the Purity Pill touched his tongue, it melted away and slid smoothly down his throat.

「Since we’re on the move right now, it’ll be difficult to absorb the elixir efficiently. Let me assist you with the magic guide… Hmm?」

A magic guide refers to someone helping another person optimize the absorption of magic power, either by directly guiding their pathways or by a similar means.

Kleve had intended to do just that, placing her hand on Theo’s back to assist. However, she tilted her head in confusion.

Theo’s magic, which had stirred within his Aura Hall, suddenly absorbed the energy from the Purity Pill, making it vanish entirely.

Just like that—gone.

Thinking it must have been absorbed already, Kleve checked Theo’s magic, but there was hardly any difference from before.

「Is something wrong?」

「Ah, no. It’s nothing. It seems the Purity Pill I gave you was defective. Here, take this one instead.」

Mass-produced elixirs like the Purity Pill sometimes turned out faulty due to incorrect ingredient mixing during manufacturing.

Assuming this must be one of those cases, Kleve handed Theo another Purity Pill she had brought as a spare.

「Thank you.」

Theo swallowed the second Purity Pill.

Gulp.

「Now this time… Huh?」

「Is there a problem?」

「Hmm, it seems all the items I brought are subpar. I’m sorry for the inconvenience.」

「Not at all. I’m just grateful for your help.」

「Your manners are quite impeccable, especially for a Ragnar. This one should be fine.」

As the same thing happened again, Kleve internally cursed the assistant who had prepared the supplies and handed over a different elixir, this time a Cheonggwangdan, which was an even higher-grade elixir than the Purity Pill.

‘Originally, I intended to reward him with this after successfully completing all the tasks… but there’s no choice.’

Right now, it was crucial to ensure the heat resonance took hold properly in Theo’s body.

However.

The result with the Enlightenment Pill was exactly the same as with the Purity Pill. The moment it entered his body, it simply vanished.

‘What in the world…!’

An elixir dispersing without leaving any effect was something Kleve had never heard of before.

Her pupils trembled uncontrollably.

「It definitely feels like an elixir. My head feels clearer.」

‘That’s not even one of its effects…’

Kleve was momentarily dazed by Theo’s comment of admiration.

She had no idea how to handle this situation.

Meanwhile, Theo, sensing Kleve’s confusion, smirked to himself.

‘All three of them seemed genuine. I’ll just pretend I don’t know.’

In truth, even Theo hadn’t anticipated this bizarre outcome.

[The Aura Heart has absorbed all external energy.]

[Significant impurities have been removed, and the purity of your magic power has begun to clear. Fluidity has improved.]

[Efficiency has increased.]

[You have gained a hint regarding magic density.]

[Your magic power has slightly increased.]

.

[Your muscle fiber structure has been reinforced.]

Who could have predicted that the Dragon’s Heart would immediately devour the magic power released as soon as the Purity Pill was absorbed into his body?

Because of this, Kleve, unaware of what had transpired, ended up offering even more of her valuable elixirs for no reason.

‘I was under the impression that neither the increase in magic power nor the reinforcement of muscle fibers were effects of the Purity Pill. I’ve really hit the jackpot.’

It seemed likely that the Dragon’s Heart and the Purity Pill had worked together synergistically, creating these additional benefits.

Trying to explain all of this would certainly be no easy task.

In the end, Theo decided to play innocent.

「Please teach me the application method. I’d like to try it.」

「Uh, uh, sure.」

Though still somewhat dazed, Kleve began her explanation.

Yet, questions continued to swirl in her mind.

* * *

‘Heat dispersion. If I mix this with the Wind God technique, I could even create an artificial heatstorm, couldn’t I?’

While Theo, after mastering the breathing technique, was contemplating how to integrate it with his existing skills,

‘He’s a genius…! How can someone have such a deep understanding of this?’

Kleve was utterly astonished by Theo’s extraordinary talent.

Theo was already emitting heat from his body.

The shimmering air rising above his skin was clear proof.

‘He even broke down the principle of heat resonance and applied it to create a derivation of the Nine Incantations.’

Gulp!

Kleve swallowed dryly.

His judgment, his talent—now she completely understood why the Black Dragon had been so agitated whenever mentioning Theo.

She wished that someone like him could have been her apprentice.

‘Our captain’s about to get even busier. Even Black Snow will have his eye on him now.’

Meanwhile, Evelyn chuckled as she imagined Julius pulling his hair out in frustration after seeing this, and Hazel clicked her tongue in amazement, realizing that the talent she’d only heard about was real.

‘He really might pass the promotion test after all.’

However, she remained cautious.

‘Still, it’s too soon to tell. Let’s watch him a little longer, at least until the mission is complete.’

As all the examiners marveled at Theo’s abilities, the group finally reached their destination.

The northeastern city of Kalhelm.

Even at the crack of dawn, lines of merchants had already formed in front of the city gates.

“It’s an artifact engraved with a perception-blocking spell. Everyone, put it on.”

Theo and his companions wrapped themselves in the robes handed out by Kleve. As soon as the embedded magic activated, it became difficult to distinguish one another.

“We can’t leave any record of our visit to Kalhelm, so we’ll sneak over the fortress wall. After that, we’ll immediately storm the ‘Breathing Hill’ inn and kill everyone inside.”

Theo, Evelyn, and Hazel nodded in agreement.

Kleve pulled the hood over her head.

「Then, let’s begin.」

With a telepathic command, the operation started.

Fwoosh!

* * *

Scaling the fortress wall wasn’t too difficult.

Kalhelm was a remote city with few forces interested in attacking it, so it was generally peaceful.

With the added benefit of the perception-blocking magic, they moved stealthily, unnoticed by anyone.

They soon arrived at an old, run-down inn that looked as though it had no customers.

Bang!

Kleve was the first to violently kick the door open and step inside.

“Huh? What’s going on?”

“Who the hell are these people…?”

The inn’s clerk, who had been dozing off at the counter, woke with a start, only to be met with a flash of light.

Shlick!

“Damn it, Antan! These bastards—!”

A companion next to the clerk realized the intrusion and tried to draw his weapon, but Evelyn appeared and decapitated him before he could react.

Sssshh!

After that, Theo and Hazel darted forward, splitting off in opposite directions.

Theo headed to the basement, while Hazel rushed upstairs.

They had already coordinated their movements beforehand—leaving no survivors was the objective.

“They’re upstairs! Block them—!”

Slash, slash!

Theo mercilessly cut down the men trying to rush up the stairs. With every swing of his sword, a heatwave followed, leaving black scorch marks on the walls and floor.

The fact that heat was already radiating from his attacks was proof that Theo had successfully integrated the heat resonance principle into the Thunderlight Breathing Technique.

The improvement in magic efficiency seemed to have increased not only his speed but also his attack power.

‘It even has explosive force.’

“Kraugh!”

“Gah…!”

“Taken down by a brat like this…! Ugh!”

The assassins that faced Theo fell like autumn leaves in a storm.

What made assassins fearsome was their mastery of stealth and their ability to remain hidden. However, in direct combat, they were no match for Theo.

Especially not against someone wielding a Zweihander that combined speed, strength, and range!

Boom!

Eventually, with an explosive blast of heat, the door at the end of the basement hallway burst open, annihilating the enemies in the vicinity.

“This… this can’t be happening…!”

Shudder…

The remaining assassins, paralyzed with fear, could not even think about approaching Theo.

Amid the charred floor, Theo stood, his body enveloped in intense heat, surrounded by pale steam and crackling yellow lightning.

He looked like a demon emerging from the inferno itself.