Starting With an SSS-Rank Swordsmanship Talent

Dark clouds roiled above the sky, bringing forth serpent-like lightning.

Alaric frowned, his expression turning serious.

The amount of mana in the air had thickened to the point that it was already fully visible. Even without him actively absorbing mana, his energy core started working on its own, greedily taking in the mana around him.

He didn’t want to disturb Bellator so he moved a bit further from his location.

So this is what he was talking about when he mentioned ‘commotion’.

Alaric chuckled dryly.

More dark clouds had gathered above the forest. A thunderous lightning bolt burst forth, illuminating the skies.

Rumble! Rumble!

Alaric focused on Bellator and was taken aback when he noticed the changes on the man’s body.

With his acute perception, he sensed that the mana around Bellator was being purified repeatedly before entering his body.

It was a process that was unknown to Alaric. He never knew anything about mana purification.

What is going on? Is this something unique to the Beyonder realm?

Other than the name, he had no knowledge about the Beyonder realm.

The scene he witnessed shocked him to his core.

Alaric tried hard to observe the process of mana purification, hoping to glean some information, but he couldn’t understand how it worked.

It was like a new warrior trying to learn advanced techniques.

While he was observing Bellator, a shadow suddenly appeared behind Alaric.

Whoosh!

“My lord, there are suspicious people discreetly approaching our location.” Caecus calmly reported.

Hearing this, Alaric’s face turned cold. “Have you identified them?”

Caecus shook his head and replied. “I’m still waiting for word from my men. I will inform you immediately once we get word from them.”

They must be warriors sent by a curious noble.

Alaric waved his hand and instructed in a flat tone. “Just give them a warning, but if they refuse to listen, you can beat them half dead.”

Caecus nodded. “Your subordinate obeys.”

After receiving the command, he didn’t linger and left to convey Alaric’s instructions.

Meanwhile, Bellator was completely oblivious to the situation. He was in the process of fusing his energy core into his heart.

He had already gone through this process before so he was relatively relaxed.

If it weren’t for the lack of mana, I could have completed this phase in just an hour, but with the amount of mana here, it might take me another three hours to form my mana heart.

…

In the periphery of the forest, a small team led by a Transcendent Knight was quietly heading towards the center of the storm.

“Sir, what is attracting mana into this forest? Is there a legendary treasure…” One of the warriors said, but he quickly shut his mouth when he saw his superior glaring at him.

“Can you keep quiet for once?” The Transcendent Knight scolded his subordinate.

They were spies from Parahan and their goal was to gather intel on House Silversword. They happened to discover Alaric’s military movement so they followed them here.

Suddenly, several figures appeared in front of them, blocking their path.

“Who are you?” The Transcendent Knight stared at the newcomers, his face vigilant. He also signaled to his subordinates to prepare for action.

Caecus noticed their subtle movements, but he remained calm. Even his subordinates were cool-headed.

“I am Caecus, a subordinate of His Highness Alaric Silversword. You are not allowed to step inside this forest. Take your men and leave this place at once!” Caecus ‘stared’ deeply at the Transcendent Knight.

Caecus? The Transcendent Knight was stunned. The name wasn’t unfamiliar to him. He was a renowned warrior known for his legendary exploit of assassinating a Venerable.

He didn’t expect to meet Caecus here.

“So it’s Sir Caecus!”

The Transcendent Knight was flustered and quickly tried to come up with an excuse.

“Our apologies for the disturbance. We didn’t know that His Highness would come to our hunting grounds. Since the area is off limits, we shall not disturb you further.” He cupped his hands and signaled to his subordinates to leave.

However, just as they were about to leave, Caecus’s cold voice drifted into their ears. “Hold on.”

The Transcendent Knight and his subordinates paused their steps, their faces looking grim.

“Is there anything else, Sir Caecus?”

“Which household do you serve?” Caecus asked, his hand intentionally or unintentionally resting on the hilt of his sword.

Seeing this, the opposing side tensed up, with some of them subconsciously reaching out for their weapons.

The Transcendent Knight glared at his subordinates and reprimanded them harshly. “What are you idiots doing?!”

“Sir Caecus, please forgive my subordinates’ discourtesy. They are just uneasy since we couldn’t hunt today.”

“I am Ronn, a guest warrior of House Choi.”

“House Choi?” Caecus committed the name to his memory. He made a hand gesture to his subordinates, to which they understood right away.

After exchanging glances, two of Caecus’s ten subordinates left to confirm Ronn’s words.

“Ronn, is it? Stay here while my subordinates confirm your words. If you are telling the truth, then you can leave, but if not, then…” Caecus intentionally released a burst of his aura, scaring Ronn and his subordinates.

Ronn chuckled nervously. “Then we will follow your arrangements.”

Dammit! Why do we have to meet this guy of all people?!

He knew that he couldn’t beat the other party so he could only hide his dissatisfaction.

Luckily, we do have some connection with House Choi so there should be nothing wrong with my alibi. I just hope that they won’t investigate our origins further.

Caecus gestured to his subordinates. “Keep an eye on them.”

…

At this moment, Bellator had already formed 40% of his mana heart.

He could feel his internal organs screaming with pain at the changes going through within his body, but he didn’t even flinch. Other than the beads of sweat on his face, he didn’t show much of a reaction.

I am already done with the difficult part. The rest of the process will be painful, but it will be easier now. He thought as he gathered the purified mana to help him form his mana heart.