Master Assassin of the Ronan

Chapter 28: Invitation to the Black Dream Forest (1)

“Hm, so Tina is the new king of the Roincrows? How amusing.”

Seiren placed the letter written by Elder Gillifield on the table after reading it. It detailed the events following Rubin’s recent visit.

Given the Elder’s usual temperament, the words of praise in the letter were anything but common.

“I thought it would be impossible to infuse Dark Ripple into the Mist Tree… To think it was even possible.”

It was unexpected.

Leaving aside the goal of sparing Tina, this matter was also Seiren’s own test for Rubin.

She had fully anticipated his failure, yet he had overturned that expectation once again.

Seiren looked at Rubin with a face that hid her surprise.

“Rubin.”

“Yes, my lady.”

“A reward should follow what you’ve accomplished. Is there anything you wish for?”

A light smile appeared on Rubin’s face. In such moments, he looked like nothing more than a child.

“I’d like to use the library daily.”

“The library?”

Typically, a family’s library houses the family’s secrets or ancient texts.

However, the Ronan library was different. It was simply a typical library with basic manuals and history books.

And yet, all he asked for was access to the library?

Seiren had anticipated a request that broke some kind of taboo, perhaps a privilege to go outside the mansion.

For Rubin, all that remained was two years of restricted life within the mansion.

Until he went through the ‘Second Selection’ two years later, followed by leaving the family, the Ronan bloodline had to remain within the mansion.

“You are indeed fond of books. That’s fine, but only until midnight.”

“Thank you, my lady.”

“Now, take your rest, Rubin.”

With that, Rubin departed.

Standing nearby, the personal attendant Daemon bowed toward Seiren.

“My lady. Should you order it, I will observe the young master in the library.”

Daemon had noticed Seiren’s curiosity, her desire to keep an eye on Rubin.

Besides, he too, like Seiren, doubted that the young master was merely using the library to read books. If there was another purpose, it might need intervention.

However.

“No, there’s no need.”

After all, this was a reward for what Rubin had achieved.

There was no reason to dig too deeply into it. And besides.

“There will be plenty of opportunities to check on that child in the future.”

Thus, time passed, and Rubin’s monotonous days continued once more.

“Haaat!”

Two wooden swords collided.

An old man and a boy glared at each other.

Their wooden swords trembled from the force, yet neither relaxed his grip.

Then, just as Rubin seemed about to pull back, he lunged forward again, seeking an opening.

The Brion Sword Technique.

The movement displayed by Rubin’s wooden sword was the eleventh form of the Brion Sword Technique.

A series of dull, clashing sounds echoed.

Haneke fended off each attack one by one. Though it looked chaotic, the two of them were executing precise attacks and defenses.

“Haaat!”

Once again, the swords clashed.

With a crack, both wooden swords shattered.

The broken blades flew behind them.

“Broken again, huh?”

– It seems the hour is almost midnight. Wouldn’t it be wise to leave the library now?

Rubin looked down at the broken hilt of his wooden sword.

Regretfully, this was as far as he could go for today. His access to the mansion library was limited to midnight.

Soon, Fyure would come looking for him.

But before that.

Rubin moved to a massive stone set up at one side of his internal training ground, to mark the completion of another day’s training.

Crack.

With the short piece remaining of his broken wooden sword, Rubin etched a line onto the stone.

– Today makes 729 lines. Two years have already passed.

A short yet long time.

It had been two years since he had toured the Tower, prevented Tina’s death from the Execution Unit, and visited Elder Gillifield’s arboretum.

During this time, Rubin had used the excuse of reading in the library, spending hours each day training in the Brion Sword Technique.

In two years, he had reached the eleventh form of the Brion Sword Technique.

As the twelfth form was the final form, the end was in sight.

“After mastering the twelfth form… finally, aura.”

Haneke had said that sword technique came before aura.

Only after mastering all forms of the technique could one prepare for aura.

– That’s the difference between aura and Dark Ripple.

In the Assassin Blade Family, without a certain level of Dark Ripple, the associated sword form couldn’t be realized.

Every movement in combat, every energy related to battle — all were within Dark Ripple’s domain, so only when Dark Ripple was fully developed could one wield advanced sword forms.

Aura, however, was structured differently. To manifest aura, one first had to master the complete sword forms.

– Aura is the perfected form of sword technique. Every prestigious family’s sword technique yields its own unique aura. When you manifest your aura, it will be rooted in the Brion Sword Technique.

This also implied that if he had mastered another sword technique, he would manifest an aura with different roots.

– So, even if it’s all called ‘aura,’ it varies based on the sword technique learned.

Now that he had fully mastered the eleventh form, he could likely begin the twelfth within a few days.

That meant he was close to truly experiencing aura.

The long-vacant “third ring” would soon hold aura.

“If I can reach aura before the Second Selection…”

As Rubin murmured to himself.

Haneke looked around at the broken wooden swords scattered about from their training session.

Nearly a thousand wooden swords lay embedded in the ground, like a battlefield around the training area.

Haneke turned back to Rubin and said.

– You said it’s been two years since the ‘First Selection.’ The time must be close.

Haneke understood that his reunion with Rubin, after being a broken blade gathering dust in storage, had been thanks to Rubin’s victory in the ‘First Selection.’

The ‘Second Selection’ was sure to be no simple test. It might even bring greater change than the ‘First Selection.’

– Exactly when will it happen?

“It could begin today. The Second Selection starts without any warning. That’s how it works.”

Rubin’s words held a hint of regret, as though he lamented not yet being able to manifest aura.

– There’s no need to rush. Your growth pace now is…

Haneke hesitated briefly.

Should he praise Rubin as he was?

Or perhaps push him to avoid complacency?

– …not bad at all.

Though he said this, Haneke had lost count of how many times Rubin’s rapid progress had surprised him as he neared mastery of the eleventh form.

Following his instincts, Rubin had recreated the Brion Sword Technique, as Haneke initially feared.

Yet Rubin’s astonishing rate of absorption and improvement erased those concerns.

Witnessing Rubin’s growth firsthand was enough to ease the regret of seeing the Brion Technique’s legacy fade.

“Fyure has arrived.”

Rubin noted as footsteps echoed down the stairs to the basement library, stopping at the door.

“Young master!”

“Ah, I was just about to leave.”

“It’s already midnight! Midnight! I wish I could get some sleep on time, truly!”

Rubin knew well that despite her words, she cared for him more than anyone else.

“Alright, I’m coming now.”

Rubin closed the book he’d been reading and stood up.

As he opened the door, he saw Fyure standing there, wrinkling her nose with a pout.

– Your maid seems to be the only lively presence in this dark, austere family. Like a fluorescent frog glowing in the dark.

“Young master Rubin, what’s so funny?”

Laughing unconsciously at Haneke’s dignified humor, Rubin quickly changed his expression.

“Just remembered a funny passage from a book.”

“You’ll ruin your eyes if you keep reading that much!”

Stepping out of the library, Fyure immediately lowered her voice.

Numerous guards were hidden throughout the mansion, silently watching over them.

“Promise me you’ll go straight to bed tonight? Okay?”

“Alright, I promise.”

Fyure’s skeptical look persisted.

“You haven’t forgotten that the Second Selection is close, right? Who knows how many days we have left…”

Fyure trailed off.

Like the previous test, the Second Selection was a measure of an assassin’s innate qualities.

Preparing or training for it was against the principles.

Families from other branch lines might be engaging in secret lessons to ensure good scores.

But Fyure’s current concern was different.

“Don’t be afraid, Fyure.”

“Can you tell that I’m scared, young master? Honestly, I haven’t been able to sleep lately because of it.”

“It’ll be fine. It will turn out well.”

Perhaps due to Rubin’s reassuring words, Fyure’s expression softened slightly.

“Well, there’s no point in being scared, is there?”

The so-called ‘Invitation.’

Before the Second Selection, a ritual called the Invitation was held, and that’s what Fyure was so worried about.

It wasn’t uncommon for a maid to lose her life due to the Invitation ritual, so her fear was understandable.

“Well, it can’t be helped! If I’m the young master’s maid, this is just my fate!”

“Hm? So you’re worried… not about me…?”

“Young master, thank you for comforting me. I feel a bit more courageous now!”

Muttering to herself, Fyure entered Rubin’s quarters with renewed resolve. Rubin chuckled at her retreating figure.

“I like how honest she is.”

Entering his quarters in the eastern wing, Fyure immediately checked the bed to ensure Rubin would sleep comfortably.

Meanwhile, Rubin, sitting in the living room, recalled the First Selection two years ago.

Kun Krokisson and Hamil Kunitli. He wondered how much the second- and third-place finishers had grown.

Kun had claimed the legendary dagger of Kergeti with his second-place finish.

Even in Rubin’s previous life, Kun had chosen that weapon as the winner, so nothing had changed.

But in this life, Kun was filled with the bitterness of losing first place to a member of the Ronan bloodline.

He wondered how that variable had affected Kun’s nature compared to his previous life.

As Rubin pondered.

“Aaah!”

A shriek suddenly rang out from upstairs, Fyure’s voice full of terror.

It was loud enough to wake Seiren on the opposite side of the mansion.

“The Invitation!”

Rubin realized instantly.

Had he not concealed his Dark Ripple, he would have detected the intrusion.

There was no choice. Instead, he had to at least prevent Fyure from coming to harm.

Rubin dashed up the stairs.

Opening the door, he found Fyure sitting on the floor.

Across from her was a spider as large as a human body.

– Is that the Invitation?

“Yes. It’s the invitation for the Second Selection.”

The spider lifted its front legs and waved them before Fyure, who shivered with terror.

Rubin approached her.

Had he arrived a moment later, Fyure might have suffered severe injury.

“The spider would have turned violent until its target arrived.”

There was no one else to help.

Even if the guards noticed the Invitation spider approaching, interrupting the ritual was forbidden.

Even if a maid’s life were at risk, the guards would have had to wait silently until Rubin, the recipient of the invitation, arrived.

Creeeak, creeeak.

The Invitation spider made an unsettling noise as its jagged teeth clicked.

Rubin needed to respond to the call quickly.

“First, I need to move Fyure somewhere safe.”