Becoming a Swordmaster by Reading

Chapter 187 : Chapter 187

‘It's done.’Eventually, Roden succeeded in stepping on the stage of 9-stars in one month.

However, Roden could not rejoice for long.

Because only by stepping on the stage of 10-stars could he deal with Yusupa without variables.

Eventually, Roden had to increase the size of his vessel somehow.

Even if he increased the size of the vessel like this, it was tight.

Because he wasn't sure if he could absorb enough aura to reach 10-stars in just two months.

‘Still, I have no choice but to try. Since we started catching Yusupa's tail, we might be able to meet him before he regains all his strength.’

It was so.

Currently, the new alliance was chasing one incident presumed to be Yusupa's doing.

It was the disappearance incident that occurred in the back alleys of the Udira Kingdom.

News that people in the back alley entertainment district disappeared without a trace.

At first, this news was regarded as insignificant.

Rather, there were not a few people who welcomed the cleaner back alleys.

Just not having to encounter thugs acting violently meant the city's public order improved.

For that reason, the Udira Kingdom also didn't mind this greatly.

However, as disappearance incidents occurred in the back alleys of all cities in the kingdom, the story changed.

The number of disappeared people reached thousands before anyone knew it.

Only then did the Udira Kingdom begin to investigate this incident in earnest.

And this news was delivered to the new alliance.

“It's the 10th-circle mage! That guy uses magic that sucks out other people's vitality!”

Hearing the news, Malena raised her voice.

However, Leon, who was listening quietly, raised an objection to this.

“Calm down, Malena. I also saw that scene together. And because of that, one fact doesn't make sense. If he sucked out all the vitality, corpses should remain, so why was there nothing? Is this really the doing of the 10th-circle mage?”

Everyone who fought in the capital that day witnessed Auguste's dried-up corpse in the Imperial Palace underground.

Therefore, they had no choice but to agree with Leon's words.

As other people nodded their heads, Malena tilted her head with a somewhat uncomfortable expression.

“Is it not…. Somehow I feel it's right….”

At that time, Roden added strength to Malena's opinion.

He had a reason to guess why corpses didn't remain.

“Couldn't it be that he needed corpses separately?”

“…What? Corpses?”

“It is proper to classify him, who resurrected again, as a black mage, not a white mage.

Since the Geniros Mage Tower already confirmed that the magic he used to suck vitality is black magic.”

“That is true.”

“So I'm suspecting it. Because somehow, if it's black magic, there might be a need for corpses.”

Roden's opinion was also merely a guess.

But unlike Malena's, the guess made sense front and back.

Above all, it was a situation where they were just stamping their feet anxiously because there were no clues even if they wanted to find Yusupa.

It was sufficiently necessary to check if Roden's guess was correct.

Eventually, Leon opened his mouth reluctantly.

“…I'll have to check with the Geniros Mage Tower. What a black mage can do using corpses.”

“Yes. That would be good. I ask of you.”

Leon stared intently at Roden without answering and left the meeting room.

But Roden didn't mind greatly.

Because he already knew Leon would actively accomplish this task.

More than that, there was work Roden also had to do.

Roden quietly called Chevalier separately and asked.

“Is the transmission of the training method going well?”

“Yes. No problem. Is something wrong?”

“Just in case, make sure the Main Battalion and New Recruit Unit don't get lax just because the war ended, Deputy Battalion Commander. And pay attention to improving the skills of other families as well.”

“…Understood. I will obey the command.”

As befitting his prudent personality, Chevalier carried out Roden's command well without adding other words.

And a few days later, a reply came from the Geniros Mage Tower.

That if it's a black mage, he might create ghouls using corpses.

That too, in units of thousands, tens of thousands.

It was an answer that put the new alliance on emergency alert.

At the same time, it was also the moment a reason arose for each nation to set out on pursuit centered on back alleys.

Because before anyone knew it, disappearance incidents were being witnessed not only in the Udira Kingdom but also in other nations.

It even felt like he was moving around back alleys of various nations to target them, not targeting just one nation like before.

For that reason, catching Yusupa wasn't an easy task even though they were patrolling only back alleys.

‘Still, since we figured out the method of how he is regaining strength, we might succeed in catching him sooner or later.’

But at the same time, he had to prepare for the case of failing to catch Yusupa.

This was the reason Roden was trying to reach the stage of 10-stars.

And fortunately, research was proceeding in a smooth direction.

He got a sense of how to increase the size of the vessel postnatally.

‘As expected, there is no other way but to transcend existence.’

Aura accumulated in the entire body.

For that reason, to increase the size of the vessel, one had to increase the size of the body.

If this was impossible, one had to fill the vessel with very dense energy.

Eventually, only these two were methods to overcome postnatally the problem of not being able to step on the stage of 10-stars due to the small size of the vessel.

So at first, Roden focused on finding aura even purer than pure aura.

But unfortunately, such aura did not exist.

How could already 100% pure aura become purer?

So Roden focused on compressing aura this time.

However, this was also not easy.

Because compression of aura meant explosion of aura.

Eventually, Roden gave up focusing on aura itself and sought another plan.

That was increasing the size of the vessel.

However, unfortunately, this method was also not easy.

Because the innate size of the body wasn't something one could grow just because one wanted to.

Although there were methods like using magic to temporarily grow the body or exercising to grow muscles, this was not sufficient.

Magic had the disadvantage of being dispelled before aura enough to become 10-stars was absorbed, and growing muscles enough to fill 10-stars aura would take a lifetime and still be insufficient.

In the first place, growing muscles so bulkily would make even swinging a sword difficult.

Eventually, physically growing the body was not a good method.

So Roden began to agonize over how to expand the vessel.

This was why he recalled the phrase ‘transcending existence’.

‘Eventually, aura and mana are powers created by refining mana. If it is possible to utilize mana itself, I can expand the size of my vessel to the world.’

If so, the size of the vessel was no longer a problem.

Even theoretically, this was not impossible.

Since Roden was already using magic with aura.

Roden, having succeeded in grasping a clue like that, was agonizing over how to utilize mana as his own power.

Whether this research could be finished before Yusupa ran wild remained to be seen.

***

At the sound of birds chirping, Yusupa slowly opened his eyes in bed.

Next to him, the shepherd who was the original owner of this bed was lying on the floor, dried up and twisted.

After leaving the Udira Kingdom.

Recently, Yusupa was finding sleeping places in this way.

Because he had to target huts of herbalists, hunters, lumberjacks, miners, shepherds, etc., far from the city to hide his body while comfortably using a bed.

Yusupa, who was indifferently looking at the shepherd's corpse like that, reached out and put the corpse into his subspace.

Then he fell into thought for a moment for today's hunt.

‘I should go to the Vaskar Kingdom today.’

Simultaneously with finishing his thought, Yusupa unfolded magic.

Then a red gate revealed itself before his eyes.

Space movement magic.

Even if black magic exerted stronger power than white magic, it was a part where one could guess how much strength Yusupa had regained.

But Yusupa was not satisfied with this.

‘Still insufficient. Since I cannot take the continent into my hands with merely the 9th circle.’

What Yusupa, who had died once and came back to life despite reaching the pinnacle of humanity, desired was conquering the continent.

He didn't desire this simply drunk on lust for power.

Because only by eliminating all hindrances and conquering the continent would there be no one to tackle his wrong resurrection.

Above all, if he conquered the continent, he could easily make all humans sacrifices for eternal life.

A life where he could take human vitality just by quietly reaching out his hand.

Eventually, what Yusupa desired was eternal life.

Seueuk.

Like that, for his purpose, Yusupa arrived at the back alley of the Vaskar Kingdom.

However, there were already people waiting for Yusupa in the back alley.

“Finally found him! It's the 10th-circle mage!”

“Here is the 10th-circle mage! Surround him immediately!”

They were soldiers of the new alliance patrolling the back alley to find Yusupa.

“Tsk.”

Yusupa realized he chose the wrong hunting place and clicked his tongue.

Seeing that appearance, the soldiers of the new alliance were triumphant.

“Stupid fellow! Did you think the same method would continue to work!”

The fact that the person appearing to be the captain of the soldiers stepped forward and shouted like this was the evidence.

However,

“Who are you calling stupid?”

Surprisingly, Yusupa asked back like this without a hint of fear.

“Isn't it you guys who are truly stupid for thinking you can beat me?”

And added words like this.

Only then did the captain, realizing the situation was unusual, shout with a hardened face.

“Report this matter immediately!”

At the captain's order, one soldier quickly ran out of the alley.

But he couldn't leave the alley.

Yusupa reached out his hand and began to suck vitality.

“Kkeuaaak!”

It wasn't even just that soldier.

The vitality of everyone in the alley headed toward Yusupa.

A moment later.

After retrieving all corpses from the alley which became quiet once again, Yusupa used the red gate to leave the spot.

It was the first incident where soldiers of the new alliance evaporated.