The Last-Seat Hero Has Returned

50. The Sword of the Sun (2)

Yuren Helios.

The leader of the five great heroes, the descendant of ‘The Swordsman of the Sun’ Reynald Helios.

A genius in swordsmanship who overwhelmed his master with a sword at the mere age of 10.

The sword bestowed by the seven gods, the reincarnation of the Swordsman of the Sun, the rebirth of Reynald, and so on.

There were countless titles to describe him.

From a young age, Yuren, who had received the attention of the continent’s people, showcased incredible skills that were hard to believe for his age, making his name known.

People praised him as the genius who would save the Helios family, which had been slowly declining over the past 500 years.

But they say tragedy always follows a genius.

When Yuren turned 12, an incident occurred where his younger sister, Yurina Helios, died in an accident.

The cause of death was a fall.

It was a tragedy that occurred on the sacred mountain where the previous heads of the Helios family were buried.

Deeply shocked by his sister’s death, Yuren abandoned the sword he had never let go of and shut himself in his house, ceasing all external activities.

Three years passed like that.

While the gossipers, who loved to talk, were excitedly saying that the light of hope for the Helios family had gone out, that the sun had set.

Yuren finally broke his three years of silence and revealed himself.

The place he reappeared was the annual swordsmanship tournament held in the empire.

At the age of 15, Yuren proudly took second place in the imperial swordsmanship tournament, announcing his presence to the continent.

From then on, he continued to rise.

At 18, he entered the Hero School as the top student of his year and never missed the top rank in the comprehensive evaluation of cadets, solidifying his position as the descendant of the Swordsman of the Sun.

Such a person.

A genius swordsman who could be called an elite among elites.

“Teach me swordsmanship!”

If someone saw him bowing his head and asking a low-ranking cadet to teach him swordsmanship, what would they think?

‘They would think they were dreaming.’

Honestly, that’s exactly how I felt right now.

‘Well, I was planning to teach him even without him asking like this.’

I never expected Yuren to ask me to teach him swordsmanship first.

And bowing his head to a classmate he had only sparred with once in a non-magical duel.

“Teach me swordsmanship?”

“Yes. I’ll reward you however you want.”

“Well, it’s not that I need a favor, but are you really okay with this?”

“…Okay with what?”

“If it gets out that the top student is learning swordsmanship from the bottom student, the school will be in an uproar.”

“I don’t care.”

Yuren answered with a determined expression.

‘Even in my past life, his passion for the sword was something to be acknowledged, but it seems even more intense now.’

I shook my head as I looked at Yuren.

“I don’t mind teaching you, but don’t go around telling people.”

If it became known that Yuren was learning swordsmanship from me, it would undoubtedly damage his reputation.

I didn’t want to be a burden to my only friend, even if I couldn’t be of much help.

“…Thank you, Dale.”

Yuren smiled brightly, like a lost traveler finding an oasis in a barren desert.

“So, what should I start with?”

“Hmm…”

After a moment of contemplation, I looked around the training ground and said,

“First, swing your sword like you do when you practice alone.”

“Like when I practice?”

“Yes. Use your magic as well.”

“Got it.”

Yuren moved to the center of the training ground, gripping his sword with both hands and taking a deep breath.

Wooong!

Magic spread throughout his body, and an aura began to rise from the blade he held.

A brilliant golden aura befitting the heir of the ‘Sword of the Sun’…

‘Hmm?’

I tilted my head as I watched the golden aura envelop Yuren’s sword.

‘Was it always this pale?’

In my memory, Yuren’s aura was much more vivid and brilliant, but now it seemed faint, as if diluted with water.

‘Well, maybe it changed later.’

It’s not uncommon for the color of one’s aura to change as they advance in their skills, so there’s no need to worry about it.

‘The color of the aura isn’t important for wielding the sword anyway.’

I smirked as I watched Yuren, who was concentrating while holding his sword.

‘It’s been a while.’

I used to enjoy watching Yuren practice his swordsmanship like this.

Just watching was enough to draw me in.

The swordsmanship unfolding from Yuren’s hands was nothing short of beautiful.

“I’ll start.”

Yuren’s sword drew a graceful line as it cut through the air.

The flawless sword strike made me feel just how intensely he had been training.

I clenched my fist as I watched the golden aura beautifully decorating the air.

‘It’s Yuren’s sword.’

A sword that captivates just by being seen.

So graceful it makes your heart tremble, so noble it makes your heart ache.

The sword of my irreplaceable friend.

‘Of course, compared to the swordsmanship I saw in my previous life, it’s still lacking.’

But still.

I could tell.

Only I could tell.

The swordsman before me would become a sun shining more brilliantly than Reynald Helios, who was called the ‘Swordsman of the Sun’ 500 years ago.

“Haah!”

With a short shout, the aura exploded from Yuren’s sword.

Rumble!

The entire training ground was engulfed in a thunderous roar.

I looked at the golden aura swirling like a storm with a dazed expression.

‘No matter when I see it, it’s an absurd amount of mana.’

I heard that Yuren had much more mana than others since he first awakened his stigma.

‘And he must have grown up consuming all sorts of elixirs that boost mana since he was young.’

Innate mana, full support from his family.

Lastly, consistent mana training through breathing techniques.

These were the reasons why Yuren, at the mere age of 20, had more mana than most professors his age.

‘It’s the perfect combination of talent, effort, and support.’

It was only natural to possess such an absurd amount of magical power.

Whoosh! Wham! Slash!

About five more minutes passed like that.

The silver light that had gracefully adorned the air faded away.

“Phew. I did as you said, how was it?”

“It was excellent.”

Indeed, Yuren’s swordsmanship was so exceptional that it was not an exaggeration to call him a genius.

“Excellent? I couldn’t even counterattack properly and lost.”

“Well, that’s…”

No matter how much of a genius Yuren was in swordsmanship.

He couldn’t be compared to me, who had been training with the sword for hundreds, thousands of years.

‘It’s like comparing a baby who just started walking to a fully grown adult.’

Of course, from Yuren’s perspective, who didn’t know that, I must have seemed like a god of swordsmanship.

‘From my perspective, it’s better if he continues to think that way.’

Just as the same words sound different depending on the professor’s credentials.

The more Yuren thought highly of me, the easier it would be to teach him the sword.

‘Should I take it a step further?’

I turned to Yuren with a smirk.

“Alright. Shall we spar once more?”

“Okay.”

“This time, let’s use magic.”

“…Use magic?”

Yuren stiffened and trailed off.

He continued cautiously, watching my reaction.

“I hate to say this, but…”

“Isn’t the difference in our magical power too great?”

“Oh, yeah. Sorry about that.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about. Having a lot of magic also affects swordsmanship.”

Didn’t you feel it last time when you experienced the ‘incarnation’ state?

‘Magic and swordsmanship cannot be separated.’

Yuren said that if one reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship, they could create miracles with pure swordsmanship alone, without magic.

‘This is where you’re wrong, Yuren.’

From the beginning, it was impossible to reach the ‘pinnacle’ of swordsmanship without magic.

‘When you think about it, it’s obvious.’

Telling someone to reach the pinnacle without magic was like telling them to fly in the sky without wings.

‘Of course, just having magic doesn’t mean you can reach the pinnacle either.’

It was also true that no matter how much one trained pure swordsmanship, they couldn’t reach that level.

“If you insist that much… fine.”

Yuren nodded and pointed his sword at me.

A golden aura blazed along the blade.

I stood before Yuren and drew my sword.

And then.

Clash.

Kaang! Kaang! Kaang!

With the clear sound of metal, the golden aura and the gray aura intertwined.

“Ugh…!”

Every time my sword clashed with Yuren’s, the flesh of my palms tore, spreading a dizzying pain.

“Using magic is still not…”

“Stop talking nonsense and fight properly, you fool.”

I gathered all my magic and charged at Yuren.

Kururung!

The training ground shook as if an earthquake had struck.

“Ugh?!”

At first, Yuren, who had been fiercely pushing me back with his overwhelming magic, began to falter.

“What is this…?”

Yuren’s eyes widened in shock.

He looked down at his sword, wrapped in a golden aura, as if he couldn’t believe it.

The difference in magic between him and Dale was clear just by looking at the amount of aura on their swords.

‘Surely my sword is much faster and stronger…!’

Why was it that Dale was not the one being pushed back, but himself?

“That’s it for today.”

“Oh, I can still do more!”

“I said, that’s it, didn’t I?”

“Ugh…”

“Don’t be impatient. Swordsmanship isn’t something you can learn overnight, you know?”

“That’s… true, but.”

I sheathed my sword and swallowed dryly, making sure Yuren didn’t notice.

‘Damn, this brute is really something.’

I was trying to act as nonchalant as possible in front of Yuren.

But honestly, I wasn’t in perfect condition either.

‘I almost made a fool of myself trying to show off.’

If the sparring had lasted one more minute… no, even 30 more seconds, it wouldn’t have been Yuren who was pushed back, but me.

“Tell me. How can I… handle a sword like you?”

Yuren asked in a voice that sounded almost desperate.

“How can you handle a sword like me, huh…”

I never thought I’d hear Yuren ask me that.

‘Well, I can’t exactly tell him to train for a few thousand years like I did.’

I rummaged through my past life memories to come up with a plausible answer.

‘Ah, that should do.’

I smirked and spoke softly.

“Think about where the sword wants to go, not where you want to go.”

“Think about where the sword wants to go, not where I want to go?”

“Yeah.”

“What does that mean? A sword isn’t a living thing, so how can I know where it wants to go?”

I don’t know either, you idiot.

‘How does it feel? Now that you’re experiencing it, doesn’t it feel like your head is about to explode?’

I chuckled as I watched Yuren, who was deep in thought with a serious expression.

I felt oddly pleased, as if I had succeeded in a small act of revenge.

“You don’t have to understand it right away…”

“…Ah!”

At that moment, a soft gasp slipped through Yuren’s lips.

He trembled, his body shaking, as he clenched his fists tightly.

“Ah, ah! So, that’s what it meant! I get it now!”

“What?”

You understand?

‘How do you know that?’

I don’t even know.