01 - Courtesy of the Clan
"Now, Aran!"
A wide opening was created for Aran Emrys to strike.
No matter how much of a talentless mage he was, the children of the magic family — the Emrys Clan — could not deny the fact that this anomaly of their bloodline had some skill with the sword.
Aran Emrys unsheathed his blade, charging forward through the clear path that his comrades had created for him.
The sound of his sword being brandished rang out as he cut down the foes in front of them.
Funnily enough, Aran had an easy time taking clear of the enemy but then, something bothered him. One glance at his face and one could tell that it bothered him a lot.
'These guys are no stronger than Sword Adept rank,' Aran thought to himself. 'Is this…? Is this a trap?'
The thought of them having possibly walked into a trap could not escape his mind but then again, they were close to it.
They were too close to acquiring the one thing that would turn the tides of the ten-year war between the Emrys magic clan and the Aurelius sword clan.
'Tch…!' Aran gritted his teeth. 'We can't turn back now. We need to steal that sword no matter what!'
This mission was important to the Emrys Clan.
It was necessary for Aran and his squad to succeed in acquiring the Supreme Sword of the Aurelius Clan.
A lot was tied to the success of this mission.
Not only would the Emrys Clan have succeeded in disarming the sword family of one of their most precious weapons, Aran could see a future for himself that was brighter than ever.
That was what he was promised after all.
If he could acquire this relic, maybe the Emrys clan could finally accept him.
Maybe they could finally come to terms that he was destined to wield the sword and not magic as was the norm for every Emrys.
If he could return this weapon, there was only one person in all of Emrys who would be charged with its mastery and it was none other than Aran himself.
As he cut down the members of the Aurelius clan who were stationed at this place, a faint smile appeared on his face but Aran was quick to dismiss it.
His job was not done yet.
Surely, he and his squad were tired from nearly a full day of fighting but such was life in this world especially during war times like this.
This went on for hours and soon, they reached their goal.
Aran and the members of the Emrys clan that accompanied him had finally reached the cave where the supreme sword was buried.
The Supreme Sword, Calibra.
Aran's eyes grew extra wide and bubbled with admiration as he stared at the beauty in front of him that was stabbed straight into a rock.
It felt as if he was standing in front of a holy sanctuary, one that possibly belonged to the deity of swords.
Such a scene was the dream of every swordsman.
As he looked at Calibra in front of him, Aran's eyes watered with tears as he clenched his fist on one hand and tightened his grip on his sword on the other.
Aran was pushed to tears because he had suffered as a member of the Emrys clan.
Since he was young, he woke up everyday with the mindset of proving to the clan why he deserved to see the next one.
He had been beaten, bullied and spat on.
Aran had nothing but spite and hatred towards the clan but he was too weak to do anything.
If he attempted to rebel against his family, he would be killed in the blink of an eye and as such he was waiting patiently.
Aran was growing stronger everyday. He tried harder than any of his peers in the clan, trying his best to improve his swordsmanship despite having no master to guide him.
There were no sword styles or art or even books in Emrys clan for him to study.
Everything draw, swing and sword techniques he had now were as a result of his hard work. Even if they were still too crude, they mattered to him and had saved his life until now.
Now, he was looking at Calibra, the relic that would mean his express entry into the minds of the Emrys clan elders.
He would finally shed the title of nobody and anomaly. He could finally matter to the clan after today.
Aran stepped to where Calibra was and with his palm touched the hilt of the sword, he felt pangs of pain and a mysterious surge of energy flow into his body.
For a few seconds, he was overwhelmed by power, power that he had never experienced in his entire life.
The other Emrys clan members watched in awe as Aran took control of himself as time passed and after several minutes of struggling, he finally succeeded in pulling the sword out from the rock.
A phenomenon occurred that left everyone stunned.
Just when Aran thought everything had ended, he was suddenly engulfed in a pillar of darkness that revolved around him like a vortex.
"Get back!" one of them yelled, gesturing as well for the others to keep their distance from Aran.
He gritted his teeth as he watched what was going on, not sure if Aran was going to survive it or not.
'What the hell is that?'
The mages of Emrys clan prepared their spells, defensive and offensive, not knowing what to expect any second from then.
Three minutes passed and then the vortex of dark energy simply… vanished.
Only Aran was left behind, his body trembling severely but his grip on the sword tight.
'What happened…?'
Aran wore a smile on his face.
He survived.
The sword did not kill him.
He was still standing, weak but standing.
Slowly but surely, he raised his hand with the sword in it, signaling to his clan members that he was successful.
"Hey, Vice Captain…"
"Yes, Kerr. What is it?"
"That sword… it… it looks different."
The sword in Aran's hand was bare. It was not as fanciful as it was earlier.
Now, it looks no different from a normal steel blade.
"Is that fortune smiling down on us," the Vice Captain replied to Kerr.
"Initiate Phase 2…"
Kerr's face instantly changed as he raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
The Emrys clan members whose faces expressed shock a second ago suddenly changed.
Their hands twitched and their faces twisted as if lusting for blood.
Meanwhile, Aran was unaware of this. He was still basking in the fact that he succeeded in taking the supreme sword.
"Look! I did it!" He shouted, looking in the direction of his men.
"I conque—"
Blood suddenly splattered in the air, more splashing on the ground, from the sides of Aran's abdomen.
He had been impaled from both sides by large spikes that erupted from the ground around him.
He could barely speak as blood filled his mouth and poured.
"Wh-Why? " he barely spoke, choking on his own blood.
The ones whom he regarded as his squad members surrounded him.
"It's nothing personal, Aran."
Aran turned his head to the one speaking, "Vi-Vice… Captain."
The spikes were withdrawn and Aran fell to the ground, landing on his knees and then vomiting copious volumes of blood.
Aran tried to move but his body failed him.
The supreme sword had left him tired and weak, and unfortunately… vulnerable.
That was an unprecedented event for the Emrys clan, one that turned out to favour them.
The vice captain had expected that Aran would take down a few of them if they were to kill him but now, they can eliminate him without any casualties on their side.
The vice captain grabbed Aran by the hair and smiled as they stared each other in the eyes.
"You really thought that the elders would allow you, an anomaly to have any significance in the clan. You are a stain on Emrys' name. A swordsman? Pfft! You might have been better off being born to those bastards from the Aurelius family, Aran."
Aran merely stared in disbelief.
He thought he was finally making headway.
He thought he was finally going to be recognized by the clan.
Aran chuckled, his blood choking him even more.
The clan were able to get the last laugh over him, killing him before he could get his revenge.
The vice captain raised his hand, conjured raw mana in his palm and sharpened it.
"…Courtesy of the Emrys clan."
Aran Emrys was killed that day.
****
A pair of golden eyes suddenly fluttered open.
"Nic Aurelius! Get up right now!"
He was confused.
'I just—I was just…'
He shot up from the bed, his eyes catching the large vertical mirror that stared back at him.
He rubbed his face, confusion gripping him.
He looked different.
Unexpectedly, the door to the room burst open and someone walked in, face twisted in anger.
"Nicolas Aurelius! Don't you know it's morning already?!"
Of everything this person was saying, he picked just one thing and that was the name.
Nic Aurelius. Who was that?
He looked at the mirror again, analyzing his physical features.
'Nic Aurelius? Wait…what? Aurelius?!"
Aran finally realized two of the most shocking things he could not have thought possible.
Firstly, had reincarnated.
Secondly, he reincarnated not just as anybody but a member of the clan that was his sworn enemy — the Aurelius Clan.
Aran, someone who was an Emrys in his past life, was now reborn as a son of the sword family.
He was reborn as Nicolas Aurelius.