Reincarnation Of A Swordsman: The Omni Mage

Chapter 134: Tide's Source (1)

After commanding the system, Kyle closed his eyes, telling himself that he would only rest for a moment. But the warmth of the room and the deep fatigue in his muscles betrayed him and within minutes, he was fast asleep.

**

Two hours later, the system's piercing alarm blared inside Kyle's head, jolting him awake.

[RISE AND SHINE, GENIUS!] Void's voice also echoed inside his mind, far too cheerful for the ungodly hour.

'Good timing. Thanks'

[You should be thanking the system. I was just enjoying the show of you drooling in your sleep.]

Ignoring Void's jab, Kyle sat up and glanced around the room. His teammates were sound asleep and that was the perfect moment to act.

He stood up and quietly slipped out the door, making sure to be careful so as not to wake anyone. The night air hit him like a cool wave upon leaving the cottage. He glanced at his comm to confirm the time. "11:00 PM,"

The village was eerily quiet, the earlier liveliness replaced by a heavy stillness. Most of the lanterns had been extinguished, leaving the streets bathed in darkness. Only the faint glow of the moon provided illumination, casting long, distorted shadows across the ground.

Kyle walked through the empty streets, his boots making soft crunching sounds against the dirt path. The occasional rustle of leaves in the wind broke the silence, but otherwise, the world seemed to be holding its breath.

Finally, Kyle reached the eastern edge of the village where the forest loomed ahead of him. He stopped at the forest's edge and took in the scene before him.

The expanse of trees seemed endless... Like a vast sea of darkness that swallowed everything beyond.

'This is it,' Kyle thought, summoning the Frozen Claw and gripping its hilt tightly.

He took a deep breath and steeled himself. The mission's official objective was to hold the tide for four days until reinforcements from the academy could arrive. But Kyle wasn't content with simply defending. Something about the sudden surge in beast activity didn't sit right with him.

'If there's a source causing this tide, I'll find it,' he thought.

The decision was equal parts confidence and recklessness, but Kyle couldn't ignore the gnawing feeling in his gut. If he could stop the tide at its root, it would save countless lives—and he had the skills, the weapons, and Void by his side to make it happen. Above all, he would possibly get the combat experience and adventure he had been wanting.

Kyle stepped deeper into the forest, before stopping at a small clearing. He scanned the area cautiously before summoning the tools Orion had prepared for him.

The pathfinder map lit up in his hand, its interface projecting a detailed view of the areas Kyle had already explored. According to Orion, the map logged his steps, marking his path and revealing useful details he had encountered. As Kyle turned it toward the uncharted forest ahead, the screen remained blank.

'Right,' Kyle thought, clipping the device to his belt. 'This will only be useful on the way back.'

He then reached for the soundless whistle. Orion had described its purpose with great enthusiasm, explaining how it emitted a frequency normal to humans but frustrating to nearby beasts. It was very useful and Kyle knew that, but he considering his options on whether to use it.

'Not yet,' he decided, pocketing the whistle. The idea of luring beasts sounded efficient, but Kyle couldn't ignore the risk. What if the whistle's range was larger than expected? What if it summoned a swarm of Tier 1 beasts—or worse, something stronger?

The forest was an unknown variable, and until he had a better understanding of his surroundings, he wasn't taking unnecessary risks.

Finally, he summoned the [Veil of Silence], the enchanted mask materializing in his hands. Its black surface gleamed faintly under the moonlight and its edges were smooth and seamless.

The moment Kyle placed it over his face, the world fell unnaturally silent for a while. He adjusted the mask to fit before summoning Void.

With a faint flash of light, the dragon materialized beside him. Void stretched his sleek, black-scaled body, yawning as his bright golden eyes scanned the forest.

"Finally!" he exclaimed, his tail swishing eagerly. "I thought I was going to rot in that space forever."

Kyle gestured for Void to lower his voice, earning an unimpressed snort.

"Right, that mask," Void muttered upon noticing what he wore on his face. "You know, it's going to be really boring if you can't even talk. How am I supposed to annoy you properly?"

Kyle rolled his eyes, pointing toward the dense woods ahead. Void's irritation melted away, replaced by excitement. The dragon sniffed the air, his pupils dilating. "There's a lot of mana around. This is going to be fun!"

The two moved forward, navigating the dense forest. There were some common beasts that Kyle and Void passed, but he ignored them as they weren't useful to him and couldn't cause real harm anyway. He'll rather stay lowkey until he got involved in an actual fight.

***

After nearly an hour of walking, Kyle and Void came to a stop. The dragon sniffed the air and grinned widely. "Finally... A mana beast!"

Kyle remained still and watched behind the bushes. Moments later, a golden-furred deer emerged, its luminous eyes glowing faintly in the dark.

Kyle immediately activated [Inspect] and the translucent system panel appeared before his eyes.

[Earthstride Deer: Tier 1]

[Element: Earth]

The deer didn't give Kyle a moment to think upon locating him, charging forward with a burst of speed that sent chunks of dirt flying in its wake.

Void licked his lips excitedly as he saw the charging deer. "Finally, some action! Let me—"

Kyle interrupted Void with a raise of his hand, signaling for Void to hold back.

"What? You're planning to hog the fun?" Void complained, pouting.

Kyle ignored him, simply stepping forward and raising his hand. A crackling bolt of blue lightning formed in his palm, illuminating the forest briefly before striking the charging deer.

Lightning Bolt.

The spell slammed into the deer's chest, halting its momentum and leaving a smoking scorch mark on its fur but it didn't make it halt its charge as it tried to recover.

Kyle simply spammed [Lightning Bolt]s one after the other until the beast fell, not even noticing the moment it had and fallen.

[Congratulations! You have slain a Tier-1 mana beast: Earthstride Deer!]

[You've obtained 1* Tier-1 Mana Core!]

[Vanquished Foes: 1/1000]

Kyle brushed his hands and smiled widely after seeing the system notifications.

Void padded over to the fallen deer, sniffing it with mild interest. "Not bad," he admitted, though his tone was laced with sarcasm. "But you know, I could've finished it in half the time."

Kyle raised an eyebrow but said nothing, motioning for Void to follow.

"Fine, fine," Void sighed dramatically, though his swishing tail betrayed his excitement. "But I'm calling dibs on the next one. You can't hog all the fun."

They both continued moving through the forest but their progress was slower than expected. After some more meters, Kyle finally decided to come to a halt.

He reached up and removed the [Veil of Silence], holding it up on his hand so that he could talk.

"We're wasting too much time."

"Finally noticed, did you? I thought we'll keep walking forever."

Kyle shot Void a look but didn't dignify his comment with a response. Instead, he clenched his fist and channeled mana through his body.

"Let's speed things up. We'll use [Lightning Dash] to cover more ground and take out beasts quickly. No point dragging this out."

Void grinned and brimmed with excitement. "Now you're talking. Let's see if you can keep."

Kyle smirked and wore back his mask, and his body crackled with arcs of blue lightning. In an instant, he disappeared and a trail of sparks lighted up his paths. Void took off after him, his agile form cutting through the trees with ease. The duo became a blur of motion as they continued heading deeper into the forest.

They soon began encountering some beasts, but each beast they met eventually met their end. After they cleared a group of mana beasts, which Void had contributed to some deaths. Kyle thought for a moment before taking off his mask to ask:

"Not bad," Kyle remarked, glancing at the fallen creature. "How do we get the mana core?"