The Swordmaster Who Returned After 1,000 Years

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 138

"Activate the Combine Suit."

Following Myorn’s command, the Combine Suit was activated.

Clank—

A twisting sound began emanating from the five mana suits, which had initially maintained the shape of normal armor.

“Huh… this is…”

“It’s… expanding!”

The knight who had received the gauntlet-shaped mana suit saw it swell in size before transforming into a massive arm and hand.

The knight who had received the suit-shaped mana suit saw it morph into a leg and foot.

Kaylen’s assigned mana suit also expanded rapidly, reshaping itself into the form of a helmet and torso.

Hiss—

Then, the now-enlarged, separate parts began to converge toward Kaylen, merging together.

“Ugh…!”

“The mana is surging…!”

The knights responsible for the arms and legs let out strained groans as the changes occurred within the suit.

However, their struggle was nothing compared to what Kaylen was experiencing.

‘Is it because it’s still a prototype? The mana flow is too unstable.’

Inside the now-enlarged mana suit—

Logically, since the armor had grown, Kaylen should have felt lighter inside. Yet, he remained just as restrained as before.

Rather, it was even more difficult to stay standing than when he had been wearing the armor. The violent fluctuations of the Combine Suit’s mana bore down on him, pressing him with immense force.

Had it been an ordinary Sword Expert instead of him, they would have been crushed entirely, unable to withstand the pressure.

If even an Expert found it this unbearable, a mage wouldn’t have stood a chance.

‘It’s a good thing I’m the one participating in this experiment.’

Thud! Thud!

Especially when the separate arm and leg parts fused—

The impact was even greater.

“Urgh…!”

“I-It’s getting too hard to stay standing.”

Even the knights responsible for the limbs let out groans of pain. But if they were still managing to endure—

‘Even a Sword Master wouldn’t find this easy to withstand.’

With crushing pressure from all sides and the erratic mana surging through the suit, Kaylen remained still, assessing the situation.

Even if Eldir had been the one in his place, enduring the shock from the fusion process wouldn’t have been easy.

“Is it over now?”

But after a few minutes, the continuous shocks and mana turbulence subsided.

Kaylen suddenly felt the Combine Suit become buoyant.

Was it because the armor and helmet parts were now being supported by the legs?

‘But… how do I move in this state?’

Within the expanded, dimly lit interior of the armor—

Kaylen stood still, observing his surroundings.

Through the narrow gaps in the armor, faint light seeped in. Inside the expanded suit, intricate magic circles were inscribed.

Just like using a flight spell, his body floated freely in the hollow space within the suit.

Whirr—

As Kaylen observed the interior of the Combine Suit—

Something began rising from below.

‘This is… the leg of a giant demon.’

A leg of a giant demon, gleaming with light.

As Kaylen gazed at it in silence, Myorn’s voice called out from outside.

"Are you okay? How does it feel? What's your condition?"

"The mana flow is too unstable. No one else would be able to control this but me."

"Well, it’s still in the experimental phase. If His Majesty provides some support, we can probably advance it quickly."

"Alright. I’ll cooperate until it’s stabilized."

"Good. Oh, by the way… didn’t the controller emerge from the core?"

"Controller?"

"You know, the demon’s leg you gave me last time."

"Oh. Yeah, it’s here."

"Grab it and try infusing mana into it."

Following Myorn’s instructions, Kaylen infused mana into the demon’s leg.

Vrrrrr—

As the mana resonated with the leg, Kaylen felt his senses expand dramatically.

Not only did he feel the enlarged helmet and torso—

He also gained sensory feedback from the fused arms and legs of the mana suit.

‘It’s not perfect yet… but I can control it as if it were my own body.’

Curious, he began moving the Combine Suit.

At first, its movements were stiff and awkward.

But Kaylen quickly adapted to the controls and managed to take steps.

Thud. Thud.

As the massive, over 10-meter-tall mana suit moved freely, the researchers watching it stirred in excitement.

"Ohh…!"

"It worked! It’s a success!"

"This is real!"

Back when he had joined Myorn’s workshop as an alternative to punishment from the Seven Towers—

He never could have imagined this moment.

To achieve a groundbreaking experiment that would leave a mark on the history of mana suit development in such a short time.

As the colossal Combine Suit wobbled yet steadily walked forward, the researchers were overcome with emotion.

‘It really worked…!’

Myorn felt the same excitement.

But she suppressed it and called out loudly to Kaylen.

"Kaylen! Try using mana. You can use magic or aura!"

[Use mana?]

When he grasped the demon’s leg and resonated with its mana—

Kaylen’s voice flowed out from the Combine Suit’s helmet.

‘So the demon’s leg even has a function like this.’

Thinking that, Kaylen activated his mana.

[Fire Arrow.]

As mana circulated through his mana body—

It resonated with the entire Combine Suit, creating a massive flow.

And soon—

A soft glow emanated from the suit as a giant Fire Arrow formed before its right hand.

Rather than an arrow, it was a blazing projectile the size of a building column.

Seeing it, the onlookers swallowed nervously.

"That’s… a Fire Arrow?"

"But this isn’t even an elemental-specialized mana suit. Why is it that big?"

‘At this level of power, it’s almost equivalent to an A-rank mana suit.’

"Kaylen, adjust your power. Make it weaker. The magic you use is impossible to measure objectively."

[Alright. Understood.]

Weaker, huh.

Kaylen cast Fire Arrow multiple times.

But no matter how much he tried to reduce it, the fire arrow wouldn’t shrink beyond the size of the Combine Suit’s forearm.

"It won’t get any smaller?"

[Yeah. This is the limit.]

"Then we’ll have to compare it with a regular mana suit later. Got it. Now, do you want to try using aura?"

Whirrr—

Myorn extended her fur and dragged over a massive sword that had been prepared in advance.

Compared to the small objects she usually moved, she visibly struggled, so Kaylen’s Combine Suit reached out a hand.

[Let me handle it.]

Whoosh—

The sword floated into the air on its own and landed in the Combine Suit’s hand.

A greatsword befitting the Combine Suit’s massive frame.

As Kaylen began channeling his aura—

"Oh… this is…"

"I can feel the flow of aura, too."

The knights inside the four remaining parts of the suit were startled.

Unlike when Kaylen used magic, they could directly sense how he wielded his aura.

Vrrrrr—

The greatsword resonated with Kaylen, becoming enveloped in golden aura.

"The size of the Aura Sword is incredible."

"The aura function seems to be working well, too."

Unlike before with Fire Arrow, the mages spoke in calm voices.

After all, they knew little about aura.

And since King Kaylen had once split the royal castle in half with his own body, seeing an Aura Sword like this wasn’t particularly shocking.

However, the knights were all wide-eyed, carefully observing the flow of resonating aura.

‘This… is a learning opportunity.’

‘So it’s possible to manifest aura like this…’

‘His Majesty’s mastery is truly on another level…’

The way Kaylen controlled his aura was so overwhelmingly advanced that, even though they could see and feel it, they couldn’t possibly imitate it.

But just experiencing it firsthand in the same space was a great lesson in itself.

Ssshhhkk—

After about 15 minutes of testing magic and swinging the sword—

The Combine Suit flickered with white light before slowly shrinking, returning to its original form.

Seeing this, Myorn spoke in a disappointed tone.

"Mana depletion. It’s over, Kaylen."

As he landed back on the ground, Kaylen looked at the Combine Suit.

Its duration was short, and it had several limitations…

But when Myorn later tested it against a regular mana suit, the results were astonishing.

"Kaylen… you really controlled your power the same way as before, right?"

"Yeah."

"A D-rank Combine Suit matching the power of a B-rank mana suit…?"

In its fully combined state, the Combine Suit displayed power two whole ranks above its original grade.

The researchers knew the power would increase, but they never expected it to rise by two whole ranks. They were so shocked that they were left utterly dumbfounded.

"Myorn, we absolutely have to make this a success. If the Combine Suit is properly completed, humans will gain the power to stand against the demons."

"Ah, got it."

Myorn, who had been staring blankly at the experiment data in shock, nodded.

If they could further develop the Combine Suit, that hope might truly become a reality.

"But… I think we’ll need more of the demon legs you gave me last time…"

"That won’t be a problem."

Thinking of the silent giant demon, Kaylen smirked.

‘That guy finally has a use.’

And from that point—

A year passed.

"The nation has finally stabilized to some extent."

"Yes, Your Majesty. The relocation of commoners is in its final stages, and all dungeon portals within the capital region have been eliminated."

A year had passed since the founding of the Meier Kingdom.

During that time, Kaylen successfully achieved his goal of reducing the kingdom’s territory.

Compared to the original Bormian Kingdom, the land had shrunk by over 30%.

However, unlike before, the territory within the new borders was now securely protected.

"Financially, our expenses are still higher than our revenue, but at least there won’t be any more major costs."

Violet spoke with a noticeably more relieved expression.

Since Kaylen’s coronation, she had been overwhelmed with work.

But now that most of the king’s projects were nearing completion, things were no longer as difficult as before.

‘I hope this peaceful routine lasts.’

It had been a peaceful year since the defeat of the Demon Realm’s colonial subjugation forces.

Dungeon portals still appeared within the kingdom, but thanks to Kaylen’s proactive measures, the Meier Kingdom was safer than ever.

At first, people were uneasy about the royal family changing and struggled to adapt.

However, as the country became more stable than before, the people came to support the Meier royal family.

Violet hoped this peace would continue—

But her wish did not last long.

"Your Majesty, an envoy has arrived from a foreign nation."

"An envoy?"

Kaylen tilted his head in curiosity.

Since the appearance of dungeon portals, trade between kingdoms had been severed.

Diplomatic envoys rarely traveled anymore, and when they did, most communication was handled through the Dungeon Guild or the Sanctuary.

‘Even when I founded the Meier Kingdom and took the throne, no envoys came.’

From the perspective of other nations, the Meier royal family was nothing more than a rebel regime with no legitimacy.

A kingdom that acknowledged Kaylen’s rule even through simple communication was already showing goodwill.

Yet now, after an entire year, and without any major events—an envoy had suddenly arrived.

Intrigued by the envoy’s purpose, Kaylen granted an audience.

And then—

"The Geysir Empire sternly warns your kingdom."

The envoy who had come to see Kaylen spoke with a rigid expression.

"Change the name of the Meier Kingdom immediately."

[Translator - Kiteretsu]@@novelbin@@

[Proofreader - Kyros]