Was it a dream? A miracle?
Or perhaps a cruel joke played by the gods?
When I opened my eyes again, I was utterly stunned.
I had definitely died, engulfed in the Red Dragon’s flames.
“Waaah?”
But I was alive.
And not just alive—in the body of a newborn baby.
What in the world is this?
Verdin couldn’t comprehend it.
Why he was in this form was a mystery.
But after half a day passed, he came to understand where he was.
With a face full of disbelief, he let out a sigh.
No way… is this…?
A room where everything—the walls, the floor, the furniture—was pristine white.
Loud cries of infants competing to be the noisiest filled the space.
And among them, a baby with a fierce glare was sulking.
This was a place Verdin knew all too well.
The home of the continent’s most renowned family of swordsmanship, the Strange family.
And he, the youngest son of the family and a prodigious monster of talent…
Verdin de Strange.
This was the place where I, who would later be called the Sword King, was born.
My short yet piercing cry echoed through the room.
“Waaah!”
No matter how I look at it, this is the Strange family home I grew up in!
I quickly scanned the surroundings and furrowed my brows.
“Waaah, waaah.”
No, no, this isn’t the issue. What on earth is going on? Why am I here?
My head and mouth weren’t in sync.
No matter what I tried to say, all that came out was “waaah.”
Frustrated, I twitched the corners of my lips, clenched my tiny fists, and sighed deeply.
Sigh…
Being reborn, that part was fine.
I don’t know how, but I’m alive.
But I’m a baby.
“Waaah!”
Damn it!
My earlier cry was one of despair.
Misunderstanding my distress, the nanny checked my diaper and stuck a milk bottle into my mouth.
I tried to shove it away, wanting to yell, I’m not hungry, so get rid of it!
“Waaah!”
But all that came out was another “waaah.”
The nanny, unable to understand my words, just smiled brightly and patted my head.
“Oh dear, why is our young master Verdin so grumpy?”
I’m not grumpy; I’m just not hungry.
“And those eyes and nose, how can they look so much like the lord’s?”
Shut up! To say I resemble my father—that’s both the first time I’ve heard it and the last thing I want to hear.
“Such thick eyebrows, a high nose bridge, and cherry-like lips. How could you be so handsome?”
How freely you speak nonsense with that mouth of yours. If you knew I could understand, you’d faint on the spot.
For the reborn Verdin, childhood was an unbearable ordeal.
The cries of his one-year-older siblings were deafening, and the humiliation of having bottles thrust into his mouth and diapers changed were endless.
If he had truly been a baby, he wouldn’t have cared. But to Verdin, who had lived past twenty years, these were humiliating days.
To think that someone once called the Sword King now had to cry to a nanny for food and clean diapers.
Sigh…
For a time, I refused to accept that I had been reborn.
One day passed. Then two. Then three.
It took an entire week before I finally accepted reality.
This place I now stood was no dream.
Whatever the reason, I had been given a chance to grow stronger than before.
The continent’s most prestigious swordsmanship family.
At the Strange family, children receive their lifelong spiritual guardian, when they turn five.
Not only the direct descendants but also the children from branch families gather at the main house to undergo this ritual. Each year, over a hundred children assemble, turning the day into a noisy affair.
‘Time flies.’
In my previous life, I regretted this day.
Because it was on this day that I ended up with what I thought was the most useless spiritual guardian.
The owner of the famed sword Balmus, which was said to have once decapitated a dragon, the Sword God Siegfried.
At the time, I believed that excelling in swordsmanship alone could solve everything.
So, I chose to bond with the spiritual guardian known as the Sword God. Everyone congratulated me, saying I was destined to become the next family head.
Being from a renowned swordsmanship family and choosing the Sword God as my companion—what could be a better match?
But that became both my strength and my weakness.
Siegfried wanted me to follow his path as a Sword God, while I sought to learn techniques beyond just swordsmanship.
From then on, our conversations dwindled until they ceased altogether.
‘…It couldn’t be helped.’
By the time I turned fifteen, I had surpassed Siegfried’s level in swordsmanship.
To grow stronger, I had no choice but to seek other methods.
When the war with the mages broke out, I realized that merely slashing with a sword couldn’t conquer the continent.
So, I resented Siegfried. If I had chosen a different spiritual guardian, I could have learned unique techniques.
‘All I learned was how to wield a sword.’
That day, I was so enraged that I even cursed at my ancestor, shouting, “You useless bastard!”
As a result, Siegfried left me, calling me an insolent fool for disrespecting my master.
‘I should have held onto him then.’
It wasn’t until I earned the title of Sword King that I realized the gap between Siegfried and me.
Siegfried wasn’t just skilled at handling a sword. He calculated and determined every possible outcome through the sword, achieving a divine realm where even the “unbreakable” could be cut.
In the end, as the Sword King, I lost to a dragon, while Siegfried, the Sword God, triumphed.
‘…That’s right.’
That’s why I stand here today, prepared to open the path to the divine realm.
Creak—
The doors of the training hall opened.
Figures clad in white armor that covered even their faces entered, their cloaks fluttering as they lined up on either side.
As they formed their positions, the voices of knights could be heard from afar.
“Pay your respects to the family head!”
At the far end of the corridor, a middle-aged man with golden hair and a distinguished beard appeared. His presence was so imposing that everyone bowed their heads, swallowing nervously. Some of the nannies even fainted from the overwhelming aura.
Click, click, click.
The sound of his shoes echoed.
A halo of light shone behind the family head.
The strongest swordsman of this era and the master of the Strange family.
‘Lois de Strange.’
“…Prepare.”
His deep, commanding voice resonated throughout the training hall.
“Yes, sir!”
The knights replied in unison, their voices booming throughout the castle.
Women in pristine white dresses entered, each carrying a unique jar. They lined them up meticulously, filling half the massive hall that could accommodate over a thousand people.
The jars, each with a distinct design, were spaced evenly apart.
Behind them stood the five-year-old children of the Strange family, ready to charge forward at any moment.
To survive in the harsh world ahead, they needed to secure a powerful spiritual guardian.
Knowing this, their parents prepared them to seize the best possible choice.
“Run ahead first.”
“Choose the most fancy jar.”
In my past life, I had been taught the same and selected the largest, most elaborate jar.
That was where Siegfried, the Sword God everyone desired, resided.
Shhhh—
As time passed, the spiritual guardian began to emerge from the jars like mist.
A muscular knight wielding a massive mace, a gaunt man holding dual swords, an old man drunkenly clutching a staff, his face flushed red.
And among them, a man in crimson armor stood with a relaxed expression, arms crossed.
‘…Siegfried.’
“Begin.”
Lois de Strange spoke in a low voice.
The soldier standing at the entrance nodded and struck the drum with all his might.
Boom!
At that moment, the children dashed toward the jars.
Desperate to secure a powerful spiritual guardian, their faces contorted with effort as they ran.
While everyone else was doing their utmost to make their choice, I stood still, observing their movements.
Then, calmly.
I picked up the nearest jar.
And hurled it toward the jar that sealed Siegfried.
Crash!
“…You’ll join me once again.”
Siegfried, the Dragon Slayer.
Clink!