30 Years After Reincarnating, It Turns Out This World Was A Rofan?! novel Chapter 28

The man appeared ordinary at first glance.

Correction.

He was far from ordinary, with a strikingly beautiful appearance.

It was as if a famous sculptor had chiseled him to perfection.

His demeanor was cold and indifferent, and if he remained still, others might mistake him for a statue.

So, in that sense, he was ordinary.

Though his looks could inspire admiration from both men and women, his expressionless face revealed nothing.

There was only a calmness, like the stillness of a candle’s flame, and the faint warmth that every living person carries.

In other words, his presence was faint.

If his last name wasn’t Lionel, no one would have found him difficult to approach.

But...

Shing.

The moment he drew his sword, his presence was anything but faint.

It wasn’t like a candle anymore.

It was cold.

The air around him grew tense, as though a blizzard was about to strike, with a sharp, chilling aura engulfing the surroundings.

Just by holding a sword, he had transformed into a completely different person.

To say this was a change would be an understatement—it was a complete reversal.

Roen Dimitri de Lionel.

He was unlike any opponent Ihan had faced so far.

And everyone felt it.

As did Ihan, standing before him.

‘This guy isn’t even trying to hide that he’s a regressor.’

Ihan couldn’t help but smirk.

It was so obvious.

Shing.

Unlike his previous opponents who wielded unusual weapons, Roen carried a simple longsword.

Nothing special about it.

It was forged from high-purity steel, but still an ordinary iron sword.

However, when Roen held that iron sword, it seemed to transform into a masterpiece.

The fierce presence that Ihan had often emphasized now infused that ordinary sword, turning it into something far more dangerous.

An ominous aura.

What was the term for such an aura...?

‘Demon fire?’

It looked like a ghostly fire was rising around him.

It was an apt description, and to the others, it seemed like that.

This was no ordinary aura—it was the kind of presence a seasoned warrior who had fought in wars for at least ten years would possess.

Certainly not something a twenty-year-old rookie should emit.

He was not someone to be judged by appearances.

It would be fair to say he was a fully-fledged swordsman.

For the untrained eye, Roen might seem like a genius, but...

For someone with sharp instincts like Ihan, or a soldier who had survived countless battles, they would recognize it immediately.

Roen wasn’t a prodigy.

He was a swordsman perfected over time.

...A swordsman steeped in bloodlust.

Whoosh, whoosh!

But Ihan lightly swung his wooden sword.

When Roen’s overwhelming presence began to envelop him, Ihan instinctively responded by swinging.

Each swing of the wooden sword cut through the air with a sharp sound, growing faster and faster with every stroke.

Soon, the wooden sword moved so quickly that it became invisible!

Whoosh!

“-Let’s get started.”

“...”

“Come at me.”

“...If I move now, I’ll be cut.”

“Don’t be dramatic.”

Before Roen’s presence could even fully manifest, it had been torn apart.

Roen, along with the cadets, saw the marks left in the dirt by Ihan’s wooden sword.

The wooden sword hadn’t even touched the ground, yet the force of the swings had gouged the earth.

The cadets swallowed nervously.

At that moment, they realized...

That this man was far stronger than they had imagined.

And this realization...

“I’m coming.”

...brought a smile to Roen’s face.

A wild, crazed smile.

Roen was the first to move.

Whoosh!

The sword came straight for Ihan’s eyes.

A thrust with no hesitation, a dangerously sharp strike.

But Ihan...

“Are you trying to blind me?”

“It wasn’t a serious attack, was it?”

Clang!

Without even blinking, Ihan dodged smoothly and brought his wooden sword down in a strike.

Roen quickly blocked, but he couldn’t fully absorb the impact.

His arm tingled with pain, and he took a step back.

“...You infused your attack with inner energy.”

“It’s a technique I’ve been practicing. Pretty useful, right?”

“Extremely dangerous.”

“It’s not refined enough for actual combat, but it works well enough on rookies.”

The strike had included a touch of the weighted internal energy technique, but it hadn’t worked on Roen.

He had quickly reinforced the flow of energy within his body to repel the force that Ihan had tried to send through him.

However...

“Your strength is truly impressive.”

“That’s one of my strengths.”

The overwhelming power of the blow couldn’t be nullified completely.

Bang!

Ihan stepped forward, pressing his advantage while Roen’s body was momentarily stiff.

The ground cracked under Ihan’s powerful footstep, and the pressure intensified.

Thud!

Ihan’s wooden sword came down squarely on Roen’s blade, and Roen tried to parry and counterattack at the same time...!

Clang!

“...”

But the wooden sword didn’t break.

In fact, the wooden sword withstood the sharp steel, as if it were made of metal itself.

Roen couldn’t believe it and swung his sword again.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!

Three slashes in quick succession.

But once again...

Clang, clang!

They were blocked.

Easily.

And Roen could feel the pain in his palms.

What was this?

‘It feels like I’m hitting a boulder.’

It was like slicing at a rock.

No, it wasn’t just a feeling—it genuinely felt like his sword was striking stone.

What kind of sorcery was this?

As if reading his confusion, Ihan decided to play the role of instructor and explain.

“I don’t know much about aura manipulation. No one ever taught me, and since it’s considered a secret technique, it’s not like anyone’s eager to share it. But I do know how the ‘strength’ inside my body works.”

“...What are you saying?”