TSMRG 01

Chapter 1

Reincarnated as the Greatest Swordsmanship Genius of a Prestigious Family

I had this thought.

“Why am I so unlucky?”

No, not just normally unlucky.

It was more accurate to say I was the unluckiest person in the world, someone completely devoid of fortune.

Why?

Because I was about to die.

Whoosh!

A sword, sharp as the cold wind cutting through the air, approached my neck.

“1872.”

I turned my gaze toward the low voice that pressed down on my entire body.

There stood a man, clean and sharp-featured, entirely out of place in such a deadly scene.

Yes, this man.

One of the “Four Heavens,” the Sayeokgong.

Lord Roben Patherion.

The head of the Patherion family, ruler of the West.

Every space he stood in alone was his domain.

In this place, drenched in sticky blood and a swampy, sickening miasma, only the two of us were alive.

“…….”

“How did you break the curse?”

Ah, that cursed spell?

The curse [Taranos’s Curse], originating from the God of Death, Taranos.

It was a powerful spell that allowed the caster to take the life of their target at any time.

“Now you ask what I want? Just kill me already.”

I chuckled lightly and said so.

Roben replied in an equally cold tone:

“Your answer?”

What did I do to break it?

Snap. Just like that, it was gone.

“Well… if I say it just broke, would you believe me?”

I shrugged, and his gaze only grew colder.

“The shadow…”

“……”

“Only moves according to orders. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes, that’s what I’ve been taught.”

“And yet?”

Still, Roben’s sword remained steady, aimed at my neck.

“1872. You know better than anyone what happens to traitors in the end…”

“I served like a dog my whole life. What betrayal? Someone might think I really stabbed you in the back.”

I let out a hollow laugh, staring at the emotionless Roben Patherion.

With his still expressionless face, it was impossible to predict his thoughts.

“Why do you keep asking as if confessing now would make me forgive you?”

If I explained it wasn’t my choice, that I had no will in it, would he even care?

“No, seriously. What else could I do? If a delicious meal suddenly appeared before me, would I just refrain from taking it?”

“Foolish.”

“Perhaps the Grand Duke would have done the same.”

“……”

Roben didn’t reply to me anymore.

Then, slowly, he lowered the sword in his hand.

“1872, why do you think I made you the leader of the Shadows?”

“Because I’m amazing?”

“…….”

Honestly, if he was going to make me the leader, couldn’t he at least give me a proper name? 1872? What kind of name is that?

“Because you were the most ruthless. You valued your own life and quickly judged what to sacrifice for practicality. And yet…”

Roben lowered his sword to the floor and muttered with a blank expression:

“Now you act greedy… pitiful to the point of tears.”

If I had acted out of greed, it wouldn’t feel as unfair.

But what could I do when everything I touched became mine?

“……The same goes for me.”

For decades.

Chosen as the Shadow of the Patherion family at an age I barely remember, I was trained to be a hunting dog, an assassin, a caretaker for dirty work in the Western shadows.

I moved like a machine to fulfill my purpose, obeyed commands like a beast, and became a perfect Shadow, ceaselessly serving my master.

At some point, people began calling me their leader.

Those under me multiplied, and Roben Patherion recognized my merit, making me the leader of the Shadows.

But…

“So what?”

A Shadow is still just a Shadow.

Handling the Patherion family’s dirty work, covering up their problems. Even as a leader, my destiny was to clean up after them for life.

Once a Shadow, always a Shadow.

My life was nothing but being a pawn for Roben Patherion.

Perhaps that’s why…

“How long do I have to keep doing this?”

I just wanted…

“To live like a human being.”

To escape the constant threat of death and the curse, and to curse my own fate of forced labor.

Until finally…

“I obtained a treasure of the ages.”

Reluctantly, I had touched it, and the treasure absorbed into my body.

It broke all the curses and bindings that had trapped me, showing me a new path.

As if compensating for my long life of misfortune, tears welled up at the fortune in front of me.

It was fate, even if accidental. I finally got what I had truly wanted.

But…

“Yes. I’ve always been unlucky.”

The assassination order came immediately.

Dozens, hundreds of assassins and Shadows rushed to kill me.

Only following Roben Patherion’s orders.

Former comrades, lifesaving benefactors, companions through life and death…

They tried to kill me.

“…So this is why you tried to kill me?”

I muttered, staring at the dark blood splattered around me.

The dogs and Shadows who had followed me all my life, now met their end by my hands.

“Killing a dog that bites its master is only natural.”

I nodded, murmuring agreement with the cold Roben Patherion.

“Well, if that’s natural, then it’s natural.”

Though I regretted their meaningless deaths, I felt no pity.

“After all, the weak are always eaten by the strong.”

And soon, I would follow them.

I couldn’t defeat the beast in front of me.

“But if you kill me now, the wisdom of the Millennium Mastery will vanish forever. Is that fine with you?”

“……”

Roben Patherion didn’t respond, only looked at me.

Then his lips twitched.

“You seem to misunderstand, 1872.”

“Mis…understand?”

“Did you think a mere threat like that would make me yield?”

Slash!

Something flashed in an instant.

Simultaneously…

“Ugh!”

A hole pierced my chest.

Roben’s expressionless gaze shot through me.

“Ah….”

The truth dawned on me.

Whoosh!

Blood spurted as I collapsed.

Thud!

“I didn’t even see it coming.”

Shocked by the sword that pierced my chest for only a moment, I heard Roben speak indifferently:

“The Millennium Mastery… it’s fine whether it exists or not.”

I stared blankly at him.

“Such a pathetic death… without even a proper struggle…”

I, 1872, the legendary Shadow who had taken hundreds, thousands of lives, was nothing but a bug before Roben Patherion, one of the continent’s strongest.

My skills, my abilities, no matter how great, were child’s play against the depth of his accomplishments and the force he had amassed.

Still…

“If only I had a little more time…”

The wisdom left by the Millennium Master Ganel, once the strongest on the continent…

“Thousand Seamless Mastery (Tian Yi Wu Feng).”

A wisdom that could connect directly with the heavens.

Finally, I had obtained it!

In the pitch-black darkness, I met Roben’s blank stare.

“……!”

A faint smile appeared on his face.

Grr!

“Damn it, he’s smiling?!”

Even as I lay dying, a surge of emotion I refused to accept erupted.

Yes, it was anger.

Hotter and fiercer than molten lava.

I didn’t expect gratitude for my lifelong loyalty to Roben Patherion.

“But this is too much.”

Seeing him effortlessly slaughter everyone who had devoted themselves to him… my heart pounded.

“It’s unfair. Too unfair! I can’t die like this!”

It was unfair to die having obtained the treasure of ages, unable to even use it.

I lost myself in rage at someone who massacred everyone due to a single mistake, despite my lifetime of loyalty.

“I don’t want to die. I want to live.”

And then I lost consciousness.

Cooing, cooing!

Where on earth was that baby crying coming from?

“Is there a child nearby…?”

I dismissed the thought immediately.

There was no way a baby could be in the place where Roben Patherion had spilled blood.

Besides, my head and body were already separated, dying.

“It must be a hallucination.”

If it was the sound of a baby at the moment of my death, it wasn’t so bad.

It seemed to signify a new beginning…

Waaah!

That’s one loud cry.

Whoever it was, maybe a future general… wait?

Suddenly, I realized I couldn’t continue my thoughts.

“This sound… is coming from my body?!”

Yes. I, 1872, the legendary Shadow, unfairly killed, had opened my eyes as a baby.

.
.
.

“Peekaboo! Look here, little one!”

Jingle jingle!

A beautiful woman with violet hair and red eyes shook a small toy, smiling, and I could only stare in awe.

A whole month had passed since I opened my eyes in this baby body.

“I have to accept it now.”

I still couldn’t fully understand, but one thing was certain:

“I was born into a new body.”

Not a regression, not possession.

Reincarnation.

With 1872’s death, a new life had begun.

At first, I couldn’t believe it.

I thought it was a dream, a hallucination from the brink of death.

But the clearer it became over time, the more undeniable it was.

I had died, and now I had been reborn.

And there was no one to talk to about it.

“Even if I explain later, who would believe me?”

Anyone would dismiss it as childish fantasy.

The baby teasing in front of me was my mother, Daisy.

“Here, milk for you!”

I responded faintly—well, I was hungry, so I was basically asking for food.

“Drink, little one.”

She unhesitatingly breastfed me.

Sure, a grown man drinking milk was weird, but I was a baby now.

I sucked vigorously, and Daisy murmured with a gentle smile:

“Could this child be a genius? Eats so well, so good.”

I nodded at her pats.

Of course. I had lived over thirty years in the shadows, a legendary Shadow… haaam.

“But why am I so sleepy?”

I soon drifted into sleep, enduring hunger, and 100 days passed.

“Luin, say ‘Mama.’”

At 100 days, I was called Luin.

“I have a name…”

After a lifetime as 1872, having a name brought a strange mix of shock and emotion.

I put that aside to gather information about my new birthplace.

Sturdy wooden house, neat furniture, orderly surroundings—an ordinary home.

And with traps, arrows, spears, and hunting tools on the wall…

“A hunter’s household?”

But…

“Where’s the father? Why haven’t I seen him yet?”

He seemed to be home sometimes, but I had been asleep too long to notice.

“Luin, say Mama.”

“Ma…ma.”

“Yes, Mama. I’m your mother.”

At that moment… click!

The door opened.

“Daisy.”

“Oh, darling? You’re back already?”

I reached out immediately.

“Fa…ther.”

Daisy’s shocked gaze followed me.

“Did I just call him Dad?!”

A strong figure approached.

“Luin!”

A handsome young man with black hair and blue eyes hugged me quickly and smiled.

“Did you miss Daddy?”

“Not bad looking.”

He had the kind of aura that commanded attention.

“Not just a normal hunter… ugh!”

Then—creak, thud.

“Kabel, what are you doing? Let’s have a drink…”

Daisy’s normally smiling eyes turned sharp.

“Brion! Daytime drinking, really?!”

“Ah, Daisy… haha, no. Kabel, maybe next time.”

The man slunk out, humiliated.

“Huh? Capthalen?”

Brion muttered something about Capthalen, catching my attention.

“Why is Capthalen even mentioned here?”