In a normal, average room stood two figures. One of them was a male with short, spiky red hair that swayed slightly, partially covering his sharp, green, pearl-like left eye as he stood before the holographic television.
He muttered a few words as he stared blankly at something.
"System."
The moment he spoke, a purple, transparent window appeared in front of him with a soft opening sound,
Fwang—!
———「System」———
◆ Name: Silas Kingslay
◆ Age: 16
◆ Race: Human
◆ Level: 15↑
◆ EXP: (15/2500)↑
◆ Sage Limit: SSS+
◆ Skill Passive: Body Strengthening {Always on✓}
∟Tap To See Skill Description
◆ Skill: Blink Step
∟Skill Information: Upgrades the speed and strength of the user twice for a certain period of time
◆ Elements: Fire, Ice, Water
∟Tri - Elemental
∟Elements Type: Fire{Manipulation}, Ice{Creation}, Water{Creation}
◆ Stats:
∟STR: B-
∟SPD: C
∟AGI: D
∟DEF: B-
∟INT: D
∟CHARM: A+
∟MP: (560/560)
◆ Profession: Sword Art
∟Kendoki Style {Level 2}↑
∟Sword Arts Can be upgrade
◆ System Shop
◆ System Inventory
◆ System Coins: 0
◆ Quests Available: 0
————————————
'Hmm… only one point left for me to break through to S- in charm rank. But I'm still confused, why does this system even have a charm rank? Does it have something to do with my looks?'
Silas stared at the floating window in front of him, a concerned look forming on his face as he massaged his chin thoughtfully.
Just then, the lady beside him waved both her hands in front of his face, a confused expression on her own.
"Hello… are you there? Are you even listening? You started dozing off again…"
Snapping out of his thoughts, Silas turned toward the familiar voice of a girl staring at him.
Meeting his gaze was a cute young lady, around seventeen, with long pale gray hair and eyes like crimson moons. She wore a simple casual dress.
"Are you okay? You started staring at the floor again."
"Ah… Lily, it's nothing. I'm just a bit nervous about the academy, it's starting in five days,"
Silas said with a wry smile, scratching the back of his head.
Lily looked at him with a warm, radiant smile and said,
"Fuu… It's normal for everyone, you know. I'm quite nervous too. Still, don't worry…"
Hearing those words, Silas chuckled softly and patted her head.
"Yeah, Lily… thank you."
Noticing his hand on her head, Lily quickly brushed it away and puffed her cheeks in annoyance.
"I already told you not to touch my hair! And besides, you don't have to be so nervous. You have that secret skill that makes you stronger each time, right? You'll probably end up being first in the entire first year!"
Silas had told her about the system, but only partially.
He'd left out the crucial details, lying about how it truly worked.
All Lily knew was that it somehow helped him grow stronger.
After a few seconds of silent thought, Silas simply shrugged it off and muttered something under his breath, making sure Lily didn't notice.
"System, close."
Fwang—!
"Yeah…"
Silas replied almost immediately, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
"I guess so…"
*****
Bam—!
Lyrium's body slammed against the cave wall, the wooden sword in his hand driving him into it with tremendous force. A crater formed where he had struck.
Clenching the sword tightly, Lyrium muttered to himself,
"Damn… how the hell is a Grim Reaper roaming around freely here with his pawns…"
Ignoring the pain in his back from crashing into the wall, Lyrium pushed himself to his feet. His eyes locked on the shadows rushing toward him, while the Grim Reaper extended its hand, signaling them to charge.
"Okay… there wasn't a single guide on how to defeat a Grim Reaper. I mean, how do you even fight Death itself?!"
At that moment, he felt powerless, forced to watch the shadows advancing at alarming speed.
No… there has to be a way. Nothing is impossible. And most importantly, I'm not going to waste this chance, this second chance at life.
Nobody believes in miracles… but why? It's because they've never truly experienced one.
For Lyrium, though, he had already witnessed a miracle.
Just then,
Whoosh—!
The wooden sword in his hand began to emit a brilliant white glow, effortlessly obliterating the shadows and leaving only the Grim Reaper standing alone on the opposite side.
Then, a golden screen floated before Lyrium's eyes as the sword hovered in front of him. Words appeared on it:
「The Holy Sword of Heaven wants to bind its soul with you. Survival chance: 20%. Would you like to accept?」
「Y/N」
「Yes / No」
"What… the hell is this now…? The Holy Sword of Heaven?!"
Lyrium muttered, panic rising in his voice.
"Wait… the Holy Sword of Heaven?!!"
"I… I can't accept this…!"
Lyrium was already painfully aware of the situation.
Binding his soul with the Holy Sword meant directly inheriting all three sword arts, including the original. In fact, doing so would wreak havoc on the future, and potentially unravel the entire plotline.
His plan had been to take only the two replica versions of the sword art, leaving the original for the protagonist in the future.
But if he were to take the original as well, the protagonist's development and growth would be disrupted.
And since the host of this world is tied to that progression, the consequences would ripple outward, likely affecting the entire world in a significant way.
On top of that, his survival rate after binding his soul with the Holy Sword was only 20%.
"Also… if I use the Ruler's Loathing right now, maybe I could defeat that guy. But there's no guarantee, the skill only grows stronger with experience. And the aftereffects… I have no idea how many days I'd be out cold. Last time, I wasted seven days in the Black Market."
He wasn't really worried about the pain from the mana fluctuations.
What concerned him was the recovery of his body, which would take at least seven days, just like last time in the Black Market.
Time was too precious.
He couldn't afford to waste it sleeping and recovering while others, and the main lead, surpassed him.
Then, the Grim Reaper, scythe in hand, charged at Lyrium even faster than the shadows had, aiming to slash his neck.
It was a do-or-die situation, there was no other choice.
'It's now or never…'
"Forget the plotline! Yessss…!"
He yelled, rage and determination fueling him as he accepted the binding contract.
The tip of the scythe was just an inch from his neck when a white glow erupted from Lyrium's body and the wooden sword hovering in the air, bathing the entire area in radiant light for several seconds.
The Grim Reaper staggered back, retreating a few meters from Lyrium.
Then, amidst the radiance of the light, a small voice echoed.
"2nd Technique… Hasso Hidari."
In the blink of an eye, Lyrium dashed out from the glow, slashing across the Grim Reaper's neck as he positioned himself behind it.
"...."
Then… seconds passed.
No one moved, not even the Grim Reaper.
The Grim Reaper remained motionless, gripping its scythe in its left hand.
On the other side, Lyrium stood expressionless, two swords held firmly in each hand.
The sword in his left hand, which had looked like an old wooden blade, now shimmered with golden particles as it transformed into a long katana.
Meanwhile, the massive sword he had acquired from the Black Market radiated pure darkness, resting heavily in his other hand.
It was neither purely good nor evil—almost as if Heaven and Hell had merged. It was the perfect balance of light and darkness. Both swords glowed magnificently in his hands.
The Grim Reaper, which had been motionless just seconds ago, stirred slightly,
Klank—!
And the sound of its scythe clattering to the ground echoed through the cave.
After a few seconds, the Grim Reaper's figure began to crack, purple fissures spreading across its form, before it completely disintegrated into nothingness, leaving only the scythe lying on the ground.
Thud—!
Lyrium fell to his knees, both swords lying on the ground beside him.
"Haa… haa… huff… huaa…"
He panted heavily, staring at the spot where Death itself had once stood.
"I… I fucking defeated it…"
He was too exhausted to speak, his gaze fixed on the ground.
Not blankly… something else lingered in his eyes.
———「System」———
◆ Name: Silas Kingslay
◆ Age: 16
◆ Race: Human
◆ Level: 15↑
◆ EXP: (15/2500)↑
◆ Sage Limit: SSS+
◆ Skill Passive: Body Strengthening {Always on✓}
∟Tap To See Skill Description
———「Holy System」———
∟Congratulations, you have defeated the clone of the Grim reaper 'Axzlor'
————————————
As he suspected, the Grim Reaper he had just defeated, despite disrupting the entire plotline, was nothing more than a mere clone of the original.
The true Grim Reaper was an immortal entity, the guardian of the Underworld.
But then…
"A… holy window from the heavens? That means…"
"Shit!! An advanced version of the protagonist's system!!"
When the protagonist achieved the Two Heavens Sword Art, his system synchronized into a superior version, truly the Holy System of the Heavens.
"Hmm…"
———「Holy Window」———
Set a word to called out the Holy system
「... 」
————————————
"Now… what in the dogshit is this?!"
Barely able to stand, Lyrium stared at the floating window.
"A command voice to summon the system?"
He muttered, placing a finger on his chin in thought.
Like… the command voice to call out the Shadow Armies?!
"What am I supposed to say… Arise or something?"
———「Holy Window」———
The word 「Arise」has been set as the word to call out the system
————————————
Lyrium stared at the system with an expressionless, poker face.
He extended his hand and tried to punch the screen, but his fist passed right through it.
"Damn it, system… I'm gonna get a copyright strike for using that word, shit…"
He exclaimed.
Though he was yelling at the system, the word had a certain coolness to it, and he begrudgingly accepted his defeat.
"Fuuu…"
Exhaling deeply, he muttered the words:
"Arise…"
* * *
Arise....hehe....^ ^