The Greatest Sin is Weakness
I woke up to the feeling of something squeezing the life out of me.
When I opened my eyes, Seph was hugging me like a body pillow, her sleeping bag torn to shreds. She looked peaceful—serene, even—but I was not. This was the kind of situation that could destroy someone's reputation.
This can still be salvaged, right?
I tried wiggling out of her arms, but it was like trying to escape from the grip of a dragon. While I'd never fought a dragon before, I doubted they had gotten their mythical reputation for being weak.
"Pssst. Nephim. Are you still keeping watch?"
"Mmm? Human? Yes! Of course! Swords don't sleep! Ha ha! What do you want?"
"The great fairy queen Nephim could help me here, right?"
When she noticed Seph's death grip on me, Nephim burst into an irritatingly loud fit of laughter. Her voice echoed in my mind for what felt like forever.
"Well, well. Someone's popular with the ladies! But I'm afraid I won't be much help—unless…"
"Unless?"
"I have an idea, but it'll cost you."
"What do you want?"
"A luxurious sheath. Daily polishings. Daily compliments. And at least one core soul fragment before the end of the month. Take it or leave it."
"Is this really necessary?"
"Absolutely! Unless you want to stay trapped in the arms of your deadly cuddle partner."
Sigh. "Fine. I'll do it. Just help."
"Perfect! Start by calling me beautiful and brilliant."
"Later. Help now."
"Ugh, fine. Recall me and summon me in front of you, handle-first. Use it to pry her arms off. I'll add a bit of my strength."
It wasn't a bad plan. I sighed, recalled her, then summoned her back in front of me. I wedged the hilt of the blade between my chest and Seph's arms.
"Ready, Nephim?"
"Just who do you think you're talking to, human?"
Push!
Together, we managed to pry her arms off. I collapsed back, exhausted. Even Nephim was winded. Once free, I recalled her to my soul sea to hide the evidence.
Looking at Seph's peacefully sleeping face, I gained a bit of perspective. She was powerful—her body was the result of years of training. Compared to her, I was laughably weak.
I poked her face twice. On the second try, she groggily woke and glared at me.
I got up from the snowbed and resummoned Nola. Seph quickly followed, asked me to turn away while she dressed into her armor, and then collected the rest of the night's gear.
The snow had turned a faint golden-yellow, signaling the start of day. We had around sixteen hours before it turned dark again.
Gripping Nola, I began slicing and shoveling the snow out of the room.
"Are you really using me as a snow shovel?!" Nephim groaned.
"Also—where are my compliments, you lying fraud?!"
I didn't argue. She probably never received genuine praise from anyone before. There was nothing wrong with wanting a little attention.
"I'm sorry, okay? Nephim, thank you for earlier. You're beautiful and smart."
Nola trembled slightly in my hand, but I chalked it up to fatigue.
Meanwhile, Seph had already cleared a flight of stairs with her greatsword and ascended, leaving me behind.
I quickly followed.
For six days, we wandered across the edges of the World Summit. Each night, we built snow dens. Each day, we trained, talked, and learned.
Nephim explained the structure of the world's six great clans—each named after one of the six sins, excluding Gluttony: Sloth, Lust, Envy, Greed, Pride, and Wrath. Of them, Wrath and Pride were supposedly to be the strongest.
From Seph, I learned that the beautiful boy and the violet-haired girl who saved us earlier were from Sloth—the clan regarded as the weakest. Though after what they did, that assumption seemed dangerously outdated.
Seph drilled me relentlessly in swordplay. Though I had never been formally trained, wielding a sword felt as natural as breathing. The first technique of Swords of Ruin, Ten-Year Void Chop, had reached 99% completion in my practice. But even at that level, it didn't teach real combat fundamentals—just how to execute the move.
Despite our progress, we encountered no living monsters—only petrified remains like the trees. Whatever had done this was terrifying, likely a quasi-transcendent being. At transcendent rank, monsters could warp entire environments, not just their immediate surroundings.
Finally, after nearly a week, we found a proper entrance to the World Summit—guarded by over a hundred challenger-ranked monsters, and five quasi-master ranked ones.
They were grotesque, but slightly more humanoid than the previous abomination.
Despair set in the moment I saw them.
One or two challenger-ranked monsters I could maybe handle now—but a hundred? With five even stronger ones?
Seph turned to me, her expression grim. "We've circled half the summit. The other paths are even worse. This is our only shot."
"I agree," Nephim chimed in. "Time's almost up. Climb the mountain or fail the trial. Man up and fight."
Are they insane?
But they weren't wrong. If we delayed any longer, we might run out of time to scale the mountain.
They're dumb… but they're right.
I picked up a rock and hurled it at the nearest abomination.
It screeched and charged, its speed like a sports car—at least, based on Seph's confusing description of those ancient vehicles.
No time to think about it. As the monster neared, I launched the first sword: Ten-Year Void Chop at it. The force staggered it. It snarled, then grinned. It then began readying itself to strike back.
But I wasn't about to let it recoup.
I dashed forward, feinted another Void Chop, then slashed its ribs. Orange blood sprayed out.
The monster shrieked in rage and went into a frenzy. Predictable. Easy.
It swung wide towards my head—I ducked in and executed another Void Chop.
Space rippled around my swing ever so slightly.
Completion rate: 102%.
102%?! Though I was quite surprised to see this extremely high completion rate, I didn't have time to dwell.
The monster flew backward, crashing into a tree. I didn't let up. One more Void Chop slammed its chest, finishing the job.
A cold mechanical voice echoed in my mind:
Challenger-ranked monster, nicknamed Fallen David, felled. Reward: 1 outer soul fragment.
While I didn't earn a new Name, the soul fragment was a start. Nola could be upgraded. That thought filled me with resolve.
I inwardly swore that I would power her up—no matter what.
Fallen David, huh? Odd that it had a name…
No time to dwell.
I dove back into the fight.
Seph was already knee-deep in battle, cleaving through monsters like a goddess of war.
And I followed her lead.
We fought. We killed.
And slowly, one by one, the monsters fell.
Until none were left.