Ruin had succeeded in his revenge quite satisfactorily.
"So, from now on, think before you speak."
Of course, the four people who had already passed out on the floor couldn't hear his words.
Having spent quite some time at the entrance to the Sword Repository, Ruin soon strolled away with his hands clasped behind his back.
"The sword's choice, huh..."
He had no idea what principle guided such a ritual.
At the very least, though, the Linegrime Sword Repository ritual was a ceremony famous enough to have spread rumors across the entire continent.
It evaluated the potential, skill, and character of children, then put them to the test so that the swords could choose their owners themselves.
It was the kind of place that anyone who wielded a sword would want to visit at least once.
"I wonder if there's a sword suited to me here?"
Drawing on his memories from his previous life, Ruin pondered what sword might fit him.
A blade of moderate length—not too short, not too long— as thin and light as possible, and one that made no sound.
That's right.
Until now, he had always used a sword optimized entirely for assassination.
"No, forget it."
The life of shadows was already behind him.
He was a young noble of Linegrime and Captren blood.
"It'd probably be better to just grab the finest sword here."
This was the Linegrime Sword Repository ritual, after all.
What kind of legendary blade would the strongest or greatest sword in a place like this be?
It could very well double his current power—at least half again as much, at any rate.
"But first, I have to pass the test."
Honestly, he wasn't worried at all about some test devised by a sword.
He had mastered
"Yeah, let's find the greatest sword."
With a sense of anticipation, Ruin continued on his way, soon sensing another side to the Sword Repository.
'By the way, is it because this is such a special place? The energy here is incredible.'
Ever since mastering
And so, he realized that the energy filling this Sword Repository was extraordinarily pure and potent.
'If I just holed up here and trained, I could achieve great completion in
"Wait a second."
Realizing that, Ruin decided to put off finding his sword for the moment.
A sword was a sword, no matter which one he picked—what did it matter?
'Whether it's the best or not, I already possess a legendary, unparalleled supreme technique. Some mere weapon...'
"Let's just train here as much as possible. That'll be way more efficient."
After all, no single famed sword could compare to the realm of
'Hurry up and find a spot. Somewhere I can keep training without interruptions.'
With that thought, just as he began searching for a good location, a voice rang in Ruin's ears.
"Ah, no!"
"Hm?"
Turning his head toward the source of the sound, he spotted a familiar golden-haired girl teetering in an awkward pose, on the verge of toppling over.
"What the heck is she doing?"
Ruin watched her with eyes full of incomprehension, shaking his head.
'No need for me to help her out, right?'
She looked a little pitiful, about to face-plant into the ground, but they weren't close in the first place, and Ruin wasn't the type to go around freely offering kindness to others.
But...
'Huh?'
Through the senses of
'That's dangerous.'
From Number 1872's experience, and through the effects of
One wrong move, and she could lose her life pointlessly.
"Haa."
Letting out a deep sigh without realizing it, he moved swiftly.
And then—
Tap!
He naturally grabbed the arm of the golden-haired girl whose face was about to kiss the floor.
"Be careful. You could get seriously hurt like that."
Of course, these weren't words born of genuine worry or concern for her.
It was just...
'Dying so pointlessly at a young age would be a shame.'
Thanks to his support, Meylin narrowly avoided the worst fate of smashing face-first into the ground. She stared at him wordlessly for a moment before opening her mouth.
"Tha...nks."
"No, it's fine. I didn't do it to hear that. Anyway, I'll be going."
Having saved the girl, Ruin quickly tried to slip away, his mind filled with thoughts of training in
His time here was limited, after all.
But...
"Um, wait!"
At Meylin's voice calling him back, Ruin closed his eyes for a split second.
'Haa, I knew it.'
Harboring that thought, he replied with a hint of annoyance.
"What?"
"You're Ruin, right?"
"Yeah, that's me."
By now, his voice was much colder than before in response to the golden-haired girl's question.
But Meylin ignored his reaction, extending one hand in an offer of a handshake.
"I'm Meylin."
Ruin ignored her outstretched hand for the handshake, merely nodding lightly.
"I know."
"What?"
"I said I already know your name is Meylin."
"Oh... really?"
Having extended her hand for the shake, she awkwardly withdrew it, scratching the back of her head.
"I didn't do it expecting thanks, so let's just go our separate ways. We're not here to make friends, are we?"
"..."
At his astonishingly cold and curt attitude, Meylin's eyes darkened for a moment, her budding gratitude and goodwill toward Ruin fading away.
'What the heck? Why is this kid such a jerk?'
But soon enough, she had no choice but to accept his words.
'Yeah, we're in the middle of the Sword Repository ritual right now. It's more important to try drawing as many swords as possible.'
He was probably feeling just as pressed for time, in that sense.
Having arbitrarily decided that was his inner motive, she nodded lightly.
"Got it. I understand what you mean. I'll pay back the rest of my gratitude after the ritual."
"What? No, that's not what I—haa, whatever. Do what you want."
"Good luck finding a great sword."
With that, Meylin offered her own version of a blessing for Ruin's future and promptly left the spot.
She, too, needed to quickly find and challenge as many swords as she could.
"Whew, what a waste of time. Already five minutes gone! My training time."
Recalling the golden-haired girl Meylin, who had said her piece and run off, Ruin shook his head.
"Whatever. Priority one is finding a spot as fast as possible!"
With that, to continue his
.
.
.
In the deep darkness, in a forgotten corner where no one would ever come, a boy sat cross-legged.
And after a short while...
"Huu."
Ruin, eyes closed, let out a deep breath, a deeply satisfied smile playing on his lips.
'This place really has amazing energy, just like I thought.'
He hadn't achieved any dramatic growth or change right away, but...
He had gained the results of what would take at least three months of training outside, all in just a few hours.
"If I keep training here for a month, I'll hit 3-star right away?"
Having realized that the next stage, which he'd estimated would take years, could be drastically shortened inside the Sword Repository, Ruin began pondering ways to stay here longer.
'Should I sneak in and hide?'
For someone who had lived as a shadow, it was the most comfortable and instinctive option that came to mind.
But...
'No, that's impossible.'
To begin with, he had no confidence in evading the senses of Damon, the North Sword Duke residing in [Banapen] directly below the Sword Repository.
With his level of skill, he could extend his senses beyond [Banapen] to at least the nearby villages.
'That's why superhumans who surpass a certain level are impossible to assassinate.'
Moreover, the Sword Repository was a deeply historic site for conducting the Linegrime family's traditional ritual.
Considering all the mechanisms and magic circles installed there, he could probably break through them and sneak inside if he tried...
'But it wouldn't be easy at all. No, it'd be insanely difficult.'
It would be on the level of staking his life.
So, were there other options?
"Tsk, no matter how I think about it, nothing good comes to mind?"
The Sword Repository was normally off-limits to everyone except during the ritual.
Of course, there were occasional cases where select special personnel were sent in for maintenance, but...
That happened once every few years—a highly unusual circumstance.
In other words, aside from turning ten years old, there was no reason to enter the Sword Repository again.
'Of course, if I became the head of the Linegrime family, that would change things...'
Ruin shook his head, brushing away the utterly pointless thought.
"Whatever. If it's impossible, no need to cling to this place."
Rather than wracking his brain to make the impossible possible, it was far more relaxing to seek out another location with a similar environment.
The continent was vast, after all, and full of hidden secrets.
"Alright, then. Time to try drawing a sword?"
Having sorted out his thoughts, Ruin murmured that as he slowly rose from his spot.
At that very moment—
Shieeeek!
"Hm?"
With a sound like something slicing through the air, he spotted a sharp, black silhouette hurtling toward him.
Thud.
Despite the suddenness, Ruin calmly shifted his body, dodging the surprise attack.
"Who's there?!"
Sharpening his gaze, he focused his mind to identify the identity of his ambusher.
And what soon entered his eyes was...
"What? A sword?"
To his astonishment, the black silhouette attacking him was a single sword floating in midair.
Shaaak!
As if it possessed a will of its own, it darted this way and that, unleashing sharp sword qi once more toward him.
"Damn it, what the hell?!"
Muttering in the face of this utterly unforeseen situation, Ruin evaded the incoming sword while launching a counterattack.
Though he carried no weapon on him,
Thud, tap!
He quickly kicked off the ground and leaped into the air, predicting the trajectory of the flying sword and heading straight for it.
And then—
Shieeeeeek.
As the sword shot toward him at tremendous speed—
"Whoa, whoa, calm down."
Ruin lightly stomped down on the upper part of the oncoming blade with his foot.
In an instant, the full force of his weight bore down, his sole making contact with the airborne sword—
"Hm?"
Whish, boom!
Ruin's attempt to slam it down to the ground with considerable power ended in empty failure.
Because...
"...It has no substance?"
He realized that the sword continuing its assault had no physical form whatsoever.
As a result, the foot he'd aimed at the blade merely swept through empty air, crashing down to the floor.
It was then—
'How dare a filthy wretch invade my domain!'
Along with an unfamiliar voice brushing past his ear—
Ding.
You have encountered the Sword Soul, Ruler of the Tomb.
The now-familiar system notification rang out.
'Sword Soul? Ruler of the Tomb?'
His mind growing tangled in this bizarre, incomprehensible situation—
The system voice continued.
The Curse of the Sword rages greatly upon encountering the Sword Soul.
The Curse of the Sword's effects are greatly amplified.
'What, what is this? The Curse of the Sword is suddenly getting stronger?'
Thanks to the effects of
Fortunately, the curse's amplification was prevented by the effects of
But...
The Curse of the Sword rebels once more.
Due to the effects of
The Curse of the Sword rages greatly.
The Curse of the Sword attempts to erode the user's mind.
Due to the effects of
Amid the system's mad frenzy of notifications, Ruin realized he had become entangled in some issue related to the Curse of the Sword.
And...
The Curse of the Sword rebels.
The Curse of the Sword rages.
The Curse of the Sword has gone berserk.
"Urk."
In that instant, intense pain spread through his entire body, causing him to grimace involuntarily—
Shieeak, pshuk!
"Guh!"
The insubstantial sword that had kept targeting him pierced straight through his body.
And at the same time...
External intrusion attempt detected.
Amid the ceaseless system alerts, Ruin's vision went pitch black.
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T/N:
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