[Returning to a physical body will cost the sacrifice of 5,000 souls.]
[Jin Walker, welcome to the Fifth Era of the Kusha Civilization.]
[You have been chosen by the Sword System to become the Supreme Sword of the Chosen Hero.]
[Your experience points from the previous world have been added. You are granted one chance to reject a chosen hero.]
Those cursed system screens kept flashing before my eyes. The moment I opened them, I found myself trapped inside a space no larger than five square centimeters—except I wasn't inside the it.
I was the space itself!
The last thing I remembered was going to explore one of the caves rumored to house the legendary sword of the Kusha civilization. I slipped, fell into a pitch-black pit, and the impact was brutal.
I remembered injuring my leg, breaking my arm—then a sensation of drowning. And now… here I was.
Sometimes I cursed my obsession with collecting ancient swords. Yet I never once regretted the countless hours spent searching for them or studying their history.
It had always been worth it.
"Damn it… there are dozens of swords around me. How is the chosen hero supposed to find me here? This is the stupidest game I've ever been dragged into."
I tried to sense my surroundings. Everything was dyed in a deep, blood-dark red.
I stared at the engravings on the swords near me—marks belonging to the Kusha civilization.
But this place felt less like a sanctuary—and more like a graveyard for cursed blades.
'Wait.'
I had read about this before. It resembled a Selection Ritual. Legends claimed that the people of Kusha once communed with spirits and wielded magic.
Suddenly, voices echoed above. Light gradually poured into the darkness. I could see them now—twelve boys and three men—advancing until they stood at the edge of the Sword Grave cliff.
They peered downward. The sheer pressure of the energy radiating from them made my core tremble.
One of the men stepped forward, holding a long staff. He struck it against the ground, instantly silencing the boys' chatter.
"Kusha lives on. You are the elite among elites—the final hope to preserve what remains of the Kusha Kingdom's legacy. Step forward and let the swords choose you. The one with the strongest energy shall earn the honor of wielding a legendary blade."
His voice was rough and merciless.
Yes—there were three legendary swords the people of Kusha took pride in, passed down through generations:
A sword that embodied the Past. A sword that embodied the Present. And the strongest of them all—
The sword that embodied the Future.
"The king has already obtained Wire, the Sword of Absolute Past—a blade that carries the accumulated experience of ancient ancestors and unleashes their strongest techniques to secure victory."
This time, the instructor standing to the side spoke calmly, an open book in his hands. He adjusted his glasses, sighed softly, then gestured for the boys to proceed.
The moment they approached the cliff's edge, auras of different colors erupted around them.
Every single boy managed to lift a sword from the depths using their energy.
The sight of them soaring through the air was pure madness.
Soon, nothing remained below.
Except me.
"Magnificent, Prince Alexander. As expected of you—Lyo, the Sword of the Present," the third instructor exclaimed, clapping as though witnessing a cosmic miracle.
Moments later, the boys' celebration faded, and silence reclaimed the graveyard.
[You have lost your chance to be chosen by a bearer of royal blood.]
[ If no hero selects you, your existence will be erased.]
This damned system had to be joking. How was I supposed to look for a hero when the hero was supposed to find me?
In the middle of my panic and scattered thoughts, I felt something strange.
Yesss
As if someone was calling out to me.
From the far end of a tunnel above the cliff, a black energy stirred.
"Yes… come to me."
I whispered.
Massive energy circles spread across the area, crashing like seismic waves against the earth.
"They made me a laughingstock. Banished me from the Kusha Kingdom. All because I carry the Black Bloodline—the forbidden lineage, barred from wielding swords, forbidden from even existing within Kushaaaaa!"
The boy's scream was what caused the tremors. When he stopped at the edge of the cliff, he stared straight at me.
I could feel the agony in the pounding of his heart.
"Choose me… and I'll give you absolute power."
My voice echoed through the graveyard. The boy turned left and right, confused.
"I'm down here," I said. "Pull me up."
He swallowed hard, then laughed.
"In the graveyard of legendary swords… only one remains. And now the sword is talking to me? Heh."
As he spoke, his black aura erupted, flooding the space and rushing toward me.
[System Alert]
[Do you wish to designate the Heir of the Black Bloodline as the Hero of the Sword of Future Manifestation?]
"There's no way I'll find anyone else to get me out of this abyss. Yes—I accept."
[Initializing primary energy flow…]
[First Mission:] [Eliminate the wielders of the legendary swords.]
[[Reward]
– Ability to manifest a physical body for 3 hours per day
– Unlock Legendary Sword Skills]
[Hero Name: Danigo Ice]
[Level: 1]
[Classification: Heir of the Black Bloodline]
---
"I am Jin Walker—the Sword, the embodiment of the future, descended from the future itself.
If you wish to raise the Kusha Kingdom… or erase it from existence entirely—then I am your absolute choice. I possess secrets that can change your life for the better."
I spoke after noticing the way he kept staring at me, as if trying to confirm whether I was real or merely an illusion.
He swept his hair back, laughing in disbelief at what lay before him.
Yes—the torrent of energy surging through every cell of his body was astonishing, even to me. I hadn't expected this sword to possess such overwhelming power.
"What do you want in return?"
His voice was steady, but his eyes burned with resolve.
"I seek revenge. The land of Kusha was once ruled by our ancestors. I want to reclaim the rightful place of my Black Bloodline and lift the curse that binds us. I'll do anything—no matter the cost."
Danigo spoke while staring at the gemstone embedded in the sword's hilt. It glowed a brilliant white, instantly absorbing the flow of his energy.