Ken Elyoss slashed.
The moment his blade moved, it vibrated.
A sharp hum burst from the sword and the enemy's weapon shattered on impact. Steel exploded into fragments. Armor split open like paper.
Ken didn't stop.
He stepped forward and swung again.
The vibrating edge cut through everything in its path. Shield. Armor. Stone. The knight dropped before his body could react.
The battlefield was chaos.
Fire. Screams. Clashing steel. Powers detonating in every direction.
This was the Worldwide Battle Royal.
Ken inhaled and focused. He didn't hear noise. He felt it.
Everything had a frequency.
He pulled the vibrations around him and forced them into his sword. The blade began to hum louder, sharper.
An enemy charged.
Ken struck first.
The sword screamed. The ground split. The enemy vanished in a flash of broken armor and blood.
A glowing interface appeared before his eyes.
Kingdom: Garnafall
Guild: Blade Order
Status: Active
Ken smiled.
So this was what seventeen meant.
More enemies rushed him.
Ken raised his vibrating blade.
And stepped into the war.
Ken moved.
Not backward. Never backward.
He stepped into the flow of the battlefield, boots sliding over broken stone and scorched earth. Another enemy swung a heavy axe at his head. Ken tilted his blade and let the vibrations do the work.
The axe never reached him.
The moment metal met metal, the vibration surged. The axe split in half with a sharp crack and the shock ran straight up the enemy's arms. Bones snapped. The man screamed and collapsed.
Ken didn't look back.
More figures rushed him from the side. Three. No, four.
He adjusted his grip and released a pulse of sound.
The air shook.
The wave hit them all at once. Armor rattled violently. Two fighters were thrown off their feet. One slammed into a broken wall and didn't get back up. The last one tried to raise a shield.
Ken cut through it.
His sword hummed constantly now, like it was alive. The vibration traveled from the hilt to the edge, perfectly controlled. Perfectly lethal.
Ken felt it in his arms. A deep pressure. A dull ache spreading through his bones.
Too much resonance.
He clenched his teeth and pushed forward anyway.
A spell exploded nearby. Fire washed over the battlefield, followed by ice. Ken slid under the flames and rolled as shards of frozen stone rained down. He came back to his feet and struck upward.
The vibrating blade split the ice in midair.
Cracks spread instantly, then the entire spell shattered like glass.
Ken exhaled sharply.
His vision flickered.
Another notification appeared.
Resonance Output: High
Physical Strain: Increasing
He ignored it.
A roar shook the battlefield.
Something massive landed ahead of him. The ground trembled. Dust rose. When it settled, Ken saw it clearly.
A warrior twice his size.
Heavy armor layered with glowing runes. A massive sword resting on one shoulder. Power radiated from him in violent waves.
A champion.
The man turned his head and locked eyes with Ken.
Blade Order.
The champion smiled.
"So Garnafall finally sends one of theirs."
Ken didn't answer. He raised his sword and pulled every vibration he could reach. The hum deepened. The sound pressed against his ears. Against his chest.
The ground beneath his feet began to crack.
The champion laughed and charged.
They collided.
Steel screamed.
The impact sent a shockwave across the battlefield. Fighters nearby were thrown aside like dolls. Ken slid backward, boots carving lines into the ground. His arms burned. His bones screamed in protest.
Too strong.
Ken forced himself upright.
The champion swung again. Ken blocked.
The vibration surged but this time it wasn't enough. The force slammed into him and threw him through the air. He crashed into broken stone and rolled hard.
Pain exploded through his ribs.
Ken coughed and pushed himself up.
Another notification flashed.
Warning
Resonance Overload Approaching
The champion walked toward him slowly.
"This is the level you need to survive," he said. "If you can't reach it, your kingdom dies with you."
Ken wiped blood from his mouth and stood.
His hands were shaking.
Good.
That meant he was still alive.
He closed his eyes and listened.
Not to the battlefield.
Not to the noise.
To the vibration inside himself.
His heartbeat. His breath. The subtle tremor running through his bones.
He smiled.
"So that's how it works."
Ken raised his sword.
The hum changed.
Sharper. Deeper. Different.
The air around him began to vibrate.
The champion's smile faded.
Ken stepped forward.
The champion stopped.
For the first time since he had appeared, he hesitated.
The air between them was shaking now. Not from impact. Not from magic. From Ken.
The vibration was no longer coming only from the blade. It spread outward, rippling through the ground, crawling up shattered walls, rattling broken weapons lying in the dirt.
Ken opened his eyes.
They were calm.
Too calm.
He took a step forward. The ground cracked under his foot.
Another.
The hum grew sharper, cleaner. Controlled.
The champion tightened his grip on his sword.
"You're forcing it," he said. "That power will tear you apart."
Ken tilted his head slightly.
"Then I'll just cut faster than it breaks me."
He moved.
Not in a straight line.
Ken vanished in a burst of sound.
The space he had occupied imploded as a compressed shockwave detonated outward. The champion reacted instantly, swinging his massive blade in a wide arc.
Too late.
Ken reappeared at his side.
He slashed.
The vibrating edge struck the champion's armor and for a brief moment nothing happened.
Then the runes shattered.
A violent resonance exploded inside the armor. Metal screamed as cracks spread across the plates like lightning. The champion was thrown back, crashing into the ground hard enough to leave a crater.
The battlefield went quiet.
Not silent. Just stunned.
Ken stood there, breathing heavily. Blood ran down his arm. His hands were trembling harder now.
Another notification appeared, flickering violently.
Resonance Output: Critical
Structural Damage Detected
Warning Warning Warning
Ken ignored it.
The champion pushed himself up from the crater.
His armor was broken. One shoulder plate hung loose. Blood dripped from his mouth.
But he was smiling.
"Good," he said. "Now that's a Blade Order warrior."
He raised his sword again. Power surged around him, denser than before.
Ken's vision blurred for a second.
His knees buckled.
He forced himself to stand.
Too far.
He had pushed too far.
The vibration inside his body was spiraling out of control. Every heartbeat sent pain through his bones. His sword was screaming now, the sound unstable, wild.
The champion stepped forward.
Ken tightened his grip.
One more strike.
Just one.
He poured everything into the blade. Every vibration. Every sound. Every ounce of strength left in his body.
The hum reached a piercing pitch.
The air shattered.
Ken slashed.
The blade didn't just cut the champion.
It cut the space around him.
The shockwave tore through the battlefield in a straight line, carving a massive trench through stone and earth. When the dust settled, the champion stood frozen in place.
Then his armor split cleanly in two.
The massive sword fell from his hand.
The champion collapsed.
The battlefield erupted again. Screams. Shouts. Fear.
Ken dropped to one knee.
His sword clattered to the ground, the vibration finally fading.
A final notification appeared before his eyes.
Target Defeated
Resonance Ability Unstable
Emergency Extraction Imminent
Ken laughed weakly.
So this was the Blade Order.
So this was the war.
As his vision darkened and the battlefield faded away, one thought echoed in his mind, louder than any sound he had ever controlled.
If this was just the beginning…
What kind of monster would he become by the end?
And then the world went silent.