Between being hit by a truck and meeting a talking sword, I still didn't know which I found worse after a year.
['Concentrate.']
Rolling my eyes, I did as told.
With my eyes closed and body still, I focused on the supernatural changes within me.
['Having lived a life without mana, you should be adjusting quickly to one with mana.']
Mana.
However for me I didn't exactly possess that, instead I had-
Cursed Mana.
According to the talking sword, it was ultimately the same as normal mana, just with more pros and cons.
'I don't get what I'm supposed to be looking for.'
Sighing when I received no response, I opened my eyes and let my concentration drop.
['Of all my Wielders, you are the most pathetically impatient.']
Snorting, I stretched before getting up and heading to the kitchen to make breakfast. As I moved about the kitchen, I let my thoughts wander.
'A talking sword and a world I thought only existed in make believe.'
High School DxD. A world where most women had giant boobs, a world where the main character was obsessed with them.
Snorting, I shook my head at the thought of him.
'So obsessed he got stronger just from touching them.'
Then there was my talking sword.
'Claims it's not a Sacred Gear…'
Sighing, I finished frying an egg and gently placed it over a bowl of rice before digging in.
"Yet that has nothing to do with me, right, talking sword?"
Hearing a snort echo within my mind, I listened as the deep voice spoke.
['That depends on you, Wielder. You know where you could grow the strongest, yet you choose to avoid it. You lack confidence both in yourself and in me.']
I stared at the yellow yolk running across the rice.
"Why the hell would I want to risk my life? I'm fifteen now. I've got a whole low stress life ahead of me."
['Youkai will hunt you. Is that not reason in and of itself?']
...
Ignoring the probable ancient words, I finished my food and washed up before making my way to the living room to start warming up my body.
"I should still be able to cultivate strength quietly like I have been doing, right?"
What the sword had told me probably wasn't a lie.
'I don't get it though, why would Youkai be after me? The hell did this sword do?'
Dropping into a bridge, I held the position.
'I'm sure something like the sword would've been in the manga, or at least the light novel.'
Yet I couldn't remember anything other than the Canis Lykaon that Tobio Ikuse wielded.
'But the sword isn't a dog…'
Sighing, I relaxed and pushed myself up into a one arm handstand.
"…What would the benefits even be?"
Switching arms, I listened to the sword's response.
['Do I need to spell it out for you? Once Youkai realize that a Wielder of mine is alive, you will be hunted. By going to where the Devils are, you will be using them as a smokescreen.']
Tilting my head, I felt the blood slowly rush downward.
"That's just temporary, no? And at the end of the day, doesn't the Shinto faction control Kuoh, not the Devils?"
['Is your head empty? Backing! You gain backing! Devils will be enticed by you, they'll want you!']
"Couldn't I just move to some mount—"
['And live a life in fear? I would've thought you couldn't be more pathetic, Wielder. Didn't dying once teach you how weak you really are?']
That hit harder than I wanted to admit.
Biting my lower lip, I dropped out of the handstand and stood up, looking out the window at the perfect weather.
Sighing, my gaze shifted to a cupboard that held the talking sword.
"Isn't this just risking my life even more than living silently?"
Even to me, that sounded like a weak argument. But I really didn't know what to do.
['Isn't that what life is for a mortal? The best way you can take a stand, Wielder, is by growing stronger. And that starts not here in Tokyo, but in Kuoh.']
Moving to the cupboard, I opened it to reveal a katana without a speck of dust on its surface.
A sleek black handle and a matching black scabbard.
Taking it out, I closed the cupboard door and turned the blade free from its sheath.
A dim silver edge reflected softly across the room.
"For a normal looking katana, you sure are needy."
Hearing a snort, I exhaled deeply and slid it back into the scabbard.
"Can I at least know your name if we're going to head into the eye of a storm?"
…
I waited for a response.
…
Sighing, I—
['I am the one forged from desire, the famed cursed katana, Muramasa. Feel honored, mortal, to wield me.']