Chapter 37

Sword Master (2)

Let's say a Hunter, who was about an SS-rank, suddenly thought of this.

Shall we kill just 30 people by random today?

Of course, he could turn this idea into action—day after day.

The scariest thing was that a person could kill thousands of people over a long period without having to leave a single piece of evidence. With the experience, physical strength, skills, and items of an SS-rank, it was indeed possible.

There were more than 7,000 unsolved murders by the 'blade' in the U.S. between the time that Kevin McKid took the blade and until he drew his last breath. The figure increased more than 30 times compared to the previous year.

'At least 80 percent of the victims were presumed to have been killed by McKid.'

Since there were no bodies left, the number of victims could increase exponentially, considering the number of missing persons.

Nevertheless, the reason why he was detained in his home and not in Hunter's prison just before his death was that there was only situational evidence and no clear evidence to put him in. In addition to this, as soon as he passed a week in captivity, the magic sword decided to kill his owner.

'After he died, the magic sword was lost while the federal government kept it. The thing that kept complete mastery of the Earth's public power and government concepts was not recovered by the government for a long time.'

I didn't know how many hunters it went on since. The thing, which changed its owner in the dark and jumped like a grasshopper, was eventually caught by Randy's grasp, ending the wandering by being overpowered.

At first, it used a similar method of enticing that it used against other owners to Randy.

'[Whisper of the Sword (Rank: A)]'

Until I knew Angelica's real skills, B-rank was the best brainwashing skill by humans.

However, expanding the subject of skill rank beyond humans would change the story.

The self-aware sword had an A-rank mental type skill even if it was just an item, and how powerful it was was that about half of the hunter who held the sword was immediately bewitched.

If one agreed to become a master, fascinated by its skills, the sword's full-fledged takeover would begin, and the hunter would become a hardworking butcher. They spent days of slaughter after setting goals of murder for a day, and achieving their goals thoroughly and faithfully so that they would not get caught.

'The other half resisted skill at first, but the temptation to teach the swordsmanship of the former owners broke down the wall of their hearts. But Randy grabbed the sword knowing that it was sugar-coated from the beginning.'

The sword tested, persuaded, soothed, begged, and pleaded for him to accept the temptation and to be the true master.

However, Randy didn't fall for any whispers. Many people assumed that Randy did not fall for it because he had prepared special skills or items.

'But it wasn't like that.'

Randy was able to endure for a long time because he first grasped the identity of the magic sword, and, crucially... he had the miraculous will to withstand the A-rank mental type skills.

Although Angelica's skills eventually destroyed that mentality.

'Not everyone believed, but that's the truth. He didn't have any items.'

When he did not fall for the trick, the magic sword must have concluded that it should kill Randy quickly.

It suddenly changed overnight and began hurling unspeakable curses and profanities at Randy. The telepathy attack, carried away by the mental type skill, lasted from the moment Randy grabbed the sword and put it down. It wanted him to be distracted and attacked during the battle.

However, Randy held on.

I stopped reminiscing and glared at the sword in my hand.

'How can it seem nice when I know all about it?'

It was a shame to think about it. If we had provided Randy with a psychological shield, his life would have been a little easier.

'We were actually on the verge of success.'

At that time, among the alien races who were just beginning to interact with humankind, we received intelligence that there was such an artifact among the race of 'Soridag' and pushed for a deal.

We were on the brink of success, but we unilaterally broke the deal up after hearing Angelica's prophecy that they were preparing to backstab humankind, not wanting a real bargain at the last minute...

'Oh, wait a minute!'

I stopped thinking.

At that moment, an ice-cold chill passed through my spine, and then the heat boiled from my intestines. I clenched my teeth and murmured.

"Angelica, you son of a···!"

Now I could understand her reasons.

Was Angelica's prediction then right? Wasn't it a lie to prevent our party from carrying any type of psychological armor?

I felt afraid it would affect the skill that she used to manipulate our colleagues in secret.

"Since when has she been holding it in her hand and played with us? How many times has she been involved?'

'Oh, are you okay? You don't look good.'

It spoke up once more. I tried to calm down my anger and shot my words at the sword.

"Keep your mouth shut."

'I don't know what made you angry, but I'll keep quiet for a while, as you said. Please talk to me whenever you feel better.'

"You have a long tongue when you're just telling me that you're going to shut up."

Although I temporarily blocked the mouth of the magic sword, it would not last long.

Being quiet for now would be a kind of strategy.

I looked around with penetration. The next stop was not the entrance to the dungeon. I had my goal, but I had no intention of withdrawing from it.

'This dungeon is A-class. However, the system's high level of difficulty is largely due to the numerous proportions of traps and boss monsters scattered everywhere.'

In other words, it meant that if I were to avoid traps well, and if I only knew how to finish off boss monsters, it would significantly reduce the difficulty level.

In addition, I had both the memory and the ability to solve the problem.

'There's no reason to come all this way and concede the clear and reward to McKid.'

If I were lucky, additional compensation for the dungeon would come with a dungeon-grade skill card or an equivalent item.

Since this was the A-class dungeon, it was worth looking at an SS-rank skill card or its equivalent.

'I don't need a skill card anyway, but...'

In the previous life's clearing, an A-rank card was released as an additional reward. However, there was no reason to aim for such a thing at a time when I could see compensation clearly.

'I'm going to aim for the items that are equivalent to the SS-rank.'

The goal was an item that humanity had never taken in its past life. Determination permeated my heart instead of anger.

*

I came back to the pit, the long, vertical passageway, where I just crashed.

The path of this dungeon, in which McKid would have no idea, was made up of a structure that went up to the top of the castle in an elevator-functioning room from the ground floor entrance and continued down to the underground level of where the boss was.

I came down faster than my team by taking a shortcut. In terms of height, it would be about the middle part of the castle.

I looked down at the dark cliff, and I took a step without hesitation.

Whiz!

I fell. I fell into the black air, and the wind beat my face relentlessly. Inside the narrow passage surrounding me, I concentrated Mana as I held the long sword.

'If the opportunity allows, why don't you give me a squeeze...?'

The mounted sword whispered telepathically, piercing the combat uniform. What a moment of silence that was.

Instead of snapping back to shut it up, I made a stance as if I was placing down the sword. Down there, I could see the origin of the black tentacles. They waited for me, intertwining their vine-like tentacles.

I measured the window of chance and concentrated Mana, and then it exploded.

Boo-boo-boo-boom!!

I burst my Mana as I struck down my sword. The flash from the blade tore through the narrow passage.

Squeaaaal!

The pile of tentacles that burst into pieces created a blue flame and swept it all away.

'Wow, that's great. You've reached a high point in mastering the Mana.'

Instead of answering back, I picked up the core and looked around.

The inside of the dungeon was divided into sections that could and cannot be destroyed. Like the outer wall of this castle, the part set by the 'rule' of the system could not be broken no matter how hard one would try.

Bang!

I punched through the wall in search of a destructive zone.

Through the hole, it was the first floor of the castle. It is a separate space apart from the entrance of the first floor where the expedition team entered. You couldn't go out of the castle through this place, but you could instead go to the first basement floor.

While I was walking down the stairs, the magic sword talked to me six more times, and I mostly ignored it.

As soon as I entered the basement, I met again with a swarm of monsters.

'Oh, it's Minotaurs.'

"Grrrrrrrr!"

Giant monsters over five meters tall ran with weapons.

I put in the ordinary long sword that I had been holding and picked up the magic sword.

'Oh! Are you finally swinging me? I'm glad. May I say something? For example, Minotaurs are very hard on the outside, but it's effortless if you aim for the leg...'

I concentrated Mana on the magic sword without replying.

Whoooosh!

The blade rang, and the sword stopped whispering. I then swung the sword forward in a large motion. At that moment, I couldn't hear its telepathy, but I felt as if the magic sword had given me a mysterious smile.

Swish!

The blue light in front of me began to draw a large line.

It was a clear line that cut everything in sight into two parts, up and down. The scenery in my eyes was pieced apart and tilted to both axes.

As soon as the flash disappeared...

Rumble!

The walls of the dungeon split and columns collapsed everywhere. The Minotaurs rolled while divided in two, unable to scream.

And I···

"Keup!"

Whooooooooooh!

Mana's output, which poured like a storm from the sword, pushed me back. For a moment, I lost my balance and stumbled.

'It's even more than I imagined!'

I quickly somersaulted in the air and put the sword forward again. I kept an eye on the front. Monsters were...

'All of them died instantly.'

However, some of them had a cut in the chest, and others had their backs cut off, unlike as I aimed at their legs in the first place.

The sword whispered like a clear echo, almost as if to make a fuss.

'Next time, aim for the leg. Even if you swing it much lighter, it will be cut at once.'

I remembered the item description I just read.

[Devil Slayer] Item Description: ... If you listen to the sword's voice, you will be able to learn the essence of the sword that the previous owners have learned.

※ Precautions: This sword amplifies and releases the user's sword mastery and may take a long time to get used to it.

A note of caution regarding 'sword mastery amplification' was written below. The truth was this was the biggest reason I had ever tried to get my hands on this magic sword.

'It isn't that easy as you thought, right? As you can see now, I have the function to amplify the sword mastery.'

I knew. The problem here was that the magic sword was not a simple function amplified to 20 when one was to add 10 Mana. The next time I put in 10, 30 can be released, or 11 could be released.

It may seem optimistic that it would be unconditionally strengthened, but the fact that it could not be predicted means that the battle's balance would collapse, like just now.

It was tough to acquire this through experience and control it completely.

However, it was not simple, and there were definitely rules.

'But it won't be easy to control. What do you think? If you become my true master, you can control the amplification as you move your limbs, without having to control your Mana with a headache.'

In the end, it proved to be a temptation to me once again.

He tried to entice Randy several times with the same words, but he silently trained with the sword and eventually managed to control it freely.

Was it about six months before it happened?

'There is no formula for amplification of the sword mastery. Even a slight change in the swinging path changes the outcome. It isn't something you can learn by getting used to it.'

Unlike system messages, the magic sword told lies.

'So if you just leave everything to me···! I will not only pass on all the sword movements of the former masters but also give you the authority to control me completely!'

Its whispering became intense and harsh as it went on. I could guess that it had been thrown out in this dungeon for a long time.

I kept walking with the magic sword, all without reply.

*

"Attention! Attention! Death to intruders!"

The Night Armor came running with the sword. There was a black shadow in their silver armor. I swung the sword with a weaker Manna than the Minotaur. This time, I tried to swing it twice in a row.

Swish!

Boo-boo-boo-boo-boom!

'I'm going to go mad.'

I inputted smaller Mana, but rather a stronger Mana storm swept the front.

There was no room for the second attack. Again, the sword whispered to me as I was pushed into the air and stepped on the ground.

'It's not easy, is it? You don't have to be shy. Everyone who holds me goes through it.'

Next, I encountered a group of Fire Sprites. I stabbed the sword with the least amount of Mana. There were six consecutive stabs as I intended.

The problem was that the Mana spewed out in consideration of amplification was microscopically amplified and weakly unfolded.

The monster hit back immediately without a scratch on its body. Without the Mana shield, my whole body's fluid would have boiled up and died instantly.

'Phew, it was really dangerous this time. I hate to say this, but now I'm really starting to worry about you. If something big happens to you at this rate...'

"Shut up."

I went on. I recalled Mana's amount that was inputted for all the attacks until now and how those unfolded. I analyzed what pattern the Mana-absorbed sword had made by [The Successor's Eyes].

One way or the other, it was ultimately a matter of Mana's control.

*

'Oh, it's another monster. It's not too late, so...!'

"I said, shut up."

Towards the rushing herd of Werewolf, once again, I held up the magic sword and swung it. One output was excessive; the other was ridiculously feeble, but the last one was almost as I intended.

'The last attack was lucky. But it's dangerous if you keep going with this kind of luck. Please listen to my earnest request...'

When I opened the room's door, zombies crawled in slowly. I swung the sword with the idea of experimenting with all this and that. As time went by, the output began to converge within a specific range. There was some bafflement within the whisper of the magic sword.

'Fortunately, you're fortunate in succession. It went by safely this time, too. The release was great, too. Do you have any luck items with you?'

The rain of my sword movements cut off the metal golems like tofu. The recoil no longer swayed me. However, it was regrettable that the continuation of the attack was a little squeaky. Now the number of words said by the magic sword had decreased little by little.

'Uh... this... is a little...'

And finally, I arrived at the basement floor where the boss was located.

Koo-Koo-Koo-Koong!

Blasts from my sword movement made the chimeras explode like a balloon.

The sword movement did not penetrate them, nor did it bounce off their hard skin. It went right into the center of their bodies and exploded inside. It made their intestines melt and ended their breath at once. It was because of handling that controls both time differences and destructive forces.

I murmured at the magic sword I held in my hand.

"It's a little useful now."

Randy took half a year, and I took half a day. In a stunned voice, the magic sword murmured, 'Are you like... the incarnation of the god in charge of the martial arts?'

Now it was making me laugh. The Earth wasn't even done with the tutorial yet. What did one mean by incarnation?

"Now, then..."

I glared at the door of the last tightly closed room before my eyes. It was finally the boss round.