As soon as I arrived home, I took out my smartphone again.
- Would you like to receive the demonic sword?
At the alert asking whether I wanted to receive the demonic sword, I didn’t hesitate and immediately pressed the option to accept.
“……!”
At that moment, black smoke began to rise from the smartphone.
What the hell. Why is it doing this?
It was a completely different phenomenon from when Maru had been summoned, when an intense light had poured out.
Dark smoke swallowed the entire house.
The ceiling light flickered, then went out completely.
Darkness literally settled over the room.
A quiet silence descended.
Fortunately, that stillness did not last long.
The power came back on, the room light lit up again, and the dark smoke that had devoured the house slowly began to recede.
“…….”
I was flustered by the sudden phenomenon, but only for a moment.
Soon, the inside of the room returned to normal.
If there was one thing that had changed, it was that a heavy sword now rested on top of the smartphone.
“So this is the demonic sword?”
At a glance, it looked different from an ordinary sword.
From the sheath to the hilt, the demonic sword was dyed entirely black. It evoked a cold feeling, as if it were darkness itself.
The hilt of the sword had what looked like pieces of bone attached all over it, making its grotesque appearance stand out even more.
And it wasn’t just its appearance.
“Is this because of the Mana Sensitivity trait?”
I could feel the mana around the demonic sword roiling.
It felt as though something that did not originally exist, something that should not exist, was driving away the mana around it.
It was, quite literally, a sword made of darkness and death itself.
Even people who knew nothing about swords would not think this was an ordinary blade the moment they saw it.
That was how ominous the aura it exuded was.
“Is it okay for me to hold this?”
The problem was that the demonic sword’s presence was so sinister that I found myself wondering whether it was safe to grasp it.
People’s perception of demonic swords was always the same.
An artifact that granted its wielder tremendous power in exchange for corrupting them.
When I had been on the continent of Eldorad, I had only seen records of them a few times. This was my first time seeing a demonic sword in person.
That was why, when Celia said she had offered a demonic sword as a sacrifice, I had honestly felt a bit of anticipation.
But now that I was actually looking at it, I couldn’t help but hesitate.
For starters, it looked dangerous.
On top of that, there probably weren’t many people who would recklessly grab a demonic sword that was giving off such an eerie aura.
Was it truly okay for the current me to hold it?
What if I ended up like the cases I had seen in the records?
But soon, I shook my head.
“Enough of that weak-minded nonsense.”
My goal was to become stronger.
This world was by no means a warm place that showed kindness to the weak.
Hadn’t I experienced situations like that firsthand until now?
There had been a time when I was desperate enough to sell my soul to a demon if it meant gaining power.
And yet now, just because I had somehow obtained a status window, gained a trait, and acquired a bit of strength, had I become complacent?
“I’m still far off.”
All that had happened was that I had finally obtained a status window and gained a single trait.
I still had to become stronger.
Just looking at Gang Jinsu, one of my academy classmates, made that obvious.
He had been in the lower-middle ranks, but now he was working at the Awakened Center.
Fortunately, because he was busy with official duties, he had not paid attention to me, but that could change at any time.
If he set his mind to it, he could easily block the path of someone like me as I was now.
Even if he didn’t go that far, he was in a position where he could at least interfere.
In contrast, I currently had no real power.
The voices of the powerless were nothing more than silent screams.
I made my choice.
Besides, this demonic sword was something Celia had offered as a sacrifice.
Until now, Celia had sacrificed things that were beneficial to me.
That was how much I trusted Celia.
“Fine.”
The moment I made up my mind, I lifted the demonic sword.
The surrounding mana began to tremble.
But that was all.
“Nothing’s happening?”
Literally nothing had changed.
Other than the fact that the demonic sword was now in my hand.
“Do I have to draw the sword, maybe?”
This time, I did not hesitate.
I slowly drew the demonic sword from its sheath.
Dark smoke rose once more.
Zzzzt—
A tingling sensation, as though electricity had run through it, spread through the hand gripping the demonic sword.
The more the blade of the demonic sword revealed itself, the stronger that sharp pain became.
“Ugh.”
Still, I endured.
- The demonic sword is attempting to interfere with the user’s soul.
- The user’s soul is bound to the dungeon. The demonic sword’s soul interference has failed.
Soul? Bound?
What was all that supposed to mean?
Sentences appeared before my eyes, but now was not the time to pay attention to them.
I endured the pain and put strength into my arm.
I struggled to pull the demonic sword out of its sheath.
And soon, the fully drawn demonic sword revealed its form.
At the same time, all the tingling pain disappeared.
“This is the demonic sword…?”
The demonic sword freed from its sheath.
The blade shone black as it exuded darkness. At the same time, red lines were embedded along its surface, resembling blood vessels.
Looking at its overall appearance, it had become even more grotesque.
But I had to gain strength.
That was why I had picked up the demonic sword and drawn it.
The problem was.
“Why isn’t anything happening?”
The ominous aura I had felt from the demonic sword at first had vanished.
I slid the demonic sword back into its sheath and drew it again, but nothing changed.
I didn’t even feel the pain from earlier again.
“What is this?”
As I was thinking that over, a new alert appeared before my eyes.
- You have become the true master of the demonic sword.
- The soul of the demonic sword will be bound to the user’s soul.
- Causality will be adjusted.
- With the exception of some of the demonic sword’s traits, the rest will be sealed.
“?”
An alert suddenly appeared saying that I had become the master of the demonic sword.
Come to think of it, when that pain had assaulted me earlier, I remembered seeing a message saying that the demonic sword had tried to interfere with my soul and failed.
“Could it be because of that?”
After checking the alert, I immediately called up my status window.
“Status window.”
The status window that unfolded before me had several changes.
[Traits]
- Mana Sensitivity (A)
- Master of the Demonic Sword (S)
[Basic Information]
Life Force: C+
Attack Power: B
Defense: C
Mana: A+
Divine Power: F
[Skills]
- Knight Investiture (S)
- Goddess’s Healing (F)
“Oh.”
First, my stats had changed.
When I had first obtained the status window, all of my stats had been F- rank.
Even after I raised my level a little, my stats had not escaped F rank.
After obtaining the Mana Sensitivity trait, my mana rank had risen to B, but aside from that, my other stats had still been miserable.
And now.
After obtaining the demonic sword, all of my stats had risen.
My life force, attack power, and defense, which had all been F rank, had each increased by several stages.
My mana, which had been B rank thanks to the Mana Sensitivity trait, had risen to A+.
However, divine power seemed to be an exception, as it remained at F rank.
“So this is the power of the demonic sword.”
Not only had I obtained the S-rank trait called “Master of the Demonic Sword,” but there was also a change in my skill list, which had previously contained only one skill.
Knight Investiture.
It was an S-rank skill, no less.
“I can’t really tell what it does just from the name.”
I had never heard of a skill called Knight Investiture before.
I immediately checked the skill’s description.
- Knight Investiture (S): The rightful master of the demonic sword grants a loyal subordinate a knighthood along with the demonic sword.
Until the being who has received the knighthood and demonic sword is extinguished, this skill cannot be used again.
“Hmm….”
Judging by the description alone, it seemed like a somewhat ambiguous skill.
Of course, since it was an incredible S-rank skill, I couldn’t dismiss it.
“But then I can’t use the demonic sword?”
If I bestowed the demonic sword upon someone else, it meant I literally could not use it myself.
I was the master of the demonic sword, yet I wouldn’t be able to wield it….
I gripped the demonic sword and swung it once through the air.
“Hmm.”
Thinking back, there had been a time when I had practiced by swinging a sword a few times before.
Since I didn’t have a status window, I had trained like that at least.
Of course, the result had been obvious.
No matter how much I swung a sword, I could never catch up to someone with a trait or skill related to swordsmanship.
Even if my skill was better at first, once someone with a swordsmanship trait trained, the gap would gradually narrow, and before I knew it, they would overtake me.
Of course, back then I had nothing, so I had practiced that way regardless. But now I had a status window and even traits beyond what I deserved.
“Is there really a need for me to wield the demonic sword myself?”
That was not an answer to my dilemma.
I glanced at Maru beside me.
“Maru, come here for a moment.”
It seemed worth checking what kind of skill this was at least once.
If the result was worse than I expected, I could simply retrieve the demonic sword.
The skill description did state that I could only use the skill again after the being who received the demonic sword was extinguished, but that was something I could think about when the time came.
I used the skill on Maru, who was standing there blankly.
‘Knight Investiture.’
At the same time, I held the demonic sword out in front of Maru.
Understanding my intention, Maru began to grip the demonic sword with his bony, skeletal hand.
At that moment, dark smoke appeared and wrapped around Maru’s entire body.
The color of Maru’s once-white bones gradually began to darken.
Clack—
Clack—
As if he were in pain, Maru twisted his whole body and made noises.
How much time had passed?
His white bones were nowhere to be seen, and only bones dyed completely black remained.
Along with Maru’s transformation.
- The monster “Skeleton Soldier (★)” has received knight investiture from the master of the demonic sword.
- Congratulations! “Skeleton Soldier (★)” has evolved into a unique monster.
- Unique Monster, Skeleton Black Knight “Maru (★★★★)”
An alert appeared saying that Maru had evolved.
The Skeleton Soldier, who had only one star, had become a four-star Skeleton Black Knight.
A black skeleton holding a demonic sword.
That was my dungeon monster and knight, Maru.