Chapter 37 (1/2)

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.