The Gift of the Sword Saint
The nightmare of a Cyclops chasing me with a kill blade still gripped my heart.
I clutched the still-throbbing muscle, my gaze drifting naturally toward the window.
Of course, all that waited beyond were the shimmering lights of the barrier and the faint glow of the city lights.
“…Even my habits persist.”
Recalling the absence of sunlight since morning felt unpleasant.
I shoved the unease aside and rose.
Creak.
The old hatch screamed as it opened.
Looking around now, the sounds in the silent deep sea were surprisingly loud.
I thought I should fix it one day, then stepped onto the sandy floor.
Since yesterday’s slaughter had taken place, I figured I might as well explore the city.
Surely nothing remained in the city after the Cyclops had been wiped out…
Chiric.
…It was there.
The city was being gnawed at exactly as if the Cyclops had always stood in that spot.
The nearest streetlamp, torn down by the nearest Cyclops with great effort, flickered.
As the city lights died, darkness rushed in, only for the barrier lights to push back once more.
The streetlamp had returned to its original shape at the cut section.
It was a mystery befitting this city, but it held no interest for me.
‘I couldn’t be interested even if I tried…’
In the end, it seemed correct to assume the Cyclops existed in the city at all times.
Unable to reach the city, I returned to the submarine and fell into thought.
It was the same survival worry that had plagued me since arriving here.
“The Cyclops are so annoying. Even if I could handle the Cyclops alone, my activity range would extend all the way to the city…”
If food supplies dwindled, no matter how strong I became, I would die.
Therefore, widening my activity area to secure more food and resources was essential to my survival.
So what now?
I already knew the answer.
“I need to grow stronger, at least enough to defeat the Cyclops.”
The Scanner’s information had indicated that the Cyclops were weak in strength, so…
Surviving without power seemed far too careless in the deep sea.
Thus, I turned on the Gallery to seek guidance.
…If this had been the original world’s Gallery, I would have received nothing but mockery instead of guidance.
But here, there was someone trustworthy.
Starting the broadcast, I immediately opened my mouth.
“Is there anyone named Sword Saint?”
Sword Saint, the only person in the high to reveal their true form.
His identity was…
**SwordSaint:** I was just getting bored.
Saint, Heizen.
The man who reached the pinnacle of the Empire’s swordsmanship with the Draw-Sword Technique.
I spoke to the one who had entered the broadcast directly.
Very earnestly, so that my heart would reach him.
“I want to get stronger! Please make me your disciple!!”
**SwordSaint:** Are you really serious about wanting to be a disciple?
A comment that could be either testing me or genuinely pure intent.
But among the trustworthy people, Sword Saint was the only one.
I wasn’t in a position to pick and choose.
If I did, I would be starving to death in a few days.
“Yes!! Please make me your disciple—”
**SwordSaint:** Got it. But there are conditions.
I nearly cheered, but I tensed at the words that followed.
What kind of conditions would Saint impose on me?
A second passed like a minute.
After a brief silence, his reply arrived.
**SwordSaint:** Use only the Draw-Sword Technique. Inject mana into the sword by today. Kill the abnormal lifeform called Cyclops by the end of this week.
I slowly read the three conditions Saint had presented.
As I examined them in detail, more comments flooded in.
**TruthScholar:** Isn’t that too ambitious?
**Kkuku:** At least the part about injecting mana into the sword by tomorrow isn’t possible.
**EducationMaster:** The boy seems to have the level of a lifetime’s work…
**TreatIsViolence:** That can’t be right, can it?
The greatest obstacle to me had seemed to be cutting down a Cyclops.
The people thought injecting mana into a sword was the hardest part.
“Is injecting mana into a sword that difficult?”
From a pure question, TruthScholar answered first.
**TruthScholar:** It will be alien. My body isn’t even alive, let alone inanimate.
**EducationMaster:** It’ll feel like moving your hand without any sensation.
The answer that it would be alien.
Indeed, the fact that mana was leaving my body made a strong sense of something obstructing me.
The doubt of whether I could truly do it settled in a corner of my mind, but…
I ignored it. No, I had no choice but to ignore it.
‘If I can’t even do this, I’ll die anyway.’
I could run away with excuses like “it’s hard, it’s difficult,” but the end would only be endless deep sea.
Whether to go forward or die here.
In that binary choice, I wanted to move forward.
[A request for a gift from Sword Saint has arrived.]
Blue letters rising from my inner thoughts.
Between receiving and not receiving, I immediately selected receive.
Then.
Thud.
With a heavy sound, a jet-black sword fell.
The sheath bore a luxurious sword decorated with golden patterns.
The comments exploded.
**TruthScholar:** Eh? Ah…??
**EducationMaster:** …Eh???
**TreatIsViolence:** Why did you give him that?
**SwordLife:** You just gave it away like that? Are you crazy? Ah, I was already crazy.
“What is this?”
I was in a fantasy world, of course I knew little.
But to the people here, that wasn’t particularly important.
**SwordLife:** If the embroidery pattern is like that, it’s an ancient relic! With just that, he could buy a building in the Empire’s capital!!
**SwordSaint:** I already have a sword I’m using, so it’s not really important.
**SwordLife:** What the heck? Do you not know the value of that sword? That’s from the history of the dwarves…
Seeing a high like the SwordSaint go into a frenzy, it looked like a high-performance sword.
I picked up the jet-black sword that had fallen and examined it closely.
The handle and sheath were dark. Golden patterns above the sheath added luxury.
After looking it over, I gently grasped the handle.
Screech.
The sharp sound of a well-forged blade rang out.
The color of the sword was clearly the deep sea’s.
A sense of alienation.
Something felt obstructed in my heart.
As if I had caught a cold from that unease, I looked around.
Then, there it was.
The Scanner.
I picked up the Scanner and immediately pulled the trigger toward the sword.
Mana swept across the sword, slowly transforming into information.
—Immutable Sword
—A sword focused on durability, designed by ███.
An ancient object.
Seeing the engraved text, I was certain.
Other high seemed to have the same thought, so we began to converse, but…
I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.
But I lacked the time to resolve that feeling.
Screech.
I drew the Immutable Sword from the sheath.
Then, as if waiting, SwordSaint’s comment appeared.
**SwordSaint:** The sword is inanimate, but a clear flow exists. Like humans, you can follow that path and send mana through it. This is the foundation of all sword techniques—the Mana Sword Spirit.
“The flow…”
The mana circulating in my body.
Mana flowed regularly, without irregularity.
I needed to align this flow with the sword’s flow.
Most had said it was difficult.
But what was this sensation?
The sensation of information stabbing into my head that had persisted since arriving here.
At times it came as anxiety, at other times as fear.
That alien yet familiar sensation showed me the way.
The sword’s flow was felt clearly.
It felt like looking at a map.
I moved slowly, beginning with the handle.
**SwordSaint:** …Oh, there are no monsters.
The powerful flow of mana moved slowly like carving away rocks.
My flow and the sword’s flow gradually met.
And then, in an instant.
The flow connected.
Thud.
With a sound like something opening, the Mana Sword Spirit of the deep sea turned green.
For a moment I was distracted by the wondrous and surprising sight.
Click.
“Aaah!!”
I felt an intense heat as if I had grabbed a boiling pot on my palm.
I hurriedly pulled my hand away, and the sword fell without resistance to the floor.
Pain as if I had struck my palm with a hammer.
Rolling around in the submarine pain, a comment appeared.
**TreatIsViolence:** Making the Mana Sword Spirit right now? You’re crazy.
**TruthScholar:** Um, isn’t there a problem if there’s too much mana?
**SwordSaint:** Trying to cram all the mana into the sword made it erupt. Next time, divide the mana between your body and the sword.
A forgotten fact came to mind.
The fact that injecting mana into one place would cause a reaction in the body.
I felt so embarrassed I casually tapped the sword.
The sword had done nothing wrong, but I was just in a bad mood.
Anyway, I moved the mana again.
Naturally, this time I didn’t push it all into the sword but divided it reasonably between my whole body and the sword.
Then, once more, the Mana Sword Spirit appeared.
A slightly lighter green than before.
**TruthScholar:** Wow, you can do whatever they ask? Then, how about magic too…
**SwordSaint:** As expected, my eyes weren’t wrong. A clear talent for the Draw-Sword Technique.
**TruthScholar:** …That doesn’t seem right? Isn’t that closer to magical talent?
**SwordSaint:** What? Such insight belongs to swordsmanship, not magic. Don’t you know that either?
**TruthScholar:** Hah, it’s so unbelievable that no matter how I look—
…Um, focused on mana manipulation, I hadn’t been watching the comments carefully, and the two were trading sharp ones.
Their words were politely wrapped, but inside they were sharp as thorns that could pierce everything.
‘Magic…’
Seeing them fight like that, my interest in magic piqued.
My intuition clearly suggested that my senses would work for magic too.
But for now, I decided to focus on the proven sword technique.
The next step after the Mana Sword Spirit was the foundation of swordsmanship.
Since SwordSaint’s technique was the Draw-Sword Technique, I had naturally learned it.
The next day, an incident occurred.
Chiric.
…I swung the sword at the Cyclops.