Fireball (1)

Would you believe me if I told you a strange haze was rising from my blade?

It felt like something straight out of a high fantasy epic or a wuxia novel, so even I could barely believe my own eyes. According to Sword Master, it was supposed to be easy once you got the hang of the sensation. Still, he claimed he had never seen anyone manifest the energy right after receiving a bit of basic advice. Apparently, it had taken even Sword Master himself a full hour to catch on, or so he said. Of course, it might have just been because his advice was so packed with condensed expertise.

The comment section erupted the second I displayed the aura. Heavenly Demon hadn't commented, perhaps occupied with her duties as a Deputy Moderator. Well, now that one-on-one messaging was enabled, she would probably reach out on her own eventually.

Is this really that amazing?

I stared intently at the sword enveloped in shimmering vapor. There was definitely a tangible sensation of mana draining from my body, but because it recharged with every breath I took, the depletion hardly mattered.

Sword Master told me to compress it tight, right?

He had advised me to practice until the wavering haze coalesced into a razor-sharp contour. Beyond that threshold lay the realm of innate talent, where instruction could only do so much, though he promised he would still help as much as possible.

I feel like I'm just taking and taking here...

I wanted to give something back to Sword Master for sharing so many priceless tips. Yet he was the eccentric type who refused even rare medicinal herbs simply because he didn't want his health to improve. What on earth could I offer that he would gladly accept? Would he take material goods rather than herbs?

Tricky.

Sword Master was uniquely finicky, far more so than Heavenly Demon. Constantly receiving favors without returning them went against my nature. He claimed all I had to do was marry him, but that was obviously a joke. In the first place, it was questionable whether I could ever escape this forest alive.

Should I test it out for now?

Leaving the Heavenly Demon's Sword behind, I stepped outside carrying an ordinary logging axe. Wonmo was sound asleep taking a midday nap, and Fast Tree Sloth had hitched a ride onto my back. When it came to testing the capabilities of aura—or Sword Qi—nothing beat chopping wood.

Normally, this would take quite a few swings.

I recalled the sensation of channeling mana into the blade. First, locate the mana pooled in my lower dantian. Sword Master had told me to treat the reserves stored in the lower abdomen like a warehouse: simply draw mana from the warehouse and direct it into the weapon.

They say when the storehouse empties, you have to circulate your mental cultivation method to refill it, but...

Sword Master had mentioned he had never experienced a shortage of mana in his entire life. With a physique that naturally gathered mana with every breath, his internal engine ran like a perpetual motion machine. He suggested that given my bizarre environment, I might end up the same way, though I wasn't entirely sure.

Still, I need to keep practicing the Internal Cultivation Art diligently.

I channeled mana into the axe head. A faint, wavering haze began to curl outward. This was the radiant power known as Sword Qi in the Central Plains, and Aura across other realms. Imbuing a weapon with this energy was said to draw out several times the force of an ordinary mortal.

"Hup!"

How destructive would it actually be? I swung the axe with everything I had.

The blade carved through the air, aimed squarely at a thick tree trunk. Just yesterday, this same variety of tree had required multiple heavy chops before it even started to groan.

Crack!

The axe blade didn't merely bite deep into the trunk—it blasted clean through it. It wasn't a pristine slice like cutting through tofu, but the core of the trunk was violently shredded to splinters.

Creak, snap!

With its structural core utterly demolished, the towering tree began to tilt under its own colossal weight. It leaned further and further before crashing down onto the forest floor with a thunderous boom.

Thank goodness I had chopped it from the side facing away from the cave. Had it fallen the other way, the sturdy barricade the Dwarf had gifted me would have been crushed to pieces.

It didn't just cut; it blew the wood apart.

I crouched down to examine the severed stump. I had known aura enhanced a weapon's destructive potential, but I hadn't anticipated this degree of sheer violence. According to Sword Master, the shimmering haze was merely the byproduct of unrefined mana leaking away, meaning the fundamental traits of the weapon remained unchanged.

Considering the nature of an axe, that makes sense.

An axe was built for concussive crushing rather than fine cutting. It was only natural that the wood had ruptured apart. If I had funneled that power into a sword, it would have sheared through like warm butter.

...Is that really possible?

The moment the curiosity flared, I dashed back into the cave and retrieved the Heavenly Demon's Sword. As an initial test, I pressed the edge against a tree trunk without infusing a single speck of mana. Previously, I hadn't even dared to try, terrified that I might chip or ruin the masterwork blade. But right now, I wasn't using it as a wood saw; I merely wanted to check its raw cutting edge against the trunk.

Sliiice—

"Huh?"

My eyes went wide.

With nothing more than gentle pressure, the Heavenly Demon's Sword sank effortlessly into the dense timber. Then, with breath-catching fluidity, the blade slid clean through the massive trunk.

Rumble—

Whether the tree toppled over or not, I was too mesmerized by the blade in my hands to care. I had known it was a peerless treasure, but I never imagined it would be this absurd.

What kind of broken, overpowered cheat item is this?

With a blade like this, there wasn't even any need to coat it in aura. Of course, I had no intention whatsoever of using the Heavenly Demon's Sword for logging chores. If the edge suffered even the slightest nick, I'd never forgive myself.

And she ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠just handed something like this over to me without a second thought?

A surge of deep reverence for Heavenly Demon welled up inside me, accompanied by an equal measure of anxiety. It felt as though she had entrusted me with a blade far too precious for a survivor like me. My gut told me to return it, but I knew she would flatly refuse.

Once I manage to get my hands on another proper sword, I'll definitely give it back.

It was simply too extraordinary. A blade of this caliber belonged back in the hands of its true master.

Setting aside one of the fallen trunks for camp use, I listed the rest on the Auction House. Since the interface was already open, I checked the current bidding price on the Neidan I had registered this morning.

"Whoa."

The price was climbing at a terrifying speed. I stared at the bid in disbelief. Five hundred silver liangs was equivalent to 5,000 gold. Considering the adult Owlbear carcass had fetched 250 silver liangs, this tiny core was already worth double that entire beast. Heavenly Demon's personal testimony authenticating it as a genuine Neidan had clearly sent the bidders into a frenzy.

What if it turns out to be a fake after all this?

Would I have to issue a full refund? I had no clue. Still, with Heavenly Demon backing its legitimacy, the buyer probably wouldn't dare kick up a fuss. Even if they tried, having her step forward as a witness would silence any disputes instantly.

Let's see. What time is it...?

I opened the Gallery interface to check the clock. Practicing the mental art and testing the aura had eaten up an entire hour. It was currently 1:30 PM. There was still plenty of daylight left before the sun went down.

Should I set up some traps?

It seemed like a productive way to hone my craftsmanship while securing fresh meat. Finding instructions on trap construction was as simple as searching the Gallery; wandering adventurers occasionally posted comprehensive guides on fashioning hunting snares. One had even made it onto the forum's Hall of Fame, so assembling a few shouldn't take long.

The problem is the area where the small game roams...

I knew the woodland trails where small critters like horned rabbits ran through. The hitch was that a Muscle Mushroom had established its territory right along that path. As long as I didn't provoke it, nothing would happen, but you could never be too careful. It could very well be awake and prowling the vicinity right now.

For my long-term safety, putting down that Muscle Mushroom was the smarter move.

There was a cave over in that direction too, so I can scout it out while I'm at it.

Decision made. I would eliminate the Muscle Mushroom first. Its strikes packed terrifying destructive force, but its movement speed was sluggish. Above all, it was reportedly weak to fire, so taking it down shouldn't be an impossible task.

Wait, did they say it was weak to fire? No, they said fire was mandatory because of its dangerous spores.

That meant I'd likely have to fight with a sword in one hand and a burning torch in the other. I recalled the Golden Shield that had been brutally caved in by a single straight punch. If I took a clean blow from one of those meaty fists, there wouldn't even be intact bones left to bury. Keeping my distance was definitely the superior tactic.

Arrows didn't look like they'd do the trick, though.

Even an insect like an ant could be divided into a distinct head, thorax, and abdomen. The Muscle Mushroom was nothing like that. Aside from its thick, bulging limbs, its body was essentially an elongated wooden stalk. Being practically a mutated plant, putting it down permanently would be near impossible unless it was chopped into tiny chunks or reduced to ashes.

...Wait, didn't they mention magic existed?

A sudden realization struck me. Magic: the timeless hallmark of every fantasy setting. An extraordinary discipline accessible almost exclusively to prodigies.

Could I learn just a little bit of it?

If I could wield magic, the utility it would bring to daily life was unimaginable. Ranged attacks were a given, but it would revolutionize practical survival chores. Without a moment's hesitation, I tapped into the Gallery.

Every single response was overwhelmingly negative. Even Heavenly Demon and Sword Master joined the chorus of disapproval. Why on earth were they all this pessimistic about it?

There was clearly someone deeply unhinged in that thread, but surely it would be fine. Regardless, magic seemed to be utilized across an astonishing variety of fields. It was quite literally magic taking the place of technology. No—in this reality, magic probably was science.

Was she seriously underestimating me? Then again, given the setting, there were probably plenty of people who couldn't even manage basic addition. In a medieval world, public education wasn't something to take for granted. Still, since elite academies existed, she might have just been being polite to account for underdeveloped regions.

As Starlight Princess typed out her explanation, my mouth fell wide open. There were plenty of exotic symbols, but not a single readable number in sight. My math knowledge had been cleanly wiped from my memory the exact second the college entrance exams ended. On top of that, I had been a humanities student in high school; I couldn't decipher a single fraction of that arcane hieroglyphic gibberish.

Were all mages in this realm either Newtons or Einsteins? Then again, modern scientists back on Earth were absolute freaks of nature compared to ordinary folks. I decided to cleanly and decisively fold my ambitions for magic.

Time to give up on magic without looking back. Clinging to vain hopes would only end up giving me an aneurysm. Even so, I made sure to thank Starlight Princess for her time, feeling a pang of guilt at how disappointed she seemed.

In the end, I'll have to solve this with physical force.

Wasn't there some clever trick? I glanced around the interior of the cavern, scanning my supplies.

Suddenly, my eyes locked onto an item sitting untouched in the corner—something I had completely neglected until now.

That's it!

It was the high-proof liquor gifted to me by the Dwarf.