Chapter 10
As soon as I gained a Stigma, I acquired my first Unique Trait.
The imprint of a Unique Trait carved into the blade of the Myriad Spirit Sword.
It was an empty square, impossible to make sense of at a glance.
When I brushed a hand over the imprint, information about the Unique Trait appeared across the blade.
[Inheritance (Phase 1)]
- Inherits one Unique Trait from a predecessor user.
- Only the predecessor user’s first Unique Trait can be inherited.
- Inheritance is only possible if the predecessor user consents to the transfer.
“Hmm...”
My first Unique Trait.
It felt very different from what I had expected.
[Master of All Weapons: Why? What kind of trait is it?]
[Lust Demon: Interesting. A rookie who’s just reached 1-Stigma, and now this is his Unique Trait.]
[Invisible Sword: Hey, stop dragging it out and just tell us already.]
“Um... I’ll explain exactly what it says, then.”
I told them everything.
But the sword spirits, once they heard about Inheritance (Phase 1), immediately erupted into chaos.
[Emperor Augustus: Oho?! Zihahahahahaha! What a fitting trait for this user!]
[Master of All Weapons: I never would have guessed. Isn’t this the first time we’ve seen something like it?]
[Lust Demon: Heh heh. This could be fun.]
[Lasu Speedwagon: If it says Phase 1, the later Unique Traits might also be inheritance traits, you know?]
[Sapier: That’s highly likely. Perhaps this is simply this user’s defining feature.]
So it seemed this really did feel different from the Unique Traits of other sword spirits.
Even the ancient spirits had apparently never seen anything like it before.
“So I really am not ordinary.”
[Lust Demon: You’re probably the only user who gets taught by other sword spirits.]
[Master of All Weapons: Usually, everyone’s so individualistic that it’s a blessing if they don’t end up fighting the sword spirits instead.]
[Invisible Sword: Have you idiots considered that you’re all just crazy?]
Come to think of it, I was a strange user compared to the others.
From what I’d heard, most sword spirits had belonged to Swordmaster-class monsters.
They’d already possessed a certain level of mastery by the time they obtained their swords.
I was the first person to take up a sword as a complete ordinary nobody.
So maybe it made sense that my Unique Trait turned out to be Inheritance.
[Foot-technique Master: So, whose Unique Trait will you inherit?]
[Foot-technique Master: Personally, I believe it would be best if you inherited mine.]
[Foot-technique Master: Not just this time, but for the future as well. Assuming your next Unique Trait is also inheritance-based, of course.]
That was when Foot-technique Master spoke up.
He had been quiet while the other sword spirits were making a racket, then suddenly poured out his words with crisp, deliberate precision, as if he’d prepared them in advance.
[Lust Demon: Hey, you shameless foot bastard. Don’t you know any decency?]
[Sapier: Just a moment—why are you sneakily trying to steer the user toward foot techniques?]
[Foot-technique Master: My Unique Trait is excellent.]
[Foot-technique Master: And it is blade techniques, not foot techniques, Lady Head. Even if you are the family head, keep talking like that and I may start calling you an old lady myself.]
[Invisible Sword: Mine’s better than the others. Especially if you want to save Chiyo—you’d be better off with my trait.]
[Master of All Weapons: Ahem, hmm... I think it might be about time we had one more spear user.]
[Invisible Sword: Stay out of this, spear guy.]
[Master of All Weapons: Eek.]
[Emperor Augustus: Zihahahaha! We shall personally bestow Our first Unique Trait upon you!]
[Emperor Augustus: There is likely nothing stronger than Our Unique Trait!]
[Lust Demon: Hey, rookie. Don’t you want to have sex as much as you like?]
[Sapier: For the user’s sake, my first Unique Trait would be the most effective.]
But it wasn’t just Foot-technique Master.
The other sword spirits began recommending their own Unique Traits as well.
The description had said inheritance was only possible if the predecessor user consented.
I’d worried that the sword spirits might not want to pass their Unique Traits to a novice like me.
Instead, they were all fighting to be the one who inherited theirs.
“Hold on. I don’t quite understand.”
First I calmed the spirits down.
I was grateful, of course, but...
“Are you all seriously fighting to have me inherit your Unique Traits?”
[Lasu Speedwagon: Isn’t that obvious? You’re probably really tempting to all of them.]
“Tempting?”
I repeated the word, baffled.
Lasu, still the most composed of the lot, explained the situation.
[Lasu Speedwagon: Why do you think swordsmen who reach the peak take on disciples, hm?]
[Lasu Speedwagon: Because they want to leave the swordsmanship they perfected to the next generation, obviously. It’s no different from parents wanting their children to succeed.]
[Lasu Speedwagon: But the sword spirits are all dead. Some of them, like Foot-technique Master, died without properly passing on the swordsmanship they wanted to leave behind.]
[Lasu Speedwagon: Then along comes a user like you—talent like yours shows up maybe twice in history, and you’ve never even learned the sword before.]
[Lasu Speedwagon: What artist wouldn’t want to draw on a completely blank canvas?]
“You’re saying I’m that desirable as a talent?”
[Lasu Speedwagon: You’re the only one who doesn’t realize it.]
I still wasn’t sure whether I was really that irresistible as a talent.
But at least I understood why the sword spirits were making such a fuss.
“Then why aren’t you recommending yours, Lasu?”
[Lasu Speedwagon: My Unique Trait doesn’t really help in combat.]
In the meantime, Lasu had stepped back from the competition.
And even then, the other sword spirits were still noisily battling it out.
[Foot-technique Master: Naturally, the user should inherit my Unique Trait!]
[Foot-technique Master: I died without even managing to create a proper disciple!]
[Foot-technique Master: It is my deepest regret that I died without leaving my foot techniques—no, my blade techniques—to the world! Surely you can yield this one point?]
[Lust Demon: Damn you, that’s not so different from me.]
[Lust Demon: Every user so far has lived however the hell they wanted, and it pissed me off.]
[Lust Demon: If I pass on my Unique Trait to you, then when you have sex, keep the sword close by at all times.]
[Sapier: Stop trying to pass down such vulgar Unique Traits.]
[Sapier: For the user’s sake, mine is the correct one to inherit.]
[Foot-technique Master: My title is vulgar, not blade techniques!]
[Sapier: In any case.]
[Lust Demon: Mine’s vulgar, sure enough, heh heh.]
[Invisible Sword: Ugh, can you old-timers just get out of the way?]
[Master of All Weapons: T-to be honest, I think spears are stronger than swords...]
[Invisible Sword: Spear users, stay out of this too!]
[Emperor Augustus: Zihahahahahaha!]
My head was starting to pound.
I felt like I could just shut my mind off and be done with it.
Just when I was thinking I should step in and mediate, Lasu, ever perceptive, took charge and organized the situation.
[Lasu Speedwagon: Now, now, don’t fight.]
[Lasu Speedwagon: The choice is the user’s, after all.]
[Lasu Speedwagon: Fighting among yourselves won’t do you any good.]
The sword spirits focused on Lasu’s words.
For a brief moment, they quieted down.
[Lasu Speedwagon: User, you decide.]
[Lasu Speedwagon: Whose Unique Trait are you going to inherit?]
[Lasu Speedwagon: The rest of you, shut up.]
Lasu silenced the voices just as they began to swell again.
If they all wanted to give me something, then it was only right that I be the one to choose.
I needed to pick something that would truly help me.
It felt like the positions had reversed, but I couldn’t make the decision recklessly...
“Hmm... first, thank you all for offering to pass on your Unique Traits to me.”
For now, I started with gratitude.
I didn’t want any sword spirit who wasn’t chosen to feel hurt.
But the selection process still had to be fair.
I made up my mind and spoke.
“First, I’d like to hear exactly what each of your Unique Traits does. If everyone just starts talking at once, we’ll be here forever, so please explain, in one sentence, what kind of Unique Trait you can pass on. After that, I’ll ask follow-up questions.”
[Lasu Speedwagon: Good idea. If everyone talks, there’s no end to it.]
[Emperor Augustus: Grrr...]
[Invisible Sword: One sentence? Hmm...]
[Foot-technique Master: It says only the first Unique Trait can be inherited...]
[Foot-technique Master: Ha... if even the second Unique Trait were possible, I could have made my decision without hesitation...!]
The sword spirits prepared their one-sentence pitches to persuade me.
Foot-technique Master seemed to be the one agonizing the most.
Wasn’t he the one who said dying without passing on his blade techniques was his deepest regret?
Inheritance (Phase 1) could only inherit the first Unique Trait each spirit had obtained in life.
If the phase advanced, I’d probably be able to inherit the later ones too.
And naturally, the later traits would be stronger.
“Those who are ready, please speak first.”
After a short wait.
It was time for the sword spirits to make their case.
[Sapier: Then I’ll go first. If you inherit my trait, you’ll gain the ability to see an enemy’s weak points.]
[Emperor Augustus: Then We shall speak next. Ours allows for an invincible charge!]
First came Sapier and Emperor Augustus.
Both seemed quite satisfied with their own explanations.
They did sound good at a glance.
I wasn’t sure what an invincible charge was, but it sounded powerful.
[Invisible Sword: Hmm... mine lets you land a critical strike on the enemy.]
[Foot-technique Master: You can obtain an unbreakable scabbard.]
[Lust Demon: If you have sex, all injuries heal and you get stronger.]
The next three followed.
Invisible Sword’s trait sounded pretty good.
But I had no idea what Foot-technique Master and Lust Demon were talking about.
At this point, I was beginning to wonder if Unique Traits really did reflect the bizarre names of their owners.
Anyway, I should hear the rest before deciding.
[Master of All Weapons: Since everyone else has spoken, I might as well join in. If an enemy enters my attack range, I can tell.]
[Lasu Speedwagon: I’d feel left out if I didn’t, so I’ll try too. My reading and writing speed increases dramatically.]
The last two went as well.
It became clear why Lasu had opted out of the competition in the first place.
A Unique Trait that improved literacy.
It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t exactly useful for swinging a sword.
Now I was even curious how he had ended up with such a strange trait in the first place.
[Lasu Speedwagon: All right, now choose.]
“Hmm... just a moment.”
After hearing everyone out, I only became more conflicted.
Some traits sounded ridiculous, but others were obviously excellent.
To summarize each sword spirit’s first Unique Trait:
Sapier — can see enemy weak points
Emperor Augustus — invincible charge?
Invisible Sword — critical strike
Foot-technique Master — obtain an unbreakable scabbard
Lust Demon — complete healing + strength boost after sex
Master of All Weapons — can identify when an enemy enters my attack range
Lasu Speedwagon — improved literacy
When I laid them out like that, there were even more strange ones than I’d expected.
I spent a long time weighing the seven Unique Traits before me.
After thinking it over, I finally opened my mouth.
“First, I’ll exclude two of them.”
I could hear the sword spirits’ throats bobbing.