Chapter 137
Chapter 137
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 137
Chapter Title: Heroes' Contest
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Slash.
The retinal alloy, which had fused back together, was sliced in half once more.
And at the same time, thirty strands of sword energy whipped into a frenzy.
Turning the retinal alloy into tiny cube-sized pieces.
"W-what is this?!"
"Han Yuseong? Sword Demon of Za'an! Find out who that guy is right now!"
The crowd gasped in shock.
The judge stood speechless, his jaw practically on the floor.
"Do I pass?"
"Y-yes. You pass."
I left the flustered judge behind and descended, whistling a carefree tune.
The moment I touched down, there was the Sword Dragon.
He stared at me in a daze for a moment.
Then his face twisted into a scowl, and he stormed off without a backward glance.
'......'
Maybe because I'd shown him just a glimpse of the gap between us.
He couldn't muster a single word and simply turned away.
-Aren't you being a bit too harsh on the kid?
'................I'm pretty young in body age myself.'
-Hmm, still, that guy's got no business being a hero or anything. Feels overly cruel.
'You think so?'
Honestly, I could see why he'd be jealous.
It just rubbed me the wrong way because it was aimed at me.
'......Was getting done in by that Demonic Cult bastard more infuriating than I thought?'
Felt like I was taking it out on some random kid for no reason.
-You've got potential worth nurturing.
'Who?'
-You. You're not just consumed by power; you're deliberately holding onto your humanity, aren't you?
'Well......'
Of course.
Of course.
-In a world full of people who can't hold onto the obvious, try your best to keep it.
'......Yeah.'
I found myself overwhelmed by the holy sword's unexpected words.
Keeping what's obvious versus what's not.
'Feels kinda weird.'
-Well, yeah. You probably expected some satisfying backlash from him......but he's not even worth your attention, right? Top of the latecomers? What a joke.
'Is he?'
-Even Soyeonhwa could toy with and kill him effortlessly. And you can beat Soyeonhwa without breaking a sweat now.
'......'
-No need to crush him. But you could if he becomes a nuisance.
I scratched my head at the holy sword's words and headed elsewhere.
*
In the dimness.
The masked man quietly gazed down below.
-What will you do?
A chilling voice echoed from the darkness.
A sinister tone laced with ghostly energy—one that would drive an ordinary person mad just from hearing it.
"About what."
-That guy you had your eye on. The odd one with the holy sword.
"......"
The masked man tapped his scabbard idly.
Han Yuseong.
Sword Demon of Za'an.
If he had to describe his impression of the man.
'Hard to say.'
There was something visible, but something invisible too. Given that he wielded a holy sword, he was undoubtedly chosen as the Sword Hero.
An age of chaos.
Not the Demon King he'd been pretending to be while clinging to life until now.
A true entity worthy of the title was extending invisible hands into this world.
A natural choice for a holy sword.
'But something felt off.'
His instincts sensed not the makings of a Sword Hero.
More like an archer or thief.
But he couldn't voice that outright.
No need to speak favorably to something constantly eyeing his body.
-You seem conflicted. For you to react like this, heh heh heh.
"The talent is real. In this stagnant, looping world, such talent is precious."
That's why he'd made a brief investment.
For him, it was barely worth a thought—no great expenditure.
'However.'
Something nagged at him.
A girl whose timeline seemed slightly askew.
And.
'......She's inherited a forgotten lineage.'
The power of the Sun and Moon.
Its might was utterly transcendent.
Back when the true Demon King existed.
An ancient power crafted to defy that being.
One untouchable by the talented.
Achievable only through pure effort by true prodigies—that enigmatic lineage she now carried.
'If the timeline's off, she must think that's the key.'
An obvious trap.
The arrogance of trying to handle an opponent with something so crude.
If that were enough, his Demonic Cult wouldn't have struggled.
Inevitable.
Just the limits of mediocrity.
The man,
the Demonic Cult Leader, slowly rose.
As he stood, the darkness rippled violently.
As if he were its master.
"......The time is approaching."
All would plunge into chaos.
That's when heroes emerge.
His goal: rally those heroes and expel the inscrutable foes he'd deemed enemies from this world.
Killing them was beyond even dreams.
The man who once challenged gods knew their power, even if just a fraction.
"Fate will shatter everything like a crashing tidal wave. Only survivors then will be worth watching."
-Heh heh, just delaying the inevitable?
The darkness writhed.
The Demonic Cult Leader silently gazed below.
-Doesn't matter. As the first to reach divine realm, you'll survive by any means.
"That was mere days ago. Don't make a fuss every time."
-In two thousand years of human history, no one reached divine realm. Just pretenders playing heroes in bizarre games. You can brag.
The Demonic Cult Leader quietly shook his head at the demonic sword's sinister words.
The sword claimed he'd reached the world's first divine realm.
'It was peculiar.'
A certain man had seemed to possess a similar domain.
No, an illusion.
A boy who'd hit level 5 crossed his mind, but the Leader dismissed it.
*
Humans are strange creatures.
If you're deemed exceptional among your peers, you bask in admiration.
Jealous flies buzz around from nearby.
But.
'......Once I show real power.'
No one really bothers me anymore.
Should've flexed a bit more, maybe.
-No, that's not it.
The holy sword refuted my thought.
-It's the ability from the gift you awakened upon leveling up.
'Overlord, you mean?'
-Overlord?
The holy sword sounded puzzled at my words.
-Was there such a gift?
'Dunno. It popped up when I synthesized two gifts.'
-......What? What did you just say?
'Synthesis. Like I've shown you before.'
Started with crafting the Azure Sword, even made Azure threads.
Back at low levels, I bundled threads into something incredibly tough.
But now.
'It's gotten a bit ambiguous.'
Sword strikes or arrows were faster and stronger than threads or daggers.
'Maybe craft some martial arts instead.'
Like Ten Thousand Blossoms Falling.
'If I could apply it like Shadowless.'
Thinking about it, splitting Shadowless into three layers might be Ten Thousand Blossoms.
As I pondered Ten Thousand Blossoms seriously, the holy sword spoke in a trembling voice.
-So that's the secret to your strength—synthesizing gifts nonstop.
'......Not that versatile. More like, I can tell what can be synthesized?'
More precisely, the system handles synthesis.
And I do it.
That birthed Overlord.
-......Anyway, it's probably that Overlord gift.
'Huh?'
-You're unwittingly leaking killing intent. That subtle aura is as dangerous as your old one.
'......Really?'
I closed my eyes and felt my killing intent.
Sure enough, faint wisps were overflowing.
'......Can't help it.'
I had insane control over my killing intent.
But this was like...
'Water spilling from a full bucket—unavoidable.'
In other words, my body was still too weak.
The vessel was vast.
But overflowing with contents.
[I only came to talk today...... But if you get sloppily strong like that, big trouble's coming soon.]
That Demonic Cult guy's words suddenly resurfaced.
Sloppily strong—did he mean I hadn't solidified my foundations?
'Gotta think about this.'
-Less that, and more like...
The holy sword sounded awkward.
-Nah, he probably underestimated you.
'Suddenly?'
-Yeah, otherwise it doesn't add up. Obviously.
Speaking in a mischievous tone, the holy sword said,
-Go beg that Volkan guy for training. Say you're too weak.
'......Isn't that just your wish?'
-Sigh, found out already?
This bastard?