Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: The Demonic Sword
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"Lower your stance more."
"Hraaah—!!!"
"The tip of your sword is shaking. Don't rely on the techniques you've learned—fight purely with your eyes and body alone. At your current level, what you're doing isn't swordsmanship; it's just acrobatics."
Kaang—!! Kang—!! Kang—!!!
The crisp sound of clashing swords rang out.
[Grrr...]
The Ice Troll standing before Callan growled in frustration as its attacks were repeatedly blocked.
"Luen. Bring another one."
"Is that okay?"
"Yeah."
Unlike Luen's worried expression, Woojin looked utterly confident.
Iron Bones and Herculean Strength both boost vitality and strength, while Keen Edge would enhance swordsmanship precision.
Judging purely by traits and stats, he has the perfect makings of a swordsman.
So why is his skill level so low?
A curse... that's it.
Surprisingly, after Shell Eye activated, an extra line appeared below Callan's status window.
'A curse, huh...'
He'd tried using the Pilgrim's Cross on the off chance it might dispel it, but unfortunately, Callan's curse was of a different nature.
He didn't need the description to understand.
Those traits were surely why Callan had abandoned swordsmanship himself.
'Curses don't just appear out of nowhere.'
Someone had placed this curse on him.
'Who could it be?'
Woojin pondered as he watched Callan battle the Ice Troll fiercely.
'To find out, I'll need to learn about the Ballan family...'
Not the public image, but the hidden secrets known only to family members.
But that wouldn't be easy.
'Uncovering a family's hidden issues is often harder than just raising affinity with them—investigating from the shadows is usually simpler.'
Woojin clicked his tongue, recalling the Squall Ring he'd seen at Agen Trading Company.
[Kraaaah—!!]
The Ice Troll's roar echoed.
"Master! I brought another one!!"
"What are you doing? Callan, go fight that one too."
"W-Wait...! Are you saying I should fight two at the same time?"
"You can do it."
"That's absurd!! I'll die!!"
Callan shouted in panic.
"You can do it. If you can't trust yourself, trust me."
Paat—!!
As Luen leaped away, the Ice Troll charged straight at Callan.
"...Damn it!!!"
He gripped his sword tighter and blocked the troll's spear.
'I can't lift the curse right now.'
So Woojin decided to temper Callan another way.
By accumulating experience.
'He doesn't even know he's cursed. So I'll make him strong enough to win even in this state.'
Of course, it wouldn't be easy.
Despondent and Self-Doubt hindered dexterity growth and combat power, while Hot-blooded ruined attack precision.
'But if he can hunt monsters even with all those curses...'
The moment the curse vanished, he'd undergo a total rebirth.
Woojin looked forward to it.
'Even if it's just in the game world, it might change Irurin's future life.'
The other world and the game were similar like parallel worlds, but definitely different.
If they were the same world, changes here might affect Irurin's life there too.
'She wouldn't have witnessed the horrific experiments by Red Tower's leader.'
The thought left him with a pang of regret.
"Uwaaaah!!!"
Pook—!!
Awkward as his stance was, Callan's sword pierced the Ice Troll's throat precisely.
[Guh... Gack...]
The Ice Troll spewed ragged breaths, its body shuddering.
"Got... Got it!!!"
"One more left."
"Yes!!"
At Woojin's words, Callan yanked his sword free and deflected the spear thrusting from his side.
Callan's expression had changed.
'Experience builds confidence.'
He hadn't shown it, but watching the fight, Callan's abilities weren't bad.
No—they were excellent.
'He truly inherited the Sword Emperor's blood.'
He was just overshadowed by his father's genius.
'If he can handle ogres before crossing the dimensional gate, he'll gain some real confidence...'
The problem was what came after returning home.
"Hmm..."
As he pondered,
"Damn it...!!!"
This time, the troll Luen brought had seen its comrade die, so unlike the last one, it refused to give Callan any space.
[Kruk...! Kruk...!!!]
Provoking him, it jabbed its spear at him relentlessly.
"You bastard...!"
Had killing one given him courage?
Or was it the Hot-blooded trait activating?
Callan gnashed his teeth and lunged straight at the Ice Troll from his spot.
[Kyaaak—!!!]
In that instant, the Ice Troll's eyes turned red.
"Gasp!!!"
It closed the distance in a flash, charging with its spear.
Callan twisted midair but couldn't dodge the blade now inches from his face.
Srrip—.
Just before the spear reached his throat, the Ice Troll's head hit the ground.
Thud—!!!
At the same time, Callan's airborne body crashed down, landing hard on his butt.
"You've got like ten lives, huh?"
"S-Sorry."
"Never lose your cool in front of a weapon."
The severed troll head rolled to a stop at Callan's feet.
"...Understood."
Realizing that could have been his own head, he nodded while panting heavily.
"Still, you did great for a first time."
At Woojin's praise, Callan beamed like a child commended by his teacher.
"How's it feel? Hunting on your own."
"It was my first time. My hands are still shaking."
"But it wasn't bad, right?"
"Yes! I... I realized I can do it."
"You can climb much higher."
For someone who couldn't trust himself, encouragement was key alongside experience.
"Yes!!!"
And the effect was better than expected.
'Hmm, so affinity does exist.'
But why hasn't it been known until now?
Even community searches turn up almost nothing on it.
The biggest reason is probably that people see NPCs as mere programs.
Evil Tail's NPCs are incredibly well-made.
They read players' emotions with startling accuracy.
How many treat them as real people?
And those weirdos probably don't share info anyway.
'Or they hide it on purpose.'
Top players all know NPCs tie into quests.
"We'll rest here today."
Luen gathered firewood skillfully and lit a campfire, while Woojin pulled a sleeping bag from White Flower Valley out of his inventory.
"Haa...!!"
Seemingly exhausted from the intense fight, Callan flopped straight into the sleeping bag.
-Um... if it's okay...
Setsuna approached the prone man cautiously.
"What's up?"
-Can I have a taste of that? Hehe, I've been eyeing it. It smells so good!!
Setsuna's eyes sparkled as she stared at Callan's sword, licking her lips.
"Setsuna showing interest? Your sword must be more than just a good blade."
At her words, Woojin—preparing food—looked at the sword with curiosity too.
"What do you mean, 'taste'? You're not seriously going to eat my sword, are you?!"
Callan bolted upright in disbelief.
"It won't actually disappear, so don't worry. She's just reading the memories inside it."
Callan reluctantly showed his sword to Setsuna.
-Wooong!!!
Setsuna joyfully touched the blade.
The blade glowed purple.
+ [Setsuna has learned a new skill.]
"...!!!!"
More shocking than Setsuna's level-up was something else.
'Large amount of EXP?'
Even absorbing B-Grade treasures from Charson's warehouse had only given a tiny bit.
Then—
-M-Master...
"What's wrong?"
-This sword...
She whispered to Woojin in a trembling voice.
-It's a demonic sword.
'A demonic sword?'
Woojin's face hardened at her words.
This was odd.
Why would the Sword Emperor's son have such a thing?
'So that's why the grudge notification...'
"Who gave you this sword?"
Woojin asked Callan as he sheathed it again.
"This? My maternal uncle gave it to me for my 10th birthday."
"Maternal uncle? Who?"
"Do you know of the Müllenga family?"
Woojin flinched.
The unexpected family name made his body tremble involuntarily.
"Yeah. No way I wouldn't. It's a count family in the Bolton Kingdom, one of the five great kingdoms."
"Yes. My mother comes from the Müllenga family."
"I see."
"And there's a great mage named Zion Müllenga in the family. He's my maternal uncle."
"Ha, haha..."
Woojin was at a loss for words.
"So Zion Müllenga gave you that sword?"
"Yes. That's right."
'Found him. The one who cursed this kid.'
And absurdly, it was Zion...
What was the reason?
Cursing his own nephew?
It made no sense, no matter how he thought about it.
'Come to think of it, this guy's a total villain.'
Becoming a necromancer, living decades, researching corpses with Red Tower's leader Lattan, creating faceless monsters—and now giving a demonic sword to Callan...
"A great mage like that? I'd love to meet him sometime."
"He'd like that. Unlike his siblings, my uncle loves making friends with all sorts of people."
'Looking for test subjects.'
Woojin sneered inwardly at Callan's words.
"Yeah. I definitely need to meet him."
Good thing.
The guy was already trash.
So he could kill him without a shred of guilt.