Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Regressor, Possessor, Reincarnator
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I see a family, laughing together in harmony.
A father, his smile natural, not cold and stiff.
A mother, smiling with a look of pure affection.
My little brother, chattering away with a bright, innocent laugh.
My brother… he's my real brother, not a fake… Real? What am I talking about? My brother is my brother.
No, he's not my brother. What is this…
“Brother?”
“Ah.”
The scene shifted.
“What are you doing? Hurry up, brother. We'll be in big trouble if we get caught.”
I turned my head to see my brother pouting.
Right, I was playing chess with my brother. I had to finish the game quickly.
If Mother found out, she would never let it slide.
“Mother thinks we're studying right now. Hurry up, brother.”
“Just a moment.”
“What's wrong? Afraid you're going to lose? I told you I'd spot you a queen and a knight.”
What nonsense. Lose? I moved to make my play, ready to assert my authority as the older brother.
But.
“…”
I felt my eyes tremble. All I had left were four pawns, a bishop, and a rook.
My king was barely hanging on.
But my brother?
He had only lost a knight and three pawns. The rest of his pieces were still on the board.
What should I do? Just swallow my pride and knock over the board? That had to be better than losing to my little brother, right?
“Brother, please hurry.”
“I will… Huh?”
The voice was different.
Not the youthful voice of a child, but one that was gradually deepening.
A chubby boy with azure hair. He was smiling brightly as he faced him.
“Brother? Are you giving up then?”
“You, you, you!”
I felt my hands trembling. Looking down, I saw my body had grown much larger. My brother? Where did he go? Why are you here?
My eyes turned cold, and a sword appeared in my tightly clenched fist.
A sword of an elegant, ancient design I'd never seen before.
“Brother?”
I swung the sword in my hand straight down at the bastard's puzzled face.
-A slow smile spread across his lips.
The bastard's mouth moved.
“Brother? Brother? Brother? Brother? Brother? Brother? Brother?”
This isn't enough. More. More pain. Another way…
「Stop.」
“Huh?”
The world spun.
No, was it I who spun? What does that mean? No, my brother, where is the sword? I must kill him. I have to save my brother.
「You can stop now, child. I apologize for looking without your permission.」
Someone stroked my head.
It felt like warm sunlight wrapping around my body. A single warm word seemed to soothe my heart. *No, not yet. I can't let my guard down.*
I can't let go…
「You have suffered greatly. For today, at least, rest easy.」
My eyes closed.
I must suffer more…
I…
***
“Ah.”
Allen came to his senses, the pain suddenly gone.
The transcendent pressure that had crushed his entire being was gone, and the dragon's flame that had incinerated him had faded.
He felt his skin cool as air drifted through the gaps in the shattered bones.
He opened his eyes.
His mind felt unusually clear and refreshed.
“I think I had some kind of dream…”
He couldn't remember it. The dream, which wouldn't even surface, scattered quickly, and he anxiously examined his body.
“…Did I succeed?”
He felt a powerful vitality rising in his body.
His heart, which had been pounding like it would burst, was now calm and steady, radiating fortitude. When he clenched his fist, he felt a strength he couldn't have imagined.
*Squeeze—*
Allen recalled the chimera user who couldn't properly control his body and moved cautiously.
To be precise, he tried to move.
“If I just put in a little strength…”
*CRASH!*
Before his foot slammed down, threatening to shatter the floor beneath it.
Allen felt a cold sweat break out. *This is beyond anything I imagined.* A step he'd taken with caution carried an unbelievable amount of force.
It was going to take a lot of effort to move his body smoothly.
‘Still…’
This body was incomparable to his old one.
This much power was more than enough reward for the insane act of tempering his own body.
‘I don't want to feel that pain again, but…’
It would be absurd to gain this much power without paying any price.
Prana overflowed.
The prana that had only gathered in his heart was now circulating throughout his body, and his skin seemed able to block most minor cuts.
The very texture of his muscles felt different.
When he swung his fist with a little force, the giant's bones that surrounded him shattered. With one light leap, he crossed the cavern in an instant.
*CRASH—*
He couldn't control his speed and crashed into the wall. However, Allen laughed as he pulled his body out from under the pile of rocks. It was because his growth was that tremendous.
In his old body?
His bones would have shattered.
“…I'm satisfied.”
Allen conducted various experiments for two hours after that.
What is the limit of prana output?
The strength and absolute amount of its destructive power?
The amount of prana he could normally use and the limits of this body.
There were endless things to find out, and the more the cavern was destroyed, the wider the smile on Allen's lips became.
He moved his body, letting out a big laugh that he rarely showed.
“Is this the world that superhumans see? This is… truly beyond words.”
His kinetic vision, reaction speed, reflexes, agility, and raw strength.
It was all the power of a true master, a strength befitting the giants who were said to have ruled the era alongside dragons in ancient times.
And what about his heart?
“My normal output is similar to my full power before?”
His calmly beating heart demonstrated an output comparable to, if not greater than, the rings he used to spin with all his might.
And the more threads of prana he sent out from his heart, the wider his sensory range grew, flooding his mind with information.
It was a pity that it didn't reach the dragon's ability to control all prana, which he had read about in historical records…
‘Even the mage who created the Draconic system couldn't perfect this.’
Since no one had succeeded in perfectly mastering the Draconic system, there would have been no one who could find points for improvement. But it didn't matter, as he could improve the shortcomings himself.
What's the problem?
With this level of rapid growth, it was clear that he wouldn't fall behind that bastard's growth rate.
‘Can I no longer use Dragonification?’
He didn't know if that first burst of fire was the last. However, he could no longer feel the boiling sensation in his heart.
He felt even more regret because it had so much potential as a weapon.
When Allen felt he had finished enough experiments, he lowered his head.
“My clothes… there's no way they would have survived.”
He muttered with a bitter smile. All his clothes, including the sword Allen was holding, seemed to have burned away, leaving him completely naked.
Parts of the cavern were also seen broken and dug up, as if he had run wild with excitement.
However, not a single wound could be seen on his body.
He turned his head and looked at the center.
A greatsword, large enough for a giant the size of a holy tower.
While experimenting with his body, the cavern became a mess, but only the center was undamaged. It was because he had avoided it just in case.
As he got closer, he could feel its overwhelming size even more.
“…I don't know how they used this before.”
Did they melt it down and remake it later? That can't be right. Maybe it's a sword whose size changes depending on the user.
Such swords were not common, but they could be found.
To measure his pure physical strength, Allen hugged the greatsword without using prana. He could only feel a blunt texture, as if the blade had dulled over the years.
He planted his feet. He applied force as if to break the sword. His back was straight, and his muscles writhed, sublimating into immense power.
‘Since a giant used it, it should be able to withstand this much force.’
Still, it might break.
*Rumble—*
The sword shuddered.
A hint of bewilderment mixed with Allen's reddened face. This much power isn't enough? Allen briefly admitted that he had underestimated the ancient giants.
How could the masters of an era where phantasmal species, fae, and the ancestors of each race existed be weaker than him?
Recognizing that fact, he put his all into it for the first time.
*RUUUMBLE—*
“…”
The greatsword began to be pulled out little by little. However, Allen was under such a heavy load physically that he couldn't even make a sound.
*RUUUMBLE—*
How much time passed like that?
Only after beads of sweat had fully formed on the body that Allen had deemed transcendent could he finally pull out the sword. What insane weight.
*THUD—*
When he placed the greatsword on the floor, a loud noise erupted, and many cracks appeared on the floor.
They fought with a sword like this?
“Hoo…”
His muscles spasmed wildly. Was this still too much for him?
But according to the records, he should have been able to lift this much. No, it didn't make sense that he couldn't lift a sword used by a giant.
“Was the secret art not perfect?”
As he was contemplating his physique.
A voice was heard.
「Phew, thank you for getting me out of this stuffy place! You have no idea how frustrating it was not being able to talk.」
And it was a bright, high-pitched voice.
“What?”
He immediately raised his body.
His expression hardened. His senses instantly spread out to cover the entire cavern, but there was no one else there to begin with.
「Where are you looking. I'm here, here! Right in front of you!」
His gaze immediately turned to the greatsword.
This happened as soon as he pulled out the sword, so what else could it be?
Allen hid his confusion and judged calmly.
Was the driving force behind that bastard's rapid growth an ego sword?
“Who are you?”
「You're finally looking this way! My name is Vestla. As you can see, I'm a sword! What's your name?」
A sword introducing itself as a sword?
‘It's true, but…’
Allen wasn't foolish enough to trust a sword that offered a pure greeting in this ancient ruin. However, he needed to probe its identity.
It was an ego sword, after all.
Therefore, he replied, outwardly expressing a surprised look.
“I am…”
「Ah. Right. This form is a bit inconvenient, isn't it? Hup!」
Before he could finish his words, she let out a strange shout.
Allen frowned, but he couldn't help but widen his eyes at what happened next.
The sword shrank.
The greatsword, which could literally be called a sword used by a giant, shrank into a one-handed sword suitable for him to use.
The sword floated up gently and came before Allen's eyes.
「Try grabbing it!」
Allen reached for the sword, tensing his muscles in preparation for any eventuality. However, contrary to his thoughts, nothing happened.
The first touch was cool.
Contrary to his expectation of a rough texture, it felt as if it molded perfectly to his hand.
「Isn't it pretty? Ahem.」
“It certainly is a fine sword…”
The sword was light. As if the weight he had just lifted was a lie.
The sword felt lighter than a tree branch in his hand.
Elegant patterns of an ancient material flowed across the hilt and onto the blade, which was inscribed with unreadable characters.
「Yes, it's easier to talk now, right?」
‘…Definitely.’ Her voice, which had only echoed in his head before he held the sword, was now as clear as if she were speaking next to his ear.
「As expected, I'm too considerate for my own good. Come on, tell me now! What's your name?」
“…My name is Allen. Allen Reinhardt.”
「Nice to meet you, Allen. I was dying to talk to you, you know?」
“To me?”
Allen quickly thought about what she might be curious about. Probably how the era had changed, how much time had passed, the situation outside the ruins…
「Yes! Are you seriously crazy?」
“What…?”
Allen stopped his train of thought and could only ask back blankly.
Crazy? About what? She shouted, the sword hilt trembling.
「At first, when you were breaking the dragon bones, I was bored so I cheered for you. Because I wanted to break those lizard bastards too.」
“…”
「But then you kept at it for a whole month? Are you insane?」
She had already dropped the polite speech and shouted enthusiastically.
「No, if you had stopped there, it would have been fine. Why are you breaking the giants' bones? I was about to say something, but I held back because I'm nice, you know!」
Hearing her words, she seemed to be in a hostile relationship with dragons.
Since she seemed to care for the giant's bones, it was either a weapon used by a giant as he expected, or.
‘Was a real giant inside that sword?’
Allen let out a hollow laugh at the absurd thought.
Is it possible to turn a living being into a sword? If this hypothesis was correct, it meant she had been trapped inside the sword, alone, for hundreds, thousands of years.
If so, it's understandable that she developed such a talkative personality, but…
“…So, is that all you wanted to say?”
That didn't mean there was any reason to pity her. Strictly speaking, they had no relationship.
He had no intention of offering his trust until he was sure that through her, he could achieve rapid growth like Julius in his past life.
「No? There's more. Do you know how long it's been since I've spoken? I thought I was going to go crazy. Oh, right. And what's that book?」
*He froze.*
Allen prayed his expression was normal. The question just now had caught him completely off guard.
“…Book? What book are you talking about. As you can see, there's nothing here.”
An ability he discovered not long after regressing.
However, his reaction was slow because no one but him had ever perceived the book's existence.
He never imagined that now, of all times, an ego sword of unknown origin would mention it.
“What book are you talking about?”
「Can't you see this? It's right near you.」
“Is it one book with a pure white cover and two old, faded books?”
「Yes! That's it!」
“…You can really see them?”
「Ugh, I said yes!」
Allen's expression hardened seriously.
Weren't these books something only I could see? Other people could see them too? Is this sword special? What's the problem?
Allen was lost in thought, not even realizing she had slipped out of his hand.
Vestla, seeming displeased by his silence, approached the book in the air and spoke.
「What are you muttering about by yourself? Can't I try reading that book? I think I can read it.」
“No, you can't read… What did you say?”
Allen asked again to confirm what he had just heard.
「I can read it once, right? Hmm… maybe I can't read one of them? Floating books, the world has advanced a lot.」
To Allen, a floating book and a self-floating sword were both the same.
You can read those letters? No, did it have a title from the start?
As far as he remembered, there was no such thing as a title floating above the book.
“You can read it? Wait, can you really read it? The title? Can you read the rest of it? What kind of letters are they? Are there any other restrictions?”
These books were the only proof that Allen had regressed.
And that meant clues related to his regression were also here.
「One question at a time! I'm not going anywhere, you know. Why are you in such a hurry?」
Allen couldn't believe the words she slowly uttered and asked again.
“Again, can you say it again? Please.”
No, no way, this is crazy. His calmly beating heart began to pound violently, and his head spun at the unexpected truth.
「I'll do it without you rushing me. You should be grateful to meet a pretty and kind sword like me.」
“…I'm truly grateful, yes.”
Even though he knew she was suspicious, he couldn't help but ask.
That's how shocking this was.
「I'll tell you the name of the pure white book first. The white book's name is….」
Regressor.
Possessor.
Reincarnator.
That was the title of the books that had been with him since his regression.