Chapter 3: Needle (2)
Chapter 3: Needle (2)
The realms of swordsmanship are divided into five distinct stages.
Sword Beginner.
Sword Walker.
Sword Runner.
Sword Expert.
Sword Master.
Most swordsmen spend their lives stuck somewhere between the stages of Sword Beginner and Sword Walker. It is only those who reach the level of "Sword Runner" who begin to be treated as true powerhouses.
They are respected wherever they go and reign over the battlefield like ghosts. In any nation, a Sword Runner can easily become a knight and live a life of luxury.
What about a "Sword Expert"?
They are warriors of a level that ordinary people might not witness once in their entire lives. They are magnificent beings capable of turning the tide of a war single-handedly. They are often hailed as gods of the battlefield. It is a realm that only those born with immense talent can reach after bone-shattering effort.
Then, what of a Swordmaster?
They are always excluded from such discussions. They are not gods of the battlefield; they are powerhouses above the heavens who must be classified as actual divine beings. In the entire continent, there are only six living Swordmasters. Even looking back through history, they appeared only rarely. Swordmasters were never bound by anything and always lived exactly as they pleased.
No one could restrain them.
This is because only a Swordmaster can kill another Swordmaster.
Those absolute beings never fight one another, nor do they actively interfere in the affairs of the world—with the exception of a few eccentrics.
‘Back when I was stuck in that rural corner of the world, I didn't know. I had no idea that those damn Swordmasters were such legendary beings.’
Regardless, there is no point in discussing Swordmasters right now.
The realm I aim to reach through this weapon I’ve acquired, "Needle," is far more modest than that.
「Focus. Digest it thoroughly.」
Through this weapon, I will become a Sword Beginner.
Just as the term implies, I am finally taking my first step….
*
The sword I salvaged from the mountain of trash, "Needle," had a peculiar appearance.
It was far too thin to be called a sword. At a glance, it looked even thinner than my finger. It was enough to make one wonder, ‘Is it even possible to hurt someone with this?’
As thin as it was, Needle was incredibly light. It felt less like holding a piece of iron and more like holding a hollow twig. Even the wooden training sword I used to swing behind the mansion would likely feel heavier than this.
“If I try to cut something with this, I feel like it’ll snap immediately.”
「That is likely. If you intend to cut, that is.」
If I intend to cut?
When I looked at him, questioning his meaning, Liam answered.
「That sword is not a weapon meant for grandly cleaving or crushing enemies like other blades. It is a weapon crafted to exquisitely pierce precise vitals and end a life with a single strike.」
Stabbing.
It is indeed a lethal attack one can perform with a sword. However, if one chooses to focus on stabbing, wouldn't a spear be more efficient? Why go out of one's way to stab an enemy with a sword?
As I harbored those doubts, Liam spoke as if reading my mind.
「As I said before, you will understand once you devour it.」
“……”
「For your information, that sword holds memories perfectly suited for you. It will be of help to someone born with a body as small and weak as a girl's.」
I replied as I placed Needle into the hot coals to heat it.
“What do you mean by that?”
「That sword was originally used by a woman.」
A sword used by a woman?
I frowned at those words. Female swordsmen were rare on the continent. Their physical conditions and various other factors tended to fall short compared to men. Even searching through all of history, there has only been one female Swordmaster. Women tended to excel in fields other than the sword—most notably, magic….
「Your way of thinking is more rigid than mine, and I’m as old as they come.」
“I was simply thinking according to common sense.”
「I should tell you this first. Discard conventional common sense when dealing with the sword. Believe that the moment you hold a blade, you can become anything and do anything. Only then can you reach the summit.」
Liam’s heavy voice rang in my ears.
By the time he finished speaking, Needle had been heated sufficiently.
Before putting the glowing needle into my mouth, the memory of the pain I felt earlier crept back, making me hesitate. Seeing this, Liam spoke.
「The woman who owned that sword, Needle, took over two hundred lives before she died. All by herself.」
Those casually tossed words erased my hesitation.
I forced my mouth wide open, placed the slender needle inside, and bit down until it snapped with a sharp crack. The insanely hot metal scorched my tongue, seared the roof of my mouth, and traveled down to my stomach with the sensation of tearing through my esophagus.
Ah, I don't think I'll ever get used to this pain….
“Gah-heck!”
As I coughed pathetically, this time it wasn't just my stomach that grew hot, but my head as well.
Amidst the sensation of my brain being scorched, unfamiliar memories began to flicker past.
Memories that were not mine, but another’s.
The memories of the former master held within this sword, Needle.
『The last thing I remember was the mansion on fire.』
*
The last thing I remember was the mansion on fire.
In the midst of the roaring flames, my mother and father turned into black ash. I don’t know how I survived those terrifying fires. When I regained consciousness, I opened my eyes in a bed at a dilapidated orphanage run with the support of the Sergen Order.
“Mary, are you awake?”
The flames had stolen my pretty face and soft skin. What remained was a face and body far too hideous for a woman. My skin, mottled and distorted by burns, looked as if it had been cursed by a demon. I didn't want to look in a mirror. I loathed my own appearance.
“This is the chapel. We begin every day by offering prayers to the Goddess Sergen. It is all thanks to the Goddess Sergen bestowing the grace of light that we are able to live under the sun on this earth. Over there is the dining hall, and if you go down this way….”
Teacher Derbein at the orphanage was very kind. Looking back now, I regret treating her so harshly and coldly, but at the time, I was a person bristling with thorns. I lived in silence. In the life of the orphanage, that wasn't a problem.
“Gross.”
“She’s a monster.”
The children at the orphanage didn't come near my hideous form, nor did they speak to me. Aside from Teacher Derbein, none of the other staff members approached me either. I understood them. Even I found the reflection in the mirror repulsive.
Days at the orphanage were like hell.
What I hated most was the time for offering prayers to the Goddess Sergen. Goddess Sergen was the Goddess of Peace who symbolized flame, and for me, who had lost everything to fire, being told to worship the Goddess of Flame was a horrific ordeal.
“I want to die.”
That was my habit. Whenever I had a spare moment, I thought about taking my own life. The only reason I couldn't was pure fear. The sensation of the fire burning my body was still chillingly painful. If that was the case, how painful would death be? I didn't have the confidence to endure a pain greater than that. So, the hellish days continued.
Until that day arrived.
‘……?’
Late at night, when I couldn't sleep. A time when the orphanage children were forbidden from going outside.
Feeling too suffocated, I went out to the garden and saw something sparkling beautifully. The source of that light was moonlight reflecting off a sword.
“Ah.”
The one gripping and swinging the sword was the orphanage's caretaker, Hegel. The sight of the old caretaker, who was over sixty this year, tracing patterns with his sword appeared exceedingly beautiful to my eyes. When I looked at that sword, I could forget the hell filling my mind, if only for a brief moment.
Had I been staring too vacantly?
Hegel, breathing heavily, turned his head toward me and spoke.
“Child. It’s late, so go inside. You shouldn't be out at this hour.”
Normally, I would have turned and gone back inside without a word. However, for some reason, I didn't want to do that now.
For the first time in a very long while, I opened my mouth to speak to someone at the orphanage.
“I want to learn that.”
“……So you weren't a mute, Mary.”
“Please teach me.”
I spoke with all my heart. But Hegel replied firmly.
“I cannot teach the sword to a child of the orphanage. This is not something that helps much in life. Especially not for a girl to learn.”
“……”
“What is so good about swinging a blade like this that you seek to learn it?”
I stared intently at Hegel.
“……I feel like if I learn that, I won't be afraid of the fire or the world anymore.”
After standing there for a long time listening to my words, Hegel caught his breath and walked away. He returned carrying a large bin filled with scraps of iron. Hegel was a stronger man than he looked. To think he carried this alone?
“Try lifting one. If you can swing it, I will teach you.”
“Do I have to swing it?”
“Then what?”
After saying that to Hegel, I reached into the bin and pulled out the thinnest and longest piece of metal. A blade that even a small child like me could easily lift. Gripping that blade, I subtly twisted my wrist. As I shifted the angle of my wrist, the tip of the needle-thin blade pointed directly at Hegel’s throat.
“Whether I swing it or stab with it, isn't it enough as long as I can aim it?”
*
The memories contained within Needle—the memories of the past swordswoman Mary—did not surface all at once but seeped in gradually. Liam said this was the digestion process.
「It is not right to simply wait for it to be digested. You must also build up your body.」
“Should I do strength training? I followed the training routines used by knights, but they weren't effective.”
I had done plenty of strength training. But I hadn't seen much of an effect.
「No, that doesn't suit you. It’s not as if you’re going to swing an axe like a barbarian, and above all, the body you were born with isn't suited for building muscle and pushing through with brute power in the first place.」
“Then what?”
「We will start by building stamina and flexibility.」
Stamina and flexibility? Does that help with swinging a sword?
The thought occurred to me, but I didn't voice it. Liam was bound to be far more of an expert than I was.
「Trust me. The effects will show themselves soon enough.」
“Yes.”
「If your breathing doesn't falter even after swinging a sword all day, that alone will allow you to easily kill about five untrained men.」
Liam spoke in a tone of absolute certainty.
「On top of that, if you become flexible enough to target an enemy's vitals from any posture and can freely take the stances you envision in your mind… at the very least, no one in this vicinity will be able to look down on you. That is what the basics are.」
Since he spoke with such conviction, I decided not to doubt him.
The first thing I started was running. Because everyone had left, it was a deserted village where no living soul remained. Every morning, I ran around the village until I collapsed from exhaustion. At full speed.
「If you train while the sword is being digested, you can grow very rapidly. You can trust me on this. Don't doubt, just do as you're told.」
One day, two days, three days.
Four days, ten days….
For twenty days, I ran through the village and worked on my flexibility.
On the morning of the twentieth day.
I became able to run at full speed for three hours.
Without stopping.
*
「Name: Needle」
「A long, slender sword used by the swordswoman Mary.」
「A sword specialized for stabbing.」
.
.
.
「Ingestion Effects」
「Acquire Mary’s Swordsmanship.」
「The body is forged to be suitable for the swordswoman Mary’s swordsmanship.」
「A body in which the Blood of Steel flows grows stronger the more it is tempered.」