New Training Method (3)

The Tower was a world that manifested Raise a Sword in the form of trials.

To clear the 'quests' given here meant acquiring Sword Master's Dominion.

Flash!

I looked around from atop the three-meter-wide green circle—the safe zone.

A crude cave.

'The 2nd floor looks similar too.'

It was the same place as the Abyss, where NPCs picked up swords.

But something had changed.

Whoosh—.

The stench of blood wafted from all directions.

Wondering what was going on, I scanned the surroundings.

Then I spotted something odd.

'Huh?'

Beyond the safe zone, a woman was visible.

She looked young, her gaunt frame standing out starkly.

She was clutching a sword like a madwoman, rejoicing wildly...

"Ahh! This wretched flesh of mine is growing. Sword! You are truly ye's savior!!!"

The woman was gripping a small sword resembling the baby sword, overjoyed.

I recognized her instantly.

'Iris Luzvela.'

The NPC who had granted me my second ending.

For the record, that playthrough's ending was a Bad Ending.

All humanity perished, bringing the story to a close.

'The one who destroyed a continent became my sword?'

Only then did I truly grasp my position as Sword Master.

That was my past.

What had I been like back then?

"She looks about my age, but that gauntness... Hmm, a ability that grows stronger proportional to the blood absorbed by the sword? Maybe I should try adding that."

During my sensitive teenage years, the Gate catastrophe claimed my parents.

Society was in chaos, life unstable.

A confluence of factors had me viewing the world with a somewhat twisted gaze back then.

Plus, for a dot-game like Raise a Sword, the character illustrations boasted near-photorealistic quality.

'Oops.'

That was the woman who had destroyed a continent.

A being I could scarcely encounter right away.

Yet...

For some reason, seeing her stirred unintended emotions within me.

Yes.

I felt nostalgia.

'The first NPC I truly grew attached to.'

Complex, subtle thoughts flitted through my mind.

5th Sword Iris Luzvela and 1st Sword Reinhardt Euclid.

The system said three, but the NPCs I'd truly loved were just those two.

'Reinhardt was obedient, which I liked.'

For Iris, it was my childhood sympathy...

I'd lost my parents, but her backstory of abandonment tugged even harder at my heart.

As those thoughts swirled.

The old man's welcoming voice shattered my reverie entirely.

Reinhardt, who had vanished, had returned.

"What happened?"

I asked indifferently.

Reinhardt bellowed loudly.

It felt like he craved praise.

I commended his hard work and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠asked for details.

Reinhardt began his explanation.

When the baby sword absorbed blood, the 5th Sword began to stir.

That alone might have been fine, but...

When the baby sword absorbed blood a second time, the scent spread through that world.

"So, the 5th Sword, Iris Luzvela, awakened in response to the blood?"

Should I call this a job well done?

I calmly gazed at Iris Luzvela, manifested as the Tower's trial.

Indeed, being early-stage, her gaunt appearance was pronounced.

However...

"Ahahaha! Ye grows stronger. The forsaken princess of the great empire shall return—."

She was slaughtering those trapped in the Abyss, gradually regaining a healthy form.

'No matter how I look at it, she doesn't seem controllable.'

The quest was to overcome the trial given by the Tower.

I still didn't know the specifics.

I was about to discuss this trial with my [1st Sword, Reinhardt].

But...

Reinhardt gasped in shock upon seeing the childlike Iris.

Since then, neither he nor I had spoken a word.

All because of the carnage Iris had wrought.

"O exalted father, Emperor of the great Rozvela Empire. Your forsaken youngest princess shall cultivate power and claim the throne—."

In the 30 minutes the safe zone held, Iris Luzvela slaughtered every living being in the Abyss.

Monsters, humans—anything.

All reduced to impartial puddles of blood equally.

Splurt—!!!

"Ahh... Sword!!!"

The sword absorbed that blood.

Iris's body grew even healthier.

At the start of this space, Iris Luzvela had been emaciated, near starvation.

But thanks to the 'trait' I'd granted her, she regained vitality in an instant.

'The sword grows with the blood it absorbs, converting excess into the user's physical strength.'

A build I'd thrown together as a kid without much thought.

Witnessing it in reality, my impression was:

"Better effect than expected?"

A power befitting one who razed a continent.

As I nodded, Reinhardt asked me.

I nodded silently.

Having anticipated it inwardly, Reinhardt ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠merely muttered, 'If it is the Sword Master's will—.'

I wanted to discuss further, but no time left.

The safe zone's 30 minutes had ended.

Flash!

Defeat her using the baby sword?

Tougher difficulty than expected.

I understood Reinhardt's worried plea.

Even fresh to wielding a sword, Iris displayed overwhelming might.

Yet...

"1st Sword, Reinhardt. No need to summon you."

I believed this trial would be very easy.

As Sword Master, how could I fail against one sword's childhood?

'Iris is in an incomplete state.'

Countering a young, weak sword was nothing.

The sword she wielded, her power—all designed by me.

* * *

The safe zone vanished.

My presence was now exposed in the Abyss.

"Sword, there's something tasty over here, right?"

Iris's Vampiric Demon Sword guided her via the blood scent.

Her voice drew nearer.

Thus, Iris faced me.

"Father..."

Red hair, brown eyes, flesh filled out into a strikingly beautiful form—Iris Luzvela.

She asked,

"...sent an assassin? What nonsense is this Heavenly Slayer Star that drives ye to cast me out so cruelly?"

Red light flickered over her brown eyes.

"That stable stance... no ordinary foe."

"I—."

I'm not your dad's assassin!!!

I wanted to say something.

But she gave no opening.

"Die!!!"

Whoosh—.

Her sword lunged straight at me.

I calmly read its path.

Iris's sword had gained the Vampiric Demon Sword trait from a slaughter alignment.

No different from my baby sword.

Clang!!!

I lightly parried her trajectory with the baby sword.

Swords clashed, sparks flying into the air.

Similar sword quality, but depths of enlightenment differed.

"A swordsman surpassing ye's swordsmanship... Father truly despises his youngest daughter."

I recalled her backstory.

Pity for her pitiful child illustration had led me to choose her, so I remembered the details.

'Youngest princess bearing the Heavenly Slayer Star.'

Confined to the palace her whole life.

Palace in name only—no servants in her remote quarters.

Yet Iris achieved sword mastery alone, until the emperor discovered and cast her into the Abyss.

Thus, she picked up my sword.

Clang—! Ting! Ching!

While pondering, I deflected all her strikes.

Having absorbed all my swords' enlightenments, I possessed peerless talent in swords and techniques.

"Could it be... the imperial knights?"

Only after prolonged clash did she ask.

Visibly flustered.

But I knew it was feigned.

'Bluffing.'

I calmly read her actions.

Having massacred all life in her first Abyss, Iris gained a authority.

One I'd recommended.

Lord of Blood

Grows stronger with blood consumed.

And summons devils using spirits absorbed by the sword.

I read the precursor.

"Die!!!"

Iris, who had slumped feigning gloom, shifted stance abruptly.

Red blood surged from her sword tip.

Splatter—!!!

It formed a massive monster lunging at my body.

But merely one devil.

Current Iris was ridiculously weak.

And...

'Chaos.'

My main weapon, the baby sword's alignment: Chaos.

Neither good nor evil, yet straddling both.

'Can draw out one alignment at will.'

I invoked radiant light.

Holy energy amid chaos flowed along the blade.

In that state, I assumed position and swung.

[One Annihilation, Horizontal Slash]

Reinhardt's swordsmanship, which saved the world in its noblest form, manifested at my fingertips.

It clashed with the sword that destroyed the world in its basest form.

Craaaack——.

Thus, Iris Luzvela's world crumbled.

The sword she held snapped.

"Ye's sword..."

She stared at me in dismay.

Broken blade rolling on the ground, hilt clutched bladeless in her hand.

"Who... art thou?"

Swish—.

I approached impassively and took the hilt from her grasp.

Then said,

"I am this sword's master."

"It had a master?"

She collapsed in despair.

I thought the trial over...

Iris Luzvela.

Craftier than I remembered.

"Think ye can take ye's sole possession!!!"

Whish—.

She seized the fallen blade and swung at me.

Wounding her own hand to wrest the sword away.

Her desperation made me chuckle.

'That's why I chose Iris.'

An NPC who truly cherished ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her sword.

One who heeded the sword's words sincerely.

Come to think, Iris was the first.

I parried her sword and said,

"Yes, this is the sword I gave you."

A sudden realization.

Was the trial's end simply defeating her?

Something told me no.

'Understanding.'

The soul in the sword wasn't an NPC.

Someone who witnessed a world's end.

Hence this trial?

I gazed intently at the broken sword's edge.

Blade and hilt naturally merged per my will.

I handed the sword back to Iris.

"Cherish it more dearly."

She looked at me, bewildered.

"Th-the true master of the sword? D-does this mean ye acknowledges this girl...?"

My hunch was right.

The now demure Iris.

"Yes, you are worthy to wield this sword."

"Ahh, salvation for this girl..."

Salvation?

Well...

Before seeing her ending, Iris had died countless times.

After endless loops, finally an ending.

Even that unsatisfactory.

[Bad Ending — The continent has been destroyed.]

The world utterly annihilated.

"Ahahaha!!! Sword, the world ye and I desired is here! Behold this continent devoid of life!!!"

Yet Iris met her end happier than any NPC.

'For Iris herself, it could be seen as salvation.'

No need for my answer.

Flash!

The Tower's world began to blur.

Iris's collapsed form scattered and vanished.

Simultaneously, the 2nd floor clear message appeared.

Flash!

While awaiting rewards, I checked 'Sword Master's Dominion' and 'Lord of Blood'.

Power to control my terrifying swords had emerged.

Moreover...

'Lord of Blood.'

A growth-type skill, no less.

Exactly what I needed.

I'd gained supreme enlightenment in swords, but my body couldn't keep up.

The baby sword's alignment: Chaos.

Could accept evil-aligned powers like blood.

'Maintain good-evil ratio at 50:50, convert excess to bodily strength.'

A way to forge a body worthy ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of my enlightenment.

Finally—.

1. Advanced training method for 'Baby Sword—Chaos' unlocked.

2. Tower entry tickets x3

3. SSS-grade random box.

4. 10,000 coins.

'Climbing the Tower grows the baby sword, as expected.'

A new build for the baby sword appeared.

Likely a power derived from Chaos.

The rest matched the 1st floor rewards.

All rewards distributed; time for forced transfer from the Tower.

But...

Flash!

'She's rising, as expected.'

The 5th Sword's manifestation gauge increased to '1'.

I'd anticipated it.

Odd it hadn't sooner.

'Issue is controlling her.'

1 hour in Tower = 1 second outside.

Even 1 second, the 'real' Iris's power is fiercely dangerous.

I made her; I know well.

'If a continent-destroying crisis erupts, maybe...'

Would that happen?

As I tilted my head.

A bright, cheerful voice echoed in my ear.

* * *

The moment Shin Si-woo entered the Tower.

An unidentified hunter in black robes infiltrated Goyang City.

He entered the core of the Red Sea, the mother gate.

Then activated a live stream.

The Red Sea, usually a Red Gate splitting seas left and right with a path in between.

But the mother was different.

A leisurely flowing red sea.

The black-robed man shouted atop it.

He ignited his own body.

The moment a demon worshiper revealed himself to the world.