Kang Oh examined the two choices, and then asked, âSo what are the pros and cons of either choice?â
He wasnât all that surprised, as he was offered a similar choice when heâd first obtained Demon Sword Blood.
âChoose me,â Sara said.
âLike I said, what are the pros and cons?â Kang Oh said calmly. âIâll make a decision after Iâve heard all the information!â
âIf you pick me, then itâll become an ego sword.â
âGrowth,â Kang Oh said.
âYes. The sword will become an evolvable demon sword.â
âIf I choose the Ice Soul, itâll be more powerful now, but it will have no room for growth.â
âLet me ask you something.â
âIf I choose the Ice Soul, can I use Absolute Zero?â
âThen Iâll pick the IceâŠâ
There was nothing to think about. Come here, Absolute Zero!
âWait,â Sara yelled. âYou have to pay a hefty price in order to use Absolute Zero.â
âYour life. After all, the more powerful a demon sword is, the more danger it presents to its user.â
She probably wasnât lying. Thatâs how demon swords worked.
âCan you give me any concrete details?â
âI cannot. Youâre here not to find the right answer, but to make a choice,â Sara said decisively.
âLet me ask you one more thing. If I choose you and I upgrade the weapon, will I be able to use an Absolute Zero thatâs less harmful towards me?â
âNo. Absolute Zero is the Ice Soulâs power. Its power is absolute, but it has a limited number of uses.â
âHmm.â Kang Oh looked at his choices and thought them over.
If he could, he would pick the Ice Soul over Sara. After all, it would allow him to use Absolute Zero!
But what if Absolute Zeroâs activation cost was the userâs life? Moreover, it had a limited number of uses.
Ultimately, Kang Ohâs decision wasâŠ
âIâm picking Sara.â
[Ice Demon Sword Sarahoffâs power and characteristics have been determined.]
[You may use a Yuki-Onnaâs power, as well as a portion of the Ice Soulâs power. The weapon has infinite room for growth, but its raw power cannot match up to the Ice Soulâs.]
[Saraâs ego has been retained. She indirectly sees, hears, tastes, and feels the world through her wielder.]
âThank you.â Sara beamed.
As an ego sword, she could now indirectly experience the world through Kang Oh. Originally, her dream was to explore the continent. In a way, she had fulfilled her dream.
The landscape began to spin quicker and quicker! When he started to feel a little dizzy, he returned to the real world, with Valan haughtily sitting in front of him.
âDid it go well?â Valan asked. He was clearly being sarcastic. It was like he was saying, âHowâs it feel to make such a fuss over nothing?â.
âThanks to you.â Kang Oh grinned. âHow does that make you feel!?â
âYou finished the easiest task. Hurry up and finish the rest,â Valan said.
He needed to master Demonic Swordsmanship and acquire a Demonic Swordsman secret move! There was still so much for him to do.
âYes. Now if youâll excuse me.â Kang Oh quickly left. Staying with Valan for too long was a recipe for disaster.
âHmm, it wonât be long now,â Valan said, staring vacantly at the spot that Kang Oh had left.
He was referring to the wall that prevented proficiency from rising any further! It wouldnât be long before Kang Oh faced this wall.
As soon as he left the Holiseum, Kang Oh examined Sarahoffâs item information.
[Ice Demon Sword Sarahoff (+0)]
A once in a lifetime masterpiece created by Hoffman!
+ Absolute Destruction: Anything that clashes with this blade will break. This includes weapons, armor, tough scales, and even bone! The object in question will eventually break, depending on how tough it is.
+ Damage Amplification: Always increases the damage you deal to your enemy. At minimum, increases damage by 1.5 times, and at maximum, increases it by 3 times. Will stack with critical hits!
+ Frost Demonâs Domain: Lowers the temperature of anyone within a 10 meter vicinity of the demon sword. This lowers their abilities, and also inflicts frostbite or freezes them.
+ Saraâs Collectible: If you explore a new area, kill a new monster, or complete a difficult quest, then there is a low chance that you will obtain Saraâs Collectible. If you collect enough, then the sword will evolve. Next Evolution: 0/3 Saraâs Collectibles.
âHmm. Frost Demonâs Domain and Saraâs Collectible, huhâŠâ
The âDangerous Gambleâ ability, which increased the swordâs attack power by 1% every 5 seconds in exchange for a proportional amount of his HP, had disappeared.
Frost Demonâs Domain had taken its place, which lowered the temperature of anyone within a 10 meter vicinity, reducing their abilities and possibly inflicting frostbite or freezing them.
Like Ubistâs âPredationâ or Bloodâs âEvolving Weaponâ, âSaraâs Collectibleâ acted as a way of upgrading it. The only difference was its approach; like Sephiroâs Lasselpino Bow, Sarahoff required that he collect items to upgrade it.
âAs expected, itâs not all that great.â
Thatâs how evolving weapons were. Ice Demon Sword Sarahoff didnât meet his expectations. For the time being, that is.
However, his judgment would change based on its future evolutions.
âYou canât expect too much on your first time.â
Kang Oh headed for the intercity transfer gate. Although heâd completed the Guardian of the Continent Quest, he still needed to become a Master.
Sorenâs magic circle worked without a hitch. He immediately arrived in Talastrum, which was inhabited by the powerful, ancient Tuslam.
His nose was assaulted by the unpleasant smell of the sewer, so he quickly got out.
Then, he saw a Tuslam sitting upon a lotus-shaped statue. His weapon was a bone hammer made out of a Giant Krugerâs skull. Metal boomerangs hung from the belt around his waist as well.
[You have discovered Tuslamâs Descendent, Moldon.]
Kang Oh hid behind the half-destroyed statue and pulled out Sarahoff.
Heâd sealed Sara within the demon sword, so he could use Devil Trigger with it now.
The purple blade expelled a cold, blue energy, which wrapped itself around Kang Ohâs body.
His eyes turned a frigid blue like a Yuki-Onnaâs eyes. Two frozen horns protruded from his forehead, and frozen, sky blue armor covered his arms and legs. It was as though he were covered by the snowy fields themselves.
âHoo.â Kang Oh breathed out, releasing a misty cloud of air.
[You may now use the Ice Queen, Saraâs power as your own.]
[You are completely resistant to the ice element. You become more powerful in cold environments.]
[You may now use Yuki-Onnaâs Breath, Ice Wall, and Frozen Spike.]
[Ice damage is added to your attacks. There is a fixed chance that your attacks will freeze your opponent!]
âYuki-Onnaâs Breath, huhâŠâ
Kang Oh jumped out from behind the statue, and horizontally swung Sarahoff at the Tuslam.
A frigid, fan-shaped energy blast shot out. The weeds froze instantly, and the blast also froze the surface of the ruins too.
It was an aura technique, reminiscent of Ubistâs Abyss Claw or Bloodâs Fresh Blood Wave, that allowed him to unleash the demonâs power.
âAn enemy!â Tuslam Moldon reacted immediately.
He backed off, dodging the Yuki-Onnaâs Breath. Then, he immediately drew two boomerangs, one in each hand, and forcefully threw them.
Moldonâs boomerangs flew at Kang Oh, emitting a dangerous âwhooshâ.
A thick wall of ice formed in front of Kang Oh.
As always, the Tuslamâs boomerangs were extremely powerful. Upon contact, the boomerangs let out a giant âbamâ like dynamite and destroyed the wall.
âHuahp!â Moldon screamed and threw his boomerangs once more.
Kang Oh stomped on the ground.
Icicles surged from underneath Moldonâs feet.
âTch.â Moldon threw himself to the side.
Kang Oh seized the opportunity.
âThatâs what I was waiting for!â
The Tuslam possessed inherently high combat prowess, so they were capable of fighting Kang Oh evenly in a one-on-one fight.
When did it start? When did Moldonâs lips turn purple?
Sarahoffâs special ability, Frost Demonâs Domain, had lowered his core temperature. As a result, his movements slowed, and the force behind his weapon weakened.
Sarahoff cleaved through his body.
It was a vicious cycle. Moldonâs core temperature went down, reducing all of his abilities, and left him more open to Kang Ohâs attacks. With him unable to block Kang Ohâs attacks, Sarahoff would inflict status ailments, making him even weaker than before!
Moldon fought back as hard as he could. He moved fiercely, shaking off the ice that lined his body, and swung his hammer threateningly.
Kang Oh calmly swung Sarahoff and blocked Moldonâs hammer.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Ultimately, Moldonâs hammer shattered into pieces.
âItâs better than I expected.â
Sarahoffâs abilities were pretty good. âFrost Demonâs Domainâ lowered his opponentâs abilities, allowing him to better make use of the swordâs original abilities, âAbsolute Destructionâ and âDamage Amplificationâ.
However, Moldon was still a Tuslam! He wouldnât lose that easily.
Moldon picked up a sharp piece of bone, a remnant of his broken hammer, and swung it like a dagger. It was a quick, precise attack!
Kang Oh, whoâd sensed the attack prior, quickly pulled his neck back. However, he was a bit late.
The bone fragment grazed Kang Ohâs neck. The neck was a vital area! Thus, a huge fistful of shards of red light burst out.
Kang Oh got back into position, and quickly swung Sarahoff downwards.
Sarahoffâs purple blade pierced through Moldonâs chest. While it was still embedded in his chest⊠Yuki-Onnaâs Breath!
The Tuslam Tribe possessed incredible elemental resistance. But that didnât matter when the cold energy was injected directly into their body.
A heart-shaped ice fragment appeared on his chest.
âYou bastard!â Moldon angrily threw the bone fragment.
Guided by his Hyper Intuition, Kang Oh swung Sarahoff at the incoming bone fragment, deflecting it, and then swung downwards.
His sword left behind a sword scar across Moldonâs muscular chest.
Kang Oh spun around like a top, and then swung his blade at Moldonâs neck.
Moldon ducked down like a frog about to jump!
His demon sword cut through nothing but air.
Moldon sprung up and tackled Kang Oh. At this range, it was almost impossible to dodge.
Kang Oh gritted his teeth.
Kang Oh was pushed back with a âbamâ. Huge shards of light fell from his body. However, he didnât take as much damage as heâd expected.
âHeâs a lot weaker than I thought.â
Thereâs no way a Tuslamâs tackle would be this weak. Seeing how it was, Sarahoffâs Frost Demonâs Domain mustâve reduced his abilities significantly!
âWhat if Sarahoff were to gain another ability on top of this?â
Just thinking about it left him excited. Kang Oh grinned and swung Sarahoff several times.
Moldon wasnât able to fight him off, and ultimately fell to his knees.
Kang Oh roamed across Talastrum, searching for Tuslam that were alone. A short while later, Kang Oh found a suitable opponent.
[You have discovered Tuslamâs Descendent, Barad.]
Kang Oh pulled out Blood with his offhand.
Bloodâs crimson energy and Sarahoffâs blue energy mixed together and engulfed Kang Ohâs body. Overall, Bloodâs energy was more pronounced, covering more of his body.
Kang Oh sported a red body with wings and a bat mask to match. However, two frozen horns protruded from the mask, and frozen armor covered his arms and legs.
It was as though a white whirlwind pattern streaked through a red background.
Fusing Sarahoff and Bloodâs power had resulted in this new Dual Demon form!