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To be honest, I’d been anticipating the grade to possibly even touch the edge of vision sword. But it ended up being a spirit sword, probably because the troll whose body it was made from was a young one.
“It’s unfortunate, but still, not bad.”
A sword that was a little wide.
A broadsword, in other words. The scabbard and exterior were all gray-white, as if it was made entirely of bone.
Gwydd.
Despite being only a spirit sword, the soul inhabiting it was that of a troll, and its unique ability was Spirit Descent.
“Spirit Descent, huh.”
Spirit Descent (Descent of God).
In simple terms, it could be explained as being possessed by a God by requesting Him through folk spells or magic.
“Probably, it will strengthen the sword with the might of a troll.”
In doing so, Callius would be able to use the troll’s power for a short time.
‘But abilities like that are almost always one-shots.’
He had no idea about its duration.
It was too early to fall in love with it because he didn’t even know what kind of risks there might be.
“Still, there’s nothing wrong with having one more trump card.”
It was a wide and long two-handed sword, not suitable to be worn on the waist, so he thought he’d have to make a belt and hang it behind his back. Since it was a moderately heavy sword with a long reach, mastering it would take a little time, unlike Loas.
“All this troll’s blood… it’s a shame.”
As befit its body size, the troll had spewed out so much blood that puddles had formed here and there. Callius collected some of the blood with some pottery and vases he grabbed from the mountain of junk. It was a precious ingredient that he didn’t know when he might see again.
He had to grab as much as he could.
Because there were many uses for this blood.
“I could’ve taken a little more if I had Bruns ‘ cloth bag.”
It was a pity that he wasn’t here due to the current circumstances.
“I’ll have to come back here when the war is over.”
The relics of the Vira tribe would probably sell at a high price to the spirit crafters.
Even a broken artifact would be something precious to them.
Just selling them off on the auction houses of the Church or Tristar would make a lot of money.
“The more money, the better.”
After taking a few more Vira artifacts in a suitable container, Callius started making his way out of the troll’s den, but stopped halfway.
“Hmm…”
He’d been looking around with the Tricolour Eye to check if he’d missed taking anything, when something caught his attention.
“What is this?”
A small spot glimmered gold on the smooth wall.
It was not red or blue, but gold.
Maybe there was something?
He didn’t have to worry about danger because it wasn’t showing red under the Tricolour Eye.
“Do I have to break through the wall?”
Callius started trying to pull out his new sword, Gwydd, but changed his mind and put it back in. It was a bit of a shame to use a brand-new sword to dig dirt, so he drew Loas instead.
Kiiiiing.
The sword keened sharply as if dissatisfied, but it was in vain.
It’s your fault for being useless[1].
Taeaeng!! A violent vibration broke out when he swung the sword and struck the wall.
But, strangely, he couldn’t even scratch the wall.
“What is this?”
The rock seemed to be nothing special, but that’s why it was even more suspicious, because it didn’t have a single scratch.
“I don’t remember hiding this kind of a hidden piece.”
It didn’t get scratched even when struck by the Predator Sword.
No matter what, it was still a spirit sword! Wasn’t this a bit suspicious?
This wall was definitely not something ordinary.
It was clearly artificially constructed by someone.
Callius’ mouth curved up at the corners.
Sheathing the Predator Sword, he now drew the Strong Sword[2] – Gwydd.
The gray-white blade and its blood-red edges glistened under the luminescence of the glowstones.
Callius, raising the spirit sword, immediately poured in his divine power.
“Ugh.”
A large amount of divine power, close to 30% of his capacity, disappeared immediately as if it had been sucked in, and a strange pattern spread over the blade.
As the pattern unfurled, it took on an ominous green hue, and a sudden surge of vitality sprang up all through Callius’ body.
Even the textures of his muscles now felt different.
The sensation of his grip holding the sword’s handle, the feel of each joint, was noticeably different.
An unparalleled power surged through his body, and his spirit soared with an irresistible sense of victory.
Taking the reins of that overflowing power with both hands, Callius cut.
Kwaaaaaaang–!!
A thunderous roar resounded throughout the cave.
“This… nice!!”
Facing Callius who struck with his spirit sword, the wall helplessly collapsed, raising sand and dust.
“What tremendous power. As expected of a sword imbued with the spirit of a troll.”
It let you use the power of a troll.
The time limit seemed short, but it could shine in moments of crisis.
The more secret weapons, the better, so it was fine.
Suuuuuuuu.
The strength was released.
The holding time was quite short.
You could stretch it longer, but the divine power consumption would be too great.
Close to 30% of divine power was taken away just to activate the ability for an instant.
But there were clear advantages, too.
“Imagine that. Even the troll’s regeneration.”
Of course, that he’d drank the potion was also a factor, but during Spirit Descent, his regenerative power had increased exponentially. As a result, almost 90% of Callius’ wounds were now fully healed.
His body felt light and there were no particular aftereffects left by Spirit Descent.
If there was, it was that too much divine power had been consumed.
“If it’s like this, there’s no need to feel disappointed about not getting a vision sword.”
I feel like I got a windfall.
Cheok.
With the sword back in its sheath, Callius crossed the devastation he had created just now with a spring in his step.
A passageway that had been created because the entire outer wall, about three meters in length, had been smashed down.
“Really.”
The insides were strange.
Not natural rock, but artificial walls made of mud and stone stretched at the sides of the passage.
The strange bricks were engraved with geometric patterns and runes, and at the end of the passage, he could feel a subtle and refreshing divine energy.
“Divine power.”
He could feel the energy of God.
Relic… Probably not.’
Relics do not reveal their divine power so clearly.
Rather, they hide their presence.
So this was no sacred object.
When he thought about it, one thing came to mind.
“Is it supposed to be here?”
Callius sped up even further.
Perok!
Kwaang, he kicked the stone wall at the end of the passage! As it crumbled down, cold air rushed from inside and tickled his scalp.
Beyond the fallen stone wall –
Callius’ eyes widened.
“I didn’t know I’d find you here.”
One who had once been revered as a saint of the Church, who had one day suddenly disappeared while travelling through the North.
The main quest he was now carrying out.
She who had called the North a wheel, giving its name.
“Fatalite. Why are you here?”
She was kneeling down.
A stone statue holding a sword and praying as if to prove her faith.
A saint, and a highest-ranked paladin of the Order.
The second-generation saint who’d risen to the rank of Masters.
There knelt Fatalite, now only unyielding stone.
“The divine power of a saint. I’ve never felt it from the sacred stone, but this vast divine power… it’s really amazing.”
The divine power he’d consumed began to fill back up in an instant. Due to the constant battles and using the troll’s divine ability, his divine power had been almost depleted, but just standing still here, the consumed power was being quickly replenished.
When a saint dies from a Pilgrim’s sword, sacred stones can be born from the śarīra inside their bodies.
However, the size would be smaller than a fist.
“Fatalite…”
She must have had a large number of sacred stones inside her body.
After she died like this, many years passed, and the sacred stones only made the decaying body harden like stone.
[Fatalite]
[You glimpsed the faith of Fatalite, who transformed into a divine jewel and created a sanctuary.]
[By witnessing the wondrous end of the saint, your faith rises.]
[Faith +10]
There were many tricky parts.
According to the setting, Fatalite had last been sighted in the North, and it was stated that she had never been seen since.
What happened to her after that, he didn’t know.
But she must have ended her life here. He’d never considered it, but the fact that she was here made him think a lot of things.
‘Fatalite, you… ‘
There was a lot of ambiguity, but he decided not to think about it for too long.
In the first place, him being in this world itself was something that could not be explained.
Looking at her with a frown, Callius pulled something out of the stigma on the back of his hand.
A single flower with an exquisite harmony of black and white.
It was a Tear of Valtherus.
“I can plant it here.”
Tears of Valtherus must be planted in a land with strong divine energies where the sun does not reach.
In other words, it would grow and prosper only in places considered holy.
This was the place where the remains of Fatalite, who had been exalted as the saint who succeeded Stella, turned into stone and created a holy sanctuary, so it was a perfect place to plant the Tears of Valtherus.
There could be no better place than this.
In front of her kneeling form holding the sword, he planted the Tear of Valtherus, as if in tribute. As soon as it was planted, as if it was drinking in her divine power, the flower bloomed and sparkled with soft silver light.
Taking some distance, he looked her and the flower for a long time.
As if that scene like a painting held the secrets of how to escape from his own circumstances, and from his desperate fate.
But then he shook his head and turned back.
“Now I have to go up.”
The North was still at war.
The orcs who were still aiming for the North, and the Empire that hoped that the Shield of Carpe would be destroyed.
Even right now, the orcs’ axes were striking the centre of the North, so he needed to return to the battlefield as soon as possible.
Kwang! Clatter!
He returned through the knocked-down wall blocking the passage, and when he came out of the burrow after packing his things, the deep darkness and the musty smell greeted him again.
The presence of beasts could be felt everywhere.
Loups-garous and other magical beasts had flocked to the cliff following the scent the blood.
– Krrrrrr.
The cries of the beasts crouching low on the ground were directed at Callius, who was alone.
They approached with red eyes shining, like animals hunting for prey.
But Callius’ gaze was not on them, but beyond.
“Lutheon…”
He won’t die.
He wasn’t going to die just from some beasts.
Nevertheless, it was Callius’ greed that made him not end Lutheon’s life.
The next time they meet. Only then would he turn him into a sword.
Because he’d be stronger by then, a better material.
Callius glanced at the beasts, then raised his left hand and spread Leteti’s wings.
Chwaaaak!
The wings flapped according to his will and floated in the sky.
Hwiiiiiiing!!
Leaving behind the steep winds and the beasts looking at him futilely –
Callius flew upwards, towards the ground.
Kung! Kung! Kung!
The sound of the orcs’ stomping footsteps could be heard all the way here. The sound and the trembling beneath their feet created a sense of fear, and deepened their anxiety.
“Master Rivan. Where is Miss Rinney?”
Orphin was hurriedly looking for Rinney.
As there were signs that the war was about to begin, she was feeling a sense of urgency.
“She went to check the state of the orcs.”
In response to Orphin’s question, Rivan who was wiping down his sword with a dry cloth shook his head as if it was understandable.
“She wanted to go back to where Callius fell.”
“…”
“He must be already dead. You know it too, Orphin. That was an abyss so deep that you couldn’t see its end even if you dropped a torch though it. If you fall from there, surviving would be a miracle. I’ve never heard of people who disappeared inside the Sinking Forest coming back to life.”
“…”
Orphin was silent.
Rivan was correct.
On the day Callius had fallen –
They had tried out a lot of different things, over and over again.
Like making long ropes out of grass and tree vines and throwing them down, or dropping torches.
However, there was still no news after a week or so, and the knights who had been waiting in hope of a miracle were now fully acknowledging his death.
“Orphin. He did save us, and I know that he was a strong knight. Callius wasn’t a trash who tainted Jervain’s name, he was a knight who shined more brilliantly than anyone else.”
Rivan, now –
Only after Callius’ death did he recognize him.
“Didn’t you hate him?”
“I did. Still, I can’t keep on hating people forever after their death. It’s true that Callius was great.”
But he died.
Even if he were alive, there was no way to save him, so he was as good as dead.
So now was the time to give up.
Rivan said so.
“The orcs are still strong. Jevarsch is still holding, but it’s going to run out of strength soon. It would be a great help if we can move the supplies Callius plundered to the citadel. The question is how to get them there. “
Orphin swallowed a sigh hearing Rivan’s calm words.
If Callius had been here –
If he were alive, they could have carried out the next measures without a hitch.
Because he’d said that he knew a secret way to move the supplies.
However, now they couldn’t use that method because he hadn’t told the method to anyone in advance.
Even though they had taken away all this food, they didn’t have a way to move any of it.
If he’d been alive, it wouldn’t have been a problem.
“Master Rivan is right, Sir Orphin. His death is sad, but the survivors must do their part.”
It was Jack.
After Callius died –
He showed a lot of interest in Rivan and began to follow him. He was already supporting Rivan.
Not only Jack, but also the other knights were already splitting up to get behind either Rivan or Emily.
“Sir Jack. He plunged himself into the abyss with a formidable foe to save us. It is by his arrangement that we are alive now.”
“That’s true, but! So that his sacrifice is not in vain! Shouldn’t you wield your sword for the sake of the North?”
Orphin was at a loss for words.
She couldn’t find a way to respond.
The knight of the Empire who had suddenly appeared had been strong. He had strong physical abilities and a terrifying spear.
Those explosions were enough to make the knights tremble in fear, and driving him to death had been urgent and worth any sacrifice.
If it weren’t for Callius –
If not for his sacrifice, everyone there would have died.
“Sir Orphin.”
“Sir Allen. What’s going on?”
“The situation doesn’t look good. Perhaps the earth dragons and orcs we missed have reached the main army by now.”
“Right.”
It was Rinney and Emily.
Both of them didn’t look as good as before.
“Miss Rinney. Miss Emily. How was it?”
“You can hear their stomping from all the way here. Maybe today or around dawn, there will be another battle. We should prepare now.”
That was then –
Ppuuuuuuuu–!
The sound of a horn rang through the air.
A sign of battle to make your heart sink.
The screaming sound of a trumpet telling of the start of war spanned the blue sky.
Under the gazes of everyone who looked back, the green wave swayed and began to move.
“Callius…”
A little mouth could only pathetically groan, calling his name.
Editor’s Notes:
[1] 만만한 게 (lit. happy skate(fish)). Not sure it fully translates here. Basically, male skates don’t taste good and have two large penises (!) that are troublesome to handle. Female skates are delicious and sold at a high price, but they often get fished out while, ahem, “conjugated” with a male. So fishermen just cut off the penises (?!) from any male skates they catch and throw them back to the sea. See article.
[2] Going by actual characters, calling it Spirit Descent Sword would also be correct. But since we could only keep one translation, we’ll just call it the Strong Sword from now on.