Sword Master With One Strike Kill - Chapter 54

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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One-Strike Kill Swordmaster Episode 54

Episode 54. Sacred Covenant (4)

I immediately flipped the hourglass.

I had exactly 6 minutes to converse with the Saintess.

If I exceeded that time, the visitor would be afflicted with a terrible curse.

In the worst case scenario, it could even lead to death.

‘…Possessed One, she said.’

That was what the Saintess had called me the moment I set foot in this place.

After pondering for a moment, I bluntly asked a question.

“You know I’m a Possessed One?”

“Yes.”

The Saintess nodded with a smile.

“Of course I know. We’re the ones who brought you here.”

“…”

“I know everything about who you are, and what you used to do in the past.”

I froze.

My past.

As soon as those words came out, memories I didn’t want to think about began creeping up.

But I couldn’t let myself be shaken.

I forced down the negative emotions and watched the falling grains of sand.

‘There isn’t much time.’

Six minutes.

Within this limited time, I had to extract as much information as possible.

The chance to adjust the power gained as payment for the sacred covenant, and to communicate directly with the gods who manage this world.

I had no intention of wasting this precious time.

“What’s the reason you possessed me?”

The Saintess answered my question in a calm voice.

“We made a covenant earlier, didn’t we?”

“…”

“The salvation of the world. That’s the entire reason you were brought here.”

I wanted to curse her out right then and there.

To ask why they kidnapped someone into a game without consent.

But I held back.

I knew that wasting this precious time would only hurt me.

‘…First priority is identifying which god is in front of me.’

I needed to figure out who I was dealing with to better direct the conversation.

And that would also be much more advantageous for negotiating the price of the 「Sacred Covenant」.

【Hall of Ten Thousand Gods】

Befitting that grand name, the number of ancient gods called Elders reached a full ten thousand.

But among them, only a very few could communicate directly by borrowing the Saintess’s body.

Only high-ranking deities ranked at least within the top 50 in the Pantheon’s hierarchy could borrow the Saintess’s body.

‘…Then who could that one be?’

Just from the way of speaking, I had narrowed it down to five candidates.

I stared intently at the Saintess’s face, considering various possibilities.

Ding!

〔Mental Power ‘MAX’ is ̶̺͍̾̓@̴̻̕͜?̴̗̭͑&̶̙͖͒%̵̯͑# the opponent.〕

〔Error: #̶̱͌͝!̵̞̈́$̸̘̫̃@̸̨̛̮$̶͛͊͜*̶͖͔̒͛ fails.〕

‘…Ugh!’

The very next moment, my vision shook.

It felt like my pupils were sliding around against my will.

My insides churned violently and I felt like retching as my organs twisted.

“Don’t try to look at my face carelessly, Possessed One.”

“…”

“Even the ability you possess can’t protect you from the ‘difference in rank’ between us.”

The Saintess spoke in a worried voice.

Looking directly at the Saintess’s face hidden behind the veil.

This was one of the strictly forbidden acts in the Order of the Holy Maiden.

‘I just broke that taboo.’

The violent shaking of my vision and the retching were all 「punishment」 for this.

‘But…’

…Thanks to that, I was able to see through the opponent’s identity.

‘To think it would end with just this level of punishment.’

I had even prepared to lose both eyes as punishment for my impious gaze.

A god with a nasty personality would have given such terrible punishment and more.

It was a judgment that prioritized identifying the opponent, thinking that damaged body parts could just be healed by a priest outside.

‘The higher gods of the Pantheon are arrogant and oppressive.’

In contrast, the punishment I received now was incredibly weak.

There was only one high-ranking deity with such a merciful personality.

‘The Master of Life and Earth.’

It had to be her.

Now that I had figured everything out, it was time to receive the reward for the 「Sacred Covenant」.

I struggled to speak while suppressing the nausea rising from within.

“…I’ll receive the price of the sacred covenant.”

Chuckle.

The Saintess looked at me with a faint smile.

She stood up and slowly walked toward me.

“Don’t move, just stay still.”

The Saintess who had come close slowly reached out her hand toward me.

Slowly.

I closed my eyes.

It wasn’t an action of my own will. Some unknown force made my eyelids heavy.

I didn’t try to resist the phenomenon and quietly submitted to the Saintess’s touch.

“You harbor grand ambitions, Possessed One.”

The Saintess’s fingertip gently touched my forehead.

I could feel her slender finger drawing circles on my forehead.

As I felt the tickling sensation, the Saintess spoke to me again.

“Saving the world from its end is a very heavy burden.”

“…That’s what you wanted from me.”

“Yes. That’s right. As I said before, it’s also the purpose for which we brought you all to this world.”

The Saintess spoke in a gentle voice.

“But don’t resent us too much. We don’t plan to just watch irresponsibly after placing such a great burden on you.”

“…”

“Now, I’ll give you power befitting that burden.”

Whoooooosh─!

Even with my eyes closed, an infinitely bright cluster of light covered my vision.

I had begun receiving a blessing in exchange for a sacred covenant.

If it had been another god, I would have tried to negotiate for greater power at this point.

‘But there’s no need for that now.’

If it’s ‘her,’ who is more fair and infinitely more merciful than anyone in the Pantheon…

She would give me the best compensation without me having to ask separately.

“Now, open your eyes.”

I opened my eyes. Before I knew it, a colorful egg that fit in one hand was clutched in my grasp.

‘…【Easter Egg】.’

It was when I was repeating the item’s name in my mind.

“It’s a reward I agonized over choosing. It should go well with that cute divine artifact you have, right?”

“…”

“Since you’re wise, you’ll know what to do with this wonderful reward, won’t you?”

The Saintess continued her explanation with a smile.

“So I won’t give you any more clues.”

Right.

As The Saintess said, the 【Easter Egg】 was an excellent reward.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say it was perhaps the most fitting item for one who vowed to save the world.

‘But…’

For some reason, one corner of my heart felt uneasy.

‘…This alone feels slightly insufficient?’

Of course I had received an excellent reward, but compared to the heavy vow to save the world, it felt lacking.

It would be right to say the cost-benefit calculation didn’t quite match up.

If it had been another god, I would have accepted it.

But considering this was a reward from the ‘Master of Life and Earth,’ receiving only the 【Easter Egg】 felt somewhat strange.

“Don’t think it’s strange.”

Then, as if The Saintess had read my thoughts, she spoke.

“I gave you two abilities.”

“…?”

“It’s just that right now, you can’t ‘perceive’ it.”

I looked at The Saintess with a puzzled expression.

She gave me two abilities?

Then when would the second ability I can’t perceive be unlocked?

“Well.”

Again, before I could voice my question, The Saintess tilted her head first.

“But don’t worry too much. You’ll naturally learn about the second ability soon enough.”

“…”

“I guarantee it, without that level of ability to save the world, you won’t be able to…”

Rumble rumble rumble-!

Right at that moment, the entire dungeon shook with an ominous vibration.

At the same time, the flow of air around us began to change eerily.

“…They’re already coming.”

I quickly checked the hourglass.

Most of the sand had already fallen to the bottom.

“Go back now. Quickly.”

The golden light visible through The Saintess’s veil wavered anxiously.

I hurriedly moved toward the exit.

Drip-.

Suddenly I felt hot liquid flowing down my nose.

I could taste the metallic scent of blood in my mouth. My vision swayed and my head began to hurt as if it would split.

“Be careful, Possessed One.”

The Saintess’s final warning echoed in my ears.

“Right now you’re the only one, but in the future the number of □͆̄͠■҇̐̎͂̃이́̄͛͡□̏̓͡s will gradually increase more and more…”

Whoooosh-!

It was the moment I took my first step outside the dungeon.

Right at that moment, The Saintess’s voice whispering by my ear disappeared in an instant.

“…Sir! The Protagonist!”

Almond’s urgent cry, who had been waiting for me at the exit, could be heard faintly.

However, my consciousness growing dim and my vision gradually darkening were unbearable.

Thud-.

Unable to endure the pain, I collapsed forward and fell unconscious.

* * *

Ding-!

〔Hidden Message : 〕

〔Hidden Message : ̶̱͌͝!̵̞̈́$̸̘̫̃$̶͛͊͜*̶̸̨̛͖͔̮̒͛Ability 【҇́́͊́Corŕ̛̚■̉̂͝$̶͛͊͜*̶͖͔̒͛□̔̄̌̌̓̕tion ■̃̓̽̓͡#̶̱͌͝!̵̞̈́$̸̘̫̃@̸̨̛̮$̶͛͊͜*̶͖͔̒͛Field̄̄̓͠】̾̀̽̓̎͠ has̔҇̑̒͛͠ been acquired.〕

…

〔Hidden Message : The forgotten Harmonizers are watching your progress.〕

* * *

“So then…”

Clink-.

Mountain Cabin. Two Sword Masters sat by the window where moonlight streamed in.

Pokryeomdo leaned against the wall, and the massive blood-tinged zweihander lay on one side of the table.

Tyrant Dragon slowly set down his water glass and continued speaking.

“…The test opponent Middle Temple mentioned was ‘The Mysterious Man’?”

“Right.”

Hearing Heukgol’s answer, Tyrant Dragon fell into thought for a moment.

─The seeker of ■̓̉̊̑̈͡■͐͑̍̀͞■́̔̓̉͠ who has newly set foot in this world… is now heading to the Deepest Layer of Labyrinth Village.

A few weeks ago from now.

It was a revelation Tyrant Dragon had heard from The Great Ones.

And just last night, the thirteenth star of Middle Temple had risen.

Tyrant Dragon, who had been carefully recalling ‘The Mysterious Man’ he met in the Deepest Layer of Labyrinth Village, asked Heukgol a question.

“His name was Gaon, wasn’t it? What was that guy like?”

“Hmm.”

Heukgol scratched his skull.

“Well. My first impression was just an ordinary mercenary you could see anywhere.”

“…?”

“As you said, I didn’t feel any special aura at all.”

Tyrant Dragon frowned and asked back in a disbelieving voice.

“What? He was at the level of an ordinary mercenary…?”

Something was strange.

Indeed, the guy he encountered in Labyrinth Village was so frail it wouldn’t be strange if he collapsed right away.

Not only did he barely have any muscle that a swordsman should have, but he was even skinny to the bone.

Yet to Heukgol’s eyes, such a guy appeared to be at the level of an ordinary mercenary.

─Then… when will your body recover?

─I’ll let you know as soon as the prohibition is lifted.

‘…Could it be that over the past few weeks, the “prohibition” has been partially lifted?’

It was when the Tyrant Dragon was having such thoughts.

“Ah, right.”

At that very moment, Heukgol threw out a completely unexpected question.

“But why didn’t you tell me?”

“…?”

“That he’s the same species as you. Why didn’t you say anything?”

The Tyrant Dragon froze for a moment.

Soon his expression twisted into something menacing.

“…What kind of bullshit is that?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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