The Failed Swordmaster - Chapter 63
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Chapter 63 27. It’s Really Big (3)
Through the mountain’s aura, he slowly absorbed the energy of the demonic stone.
He purified the demonic energy through water, earth, and trees, and burned away the residue that still wouldn’t disappear with heat.
Of course, that alone wasn’t enough. He also had to simultaneously work on converting mana into aura.
It was work that required considerable concentration.
Of course, Lumian had sufficient ability.
Kukkwakwakwakwakwa-!
Like monsoon rain falling, a rain of mana poured down on Lumian’s body. It was rainwater filled with dirty, foul-smelling demonic energy.
He could feel the mountain becoming sick. Lumian also felt pain.
But as he endured this and went all out with purification and energy cultivation, he gradually felt his body becoming more comfortable.
While the demonic energy gradually decreased, the amount of aura—the power to control and purify demonic energy—continued to increase.
Of course, this wasn’t the end.
‘The goal is to raise my level, not simply to increase aura.’
The journey toward becoming a Sword Master!
It was a much more arduous process than what he had experienced as a Sword Expert.
Compared to an Expert who only needed to break through three major gates, a Sword Master had to open all the minor passages throughout the entire body.
He had to push out most of the impurities accumulated in his body and achieve a pure and perfect physical form.
‘It’s not difficult.’
Lumian thought even this was easy.
Though it was decades ago, he still remembered it vividly.
The day he first ascended to Sword Master.
He could never forget the moment when he stood tall as the central pillar of Jenas, breaking through the mockery and ridicule that spread secretly behind him.
‘I just need to do the same thing. The situation is much better too.’
It was true.
Though his mental strength was greatly consumed purifying the demonic energy, the situation still wasn’t bad.
He had a massive amount of aura to break through the pathways.
He had sufficient skill to handle it, and he also had an internal map based on his past life’s memories.
There was no need to hesitate.
Lumian unhesitatingly pushed out and burned away the impurities in his body.
Tssssssss…
Little by little, little by little.
However, Lumian was perfecting his body at a faster rate than anyone in history.
He opened his eyes exactly 24 hours later.
Morghen spoke to him.
“Brother, have you gone mad?”
“What do you mean?”
“Becoming a Sword Master at 15… isn’t that a bit too much?”
“It could be.”
Lumian got up from his spot.
Though he was tired, he also felt a refreshing sensation.
The impurities pushed out through his skin felt sticky, but his mood was excellent. Even when he tried to act calm, chuckles kept escaping.
He slowly drew his sword.
And closed his eyes.
Then he could feel the tremendous amount of aura sleeping in his dantian and the pathways in his body that had become as clean as when newly born.
Ziiiiiiing-!
The aura that extended along those pathways flowed out through his hands and covered the sword. It took form. And condensed solidly.
Morghen said grumblingly.
“Congratulations. It’s a complete aura sword. Ugh, the color is even brighter than mine. Are you really someone who just became a Sword Master?”
“Be quiet, you bastard.”
Lumian turned toward Morghen and grinned.
“Now I have the ability to discipline a cheeky younger brother.”
* * *
Having become a Sword Master, Lumian briefly checked his physical condition.
There were no major problems. His dantian that contained aura had clearly expanded, and his body had returned to its pristine original state.
Of course, he was still far from recovering his previous level.
He had been among the top handful of Sword Masters.
“But brother.”
“Yeah.”
“I don’t know how you did it, but if it’s possible to absorb demonic stones… wouldn’t it help with raising your level if you continued hunting the Demon Clan?”
“Hmm. No. This doesn’t seem like something to do multiple times.”
“Is that so?”
Lumian nodded.
Though demonic stones contained more mana than most elixirs, honestly speaking, the quality wasn’t very good.
It meant the mana wasn’t pure. It seemed to be because of the influence of demonic energy.
‘If I keep accumulating only this kind of mana, I might end up with a lot of aura but poor quality.’
It seemed this kind of lucky break would end with this time.
Of course, he wasn’t disappointed since he had gotten his money’s worth this once.
Rather, he wanted to dance. If not dancing, then at least spar to loosen up his body.
“To commemorate becoming a Sword Master, want to spar with me?”
“No thank you.”
Morghen refused sharply.
He clearly really didn’t want to do it.
‘The amount of aura might not be much different, but there would be an overwhelming difference in swordsmanship and aura manipulation ability.’
He didn’t want to fight a battle he would definitely lose.
He quickly changed the subject.
“But it’s a shame. It would have been nice if you could keep eating demonic stones.”
“That’s true, but… from Sword Master onward, there are more important things than aura capacity. There’s no need to obsess only over aura…”
“Ah, you don’t know.”
At Morghen’s words, Lumian made a puzzled expression.
Don’t know what?
Eujae pulled out a hand mirror and threw it to him.
Lumian made a disgusted expression.
“First time I’ve seen a man carry around a hand mirror. Especially such a burly Large Boy…”
“What kind of thing to say… You never know when or where you might meet a woman, so self-care is essential.”
“How admirable.”
“Anyway, just look in the mirror.”
Urged by Morghen, Lumian looked in the mirror with a listless expression.
It’s the same face he sees every day, so why is he making such a fuss.
The moment he thought that.
“Oh!”
Confirming his face, he let out an exclamation.
His appearance had clearly become more handsome than before!
He turned to look at Morghen and said.
“What’s this?”
“I don’t really know either. But…”
“…”
“I think it might be because you absorbed the Incubus’s demonic stone, well, that’s what I’m thinking.”
“Ooh…”
Lumian nodded.
It was quite convincing.
That was understandable, since there was no other reason he could find for his face suddenly changing besides the demonic stone.
‘My skin improving is natural since becoming a Swordmaster pushed out the impurities from my body, but my facial structure changing bit by bit…’
It was a mystery that couldn’t be explained by advancing in skill.
He looked in the mirror and smiled brightly.
“What’s this, this handsome guy!”
“Are you pleased?”
“Of course I am, naturally.”
Lumian had always felt inferior when looking at Teoro Shutgarn and Cal Krone.
For him, this gain was even more pleasant than becoming a Swordmaster.
He liked it even more because it wasn’t a completely different face, but rather felt like a slight upgrade while retaining his original appearance.
He returned the hand mirror and said.
“Next time I meet an incubus, should I try absorbing one more even if I have to push myself?”
“…You’ll die young doing that. That aside, did your thing not get bigger?”
“Ah, unfortunately not.”
Lumian shook his head as he spoke.
However, this was a lie.
In fact, his member had grown too. He hadn’t looked but could feel it.
The fact that it had become thicker and longer than before.
But if he mentioned this too, Eujae would be too envious, so he had no choice but to keep quiet.
Of course, inside he was shouting loudly enough to shake the hideout.
That the preparations were complete. That now he just needed to engage in real combat.
“That’s unfortunate.”
“It is unfortunate.”
“Still, becoming a Swordmaster and a beautiful young man is something, isn’t it? Besides, it’s not over yet. There’s one more secret room over there.”
“Really?”
Lumian focused his eyes and examined the direction Morghen pointed.
Then he could see rectangular cracks in the stone wall.
“It certainly looks that way.”
“Yes. There might be some useful items, so let’s search through it.”
Morghen was in an extremely excited state as he spoke.
That was right. He was a mercenary.
Unlike knights who subjugated demons for the peace of the continent, nation, king and people, he was the type who only acted when there was some reward involved.
Such a person had been watching Lumian gain benefits while he could only twiddle his thumbs, so his body was bound to be restless.
“Then, here I go!”
Morghen shouted energetically and approached the secret door.
However, he didn’t let his guard down. Just when it seemed he would kick down the door and rush in, he stopped in front and showed thoroughness by tearing magic scrolls and listening at the door.
It was truly the behavior of a veteran mercenary.
Of course, after the investigation was complete, there was no mercy.
“Hiyaaaah!
Crash!
When he pushed the stone door hard, the interior scenery revealed itself.
It wasn’t very spacious. There wasn’t much there either, giving it a desolate feeling.
But the four jewelry boxes placed on the table made Lumian and Morghen’s hearts race.
“Ooh, there seems to be something.”
“Indeed. Especially that rightmost box looks fancy.”
Lumian was right.
The rightmost box was decorated with gold and gems, looking valuable just by itself.
Of course, the three boxes on the left also looked quite luxurious.
Morghen, who had been examining the boxes, carefully opened his mouth.
“Um, big brother.”
“What?”
“These items did come from your estate, but still… I’ve helped with various things so far…”
“So?”
“How about splitting fifty-fifty?”
Hearing this, Lumian let out a chuckle.
Of course he had been thinking that.
No, actually, he wouldn’t feel the least bit sorry even if he gave away everything here.
This was Morghen who, despite meeting after skipping 10 years, was helping him with the exact same attitude as before.
He had not even a speck of intention to show greed toward such a younger brother.
While he was at it, he decided to be generous.
“I’ve gained a lot already, so I’ll just take one.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I’ll take this one, the second from the right.”
“Big brother… if you’re only taking one, you could take the rightmost one…”
Morghen said with a moved expression.
But Lumian knew that was just something he was saying.
He raised his hand as if to hit him.
“Don’t say things you don’t mean, let’s just hurry up and open them.”
“Hehe, yes. I’ll open them in order from the left.”
Morghen rubbed his hands together and opened the first box.
Then a seductive purple bottle caught their eyes.
There was a heart pattern drawn on the bottle neck, and it had a magical power that drew the viewer’s gaze.
Morghen shouted in surprise.
“Potion of Enchantment!”
“Is it famous?”
“Yes. It’s a succubus’s Potion of Enchantment. If you mix it with your saliva and feed it to someone of the opposite sex, you can make that person your slave for 24 hours. Though it doesn’t work on those with excellent mental strength like priests or skilled swordsmen and mages.”
“What, that’s completely for criminal use?”
“It is often used that way in reality. Since it’s an item containing demonic energy… but it’s still fine. We can get a decent reward by turning it over to the Allia Order…”
Having finished talking, Morghen reached for the next box.
With a click sound, another box opened.
Again, Morghen’s surprised voice followed.
“No way, this is!”
“What is it this time.”
“A succubus’s beauty potion! This is really precious!”
“Ah, I’ve heard of this one too. Is it real?”
Lumian also asked Morghen with surprised eyes.
That was understandable, since this beauty potion boasted truly tremendous effects.
It wasn’t simply about improving skin.
After applying it smoothly on your face and sleeping, when you wake up, your face changes to be close to the ideal appearance you usually dream of – it was a miraculous potion.
“Moreover, this has almost no demonic energy. Actually, the Order tried to make this a prohibited item too, but couldn’t because of fierce opposition. The fact that the Order changed their stance shows there are virtually no side effects. Anyway, this is a jackpot. Hehehe.”
Morghen let out a greedy laugh.
The second box was definitely a jackpot.
It would be a jackpot to sell, and good to use himself.
Of course, since it was a succubus’s beauty potion, the effect was lesser when used by men, but it was still an excellent item nonetheless.
Excited, he opened the next box in succession.
“Now, this time it’s big brother’s! Ta-da… Huh!”
“What, what’s wrong?”
“…”
“It’s another potion bottle. Is this one not good?”
“…”
Morghen didn’t open his mouth for quite a while.
His body was trembling violently, and his face was frozen stiff.
An enormous mental anguish could be felt.
Lumian found this puzzling and examined the medicine bottle once more.
A red glass bottle the color of wine.
On the bottle’s neck was drawn the face of a smiling incubus.
After confirming this, Lumian spoke with a “surely not” expression.
“By any chance, this is…”
“Yes. That’s right. It’s a virility enhancer. And not just a one-time use, but one with lifelong effects…”
“…”
“Sigh… I should have chosen that box instead… Useless beauty medicine and charm potion… Damn it… Damn it…”
“No, calm down.”
Lumian gently soothed Eujae.
In truth, he didn’t really understand the importance of virility.
Because he had never tried it before. It was a sad but unavoidable reality.
Therefore, while he understood Morghen’s frustration intellectually, he couldn’t accept it emotionally.
He simply wanted to see the next box quickly.
“For now, wouldn’t it be better to open the next box?”
“Phew…”
“It’s the most ornate box. Plus, it has many locking mechanisms… If it’s such a secretive box, it must surely contain the most precious item. There’s no need to be disappointed yet.”
“Phew, phew… You’re right. That’s true. We should open it.”
Morghen nodded his head.
Older Brother’s words were correct. It was still too early to despair.
After catching his breath, he quickly unlocked the box’s mechanisms. Then slowly, with trembling hands, he opened the lid.
Please let there be something better than a virility enhancer.
He wasn’t sure if there was anything in life more important than virility, but anyway, let there be such a thing!
Morghen’s eyes gleamed with yearning. Lumian also peered into the box with eyes sparkling with curiosity.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————