The Swords I Raised Are Too Strong - Chapter 10

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

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Chapter 10. New Cultivation Method (3)
The Tower is a world that implements [Sword Cultivation] in the form of trials.
By clearing the ‘Quests’ given here, one obtains the ‘Sword Master’s Dominion’.
Whoosh!
【You have entered Floor 2 of the Tower.】
I surveyed my surroundings from atop a three-meter-diameter emerald circle—the safe zone.
A crude cavern.
‘Floor 2 feels much the same.’
It was identical to the Abyss, where NPCs pick up swords.
Yet something had changed.
Ssssshhhhh——.
The scent of blood wafted from all directions.
Wondering what was happening, I examined my surroundings.
That’s when I noticed something strange.
‘Huh?’
Beyond the safe zone, I spotted a woman.
She appeared young, her gaunt frame striking in its prominence.
She was clutching a sword like a madwoman, rejoicing wildly——.
“Ah! This wretched flesh is growing! Sword! You truly are my savior!!!”
The woman held a small blade resembling Aga’s sword, her joy unmistakable.
I recognized her instantly.
‘Iris Ruzbella.’
The NPC who had granted me a second ending.
For the record, that playthrough’s ending was a [Bad Ending].
All of humanity had perished, and the story concluded.
‘The one who destroyed the continent became my sword?’
Only then did I grasp the weight of being a Sword Master.
This was my past.
What had I been like then?
“She looks about my age, but being that emaciated is… hmm, an ability that grows stronger proportional to the blood the sword absorbs? Maybe I’ll add that too.”
During my sensitive adolescence, the Gate incident claimed my parents.
Society descended into chaos, and life became unstable.
Multiple factors converged, and in those days, I regarded the world through a warped lens.
Moreover, [Sword Cultivation], despite being a dot-game, boasted character illustrations with photo-realistic clarity.
‘How troublesome.’
That was the woman who destroyed the continent.
An encounter I could scarcely afford at present.
And yet——.
For some reason, gazing upon her stirred emotions contrary to my intentions.
Yes.
I felt a longing stirring within me.
‘The first NPC I ever grew attached to.’
Complex and subtle thoughts flickered through my mind.
The Fifth Sword, Iris Ruzbella, and the First Sword, Reinhardt Euclid.
The system had said there were three, but the only NPCs I truly held affection for were these two.
‘Reinhardt pleased me because he followed orders well.’
As for Iris, my childhood sympathy for her….
I had lost my parents, but she was set as an abandoned character, so I found myself caring for her all the more.
While lost in such thoughts.
【Master of Swords!!!】
An elderly voice welcoming me shattered my entire reverie.
Reinhardt, who had vanished, had returned.
“What happened?”
I asked the question indifferently.
Then Reinhardt cried out loudly.
【A vile thing attempted to awaken, so I stopped it with all my might!】
He seemed to be seeking praise.
I commended him for his hard work and asked for the details of what had transpired.
【Blood has spilled into the Sword World―.】
Reinhardt’s explanation began.
When the Fang Sword absorbed blood, the Fifth Sword began to stir.
If it had ended there, it would have been fortunate….
When the Fang Sword absorbed blood a second time, the scent of blood spread throughout that world, he said.
“So what you’re saying is, the Fifth Sword, Iris Ruzbella, awakened in response to the blood?”
【Fear not! I sent that wicked demon sword back!】
Was this something to be pleased about?
I calmly observed Iris Ruzbella, who had appeared as a trial from the Tower.
Indeed, being in the early stages, her gaunt appearance was starkly evident.
And yet….
“Ahahaha!!! I grow stronger with each passing moment. The abandoned princess of the Grand Empire Ruzbella shall return―.”
She was slaughtering those who had fallen into the Abyss, gradually regaining her vigor.
‘No matter how I look at it, she doesn’t seem controllable.’
The Quest’s objective was to overcome the trials given by the Tower.
I still didn’t know what those trials entailed.
I had intended to discuss this trial with the First Sword, Reinhardt.
But then….
【W-what is that vile thing doing here!!!】
Reinhardt gasped in shock upon seeing the young Iris.
From that point until now, Reinhardt and I haven’t exchanged a single word.
Because of the carnage Iris had wrought.
“Exalted Father, Emperor of the Grand Empire Ruzbella. Your abandoned youngest princess shall grow in strength and claim the throne―.”
During the thirty minutes the safe zone remained active, Iris Ruzbella slaughtered every living creature in the Abyss.
Monsters, humans, it mattered not.
All became equal handfuls of blood.
Tsssshhhhh———!!!
“Ahhh… the sword!!!”
The blade absorbed that blood.
And so Iris’s body grew even more robust.
When this space first began, Iris Ruzbella had been skeletal—practically starving.
Yet thanks to the ‘trait’ I had bestowed upon her, Iris recovered her vitality in an instant.
‘The sword grows, and excess blood converts into the user’s physical strength.’
A build I’d conceived carelessly in my youth.
My assessment upon witnessing it in reality was this:
“The effect is better than I expected.”
It was power that hadn’t destroyed a continent for nothing.
As I nodded in acknowledgment, Reinhardt posed a question to me.
【Could it be… that gruesome blade as well―?】
I nodded silently in response.
Perhaps Reinhardt had anticipated this, for he merely murmured, “If such is the Sword Master’s will―.”
I would have preferred to discuss it further, but there was no time for that now.
The thirty minutes of the safe zone had elapsed.
Whoosh!
[The trial begins.]
[Defeat the 5th Sword, Iris Ruzbella.]
[Condition: You must use the ‘Child Sword’.]
[Reward: Sword Master’s dominion, ????]
Defeat Iris with the Child Sword?
The difficulty is harsher than anticipated.
【Your safety is paramount, Sword Master!!! Should circumstances demand it, I shall unsheathe myself and strike down that abomination!!!】
I understood why Reinhardt uttered such worried words.
Despite having only just grasped the blade, Iris displayed overwhelming martial prowess.
And yet….
“1st Sword, Reinhardt. There will be no need to unsheathe you.”
I believe this trial will be exceedingly simple.
After all, I am the Sword Master.
As her master, how could I fail to overcome a blade in its infancy?
‘Iris remains incomplete.’
Countering a young, weak blade is nothing at all.
The sword she wields and her very strength are abilities I designed entirely.
* * *
The safe zone had vanished.
In other words, my presence had been exposed within the Abyss.
“Blade, you’re saying there’s something delicious over this way?”
Iris Ruzbella’s Blood Demon Sword guided her toward the scent of blood.
Her voice drew steadily closer.
And thus, Iris Ruzbella came face to face with me.
“Father….”
Red hair, brown eyes, and with flesh filled out, Iris Ruzbella had become quite beautiful.
She spoke.
“…an assassin you sent? What exactly is that bastard’s Heavenly Slayer Star that makes you cast me aside so cruelly?”
A crimson light rippled across her brown eyes.
“Judging by that composed stance, you’re no ordinary opponent.”
“I am―.”
I am not an assassin your father sent!!!
I wanted to say something, anything.
But she gave me no opening whatsoever.
“Die!!!”
Whoosh—.
Iris Ruzbella’s blade came flying at me without warning.
I calmly read the trajectory of her sword.
Iris Ruzbella’s blade had only recently settled on its nature, gaining the characteristic of the Blood Demon Sword.
It was little different from my own blade.
Clang!!!
I lightly raised my blade and blocked her sword trajectory.
Blade met blade, and sparks scattered through the air.
Even if the level of the swords was similar, the depth of enlightenment differed.
“A swordmaster who surpasses even your swordsmanship… It seems Father truly despises his youngest daughter.”
I recalled her background.
As a child, I had chosen this NPC out of pity for the pitiful character illustration, so I remembered even the detailed settings quite well.
‘The youngest imperial princess bearing the Heavenly Slayer Star.’
A woman who had been confined to the imperial palace her entire life.
Though it was called a palace, the isolated residence where she lived had not a single attendant.
Despite such circumstances, Iris Ruzbella had mastered the sword arts alone, and when the Emperor finally discovered this, he abandoned her in the Abyss.
That was how I came to pick up my blade.
Clang—! Ting! Chime!
While thinking such thoughts, I deflected every one of Iris Ruzbella’s strikes.
Having absorbed all the enlightenment of my blades, I had gained unparalleled talent in swords and swordsmanship.
“W-surely you didn’t send an imperial knight?”
Only after exchanging blows for some time did she ask me this.
Her expression was quite flustered.
One thing—I knew full well that she was bluffing.
‘A bluff, indeed.’
I read Iris Ruzbella’s movements with perfect composure.
In the first Abyss, having slaughtered every living creature, Iris Ruzbella obtained a single Authority.
One that I myself had recommended to her.
[Lord of Blood]
A power that grows stronger the more blood it consumes.
And through the spirits absorbed by the sword, she could summon demons.
I had read the signs of this beforehand.
“Die!!!”
Iris Ruzbella, who had been feigning despondence with her body limp, suddenly shifted her stance with explosive force.
Crimson blood erupted from the tip of her blade.
Screeeech—!!!
It coalesced into the form of a colossal monstrosity, lunging to devour my flesh.
Yet it was merely one demon.
The current Iris Ruzbella was absurdly weak.
And…
‘Chaos.’
My primary weapon’s nature is [Chaos].
Neither good nor evil, yet standing with one foot in each.
‘Which means I can manifest only one aspect whenever I desire.’
I channeled brilliant light.
Sacred radiance woven through chaos flowed along the blade’s edge.
In that state, I assumed my stance and swung the sword.
[One Flash—Horizontal Severance]
Reinhardt Euclid’s swordsmanship, manifested in its most exalted form to save the world, took shape at my fingertips.
It met the blade that had taken its most fallen form to destroy the world.
Clang—————.
Thus, Iris Ruzbella’s world crumbled.
The sword in her hands shattered.
“My blade…”
She stared at me with a face drained of composure.
The broken blade scattered across the floor, while only the hilt remained clutched in her trembling hand.
“Who… are you?”
Swiftly—.
I approached with an impassive expression and wrenched the sword hilt from Iris Ruzbella’s grasp.
Then I spoke.
“I am the master of this blade.”
“It had a master?”
She collapsed where she stood, her face consumed by despair.
I had thought the trial would end like this….
Iris Ruzbella.
She was more cunning than I remembered.
“Do you think I would let you take the only thing she possesses?!!!”
Whoosh―.
She seized the blade that had fallen to the ground and swung it toward me.
Even as she wounded her own hands, she attempted to wrest the sword from me.
At that sight, laughter burst from my lips.
‘That’s why I chose Iris.’
An NPC who truly cherished her blade.
An NPC who followed the sword’s will with genuine devotion.
Come to think of it, Iris was the first.
I deflected her sword and spoke.
“Yes, this blade is the one I gave to you.”
A thought suddenly surfaced.
Was the end of this trial simply to defeat her?
Something told me it wasn’t.
‘I understand.’
The soul dwelling within the blade is not an NPC.
It is someone who witnessed the end of an entire world.
Perhaps that’s why this trial appeared?
I gazed intently at the broken edge of Iris’s blade.
The fractured blade and hilt naturally merged into one, following my will.
I handed the sword back to Iris.
“Treat it with greater care.”
She looked at me with eyes full of confusion.
“T-truly the sword’s master? Should I… should I take this as recognition of the maiden….”
My prediction had struck true.
Iris, now subdued.
“Yes, you are worthy of wielding this blade.”
“Ah, salvation has come to the maiden….”
Salvation?
Well….
Before seeing the ending, Iris Ruzbella died countless times.
After countless repetitions, finally an ending.
Even that was not a particularly satisfying form.
[Bad Ending ― The continent has been destroyed.]
The world had been completely annihilated.
“Ahahahaha!!! Blade, the world you and she desired has been achieved! Behold this continent devoid of all life!!!”
Yet Iris Ruzbella met her final moment happier than any other NPC.
‘From Iris Ruzbella’s perspective alone, it wouldn’t be wrong to call this salvation.’
There was no need for me to answer.
Whoosh!
「You have overcome the trial in perfect form.」
—Dominion of the Sword Master acquired.
—As an additional reward, you have acquired the authority ‘Lord of Blood’.
The world of the Tower began to blur.
Iris Ruzbella’s collapsed body scattered and vanished.
At the same moment, the Tower’s 2nd Floor clear message appeared.
Whoosh!
[You have cleared Tower Floor 2.]
[Clear Time: 10 minutes]
[Grade: SSS]
[Preparing rewards…]
While waiting for the rewards, I examined the ‘Dominion of the Sword Master’ and ‘Lord of Blood’.
[Dominion of the Sword Master: An ability to forcibly command swords]
[Lord of Blood ― Stage 1: An ability to store absorbed blood in a sword and convert the excess into the user’s power.]
I had gained the strength to control my terrifying blades.
Moreover…
‘Lord of Blood.’
It was a growth-type skill, no less.
The perfect ability had appeared for me.
I had attained supreme enlightenment regarding the sword, but my physical body could not yet keep pace with it.
The nature of the Aga Sword was chaos.
It could also accept malevolent forces like blood.
‘If I maintain a 50:50 ratio of good and evil while converting the excess into my body’s power, it will work.’
I had found the method to forge a body capable of properly manifesting my enlightenment.
Finally—
[Tower Floor 2 clear rewards are being granted.]
1. Advanced cultivation method for ‘Aga Sword―Chaos’ is unlocked.
2. Tower Entry Ticket x 3
3. SSS-Rank Random Box.
4. 10,000 Coins.
‘As expected, the Aga Sword grows as I ascend the Tower.’
A new build had emerged for the Aga Sword.
It was likely a power stemming from chaos itself.
The rest was identical to the Floor 1 rewards.
Now that all rewards had been distributed, it was time for the Tower to forcibly transfer me out.
But…
Whoosh!
「Five Swords, Iris Ruzbella. [1/100]」
—Communication with the new Ego Sword has become possible.
‘As expected, it rose.’
The manifestation index of the Five Swords increased by ‘1’.
I had anticipated it would rise.
It was strange that it hadn’t risen sooner.
‘The real question is whether I can control it.’
One hour inside the Tower, one second outside.
Even in just one second, the power of the ‘real Iris’ is terrifyingly ominous.
I created her, so I know well.
‘Unless a continent-destroying crisis erupts, it shouldn’t be an issue.’
Would such a thing even happen?
In the moment I tilted my head in thought.
【Ah… Master of Swords―. At last you gaze upon this girl.】
A bright and cheerful voice resonated in my ears.
* * *
At the moment Shin Si-woo entered the Tower.
An Unknown Hunter clad in a black robe infiltrated Goyang City.
He entered the Red Sea’s deepest point, the Mother Gate.
Then he activated a live broadcast.
【Behold, you inferior beings―!】
Normally, the Red Sea that appears as a [Red Gate] has the sea split left and right with a path down the middle.
But the Mother Gate is different.
A place where a crimson sea flows serenely.
【This is the sea that should naturally flow upon Earth!!!】
From above it, the man in the black robe cried out.
He set his own body ablaze.
【I offer myself as a sacrifice!!! Gate, return to the place where you should lie corrupted!!!】
It was the moment a demon worshipper revealed himself to the world.

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

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