The Swords I Raised Are Too Strong - Chapter 9

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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 9. New Cultivation Method (2)
“Does it respond to blood?”
The Sword World is peculiar.
A structure where the swords positioned on the outer edges block those deeper within.
The final sword belongs to Reinhardt Euclid.
‘Abominable things—.’
I sensed the eerie presence dwelling deep within and contemplated anew why the Sword World was constructed this way.
‘I am a guardian.’
Behind me lay a small, precious infant sword world.
A world I must protect.
Yet….
*Squelch—.*
Suddenly, that world transformed.
I gazed upon the small world beyond me.
“Drink!!!”
The [Infant Sword] formed a faint sense of self, then abruptly absorbed blood.
Thereupon, the Sword Master reshaped the infant sword into a grotesque form where good and evil coexisted.
“Chaos….”
I merely observed the infant sword’s growth.
“Such is the will of the exalted Sword Master.”
My role was not to cultivate the infant sword, after all.
“I am a guardian.”
I grasped my sword and approached the massive gate.
A gate connecting deeper into the Sword World.
An ominous presence emanated from the profound depths.
*Whoooosh—.*
A crimson, sinister entity began to stir in the second deepest layer.
‘The Fifth Sword.’
It had merely awakened thus far.
In that moment, I found myself awash in relief.
*Squelch—.*
The infant sword absorbed blood a second time.
“Ah!!! Small sword, what are you doing!!!”
*Whoooosh—.*
The second blood did not mingle within the infant sword’s domain.
Instead, it became rain, flowing across the Sword World.
The rain was faint.
It dissipated as though merely brushing past.
Yet the scent of blood remained vivid.
Because of this—.
“Ahhh….”
A cursed greatsword forged from slaughter and blood.
It had awakened.
“My Sword Lord―.”
Blood.
I had consumed blood.
A small child wielding a crimson greatsword rose to her feet, scattering a mist of blood around her.
The Fifth Sword, who had witnessed the world’s end a second time.
Iris Ruzbella had awakened.
“―Why do you rouse the girl?”
She sat upon a throne of bone, and the dress wrapping her body was woven from blood itself.
The garment dragged across the ground, far too large for her small frame.
The girl lifted the massive greatsword with ease, as though it weighed nothing.
Then she stepped beyond her domain.
Screeeech―.
The blood-stained hem of her dress, far larger than her tiny body, left crimson trails upon the floor.
The marks extended all the way to the domain of the Fourth Sword, Muratan.
“Steel is lacking.”
A dwarf knight whose mind had shattered.
“Hmm, steel forged from such a pretty little demon….”
He muttered while gazing upon Iris Ruzbella’s head.
His eyes gleamed as though he regarded it as something to be refined.
The crimson girl spoke.
“I shall procure a great abundance of steel for you. Will you not release me?”
Though she was but a small child, her manner of speech evoked the image of an empire’s final empress.
No—that was her very essence.
The dwarf nodded upon seeing her.
“Very well. Simply honor your promise to procure steel for me.”
Iris crossed beyond the Fourth Sword’s domain.
Thus she reached the Third Sword’s realm―.
“….”
And entered directly into the Second Sword’s domain.
Sacred energy saturated the space.
Iris Ruzbella furrowed her brow at the prickling holy power.
This place was as sacred as if a god had descended into it.
Yet something felt amiss.
‘A corrupted saint, I see.’
Iris laughed bitterly.
A brilliant golden greatsword lay scattered on the ground like refuse.
Beside the blade sat a woman with vacant, hollow eyes.
She asked.
“The scent of blood… Are you the source of evil?”
Iris Ruzbella let out a soft chuckle.
“Fallen saint, might I pass through?”
“Fallen, indeed… Cruel child, go. I will do nothing.”
She chose silence in the face of evil.
Thus Iris Ruzbella crossed beyond the domain of the Second Sword.
Thus she confronted the First Sword—an ancient elder.
Despite being the eldest, he possessed the most vitality.
“How many have you slaughtered in total?”
The elder leveled his blade at her.
Iris Ruzbella’s eyes narrowed.
“You… have already received the Sword Master’s grace…”
Her gaze burned with jealousy.
“Begone, young demon.”
“Young, you say? Kehehehe, my body has grown small from lack of blood. Feed me ten thousand souls, and I shall expand in an instant.”
“Hah!!!”
The elder threatened the girl.
And the girl attacked the elder.
A shattering sound tore through the air.
“Surely my master consumed blood. He must be searching for me.”
Behind the crimson greatsword rose the corpses of ten thousand demons.
Malevolent beings engulfed the elder—
A violent wind swept forth.
“Begone.”
The elder unfurled a sword barrier against the bloodied tide.
The crimson blood and procession of demons crashed against a brilliant azure veil.
“I have waited eons.”
The small girl glared at Reinhardt Euclid with even more venomous eyes.
“Begone—”
“My master said I would grow if I consumed blood. He has prepared a feast for me…”
The Fifth Sword, Iris Ruzbella.
Lacking the Sword Master’s favor, her strength fell short.
“Begone—”
“Pathetic old man.”
Iris Ruzbella gazed beyond the elder.
A small, cramped domain.
The Sword World where good and evil intermingled.
A thick stench of blood wafted forth.
“Blood… yes, blood! An ocean of blood!!! That child has consumed blood… Ah, how delicious it must have been?”
“That young black sword is not something you should covet. Leave now, demon.”
“A demon, you say… Hmph! I’ll end my amusement here, but when I emerge again, things won’t be so easy for you―.”
The small girl vanished with a giggle.
* * *
Awakener Management Agency Yeouido Branch, Hunter Division.
“Mystery… So you really did become an absurd Awakener, Si-woo.”
Kang Seol-ah, who had transferred departments for my sake, mused aloud about the ‘Mystery’ I had brought back.
“Park Chang-seok could have cleared that Gate alone too, so there’s no need to be so surprised.”
“Si-woo, that’s what’s strange. A B-rank hunter who spent three years building up strength could handle that Gate solo, yet you cleared it on your first attempt….”
Kang Seol-ah trailed off, her gaze peculiar.
I asked just to be sure.
“Are you my assigned handler?”
“Yes. You know how it works at the Management Agency, right?”
Promising Awakeners are assigned dedicated personnel.
It seemed Seol-ah was my handler.
Her father may have pulled some strings.
‘I’m fine with it, honestly.’
Above all, I felt reassured working with someone familiar.
‘Though the treatment does seem excessive….’
In fact, I’d received tremendous benefits even on the way back from the Gate.
I’d returned to Yeouido under military escort as if I were some high-ranking politician.
“Wasn’t it your father who arranged that when I came back? They transported me like I was a nuclear warhead.”
I ventured a guess.
“Well… I’m just a low-level civil servant, so I wouldn’t know.”
Seol-ah deftly changed the subject.
She brought up a topic I couldn’t press further on.
“Mystery is worth 100 million won, and the small Red Gate clear bonus is 10 million won. I’ll have it deposited into your account.”
Money. That was the trump card.
Ding!
[Awakener Management Agency: Deposit―110,000,000 won]
A notification popped up on the banking app linked to World Net.
Hunters really do earn well—beyond imagination.
I’d earned double my annual salary from a single Gate.
“Over 100 million….”
I should have been the one amazed, yet it was Seol-ah who gasped in wonder.
I was delighted too.
‘The money tied up in real estate won’t be a problem anymore.’
I’d earned over 100 million won.
It felt like a ray of hope had pierced through my assets, which I’d been maintaining under the guise of a ‘mortgage loan’.
“I’ll treat you to a meal sometime soon.”
It was 3 PM.
Now that I’d become a [Hunter], the concept of clocking out held no meaning for me whatsoever.
I was just thinking it might be time to head back.
“Si-woo, I think I should tell you about this after all.”
Kang Seol-ah stopped me with a serious expression on her face.
“Is something wrong?”
“Well… did something happen to you in Goyang City—or rather, in the Red Sea?”
“Huh?”
I flinched in surprise at the question.
Then she continued matter-of-factly.
“So here’s the thing—”
An anomaly had occurred in the [Red Sea].
This wasn’t referring to the small Gate that had appeared around Goyang City.
It was about the [Mother Body of the Red Sea] that occupied the heart of Goyang City.
‘So the Red Sea sensed a powerful killing intent and began to move…’
I asked casually.
“You’re saying it’s a sea that reacts to killing intent?”
“Yeah. Dad told me to ask if anything seemed off with you.”
“Do I seem off to you?”
“No, you don’t seem off… but I thought it was right to tell you anyway.”
Thanks to the detailed explanation Kang Seol-ah provided, I could piece together what had happened.
‘So Special Task Force Hyunmu noticed the anomaly in the Red Sea, and her father sent an escort unit because he was worried about what might happen to me.’
“Dad said to keep an eye on things and keep it quiet, but…”
“Come on, noona. We shouldn’t have secrets between us.”
How could a son act only according to his parent’s wishes?
“No, Dad’s worried you might get a big head from receiving special treatment.”
Kang Seol-ah’s father, Chief Prosecutor Kang Mu-jin, seemed to care for me quite a bit.
Yet he didn’t want me to know about it.
The reason was obvious.
“Your father’s always been a bit overprotective, hasn’t he? Remember when noona was so drunk she was practically pickled?”
“When? There are too many times…”
“The day I first brought you home.”
“Oh!!!”
I have two most vivid memories.
One is when my parents passed away in the Gate overflow.
The other is when I first met Kang Seol-ah’s father.
“You remember that axe he sharpened on me with those cold eyes?”
“Y-yeah…”
Kang Seol-ah’s father, Kang Mu-jin, enjoys the favor of the Patriot.
That’s why he received one [Artifact] from a constellation summoned by the Patriot.
[Constellation: Lee Sun-sin’s Axe]
I still haven’t forgotten the acrid aura that scattered from the blade of that axe.
Now I understand well that it was killing intent.
‘My sister says she’s close with me and tells me everything in detail, but….’
Kang Mu-jin, the chief prosecutor, is different.
“My sister’s father has regarded me as a sinister wolf from the very beginning.”
I chuckled softly and rose to my feet.
Then my sister asked.
“Where are you going?”
“The Tower.”
Park Chang-seok, the hunter who is now deceased.
He gave me a Tower entry pass, and I obtained more passes as a reward for clearing the first floor.
“Why the Tower?”
“Why else would a hunter go? To level up, of course.”
“To see that sword again?”
“That’s obvious.”
“I, I see….”
I finished my farewells with my sister and left the Awakener Management Agency.
In truth, my reason for going to the Tower isn’t simply to see the sword.
Whoosh!
『Sword Master, Shin Si-woo Lv.3』
—Possessed Skill: [Single Slash—Horizontal Cut]
—Sword Summoning (Authority):
Status— Infant Sword / Name— Undecided (Lv.3)
Disposition: Chaos.
—Ego Sword Summoning (Authority):
[Communication Ability]
1st Sword, Reinhardt Euclid. [4/100]
2nd Sword, Yulia Lanestia. [0/100]
3rd Sword, Jun. [0/100]
4th Sword, Muratan. [0/100]
5th Sword, Iris Ruzbella. [0/100]
6th Sword, Bellatrice. [0/100]
My level had increased as a reward for clearing the Gate.
And thus—.
Whoosh!
[Quest Generated!]
[Enter the Tower and overcome the Trials of the Sword.]
[Reward: Sword Master’s Dominion]
I received a personal quest.
Every Awakener experiences growth differently.
Yet the methods of advancement remain similar.
One raises their level, receives a [Exclusive Quest], completes it, and gains new power.
I cherish all my swords.
I’m eager to see the other blades I’ve created, but…
There’s a reason I hesitate.
‘My embarrassing past from adolescence.’
Looking back, I can’t bring myself to face it.
‘I thought that was cool back then.’
Not only the swords I created, but even the NPCs who wielded them rarely possessed sound judgment.
The early blades are especially problematic.
Still, once I return from the Tower this time, all such worries should be resolved.
‘The reward is the Sword Master’s dominion.’
Perhaps it means a way for me to control the [Swords]?
If I obtain the means to control them, things change entirely.
‘I’d be relieved to view the other swords without concern.’
Besides, there’s another reason I must enter the Tower.
Right when I returned from the [Red Sea], the source moved?
That alone is suspicious…
‘Reinhardt Euclid has gone silent.’
The exact moment was when the crimson light flickered from the jewel at the sword’s tip.
Even with my [Communication Ability], there’s been no change.
I should enter the Tower and verify what’s happening.
* * *
“Comrade Park Chang-seok has failed.”
Somewhere in Seoul.
A clandestine gathering convened.
People draped in black robes gathered in a dimly lit room to mourn Park Chang-seok’s death.
“The transcendent who killed Comrade Chang-seok—I’m certain it wasn’t the Patriot. I’ve entered Gates with him several times, so I know…
The Patriot’s power is strangely modern.
Like Yi Sun-sin commanding a massive aircraft carrier.
“If that lunatic Patriot had done it, our society wouldn’t be holding this meeting.”
“Then does the government have a new transcendent hidden away?”
“Perhaps the Sword Master who vanished in the Tower has returned as a transcendent.”
“How could they hide someone so powerful?”
“If it’s that madman Kang Mu-jin with his justice complex…
Kang Mu-jin, the Sword of Justice.
He might have persuaded an SSS-rank Awakener to conceal their identity.
Or perhaps he coerced them using the Patriot’s power…
“Even with the demon lord’s blessing, we cannot compare to a true transcendent.”
In any case, the demon worshippers had gained insight from Park Chang-seok’s example.
Even if a B-rank hunter wielded power in reality, the limits were unmistakably clear.
“So in the end, even if we fall, we’ll just be dealt with by some nameless transcendent.”
To fall and exercise power upon the earth.
There was precious little they could accomplish.
‘At best, we’d massacre a few hundred lesser beings and that would be the extent of it.’
And after that?
We would face punishment from a transcendent and meet our death.
Just like our comrade, B-rank mage Park Chang-seok.
“Then… what are you suggesting?”
One comrade had fallen.
He had imparted a profound revelation to the other demon worshippers.
“The answer lies in the Gates. Perhaps… we could corrupt a Gate by sacrificing ourselves.”
This was a new possibility.
“What would happen if we corrupted a Gate?”
A fallen Awakener could never enter a Gate again.
Instead, they could wield power upon the earth.
Then what of the Gate itself?
“A corrupted Gate would breach reality, transcending its own world.”
The timing was fortuitous.
“Our Master says the Red Sea has begun to stir.”
According to our Master, the Red Sea is a sea of blood.
“A sea made of blood. The government likely knows of it and has hidden it.”
The demon worshippers steeled their resolve.
“Let us summon the sea of blood into this 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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