[You've successfully spun the Wheel of Eternal Blades!]
[Congratulations! You've summoned your first sword!]
[Your path as a Sword Summoner has fully begun...!]
The tower paused for a moment, taking their time in revealing the next set of information to Len.
"Come on... come on..." Len prayed silently in his mind.
The panel glowed once more before him with the tower finally whispering its contents.
[You've summoned the sword of the Great Devil: Reaper]
[Sword Rank: SSS+]
Len felt his breathing catch in his throat, hearing the whispers. His eyes quickly read through the contents in the panel as if to be sure he wasn't being messed with.
"D-damn! Did... did I just receive an SSS-rank sword!?"
If so... this trial was already over!
Various thoughts flashed within Len's head as he stood in a dazed state.
The red sparks finally died down, and in its place, a large greatsword hovered before the giant wheel.
Len noticed the sword was but a tiny speck compared to the wheel giant size.
Not only that, he recognised that sword!
He didn't get the chance to say whatever he had in mind as the sword broke into red mist and flowed into his left wrist.
At the same time, the world flickered, and thereafter, Len found himself back in his tent.
Len stared at the ground for some seconds before finally looking at the panel, which was still flashing before him.
Len didn't need any confirmation from the panel to know the process was a success.
He could feel something now residing in his soul. Not only that, he felt he had received quite a boost in strength.
Feeling a burning itch creep across the back of his left palm, he instinctively stared down just in time to witness a dark mist coiling around his pale hand and slithering down towards his wrist.
The mist sunk, vanishing beneath his flesh and solidifying into a tattoo.
A large black circle was etched into his palm. Within it lay several concentric circles evenly space and filled with arcane shapes and symbols. Carved within the layers was a star–its shape embedded deep within the design, as though the seal had been built entirely around it.
At each point of the star rested a small circle. Most were dim but one of the point below was lit with a red glowing miniature sigil of the SSS-rank sword Reaper.
"Cool." Len muttered, rubbing it.
Staring at the blinking panels, he decided to read whatever it had before checking the sword out.
[You've used your daily summon card]
[Summon card will reset after: 23:55:10]
So it's true. I'm able to summon swords daily!
"Isn't this kind of... a broken ability?" Len thought with a wide smile blooming across his face.
Screw that!
With this, his path was meant to be smooth.
Pushing his thoughts to the back of his mind, he stared at the new tab that had appeared underneath his profile.
Name: Len Ashborn
Race: Human
Rank: Unranked
Talent: X
Innate Trait: [Sword Summoner]
Grade: Ex
Soul force: Dormant
Title: Nil
Attributes: [Fated hero card], [The Lost One]
~Abilities~
–Appraisal (passive): [A unique skill that allows the user to instantly grasp someone's current abilities and latent talent merely by looking at them]
–Swordman: [You've been blessed with the talent of the sword]
~ Stats ~
[Strength: F]
[Speed: F+]
[Stamina: F]
[Vitality: E]
Relics: [Crimson dagger, Rebound shard]
~Sword Collection~
Demon Sword–Reaper: [Birthed from the soul of the Great Devil Athenea]
[Grade: SSS+]
Special Trait: The more life harvested by the sword, the stronger it grows.
Abilities: [Demonic slash], [locked], [locked]
Len was right about his strength increasing as his stats had gone through an upgrade. His vitality had even broken into the E-rank, yet he was still an unranked human!
His gaze landed on the sword collection tab, and reading through it confirmed his thoughts.
This was the same sword that Devil had used when she took over his body. He also noticed the sword wasn't placed under the tab for Relics.
Meaning...
'So the sword is fully mine, huh? Safely bound to my soul...' He couldn't help but chuckle.
Stretching his palm out, he finally summoned the sword out.
"Reaper!" He called out.
Red sparks began to flash across the tent as an ominous aura erupted over the area. The sword began to take shape before Len's outstretched palm.
Cold sweat began to form across Len's back as the sword slowly took form.
The sparks finally died down, and floating in its place was the fully summoned sword.
Instantly, Len felt as if a mountain had been placed on top of him. He felt his hand holding onto the sword fall heavily with a thud.
"Seven hells! What the hell is happening?"
His mind was in disarray. He felt a sickening sensation spread over his body with beads of sweat soaking his back.
No matter how hard he tried, Len only managed to lift the sword an inch off the ground before dropping it in defeat.
"What is this? Why can't I lift it?"
His head banged furiously as if threatening to split apart.
Feeling his gaze beginning to darken with blood dripping down his nose, Len quickly dispelled the demonic sword.
He released a huff of breath he failed to realise he had been holding since.
"The hell was that? Why couldn't I lift the sword?" He thought, taking in deep breaths.
Ever since he summoned the sword, he had been too excited to think things through.
Now, the cold realisation was beginning to settle in.
He was unable to use the sword. Not yet. He had an SSS-rank sword, yet using it was the same as signing his death.
"Bloody hell!"
"It's as she said. Nothing fucking come easy." Clenching his fist tightly, he punched the cold hard ground.
"Dammit!"
Struggling to calm his raging mind, he headed outside his tent only to find the whole tent bustling with activity.
Most of the soldiers were out with their weapons drawn, higher ups giving out orders.
"Th"e fucking hell was that. Did you feel that too?
"Yeah. Whatever that was from... that creature is clearly stronger than the one we ran into."
"This place isn't safe anymore! It's best we focus on getting to the castle as soon as possible. Otherwise, we'll be long dead before we even know it!"
From their conversation, Len was able to pick out the reason for the whole activity.
"Dammit. That was quite careless of me. Thank goodness no one was able to track it down to my tent." Len thought.
He didn't notice the green-haired girl who had her gaze fixed on him with a perplexed expression etched across her face.
That was the least of his problems, though.
Breaking through the surrounding bush was a guard who was meant to be on patrol.
A significant part of his armour had been ripped to shred, revealing his bare flesh.
His skin was blackened as if infected.
"They... are coming. Hor–"
He didn't get to complete his statement as blood erupted from his mouth. The guy soon stared down at his chest only to find a steel like web soaking in his blood.
His body was pulled with a great force into the surrounding bushes as the guy broke out in a loud cry.
The cry was a wake-up call to the others who had freezed in their steps.
But it was too late. The young guy was already gone before anyone could do anything.
Just then, the commander broke out of his tent fully clothed in his armour and weapon drawn.
"Prepare for battle!" His firm voice echoed over the area and stirred the young soldiers into action.
Len watched as quite a few equipped themselves with Relics from their soul space. Quite a large number summoned different weapon and armour Relics as they prepared for battle.
Len noticed a few were using the normal swords the NPC soldiers used just like him, too.
They quickly formed a battle line as they readied for what was to come.
Len found himself standing next to a familiar figure.
"Stay strong, my friend." Isaac said before staring at the opening before the forest.
The first of the horrors had finally arrived.
And soon, the first battle against the Eldritch horrors began.