Chapter 116
The day after I received Regnil’s message, after all my classes ended.
I headed straight to Daigon Village.
“Sir Gideon, you came quickly?”
“I had to.”
I replied with a small grin.
I had to patrol the Academy with Lisa later, so I had to stop by quickly.
But aside from that reason…….
“I wanted to see it even a little sooner. My awakened sword.”
“You seem to have high expectations. Well, even if it were me, I would’ve expected a lot.”
Regnil spoke with a smile, then guided me toward the inner area of the forge.
But the forge looked quite different from what I remembered.
Rather than a forge, it felt more like…….
“This is still a forge, right? It feels like a magician’s workshop.”
“It can’t be helped. When awakening a Soul Weapon, a magician’s technique is more important than a blacksmith’s.”
Regnil swept aside the magic books placed inside the workshop—no, the forge.
As he cleared away various magic tools and organized the space, an item placed deeper inside revealed itself.
“…Oh.”
A large box filled with charcoal.
But the charcoal was white.
“Charcoal made from Elder Wood?”
“Oh, you know what it is?”
“Charcoal infused with magical power. This is my first time seeing it in person.”
White charcoal used to enhance the quality of magical tools and other items.
I had heard that blacksmiths couldn’t use that white charcoal even if they wanted to, due to its rarity.
“I heard it’s precious… don’t tell me you used it for my sword…?”
“A Soul Weapon is also an extremely precious object. Precious things should be used on precious things.”
Regnil reached his hand—barehanded—into the box.
Then he pulled out Mistcatcher, covered in white charcoal.
“Isn’t it hot?”
“Charcoal made from Elder Wood only ever becomes slightly warmer than human body temperature, no matter how hot it gets. It stays comfortably warm.”
“There really are so many strange things in this world.”
“And this sword is included among those strange things.”
With those words, Regnil handed Mistcatcher to me.
It had been a long time since I last saw my sword.
“Doesn’t look like much has changed.”
“That’s probably because I’m the one holding it. When its true owner, Sir Gideon, holds it… something will surely change.”
“Really?”
I received Mistcatcher from Regnil.
And the moment I lifted the sword, it reacted immediately.
“…As expected.”
White smoke suddenly filled the forge.
No—fog.
Fog thickened all around us.
The source of the fog was none other than my sword.
‘Just like in the game.’
As Regnil had said, Mistcatcher recognized its owner—me.
I wasn’t sure when the sword had decided to acknowledge me, but… well, it was a good thing.
“Sir Gideon, this is……”
“Yes. I think this is the new power my sword awakened.”
I answered casually and examined the sword in my hand.
This sword was a type of Soul Weapon.
Soul Weapon—meaning a weapon containing a soul.
This sword held a soul, a certain level of self-awareness.
And if that awareness had chosen to truly acknowledge me as its owner…
‘Then I should be able to control this sword’s power.’
I focused on the sword I held.
Perhaps thanks to Regnil awakening it properly, I felt a presence from Mistcatcher that I hadn’t sensed before.
And from the moment I held it… it was as if an invisible thread connected me to the sword.
‘You are mine. So your power is mine as well.’
As though speaking to Mistcatcher, I murmured inwardly.
Then, somehow… I just knew.
How to handle Mistcatcher’s power.
Hard to explain in words, but my body simply grasped it instinctively.
“Hoo…”
I exhaled slowly and focused even harder.
Then, soon after, the fog that had filled the forge began to fade.
“…So this is roughly how it works.”
Smiling, I sheathed Mistcatcher.
As I prepared to leave, Regnil grabbed me, looking bewildered.
“Sir Gideon? Just now… did you figure out how to use the sword’s power right away?”
“Yes. I think I understand it roughly.”
“T-Then… could you show me the sword’s true power? I’ve always wanted to see an awakened Soul Weapon unleash its strength.”
“Ah, yes. I’ll definitely show you. But today might be difficult.”
With an apologetic look, I explained to Regnil.
“I’ll test the sword’s power by myself first, then come back and show you.”
“Because it might be dangerous?”
“Yes. I don’t know how strong its power is. If something happens during the test, you could get hurt, Regnil.”
“If that’s the reason… then I understand. I’ll wait.”
“I’ll come again tomorrow, so please wait just a little.”
To be honest, I already knew roughly how powerful Mistcatcher was.
But knowing was one thing, and controlling it was another.
If something unexpected happened during the process, Regnil shouldn’t be present.
“But Sir Gideon. How are you planning to test the sword’s power by yourself?”
“Well… I’ve thought of a method.”
I already knew what kind of ability Mistcatcher possessed.
So naturally, I had already decided how to test it.
***
Bang―!
Lisa brought down her greatsword on me.
I blocked her attack with Mistcatcher, but I was pushed far back.
“Ugh… Noona, you really held back, right?”
“Yeah. I only used about one-tenth of my usual strength.”
As if to prove her words, the red aura surrounding Lisa was very faint.
“…If I take a real hit from you, I’d die instantly.”
“Normally they all died. Of course, landing that one hit properly was the hard part.”
Lisa lifted her greatsword over her shoulder, then continued.
“So, should I keep hitting you?”
“Mmm….”
I looked at the mist that had appeared around me.
The mist that had been purely white now had a slight touch of black.
‘So this level wasn’t nearly enough, huh.’
I had roughly expected that.
It was a skill with ridiculous destructive force, but the preparation process was quite troublesome.
Still, as long as the preparation process was completed properly….
“Noona. Hit me more.”
“More?”
“Yeah. More. And harder. I’m fine, so hit me harder.”
“Alright. In that case….”
The blood energy around Lisa’s body thickened slightly.
It was only a bit thicker, but the pressure I felt from her grew far stronger.
“…Ha.”
A faint laugh escaped me before I even realized it.
I wasn’t sure if this was right, but before I could question it any further….
Kwaaang—!
Lisa’s greatsword came flying in.
I raised Mistcatcher to block again, but this time I was blasted much farther back.
After blocking five more of Lisa’s powerful strikes—
“Aghhh.”
I groaned in pain as I pushed myself up.
‘Where did that damage reduction from the mist even go?’
The truth was, this mist had a damage reduction effect.
It reduced incoming physical damage by 30%, so it probably had reduced the actual damage I took.
The only reason I ended up in this state… was because the one dealing the damage was Lisa.
Her strikes were so overwhelmingly strong that even with damage reduction, I could barely feel the difference.
‘Well, at least the damage stacked up fast.’
I examined the mist around me again.
The white mist had turned pitch-black, and strands of violet lightning crackled within it.
“Gideon, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Noona, you did great. Thanks to you, I think I can move forward quickly.”
“Really? I’m glad I could help… Is the mist turning black because…?”
“Now I need to check.”
I got up and looked around.
For reference, Lisa and I were currently in the forest on the academy’s outskirts.
Normally, this kind of experiment should’ve been done at the Training Grounds, but we came here specifically because of Lisa.
‘If Lisa were to swing her sword while using blood energy, the Training Grounds probably wouldn’t survive.’
I didn’t want the rumor spreading that the Disciplinary Committee destroyed academy property.
So I brought Lisa out into the forest.
‘…There.’
Since it was a forest, a suitably-sized boulder conveniently caught my eye.
‘Hoo, I finally get to use this.’
The item I had obtained first after arriving in this world.
But only near the end of the semester could I finally use the skill sealed within it.
‘I roughly know how to use it, so let’s just….’
Mistcatcher’s weapon skill, ‘Grudge of the Mist’.
Despite the skill name, people usually called it Reflect or Parry, but I just called it Reflect.
Anyway, Mistcatcher’s skill—Reflect.
Its structure was extremely simple.
‘Accumulate the damage I take, and once it exceeds a certain amount, return that damage to the enemy.’
I stared at the mist, now pitch-black.
As damage accumulated, the mist darkened.
And as it grew darker, violet currents began to flicker through it—meaning enough damage had been stored.
“Huuuh. Alright, then….”
I focused on the sword in my hand.
Mistcatcher, as if connected to me by an invisible thread.
The dark mist crowding around me.
I concentrated that dark mist into my sword.
Then the mist gathered around the blade, and the currents condensed with it.
‘…Now.’
The moment the power stored in the mist fully converged into the sword—
I detonated it.
When I swung Mistcatcher, the black mist carrying violet lightning shot toward the boulder.
The instant the mist hit the boulder—
Pajijijik—!
Kwakwaang—!
The boulder was engulfed in mist and violet electricity, shattering into pieces.
In a single strike—perfectly.
Well, of course it did.
It was power accumulated from none other than Lisa’s strikes.
“…Not bad.”
I smiled at the boulder scorched black and obliterated.
At the same time, I staggered a little.
“Gideon.”
Lisa rushed over to support me.
But I stood on my own, telling her I was alright.
“Don’t worry, Noona. It’s just that my body was startled using this power for the first time.”
“I’m glad if you’re fine… That thing that shattered the boulder just now… was that the sword’s power?”
“Yeah, this is the power this sword has.”
I looked at Mistcatcher and focused again.
I planned to summon the mist as before, but the mist didn’t appear.
Well, I had expected that, so I wasn’t flustered.
‘Weapon skills have cooldowns.’
After releasing all accumulated damage, Mistcatcher’s skill entered cooldown proportional to the damage released.
With maximum accumulation, the cooldown was—if my memory was right—five minutes.
I timed it to check in reality.
‘So here… it’s ten minutes.’
After ten minutes, when I could summon the mist again, I nodded.
Mistcatcher’s skill could be unusable for up to ten minutes after activation.
I firmly memorized that in my head.
‘But I doubt I’ll often hit that full ten minutes. Lisa attacked multiple times, so the accumulation reached the maximum.’
I considered various ways to use it, but shook them off.
Those were things I could figure out through practice later anyway.
And I still had enough time.
Enough time to practice before the final exams.