Chapter 182: Ash Returns
[Ray’s POV]
{I don’t know anything else, but you really are a monster, huh. Never in my entire existence have I seen someone quite like you. Not once in all my memories.}
Aetheris, the divine sword, spoke with that familiar tone—half impressed and half mocking, like it still couldn’t fully believe the kind of person it had ended up with.
Ray didn’t respond. He kept his focus on the blade in his hands, his breathing steady but slightly heavy, as he continued moving through the motions of his sword art.
His feet slid across the ground in precise, trained steps, and each swing of his sword followed a silent rhythm.
He was blending sword techniques with movement arts, pushing his body to adapt and react as one seamless unit. Each repetition felt like it carved a little more desperation out of his bones and replaced it with steel.
{You still insist on saving that girl? You do understand, don’t you? Only a month and a half is left. Are you really planning to gather all the ’points’ necessary for that elixir in that short time?}
Ever since the seal on Aetheris had weakened after Ray ranked up, their connection had grown stronger.
The sword could now see his system window, his stats, and every little plan he had stored in the back of his mind. There were no secrets between them anymore.
Ray’s movements slowly came to a stop.
He stood still in the night, his chest rising and falling as he caught his breath. His eyes lifted toward the moon, letting its cold light wash over him. He clenched his fists so tightly that the skin turned pale, and after a brief silence, he finally spoke.
"I don’t know if what I’m doing will be enough. I have no guarantee that this effort will pay off. But I’ll keep going. I’ll keep trying until the very last moment. Even if I have to risk my life, even if I have to take on quests that most would run away from, I will do it. I won’t stop until the last day."
{You realize how ridiculous that sounds, right? Even if you throw yourself into danger every day, one month is just not enough. You currently have only one-tenth of the total system points you need. No matter how you twist it, the math simply doesn’t add up.}
"I’ll find a way to make it add up," Ray answered, his voice steady and unwavering.
{Again with that stubborn nonsense. I seriously regret the fact that someone like you, who refuses to use his brain, was born with such a rare, heaven-defying talent. Can’t you just accept the truth already? That girl... she doesn’t even like you.}
Ray didn’t flinch at the words. He looked straight ahead, voice calm but filled with a strange kind of hope that refused to fade.
"There’s no such thing as someone never liking someone. Feelings change. People change. If I save her, if I give everything I have to protect her, she will come to see me differently. I believe that."
Aetheris paused for a moment before speaking again.
{And what if she already likes someone else? What if her heart belongs to another? What will you do then?}
Ray stood silent at that.
He didn’t answer immediately.
He let the question sit in the air, unchallenged, while he looked down at the worn grip of his sword. After what felt like a full minute, he finally responded, voice softer this time.
"I don’t know."
That was all he said.
After that, neither of them spoke.
The silence between them was not heavy, but rather thoughtful, like an understanding had passed without words.
Ray soon resumed his practice, returning to the silent dance of sword and footwork. Each movement now seemed to carry more weight, as if every strike held a promise, every step a memory.
Aetheris did not interrupt again. Instead, the sword spirit’s voice drifted within his soul like a quiet murmur.
{Sigh... what a relentlessly positive fool. I still don’t understand how he can think like this. But if he keeps going like this, someday he’s going to face a pain worse than any battle.}
{But honestly, I feel like it would be better if that moon girl just dies. Even though I’ve unlocked a part of my sealed memories, I still don’t understand the exact reason behind this uneasy feeling I have about those blessed by the Moon and those blessed by the Stars appearing in the same era. I can’t explain it fully, but it feels like something terrible will happen. And if her death can stop whatever that is... then maybe it’s worth it.}
And still, Ray moved forward.
He trained for hours without pause.
Unseen in the shadows nearby, Grace was watching him silently. She didn’t speak or make a sound. After a few moments, she turned around and walked away into the night.
Much later, when the moon had climbed high and the air turned cold, Ray finally collapsed onto the ground, letting his back rest against the earth. His chest rose and fell in slow, exhausted breaths.
The silver moonlight touched his face gently, reflecting off the beads of sweat and making his expression shine faintly in the dark.
Status.
He called out mentally, and his system window appeared before him.
***
[Status]
Name - Ray Dawson
Race - Human
Age - 15
Rank - Adept (D-Rank)
Class - Sword God (????)
Affinity - Fire, Space, Wind.
__
[Attributes]
Strength - 399
Agility - 397
Vitality - 394
Intelligence - 395
Stamina - 393
Mana - 391
Charm - 150
Stat Points -{3}
System points - 1,43,895
***
Few more stats and then I can become Expert Rank.
He didn’t raise his Charm stat, not even by a little. According to Aetheris, if he wanted a perfect foundation, then wasting stat points on something like Charm was completely unnecessary.
And one of the major benefits of building a perfect foundation, apart from gaining more power at the same rank, was that there would be no risk of his foundation crumbling even if he ranked up too quickly.
{That’s exactly what I’ve been saying all along,} Aetheris said in his usual sharp voice, echoing inside Ray’s mind. {I still don’t understand what this strange system of yours actually is... but it’s clear that it pushes your growth far beyond what’s normal. And with your trait "Limitless Growth" added to that, your progress is completely out of bounds.}
{You’re basically a cheat.}
Ray let out a small sigh and answered, "Even if that’s true, it’s not like I’m sitting back and doing nothing. I’m still putting in all the effort. I train hard, every single day."
{That’s true,} Aetheris admitted, although his tone sounded like he was still annoyed.
{You do put in the work, I won’t deny that. But no matter how much effort a normal person puts in, they would never gain as much as you do in the same amount of time. Watching you grow so fast just makes me feel weirdly frustrated. It’s like I’m watching someone rewrite the rules of effort and reward right in front of my eyes.}
Ray gave a quiet chuckle, brushing some sweat off his chin as he spoke again. "Instead of getting irritated, maybe you should feel lucky. I’m getting stronger, and that means you’re getting stronger with me."
{Yeah... I guess that’s one way to look at it}
Aetheris replied in a grumble, sounding like someone trying to hide that he was actually impressed.
***
[Saint Alice Pov]
I still don’t understand why that brat is that important...
She didn’t know what her master truly saw in him, or why he was going so far over one student, but her trust in her master ran deeper than her doubts. If he believed it was necessary, then ignoring his words might really lead to something terrible.
Anomaly or unknown, whatever he is, the truth will become clear soon. But I am getting nervous... I have never seen Master with that kind of expression before.
Over the past few months, their attempts to track Ash had all failed. There hadn’t been a single sign of him anywhere. It was like he had simply vanished from the face of the world, leaving behind no trail, no energy, not even a whisper of his presence.
And not even the elves had contacted them about anything.
Even though the mana contract between them had clearly shattered, her master still insisted that Ash was alive somewhere. She couldn’t feel any lingering connection, but he never wavered in that belief.
Sigh... I still don’t know what hope he sees in that brat...
She sat in complete silence, legs crossed and her posture calm, though her thoughts were far from settled. The quiet hum of mana flowed around her, kept under control by her own presence, until something suddenly shifted in the air. The energy in the room trembled.
Her eyes snapped open. Her senses had been active this entire time, and yet someone had appeared within the room—completely bypassing her awareness.
She rose instantly, her instincts ready to strike, but just as she gathered mana to launch a attack, a calm and familiar voice cut through the tension.
"Saint Alice, I’m truly glad to see that you’re still keeping the contract active, even though it was technically broken."
She froze mid-motion.
Those words... that voice...
It was no wonder she hadn’t recognized him at first. The Ash standing before her now was nothing like the one she had known just a few months ago. His presence, his aura, even his very appearance had changed so much that it felt like looking at a different person altogether.
"...Ash Burn...?"
***