“The Hero’s Sword, huh?
I think I heard similar rumors a thousand years ago,” Flamme remarked as she floated over his shoulder.
“Go ahead, it’s on the way anyway.
I’d also like to see what kind of sword deserves the title of ‘Hero’s Sword’.”
On the road, Ren practiced his Sword Magic.
It didn’t just enhance a blade’s durability and sharpness; it could also create a magical copy of the sword in his hand, which he could control with his mind to attack.
As his mastery deepened, not only would the enhancements grow stronger, but the number of swords he could copy and control would increase as well.
*If I train this to its peak, won’t I basically be a Sword Immortal?
I can see it now—Splitting Sword Shadows, Ten Thousand Swords Returning to the Origin.*
Ren knew that compared to modern Offensive Magic or Defense Magic, its current strength was basically underwhelming.
No wonder Universe-grade equipment came with an elf.
But no matter how weak it felt now, Ren still wanted to train it.
After all, it looked incredibly cool.
Ren gradually “rehabilitated” himself on the journey, reclaiming Offensive Magic, Defense Magic, Flight Magic, and Submission Magic from his memories.
These spells even surprised Flamme.
When she learned that humanity had conquered and could now use Demon flight magic, she couldn’t help but be moved by human progress.
Through the wind and snow, a village finally appeared.
The Village of the Sword wasn’t large, consisting of only a few dozen households.
In the snow outside the village, a girl was talking to some villagers.
Ren remembered—this young girl was the village chief.
“Hello,” Ren said as he approached.
“Excuse me, is the legendary Hero’s Sword here?”
The girl turned around and gasped when she saw Ren.
“An elf!
Just like Lady Frieren, you’re an elf.
So rare.”
“Do you also want to try pulling out the Hero’s Sword?” Her eyes lit up as she looked at the iron sword on Ren’s back.
“Yeah, that’s right.
Let me give it a shot.
Frieren is an old acquaintance of mine.
Have they already been here?”
“Sure!
I’m the village chief, so I get to decide!” The girl puffed out her chest.
She skipped along, leading the group toward the back of the village.
“And you know Lady Frieren?
Makes sense, since you’re an elf too.
Speaking of which, the warrior in their party couldn’t pull the Hero’s Sword either.”
*Frieren’s already been here…
I need to pick up the pace to catch them in the north,* Ren’s mind raced.
“How long ago did they leave?”
“About a month ago.” The girl pointed to the main road.
“Lady Frieren and her friends even helped us kill the ‘Lord of the Mountain’—it was a huge monster!”
A month.
He should be able to catch up.
Ren thought of Frieren’s upcoming journey, ignoring Flamme’s chatter beside him.
She was excited to hear news of Frieren, but unfortunately, only he could notice her.
Before long, he followed the young village chief into a cave in the back mountain.
He looked at the rusted, unremarkable sword stuck in the stone and reached for the hilt.
It was ice-cold.
But the Sword Magic within him began to circulate, and mana poured into the blade.
Ren tried to pull it with raw strength, but it didn’t budge.
He continued trying to resonate with it using Sword Magic.
He let his mana gently envelop the blade, extending an invitation.
But it was useless.
The Hero’s Sword remained motionless.
Ren didn’t get angry.
He told the village chief he would camp here for the night to see if he could figure out how to pull it out.
After sending the girl away, Ren immediately blasted the stone pedestal holding the Hero’s Sword with Offensive Magic.
*Boom!* The stone was completely unscathed. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
Ren realized this wasn’t just a sword stuck in a rock; there was magic, or perhaps something even deeper, at play.
Ren regretted not knowing spells like Curse Reflection or Magic Nullification.
He resolved to obtain those from Frieren or Serie later.
He tried pulling with Levitation Magic and yanking with Flight Magic, but nothing worked.
Ren suddenly remembered that in the original story, when Aura used Submission Magic, she would cut off her victims’ heads to prevent their wills from resisting, allowing them to be controlled even as inanimate objects.
What about the Hero’s Sword?
Ren attempted to activate Submission Magic.
A soul was slowly extracted onto the virtual scales.
*It actually works!* Sensing a soul weaker than his own, Ren looked delighted.
Then, a flash of determination crossed his face.
He didn’t believe for a second that a sword could hide its mana.
Submission Magic, activate.
*Clang—!*
In an instant, the gem on the hilt exploded with dazzling golden light!
Layers of rust peeled away, revealing a bright silver blade.
Magical circuits flowed along the edge, looking both light and resilient.
The scales tipped.
Ren gave a light tug, and the longsword rose in his hand.
[Obtained: Hero’s Sword (Dormant State)] [Quality: Red] [Effect: Strength +10, Agility +10 when held.
Ignores attribute limits.
Sword Arts level +1.
Ignores skill level limits.
Deals double damage to Evil alignment entities, with a “wounds cannot heal” debuff.] [Special Effect: Resonance of Justice — When the wielder fights wholeheartedly for the justice of their society, they can manipulate the energy between heaven and earth for their own use.
The sword itself cannot be damaged unless the surrounding worldly energy is exhausted; sword durability is calculated separately.] [Restriction: Artifact Self-Obscuration — If the wielder is not recognized, the Hero’s Sword will automatically seal itself until held by a recognized wielder.]
Flamme’s spirit looked shocked behind him.
“You actually pulled it out?
Was it because of that magic just now?
This is the Hero’s Sword…”
“Yeah.” Ren swung the sword, testing its weight.
“But it’s very stubborn.
I can pull it out, but I can’t use its power.”
“Wait…
I can’t use it, but there’s a certain group of people,” Ren’s eyes lit up.
He thought of the Crimson Heart Society in the Real World.
If it were them…
Those guys were either wandering heroes or paladin types.
If this weapon were placed before them, they would go crazy for it.
Furthermore, compared to other factions, that group had a much higher moral baseline.
Trading with them would be far safer.
Despite taking the Hero’s Sword, Ren didn’t go back to the village to tell the girl.
He figured it would lead to too much trouble, and he hated trouble.
Leaving the Village of the Sword, Ren continued his journey north.
On the way, he practiced using Sword Magic.
With a thought, a mana phantom identical to the Hero’s Sword appeared beside him.
This was the effect of Sword Magic Lv.1: duplicating a sword for telekinetic control.
While he couldn’t use the sword’s special effects, the inherent durability of the Hero’s Sword made the phantom a formidable weapon—certainly better than the basic white-quality iron sword he’d started with.
The phantom thrust, parried, and spun according to his will.
Although he could only control one for now, combined with his physical swordsmanship, his combat strength had increased significantly.
Ren followed Frieren’s trail.
Passing through towns, he gathered information and specifically targeted corrupt merchants and nobles, making them “contribute” a large portion of their wealth to him.
He also supported new, reputable people to take their places and maintain order.
Finally, he used control magic to send those corrupt individuals to spend the rest of their lives fighting demons until they died—making sure they squeezed out every bit of remaining value.
Additionally, he bought every item in the town shops that was Blue quality or higher and recognized by the Convergence World.
Flamme floated beside him, watching.
I don’t have much of an opinion regarding these human parasites.
They are obstacles to humanity’s progress.
But isn’t the Hero’s Sword going to object to your methods?”
Ren looked at the sword in his hand.
The blade remained dull and lusterless.
“It’s fine.
It didn’t acknowledge me anyway,” Ren chuckled.
Sometime later, Ren arrived at Sein’s hometown.
Following the villagers’ directions, he found the “Regional Holy Seal”—an honorary title given only to the most powerful priests in all local churches.
It was said to have been personally bestowed by Heiter years ago.
He was a man who looked to be in his thirties, wearing a faded priest’s robe, in a simple side room of the church.
He was organizing medicinal herbs and looked slightly stunned when he saw Ren.
“An elf?
I’ve been seeing them quite often lately…”
Ren explained his purpose: he wanted to learn Priest Magic.
Sein’s brother declined.
“I haven’t taught students in a long time.
And the path of a priest…”
Ren pulled out some gold coins.
“Ah, I could tell you were a person of unparalleled faith.
Why else would you be so interested in the Goddess’s magic?”
…
With money paving the way, this impoverished Regional Holy Seal agreed to give him some basic instruction.
He first briefly explained the core of Priest Magic: driving mana with conviction to perform healing, protection, and purification.
As soon as the instruction began, notifications rang out in Ren’s mind.
[Learn ‘Survival Magic’?
Yes/No]
“Yes.”
…
A vast amount of Priest skill knowledge flooded in.
Ren raised his hand, and a faint green light gathered at his fingertips, settling on a villager who had come for treatment.
Their injuries healed at a visible rate.
The Regional Holy Seal’s eyes widened.
“You…
you learned it just like that?
I only explained the principles…”
“Your explanation was very clear,” Ren said vaguely.
He paid the tuition fee and bought a copy of the [Goddess’s Scripture]; otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to cast Priest Magic.
After bidding farewell, he continued north.
Finally, after tracking Frieren and her party for a long time, in the year 29 of the Post-Himmel Era, as the weather grew colder in the Ohfen Mountains of the Northern Kingdoms, Ren arrived at a mountain village.
The only tavern in the village glowed with a dim, amber light.
As Ren approached, he heard a “thud” of someone slamming a table inside, followed by a young man’s wailing cry:
“Just start dating already!”
This scene…
a classic.
Ren paused, his lips curling into a smile.
He reached out and pushed open the tavern’s wooden door.
Warm air and the bustle of voices rushed out.
At a table by the window, two figures sat opposite each other.
Hearing the door open, Frieren looked up, her spoon stopping mid-air.
Sensing Frieren’s strange reaction, Sein also turned to look.
“Ah, another elf.”
Ren stood at the doorway, snow blowing in from behind him.
He gave Frieren a slight smile.
“Hey, Frieren.
Long time no see.”
His voice was soft, but it reached her ears clearly.