176: The Augury Tower (3) 176: The Augury Tower (3) Monts after I summoned the Holy Sword, I heard a voice in my head.
[Y-you’re not a Hero!
Who on earth are you?!] Sothing I was probably too used to at this point, I knew I wasn’t going crazy.
“Hm?” Halting in my tracks, I raised an eyebrow, lifting the sword up in front of .
What used to be a dull, inactive gem in the base of the hilt was now snow-white, glaring like a star and emitting a sa-colour glow, almost reminding of the flashlight on a smartphone, just less intense.
“Oh, are you the Ancient Hero?
Good morning.” Just like Ina warned when I asked her all that ti ago, it indeed did talk to .
It was a bit annoying―I’d rather just have a weapon that did only what I wanted to without interfering or being a nuisance―but, with a faint hope that it might co in useful one day, I decided to just put up with it.
Well, it’s not like I even had a choice, but still.
[I asked your identity, heathen!
Answer !] With a vigorous yell, the surprisingly young-sounding voice questioned .
Considering the description ntioning him as an ‘Ancient Hero’, I thought he would sound much older, but he didn’t even sound that much older than .
“Stop shouting.
You’re my sword, so be quiet.” [Ack-!
Don’t tell , a lackey of the Demon Lord…?!] “Wrong.” Sighing, I used my other hand to take my mask off for a few seconds, revealing my face to the sword before putting it back on.
“See?
Perfectly human.” [I-Indeed…
However, nevertheless…
Why am I not being wielded by a Hero…?” “And how do you know I’m not a Hero?” Looking away from the sword, I dropped my arm to hold it at my side and continued walking through the forest, a thin mist beginning to seep through the endless trees.
There was no visual sign of it, but with my enhanced senses, I could tell.
‘There are monsters nearby.’ anwhile, the Ancient Hero continued.
[O-of course you’re not!
Just look at you!
And not to ntion the fact you have no divine pow–…] “…Why’d you stop all of a sudden?” Casting a suspicious glance at the sword’s gem, I wondered what he was shocked about now.
[This…
is the scent of divinity…?
Why do you…
No, it is not the sa as the Holy Goddess I know, and yet…
unmistakably…] ‘Hm?’ For a mont, I was puzzled about what he was going on about, but then I realised.
“Oh, you an that.
Yeah, I have a Goddess’ Blessing.
It’s not the one you’re thinking of, though.” ‘Is that really enough to make a Hero?
I never even thought about that before, but I guess it’s true…’ [Truly!
This is…
peculiar, yet incredible.
Are you then the Hero of another realm?
And just how did this generational Holy Sword find itself in the hands of a man not blessed by the Holy Goddess?
What about the Demon Lord?] “Too many questions.
I’m busy right now, we can talk later.
Na’s Enki though.” Inwardly, I just wanted to avoid the topic at any cost.
I wasn’t sure what would happen if this guy found out I actually killed the Hero who was supposed to wield the Holy Sword, but either way, things would be a whole lot smoother if that part was kept under wraps.
[Ah, yes!
As you say, Enki!
Apologies!] Thankfully, he seed like a good enough person to recognise my unwillingness to talk and respect it.
Relieved to see him drop the subject rather quickly, I realised he definitely was completely different from the Hero I t all the way back then.
‘Lead him down a path of righteousness…
Yeah, I can’t imagine that happening, but who knows.’ Briefly recalling the description of the Holy Sword, I gave a wry smirk from behind the mask, suddenly rembering what I intended to ask.
“So, now that you’re awake, what can the sword do?
I saw that it unlocked sothing called Sunlight Spear, but how do I use that?” [Of course!
You just need to infuse the Holy Sword with your divine power, and with the will of the Goddess’ Hero, the power shall be unleashed!] He said that all enthusiastic-like, but…
“…Right.
And when you say, ‘infuse the Holy Sword with your divine power’, how exactly might soone go about doing that…?” That was exactly the problem.
I had never been taught how to control the Winter Mother’s Blessing that I had received, and no matter how many tis I tried to ditate and learn how to do anything with it myself, I couldn’t figure it out.
It’s been a while since I regretted not asking Lucretia to teach before I left Drakon-Rasa, but of course, that was far too late now…
[Ah, you must be a new Hero!
There is no problem then, that is what I’m here for, to be a ntor for the new generation!
Allow to teach you.] Fortunately, he sounded confident, and because he was an experienced Hero already, I thought I might just be able to learn it right now.
“Oh, reall–” However, right at that mont― “Wait.” Rustle~ Snapping my head towards the right, my ears picked up a slight rustling in the bushes.
As I narrowed my eyes, a gust of wind blew through the area, causing leaves to sweep across the forest floor, brushes and branches to whisper and creak, and along with it, a faint odour was carried to my nose.
Bending my knees slightly, I shifted into a posture ready for whatever enemy appeared.
For a second, nothing happened.
“…!” Then, my body moved.
Feeling a sudden flashback to the ti that cat girl pounced at from a place I couldn’t see, I twisted my body and swung my arm at the sa ti, slashing it in mid-air and repositioning before I even realised what happened.
Glancing down, all that remained was the bisected corpse of a fur-covered monster that lied sowhere between a mix of a panther and a wolf.
Then, I looked further down at my hand holding the Holy Sword.
For a while, my gaze lingered there, feeling unusually powerful in how I just moved, even killing the monster in a single hit.
‘Is this Heightened Senses too…?
It feels a lot more natural for so reason…’ Considering there was nothing in the Trait’s description that implied it would teach swordsmanship, I chalked it up to being a pure result of my sharpened instincts, which was arguably just as impressive.
In fact, I would argue that having great instincts was better than just knowing how to swing a sword.
Recognising that, I then felt the corner of my lip curl up behind the mask.
“…I’ll have you teach later.” Muttering that, I thought it’d be better to get to beat the Floor and get to a safe place for now.
Still wary, I watched the surroundings intently, waiting until another gust of wind swept through the area.
‘…This way.’ Using Heightened Senses to determine which way led to the Floor Boss, I continued forward.
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