Chapter 57: Became a sword fanatic
Silence spread throughout the forest after the Mountain Boar collapsed into two enormous halves.
Its divided corpse crashed heavily against the ground, causing dirt and shattered stones to scatter in every direction. Thick blood slowly spread beneath the remains while nearby trees continued falling apart from the lingering sword aura left behind by Victor’s attack.
Victor stood motionless for several seconds while staring at the crimson sword in his hand.
The dark patterns engraved across the blade pulsed faintly like flowing veins. A sharp crimson glow traveled along the weapon continuously, releasing an oppressive aura capable of making ordinary monsters flee instinctively.
Victor slowly exhaled.
"This sword is ridiculous."
Nova floated quietly beside him while observing his expression.
"You adapted to it very quickly," she replied calmly.
Victor swung the blade lightly once before grinning.
"Quickly? Nova, this thing is absurdly strong. I barely infused mana into it and it already sliced an elite rank beast apart."
Nova crossed her arms.
"You infused enough mana to flatten a fortress."
Victor ignored her completely.
"Look at this edge. Look at this aura. Even the mana circulation feels smooth."
Nova stared at him silently.
Only a short while ago, Victor still behaved like a calm and arrogant genius mage who preferred analyzing situations rationally. Now he looked dangerously close to becoming an obsessed weapon fanatic.
Victor pointed toward the divided corpse nearby.
"One slash. Completely clean."
"You already mentioned that."
"Because it deserves to be mentioned."
Nova sighed softly.
The two resumed moving through the forest afterward. Victor no longer relied solely on bombardment spells or overwhelming mana attacks. Instead, he actively searched for monsters so he could test the Demonic Sword properly in combat.
Unfortunately for Nova, Victor became increasingly annoying every minute.
A loud roar suddenly echoed through the forest.
Boom!
A gigantic black wolf jumped out from between the trees and landed directly before Victor. Dark lightning crackled around its body continuously while its glowing yellow eyes stared at him viciously.
Nova glanced toward the beast briefly.
"Elite rank. Lighten affinity."
Victor immediately looked interested.
"Perfect timing."
The wolf released a thunderous growl before charging toward him at terrifying speed. Electricity exploded beneath its claws while trees shattered apart from the pressure of its movement.
Victor disappeared instantly with Space Jump.
The next moment, he appeared directly beside the wolf.
Slash.
A crimson arc flashed across the forest.
The monster’s head separated from its body instantly before both halves crashed across the ground.
Victor stared at the sword again.
"Nova, I think this weapon genuinely understands me."
Nova looked horrified.
"You have known the sword for less than an hour."
"That is enough."
"No, it is not."
Victor ignored her complaint and continued examining the blade carefully.
"The balance distribution is perfect. The mana feedback is smooth. Honestly, whoever created this sword was probably a genius."
Nova rubbed her forehead.
"You are praising the sword more than you are fighting."
Victor nodded shamelessly.
"Because the sword deserves recognition."
Nova seriously considered throwing him into a river.
The deeper they traveled into the forest, the more chaotic the situation became for the monsters inhabiting the area.
An enormous Stoneback Crocodile attempted to ambush Victor from a swamp. Its armored body possessed enough defensive strength to withstand advanced military weapons easily.
Victor infused mana into the sword casually before swinging once.
The crocodile exploded into pieces.
Victor blinked afterward.
"...Alright, that was excessive."
Nova looked toward the destroyed swamp silently.
"You nearly erased the lake itself."
Another elite rank monster appeared roughly twenty minutes later. This time it was a massive Frostfang Bear covered in icy blue fur. Freezing mist spread throughout the forest from every breath it released.
The creature roared and charged directly toward Victor.
Victor casually raised the sword.
Then he paused.
"Wait," he muttered thoughtfully.
Nova immediately looked suspicious.
"What now?"
Victor glanced toward her seriously.
"Do you think I should give the sword a name?"
Nova stared at him in disbelief.
"It already has a name."
"Yes, but maybe I should give it a cooler nickname."
"No."
Victor ignored her again.
"What about Crimson Emperor?"
"No."
"Void Reaper?"
"No."
"Mountain Splitter?"
Nova’s expression became colder.
"Victor."
He finally noticed the dangerous tone in her voice and coughed awkwardly.
"Alright. Fine. Demonic Sword is acceptable too."
Meanwhile, the Frostfang Bear had already reached them.
Victor vanished instantly before reappearing above the creature. The crimson blade descended with overwhelming pressure.
Boom!
A massive slash tore through the forest.
The Frostfang Bear froze completely.
Then its gigantic body split into dozens of pieces simultaneously.
Victor landed nearby while the remains collapsed around him heavily.
Several seconds passed quietly.
Then Victor raised the sword slightly.
"...Still amazing."
Nova looked toward the sky helplessly.
By this point, even she was becoming mentally exhausted from listening to him.
Hours passed quickly afterward.
Victor continued hunting elite rank monsters throughout the forest while constantly adapting to the Demonic Sword. His combat style gradually changed with every battle. Instead of standing still and casting large scale spells, he now moved fluidly through combat using Space Jump alongside devastating sword attacks.
The combination was terrifying.
Most monsters died before they could even react properly.
Victor himself became increasingly skilled at channeling mana through the sword. Crimson energy flowed around him naturally during battle while sharp pressure surrounded his movements continuously.
Even Nova admitted internally that the weapon suited him perfectly.
Still, Victor’s constant praise eventually became unbearable.
At one point, after killing another elite rank beast with a single slash, he looked at the blade emotionally and said,
"You know, I think this sword and I were destined to meet."
Nova immediately interrupted him.
"If you praise that sword one more time, I will personally disconnect your nervous system from the spaceship."
Victor blinked.
"...That aggressive?"
"You have been talking about the sword for three straight hours."
Victor looked slightly embarrassed for the first time.
"Was it really that much?"
"Yes."
"...Fair enough."
Finally, as evening approached, the distant walls of the city became visible beneath the orange sky.
Victor slowed down gradually afterward.
The setting sun illuminated the enormous city beautifully while countless lights began appearing throughout the streets and buildings beyond the walls. Merchants, adventurers, and travelers continued entering through the massive gates while guards inspected everyone carefully.
Victor walked toward the entrance calmly.
The moment he entered the city, however, his expression slowly changed.
The playful excitement disappeared from his face completely.
His eyes became serious once more.
Because now he needed to deal with something far more dangerous than elite rank monsters.
Humanity’s future.
Without wasting any time, Victor immediately activated his communication device.
Arthur answered almost instantly.
"Victor? You finally returned."
Victor’s voice became unusually serious.
"President, meet me at once. Bring the other sages as well."
Arthur immediately sensed that something was wrong.
"...Understood."
The call ended shortly afterward.
Victor then contacted Diana next.
The moment her projection appeared, he spoke immediately.
"Princess, please come to the Federation Hall. I have something extremely important to discuss."
Inside the projection, Diana frowned slightly.
For the past fifteen days, she had remained completely secluded while attempting to create a new spell structure by combining multiple existing systems together exactly as Victor had suggested earlier.
During that period, she barely interacted with anyone.
Her mind remained focused entirely on magical theory and spell reconstruction.
However, Victor’s sudden serious tone immediately gave her a terrible feeling.
"...What happened?" she asked quietly.
Victor remained silent briefly before answering.
"I will explain everything once everyone arrives."
Diana’s expression became serious immediately afterward.
"I understand. I am coming now."
