I Can See the Sword’s Memories

Chapter 53:  The Otherworldly Ruins (4)

Clang—!

My expression twisted in pain. With no way to avoid it, I was forced to meet the puppet’s strike with my sword. 

Even with my body strengthened by mana, I was being overpowered. The pain radiating up my right arm was immense, dulled only slightly by the numbing effects of the White Dragon Heart Art.

Twisting my sword, I redirected the force of the impact. Scrreeech—! The massive greatsword slid past, only for the puppet’s fist to follow immediately after. 

This puppet didn’t rely solely on its sword—it used its arms, legs, and even concealed weapons embedded within its body to keep me under constant pressure.

The steel puppet’s body was an exceptional weapon in itself. When mere flesh clashed with unyielding steel, the outcome was predictable.

I had no choice but to retreat, deflecting attacks as I went. Despite the relentless assault, my sword didn’t falter. 

The extreme speed of the Tai Baek Snow Dragon Sword allowed for a flurry of strikes, even in brief openings.

Tatatat—!

The mana-infused slashes repeatedly struck the steel puppet’s frame, but the damage was negligible.

It was a daunting opponent, like an insurmountable wall looming before me. 

After one intense clash, a brief pause followed as the puppet ceased its movements.

If I left the room, it wouldn’t pursue me further—its range of awareness was limited to the chamber.

“Phew…”

I let out a long breath, seizing the opportunity to perform emergency first aid. Pulling potions and bandages from my bag, I extracted the steel spikes embedded in my body. Crimson blood gushed from the wounds, but I poured a potion over them without hesitation.

The quality of supplies had improved significantly since I became an intermediate-level operative. 

As the potion touched my wounds, a wave of heat surged through me, and new flesh rapidly grew to seal the injuries.

It wasn’t a full recovery; it merely stemmed the bleeding for the time being. If I exerted myself too much, the wounds would reopen easily. Wrapping the injuries with bandages, I evaluated my next steps.

‘The door’s locked…’

The thick steel door wouldn’t budge no matter how hard I pushed. A keyhole beneath the handle made it clear: I needed a specific key to open it. My gaze shifted toward the puppet’s neck, where a necklace with a strange design hung.

The situation was clear. I had to defeat the puppet, take the key, and unlock the door to move forward. Preparing myself, I lowered my stance and closed my eyes.

To paint over the world of my imagination.

Crackle—

Countless memories flashed through my mind. The techniques engraved in my blade came to life, filling my consciousness with vivid images of various sword styles.

Crack!

Sharper than before, the lightning etched itself into my mental landscape. Dark storm clouds rolled across a vast snowy plain, unleashing fierce bolts of lightning. One of these bolts took the shape of a sword and embedded itself deep within my imagination.

Rumble—!

‘I can’t release my mana… I’ll need to operate differently.’

Mana released outside my body would scatter uncontrollably. If so, I had to use it entirely within myself. Though it would strain my body significantly, I had no other choice.

Thump—!

My heartbeat quickened. The mana coursing through my body turned into blue lightning, surging through my veins. My leg muscles tensed and expanded as I lunged forward.

Thunder Strike, a sword technique faster than my usual Tai Baek Snow Dragon Sword, converted mana into lightning, amplifying my reaction speed.

This time was different. The blue lightning coursing through my bloodstream no longer caused pain. 

The emperor’s elixir I had consumed had greatly increased my mana capacity and drastically enhanced my physical durability.

‘I can endure it now.’

The swordsmanship I once couldn’t use due to physical limitations was now within reach. Feeling the roar of thunder echo through my body, I reached out.

A streak of blue lightning extended in a straight line, aiming for the puppet’s necklace. But just as it neared its target, the steel puppet reacted to my movements, swinging its massive greatsword.

Whooosh—!

The sword sliced through the air, appearing unbearably slow to my heightened senses. 

Beyond my gaze, blue lightning flashed, and in the next instant, I had already passed the giant puppet. Its greatsword cleaved only empty space.

There was no resistance in my grasp. As I reached for the key, it suddenly retracted into the puppet’s body.

“This is infuriating…”

It wouldn’t surrender the key unless I defeated it. I needed a new approach. Gripping my sword tightly, I prepared for another round.

Elsewhere

“Envy, I think we’ve made the discovery of the century.”

Shave’s conclusion, as he examined the dungeon, was undeniable. This dungeon must have come from another dimension.

At first, he had denied it. After all, the idea of an entire space crossing dimensions was unheard of.

Even the records of the Magic Tower held no such precedent.

Shave had no choice but to accept it. Everything around them, every trace they uncovered, pointed to one conclusion: this dungeon was constructed in another dimension.

“Shouldn’t we focus on finding an escape route first? It’s great we’ve made this discovery, but our mission is to subdue the Reincarnator…”

“I haven’t forgotten. I was merely taking a moment to admire it,” Shave replied, inspecting the scattered remains in the hallway. The tattered, rotted clothing was barely recognizable, but one thing was clear—it didn’t belong to this world.

“What do you think happened to the knight…?”

Envy sighed, recalling the image of the small girl who had accompanied them. The two magicians continued their cautious exploration of the dungeon, advancing slowly as they recorded everything they saw and heard in their notes. Their progress was painstaking, but methodical.

Then they heard it—faint footsteps echoing from the dark corridor ahead. Tap, tap, tap. The strides were wide, indicating it wasn’t the petite knight they had been traveling with.

“This feels ominous…”

“I was just thinking the same thing…”

Moments later, a figure cloaked in a dark robe emerged from the shadows. In his left hand, he wielded a blade forged from bone; in his right, he held a wand—a weapon of a magician.

“Envy…”

“Yes?”

“Don’t stop running!”

Without a backward glance, the two magicians bolted toward the end of the corridor.

***

Clang! Bang!

Each time my body blurred with movement, new dents and cracks appeared on the steel puppet’s frame. 

Its durability was extraordinary—so much so that I had to swing my sword like a club to deal any damage.

“Grr…”

The longer the fight dragged on, the more I began to lose ground. The steel puppet wasn’t a living being. As long as it had a power source, its stamina was effectively infinite. Unlike me, who was growing more fatigued by the second, it showed no signs of slowing down.

Kaang!

Was it exhaustion? Or the accumulated damage to my body? I swung the White Dragon Sword to block its massive greatsword, but the impact wrenched the weapon from my grasp.

My gaze darted to my trembling right hand. Though I felt no pain, it was clear my physical abilities had greatly deteriorated due to the repeated impacts. 

This was both the strength and the weakness of the White Dragon Heart Art—it dulled pain so effectively that I couldn’t detect the harm done to my body.

Scanning the room, I realized the sword had fallen far out of reach. At the same time, the puppet’s next attack was already on its way. There was no way to retrieve my weapon while evading the incoming blow.

If I had a moment longer, I could have used Thunder Strike to reposition myself, but that wasn’t an option now.

“Hyah!”

Rolling backward, I scrambled to grab one of the old swords lying on the floor and swung it.

Clang!

Before the memories engraved in the blade could fully transmit to me, it shattered like glass against the greatsword. I rolled back again, reaching for another weapon.

This sequence repeated itself. Each time, I moved as quickly as my exhausted body allowed, grabbing a discarded sword and using it to fend off attacks.

Memories…

The blessing allowed fleeting memories of each blade to pass through me. But as soon as the sword broke, the memories were cut off. 

Some swords conveyed techniques, others shared cultural knowledge from another dimension, recipes, or even their owner’s life stories. The barrage of fragmented memories overwhelmed my mind.

Too many memories flooded in all at once. Yet I couldn’t afford to stop. Without a weapon, I couldn’t fend off the puppet’s relentless assault.

A blurred dreamscape.

Everything felt surreal. My consciousness dimmed, and the sensations of my body grew faint. 

Lost in a sea of memories, I began to lose my sense of self. For moments, I believed I was a noble from another dimension; at other times, a wandering vagabond.

What eventually moved my body was the strongest memory—one carried by an old, Azure River Sword. Its memory took control, guiding my every action.

I held my breath, reading my opponent’s movements. As the greatsword swept past just above my head, I took a bold step forward. Hidden weapons emerged from the steel puppet’s frame, but they posed no threat.

With a smooth rotation, my small body slipped past every attack.

My hand reached for the puppet’s chest, planting firmly against its surface. In that instant, a massive surge of mana coursed from my core into the puppet. 

There was no audible sound, nor was there wasted energy. The mana traveled directly through the point of contact, disrupting the puppet’s internal mechanisms.

Even in my hazy mental state, I conjured an image of a massive vortex.