WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 149: Sword Realm

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"..."

Tebar stood there with his mouth hanging open, staring in the direction Kyle had vanished. Kyle had run so fast that his back was no longer even visible.

If Tebar had wanted to chase him, he could have. Kyle was fast, but so was Tebar. Still, what had just happened was so bewildering that he could not even think of pursuing him.

"What the hell is wrong with that bastard?"

In the end, Tebar could only blurt it out in disbelief. The young master of a prestigious family had launched a stealthy, lethal ambush, then run off like someone who had never known any noble dignity. To make matters worse, Kyle had fled toward the Sword Church Master's hut.

"Are... are you all right?"

Ronia had been standing there with the same stunned look, but suddenly came to their senses and approached. Tebar looked like he had swallowed shit as he rested his greatsword on his shoulder.

"No. I feel fucking awful."

"Shall I bring him back now?"

"No, forget it. Looking at him, he'll come at me again next time. No need."

Tebar bit down on his lip and sank into thought for a moment. The end of the fight. The moment Kyle had switched swords. The swordsmanship he had displayed with that utterly vicious cursed blade.

"Ronia. What did you think?"

Ronia knew what he meant. Even watching from a distance had been enough to make them recoil in shock. After hesitating for a moment, Ronia spoke.

"At the end... the Young... Master's swordsmanship looked like yours, Tebar-nim."

"It wasn't merely similar. It was exactly the same. As if I had kindly taught him myself."

"..."

"Anyone with a good eye can imitate a sword path, but that bastard reproduced the explosions too. How is that even possible? His Spirit Root was bizarre as hell."

Just the Spirit Root Tebar had seen had included water, steel, and lightning. Then flames had mixed in at the end. Someone in the Boundary Realm could alter the nature of mana's attribute, but no matter what, water could not become steel, and steel could not become lightning. One could only add slight variations to an inherent attribute and its nature.

'What would have happened if we had kept fighting?'

He could not allow that cursed blade to grow stronger through repeated explosions, so he had used Sublimation.

'Judging by how he called it cheating, has he not achieved Sublimation yet?'

What if they had fought without using Sublimation? Tebar ground his lower lip between his teeth before asking Ronia.

"Did I look superior in swordsmanship?"

"..."

"Fucking honest, aren't you?"

"I did not say anything."

"Silence is an answer. Forget it, I could feel it myself."

Being the Fourth Apostle of the Sword Church meant Tebar was the fourth strongest swordsman in the Sword Church, excluding the Sword Church Master. Yet Tebar had failed to surpass a sixteen-year-old brat in swordsmanship. With his eyes wide open, without any intention of teaching him, his sword had been devoured.

There was only one thing that could mean.

'That bastard was seeing all of my sword.'

He must have seen it at first, then begun reading it as they traded exchanges. Without doing that, it would have been impossible to steal another person's sword in the middle of a fight.

'And he was swinging his own sword while doing it.'

Reading an opponent's sword and taking it for oneself. That alone was madness, yet Kyle had fought Tebar with his own sword at the same time. Normally, focusing on analyzing an opponent caused one's own sword to fall apart or become defensive.

But Kyle had fought while stealing from him. What kind of monster was that?

"He has more than enough qualities to become the Sword Church Master's partner. I do not know whether I should be happy about it or not..."

Tebar muttered with a twisted expression. His methods might have been a little rough, but Tebar worshipped the Sword Church Master as well. He even felt some sympathy for the Master, who had always been so detached. If the Sword Church Master's personality changed, her sword would change as well, and Tebar was looking forward to that.

The Alastor brat who had brought about that change. Tebar had no choice but to acknowledge his talent, but having the sword he had sharpened his entire life stolen before his open eyes did not feel good at all.

'If anything, it makes me stubborn. I want to make that son of a bitch give up before he can steal my sword completely.'

He could simply kill Kyle, but somehow, doing that would feel like losing. It was a fresh kind of stimulation Tebar had never felt in his life.

"Judging by what he babbled while running away, he'll come at me again. Then I'll see how much of my sword he managed to swallow."

"If you are done thinking, help clean up."

Ronia let out a deep sigh and pointed around them. The heat Tebar had unleashed had reduced the surroundings to ash.

"Clean up what? Leave it. It is not even my fault."

"If it is not your fault, whose is it?"

"That little shit's, for ambushing me without warning."

Come to think of it, it had been self-defense.

* * *

[Aaaah!]

The moment Kyle stopped running, Baal's Dokkaebi burst into tears and clung to his leg.

[Master, Master! You ran away from a fight? Does the master possess no warrior's honor at all? This one cannot serve such a coward as master!]

'I would have died if I kept fighting.'

Kyle steadied his breathing and answered inwardly.

'I can deal with swords that use mana and spiritual energy, but I cannot deal with that fucking unfair Sublimation.'

What Kyle had learned painfully during three months of sparring with Lamika was that facing a Sublimation without unfolding one of his own was impossible.

The laws within a world someone else had built followed its owner. No matter how hard Kyle struggled, the only difference would be whether he died quickly or slowly. He had considered and tried delaying that slow death as much as possible to exhaust the opponent's intent, but it had been impossible.

[With this one's authority, I can tear apart any world!]

'If I manage to cut down the swordsman himself, maybe. The problem is that cutting him is nearly impossible.'

[So you ran away! You cowardly wretch! This one will not serve a coward as master!]

'What are you going to do if you don't serve me, huh? Want me to put you back where you came from?'

Kyle pinched Baal's whining cheek. The Dokkaebi was invisible to everyone else, but Kyle could clearly feel the soft texture of Baal's cheek now.

[H-hiek...! Master, th-this one has reconsidered and realized there is such a thing as a strategic retreat. What the master just did was not a dishonorable escape, but a strategic retreat...]

'Good. Glad you understand.'

Sometimes, running away was shameful but useful. If he had foolishly faced Tebar's Sublimation head-on, he would have struggled for a bit before losing. Given Tebar's personality, even if Kyle admitted defeat within the Sublimation, Tebar did not seem like the type to lower his sword.

'I need to create my own Sublimation soon.'

During the journey, Kyle had reflected on himself in his own way and focused on establishing his inner image. He had even created a True Declaration. Yet no matter how often he declared it, Kyle still could not force his world upon reality.

What was missing? At first, he had thought it might be a lack of intent, but Lamika and Helenas had said that if one's inner image was established as a world, one could unfold Sublimation regardless of the total amount of intent.

'The scale would be different, that is all.'

In other words, Kyle's inability to unfold Sublimation had nothing to do with intent or anything like that. It simply meant he had failed to establish his inner image as a world.

That was why Kyle found it even more baffling. The inner image he had been born with was the sword, and it had been that way since his previous life. Every sword he had wielded from his past life until now. Every sword he had seen with his own eyes and experienced with his body, even if he had not wielded it himself. He thought he had established an inner image full of nothing but swords.

Yet no matter how many times he tried, Kyle could not unfold Sublimation.

'Surely this is not artificially blocked like my Upper Dantian.'

If it was, that would be troublesome. If it truly had been blocked artificially, how was he supposed to break through it? Should he follow that bullshit he heard at the Central Branch about killing an Ascendant?

'Rather than become a sword swung according to the orders of some being I do not even know, I would rather never use Sublimation.'

For now, it was only a guess. Feeling a weight in his chest, Kyle planted Baal in the ground. Then he took Fenris out of his Out-of-Place Artifact. Unlike Baal, who always shrieked noisily whenever Kyle drew it, Fenris had never complained once, even when he switched to it in the middle of battle.

[Grrr...]

It did let out a low growl, but wolves naturally made sounds like that. Kyle held Fenris out before him in his right hand and focused his consciousness. Ssssss! Purple Aura and spiritual energy flowed from Kyle and coiled around Fenris.

He declared a True Declaration. Through this declaration, the world would know Kyle's world. It would come to know it, then be forced to accept it. Spiritual energy overflowing from his Upper Dantian circulated through his body. From the Upper Dantian to the Middle Dantian, from the Middle Dantian to the Lower Dantian, then from the Lower Dantian back to the Middle Dantian, and from there to the Upper Dantian. Within that endless circuit, his inner image took on the structure of a world.

"Sword Realm."

Kyle spoke in a voice more serious than ever.

"..."

Just as on the many previous occasions he had tried, nothing happened. Kyle's lips twitched before he closed his eyes. In that instant, he recalled every sword he desired. Even Tebar's sword, which he had just seen, was added to Kyle's inner image.

"Sword Realm."

He spoke again, but nothing happened this time either. His spiritual energy did not swell in any special way. He was simply focused as before.

"..."

Kyle put down Fenris and picked up Baal instead. Baal blinked her pitch-black eyes, not knowing what Kyle was trying to do. Kyle did not bother explaining it to her.

"Sword Realm."

Switching from Fenris to Baal changed nothing. Baal let her lips hang open and tilted her head, while Fenris lay on the ground, watching Kyle carefully. Grinding his teeth, Kyle held Fenris in his right hand and Baal in his left.

"Sword Realm."

There was no way it would work. This time, he held Baal in his right hand and Fenris in his left.

"Sword Realm."

[Um, Master.]

"Jor, do not talk to me. No, is it because you are in my Middle Dantian? Come outside."

Even a snake could make a reluctant expression. With Jor out of his Middle Dantian and beside him, Kyle declared the True Declaration again. Once more, nothing happened. Did he have to do it while swinging a sword? Kyle swung his swords around in every direction and declared the True Declaration again, but there was no change.

"Black Sword Realm. Chaos Sword Realm. Primordial Chaos Sword Realm..."

Just as he began trying slight variations, wondering if the name Sword Realm was the problem...

"Pfft."

A voice that sent chills down his spine reached him. Kyle felt his mind go blank and his heart freeze as he slowly turned his head. He had been certain no one was around, but someone was sitting on a nearby tree branch.

"..."

The Second Apostle, Serga. His gray hair tied back in a single tail, he made an extremely troubled expression when his eyes met Kyle's. Kyle could not believe it. Serga was not the one who should be looking troubled in this situation. Kyle was.

"I am sorry."

Serga climbed down from the branch and bowed politely toward Kyle. Hearing an apology made Kyle feel even more miserable. He suppressed the powerful urge to cut Serga's head clean off with Fenris and Baal, which he had been swinging around in both hands.

"Since when have you been watching?"

"Since the moment the Young Master stopped here."

Kyle ground his teeth. In other words, Serga had seen everything from the beginning. Embarrassment, awkwardness, humiliation, and the urge to kill himself. After those feelings came a question.

"I thought no one was around."

"It looked as though you were simply passing by, so I did not feel the need to show myself."

Serga answered quietly. Helenas and Lamika had given identical assessments of him.

'Quiet.'

An Apostle who rarely mingled with or spoke to the other Apostles, and who always watched Helenas silently whenever she began swinging her sword. Whether he was shy around strangers or simply a person of few words was unclear, but Serga was certainly not the sort to approach Kyle first.

Kyle had stopped here in the first place. It was not as if Serga had come looking for him. The only minor issue was that Kyle had failed to notice Serga above him and repeated an utterly humiliating series of actions.

"..."

"..."

The two stood in silence for a moment. Kyle could feel heat burning in his ears. Seeing that his ears had turned as red as his hair, Serga made that troubled expression again.

"May I... offer an opinion?"

Serga hesitated briefly before speaking. Kyle pressed his lips together and nodded his reddened head.

"If what I sensed is correct, Young Master... it seems you were attempting Sublimation."

"Yes... well... that is right."

"I watched you trade swords with the Fourth Apostle. Your swordsmanship is already more than sufficient to discuss alongside the Apostles of the Sword Church, and your intent is not lacking either."

Kyle had expected Serga to tease him after laughing, but Serga had wiped every trace of amusement from his face and turned serious.

"You know how to shape intent with spiritual energy, and your control of it is excellent. Given what you possess, Young Master should be able to unfold Sublimation."

"Yes, that is what I thought as well..."

"I too once went through a period similar to yours."

Serga spoke in a solemn voice. A similar period? Kyle's eyes shone as he listened closely. The ears that had burned red from embarrassment had already returned to their normal color.

"Chaos, darkness, blackness, pitch-black, blood, skulls... Such words feel very appealing and cool during one's youth."

"...?"

What was he talking about all of a sudden? Kyle's mouth fell open blankly.

"A True Declaration... is the name of the world held in your heart. There is no need to become overly attached to making it sound special. You only need to put your sincerity into it."

"I think you are misunderstanding something."

Kyle spoke with a straight face.

"I was not babbling cool-sounding words. I was trying to declare a True Declaration. It seemed like it should work, but it kept failing."

"Ah."

Serga paused, then nodded.

"I see. That was the reason. I thought Young Master was considering the name of your True Declaration."

"I decided on the name. The problem is that it will not unfold."

At Kyle's blunt answer, Serga considered for a moment before speaking cautiously.

"May I see your sword for a little while? Perhaps I may be able to help."

Serga's request was exceedingly polite, and it swept away all the embarrassment Kyle had felt. The person before him was the Apostle among the Sword Church's seven Apostles whom Kyle had been watching most closely.

A swordsman who had become an Apostle around the same time as Lamika, then immediately rose to the position of Second Apostle through exceptional skill. Compared to such stories, Serga standing before him did not carry the intense presence of Tebar or the other Apostles.

Kyle knew better than anyone that opponents like that were often the truly formidable ones. And before the Second Apostle had even made the first move, he was asking to see Kyle's sword. How could Kyle refuse? Being a little tired from fighting Tebar moments ago was no reason not to draw his sword. Kyle planted Baal in the ground and grinned.

"I doubt you simply want a demonstration. Should I take this as a spar?"

"Do as you wish, Young Master. However, I must ask one thing first."

Serga drew the sword at his waist as he spoke.

"There is no need to hold back."

"You mean I should come intending to kill you?"

"Yes. And one more thing. Please use the swordsmanship you took from Tebar as well."

Serga pointed at Baal planted in the ground.

"I do not mind if you use that cursed blade."

If Serga had watched the fight with Tebar, he should have known how terrifying Baal was. Yet there was not the slightest hint of arrogance in Serga's words. Excitement rising within him, Kyle nodded.

"I will not use Sublimation," Serga added.

Serga held his sword upright and took his stance. Seeing that...

Someone overlapped with him.

'Helenas.'

They had said he silently watched for a long time whenever she swung her sword. Now that Serga stood with a sword in hand, he looked exactly like Helenas.

Footnotes:

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