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Chapter 79

“Hm...”

Now at one of those villas after a ride to the island shore in the Myers’s car, Se-Hoon looked at the Myers family villa.

It’s more modest than I thought?

It was a large and luxurious building that could easily accommodate ten people, but compared to the other villas he had seen on the way, it was a lot more modest in size.

He followed Jake into the entrance.

“Hm?”

Sensing someone in the living room, Se-Hoon noticed that the person had also noticed that Se-Hoon and Jake had arrived. Then, as if confirming his thought, the person abruptly popped out from the end of the corridor.

In front of them was a weary-looking man—his long blond hair was tied up carelessly in a ponytail, and he was dressed in a shabby white shirt and wrinkled suit pants—whose eyes lit up upon seeing Jake.

“Jake!!!”

“Uncle?!”

“You little rascal!!”

In the blink of an eye, the man crossed the hallway and picked up Jake by the armpits, lifting him effortlessly. With the man’s height easily surpassing 190 centimeters, Jake looked like a little kid dangling in the air, making Se-Hoon involuntarily smirk.

“Uncle, my friend is here...”

“So?! Isn’t greeting your uncle who you haven’t seen in half a year more important?!”

“Ugh!”

The man, Miles Myers, joyfully shook Jake like a toy with a bright smile. Se-Hoon looked on with amazement.

I didn’t expect the Mad Sword would have such a soft side...

Before the regression, Miles Myers was an A-rank hero known as the Mad Sword because he didn’t stop swinging his sword until the battle was completely over.

But, despite the reckless fighting style, he had survived for a long time. In his later years, he was virtually recognized as an S-rank swordsman.

That guy completely disregarded anyone not affiliated with his own family though...

Due to Miles’s eccentric personality, he had often been involved in various quarrels, but those had significantly decreased once he had made some kind of deal with Aria.

Thinking about it now, maybe this time...

Lost in his thoughts, Se-Hoon just quietly observed, wondering what path Miles would choose this time. A while later, Miles put Jake down and turned around.

“It seems like I’ve been having too much fun in front of a guest. My apologies if I’ve been rude.”

“No, not at all. It’s completely fine, seeing as how it’s been half a year. Please feel free to continue; don’t mind me.”

Hearing Se-Hoon’s calm reply, Miles looked at him curiously before smiling and extending his hand.

“My boy Jake made a good friend. I’m Miles Myers, Jake’s uncle. Feel free to call me Mr. Miles.”

“Lee Se-Hoon. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

As the two of them exchanged friendly handshakes, Jake, who had become a mess in the blink of an eye, brushed his disheveled hair back.

“By the way, uncle, what brings you here all of a sudden? I heard you’ve been incredibly busy lately...”

“Why do you think I came? I immediately volunteered and rushed over when I heard my nephew was finally going to undergo his succession ceremony.”

“So... you’re conducting the ceremony?”

“Yes. Why? Are you disappointed because it isn’t your father?”

At Miles’s question, Jake flinched, but he quickly composed himself.

“Well, I knew Father would be even busier. I expected this much.”

“Pretending to be tough even though you’re clearly disappointed... let’s talk about the rest inside. Se-Hoon, you come along too.”

When Se-Hoon and Jake sat down side by side on the living room sofa, Miles headed to the kitchen and asked, “Do you guys want anything to drink? There’s pretty much everything here.”

“I’m fine, thank you.”

“Me too; I’m good.”

“Really? Well, I’m drinking one myself then.”

Grabbing a bottle of whiskey from the cupboard, Miles sat down on the opposite sofa. He then lightly flicked off the cork with his thumb.

Pop!

The cork came out effortlessly, and Miles just started drinking directly from the bottle like water.

So, he’s always been an alcoholic then? Se-Hoon thought, surprised.

He knew that Miles drank alcohol instead of water, but he hadn’t expected that would be the case this early. It made Se-Hoon gain a newfound appreciation for how resilient the livers of high-ranking heroes were.

Conversely, Jake, who was sitting by his side, closed his eyes tightly out of embarrassment.

“Uncle... can’t you drink that later?”

“Whew... no, no. My brain just doesn’t work right without alcohol these days,” said Miles, chugging down half the whiskey in one go.

He chuckled and looked at Jake.

“So, where is that sword you said you got this time?”

“Sigh... here.”

With a sigh, Jake pulled out the Luminescent Sword from his void pocket and handed it over to Miles, who took it with his free hand.

“This looks pretty unique. Let’s see...”

Trailing off, Miles examined the sword. Suddenly, he seemed to freeze in place and a look of astonishment appeared on his face.

“...”

Quickly becoming more serious, he put down the bottle of whiskey on the table and started to examine it.

A while later, he turned his gaze to Se-Hoon.

“I heard from Aria that you forged this sword. Is that true?”

“Yes. I forged it.”

“Did you use Jake’s blood in the process?”

Somewhat impressed that Miles had discerned the main material used in the sword after just a brief examination, Se-Hoon nodded affirmatively.

“Yes. I thought that using his blood would prevent the sword from breaking.”

“I see. This is certainly something I wouldn’t have thought of... no, even if I had, I wouldn’t have tried to attempt it.”

The idea of using Jake’s blood might be conceivable, but the amount of materials that Miles thought he had to prepare wasn’t. Yet, despite that, Se-Hoon had prepared all of it not long after meeting Jake.

I wondered what kind of odd person he would be when Aria, of all people, said that she found someone interesting... but this is just unbelievable.

Taking another look at the sword, Miles then placed it on the table and looked at both of them this time.

“There should be no problem using it for the succession ceremony, but... you do realize this was a very dangerous method, right?”

“If it’s about the bioweapon aspect, then yes, I’m aware. Aria also warned me,” answered Se-Hoon.

Miles nodded at Se-Hoon’s response.

“Good. It shouldn’t be a problem since it’s only to this extent, but still, you shouldn’t use it from now on. It’s a forging method that’s regulated particularly thoroughly because of the Puppeteer.”

Because the Puppeteer used the corpses of heroes to replicate their abilities in the equipment it created, the field of bioweapons, which had been somewhat tolerated in its early days, was put under strict regulation entirely.

“It can’t be helped for this sword since it’s already been forged, but... unless you’re looking for sponsorships from the demons, don’t even think about going around and mentioning that you forged the Luminescent Sword.”

Though a sponsorship from a demon might sound nice, it could also mean getting kidnapped and being forced to forge equipment in confinement.

Se-Hoon nodded at Miles’s sincere advice.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Alright. Let’s get moving then.”

Finishing the remaining whiskey in one gulp, he stood up and nodded at the two of them.

“Follow me.”

They descended a staircase to the basement under the guidance of Miles and arrived at a neatly arranged training area. With the lights all on, the interior was revealed to be equipped with the latest training devices and sparring facilities, even including a combat arena.

Heading straight to the arena, Miles gestured to Se-Hoon before he could follow.

“You should stay back just in case. There are protective barriers installed, but they’re not as robust as what’s in Babel.”

“Understood.”

“And Jake, you can come up with your sword.”

“...Yes.”

Watching Jake ascend to the arena with the Luminescent Sword in hand, Miles tapped the void pocket at his waist and lightly drew a golden sword.

Whoosh!

At first glance, the blade seemed to have been unmaintained for an incomprehensible amount of time due to the blade’s teeth being worn down like a saw. However, despite its shabby appearance, the energy emanating from the sword was far from ordinary.

Drip, drip.

Golden energy was dripping down the sword like blood, soaking into the floor of the arena. Upon seeing such a bizarre phenomenon, Se-Hoon’s eyes narrowed.

That seems more like sword aura than magic...

The energy accumulated within the sword was seemingly leaking out, but the notable aspect was that Miles was not using his own mana.

Was it pre-infused by someone else...? But who?

Intrigued by the strange sword which was unlike anything he’d seen before, Se-Hoon observed curiously. Then, suddenly, he heard a voice by his side.

“That sword has been passed down from my great-grandfather.”

Without a single sound, Aria appeared beside him and started explaining.

“It’s an artifact that could be said to embody our family’s ideals.”

“...I wish you’d make some noise when you approach.”

Stopping himself from reflexively attacking her, Se-Hoon caught his breath. Seeing that, Aria smiled amusedly.

“You talk like you didn’t sense me. Are you pretending to be weak?”

Amazed by her superhuman senses, which managed to notice the killing intent in his voice even though he had suppressed it, Se-Hoon hid that as well and kept calm.

“What if I had attacked? That would have been a disaster.”

“You don’t need to worry about that. I’d feel sorry if you developed a habit of hesitating because of me.”

Hearing her response which implied that she could easily handle his attacks, a bewildered look appeared on Se-Hoon.

“Can’t you simply just make your presence known when you approach?”

“That won’t do. It might turn into a bad habit of mine.”

“...”

Faced with her logic, which was just as incomprehensible before the regression as it was now, he sighed and changed the subject.

“So, how does the succession ceremony work?”

“It’s simple. Jake just needs to match his sword against that sword, Origin, and receive the sword aura flowing from it.”

“Receive the sword aura?” asked Se-Hoon, puzzled by the unusual method.

Aria calmly nodded.

“It means to directly feel and refine the sword aura of our great-grandfather, who was close to being a Perfect One. It’s also a way to see how proficient one is with the family’s swordsmanship.”

Now understanding thanks to her explanation, Se-Hoon looked once again at Origin, which was in Miles’s hand.

Receive the sword aura, huh...? The method itself seems sound.

Although the Myers family’s swordsmanship would have evolved over generations, its essence was likely still intact. And if talented successors like Jake could directly experience the sword aura of a hero who had reached a higher realm than anyone in the family, it could lead to many revelations.

“Normally, the result of the succession ceremony is used to forge a custom sword that perfectly fits the successor, but it seems like it’s reversed in Jake’s case.”

Se-Hoon looked at Jake.

A custom sword, huh...?

Could he really say that the Luminescent Sword perfectly fit Jake’s body? Unsure, he watched on as the succession ceremony began to take place in the arena.

“Alright. Let’s give it a try now,” said Miles.

“Okay!”

At his cue, Jake immediately infused his mana into the Luminescent Sword and gripped the handle tightly.

Crackle-

The flowing mana crystallized into a bluish blade. Seeing that mystical form that looked like it contained starlight, Miles watched with interest.

It’s technically called a sword, but it’s practically the same as sword aura.

The mana shined brightly inside the blade, fully compressed. Though its slicing force might be reduced since it couldn’t easily release mana, its durability seemed to be enough to withstand a clash with Origin.

I thought its Hero tier was for its uniqueness... but it seems forged perfectly well.

Revising his assessment of the Luminescent Sword once more, Miles extended Origin forward.

“You know how it proceeds, right?”

“Yes.”

“Just relax and naturally receive it.”

Following Miles’s instructions, Jake nodded and slowly brought his blade close to Origin.

Whoosh-

The golden sword aura that flowed downward naturally transferred to the blade of the Luminescent Sword, settling onto its edge.

So this is... actual sword aura...

He felt a sense of fulfillment like the sword was brimming with power from within and a confidence that he could cut through anything. Feeling the sword aura of his ancestors, he followed the sensations, fully enchanted.

Seeing Jake’s immersion, Miles watched on with a pleased look.

I never expected that Jake, having never properly swung a sword before, would be able to maintain it to this extent...

Wishing that perhaps talent didn’t lie, he hoped that his nephew would learn even more from this experience as he continued to transfer Origin’s sword aura.

Meanwhile, as the two in the arena were focused on the succession ceremony, Aria smiled gently as she observed them.

“Hm. Not bad. Your sword’s better than I thought.”

“...Is that so?”

“Of course. Just from seeing how Jake, who hasn’t been properly trained in swordsmanship until now, is steadily receiving the sword aura to that extent, it means it’s a remarkable sword,” Aria said brightly.

Turning her gaze to Se-Hoon, she then added, “As expected of the honor student of Borsippa.”

Normally, recognition from Aria Myers, the woman celebrated as the strongest student in history, would be enough to make anyone puff up with pride, but Se-Hoon felt a certain unease.

There’s something about the way she’s speaking...

Despite her radiant appearance, there was a feeling of emptiness in her.

He looked back at the Luminescent Sword in Jake’s hand. Although the bluish blade was still receiving and integrating the golden sword aura, there was a slight blurring of the boundary between the two blades that caught his eye.

“So, next time—”

“Give me a minute.”

Abruptly interrupting Aria, he headed toward the arena.