61

Kim So-Eun lifted the sword.

It looked too large for her to hold, having a length of two meters, eighty percent of which was the blade. It must weigh at least ten kilograms. For So-Eun, who was a skinny girl, it should have been heavier, but she was wielding it easily with one hand.

“Isn’t it heavy for you?” Yoo Ee-Na asked.

“No.”

However, Kim So-Eun was also wondering why she could carry it so effortlessly.

She then handed the sword to Gi-Hoon so that he could try wielding it again, but as soon as he grabbed the handle, the sword fell heavily to the ground.

Jeong Gi-Hoon sighed.

“What kind of sword is this? It’s too heavy.”

Even if the sword weighed one hundred kilograms, Gi-Hoon would have been able to carry it. That meant that Excalibur itself was refusing to be wielded by him.

I walked over and stood next to Gi-Hoon.

“Are you trying to make me laugh?”

“It’s not a joke. It’s super heavy.”

Jeong Gi-Hoon sighed and stepped back. It was my turn to grab the sword.

I held the handle and lifted the sword a little. It was heavy for me as well.

Interesting. I slowly raised the sword, and everyone gaped in surprise. It was because as I lifted the sword higher, my body sank down to the ground. As the sword got heavier, it was exerting more force as well. Now it weighed approximately one or two tons, still increasing. It was endless weight.

And so, I lifted it high and threw it across the ballroom.

Crash.

A huge crater was formed in the ground where the sword landed. Then I threw it again, and again.

The sword shook violently as if it was asking me to stop, then eventually became lighter. What an interesting sword.

I stared at it for a while before passing it back to Kim So-Eun.

Her eyes were filled with surprise.

“Why?”

“…I can feel that the sword is talking. It’s telling me not to give him to you.”

Kim So-Eun’s facial expressions were changing dramatically. She was conversing with the sword. I know this type of sword—it was an ego sword that had its own emotions.

Kim So-Eun was frowning. I suppose the sword was saying something that was bothering her, so I asked.

“What did he tell you?”

“He says that you will crush him. He told you to find a different sword for yourself. He says that he is not the sword for you.”

I could see that.

“He is begging me not to give him to you, and he told me to swing to the left. What is he talking about…”

I quickly swung my leg.

Crash!

Everyone stared in surprise, and, at first, no one realized exactly what had happened. Gi-Hoon managed to notice it belatedly.

“Is that a person?”

The women looked at where Jeong Gi-Hoon was pointing. There was a large man in the corner who was dusting blood off his clothes. He was only wearing pants, and his muscles were bulging out of his skin.

He was saying something angrily.

“########,########!”

“That sword is our king’s sword. Put that down, girl! That’s what he said.”

Jeong Gi-Hoon, after using his interpretation skill, explained to the group.

I usually tried to resolve conflicts with a conversation, but he had by now crossed the line. His movements were fast, and despite her ability, So-Eun would have been killed. I stroked So-Eun’s hair and moved.

The man was still speaking.

“####,####!”

There was no need to hear what he had to say. My aura was flowing fiercely in my body. I gathered red aura in my clenched fist and moved, immediately punching his chin. He was taken by surprise, pushed back, and thusly collided with the wall.

His head was on the ground, and his body was still. I had broken his neck. That would definitely explain everything. Every part of his face had collapsed, and I would guess even his brain had too.

He tried to kill my girl, so I killed him instead.

“How dare you, you arrogant fool.”

***

To Kim So-Eun, the dungeon was quite an interesting place. It was her first time to see a gate and the monster inside.

To be quite honest, she felt like she might pass out, but Lee Hwan was there to support her. He made her more confident, and his presence comforted her.

She was astonished when she was able to lift the Excalibur.

It looked like it would weigh a lot, but she was able to wield it with one arm. It was just like carrying a bottle of water.

However, what happened next was more surprising.

[ From now on, we’ll share our fate. ]

It was a voice coming from the sword. When she had first heard it, she was about to faint from the shock, so she accidentally passed the sword to Jeong Gi-Hoon.

When Jeong Gi-Hoon dropped the sword because it was too heavy, So-Eun knew that the sword had chosen her to be its master. Lee Hwan had grabbed the sword, and when it had shook, she could hear the voice of the sword complaining.

[ Get off me! ]

[ You are not the one! ]

[ Find a suitable sword! ]

[ I am not the one for you! ]

Words like that continuously came out of the sword. Even when Hwan threw the sword to the ground, it said the same thing.

It was begging, begging for him to stop.

When she got the sword back, she sensed that it was relieved.

[ Don’t ever hand me to that man again, and block the attack now. It’s on your left side. Or else you’ll get killed by Galahad. ]

However, there was no need for that. Lee Hwan blew him away and killed him effortlessly.

The sword continued talking to her.

[ You have great potential. Recovery? Regeneration? Apart from that monster, you are the most suitable person here. I can stimulate your vessel so that your physical ability will increase significantly. Arthur used to call this ‘Awakening.’ ]

Kim So-Eun carefully listened to its words. She learned that there was a reason behind it. Could this ego-sword look at one’s potential?

While she was thinking about that, Excalibur called out to her.

[ Also, don’t ever give me to him. I never heard your answer to my previous question. ]

“No.”

That was Kim So-Eun’s answer.

[ …What? ]

The sword was surprised to hear that. It was not expecting that answer, but So-Eun’s reply was simple.

She trusted Hwan and would willingly give him anything. He was the only one who guided her. She had to pay him back. That was the promise she had made to herself.

Then the sword answered.

[ I chose you, so don’t disappoint me. All you have to do is say yes. Do as I say, understood? ]

Without hesitation, Kim So-Eun threw it to the ground.

Her teammates were looking at her and wondering why she had done that, but Lee Hwan knew there was a good reason behind her actions.

“What’s wrong?”

“His words were weird.”

“What did he say?”

“He asked me not to give him to you.”

“I heard that you said no. Was that your answer?”

“Yes.”

“What did he say next?”

“I chose you, so don’t disappoint me. All you have to do is say yes. Do as I say, understood?”

When So-Eun reiterated what the sword had said, Lee Hwan smiled and stroked her hair.

“Sometimes, there are swords with egos.”

“………”

“I suppose this is a similar type.”

“…Is that a good thing?”

“If you don’t have any good friends, then yes. But usually, ego swords are classified into two types.”

“Two types?”

Lee Hwan crouched down and looked over the Excalibur closely.

“One type is a holy sword, and the other is an evil sword. To be honest, the two are the same; the only difference is how the wielder uses them. But the thing is, if the sword wants a higher position than the wielder, it is likely to become an evil sword.”

“…”

“It is a great sword, indeed, but this needs some adjustments.”

“…What are you planning to do?”

Lee Hwan smiled. His answer was simple as always.

“I don’t keep the dogs who try to bite their master. I kill them instead.”

There was no need for adjustments or to do anything else. Why should we educate beings like them? Killing them was much simpler.

“Everyone, step back.”

They did as they were told.

Lee Hwan grabbed the sword. Like what happened a while ago, it resisted him. Again, his body sank down to the ground.

A black aura emanated from him, puffing out like smoke.

Everyone was silent. At that moment, he didn’t look like the Hwan they knew. His cold facial expression scared his teammates, but his presence was absolutely powerful.

The sword started to shake, but it didn’t last for long.

Kim So-Eun wanted to cover her ears, but the words from the sword were piercing her head directly.

[ Stop! Stop!!! ]

Excalibur continued to cry and slowly stopped wailing.

She could feel that it was dying.

Eventually, the black aura surrounding Lee Hwan dissipated. The sword looked the same as before; the only difference was that the ego was now gone.

“It’s all yours now.”

Lee Hwan handed the sword back to So-Eun.

Excalibur was still light as a feather, cementing the fact that this was her property.

So-Eun smiled brightly, quickly forgetting about the ego that had been inside the sword just a moment ago. This was Lee Hwan’s first gift to her. She would make sure to treasure it well.

“Thank you, sir.”

***

Now, let’s get this clear. Musmahhu was dead, but the dungeon was not yet cleared. There was still a boss monster left. Jeong Gi-Hoon told me that the man who tried to attack So-Eun was Galahad, one of the knights of the round table.

That meant that the remaining boss monster was King Arthur. All we have to do is find him.

Jeong Gi-Hoon came over and asked. “Wouldn’t it be better for you to have spared that knight to collect information?”

He did have a point, but…

“He attacked So-Eun.”

“……”

“If it weren’t for me, she would have been dead by now.”

Of course, Kim So-Eun had heard that. Yoo Ee-Na and Yoo-Jeong did too. In fact, I said those words loud enough for everyone to hear.

Kim So-Eun’s ability was more like a super-healing skill, but she needs to know the limits of it. That attack from Galahad was not the right time to test her ability’s power.

I was not an idiot who couldn’t even think of that. I promised them that I would keep them safe.

“That was why I killed him. If someone attacks my people, I’ll kill them all. That’s how I work.”

All four of them, including Jeong Gi-Hoon, were impressed to hear that. I turned to him and asked.

“You will be serving a person like this. Do you regret it?”

As if he had just heard something absurd, he laughed.

“Of course not. In fact, I’m quite relieved, sir.”

I smiled and patted his shoulder.

When I was in Valhalla, I had lost a lot of my people. Yeo-Hwa and a few others managed to survive, but some had died because of my own mistakes.

I tried to resolve everything through peaceful communication. If they didn’t cross the line, I would then keep my word. If someone were to cross the line or would attempt to do so, however, then I would kill them first and think about their response later.

If someone came at me for revenge, then I would kill them all. If I did so, no one would interfere. That was how I survived in Valhalla. I found this way of thinking comfortable, even after arriving here on Earth.

That was why I killed Joo-Heon. He tried to use me for his own purposes, so I killed him. I will do so for a trivial reason as well.

They had to know what type of person I was, so I told them everything. Then, I looked around to see their reactions.

“I can bear everything, but don’t use me for your own purposes. I won’t tolerate that. You may think about it, but don’t do it. I’ll kill you if you do so. Understood?”

Everyone nodded. Now, there was no need for us to think about it.

I would support these four Hunters until the end.

Meanwhile, Jeong Gi-Hoon asked me a question.

“But will you still be here?”

What did he mean by that?

“I found a suitable place to set up a camp. Why don’t we take a rest first and find the boss later?”

I suppose Jeong Gi-Hoon doesn’t know about this.

“There’s no need for that.”

“What do you mean?”

“When Galahad woke up, surely the others did too. Did you know that?”

Jeong Gi-Hoon, with a surprised look on his face, shook his head.

“He’ll come soon. If not, then we can go, but…”

“But?”

”As you said, we can set up camp and have a meal first. I’ll cook you dragon meat that we just caught.”

“…Isn’t that poisonous?”

“That’s even better. This will increase your resistance to the poison. It’s quite a rare opportunity, you know.”

Their jaws dropped to the floor. They must be thinking that I was serious. Well, they’d be correct. I was serious.

This will keep them safe from the poison.

But…

“I guess your dragon meal will have to wait.”

“…Huh?”

“He’s coming now.”

From afar, a man donning a complete suit of armor was approaching us. He was larger than Galahad and walked with his servants.

Wow.

“I never thought I would meet a person from the textbooks.”

It was King Arthur, and he was walking toward me.