I Became a Swordsmanship Genius in the Game

Chapter 44. Attribute Endowment

As I waited for a moment, tea was served.

“Let's have some while we talk.”

“Yes.”

Unlike before, when I felt like I was being interrogated, a comfortable conversation ensued.

It was mainly Bation asking and Hyunwoo answering, and the core of the conversation was about ‘how to catch Anesta’.

There were two main points Hyunwoo had in mind during the conversation.

One was that his help was absolutely necessary to catch Anesta.

And the other was that the lord himself had to step forward.

Bation raised his eyebrows at Hyunwoo’s words.

“I have to step forward myself?”

“Otherwise, even if we lure Anesta out, there is no way to hunt it.”

“Hmm, so only you can do that luring?” Latest content publıshed on novel⟡fire.net

“That’s right. There is no one who knows Anesta's habits better than I do. To move according to the situation and lure it out of the tunnels, I must be there.”

Bation fell into thought.

Of course, he had investigated the Lafre, and he had also investigated the husks in various ways.

It was certain that the human before him knew more about Anesta than he did.

‘The hunting method also seems to have no flaws.’

He had said he had been preparing to hunt Anesta his entire life, and it seemed to be true.

After a moment, Bation gave a slight nod and opened his mouth.

“You must want something in return, right?”

“No. I don’t particularly….”

“There's no need for false modesty. Tell me what you want.”

Hyunwoo let out a sigh of relief internally.

Fortunately, it seemed he had succeeded in persuading Bation.

‘But I can’t let my guard down.’

Hyunwoo pretended to think as much as possible and carefully opened his mouth.

Before speaking, he glanced at Lucas once.

“I need the Tear of Iksolun.”

“The Tear of Iksolun? Why do you need that? You don't seem to have any mana.”

“My companion. It's an item Lucas desperately needs.”

At Hyunwoo’s answer, Lucas, who had been detached from the conversation until now, wore a surprised expression.

Bation was a magician.

Mana was a very important element for a magician, and I thought he would have something like the ‘Tear of Iksolun’ for mana treatment.

As expected, he readily nodded his head.

“That's nothing special. Is that all?”

“And… I want a black crystal orb.”

“A black crystal orb?”

“It’s nothing special, just an item that holds a black flame within a crystal orb.”

Bation narrowed his brow and tried to recall what kind of crystal orb Hyunwoo was talking about.

There was a crystal orb in his bedroom that was used as a soft light.

It was nothing more than a decoration….

Before that, there was something he had to ask the human.

“How did you know I had such a crystal orb?”

At Bation’s question, Hyunwoo smiled awkwardly, took out his Lotus membership card, and placed it on the table.

“It was an item I had been looking for, and I heard from Lotus that it was here, in Gert Castle.”

“They have long tongues. Like rats.”

“I understand it’s a decorative item. Someone needs it, so if it's not too much of an imposition, could you possibly give it to me?”

Just a decorative crystal ball for the bedroom.

It was an item of no particular significance to Bation.

In fact, the ‘Tear of Iksolun’, which could heal mana, was more valuable.

For the sake of protecting his own castle, this much was nothing.

“Alright. I will deliver the items to you shortly.”

Bation nodded his head.

“I will call for you as soon as the preparations are complete, so be on standby.”

He gestured with his hand, dismissing them.

Hyunwoo left the office with Lucas.

Lucas, who came outside, stared intently at me.

“What? Do you have something to say?”

“Why did you ask for a mana treatment potion? You could have gotten something more useful.”

“And you. What were you called for? The story about being called to commend your merits must have been nonsense from the beginning.”

As if recalling his conversation with Bation, Lucas’s expression darkened.

“…It’s nothing.”

“That’s not the face of someone for whom it was nothing.”

“Just tell me the reason you asked for the treatment potion.”

“Let's hear the reason you were summoned first.”

After bickering for a while, Lucas sighed and said.

“He said he called me simply because he was curious about me.”

He didn't go into detail, but judging by his pride-wounded expression and the situation, I could roughly guess.

He was probably called because of curiosity about why a vampire, a demon, had become a slave gladiator.

In the process, Bation must have wounded Lucas’s pride.

I could feel his piercing gaze.

He was telling me with his eyes that it was my turn.

“Claudia Knox, the one who passed on swordsmanship to me. She told me.”

“……?”

A question mark appeared on Lucas’s face at the sudden appearance of a past connection.

Hyunwoo wore a serious expression.

“All those who have mastered Po Dienda Swordsmanship are brothers.”

“…Brothers?”

“Yes. Brothers. I already considered you a brother.”

At Hyunwoo’s unexpected answer, Lucas wore a dazed expression.

‘I think I managed to gloss over it well.’

Leaving Lucas, who was standing still lost in thought, behind, Hyunwoo left the inner castle first.

Hyunwoo, who came out of the inner castle, wore a refreshed expression.

The treatment potion that would solve Lucas’s mana issue was a decent item.

But, what was really important was something else.

‘Abyssal Ether.’

The crystal orb Bation had promised was not a simple decoration, but an artifact containing hellfire.

‘Now I can engrave an attribute onto Cheonbyeondo.’

The final piece of the puzzle for the Anesta hunt.

Even the artifact for bestowing an attribute on Cheonbyeondo had been resolved.

Hyunwoo headed straight for the barracks.

On the way, he looked at the still-busily moving Sylvester soldiers.

Their numbers had dwindled due to accumulated damage.

The only fortunate thing was that their morale hadn't dropped yet.

‘Except for the slave gladiators, that is.’

At the very least, if they were residents of the Demon World living on its land, they were the type who would rather fight and die than be ridiculed for losing their land to something like the Lafre.

But, that too wouldn't last much longer.

‘It won’t end like this.’

They were holding on well for now, but that too was only for a short time.

There was no end to the procession of Lafre that swarmed in every day.

The only solution was to catch Anesta.

‘It seems Lord Bation is also aware of this.’

Thanks to that, I was able to obtain what I wanted smoothly.

Returning to the barracks, Hyunwoo quietly closed his eyes and recalled the Anesta hunting method in his mind.

As he was meditating like that for a while, a soldier came to visit not long after.

“This is an item bestowed by the lord.”

The soldier placed a small box at Hyunwoo’s feet and turned back.

I had said it would be good if he could give it as soon as possible….

It seemed he had ordered it to be prepared as soon as Hyunwoo left.

“He must be in a hurry.”

Hyunwoo, clicking his tongue briefly, opened the small box placed at his feet.

Inside the box was a crystal orb with a faint black glow and a potion bottle containing a white liquid.

Hyunwoo first placed the crystal orb in his hand and examined it.

‘Looking at it like this, it’s really deceptive, isn’t it?’

Anyone would see it as just an ordinary decorative light.

However, the crystal orb in Hyunwoo’s hand was not just a common decoration.

No.

‘To be precise, it becomes a very special item when the conditions are met.’

The black flame contained within the crystal orb.

Hyunwoo stared at the black flame and recalled its identity.

⌜Abyssal Ether

A black flame slumbering in the depths of the Ragnarok volcanic region of the Demon World. Once ignited, the black flame will never be extinguished before the target's life force runs dry.⌟

According to the description, it seemed like an attribute that could be considered the strongest in the Demon World, but it wasn't quite at that level.

‘Well, it’s not a flame that truly never goes out.’

The black flame of the Abyssal Ether could be subdued with mana.

Conversely, this meant that there was nothing more effective against an opponent who couldn't use mana.

Hyunwoo put the black crystal orb in his pocket and picked up the white potion.

‘Tear of Iksolun.’

The white liquid in the bottle was giving off a faint light, so it seemed to be of the highest quality.

Drinking this had the effect of smoothing the circulation of mana in the body.

‘With this, it should be possible to restore about 30% of Lucas’s sealed mana…’

Hyunwoo packed the crystal orb containing the Abyssal Ether and the Tear of Iksolun and came out of the barracks.

First, he headed to Lucas's barracks.

“Lucas.”

There was no answer.

When I peeked under the tent, he wasn't inside.

It seemed he hadn't returned yet.

Surveying the neatly organized interior, I cautiously entered the barracks.

I waited for a moment, but he showed no signs of returning.

I didn't have time to just wait.

Hyunwoo placed the Tear of Iksolun at the head of his sleeping bag and came out of the tent.

Pause―

Then, as if an idea struck him, he turned back, took out a piece of paper, and wrote something.

Hyunwoo left the note he had just written next to the sleeping bag and came out again.

‘This should be fine, right? And now, what I need to do is….’

A single, short phrase was written on the note.

―To my brother.

It was cringy, but if I was going to do it, making a proper show of it was better for the future.

Hyunwoo moved his feet toward the village inside the castle.

* * *

Near the castle walls, everyone was bustling about.

Following Lord Bation’s order, I, who belonged to the subjugation team, seemed to be the only one idle here.

Hyunwoo quietly followed the path towards the village inside the castle.

Unlike the busy area near the castle walls, the atmosphere of the village was quiet.

No signs of people could be felt from the buildings lined up along the street.

‘It can’t be helped.’

Generally speaking, residents of the Demon World, whether children or the elderly, were basically capable of combat.

This was an emergency situation where the survival of the entire Sylvester region was at stake.

It was not strange for everyone, men and women, young and old, to be conscripted in such a situation.

Anyway, thanks to that, my original plan to move secretly was overturned.

Hyunwoo went to the stream with flowing water that he had seen before.

Hyunwoo, who strode up to the small stream, squatted down in front of the trickling water.

Then he turned his head left and right and looked around.

After confirming that no one was there, he took out the crystal orb.

The black flame flickered.

It looked as if it were struggling to get out.

He held the crystal orb in his hand and put it into the stream.

Then he applied strong pressure.

Crack―

Hyunwoo quickly pulled his hand away and watched quietly.

It was an ordinary decorative light that felt no aura or mana, but the moment the conditions were met, its value changed.

The black flame that had been burning inside the broken crystal orb flowed out onto the water.

Fwoosh―!

The blue stream was instantly engulfed in black flames.

A persistent ember that would not be extinguished.

The Abyssal Ether had revealed its true form.

A normal fire wouldn't be able to burn on water, but the black flame burned relentlessly even on the water.

Fwoosh―!

Hyunwoo, worried someone might see, quickly put Cheonbyeondo into the burning stream.

Sizzle―

When the blade of Cheonbyeondo entered the water, a sound like meat cooking was heard.

Fwoosh―

The giant, soaring embers slowly died down, and Cheonbyeondo began to be dyed black.

⌜Cheonbyeondo―1st Awakening

1st Awakening Ability: Attribute Endowment

Attribute Slot 1: Abyssal Ether⌟

‘Done.’

An attribute was placed in the one available slot.

Hyunwoo picked up the blackened Cheonbyeondo and smiled in satisfaction.

This flame would be able to deal a great blow to Anesta.

Hyunwoo held the Cheonbyeondo, now engraved with the Abyssal Ether attribute, and took a deep breath.

‘This is going to hurt like hell, isn't it…?’

Cheonbyeondo seemed like a legendary broken item that could possess various attributes, but its drawback was also clear.

When an attribute is infused, it eats away at the user's vitality.

Here, ‘vitality’ didn't mean getting tired when used.

To put it simply in game terms, it meant that HP (Health Points) decreased.

In other words, it was obvious that physical pain would accompany the infusion of an attribute.

‘I do have Pain Tolerance, but… will it work?’

After hesitating, Hyunwoo decided to test it out.

The method of bestowing an attribute on Cheonbyeondo was similar to the method of changing the blade.

To concentrate, recalling a clear image in my mind.

When Hyunwoo stared at Cheonbyeondo for a moment, a black flame erupted from the sword.

Fwoosh―!

At the same time,

“Kuaaaargh―!”

Hyunwoo felt a pain seeping through his entire body.

A terrible sensation of pain, as if a bug was gnawing at the inside of his body.

Hyunwoo, his face contorted, gritted his teeth and swung Cheonbyeondo.

Swoosh―! Shwick―!

He endured it a few more times and swung the sword, but he couldn't hold on any longer.

Hyunwoo eventually dropped Cheonbyeondo to the ground and gasped for breath.

Hoo―

‘…This is no joke, really.’

I could use it because I had Pain Tolerance, but it was a level of pain where one wouldn't even think of swinging the sword under normal circumstances.

In any case, although it was a short time, I had confirmed that I could use Cheonbyeondo wreathed in black flames.

‘After this is over, I'll have to find a way to increase my vitality more. As it is….’

Hyunwoo shook his head from side to side, recalling the pain from a moment ago. He sheathed Cheonbyeondo and moved away from the stream.

When I arrived at the barracks near the castle walls, a light was on in Lucas’s barracks.

‘Looks like he’s back.’

Hyunwoo abandoned the thought of returning to his own barracks immediately and headed for Lucas's barracks.

Hyunwoo opened the barracks door right away.

The roughly fastened tent flapped in Hyunwoo’s hand.

Inside, Lucas was meditating with his eyes closed.

A swirling vortex of mana flowed nobly around him, enveloping him.

It seemed he was drinking the ‘Tear of Iksolun’ and healing his body.

At that sight, Hyunwoo grinned―.

‘Now I’ve secured a decent magician too.’

Hyunwoo nodded his head, looking at the blood-red mana spreading faintly around him.

A moment later.

Lucas opened his eyes.

His gaze was shining brilliantly.