Chapter 33: Murasame
Chapter 33: Murasame
The grand tournament of Empyrium had finally reached its chaotic conclusion. As the massive iron gates of the Colosseum groaned shut behind the VIP party, the streets outside were already overflowing with thousands of spectators, divided into two roaring camps.
On one side, commoners and thrill-seeking gladiators cheered wildly for the newly crowned titan of the arena. "A new legend has been written in Empyrium!" "He defeated Renji with a single finger!" "All hail Vhal'zhar!"
On the other side, fanatical supporters and loyalists of the defeated champion hissed in pure venom. "BOO!" "Cheater! He used hidden magic!" "Don't you dare hurt our Master Renji!"
Vhal’zhar’s brow twitched violently as a hurled tomato burst against the stone wall near his shoulder. His dark eyes flickered with a sudden, murderous crimson light.
(Master...) Vhal’zhar’s [sound transmission] resonated directly inside Rael’s mind, heavy with suppressed violence. (Can I incinerate these noisy insects? It will only take a fraction of a second to turn this street into ash.)
Rael, walking casually behind Saint Solenne let out a silent, weary sigh.
(Definitely not, Vhal,) Rael replied telepathically, not even turning his head. (Just hold it in. We have what we came for.)
Vhal’zhar gritted his teeth, forcibly suppressing his dark aura. (As you command, Master.)
The group navigated through the bustling thoroughfares, eventually returning to the quiet luxury of Smaragdus, the high-end lodging reserved for royal guests and high-tier dignitaries. Once they crossed the threshold into the private residential courtyard and the surrounding crowds fully dispersed, Rael immediately broke away from the main convoy.
"Vhal’zhar," Rael said smoothly, stopping outside the tall wooden doors of Vhal'zhar's guest suite. "I’m coming into your room to inspect the katanas Mayor Rigid surrendered to us. I need you to stand guard outside and ensure we aren't disturbed."
Vhal’zhar bowed his head slightly. "Understood, Master."
Standing nearby, Vespara folded her arms, her eyes narrowing as she looked between Rael and Vhal’zhar. "Hey... what about me?"
Rael turned his head slowly, his gaze landing on Vespara. "What about you?"
Vespara clicked her tongue, gesturing toward the interior of the room. "I’ve been staying in Vhal’zhar’s room this entire time. Where am I supposed to go?"
Rael blinked. For a brief second, his mind had completely filtered her out. In his previous life as a hardcore, top-tier MMORPG player, the moment a rare boss drop hit his inventory. His "gamer brain" had locked into pure loot-evaluation mode, stripping away every non-essential thought.
Without realizing it, the warmth in Rael’s eyes completely vanished. A bone-chilling, absolute detachment washed over his face a look so sharp and icy that the air temperature around the hallway seemed to plummet by several degrees.
"Ah... right. I forgot," Rael said, his voice flat, emotionless, and echoing with the passive pressure of an entity who viewed mortals as mere background background noise. "Well... you can guard the door together with Vhal’zhar, can't you?"
Vespara gasped softly, taking an instinctive step backward. Her heart hammered against her ribs as an invisible, suffocating weight pressed down onto her shoulders. For a fraction of a second, she didn't see a young man standing before her, she saw an apex predator.
Then, just as quickly as it had appeared, the terrifying pressure evaporated. Rael offered a polite, gentle smile.
"Then I'll leave the door in your capable hands," Rael added warmly, turning his back and stepping into the room.
Vespara leaned heavily against the wooden wall, clutching her chest as cold sweat trickled down her neck. She stared at the closing door in genuine shock.
Vhal’zhar looked down at her terrified expression, his broad chest swelling with immense, dark pride. "Impressive, isn't it?" Vhal’zhar murmured softly, a terrifying grin crossing his face. "That... is my Master."
Vespara could only let out a shaky, exhausted sigh, shaking her head in silent resignation.
Inside the quiet, spacious quarters, Rael slid the heavy bolt into place. He walked over to the sturdy oak table in the center of the room, pulling out a plush leather chair.
The moment he sat down, his gentle demeanor vanished, replaced by the sparkling, manic eyes of a veteran gamer about to open a ultra-rare loot chest.
"Alright... let's see what we got," Rael chuckled under his breath.
With a wave of his hand, a shimmering holographic inventory grid materialized before his eyes. He tapped his finger against the first newly acquired item icon, summoning it into physical reality. A flash of dark light erupted on the tabletop, revealing the silver-wrapped, elegant katana surrendered by Mayor Rigid’s servant.
Rael focused his intent, activating his high-tier identification skill. A glowing, semi-transparent system window hovered over the weapon.
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[Man-Slayer]
Weapon Type: Melee – Katana
Attack Power (ATK): +1,200
Durability: 4,326 / 5,000
Hidden Trait: If wielded by a individual who has achieved the [Swordmaster] class or have the level STR and DEX 10.000 will unlocks the active skill [Spellbreaker]. Allows the blade to cleave directly through mana and magical barriers at the cost of high stamina consumption per strike. If you don’t have [Swordmaster] class or have the level STR and DEX 10.000, there is 25% you will be consume by madness everytime you wield it.
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"Hmm. Not bad at all," Rael mused, running his fingers along the polished ironwood sheath. "An anti-magic sword that cleaves through spell barriers, this would be considered a national treasure. But..."
Rael’s smile widened into a mischievous grin as he swept the [Man-Slayer] to the side of the table.
"...That was just the appetizer. Time for the main dish."
Rael tapped the inventory interface once more, pulling out the second weapon the battered, rust-covered katana vhal’zhar confiscated from Renji.
The weapon materialized with a dull, unimpressive thud. To any ordinary blacksmith, it looked like a worthless piece of scrap metal salvaged from a swamp flaking rust, a faded cloth wrapping, and a dull, notched crossguard. Yet, the moment Rael looked at the floating system window, his eyes sparkled with sheer delight.
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[Rusty Strange Katana]
Weapon Type: Melee – Katana
Attack Power (ATK): +1,200
Durability: ∞ / ∞
Description: An ancient, rusted blade emitting a strange, suffocating dark aura. Remarkably, despite its degraded appearance, the edge never dulls, nor can it be affected by elemental corrosion. It bears a primordial curse that devours divine essence. Only the Blood of a Goddess or high tier being can cleanse its ancient rust and awaken its true form.
Hidden Traits: [LOCKED] | [LOCKED] | [LOCKED]
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"Hihihi!" Rael couldn't suppress a giddy laugh, rubbing his hands together like a rogue who had just stumbled into a dragon's hoard. "Look at that! Infinite durability straight out of the box! Standard weapons in this world don't just have infinite durability unless they're coded as Unique-Grade quest items or Artifacts!"
Rael leaned back in his chair, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "Blood of a Goddess or high, huh? Let's see if my hoarder habits from Echoes of Eternity finally pay off..."
He opened his main inventory vault a massive, near-bottomless storage grid filled with thousands of endgame raid materials, mythical crafting ores, and god-tier consumables he had amassed before transmigrating.
Rael’s fingers blurred across the holographic screen, scrolling past mountains of dragon scales, abyssal cores, and divine elixirs.
"Hmm... I know I kept some high-tier divine fluids somewhere in the Material tab... Ah! Here it is!"
Rael tapped the icon, and a heavy, crystal flask materialized in his palm. Inside the sealed glass, a glowing, crimson-gold liquid swirled violently, radiating faint specks of cosmic light.
[Blood of Tiamat]
Item Tier: Mythic
Description: Chaotic blood harvested from Tiamat, the Dragon Goddess of the Abys
"Tiamat was classified as a Dragon Goddess in the Echoes of Eternity" Rael muttered, uncorking the crystal flask. "Let's see if the system logic recognizes her blood as valid for this blade."
The moment the cork was pulled, a wave of thick, suffocating chaotic mana erupted into the room! The air vibrated violently, the furniture creaked, and shadows along the walls stretched and twisted as if coming alive.
Rael blinked, feeling the heavy atmospheric pressure against his skin. "Ugh... right. In the game, this was just a static icon in my bag. I forgot that handling divine materials in real life actually unleashes atmospheric mana storms."
Ignoring the pressure, Rael carefully tilted the flask, pouring a single, glowing drop of Tiamat’s crimson-gold blood onto the rusted steel of the katana.
HISSSSSS!
The moment the divine blood touched the metal, a sound like searing iron plunged into ice echoed through the sealed room.
The rusty katana shuddered violently! It rose off the wooden table, floating unnaturally into the air. The thick layer of flaking reddish rust didn't fall off it was greedily absorbed into the steel, swallowed whole by the awakening blade!
BOOM!
A dome of pitch-black, void-like aura erupted from the sword, expanding outward and completely blotting out the light in the room. The dark energy condensed, swirling violently around the floating weapon like a miniature hurricane. Weird, unreadable ancient runes etched themselves into the steel, glowing with an eerie, dark-crimson radiance.
The dull cloth wrapping melted away, replaced by an exquisite, crimson-black woven grip. The scabbard transformed into polished obsidian wood, wrapped in dark silver bindings that hummed with ancient, terrifying authority.
With a soft clack, the fully transformed blade hovered gently down, resting back onto the table.
Rael stared at the masterpiece before him, his breath taken away. "Hohoho... now THAT is a beauty."
He focused his gaze, calling up the newly unlocked item panel.
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[Murasame]
Weapon Type: Melee – Katana
Attack Power (ATK): Base (+5,000) + [Dynamic Adaptive Scale]
Durability: ∞ / ∞
Description: An ancient, cursed blade born from the void, forged with a singular, terrifying purpose: to spill the blood of the divine. It craves the essence of higher beings and refuses to be bound by the conventional laws of physical iron.
Hidden Traits:
- Soul & Spirit Cleave: Bypasses physical matter entirely, allowing the blade to slash directly through Souls, Astral Bodies, and incorporeal Spirits.
- Absolute Death: Grants the absolute conceptual ability to sever immortality, permanently extinguishing entities possessing [Immortal] or [Regenerative Godhood]
- True Defense Penetration: Completely ignores 100% of the target's Physical Armor, Magic Resistance, and Divine Shields (Deals pure True Damage).
- Adaptive Resonance: Attack Power dynamically adjusts and scales proportionally to the wielder's primary stat pool.
- Divine Rejection (Passive Curse): Cannot be wielded, touched, or inventory-stored by any entity possessing a [Divine Trait]. Attempts to do so will inflict continuous, irreversible Soul Decay on the user.
"Murasame..." Rael whispered, reaching out his right hand to grip the crimson-black hilt.
The moment his fingers closed around the handle-
SLURP!
A sudden, terrifying suction force erupted from the sword! The blade hungrily latched onto Rael’s body, attempting to greedily siphon his life force and mana reserves into its empty void core.
"Ugh!" Rael’s eyes widened slightly as he felt a sudden tug on his inner energy pool. "This thing’s appetite is ridiculously gluttonous!"
However, Rael wasn't a mortal. He possessed the absurd, game-breaking, max-level stat pool of an endgame player. The katana sucked frantically, trying to fill its void core, but Rael’s mana reserves were like an infinite, bottomless ocean. The blade absorbed a fraction of a percent of his power before becoming completely saturated, humming with absolute, trembling satisfaction.
Rael looked down at the active system panel in his hand. The stat counter was rapidly ticking upward, calculating the [Adaptive Resonance] scaling based on Rael’s absurd player stats.
Attack Power (ATK): Base (+5,000) + Dynamic (+4,011,555)
Total ATK:4,016,555
Rael stared at the over four million attack power stat sitting casually in his hand. A slow, deeply satisfied grin spread across his face as he rested the pitch-black blade over his shoulder.
"Oh, well..." Rael chuckled softly, his eyes gleaming with dark delight. "That was worth it. VERY worth it."
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