Chapter 71 – Blessing of the Sword God

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Translated by Jinmu

Read only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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“#@$$!#%!@#@#☐☐&*(”

The ringing in my ears was intense. It was a numb pain, like someone was pounding on my eardrums.

-…What?

My voice only circled around my Adam’s apple and echoed inside me. The feeling was familiar, and so I slowly opened my eyes and looked around.

Whoooooo.

The scenery was pure white. Everywhere my gaze landed was filled with white that looked as though it could suck me in.

Before me was a world like a blank sheet, without even the trace of a stain on it. But my surprise lasted only for an instant. Because I knew where this place was.

-A dream.

Right, I had seen this dream before. Though it had vanished like a mirage the moment I woke up, perhaps because it was the same dream, it remained clearly in my mind. That same floating sensation and weakness from before wrapped around my whole body.

Still, the place was different.

-Last time it felt like outer space.

Unlike before, when nebulae, star clusters, and suns had been strewn across it like dots, this place was a world without a single blemish.

There was no distinction between up, down, left, or right. And besides the muffled hearing that seemed to be all I had left, as though even the faintest stimulus had been cut off, it felt as though every other function had stopped completely.

To be honest, I couldn’t even tell whether my eyes were open or closed right now.

Even so, the whining sound that seemed to scrape at my eardrums continued without pause.

-This was a seriously disgusting dream.

This dream, too, would probably be swept away from my mind as though erased once I woke up. Even so, I tried my hardest to stay calm.

This dream was likely no more than a clue from someone trying to deliver a message to me. I could feel the would of something that could not be described, not merely a passing notion.

That thing was probably.

-‘G.M.’

The moment I said that inwardly, the ringing that had been tormenting my ears stopped all at once, as though cut off in a single stroke.

Then black points and lines began to appear as though ink had been dropped onto a sheet of paper, drawing new scenery into the world of nothingness.

Black outlines spread over the blank white and the wild world of nothingness gradually began to take on structure.

While I stood there blankly, not even knowing whether I was standing or sitting, silent sound touched my ears. How could sound be heard when there was no sound? But by then my eyes were already chasing the source of that noise.

When I finally turned my head, the shape of a person appeared on my retina.

-…What was that?

It had no facial features and stood there like a white shadow. A being whose smooth face was outlined only by black lines. At first glance it looked like a drawing, yet it also felt like a solid mass. It was a truly bizarre appearance.

Even when I narrowed my eyes and focused on its form, I could only make it out vaguely. After staring at it for a long while like that, it opened its mouth.

“Long time no see.”

Even though it had no mouth, I could see its lips moving.

A strange voice that sounded at once like a frail woman and a rough, manly giant.

While I stood there baffled by such a superhuman phenomenon, it bared its teeth and laughed.

“Ah, this is your first time seeing me here, isn’t it? I got mixed up.”

-…You couldn’t be…

Before I could finish speaking, it shrugged and shook its head.

“Sorry, but I’m not G.M.”

-……

It felt as though my thoughts had been read out of my head in their entirety. It lifted the corners of its mouth a little more and smiled before speaking again.

“Then again, depending on how you look at it, I might not be all that different. Or maybe not? If you get strict about it, it might even be the opposite. Well, either way, I could be that thing, and that thing could be me. Kang Geom-ma, just think of it however feels easiest for you.”

What was that supposed to mean? I retraced the words the thing in front of me had just said because I couldn’t understand their meaning.

It sounded like a philosopher talking, which only made the meaning more impossible to interpret.

Yet every word it spoke carried a pressure that could not be compared to anything else. The incomprehensible sensation made my stomach churn. I forced myself to swallow down the urge to retch and asked it.

-…What were you?

At that, it burst into laughter. As if something was unbearably funny, its shoulders shook, and tears even formed at the corners of its eyes.

‘What is it laughing about like that?’

And then the thought formed in my mind by force: It seemed to have no facial features. My brow furrowed at the sensation that my perception itself was being manipulated.

-…How long were you going to keep laughing?

“Sorry, sorry. It made me think of old times. If it bothered you, then I apologize. Though honestly, Geom-ma, it’s only natural you’d be curious about me. But.”

It suddenly lifted its chin. In the direction of its gaze floated a large clock drawn only with lines.

Tick, tick.

A clock with no hour hand, only a minute hand and second hand moving. After looking at it for a moment, it turned its head back toward me.

“If I were to explain who I am, it would take too long. We don’t have much time left, so I’ll give you the rough version.”

It smoothed away its expression. A slight movement passed across its blank, egg-smooth face, and it added in a voice like a recitation.

“People call me by many names. To some, I am calamity, or nature, the universe, or God.”

-…God?

It nodded.

“Yes. But not just any god. More precisely.”

Its two eyes slowly opened halfway. Not in a conceptual sense, but physically.

The moment I saw those pupils swirling in spirals, convulsions crawled over the ended of my body.

Instinctive revulsion and fear mixed together and froze me in place.

“The god of the sword.”

-…?!

“Not exactly the kind of god you’re imagining, but just call me a god if that’s easiest. Or if that feels weird, call me whatever you like. In the end, it’ll all come down to being me anyway.”

When it saw how startled I was, the god laughed brightly. The image I had always had of a god was completely at odds with what stood before me.

“Well, for now, that’s all I’ll tell you. I’d like to explain more, but it seems we don’t have much time.”

-Why were you only showing up now?

“Because the restraint was lifted not long ago. Don’t you remember?”

When I paused to think back, a phrase suddenly leapt into my mind.

⌜The Blessing of the Sword God (false invocation) is being released.⌟

It had been the voice that echoed in my ears when Agor used mental magic to tear through the realm of my mind. At my reaction, the god gave a short laugh.

“You’re thinking of the right thing. Even so, it hasn’t been fully released, which is why I can only appear before you like this, imperfectly. The fact that I can convey words to you at all is a miracle. Anyway.”

Ding, ding, ding.

The clear ringing of a clock bell sounded three times.

Craaaack.

A tiny fracture beginning beneath my feet spread across the scenery in an instant like a spiderweb. This dream, no, this world, had begun to collapse.

With sudden urgency, I took a large step toward it. My footwork was light and fast. But as though I were running in place, the distance between us refused to close.

At the sight of me, it smiled softly and turned one foot backward. Then, without even looking at me, it gently waved one hand and said.

“Ah, and cutting and slashing is all well and good, but don’t go doing it too recklessly.”

The distance widened further, and the god’s form began fading from my sight. I reached out blindly. My breath grew ragged. The fingers I had stretched toward it trembled faintly.

Craaaack.

Even in the middle of that, the fractures were rapidly destroying the white background. I let my desperation spill out.

-Damn it, there were so many things I want to ask you!

“For reference, the power you wield… Well, even if I told you now, you probably wouldn’t understand.”

The god spoke without turning around. His voice rang through the inside of my skull. There was a trace of a grin in it.

“Anyway, this time, don’t make a mistake.”

At the same moment, the world of blank white paper split apart.

Crash!

A pitch-black darkness without even a trace of light swallowed my whole body.

“I’m counting on you, Kang Geom-ma.”

* * *

The moment I woke up, the status window opened on its own.

Fwaaat.

== ==

[NEW! The synchronization rate has been recalibrated from (17.9% ▶ 21.3%).]

== ==

I blinked at it, and suddenly my eyes started stinging.

“Ugh…”

As I rubbed my eyes, which felt sore and raw as if they’d been exposed to white-hot light, the pain eased a little.

I bolted upright in bed and immediately wrote down the contents of the dream in a notebook.

Scratch, scratch.

The pencil moved frantically, then hesitated to a stop.

I wanted to recall it in detail, but it slipped away like sand clenched in my fist.

The harder I tried to seize those scattered fragments of memory, the more they flew apart and vanished.

⌜God of the sword⌟

⌜G.M.⌟

In the end, only those two words were written in the notebook. As I tapped the notebook lightly with the tip of the pencil and stared at them, even the last fragments of memory that remained drifted away completely.

“Hmm.”

After furrowing my brow once, I turned my head to the side. Beyond the window frame I could see a dim sky. Murky gray clouds were filling it to the brim.

“Is it already monsoon season?”

Wind slipped through the small crack in the window. The damp scent that flowed in with it lingered at the tip of my nose.

Tap.

I gave my head a single shake and closed the notebook.

‘The important thing is gathering clues one by one like this.’

The sudden leap in synchronization rate was irritating, but.

‘At least up until now, nothing bad has happened just because the synchronization rate rose.’

I pushed the window halfway open and perched on the railing. A breeze carrying the smell of rain cooled the sweat on my skin. I had always liked cloudy weather more than clear skies.

People in this world often liken life to the sky. It felt almost quaint at first glance, but this was a world where gods, blessings, and magic truly overflowed.

That was why they reflected themselves in the sky as if it were a mirror. People raised their heads only when the weather was clear. When the clouds darkened, they did not even glance upward. Yet the value of clear weather shines precisely because days that were not clear exist.

“…What one desires and what reality gives are different things.”

I muttered bitterly and took off my clothes, draping them over the back of a chair. My sweat-soaked shirt sagged there without any life in it. Liking cloudy weather and liking heat were two very different things.

“It feels like my body got even better.”

I ran my fingers over my abs. The muscles of my abdomen were split cleanly into eight sharp sections.

Even though I hadn’t really done any exercise during my hospital stay, my body had improved even more.

I found myself staring at it with an oddly pleased smile, then quickly composed myself again.

My room was on the second floor. If someone saw me standing around shirtless and feeling up my own body, it could easily become a problem. I was already enough of a topic among the cadets as it was; I didn’t need a pervert label added on top of that.

“…Let’s not act ridiculous.”

Rolling.

My phone vibrated together with its casually ringing tone. I tilted my head, wondering who it could be this early, then pushed myself away from the windowsill. I had to wash and get ready anyway, so the timing was fine.

“It’s probably Ryozo or Weapon.”

Yesterday, the club members had suggested they wanted to treat me to a meal. Both to celebrate my discharge and the founding of the travel club. Apparently Ryozo, Weapon, and Chloe had each chipped in a bit. They said some new sushi place inside the academy was supposedly famous.

At first I had adamantly refused. There wasn’t any deep reason for it; I just wasn’t used to having other people buy food for me.

But they had looked at me with sparkling eyes and even held their phones right up to me, so in the end I reluctantly agreed. Besides, they all came from the upper class anyway, so one meal wouldn’t mean much to them.

“Though I am pretty picky when it comes to sushi.”

I let out a short laugh and checked my phone. Contrary to expectation, the sender wasn’t one of the club members.

[Medea: Geom-ma, did you sleep well? By the way, I looked into that thing you asked me about earlier, so I contacted you.]

“That thing I asked about…?”

I tilted my head once, then clapped my hands.

“Ah, I asked her to look into my family relations and personal information.”

What Rei Shion had said before dying had been bothering me endlessly, so when I had visited the Headmistress’s office back then, I had asked her privately.

I swiped the screen with my finger. A few more messages had been sent below that one.

[Medea: I thought about just telling you in person, but… it felt a little delicate, so I attached a file below. Check it and contact me whenever you’re comfortable. Ah, and I heard you got a new club member?! Goodness, our Geom-ma did so well! Later your big sister will secretly give you a separate rewa…]

I scrolled a little farther.

[Medea: Cadet Kang Geom-ma information.xlsx]

A message containing an attached file. It was protected, so it could only be viewed. Feeling strangely tense, I wiped the sweat off my fingers on the edge of my clothes and tapped it.

“What the actual…”

The moment I did, a curse burst out of me on its own.