Chapter 12: Primal Sword
Finn looked at Yurian.
"Did you know about this?"
Yurian looked away.
He knew.
He kept quiet because he needed to bring Finn to the Earth Dragon no matter the cost.
If he didn't, Finn's life would've been in constant danger.
"And?"
Finn asked the Earth Dragon.
Since she raised the question, she must've something planned.
The corner of her lips rose.
When Finn explained he planned to live inside smithy forever, forging weapons and earning money, it became clear that his goal was money.
He must've been impatient to forge an epic-grade weapon for money too.
So.
He was as good as a fish caught on the hook.
"I have countless high-quality weapons." she leaned closer. "I can give you an epic-grade weapon if you accept my condition. How about it?"
Finn's brows came together in a tight knit.
Her words were a trap.
But what could he do?
He had only a few hours left before he needed to visit his parents in the hospital with 1 million dollars.
"What is your condition?"
"Hold out against me for five minutes in a battle."
Yurian's eyes widened.
He instantly understood her sinister intentions behind the bet.
Before he could interfere, Finn nodded.
"Let's do it." He turned to Yurian. "Can you give me my sword?"
Yurian opened his mouth and closed it.
The determination in Finn's eyes made it clear he would not back out no matter what he said.
Yurian sighed and chanted a spell underneath his breath.
An item wrapped in black cloth appeared after a brief flash.
He handed it to Finn.
The Earth Dragon watched with interest as Finn unwrapped the cloth and revealed his sword.
Her face froze.
The sword did not have a handle or a guard. It looked similar to her sword.
She turned to Yurian.
"Why does he have a Primal Sword?"
"It's just an unfinished sword."
Finn ignored their words about the misunderstanding of his sword being something grandeur and held his blade in an upright position.
He did not have the time to complete his sword, so this would have to do.
"I'm ready."
The five minute time limit started.
The Earth Dragon did not move.
She only stared at him with a smile.
Thirty seconds passed…
Forty five seconds passed…
One minute…
A drop of sweat slid down Finn's cheek.
He was breathing heavily.
The pressure oozing out from the Earth Dragon, even though she was only sitting, was straining his nerves.
He told himself this was a game, however, the pressure weighing down on him did not reduce in the slightest.
His focus became as sharp as his sword.
Even the blink of her eyes did not go unnoticed by him.
"Four minutes."
At Yurian's warning, the Earth Dragon finally moved.
She grabbed her sword and, with a leisure pace, walked towards Finn.
In Finn's eyes, it was anything but a leisurely pace.
To him, it was as if a certain doom was slowly creeping towards him.
The air seemed to tremble with her steps.
He gulped and tightened his grip.
"Four minutes, thirty seconds."
The Earth Dragon stood face-to-face with Finn.
He found it hard to breathe, let alone move.
She revealed her shark-like teeth with a grin and raised her sword.
"Don't worry. I will use the stats of a Lvl. 1."
She brought her sword down.
The trajectory of the blade was natural.
Like the sun rising, the winds flowing, and the gravity pulling others towards the center.
Her blade was not something that could be avoided.
It was a natural order of the world.
A screen appeared before Finn while he was captivated by the sword.
[You have observed a high-level swordsmanship with your Absolute Sword Dao. Your understanding of the sword has increased, Absolute Sword Dao +5%, +250% damage when using sword to attack.]
Finn suddenly took a step back and avoided the sword's trajectory.
"How did you dodge it?"
The Earth Dragon was dumbfounded.
Finn, with his low-level, should not have been able to evade her blade.
Standing on the side, Yurian was similarly shocked, however, he regained his composure faster than the Earth Dragon.
"Four minutes forty-five seconds."
"Looks like your class is stronger than a base Lvl. 1 Legendary Class." The Earth Dragon clicked her tongue. "I'll increase my strength to make our bet fair."
She swung her sword.
Finn tried to dodge when suddenly he noticed a shocking phenomenon.
There were nine swords attacking from different directions.
It was impossible to dodge the attack.
The Earth Dragon had swung only a single blade, but for some reason, the space warped and the one blade became nine blades!
Finn's understanding of the sword was increasing at a tremendous pace.
However, he found no way to avoid such an attack.
He moved towards the Earth Dragon!
If could not dodge, then he would attack!
The Earth Dragon did not attempt to dodge his assault, there was no no need to.
Just then, a terrifying energy enveloped Finn's blade!
Her mind was thrown into chaos.
She instinctively stopped her attack and jumped back to evade the attack.
The hair on her nape stood as she asked,
"That… was my attack. How did you use it?"
Finn did not understand himself.
Wasn't his class a blacksmithing subtype?
Why could he use attack skills with it?
He stared at the screens that appeared while he fought the Earth Dragon.
[You have observed the Primal Sword Art with your Absolute Sword Dao. Absolute Sword Dao Comprehension is too low.]
[Unable to comprehend the Primal Sword Art.]
[You have observed the Primal Sword Art with your Absolute Sword Dao. Absolute Sword Dao Comprehension is too low.]
[Unable to comprehend the Primal Sword Art.]
[You have observed…]
[Unable to…]
[...]
[...]
[...]
[...]
[You have successfully observed the Primal Sword Art. With your limited understanding, you have comprehended a portion of Primal Sword Art.]
His status screen had changed.
Finn
Class: Cultivator
Talent: Absolute Sword Dao
Dao Comprehended: Absolute Dao Sword (11%)
Qi Cultivation: None
Body Cultivation: None
Spiritual Techniques: Primal Sword (Incomplete)
…
Below the name of the Spiritual Technique, there was its description.
Chapter 13: Legendary Sword Art
The description of the Primal Sword Art appeared below the Spiritual Technique column.
Primal Sword (Incomplete)
Rank: Legendary
First Technique: Primal Inevitable Strike
Description: This technique unleashes an attack that is impossible to dodge similar to an unavoidable force of nature.
Second Technique: Primal Spatial Rend
Description: This technique warps the space and allows simultaneous attacks from multiple directions.
Third Technique: Unable to comprehend.
Fourth Technique: Unable to comprehend
Fifth Technique: Unable to comprehend.
Sixth Technique: Unable to comprehend.
Seventh Technique: Unable to comprehend.
Eight Technique: Unable to comprehend.
Ninth Technique: Unable to comprehend.
While Finn was reading the description, Yurian called him out.
"Five minutes are up. You've won."
More screens appeared before Finn.
[Hidden Quest 1 completed: Win the bet against the Earth Dragon, ???]
[Reward: Cursed Fang (Legendary)]
[Hidden Quest 2 completed: Use at least one technique of Primal Sword.]
[Reward: Become the Earth Dragon's Successor.]
[Note, the rewards can be rejected. However, it might anger the Earth Dragon.]
His words snapped the Earth Dragon out of the stupor.
She noticed Finn waiting for the reward.
He completed an impossible task and yet, from his expression, it seemed like a normal Tuesday for him.
The Earth Dragon took out a pendent and a sword from her space pocket.
She threw the pendent towards Finn.
"This is the Level Disguiser. You can freely manipulate the stats and levels with it. But be careful to not use too high stats, or you will be easily found out."
The pendent was in the shape of a snake biting its tongue.
Finn wore it and adjusted his stats to level 10.
After that, the Earth Dragon passed him the sword.
Cursed Fang
Grade: Legendary
Level: 20
Attack Power: 1000~2500
Skill Slot 1: Locked
Skill Slot 2: Locked
Skill Slot 3: Locked
Additional Effect 1: 50% chance of Bleed Curse per hit.
Additional Effect 2: 50% chance of Slow Curse per hit.
Additional Effect 3: 50% chance of Diarrhea Curse per hit.
"You can take it and go," the Earth Dragon said.
"...I asked for an Epic-grade sword. Are you sure you want to give me a Legendary-grade sword instead?"
Finn had a little trouble believing that the Earth Dragon would accept her defeat easily.
The fact she was willing to give a better reward was weirder.
"What is up with this sword?"
Yurian interrupted.
"It's definitely a Legendary-grade. But why… is it so weak?"
He looked at the Earth Dragon with an accusing gaze.
"Fine. I accept it. I don't have a weapon weaker than Legendary-grade, so I gave him the weakest one."
Yurian shook his head as if he had expected this.
He turned to Finn.
"What do you want to do? I don't think that lump of meat will give you a better weapon. Beside a Legendary-grade sword, even if defected, would sell for more than an Epic-grade sword."
"Hey…!!! Don't call me a lump of meat!"
From what Finn had noticed, there were four grades to weapons.
Common
Rare
Epic
Legendary
There was a vast gap between each level. So Yurian's words were true.
He would earn more with the Legendary-grade sword.
"Looks like you've made up your mind," Yurian said. "Should we return?"
The reward for the Hidden Quest 2 had yet to be given.
It seemed the rewards in Infinite Online were not given instantly after completing the quest.
The Blacksmith Khan's Hidden Quest reward was also not given to Finn.
Were the late rewards unique to Hidden Quests?
Or was it because the rewards were not given by the System but the NPCs?
Anyway, the reward was not going anywhere.
He had to sell the sword first.
"Yes, let's go."
A magic circle appeared beneath Finn and Yurian.
He felt the shift when suddenly there was the noise of glass breaking.
The flash of light disappeared and…
"Sorry."
The teleportation failed.
They were still inside the ruins.
"I know I shouldn't do this but sorry."
The Earth Dragon massaged the back of her neck with one hand and sighed while staring at the sky.
"I need to complete the Primal Sword. You should understand what I mean Yurian. So, give him to me."
"What are you planning to do with him?"
Yurian quickly created multiple magic shields, far studier than the first one, and faced the Earth Dragon.
"If he trains under me for a year. He should be able to use the Primal Sword properly."
She looked Finn in the eyes.
"I've finally found someone who can use the Primal Sword. Be my successor."
Finn ignored the Earth Dragon.
He asked Yurian.
"Why are you getting ready to fight? She just wants me to inherit her swordsmanship."
"She said one year. You won't be able to do anything but train with a sword for one year."
Finn's expression hardened.
If he accepted the reward, how was he supposed to forge weapons and sell them?
He would not be able to earn money!
Noticing his expression, the Earth Dragon smiled bitterly.
"See? What is going to happen from now is because you have a unique talent. This is why Yurian wanted a level disguiser but he made a mistake by bringing you here."
Just as her words ended, a terrifying amount of pressure exploded into the surroundings.
The magic shields protecting Finn began shattering.
Before the damage reached him, Yurian released his aura to counter the Earth Dragon's aura.
The sky darkened and the forest trembled continuously.
Cracks appeared on the ground.
"Yurian, do you really think you can stop me? I'm not joking. Leave him and go if you don't want to die."
"You've finally gone crazy."
Multiple magic circles appeared behind Yurian.
Suddenly, an urgent voice spoke inside Finn's head.
'I'll teleport you to the town. As soon as you reach there, hide and don't come out until master returns.'
'Escape while I'm holding her back.'
An invisible magic circle materialized beneath Finn.
Before he could be teleported, roots shot out of the ground and tied him.
"You can't escape. Even if you do, I'll hunt you down."
The trembling of the ground intensified.
"Captain, can we not do this? I'd rather not fight you," Yurian asked.
From his strained expression, he seemed to be holding something down, though, Finn did not know what it was.
"Why are you calling me captain? Our party disbanded long ago. Call me 'lump of meat', why don't you?"
The Earth Dragon grinned savagely.
She seemed to have given up all thoughts of negotiating.
….!
Something broke.
The giant swords, stabbed into the massive stone knights, flew out of their bodies and shot into the sky.
They hovered above with their tips pointed at Yurian and Finn.
Each of those swords were larger than dump trucks.
If they fell from that height, Finn did not think even Yurian would be able to protect him.
'Should I accept the reward? No, if I do, I won't be able to earn money.'
The tension reached its breaking point.
Yurian gave up on convincing the Earth Dragon and decided to fight.
Just as they were about to clash, a familiar voice spoke,
"I leave for one day and I come back to find this?"
"M-master?"
Yurian looked at an empty space next to him.
The space distorted and it turned black.
Blacksmith Khan came out of the black emptiness.
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