“Since the training has concluded well, take the rest of the day off. You’ve worked hard.”
“Thank you, Platoon Commander.”
“Of course. See you tomorrow.”
With a simple exchange of greetings, Kyan closed the door of the hospital room and left.
Ian, surveying the empty room, let out a deep sigh as he lay down on the bed.
‘It’s quite spacious…’
As he looked around the large room, admiration involuntarily escaped his lips.
He briefly wondered if he was allowed to enjoy such luxury, but since it had come to this, he decided not to dwell on it.
It couldn’t be helped. He had been assigned a nice room, and he couldn’t ask to be moved elsewhere just because he felt burdened.
“I even tried to decline out of courtesy, but they insisted I use it.”
Further refusal might only unsettle the other party. Ian had at least that much sense.
‘I guess I’ll have to stay here today without moving.’
Now that he had some free time, Ian decided to attend to the tasks he had been neglecting.
Ian’s gaze shifted to the translucent notification window hovering in front of him.
[Celia Wignoron felt a difference in class with you.]
[Quest “Surrounded by Threats” completed.]
[Would you like to claim your reward?]
There’s no need to hesitate.
“I’ll claim it.”
As he finished speaking, the system buzzed once again.
[You have received rewards: Ether, Weakening of the Curse.]
[Curse, Hatred of the Blade, Curse Removal 28%]
[You have obtained ‘Ether’.]
Ian’s eyes widened at the substantial rewards.
Ether… if he wasn’t mistaken, that’s what was written.
‘…Did I misread it?’
He blinked and looked again, but Ether was indeed written in the notification window.
Just the weakening of the curse was pleasing enough, but to receive Ether as well… it felt overwhelming.
Ian glanced at the black object swirling around his hand.
The Ether obtained as a reward seemed reluctant to leave Ian’s grasp.
‘Ether… as far as I know, it’s an Artifact that can be used with mana.’
Although it seemed like liquid mana at first glance, Ether was quite different.
Firstly, it had no fixed form. While other substances like swords, spears, or axes maintained specific weapon forms, Ether did not.
‘Normally, it doesn’t maintain any form, but when infused with mana… it transforms into the weapon you envision.’
That aspect appealed to Ian.
A weapon that could transform into any form he desired.
It would be akin to creating weapons with mana, a skill reserved for Masters.
But the advantages of Ether didn’t end there.
Neltalion, gazing at the Ether, suddenly woke up from its sleep and brightened its eyes.
– Ian! With this, I can make arms!
‘Making arms… you mean, you can manifest your limbs?’
– That’s right!
Neltalion, restraining the excitement, continued to explain.
– If I create the form of my arm with Ether… then all I need to do is infuse mana!
‘That’s an interesting method.’
It wasn’t a bad method at all. If Ether could handle the process of manifestation, it would minimize mana consumption.
Ian smiled contentedly as he looked at the Ether.
He never dreamt of receiving such good rewards… but at the same time, he felt an urge to try them out immediately.
‘Hmm… but I can’t swing my fists in the hospital ward.’
The best option would be to go outside… but that might be difficult.
He was confined to the ward. If he ventured out on his own, he might encounter Kyan with a grim face, dragging him back to the ward and perhaps even knocking him on the head.
‘Is there no other way…’
At that moment, a thought crossed Ian’s mind.
‘Come to think of it, didn’t it say the simulated battles were activated?’
Ian quickly sifted through the buried notification and found what he desired.
[With Neltalion’s growth, it is now possible to simulate battles with enemies in its memory.]
‘Simulated battles with enemies from Neltalion’s memories.’
In truth, Ian didn’t know what enemies Neltalion had fought so far.
That was understandable since Heroic Academy didn’t mention anything about Neltalion.
Finding out about Neltalion’s existence was thanks to documents left by Alex in the family tomb.
‘I don’t know what enemies there are…’
Though he didn’t know well, if he had fought ancient gods, they would all likely be monsters.
Although he felt a slight tension about dueling with them, Ian decided to give it a try.
After all, since it was just simulated battles, there wouldn’t be any serious damage.
[Will you proceed?]
With a clear system notification, Ian nodded lightly. His vision blurred, and everything went dark.
***
[Welcome to the simulated battles.]
At the clear, ringing voice of a woman, Ian opened his eyes, which had been closed.
A mixture of admiration and a wry smile escaped Ian’s lips as he glanced around.
‘What is this?’
The flat white floor stretched endlessly, and the sky was dark.
He must be here to duel with the summoned enemies.
Stopping his survey, Ian shifted his gaze to the system window.
The screen displayed a list of enemies.
- [The Empire’s First Sword. Alex Volkanov]
- [???]
- [???]
- [???]
.
.
.
‘What are the question marks? Does it mean I can’t duel with them right now?’
All the rest were question marks, and the only one visible is his ancestor, Alex Volkanov.
Curious, Ian pressed on the enemies marked with question marks, but the response was unforgiving.
[The level difference is too great to determine the target’s information!]
Except for Alex, he couldn’t face any of the enemies right now.
In other words, he had to defeat Alex Volkanov, who was at the top, to be able to duel with the next enemy.
‘As soon as I possessed, I started grave robbing… but I never thought I would fight my ancestor directly.’
While Ian wore a perplexed expression, Neltalion, on the contrary, puffed up it body and extended from his chest.
– Ian! Am I strong? How do I look? Cool?
‘Yes, you’re impressive, Neltalion. Want a hug?’
– Hehe! Hug me!
Neltalion jumped up and hugged Ian and rubbed its cheek against Ian’s chest. As a warm feeling gradually rose, Ian began to organize his thoughts.
‘Let’s not worry. Whether it’s grave robbing or whatever, they’re just imaginary enemies.’
There was no reason to invest emotions in something that wasn’t real.
There was no need to be disappointed that he couldn’t fight formidable enemies right now.
‘I just need to confirm its performance.’
The goal was to test the Ether. That’s all Ian decided to focus on.
‘For just checking performance, Alex is a great opponent.’
The Empire’s First Sword. Since Neltalion was defeated by him, he wasn’t a presence Ian could overlook.
With determination, Ian selected Alex Volkanov.
[You have chosen Alex Volkanov. The difficulty will be adjusted according to the user’s level. The current difficulty the lowest.]
With that, the system window began to fade gradually.
Instead, Alex Volkanov appeared out of thin air.
With a toothy smile, he aimed his sword at Ian.
“Let’s fight fairly!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Ian began his preparation as he watched Alex leap forward.
“Ether.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a massive hand materialized around Ian.
***
“Too bad… I wanted to see you awake.”
Looking at the quiet ward, Erzebeth expressed a slight regret as she watched Ian sleeping.
Despite making the effort to come, it seemed Ian was already asleep.
One couldn’t wake a sleeping person. Erzebeth fetched a chair and sat beside the bed.
As she looked at Ian’s face, she suddenly remembered Sharon, her Guardian Knight.
‘Sharon, too…’
She was tearing herself away from the idea of joining a Squad whose Commander was the man in front of her…
What exactly was it that Sharon disliked so much? Sharon vehemently opposed her going to the 3rd Platoon.
Or, more accurately, she didn’t want her to be in Ian’s Squad.
‘Well… maybe Sharon didn’t have much choice.’
Thinking about it from her perspective, a wry smile crept onto her lips.
If she didn’t know anything, she’d be frustrated to death wondering why she was making the choices she was.
Erzebeth knew all too well how Ian was regarded in society.
‘The Betrayer of Humanity. A foolish man who stood in his sister’s way because he was blinded by fame.’
If she, as a princess, were to enter a Squad under such a man’s command, and furthermore, if she were to obey his orders… it would tear at Sharon’s heart like no other.
Erzebeth was aware of that sentiment as well. Naturally, she had her own thoughts.
‘I’m curious… just what is this man’s identity?’
Erzebeth rose above Ian’s sleeping body and watched the spirits prancing about.
As someone naturally gifted in spirit magic, she had spent a lot of time with spirits since she was young.
It was a given that she spent time with spirits to become familiar with them, but in reality, it wasn’t just because of that.
She loved the spirits. Their untainted purity was simply adorable to her.
‘Among humans, there are few people with a pure heart.’
Born with noble blue blood, as the child of an emperor, Erzebeth had to stand before many people from a young age.
Through that, she witnessed how many despicable and corrupt people there were in the world.
On one hand, she thought it was fortunate. If not for the spirits, she might have fallen prey to their schemes.
Whenever the spirits found someone with a malicious heart, they would immediately inform her, and as a result, Erzebeth was surrounded only by good people.
‘But what about this man?’
Erzebeth looked at the spirits hopping around on Ian’s bed.
According to what was known in society, Ian was a villain.
Was there anyone worse than him even within the empire? He was considered the worst of humanity.
Given that, was it possible for spirits to flock around him?
‘Why do the spirits like Ian?’
Was he really someone who committed evil deeds?
She wondered if she might be mistaken. Or perhaps Ian was being falsely accused?
She personally investigated, but there was no evidence indicating Ian was falsely accused.
Then… if Ian’s actions were indeed of his own volition…
Erzebeth bit her lower lip tightly in contemplation of this phenomenon she had never encountered before.
‘Is there a secret I don’t know about?’
She was curious. What was he hiding? If the spirits were truly not mistaken, then he would be self-identifying as a villain… What could be his reasons?
That was why.
‘I need to find out.’
The reason she decided to stay by Ian’s side.
In truth, she still wasn’t sure. Was she making the right choice? …But there was one thing she was certain of.
If he truly identified himself as a villain…
If he showed qualities of an untainted, great being…
‘Then… I will embrace you.’
She wanted to comfort him who had been abandoned by everyone.
