All around him, the hostile space was closing in, and his life was in jeopardy.
In such a situation, what should he do?
Some might try to persuade the enemy to join their side, while others might opt to escape to avoid the situation altogether.
But Ian’s chosen method was different.
“First, I need enough strength to protect at least myself.”
There’s no running away.
Instead of shielding himself, Ian resolved to wield his weapon and confront the challenge.
In fact, there was no other way.
‘In this family, or rather, in this empire, is there anyone who regards me favorably?’
Unless they’re fools, they wouldn’t. There’s no such person.
Despite not receiving proper treatment from the family, Ian received the prophecy of the Holy Sword. He was appointed to the Hero Party but hadn’t even fulfilled the mission to defeat the Demon God.
‘By now, Ian must have been publicly branded as a human parasite. Despite being appointed as the leader of the Hero Party by His Majesty due to his exceptional leadership and combat skills, even though he’s disliked by the family. But knowing he sent Ariel just before targeting the Demon King of Sloth due to his obsession with fame, His Majesty must be aware of that.’
There was fierce debate from the beginning about whether putting himself in the Hero Party was right. The Holy Sword Ariel uses, also known as an Ego Weapon. Elysion said, ‘The person who spent the longest time with Ariel.’ Therefore, the royal bureaucrats put Ian Volkanov in the Hero Party just because of that.
‘There are many people who have spent more time with her than I have. They arbitrarily put me in…’
Would they help him, considering the controversy surrounding his appointment to the party? No way.
Rather than helping, they might even try to politically attack the Volkanov family.
‘Escape… There’s no need to think about it. It’s just death if it fails.’
Sadly, he wasn’t dreaming right now.
He truly became Ian Volkanov, and to survive, he needed to uncover the secrets he had been hiding.
That’s why.
‘First, I need to know my condition.’
As he started to brace himself.
Ian approached the mirror, shrugging off his top.
It wasn’t a pretty sight. His body was covered with scars and wounds from his rough upbringing.
But that wasn’t what Ian was interested in. He looked at the strange tattoo near his heart.
A mark of a broken sword entwined with chains seemed to be engraved on his chest.
“I hoped this wouldn’t be here… but was ‘Hatred of the Blade’ already engraved at this time?”
The red tattoo on his chest, Hatred of the Blade.
Ian knew what it was.
‘Haley Miler, the Sword Master, who was Ian’s mentor, engraved the curse to prevent the use of the sword.’
As the Volkanovs were renowned for their swordsmanship, Ian, being the eldest, also used a sword.
Of course, Ian hadn’t even received basic training in the family’s secret traditional swordsmanship.
However, with his exceptional talent, he was hailed as the next Sword Saint at the academy solely based on the swordsmanship he had learned on his own.
‘That’s when Haley Miler, who was an instructor at the Academy, ‘Ark’, became Ian’s mentor.’
Coming from a lineage that had produced generations of sorcerers, Haley, who hailed from the Miler Count family, also struggled to master the sword.
Knowing how difficult it was to go through it alone, she pitied Ian and suggested he learn the sword from her.
From then on, Haley taught Ian everything about the sword.
‘It was the moment when Ian, who had been using mediocre swordsmanship all his life, finally learned proper swordsmanship.’
Even saying she gave wings to a genius wouldn’t be an exaggeration,
Unfortunately, it was Haley Miler herself who broke those wings.
‘Haley, having heard about Ian expelling Ariel from the party due to his obsession with fame, came to Ian and broke his sword and laying the curse.’
That curse was the ‘Hatred of the Blade’.
Since the curse was laid, Ian couldn’t wield a sword. If he did, his hands would burn from the curse.
‘Thinking about it now, it’s absurd. Surviving in such a cursed state?’
Back then, the game company was praised for suppressing Ian’s talent in such a way… But now that he’s experiencing it, he wanted to slap the developers with his own hands.
What should he do? Should he find a new weapon now?
‘If it’s Ian’s talent, it’ll take a few years… No, considering things like Hidden Pieces, maybe I could improve my skills within a few months.”‘
The problem is how to endure that period.
The Academy will start in a few days.
‘Since the Academy focuses on practical training, sparring is inevitable.’
He needed to find a way to become stronger in a short period. That was when Ian was racking his brains.
‘Wait a moment. Wasn’t Ian born with the Dark attribute?’
Among the five major attributes, which are all difficult to obtain, the Dark attribute, along with the Holy attribute, is considered the rarest.
‘In Heroic Academy, there are numerous Hidden Pieces or Artifacts for character growth. Among them, there are items that only those born with certain attributes can use.’
In the story, Ariel used an Artifact exclusive to characters with the Light attribute, the Holy Sword Elysion.
An item that can slay enemies with just one true strike, exclusive to characters of different attributes like Elysion, also existed.
Ian knew the locations of all those Artifacts, even those that could be used by individuals with the Dark attribute.
‘Knowing the locations doesn’t matter if there are no characters with the Dark attribute to use them.’
But now things were different. Ian was the appropriate person to use them.
‘Yeah. With that, the Hatred of the Blade would mean nothing. And the location of that Hidden Piece is…’
As Ian was recalling the location, his eyes lit up.
“Ashlan, one of the cities in the Volkanov County… To be precise, it’s the tomb where the ancestors of the Volkanovs are buried.”
The Blue Moon Pavilion, where Ian currently resided, was in Ashlan.
Ian quickly put on his coat and left the room.
***
For generations, the Volkanov family had been the sword of the North, guarding the northern borders against barbarian tribes and fierce attacks from other countries.
For nearly 200 years.
Over the long years, the ancestors of the Volkanovs had protected the Empire.
To honor their sacrifices and glorious achievements, their descendants erected a memorial space in Ashlan, a land with beautiful scenery among the county.
Therefore, Ashlan held great significance for the people of Volkanov.
‘It’s meaningful to me as well. Of course, I have no interest in the ancestors.’
What he was interested in was the Artifact. Honestly, the nobles who didn’t care about anything other than surface appearances wouldn’t know.
Entering the memorial park, Ian couldn’t help but scoff.
‘I knew they treated me like a transparent person, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad.’
He knew the artifact was in the memorial park, but he had hesitated on how to get there.
Could someone like him, who was resented by the family, go there? That’s what he wondered.
‘Despite expecting to face resistance due to the negative energy I exuded…’
Contrary to Ian’s expectations, no one from the family doubted his actions.
Even the guards at the entrance of the memorial park simply stepped aside and let him in…
‘It’s actually better this way. Without anyone’s interference, I can retrieve the Artifact.’
With a deep breath, Ian moved forward. Passing by one memorial stone after another, he finally reached his destination.
At the deepest part of the memorial park, there stood a monument with the following inscription:
– Alex Volkanov, the First Sword of the Empire, rests here.
Alex Volkanov. He had been the Empire’s sword since the beginning of the Kallos Empire, and his achievements were too numerous to list.
‘He had many accomplishments, but his greatest one… was undoubtedly being an Ancient God Slayer.’
What caught Ian’s attention was precisely that.
Alex, once a mere common knight, had beheaded the ancient god Neltalion in battle, earning himself the rank of Count.
To ensure he never forgot his glory, Alex brought a part of the god’s body as a trophy and always kept it with him.
‘And if Alex were to die, he requested that Neltalion’s trophy be kept in his tomb.’
Even in death, he vowed to never forget that glory.
And so, the treasure of the family, or rather the Empire, was buried in this land.
Ian had his sights set on it.
‘I guess what I’m about to do qualifies as grave robbing, right after possessing someone…’
What choice did he have? If he didn’t do it, he would be dead. Perhaps even the ancestors would understand. Cheering on their abused eldest son who just wanted to live.
“Hmm!”
Ian shook off all feelings of guilt. Now all that remained was to put the plan into action.
Ian placed his hand on the monument.
At the same time, he murmured.
“I respectfully seek an audience with the great ancestor.”
It was then.
Creak!
With a faint vibration, the ground next to the monument opened up, revealing a hidden space.
“Shall we go grave robbing then?”
***
The tomb hidden inside was truly vast.
Ian had known about the existence of the secret chamber through information, but seeing it in person elicited an involuntary gasp.
‘Sure, the information from the game said it could accommodate about 20 people, but…’
20? What nonsense.
Ian shook his head incredulously.
What did they mean by 20 people? At a glance, it looked like it could easily accommodate 40.
‘And this isn’t just a room, either. The decorations are astonishingly detailed.’
The walls of the chamber were adorned with inscriptions detailing Alex Volkanov’s achievements, accompanied by illustrations of him battling enemies.
Although Ian felt tempted to admire the artwork for a while, he pushed aside those thoughts and continued walking.
‘I didn’t come here for sightseeing.’
His purpose wasn’t noble, so it was best to finish the job quickly and leave.
As he walked further, Ian’s sought-after item came into view.
A coffin draped with cloth bearing the Volkanov family crest, and beside it, a small box.
Ian wasn’t particularly interested in the coffin. He immediately went towards the box.
After brushing off the accumulated dust, Ian grasped the lock.
A lock with an engraved eagle, the family crest.
There was no keyhole. The only way to open it was with blood.
‘Strictly speaking, it only responds to the blood of the Volkanov family.’
If Ian were to spill his blood onto the engraving, the seal would be broken.
Without hesitation, Ian swiftly bit the tip of his finger.
Ouch!
As a sharp pain shot through him and the taste of blood filled his mouth, Ian withdrew his finger and carefully dripped the blood onto the engraving.
The crimson blood slowly filled the grooves, revealing the pattern.
Rattle!
As the seal was broken, the chains wrapped around the box fell to the ground.
Ian lightly wiped his bloodied hand and stepped back.
About ten paces away from the box, he felt a sudden tremor.
Whoosh!
Grumble!
A powerful energy storm erupted from the box. Simultaneously, something emerged from the center of the storm.
– Crrr!
What jumped out was a monster with a thousand arms.
‘The King of a Thousand Arms, Neltalion.’
Once the only Ancient God who brought the Empire to the brink of ruin.
It now stood before Ian.
***
With its gaze fixed on Ian, Neltalion grinned eerily and extended one of its arms.
Whoosh!
A massive hand tore through the air as it charged forward. However, Ian didn’t flinch.
There was no reason to.
‘Neltalion doesn’t attack those with the Dark attribute.’
Its targets were humans with different attributes.
Given that Ian was born with the Dark attribute, there was no way Neltalion would attack him.
As if to prove the truth of those words, Neltalion’s outstretched arm stopped right in front of Ian’s face.
– Crackle?
Halting its attack, Neltalion approached slowly. It was a moment where it seemed to scrutinize Ian.
Thud!
Contrary to its aggressive demeanor just moments ago, Neltalion now regarded Ian with a curious expression.
Then, it reached out its hand.
Ian knew exactly what that gesture meant.
‘This creature is the last remnant of the Ancient Gods, and it seeks a contract with me.’
While it’s widely believed that Alex was the one who killed the last ancient god, Neltalion, that’s not entirely accurate.
It was defeated, yes, but not completely annihilated.
‘Neltalion gathers all its life force when he senses a threat to its existence, storing it within the body to prepare for resurrection. So long as a part of the body existed and enough time passed…’
It could be revived at any moment. Despite being an Ancient God, that’s been the reason for its continued existence.
Alex Volkanov didn’t know about that inclination, so after killing Neltalion, he stored its finger as a trophy and buried it with him.
Thanks to no small amount of idiocy, Neltalion had survived until now, and it was Ian who had unsealed it.
Finding things resolving more easily than expected, Ian smirked inwardly.
‘Obtaining the power of the monster that once pushed the Empire to the brink of destruction.’
Neltalion’s value was immeasurable. It could harden the skin as tough as steel by absorbing it into the body.
It could also utilize its arms using mana, and simple treatments were easily done.
There might be other possibilities, but for now, this was the best choice, weakened as it was just resurrected.
‘But it’s still powerful enough to rival the Elysion Ariel uses.’
To strengthen his own body, power was crucial.
Therefore, he decided to accept.
As Ian looked at Neltalion’s outstretched hand, he intertwined his own hand over it.
“Let’s make a contract.”
-Grrrr!
As Ian agreed, Neltalion smiled happily and was absorbed into him.
