Chapter 943 - Evil-slaying sword

“That sounds much better now,” I say, nodding to Ruby. She lifts her glass toward me, both of us looking out at the party as I ask, “Look, I wonder, just by the way, with no real reason behind it... Who would you say has the highest mana stat here? I'm curious about my fellow Amplificators.”

The corner of her lips tugs upward slightly, but she keeps a serious face as she scans the room. “May I ask what your intentions are after identifying such a person?”

“As I said, entirely innocent, no real reason. It's a rarity for me to meet a kindred spirit.”

“I can imagine.”

“So I want to go up to them and greet them. Shake their hand. You know, the basic societal responsibilities while participating in a party as great as this one.”

“You don't want to shake my hand?”

“Hell n-... I mean, why not?” I quickly nod and reach my hand toward Ruby, who playfully hits it, flicking it away.

“As amusing as it would be to watch you blow up, there are plenty here who would consider it a great insult, and others would mess with you on purpose just to cripple you.”

“Just for shaking a hand?”

Ruby rolls her eyes. “All just for shaking their hand with that special right hand of yours and that pretty, shiny new tattoo. Though I don't think anyone would kill you outright because of who I am.” She pauses, looking at me. “Thank me.”

“Thank you for your protection, Lady Ruby.”

She nods in satisfaction. “And I also wouldn't mind if you insulted an asshole or two, but my reputation is already bad as it is. Besides, the main reason is that I think you should wait a little bit longer. Until the end of the tutorial to maximize the effect, or during the 13th floor if you really have to.”

“What is the 13th floor even about?”

“Well, it's Sloth's floor, so you know it's as fucked up as he is.”

“Thanks for the freebie. So did he make it last because of how lazy he is?”

“Oh, you poor little thing, you know nothing. You will see.” Ruby pats the top of my head. “But as for your question about who has the most mana here... It would be me.”

“But you're a potency attribute upgrade, aren't you?”

“I am.”

I take a deep breath.

“I am genuinely hurt, and deeply offended by the self-proclaimed Amplificators and fake mana enjoyers currently lounging around this party. A room full of frauds that’s what they are, which frankly makes me question what they are even doing with their lives and leaves me tempted to start handing out basic stat-allocation pamphlets for the dimmer ones just to save our reputation. These guys are actively bringing shame upon our entire kind, and dragging our proud demographic through the dirt by allowing themselves to get out-statted by potency attribute upgrade weirdos–not you, Ruby, you are alright, also, thank you for your protection again–but the state of my fellow amplificators leaves me feeling like I am the only one left standing to uphold the dignity of our honest, blue collar, mana believers across the universe.”

“Oh, you shouldn't be ashamed of them. You should be scared of me instead.” She stops searching the room and turns to look at me. “Tell me, Nathaniel, are you scared of me?”

I give that question proper thought while looking back at her before I answer, “Sometimes.”

She nods, her eyes following Kindness, who is walking around in the mini Kindness vessel she stole from Lily. As of late, she has been doing that quite often, and Lily started fighting back by dressing mini-Kindness in the most vibrant, ugly dresses she could find.

Today, the little blonde girl is walking around in a frilly, neon green dress. Unfortunately for Lily, the immortal Ruler doesn't seem to mind it in the slightest.

“Is the last Elf's ward really that powerful? With two stigmas and all?” I ask Ruby.

“The last Elf is many things, but he isn't stupid. When he moves, it's because he thinks there is something to gain, so he would not do it if his ward was lacking.”

“Is that ward like Nyssa or Adrian?”

This time, it's Ruby who gives my question some thought. “He is very talented, and already having two stigmas will help him exploit the tutorial greatly. I'm also confident the last Elf planned out his growth meticulously. Comparing him with Nyssa might be a stretch, as you still don't understand the level of talent she holds, but he will likely have much more invested into him than Nyssa. That will make him grow as fast as she does, possibly even faster in short bursts.”

She raises her hand to dismiss a waitress, gesturing to ask if she wants another wine pour.

“And Adrian might be comparable to him in talent, at least before his spirit broke after witnessing Pride's record. But even with all that, Adrian is already almost back to Absolute.”

“I thought it would be something like that.”

“You won't be able to beat him. And if he thinks you can, he will go to a world dungeon, become Absolute, and face you then.”

“That would be smart of him. I would do the same.”

“You arrogant, dumb asshole.”

“That's like one of my best traits. But do enjoy the party. I will talk to Calvorn for a bit and ditch this place.” I wave to Ruby, almost feeling her eyes burning into my back as I walk away from her.

I have already learned a little about the interesting things going on, and more will come with time. The new, oh-so-special guy, the elf, the Magi... I'm sure I will learn about it all later. Overall, his appearance is surprising and out of nowhere, but at the same time it is obvious this round of the tutorial isn’t exactly smooth sailing.

And as for Adrian, well, that will be for after the tutorial. Before him, there's the tournament, the 13th floor, that Lycan knuckle, and plenty more to keep me from getting bored.

But before then, there is Brich and his magical, talking, evil-slaying sword, which originally belonged to the blood-sucking vampire Adrian kidnapped. Lord Brichant will leave the tutorial in a week or so, so this might be my last chance to talk to him.

I find the lumoran S rank with Calvorn in the sheath on his back, as always. He is currently talking to Zant, and from a distance, it looks even more suspicious.

He just keeps trying to force some items into the hands of the tiny vyssari guy. Knowing him, it is bribes to meet the leader of the Colony. I know Zant is Diligence's vessel, but damn if it doesn't look like Brich has a white van parked somewhere nearby.

Without any worry, I interrupt them, tapping on Brich's shoulder. He isn't even wearing armor, dressed instead in a luxurious white suit with a red tie and red socks.

“Oh, Nathaniel! Thank you for delivering my body back! I don't know what happened, as my memory update was from ten seconds before my death, but I can imagine! That Wraith guy was always kind of creepy.”

“I guess,” I say. Since there is no chair, I create my trademark manabloc that has been ergonomically designed for my body.

Before I sit down, I pick up Zant, placing him on my leg, and gesture to a nearby waiter to bring us something with a lot of sugar.

“Brich, could I talk with Calvorn a little?” I ask while taking a plate from the waiter, who is already back, making me wonder if he has been teleporting around.

When I look at him, I estimate his level to be over 300. I blink a few times, shake my head, and give a piece of cake to Zant, who takes it in both of his hands and begins to nibble on it while also looking at Brich.

“We are buds! And you didn't even try to steal Calvorn, so there is no way I wouldn't help you out!”

Without hesitation or thinking about what it might cause here at the party, he takes the ego sword out of its sheath and holds it between us.

At first, the blade remains shut, and Brich shakes it a few times while Zant reaches out with a piece of cake as if offering it to the weapon.

None of it helps until I catch on and mutter quickly, “The Wraith is a little bitch.”

“You brute, how dare you!” Calvorn's blade splits open along its length as the sword curses at me. It is now using the voice of a young girl. “You inbred lowlife! Trash! Gray lizard fucker! Unwashed, flea-bitten, ape-brained troglodyte!”

The barrage of insults continues, but I hold my hands over Zant's ears so he can't hear and wait for the sword to calm down a little, which it does after thirty seconds or so.

“I've heard worse,” I say in the end, and nudge the blade with the tip of my shoe. “Tell me more about your master. I might pick a fight with the guy who kidnapped him, and wouldn't you like it if your master was free?”

That unexpected reaction leaves the ego sword silent for a few moments until it asks in a suspicious voice, “What kind of trickery is this? Are you asking me to betray my master for you?”

“Well, if you look at it from that point of view, it might look like this. But your master is likely a much higher level in comparison to the record from the Beyond event, so how could I threaten him? The guy who kidnapped him has a [Mirror] skill, so he will likely mirror skills your master has or can use. And if you think about it, knowing about them gives a higher chance of freeing him.”

“CalCal, Nathaniel is a good guy! He even brought my body and you back to the guild!” Brich tries to put in a good word for me, but the sword doesn't like it at all.

“Don't you talk to me, you dumb maniac!” Calvorn shouts at Brich. Just in case, my hands hover over Zant's ears, ready to cover them, which seems to annoy the sword even more. “That little shit doesn't even take this all seriously. There is something broken in you, jerk.”

As always, I mostly ignore it. Hearing that so often, it begins to sound more and more distant.

“You know what it takes, and from the way your master fought, he knows too. He might not be that different from me,” I say.

“My master is an ancient being, human. Unlike him, you have barely lived for a few decades. I've thought about it, and I can tell you a little, no more than that. My master can get free on his own and find his way to me no matter what that creepy man does.”

“That is fine with me,” I say, and patiently wait for the talking sword.

And Calvorn churns it all out quickly, “All of his traits will unlock only when my master holds me, and the same goes for active skills, so there is no way he will have access to them. My master was someone who was comparable to an Absolute even before he got the System, but since then... a lot has changed, but that's something I won't be explaining to you. My master's essence is within his Wraith form, and it's possible it will affect that creepy man's blood, allowing that man to possess my master's diluted blood. It is a bloodline they call Heretical, but you saw his imitation fight, so you can imagine what he might be capable of.”

There is a pause, and I guess it's to wait for my reaction, so I give a short nod.

Zant looks at me quickly and then also gives a nod.

“Then there is [Presence] and [Domination] that master possesses even in wraith form, but this is as much as I will tell you, human. I don’t care whether you win or die, I just hate that trash more than you,” Calvorn says.

“That is fair,” I agree.

"Do you plan to fight with Sir Christoph, Sir Gwyn?" Zant asks me curiously. "If so, I would recommend against that. Currently-" He cuts off his words, likely realizing that he might share information about the current state of Earth that I shouldn't be getting. At least not from him. Maybe due to some rules of the Beyond, or maybe the rules set by Diligence. Who knows.

I nudge him so he continues to eat his cake. "There is always a chance of the two of us fighting for one reason or another, so why not prepare? You could look at it as me being diligent. You should understand that."

Zant doesn't seem to believe me fully, but he drops the subject, so I turn back to Brich. "Good luck with the rest of your tutorial. And make sure to take precautions in case someone comes after you for Calvorn."

Yet, as always, this lumoran doesn't seem to worry at all, but his voice turns uncharacteristically serious as he gives a smile. "Don't worry about me. I'm built different. I'm that special boy your mom always lied to you that you are," he repeats one of his favorite phrases before adding, "And who knows, maybe sometime in the future we can party up again, and the Boys will go on another adventure."