Invincible with Twin Swords

Chapter 12 : I Saw an Unfamiliar Ceiling!

I had never seen a saber like this!

During my ronin days, I had handled numerous weapons. There were some called famous swords, and I had also seen a sect disappear into dust because of a single saber.

It wasn't that it was greater than those divine weapons.

Literally, I had never seen a saber like this anywhere.

In a way, it was a deep ink color, and in another way, it was a deep red color. That's why it was named the Ink Blood Saber.

It seemed to be made by joining small pieces the length of a finger, but since there were no seams at all, it also seemed to be made of a single material.

One thing was certain: it was not made of iron. I couldn't tell what it was.

"It's an amazing saber!"

"It is amazing! For your reference, this saber was not made by our Iron Skill Gang. The Saber Emperor brought it from somewhere. We just kept it. Every morning, I looked at it and made it my life's goal, but I still haven't reached it."

Even though a person of that caliber sets it as a goal and says he hasn't achieved it, there is no hint of regret in his words.

It must have been that great of a goal.

"It doesn't seem to be iron?"

I carefully reached out, held the saber, and gently stroked the blade with my fingers.

As if carefully stroking an untamed wild beast.

It's cold and hot. But the feeling is somehow familiar.

Even though I didn't infuse it with internal energy, I seemed to hear a growling saber cry.

A piece of metal that is sharp, hard, and guides internal energy well is called a divine weapon.

This was something different from those things.

It felt like I was holding something alive in my hand.

It felt like I was holding a large, coldly writhing snake.

"Try slowly raising your internal energy."

I raised a little internal energy from my dantian. But I felt the saber in my right hand pulling it.

"It draws the internal energy of the person holding the saber. And it adds its own power and spews it out with greater force. It's faint, but you can definitely feel it."

"No, this... what on earth is this? It's not even alive."

I focused more internal energy into my right arm. At that moment!

- KABOOM!

I lost my grip on the saber due to the explosive force transmitted from it and sat down.

Pain rushed through my right arm as if lightning had grazed it.

As if a blood vessel had burst.

"No, what is this... Are you okay? It's not to the point of making you sit down like this... This has never happened before."

The Iron Skill Gang leader, as if he had committed a great wrong, became restless and ran out to call a doctor.

The startled Deoksam had already taken out his axe and was looking around.

Now I get it!

The red ink color that seems to pull you in!

The wave-patterned blade!

The shape that seems to be made by joining small pieces!

The somehow familiar feeling as if it resonates with me!

"...It's a scale. The scale of a Black-Scaled Blood Serpent!"

I couldn't hold on to my fading consciousness and lost my mind.

* * *

I opened my eyes. I saw an unfamiliar ceiling.

The surroundings were quiet and everything was unfamiliar.

My mind was jumbled and as white as a blank sheet of paper.

Only the warm sunlight coming through the small window was shining on me.

Have I regressed again? Or perhaps possessed? Reincarnated?

Where on earth is this place, decorated in an antique style?

I felt like I had become the troublemaking youngest son of one of the five great families. At this point, someone would probably call out 'Third Young Master!' and open that door.

Is there a bronze mirror anywhere? I felt like I would be at ease only after seeing my face in a bronze mirror. But?

...Huh? What is this?

I had no sensation in my right arm. I couldn't feel anything down to my fingertips. As if my right arm had never existed in the first place.

Like that time when my right arm was cut off by the Heavenly Demon and I had to swing a sword with my left hand in the Valley of Abandoned Bugs...

Startled, I turned to my right and saw Deoksam on my bed, using my right arm as a pillow and sleeping soundly, snoring.

Ah, my blood isn't circulating!

"My arm is asleep, you bastard! How can you sleep when a person has lost consciousness and collapsed? Someone is on the verge of life and death, and someone is sleeping using a patient's arm as a pillow?"

I kicked Deoksam out of the bed with all my might.

- Thump!

He just fell from the bed, but the whole building shook.

And with my left hand, I lifted my right arm, which was dead like a piece of wood, placed it on my stomach, and began to massage it.

As the blood began to circulate, the sensation in my right arm slowly returned.

"This is precious, you bastard!"

Something you once lost and then regained is always more precious.

Still, I wondered if this kind fellow had nursed me all night, so I asked, and he said it had only been about half a shichen since I collapsed.

He answered briefly and then fell asleep on the floor.

This guy can't even last half a shichen and comes up to this narrow bed to sleep? It's not like a bear hibernating.

I was thirsty, so I looked around and saw a fancy water bottle next to the bed.

Even the water here is in a precious water bottle. What's the use of just swinging a sword all the time? As expected, a man should learn a skill.

The skill of hammering iron makes a lot of money. After I finish this, I should learn a skill here.

As I was having useless thoughts, the Iron Skill Gang leader happened to come in.

"What's the matter? There was a loud noise all of a sudden..."

"Ah, it's nothing. I saw a heartless bear, so I gave it a good kick, and it must have made a loud noise."

"Oh my! I thought you had collapsed again..."

"I was just about to get up and leave. I've been an imposition, unintentionally."

"What are you talking about... You are the Saber Emperor's precious guest. The doctor said that your qi and blood are just a little twisted, so you'll be fine soon if you rest a bit. By the way, what on earth happened?"

"I have a guess, but it seems difficult to explain. Personally, it doesn't seem to be a bad thing."

The energy of the Black-Scaled Blood Serpent coiled in my right arm and the energy of the Ink Blood Saber had clashed. Since they have the same root, they must be resonating with each other.

I found a way to draw out the power. Although it's a bit drastic.

Before I regressed, Gwideukja told me. If I can't control the power, I should go find his daughter. It must mean that there is a way to control this power.

I'm going to be busy looking for this person and that person.

"By the way, why is this person here?"

Deoksam, who had fallen from the bed with a thump, was still sleeping on the floor, snoring.

"Ah, this fellow has a wild habit of hibernating... Don't mind him. He'll wake up when he's hungry."

The Iron Skill Gang leader was a pretty good person. He kept apologizing, feeling sorry that I had collapsed during my visit to the Iron Skill Gang.

It's not because of the Iron Skill Gang, so you can stop apologizing.

It's because of the crazy snake bastard coiled in my right arm.

He insisted that I should rest and recover before I could face the Saber Emperor. It also seemed that he was bored from just hammering iron every day. So I unexpectedly ended up staying at the Iron Skill Gang as a guest for a few days. As a token of his apology, he said he would give me a weapon I liked as a gift.

He said he would make an axe that fits Deoksam's body perfectly without charging any money. He was excitedly chattering about how it would be an enormous result and a new challenge.

The Iron Skill Gang leader is a person who loves his work, isn't he?

People like this succeed. And he has already succeeded.

The saber I chose after much deliberation was very much to my liking. A weapon that fits my hand well is the best. A good sword can save your life. The sword was fine since I still had my father's sword.

The Ink Blood Saber that had dragged my consciousness to the brink of reincarnation!

The Iron Skill Gang leader even made a fancy scabbard for it. Like the Ink Blood Saber, it was made of deep ink-colored leather with a reddish tinge.

Since it's a monster I can't use yet, I decided to wrap it well in a cloth and carry it around like luggage.

The axe for Deoksam, which I was looking forward to, was still in production.

I knew Deoksam's axe from the Azure Blade Unit days well, so I gave some help in its production. The Iron Skill Gang leader questioned whether it wouldn't be too heavy, but I pushed for it.

For a heavy weapon like an axe, if you think 'isn't this too heavy?', that's the most appropriate weight. Only then will it stick to your hand and you can coolly smash the opponent's head.

An axe is not for cutting, but for smashing.

"It's complete!"

The door opened and two people came in carrying an axe. Beads of sweat were forming on their foreheads.

"Oh ho!"

He said he had mixed a lot of refined iron and made it with craftsmanship, and indeed, its majesty was different from the start.

A weapon with an axe blade on a long handle is called a battle-axe. It's sufficiently overwhelming, but not many people can handle it properly.

Moreover, this would be the first time the Iron Skill Gang has produced an axe of this size.

I could see pride in the Iron Skill Gang leader's expression.

The two people who had been struggling to carry the axe handed it to Deoksam and only then straightened their backs and wiped their sweat.

"Want to swing it a bit? How is it?"

"Hmm... it's on a different level from the one I used to use. It's a very good axe. It sticks to my hand so well that I could smash anyone's head."

The Iron Skill Gang leader flinched at the words 'smash the head'.

This kid's words are a bit rough because he didn't receive proper education during his growth period, so please understand. He has a good heart.

Don't worry. I'll use it for a good cause!

"How's the weight?"

When the topic of weight came up, the Iron Skill Gang leader next to him chimed in.

"I said it would be too heavy, but this Great Hero Jin insisted that it should be heavier..."

- Woosh! Woosh!

Deoksam held the axe in one hand and swung it in the air.

Deoksam! That's not a one-handed axe!

The two people who had brought the axe were unknowingly stepping back due to the enormous pressure.

"Well. A little?"

This time, he repeatedly threw the axe into the air and caught it, and said.

Deoksam! That's not a throwing axe!

"It's a little. A little heavy, right? It will get a little better once you get used to it."

The Iron Skill Gang leader glared at me as if it was my fault.

"...A little! It's a little light. It would be perfect if it were a little heavier."

"Ah... Ah! It's a little light. Great Hero Han likes heavy things!"

The two people who had brought the axe in took the axe out again.

While waiting for the completion of the axe, a person from the Blood Dragon Sect came to the Iron Skill Gang. With a reply from the Greenwood Tyrant King.

"What does it say? It's a pity, but if you want freedom, he'll let you go from the cage?"

"He says we have to meet once."

Ah, why?

Anyway, an era where you can withdraw from any organization with a single letter needs to come quickly.

"He said he needs to confirm what kind of person the person I have chosen to follow is..."

The person Deoksam has chosen to follow? Me?

"He's saying he's going to see with his own two eyes what kind of person the one you chose over the greenwood is, isn't he? You're in big trouble now, hyungnim. Haha!"

You're laughing in this situation?

I'm shy around strangers!

Should I have looked for Deoksam last? I've had a lot of things to do since I met him.

"But why am I in big trouble?"

"When the grand leader confirms a person, it means one thing."

"What is it? How does he confirm a person? Does he give some kind of test?"

Then I realized.

The way mountain bandits confirm things wouldn't be the words of Confucius in their heads, would it?

No! Please let it not be the word that just popped into my head!

Deoksam ignored my desperate prayer and spat out the word.

"A duel!"

(End of Chapter)