Infinite Realm

'So that's the goal.' Sato stared at the black sword in front of him.

He was currently on the last platform on the altar, scilicet the top of the altar. In the middle of the platform, just a few steps away from Sato, was a sword that was stabbed into a small podium with the hilt of the sword pointed towards the sky.

The sword was pitch black and was made with an intricate design that made it look like a priceless work of art. It was an average-sized double-edged great-sword with strange inscriptions engraved on the sword's blade. The hilt was similarly black like the blade and had an obsidian gem implanted on it. Sato could even faintly see a demonic creature that seemed to be struggling within the obsidian.

The air around the sword flowed with a feeling of despair and gloominess, making anyone who tried to approach it suddenly lose their will to get closer. The aura from the sword had occupied the air around there, making breathing difficult, even for Sato who currently had 16 points in his [Endurance] and 6 points in his [Willpower]. But compared to the aura around the sword, the energy the sword oozed off made it feel like one was facing an overbearing and intimidating opponent. In the presence of the sword, Sato felt like a small insect that could be killed without a hitch.

'Why the heck is the reward such an evil weapon? I thought the Caventry were part of the righteous camp?' Sato wondered as he stared at the sword in front of him.

While the power and energy it exhibited showed that the sword was much stronger than an Upper-tier Mortal rank he had seen before, the aura was more inclined to the demonic side, making Sato hesitate a bit to receive it. One should know that Sato currently dwelt and operated in the region of the righteous camp. There was even a church in every town in Fallen Heart kingdom and there would surely be one in every city. If one of the ministers or priests were to spot him with such a weapon, Sato would be tagged as a malevolent being and would require 'cleansing'. Of course, this cleansing simply meant eliminating him. Even if he tried avoiding the church, considering that IR was made to match reality to an extent, it was possible for the regular NPCs to even report him to the church. Who knows, a mission might even be generated for players to hunt him down.

While running away from any town that had a church sounded like the simple solution, one should know that the distance between each kingdom was huge. Even, Riverdale town, which was close to the border, would require a 3 weeks journey at least, to reach the next Kingdom which is the Reiss kingdom. 3 weeks is a long time and Sato didn't want to spend it on the road.

Sato had previously thought that the Caventry were aligned with the good guys so he never expected his final reward to be this.

'No matter. It's very powerful and would help me a lot. Worst-case scenario, I will have to spend my time in the Caventry's home. Black Grill's cave hasn't been fully explored so there's still the chance that above-level 10 monsters live down here. If I want to get anything from town, I could ask the others too.'

After planning out his future, Sato walked towards the sword to receive it. From what he had guessed, he would only need to draw the sword out from its stand and the mission would be completed.

Sato sheathed his own sword before walking up to the black sword before him. Once close, he then grabbed the hilt with his right hand, intent on pulling it out from the podium.

"You dare!!!"

"!!!"

The very second Sato's hands had gripped the demonic sword's hilt, Sato heard a loud voice boom in his mind as he felt a chill flow from the hand that held the sword and sweep through his body. Before he could even respond to this, Sato began to spasm as his consciousness left his body once again.

'Not again.'

Appearing in a strange black world, Sato sighed at how many times he had been dragged into illusions starting from the Entry Trials till now.

The new world he was in was all black and empty but eerie enough, he could still see the space around him. However, Sato couldn't move an inch. He felt frozen in space and his body couldn't move an inch. The only thing he could do was move his eyes as not even his lips could separate.

In front of Sato was a humongous creature that stood at an impressive height of 100 or so metres. It was an understatement to even call Sato a dwarf when compared to this creature. He was more like an ant standing before a majestic dragon, but this creature wasn't a dragon.

It was a humanoid monster with a black and red skin tone, and a pair of demonic horns growing from its forehead. Just like your average human being, it had two legs and two arms but these limbs of it were more exaggerated than that of a man. The two arms had blood-red claws that could easily pierce through a truck or even a fallout shelter[1] like a hot knife through butter. It had two bat wings that extended from its back, with a wingspan of more than 200 metres.

On its body, including the head, limbs, and wings, were little blood-red scribbles and inscriptions that gave off a mysterious feeling to anyone glancing at them. While the writings were 'little', this was in comparison to the creature's size. Every one of those inscriptions was at least as long as a middle finger and big as a hallux[2].

While the creature looked overbearing and sinister, it couldn't approach Sato one bit. This was because it was held back by a bunch of chains that pierced through its body and bound it in place. The bat wings behind its back were stretched to the limit and held in place by dozens of chains that penetrated them and made them incapable of mobility. The limbs were also impaled by these chains and a couple of them wound its body in place. Even the horns in the monster's head weren't left alone as they were wrapped around by the chains.

Just to hold this creature alone, Sato estimated that there were more than a thousand individual chains and every one of these chains had weird inscriptions that glowed with a noticeable golden divine light in this dark world, and sealed the creature in place.

Despite being locked up, there was still a wide grin on its face, that seemed to deride Sato as its beady red eyes glanced at him with disdain and pique.

"To dare to try and wield me, you must be seeking death.. Foolish ant."