Chapter 205: The Forgotten Blessing (1)

— Ethan’s POV —

"Run away... It’s not as though the thought hasn’t crossed my mind. But that’s easier said than done when the Curse of Arden makes me a slave who cannot disobey."

Even if Ars hadn’t advised me to distance myself from the Heart Clan, I had never intended to remain with them in the first place. Ashvarn was merely the starting point from which I planned to begin my journey.

However, breaking the blood curse flowing through my veins would be no easy task, and escaping their watchful eyes would be even harder.

"Intelligence is one of your most remarkable qualities. I’m certain you’ve already found the answer," Ars said, closing his eyes.

I nodded with a strained smile.

"You saw right through me. Am I really that easy to read?"

"Not at all. It’s simply that the curse has established a connection between us, allowing me to learn quite a lot about you."

"I see..." I murmured, my expression growing more serious.

"I have a plan for what I need to do, but the right opportunity hasn’t presented itself yet. Rest assured, when the time comes, I won’t hesitate."

The Golden Dawn Knight nodded in satisfaction, his eyes reflecting a sense of reassurance.

"You’ve already proven your worth by successfully conquering Old Ashvarn, so I’m confident you’ll do well. Nevertheless, I must warn you about the ruling family. There are always dangerous individuals among the princes and princesses, and they won’t hesitate to use our clan to win the war of succession. Be careful not to become a tool in one of their hands."

I listened quietly to Ars’s warnings and advice.

He had spent a long time serving that damned family, which had given him considerable experience in dealing with them.

His words reminded me that I would soon have to confront them myself. In fact, that confrontation might be much closer than I imagined, considering how many months I had spent trapped inside this Legacy dungeon.

Asterion had already told me that the ruling family had become aware of the situation here, and that the Second Hunting Squad could no longer keep covering things up for us.

I would have to prepare myself to deal with them as soon as I returned to the surface.

Especially that insane princess who had used this body as her personal sex toy.

Just thinking about it sent a cold shiver through my entire body.

Pushing the mad princess out of my mind, I decided to focus on what truly mattered.

I had three objectives.

Become as strong as possible, find a way to free myself from the curse of slavery, and prepare for the coming Ordeal.

If Ars was telling the truth, the Ordeal might very well become the greatest obstacle I would face in this world.

"The number of things I need to worry about has doubled overnight... I’m afraid this body might collapse under the pressure before I can accomplish anything."

I voiced my worries and frustrations aloud, allowing the Golden Dawn Knight to listen to my troubles.

He listened attentively to everything I said, no matter how ridiculous some of it might have sounded.

It almost seemed as though he had been longing to have a conversation like this for a very long time.

"You’ll grow stronger with every obstacle you overcome, including your conquest of this Legacy dungeon. You used your Blessing on Aldrich’s soul, didn’t you? You’ll obtain a powerful weapon from it."

"I wonder about that... Aldrich was only a Saint-rank monster. I might get a decent weapon from him, but I doubt it’ll be particularly powerful."

My doubts came from my previous experiences with bosses.

The strongest weapon I had obtained so far was the dark katana created from Matheus’s soul, and he had been a King-rank monster.

That weapon had exceptionally high requirements.

Naturally, I assumed whatever I obtained from Aldrich would be weaker.

But Ars firmly rejected that assumption.

"You shouldn’t regard Aldrich’s soul as an ordinary Saint-rank soul, because it isn’t. It’s the soul of the final boss of a Legacy dungeon."

Ars gestured toward the world surrounding us.

"His soul contains fragments of my own. The fact that I’m here with you is proof enough."

His explanation forced me to reconsider the situation entirely.

If Aldrich’s soul had become intertwined with that of the Golden Dawn Knight, then its true rank was completely unknown.

"You’ll obtain a powerful weapon. And not just one... but two."

Ars extended his right hand toward the summit of the hill where we stood.

In response to his summons, the ground trembled beneath our feet.

Then, a magnificent golden sword embedded at the hill’s summit tore itself free and flew toward his outstretched hand.

It was an extraordinary weapon, radiating a majestic golden aura.

Its blade was so immaculate that it almost appeared to be forged from light itself, while its hilt was a masterpiece in its own right, adorned with exquisitely beautiful golden ornaments.

I recognized the sword the instant I saw it.

After all, he had used it against us.

It was his terrifying divine sword, the very weapon that had caused even Asterion so much suffering during their battle.

Holding the magnificent weapon effortlessly in one hand, Ars extended it toward me.

I froze where I stood.

My gaze shifted from the extraordinary sword to Ars, then back to the sword again.

For a while, I could do nothing but stare between the two until his voice interrupted my hesitation.

"Take it."

His commanding voice rang out as he pushed the sword toward me.

I accepted it reluctantly, feeling as though I were holding a bomb rather than a weapon.

"Ars... I can’t use this sword..."

My unease was obvious, but he merely shook his head.

"I know. But one day, you’ll reach the level required to wield it. Until then, keep it with you."

"It’s the most powerful weapon I ever created, and it possesses a unique Ash of War that allows it to store an enormous quantity of mana within itself. Through it, you’ll be able to greatly increase your own mana reserves and repeatedly unleash devastating attacks."

"What you’re holding in your hands isn’t merely a weapon. It’s a piece of my very being."

I listened in silence.

Every word he spoke carried an immense weight.

I understood that I was now holding a priceless relic, a masterpiece representing the culmination of a great knight’s lifelong struggle.

A man who had spent his life fighting after enduring a kind of suffering that someone like me could never truly comprehend.

I was happy to receive such a powerful weapon.

I truly was.

But I didn’t know whether I deserved to wield it.

Was I even worthy of such an honor?

Compared to him, what exactly had I accomplished to deserve something like this?

Was it right for me to enter this world and, within the span of a few months, receive something that had taken an entire lifetime to create from a man who truly deserved to be called great?

Ars studied me silently for a while.

He examined my expression and noticed my hesitation before calmly closing his crimson eyes.

"Don’t overthink it. You’re not the sort of person who should hesitate in situations like this."

As he spoke, parts of his body slowly began to disappear.

"You’re a cold-blooded hunter who does whatever is necessary to become stronger, someone who never hesitates to take whatever might help him achieve his goals."

"Be yourself, and accept this sword just as you accepted every weapon that came before it."

’Myself... Is that really who I am?’

I wondered as I allowed my hand to settle firmly around the hilt of the magnificent golden sword.

Judging by the life I had lived as a hunter until now, I supposed Ars’s description of me was accurate.

But deep down, I knew that it was nothing more than a mask I had created for myself.

It wasn’t the real me.

Ethan Heart, the iron-nerved hunter capable of accomplishing anything, was merely a facade.

I allowed the people around me to see only what I wanted them to see, deceiving them with an illusion I had fashioned into reality.

Beneath that outer shell, beneath all those countless layers of masks, existed the real Ethan.

Nothing more than a pathetic young man who had spent his life locked inside his room, playing brutally difficult video games.

Because I had been desperate to experience the feeling of accomplishing something.

Every person I had spoken to had been nothing more than an icon moving across my rectangular screen.

I had never managed to move beyond the past in that life.

My suffering had left me struggling with prolonged insomnia, robbing me of the ability to sleep.

For a long time, I had believed that I had suffered more than enough, considering everything I had endured in the past.

But now...

Here stood Ars before me.

A man who had lived through a hell far worse than anything I had ever experienced.

And yet, rather than allowing that suffering to defeat him, he had faced it head-on.

He had forged himself into a legend.

Compared to him, I was nothing more than a lucky nobody.

That was why I had hesitated when he asked me to accept the masterpiece that represented the pinnacle of his life’s work.