The Return of the Limited-Time Sword Master

Episode 7: A Second Chance (6)

Kuoooo!

The moment Martin swallowed the orb, an immense surge of mana erupted inside his body.

This mana was entirely different in nature from the mana residing in his current mana core. It was violent and destructive.

This new energy surged through his mana circuit, wreaking havoc within his body.

‘… This is bad.’

The Dragon’s Curse was a condition where infinite mana accumulated inside his body.

In other words, his body was already overflowing with mana, which was the reason his physical form had weakened so severely.

And now, an entirely new force, one comparable to the energy that had built up over 18 years, was being added? His fragile body couldn’t possibly withstand this.

“Urgh!”

In the end, Martin groaned as he dropped to one knee, his right knee hitting the ground.

Ever since he was old enough to understand, Martin’s life had been marked by excruciating pain. He thought he had grown accustomed to it, but he was mistaken.

The pain he was feeling now was on a completely different level from anything he had ever experienced before.

“Martin!”

Sien shouted urgently and tried to rush to his side.

But she had to stop mid-step. Martin had raised his right hand to stop her from approaching.

The situation was already dangerous enough.

Adding another person’s touch could cause something catastrophic to happen.

Sien clenched her teeth, understanding the gravity of the situation.

She bit her lip so hard that blood began to flow, but she didn’t even notice.

And then, suddenly…

Thud!

Martin stood up. His body moved of its own accord.

‘What the…?’

His body was moving without his will. What was going on?

But there wasn’t time to question it.

His fist clenched tightly and then thrust out with all its might. Again, this happened without his conscious decision.

The strangest part was that this wasn’t the end of it.

Kuoooo!

The energy from the orb, which had seemed like it would clash with his original mana, suddenly took a different course.

Instead of conflicting, it merged smoothly into his body.

It began to enhance his bones, muscles, and nerves—his entire physical form. Even his mana core and circuits were being fortified.

—The core of Rothar Martial Arts is simple.—

Suddenly, an elderly voice echoed in his mind.

‘So everything really was stored inside the orb,’ Martin realized, clicking his tongue.

He hadn’t expected the Fist King to have imbued his very will into it.

At that moment, he understood why Kalain had grown so powerful so quickly.

With such meticulous preparation, it would be more surprising if the inheritor didn’t become stronger.

—By using the spatial ability to attack your opponent from the outside, you simultaneously inject aura into your body to release it from within. Attacking both inside and outside maximizes the destructive force. This is the essence of Rothar Martial Arts.—

The explanation continued, and Martin quickly understood.

‘It’s simple.’

There weren’t any particularly complex techniques in Rothar Martial Arts.

In fact, the technique itself was about skillfully using the entire body, making that the essence of the martial art.

In other words, it required the practitioner to apply the core principles effectively on their own. This could be considered tricky, depending on one’s point of view.

‘But that’s not a problem for me.’

After all, he had once been called the Sword Master.

He prided himself on being more adept than anyone when it came to the subtleties of martial arts.

In fact, he quickly grasped how to properly apply Rothar Martial Arts.

‘I’m gaining quite a lot here.’

In his previous life, the moment he lost his sword, he couldn’t continue the fight.

But now, with Rothar Martial Arts, that issue had been resolved.

The breathing technique would enhance his physical abilities, alleviating the effects of the Dragon’s Curse.

Even this alone was a tremendous boon, but there was still one more gift left for him.

Martin inspected his body.

The Fist King’s energy was still reinforcing his physical form.

Now was the perfect opportunity.

The chance to reclaim some of the strength he had in his prime.

Wooooooom.

Martin focused the mana in his abdomen, gathering it into his mana core.

The mana dispersed throughout his body began to converge, forming a new circle over the three already drawn.

An hour passed.

Finally, Martin’s movements came to a stop.

The overwhelming energy from the Fist King, which had seemed as if it would tear him apart, had completely disappeared.

Sien cautiously approached and asked, “Is it over? Are you okay?”

“There’s nothing to worry about. I’m fine.”

“And Rothar Martial Arts?”

“I can use it properly now. Even if it’s only half of what it could be.”

“We knew that from the start. How’s your body feeling?”

“Much better. I’m at the level of an average knight now, at least. It’s a pity that even after absorbing the Fist King’s energy, this is all I’ve got.”

“That’s still a huge improvement, isn’t it? Before, you couldn’t even compare yourself to a knight.”

“Come on, I wasn’t that weak.”

“No lying, Martin.”

Sien smiled cheerfully as she teased him, and Martin could only give a bitter smile in response. He couldn’t argue—his body really had been weak before.

“There’s something else I’ve gained.”

“Huh? What else?”

Sien tilted her head in confusion.

Instead of answering, Martin turned around and pointed his sword forward.

Woom.

A golden aura enveloped his sword like shimmering heat waves.

“What’s changed….”

Flash!

In an instant, Sien froze, her mouth agape.

She could see it clearly—the shimmering aura coalesced and began to take form.

Ultimately, the light shaped itself into a blade. A new sword had materialized on top of the physical one.

And Sien knew exactly what it was.

“An Aura Blade?!”

When a warrior reaches the third circle of martial arts, they master aura.

At the higher level of the fourth circle, they can manifest the advanced form of aura—the Aura Blade.

“What… what just happened?”

“I made the Fist King’s insights my own.”

“This is insane! What kind of genius are you?!”

Sien practically screamed.

On the Cracian Continent, a warrior’s strength was measured by the sum of their circles.

Swordsmanship combined with either a unique ability or magic.

The closer that sum got to 10, the more they were considered an exceptional warrior.

Martin, who had only trained in swordsmanship, was now a fourth-circle warrior, which alone was impressive.

Across the Altaria Empire, and even the entire Cracian Continent, there were many renowned warriors. Yet among them, few had reached the fourth circle purely through mastery of one discipline.

Martin was only 18 years old.

There were many people who had been called geniuses, but it was safe to say that no one had ever displayed such overwhelming talent in a single discipline at such a young age.

With a grin on his face, Martin smiled broadly at the astonished Sien.

—

“Raaawr!”

A massive bear-shaped monster, the Battlebear, roared ferociously.

It stood over 3 meters tall and weighed more than a ton, an intimidating presence in and of itself. But it’s true weapons were its claws—so strong and sharp that they could tear through steel.

Those formidable claws were now targeting Martin.

Boom!

The Battlebear’s right forepaw slammed into the ground.

The impact alone was enough to shatter the rocks embedded in the earth. Any person struck by that blow would be pulverized.

‘It doesn’t matter if I don’t get hit.’

Martin lightly dodged the attack with a simple step to the right.

He then slipped into the Battlebear’s reach, clenching his left fist tightly.

Woom.

Mana surged from his core, enveloping his fist as he thrust it with all his strength into the creature’s chest.

Despite the full force behind his strike, the punch lacked power. Even though his body was strengthened with mana, his physical abilities were still lacking.

It wasn’t enough to pierce the Battlebear’s dense fur, each strand like a needle.

However, the result was entirely different.

Boom!

As soon as Martin’s fist connected, the Battlebear’s chest swelled and then exploded, scattering flesh, blood, and shards of bone in all directions.

Martin swiftly retreated, avoiding being splattered by the mess.

A dull ache radiated from his left arm, but it was only a minor discomfort that quickly subsided.

“To think you took down a Battlebear in one blow. The power is insane,” Sien remarked.

“You’re not even pretending to be surprised, Sien. You could easily take down a Battlebear yourself.”

“Well, I do it differently from you,” she said with a shrug, and Martin chuckled.

A member of the Igreet family didn’t need complicated techniques to take down a Battlebear.

With their sheer physical prowess, they could pummel a Battlebear with their bare fists. As the heir of the Igreet family, Sien could do the same.

“Well, now all that’s left is the Monster Lord.”

“It’s been only two months since we descended into the dungeon… much faster than I expected. All thanks to Rothar Martial Arts,” Sien said with a soft smile, looking at Martin.

It had been about a month and a half since Martin inherited the Fist King’s legacy.

In that time, Sien had clearly observed his physical condition improving.

He no longer experienced pain after using mana a few times, and his stamina had increased significantly.

Of course, he was still not on par with others of the same level, but his movements had definitely become quicker.

“Hah. Defeating the Monster Lord won’t be difficult, but the real issue is your unique ability,” Sien sighed quietly.

She had pinned her hopes on Rothar Martial Arts, thinking that learning it might trigger Martin’s latent ability.

But reality was harsh.

Martin still hadn’t manifested his unique ability.

Already, 60 of the 100 days the elders and the heads of the branch families had set had passed.

Even moving quickly, it would take about two weeks to return from the 10th floor to the dungeon’s entrance.

That left just 25 days for Martin to awaken his unique ability.

‘Can he do it?’

Sien couldn’t be sure.

Her unease only grew.

If things continued like this, Martin would… She didn’t want to think about what would come next.

Seeing the worry on her face, Martin pointed behind him with his thumb.

There, a giant door stood before them.

“Let’s take down the Monster Lord first. We can worry about everything else after we’ve done what we need to, right?”

“You’re right. Still, don’t let your guard down, Martin. Even though we’re on the lower floors, a Monster Lord is still a Monster Lord. One wrong move, and you could die.”

“Okay.”

The two of them began walking.

The closer they got to the giant door, the more clearly they could sense the raw, primal energy emanating from it.

Martin stopped in front of the door.

He looked over at Sien.

“Sien.”

“Yeah?”

“Can I fight this one alone?”

“With regular monsters, I wouldn’t mind… but the Monster Lord? Honestly, I’m not sure. You could win if you really went all out, but there’s no need to take unnecessary risks.”

“Then help me only if I’m really in danger. That’s fine, right?”

Sigh “You’re always making me worry, you know that?”

“I’m always sorry about that.”

“If you didn’t at least say it, I’d be even more annoyed. Do whatever you want.”

“Thanks.”

With a smile, Martin chuckled at Sien’s grumbling.

Their conversation ended there, and the two passed through the door.

“Grrrrr.”

At that moment, a massive creature greeted them.

Its black scales gleamed like armor.

The Battlebear they had defeated earlier had been huge, but the creature before them was more than twice its size.

And with every breath it took, it exhaled flames, creating an overwhelming sense of danger.

A Drake.

All Monster Lords belonged to the dragon family, and this one was the first gatekeeper they had to face.

Unlike a true dragon, it couldn’t fly.

But in exchange, it possessed immense physical power.

This creature was now staring at Martin and Sien.

‘Does it see us as prey?’

Martin walked forward, thinking idly.

By then, his sword was already in hand.

Woom.

The golden Aura Blade shimmered over the edge of his sword.

Under normal circumstances, that would be the end of it.

‘Under normal circumstances, that is.’

Mana surged not only from the core in his abdomen but also from a mana core in his head—an organ that was previously thought to be nonexistent in Martin.

The energy from both sources coursed through the mana circuit and into his sword.

‘I wonder what reaction Sien will have this time.’

In the previous timeline, she had cried her eyes out.

She had asked why he had awakened his unique ability so late.

Back then, her words had been true. His awakening had come too late, at a point where achieving his goals had become impossible.

Still, he hadn’t given up. He had fought to the death, making some progress. But only up to that point.

In the end, everything he had pursued had ended in failure. If only his awakening had come a little earlier, his fate could have been different.

‘But this time, things will be different, Kalain.’

He thought of the enemy he must kill at all costs.

And then, with a powerful downward slash of his sword, he brought it crashing down.

Flash!

A golden brilliance flashed across the room.