I Was the Strongest Sword God in My Past Life

part 53

“What, what is it?”

Looking at Lena’s reluctant face, Riventon shuddered,

“In fact, in that cave, there is a cursed magic sword…”

As Riventon rambled on by himself, Lena thought inwardly,

‘If you talk so loudly, our location will be discovered…’

Her thoughts remained shockingly internal. For the passive her, pointing out others was too difficult a task.

‘He’ll handle it well on his own… He’s strong, after all.’

Then, the handsome man, Kepan, who had been quietly observing them, said to Riventon with an endlessly serious face,

“Riventon.”

“Yes?”

Kepan spoke with eyes that felt even cold,

“It’s been cold since earlier.”

“That’s true.”

“Do you know what the opposite of ‘I’m cold’ is?”

“I’m cold…? What, what is it?”

“An adult’s hot! Keke, keke!!”

Kepan and Riventon burst into laughter, looking at each other, while Lena looked on with a gloomy expression.

‘Both look decent enough, but why the act…’

The only sane person at the Planar party.

Lena pressed her forehead with her palm, swallowing her thoughts once again.

Watching her, Kepan flipped his hair,

“Ah, seems like the joke from Sector 1 was too tough. Just so you know, ‘I’m cold’ and ‘An adult’s hot’ are…”

Earlier, it was Riventon talking about the cave’s setting, and now Kepan was explaining his joke. If only she could, Lena wanted to cover her ears.

‘I really want to quit!!’

Thud.

Something struck the tip of Leah’s foot as she cried out in her heart.

“Whoops!”

It was a mistake that would normally be unthinkable, but she was too exhausted.

“What’s this?”

Leah pulled a stick from the ground, and Riventon examined it.

“It’s the Eye of Alert.”

Riventon knew everything about Battle Survival, from the regional settings to the types of items.

“Since we’ve been caught by the Eye of Alert, it seems we’ve entered the enemy party’s range.”

“I see.”

Leah responded to Riventon’s explanation.

She stared blankly at the stick and then muttered softly.

“Everyone, grab your magic tools and form up.”

This time, it wasn’t just a thought.

She had a serious, leader-like look in her eyes, unlike before.

“We’ll make haste to the cave.”

* * *

[Warning! Participant detected!]

[Warning! Participant detected!]

“They’re here.”

Two alerts sounded simultaneously.

Gien turned off the hologram and thought.

‘Two at the same time. Has the opponent scattered?’

Now that the fragment of the Witch’s Moon was in the sky, it was too inefficient for the already joined party to act alone.

‘It seems there are two parties.’

Gien ran to the Eye of Surveillance he had planted in the forest. With the number and strategy of the opponents unknown, he thought the forest, full of hiding places, was advantageous.

The forest under the red moonlit night.

The trees, backlit by the moon, lined up in dark silhouettes.

Gien controlled even his breathing in that darkness.

‘They’re close. Where?’

[Amy♥: Thrilling! (Casually munching on popcorn)]

The battle that Jian was about to show was far from the dynamic action Amy and the viewers were hoping for.

‘The first opponent will be finished quickly.’

Jian’s black martial attire and pitch-black sword merged with the darkness. Like a sharply honed blade, he contained his explosive mana within.

[Amy♥: They must be around, right?]

Certainly there.

‘But it’s surprising.’

Even though fragments of the witch’s moon floated above, the opponent had completely erased their presence. Jian had noticed he was being targeted.

‘How long can they last?’

Jian smiled faintly.

Swoosh-

The wind swept across the forest.

The forest was silent, yet filled with a tension that could erupt at any moment.

Crunch.

The opponent’s mistake.

At the sound of dry leaves crushing, Jian crouched low and kicked off the ground. A piercing thrust, weighted with speed.

But at the last moment, Jian stopped his sword.

“…Isabel?”

Because the face at the end of his sword was all too familiar.

“…Jian?”

Isabel’s expression was endlessly haggard, as if she had been through much. And there were even leaves stuck in her hair, as if she had fought her way through the underbrush.

“I found you.”

With a face full of tender emotion, as if meeting a lifelong benefactor, Isabel asked a question that was utterly out of character for her.

“…Got anything to eat?”

Isabel Blitz.

The genius only daughter of the Tower Master.

Her hunger level was at 63, a number far removed from the word ‘hardship.’

Considering that a hunger level over 50 feels like three days without food, it was a cruelly high number.

“Starving is truly a sad affair.”

With a voice laden with regret, Jian murmured softly.

“What on earth… happened?”

* * *

The forest near the cave.

Jien and Isabel shared information.

What particularly surprised Jien was Isabel’s trait and her maximum MP.

‘MP at 9,600, and her trait is the Child of the Stars.’

Isabel’s mana potential, verified by the Gate, was three times that of Jien’s.

Of course, mana and combat power aren’t directly proportional, but Isabel’s talent was another level that Jien had never seen in his past life.

“Your MP is fully charged now, right?”

“Yeah. It’s the trait, but I only see mana links.”

Isabel’s expression hardened, perhaps recalling the hardships she faced on an empty stomach.

Her father was the master of the magic tower, and Isabel, coming from a noble family, was far from hardships.

“Pocket.”

Mid-sentence, Isabel fumbled for the chocolate floating in mid-air. She intended to save the chocolate for later.

With the [Sweet Snack Pouch], unlike Jien who no longer worried about hunger, Isabel found even a single piece of food precious.

“Ugh, why won’t it go in?”

“You can’t put back something you’ve already started eating.”

“Oh, is that so? That’s a pity.”

“Don’t worry. There’s plenty of food.”

From noble mtl dot come

Jien pulled out a few more biscuits and snacks from his pocket and offered them.

“Are, are you sure?”

Isabel received the food in her palms as if it were gold.

“Wow…”

No, to the current Isabel, food was more valuable than gold.

“Hehe, how many are these?”

Isabel, eyes shining, organized the snacks in her pocket.

[Amy♥: Wowㅎㅎ You even caught the party character yourself? Have you thought about going into broadcasting?]

At Amy’s message, Jien looked at Isabel with a pitiful face.

‘What kind of character is that…’

Rustle.

A small sound came from the bushes.

A very faint sign of life. Jian did not miss that subtle noise.

“Isabel, behind you!”

Caught off guard while sorting her pocket, Isabel couldn’t react in time.

Swoosh-!

Jian eyed the harpoon.

‘An ambush.’

As the harpoon was thrown, Jian used Sensory Maximization. Forced awakening of the senses and accelerated thought made the movement of the harpoon appear sluggish to him.

‘The Witch’s Moon Fragment… To not sense an opponent so close.’

He had overlooked the effect of the S-rank artifact. Under the red moonlight, even Jian’s sensitive five senses were rendered useless.

This was the real danger of the ‘False Eclipse’ created by Lucia.

‘No choice.’

The harpoon was too close to turn away. In the end, Jian had to use mana to grab Isabel by the collar.

“Yahh!”

With a strange battle cry, Isabel tumbled over the bushes. Thanks to that, the harpoon grazed over her head.

Thud!

The harpoon stuck in the tree instantly dispersed into mana. Proof that it was a magical tool.

Truly, it was one misfortune after another.

Covered in dirt and leaves, Isabel spoke in a calm voice.

“Until the air drop… 5 minutes, right?”

Isabel summoned the magical tool Blaze. Although Blaze took the form of an ordinary leather glove, the power contained within was second to none.

“I’ll earn my keep. Just watch.”

Isabel extended her palm to the right.

Boom boom boom-!

A series of spaced explosions obliterated everything 5 meters ahead.

“Argh! What the!”

The fleeing opponent screamed. Caught at the edge of the explosion, he was injured on one arm.

But the opponent did not give up.

With his remaining arm, he aimed the harpoon at Isabel.

Crackle!

The harpoon sparked and grew larger, nearing the size of a utility pole rather than a spear. The adversary hurled it effortlessly, disregarding its mass.

“Die!”

A powerful attack combining the S-rank magic device [Spear of Pursuit] and the [Amplification Sorcerer] trait.

Whoosh! Zzzzzzt!!

Yet, the spear twisted in the air, emitting a warping sound before halting right before Isabelle’s nose. Mana clashed with mana, creating sparks. Isabelle had ejected her mana in the form of a shield.