The crowd erupted in applause at the end of the match before dispersing. Meanwhile, Matias and Sable stood there stunned by Holden’s victory. Sable might not have been able to tell, but Mathias knew that the elf was a much better swordsman than Holden. Of course it didn’t really matter to Mathias how it happened, he was just glad that Holden won him his sword back.


    Holden went over to the mage who maintained the barrier around the fighting ring to claim his reward, which included both Mathias’s sword, and a fair bit of digmata that would make up for the lack of jobs Holden had had the past week.


    “I wonder, where in Thanador did you find such an exquisite sword?” Holden asked the mage as he received the sword.


    “Oh, I just stumbled upon it in the west side of town. I’m no good with swords, though, so I thought I’d offer it up as a prize for tonight’s tournament.


    Holden knew right away that the mage was lying, or at least stretching the truth. The mage probably knew the sword was possessed, and didn’t want to con a pawn dealer or fence. Doing so would bring him a lot of trouble. However, Holden had to admit, offering it up as a reward for the sword tournament was a pretty good scheme. The mage took a portion of all the entry fees, and a magic sword as a reward drew a large number of participants.


    “Well, I guess it doesn’t matter where you got it,” Holden said, eagerly receiving the sword from the mages. “Thanks for a spirit possessed weapon. I’ll make sure it ends up on good hands.”


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    The mage’s jaw dropped as Holden walked away from him.


    The moment Holden held the sword in his hands, Holden was able to hear the sword speaking directly into his head.


    “Oh, thank goodness I’ve finally found a wielder worthy of my greatness, the sword said. “I swear my last wielder was an incompetent baboon. I swear drunken monkeys are better sword fighters than him.”


    Holden nodded along with everything the sword said, until he finally returned to Sable and Mathias at which time Holden placed the sword in Mathias’s hands.


    “Oh, wait? What?” The sword said in confusion. “No. Not this guy again. Why would you give me to him? This kid is hardly worthy of such an exquisite sword.”


    Holden was incapable of hearing what the sword was saying once he was no longer touching it. Meanwhile, Mathias just decided to ignore everything it was saying.


    With the sword firmly clutched in his hands, Mathias bowed to Holden to show his gratitude. ‘Thank you for all of your help. Because of you, my family’s sword is back in my hands.”


    “Don’t be letting go of that sword now,” Holden reminded him as Sable jumped onto his shoulders. “We wouldn’t want to have to chase it through the Undercity.”


    “Of course, I’ll be careful. Now about your payment.”


    Holden gestured for Mathias to stop talking. “Keep it for now. Go to the Mages Union on the east side of town and hire a mage to remove that spirit for you. I won enough digmata to hold myself over for a bit.”


    Mathias had an uneasy look on his face. “Are you sure? I have the money. I may have to just barely scrape by for a while, but I can afford it.”


    “Don’t worry. I trust you, kid. Pay me back when you can, or you can repay me a bit at a time. Better hurry off to the Mages Union now. I think that sword of yours might be trying to get away.”


    Mathias noticed his sword shaking in his hands, and could hear it screaming in his head, demanding to be let free. Mathias thanked Holden once again before running off to the Mages Union.