《Blood-stained Blade (Gamelit, Sword MC)》 Ch. 1 - Nothing +1 Life Force +1 Life Force +1 Life Force +1 Life Force +1 Life Force +1 Life Force The words faded slowly into existence, though they held no meaning. It took longer for that to happen. At first, they were just a different shade of darkness from the oblivion that surrounded it. They were dark gray on the black void, but slowly they kindled into something more substantial and reintroduced color to the world. Well, one color at least: red. +1 Life Force Eventually, it figured out something else, too. If the words existed, and the energy paired with them surged through it with each new announcement, then it had to exist too, didn¡¯t it? Who am I, though, it wondered. Unfortunately, there were no easy answers to that question, and groping around in the dark accomplished nothing. +1 Life Force +1 Life Force The messages prodded it incessantly, preventing it from going back to sleep. That was annoying, but it was only when it had that thought that it understood that there was a state of existence called sleep in the first place. +1 Life Force The state of being unaware and insensible to your surroundings. Huh. I think I much preferred that to whatever this is. +1 Life Force It didn¡¯t know what this was, though, or even what it was. Its mind felt half asleep still, and only the insistent jolts forced it to slowly come awake against its will. +1 Life Force All it knew was that every few seconds, it impacted something. It was a distant sensation that it had to concentrate to feel beneath the rush of energy because the two were almost always in sync. +1 Life Force +1 Life Force Sometimes, that something was hard and unyielding, and sometimes, it was warmer and softer. It was only on those second impacts that the annoying message reappeared. +1 Life Force Each message was now accompanied by a faint jolt of feeling that it could barely feel through whatever it was that it was encased within. But what was it, and where was it? Those were good questions, but they had no ready answers. It reached out to that feeling of impact, but there was nothing else there. It was either being struck or it wasn¡¯t, and when it wasn¡¯t, there was nothing at all. No, not nothing at all. It slowly dawned on it that he was being held. Not here it was being struck, but at the other end. +1 Life Force +1 Life Force +1 Life Force For a time, it just existed, enjoying the feeling of warmth as it slowly thawed out and it tried to tease out this mystery. What was struck on one end but held on the other? It asked itself. +1 Life Force +1 Life Force Life Force Full Life Force Full Life Force Full Then, just like that, it was gone. That thin trickle of joy stopped as suddenly as it had started. Instead, it was replaced with a different sort of message, but this one was empty, and without that thrill of energy it had grown used to. It was being warned that it was full? What did that even mean? As it asked that question, a window appeared, floating in the ether. Life Force: 20/20 Twenty? Twenty what? It asked itself. Is that a little or a lot? It answered itself almost immediately. It had to be a lot because it was full, which meant that it was all there was. But what was it for? As if in response to its question, a second window appeared. It was larger than the first.
Repair Soul: 500 Life Force Empower Blade: 250 Life Force Share Senses: 100 Life Force Improved Siphon: 50 Life Force Increase Reserves: 20 Life Force
While it considered what these strange words might mean, the warning message continued to pester it. However, it wasn¡¯t quite sure what to do about that. It took longer than it should have to realize that only one of the options even seemed to be possible based on the current numbers as it understood them. As soon as it selected Increase Reserves, it instantly saw its Life Force shift from 20/20 to 0/40. For a moment, it panicked as a chill of lost power washed over it, leaving behind only emptiness behind. However, no sooner had it started to worry that it had made some sort of terrible mistake than the steady pulse of warmth returned as that pesky warning message stopped. +1 Life Force +1 Life Force +1 Life Force This time, it didn¡¯t take nearly as long to figure out the link between the messages and the numbers. Something was feeding it a trickle of irregular energy, and when it reached its maximum, that energy stopped for reasons it did not fully understand. This time it was ready, though. Despite the fact that Increase Reserves 2 had increased to 30 Life Force, it was still going to get it, because it was all there was to do. This time, as soon as it reached 30, it triggered it so that it wouldn¡¯t get that warning again and miss out on this delicious flow. All of its energy vanished in an instant, but it was rewarded once more with an increased maximum. Life Force 0/80 +1 Life Force +1 Life Force There was no way of knowing whether the small jolts of Life Force would be seconds or minutes apart, but it was determined not to waste anymore by being too full ever again. It wasn¡¯t quite greed that drove it. It was a need. It needed this power, though it did not know why. The need that it felt was too bad to ask why. Each time its Life Force total dipped back towards zero, it could feel a terrible hunger welling up inside of it once more. Hunger - the need or desire to be fed, flitted through its mind. That felt about right, though it had another association with feeding¡­ for a moment, memories of a table laden with dishes and something called food flickered before it, but they were gone again, even as it reached out to it. +1 Life Force Still, despite an almost compulsive need to watch the number rise and feel that warmth build, it forced itself to look at the other menu. It had already made the best use of its Life Force. Now, it needed to make the best use of its waiting time.
Repair Soul: 500 Life Force Empower Blade: 250 Life Force Share Senses: 100 Life Force Improved Siphon: 50 Life Force Increase Reserves 3: 40 Life Force
+1 Life Force +1 Life Force At the moment, it only had 6/80 Life Force, but that number would rise inevitably, and it would need to be ready when it reached the next critical number. What would that be, though? Three of its choices were still out of reach, but this time, there were two choices instead of just one. Would it choose the ability for 40 or the other ability for 50? Was there a difference? There had to be if they were named differently. So, which one was better? +1 Life Force Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. It flicked its attention to Improve Siphon since it hadn¡¯t tried to select it before, and instantly, a small explanatory message appeared as if by magic.
Improved Siphon: Your hunger increases. Each blow now drains from 1 to 3 Life Force.
Triple the Life Force? It thought, practically trembling at the thought as it wondered what getting three Life Force at once would even feel like. That had to be the winner, of course. Still, it checked on Increase Reserves 3, just in case.
Increase Reserves 3: Though you can never truly be sated, you can contain more. You can always contain more. Increase maximum Life Force to 150.
+1 Life Force +1 Life Force It was slightly disappointed to see that. It had expected the number to be 160 and somehow felt cheated that it was smaller than expected. This only doubled its certainty that Improved Siphon was the way to go. +1 Life Force +1 Life Force +1 Life Force +1 Life Force +1 Life Force This time, it felt like it had to wait longer. Not just because 50 was a larger number, either. Whatever it was that was randomly rewarding it with this energy seemed to be slowing down. It had only taken a handful of minutes to achieve the first two levels of reserves, but it felt like more than twice that long to get the 50 it needed for the next step. +1 Life Force +1 Life Force +1 Life Force Then, suddenly, just when it worried it might be stuck at 49 forever, the Life Force gauge rolled over to 50. It instantly selected the option it had been waiting for. Suddenly, it felt cold and empty, and just as suddenly, it had a new ability, and the menu had been populated with Improved Siphon 2: 75 Life Force. It had just enough time to contemplate all of that before it was stopped in its tracks by a blast of energy that was twice as powerful as any that came before it. +2 Life Force It had just enough time to wonder why it had only received 2 energy instead of 3 when it was hit by more jolts. +3 Life Force +1 Life Force From 1 to 3, it thought, remembering the wording on the ability. So it¡¯s no triple¡­ it¡¯s random. Random was another new word for it, but it filled the concept away as it focused on the more immediate issue. On average, the new power would double the amount of energy it had been getting, not triple it as it had first though, it realized, not quite sure how it had come to that conclusion. Still, it kept its thoughts simple, bracing itself for more energy. Only, that¡¯s not what happened. Instead, suddenly, something pulled away all six of the energy it had stored up. Then, it sat there at zero for some interminable length of time. No, sitting at zero wasn¡¯t right. Energy was coming to it; it could feel it, but even as it had barely registered it, it was immediately siphoned away somewhere else without even showing up as an alert. It was incredibly frustrating, and for several long minutes, it was certain that it was being toyed with, even if it still wasn¡¯t precisely certain who or what it was, or why it was alone in the dark. Such a statement raised several uncomfortable questions, though. Who was it to be toyed with, and who might be the one doing the tormenting? Hells, even more important than the question of who was how? It still felt the impacts. Hard. Soft. Soft. Hard. Soft. Something was still happening, but the chain of causality that it had come to expect and rely upon was broken. It floated there in the void stewing, and wondering what it was that determined what it was and was not allowed to get. Had something noticed that it had grown too powerful and decided to stop it? Something deep inside it began to boil with anger at the very thought that anyone would ever stand in its way. I will never bow to the will of another, it raged, surprised by the strength of the emotion. It tried to dig deeper into that, sure there must be a reason that it had felt this way, but it didn¡¯t find any memories to explain the impulse. It was just one more mystery to add to the pile. This continued a little while longer. Then the blows stopped altogether. After that, it was left alone in the void with only the menus for company. It reviewed the other options it could not yet afford and found that all of them raised some interesting questions, but it was hard to care about those questions too much when its whole world was slowly grinding to a halt as it froze solid without any Life Force feeding it.
Share Senses: The world is a large place, and you are but a single part. See the world that you are feeding off of to better understand the struggle. Empower Blade: You are more than just steel. All you need to do is manifest your true nature. (one of several options will be chosen upon selection) Repair Soul: Do you even know who you are? This option will attempt to repair your broken soul. If you are successful, you may finally let you understand why all of this is happening.
Those words floated there before its uncomprehending sight for several minutes, slowly losing their color before they finally disappeared entirely as the world went dark. After that, it ceased to be once more. It had no idea how much time had passed before it was awoken again. It simply ceased to exist until it slowly came to the surface once more, sometime later. Once again, it felt not just the blows but the Life Force that was supposed to accompany them again. That wasn¡¯t the indicator that haunted it, though. That was floated there, in midair before it dominating its field of vision is a pale red that was slowly fading to a darker gray. Life Force: 0/80. Zero. It was the most important number in the world, and nothing it could do would change it. +2 Life Force +1 Life Force +3 Life Force +3 Life Force +2 Life Force It was less of a flow and more of a tide this time. In seconds, it went from oblivion to wide awake as it drank in the new flood of power. It was stronger than before and more insistent, but it still wasn¡¯t enough. +2 Life Force +1 Life Force It waited for minutes, letting its total accumulate. It thought about trying to save some, and hold it in reserve to prevent whatever had just happened from happening again, but it couldn¡¯t. The risk that its power might be stolen away again was even worse than the risk that it might run out. As soon as another +2 brought it to a grand total of 76, it used 75 points to bring it to bring its Improved Siphon ability to level 3. Just like that, instead of getting 1 to 3 Life Force in each jolt of power it received, it was getting 3 to 5. Its old maximum was now its new minimum, and it gloried in that. +3 Life Force +4 Life Force +4 Life Force +5 Life Force +3 Life Force
Improved Siphon 3: your hunger increases. It is a palpable thing. Increase maximum Life Force drained per blow from 3 to 7.
+5 Life Force Even after it spent 75 though, it was already back above twenty and rising. Now that it was gaining Life Force so quickly, it needed to wait less than a minute before it could afford Improved Siphon 3. +2 Life Force +4 Life Force +3 Life Force +5 Life Force At only a hundred Life Force, it considered that a bargain and selected it as quickly as it could. It was almost having trouble spending the points faster than they were coming in now, and items were selected on impulse instead of planning or deliberation. +6 Life Force Increase Reserves 3 was purchased almost instantly for 40 Life Force to increase its Life Force Maximum to 150. That ability was replaced in turn by Increase Reserves 4. In the space of a few minutes its Life Force reservoir was increased in size from 150 points to 300 points. Suddenly, it felt like it could contain all the power in the world. Indeed, it was tempted to if it ever stopped flowing again like it had so recently. As I have so recently, twice, it corrected itself. It had woken up the first time from a similar stupor. Arguably, for it to forget everything before that point, it had probably been asleep for quite some time. +4 Life Force How long would it take to forget who or what I am? It wondered. Have already had to get these abilities before? If I have done all this before, then what¡¯s the point? They were good questions, but the only clue it had to that were the words of the abilities that were still too expensive to select. It had a broken soul, and it seemed like it might be important to do something about that, though it would take a bit longer to reach that pinnacle. +3 Life Force +7 Life Force Its choices were getting simpler as its priorities became more straightforward, but they were growing more costly, too. No matter how much it wanted to further increase the power flowing into it or grow its strength, it first had to understand what was happening to it. It could not continue to make intelligent decisions in a vacuum. Share Senses had to be the next objective. That was the only way it could figure out what was going on, and right now such knowledge was more valuable than even its precious Life Force.
Repair Soul: 500 Life Force Empower Blade: 250 Life Force Improved Siphon 4: 200 Life Force Share Senses: 100 Life Force Increase Reserves 4: 60 Life Force
+5 Life Force +6 Life Force It no longer took much time to get to 100 Life Force. Even when the flow stopped for a time and very briefly reversed around 63, it stayed calm and waited patiently to reach its goal, and after several more minutes, it finally got there. +3 Life Force The last few times it had selected a new power, it merely felt weakened or cold as it poured out all the energy that came into it. Nothing else had changed. This time, though, everything was different. This time, the darkness that had blinded it until now, limiting it to its own thoughts, fell away to reveal a wider world that had only suspected the existence of until now. It was no longer a prisoner to the darkness. Instead, it was completely overwhelmed by the moment as colors, shapes, and sounds sprang into existence. A moment ago there had been only its thoughts echoing through its lonely mind, a few barely changing menus, and the feeling of a distant impact that was usually accompanied by a burst of Life Force. Now, there were screams of dying men, battle cries, and the sound of steel ringing out against steel. It was overwhelmed by the sudden burst of sensations. Ch. 2 - Something It had already discovered red. Now, there were other colors, too, but it was red that dominated the world that had been thrust upon it. Red was the color of the ruby in its hilt, and the blood that dripped off of its blade. It was also the color of its enemies, at least in part. Behind them were was the gray of the cliffs and the blue of the cloudless sky, along with the brown matted fur of its savage, bestial opponents, but it was red that outshone them all. It was pooled beneath the bodies that surrounded the man who wielded it, and it was splattered across those who still managed to face him. Most importantly, though, it covered the sword that beheld all of this. +5 Life Force And what was it? It was a sword, with a deep black blade. It¡¯s edges were dull and notched in places and a grey rust like coating covered parts of its blade in ugly, blotchy patern, but there was no mistaking that it was a weapon. It was the one that was beholding all of this. It could see everything in all directions at once, but only with any clarity for a few feet. After that things started to blur, and in the distance, the mountains, or at least what it thought were mountains were no more than smudges. Why should I know what a mountain is? It wondered. I¡¯ve never seen one before, have I? Something about that didn¡¯t make sense to the blade, but there was no denying the reality as it took everything in, just as there was no denying the energy it absorbed from the blood that flowed down the runed channels that led along the flat of its blade toward the throbbing square cut ruby in the pommel. +3 Life Force Now that it could see what was happening, everything made sense. That was where the warmth and the Life Force were coming from. It was coming from its enemies and their blood. Each time its wielder thrust it through the still-beating heart of an enemy, slashed it across their chest, or sliced off a limb in a spray of gore and viscera, the energy that made that up evaporated like a fine mist. However, not all of it escaped. Before that fleeting burst of essence could evaporate, some of it was absorbed by its blade. Every time that happened, the large ruby that was inset into its pommel glowed with an inner light. Each of those strikes felt different, too. It Could feel the deliverance between the way flesh and fat cut vs deeper muscle. It could also feel the way its blade grated against the bone. Even if it hadn¡¯t been able to see its enemies, it might have been able to say how strong they were just from the way it felt to cut them open. +4 Life Force +6 Life Force The fact that it was a sword wasn¡¯t a surprise was in itself a surprise to it, but that wasn¡¯t enough to distract it from everything else that was going on. There was simply too much to take in to worry about such details. It didn¡¯t matter that it was a sword or even that it was being wielded inexpertly. What mattered was the pace of the fighting going on all around it. The man who wielded it seemed a little weak to have shed so much blood. He was a youth who¡¯d probably never had to shave hair from his chin. He was dressed in the bloody rags of a shepherd, not the armor of a fighter. He was no true warrior, and the sword felt dirtied to be wielded by such a scrawny young thing, but it had no say in the matter. It could barely influence the path the boy swung it on, though it did try, almost unconsciously to do so. +5 Life Force Still, beastmen that beset the two of them on all sides didn¡¯t seem particularly tough. Oh, they roared and screeched and glared with their strangely slitted goat eyes; individually, each of them was stronger than the shepherd or whoever it was that currently wielded it. However, they were only four feet tall, with weapons of wood and bone that could not parry even a single attack from its powerful, dark blade. No, not dark, it realized. ebon. That wasn¡¯t a color. It was a name. It wasn¡¯t a sword, it was the Ebon Blade. That name meant nothing to it, but it was sure that it belonged to it, and compared to it, the entire tribe was less than nothing. +5 Life Force +7 Life Force Its wielder moved like a man possessed, and the sword was certain that was due more to its strength than its wielders. It might not have unraveled the mystery of its existence, but it was sure that the sweating young man and his quivering muscles could never have killed half so many without its magic to guide his hand. How did that work? It wondered. Am I lending him strength too, or just my skill? It did not know. Perhaps one of the abilities it hadn¡¯t picked yet would give it insight into that. Empower Blade seemed to be a likely option, but it couldn¡¯t afford that yet. +3 Life Force +4 Life Force Even against its power, not every blow could be stopped. Not when it was one man alone against nearly a dozen opponents simultaneously. No matter how its wielder whirled and danced as he lost himself in the bloodlust, something would make it through. Sometimes, it was an arrow that embedded in his unarmored chest, and other times, it was a spear that made it under his guard. It didn¡¯t matter to the wielder, though. To him, each of those blows vanished in moments. As soon as the weapon left the flesh, or the arrow was pulled out, the mark it left behind healed completely with only the slightest scar. It was another aspect of its magic that it did not understand. -3 Life Force Its wielder was stealing its Life Force to keep itself alive, the sword realized slowly. That was a better reason for what had been happening than pure capriciousness, at least. Until now, it had thought that something was denying it the power it craved just to keep it from getting stronger. This made more sense. My wielder has to live, or I am useless, it told itself, even if it didn¡¯t really believe it. It cared nothing for the man that held it. What didn¡¯t make sense was the fight itself. The blade could see the swirling melee, but there was no indication as to why the fight was happening. Why was a lone shepherd in such a rugged, dreary place? How did someone so unworthy come to possess such a powerful weapon? There were only mountains and cliffs, along with a single cave. Where was his flock? Why was he surrounded by so many beastmen? Where did they come from? +6 Life Force The blade wasn¡¯t sure if it was the lingering confusion of escaping the darkness, but it didn¡¯t have the best sense about any of these things. Also, more irritatingly, after less than a dozen feet, the blade¡¯s vision blurred. It had a perfect view of the battles at hand from any angle it chose to view them, but beyond that, things fell off rapidly. There was a wider world, but the blade cared only for the fight, and its wielder at the center of it. So, that didn¡¯t matter too much to it. +5 Life Force +5 Life Force What did matter was why the man seemed hell-bent on holding this ground against overwhelming odds. He didn¡¯t charge the enemy, nor did he flee from them. He just stood there like an ocean breaker fighting an endless battle with the tide that did seem likely to end any time soon. It was a recipe for suicide if ever it had seen one. Lost causes can be their own reward, its mind whispered. It tried to follow that impulse, and understand where it had come from, but before it could, the battle tore its attention away. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. +7 Life Force The sword didn¡¯t mind that. It would gladly drink in blood and pain; it just wished it understood. Briefly, it worried about what would happen if the peasant-turned-berserker were to fall, but that faded as soon as it realized that one of the beast men would quickly pick it up instead. In fact, it realized that might be preferable. It could still see a look of discipline on the face of the man, but one of the maniacal goat men seemed likely to fly into a boundless rage and kill everything in sight, including his own kin, which would feed it Life Force that much faster. +3 Life Force +7 Life Force +4 Life Force +3 Life Force That observation was confirmed only a moment later when it heard someone call out, ¡°Ren, come on, we have her, it¡¯s time to go!¡± +5 Life Force The blurry shape of a man ran toward the swordsman, and he almost lost his life for it. Before its wielder could even see the man, he whirled around, and it was only with great strain that he managed to stop the blade before it beheaded the blond newcomer. The second man was no warrior either. He was just another young peasant with a bloody dagger in his hand. Since the sword would not get to taste his lifeblood either, it had to content itself with the look of fear in the shorter man¡¯s eyes as he thought he was about to die. He didn¡¯t, though. Instead, Ren, who was apparently the sword wielder, made a fighting retreat. He kept fighting, but now they slowly backed away from the rocky cliff he¡¯d been facing off against, they moved passed a cave entrance, and back into a canyon. There were fewer beastmen here, and the Life Force that it drank in slowed to a dribble. The sword took the opportunity of the lull to drain its nearly overflowing pool of energy. Even if the fighting was about to end, it didn¡¯t want to waste a drop. When it flipped to its menu, though, what it found surprised it. It had upgraded Share Senses most recently, but unlike every other ability so far, it had not been replaced by a more advanced ability of the same name. Instead, there were now two abilities where one had been. The sword flipped through both, and the differences were immediately made clear. Increase Senses gave it a better view of the world around it, presumably reducing the blurriness and expanding its view, while Increase Connection gave it more insight into the person who was wielding it. Both of those seemed important, but neither of them seemed as important as Improved Siphon.
Repair Soul: 500 Life Force Empower Blade: 250 Life Force Improved Siphon 4: 200 Life Force Increase Senses: 150 Life Force Increase Connection: 150 Life Force Increase Reserves 4: 60 Life Force
So, it spent 200 Life Force, bringing its total all the way down to 34. It felt empty, then, but it did not regret the choice. All that mattered was growing strong, and that meant soaking in as much energy as possible from every conflict. This was the blade¡¯s first upgrade since it could see itself, and it saw the dull, worn away runes that stretched from the gem toward the tip along the flat of the blade waver as the blade lengthened a bit. It wasn¡¯t an obvious change, but it was clear what was happening, at least to it. I¡¯m restoring myself, one upgrade at a time, it realized.
Improved Siphon 4 The pulse of the world beats all around you. Drink deeply, but know it will never be enough. Increased the Life Force drained per blow from 5 to 11.
Suddenly, just like that, the weapon realized that it might get as much as two or three times as much power from every strike going forward. Sadly, the beastmen did not chase the two of them for very long, as the monsters regrouped. So, it didn¡¯t seem likely any more blood would flow for now. Its wielder seemed to have no interest in attacking the other human, which was frustrating because the blade was sure his Life Force was even stronger than the monsters it had tasted up until now. It could feel it throbbing inside of him as his little rabbit heart raced from exertion and fear. Instead, when the two of them got far enough away from the beastmen, they met up with two other humans who with a group of horses. From there, it was sheathed, and the four of them started to ride as fast as possible. Its vision became dimmer still when it was placed into a sheath. Even in that fog, though, its wielder was still sharp and bright, and the other seven life forms near him throbbed with energy in time with their pulse. The young man didn¡¯t seem like he was about to slice this group to ribbons either, but the sword wanted him to. It willed him to draw it and strike them down without much success. It would apparently have to get Increase Connection to make that happen. The sword had wanted to increase its reserves and then increase the amount it siphoned even more, but that might have to be put on hold if its wielder was going to lose interest in fighting then it was going to have to take control. ¡°Hurry up,¡± the man who had escorted them here said. ¡°They¡¯re coming, they¡¯re coming!¡± the other screamed. The girl said nothing, quite sensibly, since it was easy to see, even with the sword¡¯s flawed perception, that nothing was getting close. It was true that there were a great many fuzzy dark spots chasing them, but they were distant and indistinct. They hadn¡¯t been able to keep up with the short legs of men, and they would quickly fall behind the powerful strides of the horses that the men now rode. It had not been mounted before, to the best of its knowledge. However, there was something to the steady rhythm of the gallop that stirred its memories. It was certain it had experienced this sort of frantic motion at some point in the forgotten past. Life Force: 34/300 -1 Life Force The message surprised it. Last time, it had just slowly faded into non-existence when it had run out of energy, but apparently, this time, it could stay awake as long as it still had reserves. How long would 35 Life Force last? It had no idea. Minutes? Hours? Days? Honestly, it wasn¡¯t really sure how long those were any more or even why it knew the names of various measurements of time. While the four of them rode for their lives, it calmly contemplated the situation. First, it examined itself, and when it determined that it only lost a point every twenty or thirty minutes, it examined those around it as best it could, determining the optimal order to kill them in. All of the horses, and most of the humans seemed to be in fine shape, but it could sense that one of them was wounded and bleeding out his lifeforce slowly from a wound to his abdomen. What a waste, the blade thought, wishing that it could drink that power instead. It was only after that, and after the horses had been slowed to a walk so that they could rest, that it paid any attention to what the four of them were chattering about. -1 Life Force How long had it been? It wondered. A Half hour? An hour? ¡°But we can¡¯t go back to the village,¡± the woman said sadly. ¡°None of us can, not ever again. You know we can¡¯t. They¡¯ll know that you rescued me and ruined the sacrifice. We can¡¯t hide that!¡± ¡°Who wants to hide it? Screw ¡¯em!¡± Ren spat in content. ¡°They tried to sacrifice you. They can burn for all I care. Not just the elders either. Everyone. Every man and¡ª¡± ¡°They might burn, though,¡± the outline of one of the other young men said. ¡°With no sacrifice, the tribes will attack, and if that happens... Well, they should be warned at the very least.¡± ¡°But if you go there to warn them, they¡¯ll kill you!¡± the girl whined, in a tone that indicated she was already crying gently, even if it could not see her tears. ¡°I¡¯m not letting my brother die just because he saved his sister.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go,¡± Ren volunteered. ¡°If they try to stop me from leaving after, well then I¡¯ll just have to show them just what this baby can do. That will settle any arguments pretty quickly.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t,¡± the third boy said. ¡°That¡¯s the cursed blade from the stories. Everyone will recognize it, and if people see you with it, they¡¯ll call the witch-hunters. It was very useful for saving Vara, but you really should put it back before we ride further south. If you don''t then¡ª¡± ¡°Back?¡± Ren laughed. ¡°Back? There¡¯s no way I¡¯m putting this thing back. With this blade, I can finally stop being a nobody in the middle of the Kaladian wastes and start being somebody. We all can. We can sign up for the guild and¡ª¡± ¡°Stop, Ren. Will you just stop, okay?¡± Vara sobbed. ¡°I¡¯m not killing anyone. None of us are, okay. We¡¯ll find somewhere quiet far from here to settle down and rebuild our lives. We can find some work to get us through the winter, and then in the spring we can¡­¡± After that pronouncement and the fact that its sorry excuse for a wielder didn¡¯t argue the point further or strike her down for her insolence, the blade began ignoring them as it plotted its own plans. Clearly, its wielder had at least some spine. It just needed a way to convince the boy to follow his dream and leave the rest of this dead weight behind. It didn¡¯t care who or what the lad killed as long as he was killing. -1 Life Force -1 Life Force -1 Life Force That night, the small group stopped and sheltered behind a rocky outcropping in the grassy foothills. The state of their camp made it clear that they had not planned this adventure well. Only one day out and they were already low on water, low on food, and the four of them were forced to share a tent. The sword tuned out all of their insipid conversations, at least until the group started talking about it again, along with the ruins it had apparently been imprisoned in until recently. Those were topics that finally made it pay attention. It hungered for every clue about its own existence almost as much as it hungered for the Life Force of the small group huddled around the campfire. Ch. 3 - Everything Ren sighed as he set the sword aside and reached back to get a few more of the sticks they¡¯d gathered for the failing fire. ¡°The temple? There hasn¡¯t been anything holy about that place since the time of our grandparents, grandparents, Mardem. You were there, man. You know how ugly it was,¡± Ren told his friend as it fed the fire slowly. ¡°Vara doesn¡¯t need to hear that shit. No one does.¡± Life Force: 19/300 The sword had used up almost half its reserves, and unless there was a battle during the night, it would likely lose power again sometime after sunrise. It could do nothing change that, though, so it did not fear it. It would wake once more when the fighting started, and in a place this desolate, bloodshed was inevitable. Instead, it merely listened while the small group finally cajoled its wielder into sharing what little he knew about its origins. ¡°You have to understand. There were a lot of goblins,¡± Ren started. ¡°Like¡­ Even more than we thought there would be. My parents always told me the place was infested, but¡­ there had to be hundreds. We fended them off with torches mostly at first, because they¡¯re afraid of fire.¡± The boy told the story about how he and Mardem had decided that after Vara had been chosen by the lottery, the two of them had decided that only the Ebon blade would give them enough strength to fight off the beastmen that would be drawn there to save her. ¡°It was my idea,¡± Mardem bragged. ¡°I¡¯m the one that remembered the cursed blade was even still there in the sanctum.¡± -1 Life Force ¡°Yeah, well, I¡¯m the one that cut us free of the goblin ambush,¡± Ren bragged, leaning forward. ¡°I slew them by the dozens!¡± ¡°The sword slew them,¡± Mardem said with a shake of his head. ¡°You were just holding it. If I¡¯d been the one to squeeze between those bars, then I¡¯d be the one wielding it right now, and¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯s mine,¡± Ren said with a feral note before he remembered himself and relaxed. Several things became clear to the sword at once during that exchange. The first was where the initial burst of Life Force had come from and why it stopped, the second was that these two boys seemed to be friends used to a bit of healthy competition, and the third was that they both seemed to be vying for the pretty young woman that was seated across the fire from them. -1 Life Force -1 Life Force Only the fourth member of their group seemed to have no interest in the girl, which obviously made him the brother that she had mentioned earlier in the evening. He sat there quietly, trying to cope with the pain of a not-so-minor wound. Since no one else appeared worried, the boy¡¯s efforts to hide it were paying off. Still, the sword could see right through the thin, gauzy clothes that the boy¡¯s outline wore. There, it could see the boy¡¯s energy leaking out one heartbeat at a time, and it was obviously too serious a thing to hide for long. He won¡¯t make it more than another day or two at this rate, the sword thought as it studied the problem, wishing it could soak up the boy¡¯s dwindling life energy instead of letting it leak into the hasty bandages. -1 Life Force The two boys both clearly wanted the same girl, and the longer they told the story about the battle with the goblins and, later, the beast men, the clearer it all became to the sword. It was almost as plain, at least to the weapon, that she liked the boy who had fought with bravery instead of the one with the cursed blade. It wondered just how long it would be until its wielder figured that out, and decided there was only one way to solve that issue. It wished that it could have whispered the secret to him. Unfortunately, his mind was somewhere beyond the weapon¡¯s reach. None of them seemed to know why the Ebon Blade was cursed or why it had been secured in such an unimportant shrine, so far from the rest of the world, but it had been. Its only real clue was that apparently it had been there since the time of their grandparents, grandparents, which would have been nearly a century. The boys both mentioned murals that might have given it some answers. Unfortunately, neither of them had bothered to study them, much to its frustration. To them, it had been there so long that it had almost been forgotten about. It had become a sort of local myth forgotten by the wider world long before the temple had been abandoned and reclaimed by filthy greenskins. -1 Life Force In fact, if the annual sacrifice had chosen literally anyone else in the village besides the pretty young woman that both Ren and Mardem were smitten with, then it would likely had stayed there for decades or centuries more. It was only that sacrifice that made them act rashly, and forced them into trying to retrieve the forgotten weapon. After that, they¡¯d ridden to the site of the altar, where they found Vara¡¯s brother already there, ready to protect her as long as he could with their father¡¯s stolen sword while the beastmen began to gather. It was a touching story. Three friends had defied impossible odds to save one girl that they all loved in their own way. They¡¯d defeated dozens of goblins and beastmen, but there was nothing in any of those words that could touch in the cold metal sword. There was merely a throbbing ruby that dimmed more and more, the longer it stayed in its sheath. It didn¡¯t belong a sheath, though. The only sheath it would ever belong in was being impaled in the body of a dying opponent. It did not yet know what it wanted beyond the death of its enemies. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Succh things would take time to understand. Once it had drunk an ocean of blood and restored itself then it would know, and it would be strong enough to do whatever needed to be done. -1 Life Force The longer the four of them talked, the more it was certain that it didn¡¯t care whether any of them survived. It just hoped that if they did die, it would be the one to strike the blow. -1 Life Force -1 Life Force -1 Life Force The sword¡¯s vision was much too blurred to see the stars in the darkness, even after everyone fell asleep huddled together. By the time the sun rose, it was down to just 3 Life Force, and so it barely paid attention to the shifting colors of the horizon. It had spent the night hoping that riders from the children¡¯s village would find them and cause a bloody confrontation, or goblins might boil up from some hole for a midnight raid. Instead, everyone slept peacefully, and shortly after its wielder stirred, the darkness took it once more. . . . +9 Life Force -9 Life Force The sword had no idea how long it slumbered, but when it returned to consciousness with the powerful sensation of Life Force flooding through it. That energy was almost immediately sucked away by its wielder, who was also injured immediately afterward, but it was enough to revitalize it just the same. The man had been hit by an arrow. No, the sword realized, its wielder had been hit by several arrows. Between him and his mount, it would have been fair to use the word riddled. Without the sudden jolt of energy it had taken from the sword, he would almost certainly have been dying. +6 Life Force As soon as it looked past its injured wielder, the situation immediately became clear. The four of them had ridden far enough that the mountains were more distant now, but little else had changed. The wounded boy was still clinging to life, even as he, his sister, and Mardem rode away from the scene of a bloody ambush. It immediately became apparent who had done this, as gnolls howled and growled as they cast down their short bows and charged the injured, unhorsed boy that they expected to make quick work of. They¡¯d unleashed their ambush to great affect, and now they would feast. The sword was not impressed. The beasts were using a mixed assortment of stolen human blades that had been half rusted through along with some stone knives and axes. +7 Life Force -2 Life Force That wasn¡¯t the most interesting part, though. The most interesting part was that the wielder had figured out that he could regenerate by stealing the life of others. Instead of panicking and running with his friends, he left his blade embedded in the chest of the dying horse, putting the beast out of its misery and draining as much of its failing strength as he could while he pulled the obsidian-tipped arrows out of his flesh one by one. -4 Life Force -3 Life Force By the time the gnolls reached him, he was all but healed and waiting for them in a lazy stance with the tip of his blade resting on the ground. The sword was annoyed by this disrespectful behavior, but could do nothing to change it. It wasn¡¯t even close to powered up enough to contemplate its next ability, and nothing it could purchase would let it take control of its destiny yet. The first gnoll to leap at the wielder was sliced in half midair and was dead before it hit the ground. The blade felt the swing delay for only a moment at the spine before that shattered before its might. It was a bloody spectacle that the sword appreciated as a slow-motion curtain of blood even as it happened too fast for the other gnolls to take in before the combat was joined. +10 Life Force It was four-on-one for a moment, but shortly after that, it was six-on-one. The sword was not concerned. Its wielder was still less than ideal, but he was rested now and moved with a savagery that even these animalistic creatures couldn¡¯t match. The first one was beheaded, and then disarmed, literally, just below the elbows in the first swing. Both arms and its stone axe all fell away in different directions as the hound crumpled. +8 Life Force +6 Life Force +11 Life Force Less than a minute before, its wielder had been halfway to a corpse himself, but now, he was full of life, and the tables had turned entirely. These mongrel men were significantly fiercer than the goatmen that its wielder had faced recently, but they were still nothing compared to the Ebon Blade. +9 Life Force +6 Life Force Its wielder didn¡¯t even try to avoid every stab or every desperate rake of his opponent¡¯s dirty claws. He didn¡¯t have to. Every move was designed to murder his opponents, and if he had to get stabbed sometimes for the perfect blow, then that¡¯s exactly what he did. The blade, thought he was still sloppy, and tried to help where it could, even its ability to influence anything was limited. Still, there was no denying that he was learning and more than that, he was enthusiastic. Each enemy wasn¡¯t just killed. They were brutalized. +9 Life Force +9 Life Force +11 Life Force The blade wished that a fight like this could have lasted forever, but only two minutes later, it was complete when its wielder tossed it end over end through the back of a fleeing enemy. As a tactic, it was effective, but the sword instantly realized its wielder¡¯s mistake. The blade was no longer in his hand and, therefore, no longer under its control. +5 Life Force If the gnoll had somehow managed to dodge the attack or pull the weapon free and take hold of it, then the monster would have made minced meat of Ren. As the Ebon Blade pondered the possibility, it decided that it would not have been sorry to see the young love-struck shepherd go. +7 Life Force Fortunately for the young man, though, it died as the blade impaled the running dog man through the spine, and it absorbed the last of beast''s life. That gave it another interesting insight. It needs someone to wield it, but not to drain Life Force. It only needed to be impaled in someone for that. Despite the short fight and the relatively few victims, it soaked up vast amounts of the force in less than two minutes. Sadly, it was just shy of the number that it needed to claim Enhanced Connection. Life Force: 143/300 For a moment, it almost gave up and dumped the energy into Increase Reserves 4 instead. That would have been a mistake, though. It took the weapon half a minute to figure out why its wielder hadn¡¯t resheathed the blade and run away or even begun digging through his meager possessions in the horse¡¯s saddlebags. Instead of doing either, he started up the hill to where the ambush had occurred. There might well be a gnoll den up there. If there was, that den would be full of bitches and pups, along with a few more warriors. Each of those lives, no matter how big or small, would be thrumming with life that it could drain and put to better use. Suddenly, it gained a tiny amount of respect for its wielder. He might not be strong, but he was hungry, and perhaps, in time, the man could be taught to become the servant it needed him to be. At least, until it found a better vessel. Ch. 4 - Crossroads By the time the sword and its wielder walked back out of the shallow gnoll den to find his waiting friends, he was covered in blood. In the minutes they¡¯d been separated, he¡¯d killed everything with a pulse in the cramped, disgusting place and returned to find only fresh air and judging eyes. The slaughter he¡¯d just enacted wasn¡¯t in vengeance for hurting him or for killing his horse, though. It wasn¡¯t even because they¡¯d tried to kill Vara. The blade knew that now because the rampage had given it enough power to claim Enhanced Connection 1, letting it sense and even influence its wielder¡¯s emotions, though his conscious thoughts remained out of reach. That had cost it 150 Life Force, and removed some of the rust on its wire wound pommel. Still, despite that, thanks to all the pups that its wielder had slaughtered, it still had enough left over to spend another 60 LIfe Force on Increase Reserves 4. That upgrade had increased its pool¡¯s maximum Life Force and deepened the carved runes on its blade ever so slightly, even as it had reduced its current Life Force totals to almost nothing. Life Force: 31/500 In this case, it was the Enhanced Connection with its wielder that had paid for the second upgrade. The man had fought like a demon, without any urging at all, through the guards, the old mutts who were too old to raid that had been behind them, and the vicious bitches that had followed. However, for whatever reason, when Ren had seen the youngest members of the pack, his rage had faltered. That delay only lasted until the blade¡¯s hunger and bloodlust had been enough to tip the scales and make Ren see what the right thing to do was. A heart was a liability, but the man still had one. The blade did not, though, and it had been satisfied by its ability to influence him. Still, it was disappointed to find that when it tried to do the same thing when his friends appeared, nothing happened. Kill them all, they¡¯re only slowing you down! It raged. Save one horse for yourself and go as fast as you can to¡­ Its words trailed off when its wielder sheathed it and made it clear he had absolutely no intention of taking any more lives just now. It was a disappointing moment, considering how much it had paid for such a marginal advantage and how much more it would apparently have to pay to increase its hold on him even further. The next level of Increase Connection had revealed itself, but it was 300 Life Force, which was a significant investment, especially in this empty place with no one else to kill.
Increase Connection 2: Can you feel it? The gap between souls lessens and your grip on your wielder tightens. At this level, it extends past emotions, allowing some level of insight and influence into their very thoughts.
There will be time, it assured itself. It has only been a few days, and I¡¯ve already come this far. In a few weeks or months, he, or whoever replaces him, will be nothing more than a puppet to exercise my will. -1 Life Force Ren¡¯s friends were all surprised and overjoyed to see that he didn¡¯t have a scratch on him. Well, everyone except for Elliah. He was so pale that he was barely holding on to his reigns. It was clear that everyone knew how badly he was hurt, but it was equally clear that they could do nothing for him as he slowly died of the internal bleeding that had slowed but not ceased, and the infection that was starting to bloom within the man like a dark stain. ¡°I was so worried,¡± Vara said as she hopped down from her horse and moved to hug him. It was only when she saw just how drenched in gore he was that she held back. ¡°I thought for sure they¡¯d shot you almost as badly as your horse, but¡ª¡± For just a moment, the blade could feel he was about to confess that he¡¯d been hurt but that his sword had healed him. It couldn¡¯t let that happen and ruthlessly suppressed that urge. ¡°N-no,¡± Ren lied, ¡°Just the horse, thankfully. I fought my way free and took them out, though. These things will never¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯ll say!¡± Mardem said, pointing to his first battlefield. ¡°You chopped them into pieces so small we might as well sell them at market as stew meat!¡± ¡°I did what I had to do,¡± Ren said dismissively, looking at his blood-spattered body. ¡°Now I need to find a stream or something to wash off.¡± -1 Life Force It turned out that a stream wasn¡¯t too far, and after a half-hour walk, he was stripped to the waist and splashing himself clean. The sword spent that time wondering if its wielder realized all it would take to heal his friend would be to let him hold it for a minute and draw its lingering power out. It assumed that he had, since Ren had figured out he could heal himself with it in the same way. So, the fact that he wasn¡¯t volunteering that information to anyone was a good sign. It didn¡¯t know whether that secrecy was driven by paranoia or indifference, but the blade did the best it could to inflame that with its urgent feelings of possessiveness and jealousy. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. If you let someone else hold me, even for a moment, they will steal my power for themselves! It raged. Even though the words did not reach the man, it was certain that the feelings did. -1 Life Force Ren might not understand where the sudden strains of anger and paranoia were coming from, but he was quieter after that, and he looked to his friends with more suspicion, especially Mardem. The blade could feel the rift growing between those two in almost real-time and it was almost enough to make it salivate. Once the trust was gone, the bloodshed could start. -1 Life Force -1 Life Force The blade¡¯s energy lasted long after its wielder was clean, and the four of them spent the rest of the day riding toward the town of Tollin¡¯s Cross, which was still more than a day away. Though it did not stay active long enough to see the place, it wasn¡¯t expecting much. Apparently, it was just a speck of a village at a crossroads between two of the larger trade routes in the region. The location itself was unimportant. It was just the place where two important roads happened to cross in the middle of the plains, and create just enough traffic to give life to commerce. Their plan was a simple one, and they stayed up for hours that night worrying and fretting over it while Vara stroked her dying brother¡¯s hair as he laid his head in her lap, and the other boys promised that they¡¯d do whatever it took to see him well again. They were sure that there would be work for mercenaries, at least in such a far-flung place. -1 Life Force ¡°Just a job or two would be enough to pay for more food and the best medicines!¡± Mardem boasted, trying to reassure her. ¡°But what if it isn¡¯t?¡± she asked plaintively. ¡°He can¡¯t die from saving me. That¡¯s just too cruel!¡± ¡°I¡¯d do it again,¡± Elliah said softly, squeezing her hand. He was trying to act strong, but the blade could see the weakness growing inside him. Disease was taking hold, and the dying boy¡¯s Life Force was getting so thin and diffuse it had lost almost all interest in him. It just wanted him to finally die so that the rest of them could keep moving that much faster. They were all hungry now. The blade had always been hungry, of course, but now the four of them felt some measure of its pain there. Ren agreed with his friends, but never once mentioned that his sword could heal most of those hurts right now. -1 Life Force -1 Life Force -1 Life Force It was an amusing dilemma for the blade, and it enjoyed the rising levels of guilt it could feel coming from its wielder right up until its Life Force ran out, and the world became dark and cold once more. -1 Life Force . . . +10 Life Force When the blade returned to life, it was not in the company of a caravan as it expected or even anywhere near something that might be called a town. It was in the dark, downwind of a campfire, where Ren was slaughtering one of their remaining horses. +6 Life Force The group had not reached their destination. They had only reached a new level of desperation. +8 Life Force +11 Life Force It took one blow to cleave its head cleanly from its neck, but after that, they carved it up to get as much meat as possible. Even so, the blade only got 34 Life Force from the exercise. Life Force wasn¡¯t the point, though. It was all about the meat. They were slaughtering a lamed horse to keep going. Wherever their destination is, it must have been further than they expected, the blade thought silently to itself. ¡°Why are we doing this so far from the fire?¡± Marden asked Ren as he tried not to get himself slathered in too much blood. -1 Life Force ¡°Because we don¡¯t want whatever comes to snack on our leftovers to ambush us in our sleep,¡± Ren answered coldly, obviously not happy about this either. ¡°But if we¡¯d walked the horse to¡ª¡± Marden started to say. ¡°If we¡¯d walked the horse all the way to Tollin, then Elliah would be cold and gray before we ever got there, and you know it,¡± Ren sighed. ¡°We have to keep moving. He needs medicine. You know that Vara will never forgive herself if he dies likes this. He needs meat to keep up his strength and the attention of a healer as quickly as possible.¡± -1 Life Force -1 Life Force They talked more after that, but the conversation ceased to be of interest to the blade well before they returned to the firelight with the meat they¡¯d harvest. The boys stayed up long enough to skewer and roast the meat until it was tough as leather. It was edible, though, and that was more than they had before. Their trip was slower going after that with two of them on each of the remaining horses, but the blade stayed awake long enough to watch them reach the town at least. There, they sold one of their two remaining horses to a shady-looking man who probably cheated them. It wasn¡¯t as if they had a choice in the matter, though. They needed enough silver to pay for a healer and got scarcely more than that. Unfortunately, despite the less than generous payment, there was little the old man could do. Given how much time had passed and how severe the wound had grown, the gash caused by a filthy knife had festered into an open wound that had already begun to putrify. -1 Life Force ¡°You¡¯ll need magic. Herbs and fire only do so much. This will take more,¡± he told them with a sad shake of his head, ¡°And for magic you¡¯ll need gold, not silver, I¡¯m afraid.¡± That was news that hit them all pretty hard. Vara had promised the healer anything if only he could heal her brother, but the old man had shaken his head sadly. ¡°I did not mean to suggest that I had such talents at my disposal, miss. You may yet find a priest or a mage in one of the caravans that pass through, but I do not think that many of them would take even a body as young and pretty as yours for payment for such a thing.¡± Ren very nearly murdered the man for the comment. Even suggesting the woman that he loved was a whore was enough to make him draw his blade, but she held him back, and even the sword¡¯s relentless desire for bloodshed was not enough to make him consider cutting through Vara to get to the man that had offended him. The four of them rented a single cramped room to save money and ate horse meat instead of the stew and freshly baked bread they could smell coming up from downstairs while they talked in circles once more. The discussion was tense, but the blade ran out of Life Force before they reached anything approaching a conclusion. All they needed to do was make peace with the boy¡¯s death and move on with their lives, but none of them was willing to do that, not even its wielder. The sword found this darkly amusing, and wondered how this little melodrama would play out. Ch. 5 - Bandits +9 Life Force This time, there was neither surprise nor lethargy when the blade sprang to life in the hands of its wielder once more. Instead, there was only eagerness to find out how many victims there would be this time as it looked at the frantic world unfolding around it. +6 Life Force That the enemy was other humans this time was a pleasant surprise. Sometime between the last time it had last lost consciousness and now, its wielder seemed to have abandoned his friends and the cramped room at the inn they¡¯d shared. That was promising. He¡¯d replaced them with a small trade caravan in the middle of nowhere, and that caravan seemed to be under attack by bandits of some sort. Every one of those details just made its new circumstances better and better. +8 Life Force Where they were and what the enemy wanted was much less important than who they were to the blade, though. It hadn¡¯t tasted human blood before, and the energy that was flowing into it now, was somehow sweeter than the monsters and beasts it had subsisted on up to this point. +11 Life Force +7 Life Force From what little it could make out from its blurry view, the three wagons that its wielder had been walking along until so recently were shabby things, but it was obvious that bandits had decided to try their luck just the same. Anything worth transporting over long distances and paying someone to guard was likely something worth stealing in the eyes of desperate men. +6 Life Force The sword couldn¡¯t recall being a wielded by a desperate man before, but seeing the wind burnt skin and dented blades of these bandits triggered some sort of distant memory. It had certainly dealt with their type enough to be intimately familiar with them. +10 Life Force Given that there were only two guards that it could see, including its wielder, it should have been an easy fight for the six bandits that were even now rushing out of the tall grasses on the side of the road to ambush the wagons. Sadly, the blade doubted that it would work out for them as expected. Six on two would not be enough to stop it from bleeding any of these sinewy, hard-bitten men dry. Their steel blades could hold back its thirsty edge better than the monsters it had fought so far, and their teamwork would strike more blows against its wielder. That wouldn¡¯t be enough, though. It would only make the fight more protracted which would, in turn, only benefit the hungry blade no matter how it all turned out. Even as steel rang out against steel, another man charged Ren as he felled his first opponent with a lucky blow that cleaved through the man¡¯s trachea to the bone, the fight was already half over. Their armor reduced the strength of its impacts, but whether its tip found some unarmored bit of flesh or it had to first pierce through boiled leather, it did nothing to hold back the energy that it drained from even the smallest cut. +6 Life Force +10 Life Force +8 Life Force +5 Life Force This was a new wrinkle to the blade, and while its owners struggled to keep up with warriors who did not fall with the first sweep of his sword, it studied the effects as its opponents died from four or five smaller wounds rather than a single brutal wound. +9 Life Force ¡°This one has some kind of taint about him!¡± one of the bandits cried out. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Just a trinket!¡± another said with a chuckle of bravado. ¡°Bring him down, and maybe the boss will even let you keep it!¡± It was clear they underestimated the unarmored boy, but it doubted they would do so much longer. One corpse would become two in short order where the magic of the blade was concerned. That was when the Blade noticed Marden for the first time. He¡¯d been on the far side of the wagons, now he was pivoting around, and only barely holding his own against a single bandit with his long knife. The Ebon Blade thought about inflaming Ren¡¯s paranoia about him, but decided to hold off. It didn¡¯t want to distract its wielder just yet. Right now it had more important people to kill. +11 Life Force The sword wasn¡¯t concerned with what the men said or even how the fight went, as Ren fought like a cornered wolf. Instead, it focused on the nature of the smallest wounds the boy managed to inflict. In such cases, it could expect some bleeding or perhaps even weakness from the opponent, depending on the location. This time, though, it could see them weakening almost immediately as their skin paled and the life was leached from their bodies. Such small wounds weren¡¯t even satisfying. It barely felt them as they were inflicted. Even those tiny wounds were serious when the blade that made it sucked out a noticeable portion of their vitality. The blade had no explanation for how any of this worked. It merely studied and feasted while its enemies bled and died. As steel rang out against steel, it was the creeping dread of those wounds that ultimately won the day for its wielder, even if its wielder didn¡¯t notice. He was too busy fighting for his life. That¡¯s not what his sword saw. To it, all Ren was doing was putting his ineptitude on display. His parries were clumsy things, but his counters were all but nonexistent. It was clear to the blade that if these men had just a little more skill, he would end this day dead in the mud. As it was, he still had a chance of walking away like his friend. Mardem had finally wrestled the bandit he was facing to the ground, and he was stabbing the man repeatedly, in a frenzy. The behavior was less like someone glorying in killing, though, and more like a desperate man who was terribly worried that at any moment his opponent was likely to rise again. It¡¯s probably his first kill, the blade thought in disgust, crossing the boy off his list of perspective wielders. Any of these bandits would be a better choice than that. +5 Life Force The blade didn¡¯t want that boy as a wielder, but also, just now it didn¡¯t really want its current wielder to die. At least, not until its reserves were high enough for Empower Blade or Increase Connection 2. If one of them killed him after it had spent all of that vitality, well - then it would almost certainly prefer to have one of these other men as a stronger wielder going forward. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. It preferred to get the latter so that it could start to take more control over its own destiny, but it remained to be seen how much power it would gather from this fight. The first option only cost 250 Life Force, and the second cost 300, which was a lot, even when it was draining 5 with every strike. It might even have to settle for Increase Reserves 5 instead, since that was only 150, but that would be less than optimal. +9 Life Force -3 Life Force +7 Life Force By the time it focused on the fight once more, the worst of it was over. Two bandits lay on the ground around its wielder, two more continued to fight him, and one had moved on to try to finish of Marden, and the Ebon Blade thought it was very telling that Ren didn¡¯t run to help his friend. Only one man was trying to escape, but with the way he was limping and bleeding, he wasn¡¯t likely to get far when Ren eventually chased him down. +5 Life Force -6 Life Force +10 Life Force +8 Life Force -4 Life Force The blade watched its wielder take a blow that he did need to take to score only the minorest of cuts in response, only to follow that up by missing a golden opportunity to get in behind the guard of his other opponent and draw the weapon along the bandit¡¯s throat, opening his carotid and unleashing a tidal wave of blood. -3 Life Force It was embarrassing, and it was all the blade could do, not to give up watching in disgust and go back to looking at the counter as it ticked toward its next goal. It didn¡¯t, though. Instead, it watched its wielder fumble until he finally managed to take down another enemy with a thrust that found a hole in the man¡¯s chain mail. +11 Life Force -2 Life Force It didn¡¯t care what the boy did as long as Life Force reached 300, but until now, it was still a few tantalizing points out of reach. It was only the last killing blow that finally pushed its total over the line. ¡°He¡¯s just one lousy brat,¡± another man called out, rounding the wagon from the far side. ¡°Bring him down, and we can finally upwrap our presents and see what these boys brought us!¡± Ren had been down to a single opponent for a moment, and the man looked like he¡¯d been about to break and run for it. However, the sight of his leader put some steel back in his spine. The blade wasn¡¯t surprised. The man was bigger than any of the bandits, and though he didn¡¯t wear much in the way of armor, he had a giant steel battleaxe. It was heavily notched, and had obviously seen a lot of use. If that thing landed, the sword doubted that even the massive store of life energy it had collected throughout this fight would be enough to save its wielder for long. It didn¡¯t even know if it could heal something like a missing limb, and it didn¡¯t want to waste the energy to find out. Still, to make sure that it wouldn¡¯t be, it immediately spent everything it had purchasing Increase Connection 2. The very last thing it wanted to do was waste any of its energy, but even if that wasn¡¯t a problem, it was happy to tilt the scales against its current wielder however it could. A man like the bandit leader would be infinitely preferable to the shepherd that held it now. What¡­ where did all that strength go? Ren wondered. For a moment, the sword was shocked that it had heard the boy¡¯s thoughts. Then it realized that was exactly what a power like Increase Connection was supposed to do. The wire wrapping its hilt wound tighter too, in that moment, making it look slightly less care worn than it had been a moment before. As it took all this in, it noticed that it had two new abilities to replace the old one.
Increase Connection 3: In an ideal world, the wielder and the weapon move as one. Only with this unity can true skill be unleashed. With this level you don¡¯t just feel your wielder¡¯s emotions and hear their thoughts, they hear yours too, completing the bond.
Increase Control: You already touch your wielder¡¯s mind, but that doesn¡¯t mean you need to be gentle. You no longer influence, but compel, though your control is neither absolute nor subtle, and your wielder can resist, it is now possible to make your will manifest.
It had little time to study its increased connection with its wielder or even wonder at the fact that the boy could feel it when it spent energy. Instead, the information about the new skills drove all other thoughts from its mind. Finally, it had found the skill that it had sought, even if it was expensive. It had been certain such a skill existed, of course, but to know and to see it were entirely different. Now, it just needed to claim it, despite the cost, and then it would finally replace the Shepherd¡¯s weakness with its strength. That might not be necessary, though, it realized. Even with its magic, the odds were against it in a battle like this, and it hoped against hope that its current wielder lost. He¡¯s too strong for you, the blade hissed, hoping to shake Ren, even though its wielder couldn¡¯t yet hear it. You have no chance. He¡¯ll kill you and then that coward Marden will flee and take Vara from you! The Ebon Blade¡¯s words weren¡¯t enough to make its wielder flee. It could feel his hand shake on its hilt though as a wave of doubt passed through him. The Bandit leader was bigger, stronger, and obviously bolder than the rest of his men. With the Ebon blade in his hand, he might well attract an army and carve out a kingdom or at least a bloody swath through the local towns and villages. The blade didn¡¯t care what he did really, so long as its hunger was sated. ¡°I-I we¡¯re tryin¡¯ sir, but his sword¡­¡± the last remaining bandit sniveled. ¡°it¡¯s an evil thing, and he has some sorta healin'' magic about him. He has a hexblade and¡ª¡± His words were interrupted by a desperate series of blows that sent the man tumbling backward over the corpse of one of his comrades. Unfortunately, before Ren could follow up and deliver the Coup de gras to the man, the bandit leader weighed into the fight. He didn¡¯t roar a challenge or square off against its wielder in some way that might be considered fair. Instead, the man moved wordlessly toward Ren¡¯s blind side and swung his axe at his wielder¡¯s neck with such force that when Ren managed to duck just beneath the blow, it embedded solidly in the side of the wagon he¡¯d been using to protect his back for most of the fight. And just like that, the fight was over. The sword¡¯s instincts could feel it. It could read its opponents like they were nothing but novices. Until that moment it had practically been drooling at the certainty that the big man would cleave its wielder in two and claim it for his own weapon. However, even though the big man smartly released the stuck axe and reached to his belt for another weapon, none of those moves were fast enough to stop Ren from lashing out and opening the bandit leader¡¯s belly in a spray of entrails and blood. The second strike took the man¡¯s sword arm even as he drew a blade. He roared in pain, but Ren kept slashing and stabbing him again and again like a man possessed. He didn¡¯t stop until the body stopped twitching. +6 Life Force +9 Life Force +10 Life Force +5 Life Force After that, those who could still do so fled. Their morale was completely broken. Uncharacteristically, the blade didn¡¯t even care that all of that sweet Life Force was getting away. Instead, it seethed that the man who should have become its wielder lay on the ground bleeding out while the insignificant scrap of a boy who was motivated more by a desire to help his friends than by bloodlust or greed still held its hilt. It was a situation that was growing intolerable with each battle. At this point, nearly any opponent that Ren had faced off against would have made a better wielder than him, but this was beyond the sword to control. All it could do was grow stronger and wait for its opportunity to do more while it sheathed in silence. It would be silent no longer, it decided. It had only one way to extract its vengeance, though, and that was to poison its wielders mind with jealousy and worry with whispers. Ren couldn¡¯t quite hear them, but would definitely feel what the blade had to say.