The 9th Class Swordmaster: Blade of Truth

Chapter 55: The Gray Training Ground

Karyl stepped deeper into the Gray Training Ground, feeling a slight headache as he felt the oxygen levels diminish. He cracked his neck, trying to relieve the inexplicable heaviness that weighed him down as if he were walking on the bottom of the deep sea.

I feel a bit sluggish, he thought, not due to the difficulty but from a sense of lethargy. Shaking off the unpleasant sensation, he descended the stairs.

It felt familiar to him. It was only then that Karyl realized what filled the Gray Training Ground. It was something indescribable.

I see. It feels like I'm inside a tower.

After the descent of the Oracles, a tower appeared out of thin air, vast enough to be seen from anywhere on the continent. It had been his means of traveling to the past, but also the source of despair for humanity.

It can't be, he thought. The tower, named Pharel, had unleashed countless monsters upon the world.

Humanity was caught off guard by the sudden appearance of these creatures. If it weren't for Narh Di Maug and the other races, humanity might have gone extinct.

Of course, Karyl had climbed that terrifying tower as well. The sensations he had tried to forget, or rather, had deliberately tried to ignore, resurfaced, making him rub his arm where goosebumps had unknowingly formed.

But this feels different. Almost imperfect. It definitely feels lighter than the atmosphere inside of Pharel. The oppressive weight felt somewhat lighter, a very subtle difference.

After the descent of the Oracles and the opening of the dimensional gates, monsters poured into the continent. They were referred to as the Tarak. A darkness denser than shadow had consumed the continent and devoured humanity. This dark power was also the source of the monsters of unknown origin. But Karyl remembered clearly. Each time he severed the necks of those creatures, he felt a chilling sensation.

It feels exactly the same.

He swirled his hand through the air, feeling a faint discomfort, it was as if he was stirring water, though there was nothing but air around him.

The descent of the Oracles has yet to happen... To think something like the Tarak exists now...

The existing mages were unable to wield the magic that the Assembly of Seven Elders had once used. Karyl began to wonder if the Original Magic left behind by the elders might hold the key to Tarak.

Maybe It's worth checking out, Karyl thought. He had found another reason to explore this place. If this is indeed similar to the Tarak...

In his previous life, when Narh Di Maug explored the Gray Training Ground, Karyl had assisted him. But back then, it had been different. He hadn’t felt this sensation before. Had someone else attempted to explore this place before him and Narh Di Maug?

Unanswered questions filled his mind when a heavy thudding sound emerged from the darkness. Karyl recognized the sound from his memories. He slowly closed his eyes and moved his hand through the darkness as if caressing the air.

Whether I am right or wrong, I'll have to find out.

Suddenly, Karyl grasped something, clenched his fist tightly, and struck downward. A sharp scream echoed as his hand was repelled, dark smoke rising as if it were burning.

"Hmph," he scoffed. While ordinary people might have recoiled in shock, Karyl, undeterred by the loud explosion, reached further into the darkness.

He wasn’t afraid of the flame. He knew the dark smoke wrapping around his arm was just an illusion.

Illusions. They were the deception the Tarak used most effectively. Flames now wrapped around his arm, creeping up to his shoulder and eventually engulfing his entire body. Amidst indistinguishable screams of pain and roars, Karyl pulled with all his might.

It was something viscous. Like the feeling of pulling something out of the water, it followed his arm and burst out.

"Gah?!" he exclaimed, feeling a dizzying pain.

Karyl slammed whatever he had grasped onto the ground. A red, claw-like wound appeared on the back of his hand, bubbles forming as if it were poisoned or rotting. Karyl quickly wrapped the wound with a torn sleeve, a faint magic circling his body, pushing the blue poison trying to ascend his veins. The poison seeped into the bandage, and he swiftly unraveled it.

It’s fortunate that I have magic now. In my previous life, without a priest or sorcerer, or at least an antidote, I wouldn't have dared to fight against a Tarak.

The poison had dissipated, but the wound continued to bleed, refusing to clot. This was no ordinary attack. Karyl looked ahead with a hardened expression.

"As expected, it really exists here."

A growl emanated. Karyl was facing one of the creatures that had scorched the continent in his previous life. They were the sinister creations of the gods. No, they weren’t so much created as they were born out of an accidental failure.

"Tarak," he whispered, his eyes fixed on the monstrous creature before him. "Their existence here is truly a mystery, just like Kaye Aesir and the Assembly of Seven Elders... There must be something I'm unaware of."

Tarak, the creatures even the gods shunned,

If not for the descent of the Oracle, he might have remained ignorant. In the beginning, as dimensions were forged and the gods shaped the world, some necessary fissures were left in the ever-expanding universe. From these fissures, dimensional debris coalesced, giving birth to the Tarak.

Someday, we’ll have to fight them tirelessly...

He hadn't expected to encounter them like this. Karyl tightened his grip on his dagger, Agnel. The creature, sensing his presence, charged at him with a sharp roar. Its form was truly monstrous—its skin corroded as if acid had eaten away at it, flesh tearing and falling with every movement, and its eyes were bloodshot. The creature stood on four legs, about 50cm tall.

"It's not fully grown yet."

Though it was far from small, Karyl knew the true form of the Tarak. The last one he had defeated was a towering giant, tens of meters high. Bubbles boiled and burst on the creature's back, seemingly growing slightly even in this short while.

All of a sudden, a chilling sensation enveloped his entire body. With a fierce roar, the Tara lunged at Karyl, aiming its sharp teeth at his waist. As it leaped off the ground, pieces of the creature's flesh scattered in all directions, its large tongue flopping with every movement.

"Ugh?!"

The creature moved far faster than expected. Thankfully, perhaps because its body hadn't fully formed yet, Karyl narrowly dodged its attack and swiftly turned around.

Agnel's sharp blade grazed the creature's neck, tearing flesh. The scattered pieces fell across the floor, and the creature, unable to control its speed, rolled a few times before lunging at Karyl once more. Where there had been cuts, now a foul, mushy liquid filled the insides. With every breath, its ribs opened outwards, revealing rotting innards.

Karly noticed the creature's pulsating red heart.

I have to destroy that.

The method to kill a Tarak was simple. Despite being imbued with the power of darkness, it was, at its core, a living being. Destroying the heart would kill it. However, knowing the method didn't make it an easy task. Diving into the creature to destroy its heart was dangerous—one could die from the poison it emitted before even achieving their goal.

If only I had a better weapon.

All he had was Agnel. He hadn't expected to face such a creature, thinking it would take years for him to encounter one. Normally, one would wear a cape sprinkled with holy water and armor enchanted with protective magic to ward off the poison. Sacred power and magic. Even with the protection of those two forces, it was still dangerous, so people also sought the power of alchemy for antidotes.

But now, Karyl had none of those. He swallowed nervously as he faced the Tarak. It felt as if he were about to dive into a sea of poison.

I'll have to wrap myself with my mana. Not being at a high enough class to cast protective magic, Karyl intended to wrap his whole body in pure mana instead.

Can I do it? As he focused his power, mana began to flow from his center of the body through two of his open meridians.

The Bracelet of Greed, sensing the mana of the blocked meridians, emitted a faint light and devoured the mana.

Shit! This wasn't the first time his attempt had failed. Karyl furrowed his brows and gathered the scattered mana once more.

The monster before him wasn't dumb enough to let him be. It launched another attack, forcing Karyl to retreat hastily. The situation grew even more challenging.

"Rrrgh!" Karyl grimaced.

Unexpectedly, the sudden movement of his body loosened the overly concentrated mana, enveloping his entire body with just the right amount.

It worked! It was only due to extremely fortunate timing, but Karyl still rejoiced.

It was but a moment, yet he didn't miss the movement of the Tarak's heart. It wasn't just about striking the heart. The heart, which had been pulsating violently, swelled noticeably.

Not yet. I need to wait for the third expansion phase. He needed to stab the heart with the perfect timing. Piercing its defenses was difficult, but simply impaling it wasn't the end. This hunting method was discovered at the cost of tens of thousands of soldiers.

At certain intervals, the Tarak's rampaging heart would harden, referred to as "phases." Simply stabbing the heart while it was beating would make the poison within the creature's body explode. The first appearance of the Tarak had annihilated the Empire's First Legion in a single blast.

Now, onto the second phase.

The creature that had been relentlessly attacking him disappeared all of a sudden. its presence eluding Karyl. However, he positioned himself as if he had been anticipating its movements.

Mist Breath. It was one of the Tarak's techniques.

With a mighty swing, Karyl’s dagger sliced through the air. The aura blade, infused with his mana, glistened in the darkness. Though the fog was impenetrable, he felt an impact against the blade of Agnel accompanied by a piercing screech. This method, used by his Father— The Sword Master Kuwell, consumed an immense amount of mana, but for Karyl, it wasn't a problem.

With a resounding crash, Agnel's blade dispersed the fog with a gust of cutting wind. The resulting explosion distorted space, bathing the surroundings in a brilliant white light. Before the third attack could come, Karyl's sword plunged into the Tarak’s heart. The hardened heart fell to the ground with a thud. The Tarak’s crushed body instinctively tried to regenerate, but without its heart, the process failed.

Without a moment's hesitation, Karyl thrust his dagger into the heart of the fallen creature. It trembled for a bit, before disintegrating into ash and scattering into the wind.

"Phew." Only then did he seem to relax.

Karyl let out a faint sigh and sat down on the floor. As the Tarak disappeared, the darkness that had enshrouded him dissipated as well. It was as if it had never been there.

I’ve barely entered, and I'm already worried about what lies ahead...

He had confidently claimed he could conquer the Gray Training Ground in just two days—a statement he was beginning to regret, given his memories of the place.

Karyl chuckled as he leaned against the corridor wall. Resting in the very battlefield he had just fought on might seem absurd to others, but managing his stamina was crucial, especially when facing unpredictable situations alone.

All of a sudden, a faint light emanated from Agnel that was still lodged in the Tarak’s heart.

“Huh?”