NOVEL NEXT Chapter 13: Chrone the broken blade
After considering the situation, Blade agreed to the sword's request.
"Great, just pull me out of this pedestal. You might struggle a bit because of the rust—" The sword started to explain, but Blade casually gripped the hilt and pulled it out with ease.
Now fully visible, the sword was in rough shape. The blade was almost entirely covered in rust, moss clung to the guard, and a large chunk of the blade was missing.
"Alright, never mind. So, what should I call you? I hope I don't have to resort to 'Master' or 'Miss.' That's a bit too grand for my taste."
"You may call me Blade. And... what name do you possess?"
"Blade, huh? Odd name, but I guess I'm the weird one here, being a sword and all." The sword muttered. "Ah, right, my name. I used to be called Cayde when I was alive, but, well... you can see I'm not 'alive' in the usual sense. You can give me a new name if you want."
After a brief pause, Blade decided on a name.
"Chrone."
"Huh?"
"Your name now shall be Chrone."
"Chrone, huh? I like it. I, Chrone, shall be loyal to Blade for the rest of my, um... life expectancy? I can't promise a warranty if I break sooner than expected, but maybe whoever made me can negotiate with you—though they're probably long gone, given how old my metal is."
As Blade examined the sword further, Chrone kept talking.
"Ah, right. When I woke up, a floating bar appeared in the air—something about 'status.'"
As soon as Chrone mentioned it, a floating status bar appeared before 'him'.
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Name: Chrone | Age: 32
Race: Intelligent Sword
Level: 1
Physique: 4
Mind: 15
Unassigned Points: 0
Titles: Traveler from Another World
Skills: Status Investigation, Skill Absorption, Skill Fusion, Self-Repair: Miniscule, Blade Infusion: Weak, Telepathy, Skill Share
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"Well, well. That's convenient," Chrone remarked, then checked each skill and explained them in detail.
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Name: Status Investigation
Description: Freely display the status of any entity.
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Name: Skill Absorption
Description: Killing anything grants a chance to obtain one of the slain thing's skills (Does not distinguish between acquired skills or racial skills).
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Name: Skill Fusion
Description: Combine 2 or more skills that grant similar effects to fuse into a stronger one.
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Name: Blade Infusion: Weak
Description: Infuse the blade with one of the following elements: Fire, Frost.
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Name: Skill Share
Description: You can share any of your Skills
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"*Whistle*, I've got some skills! Aren't you glad you found a once-in-a-lifetime sword like me?" Chrone said proudly.
Ignoring Chrone's chatter, Blade resumed her journey with the rusted sword in hand, but a sudden snarl interrupted her.
Multiple small humanoid creatures, similar to the ones she had killed earlier, emerged from the forest, their eyes burning with rage as they focused on Blade.
"Uhh, Blade, did you, by any chance, run into this bunch before? They look pretty upset," Chrone commented.
"I killed some of their kind before I found you," Blade replied calmly.
"Ah, that makes sense. Goblins can be a real pain. You kill one, and more show up; take down a dozen, and soon you've got an army at your doorstep," Chrone remarked before adding, "By the way, you know how to defend yourself, right? Because I don't see any other weapon on you."
Without answering, Blade raised Chrone, pointing the sword at the goblins.
"Oh, right! I'm the weapon," Chrone remembered. "Come here, gobbies—taste my blade!"
Before any more words could be exchanged, the goblins charged at her, their crude weapons raised ready to strike.
"Flame-mane Lion Sword Technique: Flame Dance," Blade muttered under her breath. As she took her first step, flames erupted at the ends of her hair, and her dull golden eyes flared into vibrant gold.
Mimicking an apex predator, she rushed fearlessly toward the nearest goblin. "Perish." With a swift swing of Chrone, even its dull edge was enough to decapitate the goblin.
Every move Blade made left a trail of fire in her wake as she tore through the next goblin. Watching the carnage, fear began to grip the goblins, causing some to hesitate.
One goblin, seeing her approach, swung its club preemptively. But as Blade closed her distance, she swung Chrone upward, overpowering the club and sending it flying. Without giving the goblin a chance to react, she struck down, severing its body in a single blow.
Seeing her ruthlessness, the remaining goblins began to retreat into the forest.
Turning toward the fleeing creatures, Blade gripped Chrone with both hands and muttered, "Flame-mane Lion Sword Technique: Heavenly Cleave."
White flames erupted from Chrone, extending toward the sky. "Burn." Blade said as she swung the sword horizontally, and a sea of white flames chased after the retreating goblins, soon engulfing a small part of the forest in a blazing inferno.
Screams echoed from within the forest, but they were soon drowned out by the roaring flames.
After a minute, the flames extinguished themselves, leaving behind a charred landscape.
Chrone, having witnessed the spectacle, made a mental note not to anger his wielder. Out of curiosity, he decided to take a peek at her status.
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Name: Clail En Fox | Age: 21
Race: Fox-kin
Level: 10
Physique:
150Mind: 21
Unassigned Points: 20
Titles: Sword Master
Skills: Flame-mane Lion Sword Technique: Pinnacle, Night-Crawler Panther Sword Technique: Pinnacle, Light Speed Sword Technique: Pinnacle, Sword Domain, Sword Aura
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Chrone was impressed by her status, but two things stood out to him: "Sword Master" and "Fox-kin."
Looking at his wielder, he noticed no fox-like features such as tails or ears.
'I'll ask about that another day,' he thought to himself.
Seeing no more threats, Blade turned back to the direction of the capital and walked as if nothing happened.
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Name: Chrone | Age: 32
Race: Intelligent Sword
Level: 7
Physique: 4
Mind: 15
Unassigned Points: 14
Titles: Traveler from Another World
Skills: Status Investigation, Skill Absorption, Skill Fusion, Self-Repair: Miniscule, Blade Infusion: Weak, Telepathy, Potent Seed, Crude Club Technique: Weak, Crude Spear Technique: Weak, Breeding Technique: Strong
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Name: Potent Seed
Description: Will always impregnant whoever they breed.
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"Cough Cough" Chrone Immediately closed the window, as the image of his sword penetrating a woman's privet part was stuck in his mind.
"Something of matter" Blade who was clueless about Chrone's imagination asked.
"Nothing, nothing." Chrone hurriedly replied.
'How do I even produce seeds anyway' This thought was stuck to his mind before he put it at the back of his mind and read the other skills.
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Name: Breeding Technique
Description: A master of pleasuring partners in bed
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"WHY IS GOBLINS SO HORNY DAMN IT!"