True Weapon Summoning

The rustling of the grasses by the wind, along with the drops of blood falling from them, were the only sounds being made as two faces stared at each other.

One, a man, and the other, a beast. Art could feel the effects of losing much blood and had to end this quickly, but he knew that his performance would be affected. He had to proceed with extreme caution, as a slip might end his life.

He also stood still because his foe was in a worse state than him, with a deep cut in its throat that prevented it from using its magic ability. Despite its limited intelligence, it was still a beast, so surely it would attack first—and he wasn’t wrong.

It ran toward him with unsteady steps. Art had already leveled the grasses around him, which could limit his movement, so he didn’t plan on moving from this spot. His brain calculated at a stunning rate how to counter and kill it.

Most E-ranks wouldn’t be able to handle something like this—not just because of strength, but also due to lack of experience.

But Art had been through enough to take care of something like this.

As it reached him, neither hesitated to throw barrages of attacks at each other. More injuries appeared on their bodies, but shortly after, Art’s body began to heal.

This was because of his weapon’s ability. After every ten consecutive hits, regardless of how deep they were, his HP increased by one, and the beast seemed to grow weaker.

The ability of this weapon was similar to life drain, and with such a thing continuously happening, it didn’t take long before he was able to overpower it.

He dodged the slash of its arm, which had grown slower, before lunging forward and burying his dagger into its chest with all the strength he could muster.

He slashed diagonally as the beast let out a scream—well, it wasn’t much of a scream because of its slit neck and throat.

This was the last action it made before falling to the ground, and he followed shortly after, exhausted and further weakened by the amount of blood he had lost.

After falling asleep for a few minutes, he opened his eyes to see chains of notifications.

[You killed E-rank sonic mantis +50 EXP]

[You killed your first E-rank beast +500 EXP]

[Host has leveled up]

[Auxiliary mana core formation complete]

[Host has reached level 50]

[Host has ascended to the next plane]

[EXP has been reset]

[Additional system features added]

He wasn’t expecting all these notifications at all. It turned out that his EXP reset every time he ascended, and an ascension happened when he reached a particular level. After that, leveling up became harder.

He was confused about where to start when he heard a familiar voice in his head.

‘My, my, what’s going on here? I wonder what additional features you received.’

She was his guide, but that didn’t mean she knew every single thing about the system and what it might have in store for him.

He had tried to ask her several times about herself and her relationship with the system, but she never gave him an answer. So after hearing this, his curiosity grew, but he decided to save it for last—maybe to keep her in suspense—and check out the changes from unlocking his mana core.

[Status]

[Quest]

[Inventory]

[System skills]

[Two additional features have been unlocked]

When he chose status, he heard her mutter something, most probably in dissatisfaction.

[Name: Art Von Silver]

[Level: 50]

[Ascension: 1]

[EXP: 0/1]

[HP: 21/100]

[MP: Locked]

[MP(Auxiliary): 100]

[STR: 56]

[AGI: 78]

[STA: 40]

[VIT: 20]

[Intelligence: 54]

[Ability: Earth]

[Free Stat: 5]

Not only did he receive a new mana stat, but he also had a whopping 100 points at the start, which would be considered outstanding even for magic-based mages, much less the Silvers.

This was likely because of where it received most of its formation.

“Don’t you have something to say?” He puffed his cheeks in pride, forgetting about the injuries, which made sure to make themselves known as he felt a sharp pain from the deep cut earlier. He subconsciously gripped it as she held back her laughter—which she failed miserably at.

“You never make things feel better,” he muttered in dissatisfaction, already used to this.

“I try,” she shrugged, according to his imagination.

He decided to use magic to test out his new core, and he would be lying if he said he wasn’t itching to try out the magic he had used on the rabbits before.

He stretched out his hand, using the mana within him to make a connection to the mana of the outside world, which was woven into every existence and thing in order to produce a particular effect.

Most people can only create a particular aspect of effect—be it wind, lightning, gravity, and so on. This particular aspect is called a magic attribute, and the effect made is called ‘magic.’

But some people can wield two or more attributes, called irregulars.

The connection with the mana of the world was something taught to mages at a very young age, and the former body owner was no different. So, similar to when he killed all the red-eyed rabbits, he didn’t need any guidance.

Deciding to use the same magic he used back then, he stretched his hand forward while closing his eyes to concentrate.

Unlike before, he didn’t have the thin white lines on his hands, and as he closed them, he heard some sounds. Opening his eyes, he was greeted with a familiar yet unfamiliar sight.

He was surrounded by thin, 1.5-meter-long earth spikes, but they were few—probably below twenty—and they didn’t look as sturdy as the previous ones.

“Well, this was to be expected,” he muttered weakly, looking much paler.

Mana in the body of mages was just as important as blood, and the mana core was also as important as the heart. In a way, it was even more important.

If the mana core of not just a mage, but any magical being, is stripped from them, they would cease to live almost immediately. And when the mana needed for normal body functioning is reduced, the mage often ends up with mana sickness. If this gets worse, it could lead to much more serious consequences, including death.

Art had no plans of developing mana sickness, especially with the annual contest just around the corner.

So he decided to check out his mana core later when he was better.

He brought out an F-rank healing pill, which he had requested, and after putting it in his mouth, it disintegrated into his body, healing some of his injuries and reducing the severity of the deeper ones.

He decided to move on to the next thing: ‘His true weapon.’ He hadn’t been able to access it due to his auxiliary mana core being underdeveloped, but since its formation was now complete, he should be able to summon it… right?

He was beginning to feel nervous, wondering what it might be.

Most true weapons take the form of the kind of weapon their wielder had awakened with, and he hoped that it was a sword or at least a dagger. He was feeling this way thanks to a certain someone watching from the sidelines.

‘What are you waiting for? Don’t tell me you took my words seriously. Come on, I don’t think your luck is that bad.’ Her voice, nonchalant and slightly teasing as usual, sounded in his head.

After a deep breath, he opened his hand and closed his eyes while linking with the existence in his core. They had taught him earlier how to summon his true weapon, and it took him some time before he was able to make the connection.

“Come forth!” he voiced out as his palm glowed, fading shortly after as his gaze fell on his true weapon, causing his jaw to drop.