Afraid of Breaking Swords

The notifications began to ring out when the stones came tumbling down, and soon, the final calculations were shown.

[Quest Items:

Graphite Char Dread Stone- (27 Kilograms/ 2 Tons)

Iron Ore- (114 Kilograms/ 1 Ton)

Silver Ore (35 Kilograms/ 1 Ton)

Skin Mending Herbs (3.7 kilograms/ 20 Bushels)]

Blood Berries (1.4 Kilograms/ 20 Bushels)

[Assimilate to the Temple?]

Kyros quickly clicked on the yes button, and the rocks immediately disappeared.

[Quest Items

Char Vermillion Lizard- 5

Iron Ore- 10 Kilograms

Silver Ore- 10 Kilograms

Stonic Creatures- 5

Claim Minor reward?]

Kyros was amazed at what he saw. He already received a minor reward for the Stonic Creature and the Char Vermillion Lizard. And yet, here was another reward for completing the items.

"What? But I thought these items are used to build a temple!"

"Don't forget that you aren't human. Gods and fallen can easily create items out of nothing or use their powers to build something else from something. This temple is a physical manifestation of your soul. So it isn't really going to need the exact amount that is physically needed to create everything."

"Is that why the items the temple creates have special powers?" Kyros asked.

"Yes. Don't forget that if it's just materials, the temple still has an amazing power to merge with these items you gather. Expand what you think this temple can do. It is linked to your triune soul of an Ancient, a First Fallen, and whatever the other third of your soul is made of."

"Whatever works, I guess." Kyros smiled and willed that the items that would be created be sent into the Temple Storage Space. He was afraid that if he just confirmed it, the sword would manifest and appear right in front of his uncle, who was training behind the temple.

[Vermillion Earth Sword stored in Temple Storage Space.]

Kyros immediately retrieved it from the storage space and assessed the item.

A long orange sword with exquisite craftsmanship appeared near him.

---

Vermillion Earth Sword

Attack: 47

Durability: 30

Absorbs kinetic energy from constant strikes and releases a light explosive strike on every fifth strike.

----

"Woah. This sword is strong." Kyros liked the sword and marked it in his inventory.

The sword was relatively heavy. But since Kyros's strength stat was naturally higher in this life, he could still wield it easily.

"I guess this will be my main weapon for now," Kyros smirked as he went back to meet his uncle.

He had stored everything but retained one bag consisting of various objects and minerals used by mercenaries on their trip.

The training was very simple. The mercenaries would fight themselves in a rotation. Three of the seven mercenaries would fight Aron together. Yet even then, the superior skills of Aron were able to fight back and defeat the mercenaries easily.

Aron's swift speed despite his heavy armor was shown. The slashes and strikes of these warriors wielding their spare swords couldn't only be caused Aron to block once in every four or five strikes. The rest were evaded.

"Most warriors make the shield, their first defense. But if you train yourself to be swift enough, the shield becomes the second line of defense." Aron lectured as he moved into the many swords.

"If your swift enough, you don't even need a shield. As they say, the best defense is an offense." Kyros arrived as he laughed.

"Young Master! You're back!" The mercenaries gave a relieved smile.

"I was able to find an interesting weapon. But it's dangerous inside. There are more golems and lizards. This item is the only thing I managed to find." Kyros showed everyone the sword.

"Good sword!" Aron abandoned his training and ran to observe the sword of Kyros.

"Sorry, Uncle. I intend to keep this!" Kyros laughed.

Aron glanced in envy and couldn't hide the desire in his eyes.

"I promise that I'll give you some in the next trip." Kyros laughed.

"What was out there?" To change the subject, Aron finally asked.

"The depths of this mountain are even scarier. I found strange shadow creatures. They looked like the Shadow Scout but had claws and would even attack the Lizards. Although one couldn't kill the lizards, they were made of an almost intangible form."

Aron's expression turned serious.

"What do they look like?" Aron asked.

Kyros began to describe the Shadow Ghouls that he fought earlier.

"What?!" Aron was shocked.

"Shadow Ghouls! That sounds like Shadow Ghouls!" Aron exclaimed in terror.

"This cave... is more dangerous than we think it is!" Aron had a wary expression.

"Are these creatures dangerous?"

"Yes. It's not something our small band of men can handle. They are intangible and require powerful magic to even damage them."

"Oh? Are they that dangerous? I was able to kill a few with this sword." Kyros raised the Sword of Ten Thousand Grudges.

"This sword! Of course! It has some dark powers in it! No wonder you were saved! That's good to know. These creatures are terrifying, but if we have the means to attack them, then even a single skilled warrior wielding a weapon escape and fight against these creatures! This is good! This is good!" Aron laughed that his previous fears vanished.

"My Lord. I have heard of these Shadow Ghouls. It is said that they can easily kill an army!"

"That is true, but if we have the means to attack it, they aren't that scary. You see, while they are intangible and immune to most weapons and magic, a sword that can hurt their intangible forms could easily kill them! I've fought these creatures, and while I couldn't kill them, since my dear nephew already killed a few, we have nothing to fear!" Aron laughed.

"I noticed that you were training the mercenaries. Are the spare swords alright?"

"We do have some small travel anvils and hammers to give it some good repairs."

"Oh? Mind if I use them later? I have some skill in blacksmithing." Kyros asked.

Blacksmithing was among the many things that Calaminus taught Kyros. And so, Kyros wanted to put these things to the test. He had already done his practice on dark elements, which he had somehow made into metal through his special condition. But now Kyros wanted to test his skills and the theories he knows with real steel.

Aron had a peculiar look.

"Kyros. Those swords are spares, but keep in mind that they are our only weapons for training." Aron spoke.

"Lord Aron! Don't worry! Are you afraid Kyros might make a mistake? They are for training anyway. So don't mind that. At most, we would have a dull sword."

"I'm afraid he might break it."

"Uncle. Don't worry. I may be unskilled, but I know the theories for hardening and stabilizing a sword." Kyros then began to explain the basic theories taught by Calaminus.

"See, Lord Aron? Kyros is well-taught! I can help him if you want." One of the mercenaries volunteered.

"I guess it's safe if you are there. Keep watch to how he hammers with these swords." Aron finally agreed.

"Alright. Good. We will need to hammer those swords later. For now, I noticed that you guys have been training with Uncle in battle techniques. But Uncle is a Heavy Armored Knight. I think it's time to switch to a dual-wielding speed specialist." Kyros smiled a strange smile.

"Oh? You want to train them, Kyros?" Aron asked.

"Yes. I was trained quite brutally by my father. He believes that the best teacher is experience. If they experience fighting against something so fast constantly, they will naturally get faster." Kyros explained. Suddenly, a strange pressure appeared, and the mercenaries felt threatened.

"What a genius!" Aron was amazed.

"That is..! Warriors Intent!" One of the mercenaries called out.

"No. That's not it. It's something above that. Slayers Intent." Aron mentioned.

"Get ready. I am not as generous as my uncle."

Almost instantly, Kyros moved like a blur and brandished his two swords, and slashed on one of the mercenaries.

The pressure the mercenary felt was as if he was no less to when he was facing the lizard. He thought he was going to die.

The mercenary struggled with all his might and blocked the strike of Kyros.

The powerful slash knocked him back, and while he blocked it, the sword strike reached his neck, and a small wound was left.

Kyros kicked the mercenary and began to attack the others.

The mercenaries quickly began to fight seriously. They had seen how Kyros was skilled in fighting. But now, they were facing the other end of Kyros's swords.

"Pronto!" Kyros muttered as his perception grew faster.

Kyros was moving so fast that the mercenary could only see blurring figures with two metal swords whirling around.

Kyros used the Vermillion sword's ability that created a sudden explosive blast after completing five strikes. He would cause a mercenary to stumble back and stab near the head of the mercenary. Some mercenaries fainted because they thought they died.

The cries of the mercenaries echoed all over the temple.

Aron watched in shock as he saw the fight. He knew his nephew was fast, but his nephew was already faster than him, even with his high levels. He couldn't help but feel an itch on his arm and challenged Kyros after the mercenaries all fainted training, and the two fought until Kyros was out of stamina.

After Kyros gave in to the fatigue, everyone was resting inside the temple. Some of the mercenaries were still unconscious.

Kyros was greatly exhausted. He was lying down on his back and allowed the temple to heal him.

"Un...cle... This should be... part of our daily training..." Kyros laughed.

Unlike Kyros, Aron was more relaxed. He was closing his eyes and was concentrating as if he was fighting Kyros mentally.

He opened his eyes at Kyros's words.

"I agree. We can fight monsters and gather them on the start of the day, and then spend the rest training like this. Little Nephew, I should have been the one to adopt you! You are extremely skilled! What is your dexterity stat?"

"It was... somewhere around 200," Kyros answered.

"That wasn't 200, Kyros. You must be reaching 300 now! Amazing! For armored knights like me, speed has always been the issue! Although my dexterity will naturally be hindered by my armor, fighting someone as fast as you are greatly helpful! You're even faster than your father, who uses light armor!"

"I wonder when they would arrive?"

"Your father will definitely make haste. Right now, he should still be headed towards the town and would be asking directions for this mountain. But that long tunnel headed down here took us two days to explore! It led to a lot of dead ends. It would have been faster if they went straight. It could save them nearly a day!"

"Then we should have one of the mercenaries wait there. And besides, seeing as you haven't come out after four days, more humans might try to move in here." Kyros said.

"If that's the case, maybe I should go back immediately. I will wait for my brother. If it's another group, I'll try to convince them to retreat." Aron decided.

"That sounds like a plan." Kyros smiled.