The Mysterious Alcoholic

Erlen slowly shut his eyes and was about to enter his eternal sleep. The last thing he heard was the worry-filled words of his father and brother. He also heard his mother complaining which, didn't even surprise him. Mylene was always inherently cruel and materialistic, and even his father knew that.

At first, Vincente married Mylene out of necessity but fallen in love with her as time slowly passed. Mylene was a beautiful young maiden with her own charms at that time. She was intelligent and had a warm personality. She lived with a welcoming smile on her face until the day of her marriage where she received half of the dukedom's authority.

The landslide of her personality began after that day. She abandoned her values, and her modesty turned more and more lackluster day after day. Mylene was talented at managing her newfound power, but the flower of arrogance started blooming with that same power. Erlen recounted the rise and fall of his mother inside his mind.

'What a waste of my last moments. My memories are flooding even though my brain should be in a half-dead state by now. I just wanted to live as a blade mage. I wouldn't have cared even if I turned out to be the most mediocre in the whole world. I just wanted to be present on the biggest stage of this world. Money, fame? I didn't need any of that. I just wanted to live in the moment where life and death can be decided on a whim.

I remember my desperation when the physician told me about my broken core. I was terrified. A future where I can't become a blade mage and a future where I will become worthless and a lower existence than a normal human being. I was terrified yet continued to live on, thinking that I have a life for a reason.

I wandered around my country for 5 years after the age of 12. I searched for a purpose, a sign, or a leading light. I learned about the world, the people of my country, and their jobs. I searched for something to replace the abyss, the emptiness inside my soul. In the end, I became a swordsmanship instructor.

Laughable, I did a full circle without realizing it. I forgot about my longing for blade mages in my third year of wandering, and as I searched for a job, I ended up taking on the sword again subconsciously. The obvious conclusion left me devastated. As expected, it was as if the world itself ignored my existence.

In the end, I was born to die. Living like this without a purpose was meaningless. I hope... my next life will be luckier.'

Erlen muttered his parting words inside his mind. Time stopped for him but not for the others. Ryle was just about to snap out of his short circuit when the earth started quaking unnaturally. The air vibrated, and reality cracked as if someone broke a mirror. A tanned man stepped out of the void from behind the cracked nothingness.

This man wore a brown robe, and his disheveled brown hair slowly stopped dancing in the air as he landed on the dusty training ground. The middle-aged man then looked around with a nonchalant face, and not much later, his brown sharp eyes stopped on the kneeling corpse of the Ravensword family.

His face revealed a wide, almost grotesque smile as he started walking forward. He stopped before Erlen's corpse and took a sip from his wine bottle, which seemingly appeared out of thin air. Ryle froze in place as the elder stopped before him.

"Burp" The man burped from the alcohol and started talking.

"Heh, how miserable, the kiddo who lived for a little less than two decades wanted to commit suicide but failed like this. The world sure is big. Now, let's go."

The mysterious man grabbed the corpse by his arm and dropped it on his right shoulder as if it was weightless. He then snapped his fingers, and in the next instant, spiderweb-like cracks appeared in the sky. He was about to disappear as fast as he came, but Ryle stopped him.

"Wait, where are you taking my brother?" Ryle asked with a serious voice. The man looked at him and breathed out in annoyance, thinking that explaining it was a necessary hassle at best. He then took a second glance at Ryle and almost burped again before started talking.

"Haha, the Ravensword family sure is a treasure chest. Your half-dead brother is exceptional, but it turns out that you aren't bad yourself. You will find this corpse in the Lisore blade mage academy. Good luck, brat!" The man jumped into the void without looking back.

Ryle wanted to say something but decided against it after seeing that the beggar-like man is leaving. For now, his next destination was decided.

-------------------

In the middle of nowhere stood a tall rocky mountain decorated with the old mossy ruins of an ancient era. Half destroyed walls, pillars with unknown symbols engraved on them, and on the top of the mountain stood a circle-shaped, ancient sacrificial stone altar with a sword stabbed in the middle.

The altar was surrounded by glowing blue symbols, which were placed in a hexagonal shape. The edge of the black sword glowed with the same blue color as if the moonlight shone upon it. Currently, a middle-aged man in a dashed brown robe stood before this sword with a half-dead boy placed upon his shoulder.

"What a waste of resources to use it here, but this boy is the only one who can do it in the whole world. Where will I use it if not here?" muttered the man and took out a little glass bottle. This bottle was filled with a rainbow-colored substance. He opened the bottle and poured it on the altar with a pained facial expression.

The unknown symbols started glowing brighter and brighter as the man poured the magical liquid on the surface of the altar. Then suddenly, the blood from Erlen's body started flowing towards the black sword. The blood quickly turned into white smoke as the sword greedily absorbed it.

Blue glowing runes appeared on the side of the magical blade, and at the same time, a blue crescent moon tattoo appeared on Erlen's left hand. Not long after this event, the white smoke in the air turned into blue letters, which the man surprisingly didn't see.

[Link with the host has been established]

[Body is in critical condition]

[Black magical core building progress: 1%...2%...3%]

[Host acquired the following skills:]

Demon king's ambition

Moonlight swordsmanship

Demonic body

Magic affinity

Cannibalism

Memories of the Moonlight Princess