Prologue

[Swords Of Damocles].

A novel/game that was set in an alternate iteration of Earth in which science and magic were intertwined with the big bad boss being the clichè named "Demon King" with the demons actually being evil, manipulative assholes and somehow managing to drive humanity to just three fortified cities with the main goal of the story in both the novel and game to expand and take back the world from the demons whilst also making alliances (or conquering) the other humanoid species.

Somehow, someone ordinary like me was transmigrated into such a world—and by transmigrated, I essentially mean that I stole some random guy's body and absorbed all his memories.

My new name was Frieren Damocles.

"Ha. Ha. How funny." I sarcastically murmured as I glanced at the sea whilst on a carrier plane—it was pretty futuristic compared to the retro era planes or "modern earth" planes, and it did feel my productive and functional but it was missing that sense of "war" in terms of design in my humble opinion.

"Alright kid, we're dropping soon." The pilot informed me as the hatch began to open.

It might also have to do with the fact that it was a small plane, around the same length of a helicopter.

I walked out and he piteously glanced at me for a moment. "Don't die too soon kid."

…I wasn't running to my death damn it! Although, death was a very real possibility.

Of course, in such a world training hormonal teenagers became the norm and so educational institutions such as "Hero Academy" was established—full of the crème de la crop of humanity's finest fledgling warriors, and where those important to the story exist and would probably survive even if all things come to shit. And so, I need to be there by at least passing the rigorous entrance examination to gain my safety.

I glanced at my surroundings and sighed. A snow-storm was beginning to pick up, I should hurry—I was in one of the many neutral domains since Japan had been destroyed long ago.

My footsteps crunched onto the snow as I treaded into the decrepit and abandoned retro city.

It was just a while ago that I discovered that I had step-foot into the world of [Swords Of Damocles] and I immediately pawned what little this guy had left from his orphanage days and even took a couple of loans that I knew I could probably pay back if I survive—all so I could do one thing.

To take the sextuple star manual, Niten Ichi-ryu from the "Destroyed Shrine" in Asakusa—by "sextuple" I refer to the grading system this world has towards certain Dispositions, Manuals and Skills although to clarify I'd probably have to explain and simplify it a little.

Disposition. Think of this as "Talent" although it basically was the job system in the game—you have "corrections" or "intuition" related to that specific Disposition like for example an archer being able to shoot from bows or having keen-eyesight; it's important to note that it does not limit what you can use (unless it's very specific) but rather it simply allows you to access and utilise certain aspects of the Disposition more, hence why it's essentially "talent" and an archer could probably use a gun or something that shoots projectiles.

Manuals, on the other hand are like fighting-styles which at times have special effects with the only ones that don't being low-ranking styles—they tend to have signature moves like Skills, but they're man-made.

Skills, are essentially similar to supernatural abilities and tend to utilise the MP stat like "Far Sight" allowing one to temporarily see from far distances or "Retaliating Body" which reduces and reflects damage for a small amount of time.

Pretty self-explanatory, all things considered.

Dispositions and Manuals are graded by the star-system with one-star being good and six-stars being so fucking rare that the Guilds or Clans within the Last Cities would not hesitate to off you, your friends and family in order to either obtain the six-star thing in question or make sure someone else doesn't. Skills and stats (because they exist too) on the other hand are graded in numbers from triple S to F… or at least that's how it was in the game and novel, but in the actual world it seems the lowest stat—the human stat— is G and coincidentally what my stats are.

To bring things back into focus, I am essentially risking my life for one of the most treasured Manuals in the entire world since there around 100 six-star manuals world-wide, although lore-wise it's because other people took them or they were destroyed as humanity was driven into a small corner—with some clans and guilds hoarding them to pass off onto to talented individuals who join them or pass down the bloodline.

"Found it." I murmured to myself as I successfully avoided every conceivable enemy that could've led to my demise—although, it should be said that I was probably being followed because I clearly had a goal.

It was a small entrance you can find in the game—between two trees that haven't been destroyed in a section of the city full of nothing but rubble and snow.

I sucked in a breath of cold air as I noted that the storm was beginning to pick up rapidly—I chuckled.

"How lucky." Just the timing I needed, the conditions have been met.

I dashed forward and heard sounds from my behind as all my enemies finally revealed themselves in a single moment, but that didn't mean shit since the portal that opened only allowed a single person inside and that person would be me.

The portal closed behind me and I minorly shivered underneath my black hood, I didn't really have any other clothes other than this black military-academy outfit with white cuffs and collars that belonged to an academy I hadn't even joined yet—I tugged on my white gloves to calm myself as the cold temperature began to recede from my body in this forest of pink-leaves, according to the lore this Closed Dimension was perpetually in a state of Spring so it was pretty lucky considering I would've definitely died in the cold if it wasn't due to the enemies.

I heard a thud noise as pink-leaves that were scattered on the floor flickered to the sides and revealed a pathway to a Japanese structure—it seemed similar to a Buddhist temple… Sensoji Temple, perhaps? It had a tiled roof and the walls seemed to be made out of something painted red.

I paused in front of it as a ghost appeared in front of me—it was an old-man polishing one of his unsheathed swords ontop wooden floorings in front of a room with tatami-mats.

He noticed me under the sakura trees and allowed me to approach under the clear-blue skies.

"So you are the one who wishes to learn my Shishou's arts?" He inquired.

I nodded, I wasn't really sure if I should speak up at this point.

He glared at me, almost analysing every single detail about me. Eventually, he nodded somewhat pleased. That was somewhat relieving…

"You are like a newborn chick looking for what is beyond you… attempting to reach… attempting to grasp that which you should never attempt to do so as it is beyond your station." He audibly stated. "Whilst others may reject such a stubborn defiance against your limits, I instead acknowledge such actions— we are the wielders of the Niten Ichi-ryu, we wield the Heavens and pursue the Void."

Durun.

A katana imbedded itself into the earth to my left—an uchigatana—it had a golden-cap at the bottom of the blade, a black handle and a golden round-guard along with a long single-edged curved blade.

"Pick up your sword, Worthless One, and pursue the Void by first grasping the Earth."

I staggered for a moment as a stream of information smacked my brain with all the grace of a sledgehammer and the overload of a potato PC rendering a 5K videogame that no-one would play.

I reached out my hand to grasp the handle, but the closer I got the closer my world began to tumble… breathing became lengthier, seeing became blurrier and moving became harder.

Yet, I would persist.

I would exist, I would survive, I would live… I would… I would… I will surpass the pinnacle. I will live my life how I see fit. I will reach my days of serenity.

Cliring~

The sound of me grasping the handle of the sword echoed insignificantly but in the comforting silence, it might as well have roared louder than a lion.

He nodded, proud in his evaluation. "You have set forth onto the Earth, now it is time you learn how to walk."

Thus, I learnt how to swing my sword—I had only a paltry six months and I will use it wisely.

[Line Break]

I should've probably clarified earlier, Niten Ichi-ryu is the fighting style—Go Rin no Sho (The Book Of Five Rings) is what the manual is actually called. Never realised it was literally a manual due to gameplay mechanics and the novel glossed over that detail—manuals are just a book that only existed in your head and writing them down has little to no effect unless you actually master it. Neat to know.

"Contestant 772: Frieren Damocles and Instructor Hayato Amakawa, please enter the stage."

About fucking time… I've just been waiting here doing absolutely nothing.

I stood atop the white platform in a futuristic training-room illuminated by subtle blue-lights with a crowd in the spherical seatings—kinda like an anime-esque tournament arena… wait, it was exactly like that.

"Ready whenever you are." In front of me was a teacher also using a Uchigatana, he was relaxed—I only had a single katana at my waist since I wasn't really planning to show off Niten Ichi-ryu and I hadn't really gotten to a high proficiency with it anyway.

And so I took a step forward with a small burst as I held my sword in both hands and thrusted—his eyes widened momentarily before he unleashed his own attack to which I countered it by parrying it and unleashing a slash that nicked into his tough muscles deep enough that I drew a single drop of blood—he jumped back and stared at me with surprise. Definitely would've drawn more blood if my stats were at least in the F range.

"What level is your Disposition?" Mr Amakawa inquired.

I shrugged. "Three."

Pretty low considering the protagonist tends to achieve five in like the first half month within the story whilst gameplay-wise obtaining levels is easy asf and not realistic in the slightest by maxing it out in a single day.

He looked at me surprised. "What grade is your Disposition?"

"One star."

He looked at me confused for a moment. "Care to repeat that?"

"My Disposition is One Star: Swordsman which is Level Three." Disappointing, I know.

"Woah." His voice echoed. "Didn't expect that from a kid." He sheathed his uchigatana. "Oh well, you make it."

He walked away, still in a small daze.

…Well, I didn't expect that.