Grezelor's Curse, A Special Gift

A distance away from Birgime, Nero had already ventured towards the Greater Plains. Here, there was a long trail that led towards the ranges, branching off towards multiple directions. The grass was of moderate size as rocky protrusions had formed a rather artistic design across the various slopes.

Other than passing by a few furry ears men and cute girls that looked at him with beaming eyes, Nero saw no one else on his lone journey.

'Eh? Who's that? He looked pretty handsome?' A furry eared girl asked.

"How would I know? Ha, it must be a rookie, I mean look at him, daring to travel these plains without a party, he must be a clueless one," One of the furry eared males dressed in armor said with mock.

"Haha, indeed, the poor fellow is in for a lesson," The other guy added as he glanced at Nero, his eyes had a bad look as he didn't like how the girls looked at him.

The girls giggled, not saying anything about the topic, but one of them made an odd look as she spoke, "Hey, did you guys hear that rumor?"

The guys in the party looked at her curiously as they asked, "Which rumor?"

The girl frowned as she spoke, "Tsk, how can you now know? I'm talking about that recent act of banditry done by that darn bunch of rookies..."

The others hearing this made a look of realization as one of them spoke, "Ahh, you mean that so-called Swift Bandit Alliance created by that infamous rookie... what was he called? Swift something..."

The girl wrinkled her nose and spoke, "It's Swift Hands, the previous number eleventh, I think right now it should be rank twelve."

"That guy has been a lot of trouble; if he had focused on his training he wouldn't have fallen behind Rising Fox or the others, oh well, I guess everyone has their way, let's not waste brainpower thinking about him..." One of the guys said as he dismissively waved his hand. The others nodded as the party continued on their way while chatting and laughing.

Nero seemed to have heard their words, but he didn't want to put such concerns on his mind right now. His robes fluttered with the gentle wind from the surroundings, causing him to close his eyes as he found the colorful sights and air to be rather pleasant.

Though Nero wanted to stay like this a while longer, he knew he didn't have the time to waste. He wanted to find some monsters to level up and test out his sight and learn of its so-called gift. Suddenly, Nero opened his eyes, showing a sharp look as he felt that the atmosphere around him had a slight change.

As he became more familiar with his Spiritual Awareness, Nero began to use it more to scan his surroundings continually. As such, he knew that danger was only a few moments away from reaching him.

'Well, at least I didn't have to wait long... let's give it a test,' When Nero said this inwardly, he reached his hand to the side as a dazzling green light flashed before the shrunken version of Grezelor's Cursed Scythe appeared, being roughly 170 centimeters long.

The moment Nero called out the scythe, he promptly inspected its details as he spoke with his mind, 'Show details.'

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[Grezelor's Cursed Scythe]

[Grade: Rare Tier (Growable)]

[Type: Weapons]

[Subtype: Scythe]

[Usable by: All]

[Close & Mid-Range]

[Requirements: Level 4]

[Combat Force: 30]

[Description: A weapon left behind by an extremely sinister reaper of the ancient era; his weapon is cursed with the powers of soul erosion to those of the unworthy. It is a growth type weapon and will grow along with its wielders increase in strength.]

[Passive Weapon Skill: Soul Erosion - The bane to all lifeforms with a living soul, any life cut by its power will gain the erosion effect onto their being, further weakening their life standard along with combat abilities.]

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'Amazing! I didn't think it would give me this much of a boost in Combat Force; with this much strength, I should be able to crush that Death Guard in pure power, maybe I might even compare to High-Class Common Grade monster,' Nero said in joy as he looked at the weapon.

However, it didn't take long for his mood to fade a bit as he read the description, Nero frowned as he spoke inwardly, 'What? Are you saying that it will erode the strength of your soul if you're not worthy? What kind of terrifying curse is that?'

When he said this, the scythe glowed in black as green lights began swirling around his hand at a rapid rate, Nero was already alarmed at this, he tried to act but much to his shock found that he could not let go of the scythe.

"This... oh no! How do I let it go?" Nero said in alarm, as he started to panic at this change.

Adult Nero merely chuckled as he spoke, "Why are you worried? It's not going to kill you; besides, with your talent and specialty, it is a far cry from being able to curse your soul..."

When Nero heard this, he felt a tinge of relief, but he was a bit weary as the black lights hadn't faded yet. In moments, they swallowed his entire body causing him to feel strange.

Adult Nero only looked silently and smirked while muttering, "Now, the true prize has arrived..."

As if his words were correct, Nero soon heard another notification in his mind as a screen popped up before his eyes again.

____

Ding!

[Because of the host's exceptional compatibility to the Path of Reapers, Grezelor's Ego has honored you as the Chosen Master, gifting you his High-Class Combat Art, the Myriad Specter Cut.]

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When Nero heard those words, he was baffled, even more so as the black lights faded from his body, following this change he now felt more comfortable with it as he could also hear its edge humming as if it were a child that found its mother.

'To think it would teach me a High-Class Combat Art! Damn!' Nero inwardly exclaimed, momentarily forgetting about the dangers he had previously felt around him.

As Nero's gripped increased around the handle of the scythe, he didn't even notice, but the level of familiarity he felt was almost like a second limb.

Nero wanted to inspect the technique, but right at this time, a few shrubberies shook from around him as he felt a dense amount of killing aura from all directions.

Adult Nero smirked while watching this; he didn't bother to warn him as he didn't feel any threat. On the other hand, Nero remained composed; his joy faded, or rather, it was suppressed into another emotion as a deep amount of eagerness was shown in his eyes as he looked at his opponents.

Around him was a herd of Swirling Horn Boars that glared at Nero menacingly, each of them growling in a low tone as their mouths seemed to drip with saliva as if they found the perfect candidate for breakfast.

Nero snorted at this scene as positioned himself in battle stance and held the scythe with its blade angled at one side of his body, as it faced the ground. His eyes are shone with a cruel glint as he spoke, "Hmph! Hungry? It looks like you'll be the first to let my weapon taste blood..."

The wind now seemed disturbed as it carried a chilliness that seemed to beckon the end of the poor pack of boars who targeted the wrong enemy, as the blood bath ensued.