Done with my helpless grunting, I continued travelling in search of wonders. Unsurprisingly, I managed to find another sword a few hours later.

[You have found : Sword of Forgotten Minds]

"Seems... seems... what's... with the name? That doesn't sound like a shitty little sword if I'm being honest, has to be D-Rank!"

Sword of Forgotten Minds (??)

A strange sword of stranger proportions. A sharp blade made up of Divine Dark Matter along a melted hilt design built with Illusory Eleven Souls Soil. The Divine Dragon Soul embedded into the hilt shines with power.

The owner is nowhere to be found, presumably deceased. This sword is a taboo for the Severed Garden Draconic World, shaming its ancestors. The origins of this sword are much more profound than the world it has been found in.

"Well..."

"That ain't no D-Rank sword... that's at least C."

"I'm keeping this, I don't care what the system says. Even if I have to marry it, you bet I fucking will! This shit has to be worth more than Earth itself. Okay maybe not, but it sounds pretty good to me!"

Soon reminded of the challenge, I see a bunch of messages appear. By reflex, I take out all three items and hug them as I tight as I can. "Stay with me my little babies... daddy won't let you go!" As I see them disintegrate, I shed a couple of tears. "Nooo! Don't leave me! Please! This has to be worth more than a whole manor!"

[Mission completed!]

[You have cleared the Challenge successfully!]

[Calculating your reward based on the achieved results...]

I grit my teeth in financial loss and find myself back 'home'. It's still dark, so I guess not much time elapsed.

After some time, a familiar item pops up.

Rank Boost Crystal (F)

>Increases one stat by a small increment.

"Hah! That's the good stuff." About to sniff the dark meteorite like object, a message leaves me perplexed.

[The reward calculated cannot be given.]

About to panic at the blatant scam, a bunch of other messages shake me a little bit.

[Administrator called...]

[The Administrator is altering the reward...]

"Come on admin! Give me something good!"

[Reward calculated. Congratulations on gaining the artifact : Sword of Forgotten Minds (Sealed) (F-)]

My eyes could be felt popping out of their respective socket. "I got... but it's sealed! But it can probably be unsealed! Ahhh! I can't believe the admin actually let me keep that!" I want to tear up in joy before some colors splash on my excitement. However they only fuel it.

[Congratulations on gaining the artifact : Red Draconic Sword (Damaged) (E-)]

[Congratulations on gaining the artifact : Dragon Palace Token (Altered) (D+)]

"Admin, would you like to marry me? I can cook and clean, don't worry I'll even lick the toilet bowl clean. Just let me stay by your side. I love you so much, you can't imagine." After some rather upsetting comments and a few groveling prayers later, I finally peek at the two altered items. The draconic sword is obviously the same, even after checking, so I wasn't as interested compared to those two.

Sword of Forgotten Minds (Sealed) (F-)

(Due to being sealed, the artifact cannot bring about its true potential.)

>A weapon formerly held by the Great Soul World's Thirteenth Dragon Slayer, Eenarvyo.

>The seal can be progressively undone.

When held :

>DT consumption when using [Qi Manifestation (E-)] reduced by 2%.

>DT consumption when using [Qi Mastery (E+)] reduced by 4%.

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"That's busted holy hell! You better believe I'm sleeping with it in my arms! I'm not letting that go even if I'm killed!"

Dragon Palace Token (Altered) (D+)

Summon your soul avatar into the illusory replica of the Dragon Palace from the Severed Garden Draconic World. Explore the illusion at a conversion rate of one second on Earth equaling three seconds into the illusion.

Fight your way through opponents of diverse strength levels to hone your skills.

(Mental damage, addiction and mental demons are your responsibility. Proceed at your own risk.)

My first instinct is to look back and compare. Its rank indeed increased by quite a bit. This is both a blessing and a curse, because it also means whatever is inside might compare to D+ in prowess. This isn't a level I'm comfortable facing yet. As long as my safety is guaranteed, I'll take a peek, but otherwise won't push my luck.

Thinking a little more about this challenge, I realized that whatever I found, I kept. Meaning I might have gotten something even better with a bit more time or luck. This gave me a slight heartache.

[You are in possession of a quest item.]

Reading this pop out of nowhere, I act offended. "I do?"

[You have received an exclusive quest!]

Hidden Presence - Inherited Revenge

Eenarvyo - 00 (Exclusive)

Long ago, when dragons still ruled the ??? ??? with boundless passion and thirst for conquest, some thought otherwise. The Great Soul World, residence of countless dragon slayers, sent out Eenarvyo, the Thirteenth Dragon Slayer, to rectify this issue.

Brandishing his eerie blade, pulsating with crackling divine lights and mesmerizing Daos, his every move would shatter the plains and mountains of the Severed Garden Draconic World. A single motion would behead dozens of majestic dragons and destroy multiple of their nests.

Over time, he naturally grew infamous in this same world for his brutal and merciless blade, bringing shame to the dragons' glorious history. However, his most notorious offense remain the torture and annihilation of a Divine Dragon Ancestor's sacred body. Not only so, Eenarvyo did not hesitate to trap its soul into the hilt of his blade, the very same used to slay it.

Some infuriated dragons remaining, shaking due to their divinity's fall, Eenarvyo planned to bring their heads down to the ground.

However, Eenarvyo mysteriously disappeared one day, never to be seen again.

>Objective : Explore the Dragon Palace's illusory replica and bring down all dragons within.

>Difficulty : Fated

>Mission Difficulty : Expert

>Mission Failure Penalty : None

"This... is interesting. I don't mind, but you'll have to wait until I'm strong enough. I mean I'm at the Qi Sensing Realm, then there's the Qi Refining Realm and Foundation Establishment Realm." Counting on my fingers, I ponder on the next ones. "By this logic, I would guess the next one to be the Golden Core Realm and then the Nascent Soul Realm. After that maybe Mahayana or whatever? No, should be later. Soul Fusion Realm? Something like that? Yeah, I have a long way to go." As for whether or not I was correct, I have absolutely no idea. I just spewed out some of what I remembered about cultivation novels.

A lot of thoughts enter my mind. Why was such a notorious sword basically stabbed in the ground in the middle of absolutely nowhere? This makes me wonder whether or not I was right or wrong earlier.

"System, were the treasures scripted? Was I supposed to get these ones specifically?"

[No.]

"Well that was answered fast..." Should I even trust it? A system shouldn't lie by design, but you never know. Especially with the admin right behind. I'll still lick their shoes for those rewards though.

In any case, I got lucky, but could've been luckier. I don't understand myself anymore, did I get greedier? "Has to be that stupid Dao." Pulling up the history tab, I have to scroll before finding the sword one. "I really need an inventory..." I'm biting my lips in frustration at my past failure. That Space Ring Feature or whatever was more valuable than I thought. But I can still get a magic bag or something later on.

Right now I'm just greedy and bothered by little inconveniences.

Pulling out the sealed sword, I'm met with a dark purple hilt, that indeed looks melted, possibly by a dragon. And extended from it is the obvious blade, a pale purple this time, almost grey. It's pretty, won't lie. The hilt has a lot of miniature dots sprinkled on it, like white stars, as for the blade, the grooves are simple yet elegant. Nothing too fancy, nor technical, clearly designed for strong people. Because the blade is not thick, but not thin either. It's sharp on both sides, the tip quite long, following the straight shape right underneath.

Tracing my finger across the flat side, I'm entranced by this material. "Divine Dark Matter, huh? Dark matter... can you even touch this normally?" I retract my fingers hastily, afraid of sending them into some cross-dimensional crack.

I want to test it.

"Am I allowed weapons in the training spaces? Hmm..."

"Hey system, can I use that in the training space? Against the Stone King."

[Bringing equipment beyond clothing inside the training spaces will result in adapted opponents. The Stone King's Shadow already wields a sword, therefore no additional parameter will be in effect.]

"In short, I can, but if my opponent is barehanded then... they won't be anymore? That's... concerning." Imagining one of those evolved puppets with a big sword sends a shiver running through my body.

"Yeah, better not hope." Rereading the sword's story for a bit, I frown and remember another question. "Is the soul... system, is the soul of that dragon ancestor divine ultra mega god still in there by any chance?"

[Yes.]

"Oh... will it murder me in cold blood?"

[Under the Administrator's seals, it cannot influence the outside world, be it physically or spiritually.]

"And if it could, would I be alive right now?"

"Hello?"

"..."

"The silence is strangely eerie today..."

"Welp, might as well use that juicy crystal in the meantime." Crushing the dark meteorite, the stats on my hunter status blink a dark light. "So luck is out of the question, mind? Honestly I might just bump my speed as much as possible. Yeah whatever, can't hurt me."

SPD (E → D↑) : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰

"Much better." After a quick peek, it sadly didn't increase on the other side, not that it would change the actual boost. I just hoped to get F+ somewhere. E- just isn't enough anymore. The challenges only keep getting higher cultivation wise, so I feel left behind somehow.

As for my plans, one is to see if I can sell that draconic sword. It's worse than the sealed one, and most importantly it's stuck in its rank. Maybe I can upgrade it later, but I won't count on it. Being E-, that sword, even though broken, should be worth a shit ton of cash. That's B-Rank by superhuman standard after all.

But to do that, I should first look on the net for an average price point, be it for a B-Rank weapon or a broken one. I need both before going somewhere more specialized and getting an appraisal. I just hope I don't get taxed to oblivion...