At the age of seven, my grandpa showed me his basement, which served as a treasure trove for his extensive collection of swords.

A dedicated collector and seasoned traveler, my grandpa's passion lay in the world of blades, particularly swords.

Witnessing his enthusiasm, I often found him meticulously polishing an array of katanas and swords.

During our summer visits to my dad's family home, Grandpa took it upon himself to impart his knowledge to me.

In those warm summer days, he initiated me into the art of wielding a sword using a bokken, a Japanese wooden sword he had acquired as a souvenir from his travels to Japan.

His fascination with kenjutsu, the Japanese sword art from the feudal era, became evident in our daily practice sessions.

Following our morning swordplay, Grandpa would tell me with endless tales and legends surrounding ancient swords, ranging from King’s Arthur's Excalibur to the legendary Japanese blade, Kusanagi no Tsurugi.

More often than not, I found myself drifting into slumber on my grandpa's lap, captivated by his stories.

Grandpa spent weekends teaching me various sword techniques, but during the weekdays, our practice was always the same, repeating the same routines, stances, and methods.

At the time, I didn’t realize that Grandpa's Severing Style was designed for a single purpose: to cut through anything and everything.

During the summer, my dad's schedule was filled with construction work, keeping him occupied, while my mom continued her office duties. Fortunately, Grandma was always there to prepare delicious meals, with Chicken Teriyaki and rice which is our favorite dish.

My summer days were mostly spent engaged in morning wooden sword practice, exploring the town alongside Grandpa, and eagerly listening to his captivating stories at noon.

On my ninth birthday, Grandpa gifted me my very own bokken, allowing me to continue my practice at home.

I cherished these moments spent at Grandpa's house, and this routine persisted until the summer of my sixth grade.

Regrettably, it marked the final summer I shared with my grandpa.

Tragically, he lost his life while bravely defending his home and Grandma from two thieves.

The police investigation suggested that the intruders might have believed Grandpa possessed a valuable sword in his basement, prompting their entry.

As recounted by authorities, both intruders met their end at the hands of Grandpa's sword.

Grandma managed to survive the unfortunate incident, but her health deteriorated rapidly in the months following Grandpa's funeral.

The autopsy report delivered by the police shattered my heart.

Grandpa had endured two gunshot wounds, one to the chest and another to the abdomen.

One intruder was struck in the neck by a sword, while the other met his end, cleaved vertically in two.

According to the investigation, Grandpa had been shot twice before retaliating against the intruders.

The recurring thought in my mind echoed that if firearms hadn't existed, Grandpa might still be alive.

A few months later, we received Grandpa's last will from his lawyer.

He bequeathed the old house to my dad and entrusted me with the responsibility of caring for his cherished sword collection.

We converted the old house into a summer retreat, and occasionally, I find solace in polishing Grandpa's swords.

For awhile, I immersed myself in the virtual world of Arcadia Online dedicating much of my free time to the game, I continued my daily morning practice of swinging my wooden sword, a tradition instilled by Grandpa.

A constant reminder of the fond memories we shared.

As I made my way to the quarry through the Abandoned Mines Transport Gate, I found myself reflecting on these distant memories.

After a brief journey, I reached the designated meeting spot.

Shadows concealed behind the trees near the quarry hinted at the presence of others.

A voice rang out humorously, stating, "As expected, you came to rescue your friends, Asriel."

It was Lucas, revealing himself slowly from behind a tree.

"Or should I say, Vice Guild Master Leirsa," he added.

Eager to learn about the whereabouts of my friends and Miss Laila, I asked, and as figures emerged from the shadows, the familiar faces of Claire, Ash, Neil, Rain, and Miss Laila became visible.

Each one was held captive by strangers with swords pointed at their necks, seeing that they hadn't suffered severe injuries.

I scanned the surroundings for Cain and Lucas' three other party members, but they were nowhere to be seen.

A man stepped forward from behind Lucas, and a sense of recognition struck me.

"It's been a while, Asriel," he greeted, slowly revealing his face.

"Howard!" I exclaimed in surprise.

He was part of the group we had rescued from the Forest of Illusion.

"Professor Howard Briggs, Mister Asriel," he introduced himself, and in that moment, realization dawned that they had orchestrated much of the plan.

Professor Howard turned out to be Lucas' brother, evident from their resemblance.

"He is alone," a voice suddenly spoke, identifying itself as Cain Alder, an Assassin.

It became clear that someone had been monitoring me during my approach to the quarry, and now my friends and Miss Laila were at the mercy of five unfamiliar men.

"We don't want to add another casualty, do we, Asriel?" Howard said, evoking memories of Professor Klein's untimely death.

Lucas chimed in, laughing, "It's sad that we bid an early goodbye to Professor Klein.

He lost his arm just to save your friend Ash."

It dawned on me that Rain was probably being held hostage, given her vulnerability within the group, and my assumption was that Ash attempted to rescue her, only to be ambushed by Lucas from behind.

Professor Klein had stepped in to save Ash, sacrificing his own arm and disabling his ability to mount a counterattack.

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"He's truly a great guy," I thought, while a burning rage simmered in my heart.

"So, how will we do the exchange? I think you're not stupid enough to attack me, even if I'm alone," I stated, fully aware that Earl was nearby, indicated by the Mana Shield cast on me moments ago.

"Fighting you is stupid, and killing any of your friends will definitely doom us, as long as you have that overpowered Class Card and Sword," Howard cowardly stated.

Essentially, he was implying that once they acquired my Class Card and Sword, I would no longer pose a threat to them.

They were likely above level 40 or possibly even level 50 in that case.

"Hand me your unique Class Card, Enchanter, in exchange for three of your friends and Miss Laila," Howard demanded, adding, "And your unique sword for Miss Claire Ashfall."

Howard and the four strangers slowly brought Miss Laila and my three friends near me, removing the chains on their hands as they pushed them towards me.

I handed the Class Card to Howard, noticing a smirk on his face as he held the precious item.

Ash and the others were already positioned a few meters behind me, stripped of their weapons.

"Now for your sword, Asriel," Howard said excitedly, resembling a child opening his Christmas gift.

A man holding Claire slowly approaches Howard, removing her handcuffs.

As I position my hand to weakly throw the sword to Howard, the man pushes Claire towards me.

As I reach for her hand, I notice a shadow appearing on her back – it's Cain attempting to kill her with a backstab, a tactic similar to how Professor Klein got stabbed in the chest despite being a skilled Brawler.

I pull Claire to my chest and quickly rotate my body, anticipating Cain's attack.

He wears a big evil smile, thinking he can easily take advantage of my unarmed state.

Utilizing my circular momentum, my left fist goes straight to his face, halting Cain's attack, while I swiftly push Claire toward Ash.

I embed my right knee into his abdomen, lifting him slightly.

Then, I step back a little, using my right leg to kick Cain's face.

Given the significant difference in our statuses, he spirals towards the nearby trees.

A few seconds later, Cain finds himself on the brink of death after breaking several trees on his way back, with his face nearly embedded in the wood.

I see Lucas' face dumbfounded for a few seconds as he witnesses his accomplice severely hurt.

“You'll pay for it, you monster!” Lucas shouted.

Despite what happened to Cain, Howard seems to be a lot calmer, as if he was expecting the outcome.

I saw his hair turn platinum blonde as he equipped the Class Card Enchanter, holding my Kaleidoscope in his right hand.

“Calm down, Lucas,” Howard commanded.

“We will get Cain his revenge,” he added, almost assuming that he already won.

His eyes look drowned with power. “Kill them slowly,” he commanded.

The stranger who held my friends captive slowly charged at us as if predators were cornering their prey.

I looked at my friends and Miss Laila.

They looked more apologetic than terrified, as if it was them who made a mistake.

“Everything will be alright,” I said, reassuring them.

“Alright!? You say, Asriel, true, 'cause you’re all gonna die here,” Lucas shouted as he charged toward my unarmed comrades.

“Class Change: Blade Dancer!” I uttered as I equipped Durandal from my inventory.

Durandal changed to its Tachi form which is the weapon of the Advance Class Blade Dancer.

A Tachi is a long, curved Japanese sword designed for swift, fluid drawing and cutting in a single motion, making it ideal for quick-draw techniques.

Lucas was about to unleash Quick Slash, and Ash moved in front trying to use his body as a shield.

Lucas unleashed the attack, or so everyone thought. Ash opened his eyes in disbelief; he was still alive.

Lucas looked dumbfounded as he slowly realized his missing arms.

He looked at me, I didn’t move even an inch from my position.

Half-Moon Slash, a level 40 skill of the Advanced class Blade Dancer.

A mid-range slash composed of light, one of the advanced elements, shattered Lucas's hands, leaving his sword on the ground.

He seemed terrified as he gave a final look to his brother.

One lesson I learned from my grandpa's good friend in America is to never show mercy to enemies.

Without any remorse, I executed another Half-Moon Slash, cleaving Lucas's upper body from his lower half.

His form solidified into a stone-like state, fissured and shattered into dust.

In this world where you can’t imprison extremely bad people in protected areas, the only way to deal with them is by removing them from this world.

“Lucas!!!” Howard shouted as his brother’s body disintegrated into thin air.

Three of the five strangers tried to attack Claire's group.

A blue lightning zap them in midair, paralyzing them.

It’s Earl’s Chain Lightning; Fireballs headed straight to them but were quickly stopped as one of the assailants cast an Ice shard, blocking the Fireballs.

The three assailants recovered from paralysis due to the Warrior Passive skill Strong Will, negating 50% of the debuff duration.

They were about to continue their attack when Earl started using his two skills, Knowledge and Wisdom of a Sage.

He enclosed the three assailants using several Stone Walls.

He cast another three Stone Walls to protect my friends as he began casting Meteorite.

Meteors slammed into the assailants unable to move due to the Ice shard and Stone Wall.

The Walls melted with the three assailants.

The two remaining assailants, including the mage who saved his friend from Earl's fireball, were terrified and confused by what they had just witnessed.

Unable to cope with what was happening, they were left standing, and pitying their stupidity, I unleashed a couple of Half-Moon Slashes, instantly removing them from this world.

Howard was the only one left standing, while Cain was lying half-dead.

Infuriated, Howard charged at me, unleashing a flurry of slashes.

Due to his sloppy skill and uncontrollable emotions, his attacks were easy to parry and evade, like a child clumsily striking with his sword.

If I were using a regular sword, his attacks might have worked and could have fatally injured me.

However, Durandal is an exception and is one of the Legendary swords with the unique trait of being Unbreakable.

Frustrated by being unable to break my weapon and land an attack, Howard unleashed a Crimson Phoenix Slash towards me.

Dodging it wasn’t an option since my friends were directly at my back.

I pictured myself intercepting the attack, planting my feet closer to the ground, and lowering my upper body.

I placed my left hand on the scabbard, tightening my grip on the sword's hilt.

With a smooth motion, I drew my blade from its scabbard, creating a semi-circular motion.

A curved dark red light was released by my blade, the level 50 skill of the Blade Dancer, Blood Moon Eclipse.

The wind howled as the two skills clashed, and a few seconds later, the Crimson Phoenix Slash was negated.

Trees and rocks were blasted as the skills reached Howard.

For a moment, dust clouded the surroundings, and as it slowly cleared, a silhouette of a man holding a sword in his right hand became visible.

However, as the dust settled, it was evident that he had sustained a fatal wound.

He lost most of his left body part, including a part of his left cheek.

On the brink of death, as his body started to vanish, words left his mouth.

"I see, that’s why your sword looks familiar," Howard uttered in his dying voice.

"Durandal, one of the legendary swords, one of the keys..." he added as he vanished.