(Requiem for Unfinished Dreams)

(Power:10)

(Durability: Infinite)

(Forged through the melding of mortal determination and divine influence, Requiem for Unfinished Dreams is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, radiating an aura of unwavering hope and purpose that inspires all who stand before it.)

( Demonic Bane: Formed with the divine light of Aliera and wielded by a worthy champion, this sword is poisonous to demonic beings. Any damage you will deal will increase in effectiveness by 20 percent against demonic beings.)

(Soulforge: As the Goddess of War, Aliera has authority over those who have fallen in war. As her champion User will share this authority. Any souls vanquished by this sword will be harvested and stored in it. User may choose to use those souls to reinforce this sword or they may choose to purify and release them. The effectiveness of the reinforcement will be dependent on the strength of the soul. Beware: Using innocent souls or souls bound to other beings may draw anger upon you. Current Souls Stored: 13)

(Ethereal Resonance: Any mana or aura funneled into this celestial blade undergoes an extraordinary transformation. The sword's innate power accelerates and magnifies the energy, rendering it more potent and devastating with each strike. With this power, the blade becomes a conduit for unleashing waves of destruction upon foes.)

Holding the sword made me feel fucking strong. If the situation I was in weren’t this shitty, I would be feeling excited. The number of mutated beasts was too much. Even with me killing a dozen and Arslan killing the bigger one they still surrounded us. This situation made me remember Bolverk’s shitty idea of a Trial and I extra didn’t like it.

However, this time things were a little different.

“Roar!”

One of the poor souls jumped at me. Previously they looked similar to the werewolves I faced at Wolf King’s Tomb but right now they were just unstable messes of fangs and claws.

(Champion of Aliera: Bearing the divine mantle of Aliera, the Goddess of War, the Champion is a beacon of unwavering valor and boundless determination. Infused with the goddess's blessings and chosen by the Sacred Sword of Selection, you stand as the embodiment of humanity's indomitable spirit and compassion of the Stars. Your purpose is clear: to defend the weak, vanquish the wicked, and inspire hope in the face of despair.)

(+10 to every stat)

(+10 percent resistance against all abnormal status effects)

Not only did I have my abilities back, but I also was strong and had better allies now.

“Let me put you to rest.”

I used Armor Collapsing Claw. 20 percent of my mana disappeared in an instant. However, it was worth it. With my increased mana stat and the option my sword had to amplify mana, wild purple mana covering my sword illuminated the area around me. It wasn’t beautiful like the time it was reinforced with Frost Booster or Gökbörü. It was wild and untamed, like a waterfall.

Without using any other boosts or skills, I dived right into the horde. Even though their overgrown bodies were huge, I was able to cleave through them with no problem. One of the things I first thought about when I got this sword was how low its Power was. However, reading its options I understood why it was. It was a growing weapon. It made sense. Aleria didn’t seem to be wanting to give me everything right away. Or maybe she couldn’t?

“Woof.”

Gökbörü climbed on my back.

“Is Arslan okay?”

“Woof!”

He gave me a reassuring woof.

“Good. We can rip and tear until it is done without any worry.”

“Auuuuu!”

Gökbörü let out a war howl. I wasn’t the only one who got stronger. Not only Gökbörü got extra stats from helping me clear the Trials, but his skill ranks were increased too. His Combat Instinct and Enhanced Senses skills were D rank now.

“But I don’t want you jumping off on your own again. If we are getting caught, we are getting caught together.”

I ordered while cutting down another. Remembering what happened to him… Grhhh! I wasn’t going to let that happen again. He already sacrificed himself for me twice.

(You collected Soul of Corrupted Beastkin.)

(Current Souls:24)

The Soulforge option confirmed what I was afraid of. The beasts we were fighting were truly just innocent beastkin corrupted by the masked man.

“Show yourself, coward! Is this how you are protecting beastkin? By hiding behind an army of mutated, twisted beasts?”

I roared to drown out every other noise filling the battlefield. I could have taunted him by him turning beastkin into monsters but it would have affected beastkin I was fighting with worse.

“You have no right to speak about the rights of beastkin! You demon-worshipping piece of shit! What will you do after you “save” them from humans? Will you sell them to the demon you are serving?”

I tore through the horde. I had no need to pay attention to defending myself as every strike was frozen by Gökbörü’s breath before it could reach me. Even if they managed to overcome the frost and ice, with the Enhanced Senses and Combat Instincts Gökbörü was sharing with me, I could easily block or dodge them.

“Isn’t your master calling for my head? The Champion of Aliera? Or are you that scared to face me at my full strength?”

Letting more mana into my sword and activating Armor Collapsing Claw, I made an overhead swing. Violent purple mana escaped from my sword, tearing through a dozen of beasts.

(Mana Manipulation ranked up to D rank. You can now move mana more effectively.)

Calling out enemy commanders like this was a new thing for me since the Horde had no feelings for us to manipulate besides an appetite for destruction. However, I had to do it. Even though I could see the light coming back to beastkin since I, Gökbörü, Lily, and Nocturna joined the battle, we were still hopelessly outnumbered.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

I knew from my years of fighting that even though I was feeling omnipotent with my newfound power, I was still a human. My mana and stamina were limited. I could get away from this place at worst by using Shadow Walk but I would be a disgrace if I ran while innocent stood behind me.

I felt some mana flow into me as I thought it.

“It is okay for now. Save your mana.”

I sighed as I kicked one beast to the rest of them. This guy… He is just months old but he is worrying about me. It felt weird.

(Current Souls:64)

(Current Souls:65)

(Current Souls:66)

Even though I kept cutting down the beasts, the masked man was nowhere to be found. Was he even close? Did he send his forces to crush us while he recovered? If that was the case, shit. We had no way of getting out of here, at least with all the civilians.

“Poyraz! Poyraz!”

Between all the growling and whistles my sword made I was able to make out a familiar calling out to me thanks to Enhanced Senses. I shoulder threw one of the beasts at each other and rushed to his side.

“What’s up?”

I said while stomping the beast trying to bite Ursara.

“Thank the Ancestors, you guys are here!”

Ursara’s big frame was covered with bruises and cuts. Stupid guy. He wasn’t even that strong. He should have stayed in the barrier.

“Where is Morrigan?”

I had to team up with her. If the masked man really wasn’t here, killing all the creatures here was not optimal. We had to somehow evacuate the civilians and get reinforcements.

“She was on the opposite side! But I don’t know where exactly she is!”

I kind of guessed it. If Arslan held this side, Morrigan would hold the other side. I took a large breath before shouting:

“LILY!”

Ursara closed his ears while Gökbörü growled aggressively as he bit the horns of my helmet.

“Sorry, should have given a warning.”

With a gust of wind, Lily appeared in front of us.

“Was that a booty call?”

“It is never a booty call. I need you to hold this side while I go find Morrigan.”

Lily sighed.

“How cold.”

Without answering his joking remarks, I rushed forward.

“Gökbörü, focus on finding her. I can’t fight and focus on her presence at the same time.”

“Woff!”

Fighting off several creatures at the same time, I moved towards where Morrigan was.

“Bark! Bark!”

I moved with Gökbörü’s instructions. Damn, I couldn’t sense her at all. All I could see were the bodies of creatures killed by Morrigan. How was she hiding her presence while being in active combat? I had to learn that from her. My stealth capabilities ended when I entered combat. Yet she could hide her presence and keep fighting.

“Morrigan!”

I finally saw her. She was drenched in blood though I was half sure it wasn’t hers. Her jaws were tightly clenched and her gaze felt hostile. I could tell that she was holding off for a very long time. Seeing me her eyes softened a little.

“You are back. Have you found it?”

She asked between breaths. She was tired. Very tired.

“I did.”

She sighed in relief.

“How is Arslan?”

“Wounded but alive.”

We gave back-to-back as we took care of each other’s back.

“Any signs of the masked man?”

I asked.

“No.”

Well, shit.

“If he isn’t here we can’t kill all the beasts. We have to come up with a plan to evacuate the civilians and retreat ourselves after that.”

Morrigan didn’t answer. I just heard her tear a creature while growling. Damn it. She was so capable that I nearly forgot that she was still young. Losing her dagger, the people she protected, and being in the middle of combat probably made her blood boil. She may have been too fired up for the concept of retreat.

“Morrigan, I know you want to get revenge. But you are a leader right now. The responsibility you have is much bigger than your personal feelings. Come to your senses.”

She stabbed a creature through its throat. Then using her remaining dagger, she managed to decapitate it, very messily.

“I know.”

She said weakly in contrast to her brutality.

“Good. I promise we will get revenge. We first need to get in contact with Amaterasu. I doubt we will have so much lu-“

“Woof!”

My instincts, or rather instincts of Gökbörü told me to jump. Grabbing Morrigan by the arm, I jumped in the air. As soon as our feet left the ground black vines sprouted out the ground. They were covered with countless spear-like thorns. I created two shields for us to stand on the vines. We were really high up. How did he manage to create something this big?

“He is here!”

Morrigan roared. I also knew that. However, his presence was still nowhere to be found. My eyes scanned the battlefield yet the only noticeable thing I could see was a giant venus plant-looking thing growing from the vines in front of us.

Wait, what?

We dodged to opposite sides as it slammed to the place we were. I lost sight of Morrigan because its huge body blocked my sight.

I created another shield and with Gökbörü’s ice, I was able to surf on the thorns. The thing turned its head(?) toward us. It opened its mouth and spit a dark liquid.

“Useless.”

Gökbörü froze it and I kicked it back to it. Since it was frozen in a sharp shape, it was able to pierce the thing’s head.

“I was never the fan of carnivorous plants. Go and photosynthesis like a normal plant!”

Using Armor Collapsing Claw and focusing my mana on my blade I closed on. Releasing all the power in my blade with Mana Erupt, I was able to cleave half of its head.

“Shit.”

My knees trembled due to how much mana I spent in one strike. I was worried about the creature’s counterstrike until I saw Morrigan cut the remaining part of its head with a massive shadow blade. She jumped between thorns with an agility remising of a panther and landed on the shield I stood. Her agility must run out since she fell into my arms rather clumsily. I managed to grab her.

“Sorry about that.”

She said while kind of hugging me. It was kind of necessary since there wasn’t much space in the shield and I was too dizzy to create another one.

“It is okay. I am happy to see you well. I kind of worried you getting stabbed by the thorns.”

She shook her head.

“My Father trained me with something similar when I was a child. I never thought I would have to use it.”

“He had good foresight.”

Morrigan looked away.

“Yeah… He did.”

Upps. I fucked up.