The Swordmaster Who Returned After 1,000 Years

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 137

Kaylen had come to hear Myorn’s research findings on the Combine Suit and, for the first time, was receiving an unprecedentedly warm welcome.

"Your Majesty, King Kaylen. I heard that you have obtained the Holy Sword…"

"It doesn’t suit you to be so formal. Speak as you normally do."

"T-The Holy Sword… Could you… take it out for me to see?"

Myorn, speaking faster than ever, stammered while anxiously rubbing her fur.

Kaylen smirked at the sight.

'A Dwarf… Well, it’s only natural.'

Dwarves were born smiths. The weapon they longed to see the most was, without a doubt, the Primordial Holy Sword, Astella.

When the Holy Sword had been embedded in the plaza of the Holy See,

many dwarves made pilgrimages there upon reaching adulthood.

Some even settled permanently at the Holy See, just to continue gazing upon the sword.

'That’s why they used to say, if you want to find the best weapons, go to the Holy See.'

Recalling stories from a thousand years ago, Kaylen summoned his Six Blades.

Among the six swords that appeared, he retrieved the Holy Sword, Astella, from within the Light Blade.

Astella, the gleaming Sword of Light.

Seeing it, Myorn’s fur ignited, revealing her face.

"Ooh… Now I can see it clearly. This is… the Holy Sword… The Holy Sword…!"

Had she burned off all her fur just to see the sword better?

Kaylen stared at her in disbelief.

Swoosh!

But it didn’t stop there—her fur shot up into the air.@@novelbin@@

It was the first time Kaylen had seen her fur standing completely on end.

"C-Can I take a closer look? Please!"

"Go ahead."

"W-Wait a moment."

Rustle.

The fur that had been standing stiff slowly settled down.

Then, Myorn bent forward, pressing her forehead firmly to the ground.

Kaylen looked at her, dumbfounded.

"Wait… Did you just bow?"

"Of course. The first weapon to descend upon the Middle Realm! The Primordial Holy Sword, created with the Light of the Sun and the Eyes of a Dragon! It’s regrettable that this is the only way I can express my reverence."

[Are you a Dwarf? You understand respect.]

The Holy Sword spoke in a solemn tone.

Hearing this, Myorn bowed again.

"H-Holy Sword…"

Thud. Thud.

How many times was she going to do this?

Only when Kaylen gestured for her to stop did Myorn finally cease her bowing.

"To think I’ve seen the Holy Sword in my lifetime… I can die without regrets now…"

"But Myorn."

"What?"

As she remained lost in reverence, Kaylen brought up something that had been bothering him.

"You said it was created with the Light of the Sun and the Eyes of a Dragon. What does a dragon have to do with the Holy Sword?"

"Oh, that’s just how it’s described in our mythology. Of course, the Holy Sword was bestowed upon the land by the Celestial God."

Startled, Myorn quickly clarified that the sword naturally belonged to the Celestial God.

"Why are you acting so nervous about it?"

"…Well, there’s a saying among us to be careful when speaking before humans. They say the Holy Knights get extremely upset when you put it that way."

“I don’t have particularly deep faith, so I don’t mind. What does the Dwarven myth say about the Holy Sword?”

“It’s exactly what I just said. A sword of light, forged with the radiance of the sun and the eye of a dragon. That’s all it says.”

Kaylen looked at the Holy Sword, Astella.

He already knew that its power was rooted in the sun.

But a dragon’s eye?

That seemed completely out of place.

“Astella, do you know anything about this?”

[……I do not, Master. I always forget my own essence.]

Now that he thought about it, the Holy Sword had always required Kaylen to remind it of its origins before it could fully unleash its solar power.

Although the story he had heard from Myorn was unexpected, he couldn’t shake his doubts.

‘There’s not enough information right now.’

Since the Holy Sword, Astella, couldn’t recall anything, there was no way to learn more at the moment.

Kaylen stored away the information about the Holy Sword and the dragon’s eye in the back of his mind and changed the subject.

“How is the mana suit development going?”

“Oh, right. That’s why I called you here in the first place.”

As Kaylen put the Holy Sword away, Myorn looked at it with regret before beginning her report on the latest research findings.

“The mana suits from the Demon Realm all have impressive performance, but the most outstanding among them is the Combine Suit.”

“The Combine Suit… You mean the merging mana suit that the vampires used? That one had quite the performance.”

Though it had ultimately burned away in Kaylen’s celestial flames, the sight of the small mana suits merging into a massive form had been quite the threat.

Had it been anyone other than Kaylen, stopping that Combine Suit would have been difficult.

“Yeah. The Combine Suit fuses mana suits together to create a powerful synergy effect. Of course, there’s the problem that it wrecks the user’s body. But vampires are undead, so a little bodily destruction didn’t matter to them.”

“Right. When they combined, their mana suits transformed, and I saw bits of vampire flesh and bone spilling out. Seeing that, I figured it wouldn’t be viable for human use.”

“Exactly. The Combine Suit was designed specifically for undead mages, but we saw potential in the concept.”

Whirr—

Myorn’s fur extended toward the desk.

Then, three mana suits were brought over.

“These are prototype models developed through the study and analysis of the Combine Suit.”

The mana suits she presented consisted of a metal helmet and a pair of gauntlets.

“The individual performance of each part is just around D-rank, making them rather subpar….”

Standing before Kaylen, Myorn spoke with confidence.

“But if three people each wear one of these mana suits and activate the Combine Suit function…

All three of them will have their output boosted to C-rank. That’s a whole rank increase!”

“Hmm. Do they have to stay together for it to work?”

“Yeah. It doesn’t fully merge like the original Combine Suit, but the users need to stay in close proximity to activate the function.”

“Close proximity, huh. I can’t quite picture it.”

Srrr—

Myorn twisted her fur to create three humanoid figures.

“Let me demonstrate. These three Masters are separate like this….”

The three figures, which had been standing apart, moved to stand shoulder to shoulder.

Then, Myorn’s fur traced the letter ‘C’ over them.

“When they stick together like this and activate the Combine function, their mana suit output increases to C-rank.”

“Oh, if it boosts an entire rank just like that, it’s definitely useful. Then, if each part were to output at C-rank, would activating the Combine function push it to B-rank mana suit strength?”

“That’s still under research. Honestly, fully merging like the original Combine Suit is more efficient than just standing close together… but the problem is that we’re not undead.”

“Hmm. Have you tried replicating the original function?”

At Kaylen’s question, Myorn’s fur moved up and down.

“There is a prototype made as safely as possible... but in the combined state, the mana suit forming the core is too dangerous.”

“The central part?”

“Yes. The mana suits acting as the arms and legs were designed to minimize risk as much as possible. But the pressure on the mana suit serving as the head and torso is immense. Until that’s resolved, it’s difficult to proceed further with research on the combined state.”

“Then let me participate in that experiment.”

“Really?”

Myorn’s fur bristled.

In the combined state of the Combine Suit, the central mana suit bore the greatest burden. No matter how she thought about it, Kaylen was the only one who could withstand this experiment.

But even for Myorn, it wasn’t something she could suggest first to the king himself.

So when Kaylen volunteered, her excitement was obvious.

“Then let’s do it quickly.”

“By the way, which type is this mana suit?”

“Oh? Ah. It’s for both knights and mages.”

Kaylen was impressed by Myorn’s response.

Previously, the Normal and Expert mana suits she developed were designed only for knights.

Mage-specific suits hadn’t been developed yet.

But somehow, despite having only just begun research on the Combine Suit, it was already usable for both professions.

‘Is the synergy effect from the combination function really that significant?’

“Impressive. Then what’s the risk level for the other parts?”

“Compared to the central part, it’s almost negligible.”

“So it’s not completely risk-free either.”

“Right. Since it’s still in the prototype stage, anything could happen.”

“In that case, a knight, who can protect their own body, would be better suited for the experiment rather than a mage. It doesn’t have to be a Meister, right?”

“That’s right. As long as they’re an Expert-ranked knight or higher, there’s no need to consider attributes.”

“Understood. Then I’ll bring the knights.”

The knights Kaylen brought were an impressive lineup.

Sword Master Eldir and top-tier Sword Expert Alkas.

“G-Grandmaster… no, Lord Kaylen.”

“Lady Myorn. You’ve revealed your face today….”

Since learning Kaylen’s true identity, Eldir had been finding it difficult to face him. Meanwhile, Alkas was utterly mesmerized by seeing Myorn’s face after such a long time.

And they weren’t the only ones staring blankly at her. The knights who followed behind them were just as dazed.

“T-That person… who is she…?”

“Ah…”

Among them were Count Oblaine’s second son, Guntrian,

And Barthas, the former royal knight commander under the previous king, Kaitan.

These two Sword Experts, who stood out the most beneath the domain of the Sword Throne, were utterly unable to collect themselves after seeing the face of the Dwarven Queen.

“Myorn. They’re staring at you too much.”

“They are. Should I grow my fur back?”

Kaylen imagined it for a moment at Myorn’s words.

A goddess-like face suddenly sprouting fur and transforming into a furry creature.

The mere thought of it was unsettling enough that he shook his head.

“Uh… do that when you’re alone later. And you all, snap out of it. Unless you want to witness something horrifying.”

“Y-Yes…!”

As the knights regained their composure, Myorn extended her fur and distributed the mana suits.

To Kaylen, she handed the armor and helmet that formed the core of the Combine Suit.

To the rest of the knights, she gave out a gauntlet and a shoe each.

“So this is the Combine Suit?”

“It looks similar to a standard mana suit.”

Following Myorn’s instructions, Kaylen and his group donned their assigned mana suits and moved to the spacious open area within the workshop.

A large number of mages affiliated with the workshop had gathered to witness the Combine Suit experiment.

At the center of it all, the fusion process was about to begin in earnest.

“First, activate the mana suits.”

Whirrrr.

Kaylen and the four knights activated their mana suits simultaneously.

A slight groan escaped from the knights who had received the gauntlets and shoes.

“Urgh…”

“It’s… quite tight.”

“Especially around the original part of the suit. For me, the left gauntlet… If I don’t reinforce it with aura, it’s difficult to move.”

Despite Myorn saying that the other parts were designed to minimize risk, even the carefully selected Sword Experts were struggling against the suit’s pressure.

However—

Compared to Kaylen, their struggle was nothing.

“Myorn… This feels more like a torture device—no, even worse.”

“I-Is it that bad?”

“Yes. At this level of pressure, an Expert would be crushed.”

“Hm… I guess it’s still not refined enough. Should we halt the experiment?”

“No. If it were anyone else, you’d have to stop. But since I’m the one testing it, gather as much data as you can.”

At Kaylen’s words, the workshop researchers immediately began collecting data in earnest.

They measured the pressure of the mana suits, the flow of mana, and various other parameters.

“Now… we’ll begin testing the Combine function.”

At last, the main experiment for the Combine Suit’s fusion ability commenced.

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]