The battlefield became extremely chaotic as more and more monsters joined the fight. Roars, explosions, and the earth itself trembling under the clash of monsters, dragons, and a demon. Arthur crouched low on the branch of a distant tree, his eyes narrowed as he watched the fight spiral out of control.

The monsters were falling one by one under the combined force of the dragons and the demon and his group. With every monster slain, the contest over the artifact became clearer and much more deadlier as the monsters were becoming frenzied.

Arthur exhaled, his gaze locking onto the sword floating silently in the golden pillar at the center of the battlefield. The runes etched on its blade were emitting power as if to attract attention towards it.

Seeing the monsters getting defeated one by one, he decided to intervene. He thought he could use them as cover to take the sword silently. 

‘If they clear the field completely, it’ll become much more difficult to try and grab that thing. Now’s my chance.’ He felt now was the perfect time to snatch the artifact as there were fewer monsters guarding the artifact as most of them were fighting the intruders.

He took out his armor and decided to wear it.

Shhhhkt

Nanobots rippled out across his body like liquid, layering him in sleek armor before fading into the background as he turned on the camouflage module of the suit. The plates of his armor shimmered out until they blended seamlessly with the surroundings.

Arthur muttered under his breath. “Let’s not screw this up.”

But he didn’t rely on tech alone. Drawing in a deep breath, he pulled his Chi inward, as he used Chi Concealment, cloaking himself with it, suppressing his presence until even the most sensitive mana sensors would think he was just a small insect. Though he was unable to completely remove his presence, this would do for now. As he believed no one would pay attention to his small presence in the heat of the ongoing battle.

Carefully he descended from his perch and slipped into the battlefield.

Each of his moves had to be deliberate, as even a stray shockwave, a random swipe, or even a fragment of rock flung by the combatants could ruin his cover.

He took the long way around, ducking under scorched boulders, skirting past molten cracks, and sliding through the broken tree trunks. The roars of battle masked his presence, but still he moved with extreme caution as if he was caught at this moment he might not be able to snatch the artifact so easily.

As he drew closer, Arthur finally spotted the two monsters that hadn’t moved since the chaos began. A scaled lizard like beast with a crown of jagged horns stood to one side, saliva dripping from its maw. Opposite it, a hulking bear-like monster with ice crystals lining its back watched warily, each keeping the other in check.

Neither had joined the clash, they were too focused on each other.

‘Perfect,’ Arthur thought, slipping between them like a slippery eel.

His eyes finally locked onto the sword, suspended inside the light pillar. Every instinct in him screamed that this wasn’t a normal weapon, there was something more to it.

He stepped inside the light pillar.

And the world changed around him.

FWOOM!

The pillar brightened, light exploding outward in a blinding cascade.

Arthur froze midstep, stunned. “…Wait, what the…”

The entire battlefield halted. The monsters, the dragons, the demon, all eyes snapped toward him in unison.

Arthur looked down at his hands and cursed. The light clung to him like a second skin, rendering his camouflage completely useless.

“…Well, sh*t.”

With no time to think. He lunged forward, his hand snapping around the hilt of the suspended sword.

The moment his fingers closed on it, the golden pillar shattered like glass, scattering into fragments that rained down before dissolving.

The battlefield went deadly silent.

The sleek outline of his armor gleamed under the dispersing light. With the sword was in his grasp.

For a moment, no one moved. As everyone was stunned seeing someone snatching the artifact under their nose.

“BASTARD!” The demon’s voice thundered across the ruins first. His eyes burned with fury, ice exploded around him freezing the two monsters he was toying with. “You dare take my artifact?!”

The dragons snarled at the demon hearing him calling the artifact his, but they ignored him and looked at Arthur. “Human…You have quite the audacity to touch the artifact while others were fighting fairly for it!” one spat, his voice heavy with rage.

But Arthur just smirked hearing them.

Even the remaining monsters, howled with madness at the thief who took their prize they were fighting for. Their eyes were wild and bloodshot in anger.

From the distance, the scattered humans, elves, and dwarves who had been lurking around and watching the fight unfold gasped in shock. A young elf nearly dropped her bow. “That… that guy just walked in and took it?! In front of everyone?!”

Arthur looked at the blade in his hand, then glanced at the horde of enraged enemies now closing in on him from every direction.

He sighed, shoulders slumping just slightly inside the armor. “Haaa…There goes my sneaky approach.”

His grip tightened on the sword as golden lightning crackled faintly across his armor. 

His voice hardened slightly,  “Alright then. Guess we’re doing this the hard way.”

…

The air around the shattered light pillar froze. The two monsters who were closest to the light pillar, a horned lizard and an ice-backed bear, were on him in an instant. Their claws gleamed under the sunlight as they raked forward.

Arthur tensed, lightning and Chi sparking instinctively across his armor.

Just when he was about to defend himself.

The monsters’ claws froze mid-swipe, suspended in the air like they were pushing through molasses. The flames from the lion monster, the frost drifting from the demon’s side, even the angry glares of the dragons, all slowed to a crawl.

Arthur blinked in confusion. ‘What the hell…’ He frowned as it was not him who was doing it.

Then he heard an old and weathered voice, which appeared directly in his mind. “Lad… it looks like you’re in a pinch. Want my help?”

Arthur’s brows drew together as he asked. ‘Who are you…’ He paused as if something clicked in him, ‘…Wait. You’re the sword?’

A hearty chuckle echoed inside his skull, warm but grating inside his skull. “Hahaha… yes, you guessed it correctly. I am the sword spirit of this sword. About time someone with a backbone grabbed me.”

Arthur tried to look at the sword, but it appeared as if his movement would take forever to finish so he stopped, frozen in motion along with the rest of the battlefield. ‘…You’ve got to be kidding me.’

The sword spirit, clearly entertained by his confusion, continued. “Don’t worry about this little trick. It’s one of my abilities, I can slow down your perception of time like this. Makes it easier to think and come up with a plan when death is breathing down your neck.”

Arthur frowned inwardly. ‘…Slowing down time, huh. It’s useful. Except, ‘ he tried flexing his fingers, but found he couldn’t to his irritation, ‘If I try to move, it feels like my body’s swimming through tar. What good’s thinking faster if I can’t react with similar speed?’

The spirit sighed, a note of melancholy in its tone. “Ah, that’s the catch, boy. I can stretch your mind, not your body. I can give you the window to choose… but not the speed to act.”

Arthur clicked his tongue inwardly, half annoyed, half impressed. ‘…Great. So basically, I get to die while thinking about it in slow-motion.’ Even when he mocked the ability he was still impressed by it nonetheless. He paused for a second and asked, ‘What else can you do?’

The spirit’s voice perked up again, regaining its mischievous timbre. “Haha! You’ve got it, lad. I like that. As for what else I can do… well, you’ll just have to discover that on your own. No fun spoiling everything on the first date, is there?”

Arthur groaned inwardly, and stopped asking about its abilities seeing the sword spirit wasn’t going to answer him.

The spirit continued, its voice booming with laughter. “Now then, focus! Or you’re about to set the record as my shortest-lived master in history!”

Arthur grimaced at the old man’s laughter echoing in his skull. ‘Perfect. I’m stuck with a relic that talks like a snarky grandfather.’ He felt weirded out hearing the voice of an old man inside his head.

Still, he couldn’t deny the utility. His focus returned to the frozen scene before him, the claws of the two beasts, suspended meters away from his body. He could see the trajectories of their attack, even the opening in their defenses clearer than before.

What Arthur didn’t know was to wield the sword one had to be worthy otherwise they would turn to ash the moment they touch it. The sword had only a handful of masters in the past, as extremely few people in the long history after it was created dared to test if they were worthy or not. But it was a story for another time.

Arthur said, ‘Can you make my perception of time normal, I am not used to fighting like this.’

The sword spirit said in an amused tone, “As you wish… my lord.” The laugh that followed was downright boisterous.

Arthur would’ve rolled his eyes if he could, after hearing the sword spirit. ‘Just make it normal already.’

The spirit obliged, and the world around him slowly started to come back into motion.

The claws of the monsters came crashing down on him but Arthur was already sweeping his sword at them.

BOOOOOMMM!

There was a loud explosion and both Arthur and the two monsters were pushed backwards. But what surprised Arthur was not the power of the two monsters, but the trembling sword in his right hand.

It seemed like the sword had absorbed about half of the impact of the two monster’s attacks. Arthur grinned at the newfound ability of the sword and lowered his stance in an attacking position. “It’s show time.”

***

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