Chapter 21: Long Night

When you spend the night within the bounds of the Curse, you can be certain it will never be an ordinary one.

Ethan did not close his eyes for a moment .. nor did his fellow Hearts.

Though the bonfire’s flame granted them warmth and safety, their hearts found no peace. They remained awake, keeping vigil through a long night… a night that felt endless.

At first, the Hearts spoke among themselves for quite some time. But eventually—

Silence fell.

Each withdrew into a corner of their own, drifting into the depths of private thoughts.

Among them, Ethan sat with a troubled expression, his gaze betraying clear irritation.

And how could he not?

In this single night, he had heard everything he never wished to hear.

From time to time, a faint, mocking smile appeared on his lips at the absurdity of his situation.

’On my very first day, I end up cursed and enslaved at the same time. What magnificent luck.’

His thoughts swayed back and forth between the curses weighing upon him.

As though the Blood Eclipse curse alone were not enough, he was now forced to think of a way to escape a fate of servitude.

To be a slave meant losing his freedom — and with it, any chance to make use of his experience as a player.

Too many concerns occupied his mind. He had already begun considering his next move.

But for now… Ethan chose to focus on growing stronger as much as possible.

Slowly, he raised his human right hand and extended it forward.

His crimson eyes darkened, showing deep concentration.

His next action drew the attention of the other Hearts, all of whom turned their heads toward him with curiosity.

Ethan’s hand glowed with that same astonishing blue rune .. and from it, a powerful aura formed…

The aura extended into his palm and took physical shape.

Before everyone’s eyes, a massive sword materialized in Ethan’s grip.

An imposing blade nearly two meters long, with a broad edge and a hilt wrapped in thorns.

The weapon was familiar to all of them.

It had brought them suffering.

The Ember Hunter’s sword… or, in other words .. the Executioner’s Sword.

Ethan had summoned it merely as a test, yet the blade immediately slipped from his grasp, crashing to the ground and scattering dirt and pebbles when he failed to bear its tremendous weight.

Still gripping the thorned handle yet unable to lift it, Ethan sighed.

“As expected… I won’t be able to use it until I reach the required level.”

Opening the system interface, he checked the weapon’s requirements.

…

Executioner’s Sword

Ash of War: Telekinesis

Requirements:

Strength: 24

Arcane: 23

…

Staring at the numbers, Ethan realized he would have to level up all the way to level 27 to wield it.

His current Strength and Arcane were both only 10.

The weapon clearly scaled directly with Strength, while Arcane likely governed its telekinetic ability.

“This will be troublesome…” Ethan muttered unconsciously, prompting Raiden to approach him.

“No need to worry. You’ll level up quickly at the beginning … especially since you’ve already reached those levels once before.”

Ethan nodded.

“I hope it’s as easy as you think… but leveling isn’t what concerns me. It’s something else entirely.”

He sighed.

’What should I do…’

He reviewed his options.

’If I raise the stats the weapon requires, that means leaning toward the Knight class… but I’ve never held a sword in my life.’

His gaze shifted across the stats. What he truly wanted was something completely different.

Intelligence. Mana.

’In my current state, magic is probably the optimal path. Fighting as a mage would grant overwhelming offensive power, and I could attack from a distance without approaching my enemy.’

For Ethan — a young man who had never fought in his life —

This was the safest and easiest starting path.

But it also meant abandoning this remarkable weapon he had obtained.

While Ethan pondered, Raiden stared at the sword with great admiration.

“Ethan… may I hold it?”

Ethan turned toward him.

“You want to try?”

Raiden nodded.

“Yes. My Strength is high… I might actually be able to use it.”

“Alright. I don’t mind.”

With effort, Ethan angled the Executioner’s Sword toward him.

“Take it.”

“Thanks!”

Raiden stood, his massive muscular frame rising to its full height.

Then, with all his strength, he grasped the hilt and lifted the Executioner’s Sword into the air .. a grin spreading across his face.

But the moment he grasped the massive blade ..

A violent surge of electricity burst through his body.

Raiden instantly dropped the weapon and staggered back several steps, barely keeping his footing.

Chai rushed forward and caught him before he collapsed, while the others could only stare in shock.

Among them, Ethan was frozen, gazing into empty space…

A strange notification had appeared before his eyes.

—

[Foreign hands not belonging to the Legendary Weapons Master detected.]

[Grant permission to wield: Executioner’s Sword?]

[Yes / No]

—

Seeing the message, Ethan unintentionally discovered yet another function of his unique blessing.

Raiden, meanwhile, steadied himself with difficulty.

“It felt like a bolt of lightning struck me out of nowhere… what exactly happened?” he asked, confused.

Ethan explained, a faint smile on his face — pleased by what he had learned.

“Sorry, Raiden. Seems you won’t be able to hold this sword unless I allow it.”

An excellent feature.

No one could steal his weapon .. and he could lend it whenever necessary.

’I can make good use of this.’

Without meaning to, he had gained a powerful card for future plans.

Raiden, however, looked disappointed.

“And here I thought I’d finally wield a weapon with an Ash of War…”

That caught Ethan’s interest.

“Are they really that rare?”

“Rare? It’s beyond that!” Raiden exclaimed.

“A weapon that carries an ability is priceless .. you almost never see anyone with one. Now do you understand how incredible your blessing is?!”

Hearing that, Ethan nodded repeatedly.

He hadn’t realized Ash weapons were so rare .. back when he played Ordeal, he had seen them often.

But this was even better.

It proved his blessing was valuable in more ways than one.

“You should keep your blessing hidden,” Moon said seriously. “It could attract unwanted attention.”

“…Though even so, we won’t be able to hide it from the elders.”

Ethan gave a light nod, then turned his focus back to his hand.

“Looks like I can use the weapon as long as it’s directly connected to my body.”

He could even wield the Executioner’s Sword alongside the Legion Arm without issue.

Meaning ..

Multiple weapons at once were possible.

Speaking of the Legion Arm…

Ethan dismissed the Executioner’s Sword into the strange dimensional storage of the Legendary Weapons Master and focused entirely on his mechanical arm.

He fiddled with it, attempting something specific.

“I should be able to use some kind of grappling hook…”

He examined the dark mechanical limb, trying to activate a mechanism.

But nothing was obvious .. no switch, no trigger.

His continued tinkering drew everyone’s attention… until they gradually lost interest and looked away.

At that exact moment—

Ethan unconsciously clenched the metal hand, his fingers pressing a specific point.

The Legion Arm flared instantly.

The front split open, revealing its inner mechanism ..

A black cable shot out, tipped with a steel hook.

It flew with terrifying speed — straight toward Moon’s face.

Fortunately, Moon’s reflexes were exceptional. She dodged at the last second.

But that didn’t change the fact that Ethan had nearly destroyed her face.

The hook embedded itself into a massive rock nearby, the cable stretched tight, awaiting Ethan’s next motion.

Silence fell.

Everyone’s eyes moved back and forth between Moon and Ethan.

Unfortunately for Ethan, he had chosen the worst possible target.

The look Moon gave him…

It felt as though she wanted to rip his heart from his chest and devour it in front of him.

“Ethan Heart… do you think this is some kind of game?” she said coldly.

Ethan answered instinctively.

“If you want the truth .. yes, I do.”

The words left his mouth before his mind caught up.

He clamped his hand over his lips too late.

The cat was already out of the bag.

Moon’s anger erupted completely.

For the remainder of the night, she lectured him relentlessly until his head nearly burst.

Like a mother scolding a misbehaving child .. he had no choice but to listen.

By the time she finished…

Dawn had arrived.

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