The next day after the Auction Night, news about the auction was already spreading like wildfire throughout the entire World Academy.
Leonard was in the third-year student's Ranker's Dorm.
He was sweating profusely as he swung his sword in his training facility.
He tightened his grip on his sword as he swiftly performed the special sword art that he had learned from his dad, Osbert Tarvian, Chairman of the World Association.
His mood was worse, but he looked at the sword artifact he had received.
A deep blue sword, which shined as if it were made out of a gem, but Leonard could feel its power and knew it was a good investment.
But he looked back at the White Blade that had cost him 70,000 GP, and it was all because of one man. This C Rank sword had cost him way more than it was worth.
"But I wonder how your normal sword will perform against an artifact," Leonard was sure that Asher's performance would go down compared to Kevin, who had gotten a B Rank Spear from Raelyn.
"Let's see how long it will take me to destroy you," Leonard said as a smile crept onto his face.
Meanwhile, Sam Allister was waiting outside the Ranker's Dorm.
It was nearly 11 AM, and he was waiting for Asher to come down.
"This does look good," Sam said to himself as he looked at the building.
The architecture of Ranker's Dorm was enough to attract many people, and Sam was no exception.
"I could have been here, huh," Sam thought for a second but removed his thoughts from his mind.
Right now, he was here to deliver something to Asher.
"When will he come down?" Sam had already messaged Asher, so he waited for him to come down.
Just as he was about to message again, he saw Asher coming down in his casual clothes.
"Did you bring the sword?" Asher asked, and Sam nodded.
"Do you want your GP back?" Sam said as he took out a black-colored sword from his spatial ring.
"No, keep it," Asher denied as he took the blade.
'Finally,' Asher felt complete as he was reunited with his sword.
"I will go back now," Sam said as he turned to go back to the VIP Dorms.
Asher went back to the 10th floor and entered his room.
He took out the D Rank Sword again and looked at it.
This was the artifact that Asher had carried till his last battle in his previous life. It was the same sword that struck terror when people saw it. This black blade had drunk so much blood in his previous life that Asher didn't even remember the count of people he killed.
Asher already knew that Leonard would try to interfere with his bids and propose an alliance. He had known him well enough to guess his moves and how he thought.
Although Asher had a questionable amount of GP, it was still not enough to safely bid on the sword in case Leonard was set on interrupting his bids.
The solution was simple for him.
Exactly the day Asher and Alyssa returned, Asher called Sam to meet him in the Outer Sector.
It was in front of the Trade Center in the Outer Sector.
"Where is he?" Sam looked around to see Asher and saw him standing near the building.
Sam walked up, and Asher saw him.
"So, what do I need to do?" Sam asked, not wasting any time.
"It's quite simple; you just need to buy me an artifact," Asher told Sam, but he made a confused face.
"I will give you 10,000 GP for the task and make sure you buy the sword at all costs," Asher said with an indifferent look on his face.
"Okay, can you describe the sword for me?" Sam didn't know how Asher could have knowledge about the artifacts in the Auctions, as the World Academy made sure the information didn't leak.
"It will be a pitch-black sword, and its description will be about its sharpness," Asher didn't have any other details.
"Okay, anything else?" Sam asked.
Asher thought for a second and decided to tell him one more thing.
And on the day of the Auction, Sam did exactly as Asher told him to do and bought the sword for him.
But he was still confused about why he would choose this sword over others when he had so much GP with him, which he still didn't know how Asher managed to get.
Asher looked at the sword, and the System started analyzing it.
[ Analyzing Artifact..... ]
Sword of Chaos
Rank : D Rank Sword
Description : Crafted by a mysterious individual possessing extraordinary runic wisdom beyond human comprehension, this sword finds itself shackled by the very hands that brought it into existence. It yearns for its rightful owner to unshackle it.
Abilities : Increases sharpness in each strike by 15%
Abilities : Made by a metal that will not be harmed by attacks below SS Rank.
Passive : Grows to the peak of its owner's potential (Sealed to D Rank)
Passive : Locked, requires a key to unlock
Passive : Locked, requires a key to unlock
The moment he scanned the sword, the strange tattoo behind his back appeared for a few seconds and disappeared.
Now, seeing the sword with the System's description, he could understand more about it. But he also knew about the fact that this sword needed a key, and in his previous life, that key was already broken, and only the first of the three seals were lifted.
The first seal allowed the sword to become an SS Rank Sword with no other abilities, but it complemented Asher so well that he never replaced it with other swords.
"Now for this," Asher took the finger ring armor artifact that he had bought, which was actually the runic pen that was the key to unlocking the Runic seals on this sword.
[ Analyzing Artifact..... ]
Rune Encrypter
Rank : A Rank Artifact
Description : Crafted by the one who bound his own masterpiece, within it lies the key to unleash the true potential of this sealed creation. Embedded in the piece are three black gems, each harboring the unique means to unlock the enchanting power concealed within.
Limitations :
1. The one who wears it and imprints his mana will be marked as the owner, and only that person could try to unseal the Runic Seals.
2. Each failed attempt will permanently destroy the gems.
Because of this limitation, Asher wanted this finger ring armor, a runic pen bought by one of the students who accidentally imprinted his mana on this artifact.
And due to that person's lack of knowledge in runes, Asher could never unlock his sword's true potential.
But now, he had the time to learn rune arts himself and become the owner of this artifact; he could take his time to unseal his sword completely.
Asher unsheathed the sword from its black scabbard, revealing the dull black blade, which would change when its first seal was unlocked.
He checked the schedule for Runic Theory, and it showed that his classes would start next week.
<Class Schedule Next Week: 2 PM - Runic Theory - Professor Neyman>
It was time for First Years to finally interact with the Seniors, and most clubs and small factions, including the most prominent faction, the Blood Faction, would start their recruitment. But Asher was not interested in joining these clubs and factions as they added no real value to him. However, he was still interested in one club.
It was the same club he had joined in his previous life, and it was the same club where Alyssa and Asher first talked.
'Not the time yet,' Asher knew the best time to go to that club.
Asher received the notification he had been waiting for.
<Tom: Boss, when should we begin our first mission?>
Asher looked at the message. From tomorrow, his classes for the Mage Course would start, and after attending the last Runic Theory class, he could leave the World Academy.
He replied and looked at his sword, especially the blade, which was still a dull shade of black.
"Soon," Asher muttered.
His next priority was the mission that he needed Dane and Kai for, and reaching level 30 to learn more about the System and the beast reward that he still didn't know anything about.
