Chapter 424 - Blademaster Legacy (Patreon)

Hera was pacing around the armory, replaying everything she had seen inside the legacy test in her mind.

"I'm missing something. I know I am."

Daskka was sitting on the edge of the box, staring at the dagger in the ground. She then turned to Hera, calling her over, and pointed at Yarnball with her tail.

"I know I have this, but I'm thinking about what question I should ask. If I go 'where is the blade master weapon?' and just get 'here' as an answer, I swear I'm hitting something," Hera pulled up Yarnball and just stared at it, "Any ideas what should I ask? Maybe what is their weapon. I could try to ask how to pass the entire test, but something tells me that I won't have enough mana to get a decent answer."

The snake looked down and started to rub her chin with the tip of her tail, almost like she was thinking very seriously about this. Hera just observed quietly. She was curious about what kind of reply Daskka would give her. She clearly could understand writing, even going as far as to be able to understand other languages that Hera was learning. Maybe this mana construct was much more intelligent than she gave credit for. Not that she ever thought Daskka was stupid, but it was one thing to be a smart pet, another to be able to read. A few moments passed, and the snake looked up again with a single thought in her mind.

'Food?'

Hera chuckled and patted the snake, "You don't even have to eat. But here, we can split a power bar. I'll get you something else later, I promise."

She pulled one of the power bars that she always carried with her. It wasn't exactly the heartiest of foods, but it was a constant part of her supplies when she left a city or went to any place where food might not be readily available. Doing that was pretty common among explorers, and the brands dedicated a sizable amount of time to improving the options and flavors. Not only could you find things like vegan, vegetarian, or gluten-free power bars, but also flavors that no one ever would think of unless they were craving said food. The amount of flavors that were based on different pasta dishes was staggering. Luckily, Daskka wasn't too fond of those. She preferred the fruit-based ones or the ones with chocolate. That was probably something she got from Hera.

While splitting the banana and strawberry flavored power bar, Hera tried to come up with a better question for Yarnball. She would only use it inside the test, and there was no guarantee that it would work. After all, the system might put some sort of barrier around that since legacies seemed to be able to bend some of the known rules of the system, so it wouldn't be a surprise if there was some weird obstruction.

Asking about the location of the weapon felt a bit wrong. She was positive the answer would be unhelpful. Questioning what the weapon was would be a coin flip. It can either narrow her search considerably, or it would be a bullshit answer like 'all weapons.' And, asking how to pass the test was probably useless. Even if her relic could answer that, it would require too much mana.

"What about, 'how can I understand what the test wants?'" Hera mumbled to herself. It was a broader question, and it carried the same risk as to the 'what is the blade master weapon,' since the answer can just be 'read the notification' or something. But, it felt like a better question. Not the best, but a better one. Thinking some more, a few other possibilities came to mind, 'What was the most important weapon inside the test,' 'Does the test have anything to do with magic,' and even 'What type of weapon the previous wielder used?' All those questions felt like they could work, but Hera would be stuck in the same place with no help if they didn't.

Daskka asked Hera about the writing in the weapons. Something along the lines of 'Why is this important?'

"Well. I don't know, that's the thing," something clicked inside her mind, "You know what. I should just ask that. What is the meaning of all that? Worst case scenario, I just get a dud of an answer, and we wait a couple of hours before going there again. Thanks!" Hera patted Daskka and gave her the rest of the power bar that she was eating. Even if the snake didn't have to eat, it was clear that she enjoyed the food.

Before going back to the test, Hera called Kirouhebi and asked about a bathroom. Lucky there was one close by, and soon she was reaching for the dagger once more.

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You have found a legacy.

You are being transported to the location of the legacy trial.
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Find and wield the weapon used by the previous legacy holder.

Time remaining: 00:40:00

If you fail the test, you will receive a time penalty in your next attempt.

If you mention the test details to anyone, you forfeit any remaining attempts to acquire the legacy.
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The first thing Hera did was find one of the weapons she could read, or at least translate, then she pulled Yarnball from her waist and asked, "What do these inscriptions mean?" she made sure to actually touch the writing, so her relic had no way of misunderstanding the question. Not that it had ever happened, but it was better to be safe than sorry. She also pumped all of her spare mana, everything in both earrings and in her bracelet.

'Their name and their element.'

"Wait… What? It was their element after all?" Hera looked around, trying to find more of the words she could recognize before shaking her head, "Wait, do you mean the wielder or the weapon? Whose name is it?" Hera asked her relic but got no response. The skill was currently on cooldown, and it would remain like that for all the time she had in this test.

"Daskka. Try to find any weapons that have elements that I can use. Fire, Poison, Earth, Paralyze, Wind, Light, Grass, and… I think that's it. If you find something that is part of those languages that need too much time to translate, let me know but move on."

The snake nodded and flew off into the weapon graveyard, looking for any writing that matched what Hera asked. It took them a few minutes, but eventually Hera found one weapon that might fit the bill. It was a large pair of twin hook swords wrapped in a chain. Each handle also seemed to be bladed and had edges that pointed outward. Hera noticed that every time a weapon should be in a pair, something was wrapping them together, a string, a cloth, some thread, or a chain. Looking at the inscription, this should be Tirenixio's weapon of the light element.

Hera carefully grabbed both swords by the handle and created a light mana reinforcement around both of them. The swords came out of the ground and started to shine, not because of her mana but because of the element. They were resonating with it, and soon, the silvery metal had turned into a neon white that made Hera feel like she was holding a pair of laser swords. Suddenly, the light started to gather at the tip of the hooks, and another set of swords formed as if they were clashing with Hera's. From the handles, the light created a humanoid shape, but one that had a different build from the explorer.

This figure seemed much more muscular and a few centimeters taller, but as it moved, it showed a nimbleness that Hera wasn't expecting. It turned to the side, going straight into a martial art stance. Its back was turned to Hera. Its right arm was going above its head, holding the hooked sword in the opposite direction of its elbow. The left arm was lower, parallel to the right, but the arm was straight out, unlike the right one, which was bent. After a few moments, the figure started moving again. It started twirling its wrists, making the swords spin at a rapid pace while it walked forward, not towards Hera, but towards the direction the weapons were initially pointing to. Without stopping its wrists, its arms started to rotate, creating an area where if anything got close, it would be met by the bladed edge of the swords. So far, Hera was able to understand what the figure was doing. It was moving quickly, yes, but it was still a string of movements that Hera could follow. What happened next, however, left her completely at a loss. The figure did something that was close to a ballerina spin holding both swords out in a wide circle. While still spinning, the figure put both hooked swords on its back and somehow connected them, turning the two weapons into a single longer one and finished it off by going lower to the ground and using this new extended sword to make a swiping attack. The figure did one more spin and returned the connected weapon to finish the move, now having one in each hand again. Hera never saw such a perfectly executed movement before. It wasn't a scramble or something meant to avoid an attack. It was like a dance, a calculated set of steps that only someone who spent years practicing it would be able to mirror.

Even more impressive was the fact that this wasn't the end of this small presentation. After returning both swords to its hands, the figure started spinning at an angle. Looking at that particular motion, Hera felt like you wouldn't be that effective in the middle of a fight. It left the bottom half of its body to open for attacks, and since it was spinning, it would be hard to properly see anything coming. Her opinion changed somewhat with what came next. Instead of a kick or an aerial attack like she expected, the figure connected both swords again and used them almost like a whip to attack whatever was in front of it. An attack like that was surprising, to say the least, and the force that figure displayed should do some hefty damage. Then again, it depended very much on what it was fighting. An enemy Death was too heavy, sturdy, or focused on defense could probably deal with an attack like this without a problem. In fact, this type of attack could even hinder the figure if somehow their opponent was able to intercept the second sword and take it away.

When the glowing white figure was done with this presentation, it walked back to Hera and returned to the first position it showed her. Instead of moving right away, the figure waited, and after a few moments, Hera tried to mimic the position she was seeing. Only then did the figure move again. This time taking another step forward, repeating the movements it just did. Hera understood that this was part of the test. She had to wield the weapon just as the blade master did. Whether it was the blade master or not, this figure was showing her what she had to do to prove she could wield the weapon.

"Man, I should have gotten a different weapon. It's the first time I have even seen those things. How am I supposed to learn that move?" Hera sighed.

She slumped her shoulders and dropped the weapons to the side without letting go of them, and when she did so, the glowing figure returned to the first position. This made it clear to Hera that the figure would reset if she made a mistake, allowing her to try again. Even if that was a good thing, it also meant that she would have to start again from the beginning every time she messed it up. After trying to replicate that movement for close to 20 minutes, Hera decided to look for something else. She had no idea how to wield those swords, but since there were other types of weapons in the area, it was likely that she could try a different one. When she placed the hooked swords back in their graves, the glowing white figure returned to the weapons, and the chain around them was connected once more. Hera spent the next 5 minutes or so looking for a new weapon to try out.

Unfortunately, the only one she could translate and had the element for that she could find was a glaive. It was an earth element one that used to belong to someone called Findel. Not wanting to waste this opportunity, Hera used her mana to take off the glaive from the ground and started following what the glowing brown figure was showing her. It quickly became clear that this wasn't the best idea. The figure was showing moves that Hera couldn't even follow. It spanned around so quickly and did so many quick jabs and slashes that she could swear that there were five figures and not just one. Whoever wielded this glaive was not just proficient. They had mastered it and went even beyond that. Hera looked back at the rest of the graveyard. There were so many weapons here that she could imagine all the different styles and ways to fight that could be waiting to be awakened. What if this glaive was not even the greatest master that this place was hiding? What would happen if she managed to get the legacy? Could she be able to learn all those different fighting styles?