Gourmet Hunter - Chapter 34 (Patreon)

Chapter 34: The True Master

Covered in rust, the blade was unchipped.

It should have lost its ability to kill after years of neglect, yet Luo longed to possess it.

This was a sword... that had seen countless battles of life and death but had never tasted blood, also used by a Nen user.

The True Master

Quality: Exotic Treasure

Year: 922

Forged in the late years by the famous swordsmith Mus, it never appeared in public and ultimately came into the hands of an unnamed young swordsman.

Luo gripped the hilt and slowly lifted the sword, feeling its substantial weight and texture.

All relevant information about this sword was already in Luo's mind.

He held the rusty blade before his eyes, silently gazing at it, and said, "This is the last sword forged by the swordsmith Mus, named the True Master, meaning the sword of utmost benevolence."

The True Master was nearly five feet long, only shorter than Luo by a head, making it look somewhat odd in his hands.

At this moment, Luo had no intention of absorbing the Nen from the True Master; instead, he thought of acquiring it.

He tightened his grip on the sword, turned to the elder, and said, "Mus forged countless swords in his lifetime, all designed to kill. Perhaps a change of heart in his later years, feeling guilty for his sins, led him to create this sword as a mockery of himself."

The elder's expression shifted slightly but remained silent.

Luo, unaware of the elder's reaction, continued, "The sharpness of the True Master surpasses any sword ever forged by Mus, yet it was intended only for collection."

"Mus endowed the True Master with the sharpest edge, yet he never planned for it to fall into the hands of any swordsman. Thus, this might be the most suitable sword for collection."

After explaining, Luo slowly returned the True Master to its stand, then quietly watched the elder. He did not absorb the Nen from the True Master and concealed more detailed information about it, sharing only what the elder wished to know.

As he mentioned, the True Master was created by Mus to forge the sharpest sword that was never meant to draw blood, specifically for collection.

This piece of information is known even to children, let alone a connoisseur, but the appraisal progress for this sword was zero. The reason being, this information comes from a fairy tale, and there's no documentary record of it.

Mus was a renowned swordsmith, also a believer in slaughter. The swords he forged were valued only for their ability to kill.

This fact is well known to many, while the fairy tale carries a tone of mockery. However, the true essence of it was likely known only to Luo, a unique aspect of the white smoke script.

If Luo wanted the sword, the best approach would be to directly declare it a fabricated imitation, aligning with the elder's perception of the sword.

But Luo chose not to do so because the sword was in the elder's possession, and revealing it might displease the elder.

The risk was too great, so Luo refrained from doing so.

"Do you believe the fairy tale is true?" The elder's eyes narrowed, fixing Luo with a silent gaze.

Regarding the fairy tale, even if the elder disliked reading, he made an effort for this collectible.

Had it not been for Luo's proven ability to appraise previous collectibles, at this moment, the elder would likely not have spoken, allowing the black dog to devour Luo instead.

Hearing the elder's question, Luo smiled slightly and earnestly replied, "Fairy tales are deceptive, but Mus's unique mark cannot lie."

Near the hilt on the blade of the True Master, Mus's unique mark remained, half-concealed by rust, but still discernible.

The awkwardness of this collectible lies in its authenticity without any documentary support, especially since the fairy tale about the sword is misleading.

Though it is said, it does not diminish the True Master's value as a collectible.

The elder nodded, not dwelling on the matter.

He appreciated the sword, so even though it bore a ludicrous fairy tale, he insisted on keeping it.

Seeing the elder had no objections to his explanation, Luo slowly moved to the next collectible.

Regarding the True Master, only he knew the clearest.

Eleven years after the birth of the True Master, on the coldest day of winter, a young man visited Mus, begging him to forge a sword. But Mus had long ceased making swords and directly refused.

However, the young man was stubborn and Mus, annoyed, kicked him out of his house.

But the young man did not leave; instead, he stubbornly waited outside Mus's home all winter.

Eventually, Mus allowed the young man inside, stating he was too old to forge swords, but he gave the never-before-seen True Master to the young man, making him vow never to let the sword draw blood.

This was a formidable request, yet Mus did not regret his decision to give the True Master to the young man after seeing his reaction.

Without hesitation, the young man took the oath, because of his Enhancer Nen abilities, foolishly setting a condition and vow.

Establishing a rule, swearing an oath internally, and adhering to it, the more challenging the rule, the stronger the Nen ability becomes. If the rule is broken, there is a corresponding price to pay. This is the essence of conditions and vows.

After setting his condition, the young man received the True Master and remained undefeated, never once using it to harm another. Throughout his undefeated battles, rust slowly formed on the blade of the True Master.

Perhaps... the sword was weeping.

The young man, though feeling guilty, still adhered to his vow and never changed his sword until his death.

The True Master was the nameless swordsman's first and last sword.

As time passed, the nameless swordsman's condition and vow lingered on the True Master.

This is why Luo did not wish to absorb the Nen and desired to possess it, although currently beyond his power.

"Later... find an opportunity to steal the sword, and take the other collectibles as well; they're quite valuable after all."

Luo thought to himself, then moved towards an odd jug, touching it and immediately understanding its information, his expression darkening.

This was a bizarre item, a chamber pot made from a human head, no wonder its surface vaguely revealed a human face.

The origin of the human head chamber pot was a prince who, after many hardships, ascended to the throne and made it from the head of his competitor, a half-brother from the same father.

The Nen lingering on the human head chamber pot was, in a sense, a form of resentment.

When Luo shared this zero-progress appraisal information with the elder, the latter did not show disgust but was rather excited about the unique aspect of this collectible.

It can only be said that a bizarre item created by a bizarre person can only be appreciated by someone of a bizarre taste.

As Luo explained the human head chamber pot, he quietly absorbed the resentment from it, resulting in a mere increase in his Enhancer data from 2% to 5%, unnoticed by the elder.

"Done."

Luo silently rejoiced, thinking that with this increase in strength, handling the elder's black dog in the future might be easier. However, he remained discreet about his thoughts.

The last collectible was a stone lamp, nothing special. After Luo appraised it, he had reviewed all the collectibles once more.

The elder was very satisfied with this outcome.

"You're quite remarkable, even more so than any of the bones here," the elder praised.

Bones...

These appraisal masters spent countless hours absorbing knowledge to achieve their current status, but Luo, with his fortunate encounter, had surpassed their lifetime of effort, and they were merely seen as bones by the elder.

Perhaps, the elder had never regarded them as humans.

Luo's face remained unchanged, but inside, he pitied the appraisal masters devoured by the black dog.

If not for the assistance of the white smoke script, he might have ended up as one of those bones himself.

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