F-ranker Sword Saint: My Soulbound Sword is Secretly SSS-tier!-Chapter 245: Sword Spirit
A ghastly head rolled to the ground, face frozen in eternal glee.
Harlowe seemed to be laughing even in the face of death.
However, it wasn’t because he was fearless, but because he was lamenting his fate.
How hilariously fitting for someone as pathetic as him...
[You have slain Harlowe, the Jealous Jester Lv. 62]
[You have obtained 45,210 experience points.]
[You have obtained (1) Evil Eyeball.]
[You have obtained (4) Dark Sentry.]
Daru exhaled in relief and exhaustion, proceeding to pick up the severed head a moment later.
He looked around him.
The Damnedlings were trembling, and it seemed as though they wanted to burst into tears but could not.
A few dozen meters away, Caleb fell to his knees, then plopped face-first.
Many followed suit.
Perhaps the realization that they had truly succeeded sapped what remained of their strength, or rather, automatically paid back the debt they owed to their bodies for overworking them way past their limits.
Elara, too, fell on her behind, her silver armor clanging as she let out a silent exhale, then smiled at Daru.
"We make quite a good team, don’t we?" she suddenly said, then added after a momentary pause: "Why don’t you join The Ivory Enclave with this princess, hmm?"
Daru actually considered the offer. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎
Sigrun, she doesn’t seem so bad, but how could he be certain that the guild behind her isn’t, too?
From what he could deduce, the Seven Sword Guilds are quite power-hungry and were perhaps even aiming to overthrow the government one day.
That...that could not be good, could it?
If their intentions were good, why would they rebel?
Of course, they might have had a noble reason, but as far as he was concerned, the government was the authoritative faction keeping the world in order.
No, the Neo-Earth World Government was and had been Order itself.
How could ruining Order be anything good?
Still, Daru gave them the benefit of the doubt, at least, as he was far too young and far too inexperienced to make a final decision about such matters.
He had to learn more first.
But for now...
"I’ll pass," Daru shook his head.
Elara fell silent for a moment, her thoughts unreadable, then she responded: "May this princess know why? After all, aside from the ludicrous benefits you will obtain from merely joining and the promise of having a steady path to the top, you will also be in this gorgeous princess company most of the time, as I will be suggesting that you be assigned to my party. So...why?"
"Well, the last part of what you said is a small part of the reason. You’re quite talkative and a bit annoying at times, so I feel that I would be exhausted in your company, but more importantly, I already have a faction in mind."
"W-Wha– rude...you’re very rude, Onimaru Kunitsuna...but at least your honesty is quite charming."
With that, she fell silent, lying on her back with a clang of her silver armor.
Elara, too, was too tired to talk much.
There was no need to ask.
The moment Daru said "faction" instead of guild, she already knew that he was planning to work for the government.
A bit unfortunate, in her opinion.
After all, she believed that a man of his talents should at least be paid and guided appropriately.
’But hey, to each their own...’
Daru watched Elara for a moment, then left, heading over to talk to Caleb, who had just managed to flip himself over, now staring at the distant stone ceiling.
The two of them talked about what they should do next, and it was decided that they would stay in the Stone Castle first.
No one had the energy to do a headcount yet.
So, Caleb announced that everyone should rest first, putting the matter of fallen comrades to the back of their minds for now.
Even just standing and walking a few steps was difficult, after all.
Daru chose a quiet corner and sat.
He then accessed his inventory to check his loot.
Scanning his eyes over the slots, he noted that it was almost full now, but that was understandable.
There was nowhere to sell his haul in Limbo, after all.
His mind drifting to the matter, he couldn’t help but wonder about his temporary partners: Max from Starter Yield Traders and Fritz, the aspiring smith.
Were they struggling right now?
Most probably, but what could Daru do?
He was barely surviving his encounters in the Underworld, and the Whisper Sigils wouldn’t connect.
He could only focus on what was in front of him.
That he did, his eyes resting on the last few occupied slots in his inventory.
Daru did a quick check to confirm that the Evil Eyeball was indeed Harlowe’s relic before proceeding to the next item:
==
Name: Dark Sentry
Type: Miscellaneous-Retrievable
Tier: S
Level Requirement: None
Description: A shadow nailed into stillness. It watches without eyes and whispers into the mind when unseen danger stirs.
Innate Abilities:
[Unseen Eye] - Permanent invisibility; ineffective against those with [True Sight].
[Tenebrous Advice] - Peering into the user’s soul and memories, the sentry will sing a dark warning that crosses even realms when danger approaches.
Note: [Retrievable] items can be retrieved and reused until destroyed or stolen.
==
He nodded in appreciation.
This item will be very useful, especially in the future, when he will have to sleep in dangerous zones with no one to watch his back.
The Dark Sentries would allow him to rest without worry.
Daru then shifted his attention to the last item he hadn’t checked, his heart racing slightly.
A Sword Spirit...
Even though the "Cursed" status sounded quite ominous, it was still an exciting gain.
He hadn’t heard of Sword Spirits before, after all.
He eagerly tapped on the golden coin, its surface carved with Commodus’s visage, as a heavy, inky-black aura oozed from it like a living shadow.
==
Spirit: Commodus
Title: Warlord of the Forsaken Legions
Tier: SSS
Level Requirement: 60
Base Level: 65
Status: Cursed (Cleanse the Sword Spirit in a Spirit Altar to unlock other features.)
Description: Once a warlord of forsaken legions beneath a fading empire, Commodus drifts now between memory and curse. His presence carries the weight of unspoken desires, and though silent, it bends the air with the remnants of a will that even death refused to forgive.
Warning: Cursed Sword Spirits cannot be commanded. While they will not attack the summoner, they may attack allied units. Upon death, the Spirit will drop as an item unless Soulbound.
==
Daru’s heart skipped a beat.
’A creature that can be...summoned?’ At least that’s what he understood.
