The Last Legendary Weapons Master: Rise of the strongest player-Chapter 80: Purification (1)

Alone inside his personal Hall of the Sword, an old man sat drinking his favorite liquor, as he always did.

One bottle after another, his body absorbed an astonishing amount of alcohol each day.

It had long since become a habit—an addiction, even.

After all, the old man had found nothing better to occupy his time.

While Asterion was indulging in his catastrophic drinking routine, a soft knock echoed from the door leading into the hall.

When the drunken old man turned to look at his visitor, he found Ethan standing there, watching him with a faint half-smile.

"Oh? You finally came," Asterion said, taking another drink as Ethan made his way toward him.

Ethan glanced around the room.

Dozens of empty bottles were scattered around the old man.

"Look at this..." he said.

"How can you possibly drink this much in the middle of the day?" 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

He genuinely wondered how the old man was still alive.

Asterion simply gestured for him to sit.

"And what difference does it make whether it’s day or night?" he replied.

"The miserable sky never leaves us anyway."

"You’ve got a point."

Ethan sat across from him.

For a brief moment, the two men simply looked at each other.

Then Asterion slid a bottle toward him.

Ethan frowned when he saw it.

"Don’t tell me you dragged me all the way here just to be your drinking companion again."

Asterion smiled.

"Well... you could say that’s one of the reasons."

"You’re a strange old man. You know that?" Ethan muttered, taking the bottle and drinking a small sip.

This time, he didn’t fall into the same trap as before.

He already knew how ridiculously strong that sharp wine was.

Asterion burst out laughing when he saw his caution.

"I may be strange," the old man said, "but not as strange as you, boy."

Then he reached beside him and picked up the sheathed sword that had been resting there.

Drawing it slowly from its sheath, Asterion raised the weapon.

The black katana gleamed ominously in the dim light.

A dark aura radiated from it.

Thin strands of black mist rose from the blade like smoke.

Ethan recognized it immediately.

Of course he did.

"That’s quite a magnificent gift you gave me," Asterion said.

"I didn’t give it to you for free, as you know," Ethan sighed.

He took a larger drink from the bottle without realizing it.

Previously, Ethan had given Asterion Heart the weapon he had obtained by converting Mathius’s soul.

Even though doing so had secured the Uncrowned Emperor’s support...

it still stung every time Ethan saw the sword in someone else’s hands.

’That katana is probably the strongest weapon I could have obtained right now...’

’Yet I had no choice but to give it to him.’

It had been necessary.

Still—

Ethan couldn’t help feeling regret every time he saw it.

"What’s wrong, boy?" Asterion said teasingly.

"Do you regret giving up such a fine weapon?"

Ethan turned his head away in irritation.

"I hope one day you trip while you’re drunk and fall straight onto that katana until it gets stuck in your ancient ass."

Ethan had just insulted a man far stronger than himself.

But the surprising part was Asterion’s reaction.

The old man simply laughed loudly.

"You’ve got quite the foul mouth, boy!" he said.

"Where did you learn to talk like that?"

Both of them took a drink at the same time before Ethan answered.

"I learned it from a bunch of lunatics," he said with a small smile.

He was remembering the strange viewers from his old stream.

’That SquareDick bastard’s way of talking really rubbed off on me.’

’I wonder what that idiot is doing now...’

For a moment, Ethan stared up at the ceiling, lost in memories of the past.

Then he turned his attention back to the old man in front of him.

Asterion was easy to talk to.

Unlike elders such as Kevin Heart, he never imposed pressure on others.

Which made it surprisingly easy for Ethan to build a strange relationship with him.

A relationship that was part teacher and student...

and part drinking companions.

’I heard he wasn’t like this in the past...’

Over the past month, Ethan had heard many stories about Asterion.

Once upon a time, the man had been extremely strict.

A warrior no one had ever seen smile.

He had been ruthless.

Merciless.

So much so that many within the Heart clan had feared him.

’That was before he lost his only daughter.’

His daughter.

The mother of Moon and Luna.

When she died, something inside him changed.

It was said that he had been distant from her throughout her life because of his cold and serious nature.

Ethan didn’t know exactly what had happened back then.

But he did know this:

After her death, Asterion changed completely.

He became the drunken old man sitting before him now.

A completely different person.

He had even adopted this eccentric personality.

’Just to make it easier for his granddaughters to approach him...’

Ethan was curious about the story behind that transformation.

But he couldn’t ask.

Asterion had never spoken about his daughter.

Not even once.

Even when he was at his most intoxicated.

Her name had never crossed his lips.

So Ethan had no choice but to wait until the truth revealed itself in time.

Taking another sip of his drink, Ethan finally asked the most important question.

"So?"

"What did you call me here for today?"

Asterion took a few seconds before answering.

"Don’t overthink it," he said, taking another drink.

"I brought you here just to talk."

"I have a few questions I’d like to ask you."

Ethan grew noticeably more serious.

"You brought me here to interrogate me?" he said with a half-smile.

The drunken old man shook his head.

"I wouldn’t call it an interrogation. We’re drinking companions now. You’re free to refuse answering anything... and you can ask your own questions as well."

The old man corrected the misunderstanding, making Ethan nod cautiously.

"Go on then," Ethan said. "What do you want to know?"

"Straight to the point, huh? Very well—have it your way."

Asterion adjusted his posture, settling into a position more fitting for a serious conversation. Only a single bottle of liquor now rested between them.

"So then, Ethan... let’s talk a little about your blessing."

"The Legendary Weapons Master blessing? What more could you possibly want to know about it?"

"Oh, I already know enough about that," Asterion said with a faint smile. "But I’m not talking about the Legendary Weapons Master blessing. I’m talking about your other blessings."

Ethan slowly narrowed his eyes, a slight frown appearing on his face.

Still, he didn’t deny it. He knew he had already revealed quite a bit.

"Which one?" he asked with a quiet sigh.

Asterion gave him his conclusion.

"Besides your main blessing... you have at least three additional blessings. Don’t you?"

Ethan felt a flash of surprise.

The number the Uncrowned Emperor mentioned was higher than he had expected.

"Three? Aren’t you exaggerating?" Ethan replied casually. "If what you’re saying is true, that would mean I carry four blessings including the original one."

He reached out and took a drink from the bottle placed between them.

Asterion watched him for a moment before continuing.

"My intuition tells me you might even have more than four."

"You’re talking nonsense," Ethan replied, suppressing his real reaction.

Somehow, the old man could see right through him.

"An enhanced physical blessing," Asterion began counting calmly. "It grants you strength and endurance far beyond that of ordinary humans. That’s one."

He continued.

"A dark aura that greatly amplifies your offensive power. That’s two."

So far, everything was reasonable.

Ethan had expected Asterion to figure out at least this much.

But the drunken old man wasn’t finished.