"Am I worthy?" Sky muttered as he stepped forward and stood before the black sword, Forsaken.
Asura stared at him with a mysterious smile.
"I don't know." Sky shook his head. "I don't know if I'm the fated one that you're talking about or if I'm worthy in your perspective."
He then extended his hand towards the sword's hilt.
"However, I also have a question for you."
Staring at the black sword, Sky gripped the hilt as a powerful aura suddenly started radiating.
"I will soon stand at the apex and it's only a matter of time."
"To become my weapon, are you worthy?"
Asura smiled when he heard his words.
[An immense strength is suppressing you!]
[All stats have been reduced by 90%.]
[You feel disoriented.]
[Your five senses have become sluggish.]
Sky ignored the system notifications as he used all his strength to pull out the sword.
Humm...
A humming sound was heard as Forsaken trembled.
[You have encountered a sword only told in myths and legends.]
With his full attention on the sword, Forsaken started moving up, inch by inch.
However, as this went on, the aura that Sky was enduring also intensified.
[Your current strength isn't qualified to wield the weapon!]
[Your body, mind, and soul are suffering in agony.]
Sky's expression paled as he suddenly felt a tormenting pain.
It was fortunate that he had experienced all kinds of pain growing up alongside his master. It was also fortunate that the pain sensory of the game itself was limited; it allowed the players to feel acute pain in-game while not fully experiencing the exact pain that one would feel when that certain experience happens.
[Your health and mana are being consumed.]
[Your health and mana have fallen at critical levels.]
Sky saw his HP and MP decreasing rapidly as he struggled to pull the sword.
[A certain power has influenced your health, forcing it to remain at the minimum.]
His health dropped to 1 HP.
Although he didn't die, what followed after was even worse.
[An immense strength is suppressing you!]
[Your level has dropped to level 45.]
And it didn't end there.
Under Sky's shock, his level started falling, way faster than it had previously risen.
[Your level has dropped to level 44.]
[Your level has dropped to level 43.]
[Your level has dropped to level 42.]
[Your level has dropped to level 41.]
[Your level has dropped to level 40.]
[Your level has dropped...]
[Your level has...]
[Your level...]
[Your...]
[...]
[...]
Eventually—
[Well done, my successor.] Asura spoke while laughing.
[Your level has dropped to level 1.]
[All stats, except hidden stats, have been reset.]
At that moment, right after his level was reset to level 1, the sword stuck in the monolith was finally liberated.
[You have obtained the sword spoken in myths and legends, Forsaken.]
[Due to the gap of your level and the power of Forsaken, the sword has been sealed and weakened to allow you to wield it.]
[Accomplish certain tasks to unseal the sword's powers.]
____________________
[Forsaken (Sealed)]
Rating: Unique
Durability: 1,000/1,000
Attack Power: 230~320 (Scales with the user's level.)
• All stats +30
• Charisma and Charm +50.
• This sword has been blessed by an Archangel. 150% increase in health recovery and a 200% increase in damage against dark creatures. You will be respected by NPCs of the Righteous Faction.
• This sword was made using a Great Demon's skin and bones. All demonkins within an area of a 100-meter diameter of the user will be suppressed, reducing their stats by 50% (stats reduction based on the level difference). You will not be suppressed when facing a Great Demon.
• This sword was forged using Adamantium, the metal of the gods. There is a low probability of activating the 'Divine Punishment' skill. Every time Divine Punishment is activated, lightning will descend from the sky and strike all enemies near the user. The damage of Divine Punishment is based on the user's level (minimum damage of 10,000) and will ignore defense and all types of resistance.
• This sword has bathed in the blood of a dragon. The user will possess the passive skill 'Dragon Aura', which will suppress all dragonkins near the user, weakening their concentration and five senses to a considerable degree. There is also a low probability to activate the skill 'Dragon Fear' when fighting a dragon or dragonkins. Every time Dragon Fear is activated, all enemies near the user will succumb to a 'feared' state for 10 seconds (duration based on the level difference). You will not be suppressed when facing a dragon.
• This sword was used by the greatest swordsman to have ever lived. All skills, except sword-related, will be locked. Except for sword mastery, all sword-related skills +1 level. The user's mana pool will be locked until the sword is fully unsealed. The user will unlock the resource 'sword energy'.
(Your maximum sword energy is 500. Sword energy recovers by 1 every second and after every attack.)
To unseal, finish the following tasks:
1. Train your sword mastery to the pinnacle — Task incomplete.
2. Defeat a Legend — Task incomplete.
3. Kill a Great Demon or slay 100,000 demonkin monsters. The level of demons slain cannot be below your current level or they will not be counted — Task incomplete.
Demons slain: 0/100,000
4. Obtain an Archangel's approval or blessing — Task incomplete.
5. Slay a dragon or obtain one's approval — Task incomplete.
This sword was the weapon of the strongest human to have ever lived. It was forged using a great demon's bones and skins and the metal of the gods. It has received an archangel's blessing and has bathed in the blood of a dragon.
After tens of thousands of years, Forsaken has finally landed on the successor of Asura, although. the sword has been weakened and sealed.
The successor must unseal the sword to return it to its peak.
Conditions of Use: Sky. Cannot be dropped or traded.
____________________
[My successor.] Asura called.
Sky, who finally pulled Forsaken from the obsidian monolith, looked at him.
[The wheels of destiny have started spinning. The ancient prophecy has come true. You will need strength to survive in the coming future.]
Sky, who had forgotten that he was back to level 1 and was instead elated and giddy with his new weapon, cooled down.
"Prophecy? What prophecy?"
Asura was silent in response and only spoke a few seconds after. [A long, long time ago, there was a prophecy known by all. I cannot divulge much as your strength is too weak and only knowing will put you in peril.]
Nonetheless, Asura spoke with a serious expression. ['Heaven-blessed', one with an immortal soul. Their arrival shall be the trigger of an unprecedented war! None will be safe from the chaos, destruction or salvation, their actions will determine the world's fate.]
Now, it was Sky that was silent.
He didn't doubt the man's words since someone like him, such an NPC, would not lie. He also trusted his gut.
'Heaven-blessed? Immortal soul? Does he mean us? The players and our ability to respawn?' Sky thought.
The immortal soul part probably correlated to a player's ability to indefinitely respawn.
'Also, an unprecedented war? Does that mean that it will surpass the one that I saw in the game's introduction?' thinking of this, a chill couldn't help but run through his spine.
Numerous gods, great demons, angels, fallen ones, monsters, humans, elves, dwarves, giants, and so on, there were simply countless participants, albeit most of them unwilling, during that War of Gods and Demons.
The war shown in the game's introduction was so big that he couldn't even fathom how it could possibly be surpassed.
'Actually, with billions of players, it's not impossible.'
But that's in the future, it will definitely take a few years, in real-life, to happen.
At that time, absolute strength would be the key, the answer to all questions.
'Strength, absolute enough to crush all oppositions.' Sky said in his heart.
[I cannot say more other than that.] Asura said as he waved his hand. [Before you came here, there was a man that tried to unseal Forsaken. Obviously, he failed, but I'll send you to his place since he's currently the strongest human present. Of course, he's still weak compared to me.]
With a smirk on his face, Asura pointed at Sky.
Suddenly, red-colored energy surrounded the latter, the same way how he was encircled when he was teleported to this 'prison of opportunity'.
"The one before me? Who was he?"
Asura smiled. [It has been years since he came here. He was a bit older than you and was a genius with a good heart and terrifying potential. I don't know much about him but he told me that his name was Arthur.]
Arthur?
Just as Sky was thinking of the name, the crimson energy started drowning his entirety.
Whoosh!
A few moments later, the energy dissolved and left nothing behind, as if no one was there just a few seconds ago.
Asura, who just used his powers to send Sky to the Camelot Empire, glanced at the Great Demon chained behind him before staring towards the horizon.
His eyes suddenly sharpened.
[Oh? A dragon is getting restless.]