Two days later, Kaiser finally received Ser-Veresta from Claudia.
—
Standing in a secluded corner of Seidoukan Academy, he turned the black hilt over in his hands.
Feeling the excitement radiating from the sword, he smiled.
"I made you wait, huh, Ser-Veresta?"
With that, he activated the Orga Lux.
"ZING!"
A brilliant crimson glow burst forth from the red Urm-Manadyte embedded in the hilt.
Mana surged in response, forming the thick mechanical guard, from which the pure white blade extended.
"WHUM!"
Kaiser raised the sword, channeling Prana into it.
Immediately, black energy lines coiled around the glowing white blade, spiraling upward and sinking into the Manadyte core.
A surge of immense heat condensed along the sword's form—
Turning the brilliant white blade… pitch black.
This time, however—
The heat did not radiate outward uncontrollably like before.
Instead, it was fully contained within the blade itself.
—
"Hmm…"
Holding the now-darkened sword, Kaiser mused aloud.
"It feels good in my hands, but… Ser-Veresta is too big."
It was a greatsword, nearly as tall as a person.
For most, merely lifting it would be impossible.
Even among Genestella, wielding such a massive weapon in agile combat would be highly impractical.
"Something smaller would be better."
As soon as he spoke—
—Ser-Veresta began to shift.
"ZING!"
The red Manadyte pulsed, releasing another wave of energy.
The black energy lines coiling around the blade began to spiral inward—
And then—
The entire sword dismantled and reconstructed itself.
The thick guard shrank, the massive blade compressed, the heat condensed even further.
Within moments—
The once towering greatsword had been resized to a standard-length one-handed longsword.
Now, it was sleek, swift, and dangerous.
Seeing this, Kaiser grinned knowingly.
"You really can adjust your size freely, huh, Ser-Veresta?"
With his ultimate authority over weapons, the moment he touched a weapon, he fully understood it—
And Ser-Veresta was no exception.
From the very first time he held it—
He had known.
It was an adaptive weapon, capable of altering its form.
And now, he had confirmed it himself.
"This is much better."
Kaiser gave the smaller blade a few test swings.
Each movement left behind a distorted heat ripple in the air.
"WHUM!" "WHUM!" "WHUM!"
He gradually increased his speed—
Blurring into motion, his blade cutting through the air in rapid arcs.
The pitch-black blade hummed with intense power, the heat of a furnace compressed into its very form.
—
If anyone were watching—
They would have never believed that this was his first time wielding Ser-Veresta.
His fluid movements, his seamless execution, the way his entire body moved in sync with the sword—
Even a seasoned master swordsman would have thought he had trained with Ser-Veresta for years.
But in truth—
This was the first time he had ever swung it.
Even Kaiser himself—
Felt as if he and Ser-Veresta had been together for a decade.
Their harmony, their understanding, their instinctive coordination—
It was something far beyond natural compatibility.
"One with the blade."
That phrase echoed in his mind.
—
Unfortunately—
"The Prana consumption is insane."
Without warning, Kaiser stopped abruptly.
His face paled slightly, and he let out a wry smile.
"So this is Ser-Veresta's cost, huh?"
—
Every Orga Lux required a price to use.
Each had different drawbacks, different tolls that made their overwhelming power come at a cost.
For Ser-Veresta—
Its cost was absurdly high Prana consumption.
And when it was said to be "high", it wasn't just an exaggeration.
For a typical Genestella, even just activating it would completely drain them dry.
—
"The original protagonist had an absurd amount of Prana—one of the highest in the entire series."
"That's the only reason he was able to wield Ser-Veresta in the first place."
"Compared to him… my Prana reserves are nothing."
Kaiser's overall capabilities were average by Seidoukan standards.
His Prana capacity was no exception.
With his current limits, using Ser-Veresta at full power would drain him within seconds.
If the sword hadn't recognized him, it would have mercilessly consumed all his energy the moment he activated it.
Right now, it was only thanks to two things that he could still stand:
Ser-Veresta was deliberately restraining itself.
His Authority had strengthened the weapon, reducing its drawbacks.
Even so—
Kaiser could only wield it for a few minutes at most.
And that was with the blade holding back.
If he ever pushed its full output to the limit—
He would only last a few attacks before collapsing.
—
"In the end, my Prana is just too low."
Kaiser sighed in frustration.
But then—
"WHUM!"
Ser-Veresta trembled.
And in the next moment—
It released a surge of raw Mana.
—
"Ser-Veresta?"
Kaiser frowned.
The sword did not respond.
Instead—
It poured massive amounts of Mana into him.
The energy surged into his body, infusing his cells, altering his very being.
Then—
Kaiser realized something shocking.
"My Prana… is increasing?"
No—
Not just his Prana reserves.
His entire body was rapidly getting stronger.
His reflexes, speed, and endurance—
All of them were evolving.
—
"Ser-Veresta can… boost my power?"
That wasn't supposed to happen.
Nowhere in the original story had this ability ever been mentioned.
—
Then, it hit him.
"Wait…"
"The Genestella species was created due to exposure to Mana, right?"
"And Urm-Manadyte is essentially the most concentrated form of Mana."
"So if a weapon infused with Urm-Manadyte were to transfer its energy directly into a person…"
—
It could forcibly enhance them.
—
"This… is incredible."
Feeling his rapidly rising power, Kaiser's lips curled into a wide grin.
But then—
His expression froze.
Because—
He suddenly realized—
Ser-Veresta's presence was weakening.
"Wait… STOP!"
His eyes widened in shock.
Ser-Veresta wasn't just strengthening him—
It was sacrificing itself to do it.
It was burning its own power—
Just to make him stronger.
—
"STOP, SER-VERESTA!"
Panic surged through him.
But the sword refused to listen.
Instead—
It continued pouring its essence into him, its crimson glow fading.
It was willing to destroy itself—
If it meant making him stronger.
—
"NO!"
Kaiser forcibly activated his Authority, cutting off the Mana flow.
—
The red glow faded.
The sword stilled.
And silence fell.
—
Standing there, clutching the slightly weakened Ser-Veresta, Kaiser clenched his jaw.
—
"You idiot…"
"If you destroy yourself, what use would that be?"
Even if his power grew—
He wasn't willing to lose his sword to achieve it.