Leon stared blankly at his computer screen from his cubicle. It was the third successive Monday of feeling exactly the same — boring, boring and weirdly uneventful. The same emails. The same meetings. The same awful office coffee that always tasted like burnt rubber.
"Is it too much to demand something interesting to happen?" he thought, for not the first time. Leon had led an uneventful life. He wasn't a big dreamer, big dancer, big anything. His job? A typical office drone at a medium size tech company. His hobbies? Video games and binge-watching whatever was popular on Netflix. Hardly the stuff of legends.
But today, Leon was bored. Bored as in having looked at the clock four times in five minutes. Another hour until lunch. Four more hours 'til freedom. He let out a long-suffering sigh and cradled his head in his hand.
"Hey, Leon!" came a voice from behind him.
Leon groaned inwardly. It's Terry, his jocular coworker who always wears a bright yellow tie and who has an infectious sense of urgency about things that really just aren't.
"Hey, buddy! Got a minute?" Terry peered in a little too close to Leon's desk.
"Yeah, sure." Leon sat up and moved his mouse with great reluctance, dragging the browser window with phalanxes of cat videos to the edge of the screen.
"I was thinking," Terry said, pulling a crumpled piece of paper out of his pocket, "we should totally go to drinks after work. "I'm feeling… you know, relaxed!"
Leon blinked. "...Drinks? After work?"
"Yup!" Terry pumped his head up and down, which made his tie bounce like it had a mind of its own. "Oh man, after a long day at the office, it's just great to go and get totally hammered, and pretend we're living the dream!"
Leon glanced at the clock. "An hour to go..." he thought.
"Wonderful," Leon replied flatly — aware he would never actually go. Terry was wonderful and everything, but drinks after work? Leon knew how that would end. Terry would get wasted, sing karaoke, and then he'd have to listen to Terry butcher 'Bohemian Rhapsody'.
But still, it was better than working.
"Cool!" Terry slapped him on the back. "I'll see you later, then! It's going to be epic!"
Leon sighed as Terry walked away. He didn't even know the reason he agreed. I don't know, maybe it was that awkward social pressure. Maybe it was Terry's ridiculous energy somehow being infectious. He had briefly contemplated quitting his job and fleeing to some remote island to live out his days peacefully, but that would require work. And effort, we know, was something Leon was not keen on."
The hours dragged by.
Half an hour later, Leon stood at the vending machine, deciding whether to put money in for a packet of chips or a candy bar. Neither sounded great, but both seemed easier than returning to work.
He punched a button for the chips and exhaled a slight sigh of relief as they fell into the tray. "Only a few more hours," he thought, unzipping the bag and taking a bite.
That's when it happened.
The ground shook.
Leon initially thought it was his imagination, but the vibration persisted. The whole building felt like it was shaking, lights flickered as if the planet itself had chosen to nap.
"What the hell?" Leon looked around the office and muttered to himself.
Suddenly, there was a loud, unmistakable crash — the sound of metal meeting concrete — followed by an eerie, high-pitched whir. Everyone in the office froze for a second, wide-eyed and confused.
A red light started flashing, and a warning appeared on the emergency system: "IMMINENT COLLISION DETECTED. EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY."
"What?"
There was a groan from the walls, and as Leon turned to leave, he heard the distant blaring of a horn — the unmistakable sound of a truck. He looked out the window and saw a blur of motion — a speeding vehicle — careening into the building at an alarming, almost cinematic speed.
"Oh, crap." Leon blinked and retreated, but his legs were glued. The truck was heading straight toward the office, and there was no time to get away.
As if in slow motion, the truck rammed through the side of the building. Glass exploded, debris sprayed, and in that narrow moment, Leon went free-falling into the hot zone.
Before everything went black, he didn't even have time to scream.
Somewhere Else...
Leon opened his eyes, anticipating to once again see the familiar, bland office. Instead he was met with an infinite void of darkness — and somehow lost his sense of his own body.
"Am I dead?"
"Basically," said a voice — one that reverberated as if from all around him.
"What?! " Leon mentally shouted. "Who's there? What's going on?! "
"Take it easy, pal," the voice laughed. "You've been reincarnated."
"Reincarnated? As in, I'm a blade or whatever?" Leon's thoughts raced. That would be ridiculous.
"Well, actually—yes, you're a sword now. That's what you do when you get a second chance, right? Not the most glamorous of choices, but here we are.'
Leon blinked. "Wait, what? A sword?! "
"Yep! You're currently Soulbound to an adventurer in a twisted world. Lucky you, huh?"
Leon paused. "A sword? Really? Not some mythical dragon, or even a magical warrior?"
"Nope! A sword it is. But hey, you have a Growth System, so there is potential. Who knows? Perhaps you will grow into something mighty someday'"
Leon found it hard to know whether to be irritated or simply laugh. He didn't even get to enjoy his own death, and now he had this to deal with."
AT LEAST IT'S NOT A PAPERCLIP, Leon muttered to himself.
The voice chuckled again. "That's the spirit!"
The one thing Leon could do to begin processing his new situation was to admit that his old life may have been boring, but it wasn't this strange. Part 1: The Way of the Sword But fate had other plans, His journey of becoming a sword was only beginning.
And honestly? Leon had no idea what was the worse option: Being stuck as a sword, or knowing that his adventurer master probably would be utterly useless initially.
It seemed the comedy was only just beginning.