Supreme Swordfiend

"Trial One- Thousand Man Slayer Cleared!"

"They expected your victory, none accounted for the depths of your arrogance. An [H] Grade charging an army and winning? They'll remember this one. +1 Fame!"

Leon couldn't bring himself to care for this Fame point, his focus entirely consumed with staring down at the dead commander, he was locked in inner turmoil.

On one hand, he had proven his growth by killing an enemy that was far beyond him. While he couldn't say for sure, Leon suspected the dungeon had held off on any major changes to the commander's army in order to better empower the crimson-armoured warrior.

She had definitely comprehended an insight to boost her speed alongside fire and light related affinities, which she'd used to clad both her spear and greatsword in that burning light that had obliterated his heart.

The speed of her only successful strike had been far too fast for there to be any other reasonable explanation.

For all these advantages she had they hadn't mattered before the terror of a quadruple boosted Tsunami, allowing Leon to pass this trial, another step towards the peak made.

On the other hand- Leon had been tested here and found himself wanting. For all his prowess he'd failed to fight in the way he wanted. His lack of skill in fighting humanoid opponents had him taking too many injuries, his lack of control forcing him to end the climactic fight early.

Standing there on the ruined battlefield, surrounded by the corpses of the slain, Leon's raging blood cooled and his actions hit home.

He'd killed a lot of people today.

What little remained in his stomach was disgorged, the stench of his own vomit masked by the reek of blood. Leon stayed knelt, allowing the dungeon to shower him in congratulatory confetti. Another affirmation toward a victory that rang hollow.

Minutes later, as Leon rose, he suddenly felt his perception bubble outwards before abruptly snapping back into his head. He was back on the bridge, a chest in front of him and an exit portal behind him. Bladeless lay by his side, the giant weapon having been teleported alongside its master.

The bodies were gone, the verdant fields surrounding the river had been restored to a pristine state, all the mud and blood wiped clean. All Leon's efforts had been erased, the only evidence left being his mangled arm. The pain was no less immense than the last time he'd used Tsunami, his skin burned and bones broken by the force of the raging energy he'd unleashed. At least he'd managed to keep the arm in its socket this time.

He would need to eat- rapidly restoring his heart had taken nearly everything he'd had left in the tank and his arm would only get worse if he didn't heal it quickly.

Wiping the worst of the various fluids he'd been coated in from his face, Leon tore into his food stocks. They had been diminished greatly, the once towering pile of loaded plates within his storage ring reduced to a small mound. There would be no more fighting today or if there was he would be forced to fight carefully.

Still, his mind turned over the fight. Could he have won without resorting to Tsunami? He couldn't see a way. There were many flaws to be addressed- those could wait, no doubt the devil would have his own advice to offer once he returned to his base.

What concerned Leon most was the feeling of loss. It was similar to how he'd felt after besting the spinosaurus. He'd won in both cases but each fight had revealed glaring weaknesses. His bloodline's arrogance had been beaten down once more.

A small consolation, at least he wouldn't go picking any more fights while free of its influence.

After an entire pizza vanished down Leon's throat and his arm had been restored he moved to examine his rewards, cracking open the oaken chest in the centre of the bridge.

A familiar crimson greatsword lay atop a pile of armour, examining it with his [Swordsman's Eye] yielded the blade's information.

"Sunlight Greatsword- A blade forged in the open caldera of an active volcano. The alloy used allows it to conduct fire and light aspected mana with greater ease than a common blade. A passable work from a novice smith, its true potential can only be seen when utilised alongside the Blazing Sun Bladework. Bears a Self-Repair and Growth Weapon enchantment.

Requirements- 15 Power, 15 Speed."

A sense of déjà vu overcame Leon as he read the description while turning the weapon over in his hands. Setting the sword down, he began shifting through the metallic armour, sure he would find a manual for this Blazing Sun Bladework amongst his spoils.

After a flurried minute of ransacking the chest, Leon was forced to conclude there was no manual amongst his loot. The Sunlight Greatsword would never show its true potential in his hands. This was an acceptable outcome, Leon had his hands full as it was with trying to master his two current styles and piling on another weapon and style at this point could be detrimental to his growth.

Swinging the greatsword back and forth and launching a few stabs at the empty air saw Leon rewarded with a long-awaited pop-up.

"Quest Complete- Wide Base

Reward- Common Skill- [Swordsman's Physique]!"

Pulling up the skill description, Leon checked what his new skill let him do.

"[Swordsman's Physique]- Every muscle, every fibre of your being is yours to command. A pre-requisite for some of the more unorthodox sword styles."

Not immediately useful, though Leon could see some value in it. Perhaps it would help him modulate his power when unleashing Tsunami?

With his status open he examined his latest insight.

"Air's Pressure-Early Shallow Level. Attunes you to the air around your body in a two-metre radius. Within this radius the insight bearer can detect any shift in the air, alerting them to movements."

A detection ability? Immediately useful, this could prevent Leon from suffering any ambushes in the future. The weakness was the short-range but perhaps this would be remedied by deepening his insight. He hadn't felt the same degree of resonance he'd felt with his Water's Power insight which could indicate a lesser affinity for air, though this was more of a baseless speculation than a hard fact.

Another question to keep in mind, Leon tossed it to the back of his and moved on to the armour.

Unlike the sword it was not familiar, a set of gleaming steel armour consisting of gauntlets, boots, faulds, cuirass, vambraces and a fresh leather belt, one dyed a cerulean blue. The armour itself was lighter than it looked and was decorated with a single water droplet upon the cuirass.

Identifying the set, Leon was surprised to see a pop-up. Generally, armour failed to meet whatever standard the System had for proper gear.

"Droplet Soldier Armour- An armour set supplied to the rank and file of the Cleansing Rain Sect. Equipped with Weight Reduction and Self Repair enchantments to allow even the weakest soldier to contribute in battle, so as a single droplet of water contributes to a downpour. Additionally, allows the wearer to store water aspected mana in the engraved droplet on their chest, thanks to a Mana Battery enchantment, allowing the user to replenish their mana while in the thick of battle."

The armour was still cool to the touch as Leon strapped himself in, casting off the battered leather strips that had once served as armour, his tank top and sweatpants still in wearable condition despite the rigours of the past days.

Ten minutes later a steel-clad Leon gathered up his weapons, storing the Sunlight Greatsword in his storage ring, belting Bladeless to his back and Wavecutter to his side. Striding through the portal brought him back to the rotting hill, the swordsman emerging a little more aware of his limits than the one that had entered.

The journey back was uneventful, Leon taking the time to experiment with the connection he felt to the air around him. Twice he avoided the leaping claws of a velociraptor ambush, the surviving beasts having grown wary of any creature taller than themselves.

It was like a sixth sense, as soon as any moving object entered his range Leon was able to detect it and move to avoid it. On both occasions, the velociraptor was cleaved asunder thanks to Bladeless and Leon's journey resumed. The corpses weren't even worth taking, his storage ring was packed with dead raptors already.

Arriving back at the house Leon strode in and began piling more food into his storage ring, pointedly ignoring Zerasos who was engrossed in a fresh set of loose papers spread across the ping-pong table.

The fridge god graciously provided Leon with all the supplies he needed, and foodstuff mountain was rebuilt to its former glory within his storage ring.

Restocking completed the swordsman approached the table, rapping his knuckles against the underside of the devil's desk to draw attention to himself.

"Rare to see you consumed with something, rather than consuming a plate of steak- Trial's done. I'm not exactly happy with my performance but it's done."

The devil raised his eyes from the map he had lain out and looked over Leon's new armour.

"Very funny wise guy, save the snark for someone who cares. Once you have your first drake steak everything else tastes like ash and muck. Alright, post dungeon review then. We'll start with your loot- not great, worse than expected but still worth the effort. Proper enchanted armour is worth its weight in gold, keep it on you. That sword is the real prize. Growth Weapon is an infamously hellish enchantment to master, most weapons can't even hold it. Even if you don't use it, studying that weapon will improve your smithing. Now, onto the bad news."

The devil paused, shuffling papers around until he found one the one he needed.

"The strategy you employed was unconventional, to say the least, you got a lot more eyeballs on you than before. You handicapped your own gains there but it's fine, you got an Insight out of it. Now the real problem you're running up against is one of time. You don't have the time you need to properly master your techniques. Don't get hung up on it. Keep moving forward. You can worry about mastering your style of combat once you get through the next two days."

Leon cut across the devil, noticing a hesitancy on the devil's part.

"You said bad news. All I'm hearing is some cookie-cutter bullshit about keeping my eye on the prize. I killed a thousand humans today- granted they were all fake dungeon constructs- whatever this news I can take it."

The devil sighed passing Leon the sheet he'd been looking over.

"I was getting to it, trying to soften the blow for you since this request comes from a bigshot. Take a look at the paper."

Leon cast his eye over the sheet, surprised to see that it was a letter.

Addressed to him.

Written by what Leon assumed was an interdimensional dudebro.

"Yo little [H] Grade! Gotta say, when one of my boys sent me your clips I was like- dude it's an [H] Grade in a Tutorial- they suck dick! They just die and cry and whine and act like little pussies all the time.

Damn though did you prove me wrong little dude, that slash move where you cut that lizard in half was impressive as fuck for someone so weak.

Like straight up?

Major league balling.

Anyway, I figured a balling little dude needs an appropriately balling reward for amusing me. Tabula Rasa Fruit, cleanses your body, mind and soul entirely.

Pretty fucking cool huh?

It ain't free.

Go kill every other pathetic little human in your Tutorial.

Then big bro'll send you your prize!"

The lack of any signature led Leon to question Zerasos about the sender.

"Who is this prick Zerasos?"

"One Luis Salathazar, [F] Grade Mage and Scion of the Hedonic Path. He's offering you a treasure that's worth more than some worlds. A Tabula Rasa Fruit wipes you clean, removes all impurities from your being. Makes you better in every way. You gonna take the deal kid?"

Leon barely had to consider it.

"Hell no."