The Unknown God

Chapter 37 - Ancient Blade

Yngol Forgefire rode over to greet his lord.

"Milord, the battle was a huge success," said the Master Forger excitedly with a face reddened with excitement as he shouted towards Simply. "Its been too long since my axe kissed flesh!"

"How are our casualties?"

"Casualties? There were none, other than two soldiers who accidentally tripped and fell during the charge and sprained their ankles and got some bruises here and there. The two of them instantly became the laughing stock of the whole force. As for the goblins, at least two thirds of them perished and the rest were all chased down by our forces, only a few managed to get away." Yngol Forgefire reported.

"Congratulation on your victory, Milord." Arya Morningfall respectfully credited the victory to Simply's brilliant formation. A part of her was terrified of what she had witnessed. This was her first assignment as the officer in charge, yet she had seen a man she thought had gotten promoted based on some rumours (the army was not around when Simply defeated the steel predator) turn into a blood covered, laughing demon. 'I better not get on his bad side, least I end up like that hobgoblin. What a terrifying man! He killed a hobgoblin captain alone... instantly,' she gulped at the thought of her head detaching from her shoulders.

"Thank you, my lady. However I cannot claim this victory with a good conscience, this was a team effort. I must congratulate you instead, for your well trained troops."

The soldiers who were within earshot of the conversation perked up.

'What a humble man!'

---

Back in Eternal Landing, within the attic of the inn, stood Moventus. Following a quick introduction by Simply, he was permitted to rent Simply's private quarters, the attic. On the bed laid the ancient katana.

Moventus drew the blade from its battered scabbard. Placing the worn mahogany scabbard on the bed, he proceeded to inspect the blade of the sword. His hand brushed the ornate circular cross-guard that depicted flames. He ran his fingers across the runes etched into the ebony blade. He pondered about what the symbols meant but felt his finger tingle as he traced their lines. A horned demonic face could be seen above the guard. Wrapping both his hands around the handle, he slashed downwards in a classic battle stance. The balance of the weapon was impeccable. The metal of the carved guard and snow-white leather-bound handle caped off by a silver hilt, balanced the blade efficiently. He gave it a few more swings, playing with his stance to get accustomed to it.

'The katana seems to be made of some sort of magical metal. Probably ebony. Full tang. The craftsmanship of this blade is leagues away from anything I have seen until now. Even in the real world, I'd be hard pressed to find such a magnificent specimen. The tsuba (guard) is quite sturdy, although most of the detailing has been scratched away from combat. On the other hand, the tsuka (handle) isn't the original. Same goes for the saya (scabbard). Both are made from mahogany wood. The previous owner of this blade gave it quite a high value, and rightly so. This leather... doesn't seem dyed. Interesting. In conclusion, this is a very old sword, a few centuries old I guess. It was found or passed down from generation to generation until it landed into the hands of the hobgoblins. The tsuka and the saya were replaced. Although the materials used as replacements were topnotch to the hobgoblin craftsmen, they were unable to correctly reproduce the original parts. Which explains the durability of the blade as well as the improper wrapping of the tsuka.'

Returning the blade to its scabbard, Moventus left the inn and headed to magician's tower. Simply had disclosed its location to him before going separate ways.

The tower had not changed much since Simply had last visited. The bored guard stopped him.

"This is a restricted zone. Only military personnel are allowed through."

Moventus flashed a silver badge towards the guard. The guard was taken aback. Awe transformed his face.

"Amazing young man, at such a young age you managed to reach silver rank within such a short time. Truly impressive, but," his face dropped, "I am truly sorry. Only military personnel are allowed within the Military Magic Division. If you want to learn magic, you will have to wait for another month. I heard that the Magic Guild will open its doors to the public then. My apologise."

Moventus eyes narrowed, "Only military personnel? Isn't the Eternal Landing Militia part of the military?"

"No, it is not. It is just a local defence force. It does not hold any jurisdiction over the Eternal Army."

"Interesting. How about this then?" Moventus retrieved another silver badge. This one was a square instead of a circular disk. Upon it was etched a golden symbol.

"Let's try this again. Moventus, silver rank one, special agent of the Golden Lion Regiment."

"My apology, Sir."

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Level 22 (99%)

Name Simply Umbra

Class Imperial Dragon Knight

Bloodline Golden Dragon Ancestry

Race Human | Golden Dragon

Health 479 (420) (+14%) { [(vitality-10)/10 x 2.5] +bonus = X% }

Mana 248 (220) (+12.75%) { [(Intelligence-10)/10 x 2.5] +bonus = X% }

Stamina 462 (420) (+10%)

Intelligence 61 (55) (+10%)