Bonus Short Story
The Relic Collection of Thousand Tricks
Even compared to other Relics, those that can be used as powerful weapons were especially coveted by treasure hunters.
A hunter could only handle so many Relics at once. They could be heavy, difficult to operate, and, most of all, they needed to be charged with mana. The greater a Relic’s power, the more mana it required. Therefore, most treasure hunters looked for Relics that could be used as a trump card. Most often, weapon-type Relics were chosen to fulfill that role.
Weapon-type Relics weren’t a rare find in treasure vaults; some statistics suggested they accounted for a third of all recovered Relics. Not that I could say this with certainty, but I supposed it spoke to the violent nature of human history if weapons made up such a large portion of the traces left behind by previous civilizations.
Nonetheless, it would be incorrect to suggest that every weapon-type Relic was a powerful one. Most Relics had powers with no clear purpose and were fittingly called “scrap Relics.” Just like any other type, the majority of weapon-type Relics had impractical effects and only a small handful could do something that might be useful to a hunter.
Therefore, any hunter lucky enough to obtain a Relic that matched their strengths and ideals protected it like their life depends on it. Weapon-type Relics sometimes came to symbolize the champion who wielded it. Perhaps the reason I stubbornly continued to collect weapons I couldn’t use was because I was clinging to the hope that I might find the Relic that turned me into a champion.
Today I’ll be introducing weapon-type Relics, just like those that so many hunters have become enamored with. However, “weapon-type” is a broad term encompassing all sorts, so for now, I’ll limit myself to swords. Don’t worry, sword-type Relics come with all sorts of different powers. I’m sure you’ll all be duly impressed.
***
Now then, with sword Relics—actually, this applies to all weapon-type Relics—a basic level of competency was required from the wielder. This was true of normal weapons as well, but Relics were far more powerful and therefore posed a much greater risk when misused. This was why I rarely used this sort of Relic. It wasn’t just me; very few hunters tried to master multiple weapon-type Relics. They were just that dangerous.
For instance, there was this flame-like, crimson two-handed sword. This was the Purgatorial Sword, entrusted to me by a certain intermediate hunter. This sword was capable of manipulating fire. It could envelop its blade with flames, which could be controlled to a certain degree. When it came to sword-type Relics, elemental powers were very popular.
It might have already been fairly apparent, but these weapons were extremely dangerous. It was already hard enough to stay conscious of where you were pointing a normal blade, but with this you also had to watch out for the accompanying flames and the state of your surroundings.
Elemental effects might not have been the most interesting out there, but they were very useful. Most Swordsmen couldn’t use magic, but an elemental weapon would open up new ways for them to go on the attack.
With the Purgatorial Sword, flames could be used to burn through monsters with a high physical resistance. It was pretty hard to pull off, but you could even launch the flames like a projectile and turn enemies into ash before they reached you. With enough heat, you could even melt your opponent’s sword. Of course, this all required a fair amount of mana.
Gilbert must have been an extremely lucky boy if he found a weapon like this on his first trip. Ideally, it would have been even better if this sword had an element like ice or lightning—something less likely to cause unintended collateral damage. But that was just me being greedy.
Did you know that our modern civilization had actually managed to recreate these sorts of elemental weapons? However, their power was lacking compared to Relics and they were often very brittle, so they weren’t yet ready for actual combat. The only exception were weapons made from the parts of slain mythical beings, but those couldn’t be mass-produced and were even more fickle than Relics.
Being a product of coalesced mana material, it was impossible to analyze the components of Relics. Supposedly, these items had been made without mana material long ago, but nobody had found a metal capable of re-creating the capabilities of Relics. I guess modern technology still had a way to go before it caught up with that of ages past.
By the way, the most popular elements were ice, which could slow a target’s movements, and lightning, which was extremely effective in fights where both sides were using metal weapons. The least popular element was water.
Weapons with a water element could shoot streams of water, but that had almost no practical value in combat. It was very rare to find a Relic that could shoot water at a high enough velocity to inflict any sort of damage, so water-aspected weapons sold for very low prices. In an emergency, you could use one of these Relics to slake your thirst, but most hunters were careful to avoid those situations in the first place.
Now then, onto the next Relic I’d like to introduce: the straight sword, Silent Air. Its fine, transparent blade made it a visually pleasing Relic. The blade was roughly a meter long.
It might have looked like a piece of art at first glance, but as I held it in my hands, it was clear that this was no ordinary sword. This sword had no weight—indeed, it weighed absolutely nothing and it could also negate the weight of an opponent’s weapon.
This was quite a rare ability among sword-type Relics, but just how useful was it?
I got this Relic at an auction where it fetched a high price. But all those collectors bidding on Silent Air were drawn to it for its beauty. Its strength remained uncertain.
Was weightlessness actually a merit? Sure, it was handy for a wimp like me, but most hunters and Swordsmen wouldn’t have any trouble swinging around your usual meter-long blade. If they did have trouble, they might have been better off finding a different class.
So what about making an opponent’s sword weightless? Was that worth anything?
I would answer in the negative. It was pretty rare for two Swordsmen to lock blades, and this Relic could only take the weight from a weapon—it couldn’t nullify the pressure exerted by its wielder. As I said earlier, the weight of a sword like this made little difference to most hunters. An effect like this was probably better than nothing, but calling it useful would have been going too far. An elemental weapon would have been far better.
This might have been a powerful effect if it could neutralize any pressure exerted by an opponent, but such useful Relics rarely went up for auction. Maybe the opposite effect, increasing the weight of a weapon, would have been handy, but sadly this weapon couldn’t do anything of the sort. You couldn’t even make a weapon slightly lighter, only remove its weight entirely. But I’m just rambling.
However, though this weapon might have seemed useless, some clever application could turn it into a rather convenient Relic.
It occurred to me while I was testing out Silent Air. I clashed it against another blade and my body felt lighter. This wasn’t even a mock battle, just a simple test. I wasn’t wearing any armor, just normal clothes, but with my frail body, I noticed a definite change.
After running thorough tests, I was certain: the power of Silent Air could be applied to objects besides swords. With the exception of the wielder’s body, this Relic could make just about anything weightless. Not only swords, but armor, shields, and even baggage could be made as light as a feather.
It was a bit finicky, but there was no need to manually activate this Relic. As long as you had it on your body, you could shoulder the heaviest burdens without feeling a thing.
I was delighted when I discovered this. It might not have seemed special to treasure hunters with their superhuman strength, but for us weaklings, a Relic like this was a blessing. You couldn’t apply the effect to items resting on the ground, but that was just fine.
Ever since I’d obtained this Relic, I’d made sure to carry around with me as much as I could. With Silent Air, you could also pretend you had monstrous strength. If you’ve obtained one of these Relics, make sure to test it out. As a proud owner of one, it would be an honor if the reputation of this sword improved even a bit.
Just remember, you can’t reduce air resistance to zero.
Now, I’ve shown you a popular sort of Relic and an abnormal one, but there were more to sword-type Relics than just those. In all places and eras, swords have been used by humans to vanquish evil. When discussing sword-type Relics, it would be impossible to avoid bringing up Holy Swords and Devil Swords.
Next up, I’ll be introducing a sword from each of these categories. They are not, however, part of my personal collection.
First, we have Thousandfold Rage. This was a Demon Sword that was once owned by a bounty target dispatched by Grieving Souls. What an ominous sword it was, its blade colored shades bloodred and an abyssal black.
One swing of that sword could bear the strength of a thousand strikes. Even a champion would struggle to withstand such an attack. That armament was what enabled the bounty target, a man named Zabieli, to go from being a single lowly bandit to the “King of Bandits,” with a thousand lackeys at his command. Only a Devil Sword could bring about such a change in a person.
Normally, a sword alone wasn’t enough to make a champion; the sword was just what the champion swings. But Thousandfold Rage was a vexatious Relic that bucked that trend. If Zabieli had relied a bit less on his weapon and trained a bit more, he might have become unstoppable.
Even though we toppled its owner, Thousandfold Rage didn’t come into our possession. The sword crumbled to dust once Zabieli was defeated. Luke said it was because the sword had accepted defeat, but I had my own thoughts on the matter.
I was certain the weapon had a limited number of strikes and it coincidentally hit that limit at the same moment of its owner’s defeat. Powerful Relics frequently had some limit to their usage.
Because they often brought about their owner’s ruin like in the case of Zabieli, Devil Swords earned their name.
Moving on to our next item, we come to the opposite end of the spectrum: the Holy Sword. I’m sure even non-hunters will be familiar with the name I’m about to mention. It was the blade once wielded by Ark Rodan’s ancestor, Solis Rodan, the grand champion who contributed heavily to the transfer of the imperial capital. That’s right, I’m talking about Historia, the Pathcarver, the revered sword-type Relic.
An heirloom of House Rodan, Historia was passed down through the generations to the house’s most capable hunters. Currently, the promising young Ark Rodan has been entrusted with Historia.
Someone like me would never even have the chance to lay eyes on such a Relic, but being in the same clan had given me plenty of opportunities. It was a gorgeous white, and anyone could tell by a glance that it was a holy object.
Historia’s power was a simple one: it could capture and release energy. When crossing blades, Historia sapped the target’s power. This energy could be freely released with destructive force.
The myriad monsters and phantoms of our world were powerless in the face of this blade. Swords and magic posed no threat when this sword was in the hands of an expert like Ark Rodan. The light unleashed by Historia could incinerate wide swaths of land. There were rumors of this blade being used to flatten mountains and part oceans and I didn’t doubt it.
The abilities to absorb energy and release were both very powerful on their own. Being capable of both made Historia a top-tier Relic. But Ark didn’t rest on his laurels or neglect his training. Such a person couldn’t even wield a Holy Sword in the first place. Perhaps that’s the difference between Zabieli and Ark, between a Devil Sword and a Holy Sword.
You might be interested to know that Ark recently said there was something even Historia couldn’t cut through: young women who were being manipulated. If the champion said so, then I saw no reason to doubt him.
***
Well then, I’ve gone on long enough. I think we can wrap things up here. After spending so much time talking about the appeal of sword-type Relics, I’d like to finish by bringing up some of their flaws. This would be their narrow attack range and, as I mentioned earlier, that they demanded refined techniques to use effectively.
Compared to a Magi, a sword wielder could only attack a very narrow area. Even the wide-area attacks of an elemental weapon couldn’t compare to spells of a high-level Magi, which could be cast from multiple kilometers away.
The best way to handle a talented Swordsman was to keep your distance and rain offensive spells on them, that is, if you could keep your distance. Even Historia could only absorb what it directly cut through; a wide-range attack could easily put its user at a disadvantage. Solis Rodan, who vanquished a god, was renowned as a hero because his feats were extraordinary even for someone wielding a mighty weapon.
It hardly needed to be said, but the second fault was that it took a master to bring out a weapon’s true potential. Sure, Thousandfold Rage could grant power to even an average person, but a skilled hunter could still outdo them. That Devil Sword caused so much destruction because it ended up in the hands of Zabieli, a fierce bandit.
To recall the first point, not only did swords have a limited range, the blade often needed to make contact with a foe to unleash its true power. So I gave up on using sword-type Relics. I still collected them and my pride as a collector compelled me to at least learn how they worked. But I’d never see the day I used one of these Relics to lay waste to hoards of bad guys.
I hope anyone out there aspiring to own a sword-type Relic will take what I’ve said into consideration as they search for a Relic that suits them. I’ve already gone on about it, but finding your ideal Relic is something akin to fate. I pray that for both the sake of you and all the swords out there that just once you find a suitable match.
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login