Chapter 4: Fragarach

Out of time and out of options, I finally accepted the offer of the strange voice that had appeared inside my mind.

I didn't know who was speaking to me.

I didn't know why it had chosen me.

And I certainly didn't know what would happen if I answered its call.

But I had no other choice.

The demonkind were already approaching.

My father and the fortress guards were preparing to fight.

Talya was trembling beside me.

Everyone I cared about was standing on the verge of death.

If I had any chance of protecting them, I had to take it.

So I called the name that everyone in Olor knew.

The name of the sword wielded by humanity's very first Hero a thousand years ago.

The weapon that had once freed the entire continent of Olor from the devastating attack of the Evil Dragon Fafnir.

The Holy Sword that had become a symbol of hope for humanity.

The Holy Sword Fragarach.

“Come, FRAGARACH!”

I shouted with all my strength.

The moment I spoke those words, the world seemed to respond.

A blinding flash suddenly descended from the sky.

It came crashing down directly in front of me like a bolt of lightning.

CRAAACK!!!

The explosion was deafening.

I instinctively raised my arms to protect my face as the ground beneath my feet shook violently.

Dust and fragments of earth were thrown into the air.

Flaming sparks scattered across the ground as the brilliant light slowly faded.

When I lowered my arms and looked forward, my eyes widened.

Something was embedded in the charred earth.

A massive silver greatsword.

My heart began pounding.

I knew that sword.

Everyone knew that sword.

It was the Holy Sword Fragarach.

The legendary weapon was far larger than any sword I had ever seen.

Its blade was made of brilliant silver metal, reflecting the fading light around it.

The guard was made of gold, with a bright red gemstone embedded in its center.

The scabbard in which it was sheathed was equally magnificent.

Its locket was decorated with a hexagonal-shaped golden plate.

At its center was a large hexagonal red gemstone surrounded by six golden triangular plates.

Each of those triangular plates contained another triangular red gemstone.

Together, they resembled a brilliant red star.

The body of the massive scabbard was covered by four diamond-shaped golden plates.

Each plate held another red gemstone.

It looked less like a weapon made by human hands and more like something created by the gods themselves.

Then I heard the strange voice again.

“Hero, grab me with both hands, and the contract will be effective.”

Contract?

The word immediately caught my attention.

But I didn't have time to think about it.

The demonkind were still approaching.

Whatever this contract was, I needed power now.

I stepped forward and wrapped both hands around the hilt.

The moment my fingers closed around it...

Pain.

A burning sensation suddenly spread through my right hand.

I gritted my teeth.

A symbol resembling Fragarach appeared on my skin, as though it were being carved directly into my flesh.

“What is…”

I couldn't finish my sentence.

An unfamiliar voice echoed inside my mind.

“Master of Holy Sword Fragarach, title acquired.”

Then words appeared within my mind.

Master of Holy Sword Fragarach

Allows the user to wield the Holy Sword Fragarach to its full potential.

As the user grows, that growth is reflected in the sword, allowing it to adapt to the Hero's abilities and even evolve to further amplify the Hero's potential.

I stared at the words.

So this was the contract.

I had become the master of Fragarach.

Then another message appeared.

Eyes of Lesser Revelation acquired.

Grants the user the ability to see certain details in the Status of another being.

I blinked.

“Status?”

Almost immediately, something changed.

My vision sharpened.

Numbers and letters began appearing above the demonkind and the people surrounding me.

I stared at Mom.

A familiar set of letters was floating above her.

F15 PA29 P1S1E1F1.

I already knew Mom's Class and age because she had mentioned them to me several times before.

So I could immediately understand the first two pieces of information.

Class: F15.

Physical Age: 29.

But what did the rest mean?

I looked down at Fragarach's scabbard.

Its polished surface reflected my image.

Above my reflection, I could see another set of information.

G1 PA10 P2S2E2F2.

Class: G1.

Physical Age: 10.

Then I understood.

The final four letters represented the four Aspects.

P for Power.

S for Speed.

E for Endurance.

F for Fortitude.

The number beside each letter represented its multiplier.

My current Aspects were all at two.

I stared at the information in disbelief.

I had never been able to see these numbers before.

Yet somehow, I understood them.

Power determined how much maximum weight a being could comfortably carry.

One point of Power was equivalent to one kilogram of weight that a being could carry.

It also determined the amount of raw physical damage a being could inflict.

One point of Power could shave away one point of Vitality from an opponent.

Of course, that could be increased or reduced depending on skills, weapons, armor, and other factors.

Speed worked differently.

It determined how much a being's natural speed could be improved.

A single point in Speed represented an additional 1% of maximum potential improvement to a being's natural speed based on its physical body.

And natural speed wasn't limited to movement of the legs.

It included the movement of the entire body.

That meant it affected the arms as well.

A being with one thousand points in Speed could potentially increase its maximum natural speed by tenfold.

For example, if someone could naturally move at 10 m/s, a thousand points in Speed could allow them to reach a maximum natural speed of 100 m/s.

However, there was a price.

Whenever a being pushed its strength beyond its natural speed, stamina consumption would double for every additional 100% increase.

That brought me to Endurance.

Endurance determined stamina.

One point of Endurance was equivalent to one point of Stamina.

At 100% natural speed, one point of Stamina would be consumed every minute until the body reached exhaustion.

Once exhaustion set in, the body would gradually slow down.

Eventually, it would become impossible to move.

Stamina could recover through rest.

Eating food and drinking could also accelerate its recovery.

There were even rumors that certain skills could restore Stamina by using Psyche.

Endurance also determined Vitality.

The value of Vitality was equal to ten times a being's Endurance.

Fortitude worked similarly.

It determined Psyche, with the value of Psyche being ten times the individual's Fortitude.

But Fortitude had another important function.

It determined the power of spells.

Just as Power represented the base physical damage a being could inflict, Fortitude represented the base magical damage it could inflict through spells.

The higher the Fortitude, the more devastating the spell.

I looked around again.

Now that I could see everyone's information, the battlefield looked completely different.

The fortress guards were mostly around E22 to E26.

They were stronger than me.

Much stronger.

But then I looked toward the demonkind army.

Their Classes varied greatly.

F11.

F20.

E30.

D31.

There were monsters scattered throughout their ranks.

But one figure immediately stood out.

A fully armored warrior riding an enormous Earth Dragon.

I stared at the creature beneath him.

The Armored Earth Dragon was C45 PA220 P3S3E2F3.

While the Demon General was B59 PA250 P4S2E2F2.

“Little Hero, I can mentally compute their Status for you,” Fragarach said.

Before I could answer, information appeared before my eyes.

Armored Earth Dragon

Class: C45
Physical Age: 220
Vitality: 7,120 + ?
Psyche: 10,680 + ?
Power: 1,068 + ?
Speed: 1,068 + ?
Endurance: 712 + ?
Fortitude: 1,068 + ?

I stared at the numbers.

Then I looked at the warrior riding it.

Demon General

Class: B59
Physical Age: 250
Vitality: 9,740 + ?
Psyche: 9,740 + ?
Power: 1,948 + ?
Speed: 974 + ?
Endurance: 974 + ?
Fortitude: 974 + ?

My breathing stopped for a moment.

Those numbers were absurd.

“Fragarach, what does the plus and question mark mean?” I asked telepathically.

“The values I'm showing you are their raw stats calculated from their Class and Physical Age. Any changes caused by their armaments or skills aren't included.”

I swallowed.

So those weren't even their complete stats.

Their equipment and skills could make them even stronger.

The fact that the Demon General was Class B also meant that he already possessed five Extra Skills.

Every time someone advanced to a higher Class beginning from Class G, they gained another Extra Skill related to their Special Skill.

And those weren't the only problems.

The Armored Earth Dragon had more than a thousand points in several Aspects.

The Demon General's Power was almost two thousand.

Nearly two thousand.

That was around two hundred times my current Power.

A single flick to my forehead would probably tear my head clean off.

Humans had higher stat gains than demonkind.

Humans gained six stat points per tier.

Demons gained only four.

Monsters such as Earth Dragons gained only three.

But none of that mattered right now.

I was a ten-year-old child who had never fought a real battle.

The things standing in front of me were monsters that had survived countless battles.

And then I looked at the armored warrior again.

Something about him felt different.

I remembered the stories.

The old stories that people told children to frighten them into staying inside after sunset.

A knight riding a monstrous Earth Dragon.

A warrior clad in black steel.

A being capable of massacring an entire army.

Ragniz the Dragon Avenger.

One of the Living Nightmares.

A name spoken only in old folklore passed down through generations.

The stories claimed that whenever Ragniz appeared, an entire battlefield would become a graveyard.

Not even the armor of fallen soldiers would remain afterward.

Only dried blood and terrain scarred by battle.

According to the old stories, whenever Ragniz the Dragon Avenger appeared, the earth itself would turn red with the blood of the fallen.

I stared at him.

My body should have been shaking.

I should have been terrified.

And yet…

I felt strangely calm.

Because I wasn't alone anymore.

I had summoned Fragarach.

The legendary Holy Sword.

The weapon said to be capable of cutting through anything.

I looked at the sword in my hands.

Information appeared before me.

Fragarach Class SSS100+ PA999+ P1S1E1F1

Then another Status appeared.

Fragarach SSS100 PA1000

Vitality: 11000
Psyche: 11000
Power: 1100
Speed: 1100
Endurance: 1100
Fortitude: 1100

Special Skill: Hero's Armament

Extra Skill: Synergize, Aegis, Lightning Mastery, Wind Mastery, Sword Mastery, Unbreakable, Telepathy, Divine Edge, Resumption.

I stared at the numbers.

My own Status had been pathetic.

But Fragarach's…

It was something else entirely.

The sword itself was stronger than anything I had ever imagined.

Then I remembered the words from my new title.

As I grew, Fragarach would grow with me.

If that was true…

Then perhaps I could eventually become strong enough to stand against these monsters.

But eventually wasn't good enough.

They were here now.

I needed strength now.

“Status.”

I whispered the word.

The familiar window appeared before my eyes.

Cael Horais Sirius

Male

Mental Age: 10 Physical Age: 10

Title: Hero, Master of Holysword Fragarach

Class: G1

Vitality: 110 + 11110
Psyche: 110 + 11110
Power: 11 +1111
Speed: 11 +1111
Endurance: 11 +1111
Fortitude: 11 +1111

Special Ability: Time Conversion

Armament Skill: Synergize, Aegis, Lightning Mastery, Wind Mastery, Holy Mastery, Unbreakable, Telepathy, Divine Edge, Resumption, Eyes of Lesser Revelation.