The Art of the Sword

"Listen… I am going to tell you all about the role of the blood on the level system…" Thomas said as Josiah was holding his promised sword given by his mother.

"…Young master, I believe you must have noticed how the hilts of the blades are very heavy on the design. Do you see this symbol on the very center of the hilt of yours?"

"Yes. It resembles the one mom was holding…"

"You remember!?"

"Huh… Vaguely, yeah." 'Oops. I almost let it out…' Josiah thought to himself.

"If you look closely this is a number that is engraved, it's stylized but it is the number '1'."

"You're right!"

Of course, it was not the sticky figure of the number 1 of the language oh the world Josiah was accustomed to, it was the number 1 engraved on the calligraphy of Bucoa's written language, which he strived to learn in the first four years of his new life.

"This means this blade is currently at level one."

Josiah made a skeptical face. 'Is this really an RPG then?' He muttered to himself.

"But the power of the blade enhances, as it meets the blood of its enemies. That's why it is important that you use your weapon to slay the wild beasts. The more beasts it slays, the more blood it absorbs, and as a consequence... Well, the specialists say the blood reacts to the minerals and strengthens its properties, I am not very fond of the details myself, but…"

"So basically you kill creatures in order to level up the sword?"

"Perfect. You get the hang of the things real quick, young master. And the minerals are engraved on the hilt so that it quantifies the amount of power the blade has absorbed. Look at the stones which hold the number 1 on yours. Once it absorbs enough blood this little screen of glass is going to display the number quantifier of how strong it is."

"Level..."

"Yes, they refer to it as level, as you already have heard before."

Josiah started swinging the blade around to check the effects on the little glass ball where the number was. It was displayed inside of the glass-like rock, he could not change the number by himself.

'Even if I could break this and change the sayings myself… It would not be a real evaluation of the metal's strength in the sense Thomas said…' He pondered.

"And those stones change the number naturally? On their own?

"Indeed they do."

"That's so strange… I find it amazing how nature is able to guess Bucoa's written language and display the numbers exactly, just like that!"

"Actually, young master… It's the other way around... Scholars have observed throughout the ages how nature modified the markings on the stones as the blade increased power and invented the numerical system based on that..."

"Oh, I guess that makes sense! Otherwise, it would have been too convenient, heh? Haha." Josiah commented with a hand on the back of his head. He switched the subject:

"So… All I need to do is start killing creatures, then? But wait… Doesn't this apply to every single kind of weapon? I've seen small daggers and whatnot with those symbols on their cables and hilts as well…"

"That's where the bloodline comes in, young master. As I said, the weapon's strength is dictated by 'blood'. There are two kinds of weapons: those adapted from the hidden mysteries of nature on their blades, like this one; and those made by human hands as mere replicas. The first ones have the property of modifying their own strength via blood, and among those, there are special ones which we call 'binding' weapons."

"Binding?"

"Yes. They bind to the blood of the owner. It's like they recognize the owner through the blood. For this, you should first need to perform the ritual. Here, let me show you. Extend your hands toward me."

Josiah extended both arms, with the palms facing up. Thomas took one of the arms and slit a cut in the palm with the blade.

"Ouch!"

"Worry not, this is going to happen only this time. Now the sword has recognized your blood. It has absorbed your blood and it has bound to it. Whenever it's you who uses it, it's going to release more of its strength, and whenever it's you who slay the enemies with it, it's going to grow stronger at a faster pace. At the pace of your blood."

"I see… So that's how it works…"

"Royalbloods receive their sword after birth, it is always a binding item. Non-highborn people can try and buy weapons themselves, but oh… They're going to be at a great disadvantage."

'I have seen how unrealistically strong those things can get. Four years ago, the soldiers were breaking hugeass stone tiles by merely letting daggers fall on them. I wouldn't be surprised if apart from critical strength there was more to it' Josiah thought.

Josiah handled the sword to Thomas:

"My palms are hurt, can you carry it for me?"

"Sure, young master."

"Say… And you said mom was a level 42…? Is that high? How long does it take to become a level 42? You said people referred to her as 'The Great Mirild. That must be quite a deal."

"At first you are going to realize leveling up your binding weapon is a quick task, but do not be misled: the greater the level it becomes, the harder it is to advance to the next one."

"Let me guess. The number of creatures to be slain greatly increases, right? Do different beasts give a different amount of exp, I mean… Blood nutrients, as well?"

"Yes, but it's not only because of that. As I told you earlier; the whole society is based on the politics of obtaining a physical advantage. Based on that, if people inside the castle learned there's a random farmer leveling up a binding sword like crazy by fighting enemies around, what do you say would happen to him…?"

"…"

'I see… So this is going to be more complicated than I thought...'

"There is a very strict protocol to let soldiers rank above the 15s or 20s. They hold ceremonies, go through interviews on the army, they need the supreme leader's written endorsement… If a person reaches levels above the mark of 30 or so the whole realm becomes aware. Not only that, but scouts from the enemies from outside also take note and report to their respective kingdoms. If anyone were to hold a weapon far stronger than his comrades, not only would the enemies inside start to covet, but he would also become a well-known target on the upcoming wars. Right now we are in a period of peace, but that could change at any point. The first rule of war is 'aim for the high-level ones'."

Josiah kept opening and closing his palms due to the light pain the cuts made to his hands.

"Hum… Which level are you, Thomas?"

"My binding weapon is at 22, but I also have other weapons on 15, 14, and 12."

"Wait, you can level up more than one?" Josiah asked startled.

"As many as you want, but keep in mind your binging item is the one which is going to strengthen itself more and more quickly."

"Then leveling up other ones is useless!! Why wouldn't you concentrate on only the stronger one?"

Josiah realized that was not necessarily true as soon as he let those words out.

"Wait a second… If you level up your binding weapon too much you are going to become a target, aren't you?"

"Yes, that's part of the reason. But there are also other motives for greatening the skill of other weapons you own."

"?"

"As I said earlier, the power of the blade comes from the blood. And the blood has distinct, unique properties of their own, which means…"

Josiah interrupted in a guess:

"Waaait! Does this mean each sword has unique abilities as well!?"

"Indeed, they do."

'See? I knew there was more behind it than mere strength.'

Josiah ran to Thomas in order to get his own sword on his little hands again. The servant handed it to him.

"And how do I know which unique abilities does my blood give to the sword?"

He started swinging it around.

"This comes with long training and perseverance."

Josiah frowned his eyebrows in a decisive expression.

"Thomas… Will you teach me how to master my blood technique?"