Episode 9
* * *
Wrapped in a black cloak, he experimentally moved the shadows that swayed along the hem of the cloak, injecting his black magic that rotated along the circle of the heart.
What should have been shadows beneath my feet were clearly tangible and rising toward the ground. Like pitch-black blades, they were covered in a cold frost. It was a scene that looked like pitch-black skewers rising from beneath my feet.
‘That’s what it felt like.’
I move the shadow blade experimentally and recall the scenes from that day.
Beings who have handled this artifact in the past have been able to summon up shadow storms that resemble tidal waves sweeping across the area. Furthermore, they have been able to make the shadows themselves move as if they were living creatures.
Shadow Creatures are just that.
Compared to that, the shadow blades controlled by Dale are nothing more than child’s play.
The rule of thumb when it comes to drawing out the performance of an artifact is that it is proportional to the level of understanding of the equipment and the amount of magic power injected.
‘It’ll take a little more getting used to it.’
So, unlike Dale, who swallows his regrets inside.
“Are you really okay with it?”
Black Gong and Sepia just gasped in shock. Black Gong’s shock was especially special. He was the greatest black magician and necromancer on the continent, and he stood at the top of the Black Tower.
His mastery of the powers of darkness was unparalleled.
And it seemed to him that Dale, at least, had not succumbed to the artifact’s ‘malice’.
No, on the contrary, it overwhelmed the artifact’s malice and subdued it beneath its feet. Clearly, beyond doubt.
Shadow Cloak.
A favorite piece of equipment favored by high-ranking demons of the Demon King’s Territory who were defeated by the ‘Warrior of the Other World’ in the past.
The shadows full of malice that dwell in the cloak are submitting themselves at the feet of a mere nine-year-old child.
‘I have perfect control over my power.’
How on earth? Artifacts are items that contain powerful thoughts in themselves. And the will to maintain composure in the face of such evil is not something that can be achieved with ordinary mental strength.
It was definitely not something a nine-year-old child could handle.
What Black Gong had originally thought of was to gradually increase the hurdles from the level of summoning low-level dark spirits. And even that was not done in a day or two, but in step with Dale’s process of becoming an adult.
‘What the heck is this kid… … .’
Sepia was also filled with the same amazement.
But leaving the complicated thoughts of the two behind, Dale’s eyes just sparkle like a child’s. Just like other children my age who are delighted to receive a gift.
‘One is not enough.’
Depending on your desires, you were considering at least two or three pieces. However, after thinking that far, you finally realize that the two people are looking at you.
‘… … !’
Oh no. For a moment, he was greedy, not caring about how his appearance would be reflected. The Demon King’s artifact had the magical power to stimulate Dale’s desire to that extent.
It wasn’t some easy-to-understand metaphor.
“I’ll give you strength! Strength, do you need strength?! Wear me!”
The artifact itself is a powerful object of thought. That is why it realizes the dark emotions hidden in Dale’s heart, resonates with them, and seduces them.
The cold hatred and malice directed towards the empire──.
“Choose me! Quickly pick up this sword handle! Let’s slaughter them together!”
“There are those who want revenge, right? I can feel the hatred, I can feel it!”
“Let’s get rid of them together! Choose me!”
“You cowardly little bastard! Put me on! Let’s kill those bastards together!”
A life-absorbing magic sword. The armor of the undead. The book of the predator. A necklace with an ego.
As a warrior, he took the spoils of war from those he had defeated, and even collected them independently from the Duke’s household.
And Dale could realize, this wasn’t all.
Another passage hidden by magic beyond the room.
The artifacts in this room are so deep that you wouldn’t even dare to hand out your business card, it’s a secret room where the abyss is so deep that it’s shaking.
“……sorry.”
Ignoring their cries, Dale opened his mouth cautiously.
“I suddenly felt an inexplicable pull… … It felt like this cloak was asking me to put it on.”
And he spoke of the ‘50% truth’. There’s no way the two of them wouldn’t know about the artifact’s will to choose its owner.
“… … I never thought I would receive the ‘Call of the Artifact’.”
Only then did the black ball seem to realize the situation and mutter.
No matter how talented Dale was, he would never have imagined that a nine-year-old boy would be called upon to be the ‘Shadow Cloak’.
Dale nodded silently, shaking off the cries of the artifacts that were tempting him further.
‘It’ll be difficult to control the power of the shadow cloak right now.’
In any case, the Duke’s treasures would soon belong to Dale. The Black Duke’s treasures here were no exception. That’s why Dale didn’t think too hastily.
“The cloak is yours from now on.”
The black ball said. Sepia still looked at Dale with concern.
“But controlling the power of that cloak will never be easy.”
“yes.”
Only after those words did Dale finally make up his mind, and he nodded calmly. He lightly made the group of shadows sway along his feet obey him.
* * *
The Duke of Saxony officially began to call upon his knights to subdue the orc hordes that had invaded his duchy.
Meanwhile, it was solely the job of the elven wizard Sepia to teach Dale how to control the artifact’s power.
A few days later, at dawn in the morning.
Master Sepia’s teachings were only about how to properly control artifacts. Therefore, there was another master who could help him utilize the power of this shadow cloak itself.
“Uncle Helmut!”
A training ground for the knights of the Duke of Saxony. When Dale appeared before Lord Helmut wearing a shadow cloak, he was so frightened that his face turned pale.
“Prince Dale! That cloak, surely!”
“that’s right.”
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Dale smiled mischievously at Helmut’s shocked face.
“I heard the story from Your Majesty the Duke, but I couldn’t believe it.”
Sir Helmut continues.
“I’m not a child anymore.”
Those were truly childish words.
“My father decided to take me with him to subdue the orc horde.”
“I know that story.”
Helmut bowed his head silently.
“Therefore, I, Helmut, will protect your safety even at the cost of my life!”
“Thank you, sir.”
Dale continues with a smile.
“But you haven’t forgotten, have you?”
“What are you talking about?”
“We decided to fight, didn’t we?”
That day, the confrontation between the two people was not realized due to the appearance of the father.
“Even if it is to go to the battlefield, I cannot neglect my physical training.”
Sling.
Dale raised his head as if to show off the shadow that was rippling beneath his feet.
“How about a showdown with real swords?”
He boldly challenged Helmut, spinning the shadow blades around his feet.
Without even holding a knife handle in his hand.
Looking at that sight, Helmut was struck with shock for a moment, as if he had been hit in the head with a hammer.
‘With this, I can make use of the swordsmanship talent that Confucius possesses!’
Even if he learned swordsmanship, it was only a form of training, and he believed that Dale would never hold a sword on the battlefield. However, this was not the case.
The sword of shadow spread out before him. Right now, even if he couldn’t use Aura, Dale had obtained his beloved sword that would accompany him for the rest of his life. When he realized this, his ‘greed as a teacher’ for Dale’s talents raised its head.
“Haha! You’d better be prepared, Your Majesty!”
Helmut grins and places his hand on the sword belt at his waist.
Sling.
The sharp sword standing on the cold day was shining in the morning sunlight, scattering pale frost.
* * *
The wind does not blow. The air is frozen, without even a hint of breeze.
But the shadow cloak Dale was wearing was fluttering as if in a whirling gale.
As if it were a living creature in itself.
And along the shadows of the fluttering cloak, countless shadows began to writhe.
‘Handling the Shadow Blade is like handling a sword.’
The shadows that had been rippling around my feet began to take shape and rise like blades.
The only difference is that the hand holding the sword handle is an ‘invisible hand’ made up of one’s own magic. In that respect, it could be said to be several times more difficult than handling an actual sword.
However, it is not all disadvantageous.
There is no limit to the number of blades that can be formed. It transcends the limitations of the body and can be used freely, much like the art of swordsmanship.
The circle in Dale’s heart began to spin rapidly, like a car’s RPMs were rapidly increasing.
RPM(revolution per minute – number of rotations per minute of the rotating body).
It was never a metaphor.
The circle rotation rate that wizards usually have is around 300 rpm. In other words, it means that they can generate magical power by rotating it 300 times in one minute.
But now in Dale’s case.
──1,500rpm.
Through the rotation rate of the circle, it means that a normal wizard can achieve ‘five times’ the efficiency from one circle.
High-speed rotation of the circle.
A wizard’s ability is more than just the number of circles, the rotation rate of the circles themselves is also an important metric.
In Dale’s case, the amount of pure magic power generated from one circle would be comparable to that of a 3-circle wizard.
The large amount of magical power generated by the rotation of the circle began to seep into Dale’s shadow cloak.
“I’m going.”
With those words, Dale kicked the ground and rushed forward. As he rushed forward, shadow blades rose from beneath his feet and began to shoot at Sir Helmut all at once. It was like the strike of an assassin scattering countless dark weapons in a fan shape.
Without any reservations, this is a blow that even an ordinary knight would not dare to confront.
But the opponent is the best knight in the North.
A person so strong that he wouldn’t be defeated even if he were to clash swords with his previous life’s full power.
Phew!
Sir Helmut swung his sword towards the shadow blade rushing towards him.
It was fast.
And the sword splits into countless shards of blade, like a fishing net, as if it were catching all of Dale’s blows.
Kaang!
The crisp sound of iron clashing with iron rang out. And after the final blow, Sir Helmut, who had fixed his sword hilt, began to counterattack.
Taat!
Just as the distance between the two was closing, the hem of Dale’s cloak fluttered again.
It swayed, and sharp pitch-black spikes rose from under Dale’s feet. Helmut’s movements, which were about to close the distance and strike, suddenly stopped.
‘Wow!’
Although it was a match between a master and his disciple, it was clearly a fight using real swords. That was why the knights of the Duke’s family who were watching the scene could not help but be astonished.
It goes without saying that Sir Helmut Blackbear, who leads the Knights of the Night Raven, is incompetent. However, the prince who is opposing him is a mere nine-year-old child.
The fact that the eldest son of the Duke’s family was a child prodigy with monstrous talent was, of course, well known to the entire empire.
In fact, Dale held a sword and stood up to the duke’s official knights without any trouble. Although, since it was a mock match without using Aura, the knights were not able to use their full abilities.
The current Sir Helmut was no exception.
Even so, I couldn’t help but be speechless at the sight of Dale and Sir Helmut facing off at this very moment.
Even if it was the power of an artifact forged by a high-ranking demon. No, isn’t it even more bizarre that a nine-year-old child can freely use such dark powers?
It was a sight that went beyond the realm of talent and even gave off an ominous feeling.
But there was a wonder to Dale that made him forget even that ominousness. It was not unrelated to Dale’s family history.
‘As expected, he is the son of the black knight.’
Kaang!
Countless shadow blades rose and swept from beneath Dale’s feet, and each time, Sir Helmut spurred his sword with satisfaction.
The most frightening thing about Dale’s talent is that he doesn’t have to explain in words what he needs to teach. He understands and analyzes himself coldly by simply facing each other and experiencing what he lacks.
As if he had a ‘perfect theory’ and all that was left was to apply it to reality.
So there was only one role that Sir Helmut had to play as a teacher.
Gaining experience by clashing blades with Dale.
Looking forward to the day when this child will spread the wings of his talent and fly high, Sir Helmut did not hesitate to become a part of those wings.
