***

"*snore*" 

*ding, ding, ding!* 

"Oh, shit! Where are the monsters!?" 

I looked around frantically for the beas–oh. 

I seem to have had quite a dream, thanks to yesterday's incident. 

Happily cutting down thousands of monsters gave me a feeling of bliss in a sense. 

Slamming my hand onto the alarm, I began my morning stretches. It was important for me to never miss a session, no matter how much of an inconvenience it could be. 

Once I had finished, I took Dainsleif from its place beside my bed and headed outside. For now, I would practice the basics of swordsmanship. 

Unlike John, I was no regressor. I hadn't experienced countless battles like him. My skills couldn't even compare. 

If my estimation was correct, John was currently in his third "run." He would most likely be at least on the level of a C rank hero, taking his abnormal growth speed in mind. 

Why? It was because his past regressions didn't allow him to take anything he owned. His weapons and the bonds he forged were gone. Only his memories would be kept intact.

The world was literally reset with every run he took. 

If he were to fail in this run, what would happen to the world? Would the entire universe be wiped from reality? 

Whatever it was, it was bound to be something unfavorable. 

I also really liked John's pushover personality. It allowed him to get manipulated easily, but in the end his superior mind would allow him to emerge the victor. 

In fact, I liked it so much I decided he should have the same personality even after regressing. 

Meaning, he would still be the fun lighthearted goofball I knew. 

"Hyap!" 

I repeatedly swung Dainsleif down. With each swipe, the very fabric of reality seemed to tear. I was exaggerating, of course. It just felt that way.

The four stats listed on everyone's screen were as follows: ATK for attack, DEF for defense, AGI for agility, and MANA for, well, mana. 

All together these stats would be added to form a general average. This dictated people's "Rank", which was an average estimate of their combat power. 

As of now, my stats were in the D- and C+ range, with attack being the lowest and agility the highest. 

There were various ways to train one's stats, but the general consensus was this: dealing damage would increase your attack, taking damage would increase your defense, moving quickly would increase your agility, and using skills would increase your mana.

Quite simple, but the process to do so was tedious. 

Even the ranks (D to S) were further divided into smaller sub-ranks, which would lengthen the process the stronger you got. 

The gap between each rank would drastically increase once you entered B rank.

So it was logical to train.

The reason I decided to do this early was so that I could preemptively increase my stats in preparation for the entrance exam. 

That's right. I was able to get an invitation. Well, it would be more apt to say I forced the school to give me an invitation by hacking it.

A particular sibling of mine was quite the nerd when it came to these types of things. She'd somehow always find ways to hack into my phone no matter how many times I changed the password.

And believe it or not, she hacks banks as a hobby. Makes a ton of money every day. She even said once that she'd give me some of her "earnings" if ever my novel failed.

I refused, of course. But after watching her do her magic many times, it's natural for me to have picked up some of it.

It was pretty hard since I had to be careful not to get caught by the security system. Fortunately, I was able to somewhat rewire it to send the invitation to my house. 

Sorry, person-who-would've-received-the-invitation-had-I-not-interfered.

The Hero Academy only sent out around a thousand invitations every year. These were random, and as such the chance to receive one was next to impossible. 

Rich people had tried many different ways to increase their chances to get an invitation, even going so far as to bribe the school. 

Of course, no amount of money could ever move the academy. It was personally funded by the government.

*thud* 

I stabbed Dainsleif onto the floor beside me and began running laps around my front yard. 

For today, I would focus on working with my Agility. Speed was king, at least in my book. 

***

"I'm back…" 

It was now nighttime. I had spent the whole day outside training. Already I could feel my Agility stat beginning to rise, although it was by a small amount. 

After taking a shower, I put on some simple clothes I found in the drawer and headed outside. I didn't forget to bring Dainsleif with me. 

I decided on my next course of action. I would head for the nearby smithery and purchase a sheath for my sword. 

Unlike other swords, Dainsleif's whole blade was covered in a deep shade of red. This was already enough to draw attention to me, which I didn't want. 

I figured a simple leather sheath would do. Nothing too fancy, since my wallet was basically empty. 

"This should be it."

I opened the door to the smithery. Immediately, my ears were assaulted by the loud noise of metal banging against metal. 

The dwarves that were in charge of this place didn't seem to care about the sound, though. They looked so focused even as sparks from the weapons landed on them. 

Speaking of which, dwarves weren't a rarity here. Just like the monsters, they were a race that appeared from the portals. 

They were well known in fantasy as a race of short individuals that held great talent in architecture, technology, and smithing. 

Just like humans, they were just another race that hated the beasts. It was a classic, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

"Umm… excuse me."

I turned around to spot a timid-looking dwarf. His complexion didn't look too good, likely from spending too much time in here. 

But that tone… where did I write that again?

"Yes?" I replied. 

"That sword on your waist… could I ask how you got it?"

Hmm… I remember writing a character like him. I can't quite recall his name, though. Duv… Duv… 

"Duvari?!" I blurted out loud. 

"Y–yes!? How do you know my name?" 

Ah, shoot. I shouldn't have said that. 

"I–I'm a big fan!" 

"Pardon?"

I forgot. Unlike the foul-mouthed dwarves, Duvari was a natural "good boy." He almost never cursed and didn't even adore alcohol the same way his peers did. 

"Yeah. I just remembered seeing you somewhere. It's a great honor to meet you." I shook his hands. 

"I see… then, could you please tell me where you got this sword if it isn't a bother?"

"This? Puru Mountains." 

"Wha… it was so close by?" He asked, shocked. 

"Yup. I managed to come across it when I was fleeing from some monsters. It saved my life that day."

I mean, I wasn't lying about it saving my life, but the part about running away from monsters was a lie. I hoped he wouldn't realize that the Puru Mountains were heavily guarded…

"I see. Then if it's fine with you, would it be okay for me to forge you a sheath?"

"A sheath? Why?"

"It's just that… I had a certain fondness for the woman who last wielded Dainsleif. She was a person I admired." 

Damn. I knew that statue had some significance. I didn't write about the past wielder of Dainsleif, so my information was limited. 

Since Duvari is asking anyway, I don't see a reason to refuse. 

"Is there anything you need? Like materials?"

It was only right that I helped him in some way. After all, it was the future "God Of Smithing" who would be the one making my sheath. 

Even if he wasn't confident in his skills, I fully believed he could do it. 

"No, I have everything I need. You wish to hide the red part of the blade, right?" 

"Yeah."

"Then it is perfect. I already have a design in mind."

"Can I just ask, Duvari?" 

"Yes?" 

I wasn't the type of person to prod into other people's lives, but I wanted to know about Dainsleif's last user. 

"Could you tell me about the woman who wielded Dainsleif before me?" 

Please accept, please accept. 

"Very well. If it is fine with you, I will have to delay the making of your sheath by a bit. Can you stay for a few hours?"

"I can."

"Then, please follow me outside."

***

Duvari led me outside to the back of the smithery. He instructed me to bring Dainsleif as well. 

"First of all, I wish to start this off by saying one thing: you do not possess enough power to rightfully be called her successor."

I knew that. It had only been two days since I was reincarnated in this world. In that short amount of time I had accomplished a lot. 

But it definitely wasn't enough to compare with the mightiest individuals this world held.

"You are too weak, too imperfect. Dainsleif hasn't even begun to recognize you as its wielder, let alone her successor."

"Would it be fine to tell me her name?" I questioned. 

"Morwen. She was one of a kind. Possibly the most skilled swordswoman known to live."

Morwen. I certainly don't remember anyone by that name. Surely she was great though, for even Duvari to praise her. 

"She was born into a small village by the name of Paluma. A normal country girl, she had a dream. It was to become one of the greatest practitioners of the sword."

"She was a delicate maiden, that one. I had never met someone so pure. The whole village had cared for her as if she was their daughter."

"One day, she had mistakenly led a horde of monsters toward her village. Being a simple backwater area, there were close to no skilled Heroes in the vicinity."

"It was then she saw them all die from the attack. One by one, she watched them get torn apart by beasts. No one was spared, and by the time the Heroes got there, the whole village was up in flames."

Well, that's certainly depressing. I didn't know something bad had happened. I guess even I don't know everything that happens around here. 

"She did her best to fend off the unrelenting horde of beasts, but it was all too late. The whole area was overrun."

"And as she watched her loved ones die before her eyes, she figured it would be better to join them too."

"That was when my Teacher found her. He rescued her from the brink of death and chose to adopt her as his daughter."

"From there, he taught her the ways of the sword. We were surprised at how well she was able to adapt to it, too."

"After reaching A rank at the tender age of seventeen, my Teacher decided to gift her the sword you are wielding right now."

"I see. Truth be told, I haven't told you everything. I said I found this in a cave, but that wasn't all of it. Dainsleif was in the hands of a statue when I found it. And it was a feminine looking."

Duvari gasped in shock. 

"Could that be… Morwen?"

"I do not know. But I wish to apologize for robbing a corpse of their belongings. I would like to return it to you."

I took out my sword from my waist and was about to give it to Duvari, when he stopped me.

"Stop.

"Excuse me?"

"Keep the sword. In return, please promise me one thing."

"Do not use that sword for evil. It may be a demonic sword now, but Dainsleif was always, and will always be, a holy sword. I would like for you to honor Morwen's wishes and carry on her legacy."

"I must ask for you to do one thing. Please slay that beast."

"That beast?" 

"Yes. I think I know who turned Morwen into that statue. A Basilisk."

A Basilisk… I made them look like snakes that could turn you into stone if you get hit by their venom. 

They were typically in the range of B rank to A rank. 

But if it was able to slay Morwen, then it must have undergone a Bestial Transformation.

"I see. In that case, I will continue to use this sword for good. Mark my words, that Basilisk will be killed by my hand."

"If so, thank you."