Chapter 5 - The Flame Of The Dead

Wain was not stupid and realized that the strange, green flame emanating from the anvil was the Flame of the Dead. There was no other explanation Wain could find.

'It all adds up. I don't see any exits from this room, which means the end of the ancient ruin's here. Moreover, these spirits in blacksmiths and their hammers are real magic. They both exist and don't exist at the same time.' Wain thought.

The smith spirits had no problem flying through the walls like ghosts, but their hammer blows on the anvil amplified the green flames for real.

Wain wanted to get closer to the Flame of the Dead, but suddenly he saw a statue not far from the green flame begin to break apart partially. Wain ignored the statue in the form of a knight holding a sword with both hands. He thought it was a rare, ancient piece preserved in its integrity.

"So this knight is the guardian of this flame... It looks like Marakt had me a little fooled. Getting the Flame of the Dead isn't as easy as he said, okay." Wain muttered.

While the stone layer of the statue was breaking and the knight was getting free, Wain decided to attack immediately. He used the Destruction Sword, and a dark sword appeared next to him.

Wain swung his arm, and the sword flew towards the knight. Wain was not going to wait for his opponent to come to his senses and be ready to fight. In this case, Wain had no intention of feigning knightly nobility.

Crackling.

When the Destruction Sword almost reached the statue, the knight instantly shattered the remains of the stone layer and knocked the sword aside. Wain wasn't surprised. He didn't think it would be that easy. He continued to swing his arm, and the dark sword came crashing down on the knight.

However, the knight had no problem fending off each attack. He was a master swordsman, and such attacks were no more dangerous than mosquito bites.

Suddenly, the knight turned around and attacked with all his might. He swung the Wain's dark sword aside, and the blade sank deep into the stone walls of the ruins.

"Damn, this doesn't work, but I don't want to go near that knight at all. He looks extremely dangerous." Wain muttered.

The knight was dressed in black, metallic armor with sharp spikes on his shoulders. The helmet was pointed upward, and dark energy emanated, leaving a trail behind it. There were also many different symbols made in red colors on the armor.

One look at this knight was enough to understand that only death could be expected from him.

The knight walked slowly toward Wain. Every step he took was heavy and loud. The constant sound of hammers hitting the anvil gave this scene an eerie aura.

Wain armed himself with his knife forged from the meteorite and prepared for battle. Just then, a dark sword flew out of the wall and froze in the air beside him.

Wain rightly thought that he had handled the knife better than anyone else in his past world. But, due to natural circumstances, he had never yet fought using a sword or with an opponent with a sword.

'His sword is several times longer and heavier than my knife, and for some reason, I am sure this knight is incredibly strong. I wouldn't be able to swing my sword back with such force. However, my knife is many times lighter, and I'm faster.' Wain thought.

Their battle would represent the confrontation between agility and strength. Which one of them would win would depend solely on their skills.

The knight bent down, put his sword out in front of him, and lunged at Wain like an arrow. The knight instantly reached Wain and lunged at him with his sword.

Whoooosh.

Wain jumped aside and stabbed the knight's armor multiple times. Simultaneously, the dark sword came down on the knight from the other side.

He tried to run the knight over with multiple attacks, but the knight swung the dark sword sharply to the side and attacked Wain from top to bottom.

Wain did a backward somersault past the edge of the knight's sword and stared intently at the knight's armor.

'My knife only left a couple of scratches on his armor. I'll never be able to penetrate his defense that way. I need to be riskier.' Thought Wain and dashed at the knight.

He came close to the knight and barely dodged his lightning sword. Wain bent down, plunged his knife into the knight's armpit, and then retreated.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Blue blood dripped onto the floor and onto the knight's black armor. Wain managed to inflict his opponent's first, serious wound.

Rugged armor could protect its wearer from almost anything, but the knight's armor had a few unprotected places. One of which was the armpit. It was impossible to protect this place with armor not to hinder the knight's movements.

Other than that, there was another place that was left unprotected.

Wain swung his hand, and the dark sword sliced through the knight's flesh at the back of his knee. Blue blood poured onto the stone floor, and the knight fell to his knees. Wain assumed that the knight's body was similar to the structure of the human body.

'Great, now he definitely won't be able to get up, at least not for a while.' Thought Wain and attacked the knight again.

However, to his surprise, the knight could get to his feet and parry Wain's blows. The knight's blows were powerful and heavy. Wain could feel his hands trembling due to the significant recoil.

Unlike Wain, the knight was protected by sturdy armor and could fight even with serious wounds. He was gradually winning. But, Wain could fight not only with a knife but also with a sword.

The dark sword stabbed into the knight's left leg. Wain's past idea was not quite up to his expectations. He could not stop the knight because his body structure was different from that of a human.

But, he could cut the knight's legs off through the back gaps. Wain had a flying sword, so it was pretty easy to do.

In just a few seconds, the dark sword inflicted numerous wounds on the knight, a few more cuts, and the knight should have lost his legs, but he wasn't about to give up so easily.

The knight, in a rage, began to swing his weapon and gradually destroy the Wain's dark sword. More cracks appeared on the dark sword with each blow until the weapon was finally destroyed. The shards of the sword disintegrated into space and turned into dark particles.

The knight turned around, he was about to attack Wain, but it was too late.

When Wain saw that the knight was trying to destroy his sword, he rushed towards his opponent. There was another weakness in the knight's armor that Wain couldn't get to before. It was a wide gap in his helmet, through which the knight could see perfectly well what was going on around him. The knight was distracted, and Wain decided to take advantage of it.

He plunged his knife into the gap and thereby pierced the knight's head. Wain twisted the blade in his enemy's skull, and the last bits of life left the knight's body.

[You killed the Last Knight Level 9]

Wain breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the blue soul that flew out of the knight's body. The soul entered Wain's body, and he immediately looked at its description.

[Soul of Last Knight (Whole)

Chronicle: Primary

Rating: Rare]

'Rare Soul? Not bad, not bad at all. I think I can put it on my Soul Altar.'

Wain concentrated, and his consciousness was transported to another space. In that space was his Soul Altar in the center of which was the soul of Nameless King. It was his main soul and could not be replaced without critical damage to his life.

But, Wain could put another soul into his Soul Altar, unfortunately only one so far. If he wanted to put another additional soul, he would have to destroy this one. He needed to become much stronger so that new possibilities would open up before him.

At Wain's wish, the blue soul went to his Soul Altar and took its place. At the same time, Wain felt a surge of strength and saw several messages.

[You have acquired the Soul Essence of Last Knight level 9. Strength+5, Agility+3, Vitality +2, Stamina +1]

[You have leveled up to level 3. You get 3 status points to distribute freely]

[You have leveled up to level...]

[You have leveled up to level 5. You get 3 status points to distribute freely]

The enemy Wain fought was very powerful, so he got a lot of bonuses. After killing one powerful enemy, he immediately gained multiple levels.

[Last Knight's soul became your additional soul]

[The Last Knight remained the only one of thousands like him. The Last Knight continued to defend the flame no matter what. Only death could make him drop his sword from his hands. You have gained the soul of the Last Knight and can become an equally great swordsman.

When using swords, your attack power increases by 30%. Any skills that use a sword deal 10% more damage]

Wain was pleased with the description, but it wasn't everything.

[Received Rare Skill - Fencing the Last Knight]

[Fencing the Last Knight (Primary Chronicle Passive Skill, Rare Rating)

You become skilled enough to wield the sword as if you had been trained for years. Depending on your training, you will progress faster and deepen your swordsmanship]

'Very good. It's a soul completely focused on sword reinforcement. I've never fought with swords before, but the world has changed, which means it's well worth considering changing my primary weapon.'

Wain swung his knife a few times and grudgingly muttered, 'As I thought, it looks like my knife doesn't count as a sword. Rather, it is classified as a dagger."

He stretched out his hand, and the next moment a dark sword appeared before him. Wain wanted to try out the effects of the soul and passive skill in action.

Wain concentrated and threw a few blows into the air. He smiled and said, "That's another thing, but I still don't have enough skill. The Rating and Chronicle skill is too low. Moreover, I'm not used to this type of weapon yet."

The dark sword hovered in the air, and Wain looked at the Flame of the Dead.

"It's time to get it for me and get out of here."