Kael's fingers wrapped around the hilt of the black sword. The moment his skin touched its smooth, shadow-slick handle, it pulsed once.
Then the blade dissolved into black mist, swirling around his arm like a living entity. He flinched as it slithered up his forearm and coiled into a jet-black snake tattoo, stretching from his wrist to the top of his hand.
It blinked once yes, blinked as if alive, then went still.
Kael stared at it, stunned.
"...You're bound to me now?"
Instinctively, he thought of drawing the weapon.
Shhhhff!
In an instant, the blade emerged from his palm in a spiral of black mist, its sleek, cursed edge forming mid-air like magic. He held it with reverence. It felt lighter than it looked almost like it was an extension of himself.
He dismissed it again, and the blade vanished, reforming into the tattoo. Practical and dangerous. Just his style.
Still, one question remained: What rank was this thing?
He sighed.
He didn't want to waste Story Distortion points on flashy analysis, so he created a simple, focused skill.
> New Skill Created: Appraisal - Weapon Grade
Allows the user to identify the rank of a weapon through direct contact.
Cost: 80 System Points
"Better than burning three hundred points on full object analysis," Kael muttered.
He touched the tattoo and activated the skill.
---
Weapon: Vanta Edge
Rank: SSS+
Bound
Growth-Type Weapon — Soul Linked
Ability: Evolves with its master. Reacts to emotion, battle intent, and shadows. May gain sentience.
---
Kael let out a low whistle.
SSS+. That wasn't just rare it was mythical.
Most legendary swords capped at SS+. This was something else. Something born of darkness and destiny.
And it would grow with him.
He clenched his fist.
With this sword, and his growth so far, maybe just maybe he could do more than survive in this world. He could carve his name into its core.
He turned toward the cave entrance, light pouring through the cracks in the rocky wall.
"It's time," he muttered. "Time to head back out."
He tightened the strap of his bag, checked the tattoo one last time, and stepped into the sunlit forest, leaving the cave and his old limits behind.