Chapter 20:Thaurmor
Ultimately, the raven behaved exactly the same way as the last time they encountered it. It perched on a branch of a nearby tree and silently watched the camp. After a brief observation, Peter dismissed the nagging feeling that he had forgotten something.
'If it's important, I'll remember eventually,'he concluded in his thoughts, then shifted his attention to Selene, who was still practicing diagonal strikes. After a moment of watching her, he turned back to the sword.
As it turned out, the sword was a far greater mystery than he had expected. It had been discovered long ago in Ether by his mentor and had remained unused for many years. Technically speaking, Peter was its first proper wielder. Who would have thought that the runes etched into the blade originated from Earth?
The sword itself was made of dark steel, though not entirely black. Its crossguard was simple, unlike the curved guards of many popular swords, and the grip was wrapped in dark brown leather, ending in an angular pommel.
One could say the sword was entirely unadorned—were it not for the first sixty centimeters of the blade, which were covered in the aforementioned runes. Unlike the rest of the weapon, these runes didn't absorb light.
Peter spent a few moments studying the ancient inscriptions, trying to glean some meaning, but to no avail. He then recalled the sword's description:
[Name: Thaurmor]
[Rank: ???]
[Type: Weapon]
[Enchantments]: [Absolute Sword Slash], [Death Whisper], [Death Sentence], [Fear of Death], [Unknown Potential], [Unbroken Will], [???]
The list of special abilities was astonishing. Rarely did any relic or artifact possess more than three or four unique traits, but Peter already knew each of these abilities, thanks to his mentor, even before he set foot in Ether.
Because of that, he also knew that despite the abundance of abilities, he couldn't actually use them all. The first and most obviously inaccessible one was:
[Death Sentence]
[Description]:[When this blow is struck, the world falls silent and time holds its breath. This is death in its final form—there is no resurrection, no second chance, no reincarnation. All paths of return are scorched, and the soul, bound in timeless darkness, is erased from the fabric of existence. A verdict not carved in blood, but in the very essence of being.
Allows for a powerful attack capable of permanently killing the target.]
From this description, it was clear the ability could erase an enemy from existence completely. Incredibly useful—but there was a catch. Namely, it was so costly that even Peter's mentor had only been able to use it once.
And that man was several ranks above Peter and could store significantly more spiritual energy. This suggested that Peter wouldn't be able to use this skill for at least a few more years.
The next enchantment, Unknown Potential, wasn't even a skill per se:
[Unknown Potential]
[Description]:[This sword was forged for a being of incomprehensible power and will adjust its strength to that of its wielder until they surpass the previous owner.]
On the surface, this was one of the sword's most useful features—the fact that it grew stronger alongside its wielder was remarkable. Items like that were incredibly rare. But, once again... there was a catch.
It meant that for now, despite being an artifact, the sword was only of Awakened rank—just as sharp and effective as other weapons of the same tier, since Peter was at that level himself.
This could become a problem in a fight against a higher-ranked creature. The blade simply wouldn't pierce its skin—or armor, depending on the species.
All in all, this ability would one day be priceless, since higher-ranked relics were extremely hard to come by. But for the moment, it offered no advantage. In fact, it was a bit of a hindrance.
There were two more abilities Peter couldn't rely on: 'Absolute Sword Slash' and the mysterious '???'. The former wasn't exactly inaccessible or outrageously expensive.
[Absolute Sword Slash]
[Description]:[When steel is guided by unshakable resolve and the heart knows no doubt, the blade becomes a truth no force can deny.]
This strike cleaves not only flesh, but spirit, shadow, and illusion alike—cutting through all things, seen or unseen, material or divine, as if the world itself surrenders to its certainty.
It was a powerful skill. The ability to cut through anything seemed almost too potent. But, as always, there was a drawback: the activation was random.
Well, not entirely random—the greater Peter's will to fight and his belief that the sword wouldn't fail him, the higher the chances of the effect triggering. Still, it couldn't be activated at will.
As for the other ability '???' Peter had no idea what it did.
[???]
[Description]:[???]
Short and vague. Peter and his mentor had long assumed this feature was some sort of curse, preventing others from wielding the sword. Perhaps the translator simply lacked the words to describe it.
The only benefit was that no one could take the weapon from him and use it against him—at least, not if they were attached to their hand.
The only truly useful abilities Thaurmor offered for now were 'Death Whisper' and 'Unbroken Will.'
The former made undead creatures far more vulnerable to the sword's strikes. The latter was more abstract.
[Unbroken Will]
[Description]:[This sword shall never falter in the hand of its wielder, as long as their heart burns with the will to fight. Its blade will cut on, unwavering, as long as the fire of determination does not fade within their soul.]
Despite the clear wording, the effect was hard to interpret. Did it help pierce the hides of stronger creatures? Did it prevent the blade from breaking unless the user gave up? Or perhaps it allowed the weapon to return to its master in moments of need?
Despite the uncertainty, Peter could rely on this one ability—it was passive, requiring no energy and no element of luck.
'Well, at least that's something,' Peter thought, deactivating the translator. He stared for a moment at the runes denoting the sword's name and other descriptions, but found no matches among the markings on the blade.
'So these runes really don't come from Ether,'Peter concluded. He glanced at Selene, who had just finished a training sequence and walked off to drink some water. She was clearly exhausted.
Compelled by an inner sense of overprotectiveness, Peter began preparing dinner—not just because night was approaching, but also to give Selene some time to rest.
Before she could return to begin the next set of exercises he'd planned, Peter called out:
"Alright, come eat something before you drop from hunger,"he said, his tone devoid of the concern that had been so obvious moments earlier.
Gratefully, Selene headed for the campfire and sat across from him. Peter handed her a heated field ration, and turned to his own portion. He briefly mourned the absence of bread—but one couldn't have everything.
They ate in silence, as always. Selene was far too tired to start a conversation, so Peter spent the time reflecting on what he had learned that day.
First, the people living nearby had a reliable food supply thanks to the berry farms Lio had mentioned—unexpected, but good to know.
There was also everything related to the city's leadership and rules, but he preferred to think about that later. Unfortunately, he hadn't learned the technique he truly sought—enhancing his body with pure energy. As a consolation, however, he did manage to do something similar using the element of darkness.
The raven was still a potential problem—but for now, it wasn't causing trouble.'Let's hope it stays that way,' he thought, mentally noting to leave food scraps away from the camp again tonight.
All in all, Selene had learned how to properly wield a sword and could now execute two strikes—which would definitely come in handy. They'd also gathered useful intel about the area and its people.
'You could even say it was a good day,' Peter smiled inwardly, then said aloud:
"All right, that's enough for today. You need to rest for tomorrow. I'll take the first watch."
He then scattered sand over the fire to put it out. Once Selene nodded and dragged herself toward the tent, Peter leaned back against a tree, positioning himself so he could keep an eye on the entire camp.
A long night awaited him—and an even longer day tomorrow.