A soundless noise echoed.
The flaming blade of radiant light illuminated the surroundings, driving back the encroaching darkness and lingering shadows.
Sonny couldn't help but fall into a trance, his gaze fixed on the white blade, too beautiful to be mistaken for an ordinary weapon.
The narrow blade was straight and slender like a rapier's, but double-edged, making it suited for both slashing and thrusting. Its keen edge curved smoothly into a sharp, piercing tip. Unlike normal swords, no markings were etched upon its surface. The blade appeared to be made from pure spirit energy, and from the pressure it radiated, there was no doubt it contained a great amount. Though the sword's weight and balance felt slightly off, even this flaw was eclipsed by the breathtaking brilliance and color of the blade.
Looking at the spiralling flaming sword, scorching with pure whitenness, it shone like a brilliant star. The stark contrast with its matte-black handle only made the blade's radiance all the more striking. For some reason or perhaps instinct, Sonny knew this blade would be able to cut through most tough materials.
Buzz! Buzz!
As his smartphone suddenly began vibrating violently in his left hand, Sonny tilted his head and noticed Warp looking quite pleased, puffing out her chest with a smug grin.
Under other circumstances, that grin would've pissed him off, but his attention was elsewhere, drawn to something he'd missed before.
'Huh? What's this?'
Narrowing his eyes, Sonny focused on the matte-black handle.
It had gone unnoticed at first, but as he looked closer, he spotted faint lettering etched along the grip in tiny, meticulous script.
Tilting his head, Sonny read those written words.
"Dawnslayer IV... by Fenric Morrec? Wha... Ack!"
Seconds later, as soon as those words left his lips, Sonny felt a searing pain shoot through his hand where he gripped the sword, forcing him to drop the weapon with a sharp cry.
A fresh gash, already cauterized, stretched across his palm. He hesitated, eyeing the blade warily before finally picking it up again. This time, he noticed the faint traces of his blood being drawn into the handle, slowly absorbed by the blade.
[Damn! Are you okay, Master?] Warp asked with a concerned voice.
"No need to worry, I'm alright. A bit taken back though," Tugging at the back of his dark hair, Sonny shifted his focus back to the sword again. This time, he noticed something strange; the blade's balance shifted subtly, aligning perfectly with his posture. The weight, which had felt awkward before, now moved as though it was an extension of his own body. Even the handle seemed to mold to his grip, adjusting itself until it fit his palm like it had been crafted for him alone.
Perplexed, he blinked, struggling to make sense of the inexplicable phenomenon that had just took place before his eyes.
From the articles Sonny had read, there were many types of weapons with unique effects, all crafted by renowned runesmiths. But he'd never heard about anything like this sword before.
Curious, Sonny shifted his gaze to his smartphone's screen and then raised a question.
"Hey, Warp, do you know what kind of weapon this is?"
The AI assistant paused, rubbing her chin as if deep in thought.
[That's actually something I've been trying to figure out, but I think I know now. This is a Soul Arm.]
Confused by the foreign terminology, Sonny tilted his head.
"... A what now?"
[A Soul Arm,] Warp explained. [They're a special and rare type of Gear that forms a soul bond with their user. From the looks of it, that's exactly what happened here. The sword has bound itself to you.]
"So you're telling me this strange thing has bonded itself to me, huh? How incredibly lucky," Sonny muttered with a bitter sarcasm. But then, a sudden realization struck him. "Wait, hold on… Is it actually possible to create a weapon that forms a soul bond with its user? What is this, some kind of Excalibur situation?"
[From what I can tell, that seems to be the case. According to the data I've gathered from reliable sources, Gears are usually crafted by runesmiths using materials collected from the Tower, correct? Well, the runesmith who forged this sword must've used a special set of runes to make it soul-bound to its wielder. Ah... How Interesting... these runes also determine the sword's strength based on the user's spirit power. Do you know what that means, my dear Master?] Warp asked with a knowing smile at the end of her lengthy, thorough examination.
"That…"
A strong earthquake trembled in Sonny's vision.
Just like Warp had explained, Soul Arms were unique type of gears that soul-bond with their user. However, these soulbound weapons were so rare that they were said to be even scarcer than gemstones.
Naturally, the number of awakened individuals who possessed such gears was limited. In fact, runesmiths capable of forging Soul Arms were so few that they could be counted on one hand. In this case, however, not only had a mysterious runesmith managed to craft a Soul Arm, but they had done so in a way that it could only bond with a single user.
This meant that no one else would ever be able to wield the sword, even if the original user were slain by hungry thieves eager to claim it for themselves.
But the most terrifying fact was that the strength of the blade depended on a single attribute: Soul Power. Of course, gears in general boosted the attributes of the user, but those that relied on soul power itself were unheard of. This was due to the complexity of the ninth-dimensional object known as the Soul, which housed countless mysteries that humanity could barely begin to understand. A good example was the concept of filling a cup with water. If the cup was filled, the water would overflow. And if the cup itself, the vessel, was weak, it would leak or shatter, causing the water to spill out of the cup.
Infusing objects with soul power followed the same principle. Depending on the amount of exousia (奇迹) dwelling in the Soul Core of an awakened individual, if they infused an object with too much soul power, it would break. Likewise, if the weapon itself wasn't strong enough, it would break as well. For this reason, normal weaponry produced by humanity outside the Tower was completely and utterly useless for Hunters, as it couldn't handle their spirit pressure (灵压) or the force of their strikes.
For a matter of fact, even some gears couldn't be used by high-rankers. You would never see a Level 5 swinging a sword or spear belonging to Tier 0.
On the other hand, what if there was no object to break? What would that mean? What if there was a Soul Arm that could accept any form of spirit power, as long as the user was accepted as its Master? How strong would the Dawnslayer be in the hands of a Saint? Wouldn't that mean it could cut through anything below Tier 6, or something like that?
And if that were the case, what about someone with Spirit Power in the SSS-rank territory?
Sonny's knees trembled so violently that he thought they might give out. He couldn't bring himself to believe that something so overpowered could exist. And even more absurd was the fact that such an item was lying among a pile of faulty and defective gears.
How could something like this be considered defective? If that were the case, did it mean the Association had world-ending weapons hidden away somewhere?
No, no, that can't be right.
'They probably couldn't find anyone who could wield it, so they must have thought it was defective. I've heard Soul Arms can be quite picky about who they choose as their wielders. Is this one of those cases?'
'Damn. It's just like an Excalibur situation, as I expected. In the end, I'm the King Arthur here.'
'Since I found it in the trash, that means the Association has no use for this sword. So, there's no problem if I take it for myself, right?'
His smile widened.
The thought of claiming such a high-quality weapon right under the Guild Association's nose filled Sonny with an overwhelming sense of excitement, his greed impossible to suppress.
Well, he wasn't the bad guy here. It was the Guild Association's fault for mishandling their equipment, so he would just help them out by taking care of it for them.
'But before that...'
Sonny frowned, staring at the still glowing blade.
'How do I turn it off? Does it work like a lightsaber or something like that? Okay, let's turn down my spirit power.'
The young Sleeper quickly willed his spirit power to stop flowing into the black rod, and it obeyed. The blade of light gradually faded, returning to its dormant state.
Seeing that it worked, a satisfied smile slowly spread across Sonny's lips.
"Alright, now that the blade's off, what do I do next?" he muttered to himself. His eyes scanned his surroundings, still unsure of what to do with such an overpowered weapon in his hands.
If his suspicions were correct, then swinging such a sword in a place filled with expensive equipment was the last thing he wanted to do. Of course, he could afford to replace anything he accidentally damaged, but what was the point of buying something just to destroy it?
He couldn't quite wrap his mind around that logic. Maybe he still hadn't fully embraced the mindset of the filthy rich.
Before Sonny could delve further into his thoughts, the sound of footsteps interrupted him. He turned around, only to see Thomas arriving, his arms full of the items he had just purchased.
"Ah, so you're here," Thomas said, approaching with a curious look. "I've been looking for you all over. What are you doing in a place like this?"
Suppressing the flicker of greed that still lingered, Sonny quickly adopted the demeanor of a businessman, trying to exude professionalism. He casually showed Thomas the unremarkable black rod in his hand, hiding the true power of the sword within.
"Nothing much," Sonny said with a casual shrug. "You were gone for a while, so I figured I'd look around a bit. Ended up stumbling across something that caught my eye." He lifted the rod slightly, letting the light catch its plain surface. "Found this among the pile over there. I was wondering like if I like the design, can I just take it? Or do I need to pay even for discarded items as well?"
His tone remained light, but his eyes stayed sharp, watching Thomas's reaction closely.
As expected, Thomas narrowed his eyes to inspect the black rod. After a brief pause, recognition flickered in his eyes, and he let out a laugh.
"Ah, that old thing! I remember one of my buddies saying some senile runesmith pulled a fast one on him. We had our inspectors check it out, but as far as they could tell, it's nothing more than a short rod and it's too small even to serve as a proper cane. It's just been gathering dust ever since. If you think you can make use of it, go ahead and take it. Think of it as a gift from the Guild Association," Thomas said with a casual shrug.
Then, he added casually,
"By the way, is that all, or are you looking to purchase something else?"
In response, Sonny, shamelessly slipping the overpowered black rod into his pocket, replied with a grin,
"Now that you mention it… yeah, there are a few things I'd like to check out. Show me your defensive gear. I'll like to purchase a few of those.'