Hidden attributes.
The words echoed like a spell, and for a moment, the training ground fell into stunned silence.
Everyone there understood the implication.
Weapons had their range—base stats, enhancements, enchantments. But hidden attributes?
Those were something else entirely.
They were the upper limit of the upper limits.
Enhancements could be reforged, enchantments re-imbued. But hidden attributes… they were innate. They emerged only by chance, and only during the initial forging. No craftsman, no matter how skilled, could insert them afterward.
Even someone of Karon's caliber, a legendary blacksmith with a lifetime of accolades, could count the number of weapons he'd forged with hidden attributes on one hand.
"Forced repulsion…" murmured someone.
The knight who had been flung away, Gram lay sprawled on the ground, bruised and disoriented. His body ached all over, and his thoughts were spinning—but he could still recall the moment of impact with perfect clarity.
He should have had the advantage. His skill had landed with precision, strength, and momentum.
But the moment the holy sword in Leo's hand lit up—
He'd been thrown like a sack of grain.
There was no time to react, no room to resist. Just light… and then, flight.
Even Leo was confused.
He had seen the official knight's blade—Bladereign—coming for him, and had even felt its heat across his cheek.
He should have lost.
His angle was off, his stance too light, and the momentum behind the enemy's strike was overpowering.
But then…
The crystal core of the holy sword he wielded pulsed with radiant energy, and his own strength surged like a storm unleashed. A wave of pressure swept outward, and when the light faded…
The knight was gone—blown ten meters away.
"…This…" he murmured in disbelief.
The crowd stared at the weapon now, their eyes no longer skeptical but starving with awe.
A level-45 trainee had knocked down a level-55 formal knight with one strike, using the same skill.
Impossible. But it had happened.
"This isn't an ordinary knockback," Grace said at last. "Even with a ten-level gap… it can be activated cleanly."
Karon nodded, his eyes gleaming. "I can't appraise it, but I've seen enough. The knockback is not affected by relative strength—it's likely an absolute effect. That's terrifying."
He exhaled, then added, "It's not the best blade I've ever forged, but… it's the closest to perfection."
Grace's eyes glinted behind her rimless glasses. "Master Karon…" she said slowly. "How about you try it yourself?"
Karon raised an eyebrow. "Me? I'm not so sure. A sword like this… what if I break it? That'd be a crime."
"Don't be so modest," Gu Shan chuckled. "I just want to see how far the knockback can go. If it worked against someone ten levels higher, what about thirty? Forty? You're level 80, aren't you?"
The crowd gasped again.
Level 80?
Some had forgotten—Karon, despite being a blacksmith, had once trained in the frontline. His strength dwarfed that of most knights present.
Karon stroked his beard thoughtfully, then drew a massive war axe from his back with casual ease.
"Fine," he said with a grunt. "Let's see what this fancy blade can do."
He walked to the center of the field, then planted his feet and activated a skill.
A muted, earthen glow surged over his form as the phantom of a mountain briefly shimmered around him.
"Unmoving as a Mountain."
A defensive stance that granted +150% defense, plus a "hardening" buff that made his body like steel.
Even a combat-class boxer of the same level would struggle to make him budge.
"Come on, kid!" he barked. "Hit me with everything you've got!"
Leo stood frozen, the sword trembling slightly in his grip.
"Master… are you sure?" he asked hesitantly. "I might—"
"Stop whining and hit me!" Karon bellowed, stamping a boot into the dirt.
The crowd held its breath.
Leo tightened his grip.
He took a deep breath, calmed his nerves, and felt the magic surge again through the holy sword. The crystalline edge shimmered like a moonlit lake.
Then—he struck.
Clang!
The blade met Karon's axe.
A clean hit, no slicing—but the metallic ring echoed with unnatural clarity.
At first, nothing happened.
Karon didn't even flinch. "Hmph. As I thought—"
Boom!
A ripple of light burst from the blade's edge, and the mountain-like dwarf suddenly staggered.
"Wh—!?"
His boots dragged furrows in the dirt as he stumbled backward—one step, two steps, three, four—
Five full steps!
Karon stopped himself only with effort, planting his axe in the ground. Dust settled around him.
The crowd went silent again.
Even the birds overhead seemed to have stopped mid-flight.
Karon stared at his hands, stunned.
"…That…"
Even under full defense, he had been forced back.
Not injured—no—but displaced. Had that sword struck with piercing intent, it could very well have unbalanced him enough to take a clean hit.
The knight Leo had defeated earlier suddenly lit up with joy.
A minute ago, he'd felt humiliated. Now?
Even Karon was knocked back.
That meant Leo's earlier victory wasn't shameful—it was practically miraculous.
And that sword...
He couldn't take his eyes off it. It gleamed in Leo's hands, humming with restrained energy.
For knights, a fine blade meant everything—more than their titles, more than their lovers.
They want it. Badly.
Leo, meanwhile, stood there awkwardly, holding the sword like a guilty child clutching stolen sweets.
He could feel their stares—hungry, burning.
He tightened his grip.
He didn't want to let it go.
But deep down, he knew the truth.
This sword wasn't his.
The materials alone were worth more than his lifetime salary. The craftsmanship was priceless. And he was just a trainee knight.
Sooner or later, it would be taken from him. Passed on to someone worthy—a commander, a prodigy.
He felt the bitterness rise in his chest like bile.
The sword pulsed warmly in his hands.
He looked down at it, and for the first time, he felt loss—as though something precious was already slipping away.
And then—
"Leo."
He looked up.
Grace had stepped forward, her eyes bright, her expression unreadable.
"You've done well," she said gently. "Thank you for your hard work, little knight."
Then, with a faint smile—
"There's no need to return the sword. It's yours now."
Leo blinked.
"…O-okay, I'll hand it back…" he murmured, half-hearing, half-hearted, already lifting the sword toward her.
Then the words clicked.
He froze.
"…Eh?"