F-ranker Sword Saint: My Soulbound Sword is Secretly SSS-tier!-Chapter 347: Victories and Losses

"You...bastard...I’ll make sure y–"

Before Lothara could finish her words, however, a nauseating crack sounded, and her life ended as her throat collapsed.

[You’ve slain Lothara, [Shadow Hand] of the Veshari race.]

[You’ve obtained 7,950 Experience Points.]

[You’ve obtained (1) True Warmedal.]

[You’ve obtained (3) Life Sap.]

[You’ve obtained (2) Volini Meat.]

[You’ve obtained (2) Jayari Wingroot.]

[You’ve obtained (1) Nawkari Wingroot.]

[You’ve obtained (1) Lesser Strigari Wingroot.]

Daru spared the notifications a glance, finding the first, the third, and the last, particularly interesting, but cut the thoughts at that.

His comrade was still locked in battle.

Furthermore, he felt a bit sick watching Lothara’s corpse slowly disintegrate into red cubic particles, still in his firm grasp.

He wasn’t used to corpses of Bladeborns in the Myriad Sword Realm — if Yggdrasil was even a part of it — yet, so his heart turned cold, slightly unnerved.

This was the first time he felt that he truly killed someone.

Still, he forcefully shook off the feeling, carefully placing Lothara’s corpse on the mound before flying over to help Elara.

"Useless!" Karzalkhatun cursed, sending her foe wobbling in the air with a furious slash that effectively utilized all of the muscles in her brutish body.

She didn’t retreat, however, flying towards Daru.

"I’ll clean up the weaklings first, then I’ll deal with you, pampered princess."

To her surprise, the S-ranker, whose main strength was supposed to be his cunning, was unfazed, arms straining as he slashed forward with his tachi.

Karzalkhatun sneered and struck right back with her toothed, copper-colored blade that was half a longsword and half a greatsword.

She noticed the creeping black aura but paid it no mind.

There was no way a human, whose sword was two ranks lower than hers, could possibly win in a direct clash.

Perhaps this was his ego as a physically underestimated male acting on his behalf...but Onimaru Kunitsuna was being stupid.

That’s what Karzalkhatun thought until their swords clanged, and she felt herself shooting towards the pearl, arms and hands numbed.

"What?!" she hissed in disbelief, face contorted in a grimace.

Her entire body was aching in protest.

However, she quickly brushed it off, flapping her wings desperately to stop her momentum. The SSS-ranker Vyrrkan knew she was done for if her body touched that pearl.

It was then she noticed something in her peripheral vision. A silver, piercing tornado.

"Tch!" Karzalkhatun clicked her tongue in frustration, emitting a thin bronze aura as she angled the flat of her weapon to block.

To Elara’s disappointment, her attack was easily stopped.

She was gearing up for the continuation of the clashes, but the SSS-ranker Vyrrkan had decent intelligence, at least, realizing the S-ranker was not as simple as he looked.

She fled without hesitation.

"Hmph!" the princess snorted in disdain. "You talk like you’re hot stuff, but in the end, you’ll just run?"

"Ha!" Karzalkhatun sneered without shame. "Let’s see you talk tough when my real comrades are with me."

Elara and Daru gave chase for a while.

But then, the princess called for them to stop. Pursuing the Vyrrkan wasn’t worth it. They turned their attention to the Verdant Nucleus instead.

"You do it." Daru urged. "I’ve already learned a lot of information. I think you’ll benefit from knowing such things, too."

Elara nodded, finding what he said very sensible.

She simply landed on the pearl and froze. A dozen seconds later, she felt a connection to it.

"Try touching it?" she urged Daru, who nodded and did as he was asked.

Nothing happened.

The same wasn’t the case for Elara, though, as a prompt appeared in front of her:

[Onimaru Kunitsuna, [Bob’s Sworn Brother], of the Human Race has requested to use Verdant Nucleus #??^(.Y.)@#Z. Approve? Y/N]

Before she approved, however, she warned Daru that they might not end up in the same place, even going so far as to compare the quantity of the necessary consumables — Wingroots, Life Saps, potions, and even physical enhancement pills and tonics.

"Your food stocks are running low. I have some Volini me–"

"N-No! No thanks...don’t worry about this princess. T-There’s a lot of trees and bushes, no? How could there not be fruits or berries around..."

Daru sighed.

"You need meat for a balanced meal. Your maximum stamina will take a hit if you don’t. You can cook them anyway, so w–"

"No! I’ll never eat rodent meat even if you kill me!"

In the end, he could only shake his head.

"You’re already eighteen, perhaps even turning nineteen, yet you’re still this picky..." he muttered, to which Elara only snorted.

She then changed the topic.

"What about you? What will you use to cook your meals? You don’t even have a mess kit!"

Daru froze, clearing his throat.

"I-I’ll find a way to make fire somehow..."

"Hmph!" the princess snorted again, satisfied. Then she gave him a not-so-luxurious but useful item.

==

Name: Ever-Cinder Stick

Type: Utility

Tier: C

Level Requirement: None

A soot-dark stick that wakes with a breath. Blow on its tip and it produces a steady flame —no flint, no tinder, no questions asked.

Note: Cannot be used while raining.

==

"This...is a useful item. Thanks." Daru bowed slightly in gratitude, greatly pleasing the princess.

He accepted it because he already saw that Elara had a much higher quality variant: a mystical lighter — less bulky and more efficient.

"Well then, let’s go. Take care."

"You too."

***

In another Verdant Nucleus...

A Veshari flew and rested his palm on the pearl while the other kept watch.

A few meters from them was the slowly disintegrating corpse of a female Aetherborn.

Then, on a distant branch, a young man with eyes and short hair of roaring flames watched with gritted teeth.

Gram held his deeply wounded waist, downing a greater health potion while trying to see if there was something else he could do.

Unfortunately, there was none.

That SSS-ranker Veshari was unlike anyone he ever fought. Not only was the bastard cunning, but he turned out to be incredibly strong, too.

Gram thought his true enemy would be the SSS-ranker Aetherborn, Alia’Theran, but no.

It was the SSS-ranker Veshari, Sylvares, who proved that he was the most formidable, his abilities strange and extremely tricky to deal with.

Yet, despite his competence in combat, the bastard still relied on schemes first, his abilities second.

He feigned weakness, making him and Alia’Theran fight each other more often before showing his true abilities.

Gram was barely able to escape with his life, glaring at the two Vesharis with burning vengeance.

"I’ll pay you bastards back in spades..."