"S-stop it, sword baby—oh no!" Zane yelled.

But he was too late. The soul-sword opened a monstrous maw and swallowed the prototype weapon in one greedy gulp.

He lunged forward, grabbed the blade, and shook it furiously. "Spit it out!"

The sword-baby gave a soft burp and replied in a clear, childish voice, "No-no. Too tasty. Already digested. What's so good about it? I'm much better than it anyway."

Zane froze. "Oh… you can speak properly now. Great! But quit joking with me. I need that sword. Spit it out." His tone softened, coaxing.

"No," the sword said simply.

Zane's eyebrow twitched. "Hey, spit it out. I haven't even tried it yet."

"No," the sword-baby repeated, more defiant, and wiggled free of his grip.

"Come back here or I'll abandon you right here! I don't need a brat who won't listen to me," Zane barked, voice sharp as steel.

The sword vibrated midair, as if shivering. Then it whimpered, "I'm sorry, Daddy. Please don't abandon me!" It darted back into his palm, nestling there like a guilty child seeking forgiveness.

Zane exhaled slowly, stroking the hilt. "Good girl. Now spit out the sword you just swallowed." His voice was warm again.

"I'm sorry, Daddy," the sword said, its tone small. "It's already digested inside my tummy. But don't worry. I've inherited all its power and abilities. I'm sure I'm much stronger now—many times stronger."

Zane paused, his annoyance melting into calculation. Hmm. That actually sounds reasonable. If it really digested it, then my sword-baby has inherited everything that prototype had. That means… she's far stronger than before.

A slow smirk crept across his face. He was about to inspect the sword's new stats when the blade suddenly vibrated in his palm.

"Daddy," it piped up, voice tinged with hunger. "I smell something tasty inside you. I'm so hungry…"

Before Zane could react, the sword unleashed a powerful suction force.

The system blared a warning in his vision.

But it was already too late.

Over a hundred of his Arcane Rings ripped out from his body and swirled straight into the sword's gaping maw.

"Oh no—those are my Arcane Rings!" Zane screamed.

His body instantly felt lighter—too light. He floated upward, his weightless frame drifting like a balloon. All 41,500 kilograms of his anchored load vanished.

He lost orientation for a moment, spinning midair. But he'd been through this before. Instead of panicking, he forced himself to adjust to the new sensation, steadying his mana and posture until, after several minutes, he managed to land back on the ground with a hard thud.

His jaw tightened. He raised his hand slowly. "Come here."

The sword sensed the shift in Zane's tone—something darker, dangerous—but still obeyed. It floated back and landed in his palm, trembling faintly.

"Now, now," Zane said, voice low and edged. "You've got one choice—spit it out, or I'm taking you to the Academy's metal workshop. And I'll make sure they use the extra-large sledgehammer."

The sword shivered violently, as if in terror.

"Don't give me that crap about digesting it already." Zane's grin widened.

The sword vibrated, then a jagged, eerie mouth opened along its blade, rows of saw-like teeth gnashing. It made a gagging sound and spat out an azure-colored finger ring.

"Just that?" Zane asked sharply. "Spit out all my Arcane Rings."

"No, Daddy!" the sword-soul wailed. "I've already spat them all! I promise!"

Before Zane could press further, the familiar chime of the System rang out, and glowing text filled his vision.

Ding!

[She is correct. That single ring now contains all the others within it. It is an upgraded version of the Arcane Ring.

Wear it. You'll start with 37,000 kilograms of load.]

Zane blinked, impressed. "Any other features in this thing?"

[You must wear it first to analyze the new attributes.]

He grabbed the sword and sheathed it across his back before slipping the azure ring onto his right middle finger.

[Initiating Linkage with Arcane Ring. Permission to link? Y/N]

"Access granted."

[Linkage complete. Accessing upgraded features...]

[Three additional functions detected.]

1. Progressive Load: The wearer's body weight increases every ten minutes, scaling up toward the mass of the planet. (Upgradeable)

2. Combat Load Adjustment: During battle, the wearer can temporarily reduce the burden.

Tier I: Remove 10% load

Tier II: Remove 15% load

Tier III: Remove 25% load

(Upgradeable)

3. Conditional Burst: In a genuine life-or-death crisis, the ring grants +25,000 Agility. (Triggers automatically when near death.)

Zane's grin turned wolfish. "The first one means I'll never hit Shelby's limit again. The second—perfect for high-speed combat. And the third…"

He broke into laughter—mad, triumphant laughter that echoed through the bamboo grove.

"This is another of my trump cards," he said, flexing his fingers. "Right beside the white and black book tattoos."

He turned and walked toward an abandoned building near the grove, eyes glinting in the dim light.

"Today's the day."

A quick glance at his smartwatch showed a countdown ticking toward zero—the timer for his return to Earth. He exhaled in relief when he saw his rank: #15, well within the top 600.

"With this, I don't even need to hunt beasts anymore," he muttered, smirking. "I wonder how the others are doing—those twins, Asphalt… and that oddball, Henry."

He shook his head lightly. "They're probably ahead of me. No doubt their skills are way above average. They must've made the top fifty by now."

Lying down, Zane looked up at the Solaris City sky. The stars shimmered faintly, not too different from Earth's night.

For a moment, peace settled over him—until a sharp beep-beep-beep shattered the quiet.

He glanced at his watch.

"Just one minute left," he murmured, eyes narrowing. "One minute before I return to Earth."

He fixed his gaze on the ticking display, counting down the seconds. The faint hum of mana filled the air as he waited for the familiar pull of spatial teleportation.

Three… two… one…

He closed his eyes, bracing himself for the shift.

But when he opened them—nothing had changed. The same dim night of Solaris City stretched before him. The bamboo grove swayed gently in the breeze. The abandoned building still stood silent and cold.

Zane frowned. "What's wrong with this card?"

He raised the green card and examined it under the moonlight, confusion deepening. "Does this… happen to the other participants too?"

The question was aimed at the System—but there was only silence. Not even the usual mechanical chime responded.

Then, faintly at first, he heard it—

a soft, lilting sound.

Laughter.

A girl's laughter. Bright, melodic… and unnervingly close.

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.