Published at 25th of March 2019 07:14:49 PM Chapter 14

Chapter 14 - Little Bird (3)

. . . Its a bit cramped, mumbled Desir . Past the iron doors, the walkway was

extremely narrow . Where they were standing, there was barely enough space

for one person to squeeze through . More accurately speaking, the room itself

was spacious, but they had little room available to them . The display shelves

around the room were all blocked off by wire screens . It cant be helped,

security-wise, Desir said .

Beyond the barbed wire, a wooden display stood in front of a keen-eyed

merchant, who introduced himself as Ujukun . His eyes were very thin and

slender, and accented by a few strands of greying hair . Wrinkles covered his

bespectacled face, giving him the appearance of an old man . The merchants

hands rested on the counter, and his fingers rapped in anticipation of his new

customers .

Judging by the entrance, you seem quite concerned about security, remarked

Desir .

You can never be too careful, Ujukun responded . Naturally, plenty of thieves

tend to come by . Ujukun pushed his glasses up and stopped tapping on the

counter . A silence filled the air as Ujukun sized up the young man sitting in

front of him . Hes going to be a difficult one, the merchant thought . His eyes

lazily moved over to the other boy and he quickly recognized the face . Werent

you here about two days ago? Do you have something else to sell to me?

On the contrary, hes here to see what hes sold, explained Desir . The

merchants expression turned sour, before Desir added Of course, this isnt for

a refund . We will be purchasing it back .

At those words, Ujukuns face lit back up and he was ready for business . If

thats the case, you should have told me earlier . He entered the storeroom

behind him . It felt like an eternity until the merchant returned with the sword .

11

The silver paint on the sword flaked off, revealing years of rust underneath .

Ujukun placed the sword on the counter .

Its a heavily rusted useless sword, explained Ujukun .

The price is 90 bronze pieces? asked Desir .

If it were a sword, you would be correct . However, this is not a swordfor a

rapier, it is a bit large and light, said Ujukun with a delighted grin on his face .

At this point, Desir recalled somethingthe gift Romantica received from

Doneta appeared in his mind .

. . . Kemubin? guessed Desir .

Ujukin calmly explained, Thats right . Not a sword, but a kind of Kemubin . In

the empty space within this sword, a swordsman from a warriors lineage

would place something inside as a gift to their lover . As Ujukun confirmed

Desirs assumptions, Pram began to shudder . He hadnt realized this when hed

sold the sword . He broke out in a cold sweat as Ujukun continued .

The price will be 40 silver pieces, said the merchant confidently . This was the

cost of living for a month for a Hebrion Academy student .

Pram was unable to stay silent any longer . He yelled, You never told me any of

this when I sold it to you!

Ujukun smiled at the boisterous youth, before responding . I never lied to you .

You came to sell me a sword, so I appraised your sale as a sword . Of course,

when you look at this rusted scrap of iron, its completely worthless as a

sword .

Pram clenched his fists and gritted his teeth . He was furious, and started

spewing insults at the old man .

Enough, said Desir as he grabbed Pram by the shoulder and cut him off .

12

The price has gone up a lot since it was sold, said Desir .

Ujukun furrowed his brow and responded with his own justification . 40 silvers

is cheap . If I knew how to open this Kemubin, I would have charged you 80

silvers .

Even high-grade Kemubin would rarely cost more 10 silvers, unless they were

specifically laced in pure gold . No matter how they looked at it, there was no

way this item should be worth 40 silvers .

This sword is definitely the reason Pram wields a rapier . Desir thought about it

hard but quickly made a decision . If Pram once again picked up the rapier, 40

silvers was a price more than worth paying . Ill buy it .

Mr . Desir! Pram was reluctant to have Desir pay the cost of his mistake . Desir

ignored Prams cry and took out his wallet . He counted out the silver pieces and

pushed them towards Ujukun .

The merchant gazed greedily at the coins in front of him . 38, 39, 40 . Its all

there . Take it .

Simultaneously, the steel door opened and the Kemubin was laid in front of

Desirs eyes . He raised the Kemubin and swung it around lightly . As expected,

this is far lighter than youd think . Desir paused and gave it another thought . Is it

possible that the Kemubin is empty? Why is the handle in such good quality but the

rest of the sword worthless?

The young man couldve wrap his head around the Kemubin . The sword Pram

wields in the future had the exact same handle as this . Desir shifted his attention to

the handle . He glanced at it from different angles, felt the contours and looked

at it intently . The handle was extremely high quality . The rusted iron blade

didnt match the intricate handle whatsoever .

13

As Desir ran his hands down the spine of the blade, he continued searching for

any sort of switch . As he felt around the edges of the handle, a smile appeared

on his face . Found it .

There was a small indentation on the sword handleit was carefully hidden by

the design of the blade . Looking at it, it appeared to be a simple black line

blended in with the wood grain . If Desir hadnt seen Donetas Kemubin, he

would have never been able to find it . Desir offered the Kemubin to his fellow

student . Take hold of the sword, Pram .

Pram was speechless . Wha . . . But . . .

Do you see the indentation on the handle? Insert your fingernail and lower it

like so, Desir insisted .

Mr . Desir . I wont use this sword, replied Pram . Flashbacks of betrayal welled

up from inside Pram . He couldntno . He wouldnt let his fathers legacy hurt

him again .

Pram, this isnt the sword as you knew it . It was simply a Kemubin, said

Desir, encouraging Pram to take a closer look .

Even so, its useless . Its just an empty Kemubin, retorted Pram . Taking the

Kemubin from Desir, Pram raised the sword up . He had this sword for years,

and he knew . It was simply iron and nothing more . Pram looked at Desir

apologetically . Its unfortunate that you spent 40 silvers for nothing, Mr .

Desir .

If that Kemubin was empty, you would be correct . However, the situation is a

little different from that, smirked Desir .

This sword, Kemubin or not, has nothing else in it . It only weighs so much as

the iron sword and the wooden handle . Pram frowned . Desir wasnt making

any sense .

Its just that you cant feel it . The item inside has no weight, explained Desir .

14

Pram looked at Desir with doubt, as if he was going crazy . His expression was

earnest, but his words sounded like a joke . There is no such thing, answered

Pram . He wasnt sure if he was answering Desir or trying to convince himself .

If youre having doubts, why not open it for yourself? questioned Desir . Pram

bit his lip . A pregnant pause filled the air . Desir did his best to reassure him .

Listen to me, Pram . Trust me .

After a moments hesitation, Pram inserted his fingernail into the indentation .

The sound of metal fixtures clicking into place rang in the storeroom . At the

same time, the handle loosed itself from the previous iron blade . Now freed

from its rusted prison, a sword emerged from the Kemubin, giving a

luminescent glow .

Blanchume, muttered Desir .

B-Blanchume?! Thats impossible! exclaimed Ujukun .

Blanchume was precious . Swordsmen from all over the world heard legends of

the mystical metal and coveted its existence . Weapons and armor forged from

this metal were unbreakable . In addition to that, Blanchume was nearly

weightless . It was because of that Pram thought that the Kemubin was simply

empty .

Pram didnt dare take his eyes from the luminescent glow of the rapier . He

never wouldve thought that the tattered, rusted sword would metamorphose

into a brillant sword that veterans with dozens of years experience on him

would covet . He didnt dare say a word at the fear of it all being a dream .

In that Shadow Labyrinth, this is the exact sword that Pram used . At the same time

Desir was satisfied with his decision, an eerie silence set off inside the shop .

You could cut the atmosphere with a knife . Open the doorwere leaving,

commanded Desir . Their business with Ujukun has finished .

15

At that moment, the giants sword crashed upon Desirs head . The cold steel

was inches away from taking his life . Thats dirty of you, chuckled Desir .

Hand over that sword, demanded Ujukun .

Desir wanted to laugh at the merchants avarice . Dont make excuses now that

were done . What you sold was a Kemubin . I paid the price . Our transaction has

finished, said Desir curtly .

Ujukuns face grimaced at the thought of losing such a priceless item . If I knew

it was Blanchume, I never would have sold it, explained Ujukun .

If my friend knew it was a Kemubin, he never would have sold it either,

retorted Desir . Based on the tone in Ujukuns voice, the time of pleasantries

was over . Its exactly as you did, continued Desir . He glared right at the

merchant, who couldnt meet his eyes . Ujukun couldnt respond to that . He was

outwitted by his own logic .

As Desir took another step towards the door, the giant raised his glaive to

Desir neck . The giant opened his mouth for the first time . Owner . . . said . . . stop .

You . Will stop .

. . . Youre really going to push it this far? asked Desir .

You should do this while I ask nicely, said Ujukun . All of his mercantile

charisma drained out of him as he slowly unlocked a set of iron bars directly

behind him . As he moved behind the bars separating him from the two youths,

he set his gaze on the boy who sold him the Kemubin . Although he was capable

of thinking rationally, Ujukun turned a blind eye to the events unfolding soon

in lieu of his avarice . He would go to these lengths for an item made of

Blanchume .

Desir scratched his head . . . . Well, I did reveal that it was made of Blanchume in

front of him, but I didnt expect this to happen .

16

Ujukuns eyes turned cold as he made a motion of slitting his throat with his

hand . The loyal barbarian did not hesitate . He took large strides towards Desir

and it didnt take long before he enveloped his entire field of view . However,

after 5 steps the giant had to stop . Pram stood stoically in his path .

I dont want to fight, but if you come any closer . . . said Pram . He raised his

rapier in perfect form, prepared to lunge at a moments notice . His hips were

low, and every muscle in his body was poised, ready to respond . Prams small

frame was in distinct contrast to his explosive aura . His lips were pursed,

analyzing the giants movements . . . . Then not even I will forgive you .

At the sound of the threat from the little boy, the giant roared in displeasure .

The giants muscles bulged as he swung his weapon . The glaive and rapier

clashed head on . Oraaaaa! screamed the giant . As he feinted a swing of the

sword, he let loose a fist at Pram from the other side . He fought like a true

swordsman of the North, blending together true swordsmanship and brawling .

Pram found himself backed up against the wall . Without hesitation, Pram

rolled to the side and evaded the attack .

The wooden wall crumbled under the weight of the giants fist . The barbarian

spat in annoyance as he shook off the splinters embedded in his left arm . If

Pram hadnt moved immediately, his head would have shattered like a

watermelon . The behemoth let out a guttural cry . He unleashed a frenzy of

strikes at Pram . The student, now equipped with his legendary rapier, was on

his back foot in lieu of the reckless barrage .

Swords clashed in the storeroom, one side with unbridled fury and the other

with confident vigor . The hulking figure showed no signs of stopping his

assault, and the rapier could only just parry the attacks . Pram dodged the glaive

by the skin of his teeth . A split second of indecision was all it would take to

signal his end . As the battle ensued, Pram began to dodge, roll, and parry all of

the incoming attacks .

The giant became tense . With the current pace, he would undoubtedly lose the

duel . His attacks became more vicious and frightening . When Pram tried to

side step the next attack, the enemy narrowed the distance with a single

stridethe distance was too short .

The glaive swung down like a guillotine . A vertical strike with nowhere to go .

Kuarrrgh! The hulking figure roared in triumph .

The ferocious blow landed on Prams body .