A true warrior is said to never let go of their sword, even in the moment of death. Although it was a brief five years, Shiriya Ken, who awakened the traits of a samurai, did not let go of his sword until the very end.

“Ugh… You’re not someone who should have gone like this. My friend, say something, anything…”

The life story of Shiriya Ken, one of Japan’s pillars and rising stars, ended in this moment. Even though the battle was short, his condition was indescribable.

His training uniform was in tatters, with deep, gruesome scars visible through the torn fabric.

Despite facing an overwhelming enemy, his determination not to give up until the very end was evident in his wide-open eyes. His mouth was smeared with blood, evidence of his last moments.

For someone who had been a 6-star superhuman and a world-class ranker, his end was truly tragic.

“Ken-sensei… how could this happen…?”

“Sob… sob…”

The crowd gathered around Ken couldn’t hide their tears as they gazed upon his pitiable state. This was an unimaginable situation, and because it was so unexpected, the shock was all the greater.

“We must investigate this thoroughly and identify the culprit.”

Someone wiped away their tears and shouted with anger.

“We must.”

“We cannot forget today.”

The sorrow turned to anger, and the anger spread like wildfire among the crowd. At the center of this whirlwind of emotions, Sungshik furrowed his brow deeply.

‘Ken was a 6-star superhuman at this time. For someone to overwhelm him like this… that would mean at least a 7-star level opponent.’

It was staggering. Only five years had passed since the Great Cataclysm began. At this time, even among the Eleven Thrones, only the top-ranked individuals were nearing the threshold of 7 stars.

‘If that masked guy is comparable to the Eleven Thrones… this is a nightmare. I’ll have to reevaluate the Revolutionary Knights.’

Sungshik, who hadn’t paid much attention to the Revolutionary Knights before, found his perspective drastically changed after encountering the masked man.

‘More importantly, how am I supposed to consume Ken’s trait? Ah, if only I could absorb traits from a distance.’

The limitation of the Consumption trait was that direct contact with the subject was necessary. Touching Ken’s corpse under the current circumstances wasn’t easy.

‘And…’

Though Sungshik had witnessed countless deaths in the future and thought he had grown used to it, he realized that wasn’t the case. Shiriya Ken, whom he had no direct connection to and had met for the first time today, still managed to evoke a sense of emptiness in him as he watched others mourn for him.

‘I’m still too soft. There’s no time for sentimentality.’

He steeled himself, casting aside his weakening emotions.

Growth Traits

Among traits, there are growth traits. Traits, by default, typically do not grow beyond their initial rank. However, rarely, there are traits that can evolve. These traits grow by accumulating experience or fulfilling special conditions.

“Amazing.”

The trait Sungshik obtained this time was one of them. In the process of helping with Shiriya Ken’s funeral arrangements, he managed to create an opportunity to use his Consumption ability briefly.

The trait he acquired was [A-Rank]—Sword Demon.

Initially, he thought he had simply obtained a decent trait that could serve as a stepping stone. But when he returned to his dormitory and examined it closely, Sungshik couldn’t help but exclaim in awe.

[A-Rank] Sword Demon—LV 1 (Growth Trait. Can evolve to the next rank by gaining experience or achieving enlightenment.)

The spirit of the sword. Greatly enhances talent with the sword.

• Substantially increases the rate of proficiency gain for sword-related traits.

Current: [A-Rank] Sword Demon

Future growth paths:

• [S-Rank] Sword Sovereign
• [SS-Rank] Sword Saint
• [SSS-Rank] Sword Master
• [EX-Rank] Sword God

When Sungshik confirmed the details of the trait, he was stunned.

He knew that one of the Eleven Thrones, the Sword Sovereign, had possessed the [S-Rank] Sword Sovereign trait. It wasn’t a growth trait but was fixed at [S-Rank]. Yet, even with that fixed trait, the Sword Sovereign had climbed to the top of the Eleven Thrones.

But this trait could grow all the way to EX-Rank, to become the Sword God.

“This is insane.”

Of course, whether it could actually grow to EX-Rank remained to be seen. But the mere possibility of such growth was extraordinary.

This wasn’t mere chance.

―The special option of the Pocket Watch [SS] trait allows the substitution of the Sword Master [S] trait with the growth trait Sword Demon [A]. Substitute? Y or N

It was thanks to the Pocket Watch [SS] trait that he had acquired a growth trait.

‘Who would’ve thought the Pocket Watch trait had such a hidden option.’

When Nihondo Ryu had obtained the Pocket Watch trait in the past, the conditions for acquiring other traits were so limited that this hidden option hadn’t been revealed.

‘The Pocket Watch trait is even better than I thought.’

―Special effect activated! The hidden bonus of [EX-Rank] One More Time is triggered! [S-Rank] Pocket Watch is upgraded to [SS-Rank] Pocket Watch!

The system message that had appeared when he first acquired the Pocket Watch. He hadn’t had time to investigate it then, but now he realized just how extraordinary it was.

[Trait—Pocket Watch (SS)]—LV 1

The pocket watch of Chronos, the God of Time. Deals with the power of time as it relates to growth.

• Increases all experience gain rates by 100%.
• When acquiring a trait, there is a certain probability of obtaining a growth trait instead.

Sungshik focused on the last sentence. It is an option that allows you to replace a growth-type trait with a certain probability when acquiring a trait.

According to this statement, it was possible for Sungshik to continue to obtain growth-type traits in the future. If he could continue to obtain growth-type traits in the future, it would be a factor that could greatly contribute to Sungshik's power increase.

And that wasn't the end of it. When the pocket watch trait was upgraded to SS rank, it became 'All experience gain rates increase by 100%', which was a higher experience gain rate than the S rank pocket watch. In the past, the pocket watch trait (S rank) that Nihondo Ryu had acquired was 'All experience gain rates increase by 70%'.

In the current situation, experience gain rates increased by around 30% at LV 1. It raised hopes that from LV 2 onward, the rate of increase might grow even further.

The option to increase all experience acquisition rates didn't seem impactful at first. However, it affected not only the overall grade but also the characteristic LV and even skill proficiency. Beyond what the system displayed, it allowed the user to understand and absorb life experiences much more quickly.

In other words, the characteristic granted extraordinary mental acuity, enabling even dull minds to transform into brilliant ones.

‘With just the [S-Rank] Pocket Watch, Nihondo Ryu began his journey as a superhuman late but approached the level of the 11 Constellations faster than anyone else.’

Nihondo Ryu, who was assessed to have easily reached the 11 Constellations had he had more time to grow, had a purely late-game-focused kingly-return characteristic.

‘This is it. With this, the most critical foundation has been established.’

The recent acquisition marked the most crucial step forward.

‘Unexpectedly, the trip to Japan has brought great rewards. Should I consider accelerating my plans?’

Originally, Sungshik intended to use the Pocket Watch characteristic acquired in Japan to solidify his foundation within the academy before proceeding with his next plans.

The next plan was gate-clearing. This approach offered the fastest way to grow through experience gained from clearing gates but came with significant risks. Therefore, he had intended to grow as much as possible within the academy before tackling the gates, but the newly acquired characteristic suggested a revision of his plans.

‘Especially obtaining the growth-type characteristic—this will undoubtedly synergize immensely with the Pocket Watch.’

Before his regression, Sungshik’s primary weapon was the sword. He had planned to acquire characteristics related to swordsmanship, and now he had obtained the growth-type characteristic [Rank A―Sword Demon]. It felt as though someone was pushing him forward to become overpowered.

‘At this rate, I might end up single-handedly handling the Lords of the Night.’

This wasn’t mere empty confidence. The situation provided ample grounds for such belief.

“Alright, let’s go all out.”

A deep smile spread across Sungshik’s face.

Tenri Academy. Japan’s top institution for nurturing superhumans. It was home to many renowned superhumans and distinguished figures within Japan.

At such an academy, an intruder had infiltrated, murdered ‘Shiriya Ken,’ one of Japan’s iconic rising stars, and looted relics from the Isonokami Shrine. This was an unprecedented event in the academy’s history, which, although brief, had never encountered anything of this magnitude.

Should this incident become public, Tenri Academy’s reputation would be severely tarnished, and Japan would undoubtedly face immense shock. Moreover, exchange students from Korea’s superhuman academy were present at this time.

“Therefore, let’s bury this incident,” the principal decided. From the principal’s perspective, revealing the incident carried far too great a risk.

However, how could such a significant event simply be ignored? A faction of relatively untainted professors and instructors strongly opposed the decision.

“But Principal, do you realize who Ken was? We cannot just turn a blind eye to his death. We must make this public and work together to find the perpetrator.”

The voice of a young superhuman protesting was tinged with sorrow.

“No one is more outraged by Ken’s death than I am. I want to catch that bastard and avenge him. But think about it. What will happen if we make this incident public now?”

“That’s….”

They knew the answer. Hyena-like reporters would swarm in, sensationalizing the incident to suit their taste, broadcasting it nonstop. Someone would have to take responsibility, far beyond what was necessary.

“As you know, if this incident goes public, the media will demand accountability. Yes, let’s be frank: that accountability will fall on me. But do you think I’ll be the only one held responsible? You too will inevitably be dragged into this mess.”

“……”

“I want to make this incident public too. I want to share this outrage with the public and issue a nationwide manhunt to capture the perpetrator. But think carefully. That bastard overwhelmed even Ken. At the very least, he was on the verge of 6-star, possibly a 7-star superhuman. He hasn’t shown himself until now—what do you think that means?”

“But….”

“I understand. I understand your feelings completely. But emotions alone are not enough to handle this incident. Let’s first identify who he is and whether he has any affiliations. Once we have that information, it won’t be too late to decide how to proceed. There’s nothing to gain by making this public now. And let’s not forget—we have Korean exchange students here as well.”

Ultimately, some professors and instructors had no choice but to follow the principal’s reasoning. Even if the incident were made public, there was no guarantee the culprit could be caught.

Moreover, with Korean exchange students present, it would lead to international embarrassment, and they themselves wouldn’t escape responsibility.

‘Right. This is like being struck by lightning out of nowhere. Why should I, who did nothing wrong, have to take responsibility?’

‘Let’s bury it. There’s no choice. Finding the culprit ourselves will be faster.’

In the end, they compromised with reality.

But there was one more problem.

“By the way, two of the Korean exchange students witnessed the entire incident. One of them was even right next to the culprit when he stole the relic. If that student talks, it’s only a matter of time before the incident becomes widely known, isn’t it?”

At the words of the principal’s close aide, the principal furrowed his brow deeply.

‘Why were those guys at the shrine during the welcome party?’

The Isonokami Shrine was far from the party venue. They had skipped the party and gone to the shrine.

“We can somehow keep the Japanese students’ mouths shut, but we can’t control those Korean students.”

“I’ll speak to them myself. What are the names of those students?”

“Their names are….”