Starting With an SSS-Rank Swordsmanship Talent

Alaric opened his eyes and found himself surrounded by corpses. There was blood everywhere and all the buildings had collapsed. It was like an apocalypse.

This is…

He lifted his body and looked around, observing the surroundings with trembling eyes.

I recognize this place…

His gaze was frozen with disbelief when he realized where he was.

This is where I died…

Suddenly, he felt a sharp stabbing pain in his head.

Argh!

Grimacing, Alaric grabbed his head.

“Your Highness, you’re awake?!”

A surprised voice drifted into his ears. When he opened his eyes, he found out that he was no longer in that apocalyptic nightmare.

Above him was an unfamiliar ceiling. The strong smell of medicinal herbs lingered in the air.

Where am I?

He wanted to get up, but a sudden burst of pain coursed through his body.

“Your Highness! Please don’t move around carelessly! Your stitches might open up!”

Aldrin’s concerned face came into his view.

“Aldrin? Where am I?” A weak, almost inaudible voice leaked out of his mouth.

Aldrin took a deep breath and replied. “This is a recovery room constructed by the elven royal family. They wanted Your Highness to be comfortable so they used Astania’s architectural design when they built this facility.”

Hearing his response, Alaric let out a sigh. “So we are in the Greenwood Kingdom.”

“That’s right.”

With a deep look, Alaric asked. “What happened to the monster colony?”

Aldrin’s face turned serious as he answered. “We destroyed the colony. We won the battle, Your Highness.”

Looking at his gloomy expression, Alaric no longer said anything.

For Aldrin to reveal that kind of face, we must have suffered disastrous losses.

After a moment of silence, Aldrin spoke. “I will inform Lord Lucas and the others that Your Highness has woken up.”

“Mn.” Alaric hummed in response.

“I’m glad that you have awakened, Your Highness. It has been three weeks since you lost consciousness.” Aldrin bowed to Alaric and left.

Three weeks?

Alaric was stunned. He wanted to ask him something, but Aldrin had already left.

I was out for that long?

He tried to sense his mana, but then he suddenly felt an uncomfortable feeling in his chest. It was as if thousands of ants were gnawing at his flesh.

What is going on?

He gritted his teeth, his face full of sweat.

I can’t use my mana…

His face fell and he quickly summoned the system.

It was then that the familiar interface appeared in front of him.

___

Mission Complete!

Rewards: 6500 Battle Points, 1000 EXP, 250 Stat Points, Transcendent Knight Card x1, Random Trait Upgrade Card x2, S-rank Trait Card x1

___

Alaric Silversword [Transcendent Knight] EXP: 143 —> 1143/5000

Potential: S

Traits: Swordsmanship (SSS), Ruthless Slaughterer (SS), Horseback Riding (B), Close Combat (B), Sixth Sense (B), Appraisal (B), Hunting (C), Tracking (C), Monster Affinity (C), Mana Gathering (C), Archery (D)

Strength: 343

Stamina: 335

Agility: 335

Vitality: 315

Endurance: 315

Mana: 340

Battle Points: 4220 —> 10720

Stat Points: 250

(Requirements for the next advancement: 5000 EXP, 500 in all attributes, and 25000 Battle Points)

Looking at the big leap in his attributes, he let out a heavy sigh.

So we won, huh?

Strangely, he didn’t feel happy. In fact, he felt the exact opposite.

[Do you want to use your Random Trait Upgrade Cards?]

[Yes] [No]

Alaric clicked [No] and closed the system screen.

At this moment, he heard a series of footsteps outside.

“Alaric!” Lucas stepped in with a group of people.

All of them looked relieved upon seeing that Alaric was awake.

“Da- My lord…” Alaric forced a smile while looking at his father.

Garandel and a few important people were also there so he gave each of them a nod.

“I’m sorry if I couldn’t greet everyone properly.”

“It’s alright. You are still recovering. There is no need for you to worry about the minor details. Your health is more important.” Garandel smiled faintly at him.

Alaric looked at the elven king and saw an exhausted face.

“Thank you for your understanding.”

The elven king looked like he had much to say, but in the end, he only spoke a few words before he left with the others.

Only Lucas and Alaric remained inside the room.

Lucas stared at his son with a complicated expression. “How do you feel, son?”

Why is Dad giving me that kind of look?

Alaric was curious, but he didn’t ask.

“I can barely move from the neck down. I also can’t sense my energy core.” He responded.

Lucas sighed upon hearing this.

He grabbed a chair and placed it next to the bed.

He then took his seat and carefully placed his hand on his son’s shoulder.

With a forced smile, he said. “Don’t worry about it, son. Even without mana, you are still the heir of House Silversword. Nothing can change that.”

Alaric was baffled by his father’s words. “What do you mean, Dad?”

Lucas leaned on the chair with a gloomy expression. “The healers said that your energy core can no longer recover. Samiya stopped it from completely breaking, but even she couldn’t heal it.”

Alaric fell silent.

Samiya was a subordinate of his birth mother. She was a 3-Ringed Beast Soul Master with the S-rank Ultimate Heal integrated monster trait.

If a skill at that level couldn’t heal his damaged energy core, it meant that recovery was close to impossible.

Then why did the system still recognize me as a Transcendent Knight?

I don’t believe that there is no more hope for my energy core to recover.

Thinking about this, his expression eased up and he gradually regained his calmness.

“What happened to Commander Vulcan?”

During the battle against the Treacherous Spirit Kobold, he saw Vulcan using his body to protect him.

It was because of him that he was able to deliver that final sword strike against the beast.

Hearing him mention this, Lucas smiled faintly. “Vulcan is recovering in a separate room. He had awakened two weeks earlier than you.”

“He is a tough guy so you don’t need to worry about him.”

Alaric was relieved to hear this.