NOVEL ONLINE FREE CHAPTER 129: UNBREAKABLE WILL
Brian continued walking down the tunnel until he could finally see the light. He chased after it, running unrelentingly until he reached his destination—the end of the tunnel.
He stepped out and was immediately struck speechless by what lay before him.
A small world—one unlike anything he could've ever imagined—unfolded in front of him. Swords filled the landscape. Swords of different sizes, shapes, and types glinted under the bask of the radiant sun. Rivers flowed with blades in place of water, shimmering with metallic brilliance. Trees bore swords instead of fruit, their branches heavy with hilts and edges. Hills were structured with swords, each blade perfectly aligned like ascending steps of a divine staircase.
It was breathtaking. It was surreal. It was beautiful.
But even within this sword-forged paradise, there was a nightmare. A beast loomed in the distance—towering, grotesque, and monstrous. It was as tall as two trucks stacked atop each other, its frame broad and beastly like a dragon. With two heads and a body crouched on all fours like a wolf, it looked like an aberration born of horror. Its teeth were sharper than the swords surrounding it, and its claws matched the same dreadful sharpness.
Its eyes glowed red, and its aura was foul—so foul it felt like it could infect sanity itself. The monster chomped down on the blades, devouring them with greedy gulps, each bite destroying a sword like it was a brittle twig.
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[Deplete the HP of the Sword Eater by one to manifest your will.]
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The system prompt floated before Brian's eyes.
He frowned. Just one HP? It sounded laughably easy—but his instincts, those sharpened through countless battles and defeats, screamed otherwise. This task… this was no simple feat.
Brian reached for his inventory, intending to retrieve his strongest sword—but found he couldn't.
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[You are unable to access your inventory. You may only use swords found within the realm. Your talent will be inactive for the duration of the battle.]
[All sword skills owned by host will be ineffective for the duration of the battle!]
[Warning!!! Losing here reduces your chance of manifesting your will in the future. Chances of trying again: slim.]
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Reality struck like a hammer. The weight of the situation settled heavily on his shoulders.
Still, he didn't hesitate. Brian grabbed a nearby sword—it felt perfect in his hand, as if crafted for him—and rushed forward. With a shout, he lunged at the Sword Eater and stabbed.
The sword shattered instantly on contact.
He blinked, stunned—but didn't stop. Another sword. Another attack. Again, it broke. Again. And again.
The Sword Eater ignored him completely, focused on its feast, its jaws clanking and grinding down sword after sword.
Brian's attacks continued—three, five, ten, fifty, a hundred strikes. Every sword shattered. Every effort failed.
Frustration set in. Not just physical fatigue, but mental exhaustion. Without his mental fortitude buff from his talent, Brian could feel every crack forming in his mind. The repetitive sound of blades breaking. The futility. The disrespect of being ignored. It gnawed at him like a parasite.
"What's wrong with these swords? Are they too weak? Or am I the weak one?" he muttered through clenched teeth.
He tried every kind of blade he could find—curved, straight, heavy, light—but nothing worked. He stopped counting after two thousand strikes. His movements slowed. His vision blurred.
Eventually, he collapsed.
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[Do you wish to give up?]
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The system prompt hovered above him. Taunting him.
He stared at it blankly. "Yes… maybe I should. I'm not cut out for this," he murmured. "Nothing I do works. Maybe I really am too weak."
As those thoughts took root, the world responded. The glowing swords began to dim. The brilliant landscape lost its shine. The realm began to crumble, bit by bit, consumed by the growing darkness of his doubt.
He could feel the despair swallowing him. Darkness crept over his vision.
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"No!"
His heart screamed in defiance. "I can't give up! I can't stay weak! I can't keep running from failure! I refuse to repeat my mistakes!"
Brian's eyes snapped open. In his hand was another sword—shining, imperfect, cracked, but radiant. And it wasn't alone. All around him, swords now gleamed once more, brighter than ever.
The Sword Eater's appetite grew wilder at the increased brilliance, chomping with renewed hunger.
Brian swung the sword.
It didn't break after the first strike.
It broke on the second—but this time, Brian smiled. He wasn't discouraged. In fact, he felt more alive than he had in years.
He grabbed another sword. Struck again. It shattered. He picked another. Struck again. Over and over.
It wasn't about the mission anymore. It wasn't about the reward, or the system prompt, or even his will.
It was about the act of swinging the sword.
With each swing, he felt more free. More whole. Just like that very first time he played a game at the PC café, overwhelmed by excitement and wonder. That same thrill rushed through him now. Each strike was joy. Each shattered sword was a badge of honor.
The ten-thousandth strike came. The sword lasted longer.
The hundred-thousandth. It survived more than ten hits.
But Brian didn't care. He'd forgotten to count. He'd forgotten the goal.
He simply swung—and loved it.
The more he immersed himself in the rhythm, the more the swords resonated with him. They appeared faster. They shone brighter. It was as if the world was cheering him on.
His heart pounded. He picked up another sword and struck again.
But this time… something changed.
The moment his blade hit, every sword in the realm began to move.
As if they had heard the call of their king.
As if they acknowledged their master.
As if they had only been waiting for this moment.
The swords surged toward the Sword Eater, cutting through the air like loyal soldiers charging into battle.
Some broke. Some splintered. Some nearly shattered.
But they didn't stop.
Together, they merged into one enormous blade of brilliant light and steel.
With Brian's second strike—
The sword struck again.
And so did all of them.
Together.