Player who Returned 10,000 years Later

[KYAAAAAAAAAHHH!! GYAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!]

Screams echoed throughout the swamp that had become a wasteland. Midir convulsed with her eyes rolled backward and foaming at the mouth.

[GYAH! KURGH!! KYAAAAAAHHH!!]

The convulsing Midir looked up at Oh Kang-Woo wide-eyed from the ground.

[Wh-What is… What is… this?!]

A mere mortal couldn’t live with such unfathomable despair inside of them.

“It’s my life, bitch.”

Kang-Woo chuckled as he looked down at the struggling Midir. He was reminded of the Constellation of Agony whom he had eaten long ago.

‘It was similar to what’s happening right now.’

[Kurgh… A-Arghh. Huuu, haaa, haaa.]

“Oh?”

Kang-Woo was surprised by how Midir, convulsing due to despair, was beginning to regain her composure. He had not stopped flowing his despair into her— Midir was slowly adapting to it.

“I guess you’re not just all talk.”

[Kyah… haha! I haven’t been… devouring despair… all this time… for nothing!]

Midir stood up as she swayed. She lost herself momentarily due to the sudden influx of unfathomable despair but she was a relic that had also devoured immeasurable despair from even before the Tower of Creation. She wouldn’t be broken by mere despair.

Kang-Woo chuckled. “Hehe, yeah. You’re right about that.”

He did not think the despair he suffered was especially more special than other forms of despair that could exist. However much he suffered in the Nine Hells, he did not think it would be enough to make the relic that had devoured despair for nearly all of time to submit.

“But, you know what?” Kang-Woo bared his teeth and stuck his tongue out. “I can send emotions other than despair into you, can’t I?”

He cackled and placed his hand on Midir’s shoulder.

[Wh-What…?] Midir’s eyes shook.

“You can feel pain, can’t you?”

Kang-Woo was sure of it since Midir screamed as she was blown away by Kang-Woo’s tracks and made pained expressions as she clenched areas where she was wounded.

“In that case, it’s time for you to feel pain.”

[W-Wai— KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!]

Kang-Woo injected demonic energy from the Abyss into Midir and tore apart her insides. Her blood vessels burst, her organs turned to mush, and her muscles and bones twisted.

[GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!! I-I’M DYING…! I’M D—]

“You’re not dying.”

Midir’s wounds would have killed her in seconds, but Kang-Woo used the Authority of Regeneration to restore her body to normal, only to break it again. An endless cycle ensued.

[Gyaah… Arghh… Gah…]

She drooled with her mouth open from the torrent of pain that could have ended her life many times over in just one minute. Her energy and will to resist vanished instantly.

[I-I LOST! IT’S MY LOSS!!! PLEASE MAKE IT STOOOOOOOOP!!!]

The torrent of pain tearing her apart stopped as she screamed.

“You lose?”

[Y-YES! I LOSE!! I-I’LL DO ANYTHING, SO PLEASE FORGIVE ME!!] She pointed at the dark blue sword in Kang-Woo’s hand and shouted, [Y-YOU’RE HERE FOR THE SWORD, RIGHT?! I’LL ACKNOWLEDGE YOU AS MY MASTER!!!]

“Hmm.”

[I’LL BECOME YOURS!! YOU CAN USE ME HOWEVER YOU LIKE!!]

“Whoa, there. My Darling would get the wrong idea if she heard that.”

Kang-Woo fell into thought as he looked down at Midir bowing with her head on the ground.

‘What should I do with her?’

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He was planning on extracting the power of a Titan inside the ten-star relic and pulling for Traits.

‘But that feels like a bit of a waste.’

Considering the immense power Midir showed, he couldn’t help but hesitate to turn the sword into scrap metal after extracting the source of its strength.

“Eve, how many Traits can I pull from extracting the power of a Titan from this sword?”

[Mm. You could pull the gacha six… no, seven times!]

Kang-Woo could gain seven new Traits.

‘But the problem is that they’re randomized.’

He was afraid of the possibility that he would only pull Traits related to tentacles.

‘A high-risk gamble or a safe asset?’

Kang-Woo did not have to think for long.

“Alright, I’ll take you.”

Kang-Woo smiled as he stared at Midir.

‘It’s too valuable to use for gacha.’

The sword could deflect the Flames of Voracity, inflict despair on the enemies it cut, and even fire lasers that dealt damage to one’s soul. It was too good to pass up, even for Kang-Woo, who usually did not care about weapons.

‘The one flaw is that it has an ego. I’d rather not use a weapon with a mind of its own.’

An ego weapon was a double-edged sword; it could become more powerful than a regular weapon since it could think independently but could also bare its fangs at its wielder.

‘I’ve already been betrayed by a demonic sword once.’

The situation was a little different with Ingrium but it was a demonic sword nonetheless. Even in this case, Midir had taken over Oh Hyun-Seong’s body.

‘Though she took it over after he died.’

Whatever the case, wielding a weapon with an ego had its corresponding risks.

“Maybe I could annihilate the ego…”

[W-W-W-W-W-Wait!! If you annihilate my consciousness, you won’t be able to use the relic’s power properly!] shouted Midir in a hurry.

“Hmm…”

Kang-Woo couldn’t tell whether that was true or false, but if it was true, it would be a massive loss for him to annihilate Midir’s ego.

‘Then I guess I have no choice.’

Kang-Woo slowly walked toward Midir.

“Alright, I’ll leave you intact.”

[Ah… Okay! Good choice! Kyahahaha!! I guess we’ll be comrades from now on!]

Midir nodded with shining eyes.

“Comrades?”

Kang-Woo smirked. He did not need another comrade whom he could leave his back to at the moment.

“We’re not comrades.”

[H-Huh?]

“What I need is a slave who obeys me unconditionally.” Kang-Woo grabbed Midir’s shoulder. “Right, then. It’s time for me to educate you so you can’t ever defy me.”

He had to make it so that Midir would never even think to take over Kang-Woo’s body.

[E-Eek!]

Midir’s expression paled. She tried to leave Hyun-Seong’s body and return to the sword.

Clatter!

[N-No!]

However, Kang-Woo threw the sword far away before she could. She couldn’t transfer her consciousness unless she was physically touching the sword.

[SAVE MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!]

Midir’s wretched screams echoed throughout the wasteland of a swamp.

***

[Ack, sniff, gurgh…]

Kang-Woo looked down at the sniffling Midir on the ground. Her limbs were twitching like a frog with electrical current flowed into them.

“This should be enough for now.”

He dedicated an entire day to making Midir submit to him. Although it was only a day, education through molting shouldn’t be given any longer than that.

‘It’d be pointless to leave her ego intact if she goes insane from pain.’

Kang-Woo brought back the sword he threw far away and placed it next to her.

[A-Augh…]

“Get in the sword. You won’t hurt anymore that way, right?”

[Urghhh…]

Midir crawled to the sword and grabbed it.

Thud.

Hyun-Seong’s head dropped lifelessly like a puppet with its strings severed. Kang-Woo lifted Midir and checked the relic’s status window.

Riiing!

[𝌦𝌥𝌣𝌤𝌦𝌥𝌣𝌤 (Growth-Type)]

[★★★

[The wielder’s despair can be delivered to a target slashed by the sword.]

[The wielder can fire negative emotions in the form of a laser.]

[This item cannot be destroyed by physical or spiritual means.]

Unlike before, there was other information besides the name covered in static and the star ranking. Kang-Woo was naturally focused the most on the Growth-Type property.

‘Does it mean it can go beyond ten stars?’

Kang-Woo’s eyes shone. He still did not know how to grow the demonic sword, but it could become even stronger.

‘Awesome.’

Kang-Woo smiled in satisfaction. He might get his hands on an eleven or twelve-star relic that did not currently exist in the Tower if he found a way to grow it.

“Its indestructible quality should be pretty useful too.”

Even though it said that, it would likely be destroyed by powers that transcended that of the System, or attacks from Titans or beings just as powerful.

‘But it’s indestructible against anything besides those.’

A durable sword was a good thing. Kang-Woo slipped Midir under his belt.

‘I should make a sheath later.’

Having the blade exposed lowered the badass factor.

“Is it over?” asked Cha Yeon-Joo as she, Han Seol-Ah, and Lilith, who had been waiting for his education to be over, stood up and approached him.

“Yup.”

“Gaaah! We can finally go home!” Yeon-Joo stretched. “Oh, right. Kang-Woo, you’d better share some relics with me, got it? I won’t forgive you if you hog it all for yourself.”

“Hehehe. Don’t worry. I’ll give you something even better than a relic.”

“Something even better?”

Kang-Woo was planning on awakening a new Trait for Yeon-Joo.

“Mm. That aside, Kang-Woo. Wouldn’t it be dangerous to use that sword?” Seol-Ah asked.

“I doubt she’d try anything after all the tramplings I gave her.”

“But I’m still worried she’ll try to take you over.”

Seol-Ah approached Kang-Woo and hugged his arm. She narrowed her eyes and glared at Midir strapped to Kang-Woo’s belt.

“If you try something to Kang-Woo… I will not let it slide.”

Her eyes were filled with bloodlust.

[...]

Midir did not answer, possibly because she was unconscious.

“Fufu. Don’t worry, Seol-Ah. You know how the king is.”

“That’s true, but…”

Seol-Ah sighed and hugged Kang-Woo’s arm tighter.

“That aside, how do we get out of here?” Kang-Woo wondered.

He had let loose so much that the entrance they came in from was destroyed.

Riiing!

[I will send you out of the Gate!!]

“Huh? You can do something like that, Eve?”

[Yes, but not often!]

If they could leave the Gate that conveniently, there was no reason to refuse.

“I’ll leave it to you, then.”

[Okay, Sir Guardian Deity!]

[«٩(*

Whoooom!!

A blue message window extended vertically and turned into the shape of a door. Kang-Woo opened the door and entered to be hugged by a blue light like a radiant spotlight.

Riiing!

[Radiant Spotlight: I didn’t hug you, stop bullshitting.]

‘The fuck? What’s your problem?’