I Was a Sword When I Reincarnated (LN) Volume 1 Chapter 1 Part2

I should probably note that I do my best to accurately express in English the original intent of the author. However, this does not mean I translate literally. English is a different beast entirely from j.a.panese or Korean; while I agree that accuracy is important, I prioritize good flow and legibility over blindly viewing the author’s words as holy script.

I worked hard to write with good English, but the below writing’s quality as a translation will inevitably drop because of my choice. But I believe it is worth it.

That being said, if I made a translation mistake, please tell me!

Even I had no idea how long I spent lamenting my situation. It could’ve been 5 minutes or maybe even an hour. I s.p.a.ced out for a bit and it seems like I’m becoming stupider by the minute.

『I’m a sword now so isn’t there no need to think about that stuff? Because either way, I’m a sword.』

This isn’t me trying to escape reality. It’s really not.

Besides, if I hadn’t reincarnated then I clearly would’ve stayed dead back there.

Thinking about it again, maybe my luck was actually pretty good. Because even though I likely died, my consciousness is still with me.

That’s right. Not everyone can experience being a sword. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to try and enjoy it.

After I thought that, I felt relief wash over me.

I unexpectedly got a second life. No, a sword-life. It might even be a good idea to aim for the peak as a sword.

But what’s the peak for a sword? Well, if I don’t find someone to wield me then this story’s over before it’s even begun. For example, a hero? But since the hero’s sword will have to battle against a Demon Lord and that stuff, it’ll probably be tough. In some cases, a hero’s sword has been known to break. And that’s when a legendary blacksmith (a dwarf) would fix his sword. Besides, a hero would probably be super serious, righteous, and jaw droppingly handsome. In other words, the exact opposite of me. I don’t think I could truly get along with someone like that.

I’ll be happy as long as a girl wields me. A cute one would be ideal, but anyone will do as long as she’s not ugly. That’s a whole lot better than some hero with muscles for brains.

And the last thing is her skills. A heroine who can use me to slice her enemies to shreds with ease and gain renown. And that beloved sword would be recorded centuries later in a library.

…I mean, this is just my dream so I’m free to say whatever I want. Isn’t it harmless to dream big?

The problem right now is how to escape from this field.

I can’t hear that man’s voice no matter how hard I tried so I’ll stop thinking about it.

Then I guess I should take in my situation.

I was located in a what looked like dilapidated ruins. There was no roof and I was in a large empty field. In the middle of that large s.p.a.ce was the pedestal that I was in, stuck in there like a treasured sword, and along the outside of the pedestal were what looked like shrines. I could tell not by the growing moss, but by the respectable trees that grew out of the cracks in the shrines’ roofs that this place had been forgotten and neglected for a very long time.

Is that where I am? The place where someone comes here to pick up a legendary weapon? But contrary to that idea, this place didn’t feel like a dungeon.

I was unable to look behind me because the pedestal stopped my body from turning. But after looking around, all I saw was a forest filled solely with short trees and the connected plain that similarly had no large trees.

Concentrating on a spot, I saw a shadow moving occasionally. Could it be an animal?

『I don’t see a single person.』

Am I unable to move by myself?

No wait. One of my skills was definitely telekinesis. Can I use that to move?

『Hm.』

Concentrate. Telekinesis, telekinesis.

I felt my body suddenly become lighter.

I felt the blade move ever so slightly away from the pedestal.

Savoring that feeling, I imagined the sword flying towards the sky.

『Yeees! I’m floating!』

I was able to move freely by using my imagination. Having escaped the confines of the pedestal, I flew swiftly through the air.

『I CAN FLY!』

I wasn’t going much faster, but this was enough for now. Because I found out that I can move on my own.

I scanned the area around the pedestal. It really did look like ruins.

There must have originally been grey, brick-like blocks gathered together.

But due to extended exposure to the elements, the colors became darker and moss grew all over the place.

The place was about 30 meters in diameter.

『Who in the world made this place? It seems like that person is my maker…』

Does the fact that this place looks so old mean that I was actually alone for that entire time?

It’s unlikely that a sword, even one that I reincarnated into, would just pop up out of nowhere in this abandoned place. Someone, a human, must have made my body. Well, that is to say as long as I didn’t get turned into a sword by a certain accident.

My prime candidate would be my maker, but if he’s dead then that possibility is gone.

However, there was no moss or dirt on me nor the cloth that decorated the pedestal that I was in before. As if we were placed there less than a day ago.

Then is my maker still alive?

『Hmmm?』

While I was observing the area and mulling things over, I felt something wrong with my body.

『…Huh?』

I felt so tired… The feeling of fatigue overtook my body.

And then I was falling.

『Oh c.r.a.p!』

I frantically tried to use telekinesis but there was no response.

I was about 30 meters up now.

『Float! C’mon, I’m telling you to float!』

But my struggles were in vain as I slammed into the ground at high speed.

KLAAAANG!

The sound of metal rang loudly.

『That hur—…that didn’t hurt at all, but am I broken anywhere? Or are there any cracks or anything.』

I quickly looked myself over but everything looked okay.

I even felt okay.

For me to be totally okay even after falling from so high up, maybe I really am an excellent sword.

『But why did I fall?』

After that inexplicable fatigue, I wasn’t able to use Telekinesis anymore.

I checked my Status Window to find the cause.

I was able to figure out the cause right away.

『I drained all my mana.』

Mana : 0/200. Using Telekinesis must have kept using up mana.

This must also have been the cause of my fatigue.

Is the fact that I didn’t lose consciousness after I drained all my mana a blessing in and of itself?

『So I can’t fly for even 5 minutes. It was more like 3.』

I waited for a while on top of the stone path.

My mana began to recover slightly. I felt mana gathering inside me little by little. It was like I was absorbing mana from the atmosphere while I was unconscious.

I counted the time in my head as I waited, and it seemed like 1 minute meant 1 point recovered.

I waited for an hour and after I recovered 60 points, I used Telekinesis again.

『Great. I’m floating.』

It didn’t look like there were any problems. I checked my Status Window while like this. My mana was slowly being drained.

『So Telekinesis costs 1 mana per second? Then that means with 200 mana, I can keep this up for 3 minutes.』

I’ll probably get annoyed at constantly falling to the ground.

Before my mana could fall further, I quickly returned to the pedestal.

Having placed my body within the pedestal again, I felt strangely relieved.

『Phew, I’m back.』

But I realized that with the constraint of my mana, it was dangerous to travel far.

I decided to avoid leaving the pedestal for the time being and spent some time observing the plain that I was in.

Looking over the plain, I saw a diversity of life.

I had originally thought that this place would only have mammals like the African savannah, but there were a large variety of insects and other creatures as well. And they were remarkably large.

For example, an ant-like insect I first found was the size of a large dog. Of course, there were bats as well. Though they were definitely huge.

Thank goodness I’m a sword. At the very least, it was unlikely that I’d be attacked by something looking for prey.

『This definitely isn’t Earth.』

Looking farther away, I saw even larger beasts.

From my eyes alone, I estimated that it was about 10 meters tall. (tn: the raw didn’t specify height or length)

It was bigger than an elephant.

『Is that a so-called demonic beast?』

A sudden realization hit me as I was watching them.

『Will humans even come here when there are such huge demonic beasts?』

I still saw no humans.

Second day of being reincarnated.

Something approached me.

The sound of footsteps grew louder as something came towards the pedestal from behind. There were more than one.

“Gehegehahu.”

“Agyagyu.”

“Gegya!”

Is that language? Are they talking with each other? I had no idea what they were saying, but I got the feeling that they were communicating.

Their voices reminded me of monkeys.

I heard them come closer. Now they were right behind me.

Great, come closer. Then I can see what they look like.

Step step.

A little more.

Step step step.

Just 1 meter to go.

Step steeeeep.

s.h.i.+t. They stopped right behind me.

“Gyagyu?”

“Gyarugaga.”

“Gyan Ga?”

“Garuha~.”

What? What are they saying? It sounds like they’re discussing something…

And then something touched my handle.

Whatever it was, it gripped my handle. Though it felt very rough, it also felt similar to a human hand.

It was clearly trying to pull me out of the pedestal.

Though, for some reason, I felt strangely resistant to the idea of some unknown thing pulling me out.

Though I don’t really care if I see what it is only after it pulls me out…

For no particular reason, I kept myself in place by using Telekinesis.

Perhaps refusing to give in, it tried even harder to pull me out.

But it was useless. I used Telekinesis with all my might. As if it could pull me out.

“Gya gya!”

“Gyugagaga…!”

“Hagahahu!”

Its comrades started shouting as if cheering it on. And it seemed like they were circling around the one trying to pull me out.

“Gyaruga!”

“Gorugyaru!”

Thanks to their movements, I got a good look at them.

Are they real?

Green skin. An ugly face even more brutal than a gorilla’s. They had horns sprouting out of their heads, animal hides over their body, and clubs in their hands.

『G-goblins?』

That’s right. They were goblins.

Goblins were the ones trying to pull me out.

Wait, wait, not goblins! That’s just not right! If I become a goblin’s magic sword then it’s all over for me. It might have been okay if it was at least the Goblin King, but they’re clearly plain mob goblins.

I checked their status while continuing to counteract their pulling with Telekinesis.

Name : Goblin

Lv : 5

Skills : Club Wielding 1, Digging 2

Name : Goblin

Lv : 5

Skills : Sword Wielding 1, Alert 1, Poison Resistance 1

Would you look at that. They have subtle differences even though they’re the same race.

Well, of course that’s the case. If their weapons are different, then their specialities should be different as well.

Another one came into my view as it continually failed to pull me out, allowing me to appraise it.

Name : Goblin Leader

Lv : 2

Skills : Sword Wielding 1, Survival 1, Dismantling 2, Command 1

Whoa, this guy’s a Goblin Leader. Is its level low because it evolved? Well, it’s a little strong. Just a little though.

What should I do?

They didn’t look like they had plans on leaving any time soon. They started to hit me in an effort to pull me out.

One of them seemed to have given up because another one took its place.

A different one was probably in my blind spot, but it grabbed me. It emoted with a “Hun Nugaga—” which sounded labored to me as it tried with all its might to pull me out.

I resisted its pulling with all my strength.

Having realized that strength alone was not enough, the leader borrowed a club from one of its comrades and began striking the pedestal. It was trying to break the pedestal so as to lay hands upon me. But it didn’t do a single bit of damage to the pedestal. That seemed to have made it more impatient and angrier. Rage flooded the leader’s face and I couldn’t tell if it was trying to pull me out or just taking out its anger on an inanimate object.

Then again, it’s a goblin. Everything it did was dumb as bricks.

The goblin raged against the pedestal for a while until it decided to kick it.

But the pedestal must have been harder than it thought. Having stubbed its toe, it started leaping up into the air in comical fas.h.i.+on.

Hahaha. Serves you right.

The fully enraged leader threw its club to one of the goblins I couldn’t see. C’mon man, don’t take out your frustration on your comrade. As I was thinking that, the goblin, to my surprise, spat on me.

I was able to feel that disgusting spit on my blade.

Gross! So gross! It feels disgusting! It was also humiliating.

Great, I get it now. This is war. Enough.

My temper was strangely flaring up on its own.

My first target is that one in front of me.

I chose one of the mob goblins that was approaching me in an attempt to pull me out as my target rather than the Goblin Leader. I timed my Telekinesis with its pull and stopped resisting their pulling.

Swing.

The goblin easily pulled out the sword as I suddenly stopped resisting. It lost its balance and the goblin fell gracelessly onto its backside.

Dumba.s.s. What a clumsy fella!

I casually moved my blade with Telekinesis.

That blade cleanly decapitated the defenseless goblin.

I defeated one of them and made it look like an accident.

This was my first time murdering something, but I didn’t feel bad at all. Instead, I felt pumped.

Actually, I was considering slicing apart the rest of the goblins in front of me.

This is dangerous. Could I actually be a cursed magical sword, one that has to drink blood, a cursed blade? But I couldn’t stop after this. Then I’ll be going full force!

“Gya, gyagoo?”

The remaining goblins ran towards their fallen comrade, perhaps unaware of what was going on.

From there, I flew to deliver a headb.u.t.t.

Well, since I’m a sword, a headb.u.t.t is actually a deadly move.

Following the basic rules of combat, I attacked the strongest one first.

I was aiming for the Goblin Leader.

The Goblin Leader, likely not having thought that a sword could move on its own, wasn’t even able to dodge as it suffered the full brunt of my headb.u.t.t.

It stared unthinkingly at the blade that had pierced through its belly and out its back.

Collapse.

It fell to the ground like that.

Now there were only two left.

I felt no guilt at all over killing the goblins.

The feeling of liquid on me after cutting apart my enemies wasn’t unpleasant. Maybe it was because I was a sword, but I felt completely okay with cutting my opponents.

Rather, I felt a strange sense of satisfaction.

Could it be the feeling of accomplishment at finis.h.i.+ng my task as a sword?

A goblin turned to run away and I finished it off with one strike.

The remaining goblin was on its knees, petrified with fear. Finis.h.i.+ng it off would be simple.

Name : Goblin

Lv : 2

Skills : Sword wielding 1, Cobalt Killer

Aren’t I pretty amazing? Even if it was a surprise attack, I killed them all with one hit.

That 132 attack stat wasn’t just for show. Well, I have no way of knowing if that number is high or not, but it’s more than enough to take out these goblins.

However, something was on my mind.

『Did I just glow?』

That’s right. After I finished off my third or fourth goblin, my blade suddenly glowed for a moment.

The truth is, I felt that happen after my second kill as well. I ignored it, thinking it was just my imagination, but it looks like that wasn’t the case.

But it didn’t happen after I killed the first one.

Well, I should check my status to make sure nothing’s wrong with me.

Name: Unknown

Attack: 132 MP: 166/200 Durability: 100/100

Skills: Appraisal 6, Self-recovery, Telekinesis, Telepathy, Wielder Stat Buff [weak], Wielder Recovery Buff [weak], Skill Sharing, Magic User

Memory Skills: Dig 1, Dismantle 1, Sword Wielding 1,
Club Wielding 1, Command 1, Survival 1, Cobalt Killer

What are those? There was another line in my Status Window. What caught my eye first was the added items next to Cla.s.s.

Magic Crystals? It says 3/100. I s.h.i.+ned with light three times. Are they related?

And Memory? I don’t know what that means either. But it’s almost certainly related to the added line after it that says Memory Skills.

After thinking hard about it, I realized all the added things in Memory Skills came from the goblins that s.h.i.+ned with light after I killed them. This was clear from the fact that the first goblin I killed, the one with Alert and Poison Resistance didn’t show up in my Status Window.

I absorbed the goblins’ skills?

After I selected Memory Skills, something like a notice spoke to me.

Of course I’m going to set something. Then a screen showed up for me to pick a skill.

I picked them in order from top to bottom.

Set Skills: Dig 1, Dismantle 1, Sword Wielding 1, Club Wielding 1, Command 1, Survival 1, Cobalt Killer
Memory Skills: None

Does this mean I set them? I’m not really sure.

I also didn’t know what the cause was for that light. Why wasn’t there a light after the first one? The hint was the term Magic Crystal.

Magic Crystal. They’re a common occurrence in isekai summoned light novels; Magic Crystals are s.h.i.+ny stones infused with magic that reside within the bodies of monsters. If all goes according to my imagination, that is.

All I did was cut through the first one’s neck, so maybe it’s because of the way I killed them. I impaled the other three through their bodies. Maybe that was why.

『Hmm. I should test it.』

I rushed towards the first goblin I killed once again.

I firmly lodged my blade within the collapsed corpse.

And after my third stab, I got the same reaction I had hoped for. I felt something that felt a little hard and my blade gave off light.

I felt something flowing into me and an inexplicable feeling of contentment. That was it. It was similar to the feeling of taking a bite of your favorite food while hungry.

It seemed like I could absorb magic or something after cutting the Magic Crystal. The goblins’ Magic Crystals were probably in their bellies.

Perhaps I had an appet.i.te for absorbing magic, and maybe I felt so murderous towards the goblins because I was reacting to their Magic Crystals.

『Well, I should verify that in the future.』

What came first was checking my Magic Crystal Count.

The Count grew to 4/100, and Alert and Poison Resistance were added to Memory Skills.