Summoning the Holy Sword

The system prompt was easy to understand, but for it to appear now was kind of weird.

Rhode, of course, knew what his Glory was. Especially considering that it was derived from his own effort. The series of trials he had to go through to attain the title of the most powerful Summoning Swordsman was no easy feat. He had to participate in a PVP championship with over ten thousand other players competing against each other via dueling. Everybody knew how the story went from then on; Rhode emerged victoriously and was crowned the title of the Top Summoning Swordsman in the entire Dragon Soul Continent.

Now, it seemed that the current quest was pushing him on the path to attain his past Glory once again.

But it was strange; he knew he wasn’t in the game world any longer. There were no players, no game company, and unquestionably no global PVP championships. It was akin to being transmigrated to the Tang Dynasty era and then receiving a quest to win an F1 racing cup.

Rhode had seen the Holy Symbol of the Guardian before. In the game, many other classes had something similar to the Holy Symbol that he possessed. Mages had their magic circle, swordsmen had the Symbol of Bravery, Knights had the Code of Chivalry, and Clerics had the Holy Heart. Even Thieves and Rangers had a Magic Tattoo. These items were only obtainable after a test. The Summoning Swordsman class also had their own Magic Tattoo, but it wasn’t equivalent to the Holy Symbol of the Guardian, instead, it was more like a Soul Contract than anything else.

Two lines of silver and black intertwined with each other, forming a complex, yet beautiful pattern on his hand. The pattern then linked with the summoning circle on his palm. When Rhode willed it, the pattern hid under his skin, concealing itself from sight.

Of course, neither did Rhode know what Marlene was thinking about, nor did he want to guess. Back then, when he was young and innocent, he had tried to simulate his ex-girlfriends thoughts. When she broke up with him, he was confused. He thought that he knew what she was thinking. Then his imagination started to go wild. Did she lose interest? Did she find another man? Were they not suitable for one another?

It was only until later when he found out the truth. The reason why she broke up with him was that he attracted a lot of attention from his looks, making her feel incredibly pressured. And for the average modern women of today, having a boyfriend that was more beautiful than them was nothing worth envying.

From that moment on, Rhode no longer cared about these things. Since Marlene had guaranteed their safety, he did not say anything else and closed his eyes to begin recuperating. Moreover, according to his knowledge, it was indeed a strong barrier.

Although the pillar was cold and hard, he did not mind at all.

“Mr. Rhode,” a soft whisper entered his ears.

Rhode opened his eyes and turned towards Marlene. He saw her laying his cloak on the floor. Then he noticed that she was looking at him hesitantly.

Marlene’s body froze for a moment when she felt his gaze.

T-that’s right… this is n-nothing more than repaying my gratitude to him.

He was hurt because of me, as a member of the Senia family, I must compensate for it, and be proud of it.

Mmm, yes, yes! That’s right. That must be it!

“…If you don’t mind… you can lie here…”

Marlene gently patted the top of her thighs; her face was so red as if she was squeezing out blood.

“I-I think you can rest better like this. It’s healthier than leaning on the cold pillar. An…and your hand is hurt, although I didn’t help you in the battle, the least I can do is to help you treat it. My healing spell is not as good as Lize, but as a mage, I still know some basic spells…”

“May I?” Rhode nodded and replied after a while.

When Marlene saw him nod, she immediately stared at him and made a firm expression as though she was willing to do anything.

“Of, of course! N-no problem! This little act simply doesn’t count as anything!”

“Okay then, sure.”

He did not wait for Marlene to say anything else. He rested his head on her lap and closed his eyes. Because of Rhode’s sudden move, Marlene’s body turned stiff for a moment. When she recovered, he had already fallen into deep sleep.

“…how rude!” Marlene glared at the young man who was sleeping soundly on her lap.

After a while, she shook her head and sighed. Then she carefully took Rhode’s left hand and placed it on her own.

Using her other free hand, she conjured a spell that brightened up the surroundings. When she saw his injury clearly under the light, she gasped once again. Other than his thumb, all of his other fingers were broken; his blood flowed down his arm, dripping onto the floor.

“It’s actually quite serious…”

She knew that Rhode’s wound wasn’t light, but now that she could study it closely, she could not help but tremble. With great care, she slowly took out her handkerchief and gently wiped the blood.

As a mage, Marlene had learned some basic first-aid skills, but she had never used them before because she rarely got hurt. And even if anyone she knew got injured, they wouldn’t be in a near-death state… at least that was the case for most of the time.

However, currently, as she realized her clumsiness in bandaging, she couldn’t help but scold herself. If only she had learned how to bandage by looking at it Lize…

When she stared at Rhode’s finger right now, it totally resembled a carrot.

Ahh…if only Lize were here…

Marlene’s body suddenly stiffened.

Marlene did not know why, but when she recalled Lize’s figure, deep down her heart, she felt a trace of annoyance. Why was she behaving like that? Lize was her best friend, and she was a cleric. If she were here, she would have easily taken care of Rhode’s wound. Marlene did not know why, but when she imagined Lize healing Rhode’s wound, she felt unhappy.

Is it because that I’m too tired these few days?

She frowned and pondered to herself. In the end, she could not find the answer, so she decided to put aside this matter and continue to bandage Rhode’s injury.

In the ruins, only a magic light moved back and forth in silence…