Only I Am A Reader

"Hurry up! We only have one day to finish him off!"

Hidden by the surrounding trees, Leo was woken up by the voices and movement around him. The sky was just starting to light up, yet the trial takers were actively moving around like worker bees.

'Haa… The chase has already moved here?'

Letting out a sigh, Leo stood up in preparation to move in the opposite direction. He understood why the players were chasing Ray like this, but it still felt tiresome to even think about it.

'Let's just forget about it and focus on my mission.'

Although most Swordsmen would be satisfied by 'ascending' once in a limited time event like the Sword Garden Trial, especially when becoming Grand Masters, Leo didn't let it get to his head. To him, the true value of the trial lied on this very last day, missing it was equal to completely destroying his plans.

As he moved further away from the chase, Leo ended up meeting more and more trial takers moving in the other direction, the pressure on Ray's shoulders wasn't small at all.

'This means I'm moving in the right direction.'

While Ray's tendency to stand out was indeed one of the reasons behind this chase, he was merely being used as a pawn in this trial. This whole facade was something that was completely orchestrated by someone else.

Now that the Epilogue was close by, the main antagonists were coming to play. In order to accomplish their agenda, they simply used the whole group of trial takers as puppets to draw away attention!

Such a task might seem hard, but Leo knew how easy it was to manipulate a group of humans to act on your will. All one needed was to insert his own elements into the group and implement a few 'suggestions' by using a common point, and Ray was a very good target to fulfill this role!

'It should be around this area…'

Since Leo didn't plan to sit still and leave everything to the protagonist, there was no way he would let the antagonists succeed in getting their target just like it happened in the novel. Besides…

'This will be my way to the peak.'

Unlike the locations of the Elixirs that Ray picked up which were omitted, only one 'thing' had its location specifically mentioned. It was an item that he had 'conveniently' missed under the pressure of the chase, but it was also the most important item in the whole garden.

A written location wasn't easy to trace. By using the flow of the chase, however, Leo was confident that he reached the correct area located southwest of the Sword Garden. It was just that…

'I'm not alone.'

The area was supposed to be empty considering the number of people he met on the way, but Leo spotted a group of three Swordsmen suspiciously looking around as if they were waiting for something.

'Phew…'

Leo was worried that he was late, but upon sensing the group's Sword Breath, he let out a sigh of relief. There was still a chance!

"Who is there?"

If anything, the group's presence was nothing but an even brighter indication of his target. Unfortunately, this also meant that Leo had to go through them first… which was a waste of time.

"Hey there... I'm surprised there is someone out there who didn't join the chase."

He was already noticed, so Lee walked straightforwardly towards the three. Mask still on, he used his 'smiling cat mask' voice to converse with the group.

"Oh. We just got lost in this big garden. Perhaps…"

The one that spoke out was the one standing in the middle of the group. He only seemed to be slightly older than Leo, but now that he became one as well, Leo could tell that this 'lost' man was a grade-7 Sword Grandmaster just like himself!

Such a situation could be explainable for a Protagonist like Ray, a Reader like Leo, an Imperial family member, or even a true seed of the Gigant Sword Association, but this man was none of those! It was obvious that he was supported by 'them', he was probably here to…

"...You could show us the way!"

In contrast to his 'polite' question, the man's sword was already in front of Leo's neck. He was one breath away from slashing it off.

Sprack!

'Fool.'

The sound of something being severed clearly reached the man's ears, others might be intimidated by this trial taker's mask, but that wasn't the case for him!

"Sorry, something was blocking me. I will show you the way just like you asked."

The man's smug smile completely vanished as his eyes widened. Everything happened too fast that he didn't realize. The sound he had just heard was none other than his sword's shattering.

Before the man could even process how this happened, the blade that shattered his sword shook before touching his neck. This was the last scene that his eyes registered!

"You as well."

The man's two companions were as shocked as him, but Leo didn't give them the chance to react. Compared to their 'leader', they were only peak Sword Masters.

Swish!

In the end, Leo's first target died before he even managed to guard with his sword, while the last person suffered the same fate as his leader.

'Now…'

After getting rid of the antagonists' gatekeepers, Leo moved forward as his target grew closer. However…

Swisshaaaaaah!

As soon as Leo moved past the pushes, a devastating roar resounded in the whole Sword Garden as a strange red glow soared to the sky. Despite standing at the other end of the garden, Leo could still see it clearly. This was…

'It seemed like it started…'

`~~~`~~~`~~~`

"It's alright Jade… I will get us through this!"

Surrounded by over a hundred Swordsmen, Ray held into the arm of Jade who had already fainted. Both of their bodies were riddled with injuries that it was a miracle for them to be still alive.

"You will pay for this!"

Using his other hand, Ray took out a peach from his inner pocket before aggressively biting it, his bloodshot eyes glaring with definite death at the surrounding enemies. He was prepared to risk it all!

"He must be at the end of his ropes! You want to scare us by consuming one more Sword Elixir? It's indeed a bit wasteful for someone who will die like you to have it, but what's that going to change?"

Standing in the middle of the chasing group, another new Sword Grandmaster spoke out in a mocking tone as everyone laid their eyes on him. The man only threw a few words, but he was practically the one who had instigated this chase!

However, Ray's attention wasn't on him as his eyes had already lost their luster. Although it seemed like he was going to faint, his body was solidly rooted in place.

Everyone had seen him consume several dozens of Elixirs on the way, but he hadn't even achieved one 'ascension'. With the way the effects deteriorated, he was even more unlikely to achieve one now, but everything was merely a misconception! The inside of Ray's body told a different tale!

A Swordsman's 'ascension' wasn't something that one could control, as soon as you managed to 'gather' enough to 'ascend', it automatically happened. Despite this being an absolute rule, Ray was currently breaking it just like he was used to!

Unlike what the crowd had thought, the reason Ray hadn't achieved 'ascension' so far wasn't that he had low absorptivity, rather, it was the opposite. His absorptivity wasn't something that anyone else could compare to!

However, Ray knew that 'ascending' to a Sword Grandmaster wouldn't solve his problem. He could jump grades when fighting or even act as a one-man army, but the weakest Swordsman around was a peak Sword Master. If he wanted to survive this, he had to do more than just that!

'Now!'

The Sword Breath that Ray had accumulated in his body ever since the Sword Garden Trial started was humongous, but he had intentionally used his Sword Heart to suppress himself from ascending! He only let go of the suppression when all of the Sword Breath within this last Elixir had completely melted into his own body.

Although it was something unheard of, his Sword Heart told him! He could rely on the momentum of a 'Double Ascension' to strike down all of his enemies!

Swisshaaaaaah!

Despite being a doubled process, its occurrence was almost instantaneous! The surrounding enemies' ears bled as a devastating roar swept the wind away, the red in Ray's eyes had already covered his whole body!

"What is this…"

Holding his ears, the man who spoke out earlier couldn't comprehend what was happening. They had almost caught their prey. Why did it suddenly feel like their roles were switched?

The blood-red Ray appeared extremely sinister, but he had an air of righteousness around him. Although his consciousness was already out, his hand that held a sword made of blood suddenly moved. This simple movement was nothing but the beginning of a great massacre.

`~~~`~~~`~~~`

'I need to hurry.'

Ignoring the bloody glow, Leo moved faster as he called out to his Sword Breath. He observed the area around him to make a choice of direction, but he soon made a stop.

'It's here.'

On the top of a large rock that strangely protruded from the group, a magnificent Sunflower that seemed to be almost shining looked down from above, amplifying the desire to obtain it. However, Leo paid it no head as his eyes turned to the area under the rock's shadow before squatting down to pick a round object!

Without any further alert, he immediately threw it into his mouth!