Chapter Ninety-Six: The Mighty Sword in the Stone

“Should I go in?”

When she reached the door of the king’s office, Yali hesitated.

“Maybe not. His Majesty is already working so hard. If I make him bear more ‘pressure,’ I’d be utterly shameless!”

“But it really can grant His Majesty greater power, and make the people of the Block Kingdom happier...”

“But, Your Majesty...”

Yali paced back and forth before the king’s office, unable to make up her mind.

“Maybe next time...”

She realized she did not have the courage to go in, because the contents of this small stone box were not entirely beneficial; they came at a price.

If the price outweighed the gain, then wouldn’t Yali be harming Mo Fangyuan instead?

Click.

Just as Yali turned to leave, the door to the king’s office was pushed open from the inside.

“Come in.”

A deep, magnetic voice drifted from within.

“Your Majesty, how did you know I was outside?”

Caught off guard, Yali had no choice but to enter with the small stone box in her arms.

“Well, that...” Mo Fangyuan thought. Wasn’t that obvious? You were making so much noise pacing outside that anyone with decent ears would have heard you.

He set down his pen, rubbed his wrist, and asked Yali, “What is it?”

“Ah, um... Your Majesty, I think you need this...”

Flustered, Yali instinctively took out the small stone box.

“Hm? What is it?”

Mo Fangyuan: Damn it! There are stone boxes in this world?

Yali: Oh no! I forgot to prepare an excuse. There’s no way to explain this now. I can only give it to His Majesty! I hope he won’t blame me...

“Um, Your Majesty, I don’t know what it is either, but I felt that it was a miracle, so I brought it here...”

Yali’s mind went blank. All the words she had rehearsed countless times over the past few days had vanished entirely.

[Stone Box@%.cn$#£d Sword in the Stone%*³√“$“]

As Mo Fangyuan took the stone box, his cheat skill of appraisal was unexpectedly triggered on its own.

“Hm?”

This time, the activation was different from usual. The appraisal interface was filled with a mass of garbled, mosaic-like distortion.

“This...”

Mo Fangyuan had only just begun to voice his shock when the sealed small stone box suddenly flew open, and a streak of blue-violet phantom shot out.

The phantom entered his body at a speed he could not possibly react to.

Yali, on the other side of the desk, was stunned as well.

Back then, she had gone through untold hardships just to earn the right to hold the Sword in the Stone, yet she had never imagined it would now fly toward Mo Fangyuan of its own accord.

All she could do was pray.

“Please don’t blame me, Your Majesty. I really didn’t do this on purpose... Please, you have to survive its trial...”

The Sword in the Stone’s trial was unimaginably harsh. Even someone as gifted as she was had been unable to pass it. Now all she could hope was that His Majesty could succeed. Otherwise, the consequences would be severe...

“Where is this place?”

After an unknown length of time, Mo Fangyuan became aware of his own existence.

When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a space ruled by blue light. Within it floated countless points of radiance, and ninety-nine percent of them were black.

Mo Fangyuan could feel joy, pain, calm, fearlessness... as though they were the emotions of innumerable living beings.

And the blackness represented pain and despair...

“Ninety-nine percent...”

For some reason, Mo Fangyuan felt an agony beyond words, a pain that surpassed all pain and struck straight at his soul.

[Why are you hurting me! What did I do wrong!!!]
[Ahhh! Don’t kill me!]
[Ahhh! Monster! I’ll never rest until you’re dead!]
[My child! My child!!]
[...]

Pain! Pain! Pain!

The unbearable torment almost drove Mo Fangyuan, who was already afraid of pain, into madness.

[His Majesty is the strongest! He can lead us to survival!]

Only when a single white point of light pierced through all darkness and connected with Mo Fangyuan did the agony begin to lessen, and his strength start to grow.

[His Majesty is the greatest hero of the Blockfolk! He is our future!]

A second point of light linked with Mo Fangyuan’s body.

[For His Majesty! For the Blockfolk, I fear nothing!]

A third point of light connected with him.

[His Majesty is hope! He is all that is good in this world!]
[His Majesty is the source of our happiness!]
[My life was given to me by His Majesty! I will go through fire and water for him!]
[Everything I have will be devoted to His Majesty the great king!]
[For His Majesty! For the kingdom!]
[We will always follow in the king’s footsteps!]
[...]

Countless voices echoed through Mo Fangyuan’s mind, while endless points of light pierced through everything to link themselves to him.

“Are these their voices?”

“Are all these points of light the Blockfolk...”

No longer in pain, Mo Fangyuan stared ahead in a daze.

He raised both hands and stood there in stunned silence.

So this was their voice, the voice of the Block Kingdom, the voice of the Blockfolk...

More and more white points of light connected to him, and Mo Fangyuan felt his body and soul fill with power.

Seen from afar, Mo Fangyuan seemed to have become light itself!

The blue space dissolved into nothingness, and in a daze Mo Fangyuan found himself in another world.

[Flames were burning, buildings were collapsing, and the roars of monsters spread across the world.]
[The sun withdrew, darkness endured, and the lamentations of the Blockfolk echoed through the world...]

Mo Fangyuan entered a world of blood and bones, fire and darkness, like an observer witnessing a massacre by monsters.

Countless Blockfolk died. Countless civilizations, nations, and villages were destroyed...

He could only watch helplessly, unable to act or choose.

Pain, helplessness, despair... endless negative emotions filled his heart.

[Are you willing to bear all of this and become the sword-bearer of the Blockfolk?]
[You will shoulder the pain, joy, despair, and delight of the Blockfolk...]
[Your life will no longer belong to you. It will belong to the will of the people. You will become the executor of the Blockfolk’s will...]
[Are you willing?]

The voice came from all directions.

It carried pain, helplessness, hatred... and a longing for a beautiful life...

“I am willing!”

Mo Fangyuan realized that before he could even speak, his own voice had already answered the question.

...The answer had come from his heart.

In confusion, Mo Fangyuan’s thoughts were drawn back to reality by a mysterious force.

Yali stood before him, her face filled with shock, and the stone box in Mo Fangyuan’s hand was gone.

It had become a blood-red sword.

“Five minutes! His Majesty completed the trial in just five minutes! And he succeeded!”

Not seeing Yali’s expression, which looked as though she could swallow a whale whole, Mo Fangyuan’s attention was entirely fixed on the sword in his hand.

[Blade of the Empire (Sword in the Stone)]
[The Sword in the Stone will reshape itself into a new sword according to the innermost will of its wielder, gaining new attributes.]

“Blood-red? Is that my will...? Slaughter? I like it! The monsters like it too!”

[Fixed Attack Power: 29]
(The sword grows stronger as its wielder grows stronger.)

Strength can mean many things: personal might, wisdom, or the heart.

From the blue space just now, Mo Fangyuan inferred that this strength should refer to the overall national power of the Block Kingdom.

[Sharpness V (+7.5 attack power)]
[Knockback II (pushes enemies back 2 blocks)]
[Unbreakable (infinite durability)]
[Empire’s Fury II (attacks inflict 4 points of burn damage)]
[Monster Slayer V (deals +9 attack power to monsters)]
[...]

(As the wielder grows stronger, the enchantment effects will also increase.)

Mo Fangyuan had already experienced so much and been shocked so many times that he had grown calm. Even enchantments that would be top-tier in the original version no longer stirred him.

[Magic Diamond: immune to all external negative buffs]
[King’s Gold: weakens nearby monster attributes]
[Soul of the Race: the lower the health, the higher the resistance]
[Strength II (permanently doubles damage while holding this sword)]
[Regeneration II (permanently grants regeneration while holding this sword)]
[...]

(As the wielder grows stronger, the buff effects will also increase.)

“What?”

Good heavens! Mo Fangyuan could only cry out, good heavens. This sword could actually grant buffs to its wielder.

[Skill 1: Casts attack magic to strike enemies at range]
[Skill 2: Enhances the strength and resistance of nearby allies]
[Skill 3: Locked]
[...]

(As the wielder grows stronger, the skill effects will also increase.)

“Is this still even a game-like other world?”

Mo Fangyuan’s expression finally changed. They had even brought out skills? This wasn’t Minecraft at all!

[Set 1/11 (Set effect not yet activated)]

Even sets were a thing now. This was starting to look like an online game!

[No elements added]
[No gems inscribed]
[...]