Chapter 2: The Heart is So Dark

The small party finally ended, and Leo escaped the crowd’s entanglement, returning to the tent to rest.

“Do we really have to do this?”

“This is our only chance to change our fate.”

“But…”

“Are you willing to be a low-class adventurer for the rest of your life?”

In the dead of night, whispers echoed in the darkness.

Several shadows sneaked around, turning left and right, and crept into a tent.

The group had clear roles, with one person keeping watch and another ensuring the escape route.

“Sure enough, he’s just a naive kid, leaving such an important sword lying on the ground.”

“Haha! We got it.”

A few shadows held the Sword of Damocles, moving smoothly towards the distance.

“With this sword, we can become C-rank, no, even B-rank, A-rank adventurers!”

On the way, they fantasized about the future.

“Although I feel a bit sorry for him, such a powerful sword can’t be left in the hands of a kid. We’ll compensate him later when we make a name for ourselves.”

“But this can be considered helping him, making him understand the malice of human nature, not to easily expose his abilities and trump cards.”

“Right, who knows, he might even thank us in the future.”

“Thank us for what?” An untimely voice interrupted the conversation.

“Thank us for giving him a lesson.”

The shadow instinctively replied, suddenly realizing and getting startled.

“Who is it?”

By the moonlight filtering through the leaves, they saw a dark figure, and upon closer inspection, Leo was looking at them with a mocking smile.

“Leo! How did you get here?”

The middle-aged adventurer nervously hid the Sword of Damocles behind him.

“I came out to use the bathroom and saw a few uncles and aunts walking this way, so I came to take a look,” Leo said.

“Aunt?!” The female adventurer in the group found it hard to accept.

“Haha, so that’s how it is. Actually, we had something urgent to attend to and planned to return before dawn.”

“Oh, I see. I thought you were trying to steal my sword and run away. I misunderstood you. So, could you please return the Sword of Damocles to me? It’s a family heirloom and very important!”

Standing in the moonlight, Leo extended his hand, his small figure giving off a powerful pressure.

The adventurers exchanged glances, and the middle-aged adventurer sighed, his expression turning sharp.

“Forget it, since we’ve been discovered, let’s not pretend anymore. If you want the sword, come and take it.”

With that, he assumed a fighting stance, and his companions protected him from behind.

“Are you sure you want to fight against me, who has defeated a D-rank monster?” Leo asked.

The middle-aged adventurer was taken aback, then scoffed, and the other adventurers couldn’t help but laugh.

“Who doesn’t know you rely on this Sword of Damocles? Without the sword, you’re nothing. You can only blame yourself for exposing your hand too early. With your current abilities, you can’t possibly be our opponent. If you leave quietly, we can let you go and compensate you when we become famous.”

The middle-aged adventurer paused and continued, “Just let me see the power of this sword. If you’re sensible, step back a bit; otherwise, I might not be able to control the sword’s power.”

He drew the Sword of Damocles and held it high.

“……”

Leo showed a disappointed expression and sighed, “This is why greed is the original sin; it’s because of people like you…”

“Why no reaction?”

The Sword of Damocles in the adventurer’s hand was like ordinary scrap metal, showing no response.

“What’s going on?”

“I remember Leo recited a spell before, something like ‘Sword of the Brain, unleash your power?'”

“‘Sword of the Brain, unleash your power!'”

“……”

“It’s the Sword of Damocles, unleash your power,” Leo rolled his eyes and reminded.

“Right, right, that’s the phrase.”

“Good, you’re sensible. Sword of Damocles, unleash your power!”

“……”

“You need to inject magic power,” Leo reminded again, looking at him like he was an idiot.

“Ahem! Let’s do it again! Sword of Damocles, unleash your power!”

Buzz!!

The Sword of Damocles suddenly emitted a brilliant white light, illuminating the night, and the surroundings became bright and transparent.

But that was all; it was like a big light bulb.

Fake! It turned out to be a prop!

Smack!

The middle-aged adventurer angrily threw the “Sword of Damocles” to the ground.

“This kid thinks we’re idiots; hand over the real Sword of Damocles.”

“This is the real Sword of Damocles; it just has different powers in different hands. People like you can’t unleash its true power.”

Leo picked up the sword from the ground, held it high, and shouted, “Sword of Damocles, unleash your power!”

A light a hundred times stronger than before burst forth, and a surging, violent energy spread, turning the world into a sea of white. When the light dissipated, everything around the spot where they stood was destroyed, leaving it barren.

“What happened?”

In the darkness, visibility was poor, but with the faint moonlight, they could see the surrounding scene and roughly guessed what had happened.

The trees were mostly destroyed, the rocky ground was bare, and there were huge craters around…

Monsters!

The seemingly ordinary, even “naive” boy before them was the real monster, no wonder he was accepted into the Nidlan Holy Academy.

Shamefully, this guy had been pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger.

The adventurers looked dejected, “We failed. Do whatever you want with us.”

They were just a group of ordinary adventurers, occasionally going astray due to greed.

“This sword is quite powerful, right? With more practice, you can do what I do. Do you want it? I can sell it to you.”

Leo boasted about the Sword of Damocles to them.

“???”

What a family heirloom.

Pfft! Don’t think they didn’t know; this was just an ordinary prop sword. As long as you inject magic power, it would produce different phenomena, and this sword’s phenomenon was to emit light.

But in Leo’s hands, the effect of this prop was completely different.

What kind of powerful magic could cause such terrifying destructive effects?

It was clear that a student chosen by the Nidlan Holy Academy was indeed an incomprehensible monster.

“Uncles, since you want it so much, let’s trade. Take out all your possessions, and I’ll sell you the Sword of Damocles.”

Leo wore a harmless smile.

“You will definitely buy it, right?”

The adventurers: “ヽ(*。＞Д＜)o゜”

Such magic-activating props were everywhere, mostly toys, and generally could be bought for a few copper coins. It was infuriating that they hadn’t discovered it earlier.

If they were willing to buy, they must have been foolish.

“Alright! We’ll buy it!” The adventurers were on the verge of tears.

Leo’s strength was unfathomable; they dared not resist and could only grit their teeth and buy it, especially since they felt guilty.

Damn! This was clearly robbery!

The adventurers shed tears of regret in their hearts; this kid had clearly planned it all out, and his heart was so dark.

A transaction concluded smoothly, with both parties very satisfied, wearing smiles.

———-
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