I, Izayoi Sakamaki, Joined the Chat Group at the Start

Kurogane Ikki: "Isn't the order wrong? Shouldn't the stronger he became, the stronger the sword he used?"

Hawkeye: "Wait... I think I've had an epiphany."

Tsunade: "?? What did you realize?"

Tony: "We common folk shouldn't get involved in swordsmen's matters. Keep it up, give it your all, you're the strongest."

Ding, group member Tony was muted by the group admin for one minute.

Izayoi Sakamaki: "Tch, Tony really doesn't know how to pick his moments. He just had to force his way into the conversation."

Izayoi Sakamaki: "@Hawkeye, @Kurogane Ikki, the order isn't wrong. These four swords represent this swordsman's path of the sword.

He placed his swords before his grave and inscribed them, telling those who came after what a sword was!"

Hawkeye: "What a sword is? That's quite a claim, but he should have the ability and qualifications to make it."

Izayoi Sakamaki: "The first sword was inscribed: 'Fierce and powerful, invincible against all that stood before it. Before the age of twenty, I used it to contend against the heroes of Heshuo.'

The second sword was inscribed: 'Ziwei Soft Sword, used before the age of thirty. It accidentally injured a righteous man, bringing misfortune, so I cast it into a deep valley.'

The third sword was inscribed: 'Heavy Sword Without Edge, great skill appears unrefined. Before the age of forty, I relied on it to roam the world unhindered.'

The fourth sword was inscribed: 'After the age of forty, I was no longer bound by material things. Grass, wood, bamboo, and stone could all serve as swords. From then on, I refined myself diligently and gradually entered the realm of Victory Without Sword.'"

After saying all that in one breath, Izayoi Sakamaki added, "I don't know much about the path of the sword, so this is as far as I can help you."

Hawkeye: "Victory Without Sword..."

Kurogane Ikki: "Not injuring righteous people..."

Both of them gained some insight from Izayoi Sakamaki's words, but Hawkeye had gained the deepest enlightenment. He looked at the Yoru in his hand as though he had made a difficult decision.

"Looks like I'll have to ask someone to make a Seastone Sheath. Unless I encounter a life-or-death foe, this sword will never leave its sheath. As for opponents and challengers..."

He glanced at his raft, removed the cross from around his neck, and began to work.

Kurogane Ikki, who had seen Izayoi Sakamaki's words, was completely different. What caught his attention was the second sword.

It was not because the Ziwei Soft Sword suited him better, but because he found something he resonated with in that sword, which no longer existed.

He had never actively fought for anything, nor did he want to hurt anyone. He practiced the sword only to become stronger and feel more at ease.

"So my path wasn't wrong after all."

Kurogane Ikki sat on a bench in the park, filled with emotion. Before long, his weapon, Yin Iron, appeared in his hand.

In this world, everyone had a chance to awaken a special weapon of their own.

Such weapons could only be born when a person felt a desire in their heart. For example, someone who desired to run might obtain Speedy Shoes.

His weapon was not particularly sharp and possessed no special traits beyond being sufficiently sturdy.

Perhaps that was what he had longed for. Even if he was not sharp enough, nothing could crush him, and he would never use his sharpness to bully the weak.

Leticia

The next day, Izayoi Sakamaki and the others arrived at the designated Gift Game's venue. It had originally been an ordinary residential district, but it was now covered by the Pitch-black Jungle.

Countless dark vines twisted around the stone houses, making everyone's hair stand on end.

"This place... I remember it being an ordinary residential district..."

Black Rabbit looked at the scene and could not help biting her lower lip, a bad feeling rising in her heart.

"These trees have been demonized. It should be a gift of Demon Seed Transformation."

Jin, with dark circles under his eyes, touched the trees and voiced his suspicion.

After thinking through the entire night, he seemed to have matured considerably.

"Could it be... she's returned?"

Upon hearing Demon Seed Transformation, Black Rabbit covered her mouth in surprise, her voice carrying both delight and disbelief.

"Who?"

"Nothing... it's nothing."

Black Rabbit doubted her own guess and shook her head without saying more.

Since Black Rabbit would not say it, Hisato Asuka could not force her to speak using her gift.

The group continued onward until they arrived before a castle. A piece of Parchment had been posted on its gate.

"It's a Contract Document."

"Defeat Garde using the designated weapon? Garde actually made himself the completion condition?"

Jin looked at the Contract Document in surprise.

"A designated weapon? This is bad. We can't use our gifts and can only defeat Garde with weapons!"

Black Rabbit inwardly cried out in alarm as she looked at the Contract Document. Ever since learning about the gifts of the other two aside from Izayoi Sakamaki, her confidence had greatly increased. She had not expected such a massive reversal here.

"So Yamato Kasukabe's gift is ineffective against Garde? He used special rules to turn an unwinnable situation into an even match. That Garde isn't stupid."

Izayoi Sakamaki glanced at Jin, who had lowered his head, and spoke indifferently.

"Hmm... if it's a designated weapon, there should be a clue. My strength lies not only in my gift, but also in my intelligence."

Feeling as though she had been looked down on, Hisato Asuka immediately retorted, "That rule will only let him struggle a little longer."

"That's right. Agreed."

Kasukabe Yō nodded as well. This was the first battle Hisato Asuka and she had truly fought since coming to this world, and they had even started it themselves. Failure was absolutely not allowed.

After signing their names on the document, Kasukabe Yō and Hisato Asuka entered the castle.

Izayoi Sakamaki leaped into the air and reached the highest clouds, overlooking the match below.

"The Catalog of Life that can obtain the traits of other living creatures, and the authority to command others and even gifts? Let me take a good look."

"There are no living creatures nearby, and no sounds either. Garde isn't here."

Inside the castle, Kasukabe Yō closed her eyes and used the extraordinary hearing and sense of smell she had gained from other creatures to listen for sounds within the castle.

"Oh my, do you have dog friends too?" Seeing Kasukabe's practiced manner, Hisato Asuka asked curiously.

"Yeah, more than twenty."

Suddenly, Kasukabe Yō paused slightly, her expression turning serious. "Found him. He's here."

Before her stood an ancient gate. An evil aura seeped out from it, as though some demon had been imprisoned within.

Hisato Asuka and Kasukabe Yō exchanged a glance before slowly opening the gate.

"Roar—"

The roar of the King of Beasts echoed throughout the castle and the jungle.

A black-and-white tiger stared fixedly at the two newcomers with scarlet eyes.

"There's a weapon over there. It might be the designated weapon."

With her stronger nerves, Kasukabe Yō quickly calmed down amid the beast king's roar. After looking around, she spotted a Cross Sword nailed to the wall.

Suddenly, the demonized Garde pounced savagely at them. Hisato Asuka instinctively used her gift. "Stop!"

However, Garde's body only paused slightly before continuing to charge toward them.

"Tch, so gifts really don't work?"

"I'll hold this big guy back. Go take the weapon!"

There was no longer any chance to dodge. Kasukabe Yō took a deep breath, borrowed the strength of her former friends, crossed her arms, and blocked the attack.

"Okay."

Hisato Asuka naturally knew this was not the time to hesitate. Under Hakoniwa's rules, her gift was ineffective against Garde, so this was all she could do.

Quickly circling around the two still locked in a struggle, Hisato Asuka leaped up and pulled the Cross Sword from the wall.

She whipped around and shouted at Kasukabe, who was about to lose ground, "Catch!"

With a powerful throw, the Cross Sword traced a graceful arc through the air and plunged straight into Garde's body.

His once incomparably tough body was reduced to nothing before the Cross Sword's power, and a bloody hole instantly appeared in him.

"Roar—"

Pain visibly weakened Garde. Kasukabe Yō stopped holding back, her strength erupting as she broke free from Garde's entanglement.

Just as she wanted to turn over and seize the sword lodged in Garde's body, Garde instantly dodged away. His agile movements did not match his massive three-meter-tall body at all.

Tony's Red Packet

"Sorry."

Kasukabe Yō leaped to Hisato Asuka's side and spoke.

"It's fine. I didn't expect that big guy to be so nimble either."

Watching the situation unfold, Hisato Asuka impatiently bit her finger.

The favorable situation had suddenly reversed.

Although the sword was embedded in Garde's body, that level of damage was nowhere near enough to kill him.

Instead, they had handed the Dragon Slaying Saber to the dragon.

"Let's retreat first."

Black Rabbit's explanation of their gifts during their bath last night surfaced in Hisato Asuka's mind.

Hisato Asuka instantly had an answer.

"Okay."

Out of trust in her friend, Kasukabe Yō agreed with Hisato Asuka's suggestion.

After turning around to draw the aggro of the crazed Garde, she headed toward the castle exit.

"Hey... I'm still here!"

Hisato Asuka's mouth twitched as she watched Kasukabe Yō race away at incredible speed.

So I'm just extra baggage, huh.

Kasukabe Yō had not run very far when she saw Garde relentlessly pursuing her from behind and suddenly remembered that one person was missing.

She hurriedly circled around the entire castle and returned to where she had started.

"Kasukabe, I'm here to pick you up."

Before Hisato Asuka could react, Kasukabe Yō picked her up and strode toward the castle exit.

"Wait... Kasukabe... why is this a Princess Carry?"

Seeing the embarrassing position, Hisato Asuka could not help complaining.

Kasukabe Yō did not answer. In one burst of effort, she accelerated out of the dim castle.

Screech, screech, screech—

Upon reaching the edge of the jungle, Kasukabe Yō heard the tiger's roar behind her and came to an abrupt stop.

"Is this far enough?"

"It should be. I don't know if it'll work, but this is my first time trying it."

Hisato Asuka, who felt dizzy as though she had motion sickness, looked at the vines winding around them and slowly recovered.

Before long, Garde lunged out from behind them. His savage, sharp fangs were clearly visible, and a sweet, bloody stench rushed toward them.

"Bind him, vines!"

The pitch-black vines formed a sturdy net and instantly tied up the charging Garde.