The Gale, Too, Has a Way Home

[S-rank gift box opening. Rolling. Please wait.]

After opening the treasure chest glowing with brilliant golden light in his inventory, a line of text popped up in the information panel on the left.

"Have to roll first?"

Noah was slightly surprised. Looking back at the inventory on the right, he discovered that a square blue die had appeared before the panel screen at some point.

Each face was engraved with corresponding words.

Before the blue die began spinning at high speed, Noah quietly memorized the words on every face.

They were:

Attribute points, consumables, weapons, skill scrolls, defensive gear, and... eggs.

"Isn't the last one kind of out of place?"

Noah thought the first few were perfectly normal, but when he saw the final face, he fell silent in thought. "Even though the reduplication is disgusting, it probably doesn't mean anything weird. It should refer to pet eggs, right? Like ones that could hatch a falcon or a shark?"

That was the most reliable guess, though Noah did not particularly want that sort of reward for the time being. As for the earlier categories, he could accept whichever one he rolled, as long as the item was not too bad.

[Rolling complete.]

New text appeared in the information panel once more. At the same time, the blue die gradually stopped spinning.

[Gift box reward type: Weapon.]

"Weapon?"

Noah subconsciously glanced at Kompira by his side.

He had been using Momousagi's Great Grade Blade these past few days and had gradually grown accustomed to it.

Whenever he thought about having to return it to its rightful owner soon and going back to an ordinary standard-issue Marine longsword, he felt the regret and reluctance of having seen the ocean and finding all other waters lacking.

So...

If the weapon reward he rolled turned out to be another good sword for himself, that would not be bad at all, would it?

"Please don't let it be something like a battle axe or spiked club. That doesn't fit my style at all..."

Noah prayed silently, his gaze fixed on the gift box as it slowly opened.

As the golden light gradually faded, a pair of somewhat familiar twin swords appeared before him.

[You have obtained a new item: Yone's Twin Swords.]

[Name: Wind Sword / Yone's Sword]

[Type: Weapon]

[Quality: Epic]

[Description: The Wind Sword was originally an exquisite blade forged by a mortal master craftsman. After returning from the spirit realm alongside Yone, it underwent a transcendent transformation. The other blade, Yone's Sword, came from a place where demons roamed and possessed the terrifying power to destroy souls.]

[Note: The power of the twin swords has yet to be fully awakened. Go do something and restore them!]

["I once chased the untamed gale. Now, I hunt the storm born of darkness."]

[One sword slays evil, one sword subdues souls.]

"Yone's twin swords?"

Noah was somewhat surprised. He vaguely remembered that name. Wasn't he Yasuo's biological older brother in the Valoran setting?

However, that hero had not yet officially been released before Noah transmigrated. He had only been mentioned a handful of times in the background lore, so Noah knew little else about him.

He did not care much about that. What mattered was the quality of the swords.

Glancing at T Bone, who was steering at the bow, Noah sprang up and quietly moved to a blind spot at the stern. Facing the sea breeze, he took out his newly acquired blades from his inventory.

Of the two swords, one had a sheath, while the other did not.

The sheathed one was called the "Wind Sword." Its blade was slender and exquisite. Once drawn, the snow-white edge gleamed with dazzling cold light beneath the sun. With the slightest swing, it felt as though a fierce gale was howling past his ears.

The unsheathed sword was called "Yone's Sword."

Compared to the rather plain and ordinary-looking Wind Sword, this one was longer and broader.

Its entirely dark-red blade resembled surging, scorching lava, or perhaps the blood of sinners staining it. Near the hilt, its color gradually turned pitch-black, where five mysterious silver patterns were carved in a row.

"They're both good swords..."

As a swordsman who had practiced swordsmanship since childhood, Noah could sense the extraordinary nature of the twin swords merely from their appearance. Once he gripped their hilts, however, he could faintly feel an exquisitely compatible connection.

"I've struck it rich."

He grinned, delighted. For a Two-Sword Style swordsman, what weapon reward could possibly be better or more suitable than a matching pair of blades?

"Let's see how powerful they are."

Noah held the red and white blades horizontally before him in one hand and reversed behind his back in the other, assuming the classic opening stance of Two-Sword Style from his memories. He slowly closed his eyes.

A sharp, imposing aura silently rose around him.

The next instant.

His tightly shut eyes snapped open, revealing eyes like stars in the night sky. With a low shout, both swords descended as he suddenly slashed toward the sea ahead!

Whoosh!

The sound of blades cleaving air rang out. Noah skillfully unleashed the Two-Sword Style techniques he had cultivated for more than a decade.

Amid the dazzling flurry of blade light and sword shadows, faint unstable sword energy occasionally leaked out. The patch of sea near the stern was instantly thrown into turmoil, waves surging high one after another.

Splash!

Waves occasionally crashed onto the deck. Accompanied by the salty, damp sea breeze, they soon drenched Noah from head to toe like a soaked chicken.

Yet Noah, whose enthusiasm had been completely ignited, paid no heed to any of it. He continued swinging his twin swords with complete focus, over and over again, utterly immersed in his own world.

The afternoon sunlight was warm and soothing. At the far end of the azure sky, white News Coos occasionally spread their wings and swept past.

The lonely little boat sailing across the boundless sea, and the handsome black-haired youth on board slashing his sword into the wind, silently formed a beautiful picture where motion and stillness intertwined.

No one knew how much time passed.

Only when his limbs felt slightly weak and his entire body, from his black hair to his heels, was drenched beyond distinction between sweat and seawater did Noah finally stop.

The sky had already darkened.

After closing his eyes slightly and adjusting his breathing, he spread his arms and laughed heartily toward the setting sun.

Only after examining the twin swords for a long while did he finally sheathe them.

"I've improved again."

Bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun, Noah stroked the hilts at his waist, thoroughly satisfied.

Now, when he swung his sword, he could occasionally slash out strands of sword energy as thin as silk, releasing them to affect the surrounding environment.

This was the result of his relentless daily training, as well as the insights he had gained from Ryuma's swordsmanship notes.

At this rate, the day when he could reliably unleash Flying Slashes and become a Swordmaster was incomparably close.

Noah looked again at the two swords in his hands.

Only today did he finally understand something completely.

For a swordsman, having a good sword that suited him was truly important beyond measure!

Momousagi's Kompira, one of the Wazamono 21, was certainly a first-rate famed blade in this world. Yet it was ultimately incompatible with him, and using it always felt as though a thin membrane separated them.

The pair of swords he had obtained from the gift box, however, gave him a completely different feeling.

Not only did they perfectly suit his identity as a Two-Sword Style swordsman, they fit his hands incomparably well. Once he grew familiar with them, he even felt a subtle sensation as if their souls were merging.

Whether training or fighting, it seemed that with a single thought, he could completely immerse himself and enter a state where man and sword became one at any moment.