The Holy Sword Deck

"Huu..."

Only then did Rhode let out a long breath and lie back down.

After his conversation with the young girl, Rhode could confirm that this was indeed the world of the Dragon Soul Continent. Furthermore, this was not the era he had previously experienced, but the far more distant past—the Twilight Year, which, converted to game time, was the period when the Dragon Soul Continent game had just begun its open beta.

How did he end up here?

Rhode sighed and shook his head, deciding to stop dwelling on such strange and mysterious matters. Regardless, he had arrived, and that was an undeniable fact. So, what should he do next?

First, Rhode decided to test what he was currently capable of. With just a thought, a clear and familiar system prompt appeared before his eyes, displaying his current status and attributes:

Rhode

Level 1

Race: Half-breed (??)

Talent: Unsealed

Race Bonus: Unsealed

Race Trait: Unsealed

Class: Summon Swordsman (Hero Class)

Class Skill: Spirit Summoning (Proficiency E)

Swordsmanship: Moon Shadow Swordsmanship (Proficiency E) (Available Skill - Shatter Blade)

Sub-class: Alchemist (Arcane Creation Specialty)

Skill: Focused Shaping (Proficiency E)

This was a very normal, yet highly abnormal status sheet. Especially upon seeing the first item, Rhode nearly cried out.

Half-breed? How could he be a half-breed?

In the Dragon Soul Continent, the term "half-breed" did not refer to intermarriage between different human ethnicities as it might on Earth. Instead, those possessing the half-breed attribute were generally the result of unions between humans and non-human races. Rhode was certain he was human, and even as a player character in the game, he had not selected any other race. Why, then, did his status sheet now show "half-breed"? The question mark in parentheses indicated that his bloodline had not yet fully awakened, which was why his race bonus and race trait were sealed. This meant Rhode had to discover what kind of blood flowed through his veins and awaken the dormant power within it before he could obtain them.

This was a nuisance for Rhode, as race bonuses were typically provided upon character creation. For instance, the human race bonus reduced skill learning time, and depending on the specific lineage, offered various buffs like poison resistance or reputation gains. Now, however, these bonuses and traits were completely inaccessible to him.

Yet, there were surprises. In the swordsmanship and alchemy sections, Rhode discovered that aside from his level-one essentials, the dozen or so sword arts and alchemy skills he had learned as a player had not been forgotten. They were quietly listed below, though they were dimmed, indicating that with his current ability and level, he could not yet learn or use them. This did not worry him, however; as his strength increased and he met the requirements, he would regain access to them. The only downside was that the proficiency of these skills had been reset to the lowest rank, E, rather than SS.

Rhode did not take these minor setbacks to heart. He valued these skills not for their proficiency, but for their origins. Many sword arts were incredibly difficult to learn, requiring not just levels or attributes, but a series of quests, high reputation, or the sheer coincidence of finding hidden items. These demanded vast amounts of money, time, and even luck. In the game, it wasn't until the final year of his time in the Dragon Soul Continent that Rhode had fully perfected his character, which was why he had the confidence to challenge the Void Dragon.

Unfortunately, there were both joys and sorrows. While the issue of his sword arts was resolved, Rhode soon realized that it wasn't just his experience, level, and proficiency that had been wiped clean. It was the most important element for a Summon Swordsman: his Summoned Spirits.

In the game Dragon Soul Continent, the Summon Swordsman was a highly controversial class. Initially, it garnered attention as an official, player-exclusive class. However, once players actually tried it, it was dubbed one of the most "pitiful" classes due to three factors: its hybrid nature of magic and melee that left it excelling at neither, the complexity of needing Summoned Spirits to coordinate attacks, and the massive consumption of experience points during leveling.

Literally speaking, the summoning arts of a Summon Swordsman seemed no different from those of a Mage, but in reality, they were vastly distinct. A Mage's summoning consumed their own power to tear through space, summoning creatures from sub-planes and forcing them to serve through the power of magic. A Summon Swordsman, however, lacked the ability to tear through spatial planes; all their summons originated from the current world. One of their unique abilities, "Spirit Summoning," allowed them to reawaken the souls within ancient, mysterious items and seal them through a contract to be used.

While it sounded impressive, the trouble was immense. Many players were initially lured into choosing the Summon Swordsman class, thinking they could simply buy broken ancient artifacts from ruins or merchant guilds at a low price, use Spirit Summoning to call forth the weapon's soul, and effortlessly obtain a divine artifact.

Alas, dreams were beautiful, but reality was cruel. Not to mention that only high-level Spirit Summoning could activate the dormant souls of ancient weapon fragments, these soul-forms had lost their physical bodies, making them far weaker than they originally were. Take the quasi-artifact "Wrath of the Dragon King" that Rhode had used in the game; he had only managed to extract its soul from a fragment after reaching max level. Even then, the weapon he forged was not as powerful as those crafted by master blacksmiths at the same level. Rhode had spent two full years traveling across the entire Dragon Soul Continent, scouring the heavens and the earth, before he finally reactivated the souls of all the fragments and restored the weapon to its original state. Setting aside the time, the sheer danger of the process was enough to deter most people. Furthermore, spirit weapons consumed soul power to maintain their use, and the summoned spirits themselves also required soul power. Since Summon Swordsmen lacked the mana reserves of Mages, most eventually preferred ordinary weapons over these "beautiful but useless" spirit weapons.

Beyond that, there were three other sources for Summoned Spirits. The first was to use a Soul Core condensed from the death of a magical creature to awaken it as a Summoned Spirit. However, this would change based on the holder's attributes and environmental factors. For example, if a Summon Swordsman obtained a Soul Core after killing a Fire Snake, but awakened the soul in a frozen wasteland or while wearing dark-attribute gear, there was no telling what kind of monster would emerge. If it were a Hydra with dark powers, that would be fine, but if it were a common monster weakened by conflicting attributes, one could only weep.

The second method was to defeat non-human creatures and, upon meeting certain conditions, sign a contract to seal them as Summoned Spirits. This was a common method for Summon Swordsmen, but the flaw was that these summoned creatures had too much autonomy. In the game, this meant they might resist their summoner's commands based on their own judgment. Naturally, this wasn't popular; no one wanted their summons to be more of a hindrance than a help.

As for the final method, it involved unlocking the attribute adjustment talent after level ten, allowing the fusion of several Summoned Spirits to create a higher-tier spirit. This method somewhat controlled the unpredictability of the spirits; as long as one was familiar with their traits, race, and attributes, one could generally predict the outcome of the fusion. But the flaw here was equally "pitiful"—the level of the new spirit was random. You might fuse two high-level spirits only to produce a level 1 spirit, or one far higher than the holder's level that couldn't be used at all. If it were the latter, you could just work on leveling up, but if it were the former, you might as well delete your account...

The experience for Summoned Spirits was deducted from the holder, which was the main reason Summon Swordsmen leveled slower than other classes. With the same amount of experience, other classes only had to worry about themselves, but a Summon Swordsman had to split it to raise their spirits. This balance was hard to master; allocating experience could ensure a spirit leveled up and evolved, but as mentioned before, evolution was influenced by the environment, the holder's will, and external factors, meaning the evolved spirit wasn't always what the holder wanted.

Because of these "pitiful" traits, the Summon Swordsman class was "voted" to the top of the "Ten Most Pitiful Classes" on the official Dragon Soul Continent forums. Someone gave a vivid description of Summon Swordsman players: those who played the class were either newbies tricked by the trailers and CG, casual players who didn't care about progress, or gamblers who loved to test their luck. And the last type was... Rhode.

Just from the fact that his game ID had evolved from a simple name into a synonym for a phenomenon, one could imagine how other players felt when Rhode, using this universally recognized "pitiful" class, achieved countless server-firsts and conquered three new eras in a row.

Average players disliked the randomness, as it made them feel like things were out of their control, but Rhode thrived on it. Because it was unknown, it was challenging—which was why he chose the class. In his long gaming career, he had encountered almost every "pitiful" aspect of the Summon Swordsman, yet he never tired of it, because only by conquering such difficulties did he feel true satisfaction.

But now, the dozens of top-tier Summoned Spirits he had spent seven years cultivating were all gone. The mysterious summoning circle on the back of his right hand remained, but he could no longer sense any spirits within it. On second thought, it was no surprise; this body was not his game body, so he couldn't expect too much.

However...

At this thought, Rhode's heart stirred. He reached out and felt his chest pocket. Sure enough, he felt a card.

It was a white-backed card depicting a pristine, white longsword entwined with thorns. It was engraved with intricate, ornate patterns, and the hilt featured a pair of exquisite, folding wings. Just looking at it was a pleasure. At the four corners of the card were four different marks: a white semicircle in the top right, a small "x" in the top left, and two small numbers—3—in the bottom left and right corners. Turning the card over, mysterious, elegant text slowly emerged on the back.

[Tenth of the Eternal Holy Sword: Star Trace, No Attribute, Fusion Possible—Even the dust of history cannot bury its dazzling brilliance.]

It was still here?

Rhode stared at the card in his hand, slightly stunned. This was the exclusive equipment of a Summon Swordsman: a Summoning Card. And he was very familiar with this one; it was a rare commemorative souvenir given to him by the game company after he led his guild to win first place on the entire server for two consecutive seasons. Of course, there were plenty of similar card-related merchandise, but Rhode hadn't had the spare cash to waste on things that were just for show. He had kept this prize as a lucky charm, as it didn't take up any space.

Originally, it was just an ordinary commemorative prize, the only one of its kind in the world. But at this moment, Rhode saw its surface emitting a faint, shimmering light in his hand.

Should he try it?

Rhode hesitated for only a second before gripping the card tightly. The magic circle on the back of his right hand suddenly flared, and azure magic lines spread out to every finger. The white card erupted in a blinding light, then dissolved into specks of dust, vanishing into the air.

At that moment, a system prompt appeared before Rhode's eyes.

[Obtained Eternal Deck 1/10, Tenth of the Eternal Holy Sword - Star Trace]

"Huu..."

Staring at the system prompt, Rhode sighed with mixed emotions. He didn't know why something that was just a normal card in his original world functioned as a real Summoning Card here, but for the current Rhode, this was absolutely his most useful asset. In the game, weapons with +2 stats were rare before level fifteen, and "Star Trace" possessed an initial +3 attribute. This was enough to allow a semi-useless Summon Swordsman to compete with a proper Swordsman. Coupled with its fusion trait, it meant that as long as he found the right spirit, he could transform it into an attribute weapon. Although the requirement to consume soul power made it inferior to normal weapons, in terms of raw attack power, it was a rare and powerful piece of equipment for the current moment.

Yet, Rhode found it hard to be truly excited, for the situation he had been dragged into was simply too bizarre.

Is this a game? Or is it reality? If this is reality, then where should he go from here?

"Knock, knock."

Just then, a knock sounded at the door.

Rhode looked up and happened to see a middle-aged man push the door open and walk in. He was wearing adventurer's leather armor, his bright red hair combed back carelessly. Seeing Rhode, the man smiled slightly.

"Hello, sir. I am Carter, the leader of the Star Moon Mercenary Group."