It felt as though he had returned to his powerless, ordinary self—stripped of every strength he'd once gained.
The great marsh engulfed him, waves crashing and swirling, icy water flooding his mouth and nose until every breath burned.
In the dim, suffocating depths, shapes moved—dark, violent forms steeped in murderous intent.
"So this is the first trial... a battle of wills?"
Ren understood immediately.
The suffocation crushing his chest wasn't real—it was illusion.
He had never been the strongest in raw ability, but his will had always been extraordinary.
Inside this mental world, he finally moved.
Even when his body told him he had no strength to fight... even when his mind urged him to struggle toward the surface and breathe... even when everything around him whispered deceit—
He still raised his hand.
And in that moment, the falsehood of helplessness shattered beneath the blade of his will.
Five fingers spread open.
From within his frail frame burst a surge of violet-black Haki, power coursing through every limb like wildfire.
His grip tightened.
His killing intent condensed into a crimson blade, and with a roar of energy it split apart the collapsing sky above.
Ren stepped from the water's surface, blade in hand, cutting down the shadowy creatures that lunged toward him.
And beyond them—stood the Evil Spirit Sovereign.
This world was illusion, but also trial.
Here, outside strength meant nothing—only will.
This was a war between spirits.
The timid were crushed beneath the purple-black sky and turned to blood and mud. The uncertain were hacked apart by the beasts. The hesitant sank into the bottomless depths of the marsh.
Only those strong enough to grasp their blade and cleave through everything could truly claim the Cursed Blade.
Time stretched infinitely in that world.
Ren stood cold and unyielding, a figure of iron will, his crimson blade flashing again and again as he felled every monster that dared to stand before him.
Indeed—
Without the Dimensional Roulette, Ren was still only an ordinary man.
But in sheer resolve, he yielded to no one.
The weak would never dream of something so impossible, let alone pursue it as if it were destiny.
Amid killing intent sharp enough to cut bone, countless shadowy beasts fell beneath his strikes. Ren strode across the waves, shattering each foe he met.
At last, he reached the pillar of light—and with one great swing, severed it clean in two.
From the broken heavens descended the Evil Spirit Sovereign, grasping the demonic blade as it clashed against his.
Pain was inevitable. Blood flowed freely, and deep gashes bloomed across Ren's body.
The agony was indistinguishable from reality, but not even that could alter his swing.
Chunks of flesh were torn away by the attacks unleashed from Cursed Blade: Thousand Edge.
Eyes gouged, flesh sliced, fingers and arms severed—the Evil Spirit's assault was savage beyond measure, its cruelty a torment even illusion could not soften.
Yet Ren's hand never wavered.
Until, at last—
Fragments of Thousand Edge pierced his skin, burrowing into his flesh, shredding his organs before tearing out again.
And in that same instant, his crimson blade cleaved through the Evil Spirit Sovereign's neck.
The illusion collapsed in an instant.
Ren's eyes snapped open in the real world, his pupils glowing crimson. The air was thick with the scent of blood.
Faint wounds—identical to those from the illusion but far shallower—appeared across his skin.
His breathing steadied. His regenerative energy went to work, healing the damage.
A light screen flickered before his eyes.
[Cursed Blade: Thousand Edge — Evil Spirit Form — Recognized Master!]
[Note: The strong… possess everything!]
"So if I hadn't cut off its head at the end, it would've counted as failure—and I'd have been severely injured in reality?"
Ren mused, his hand resting calmly on the silent, crimson blade.
Thinking back, every notification beyond the first bore the prefix "Evil Spirit."
Meaning the battle had been deception—an illusion, not a true life-or-death duel.
The timid would have been frightened into retreat.
Even the brave might have faltered, doubting themselves amid such an unfair world and quitting halfway.
Only those with unwavering confidence could slice through to the end—and earn the Evil Spirit's acknowledgment.
"Interesting."
Ren tightened his grip, drawing the blade and infusing it with violet-black Haki.
The thousand fragments lifted away, forming a sphere of floating shards that orbited around him.
He carefully compared the genuine article with the counterfeit.
The first difference was consumption.
One of the main reasons he seldom used the Pseudo–Cursed Blade was its absurd energy drain.
Each 100 units of Qi used for an attack would consume 30 units in loss.
He'd thought that was normal—it was a floating weapon made of fragments, after all.
But the genuine blade was different.
Every 100 units of Qi used consumed only one.
A thirtyfold difference.
Because the true Cursed Blade, no matter the distance, functioned as a single whole.
Or rather—
The one paying that cost wasn't the wielder at all... but the Evil Spirit residing within!
From the hilt to the guard, from the edge to all thousand fragments—every piece was part of the Evil Spirit's body.
The fake couldn't replicate that; it merely stacked quantity to mimic the effect—and poorly at that.
For instance, Ren's counterfeit version could only manage twelve blades.
He'd believed that controlling hundreds precisely was beyond his mental capacity.
But once he used the genuine Thousand Edge, he realized—
Its endless variations weren't operated directly by the user, but by commanding the Evil Spirit within to act.
It wasn't easy to control, true—but the difference was enormous.
Like manually operating a thousand machines versus programming all thousand to run a single synchronized task.
Naturally, the energy drain was vastly reduced.
The fragments themselves were of higher quality, too.
Their control and precision far surpassed the fake's.
The Pseudo–Cursed Blade had gone berserk before, but the genuine one would not.
It had recognized its master—and thus would never harm him.
He'd test other properties later; for now, he replaced the fake blade entirely.
As for the old one—it had already lost control once. Giving it to anyone else would be reckless.
He might as well offer it to the sea.
The remaining prizes manifested in physical form: two multifaceted crystals, golden and violet, brimming with powerful energy.
Ren examined them closely.
[Magic Circle: Angel of Glory]
Origin: Magical Dimension
Type: Magic
Effect: A combat crystal designed for non-magic users, sealing within it the superior form of "Armor of Glory"—the Angel of Glory spell.
The spell is inscribed into the crystal as a magic circle. Upon activation, it will form on the user's body.
Once formed, it draws upon the user's vitality or energy, converting it into mana to invoke the Angel of Glory spell.
Depending on the energy infused, the manifestation differs—Two-Winged Angel or Four-Winged Angel.
Two-Winged Form: Grants Flight, Light–Heat Conversion, and Armor of Glory.
Four-Winged Form: Adds Energy Accumulation and Light Shaping.
Flight: The user can fly at 200 m/s with high maneuverability.In Four-Winged form, speed increases to 300 m/s at the cost of control.
Light–Heat Conversion: Absorbs light to generate heat, creating controllable fire entities within a 100-meter radius. In Accumulation state, both range and absorption rate double.
Armor of Glory: Forms radiant heavy armor comparable to high-grade steel, its hollow structure dispersing most physical impacts. Combined with other traits, it grants up to D++ attributes in three dimensions (default: D).
Energy Accumulation: A Four-Winged-exclusive trait that stores absorbed light energy for use in other abilities.
Light Shaping: Allows the compression of stored light energy into tangible attacks.
"A magical replacement for the Armor of Glory, huh? But maybe... it could also serve as a fill-in module for my barracks system. Artificial angel army, anyone?"
Ren pondered as he examined the second crystal.
[Magic Circle: Thunder Draw]
Origin: Magical Dimension
Type: Magic
Effect: An industrial crystal for non-magic users.Records an energy-supplying spell that converts natural power into mana.
Upon activation, it creates a magic circle externally, commonly used in thunderstorm environments to power large-scale magical installations.
Once active, Thunder Draw automatically attracts natural lightning, storing and converting it into Thunder Mana Crystals.
Uses: 1/1
Ren blinked in surprise. It was his first time seeing a spell capable of producing Mana Crystals.
And compared to the Angel of Glory circle, this one had a completely different focus.
Judging from the activation method of these storm-based magics, this "Magical Dimension" had to be a high-tier realm indeed.
Even within a single system, there could be massive divergence between its branches.
Either way, this provided him with a renewable source of Mana Crystals—a solid win.
He stored the crystals carefully for future use.
That was the end of the physical prizes.
Ren opened the Dimensional Roulette again and checked the next three rewards.
[Spider-Sense]
Origin: Spider-Verse
Type: Superpower (Innate Ability)*
Effect: A psychic ability that warns its user moments before danger strikes.
It alerts the mind of impending threats but cannot automatically force the body to dodge.
In many instances across the Spider-Verse, users died because the attacks simply outpaced their reactions.
However, Spider-Sense improves with experience, evolving toward the user's natural perception style—such as Death Precognition, Spatial Awareness, Change Detection, or even Future Sight.
Each evolution path requires different amounts of experience.
Additionally, Spider-Sense does not react to individuals the user deems non-threatening or trusted.
Cost: None
Note: "Peter gets the chills."
"Not Marvel? Spider-Verse... what's that supposed to be? A comic multiverse?"
Ren stared blankly at the text, dumbfounded.
(End of Chapter)