Daru frowned, staring at the screen of his laptop.

It has been a while since he checked the forums. Only now did he learn of his alias, Okuni's, notoriety.

He was being called the Sunblade Psychopath, Mad Murderer, and other such nicknames.

Daru naturally didn't like any of them.

"The nerve of these people…I just protected myself…" he muttered to himself.

Unfortunately, as much as he wanted to prove his innocence, he knew it would be unwise to do so at the current state of his life.

He only has himself to rely on, and from what he had learned based on experience, he would only be living the life of a fugitive if he chose to come out now.

He had to focus on becoming an excellent bladeborn first.

Perhaps then, the government would be willing to hear him out.

'Such injustice…' Daru thought inwardly, clenching his fists in utter frustration as bits of inexperience were peeled away and dissipated like the red cubic particles in the Myriad Sword Realm.

Five seconds later, he calmed himself with a deep breath, accepting the world's unfairness.

'All this is part of being a bladeborn…' Daru consoled himself in an attempt to soothe his agitated heart.

Unfortunately, sleeping proved to be a struggle that night.

He found it difficult to bear the label of a criminal, even if it was only his alias being called so.

Nonetheless, Daru eventually managed to drift off, resting his body for the next day.

He attended Talon's lecture for two hours the next morning, not in the best of moods, before entering the Myriad Sword Realm again.

***

**

Inside a huge office with hundreds of desks, employees panicked.

Some sprinted across the room, others typed and clicked on things on their computers in utter distress, while a few talked to their superiors on their phones.

The Neo-Earth World Government's Novice Affairs Department had fallen into chaos since ten minutes ago, as a huge announcement had recently appeared in the skies of Valmaris Continent:

[The Event: "Chaos, Novice Invasion!" has begun.]

[Inter-continental Invasion Teleportation Traps have been placed randomly in the novice zones of every continent. Novices who would step on them would be sent to a novice zone of another continent. They would be sent back to their continent after either losing one life or the event ends.]

[All invading novices would gain a fifty-percent experience point bonus that would expire after a month or upon death.]

[Warning: during this time, bladeborns who have spent more than four thousand hours in the realm will be kicked out of the novice zones, into the nearest rookie and above zones. Re-entering would be equivalent to forfeiting a life.]

The event's title made it seem as though the novices who were sent to the other continent were there to terrorize the local novices.

It was true, in a way…

However, the more accurate truth was that the novices who were unfortunate enough to step on a trap were all but guaranteed to lose one life.

This event was happening for the seventh time in the entire century-long history of the Sword Trials.

Very few novices—fewer than the number of fingers in one's hands—had been lucky or skilled enough to survive an entire month in enemy territory, despite the temporary disconnect between bladeborns whose total hours are ranked rookie and above.

It was better to describe the traps as Inter-continental Death Teleportation Traps instead.

It didn't matter from which race one was.

More than 95% of the novices who were unlucky enough to step into one had lost a life.

Of course, the smarter ones would just decide to stop entering the realm for an entire month rather than allowing such a thing to happen.

They would inevitably fall behind their peers, sure, but those individuals—especially the low-rankers—valued their lives more than the lost time.

They had never been fighting for the apex, anyway.

But there was a requirement for this option to be available to the unlucky novice: it was that they must survive until the realm forcefully kicked them out.

If they voluntarily leave, their husks would be left behind, which, if discovered, would mean finding oneself standing in front of a sword goddess statue—one life less.

Unfortunately, less than thirty percent would have the wits or the skills to pull off such a thing.

This was why this event was hated by all four races, as it would ruin the growth of their seedlings.

Even those who were lucky enough not to step into a trap would suddenly find themselves being ambushed by enemy novices who are desperately trying to survive in foreign lands.

No novice was safe; anyone could lose a life in the one month of utter chaos.

What's worse was that only the novices were allowed to handle the situation, and the world government could only track what was going on with the few low-ranker agents who were allowed to stay in the affected zones due to their total time not exceeding four thousand hours.

The poor youngsters, although a year older, were far from having the capability to take control of the situation.

They could even be victims of the traps themselves if they weren't careful.

Their tasks were mainly to help track how many top rankers had stepped on one.

That way, the world government could know the exact number of Heartsoul Gems needed and start looking for them to replace the lost lives of the high-rankers.

Only those ranked S and above are given this privilege.

After all, Heartsoul Gems are extremely rare and difficult to find, and even with the world government's authority, it would be impossible to replenish all lost lives in a short time.

Some S-rankers would even have to wait for longer than a year before obtaining the promised heart.

The event was basically a month-long headache that none of the four races liked.

Unfortunately, the lecture had just ended, and the novices weren't lucky enough to either be warned by their instructors—who had learned of the matter just now—or enter the realm early enough to read the massive notification.

Was this perhaps according to the design of the divine?

***

Meanwhile…

In the Myriad Sword Realm…

A young, green-haired beauty blinked her eyes once before looking around, brows furrowing at the unfamiliar, somber environment.

'This location…doesn't seem like it's still a part of the Crystal Hollows…' Daru pondered deep inside a gloomy and misty forest with quite a number of dead trees and plants. 'Oh, am I in a hidden dungeon?'

His current situation seemed closer to what he experienced in the Critter Forest, when he descended the ancient well that sent him to the Catmelot Kingdom.

"Shame that the glowing circle dungeon entrance didn't have a guardian…' he mused, the face of the dishonourable nyaight, Sir Lancelynx, fleeting in his mind.

'As long as I keep moving, I should be able to progress...' Daru nodded to himself.

He turned to his left, randomly choosing a direction to proceed in.

Then, he froze…noticing an individual standing there, just as stupefied as he was.

Monster? Swordspawn? Human?

Daru was unsure, but he had somehow seen or read about the appearance of the young whatever in front of him.

Slightly shorter, pale gray skin, long, pointy ears…

It was then that a word suddenly popped up in his mind:

"Veshari…"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.