Chapter 93: Blade of the Forgotten Self

[14th Everdusk 2103], CGA Branch, Dyna Crest Country

Deep within the forest dungeon, a young man lay half-buried in a patch of thick bushes, bloodstained and unmoving. Some distance ahead, a fierce battle raged—seven skeletons clashed against a growing swarm of goblins. The clash echoed with bone-cracking thuds, snarls, and the shrill cries of the dying. One skeleton had already turned to ash.

The man lying still was me.

Trapped in a mindscape, I had just conversed with the fragments of my former selves—first and second Evans—while my physical body remained vulnerable outside. But suddenly, my fingers twitched. Then my eyelids fluttered open.

Darkness greeted me. My body was drenched in goblin blood—none of it mine.

“Argh...!” A sharp, throbbing pain exploded in my skull. I clutched my head, gritting my teeth, fighting the urge to scream. It felt as if someone had tried to forcibly stuff a thousand years of memories into a space meant for a hundred.

“Yeah... just a side effect.” I muttered through clenched teeth. The knowledge I’d gained hadn’t served me back then—but now, in this world where power was everything, it had finally become a weapon.

The pain washed away something else, too.

The smile I once wore without a reason. That faint, childish joy. Gone.

I was changing.

Not just evolving in strength—but

becoming

the Evan from the second life. Detached. Gloomy. Quiet. The kind of person who preferred solitude to companionship.

And I knew why.

The second Evan had endured over a year alone in the dungeon system before ascending. His pain, his struggle—it now lived within me. Unlike the first, who rose to Peak Tier 0 in three months, the second took over a year. And now, I was somewhere in between.

I tried to rise, intending to finish this dungeon and get out. But before I could even sit up, a cascade of system notifications flashed before me.

{Your summoned creature (

Skeleton

) has been destroyed.}

{Your summoned creature (

Skeleton

) has been destroyed.}

{Your summoned creature (

Skeleton

) has been destroyed...}

The same line repeated five times.

My jaw clenched as I turned my gaze toward the battlefield. The skeletons had been overwhelmed. New goblins had arrived to reinforce the earlier group. My summons were crumbling, bones scattering across the mossy ground.

As an ex-tamer, watching your summoned creatures get torn apart was like watching comrades fall in battle. It was shameful.

And infuriating.

I stood up slowly, brushing leaves off my armor and picking up my enchanted sword. The grip felt tighter now—more natural, more precise. My swordsmanship had evolved.

I stepped out of the bushes.

The goblins spotted me almost instantly. Over thirty of them—blood-streaked, savage, hungry for more.

"Perfect warm-up before the boss,” I muttered, exhaling.

The goblins shrieked and charged.

But I didn’t retreat. I didn’t even flinch. These child-sized beasts weren’t worth fear.

One deep breath.

Then, I moved.

My first strike was too fast for even me to see clearly. The leading goblin didn’t even realize it had been sliced until its torso slid away from its legs and collapsed, spraying blood across the others.

They panicked—but I kept moving.

Like a scythe cutting through wheat, I slashed through them. Each movement was fluid, precise. I wasn’t wasting energy—every swing had intent.

In less than five minutes, the ground was littered with twitching corpses. A few goblins still remained—eight of them, all wielding crude iron swords and trembling with fear.

I glanced at the rusted blade one of their comrades had dropped and picked it up with my left hand. The system immediately pinged:

__

Weapon Proficiency (Passive) (Lv. 2)

Type

: Passive

Cooldown

: N/A

Mana Cost

: N/A

Proficiency

: 02%

Description

:

A passive skill that increases the user's effectiveness with all weapons, providing enhanced accuracy, damage, and speed based on the weapon type currently equipped.

Effect

:

Accuracy Boost

: Increases hit chance by 7% with all weapon types.

Damage Boost

: Increases weapon damage by 12%.

Attack Speed Boost

: Increases attack speed by 7%.

Weapon Proficiency:

One-Handed sword:

D (07%)

__

I smirked. My proficiency had improved. I knew why—my sword rank in my first life had reached

S-rank

. Though I had started over, my body remembered. My instincts remembered.

These goblins… they had no idea what was coming.

I stepped toward them.

Some faltered, one turned to run.

“Too late,” I whispered.

My blade swung toward the fleeing goblin—but before it could even connect, my foot slammed into his chest. The goblin flew backward, crashing into a tree with a sickening

crack

. Blood spilled from its mouth. It was still breathing—but barely.

I turned to the rest.

One by one, they died. Quick, clean, merciless.

Their attempts to parry or strike back were futile. I struck only where it mattered—throat, heart, skull. My swords danced, and they followed their rhythm to death.

When the fight ended, I stood alone among the corpses.

I turned to the goblin I’d kicked earlier. He was still alive. Barely. His chest heaved weakly.

I ended his life with a final thrust, without hesitation.

I took a long breath. Blood coated my arms, soaked into my clothes, and yet—I wasn’t tired.

Normally, with my stamina stat, I’d be close to collapse. But I had moved efficiently. No wasted steps. No wasted energy.

“Still... I need to rest. Stamina’s too low for the boss fight.”

I sat down on a nearby rock, rotating my arms slowly to shake off the tension. I glanced toward the direction of the goblin village.

“I’ll wipe them out after recovering. And before that... time to use

Plunder

.”

I summoned a skeleton to help collect the corpses.

<Undead Summon> [-30 MP]

Bones clattered as the undead rose, its eyes flickering with faint green light.

I checked the skill’s proficiency—it was sitting at 97%. One or two more uses and it would finally level up.

Right on cue, a new notification flashed.

{You’ve slain...}

To be continued...

✨

Which Evan do you prefer—the jolly one or this colder, sharper version shaped by memory? Let me know in the comments.