The Villain Who Invests in a Witch to Survive Chapter 94 : Chapter 94

Chapter 94: Village Sword

After the al began, Cecilia added so more details about the known dangerous areas in the forest, the habits of several mid-tier magical beasts that needed special attention, and other specifics. Ryan listened carefully, occasionally asking a question or two.

During the al, Cecilia seed to suddenly rember sothing. With a flip of her wrist, a finely crafted dark wooden box, about a ter long, appeared on the table. It was clearly a space-storage type magical tool.

"By the way, this is for you." She pushed the wooden box toward Ryan.

Ryan was sowhat surprised as he took the box. It felt quite heavy in his hands. He unlatched the clasp and opened the lid.

Inside, lined with deep blue velvet, lay a longsword, quietly resting within.

The blade was about ninety centiters long, presenting a deep, dark blue hue that was not painted on but seed to be the inherent color of the material itself. It had the cold, tallic feel of tal but also the smooth, warm texture of jade.

The spine of the sword was straight, with the blade near the hilt slightly wider, narrowing smoothly towards the tip.

The lines were graceful, yet full of power. The hilt was simple, in a cross shape, with a multifaceted dark blue gem embedded at its center, faintly glowing with an ethereal light.

The grip was wrapped in dark leather for better handling, and the weighted ball at the end of the hilt was engraved with a minimalist spiral design. The sword had no extravagant decorations, but it exuded a sharp, extraordinary presence.

"This is..." Ryan looked at Cecilia.

This sword had a special history.

Several months ago, Cecilia's intelligence agents had discovered it at a large auction. In the auction catalog, it was called Frostbite Dragon's Kiss. It was said that the core material of the sword contained rare parts of the body of an ancient ice dragon, mixed with several precious magical tals and crafted by a renowned blacksmith.

The sword was originally engraved with seven different magical rune arrays, designed to easily channel frost mana and resonate deeply with the weapon, allowing the wielder to unleash incredible power.

If it were a finished product, its value would have been enough to make many noble families fight for it, and it could easily fetch tens of millions of gold coins at an auction.

However, the problem lay in that very fact.

Whether due to a mistake during the forging process or a conflict between the legendary dragon materials and the magical runes, nearly all of the seven rune arrays had failed. They interfered with each other and couldn’t form a stable mana circuit.

As a result, Frostbite Dragon's Kiss went from being a potentially top-tier magical weapon to a sword that was only extrely hard and sharp, but unable to trigger any magical effects or resonate with the wielder’s mana. Essentially, it was a finely crafted... ordinary sword.

Because of this, its auction price plumted.

For those truly seeking powerful magical weapons, it had lost its core value. And for ordinary warriors who only needed a good weapon, its material premium was too high.

In the end, the princess purchased it for less than 10,000 gold coins, initially out of curiosity and perhaps the hope that it could be repaired. However, after expending considerable effort, it beca clear that the fundantal issue with the rune conflict could not be easily solved with her current ans.

Cecilia looked at the sword in the box and explained in a calm tone, "I ca across this sword so ti ago. The material is good, and it's fairly sharp and tough. But... the original magical runes have so issues. Now, it can probably only be used as a fairly sturdy ordinary weapon. I saw that you've been training with Barton recently, and it seems you don’t have a proper close-combat weapon. Take this for now; it’s better than going unard. Sotis, in the Whispering Forest, having a reliable weapon can make you feel more secure."

Ryan reached out and grasped the hilt of the sword, pulling it from the box.

It was heavy, with excellent weight distribution, and when swung, it gave a smooth feeling as the air seed to cut through effortlessly. The dark blue blade flowed with an understated gleam under the light in the room. Although Cecilia said it had lost its magical properties, as a sword, its quality far exceeded any training weapon he had used before.

He swung it a couple of tis experintally and nodded. "It feels good. Thank you."

He didn’t ask many more details. As Cecilia had said, at this stage, a sword that was sturdy and sharp enough was exactly what he needed. As for its legendary background and its current awkward situation, that wasn’t his priority at the mont.

Seeing that Ryan had accepted the sword, Cecilia didn’t say anything further. The group continued eating, and the atmosphere was a little more relaxed than before. After the al, Cecilia paid the bill and, with a simple farewell to Ryan, left with Ilis.

Ryan placed the longsword back into the wooden box, holding it in one hand as he walked with Cosette, who was still a bit dazed from the large amount of information from the day. They headed back to Silver Fir House.

The evening sky was like diluted ink, slowly soaking into the academy's skyline. The magical street lamps gradually lit up, casting warm halos of light along the cobblestone paths.

Ryan held the heavy wooden box containing Frostbite Dragon's Kiss in one hand, his other hand in his pocket. His steps were steady as he walked back to Silver Fir House.

Cosette followed half a step behind him, head lowered, her steps light and unusually quiet.

Ryan’s thoughts were still on the conversation at the restaurant.

The involvent of the interdiate departnt, the rune collection rules, the allowed combat between participants in the survival format, the unusual information Cecilia had shared, and the sword in his hand...

He subconsciously started to plan out the final preparations for the days before the tournant. He would go to Barton to familiarize himself with the sword’s feel, check and replenish materials for his magical tools, adjust his initial route into the forest based on the new intelligence...

He was entirely imrsed in his own thoughts, not noticing the unusual silence from his little maid trailing behind him.

The evening breeze carried the faint sounds of shouting from the training grounds and the fragrance of the flowers in the garden, but it seed to be blocked by an invisible layer of low pressure surrounding Cosette.

Her gaze remained on the tips of her shoes as she walked, her mind repeatedly flashing the images from the restaurant earlier: the princess with golden hair like sunlight, her elegant smile, the familiar conversation between her and Ryan, the look of quiet expectation when she handed him the precious wooden box, and Ryan’s calm “Thank you” when he accepted it... Even the silent attendant had a strikingly beautiful and cold aura.

An unfamiliar feeling slowly tangled around Cosette’s heart, making it hard for her to breathe.

She thought back to the cold and pain in the alley, to the silver coin and warm hand Ryan had given her, and to the life she had gradually stabilized over the past few months—one where she had even started learning magic.

Her master was the only light and support in her gray world, the one she carefully cherished and held close.