Chapter 12: The Phantom Blade
A New Power—A New Trial
Ryosuke stood in the silent ruins of the battlefield, his breath steadying as the weight of his first trial settled in his chest.
The Warden loomed before him, its violet eyes burning with silent judgment.
🔹 [Trial 1 Complete]
🔹 [Skill Unlocked: Phantom Blade (Basic)]
Ryosuke clenched his fingers experimentally.
A strange energy coiled beneath his skin, humming just beneath the surface—something new.
Not just strength.
Something unseen.
He took a slow breath.
What kind of power had he just awakened?
Before he could process it further, the Warden moved.
The black-armored giant raised its hand, and a new gateway shimmered into existence at the far end of the Sanctum.
A door that led deeper.
"Step forward, Forsaken One. The next trial awaits."
Ryosuke's jaw tightened.
He had barely survived the last one.
But stopping now was not an option.
His grip on his sword tightened as he strode toward the portal.
And stepped through.
The Trial Grounds—A World Between Light and Shadow
The instant he crossed the threshold, the world changed.
The floor beneath his feet was no longer solid stone.
It was mist.
A vast expanse of twisting shadows and flickering lights, as if the world itself had been torn between two opposing forces.
There was no sky.
No walls.
Only an endless horizon of black and silver mist.
Then—
🔹 [Second Trial Activated]
🔹 [Trial 2: Phantom Duel]
🔹 [Status Window Updated]
A new trial notification blinked in his vision.
[TRIAL OBJECTIVE]
🔹 Trial Name: Phantom Duel
🔹 Objective: Defeat the Phantom Swordsmen.
🔹 Time Limit: 40 Minutes
🔹 Special Condition: Enemies cannot be harmed by physical attacks.
🔹 Reward: ???
🔹 Failure Penalty: Permanent Elimination
Ryosuke's breath hitched.
"Enemies that can't be harmed by normal attacks?"
That wasn't fair.
Then again—this was never meant to be fair.
Before he could analyze further, the mist swirled violently.
And from within it—
They appeared.
The Phantom Swordsmen—Enemies That Cannot Be Touched
Figures stepped forward from the mist, moving like whispers in the dark.
They were humanoid, but their bodies weren't solid.
Semi-transparent warriors, clad in flowing black robes, each wielding a curved, ethereal blade that pulsed with ghostly light.
Their faces were obscured, as if their very existence flickered between reality and illusion.
🔹 [Entities Identified: Phantom Swordsmen]
🔹 [Immaterial Forms – Immune to Physical Attacks]
Ryosuke's fingers twitched.
Immune to physical attacks.
Then—how was he supposed to fight them?
One of the phantoms tilted its head.
Then, it attacked.
A Fight Against the Impossible
The first swordsman vanished.
Not moved—vanished.
A heartbeat later, it was behind him.
Ryosuke barely turned in time to raise his buckler.
The phantom blade passed through it effortlessly.
Cold fire burned against his ribs.
He staggered back, gasping.
🔹 [Warning: Phantom Strike Applied – Internal Damage Sustained]
Not only could they ignore physical attacks—
They could bypass armor entirely.
Ryosuke gritted his teeth.
This wasn't just unfair.
It was suicide.
The Key to Victory – Using the Unseen
He didn't have time to panic.
He needed to think.
✔ Physical attacks don't work.
✔ The phantoms can move through solid matter.
✔ But…
Their weapons still cut.
Which meant they weren't completely intangible.
They existed in some form.
A realization clicked.
The System had just given him a new skill.
🔹 [Skill Unlocked: Phantom Blade (Basic)]
His breath slowed.
Could it be…?
Was that the key to this fight?
There was only one way to find out.
Activating Phantom Blade
Ryosuke focused.
The energy within him—the one he had barely begun to understand—he reached for it.
🔹 [Skill Activation: Phantom Blade]
A pulse of cold light rippled through his sword.
The worn steel flickered, shifting between solid and spectral.
The phantoms paused.
They sensed the change.
Ryosuke's lips curled into a sharp grin.
So that's how this works.
He moved.
The First Kill—A New Path Unlocked
The first phantom struck again, its curved blade aiming for his throat.
This time, he didn't dodge.
He parried.
His Phantom Blade met the ghostly weapon—
And connected.
A sharp ring echoed as his sword clashed against the phantom's weapon.
The ghost staggered.
It was the first time one of them had been stopped.
Ryosuke's heart pounded.
This is it.
The second phantom rushed in.
Ryosuke twisted, his sword cutting through its form—this time, it didn't pass through.
The ghost let out a soundless cry—
And vanished into mist.
🔹 [Phantom Swordsman Defeated: 1/10]
His grip tightened.
Now, it was his turn to hunt.