A Sword’s Second Life… with a Clumsy Master

Leon felt... odd.

For one, he wasn't accustomed to the sensation of being a sword, though that was his new form, apparently. He had no hands, no legs and — for the life of him — no excuse for complaining that he lacked either. It was like being a hunk of metal floating in the void with the most tenuous sense of being, which wasn't exactly what Leon'd hoped for in his afterlife. But hey, at least he wasn't a paperclip.

"So... how does this work?" Leon asked, no longer out of expectation. He got nothing but silence in return.

"Well, isn't that just wonderful," he muttered to himself. "Stuck like a sword without a son of a b-----t. Could this get any worse?"

To his surprise, it did.

A terrible lurch and Leon was being lifted, he thought. And then—bam! The sword clanged as it hit the floor.

"Oops! Sorry, Leon!"

That voice again ... familiar, but this time with the sounds of footsteps and something that could only be described as the sound of somebody trying to pull themselves through an obstacle course.

"Wait — " Leon realized before the sword was raised again.

Come on… a little bit more. Almost there. I can do this!"

The sword held aloft. Leon could almost hear the resolve in the voice as if it were some kind of epic search.

Then—clink! The sword was dropped again.

Leon groaned, which likely didn't sound much different than metal scraping against stone. "Oh great. My master is clumsy."

He had never thought this before, but Leon began to wonder if his whole sword business was actually a joke of the universe.

"Sorry! I just need to—oh no! Not again!"

As Leon continued to ponder his new life, he was interrupted by the voice of his new master, Eris Vale. It was a sweet voice, but there was a distinct panic in the tone.

He could already tell. It was going to be a long road.

Leon's first real view of his master didn't take long—though not much can be seen through the eyes of a sword. Eris Vale was a fresh-faced adventurer, probably twenty years old, messy brown hair, and a face that shouted "I'm not ready for this!. She had on a mismatched set of armor, a battered helmet and the expression of someone who was, "I don't know why I'm here, but I'm going to give it my best shot."

She had, in fact, just dropped Leon for the fifth time in five minutes.

"Why… why do I keep doing this?" Eris hissed under her breath, annoyance dripping from her words. "Why can't I just … pick up a sword like everybody else?"

Leon could practically see the self-doubt radiating off of her. If he had a face, he would have rolled his eyes.

"Oh come on lady," Leon thought tiredly. "You've got me now. I might be slightly sarcastic, but I'm the only weapon you have available to you, so let's try to make this work. I don't know, like holding me straight up for more than five seconds?"

Eris blinked, as if Leon was thinking a little too loudly to her liking. Then she let out a sigh as she finally seized Leon firmly and stood straight.

"Okay, okay. I can do this," she whispered, her voice the sort of tentative tone as if she was trying to convince herself more than anyone else. "I just have to be confident. I've got Leon now, right? A magic sword... how difficult can it be?"

Leon couldn't help it. He facepalmed in his mind — which, given that he was a sword, resembled an emotional groan.

"Well, first of all, you need to learn how to use me, genius. But hey, no pressure."

Eris inhaled deeply and stepped forward. For precious seconds, she got the sword into position, then another series of stumbles. In no time, she was face down on the ground.

"Not again..." she muttered.

Leon had a strange sympathy—one he wouldn't dare admit. Instead, he had to oblige.

"You're a walking disaster."

Eris sat up slowly, rubbing her head. "Okay, Leon. We'll get this right. You and me. Together!"

Leon sighed. This was going to take time, but I was growing patient.

Time Passes…

"For the first few days I was either dropped a lot, swung around too much, or used as a battering ram against trees, rocks and on one particularly bad day, into a small boar," Leon said.

But despite everything, Leon realized one thing about Eris: she was absurdly persistent. She would fall a hundred times, but she would get right back up, clean off and try again.

One evening, they sat around a relatively small campfire, and Eris was trying to chop some wood—along with Leon, of course. She managed to lift him over her head like an axe and swing him down, but missed and hit her foot instead.

"Ow!" she yelped, hopping around. "Okay, okay. Perhaps I need a little more practice."

Leon chuckled to himself. "You think?"

Eris, wincing, set Leon down. She then started muttering to herself. "If I can just learn how to focus … I can do this! I can become strong!"

Leon thought of his old life, when things had been simple and his biggest concern was whether or not he had time to eat lunch. However, this was a whole new type of challenge. But perhaps — just perhaps — this odd adventure with Eris won't be a bad thing after all.

Eris added: "I just need to improve." "If I want to be the best adventurer … I just have to keep moving." No matter how often I fall."

"Oh, believe me," Leon said, deadpan. "You'll be falling a lot."

But there was something about the way Eris spoke. A sort of determination in her voice that caused Leon to secondguess. Because he was a sword, sure, but at least he could do something for this girl, even if she was a disaster.

"Okay, kid," Leon thought to himself, a sliver of something running through him—perhaps hope? "Let's get to work."