‘She’s gotten stronger.’

Every movement could be taken and framed on a wall and no one would misidentify it for anything other than a masterful work of art. Every step flowed into the next, not wasting a single movement. Her body wasn’t in conflict with her strength, but was going along with it. I had no doubt, she reached a level where beauty and practicality converged. It was a sword dance in the truest sense.

But there was still a lot to work on. She has the form and the function nailed down, but she lacked experience. Even if she reached a level where form and power combined, she still had to figure out how to manipulate the two. Did form come first, or did power create the form? Of course, I knew the answer, but… I guess these philosophical inquiries were still too early for her. If she continues this path of the sword, she will stumble across it eventually.

“Papa! How is it?” she said, without the slightest trace of sweat streaming down her forehead.

“It’s good, haha.” I could only respond with a chuckle.

I’ve been thinking about it for a long time now, but it didn’t really make sense for her to keep calling me that. She’s already that age, cut apart from the fact that she doesn’t even know her heritage, she was an adult by a human’s standard. She did ask a lot about her long ears when she was a child, but I shrugged it off with an excuse.

I’ve isolated her, whether intentional or by accident, I wasn’t sure. I knew we would be reported immediately if it was found out I was taking care of a…

‘Is this good?’

I didn’t know what to think. There was a deep guilt welling up every time I praised her. At some point, I started forgetting my own set of values. Why was I so set on hiding everything?

She probably didn’t even know what a mother was—she didn’t even know my name, and she called me her father.

How am I supposed to get around to saying it? How should I tell it to her?

She was physically an adult, but I knew better than anyone that she was still a naive little child on the inside. And more than anything, I could recognize that her relationship with me was unnatural and unhealthy. It seemed more like a symbiotic relationship where one relied on the other to survive. Sure, that was acceptable to a certain extent, but she’s old enough, isn’t she?

It’s my fault, isn’t it?

Why did I think I could ever accomplish such a task; why did I, I really do wonder.

‘Who knows?’

I always had the same old smile. It makes one wonder if anyone knew.

“You must be hungry after that session, let’s eat.”

I didn’t know if I should celebrate this glib tongue of mine.

***

All parents had to have that talk one day, right? It’s like that puberty talk or something, right? Puberty, huh? Women have periods, don’t they? I wonder why she never talked to me about it—no, why didn’t I teach her about it?

I was responsible for teaching her everything she needed to survive. And I even failed to do that.

She was already in her twenties.

She deserved to know about her origins.

‘...’

Yeah.

“Call me ��� from now on,” I said…

“What are you talking about, Papa?”

“Nothing.”

***

“Melly, I’ll teach you my secret technique today, but you need to call me… Master, from now on.” I said.

It wasn’t a good idea to tell anyone my name, not even Melly. I didn’t know what came over me yesterday.

“But Papa is Papa!”

“Melithear.” I was going to say something, but I stopped myself.

I gritted my teeth, seeing that she was looking at me seriously now. I just laid a trap for myself, didn’t I?

“I’m not your real…”

I never understood the reason.

After all these years, why did I take care of her in the guise of a parenting figure?

I was not fit for this.

I will say it.

“…just call me Master.”

‘I’m just a coward.’

“But I want to call Papa—”

“No buts. Call me Master.” I needed to be resolute.

I should have left her at an orphanage.

But I’ve done it now. There’s no point in regretting it.

I need to send her away.

I knew there was no going back from this decision.

I’ve spoiled her too much.

She must be independent after this.

She was too much of a sheltered princess.

“I will teach you this final thing.”

‘This is my fatal flaw.’

I flicked my wrist.

And the tree—it came crashing down.

***

[Technique; learned: Sweep.]

[Estimating the technique’s Order of Existence…]

[Received: Sweep (Transcendent).]

‘What the hell was all that?’

[The Sword God chuckles.]

‘Sword God?’

I didn’t even want to know what that suggested. Was there a Taco God as well? War God?

A sword was an oddly specific modifier for a God. In the first place, was the Sword God really an auspicious God? I’ve been agnostic for the longest time, but I may as well convert to a polytheist at this point. After all, “Reincarnation sure is an inspiring experience.”

That was quotable for sure; I bet someone could use that line in a Ted Talk.

In the first place, it was strange that a “God” was communicating with me, that is if I were to entertain the possibility that this Sword God was really a God in the sense that I knew. Was he omniscient? Was he all-powerful? Did he come by frequently to the mortal realm to make love with random mortal women? I seriously question how the Greek pantheon is still a thing with Zeus as the king. Maybe the Gods of this world were just as useless. And maybe there’s a reason I was reincarnated or something.—Wait, that’s too much plot foreshadowing—forget that.

‘Anyway…’

The room was dimly lit by a blue fire on the ceiling. It was trapped in a layer of glass, acting like a lightbulb. It wasn’t nearly as bright as one though, since I could stare into the flames just fine.

I got up from the surprisingly comfortable bed. It was almost the same as or maybe even better than the beds on Earth. If I compared it to the planky bed I had been meditating on every day, it didn’t really make sense. If such comfortable beds existed, then wouldn’t they have been mass-produced already? Or did this world not industrialize? Maybe my family was poor or something. But that doesn’t add up when there was a whole plumbing system included with our bathroom set-up.

The bed sucked me in, but knowing myself, I was the one freak who could wake up at three in the morning with no issues whatsoever.

But that didn’t mean I wasn’t going out in style.

I raised my legs up to the ceiling and rocketed upward as I bounced on the bed. Its bounciness was only proof that the bed was phenomenal in every respect. Stiff, comfy, bouncy, and fun. It was perfect.

‘I feel like I’m forgetting something…’

I looked around the room once again, but the door was still door and the floor was still floor. It only confirmed my suspicions that this room was made of room…

‘Am I on LSD or something?’

I took one more bounce before jumping off the bed and landing with one knee like a superhero.

I know I just got kidnapped, but there was something about this situation that stopped me from taking it seriously. Was it the plain absurdity of it all? I wouldn’t know, but I’d rather be alive than dead so there was no point in stressing it anyway. Who the fuck had the time to be a damsel in distress? I didn’t know how Princess Peach or any of those depressing women did it, but pulling hairs and fantasizing for a white knight in shining armor was no fun.

‘Come to think of it, there’s that Sweeping thing, wasn’t there?’

‘Status.’

~~~~~~~~~~

Name: Daniel

Race: Human

Title: Masochist

System: Crouching Dragon System (Mythical)

Merit Points: 1,100

Life Force: 80/80 (8 years)

Strength: 2

Physique: Conditioned Physique - Lvl.1

Magic: Mana Sense - Lvl.1

Techniques: Mana Channeling (Common - Lvl.0), Draconic Swordsmanship (Rare - Lvl.1), Draconic Thrust (Rare - Lvl.0), Draconic Sense (Epic - Lvl.0), Sweeping (Transcendent - Lvl.0)

Active Skills: Blurred Eyes (Epic)

Passive Skills: Dragon Hearted (Epic)

Curse: Unnoticed Potential (Legendary)

~~~~~~~~~~

‘Transcendent?’

I expected the system to respond, but I guess not.

Come to think of it, there was that ugly-looking thing at the bottom.

‘What’s this curse about?’

[The Host’s Blurred Eyes is not yet suitable to examine curses.]

It sure was a useless system.

“You’re awake,” came a voice from nearby.

A beautiful woman with blood-red hair and lips grinned as she examined me from the door. Her fiery attire was everything that resembled a devilish angel.