Chapter 1216: Chapter 1207

Upon activating Fabro’s secret skill, the Weapon’s Voice, the weapons took on an ego similar to their master's, which left Fabro bewildered.

The sword had not only cut his chest, but it also dared him to hold it to see if he had the qualifications to use itself. That was ridiculous. After all, Fabro was the master of all weapons. He was the only one who could proudly say that he could wield and hold any weapon in the world.

Alas, the sword had dismissed him.

[The only one with the qualifications to hold me is just that child.]n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Shame overwhelmed Fabro. He wanted to hold that sword. Despite discarding all of his greed and putting it in his Ego Sword, a powerful desire gushed forth from the depths of his being and left him struggling.

He asked, ‘Why? I am lonely. I am the only one who can hold you.’

Fabro still believed that the only one who could wield the greatest weapon in the world was the one who was alone. He firmly believed that loneliness and solitude were the ones that could create the most perfect and most beautiful genius.

After the others left their swords behind, Fabro would pick it up and swing it. He continued to use this method until he mastered all the weapons. Fabro believed that the only reason he could achieve such a feat and gain this ability was because he was alone and in solitude. He did not doubt this fact at all.

Fabro immediately used his ability. This ability allowed him to boost his power and make him grow stronger. At the same time, the weapons held by Minhyuk’s vassals flew toward him. Were these swords finally recognizing him and his powers? Then, did that mean he could swing them in his lonely and sad life? But Fabro was mistaken.

[I have to protect that child.]

Fabro’s pupils shook.

The world’s most beautiful spear, its body a pristine white color, resembled the old man who wielded it and stabbed itself into the ground.

[If it means protecting that child, I will never back down.]

The sword owned by the wolf-like man pointed its blade at Fabro’s neck.

[Stop bothering him. Otherwise, I will cut you down.]

Fabro just could not understand the situation. Even the sword swaying like the Great Demon’s demonic energy pointed its blade at him.

[Do not touch him.]

All of the weapons, incredible in their own right, were saying the same thing.

The greatest sword that cut Fabro’s chest floated among the other weapons and said.

[The only reason we are being swung and used is to protect that child.]

The weapons’ strong will and firm determination did not waver. They even showed their desire to protect him by pointing the sharp end of their blades at Fabro.

‘He is not lonely…!’ Fabro wanted to shout at them again and say, ‘Only a lonely and solitary genius can…’ But the sword did not let him finish.

[That child was lonely.]

[Fearing that someone would curse or show contempt and disgust toward him when they saw him, he locked himself inside his room.]

[He embraced the entire world’s solitude by himself.]

[He was a lonely genius.]

Fabro’s pupils shook when he heard the word genius. He must have already understood the man’s true value when he saw the true worth of the Sword of Aeon. Nevertheless, he could not understand why these weapons would say that.

[He’s a genius who is no longer lonely.]

He was a genius, but he was not lonely. As his consciousness got sucked in, he was finally able to see the scenes that the weapons had witnessed. He watched the countless hours of effort and hard work that the man had put in on his chosen path. Like the voices of the weapons said, he was also a lonely genius.

A lonely genius was the only one who could genuinely hold and swing a weapon because they were trapped in their loneliness and refused to see anyone. Trapped by the darkness of their solitude, they swung their weapons with more gusto.

Shockingly enough, Fabro had realized that the man, who had only wielded a sword in his short twenty years of life, had swung his sword far more than him. Fabro immediately denied this reality.

Why?

He was definitely lonely. So, why did so many weapons wish to protect him?

Why?

Wasn’t he also a lonely genius? So, why did so many weapons remain unshaken in front of him?

And why?

Why did the owners of these weapons surround him just to protect him?

Fabro wanted to know. So, he made a very unexpected move.

[You can now view Fabro’s past.]

Suddenly, a notification rang all over the world. It was only natural for the viewers watching the live broadcast with sweaty palms and tense shoulders to be curious about Fabro’s past. That was why many of them chose to accept it.

Of course, a notification also rang in Minhyuk’s ears. Still, the notification was a tad bit different.

[Class Quest: The Weapon in Fabro’s Hand.]

Rank: A

Requirements: The One who Received Fabro’s Offer.

Rewards: Weapon Mastery will increase to Level 9.

Penalty for Failure: None.

Description: You can now get a quick glimpse of the life that Weapon Master Fabro had lived in the past. You will see the weapons that the young boy, Fabro, had played with in the smithy. If you take those weapons away, your mastery of that weapon will increase.

Then, Minhyuk got sucked into Fabro's past.

***

Joy Co. Ltd. was confused and in disbelief at the sudden and unexpected events. The executives, who had been called for an emergency meeting, were all staring at the monitor.

Department Head Kim Dae-Il said, “He’s not even the Weapon Master, yet he’s now given the chance to increase his Weapon Mastery to Level 9? Even the rank of the quest is only at A?! This is preposterous.”

Yes. It was completely ridiculous. After all, Minhyuk’s job here was simple. All he had to do was take all of the weapons that the young Fabro had held in the past.

However, President Kang Taehoon disagreed and even denied Kim Dae-Il’s assumptions. He said, “Fabro is a cold, objective, and calculating NPC. Did you know that Fabro has a skill called Mastery Plunderer?”

“...?!” Department Head Kim Dae-Il looked at him in surprise.

“In the first place, this quest was created because Fabro does not know Minhyuk. If you look at the current situation, it will still be taken away even if Minhyuk obtains mastery here.”

“...”

Department Head Kim Dae-Il looked confused. Perhaps the others had a different opinion about the situation than him? Those who were tuned in to the live broadcast and those who were not had both confirmed that Minhyuk had received the quest. All of them viewed Fabro’s past through Minhyuk’s eyes.

Meanwhile, those who weren’t watching the broadcast were in an uproar.

[Hey, are the people in Joy Co. Ltd. nuts? What kind of ridiculous quest is this? You only need to take away a weapon from a child and you will be able to receive Weapon Mastery Level 9?]

[Wow. Aren’t they being too generous to Minyuk?]

[Come to think of it… LOL. Does the current era’s Supreme have to do something like that to a child? lololol.]

[What if he’s scary strong? Huh? Lololol.]

[What do you mean by strong? Can’t you see that the rank is A?]

[An A-rank quest. A quest where you just need to go in and get something and be given Mastery? Wow, that’s freaking lucky…]

The community site users and Department Head Kim Dae-Il agreed. Even the people in this conference room thought the same.

‘He’s going to take the weapons away.’

But the weapons were actually poison. And this poison would spread to Minhyuk and drag him down to the depths of despair.

***

The young Fabro’s life followed the same routine every single day. He worked several odd jobs and ran errands for the people of the smithy.

A vicious and tough palm slapped him roughly on his cheeks.

Thwack–!

“Ack!”

Thwack–!

The blacksmith slapped Fabro on the cheeks non-stop. The nine-year-old boy could only curl up as he fell on the ground and got trampled on by the others.

“You f*cking idiot! Didn’t I tell you to clean up everything on time?! I fed and raised you, an abandoned b*tch, and you can’t even do this thing right?!” The drunk blacksmith spat as he stomped on Fabro again before turning away.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry!” Fabro apologized repeatedly. This was because he knew he would be hit more if he dared to rebel.

The blacksmith looked disgusted at Fabro’s shackled legs as he took a swig of his drink again. He threw an already-bitten chicken leg, which he used to eat as a snack, to Fabro on the ground.

“Eat this. You f*cking retard.”

Hungry, the beaten and bruised Fabro crawled to where the chicken leg was and began to push it in his mouth. When the blacksmith saw how he was ravishing the leg, he could not help but cackle.

“I don’t want to see you. Get lost!”

Fabro dragged the chains that shackled him and went to sleep on the pigsty right beside the smithy. Slavery. This was what the abandoned children were subjected to. It was common practice and treatment. Nevertheless, Fabro was immensely relieved that he would not feel any more pain today.

Fabro’s days passed quickly. Every day was the same old routine. The blacksmiths would sneer and laugh as they watched Fabro crawl while he wept and endured everything.

By the time night rolled over, Fabro was left outside in the pigsty with the dozens of damaged weapons that were no longer fit for sale. He held these weapons and swung them one by one, and only by doing this did he feel the loneliness around him melt. Fabro found learning and understanding more about the weapons fun and interesting.

Currently, the young Fabro was possessed by the Weapon Master Fabro. He was actually inside the young boy’s body and watching the entire situation silently unfold through his own eyes. Perhaps it was him, and this was what he had experienced during his childhood, that made him feel as if his emotions were far too raw and heartbreaking.

The young Fabro was exhausted after swinging the weapon for a long time. But when he grabbed the shabby spear right next to him, he laughed.

“I want to remain alone. If I’m alone, I can stay with all of you like this.”

He wished to remain alone, believing that he would become notable, significant, and outstanding if he were alone.

“I’m a genius. If they know that I’m a genius, then those people will no longer treat me like this.”

It was not as if everyone was making him feel lonely. He, himself, wanted to be alone.

A light appeared somewhere. In that light, a young boy of a similar age to Fabro was sitting in front of a table of food and smiling happily as he received his parents' love.

Fabro smirked. “I want to be alone.”

He did not want anything like that.

“I am a genius.”

He was a genius who could rule over all weapons. Just like that, solitude and loneliness wrapped his entire being. Even so, Fabro’s shoulders shook as tears dripped down his cheeks.

Creak—

A man came in.

Seeing the past through his eyes, Fabro knew this man was the subject of his trial. In this trial, the only thing they needed to do was to take dozens of weapons away just by reaching out.

The young Fabro looked up at the man in confusion. The young man slowly approached him. Weapon Master Fabro was still bewildered. Why did all the weapons want to protect him? Then, he saw the young man reach out for the spear that the crying Fabro held.

‘In the end, they’re all the same. Whether it was those blacksmiths or this guy, everyone is the same.’ This thought flashed in Fabro’s mind.

The man, Minhyuk, patted the spear's body and said, “This is a magnificent spear.”

“...?”

Looking at the confused boy, Minhyuk said, “You don’t have to be lonely.”

The confusion in the young Fabro’s face did not wane as he continued to look up at Minhyuk, who did not take any weapon away. All he did was hug Fabro and say, “You don’t have to force yourself to be lonely. I know how that feels. I was once like that…”

Minhyuk told the young Fabro his story, which was the same sad and painful story about his loneliness and solitude as the sword had told the Weapon Master Fabro.

“Don’t say that you want to be alone. Don’t say that you’re a lonely genius.” Minhyuk looked at the eyes of the young Fabro. “Just become a strong and powerful Fabro.”

The young Fabro burst into tears. He held out a sword toward Minhyuk, perhaps because he wanted to give it to him as a present. Regardless, the man did not take it. He tried to give him the spear, but again, the man did not take it. The man did not accept any of the things that he had offered.

Even so, Weapon Master Fabro still could not understand.

He watched Minhyuk lead the young Fabro away and fed him one of the most delicious meals he had ever tasted. He even took Fabro to the sea, which he had wanted to visit for so long. Minhyuk played hide-and-seek and even played with dolls with Fabro, who wanted to play around like any normal child.

Finally, the young Fabro returned to the smithy with Minhyuk. Seeing the happy smile on the young Fabro’s face, Minhyuk said, “You are not lonely. You are happy. And…”

Minhyuk walked away from Fabro. He flashed a gentle smile and waved goodbye.

Even so, the current Weapon Master Fabro still could not fathom why.

Then, Minhyuk said, “You are not alone.”

Immediately after that, everyone returned to the present.

***

What did the words the young man told him at the end mean? Although Fabro could not understand, he was still crying.

Then, the sword resembling the man named Minhyuk said.

[You are not lonely. At the very least, that’s what it seems to me.]

The sword’s words were indeed something that Fabro could not make heads or tails of. Was there anyone who had walked a far lonelier path than him?

[See for yourself.]

Fabro listened to the words of the Sword of Aeon and let the rest of his power wash over him. Then, hundreds of thousands of weapons rose in the sky. They looked like stars twinkling in the night.

All of these twinkling stars were looking at Fabro. He used the Weapon’s Voice on his weapons for the first time—the very same weapons that he believed could only be wielded by a lonely genius his entire life.

At that moment, the voices of Fabro’s weapons rang non-stop in his ears. When he looked up, he saw a spear among them. It was the same spear he had hugged and held in the smithy back then.

[Fabro, I love you.]

“...”

Then, the sword that he held in the smithy also floated forward.

[Fabro, I’ll protect you.]

Another weapon floated forward. This was the very first sword that Fabro had bought.

[Fabro. I’m so glad that I am by your side.]

Hundreds, then thousands, tens of thousands, and finally hundreds of thousands of weapons spoke their hearts out to Fabro.

Many of the people present felt like they were under an illusion. For a brief moment, they felt like they had seen the young Fabro weeping as they watched Fabro cry.

‘It’s just like that man said. I’m really just like him.’

The sword carrying an ego that resembled the man said.

[Master of all weapons, you are not alone.]

[So many of them care for you, no?]

The Weapon’s Voice and The Plunderer’s effects were terminated then. Along with that, a series of notifications rang.

Ring!

[You have failed the Class Quest: The Weapon in Fabro’s Hands.]

Ring!

[Weapon Master Fabro has realized the true meaning of being a Weapon Master.]

Ring!

[One of the Eight Pillars, the Master of All Weapons, Weapon Master Fabro declares in front of all of the Pillars.]

[I, Weapon Master Fabro, strongly support the Pillar Candidate, Pillar of the Gourmands Minhyuk!]

Ring!

[Weapon Master Fabro is giving you rewards.]

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