I Was a Sword When I Reincarnated (Web Novel)
chapter-722

Several years have passed since I was thrown into that insect's den. I don't know the exact time myself though, because I didn't pay much attention to such things at that time. But I'm sure it has been more than a year.

Just like that, I've continued living in that magical area. After all, living outside the chasm was like living in hell, so I preferred to continue being eaten by the insects here rather than going outside.

The insects here varied greatly with some having needles-like body and some had sword-like wings.

The particularly troublesome one would be insects that's able to use magic. There are hundreds of different kinds of insect here, but I have gotten used to most of their magic attributes.

They also had poured several kinds of poisons and even laid their eggs in my body. I didn't realize it until recently and now I'm laughing at the fact that I've been wondering why my stomach keep on hurting lately. I guess that's the downside of having my pain receptor being dulled.

I cried for the first time in my life when countless insects burst through my belly. Although I had received a certain amount of education during the course of the experiment, I had never been that emotional, and that was probably the first time I had an emotional outburst.

The insects that were the most dreadful at that time would be the type with the space-time attribute. Not only did it could use teleport, it also clothed its jaws with the space-time attribute so that it could penetrate my skin and cut through my internal organ. Well, once I developed resistance to the space-time attribute, it was just a small fry that could use teleport.

Yes. Resistance.

There, I was in a day-and-night competition for survival with the insects. As I continued to live in such a hell, I acquired a unique power. I now understand that I had a constitution that made it easy for me to develop a resistance.

Perhaps the ability of both dragons and slimes within me to adapt to their environment was manifested in such a way.

By endlessly being attacked by the insects, I was able to ignore most of their attacks. I later discovered that the only things I did not have at that time were resistance to moonlight and astral magic attribute. Considering that, you can tell how diverse the attacks of the bugs were. Even now, my resistance against those two attributes were still quite low.

I also had the ability to eat practically anything, thanks to Strange Food Eater skill. That skill was apparently a trait shared by both dragons and slimes. And to be honest, I was grateful for that skill.

It was really by chance that I noticed it. I noticed that the insects were swarming over the rocks and licking something, so I licked it myself.

It was salty. It was apparently a rock that contained salt and minerals. I had only ever tasted insects before, so I was shocked by the taste. You could even say that I was fascinated.

A rock with a slight taste of salt won't be something a normal person would eat, but for me at that time, it was like a great treat.

As I licked the rocks, I couldn't help but want to eat more of it. Then I realized, "Oh, I can eat rocks too?"

It was not just that my chewing power had increased, but that I had somehow acquired the ability to make what I put in my mouth brittle. That ability was still weak compared to now, but it should have been enough to allow me to eat rocks and steel.

From there, my eating choices expanded. "If I could eat rocks, what about sand?" I wondered. Eating iron-like insects' shells and magic stones was not a problem for me too. What was especially tasty was the bedrock from which the magic infused water gushed. They were rich in magical power.

I kept eating the rocks around the spring. Then one day, I opened up a hole and saw a certain place from behind the rocks.

What I saw there was a dungeon core room. Wasn't that surprising? the place which had been called a mysterious magical area for many years was actually a dungeon.

The dungeon master was an insect type and not a particularly intelligent type.

Even so, it must still have an instinct to manipulate the core to create a comfortable environment for it to live in this place. That magic infused water too must be a trick to lure and nurture the insects here.

At that time, I didn't really care of such details. The only thing that was in my mind was…

「It looks delicious」

The dungeon core, radiating tremendous power, just looked so delicious. I bit into the dungeon core and devoured it. I devoured it and turned it into my flesh and blood.

On the following day, I keep remembering and thinking about the floating island where I was born. Even thought I was kept in a coffin there, it was a fact that I was there before it become a dungeon a few hours after I was transferred from the floating island. I wondered if that incident was perhaps connected to me.

I can say with certainty that I have become dramatically stronger by absorbing the dungeon core into my body. I have become so strong that I was able to annihilate the remaining insects in that place.

It was a dungeon, but the insects were magic beasts brought in from the outside, so the destruction of the core did not make them disappear.

But it was not only power that I gained from the dungeon core. Apparently, the dungeon core remained in me in some form, causing interference with other dungeon cores.

The Red Sword, one of the hidden treasures of the Kingdom of Raidos, was created with a dungeon core at its core. The first time I used it, the Red Sword, which showed unexpected power, went out of control, resulting in devastating damage to the surrounding.

My body mutated into a giant earth dragon and went on a rampage. This was probably the result of a combination of the slime's ability to multiply and the earth dragon's factor within me.

In the few hours it took for the magic power in the Red Sword to wear off, a forest and one of the forts had disappeared. If Biscot and the others had not been determined to stop me, the damage would have been much more devastating.

Although I can somehow control it now, I can't just use it whenever I want. The Prime Minister even gave me a security seal before we leave the country.

Well, I guess it was inevitable. After all, I went on a rampage with the red sword when we fought off the knights and mercenaries of the Kingdom of Kranzel who had crossed the border.

Although I was in my dragonmen form at that time, I don't think anyone would necessarily remember my conspicuous Red Sword.

But if I were to show the real thing in a place like this, some few might remember it.

Trying to kill each other here with Fran would surely be an exciting proposal, but this is just as far as I can show them. Will she think I'm giving away the win? Well, it seemed like my opponent was also hiding something, so i guess it's still a win-win.

With this, our objective of confirming the information that the Kingdom of Kranzel has an S ranked adventurer and gauging their capabilities was also fulfilled to some extent.

After all, if Fran, whose strength was said to be equal to an A ranker would have this much power, an S ranker would surely be something that should not be messed with.

Aah, shit, I'm starting to lose my consciousness. Is this what it feels like to die? Interesting…

What now? Who? Pops…?

Oh, is this what they call when life flashing before one's eyes? I recalled the day I met my stepfather for the first time.

At that time, when I had run out of food and was thinking of leaving that dungeon, a group of people led by a man appeared before me.

「This is… We came here to find out why the insects have disappeared, but… what we found here was a girl, huh?」

He was Apollonius, the leader of the Red Sword Order at that time. My stepfather named me Sibylla and gave me a human life and the warmth of a family, even though I was living a life no different from a beast just a while ago. It was the moment I met the only person I could call my parent.

It was after that meeting that I met Biscot and Clicker, another guinea pigs― or should I say, children born with only one factor of a magic beast, created from the leftover data of their research on me. Stepfather then take them under his wings and even went around destroying the organization that had been conducting such inhumane research.

Because of that, even after stepfather's retirement, the Red Sword Order and the Southern Duke have not gotten along well.

Suddenly, stepfather's carefree smile flashed before me.

Aah, I'll leave the rest to you guys… Make sure everyone in Raidos―…

Hahah, what am I even thinking when I'm dying…

Haah… I've lost, huh… Well, it means they're strong. So don't look so tearful, Biscot, Clicker…