CHAPTER 79: CONTACT WITH KATANA

For several days, the group of six people sat inside the dense forest, waiting for the castle depicted on the map to appear.

But nothing appeared.

They actively searched the surrounding areas — a possible castle, since the map might have pointed to the wrong location. But even with such great efforts, they failed to find it, which slightly lowered the group’s overall morale.

It felt as though no castle had ever existed in this place.

...

When the sun stood in the sky like a lamp in a room, Royal looked at the five people and slowly announced:

"It’s been several days since we wandered here, trying to find the castle shown on the map. But it turned out not to be here," he looked at the sky and continued:

"This is our last day here. If by tomorrow morning we still can’t find anything... Then we’ll have to leave this place, since we’ve spent enough time here and gained nothing in return."

Everyone reacted to Royal’s words differently: for Aran and Lin — it didn’t bother them much, Egro — remained calm as a rock, Silia and Yulan — were a little upset, but quickly accepted the news.

After all, it would be foolish to hope that some abandoned map found in a lake would turn out to be a real guide leading them to new riches and fragments of this world’s history.

It was a harsh reality they had to accept.

After Royal’s words, Lin stood up and headed toward a nearby river, located not far from their camp.

He was on the final stretch to make Contact with the katana.

This was a very important moment that could greatly boost his combat power and narrow the gap between him and the others. Because of this, he wasn’t too worried about not finding some castle.

"My Connection with the blade has increased significantly. Now I feel like just a few hours of meditation — and I’ll make Contact!" Lin smiled as he approached the river and sat down beside it in the lotus position.

He slowly closed his eyes and fully focused on the katana resting on his legs.

Tiny threads of his consciousness slowly connected with the blade, linking him with it, creating bridges of countless paths. Like massive steel cables used to build great bridges that connect several islands.

Lin and the katana were two islands that needed to be connected for greater harmony between both sides.

Thus went Lin’s meditation.

He sat calmly, like a predator stalking its prey, meditating with the blade, feeling the surrounding nature — especially the river. Because the special place where the katana could make Contact with him — was a place with water and nature.

That’s why he felt the environment so clearly.

The chirping of birds, the whistle of the gentle wind, the river’s current... Various sounds of nature echoed through Lin’s consciousness.

Embracing each one fully, Lin suddenly opened his eyes and saw that the sun in the sky — was already beginning to dip below the horizon.

"I just need to practice..." Lin stood from the grass without emotion and slowly drew the gleaming violet katana from its sheath.

He raised it and swung!

Whoosh!

Lin widened his eyes in amazement!

He could feel the blade completely!

If before, he felt his control over the weapon was poor — now, it was entirely different!

His blade felt like a new organ, a new extension of his body that he could naturally sense and wield!

Lin laughed.

"This is exactly what I felt back when I had the greatsword... But then, my swordsmanship wasn’t great, but now..." Lin raised the katana and performed a horizontal slash!

Whoosh!

The wind split apart, and Lin felt like he had sliced the very air!

But he didn’t stop there — he began performing various types of attacks!

Whoosh!

A crescent slash!

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

A cross-shaped slash!

Whoosh!

A spinning slash!

With a bright smile on his face, Lin created powerful waves of wind with his swings!

Some of his attacks were so fast that an ordinary person would only see a black blur!

Lin looked at a medium-sized boulder and decided to try cutting it into several pieces!

"The clearest sign that someone has made Contact with their weapon — is the ability to deal significant damage to hard surfaces like: stone, iron, concrete, and others..."

Lin raised the katana and brought it down on the boulder!

Whoosh!

A violet line appeared in the air, flew downward, and split the stone into two equal parts!

"Ha-ha... Ha-ha-ha!" Although Lin already knew it would work, he couldn’t contain his emotions and burst into laughter!

"Excellent... Excellent... I did it. Another stage in strengthening my power has been completed successfully!"

Lin exhaled and slowly sat on the ground to reflect on what he needed to do next:

"I successfully made Contact with the katana, and also upgraded my skill to level two... So what should I do now? I need to become even stronger, because everything I’ve achieved so far — is just a tiny fraction of what still lies ahead."

"In simple terms: I need to train even more, and everything I currently have — is just the foundation for a future — even greater power."

"I think I should gather more Low Soul Shards to raise my rank... Then, I can try to awaken the Echo of the Title."

Having made his decision, Lin stood up and headed back to the camp, as the day was slowly ending and total darkness was approaching.

"Meditating again?" Yulan, who was trying to cook something tasty, looked at Lin’s expressionless face and asked with a smile.

Lin nodded.

"Yeah. And successfully, too."

He took a clay bowl made by Egro and began eating from it.

Gradually, the others began to arrive and have dinner, forming a pleasant atmosphere.

Yulan sighed and said:

"Shame there wasn’t any castle here..."

"That was to be expected," Egro smiled and took a bite of rabbit.

"In any case, let’s just spend this last day here with a smile," she smiled and tried to lighten the dull mood with something positive.

Suddenly, Lin felt deja vu. He frowned and tried to recall where exactly...

"Hallucinations!" he looked around, but saw nothing.

He looked at the food in the clay bowl, and his gaze froze.

"Lin? Is something wrong with the food?" Yulan immediately grew concerned when she saw the strange look Lin gave the food she had cooked.

He shook his head and said:

"Forget it."

The others also noticed Lin’s condition — especially Aran, who smiled slightly and recalled Lin’s story.

"This situation really does seem familiar... Looks like something interesting is about to happen..."