Only I Am A Reader

Greee!

"Stay still."

Klang!

Swinging his hand forward, Leo's 'Hand Sword' produced a loud sound as it clashed with a strangely branched object! It was actually a metallic pair of horns!

As a part of his frighteningly strong body, Leo's 'Hand Sword' didn't lose in durability to his Sword Breaker, but the opponent he met on his hunt today was a little special.

"Everything here is 'Evil' indeed."

Even in a place full of Sword Beasts like the Evil Sword Jungle, this was Leo's first time meeting a deer mutated in this fashion!

In the first place, herbivores like deers didn't exhibit high degrees of mutation under the effect of Sword Breath, at most, their hooves or nails would be slightly strengthened, but the one in front of Leo had a pair of terrifying sword horns!

Not only were they larger than normal horns, but their branching was also extremely complicated. Originally, Leo's Sword Breath should have been easily capable of severely damaging these mutated horns even though the deer was at grade-8. However, the arrangement of its branches allowed it to easily bear the weight Leo's 'Hand Sword' held.

"I hope you are as tasty."

Things would have been tough for Leo if he needed to rely on the tactics of his first Sword Beast Battle, but the current Leo was miles far from his old self, things were much simpler now.

While the deer's charge would have already killed any other human including normal peak Grandmasters, Leo was able to subdue it by pressing at its horns with his 'Hand Sword' by relying on his superior strength. Most importantly, just because his sword was busy blocking didn't mean he was out of moves!

Swish!

Graaahhh…

It wasn't exactly dual wielding, but rather than being called 'Sword Hand', Leo's new talent was 'Sword Body', his transformation wasn't limited to his right hand. With the monstrous deer's only 'sword' under his suppression, his left hand easily cut its neck off under the augmentation of grade-10 Sword Breath.

"Not bad for a warm-up."

Restoring his hand's form, Leo wiped off his sweat. Although the battle's end was quick, it was the result of an hour-long brawling pursuit. Compared to training using imagination, living monsters were far more effective as opponents.

Looking at his meal for the day, Leo closed his eyes as he focused on his hands. His fingers didn't disappear this time, instead, they morphed into miniature blades that Leo sank into the deer's body, skewering it to his arm.

Sish.

Using his other bladed hand to hold the head by its sharp horns, Leo quickly walked away, only stopping in front of a hidden cave.

Neighhhh!

"It's just me."

Most people who were brave enough to venture into this infamous death zone wouldn't dare spend the night in. However, it had already been a month since Leo settled down here. Let alone himself, he even had the guts to keep his horse around.

Neighh!

"Don't worry, I brought your veggies."

Ever since killing the bear that lived here, Leo had taken this cave as his 'nest'. Compared to before, Leo's life had taken a complete turn as if he regressed in time.

Every day in the morning, he would stretch a bit before getting out to hunt. The Evil Sword Jungle lived up to its name, but not all of the beasts inside were overly strong. Usually, Leo's hunt lasted as long as the time he spent searching for prey, today's 'meal' was obviously an exception.

Sizzle!

Naturally, Leo didn't hold back when it came to cooking. He had prepared cooking supplies all in preparation for this. The days of relying on rations were over! Living in the wild did have its advantages!

"That's even tougher than usual! As expected of a High-Grade Sword Beast!"

Throwing a piece of sauteed deer meat into his mouth, Leo could barely bite into it. Taking a minute, he closed his eyes once more before his mouth resumed moving.

Sishh… Sishsh…

The sound emitted from Leo's mouth was close to that of a meat grinder! When he opened his mouth again, one could easily notice the shiny dark color that his teeth took! They were like tiny sword tips!

When Leo first came to use his new talent, he believed it to be limited to turning limbs into practical swords just as the Holy Sword School's record stated. However, he quickly discovered that was far from being the truth!

Within the first week of his stay in the Jungle, Leo came to realize his true limit as he slowly got more familiar with his ability. Every part of his body had the potential to take the shape of the characteristic of a 'sword', the Personal Book's naming was truly all-inclusive.

Starting from larger parts like fingers till smaller and smaller things like teeth and nails, Leo took his time testing the bottom-line of his ability, but he had yet to reach it. Although it took time and focus, each individual 'swordification' was successful up to now.

'Time for the real workout.'

That was precisely why Leo chose to come to the Evil Sword Jungle in the first place, the first time he turned something other than his whole hand into a sword was done unintentionally during battle. Not only did 'sparring' make him get used to being the sword rather than wielding it, but it also brought out the new instincts that came along with his mutation.

After eating a third of the deer to replenish his energy, Leo was already back out again. He no longer had any need to practice 'Breathing' or techniques, all he needed was a real battle so he could digest the result of over 7 years of training!

Compared to his morning hunt, Leo's next opponent's destiny wasn't death, he only fought till he let out the energy he obtained from his breakfast before retreating for lunch.

"Is it okay to try it out now…?"

Back in his cave, Leo hesitatingly took out the sword that he didn't wield for a whole month. He wasn't sure if a month's familiarity was enough to proceed with this experiment of his…