SSS Rank Sword Mage: Awakening Starts with Weakest Mana Affinity-Chapter 118: The Line in the Dirt & Debugging

"They are waiting," Tobias replied calmly, his eyes reflecting the amber glow of the barrier. "We can only assume this is simply what a predator does when he meets another of his kind. It's the waiting game. The only thing that comes to mind is that ancient question: if a lion and a tiger meet, who wins?"

The stillness stretched on, heavy and suffocating.

Bagu finally broke the silence.

"That sword of yours," he said, voice low and amused. "When do you plan on picking it up? I'm starting to lose my patience."

Taz hooked a thumb over his shoulder, gesturing lazily at the blade embedded in the ground.

"This?" he replied. "Relax. You're not ready for it yet."

Bagu laughed—deep, booming, and utterly unbothered.

"Is that so?" he said. "You bring a weapon like that to the field, only to leave it behind? Then what—do you intend to face me with nothing but your fists?"

"Exactly." Taz smiled faintly. "If you can't survive my hands, you don't deserve my sword."

For a brief moment, Bagu's grin sharpened.

"That goat was right," he said. "You really are insufferable."

Taz frowned at the dragon.

"That's the second time you've mentioned a goat," he said. "Who exactly is this goat?"

Bagu's lips curled, exposing rows of teeth.

"Perhaps after I tear you limb from limb and grind that arrogance into the dirt," he replied calmly, "I'll tell you."

Taz smirked.

"Like I said—if you want me to take you seriously, push me past that line."

Bagu stared at him. Then laughed.

"You must be joking."

"No," Taz said flatly. "I'm dead serious. Try your best, sho—"

Bagu vanished.

Bagu blitzed forward while Taz was still speaking. Without warning, his massive, dragon-like claw swept through the air. He had been holding back his speed this whole time.

Right before our eyes, his claws landed, slapping Taz across the face with tremendous force.

Blood and spit erupted in a violent spray. The impact detonated a shockwave that flattened the ground, wind screaming outward as Taz was launched like a cannonball into the forest beyond. Massive trees snapped apart as if made of twigs, his body tearing through the woods and vanishing into the distance.

I could barely track the blur. Any faster, and my neck would've broken just trying to follow it.

Tobias stood with his mouth agape, watching the man he had been praising soar away like a skipping stone.

Bagu remained at the crater's center, slowly rolling his neck. His many eyes blinked in perfect unison, his voice steeped in hollow disappointment.

"Ah… I didn't allow you to finish speaking," he said calmly. "In human custom, isn't that considered rude?"

A faint tilt of his head followed.

"How careless of me. Where are my manners?"

His gaze shifted to the sword—then to the thin line carved into the dirt behind it.

He lowered his eyes to his own hand, studying it in quiet confusion. Beside him, his phantom mirrored the motion, its expression slowly dawning with the same realization.

Bagu's hand was ruined—bones twisted at impossible angles, his dragon like flesh crushed beyond recognition.

His eyes lifted again, returning to the line Taz had sworn he would not cross. It remained pristine. Undisturbed. Not a single grain of earth displaced.

Slowly, Bagu turned his head toward the forest—the direction he had hurled Taz.

And for the first time, something unfamiliar stirred behind his many eyes.

His shattered hand began to mend—bone sliding back into place, flesh sealing as if the damage had never been.

Bagu chuckled. Slowly, a wide grin spread across his face.

"So," he said, almost pleased, "you are strong." His eyes narrowed. "Well then, Taz… don't keep me waiting."

Silence fell—thick and absolute—broken only by drifting dust and the distant creak of ruined trees.

Then, from the torn darkness of the treeline, a voice cut through—calm, dry, untouched by the violence.

"I'll admit," Taz said, "I may have underestimated you."

In the blink of an eye, he was there—standing where he had vanished from, one hand rolling his neck with a faint wince.

"Still," he added mildly, "that one stung."

"That impact should have shattered your body," Bagu observed. "To withstand the full force of that strike… you are, at the very least, durable."

Bagu and his phantom stepped back in unison, granting Taz space.

"Now," Bagu said calmly, "pick up that sword and fight. Let us begin the durability test."

Taz exhaled through his nose. "Never seen a dragon with a sense of humor like yours," he replied. "But if that's what you want…"

His hand closed around the hilt. His knuckles whitened.

The air tightened.

A subtle pull spread outward from the blade, warping the space between Taz and Bagu until it felt like the ground itself was bracing for violence. Still, Taz did not draw the sword—not yet. He commanded it.

"Hear the law that precedes law," Taz intoned, his voice resonating as the air began to vibrate. "I unseal the absolute blade of Noumena—the Prince who refused to be King… Vhaegon."

The sword reacted.

As if shedding its skin, the outer metallic layer cracked and peeled away, revealing another beneath it. But the moment that first layer broke, something felt wrong. I had to tense my body, exerting strength just to stay upright—like an invisible force was tugging at me.

"Don't worry," Tobias said quickly. "It only attracts those it deems worthy enough to be a threat."

He had no idea.

I was being pulled.

What did that mean?

And this was only the first seal.

Second. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Third.

Fourth.

Fifth.

By the fifth release, the pull was no longer subtle—it was undeniable. The ground trembled beneath my feet, but I held my ground.

Even Bagu's phantom began to move, dragged forward step by step as though caught in a massive gravitational current. Its feet sank deeper into the earth with every reluctant motion. Bagu himself showed no concern, watching coldly as his phantom struggled against the sword's hunger.

"The stronger you are," Taz said evenly, "the stronger the pull." His eyes remained on Bagu. "Seems you can withstand the fifth seal."

Then the sixth outer layer shattered.

I was slammed violently into the wall behind me.

"Brother!" Morad shouted.

Father stared in disbelief. "Astraga—are you all right?" He turned sharply to Tobias. "What is happening? Why is my son being affected?"

Tobias could only stare, just as stunned as the rest of us.

If I was being pulled…

it could only mean one thing.

"Impossible," Greyjoy snapped. "That sword is obviously crazy—or malfunctioning. You're telling me it sees that kid as a threat?"

He gestured sharply in my direction. He was right: none of the others who had displayed overwhelming strength had been affected.

Greyjoy scoffed."What threat could he possibly pose? That's no ordinary blade, alright. An ordinary blade would actually function properly without dragging anyone across the dirt. It's a faulty tool for a faulty man."

Tobias stepped closer, his eyes flicking between me and the sword. "its never wrong but… the sword considers him dangerous?"

I was plastered against Tobias's barrier, my palms pressed flat as if glued there by an unseen force. The pull burned now—deep, crushing, personal.

"Please," Father said urgently, his voice tight with fear. "Do something. Help my son."

Before Tobias could answer, my pendant began to hum.

Not softly—violently.

It rattled against my chest, glowing faintly, then brighter.

No…

A cold realization struck me. Could it be reacting to that monstrosity?

The pull intensified. Pain tore through my chest, and I couldn't stop the sound that escaped me—a sharp, broken wince.

"Hold on," Tobias muttered, already flipping through his information book. The pages turned on their own, riffling wildly as sigils flashed past. "There has to be a nullification spell… there has to be—"

"Found it."

He slammed the book shut and cast the spell.

The pressure vanished instantly. I collapsed forward, gasping as the invisible force released me.

Silence followed.

Everyone stared.

"This should find the cause and nullify it for the time being," Tobias grunted, his face pale from the effort. He struck his hand-bell again, and a secondary, silver light rippled through the golden barrier. "The effects are slow, but you will feel the pull less and less. I'm dampening the gravitational resonance inside the shield."

Tobias reopened his book, scanning rapidly, his brow furrowed.

Father crouched beside me, gripping my shoulders. "Astraga… is there something you're not telling me?"

I didn't answer. My mind raced.

They said the sword reacted to strength.

Was I really strong enough for it to see me as a threat?

No—there had to be something else.

Father's eyes narrowed as he noticed the pendant still glowing faintly against my chest. His expression hardened with sudden understanding.

Tobias froze mid-sentence. "…Ah."

He flipped back several pages, his voice turning cautious. "According to these records, Vhaegon doesn't judge threat by raw power alone its kind of complicated."

He looked up at Father.

Tobias's voice was barely a whisper, drowned out by the rhythmic thrum-thrum of the gravitational pulse outside, but the weight of his words hit harder than any shockwave.

"It responds to curses. Intent. Residual anomalies. Contracts," Tobias murmured, his eyes glowing with the reflected data of his shimmering ledger. "Things that it alone understands. Like I said, that is no ordinary blade. It could be anything—a bloodline trait,but…"

The boy's clinical gaze shifted. He looked away from the titan clash in the clearing and turned his sharp, analytical eyes directly toward me. The silence within the golden dome became stifling.

"...Does your son happen to be carrying a curse?"

The question hung in the air like a death sentence.

Father stiffened instantly, his hand moving to my shoulder—not only to steady me, but to shield me from Tobias's sharp, searching gaze.

"A… curse?" Father repeated, his tone softened, uncertain. "None that I'm aware of. If anything, it would be the pendant. His grandmother gave it to him."

"Oh?" Tobias murmured, leaning closer. His eyes fixed on the koi-fish pendant resting against my chest.

He frowned. "Strange. I thought it might be cursed as well, but I sense no mana from it at all."

Then—it happened.

A translucent, holographic screen flickered into existence. It hovered mere inches from my face, glowing with a cold, ethereal blue light that seemed to exist outside of the physical world. I glanced at Father, at Tobias, at Greyjoy—but their eyes were glued to the carnage outside.

This was for me alone.

SYSTEM ACTIVATED

Loading… 70%

CRITICAL ERROR: SOURCE INCOMPATIBILITY ERROR: UNKNOWN SIGNATURE DETECTED ERROR: ARCHIVE CORRUPTION

Debugging process initiated—

The Koi fish pendant against my chest began to throb, pulsating with a rhythmic, frantic heat.

Debugging failed... Warning: External Hindrance detected!! System suppression active. Manual override required.

"What... what are you?" I whispered, but the words were drowned out by a thunderous crack from the clearing.

The pendant flared suddenly, heat blooming against my skin—

And the words vanished.

Gone. As if they had never been there.

I grabbed the pendant, my fingers trembling. What the hell was that?

My heart hammered. Nothing about this made sense.

But before I could say a word—before anyone noticed my panic—our attention was ripped away.

Outside, the air screamed.

Bagu's phantom finally lost the struggle.

Its form lurched violently—then tore free of the ground, dragged toward Taz as though seized by the hand of an unseen god.

Taz released the sword's hilt.

He rolled his shoulder once—calm, deliberate—and drove his fist forward.

The impact was catastrophic.

The phantom exploded away in a spray of fractured essence, hurled backward like shattered glass—

Only to be ripped back again, helpless, enslaved by the sword's merciless gravity.

Taz cocked his fist.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

He moved.

There was no recovery. No pause. Every time the pull dragged the phantom back into range, Taz was already there—meeting it with short, brutal strikes, perfectly timed. The creature was no longer an enemy.

It was a target.

A floating speed bag snapping back and forth under an inhuman rhythm.

Bang—bang—bang.

The cadence was relentless. Mechanical. Precise.

Then—

CRACK.

The seventh metallic seal shattered.

The sword shed its final skin, revealing a flawless obsidian alloy beneath—dark, smooth, and devouring the light around it.

The air changed.

Bagu's massive frame suddenly lurched forward.

Claws tore into the earth, carving trenches through stone as the Dragon fought the pull, muscles screaming in defiance—but gravity answered only to Vhaegon.

He was dragged in.

Phantom first.

Bang.

Phantom out.

Bagu in.

Bang.

The exchange accelerated.

Two monstrous forms were caught in the sword's orbit, slammed together and torn apart again and again—yanked in, blasted away, and dragged back like violent, living projectiles.

Taz stood at the center of it all, exploiting every fraction of a second.

His fists blurred.

Each punch landed with surgical intent—joints, pressure points, structural weak spots—strikes thrown as though he had memorized the dragon's anatomy long before this moment.

Bang—bang—bang—bang—

The clearing shook.

What unfolded was no longer a fight.

It was execution by gravity and fists—two overwhelming beings reduced to helpless motion, bouncing back and forth like toys in the hands of an absolute force.