Chapter 3 That's Not How You Use A Sacred Sword!

Mixarnt casually strolled back to where the sword lay, plucking it from the ground as if it were a common stick. He gave it a little twirl before turning to the towering guardian spirit, his expression utterly unimpressed. "Hey, guardian spirit," he called out, waving the legendary blade like a child showing off a toy. "How do you use this sword?" The ancient golem stared down at him, its glowing eyes flickering in what could only be described as pure disbelief. The Sword of Sylphara was a sacred relic, forged by the first elves, bound by blood oaths, and meant to reject any unworthy hands. And yet, this human was holding it like it was nothing. "That sword does not belong to you," the guardian rumbled, though even its voice carried a hint of uncertainty. "You are not worthy." Internally, the golem was struggling. 'How is he holding it?! Is the sword broken?!' Mixarnt tilted his head. "I see. So, what does it do?" The guardian spirit exhaled, if it even needed to breathe, and began its rehearsed speech. "The Sword of Sylphara is known for slicing through barriers and illusions. But its true power lies in severing the fabric of dimensions themselves. This very ruin exists in a pocket dimension, cut off from the mortal realm. To claim the sword, one must first prove their worth by—" It stopped mid-sentence. Because Mixarnt had already walked away, completely ignoring it. The golem's eye twitched. "… Are you kidding me?" it muttered. Meanwhile, Mixarnt trotted back to Aelries, who was still frozen in shock, her mind struggling to process the sheer blasphemy of his actions. "Hey Aelries," he said cheerfully, "that golem said we can just exit if we cut through dimensions." Aelries's eye twitched. "That's impossible," she hissed through gritted teeth. "Even the greatest elven heroes of the past had never unlocked the sword's full potential. The idea that some careless human could just do it was..." Aelries trailed off. "Huh? What do you mean?" Before she could retort, Mixarnt lazily swung the blade in front of him— SHINK! A seven-foot tear in reality itself ripped open, shimmering like fractured glass, revealing a sunlit grassland beyond. There was silence. The guardian spirit's jaw dropped. Aelries's soul left her body. Mixarnt blinked at the rift, then grinned. "Oh. Neat." "Y-YOU! HOW?!" Aelries sputtered, her voice cracking. "You just have to put some heart into it," Mixarnt said with a shrug, as if he'd just explained how to boil water. Then, without warning, he grabbed her hand. "Come on, let's go!" "W-WAIT!" Before she could protest, it was too late. He yanked her forward, and the two tumbled through the dimensional rift, landing in a sprawling, sun-drenched grassland, the ruins nowhere in sight. Aelries lay on the grass, staring blankly at the sky, her mind utterly broken from the experience. Mixarnt stretched, yawning. "Well, that was fun. Wanna get lunch?" Aelries made a noise that was half-scream, half-sob. Somewhere behind them, the guardian spirit was still standing in the ruins, staring at the spot where reality had been sliced open, questioning its entire existence. "… What just happened?" It said in disbelief. ----------- Mixarnt casually helped Aelries to her feet, her legs still shaky from the sheer absurdity of what had just happened. With a grin, he held out the Sword of Sylphara, its blade glinting in the sunlight as if completely unbothered by the fact that it had just been used to slice open reality. "Here," he said, pressing the hilt into her hands. "It's yours anyway since you found it first. Plus, it's an elven weapon, suits you better, hehe." Aelries stared at the legendary blade now resting in her palms, then at Mixarnt's carefree expression, then back at the sword. "Sigh… You are just impossible to understand," she muttered, finally sheathing the sword at her side. Her momentary relief was short-lived, however, as she pulled out her map and realized, they were miles away from the elven kingdom. No horses. No supplies. Just an endless sea of grassland stretching in every direction. "Uhh… How did this happen?" Aelries groaned, crouching down and burying her face in her knees. She had never travelled this far before. As a princess, she had always stayed within the safety of her kingdom's borders, only venturing out for patrols. Now, thanks to this infuriating human, she was stranded in the middle of nowhere with nothing but little goods. She peeked through her fingers at her meager supplies: a single medical pouch and a few strips of dried jerky. Then she looked up at Mixarnt. He was just… standing there. Smiling. Like this was all some fun little adventure. "This is the worst," she said, hiding her face again. "Stuck with this infuriating idiot who has no common sense… Why me?" She almost wished the plant monster had finished her off. At least then she wouldn't be dealing with this. "Hey, hey, elf!" Mixarnt suddenly called, pointing excitedly into the distance. "Look! There's a river over there!" Aelries didn't even lift her head. "Aelries. That's my name." Did she care about a river right now? No. Did she have a choice? Also no. "Nice to meet you I guess, name's Mixarnt btw." He said with a grin. With the heaviest sigh imaginable, she forced herself to stand, dusting off her clothes with as much dignity as she could muster. Mixarnt was already trotting ahead, humming like this was a pleasant afternoon stroll. Aelries followed, her expression a perfect mix of exhaustion, irritation, and reluctant resignation. "Just my luck," she muttered under her breath. "Stranded in the wilderness with the most annoying human in existence." Mixarnt, completely oblivious or perhaps deliberately ignoring her suffering, cheerfully called back, "Come on, slow poke! Maybe there's fish in the river! I'm starving!" Aelries sighed again. "This is going to be a long journey."