FANTASY LIBRARY

A pure star-shaped weapon that allows the user to see the future!

No need to elaborate—as soon as you hear this, you'll know how powerful and unfair this pure star-shaped weapon is!

It is precisely because of this pure star-shaped weapon that Claudia can rank second in Durmstrang and is given the title of "Thousand-See Alliance Leader" by others. She is recognized by all the students in Durmstrang as the person they least want to fight.

How can you win against someone who can see the future?

Even the number one Natasha probably doesn't want to fight Claudia, right?

However, this power requires a price.

"Pure star-shaped weapons have a cost to use."

Holding Pandora's launcher, Erend spoke to himself as if he was talking to the pure star-shaped weapon in his hand.

"This cost varies. Some can be accepted by people, and some can't be accepted at all. My Black Furnace is the former."

The cost of using the Black Furnace Magic Sword is that it requires a lot of star power.

People with insufficient star power cannot use it at all, and Erend is the only exception.

"And you are the latter."

Erend looked at Pandora with a gradually cold expression.

"The price of using you is to constantly experience your own death, right?"

Unlike the twisted and unpredictable Black Furnace Demon Sword, Pandora's personality is extremely cruel.

It enjoys seeing its user's pain and revels in their suffering when they face death.

No matter who its user is, every time they sleep, they must experience their own death in their dreams.

Moreover, Pandora does not let people face the same death over and over. Instead, it constantly creates different types of death.

Death by illness, accidents, starvation, freezing, suicide, or being killed—Pandora ensures its user experiences every possible form of death.

The terrifying part is that after the user wakes up, the content of the dream vanishes like melting ice, but the horror and pain remain as lingering emotions, tormenting the user and slowly breaking them down.

Because of this, before Claudia, no one had ever been able to use Pandora for long.

Those who obtained Pandora before Claudia reportedly could not last more than three days.

One can only imagine how terrifying this cost is.

Yet, Claudia has borne this burden for years.

Yes.

Claudia has been using Pandora for years.

That means she has endured Pandora's punishment for years, experiencing thousands of deaths in her dreams.

And unless something unexpected happens, she will continue to endure this in the future.

But—

"It's a pity this person has done me a favor, and I must repay it."

Erend ordered Pandora in his hand with an unprecedentedly cold voice.

"From now on, you must not let this girl experience any pain."

"Not only that, but you must also make up for everything you have done to her so far."

"For every nightmare she has endured, you must now create dreams filled with happiness."

"Did you hear that?"

As he spoke, golden patterns appeared on Erend's hand, emitting mysterious and strange power fluctuations.

"————"

Pandora, which lay in Erend's palm, trembled slightly.

It was afraid.

It was terrified.

Like a humble minister who had angered the king, Pandora exuded a feeling of sheer panic.

Seeing this, Erend knew that this pure star-brilliant weapon had already bowed to him and dared not resist.

Even though Erend had not officially recognized Pandora as his master, the moment he touched it, he had 100% control over it.

If he wished, he could turn Pandora into dust in an instant, condemning its consciousness to eternal suffering.

This is true dominance—the ultimate authority over a weapon!

Faced with this absolute power, which could even surpass the power of the gods, Pandora, no matter how cruel it was, did not dare disobey.

After confirming this, Erend placed Pandora's engine back into the quilt and returned it to Claudia.

Turning his gaze to Claudia's delicate face, Erend clearly saw the pain and frown on her face disappear, replaced by a serene smile.

It was a completely different smile from before.

Though Claudia often smiled, her smiles were always polite or even deceptive rather than expressions of true joy.

Perhaps only Erend, who was familiar with the original events, understood how much sadness and despair she carried in her heart.

"I hope you can be redeemed now."

Erend whispered a blessing to the sleeping Claudia.

Then, he quietly left her bedroom, exiting along the way he came.

Time moved forward again.

More than a week had passed since Erend obtained the Black Furnace Demon Sword and gained a stable method to increase his power.

During this time, Erend successfully applied for a new dormitory, moved to a spacious single room, and established a regular routine.

Every morning, Erend would wake at dawn and exercise—jogging or practicing sword techniques—to adapt to his increasingly powerful body.

Since acquiring extraordinary power, Erend felt energized. He had no inclination for laziness and trained daily to improve his body's adaptability.

His exercise sessions lasted until class time, at which point he would return to the academy to attend lectures.

For standard courses, Erend found them dull—after all, he had already finished schooling before. The idea of returning to academic studies was painful.

But this world was different.

After the Falling Star Rain, the world's structure had changed, and Falling Star Engineering—which emerged due to the discovery of Universal Elements—intrigued him. Erend found history and knowledge about this phenomenon fascinating, so he paid attention in class.

Mainly because he didn't have to worry about wasting time or stalling his strength's growth.

Physically and in terms of star power, as long as his body adapted, he could quickly increase his abilities by absorbing Universal Ore—no hard training required.

For combat skills and awareness, Erend didn't need practice. With weapon authority, he could instinctively wield any weapon at peak mastery the moment he touched it.

Even the Black Furnace Demon Sword, a pure star-shaped weapon, was already under his complete control. There was no need to familiarize himself with it.

Because of this, Erend lived a relatively relaxed life while his strength continued to grow steadily. If anyone saw this, they would think he was "cheating."

With free time, Erend could leisurely engage in coursework, only finding exams somewhat annoying.

Fortunately, as the thirteenth-ranked student, the academy tolerated his poor academic performance.

This was a privilege of high-ranking students, and Erend, who didn't want to study hard, gladly accepted it.

After a week, Erend, now able to absorb more Universal Ore, immediately rushed to the underground storage vault after class.

When he emerged, his aura was significantly stronger, and his face radiated satisfaction.

"The increase in strength mitory, Erend thought about how promising the future looked.

But as he walked—

Suddenly, he heard a loud crash.

"An explosion?"

Startled, Erend turned toward the sound.

His expression froze.

"Is that... the direction of the girls' dormitory?"