The obsidian blade lay across Yechan’s lap, its surface reflecting the flickering light of his small apartment. The runes etched into the metal pulsed with a rhythmic, maroon glow, looking like a heartbeat made of dark light. It was silent for a few minutes until a sharp, feminine voice vibrated through the hilt, echoing directly into Yechan’s mind with the force of a physical slap.

「Are you going to stare at me all night, or are you going to actually do something with those useless hands? You’re holding me like I’m a piece of scrap metal you found in a dumpster. Adjust your grip, you peasant!」

Yechan jumped, nearly dropping the sword onto his toes. "I’m trying! You’re heavy! And you’re a sword! How am I supposed to ’do something’ when you’re literally a piece of hardware right now? I thought you were a Demon King!"

「I AM a Demon King!」 the blade hissed, the metal vibrating so intensely that Yechan’s palms went numb. 「I am Libra! The 9th Seat! The Arbiter of War! My current state is a temporary setback caused by your abysmal mana capacity and that ridiculous contract. I cannot manifest my true form because you are essentially a leaky battery. If I tried to turn back now, I would drain your soul until you were nothing but a shriveled husk. Do you want to be a shriveled husk, Yechan?」 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"No! Obviously not!" Yechan adjusted his seat on the floor, crossing his legs. "But you said you’d make me stronger. How? I’m a low-ranker. My brother Jin is the one with the crazy stats. I’m just... me."

「That is exactly the problem,」 Libra replied, her voice dripping with condescension. 「You have no ’Story.’ You have no ’Weight.’ In the Tower, power is not just about numbers on a screen. True power—the kind that allows you to stand against the Stars—comes from Fables. A Fable is a narrative, a legend, a story that has been etched into the system. Every King, every Constellation, and every Great Demon is built upon the foundation of their Fables. I am powerful because I have lived through a thousand wars and thousands of stories have been told about me.」

Yechan blinked. "So... I need to read books?"

「You truly are a fool,」 Libra sighed, a sound that manifested as a low, mournful hum from the blade. 「No. You must live them. You must partake in the Fables that made me who I am. By doing so, you will inherit a portion of my Narrative. Your stats will grow because the System will recognize you as a protagonist of my history. And in return, as you ’complete’ these stories, the energy gathered will repair my broken status. It is a symbiotic relationship. I give you my past, and you give me my future.」

Yechan gripped the hilt tighter. "Okay. I’m ready. What do I do?"

「I will conjure a Memory Rift,」 Libra stated. 「It is a miniature dungeon born from my own memories. You will enter, you will fight, and you will survive. If you die in there, your mind will break. So try not to be pathetic.」

The maroon runes on the blade suddenly flared. The air in the apartment began to ripple like water. A small, swirling vortex of black and red energy opened in the middle of the room, pulling at the curtains and knocking over Yechan’s half-eaten bowl of ramen.

「Enter, brat. This is the first Fable: [The Grunt’s First Defiance].」

Yechan didn’t have time to argue. The vortex expanded, swallowing him whole.

Yechan hit the ground hard. The smell of ozone and wet mud filled his nose. He scrambled to his feet, holding Libra—the obsidian sword—in a white-knuckled grip. He wasn’t in his apartment anymore. He was in a gray, desolate field littered with the broken remains of iron spears and shattered shields. The sky was a sickly shade of violet.

"Where are we?" Yechan whispered.

「This was my beginning,」 Libra’s voice rang out, sounding more focused now. 「Before I was a King, I was a foot soldier in the abyssal legions. I was nothing. A grunt. My first Fable began when I refused to die in a trench against a swarm of Star-Eaters. Look ahead.」

From the violet fog, creatures began to emerge. They looked like oversized, glowing locusts with jagged metallic legs. Their eyes were multiple pinpricks of light that hummed with a disturbing frequency.

「Star-Eater Larvae,」 Libra explained. 「Weak, stupid, but endless. Kill them. If you can’t handle these bugs, you should just go back to being a porter and carrying my brother’s luggage.」

"He’s not your brother!" Yechan yelled, swinging the sword as the first larva leaped at his face.

The sword was surprisingly well-balanced. As it sliced through the air, it left a trail of maroon light. The blade bit into the creature’s carapace, shattering it instantly. Green ichor sprayed across Yechan’s face.

"Gross! This is disgusting!" Yechan gagged, wiping his eyes while kicking another larva away.

「Focus!」 Libra barked. 「Your footwork is like a drunken toddler! Move to the left! No, your OTHER left! Honestly, how have you survived this long? Did your brother carry you in a baby sling during your awakening?」

"Shut up! I’m doing my best!" Yechan lunged forward, stabbing a larva through its glowing eyes. He felt a strange surge of energy flow from the sword into his arm. His muscles felt tighter, his vision sharper.

「That’s it,」 Libra’s voice softened slightly, though she still sounded annoyed. 「You are consuming the ’essence’ of the defiance. The more you fight against the overwhelming odds, the more the Fable attaches to you. Keep going. There are only fifty more.」

"Fifty?!" Yechan dodged a jagged leg that nearly took his ear off. "I’m going to have a heart attack!"

「Then die quickly so I can find a more competent contractor! Maybe that Jin fellow would be less of a whiner!」

Yechan’s face flushed with anger. "I said shut up about Jin! I’m the one holding you!"

He roared and began a frantic, clumsy dance of death. He wasn’t a master swordsman, but Libra’s blade seemed to correct his movements, pulling his arm into the right angles. Every time a larva got close, the sword would vibrate, warning him.

After ten minutes of hacking, slashing, and a fair amount of screaming, the last larva crumbled into dust. Yechan collapsed onto the mud, gasping for air.

[System: Fable ’The Grunt’s First Defiance’ - Completion: 100%]

[Rewards: Strength +5, Agility +3, Stamina +5]

[Status: Libra’s fragments have been partially restored.]

Yechan felt the heat in his body settle. He looked at his hands. They weren’t shaking as much. "I... I did it."

「Barely,」 Libra snorted. 「You looked like a panicked chicken with a butter knife. But, I suppose your ’Defiance’ stat grew. Your soul is slightly less translucent now. Don’t get comfortable. We are moving to the next one immediately.」

"Wait, I need a break! I need water!"

「Water is for those who have a future. You haven’t earned a future yet. Now, stand up. The fog is changing.」