Putting on my diving suit, pumping oxygen into the tanks, and finally putting on my mask, I realized something. This moment felt mechanical. Like I had done this many times before.

Though I knew that I had done this only a few times in the past, my body seemed to be completely in tune with my mind. As if the knowledge I had once tapped into using [Absolute Awareness] had become a part of me.

"Curious," I muttered, before then placing my attention back on the river.

I opened up my senses, drawing a significantly smaller amount of mana, and peered into the river.

A faint glimmer caught my eye. A fluctuation in the surrounding mana. The scent of blood and steel was faint, but it was there.

It was the sword I was looking for.

—Haa, Hoo.

I walked into the river. The sound of my breath surrounded me as my head fell beneath the still waters.

The smell of pure oxygen was relaxing.

The cold of the river, however, brought me shivers.

"Ugh," I groaned. My heightened senses made the cold so much worse. The wriggling feeling of dirt moving across my skin.

The subtle smell of fish and soil entered my mask.

This was the first time I had used [Absolute Awareness] in this way.

It felt both liberating and limiting.

'I'll just get the sword and leave.' I thought, swimming straight for the sword.

A few large fish swam past me as I sunk deeper into the river. They seemed to eye me with an intelligent glint.

"What's that?"

That is what their gazes seemed to say.

Creepy.

It didn't take long for me to arrive in front of the sword. Contrary to what I thought, the sword wasn't embedded in stone. Instead, it was wrapped in leather and cloth, sitting there peacefully and unmoving.

I took the sword in my embrace and swam back up to the river bank.

After drying myself off, I once again thanked my foresight for choosing the winter-edition diving suit.

The water was unnervingly cold.

"Alright, let's see what we have here."

I activated [Absolute Awareness], and peered into the essence of the sword's existence.

"...Forged in a dwarven smithery at the request of a desperate king. This... is a hero's sword." I watched the images that flashed past my eyes.

Unlike looking into a different world through the Gaea System, I was able to spend more time peering into its essence. 

"Unfortunately, it never reached its owner."

On its way to the so-called hero, the caravan delivering the item was raided by a mysterious cult. The knights guarding the caravan were brutally slain. Their own blood exploded out of their bodies as if they were fireworks in the night sky.

I couldn't help but retch. The bloody shower of flesh and organs was a disgusting sight.

Luckily, the scenes shifted before my stomach did.

The caravan, which had been attacked, fell into the nearby river. Everything, from the gold to the magic items, was taken by the cultists.

However, upon observing the sword, they threw it into the river.

"...All of these events happened more than a hundred years ago."

Now, the sword had been awaiting a new owner. The new hero of the kingdom of Leisha.

"Hm, I see." I closed my eyes and waited for my mana to regenerate.

In the next moment, I activated [Absolute Awareness] and my mind appeared high in the sky.

This forest was called <The Great Prioen Forest>, named after the Great Mage Prioen who protected this land for hundreds of years before his inevitable death.

It was a circular forest that spanned many mountains. A home of beasts and beautiful fora and fauna.

It was a forest within the kingdom of Leisha.

"The capital is just a few hundred kilometers North from here." I blinked, and my gaze shifted. "The nearest city is on the edges of the forest, due North-East."

I looked towards a certain mountaintop. There, I found a gargantuan winged reptile, coiled around the highest peak.

"...And that's a slumbering dragon."

When the dragon suddenly opened its eyes to gaze at my consciousness — which had been floating in the air, mind you — I instantly shut off [Absolute Awareness]. My heart was beating, and a cold sweat had trickled down my back.

"What the hell? Did the dragon just meet my gaze?"

Taking another moment to regenerate my mana, I used [Absolute Awareness] once again.

This time, I became aware of my status in this world.

Even without [Absolute Awareness], I had already suspected this... but I was indeed about as strong as an ant.

No... I think even an ant was capable of killing me. I shouldn't underestimate the living beings of this world.

In fact, I couldn't even underestimate those who were already dead!

"Haha,"

Instead of feeling depressed, however, such an idea made me excited.

I put my hand on the sword's handle and pulled it out of its sheath.

—Shing!

With the ringing of metal, a simple and unadorned silver sword appeared in my hands. Despite being submerged in water for more than a century, the blade was still razor sharp. Dirt seemed to avoid the blade entirely.

Feeling something off, I once again waited for my mana reserves to become full. With another usage of [Absolute Awareness], I realized that I needed the ability to manipulate light-attributed mana to activate the powers of the sword.

Without said mana, all I would have would be an indestructible blade.

Honestly? That was good enough for me.

Sheathing the sword, I got ready to leave. However, something caught my eye just then.

"...Is that a body?"

Floating lifelessly on the river, with blood pouring out of several wounds.

I absorbed the mana around me and heightened my senses.

—Badump!

—Badump!

—Badump!

It was a heartbeat.

Whoever was floating down the river was still alive. Although they were barely breathing, my heightened senses told me that they were special.

In fact... the sword in my hands seemed to resonate with their presence. From what I had learned earlier, that could only mean one thing. I didn't need my gift to piece these things together.

"...No way?" A gasp escaped my lips at the ridiculous coincidence.

Was that actually the next hero of Leisha?