Chapter 1: Preamble.

The town of Splendide,

Winter in the town of Splendide was always something special.

The old branches reached out into the empty space like bony fingers, as if trying to catch wandering souls. The air was freezing. All the houses on the street were tightly shut.

People on the streets were all bundled up, with their heads down and hands in their pockets, trying not to expose any skin. Some people were cold and had red noses because they didn't have warm clothes or a well-insulated house in the winter.

Gusts of wind swept through, flipping everything in its path, whether it be tarps, awnings, or whatever it could lay its hands on, as if searching and shouting in the faces of those trying to hide.

The wind swirled around anyone and everyone, regardless of gender, age, or social status, as if waiting to discover any vulnerability, and the moment it did, it would sneak into collars, sleeves, or attack any exposed patch of skin, making that person shiver uncontrollably.

That seemed to be the wind’s trophy.

People limited their time outdoors as much as possible.

The surviving birds from the migration south before winter had become scrawny from a lack of food. One bird perched on a roof, emitting a raucous cry, its gaze scanning the sparse pedestrians as if searching for someone it could “bully.” And then, the bird’s gaze settled on a man strolling down the street, someone who appeared different from the rest.

For while everyone else hurried and rushed to their destinations, the man walked incredibly slowly, wearing only a thin layer of clothing. Moreover, he was blind.

Indeed, his sightless eyes were vacant, and he carried a white cane. Despite the frigid weather, his lips did not pale, his body did not tremble, and his skin remained rosy, as if he were accustomed to this and did not feel the cold.

The blind man appeared destitute, yet he was remarkably clean. His clothing, though quite worn and even patched together with various mismatched fabrics of chaotic colors, was not dirty.

Aside from his clean clothes, his shoes were also spotless, his hair and face were clean, devoid of any dirt or grime, and notably, his fingernails were perfectly clean, not stained black like those of beggars.

Perhaps, because the bird saw the man moving slowly and was deprived of sight, it thought him an easy target, someone it could bully and feast upon. The bird flapped its wings, swooping down, its beak like a spear thrust forward, ready to peck at the man, and first, at his eyes.

But when it was just about a meter away from him, the bird suddenly hesitated. Nothing else unusual happened; the blind man’s eyes remained lifeless as he gazed ahead, and he continued to step forward slowly. But in that moment, the bird seemed to sense an imminent and deadly threat from the front. In panic, it frantically flapped its wings and flew away.

A single feather from the bird fell and, unfortunately, landed on the man’s head. He suddenly smiled, reaching up to pick the feather off gently and releasing it to fall softly to the ground before continuing on his way.

The man’s name was Jonas.

Jonas was blind, and he was also a poor resident of this town. At first glance, there was nothing particularly remarkable about him, aside from his sightless eyes and a clean appearance.

Jonas walked into an alley, a path that seemed incredibly familiar to him. Just then, a clear voice suddenly rang out:

“Jonas!”

He recognized this voice, and of course, he stopped in his tracks, slowly turning around. Though his eyes couldn’t see, at this moment, it seemed as if he could sense a girl running toward him. That girl was Selena, the owner of the bakery he knew since arriving in Splendide.

Jonas didn’t know Selena’s appearance; he could only remember all her characteristics and sense them through his other senses, like the sound of her footsteps, her scent, and her voice. She was an incredibly kind girl.

Since Jonas had arrived in town, everyone had mocked and despised him solely because he had eyes without light. They threw rotten eggs and leftover food at him, shunned him like a leper, and used harsh words that no one wanted to get close to him. Only Selena treated him kindly, and Jonas could feel the warmth in her heart.

At this moment, Selena’s footsteps had stopped a short distance from him. And as she approached from a distance, he could smell the scent of bread, a warm aroma.

“Jonas, today I didn’t sell out, and there are some extra loaves of bread. Please take them and enjoy. Well, because... um, by tomorrow, they’ll go bad and won’t sell anymore, so it would be a waste to throw them away.”

Selena’s voice was always the sound Jonas liked to hear the most, like a clear and resonant bell.

But above all, he knew she was lying.

In winter, food was scarce, and the wheat that the townspeople had stored from the previous harvest was limited. With mice damaging the stocks, food was indeed a precious commodity. But Jonas didn’t want to expose her lie, nor did he want to disregard Selena’s kind intentions. He smiled and said, “Thank you.”

He extended his hand, and Selena handed him several loaves of bread, carefully wrapped in a newspaper.

“Enjoy your meal. Now, I have to get back to the shop. Goodbye.”

Selena spoke and turned away, running off. Her footsteps grew fainter and eventually disappeared. It was only then that Jonas’s fingers gently tightened around the loaves of bread. They were still warm, showing that they had just been freshly baked.

He smiled, a smile mixed with helplessness.

He didn’t know why, but he pretended to believe Selena’s lies every day, even though he knew she was lying, and every day, she came up with different reasons to give him food.

Initially, her reasons made sense, but as time went on, they became more and more absurd, like trying to deceive a five-year-old. Perhaps she truly believed he was a fool.

Jonas shook his head, then found a place to sit down and ate the loaves of bread.

Selena’s bread was always incredibly delicious, fragrant, and had a unique taste he had never experienced in other bakeries. Quickly, Jonas finished all the loaves of bread, then got up and ventured deeper into the alley.

As night fell, snow fell.

Fortunately, Jonas had made it home before the dreadful winter snowstorm arrived. He expertly propped his white cane against the wall next to the door, then sat on the bed, his legs crossed in a meditative posture.

Closing his eyes, his consciousness delved into the subconscious. At first, it was a blurry black expanse, but then, the blackness before his eyes tore apart like a torn black curtain, revealing a dazzling light. He gained control of the light and saw a control panel and a small creature with wings and a human-like form.

The creature had round eyes, golden hair tied into two bunches on either side, wearing a green dress and pink wings.

“Welcome back to the Swordmaster Upgrade System. How can I assist you today?” The small fairy’s voice sounded like that of a child, but it had a hint of professionalism, as if it were coming from a computerized sound conversion system.

“Alice, show me my rankings and stats.”

Jonas spoke in his subconscious.

“Yes, sir. Here you go,” Alice chirped, and immediately, a long row of numbers appeared on the board right behind her.

Character: Jonas Rank: C (90%) Skill: Sword Art Current Strength: Capable of easily cutting through a hard rock. Other Skills: Defense: 70% Attack: 80% Super Senses: 85% Self-Healing: 50% Trickery: 80%

Jonas raised an eyebrow momentarily. After spending time here and continuous training, his rank had increased significantly. He was just a little away from reaching level B.

In reality, before entering this world, he could choose attributes for himself. He could be blind or not. However, he had traded his eyes for strength a hundred times greater. But it was still weak and not enough. Currently, he could only cut through a hard rock, but what he needed was more than that; he needed to cut down a house, a castle, a river, or even a mountain.

Indeed, Jonas was not an ordinary blind person in this world. In fact, he was an Earth controller. Just a month ago, he arrived in this world, a place resembling the Middle Ages of Europe.

But the difference was that there were rumors of powerful magic sorcerers and mighty warriors here, terrifying monsters and demons, and even worse, people just like him. And the system was the only foundation for his survival in such a perilous world.

As he practiced sword art every day, his rank would increase. Eventually, one day, he would carry out an unstoppable attack as long as he survived in this world.