[Swordsmanship lv.1]: Upgrading

[Swordsmanship lv.2]: Upgrading

[Swordsmanship lv.3]: Upgrading

Blaine had a lot of money now, and he directly upgraded his Swordsmanship to lv.4, which only cost about 510 million in total.

Adding the 100 million for the purchase of Cursed Blood, that came to 610 million.

Oh, and also the 5 billion for the Eye of Insight.

That made it 5.61 billion, with a 20% discount: 4.48 billion.

All of a sudden, only 3.4 billion remained in his balance.

Besides that—

Blaine also upgraded his Mind Control to lv.4.

---

Host: Blaine

Physical Fitness: 275

Hunter Level: B

Abilities: [Diamond Body lv.5] [Swordsmanship lv.4] [Copying Eyes lv.3] [Absolute Hit lv.3] [Hawkeye lv.3] [Mind Control lv.4] [Shadow Stealth lv.3] [Mind Reading][Danger Perception] [Regeneration] [Meditation] (11/15)

Equipment: [Hunter Suit (+25)] [Elemental Bow (+25)] [White Snake Bow (+5)] [Tracking Paper Crane (3)] [Cursed Blood Knife]

Balance: 3.2825 billion

---

Although he had spent 13.5 billion and was left with only 3.2 billion, his strength had increased significantly, and one of his shortcomings was now covered.

A smile tugged at the corner of Blaine's mouth. Damn, it felt good.

With a thought, he summoned Cursed Blood.

Cursed Blood was a demon blade, shaped like a Tang Dao but with the elegance of a katana.

The blade measured 71 cm, the handle 27 cm…

It was a weapon that combined the best of both worlds.

Just looking at it was enough to feel the endless energy radiating from it.

Sword Qi? Sword pressure?

The moment Blaine gripped Cursed Blood, he had never felt so right.

The blessing of Swordsmanship combined with the blade's demonic power fascinated him.

To put it bluntly, it felt as though his arm had been extended.

He played with the blade on his bed, then sheathed it with a sharp clack. The series of motions was smooth, precise, and stylish—without the slightest sloppiness.

Blaine stretched comfortably.

As for the money, he wasn't going to spend it all.

Four skill slots remained, but he didn't plan to fill them yet.

The system offered many emergency items, and Blaine believed he should save some funds. In case of danger, he'd still have the option to purchase emergency skills or equipment.

Otherwise, if a real crisis came, even his current strength might not be enough.

But—

Just as Blaine was about to get up, he noticed something odd.

His brows furrowed.

No—it wasn't just odd. It was very odd.

There were knife marks on his quilt.

Blaine's frown deepened, his expression turning cold.

He was certain he hadn't made those cuts. His swordsmanship was already at lv.3—there was no way he wouldn't have noticed if he'd cut his quilt himself.

Had someone been here?

The corner of Blaine's mouth twitched, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

He immediately stood and began moving toward the door.

Like Sherlock Holmes, Blaine carefully searched for traces—dust, scuff marks, anything—across the floor and windows.

First, the doors and windows.

Blaine's memory was sharp. When he'd returned home, the door had been only half-closed. He remembered the exact angle. Yet when he awoke, the door was shut. Maybe it was the wind? Perhaps.

But the windows—

They showed clear signs of being stepped on.

There were also faint knife marks on the door.

After checking everywhere, Blaine entered the bathroom to brush his teeth, his mind racing.

Those marks proved one thing.

Someone had tried to cut him with a blade. They hadn't held back, either. But in the end, they'd been forced to retreat.

The only question was—who wanted to kill him, and didn't even know the details of this house?

Blaine had been wandering the Earth for the past few months, seemingly stirring things up, but in reality he hadn't made many enemies. Few people had reason to truly hold a grudge against him.

One possibility was Nick.

But Nick Fury? Impossible. The man was too clever. He knew Blaine's strength. If he wanted Blaine dead, he wouldn't send someone with a knife—he'd just drop a big payload on him and be done with it.

Sending an assassin with a blade against someone who could withstand a missile? That would be an act of sheer stupidity.

Thinking it over, all the clues finally converged into three words in Blaine's mind—

The Hand.

They used blades. They bore grudges. And they didn't know much about his strength.

Only the Hand's brand of madness fit.

Damn lunatics.

Sure enough, he'd overused his mind-based powers.

Falling into a deep three-day sleep had left him completely vulnerable, unaware of his surroundings until his recovery was complete.

This time, the attackers had been weak. But what if, next time, they weren't? What if they were strong enough to kill him?

Blaine felt a flicker of fear.

Then, with a bitter laugh, he sneered.

The Hand. Madam Gao.

A few days ago, he'd kept aliens occupied just to avoid their surveillance, and yet they still dared to chase him.

He had no fear of the Hand.

The only problem was those fanatical ninjas had likely seen his face and reported it.

Anyone with sense would connect the dots: a man at this address who couldn't be harmed with blades—who else could it be but the mysterious bounty hunter?

His brother? A relative? Who would believe that?

Was his identity about to be exposed?

Blaine sighed, half helpless, half indifferent.

So be it.

He had hidden his identity before because his strength hadn't been enough. But now? Now he was strong. Even if ten S.H.I.E.L.D. teams joined forces, they couldn't take him. So what if he was exposed?

Of course, he wasn't afraid of exposure.

But that didn't mean anyone who revealed his identity would go unpunished.

*************************************

You can get access to early chapters on patr*on

If you like my work and you want to support me then you can become my patron on patre*n.

My patr*on account is Lord_Immortal_0170