Chapter 1 - The Swordmaster Who Returned After 1,000 Years - NovelsTime

The Swordmaster Who Returned After 1,000 Years

Chapter 1

Author: Yeombi
updatedAt: 2025-08-04

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

    [Proofreader - Kyros]

    Chapter 1

    Sword Saint Ernstine.

    The Grand Sword Master, who was the first to unify the continent, muttered as he looked into the mirror.

    “...What in the world is this?”

    His vacant eyes had lost their light.

    His cheeks sagged, swollen with fat, and his body was grotesquely oversized, as if it might burst. His neck was so thick it nearly matched the size of his face.No?v(el)B\\jnn

    Before him stood a man whose excessive weight seemed impossible to control.

    The appearance of Ernstine, once praised as the most handsome man on the continent even at the age of 50, was nowhere to be found.

    He pinched his cheek.

    The pressure from his thick fingers made him grimace instinctively.

    "This isn’t a dream."

    What on earth had happened?

    Just a few days ago, he had been preparing to abdicate the throne.

    The abdication ceremony came to mind.

    “Father, are you truly planning to pass the throne to me?”

    At the age of 50, Ernstine had reached the peak of the Grand Sword Master’s realm.

    Although the citizens of the Empire expected him to govern the unified Empire of Meier for many years, he defied their expectations and handed the throne to the crown prince.

    “The Meier Empire is a human empire. This is a reasonable length for one’s reign. I shall step back and remain as the Empire’s guardian.”

    “But I am still young and lack experience...”

    “It’s fine. Am I not here? I will support the Empire you lead to the very end.”

    Declaring himself as the eternal guardian of Meier, he held a grand abdication ceremony and retired to rest.

    Yet, when he opened his eyes the next day, the world around him had completely changed.

    Day 1.

    “Paaaah... Hyoooh... Hoo.”

    His body felt heavy.

    What in the world... Was it the empress?

    “Urgh... Ugh...!”

    He tried to sit up.

    But something obstructed his stomach, preventing him from getting up.

    “What... What is this?”

    The firm muscles of his abdomen had vanished, replaced by an enormous mass of belly fat.

    It protruded so much that he couldn’t even lift his upper body.

    Confused, he rolled to his side for now.

    Thud!

    “No...!”

    Even after rolling once, his body crashed to the floor.

    An excruciating pain shot through his left arm.

    It was a sensation he hadn’t felt since ascending to the rank of Grand Sword Master.

    The sudden jolt brought Ernstine to his senses.

    This Is an Emergency

    Ernstine attempted to circulate his mana to grasp the situation.

    However, he felt no trace of mana within his body.

    His massive frame refused to move as he commanded.

    “Haa... Hahh...!”

    Even the simple act of getting up from where he had fallen off the bed left him gasping for breath.

    His body felt unbearably heavy.

    Even taking a single step was a struggle.

    “A mirror.”

    The room was dim.

    Fortunately, the moonlight faintly illuminated the space, allowing him to make out its shape.

    He staggered toward the nearest mirror.

    “Who... is this?”

    In the reflection stood someone he had never seen before.

    Kaylen Starn.

    Age: 19.

    Second-year student in the Royal Academy''s Magic Class.

    Currently residing in the academy dormitory.

    Two days had passed since Ernstine found himself in Kaylen Starn’s body.

    At first, he assumed it was merely a dream.

    He had fallen off the bed, checked the unfamiliar face in the mirror briefly, and then—

    “Phew... Hup!”

    The third plate was consumed before he even made it back to his seat.

    “These portions are ridiculous. Just give me a bigger serving.”

    “...Understood.”

    This time, the staff handed him two plates at once, which he greedily inhaled, using both hands.

    Chomp, chomp.

    Gulp, gulp.

    In under ten minutes, he had cleared five plates.

    By now, Ernstine was growing tired of the repetitive meal.

    But the body’s owner showed no such signs.

    “This is just the beginning.”

    Smack! Smack!

    The man stood up, slapping his belly with his hands. Both his arms and stomach jiggled with the movement.

    “Two more plates, please~”

    [...For goodness'' sake, stop eating already!]

    How many plates of the same food had he eaten by now? Ernstine’s silent protest went unheard as the body’s owner devoured his meals with an insatiable hunger.

    “I think this should do it.”

    After stacking up to twenty plates, he finally seemed to reach some level of satisfaction and got up from his seat.

    Ernstine let out a sigh of relief.

    [Phew, even though he’s still hungry, at least he knows when to stop.]

    Even after eating twenty plates, his stomach wasn’t entirely full. But Ernstine saw a glimmer of self-control in the way he abruptly ended his meal.

    And then—

    “I need to save room for lunch. And dinner too.”

    [...]

    The body’s owner was planning ahead, meticulously.

    By the end of the day, Ernstine was utterly exasperated.

    “Huff... Huff...”

    Observing the man throughout the day had been nothing short of pitiful.

    [Even animals don’t behave like this.]

    It was a continuous cycle of eating and... relieving himself.

    Animals would at least stop eating once they were full, but this man seemed to have no limit.

    The twenty plates at breakfast were, shockingly, an example of his restraint.

    For lunch and dinner, he entered the cafeteria as soon as it opened and didn’t leave until it closed, eating nonstop.

    [When you eat that much, it’s no surprise how often you need the restroom...]

    After overeating, it was no surprise that the body’s owner constantly shuffled in and out of the restroom.

    Watching it all unfold without filter made Ernstine feel physically nauseous.

    What was even more unsettling was the man’s stomach.

    Despite eating so much, it still growled with hunger.

    [I just want to wake up from this dream already.]

    He couldn’t bear to witness this pitiful display any longer. He desperately hoped that once the man fell asleep, this grotesque nightmare would end.

    “Yaaaawn... That salmon... was delicious.”

    After several more trips to the restroom, the man, seemingly satisfied, smacked his lips and carefully laid himself down on the bed.

    Creak. Creak.

    The bed groaned ominously under his weight, but he ignored the sound, lost in thoughts about food once again.

    “Tomorrow, the library menu will be good.”

    As he drifted off, Ernstine silently prayed.

    [If this is a dream, please let it end now!]

    However, what unfolded next was not what Ernstine had hoped for.

    “Ghhk... Ghhhk...”

    The man, who had been snoring loudly moments ago, suddenly began to breathe irregularly.

    “Ghhk... Guh...”

    [...His airway is blocked!]

    Ernstine’s heart raced, and his blood pressure spiked as he realized the gravity of the situation.

    Sharing the body’s sensations, he could tell something was very wrong.

    [Suffocating in his sleep...?]

    It was a condition caused by the excessive tissue blocking his airway.

    The man needed to wake up immediately, but he remained unresponsive, his breathing completely stopped.

    How much time had passed?

    The once-frantic heartbeat slowed to a dangerous crawl.

    Ernstine could feel something fading from the body—a profound, irreversible loss.

    At that moment, the sensation of reality intensified.

    “...I can move.”

    The possession-like state he had been trapped in was gone. With the death of the body’s owner, Ernstine had seized control of the massive form.

    [Translator - Kiteretsu]

    [Proofreader - Kyros]

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