Reincarnated as a Sword

Spoiler Alert!

As a slave, you have no name.

The collar around your neck prevents you remembering it and leaves you completely at the command of the slave merchants.

If only you had…a sword…

“Can anyone hear me!?”

…?

Who said that?

Suddenly, you hear the flicking sound of horse reins as the wagon speeds up.

The wagon driver cries, “What the…? What IS that thing?!”

!!

You find yourself flying head over heels onto the hard forest floor.

Owww…

Fighting dizziness, you see everyone picking themselves up.

*CRASH!!*

?!!

The wagon is splintered to pieces as a towering, two-headed bear lumbers slowly towards you.

You hear a hoarse voice filled with desperate intent.

“Slaves! Stay still and keep that monster busy!!”

The magic in your collar compels you, despite your mind screaming at you to run.

Are you…going to die…like this…?

Huh?

You can…move?

You duck just as a gigantic paw passes the air where your torso was a second ago.

Run…run…RUN!!

If…only…if only…

“Pull me out! Hurry!”

It can speak?! Oh, right!

Gggnnngghh! Ugghnnh!

In your head, you hear, “Thanks! Now, concentrate and equip me! Act like I’m part of you!”

Equip…equip…part of me…

“Get ready! Here it comes!”

You open your eyes and charge the bear with all the strength and speed you can muster.

WOW! You feel far stronger and faster than you ever had in your life, as though you can slay a hundred monsters!

As you charge, you jump onto the bear’s chest and plunge the sword’s blade deep into it.

Instinctively, you somersault away and land on your feet as the bear collapses, dead.

Did THAT really happen?!

*pant* “Th-thank you, M-mr. S-sword”, you tell the sword between labored breaths. Now that you have a good look at it, it’s the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen…

“Don’t mention it!”

“HEY! You over there!”

One of the slave merchants strides up to you.

“You’re the only one left, huh? Hmm?”

He reaches for the weapon in your arms, but you keep it close to you.

The merchant slaps you violently across the cheek and yanks out a sheaf of papers from his shoulder bag, brandishing it at you.

“Filthy little BRAT! As long as I have this contract, you’ll always be a sla…”

A resounding voice in your mind echoes, “How dare you!”

It can…move?

Without warning, your neck and wrists feel a lot lighter. You look down and see your slave collar and manacles on the floor. It feels like a weight has been lifted from your mind as well.

It’s…coming back to you!

Your name is…is…

Reincarnated as a Sword (転生したら剣でした, Tensei Shitara Ken deshita) is a web novel, light novel series and manga written by Yuu Tanaka (棚架ユウ, Tanaka Yuu). There is also a spin-off manga titled Reincarnated as a Sword, Another Wish (転生したら剣でした Another Wish, Tensei Shitara Ken deshita Another Wish).

Killed in a traffic accident, a certain man regains consciousness as a sword in the middle of a strange wilderness and quickly discovers that he could move on his own using telekinesis. Over the next few weeks, the intelligent sword kills many monsters inhabiting the wilderness and gradually grows in power by consuming their mana crystals and absorbing their Skills. One day, he decides to explore a forest beyond the wilderness and is unable to move from the spot he embeds himself in. More than a month later, a beastkin girl slave finds the sword and pulls him out to slay a monstrous, two-headed bear pursuing her. After killing the girl’s owner, the sword forms a partnership with the girl, who names the sword Teacher and remembers that her name is Fran.

Wanting to become stronger, Fran decides to become an adventurer. She and Teacher eventually reach Alessa, the northernmost city of the Kleinzell Kingdom, where Fran signs up with the Adventurer’s Guild. During their first quest, the pair discover a hidden dungeon. After returning with a cadre of adventurers, Teacher and Fran fight their way through an army of goblins and discover the dungeon’s master, a rare intelligent goblin, and a Greater Demon. After both monsters are killed, the dungeon is rendered inert. With this, Fran gains recognition among the other adventurers.

Later, Fran is sent to the Spider Nest dungeon to collect magical ore, along with several adventuring groups. The Nest is found to be more dangerous than expected, with a Trickster Spider as its master and countless evolved giant spiders inhabiting the lower levels. Despite being separated for a while, Teacher and Fran both manage to survive, protect the other adventurers and eventually defeat the Trickster Spider. After returning to Alessa, they decide to travel to the western port city of Darth and travel south from there. During their journey to Darth, they encounter the devil necromancer Jean Dovy, who requests their aid in conquering a dungeon on a floating island. After getting there and fighting countless undead, the heroes confront the island’s master, a powerful lich. Despite the lich summoning many powerful undead monsters, Teacher, Fran and Jean eventually manage to defeat it in a titanic battle.

What new adventures await the sentient sword and his partner?

Main Characters

Teacher (師匠, Shishō), a sentient sword. Caring, clever and thoughtful, he acts as Fran’s weapon, partner and guardian. While he aids and protects Fran on their quests, the sword also teaches her how to grow as both an adventurer and a person. He usually keeps his sentience hidden but occasionally gets discovered by those with powerful sight Skills. When he first awoke as a sentient sword, Teacher could use Telekinesis and Telepathy. He could also analyze creatures and objects (Appraisal), repair himself using his own magic (Self-Recovery), share his Skills with his wielder (Skill Sharing) and use magic to enhance his own striking power.

By consuming monsters’ mana crystals, he can acquire their Skills and develop them for his own use. Some of Teacher’s most useful acquired Skills include Sword Technique (the use of various sword fighting techniques), Dimensional Storage (access to an extradimensional space of infinite volume), Fire Magic, Wind Magic, Recovery Magic (various healing spells), Cooking, Appraisal Block/Disguise (concealment of his own status) and Skill Taker (the ability to steal one Skill from a target, usable only once per target).

Fran, a 12-year old black cat beastkin adventurer. Brave, curious and quick-witted, she is determined to become stronger in order to someday free her race from oppression and to fulfill her late parents’ dream of seeing a black cat beastkin evolve like the other beastkin races. Fran can get reckless at times but Teacher usually persuades her to be more prudent or, at least, helps her fight her way out of trouble. As a result of spending four years as a nameless slave, Fran hates slavers with a passion and is somewhat wary of others besides Teacher. However, she reserves her greatest hatred for blue cat beastkin, a race said to have forced the black cats into slavery centuries ago. Under Teacher’s guidance, Fran is swiftly growing into a skilled fighter and adopting many of the sword’s Skills as her own. She has also collected several magic swords during the story, which she sometimes uses together with Teacher.

Urushi, a Darkness Wolf and Teacher’s loyal familiar. Originally summoned to locate Fran in the Spider Nest Dungeon, this huge wolf can use Dark Magic spells such as Dark Spear and Trap Detection. Urushi can also change its size to that of an ordinary wolf at will and hide in any shadow, usually Fran’s.

Personal Thoughts

A heartening twist on the traditional isekai idea of an all-powerful protagonist. The main character is a weapon of limitless potential that acts as the guardian of an orphaned girl once doomed to a lifetime of slavery. Under her new friend’s protection, Fran gradually gains the strength, power and wisdom needed to fulfill her own dreams for the future. While Teacher is curious about the reasons behind his condition, this is second to his wish to protect the life and hopes of a little girl. It reminds me of how compassionate parents put their cares and hopes into their children, perhaps even leaving their own youthful dreams behind in the process. Such dedication to one’s own children should be respected.

There are times when Teacher holds back and lets Fran handle situations by herself, be it fighting monsters or handling people. In this way, she gains self-confidence and learns the skills she would need to survive on her own in the event that Teacher is not there to protect her. It’s similar to how parents have to know when to let children go out into the world to make their own decisions and live their own lives, since the parents cannot protect their children forever! Teacher will still protect Fran whenever needed, just like any other responsible guardian.

In conclusion, this story mixes a fantasy-style hero’s journey with the concept of a parent and a child travelling together. As the guardian and best friend, Teacher guides and protects his charge. As the child, Fran learns from her guardian and becomes strong in her own right, ready to face the world. They bring hope and incentive to each other.

Moral

Responsible parenthood is not to be taken lightly, but it can be a source of tremendous development and joy for both child and parent.