[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
Chapter 25
As soon as Zeke received the message, he rushed to Gelion's smithy.
"Gelion!"
Entering the smithy, he found Gelion, looking haggard in front of the magic forge , weakly greeting him.
"My lord... You have arrived."
Zeke was taken aback seeing Gelion half-dead.
In his previous life, when the Solar Sword Gram was made, Gelion wasn't in this state.
'Don't tell me he failed?'
An anxious feeling washed over him.
Zeke suppressed his impatience and asked Gelion as calmly as possible,
"Is the sword complete?"
Gelion nodded.
Zeke breathed a sigh of relief.
Gelion struggled to his feet and brought something from inside.
Soon, Gelion placed a wooden box containing a sword covered with cloth in front of Zeke.
Zeke slowly removed the cloth and checked the sword.
"Huh?"
Zeke was momentarily bewildered when he saw the sword inside the box.
Its appearance was vastly different from the Solar Sword Gram he knew.
The Solar Sword Gram was a famous sword with a snake coiled around its blade.
But the sword in front of him was all black, with the hilt and blade seamlessly connected.
The strangest thing was something else.
"Why isn't the blade sharpened?"
A sword should be sharp.
But the blade of the sword in front of him was blunt, not sharpened at all.
It seemed like it couldn't even cut a radish.
Gelion, standing beside him, said with a cold sweat,
"That sword...is that kind of sword."
Hearing Gelion's cryptic words, Zeke turned to him and said,
"Do you mean...that this form is the sword that suits me best?"
At Zeke's words, Gelion nodded vigorously again with a deeply moved expression.
"As expected...! My lord is different. If it were any other noble, they would have dragged me out and whipped me. However... the form of the sword that best suits my lord, whom I have peered into, was this."
An unimpressive sword with a dull black blade and no decorations.
If this sword were placed in a weapon shop, no one would buy it.
'Why is it in this form, unlike the Gram of my past life? Is it because I used the Dragon's fang as a material?'
Gram was also a sword made by mixing precious mithril and pure iron.
Zeke tried to remain calm and asked Gelion,
"...So, what's the name of this sword?"
Gelion shook his head.
"I couldn't name this sword."
The Solar Sword Gram was named by Gelion, not Zeke.
Zeke had no choice but to admit that this sword was completely different from Gram.
"You mean I have to name it."
"This sword is like that."
If these were the words of Gelion, the Soul Blacksmith, then it was surely a sword made to be that way.
Zeke nodded.
Then he rolled up his sleeve.
He focused his mana on his wrist, imbued it with the will of Severing, and slit his wrist.
Drip!
A stream of blood flowed from Zeke's wrist as he forcibly suppressed his Healing Factor.
Drops of blood dripped onto the blade.
Gelion was surprised to see Zeke's actions.
'He knows the procedure of the Sword Naming Ceremony. As expected, he is no ordinary person.'
The Sword Naming Ceremony, as the name suggests, was a ritual to give a name to a sword.
It originated from the ancient rituals of the Dwarves, known as the Blacksmith race, but it was such an old tradition that even most blacksmiths didn't know about it.
After bleeding onto the sword, Zeke placed his hand on the blade.
He closed his eyes and quietly sank into his inner self.
He tried to retrieve from the abyss the name he would give to his new sword, not the Solar Sword Gram.
Among the countless names floating in the abyss, one name came to him.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Zeke's heart pounded.
He opened his eyes.
"Black Sword Bahamut. I bestow this name upon you."
Wooong!
The moment Zeke gave it a name, the sword vibrated strongly.
Simultaneously, Zeke's blood on the blade seeped into the sword.
Woooong!
The mark engraved on Zeke's chest and the sword began to resonate.
The sword rose on its own.
Zeke reached out and grabbed Bahamut's hilt.
[Black Sword Bahamut has been registered as equipment.]
[Black Sword Bahamut's abilities have been unlocked.]
[Black Sword Bahamut's abilities will be sealed according to the user's stats.]
[Black Sword Bahamut will grow along with the user's growth.]
Reading the letters that appeared, Zeke was surprised by the part that said Bahamut could grow.
He had thought that growth-type weapons only existed in legends.
Even the Solar Sword Gram, although a famous sword, was not a weapon that could grow.
As Zeke was surprised, Bahamut's information window appeared before his eyes.
―Black Sword Bahamut Information―
Description: A sword forged from the hardest fang of the cursed evil Dragon Bahamut, tempered with the blue flame of magic by a skilled craftsman with spiritual sight.
Inherent Abilities: Indestructible, Aura Conversion
Special Note: Sealed state (unsealed in stages according to the user's growth)
'Indestructible is an inherent ability?'
Although it was made from a dragon's fang, he didn't expect it to be an indestructible sword.
In the past, Gram was sometimes damaged during battle, and Zeke would bring it to Gelion for repairs.
However, with Bahamut's indestructible characteristic, there would be no need to worry about it breaking or being damaged.
But more than that, Zeke gulped at the inherent ability, Aura Conversion.
He raised his mana and concentrated on Bahamut.
Wooong!
It was a similar sensation to when he held Gram.
Zeke converted the condensed mana into aura.
Swoosh!
The invisible mana transformed into a vivid aura.
Gelion, who was watching this, was startled.
"A-aura."
Seeing the clear aura surrounding Zeke's sword, Gelion had an expression of disbelief.
Being able to create such a vivid aura meant that Zeke was at least at the Purple Knight level.
Zeke said to Gelion,
"Gelion, may I test the sword?"
"O-of course, my lord."
Zeke picked up a failed sword piled up on one side of the forge and tossed it into the air.
His sword, imbued with aura, moved swiftly.
Clang!
In an instant, the sword was cut into ten pieces and fell to the floor.
Although it was a failed product, it was a sword made of extremely hard pure iron.
Seeing the skill of cutting it with a sword that wasn't even sharpened, Gelion's jaw dropped.
Zeke repeated the process of tossing another broken swords into the air and cutting them with Bahamut.
He could feel Bahamut becoming more familiar to his hand.
Only after cutting ten swords into pieces did Zeke sheathe his sword.
Zeke stared at Gelion with renewed awe.
'He really made an incredible sword.'
Every time he swung it, he felt as if the sword was clinging to his hand.
The Solar Sword Gram was good, but it was nothing compared to Bahamut.
Although its appearance was crude, it was a peerless sword, the likes of which would never be seen again in this world.
"You've really worked hard, Gelion."
Zeke took out the things he had brought for Gelion.
They contained precious gemstones he had brought from the Dragon Slayer's tomb.
"M-my lord, just making the forge for you was enough."
"Take it. I'll have another favor to ask of you later, so don't feel burdened."
Compared to Gelion's hard work in creating such a legendary sword, this was nothing.
Gelion's eyes welled up with tears at Zeke's kindness.
Then, as if he suddenly remembered something, he asked Zeke to wait a moment and dashed inside, returning with something in his hand.
What Gelion brought out was none other than a scabbard.
"What's this, Gelion?"
"My master made this in the past. I want to give it to you, my lord."
"Your master?"
Even in his previous life, he had never heard Gelion mention his master.
Inwardly surprised, he examined the scabbard Gelion handed him.
A name was written on the scabbard in Dwarven.
"Golin Yober? Is that Golin, by any chance?"
Zeke was surprised to learn that Gelion's master was the famous Dwarf blacksmith Golin, and Gelion was surprised that Zeke could read Dwarven.
Seeing Gelion nodding, Zeke said,
"Are you sure you can give me something this precious?"
"Of course, my lord. It's nothing compared to the grace you have shown me..."
The Dwarf blacksmith Golin was a master at creating wondrous things using intricate mechanisms.
There were even collectors who were willing to pay tens of thousands of gold to buy anything made by Golin.
"This is a truly precious gift."
"I'm glad you like it, my lord. Let me show you how to use the scabbard."
"Is there a separate way to use the scabbard? Ah, well, if it's made by Golin, it must be something different."
Gelion held the scabbard and turned the dial attached to the side.
Suddenly, the scabbard unfolded, transforming into a shield that could cover half his body.
"Oh my..."
Zeke was startled to see the scabbard transform into a shield.
Unlike typical shields, it wasn't very heavy.
"It's a shield made using mithril, wyvern bone, and basilisk leather, so it's light but more durable than a shield made of iron."
Gelion turned the dial again, and the shield returned to its original scabbard form.
Whatever the principle, it would certainly be very useful in battle.
"Thank you, Gelion."
Zeke sheathed Bahamut in the scabbard he received from Gelion.
Bahamut, in the form of a claymore, fit perfectly.
Gelion looked at Zeke, who was wearing Bahamut, with a proud expression.
* * *
Zeke, leaving Gelion's forge, returned to his personal training ground and resumed the point tally he hadn't finished.
Zeke decided to open the Random Boxes first.
He took out the two Random Boxes from his inventory and placed them on the floor of the training ground.
The Random Boxes were similar to the Sealed Boxes found in dungeons.
"Let's see what's inside."
He muttered cheerfully and opened the Random Box on the left first.
"What's this?"
Inside the box was a gauntlet.
Zeke checked the information on the gauntlet with his dragon eyes.
―Gauntlet Information―
Description: A gauntlet made using hard yet light meteoric iron.
Inherent Abilities: None
Special Note: Inherent abilities activate when the full meteoric iron set is equipped.
Zeke tried on the gauntlet.
It was light yet sturdy, seeming like it would be easy to use.
"Not a bad start."
Zeke opened the Random Box next to it.
Unexpectedly, what came out of the second box was a single sheet of paper.
"What's this?"
Zeke took the paper out of the box.
Then the system activated.
[You have discovered a map containing traces of Grandmaster Kaisir.]
[The system will automatically interpret and correct the damaged parts of the map.]
[The location of the ancient ruins has been confirmed.]
Seeing the automatically appearing letters, Zeke muttered in surprise,
"Grandmaster Kaisir? Is that the legendary King Kaisir?"
Simultaneously, a map appeared before Zeke's eyes.
[Location confirmation complete.]
The location indicated on the map was somewhere in the Giant Mountains.
Zeke frowned as he saw the location.
'That's barbarian territory.'
Before his regression, Zeke had practically lived in the Giant Mountains for a time.
The barbarian tribes, living in isolation from other nations and maintaining their own culture, were difficult to deal with.
Just then, a message window popped up before Zeke's eyes again.
[Ending the tutorial according to the user's level.]
[Starting Achievement Quest.]
―Achievement Quest Mission―
[Obtain the secret left by Grandmaster Kaisir in the ruins where traces of Grandmaster Kaisir remain. (No time limit)]
[Quest Mission Reward: System Administrator privileges upgrade]
Zeke's jaw dropped as he saw the letters that appeared.
[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]