Ch.82Chapter 82. Suck Harder. That’s How You’ll Feel It Better.

I usually avoid revealing my private life, but I’ve made an exception for Tachia.

After all, she’s the one who gave me an Ego Weapon made of mythril—an item of astronomical value—completely free of charge.

Given that situation, if she demanded my organs in exchange for not taking back the weapon, I’d have no grounds to refuse. So I had no reservations about detailing my activities to her.

“…You didn’t bring your weapon?”

This question was casually tossed out while she was smoking and listening to my recent activities.

I immediately stopped talking and prepared to answer her question.

“My weapon, you mean?”

“Yes, Ego Weapons typically become quite attached to their owners. You’ve felt that to some extent, haven’t you?”

“Well, I’m not sure. I haven’t really noticed anything like that…”

I certainly heard something similar when I first received the Ego Weapon, but I’ve never actually felt any threat to my safety or hostility while using it.

If anything, it vibrates pleasantly when I maintain it, and there have been several instances where it’s protected me from danger before I even noticed it, saving my life.

“…No signs of attachment at all? Don’t tell me you’ve left it abandoned at home?”

“Oh, no. I haven’t abandoned it. What happened was…”

Rather than explaining, it would be better to show her.

With that thought, I swung my hand through the air, and from the distorted space along that trajectory, the weapon emerged and settled into my grip.

-Woooong.

The spear shaft hummed pleasantly as soon as it was in my hand.

Judging by how its blade reflected the sunlight perfectly, it seemed to be in its usual well-preserved state.

“…Subspace?”

“Yes. About two months after receiving this from you, I became able to deploy it. To be precise, it’s closer to keeping it inside my body rather than expanding space…”

It’s like a storage space for this weapon unfolds specifically within my body.

Thanks to this feature, I don’t have to physically carry it around but can draw it out whenever needed, allowing me to maintain some combat capability even when seemingly unarmed.

“…So it developed a subspace function on its own to stay with you, yet you’ve had no problems so far?”

But what Tachia was concerned about wasn’t the weapon’s growth, but my well-being.

As if things had turned out differently than she expected, she frowned while resting her chin on her hand.

“Um, Tachia?”

“Any other unusual occurrences?”

“What? Oh, yes. I’ll explain right away.”

Though I found her reaction a bit concerning, she was the expert on this weapon, not me.

Figuring I should humor her for my own sake as well, I proceeded to explain various things related to the spear.

“Before, it would only return to my location, but lately it can move on its own according to my commands as long as it’s not too far from me. Also, perhaps due to its influence, I’ve been able to master spear techniques I taught myself much faster… Oh, and with this weapon and the help of a mana core, I can even form circles.”

“So you’re saying that you, who couldn’t handle mana until recently, can now use circles?”

“Yes, though coincidentally, I can’t do it alone.”

Circle formation is a technique that serves as a measure of achievement for “mana users” who manipulate and utilize mana.

Considering that this technique typically requires enough skill to enter a magic tower, being able to accomplish it even with tools is quite remarkable in itself.

“Can you demonstrate it here?”

“That would be difficult. Unless I had armor with an embedded mana core… I’m not naturally suited for handling mana…”

Magic and aura are things that those with talent spend long periods learning, so how could a novice adventurer who just barely managed to acquire a home manipulate mana on his own?

Of course, I could go home now and return wearing my armor, but Tachia seemed unwilling to wait even that long and simply made a suggestion.

“Open your mouth for a moment.”

“What? Open my—mmph!”

She quickly removed the cigarette from her own mouth and inserted it into mine as I was speaking.

My face flushed as I belatedly realized what she had done, but she merely pressed her finger firmly against my chin and stated her request.

“Just inhale quietly.”

“Mmph, mmph…”

“Don’t worry. It’s nothing strange.”

No, it’s definitely strange! You just put your own cigarette in my mouth.

“Cough!”

But the embarrassment was short-lived. With an involuntary breath, a sharp pain pierced my lungs, and I immediately collapsed to the ground.

“Cough! Hack!”

“…What’s this? Have you never smoked before?”

“N-no, I have smoked before… Hack! Cough!”

I tried to relieve the discomfort by coughing, but the tightness in my chest persisted as if needles were stuck in my lungs.

I did smoke for a few years in my previous life, but this was incomparably stronger than anything I’d experienced then.

“That’s… quite strong stuff you’re smoking.”

“Well, anything less wouldn’t have any effect on me.”

Saying that, Tachia took back the cigarette she had put in my mouth and returned it to her own. She showed no hesitation about putting it in her mouth despite it having been in mine.

“Anyway, that should be enough. Try using it on that scarecrow over there, just like you normally would.”

“Um, Tachia.”

“What?”

“That cigarette was in my mouth…”

“So what? Want another puff?”

“…No, it’s nothing.”

Right, come to think of it, Tachia was always this kind of person.

It’s still embarrassing in many ways, but she must have had a reason for sharing her cigarette with me.

I immediately gripped the Ego Weapon and prepared to create a circle while facing the scarecrow positioned in the backyard.

Normally, I would just exert my will to use it, and this weapon would adjust accordingly. All I needed to do was activate the mana in my armor to link with its power.

-Thump.

But at this moment, after inhaling Tachia’s cigarette, I felt something forming in my body that could substitute for armor.

My heart beat intensely, and I could clearly feel the blood circulating through my body. Beyond that, I sensed something emerging from my flesh and skin, as if dissolving the boundary between them…

-Ziiing!

As I channeled this sensation to replace the mana core in armor, a haze formed around my arm and solidified into a translucent ring shape.

This was a circle—the phenomenon where mana operated by a mana user condenses into a ring shape when excessively concentrated at a single point.

And since mana itself is energy that can be converted into physical force, the formation of a circle means being able to generate excessive output at that point.

-Ziiing!

But why does this circle feel stronger than usual? Is it because the circle formed through my body rather than through armor?

“Try swinging it with all your might.”

“Ah, yes!”

Whatever the case, this was clearly a new opportunity.

I immediately channeled the power of the circle formed in my hand into the spear and thrust it with all my might toward the scarecrow.

With a tremendous “BOOM!” the force exploded outward.

The power not only destroyed the scarecrow but also collapsed the wall behind it, devastating the entire area in front.

“Wh-what?”

Yes, it was much stronger than usual.

The power that blasted away an area of over ten meters from the point of impact exceeded even what a decent attack spell could do.

Moreover, if this could be delivered instantly after circle formation without any casting time, it might even be possible to instantly kill a Hero in a surprise attack.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes. The recoil is a bit intense, but I can handle it.”

But the scariest thing was that such a powerful technique seemed to have no significant drawbacks.

Usually, powerful techniques come with proportional risks, but… wait, do circle users normally use these attacks as casually as regular strikes? And I just got to experience it temporarily thanks to Tachia’s help?

“Was that some kind of doping?”

“Well, let’s just say it was something like that.”

Let’s just say it was something like that?

Given the power, this isn’t something to be so casual about. If it wasn’t doping, what caused such a dramatic increase in output?

“Now that we’ve confirmed you can form circles, swing that spear some more. I need to check how much you’ve developed your techniques with it.”

“Ah, yes.”

Though I had questions, there were more things to confirm after our long time apart.

Following her instructions, I wielded the spear against the scarecrow without using mana, and Tachia, smoking her cigarette while watching, occasionally asked questions.

“…Has that spear been quite helpful in learning techniques?”

“Yes, it corrects my posture immediately when I make mistakes.”

Thanks to the class system supported by the guild, I had already established the basics of spear handling.

But what allowed me to hold my own against Heroes to some extent was largely due to this spear guiding me toward the correct posture.

At first, it felt awkward as it pulled against my intentions, but after we found our rhythm, I could now handle it as if it were my own innate skill.

“That’s fascinating. The spear automatically corrects the user’s movements.”

“That’s because the soul used as material has its own history. Even without memories, instinct remembers.”

“…The soul used as material?”

“Ego Weapons are based on human souls, after all.”

My breath caught in that moment.

Seeing my reaction, Tachia removed the cigarette from her mouth.

“You didn’t know?”

“No, it’s not that I didn’t know… I just wasn’t thinking about it.”

When I consider it, it makes perfect sense.

After all, an Ego Weapon, true to its name, refers to a weapon with a soul, and that soul isn’t created from nothing.

So the soul in this weapon must have belonged to an exceptional warrior in the past?

“Well, I’ve seen enough of your level today, so we can skip the rest of the test.”

As I was lost in these thoughts, Tachia announced the end of the evaluation and moved closer to me.

“There’s something bothering me. Open your mouth again.”

“What? Again?”

“I’m not going to put a cigarette in this time, so just open up without arguing.”

“O-okay.”

Though I was a bit worried, I couldn’t refuse after all the help she’d given me.

Fortunately, what Tachia put in my mouth when I opened it wasn’t a cigarette.

It was her finger.

“Mmph!?”

“Stay still. Don’t bite down.”

“…Mmph, mmph.”

“That’s it, suck harder while licking with your tongue. That will help me feel it better.”

Tachia, that sounds really inappropriate.

I know you must have a reason for doing this, but please have some awareness. If someone saw us, they might misunderstand this as something entirely different.

“…You’re cursed, aren’t you?”

But her next words completely dispelled such concerns.

“Cursed?”

“Yes, and I can feel a very potent energy. Did you happen to encounter a walking corpse somewhere?”

A curse cast by a walking corpse. When I heard those words, the first thing that came to mind was one of the Four Knights I had encountered three months ago.

The Knight of Famine, Gorgon Zola. The one who might have killed me on the spot if I hadn’t been careful.

“…Is it serious?”

Come to think of it, I’ve occasionally experienced auditory hallucinations and impulses since then.

Perhaps those were effects of the curse, I thought as I asked, and Tachia answered through a cloud of cigarette smoke.

“For some people it could be debilitating, but if you’ve had no problems for months after being cursed, you can just live with it.”

“What? I can just live with a curse?”

“The curse is just someone whispering in your head, right? There might be impulses, but those impulses can actually become a driving force for growth.”

A curse as a driving force…

It sounds bizarre, but thinking about it, those whispers made me feel urgent, which in turn made me work harder to defeat the fallen Heroes.

“Well, if you feel like you’re going insane, you can go to a priest, but if it’s not that bad, you can just think of it as carrying an extra sandbag and go about your business.”

“…So to you, a curse is just like a sandbag.”

“With my experience, it would be strange to be alarmed by a mere curse cast by a corpse.”

Ah, I see. Despite appearances, you must be quite old.

After all, I had already vaguely surmised that she was a “Transcendent” capable of twisting Irie’s prophecies.

I don’t know why she moved to this closed district for recuperation, but I had already guessed she was no ordinary person.

From the start, the weapon in my hand was something that no ordinary craftsman could make…

‘Yes, so I can kill the mother who abandoned me with my own hands.’

…Wait.

Now that I think about it, I had such a dream today.

Just as Tachia said, Gorgon Zola’s curse was infiltrating me, and it was reflected in my dreams, affecting that child too.

“Um, Tachia.”

Feeling alarmed as this belatedly occurred to me, I held out the Ego Weapon in my hand and asked her.

“Is it possible for an Ego Weapon to be cursed as well?”

-Thud.

The cigarette fell from Tachia’s mouth as soon as I asked the question.

In the silence that followed, Tachia stood there staring at me—or more precisely, at the spear in my hand—without even realizing her cigarette had fallen.