episode_0113

The black heart clutched in my hand.

The object called the “Seed of Evil” pulsed quietly, throbbing with a steady rhythm.

Countless eyes were fixed on me.

Gazes filled with shock, bewilderment, disbelief—trembling with unease.

And then.

There was also a gaze brimming with immense intrigue.

I could feel it staring straight at me.

Golden pupils.

Eyes that glinted like a reptile’s, locked onto me.

[How… how…]

The one they called the “Corpse King” looked at me with trembling eyes. His gaze screamed absolute disbelief.

[How dare you, a mere human, lay hands on that! How dare you trespass into the domain of the gods!!]

All traces of his earlier composure vanished.

With a voice seething in rage, he lunged at me with all his might.

However.

BAM!

A sword larger than my body—

Volcan struck him down with it, sending him crashing to the ground.

[Ghk—!]

“Truly a tenacious bastard. Just what method did you use to create something like that?”

“I’m curious about that myself.”

The Guild Master spoke up, his eyes alight with intense interest.

“Care to enlighten me?”

The Guild Master smiled faintly, his piercing gaze locked onto me.

It was the kind of look that could make an ordinary person spill everything without a second thought.

“That’s a bit difficult.”

But I wasn’t an ordinary person.

More importantly, this was my lifeline.

-With that kind of ability, it’s more than just a lifeline.

The Holy Sword chuckled.

I agreed with its words.

The other things were useful too, but—

the most useful was Absolute Combat.

‘This is on a whole different level from S-rank.’

Other S-ranks were incredibly useful.

No, more accurately—

‘This one stands in a league of its own.’

It was different from the Divine Realm of the Thief.

And yet, it synergized perfectly with it.

Well, to be fair, there wasn’t a single thing I possessed that didn’t synergize with the Divine Realm of the Thief.

If Absolute Combat was a gift that stood alone—

then the Divine Realm of the Thief was the gift that encompassed everything.

As I was lost in thought—

Volcan and the Black Nether King were busy beating the Corpse King to death with their swords.

‘He seemed pretty strong, but look at him now.’

-If you fought him, your chances of winning would be less than 10%.

‘…Monsters really are everywhere.’

-Soon, that’ll be the world you see. It’s still far off, though.

……So this is what it means to become the Hero?

I really don’t like it.

A wave of endless frustration washed over me, filling me with despair.

Isn’t there a way to avoid becoming the Hero?

‘Committing a crime is a bit…’

But if it’s not something like that, there’s no way I can escape it.

And besides, it’s not like any ordinary crime would cut it.

If I were to do it—

‘…I’d have to become like that guy.’

And that’s something I absolutely refuse.

-Wait, you’d rather consider that than forgive someone?

The Holy Sword sounded incredulous.

While I was silently arguing with it—

Soyeonhwa came bouncing over to me.

“I’m curious.”

“Still no.”

“I’m a little curious too.”

“……Still no.”

“Eh? You hesitated just now!”

Lucia laughed, satisfied with my reaction.

In contrast—

“…….”

Soyeonhwa puffed up her cheeks, clearly displeased.

“You two, as much as I enjoy watching you bond, do mind the time and place.”

Volcan spoke with a mix of warmth and sternness.

Beside him, the Black Nether King was glaring at me like he wanted to kill me.

“……You brat, if you make our Yeonhwa cry, I won’t let you off easy.”

“I’m just genuinely curious, why won’t you tell me?”

Was this what you’d call camaraderie?

There hadn’t been much time for it to develop, but—

I grabbed the unconscious Chloe by the scruff of her neck.

“Since I did the most work, I’ll take my reward as I see fit.”

“……That’s what you’re thinking about right now?”

Volcan looked utterly dumbfounded.

I nodded.

“I’ll go help with the casualties. A delicate person like me isn’t cut out for heavy labor.”

“……Delicate? You? If you’re delicate, then 99% of the people in the Cradle should just drop dead.”

I shrugged and slung Chloe over my shoulder.

Then, I tensed my legs.

“I’ll go ahead and help the injured. See you later.”

“Go on.”

Volcan waved me off dismissively.

—

“I’m dead tired.”

I collapsed onto the couch at home.

I wasn’t exaggerating—I was exhausted.

Right after using Absolute Combat, the fatigue hadn’t been obvious, but—

Afterward, while helping rescue the citizens, my head had been pounding relentlessly.

-If anything, that’s a merit—the fact that the only demerit is something this minor.

The Holy Sword muttered, sounding almost amused.

The fact that it was saying this meant the so-called “Seed of Evil” had been that dangerous.

‘Honestly, I’m not sure how dangerous it really was just from hearsay.’

But if Volcan, the Black Nether King, and the Guild Master—

the strongest forces in the Cradle—had to step in, and one of them still died—

‘……Then it really was dangerous.’

The thought struck me.

Just how strong was that thing?

It was one of the Demon King’s elite soldiers, but—

‘Shouldn’t something like that be on par with the Four Heavenly Kings?’

-The Four Heavenly Kings? Hmm… roughly, yes. The one who came was about as strong as the right hand of the Prince of Decay.

‘Still bleak.’

Put another way—

it meant that even a mere underling, not the Demon King himself, was that powerful.

As I lay sprawled on the sofa, Cheongju came hopping toward me.

[Welcome back, Master.]

“Yeah.”

[This unit has guarded the shop and home in Master’s absence. Praise is requested.]

“Good job…….”

Come to think of it, the front yard looked a little messier than before.

[Rather than empty praise, this unit requests compensation.]

“…….”

-Pfft—HAHAHA! It’s already demanding rewards, just like its master!

‘I’m not that bad.’

-No, you’re worse.

Stunned by the Holy Sword’s blunt remark, I fell deep into thought about Cheongju.

It was only right to reward someone after they’d done their job.

So, I pondered what would make a suitable reward.

“How about I make you a friend?”

[Rejected. This unit does not desire a friend created through non-Elven alchemy.]

Sharp as ever.

But that just meant if I did use Elven alchemy, it would accept a friend, right?

Just in case, I recalled the extra Retinal Metal I had stored away.

‘Maybe I should use this to embed a gift and turn it into a weapon.’

When I voiced the idea, Cheongju visibly brightened.

[This unit desires Extreme Thunder God.]

“There’s also the Divine Realm of the Thief.”

[Divine Realm of the Thief? Presumed to be an evolved form of the Thief’s Supreme Art. However, it does not appear desirable. More accurately, it is incompatible with this unit.]

“If you want Extreme Thunder God, then fine.”

I took out the remaining Retinal Metal.

‘Now that I think about it, it’s about time to synthesize the other swords too.’

Maybe I should try mixing in a different metal.

If I combined the swords and metals I’d collected so far, I could probably make something equal to or better than the Lightning Dragon Sword.

And if I fused that with the Lightning Dragon Sword, the result would be a pretty decent weapon.

Lost in thought, I pulled out a sword from subspace.

Divine Realm of the Thief.

With the pinnacle of dexterity, I cleanly extracted only the blade.

-How in the world are you plucking out just the blade like that?

‘I just… knew how.’

Ever since evolving into the Divine Realm—

I’d felt my skills sharpen across every conceivable human craft.

At this rate, I could probably become a blacksmith without starving.

If I just had a single blacksmithing gift—

‘I might even rank among the master craftsmen.’

The face of the master smith—

the one Erme had introduced to me when I first arrived in the Cradle—flashed in my mind.

Recalling his face, I took out a piece of Retinal Metal.

‘Now, if I add my Extreme Thunder God: Violet to this—’

Crackle.

Purple lightning sparked violently. A form tinged with violet and blue. And then—

‘Combine the extracted blade and the Retinal Metal.’

[Item] Blade of Memory: Violet (B) A sword forged from Retinal alloy absorbing violet lightning. ◇Grants lightning-attribute attack bonus. ◇Can use Violet Thunder Aura.

Next, I synthesized the Retinal Sword and the Blood-Drinking Sword.

Fzzzt—!

Blue, violet, and red intertwined in an instant—

before merging into a single hue. Violet and red blended,

with streaks of blue swirling within,

until only one color remained.

A blade of deep indigo.

[Item] Blade of Awakening (A) A sword forged by combining the Blood-Drinking Sword and Retinal alloy. ◇Grants lightning-attribute and blood-based slash bonuses.

Unlike before, the status screen displayed only a single line.

Which only made me more intrigued.

I touched the Blade of Awakening.

Though its edge was lethally sharp—

‘……I’m really not getting cut?’

The Divine Realm’s dexterity kept my hands perfectly safe.

Then, the description of the Divine Realm of the Thief came to mind.

It said I had begun stepping into the realm of the gods, beyond humanity.

‘……In that case.’

If S-rank was the domain of superhumans—

then the next stage was the realm of true divinity.

Was that why?

The sword I’d made looked incredibly cool.

Cool enough to tempt me.

‘The Lightning Dragon Sword the Crown Prince gave me is nice, but—’

This one felt custom-made for me.

I glanced at Cheongju.

[Denial. The worst thing in the world is giving and then taking away.]

Cheongju reacted strongly against the idea.

……Too sharp for its own good.

Still.

‘I could just keep the one fused with the Lightning Dragon Sword and Retinal Metal for myself.’

I made a mental note to look for other metals in the future.

“Here, your reward.”

[This unit is satisfied.]

But then I ran into a problem.

Cheongju didn’t have hands to wield the Blade of Awakening.

“Then, unfortunately, I guess I’ll just—”

[Solution. This unit can synthesize it with one of its arms.]

This is why perceptive little brats are the worst.