When I Tried Strengthening 【Rusted Sword】, It Evolved Into An Overpowered Magic Sword - Chapter 85

When I Tried Strengthening 【Rusted Sword】, It Evolved Into An Overpowered Magic Sword

Chapter 85   Snow and Ice Region

After successfully gathering information on the danger zone areas at the library, we decided to prepare for the journey ahead. The main tasks were restocking supplies and getting clothing for protection against the cold. Since the danger zone we were heading to was a snowy, icy region, we needed to be well-prepared for the freezing temperatures. If we ended up too cold to move or fight properly, it would be a disaster.

“Alright, I’ll go inform the others about this trip,” Amethyst said.

While we shopped, Amethyst went to tell Spinel and Lapis about our upcoming journey. Since we had run into her by chance and she decided to join us on this mission, she hadn’t yet explained the details to them. I felt a bit uneasy thinking about how they might react, given the tension we had in the past. The worst-case scenario would be them insisting on coming along despite not feeling well, so I hoped Amethyst could handle the conversation smoothly. Honestly, I secretly wished the whole idea would just be dropped. If those two expressed any hesitation or pleaded with Amethyst not to go, I figured her protective nature might make her change her mind.

“Shall we go shopping then?” Dia suggested.

So, Dia and I headed out to do the shopping. First, we needed to gather supplies, which was something we were both used to, so we divided the tasks and shopped efficiently. Next, we needed to get clothing for the cold, which turned out to be more challenging than gathering supplies.

“What should we get?” Dia asked.

“Hmm, probably thick coats and gloves to start with? But we don’t want anything that will get in the way during a fight, so we should look for something light but durable.”

Warm, lightweight, and durable clothing—finding something that fit all those criteria was easier said than done, and our shopping trip quickly became a struggle. To make matters worse, both Dia and I were naturally cautious, so we were equally indecisive. When it came to buying something expensive, doubts kept creeping in. Was this really the best choice? Could we find something just as good for a lower price?

As we wrestled with these decisions, Amethyst returned.

“What? You still haven’t finished shopping? Just pick something cute and be done with it,” Amethyst sighed in exasperation as she saw us still struggling with our preparations.

Then, for some reason, she swiftly took over the task of choosing our winter gear. She picked out a dark brown coat and gloves for me and a fluffy white coat and gloves for Dia. She also bought herself a matching purple coat and gloves, just in a different color from Dia’s. With that, our shopping was finally complete.

I never expected that we’d need her help so quickly. I genuinely wished I could be as decisive and bold as she was.

With our preparations complete, we were finally ready to set out for Snowflower Garden, the snow-covered danger zone. Fortunately, we could take a carriage for part of the journey. There was a small village halfway to Snowflower Garden, and they would take us there. Plus, by showing our Adventurer Guild Books, we could ride for free, which made us feel pretty lucky as we boarded the carriage.

“Did Spinel and Lapis say anything?” Dia asked Amethyst as we swayed with the movement of the carriage.

It was a question I had been curious about as well.

“They made quite a fuss. Despite being too sick to move properly, they insisted on coming along. And since it’s you two I’m coming with, they were even more emotional about it,” Amethyst replied.

“That’s… a bit scary,” I said.

But I understood how Spinel and Lapis felt. After all, we were rivals who had clashed during the Adventurer Exam. While it was natural for us to compete, working together was a different story. That was probably still how they saw things. So when they heard that the person they admired, Amethyst, was going on a mission with us, it was only natural for them to react strongly.

This made the prospect of running into them again even more uncomfortable. We had just decided to make Clearland our base, and now we had this unexpected hurdle to deal with.

“They said if anything happened to me, they’d ‘kill the Rusted Sword user,'” Amethyst added.

“Why me?!” I exclaimed.

I wished they wouldn’t pin all the blame on me. But since we were going to be working as a team this time, I’d do my best to cooperate.

As we chatted and admired the scenery, the carriage eventually arrived at a small village, our final destination. We had left around midday and arrived just before sunset, much earlier than expected thanks to the carriage’s speed.

“Brr, it’s freezing!” I shivered.

The chill in the air was already quite intense, so we immediately put on the winter gear we had just bought. From here, we planned to reach the danger zone on foot. We could have stayed in the village overnight and set out for Snowflower Garden in the morning, but we decided to make some progress and camp out instead. We had all the necessary camping gear, so it shouldn’t be a problem. If anything went wrong, we could always return to the village, which had a shrine where we could repair our artifacts if needed.

With that in mind, we set out for Snowflower Garden, feeling confident. Our path took us through a somber forest filled with bare trees. This forest was also considered a danger zone, and we would have to pass through it to reach Snowflower Garden. According to the books we had checked at the library, it would take a full day to cross the forest. If I unleashed my artifact and relied on its power, I could probably get through in a few hours, but that would mean leaving the others behind, so we decided to walk.

As we made our way toward the danger zone, I finally began to explain the details of our mission to Amethyst. We hadn’t discussed it earlier in the carriage because there were others around who might overhear.

“Hmm, I see. Destroying the ‘Altar of the Evil God’…” Amethyst said, touching her chin thoughtfully after I finished explaining. Even though there was no one else around, likely due to our earlier warning to keep this mission a secret, she lowered her voice as she spoke.

She then fell silent, lost in thought, before eventually looking at us with a suspicious expression.

“I’ve never heard of a mission where destroying an altar of the Evil God was considered necessary, but don’t you think a reward of ‘1 million Kira’ and ‘special promotion’ is a bit too generous? It seems like a suspicious job, doesn’t it?”

“Is it? Considering the potential danger involved, I think it’s a reasonable reward,” I replied sincerely, but Amethyst’s frown deepened.

“That ‘potential danger’ is pretty vague, don’t you think? The level of danger can vary greatly depending on the danger zone, and even more so based on the adventurer’s ‘luck,'” she said.

“Luck?” I echoed, not fully understanding.

How could luck drastically affect the level of danger?

“If, by some chance, the altar is guarded by a large-scale legion, it would undoubtedly be a mission suited for a Black-level Master. But if it’s just a matter of reaching the deepest part of a danger zone and destroying the altar, the difficulty drops to something more fitting for a Silver-level mission, not even close to Black-level Master.”

“Well, that might be true…” I admitted.

But if we start thinking like that, then any mission’s difficulty can change based on luck. The only difference with this mission is that the range of difficulty might be wider, but that alone doesn’t make it a suspicious job. And besides…

“We can’t rule out the possibility that the area around the altar we’re heading to could be a hideout for a dangerous legion. If that’s the case, it’s still a dangerous mission, isn’t it?”

“True, if we end up clashing with a large-scale legion, then the reward of ‘1 million Kira’ and ‘special promotion’ would be justified. But if we destroy the altar without any problems, then the reward is far too generous. Why is the reward fixed regardless? Why are they so desperate to have the altar destroyed? Aren’t they rushing this a bit too much?” Amethyst wondered, now talking to herself rather than to me.

It seemed my words weren’t enough to dispel her concerns. I couldn’t blame her—when I first heard about the mission, I also found the reward a bit strange. Given Amethyst’s naturally skeptical nature, it must have seemed even more suspicious to her.

“Amethyst, maybe you should try trusting people a little more,” I suggested.

“And maybe you should learn to be more suspicious of people. Otherwise, you’ll get taken in by a bad woman before you know it,” she shot back.

“…”

I wasn’t sure why she specifically said “a bad woman” instead of just “a bad person,” but I wished she wouldn’t say things that might give others the wrong impression. Especially since Dia was now looking at me with a somewhat complicated expression. I had to admit, though, she wasn’t wrong—I do have a tendency to be too trusting.

“Well, it’s better if the mission is difficult. I’m not interested in the reward anyway. Honestly, I don’t care. As long as I can figure out why there’s a gap between us, that’s enough for me.”

“…I see.”

It seemed that Amethyst really didn’t care, and in that brief moment, all the doubts she had been harboring vanished completely. On the other hand, her words only fueled my own growing mistrust towards this mission. It felt like I had been needlessly provoked into being suspicious.

But then again, it was a strange mission when I thought about it. There seemed to be a sense of urgency—like they were rushing to destroy the altar. Gibeon had said it wasn’t an urgent task and that we could take care of it whenever, even in between other jobs. But now, it was starting to feel like those words were meant to disguise that urgency.

…No, maybe I was overthinking it. I shook my head to clear away these unnecessary doubts.

As we continued on, I noticed a light dusting of snow on the sides of the path. Looking ahead through the trees, I could see patches of pure white snow appearing here and there. While we were still some distance from the danger zone, these signs confirmed that we were getting closer.

Just as I was silently determined to keep pushing forward…

“Monsters!”

“—!?”

Dia’s tense shout cut through the air, and she quickly raised her shield, moving to protect us. In the next instant, a massive, snow-white rabbit leapt out from the bushes ahead.