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

Chapter 57 One Step Towards Strength

Helio lunged at me with his spear. He was moving much faster than before. It meant he hadn’t been fighting seriously until now. The subtle difference threw me off slightly, causing my reaction to lag.

“Hah!”

Helio’s spear thrust came dangerously close. I instinctively raised the [Cursed Magic Sword] like a shield, barely deflecting the spear’s trajectory. The sound of our artifacts scraping against each other was piercing. As Helio passed by, he quickly turned and thrust his spear at me again. I narrowly dodged it. This back-and-forth continued, with Helio attacking and me barely evading.

“Is that all you’ve got with that fancy artifact?”

Helio’s taunting words stung as the battle clearly favored him. After my bold declaration, my lackluster performance was indeed disappointing. I searched for an opening to counterattack, but Helio showed none. He was clearly very experienced in combat. Moreover, his weapon’s reach gave him a significant advantage, one he exploited with keen awareness. In terms of combat skill, Helio was undoubtedly superior.

As I was grappling with these doubts during the fight, a nearby bush suddenly rustled violently.

“What—?!”

A “wolf-type monster” leapt out from the underbrush. It was a creature I had seen many times in the Seven Colored Forest. Likely, it had been drawn by the noise of our battle. Focused on my fight with Helio, I had completely neglected to stay alert to our surroundings.

“Grrr!”

The wolf monster seized the opportunity, charging at Helio and me. Fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—the beast targeted Helio instead of me. Its vicious fangs and claws glinted menacingly.

“Move!”

Helio swung his spear as if brushing away dust, and in an instant, the wolf’s body split in two. He then resumed his attack on me as if nothing had happened. His attention to the wolf had lasted less than a second. He had anticipated its approach. Even in this situation, he hadn’t neglected his surroundings at all. Realizing this, I couldn’t help but grit my teeth. Helio was indeed strong. He wasn’t just recklessly wielding a powerful artifact.

From that one strike, I could tell that his artifact also possessed considerable divine power. As a B-rank artifact, it had high-performance properties.

“You’re slow, Rust! All that bravado, and you’re just defending!”

I couldn’t retort. It was clear that Helio’s [Thunderstrike Spear] was a high-performance artifact. But even though it was high-performance, it shouldn’t compare to the [Cursed Magic Sword]. The benefit value of my artifact was definitely higher. Yet, I was losing to Helio. Though I had claimed my strength was superior, I couldn’t keep up with his speed and flexibility. Dodging his attacks was all I could manage. This was entirely due to the difference in our combat skills, but I hadn’t expected such a one-sided fight. I had underestimated Helio’s talent.

“Ugh—!”

Barely dodging Helio’s attacks, I clenched my teeth in self-deprecation. Helio’s combat sense was exceptional, but more than that… I was too weak. My combat talent was lacking, and I couldn’t fully utilize my artifact. While I was aware I hadn’t mastered my artifact, part of me believed I had made some progress. But that was mere arrogance. Truly mastering an artifact meant what Helio was demonstrating. When the wielder’s combat skills and the artifact’s performance truly harmonized, a tremendous power was unleashed. That was true “strength.” The most critical aspect of combat with artifacts. Despite having a superior artifact, I was losing, and that realization made me bitterly frustrated.

Amidst this frustration, a certain person’s words suddenly crossed my mind.

“Hey Rust, can you do a backflip?”

It was Gem, the dual-wielding swordswoman who had asked us to find her lost artifact. Her parting advice to me lingered in my mind. I didn’t know why her words resurfaced now. Regardless, I had clearly answered that I couldn’t. Gem had then asked, “What about with the [Cursed Magic Sword] equipped?” She had wondered if I could do a backflip with the artifact’s immense benefits.

I had shaken my head, unable to imagine it. In response, Gem had said…

“You should have more confidence.”

When I first heard those words, I didn’t understand their meaning at all. What kind of advice was having confidence supposed to be? But now, though vaguely, I understand why those words are so fitting for my current situation.

Normally, the wielder and the artifact should progress together, side by side, their strength increasing in tandem as the artifact’s level rises and the wielder becomes more accustomed to combat. However, in my case, I awakened suddenly from the weakest artifact to the strongest one. Meanwhile, my own abilities had only been honed by repetitively dealing with the weakest monster, the ‘Treant,’ in a mechanical manner over three years.

In other words, I’ve been left behind by my artifact. Because of this considerable gap, I’m currently being overwhelmed by Helio. Furthermore, harboring some degree of inferiority towards him, it’s natural that I’m in a situation where defeat seems inevitable.

At this rate, as Helio said, my [Cursed Magic Sword] will become nothing more than a useless artifact. If I can’t fully master it, even the strongest artifact will be useless to me.

On the flip side, if I can master that strongest artifact, I can definitely defeat Helio.

――That’s why I need to have more confidence.

The reason I haven’t been able to fully utilize the power, or ‘benefit,’ of my artifact is because I lack self-confidence. I’ve been hesitating before the immense power of Benefit 500. Can I really control such power? Could exerting too much power result in unintended consequences? Unconsciously, I’ve been restraining my own power.

No, it’s simpler than that.

It’s like a child holding a knife for the first time, worrying about using it too forcefully. Or like a first-time rider, afraid of going too fast by urging the horse to run at full speed.

As someone who has obtained a powerful artifact, I instinctively feel it’s dangerous to move my body with full force. I need to raise that limit in my mind, the one that says, “This is as far as I can go.”

Didn’t I see it? That person who housed immense benefit in their body and realized super-fast combat—what they achieved.

Given the even greater benefit bestowed upon me by the artifact, I can…

I switched my mindset and firmly grasped the [Cursed Magic Sword].

――I can do this.

――I can move faster.

――I can swing the sword more powerfully.

――I can master the [Cursed Magic Sword].

――I can definitely defeat Helio.

――My limit… extends much further.

“――Hah!”

In an instant, I exhaled sharply and kicked the ground with all my might. With determination stronger and faster than ever before, I flew far into the distance, so much so that I intuitively felt I could reach speeds beyond my own reaction time. In fact, I might even clumsily headbutt Helio, who was approaching in front of me.

Then, what would happen…

Strangely, my consciousness perfectly kept up with that movement. It seemed as if Helio in front of me had stopped, and I effortlessly slipped past him. Circling around to his back, I swung a kick with my right leg as he turned around.

“Haah!”

I managed to accurately catch Helio’s back, surprising even myself. During that time, it seemed like neither he nor anyone else around could follow my movements with their eyes.

Thud! With a swift kick from my right leg, I sent Helio flying silently into the bushes. I hadn’t intended to kick him that hard, but perhaps I had lifted my self-imposed limits, causing more power than I had expected.

Finally, everyone around seemed to snap out of it and notice me. I, too, was shocked by the movement I had just executed, causing my spine to shiver involuntarily.

“…I did it.”

I had managed the movement just as I had imagined. For a brief moment, I had achieved a combat style reminiscent of Gem’s superhuman abilities. My understanding of my own limits had just been greatly exceeded.

“You’re much faster than earlier, aren’t you…!”

As I marveled at my own movements, Helio rose from the bushes. He spoke with a hoarse voice, clutching his back with his left hand. His face was visibly filled with anger as he glared at me.

“You really get on my nerves, Rust.”

“…”

With just those words, I somehow sensed what he was angry about.

It was because I, Rust Stone, who used to be a cowardly crybaby and bullied, had delivered a perfect blow.

Of course, that was part of it, but more than anything, it was because I had “kicked” Helio in the back.

Yes, I kicked him instead of slashing him.

I still held the artifact in my right hand, yet I deliberately swung my leg up for the kick.

He must be feeling frustrated about that.

If only I had attacked with the artifact, the battle might have been settled by now.

But I had no intention of cutting him.

I hoped to destroy his artifact or make it slip from his grasp, so I refrained from wielding the Cursed Magic Sword.

Surely he felt underestimated.