When I Tried Strengthening 【Rusted Sword】, It Evolved Into An Overpowered Magic Sword - Chapter 80

Chapter 80   Achievements

I quickly drew the rusted sword from my back and immediately evolved it into the cursed magic sword, taking a defensive stance.

Then I used the magic sword to block the chains being swung around by the housekeeper.

The clash between the black blade and the red chains made a grating sound that echoed through the room.

“Wh-what’s going on all of a sudden!?”

I protested while jumping backward.

I tried to escape from the range of the chains, but the housekeeper persistently closed the distance.

“W-wait! I don’t have any reason to fight you! Why are you doing this!?”

“……”

The housekeeper didn’t answer.

She just continued to swing the chains, carefully watching for any openings.

Why does she want to fight me so badly?

It’s reassuring that she doesn’t seem to intend to harm Dia, but I’m left wondering why it’s only me.

Moreover, it’s clear she’s serious about this.

In this situation, I have no choice but to destroy her artifact to neutralize her!

“Take this!”

I twisted my body to narrowly dodge the chain swung like a whip.

Then, at the moment the chain was fully extended, I aimed for the center of the chain with a downward swing of my magic sword.

I aimed to crush it with a single blow!

However, the housekeeper seemed to anticipate this, smoothly retracting the chain.

As a result, my powerful strike missed, and I stumbled forward.

That was close. I nearly ended up wiping the floor with my face.

As I secretly broke into a cold sweat, the housekeeper swung the chain again.

“Hah!”

Maintaining an impeccable distance, she relentlessly pursued me with the chain’s tip.

It was like a snake trying to bite me.

This person is strong.

Her movements are fluid, and she manipulates the troublesome artifact as if it were an extension of her limbs.

It’s a testament to her extensive training.

While deflecting the chain with my sword and trying to figure out how to close the distance, eventually the housekeeper’s strike slipped past my magic sword.

“Ugh!”

I tried to jump back instinctively, but it was too late.

As I tried to defend with my left arm, the chain wrapped around it.

In the blink of an eye, the chain coiled around me multiple times.

I couldn’t shake it off. I was bound tightly.

But in this state, she couldn’t swing the chain, so she couldn’t attack.

Isn’t the situation actually worse for the housekeeper now?

While I inwardly smirked…

“Enchant Magic—Heavy Love Clingy”

Suddenly, the housekeeper quietly murmured.

Immediately, my body felt “heavy” without warning.

It felt as if huge weights were attached to my arms and legs, and I couldn’t help but frown.

What is this oppressive feeling?

My body is heavy. I can’t move as I want. If I let my guard down, I might fall over like this.

I looked and saw that the red chain coiled around my left arm was emitting a faint pink glow.

“Enchant…?”

It must be the effect of the enchantment magic applied to the chain’s artifact.

It’s probably a spell to make the person touching the chain heavier.

In other words, it’s a type of “curse.”

It’s an enchantment magic curse designed to bind the target more tightly with the chain.

“Well, impressive that you’re not on your knees. A normal person would have collapsed to the ground and been unable to move a finger, ending the fight.”

The housekeeper praised me, but even though I wasn’t on my knees, the situation was dire.

I couldn’t walk properly. Fighting was even more impossible.

I needed to somehow break this curse.

But I couldn’t imagine being able to unravel the chain wrapped tightly around my left arm right in front of the housekeeper.

In that case…

“Ha…yaah!”

I raised my heavy right arm and brought down the magic sword, letting the weight guide the strike.

I aimed at the chain directly connected to my left arm.

But with such a weak strike, I couldn’t sever the chain.

As a result, the blade of the magic sword just rested on the taut chain.

“With such little power, my chain…”

But this was fine.

I shouted while grimacing.

“Enchant Magic—Dark Thunder Cry!”

In an instant, pitch-black lightning surged from the blade of the cursed magic sword.

The tremendous roar of the black lightning coursed through the red chains as if they were running.

The lightning, unleashed with a terrifying magical power of 500, bared its sharp fangs at the housekeeper, who was gripping the chain.

“Ah…!”

The housekeeper, struck by the lightning, let out a hoarse cry and stiffened.

The same black lightning flowed through me, but thanks to the benefits provided by the magic sword, it wasn’t very painful.

So, I continued to channel lightning from the artifact without hesitation, and eventually, the housekeeper released the chain and collapsed.

Immediately, my body felt incredibly light.

With the artifact relinquished and now in a semi-equipped state, the enchantment magic was lifted.

With the divine power gone, the chain artifact had turned into just an ordinary chain, which I pulled towards me with my left arm and took away.

I had intended to destroy the divine artifact to neutralize it, but even in its semi-equipped state, it achieved the same result.

This means I won.

Then, from somewhere, I heard someone laughing.

“Hahaha! Looks like you lost, Paparatcha!”

At the signal of that voice, the wall at the back of the room began to open like a blackout curtain.

Actually, it wasn’t a wall but just a white cloth.

What seemed like a simple room was actually divided by a thick curtain, and the space beyond was a “study room” or something similar.

A luxurious table and chairs were placed with the window behind them.

Large shelves were on the walls, neatly arranged with dishes and books.

And a man was sitting in a chair with a deep smile on his face.

“Ah, sorry, kid! I didn’t mean to start a fight out of nowhere. I just wanted to gauge your abilities a bit.”

The man, whose lavish laughter resonated through the room, was an elderly person with gray hair and a mustache.

He looked to be at an age where an adventurer might just barely be considered active.

He might actually be younger, though.

His skin showed no noticeable wrinkles or spots, but the mustache and the cigar he held added to his elderly appearance.

Yet he wore only a simple white shirt, a casual style typical of younger people, which created a sense of discord.

Who is this person? Is he a stylish old man?

“Oh, Guild Master. Hello.”

“Ah, it’s the girl from the other day who brought the shield! Thanks for bringing the kid as promised!”

“Guild…!?”

At Dia’s casual comment, I couldn’t help but hold my breath.

This person is the Guild Master?

The head honcho of the Adventurers’ Guild?

His incredibly friendly demeanor and casual attire didn’t seem to fit that high position at all.

However, given that this was the Guild Master’s room and he was confidently seated at what appeared to be an administrative table, I quickly accepted the fact.

In response, I gave my greetings once more.

“Thank you for coming, young man. I am Gibeon Cigarette, the Guild Master. And the elegant lady over there is Paparatcha Chain, the Vice Guild Master.”

I was struck by a second shock and immediately looked back.

The housekeeper, whom I had “defeated” earlier, was already up from the floor.

As she dusted off her skirt, I quickly bowed my head.

“I-I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize you were the Vice Guild Master…”

“No, I’m the one who should apologize. Even though it was an order from Gibeon-sama, challenging you to a fight out of the blue…”

I handed the chain back to Vice Guild Master Paparatcha while bowing my head.

I never expected her to be the Vice Guild Master.

I had no qualms about unleashing electric attacks on such a high-ranking individual.

Guilt, along with a cold sweat, slowly began to seep in.

At the same time, a natural question arose.

“Wh-why go through all this trouble?”

Why call a Bronze-ranked adventurer like me and make me fight the Vice Guild Master?

Gibeon looked at my bewildered expression and flashed a hearty smile.

“As I mentioned earlier, it was to verify something. I couldn’t believe that a boy carrying a rusted sword could have the power to defeat a Demon. I wanted to see it with my own eyes. Well, I’m really glad I got to see it!”

He wanted to see my abilities.

So, he had the Vice Guild Master attack me to check it out.

Though he said it casually, he seemed like quite a bold person.

But I understood Gibeon’s reasoning perfectly.

He must have heard from Dia that I defeated a Demon.

Or perhaps someone who survived the kidnapping incident reported it.

And then he probably heard about my background and divine artifact, finding it hard to believe.

Or rather, it seemed like he genuinely just wanted to see my power in action.

Gibeon seemed to be quite the curious person, like a boy with a playful spirit.

“I’m really sorry. Even though it was out of curiosity, I did something quite dangerous. As an apology, feel free to take one of those valuable items from the shelf over there.”

“Eh?”

I turned my eyes to the shelf by the wall, tempted by his offer.

Beautifully patterned dishes and elegantly bound books were lined up on the shelf.

Is he referring to those?

“They were a hobby of the previous Guild Master. I inherited them when I took over. Well, more like the previous Guild Master left them behind. But I don’t see their value at all. So, if you’d like, you can take one as an apology. I think each one would easily fetch 100,000 kira if sold.”

“100,000…!”

The staggering amount made me gasp.

100,000 kira for just one?

That’s far too high.

It’s about thirty times the amount for a Bronze-ranked adventurer’s request.

I couldn’t afford such an item at my current level.

Besides, I couldn’t even appreciate its value.

While the high worth intrigued me, I decided to politely decline.

Honestly, I’m in a tough financial situation, so I’d love to jump on a good opportunity.

But that’s not why I came here today.

And more importantly, being attacked by Vice Guild Master Paparatcha wasn’t something that bothered me that much.

So, I declined politely and then asked a question that had been on my mind.

“I understand that you wanted to see my abilities, but couldn’t you just check the divine weapon’s performance properties to confirm that?”

I said, holding up the Cursed Magic Sword I still had in my hand.

While I was willing to overlook the Guild Master’s curious nature this time, it made me wonder if it wasn’t enough to just check the performance properties of the divine weapon.

After all, divine weapons are visual representations of their wielder’s talents.

It seemed highly questionable whether it was necessary to go through the trouble of preparing a formal challenge just to test me.

Gibeon then suddenly looked out the window—more precisely, at the adventurers in the town below—and responded.

“Among adventurers, there are many who don’t want their divine weapon’s performance properties to be seen. A divine weapon is a crucial tool and valuable information for an adventurer. So, it would be awkward to peek at a young adventurer’s divine weapon performance properties under the pretext of this incident.”

“I see.”

It made sense. Indeed, the performance properties of a divine weapon are important information.

If I were a secretive adventurer, I would surely dislike having that information revealed.

Still, I couldn’t quite understand why it was acceptable to have the Vice Guild Master attack me, even if checking the performance properties was off-limits.

I didn’t really mind if someone looked at the Cursed Magic Sword’s performance properties.

As I was thinking this…

“Moreover…”

Gibeon continued in a serious tone.

“Even if a divine weapon’s performance properties are excellent, that alone doesn’t mean you can defeat the Seven Great Demons…”

“…”

I suddenly recalled the image of that demon-like monster.

Onyx, one of the Seven Great Demons.

The demon I defeated was a remnant of the Demon King’s army that survived the chaotic era known as the End of Eclipse.

It seemed that Guild Master Gibeon was already aware of this fact.

Though I wasn’t sure who informed him.

Even with excellent divine weapon performance properties, it wouldn’t be enough to defeat such an opponent.

That was indeed true. That demon was incredibly strong—far beyond ordinary.

Winning was almost a matter of chance.

Relying solely on the divine weapon’s performance properties wouldn’t have been enough to win.

This made me fully understand why Gibeon wanted to see my abilities in person.

Then Gibeon clapped his hands, signaling the end of that discussion, and straightened his posture with a formal demeanor.

“Well then, let’s get to the main topic. First off, thank you for saving the adventurers. You really helped us out by solving the ‘Adventurer Kidnapping Incident’ that had been difficult to investigate. And, unexpectedly, we’ve decided to give both you and the lady here a ‘Special Promotion’ as a token of our gratitude. So, please accept it.”

““…………Eh?””

Once again, Gibeon casually mentioned something astonishing.

A special promotion?