The Sacred Sword was forcibly awakened at the call of the hero ‘Parrot’.
Due to insufficient recovery time, its full power could not awaken.
The user’s ability is dreadful. Only a part of the Sacred Sword’s power is available.
The Ninth Sacred Sword Artana: F
One of the nine Sacred Swords made in the Holy Kingdom.
It had lost its master and exhausted its power in ancient battles, but it opened its eyes again at the call of the hero ‘Parrot’.
The user’s ability is so dreadful that it cannot draw out its inherent power.
-Sacred Sword activation available.
Additional effects when using the ‘Sacred Sword Activation’ skill.
-Divine Wave skill always applied.
-Flame of Healing skill can be used once.
Sacred Sword reuse cooldown: 168 hours
Sacred Sword activation duration: 3 minutes
Multicolored flames enveloped the room.
Flames of colors similar to those of a parrot.
Now that a week has passed since the cooldown period, I summoned the Sacred Sword for a simple experiment.
“Sacred Sword Activation.”
Woosh-!
Wings of light formed on my back along with an angel’s halo.
I struggled to move the wings.
About a minute had passed when my body slightly lifted off the ground.
‘I see how it needs to be moved.’
I wanted to fly higher, but I decided to be satisfied with this for today.
Because I needed to conduct the next experiment.
I pulled out the sword at my waist and held it in reverse. And then.
Thrust!
“Argh…!”
The sword pierced through my right thigh.
Unable to bear the pain, I roughly pulled out the sword, and dark red blood began to gush out.
“Fl, Flame of Healing…!”
Multicolored flames wrapped around my thigh, and the wound healed in an instant.
I hit it a few times, but there was no pain. It had healed perfectly.
Because of the ‘Demon’s Blood’ skill, I receive a –50% penalty to effects of the holy series.
Yet it still showed such healing power.
‘Flame of Healing… Could it be a skill comparable to perfect healing?’
It means a skill capable of complete healing.
Of course, I couldn’t be certain. More experimentation was needed.
Now, onto the next experiment.
‘Hmm… I guess I can’t use Divine Wave?’
It would be a disaster if it ended up destroying the dormitory.
I was examining the Sacred Sword when.
Fwoosh-.
The multicolored flames disappeared, and the room was enveloped in darkness.
The Sacred Sword Artana also lost its light and returned to its ordinary hilt form.
The experiment ended in the blink of an eye.
But it wasn’t without its findings.
‘The duration of the Sacred Sword is about 3 minutes too. The activation skill and the duration are the same.’
That means I can use the ‘Sacred Sword Activation’ skill as soon as I draw the sword.
One might think the capabilities of the Sacred Sword aren’t that great.
But it’s actually the opposite. Why, you ask?
‘Currently, this Sacred Sword is graded F.’
But it’s the Sacred Sword that has remained in its place the longest among the nine Sacred Swords.
For such a Sacred Sword to be graded F? It’s nonsensical.
‘It must be because of my lack of power.’
The phrases ‘Due to insufficient recovery time, its full power could not awaken’ and ‘Only a part of the Sacred Sword’s power is available.’
It meant it was a ‘growth-type weapon.’
You know, like those items in games that grow as you gain experience or encounter special events.
That’s what this is.
There are growth-type weapons in ‘Hero of the Academy’ too, and one of them is now in my hands.
‘The problem is that I don’t know the conditions…’
In this game, growth-type weapons each had different conditions for growth.
It could be levels, items, killing demons, or even.
Human blood.
‘I don’t know what conditions Artana needs to satisfy since it’s the first time.’
It wouldn’t be human blood. It is called a Sacred Sword, after all.
And it’s alright not to satisfy the conditions.
‘Growth-type weapons can reach up to grade C just by leveling up.’
Artana would be no different. Meaning, reaching grade C is guaranteed.
If it shows this much dignity as an F grade, what about C grade, or even reaching A or S grade?
It would undoubtedly show a dignity comparable to a hero.
‘I’ve obtained a cheat item.’
I have Parrot and Luterus to thank for this.
Thus, this Sacred Sword is a cheat item. But it’s not without its problems.
‘It’s too conspicuous.’
The multicolored flames, but most importantly, the angel’s wings and halo are the biggest issues.
If people notice, it would immediately be reported to the Holy Kingdom, and they would kindly escort me. And then.
‘They’d probably kill me after torture.’
Not only does an unworthy person dare to claim to be a hero, but they also use a Sacred Sword made by the Holy Kingdom.
It’s the perfect reason to be burnt at the stake.
The reason for death? Not only because of unworthiness…
‘But to reclaim their Sacred Sword.’
It’s understandable.
Time, manpower, holy power, sacred artifacts, money, etc.
A massive amount of resources are invested in creating a Sacred Sword.
That’s probably why. No country stopped them from capturing those who used the Sacred Sword.
Because they are well aware of the Holy Kingdom’s efforts and hardships in making a Sacred Sword.
To summarize.
‘It’s good to have obtained the Sacred Sword. But caution is needed when using it.’
It seemed like a good place to conclude today’s experiment.
It’s already been a week since Lucia and I started training together.
Two problems have come our way.
“Zero, what time is it now?”
“Keke, it’s 3 PM.”
“Ugh! Where the heck did Lucia go?”
Luna stomped her feet in frustration.
Lucia, who was supposed to watch over our training, was only sleeping in the training ground.
And today, she didn’t even show her face.
By now, even Luna started to express her dissatisfaction.
“If you’re going to watch, at least do it properly. Just looking once and then…”
It was a long wait for Luna.
Initially, she thought it was because of her inadequacy, but she realized Lucia lacked motivation.
Even Luna, who isn’t very perceptive, could tell how Lucia had been slacking off, so it goes without saying.
Grumbling-.
Of course, it wasn’t all play.
Luna and Rezé’s stats have increased by 2 to 3 points.
Me? As for me…
‘There couldn’t possibly be any change.’
I’m a player, after all. I have the privilege of having all my stats increase by 1 every time I level up, so I don’t particularly have any complaints.
‘Lucia… how should I deal with this woman?’
All I did for a week was swing my sword as if dancing and verify the Sacred Sword.
Those were the only two things. At this point, even I was starting to get anxious.
There was the quest to be recognized by Lucia, but shouldn’t I be able to grow with even a bit of her teaching?
I might just waste an entire month like this.
Lucia’s slacking off and the halted growth due to hitting a wall.
This was the first problem that had arisen for us. And then.
“Ah, ouch…”
“Rezé! Are you okay?”
“I-I’m fine. Ju-Just developed a blister yesterday…”
“Why is it so big? I told you to take it easy, didn’t I?”
“I-It’s okay.”
The pufferfish rabbit had reached its limit. This was our second problem.
Initially, I thought she only needed to do shooting training, but it turned out to be impossible.
A minimum amount of physical strength was required to handle the heavy magic gun.
‘She needs to raise the agility stat as well.’
In the build for Spear Rezé, the most important aspects were ‘agility’ and ‘magic power’.
Because it was an old game, for shooters, agility had a significant impact on damage.
Hence, Rezé often did physical training whenever her mana ran low.
Was it because it was her first time training, or because the training was so rigorous?
Currently, Rezé was in a broken state all over.
But.
“Keke, please wait a moment.”
I approached Rezé with a knife in hand.
Don’t get me wrong.
It was a very sweet gesture to burst the blister and then apply a potion.
Since we’ve repeated this process several times already, there shouldn’t be any issue.
It was when I was approaching Rezé that Luna blocked my way.
“Keke, does Miss Luna also have a blister?”
“…That’s enough. Rezé deserves a rest.”
“It’s only been a week. Besides, we take breaks in the morning and evening, don’t we?”
“Think about the other person’s physical condition. Rezé isn’t used to training. Just let her rest today and tomorrow.”
Luna was quite firm. She wasn’t going to be swayed by threats like last time.
Honestly, I also wanted to give her a rest. I’ve seen Rezé’s efforts over the week.
But somewhere deep down.
Anxiety bubbled up.
“Keke, then we should ask her directly.”
“What?”
“We’ll ask Miss Rezé directly. Whether to continue training or take a rest. After all, she knows her own physical condition best, doesn’t she?”
“You… are you serious with that…!”
Luna gritted her teeth.
I turned to Rezé, who was sitting helplessly, and said.
“Miss Rezé, if you want to rest, just say so. I’ll let you rest right away.”
“That’s not encouragement! That’s blackmail!”
Not at all. It’s a very sweet suggestion. Rezé would think so too.
That was when Luna and I were facing off.
Beep-! Beep-beep-!
“Bullying is a reason for demerit… no, a threat to kill is a reason for expulsion!”
It’s Rodelin. Today, too, she entered the training ground with her uniform at a sharp angle, blowing a whistle.
Wait, a threat to kill?
“Did a murderer appear?”
“…Not a murderer, but someone who might become one is right in front of me.”
Rodelin scrutinized me from head to toe.
Could she be talking about the knife in my hand? That’s unfair.
I only drew it to pop the blister!
“Keke, that couldn’t be. Anyone can see we’re getting along well.”
“…It looks more like a crime scene to anyone else.”
Hmm, is that so? Just holding a knife and I’m treated like a criminal.
That’s unfair. Right, Luna?
“Senior! Please arrest this criminal right away! Just for a day or two!”
With that, Luna, holding Rezé’s wrist, disappeared outside the training ground.
Turning me into a criminal and running away. What kind of situation is this?
Rodelin chuckled as she watched their retreating backs.
“I see. What do you think, criminal?”
“To have a criminal right in front of you and do nothing. Aren’t you being too careless?”
“Hmm~ Are you asking to be treated as a criminal? Then I have no choice but to arrest you.”
“Do as you please.”
I put away the knife and extended my hands.
Rodelin’s eyes widened.
“That’s strange.”
“Yes?”
“If it were the usual Zero, he would have easily countered this.”
“Did I do that?”
“Always relaxed, sometimes sly, and perverted. Isn’t that Zero? But today… it’s strange. You seem anxious?”
Somewhere in the middle, there seems to be a strange modifier attached. Is it my imagination?
No, more importantly.
‘…I seem anxious?’
That might be true. Recently, I’ve been receiving stress instead of relieving it.
Mischievous Luna, pufferfish rabbit Rezé, Lucia who only sleeps and scratches her belly, and now the quest.
It’s no wonder I’m getting anxious. I might waste an entire month.
‘But to show that… what a fool.’
It seemed like I needed to relieve some stress.
And the best way to relieve stress, of course.
Is to tease… no, to cherish Rodelin.
That’s the best method.
–TL Notes–
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