NOVEL NEXT Chapter 73
Chapter 73: Sword of the Hero (1)
Among the cards I can use, the one that would be most useful for hunting the powerful monsters scattered across the world is… unfortunately, humans.
Ah, excluding dragons. Those little guys have the strength to create monsters, but they’re like blades that you can’t just swing around carelessly.
If they go berserk, they could change the terrain, making it impossible to use them recklessly. It would be a total disaster waiting to happen.
Excluding dragons… the race that follows my commands best would probably be the lizardmen, but they’re seriously affected by their environment.
But if those little critters were freed from environmental constraints… well, one of the things holding them back would get lifted.
Lizardmen free from environmental limitations would likely push humans aside and become the new rulers of the world!
They lay a bunch of eggs at once, so their numbers are pretty high. Their physical strength is just a notch below giants, but they’re still really tough.
Plus, with their magical buffs, they’d be super scary reptilian beings if they weren’t inherently nice.
Their downside is that they’re heavily influenced by their surroundings and only like to use obsidian weapons. But honestly, that’s a super minor flaw since they can knock out beasts with their bare hands.
Anyway, since I can’t get rid of the environmental limits on the lizardmen… it’d be fine for a temporary expedition, but constantly having them roam around and take out monsters is out of the question.
Elves and dwarves are basically hermits who don’t want to move from their cozy little homes, and there’s no guarantee they’d do what I want, so they’re out too.
Sure, I could control them through Yggdrasil or Sagarmatha, but trying to control them from a distance? Yeah, that’d be tough.
Giants? Don’t even get me started on giants. They’re big blockheads. They were out of the running from the get-go. And just like lizardmen, they’re also influenced a lot by their environment.
Giants can’t really handle anything that isn’t cold, and they eat a ton of food.
Their raw power is undeniable, but they’re just plain hard to handle, and I’ve got no way to manage them.
So, in the end, it comes down to either beastmen or humans… and humans who can wander freely around the world without any major restrictions would be the most convenient option.
Unless we’re talking about a situation where nation constraints are tough, right now things are pretty chill outside of city-states, and merchants and adventurers can get around easily.
So wouldn’t it be better to hand some strong weapons to humans and let them take down the monsters that are hard to catch?
Of course, I’ll keep the real purpose under wraps. If they only hear about gathering fragments of darkness from the magic stones, it would sound like I’m trying to resurrect some ancient demon lord.
Let’s see. I’ll whip up a fancy sword, throw in some magical enhancements to make it perform well, and even add a black diamond so that it can absorb the darkness fragments when it slays a monster.
Hmm, maybe I’ll end up with a specialized sword for hunting big monsters?
Oh, but what happens if I extract darkness fragments from living monsters? Hmm… I might need to test that one out later.
And… hmm… should I also create a “hero” to wield that sword?
No, saying “create” sounds weird. It makes me feel like I’m creating humans or something.
It might be better to put it as establishing the role of a “hero.”
If monsters keep popping up and getting stronger, they’ll become a significant threat to humans. So, if I prepare a hero to take down those monsters on my behalf and protect humans and various races, wouldn’t that be a good plan?
Select a human with outstanding qualities and character, give them the hero’s sword from the Temple of Life, and have them travel the world hunting monsters. Hmm… doesn’t sound too shabby!
That could turn into quite the heroic tale!
And when there isn’t a hero, the hero’s sword can be safely stored at the Temple of Life. That way, I can collect darkness fragments from the magic stones they’ve gathered.
Sounds great! I’m going with this plan!
Oh, by the way, does the hero need a little supporter or sidekick?
Hmm… should I attach a fitting one from the Temple of Life? Or heck, even having a dragon buddy wouldn’t be too bad!
If it comes down to it, I could tag along, but nah, I’ve already got a ton of things to do, so why would I crash the party? It doesn’t really seem like such a huge task to require my involvement.
Creator Dragon God, Goddess of Life, and all that jazz—are you really going to add to your workload? Are you crazy?! After all that struggle, you’re going to do something silly again?! Get it together! Me!!
*Ahem.* Let’s rethink the hero’s support later. First, let’s focus on making the hero’s sword.
Alrighty, what shape should it have? Naturally, since it’s for the hero, it should be a sword…
What about the size? A standard one-handed sword, or a big glorious two-handed sword? It’s tough to choose between both since they have their own charm.
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Or maybe a bastard sword that can be wielded one or two-handed… but that just doesn’t feel right. I mean, the name itself is kinda off. A “bastard sword”? Really?!
No, no, there’s no rule saying the sword has to have only one form. It could be a sword that changes shape!
Right at that moment, an image flashed through my mind.
A sword that starts as a huge greatsword but transforms into a thinner sword-like shape once the user wears armor.
With that, I could have both a two-handed sword and a one-handed sword. Talk about killing two birds with one stone!
Alright, let’s make it happen. With this spark of inspiration, I can create it without hesitation! First things first, the materials!
What should I use? Silver infused with magic? Or magic-infused steel?
Silver infused with magic can absorb magic, while magic-infused steel can bounce it away… hmm.
It’s a bit tricky. To enable it to change shape, I’ll need to use magic, so steel is off the table… Looks like I’m back to silver.
No, wait! I can use other metals too! Let’s give it a go!
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I forged several metals infused with magic to see how they would change, but only a few were even remotely usable.
The gold infused with magic turned out to be quite useful. Its originally vibrant yellow had faded to a lighter golden hue, producing a grayish gold that was a little weaker than the magic-imbued black steel, but still pretty sturdy.
Plus, it had a smooth ability to absorb magic, kind of like mithril, and it can mix with other metals to enhance their properties.
And the most important part—this was the feature I decided to use the magic-infused gold for.
The magic-infused gold had an incredibly unique ability: it could remember and reform its shape using magic.
It’s like a kind of shapeshifting memory but different from the kind that warms up and gains its original form back.
After many trials and errors, I realized this metal could retain its shape by imbuing it with magic.
I initially shaped it into a long rod and imbued it with a specific magic pattern. Then, I crumpled it up and shoved it back into the remembered magic pattern, and voilà! It returned to its original rod shape!
The only downside is that it can only remember about three patterns, and the force it needs to transform isn’t very strong—it could stop just by pressing on it with a finger. But once the transformation is completed, it’s solid again!
Well, okay, it might only be weak during the transformation, but it’ll toughen back up afterward! A metal like this is just begging to be used!
Now, let’s make this happen diligently.
I’m really not sure how well I can pull off this transformation function, but if I keep at it, I’m sure I’ll get some results.
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The Hero’s Sword, Chloive Solais. Also known as the Sword of Light.
It’s said to be the sacred sword wielded by the hero chosen by the Goddess of Life during great crises for humanity.
They say this sword holds the ancient darkness sealed within it, and that power grants it special effectiveness against monsters.
Its basic shape is that of a massive two-handed sword, but it’s renowned for its ability to change shape for the user.
The transformed state is referred to as the Agathlam, in the silver armor form, where the blade of the greatsword transforms into armor to shield the user.
In this armored state, the hero’s sword drastically changes shape, becoming a sleek one-handed sword, providing the user with more agile swordplay.
On top of that, the hero’s sword can disassemble magic and convert it into pure magical energy, which it then absorbs to bolster the user. Talk about a legendary weapon perfectly fitting the title of the ultimate weapon!
…
In times when a hero hasn’t been appointed, this sword is held under strict seal at the Church of Life. However, it is said that the seal breaks when the Dragon Priestess appears, signaling that a dire crisis has come upon humanity.
So, if someone were to see this sword again, it would mean humanity is facing a huge threat. Even as the author of this book, I’d personally love to lay eyes on this sword once, but considering its reappearance spells trouble for humanity, I’d honestly rather not see it.
I even tried making a request to the Church of Life, but even the high priest admitted they had no idea where it was sealed. Quite a bummer, really.
– Encyclopedia of Legendary Weapons