Chapter 134

Chapter 132 – New Weapon – 6

“Alright! All done! It’s been a while since I flexed some muscle!”

With a face full of bright smiles, Ceres approached me. She was drenched in sweat. Her skin shimmered under the lights, smudged in various places with black soot.

In her hand was a sharp sword. Ceres was holding it upside down and offered the hilt toward me.

“If it feels uncomfortable, just let me know. I’ll adjust it for you. I roughly measured it by eye, but to really check, you should hold it yourself.”

I took the hilt and gripped it tightly.

The sword had an overall pitch-black color. The hilt was completely black, and at the tip was a beautifully designed weight to help with balance.

On the crossguard extending horizontally, a triangle design was engraved running up the center of the blade. The intricately designed triangle stopped a third of the way down the sword.

I held the hilt with both hands and lifted it vertically in front of my chest, pointing the blade toward the ceiling. Ceres grinned when she saw me.

“Do you like it? Any discomfort? You can swing it once here. Just don’t break my stuff. Nah, you can break one or two things if you want. Just don’t touch anything too expensive.”

“……I think it feels fine.”

I half-listened to Ceres chattering excitedly while slowly examining the sword’s surface.

The blade reflected my image, showing a smooth and shiny finish that would work well as a mirror. As long as it was maintained, it would likely remain like this for a lifetime.

I was also standing very straight. Even I, who had only ever held kitchen knives and box cutters before plunging into Brightest Darkness 4, could quickly recognize that fact.

“Since you say it feels fine, I guess I still have my touch. Ah, there’s one more thing. This was made back when I was obsessed with swords, so it has more functions. That is—huh?”

I gripped the hilt tightly before Ceres finished speaking and infused my ‘will’ into it. Instantly, the gray blade turned a vibrant blue like mana.

“What? How did you know?”

Silently closing my mouth, I infused my will again as I held the hilt. The blue blade split perfectly at the center, with the left turning gold and the right turning silver.

“……You know that too? What are you? How did you figure that out?”

“Well, I’m not sure either. Maybe the sword told me directly.”

“When did I start crafting Egoswords?”

I didn’t reveal that I only mimicked what the NPC, which Ceres was based on, had explained in-game, so I brushed it off with feigned confidence. Ceres looked dumbfounded.

Gripping the hilt again, the blade returned to its original gray color. The soft white light that illuminated the area faded.

I sheathed the sword into the scabbard Ceres had given me. With a satisfying click, the sword and scabbard fit together perfectly. I secured the scabbard to my belt at the waist.

‘Finally, the day has come to obtain this.’

This was indeed the sword previously known in-game as ‘Wingless Nightmare.’

It was the most overpowered one-handed sword, boasting ridiculously strong specs among all weapons in Brightest Darkness 4.

Despite being one-handed, it was as long as a greatsword, had incredible attack range, and impressive hit detection. Additionally, it came with overwhelming super armor that could withstand all attacks from Brightest Darkness 4, an exceptional attack power bonus, and top-notch specs all-around. The scaling attack power was fantastic, it was light, and the attack speed was only slightly slower than a dagger. The special ability had enormous damage but required minimal mana, and it could adapt three types of elemental effects. There was no risk of reduced damage from monster attributes, and it could even be enchanted freely, with a function that amplified the enchantment rate on its own.

With just this one weapon, I could deal physical damage, magical damage, and divine damage. Just like before, by changing the sword’s attributes.

In simple terms, it was an all-around cheat weapon with every possible condition for being called ‘overpowered.’

This utterly ridiculous weapon was locked behind a side quest line that couldn’t be discovered by normal means, requiring you to successfully deliver that annoying holy water while performing the quest. The intent of the developers was transparent.

If such a frustrating delivery quest were mandatory, those who made Brightest Darkness 4 would have sunk to the bottom of the Pacific long ago.

“It’s exactly what I wanted. Thank you, Ceres.”

“What do you mean thank you? I should be the one thanking you. It’s all thanks to you guys.”

Ceres smiled brightly and subtly pulled her arms together, emphasizing her chest. Under the underboob crop top she wore while blacksmithing, a wonderfully large chest gathered together.

The size of her chest would put her on par with any pope, or perhaps even larger, making the term ‘big breasts’ feel inadequate. Sweat beaded in the valley of her chest and trickled down the curve as if sculpted.

Her original clothes didn’t fit, so she had carelessly patched together some fabric as a temporary outfit. As a result, it barely covered her nips.

“Ah, but there is one minor inconvenience. It’s quite hard to do blacksmithing with ‘such a large chest.’”

Ceres emphasized that particular sentence and kept giggling. I tried to look unaffected, though it seemed more like inviting me to enjoy the sight of her chest.

As soon as she drank a potion she had created and her chest grew even larger than her head, she didn’t care that her top had torn, leaving her nips exposed, and joyfully groped her breasts.

If Minerva hadn’t urged her to put some clothes on, she would probably have been bouncing around, enjoying the sight of her swaying chest for a long while.

Having finally regained her senses, she had resolutely entered the workshop to improve the weapon, pouring in all her soul since she couldn’t just give it to me.

The sun was already setting outside the window, creating a sky painted in hues of twilight.

“It’ll probably be uncomfortable moving forward, but you’ll need to get used to it.”

“I know. It’ll definitely be uncomfortable since ‘my chest is too big.’ But what can I do? I have to accept it because it’s my chest.”

I remembered an NPC who laughed about how ‘having too much hair is tough when washing.’ I managed a wry smile. Thankfully, it seemed Ceres hadn’t noticed my expression.

“Well then, we’ll be taking off now.”

“Huh? You’re leaving already? I was hoping to drink some more. Feel free to have some before you go. I won’t ask for payment.”

“We have things to do, too. We’ll come back when we have time.”

Minerva, who had been puffing her cheeks in impatience, was tugging at my sleeve. It was about time to look for the Crystal Scroll.

Stalling any longer would leave me no choice but to throw away the dignity of a grand wizard and start flailing around on the floor, begging to hurry and find the scroll.

“You guys can drop by anytime, so don’t worry and come by whenever!”

Ceres walked us to the door, waving her hand. With each swing of her hand, her large chest swayed dramatically, exuding an overwhelming presence.

After ensuring we were sufficiently far away, Minerva spoke up.

“I’m glad I didn’t notice the child’s expression.”

“……Indeed.”

I let out a small sigh.

“The effects aren’t permanent, right?”

It seemed Minerva had deduced the answer from just my expression. I nodded with a wry smile.

Even in the game, the original NPC Ceres had developed a hair growth potion, giving her an incredibly luxurious mane, and crafted the weapon with a bright smile.

However, the problem was that the effect wasn’t permanent.

After clearing the main story and defeating the final bosses from each route, returning to find that all her hard-earned hair was gone, she could be seen sulking while drowning in drink.

So Ceres’ fate was also clear. A few years later, aside from her nips, she’d be back to her regretful state with no curves left.

The reason I couldn’t laugh along was exactly that. I knew the ending for those breasts.

“So, now we’re heading to find the Crystal Scroll, right, child?”

“I did just get a new weapon; wouldn’t we have to?”

Snapping out of my musings, I unfolded the map and traced back to the spot where the Crystal Scroll was located. Minerva was looking at me anxiously.

“It’s right here.”

I pointed to a specific location. It was a gorge deep within the mountains. The moment Minerva confirmed the coordinates, she raised her staff and activated teleportation.

In literally the blink of an eye, we were transported to the place I had pointed out. As I gawked at the changing scenery, Minerva urged me on.

“What should we do here?”

“Um… First, please find a waterfall. A really big one.”

Without hesitation, Minerva unleashed a wave of mana. She closed her eyes, focused intensely, then waved her staff. Once again, in the blink of an eye, the scenery around us changed.

From nearby came a tremendous KWAAAAAAH of a massive waterfall.

‘……This is bigger than in the game.’

I stared blankly at a waterfall that must have been as tall as a twenty-story building, far beyond anything seen in magic.

The gigantic river was cascading down, and given the towering height of the cliff, it was spraying water like a torrential downpour.

If it weren’t for the barrier Minerva had created, I surely would have ended up soaked like a drowned rat.

ㅡIs this the place, child? Don’t hesitate to just say it. I can understand everything.

A voice echoed directly in my mind. It was Minerva’s voice.

“Yes. This is it.”

ㅡBut this waterfall has been explored by several investigation teams before, hasn’t it? A conclusion of nothing was reached a long time ago, you see.

I knew that. I’d read in documents found in-game that this place had been investigated multiple times.

With a waterfall this enormous, it seemed likely there was something beyond it. Those ancient spellcasters obsessed with the ancient scrolls would have surely investigated this place.

Thoughts that something was indeed here were correct.

But the location was wrong.

“It’s not behind the waterfall; it’s underneath it.”

I pointed to the spot where the water was crashing down. The sheer volume of water was causing sprays and whirlpools to form.

“Could you redirect the water from that waterfall for a moment, Miss Minerva? Just clear the spot where the water is falling.”

Minerva immediately complied. She struck her staff lightly against the ground, opening a circular space resembling a mirror and sucking up all the waterfall’s water, redirecting it a short distance away.

The water that had poured from the sides filled the empty space, but the sound of the falling water ceased. It became a bizarre sight, as if a tranquil pond had emerged amidst the cascading waterfall.

With the waterfall gone, the area became silent.

“It’s done. Is there anything else left?”

“Just maintain the magic. It shouldn’t take long.”

I stood calmly in place. Minerva fidgeted nervously, standing guard beside me. It seemed her patience was rapidly wearing thin, considering we were almost there for the scroll.

Time passed, how much I didn’t know.

“Ah!”

With a mix of surprise and admiration, a stone structure began to rise from the surface where the waterfall had poured.

I had heard that such structures had pressure detection devices, so when the waterfall disappeared, the gears would activate and the structures would rise, but I didn’t know the details of how it worked.

“……So that’s how it is. If it had been buried in the ground, it wouldn’t have been found with detection magic. Even if it had, they probably would have assumed it was just a rock.”

Minerva murmured softly. The concept of detection magic involves scanning the surface of objects, making it impossible to find structures buried beneath the earth.

Moreover, the torrential waterfall would have thoroughly obstructed the discovery of the structures. In this world, magic was certainly not omnipotent.

The person beside me was using it nearly omnipotently, but that was more of an exception.

“Really, in a place like this…”

Minerva looked utterly entranced.

After waving my hand in front of her face without a response, I lightly tapped her forehead. We were so close to the Crystal Scroll; this was something I could overlook.

“……Huh?”

“Let’s go, Miss Minerva. Are you just going to stand there? The Crystal Scroll is right below us!”

“I’m not, child. Of course, I’m not. Yes, let’s hurry and go in.”

I called out as I followed after Minerva, who was stumbling toward the structure.

“Be careful of traps, Miss Minerva!”

The moment Minerva stepped on the structure without really hearing me.

ㅡCRASH!

A spike that erupted from the side smashed against Minerva’s defense barrier, shattering it. Hearing that horrifying sound, Minerva seemed to snap back to her senses and began looking around frantically.

While some dungeons are just swarming with monsters, others are filled with traps as vicious as that one.

The Rune Dungeon, where the rock centipedes were found, was the type with only monsters, while the Crystal Scroll dungeon had traps and structure designs that served the role of monsters.

But.

“Should we just keep going, child?”

Before overwhelming power, mere traps were no issue at all.