Chapter 4

Having obtained the holy sword, I headed straight for the underground of the Labyrinth City.

This place, where the sewers of the Labyrinth City run, is a location that no one except those who manage the facilities ever approaches.

Or, to be more precise, no one except me.

I frequently visited the sewers.

That's because I could train with my sword there.

In the sewers of the Labyrinth City of Isgard, low-level monsters like slimes and giant rats reside.

I was currently gaining experience by defeating them.

When I told the holy sword this, she looked puzzled.

"By the way, Chrom, you seem to know the sewers well, but why are you still level 1?"

"Ugh..."

That was a tough question to answer, but I decided to be honest.

"...Because I'm so weak that I struggle even with slimes and giant rats."

"Eh? Slimes and giant rats are the weakest monsters, right?"

"Even so, I struggle! I'm level 1 and don't have any decent skills."

"Really? So my new master is that weak?"

She said this with a genuinely disappointed look and then cast a spell to reveal my stats.

Chrom Melville, 16 years old, Level 1, Unemployed Adventurer

Strength: D

Endurance: D

Vitality: C

Agility: D

Magic Power: D

Magic Defense: D

Intelligence: D

Faith: D

Overall Combat Power: 102

After looking at my stats, she said one thing.

"Wow, it's true. Regardless of the stats, you're level 1. And with an overall combat power of 102, you're weaker than a common farmer..."

"It's 102."

"It's about the same. But an overall combat power of 102..."

"That can't be helped. Look at my equipment."

"Let's see."

She looked at my equipment.

Short sword.

Traveler's clothes.

"What's this? Even scholars in the guild have better equipment these days."

"I didn't have any money. I used it all coming from the countryside. So my equipment is just a parting gift from my neighbors when I left."

"I see. Well, with just a short sword and traveler's clothes, this is about what I expected."

She summarized and continued.

"But don't worry, now that you have me, Ex, you'll never have to deal with such a measly overall combat power of 102 again."

"It's 102. By the way, Ex?"

"My nickname. Excalibur sounds too girly, so just call me Ex."

"You call yourself 'Boku' even though you're a girl."

"Chrom, you're a boy but a bit soft."

She said this bluntly and then urged me to equip her, Excalibur.

Of course, there was no reason to refuse.

I spent 1000 gold coins to buy her to borrow her power.

To shed the stigma of being a level 1 adventurer forever and to change the pathetic overall combat power of 102.

Incidentally, when I borrowed a steel sword from an adventurer I met in town before, my overall combat power jumped to 279.

If a simple steel sword could do that, I was filled with anticipation about what equipping the holy sword Excalibur would do.

Maybe it would reach 1000, or even 10000.

With such thoughts in mind, I drew the holy sword from its sheath and equipped it.

The status display appeared, and I focused on the overall combat power.

The number there was unexpected.

Overall Combat Power: 569

That was my combat power with the holy sword Excalibur equipped.

"Awesome! Amazing, Chrom, your combat power has quintupled!"

The holy sword was the only one who was genuinely happy.

To the one who spent 1000 gold coins, the honest feeling was that after all the anticipation, it was just a fivefold increase.

Did Ex notice this?

She explained with a sigh.

"You see, even though I'm a holy sword, I can't increase combat power by 100 or 1000 times. Combat power is not just about the quality of the weapon, but also the person's stats, experience, and skills. To quintuple the combat power of a level 1 novice is already quite impressive."

"...But I spent 1000 gold coins. Maybe I could have gotten a higher overall combat power by buying a regular steel sword and armor. Because of buying Ex, I couldn't buy armor, so the balance is off."

"Ugh, you're saying that? You might be right, but you bought potential. While buying balanced equipment might have increased your overall combat power more, you can't do such feats with just a lump of iron."

As she said this, she shone brightly.

Then, in the illuminated depths of the sewer, I saw the wriggling forms of monsters.

"See, you can't do this with just a regular sword. Plus, having a cute girl like me as a conversation partner would cost you 10 gold coins an hour at a place like that in the Labyrinth City."

It felt like she was changing the subject, but I still readied my sword.

She was right.

Combat power quintupled.

That was enough.

Before, I would have been out of breath after fighting just one giant rat, but now I was five times stronger than yesterday.

So I should be able to easily defeat three giant rats.

With that thought, I charged at the large rats.

My calculations were spot on.

The giant rats, which I had struggled to defeat before, were now nothing but cannon fodder to me.

I cut down the rats one after another.

When I stabbed the third rat with the holy sword, Ex said cheerfully,

"2 minutes and 35 seconds. Hmm, that's too slow for using me, but for a first battle, it's not bad."

Ex evaluated my combat, but her voice didn't register in my ears.

More than that, the joy of overwhelming the giant rats and an even greater joy dominated me.

The glowing words on the status display had a firm grip on my heart.

Level Up.

Those six words excited me.

For a novice adventurer who had been wandering at level 1, those words were the most delightful.