Chapter 34

I placed my sword on the ground, and Sumizu-san began to explain.

"That is indeed a powerful sword, but if you don't want to die, you shouldn't use it. Especially using magic while wielding that sword is suicidal."

"Sorry, what exactly is this sword?"

"That sword came out of the ruins along with the artifact, right? If it gets enhanced by magic, that sword is called an 'Overpowered Magic Sword,' something that a normal person can't handle."

It seems to have a name. And the ruins. I've heard these words from Gainta-san too.

"Why is it dangerous? And what are these ruins?"

"The ruins are where artifacts are found. They are called ruins because they are usually burned and charred. The sword is dangerous because it drains your magic power."

"Drains my magic power? But even if my magic power runs out, my health won't deteriorate, right?"

Or maybe, even if you think your magic power is gone, it's actually still there and gets drained further?

"When you use magic and run out of power, that's true, but this magic sword continues to drain your magic power even after you've run out. When that happens, your body starts to move strangely from the point where you're holding the sword. If you're lucky, the sword will fall from your hand, but if not, it will drain your magic power until you die."

Scary! But why do you know about this?

"That's dangerous, but why do you know about this? It doesn't seem to be related to a blacksmith, does it?"

"Well, I'm a blacksmith, but I deal with special materials related to magic. I've even participated in research to see if the technology of the Overpowered Magic Sword could be applied, though I didn't understand much. By the way, the effects of holding the sword when your magic power is drained were studied through experiments on death row inmates."

Mad scientist, I thought they only existed in stories, but there's one right in front of me. This person is a mad scientist.

However, if it just drains my magic power, it doesn't seem to be a big problem for me.

"I have a lot of magic power, so I think I'll be fine. I doubt I'll ever run out."

From what I tried using magic on my way back, it seems the upper limit of my magic power hasn't increased, but the recovery rate is more than enough.

"That's only because you don't know why it's called an Overpowered Magic Sword. A normal adventurer would run out of magic power in less than a minute, and within 30 seconds, they would die mysteriously without any external injuries."

So, even a normal adventurer with only about 20 MP can last a minute. That sounds easy.

Right now, I can easily recover the magic power of one adventurer in just a second. In fact, firing a full-power rock spear would drain a normal adventurer's magic power in just 2 seconds.

"That level shouldn't be a problem. Even while using full-power magic, it takes me about 30 seconds to recover the magic power of one adventurer."

"What kind of monstrous magic power is that... But considering that you managed to store an entire Metal Lizard in an item box, it's not impossible, right? Storing a Metal Lizard in an item box is already impossible. Anyway, if you plan to use it, keep it sheathed when you're not fighting, and if you feel any discomfort during battle, let go of it immediately."

"Understood."

"Also, that weird staff or sword thing is complete. I don't know about the staff part, but I made the sword part, and I guarantee its performance."

Oh, so that's done. The bladed staff, or should I call it a blade staff?

"Got it, where is it?"

"Sumisa has it, so you can get an explanation from her as well. It's different from a normal sword."

I decided to meet Sumisa and hear the explanation about the sword.

"From here to here is the magic power collection part. Hold it here when you use magic. That's it."

The explanation wasn't as long as I thought. I took the sword.

The sword is mostly silver, but the part where the magic power collection area meets the blade is a slightly different color. It must be where the magic power is blocked.

"Thank you."

"Can I buy the leftover metal? I don't have the money here, but you can get it at the commercial guild. Just show your guild card."

"Sure, how much is it?"

"About 300 million after deducting the cost of materials and processing. It's a large amount that can't be bought in bulk even by our workshop."

Artifacts and inflation are severe. Is this country okay?

Or, 300 million isn't an abnormal amount if you think of it as a corporate purchase. It's about the value of four rakes if 1 ter is 10 yen.

By the way, I forgot to make armor.

"I also want to make armor. Is that okay?"

"That's your father's domain. The magic extraction is already done, and there's no urgent work today, so we can start making it today if you need it."

It's Sumizu-san again. This is a waste of time.

I thanked her and spoke to Sumizu-san again.

"Sorry, I also want armor."

"From a Metal Lizard? Metal Lizard armor is indeed powerful, but normally, mages don't use it... It's too late to tell you what's normal now. I'll make it, but what kind do you want?"

What should I do? If it's too heavy, it will reduce my mobility, but if it's too light, it won't be effective as armor.

Using such an item, I can recover from fatal injuries with magic as long as I don't die instantly. I just need to prevent instant death.

"Please make a helmet and a chest plate. I can recover with magic as long as I don't die instantly."

"Right, with that abnormal magic power. You probably won't die even if you're killed. Well, I'll make it by today. Touch this."

She showed me a box similar to the ones you see at guilds, which are used to display status. It's like an automatic measuring device. I touched it.

I was told I could go back, so I held the sword in my left hand and went home. The blade is about 60 cm long. Compared to the magic sword, it's much shorter, but it's a fairly normal length for a sword.

It's still noon, so I decided to try out the two new weapons right away.

I took out the magic sword and held it, but my MP was still at its maximum. It seems the recovery is outpacing the consumption.

The enemies are too weak to be good targets for testing. I decided to go deeper. I walked deeper but didn't encounter any monsters.

After walking at full speed for about 5 minutes, the atmosphere of the forest seemed to change. It felt noisy.

After thinking about the reason for a minute, I detected a reaction on the touchpad. It was something sheep-like.

I had heard of something called a Rush Sheep. They are generally docile and not particularly harmful, so there are no quests to hunt them. They don't attack much even when provoked, and their meat isn't particularly tasty, so there's not much benefit to hunting them. They are a dull, harmless, and not particularly useful monster. They are apparently monsters.

Sorry, but you'll have to be my test target. First, let me check the speed of my magic.

I proudly held the blade staff and fired seven rock spears at the Rush Sheep.

The rock spears were launched at a speed that was barely visible to the eye, and the poor and foolish Rush Sheep were minced. However, the touchpad reaction didn't decrease; it increased.

It was a herd, and a very dense one at that. It was as dense as the Green Wolves I saw in Ein. They were clearly charging at me. Are Rush Sheep this kind of monster? Where did their docility go?

I approached to confirm the scale and cut into a Rush Sheep with the magic-infused sword. The Rush Sheep was sliced without any resistance.

I reduced their numbers with rock spears and also cut into them with the blade staff in my left hand. It wasn't completely effortless, but I could easily slice through bones.

I focused on the touchpad. The herd seemed to be enormous. Even though the touchpad range was already full of Rush Sheep, more were still coming from the back.

This feels familiar. I've been in this situation before.

Is this going to be another case where a rare monster appears and these are being chased by it?

If so, I should go and investigate. The fastest way is the best.

There's no monster that can stop me from escaping and returning alive.

Therefore, there's no need to needlessly slaughter these poor and foolish Rush Sheep. I should escape.

I tried to imagine a wind magic like the one Majis used. It worked on the first try.

My MP was still at its maximum. I couldn't tell if it was wind, but I felt something pushing my back. My speed increased rapidly, and it felt like a mini-game to avoid trees. It was quite challenging.

Could I fly? I tilted my body slightly upward and increased the force.

I flew, indeed, but it felt more like a leap. The ground quickly receded. It kept receding.

I panicked and tilted my body slightly downward, directing the force downward. The ascent stopped, and I started falling toward the ground at an incredible acceleration. I had to slow down, slow down.

This magic seems to work based on the image in your mind, not the typical relationship between the force and acceleration of magic. It feels like a simple push from behind.

In other words, when accelerating downward, not only is the force directed upward to counteract gravity, but the gravitational acceleration is also added. I couldn't slow down in time.

As I saw the ground approaching at high speed, I gave up on a soft landing and deployed my magic armor.

In a last-ditch effort, I used the remaining magic power to slightly decelerate and crashed into the ground.