Chapter 80

I'm late!

Actually, after I finished writing the previous part, I reread the main story to provide an explanation and realized there were quite a few discrepancies in my memory.

I spent a lot of time rewriting various parts, but it ended up being one of the sloppiest chapters ever...

Still, the "Equip Exchange" skill did exist.

It did! (It wasn't even written in the draft)

"......phew"

After somehow dealing with the bat and the werewolf's surprise attack, I let out a sigh of relief this time.

I sheathed the Sword of the Metal King in my right hand and swung my now empty left hand back and forth.

"Are you okay, Rex?!"

At that moment.

Mana, pushing aside Rad, who was standing at the entrance of the room in a daze, ran up to me.

"I'm fine, no problem."

I scolded my face, which was about to contort, and returned a smile full of composure.

Seeing this, Mana finally seemed to let out a sigh of relief.

"Y-You're okay. When I saw the monsters attack Rex from behind the wood, I thought my heart would stop..."

"Don't worry. That level was within my expectations."

I answered with a show of bravado, but of course, it was a lie.

I was really scared, and if Mana hadn't warned me, I might have been killed.

(Plus, I took a lot more damage than I thought...)

I instinctively protected Rad, but I decided I would never do such a thing again.

I don't like prolonged battles.

I prefer to take more safety margins and enjoy a moderate thrill in a situation where I can definitely win.

That's the kind of easy game I like.

"More importantly, old man! What was that strength?!"

Saying this, Rad, who had been standing at the entrance of the room with his mouth open, latched onto me with all his might.

He came up to me with great momentum.

"Of course, I knew the old man was strong, but I didn't know he was that strong! I mean, to be honest, the old man's current abilities are..."

"Weaker than you, right?"

I continued the words Rad was hesitating to say.

I smiled at Rad, who looked embarrassed.

"I was able to fight like that, well, to put it simply, it's the power of skills."

* * *

Given Rex's situation, I knew that level-ups and training were hopeless.

However, that doesn't mean I gave up on getting stronger.

What I sought was strength that didn't depend on base stats.

"First of all, in terms of equipment, I am better equipped than you."

Unlike Rad, who has to wear weak training equipment to boost his base stats, I can choose equipment based on performance since I've given up on level-ups.

Especially, the enchantments that boost abilities are all focused on strength, so at least in terms of attack power, they somewhat compensate for my lack of ability.

Moreover, what I used this time was the grand prize of the casino, the Sword of the Metal King.

Unlike the Goblin Slayer, this is a high-level equipment with strong attack power, even at this level band.

However, that's the same as before.

"---What changed is the skills, especially the 'Passive Skills.'"

If level-ups and training are hopeless, then the growth through skills that can be learned by mastering classes is what I aimed for.

To raise the proficiency of a class, you just need to keep using the active skills of that class, but the higher the class, the harder it is to raise proficiency.

Rex, being a freak who has completed the skills of lower classes, should focus on unique classes like Treasure Hunter, Trickster, and Sword Saint.

However, the key point is that raising proficiency can be done as a side job.

For example, the Trickster's skill, which Mana used, is a good example.

The initial skill of this class is High-Speed Exchange.

It's a simple skill that instantly swaps the weapon in your inventory with the one you're currently using, but it's very convenient for raising proficiency.

Unlike attack skills, which often require hitting an enemy to raise proficiency, this one just requires swapping weapons.

You can keep swapping weapons under the desk while listening to a long talk, and even if you swap the same weapon with itself, most people won't even notice.

This means you can raise proficiency as a side job while doing other work.

And the skill that unexpectedly showed its power was the Sword Saint's only mediocre skill, Sword Saint's Aura.

This skill "emits a wave that cancels the sleep and drowsiness of surrounding characters," and while it can be useful in certain situations, it was considered a mediocre skill due to its limited use and the fact that it wasn't what the Sword Saint was expected to do.

However, the true value of this skill lies elsewhere.

While it might be mediocre in practical combat, it has a low cost and a short cooldown, making it easy to spam.

Most importantly, the proficiency gain is determined by the number of people affected, so using it in a crowded place can yield a lot of proficiency points!

However, this strength was rarely utilized in the game.

First, there weren't many places in the game where people gathered, and second, the skill didn't activate if there were no sleeping characters around.

However, in this world, those restrictions were gone, and when I tried it, I could activate the skill even if the surrounding people were fully awake.

Moreover, I had created a stage where people gathered, using my own power.

...Yes.

The lectures and guidance on aptitude appraisal and manual arts.

I used this <Sword Saint's Aura> on the people who gathered like ants, unknowingly dispelling their drowsiness!

"Old man... You were doing that while giving a serious speech... I was a bit moved, you know."

"Well, it's fine. I'm just dispelling drowsiness, not causing any harm."

After silencing Rad with a look of disbelief, I continued my explanation.

Thanks to this "indiscriminate aura terror," the proficiency of the Sword Saint, which should have been difficult to raise, increased steadily.

What would normally take months of combat to achieve, I could easily do while in the city.

It was so easy, I couldn't stop laughing.

Through this, I not only mastered the essential skill for dual-wielding, Twin Arts, which allows the effects of a skill used in one hand to be applied to the other, but also the ultra-powerful skill that even the Sword Saint Nilva, who I should have defeated in a one-on-one battle and fought for dozens of hours to master, hadn't learned yet: the ultimate passive skill for sword users, Sword's Apex.

"...Sword's Apex?"

At Rad's words, I eagerly continued.

"The effect is simple and clear. This skill 'doubles the damage of sword attacks.'"

"...Huh?"

The Sword Saint Nilva, with end-game level combat power.

To defeat him one-on-one and obtain the Sword Saint class, and then to fight for dozens of hours to reach this level.

The strength of this skill is truly unparalleled.

It's so broken, it could break the game.

"By the way, the lower-tier version of the skill, '30% increase in sword damage,' can be learned by the Sword Master."

"Really?!"

Unfortunately, this type of skill does not stack.

It would be meaningless for me to learn it now, but it would certainly be useful for Rad.

"Through this, you should understand that class growth isn't just about stat boosts. There's no need to rush. Just build a solid foundation gradually..."

Just as I was about to summarize by patting Rad on the shoulder, Resilia spoke up.

"---Wait, please."

It was Resilia.

She looked at me suspiciously and questioned me.

"Brother, what happened to the knife you were holding in your left hand?"

"...You know I learned High-Speed Exchange. I put it in my inventory, see?"

I said this and instantly made a new Goblin Slayer appear in my empty left hand.

However, Resilia's gaze didn't waver.

"Originally, if you only use the sword in your right hand, it would be more effective to not hold a weapon in your left hand. Why did you hold a weapon in your left hand that you didn't even use?"

"...It's for support. I might need it in an emergency."

It took a moment to come up with an answer.

Resilia's eyes became even sharper.

"Besides, isn't it still strange?"

"What is?"

In the tense atmosphere, Resilia asked.

"Sure, the Sword's Apex skill is powerful. But, can it alone make it possible to defeat a level 40 monster so easily?"

At Resilia's point, I was speechless.

Sword's Apex is strong, but it's meaningless without base power.

It boosts "damage" rather than "attack power," so it has no effect on enemies that are immune to damage.

In other words, if I didn't have a way to deal damage to a level 40 monster without Sword's Apex, I couldn't have defeated them with a single hit.

I thought I had managed to gloss over this by talking at length about the skill's acquisition and effects...

Our gazes met in a silent confrontation.

We stared at each other for a while,

"...I get it. If you've figured it out, there's no point in hiding it."

I was the first to look away from Resilia.

"W-What do you mean?"

To the confused Rad, I revealed the truth.

"I didn't defeat them with my pure strength. It was the power of the weapon."

"Weapon...?"

Sighing at the confused Rad, I resigned myself to explaining the "real reason for the victory."

* * *

It's true that I was learning skills to strengthen myself, but I never thought I could fight a level 40 monster with my current low stats.

The first thing that came to mind for a way to fight without relying on stats was to imitate the past.

"Well, to be honest, my attack power isn't enough to stand up to such monsters. But, there's one skill that even the Sword Saint Nilva couldn't ignore, right?"

"Nilva... You mean the Final Break!?"

The skill Final Break, which deals powerful area damage at the cost of breaking the weapon.

Even the attack power of the Goblin Slayer, which is ineffective in Throwing, could potentially deal damage with the high damage multiplier of Final Break.

"But, wait a minute! You can't use area attacks in such a narrow place! Besides, the old man didn't use such a skill..."

"That's true. I couldn't use Final Break in my previous state, and using it alone wouldn't have been very effective. But, I had another option now."

To Rad, who was still skeptical, I said,

"I said I raised the proficiency of the Sword Saint and learned Twin Arts. Do you remember the effect of that skill?"

"U-Uh, 'the effect of a skill used in one hand is applied to the other hand'? W-What, you mean...?"

I revealed the shocking truth to Rad, who opened his eyes wide.

"That's exactly it. The power of the Final Break I used in my left hand was also applied to the weapon in my right hand!"

I was surprised too.

I wondered how it was processed, but since it happened, there was nothing I could do about it.

And there was one more thing.

By combining the trick of interrupting Final Break by putting away the weapon during the skill, a mysterious combo was born.

Timing it, I used Final Break with my left hand the moment my right-hand sword hit the enemy.

I immediately used High-Speed Exchange to retrieve the exploding knife and replace it with a new one.

This way, I could add the power of Final Break to my right-hand sword without triggering the area attack.

The important point is that the attack power of the sword in my right hand wasn't just the same as Final Break; it was the original sword's attack power plus the power of Final Break.

Moreover, in this case,

"Since the attack was with a sword, the attack power of Final Break was also amplified by Sword's Apex."

With the high damage of Final Break, combined with the attack power of the Sword of the Metal King and doubled by Sword's Apex, it was easy to one-shot a bat.

The only problem was the last werewolf...

"He wasn't as fast as the bat. I used Final Break and added an art. Also, monsters take more damage when attacked from behind. He wouldn't have stood a chance, no matter how strong he was."

As I explained calmly, Rad leaned in excitedly.

"That's amazing! If you can fight like that, you can defeat level 40 enemies, right? Then..."

He spoke with enthusiasm.

But, it's different.

It's different.

If I could use such power without risk, I would have said it from the beginning and boasted more.

But, there's no such easy deal in the world.

"Sixteen..."

"Huh?"

"That's the number of Goblin Slayers I lost in that battle."

Even if interrupted, Final Break still destroys the weapon.

Naturally, the Goblin Slayer in my left hand was destroyed, and a Goblin Slayer can be sold for 5 million wen if alchemized.

In other words,

"---With each attack, I was throwing away 5 million wen!!"

I used it without hesitation because I thought it was a pinch, but I almost screamed every time I swung the sword, and I was sweating nervously during the battle.

"I wanted to keep thirty for emergencies, but now I only have twenty-seven left!"

The last two were killed together, saving some, but still, it was an 80 million wen deficit.

And that was in a battle that lasted less than thirty seconds.

(Ah! If I hadn't put on a show and cooperated with Rad and the others, it would have been better!)

However, in that case, while the bats might have been manageable, there was a risk that someone would have been killed by the werewolf's surprise attack, so I had to push through alone...

While I was agonizing over this, I saw a small shadow standing in front of me.

"...Rex"

My name was called quietly.

The elf girl, Plana, was staring at me with unreadable eyes.

As I unconsciously swallowed and waited, she opened her small lips...

"Let's call that skill 'Gold Drain Sword.'"

"Stop it!!"

She thrust an ominous skill name at me, which seemed likely to stick in the future.

Tettele!

Rex has learned a new ultimate skill!

The next update is tomorrow!

This finally concludes the ability check part!

From now on, it's finally the main part of the fourth chapter (fourth update in a week).