D.E.H Chapter 27: Weapon – Moonbirth

Oh boy, it actually came! The ellusive chapter! Double Edge Herooooo!!!

For everyone that was fervently requesting it, wow, thanks a lot. It was so fervent that I had trouble feeling overwhelmed and happy about it. Your calls of anticipation drove my passion!

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“The day has come!”

I jump up from the hard bed with energy incomparable from anytime I have woken in this world.

Immediately doing my stretches, I begin my morning exercise with extra vigor.

I have been waiting a week for this day, preparing everything in order to have a whole free day.

Bought everything, looked for the carriage, trained Battle Armor and magic like crazy, I even told Elinalise that I will be extending my stay here for 1 day more. For some reason, she was extremely happy when she heard that.

Apparently, Elinalise was close to finishing her Journey of Comprehension, but didn’t manage to do it. But now that a day has been extended, she will be able to.

At any rate, the reason for all this preparation? Because today is the day my weapon is finished. Since coming to this world, there have been few things I could look forward to, so when I am given the chance to receive a new weapon, moreover, in a world where I can use it freely, I just can’t help but feel excited.

I open the door and head directly to the armory store.

“My weapon is here!”

“Not yet.”

“…”

—I shout this as soon as I arrive at the armory store.  

However, the moment I enter, I was greeted by the mother of rejections.

Gaund’s assistant denied me.

“Wasn’t today the day I receive my weapon?”

Did I get the day wrong?

The system of days in this world is the same as well as the time. There’s even a clock at the square with the date. The only inconvenience is that the amount of clocks for general use are very limited in the commoner’s area.

I made sure to check it last night and on my way here. No way I got it wrong.

“No, today is indeed the day your weapon is ready, Mr. Youma. Master Gaund told me that the moment you arrive, I am to tell Mr. Youma to enter the workshop.”

“Oh, thanks. Sorry about just now. Good morning, assistant.”

“Good morning. And don’t mind it. I get those often. Mostly from customers who come for order-made weapons. Now, go ahead. Master is probably still forging your weapon, but he is most likely going to be done soon.”

The assistant led me to the door at the back of the store and urged me in.

I entered the workshop alone. As soon as I step in, I could hear the strong sounds of hammering.

Is there magic casted in this room so that the sound doesn’t leak to the outside?

These hammering sounds were strong enough to make my body tremble, and each smash of it made my blood boil. I felt the energy and strength it carried.

As I proceed into the workshop, I saw the muscular Gaund sitting in front of an anvil, the sounds of the hammering grew stronger and sparks were flying.

I stand at a distance, making sure I don’t disturb him.

Well, I don’t think that’s necessary though.

The concentration of Gaund was so high that unless there’s something big occurring, he won’t stop those arms of his. A real craftsman at his job.

The first thing that caught my eyes was the figure of Gaund hammering the anvil, but after admiring that powerful image of his, my eyes moved to the object he was hammering. Yes, at what’s most likely my weapon.

Since it is close to finishing, the weapon already had form. But the strangest thing about it, is that it was glowing. Not the glow of heated metal, it was more like…mana.

My eyes have already been trained a bit, so I can see some slight mana fluctuations if I try to.

Every time it is hammered, the glowing mana flickers and grows slightly stronger.

The hammer hits it multiple times, and, as if molding the mana itself, the glow increased in beauty even if it was faint in my eyes.

“…Amazing.”

A simple word of admiration leaked out from my mouth.

My heart felt like it was beating faster. My eyes refused to move, they stared directly at the weapon and its crafter.

Time passed without me knowing, and the hammering stopped.

The light decreased in intensity, until it had completely faded from the place. Only a small faint glow remained in the weapon, but that glow still carried a strength that was purer than the moment I first gazed on it.

I can’t understand things like purity in mana yet, but that’s how I felt when I saw it.

“Oh Youma, you were here. Sorry for the delay. I said I would have it ready by today and all.”

The old man got up and turned with sweat all over his body. He didn’t look exhausted at all. In fact, his body was brimming with energy and a big smile of satisfaction was on his face.

“No need. I got the chance to see such great skills. If anything, I should be the one giving you my thanks.”

“Haha, is that so. Then that’s fine. Here, let me do the finishing touches.”

The old man cools down the blade of the weapon and attaches it to the already finished hilt.

The moment that happens, I could feel a change in the weapon.

It was as if the weapon had actually taken life now. As if it wasn’t considered anything until this very moment.

Right, in this world, weapons possess stats and sometimes even skills.

The weapon in front of me probably gained those stats and skills the moment it was finished.

“Seeing that face of yours makes me happy. Take it, it is all yours now.”

“…”

It must have shown in my face. This feeling of excitement.

The moment I stretch both of my hands towards it…

“Ah wait! Now that I check it again, it might not be a good idea. Achaa, I might have placed a bit too much into it.”

But the moment I was about to take it,the old man pulled it back and makes an expression as if troubled.

“Is something the matter?”

I ask with my hands still in their place. It felt as if they could jump at the weapon anytime now.

“Well you see…I don’t think you will be able to handle this weapon yet. No, not only that, you probably won’t be able to even hold it in your hands yet.”

…

I lower my hands and look at the weapon once more. With a size of around 1.5 meters, a long hilt that can be held with both hands, a guard of simple design, and a soft light emanating from the blade.

A beautiful and imposing greatsword.

This is the type of sword I asked the old man to make. That’s why it took so long, and that’s why he warned me about the material cost.

The reason I asked for this kind of weapon was simple. My own inefficiency at defeating big enemies.

Different from my world, rather than fighting humans, you fight mana beasts. Mana beasts normally possess bigger frames than most humans, and my techniques are tailored to humans, so I am at a big disadvantage in my current state when pitted against this kind of enemies. And when you add the mana beasts that have armor-like bodies like the Blood Bear, I can’t help but feel sorry for the swords I have broken.

Of course, I have already prepared a weapon that’s aimed for enemies that require speed rather than strength. In a sense, I would be more suited against those types.

Well, leaving the logic aside, the major reason is even more simple. Who wouldn’t want to swing a giant sword around?

I do.

That’s it.

So, at plain sight, this greatsword doesn’t look like something I wouldn’t be able to carry. Even if I look like this, my strength has already surpassed that of a normal human in my world and slowly creeping into the inhuman, in my world’s standards, that is. But the old man went as far as saying that I can’t even hold it with my hands, so maybe there’s more to it than that.

It is better not to think of weapons here with the common sense of my world.

I activate [Appraisal] and check its details.

<Moonbirth: A greatsword forged with utmost skill and heavy discipline. Its shine resembles the moon and its heaviness invokes importance. Crafted from degraded moonlite ore. Has lost its ability to circulate its own mana.

Effects: [Mana Consume] [Light in the Dark] [Star Fall]

Mana Consume: When wielded, it consumes the mana of the wielder. Cost: 5 mana per sec.

Light in the Dark: Whenever it is in a dark zone, it will shine brightly. While in this state, it doubles all costs and increases in power. Can’t be toggled off. Star Fall doesn’t apply double cost.

Star Fall: Brings down the weight of the stars. Cost: 1000 mana and being in a state of Light in the Dark for a period of time. If Light in the Dark conditions are not fulfilled, cost will triple.

Requirement: 200+ strength.>

…I see.

There’s a lot of things I don’t get completely, but I now understand the worries of the old man.

There’s a requirement of 200+ strength.

If this works similar to games, just trying to equip it would be impossible, but judging from the way the old man spoke, he doubted twice, once in using it and the other for ‘even holding it’.

Leaving that aside for now, I have 170 strength after I got a boost of stats when I reached 30, even so, I still don’t meet the requirements. BUT I have [Limit Break], so I might be able to fulfill that requirement, only if the requirement isn’t denoting the base Strength one has with no additional assistance from things like items or buffs.

“Oh? You can use [Appraisal]? That’s some interesting skill you got there.”

As I was pondering, the old man made a surprised expression, placing a hand on his beard while saying this.

Gaund could detect that I was using [Appraisal]? That’s strange.

I have used [Appraisal] before in his presence, but only now is he pointing it out and in a way that tells me he never noticed before. Moreover, he said I am using [Appraisal] instead of talking about the skill accessory that is actually giving me the skill to do it.

Interesting.

I have used [Appraisal] several times already to learn about the items, but this is the first time someone has noticed, or at least pointed it out.

Judging by his surprise, it should be safe to assume that distance is involved in the detection of it. This is the first time I have used the skill on something that’s so close to him.

This will help me out a lot in the future. Now I know that this kind of skills are detectable, but it doesn’t mean my accessory will be exposed.

Accessories with skills are extremely valuable, if I was caught [Appraising] the equipment of an adventurer for example, and that led to the person noticing my accessory, it would lead to unnecessary trouble.

“Yeah, how could you tell? This is not my first time doing it.”

“Hey hey, don’t go looking down on me now. I might be old, but my perception for this kind of things is pretty decent, you know. It isn’t something so easy to catch. But I’ll give you a piece of advice. Don’t appraise the armor of any high-level combatant. Most of them have some sort of method to conceal and detect when a skill like that is used on them.”

“Ugh, that’s bad. Thanks for the advice.”

I definitely would have done that. Good thing I haven’t caught eye of any high level equipment I wanted to appraise.

“Gahaha, you do look like the curious type after all! I faced a rough time in my days before learning this in the hard way. You know, no one likes being probed on.”

Old man Gaund laughed heartily, speaking about what seems like an adventurous past.

Right, when I checked the old man’s level, I got the [???], so he surely isn’t just your average blacksmith.

Wait, the old man didn’t detect my [Discern] either?

As I did my usual pondering, the happy expression of the old man disappears and he makes a sigh as he furrows his brows looking at the greatsword on his hands.

“Anyways, it seems you won’t be able to handle this greatsword. I really am sorry about that. As an apology, we will provide you with a greatsword that can fill up its place in the meantime.”

After saying that, he lowers his head in apology and turns around, heading towards the  greatsword’s sheath.

[Greatsword Sheath: sheath that reduces the restrictions of weapons. Unsheathing it will require fulfilling them. <Restriction -30%>]

“Once the sword enters this sheath, you will be able to at least carry it. It will probably be a little heavy though. Unsheathing it will be another matter… what are you doing, kid?”

The old man was about to hold the sheath, but I grab him by the arm.

It is all-or-nothing now. I can’t let old man Gaund feel responsible for something he has no need to. Rather, this is exactly what I wanted. A weapon that the old man got so into it, it went outside his expectations.

“[Limit Break]”

I mutter the activation and feel the usual straining of muscles.

My hands move right towards the greatsword.

“Hey kid, what are you doing?!”

The old man was confused for a second, but when he noticed my objective, he tried to move it away.

But that confusion opened enough time for me to grab it.

“Wa?! Are you serious?”

And I lift the greatsword with both hands.

I managed to take a stance with it, the  greatsword pointing upwards.

As I thought, the grip is comfortable and the weight feels great. My arms were itching to swing it, but I am not entranced enough to do that in the workshop of the old man.

I want to test it out.

That feeling still didn’t fade out though.

“Old man, I want test it.”

“Ah, right. There’s a testing ground over here.”

Looks like the old man was still absent minded, his face was telling me his mind was somewhere else right now.

“Hahaha…”

But after a while of silence, he lets out a laugh, crosses his arms, and straightens his back.

“Don’t know how you did it boy, but it seems I have underestimated you! You have grown way outside my expectations. Come, I have a place where you can test out that baby!”

Saying that with a big smile, he places his arm around my shoulder and pushes me to a door not far away from where we were.

A smile naturally surfaced on my face as well, as I let myself be dragged with greatsword in hand and my arms stinging like hell.

****

The place I was brought to was a simple room with nothing in it, only a few open windows for ventilation, but there’s really nothing that seems to be used for practice.

But on closer inspection, I could see marks at the walls and floor that seemed to have been made from something sharp, and the shapes of those marks were very varied.

So this is where they test their weapons.

“How do you like it? Here’s where we test our weapons and see if there’s any need for adjustments. Not to brag or anything, but there’s practically no person who has come out of this room requesting for any such thing!”

The moment we enter the room, the old man begins bragging, his face lifted up and an expression of pride.

“Oh? So, should I swing it around here and test it by hitting the walls?”

That sounds pretty harmful for a new weapon.

“Are you crazy? You do that, and I will knock the living lights out of you. I will bring out the perfect target for you.”

After slapping my back for that statement, the old man walks in front of me, then lifts his right hand and says: “[Summon: Dummy]”

As he chants this, a small magic circle appears on the floor and a dummy pops out of the floor.

Wow, you can even do summonings here. This really does feel magical, and that feels weird when I say that of a blacksmith.

“Hit it as much as you want, this will be your target. Don’t worry, no matter how much you hit it, you won’t even scratch it, so give it all you’ve got.”

Placing his arm over my shoulder, he gives me the go ahead with his other free hand with a cocky smile.

Hoh? I see.

A smile surfaces on my face and I answer back: “Challenge Accepted”, and step forward, tightening the grip on my greatsword. As I thought, it really is a comfortable fit. He did take my measurements in every aspect, but I still have to awe at this precision.

Now…

I stand right at the front of the dummy that’s planted on the ground by what seems to be a wooden stick. At a glance, it doesn’t look sturdy, but when I check its mana, I could tell that a layer of yellow is wrapped around it, just like how the Battle Armor would look when clad on a human being.

“Okay!”

I take a stance and clean my mind. There’s no need to think too deeply about it, just swing it as hard as you can!

And I do exactly that.

The greatsword that is almost as big as my body was brought down onto what looked like a frail dummy. The greatsword was heavy, but that weight didn’t feel hindering at all, rather, it felt like the perfect amount that would feel comfortable to swing around and utilize at full potential. The sound of wind as the giant blade went horizontally towards the dummy send shivers down my spine and a sense of exhilaration created a big smile in my face.

This is the feeling!

*Bang!

The greatsword comes into contact with the dummy and a loud sound of hitting something hard was heard. But the dummy didn’t budge one centimeter from its place, only the wind spread around the area, creating this outlandish feeling of power.

That’s fine, this is just what I wanted.

Without a beat behind, I shift my body and make a full turn with this heavy greatsword, using the swing momentum and its weight, I increase its destructiveness!

*BANG! BANG! BANG!

I repeat this rotation of full turns several times, the vibrations of each hit went through my arms and the wind that it creates hits my whole body and felt as if that very wind gave me more energy to continue my assault.

This is it! This is what I have been waiting for!

This sensation of moving my body, this feeling of liberation, that feeling that runs down through all of my nerves, this sense of power as I time each breath with my attacks!

“Sfffft!”

I take one deep breath, and instead of making a single turn, I turn around 3 times and gather momentum, the wind that this created made my arms creak in pain, but that pain right now felt like more of an announcement that this was still within my limits.

I can do it! The technique I was able to utilize with a normal sword, I can do it with this greatsword at the current level of my body!

With excitement that surpassed my pain, I shout!

“[HEAVY BLOW]!”

The activation of this skill created even more strain in my already screaming arms, but along with it, a surge of strength that was necessary in order to bring all this power down without a single lost was given to me.

“1 hit!” *BAANG

With that momentum gathered, I hit the legs of the dummy. It budged slightly, but it wasn’t enough.

But the attack hasn’t ended yet, slightly shifting my body higher, the speed continued increasing.

“[SPEED BURST]!”

This time, I activate [Speed Burst] to keep up with the leg strength that was required to continue on. As the strain on my body grew higher, my legs had to keep the balance and the speed in order to continue this.

And the combination of all that, came onto this.

“2nd hit!” *BAAANG! *crack

The greatsword hit the chest of the dummy this time. A small sound of something was heard along with it, but the sound of everything else was overwhelming it all that I couldn’t pick it up well.

And I didn’t have the room to concentrate on it right now.

Tightening my already strong grip to the handle of the greatsword, I unleash the deadliest part of this combo.

With the last turn, I place all the strength and release all the momentum into this one attack that will not allow for anymore follow-ups, and swing with my shrunken body at the top of that dummy’s body!

*BOOM

The attack connects straight onto its head, and a terrifying sound was released as all the power gathered up to now was send to this one hit.

Receiving this attack, the resistance was strong, but after an instant that felt like an eternity, the dummy bend heavily and the head was blown off.

I barely managed to break it.

Gusts of wind ran wildly around the room and went straight out through the window.

When all the wind had gone out, silence reigned the place and, like a puppet with its strings cut, my body fell face first on the ground. My mouth was gasping for air and my body was sweating profusely.

Pain ran through my body as it began to relax, but more than that, a sense of satisfaction was filling both my brain and spirit.

<Skill Acquired: [Overstorm]>

“Haha…hahahaha…”

A laugh escaped my mouth.

After many years of being paralyzed, this was something I needed. Releasing all my restrains and utilizing my whole body to its maximum. This sensation I had forgotten for so long… it was at this moment, I was reminded of how it felt.

“Hey kid, are you okay? Seriously, those were some incredibly reckless moves to do on a training dummy. Do you have a grudge on them or something?”

A voice woke me up from this brief trance.

When I move my head to the right, I saw the old man crouching there and looking at me with worry, his eyes scanning my body.

I probably look terrible. I could tell my body was in a pitiful state.

“I’m sorry old man, but I don’t think I will be able to get up for a while. Can you get me an actual place to lie down on?”

Without waiting for an answer, I undo the effects of [Speed Burst] and [Limit Break].

The moment I did that, a dreadful pain assaulted my body, but without letting it out of my mouth, I saw as the old man lifted me to a bed at a different room and treated me, well, even if I say treat, it was just basic treatment.

I just lie down there as I do my best not to show all my pain.

Gotta say, I have gotten better at it.

The residual excitement is also helping me a lot, as the smile in my face still hasn’t gone away.

******

I was now standing at the outside of the store, with the sheathed greatsword strapped at my back.

My body had recovered, but when I check the position of the sun, I could tell hours had passed, it was already evening. Well, I did talk a lot with the old man after that, and gave a few more swings to test. This time, without any excessiveness.

The old man reprimanded me real hard. But for some reason, I felt happy when he did.

And I also paid for the greatsword in that time.

“You are one fast recoverer kid. That was no normal exhaustion. A number of your bones were broken.” The old man went with me outside to see me off, and when we arrived there, he said this, his eyebrows furrowed, with doubt and worry mixed in those eyes.

It is not like he was probing or anything. I could tell he was genuinely worried.

“It’s okay. I know of a really good healer that I have been troubling in my stay here.”

“I see… But that skill or whatever you used there, don’t use it so lightly.”

Well, it is true that I can’t use it lightly. Due to my long period of inactivity, I have forgotten how to properly utilize my body to its full potential. The techniques I learned in my original world, I can’t use them here yet without getting back that dexterity I had. And in truth, the technique I used just now strained my body more than necessary and brought about damage to it that’s not advisable. This body may be made of something weird like mana or whatever it is World said, but it is still a body. I don’t know if straining it to extremes will cause irreversible damage in the future.

But just this once, I wanted to do it. I felt I had to.

Also, the target in front of me was an inanimate one. If this were an actual opponent, the timing to utilize this technique, I would probably never find it without immobilizing my opponent completely.

This technique is still not at a practical level yet.

“Yeah, I won’t be using it lightly. In the first place, it is not at a level where I can use it.”

The old man opens his eyes wide for a moment and then lets out a sigh.

“Looks like I didn’t get through properly. I was also talking about what you did to hold Moonbirth in your hands.”

“!!”

“Did you think I didn’t notice? Don’t underestimate me. I don’t only take measurements and check if it’s comfortable for the user, I also check their body and if it is actually suitable for them. And muscles tell no lies. You enhanced them in order to take Moonbirth in your hands, and that enhancement was causing strain to your arms.”

He saw right through it from the very beginning.

“Sorry, but that was something I wanted to do. This greatsword you have forged for me, I wanted to show you that it really was fitting. There’s nothing to regret about it, it is perfect for me!” Taking the strap of the greatsword with my hand, I readjust it and show it off.

It truly is a fitting sword. It may have been accidental, but it fit right onto my [Limit Break], which is necessary for me to enter battle mode anyways. So the strength restriction of Moonbirth is not actually a restriction.

The old man didn’t say anything, he just stared at my face for a moment and laughed.

“Hey kid, you are going to be leaving soon, right?”

“Yeah.”

“When you return, show me you can actually make me be troubled about making a weapon that’s fitting for you.”

The words that came out from the old man were the same I told him the first time we met. At the time I bought my first weapon from him.

I don’t know why, but this old man really is good at bringing out a smile from deep within me.

“Yeah! Look forward to it!”

****

I decide to head back to the inn.

It was almost time for dinner and my stomach was growling already.

I placed the greatsword in my inventory for now. Roaming at night with a greatsword at my back stands out too much.

As I walk slowly back to the inn taking in the cityscape…

“Youmaaaa!!”

A familiar voice called my name, the voice carried desperation and hurry.

As I turned to the direction of the voice, I saw Ethan landing right in front of me, in a place where tons of people are walking around the streets.

The people in the surroundings turned to watch this man land suddenly on the floor. They were all confused, and the once boisterous street was temporarily silenced by this occurrence.

“This is terrible, Youma!! Lady Elinalise has… Lady Elinise has…!!”

“Calm down Ethan!”

I grab the shoulders of Ethan and shake him around to calm him down.

After a while, his breathing began to stabilize a bit, and I release him.

“Let’s talk at a different place.”

I urge Ethan to switch locations, and he simply nods, with his eyes still shouting urgency.

“And so, what happened with Elinalise?”

After quickly heading to the Freyhardt residence, I promptly ask for an explanation.

“Elinalise has not returned from the Forest of Beginnings!”

Hm? Is that something weird?

It is still not that late, and from what I heard, she would be going with her usual party today. Arriving back a bit late isn’t that strange.

“She has a strict rule of always returning before the sun goes down. She has never broke this rule before, and she would by no means do it!”

Ethan’s agitation was certainly not normal. Maybe he has some grounds for his worry. I can’t tell well since I haven’t really interacted much with Elinalise until now.

“Okay, I will check with Kiur.”

“Please!”

At any rate, he won’t be relaxing until we check her safety. And it wouldn’t hurt knowing.

(Kiur, you there?)

(Stupid human, it is not time yet, why the hell are you calling me), an exasperated voice came from the other end.

Kiur has been at the Forest of Beginnings these last days, enjoying the wildlife. I have ordered him to give me a report every night about how his day went, but all he tells me is: “I hunted, ate, slept”. He really doesn’t tell me anything. But well, at least he is doing well. And it may be slight, but I feel like he has loosened up a tiny bit.

(Come on, don’t be like that. There’s actually something I would like to ask of you.)

(…What?)

(You remember Elinalise, right? I want you to find her. She is in the forest you are currently at.)

(Elina…ah, the blue girl. She is right here, running away from a horde of…what do you humans call it? Ah right, ‘mana beasts’. There’s also a group of disgusting humans watching from the side. Nice hobby you humans have.)

(What?! Why didn’t you tell me?!)

(Huh? You didn’t ask.)

(I did ask you t—! Forget it, just tell me everything.)

I immediately activate [Shared Senses] as I listen to what has transpired until now from Kiur.

I am already past 30, so I can’t enter the Forest of Beginnings myself. I will have to manage something with the still disobedient Kiur here.

I was worried something like this would happen so I had Kiur keep watch on her these last few days, but at the last moment, this happens!

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