《I Want To Be A Magic Sword Blacksmith!》 Chapter 0.1 In this world, there is one god for every human species. The one who was protecting the human race was a Sword God called Athena. The god gave a tangible power to protect the human race from the threats that struck them. The Holy Sword. £ª¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡£ª¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡£ª On that day, the Holy Sword Academy was engulfed with a solemn atmosphere. It is because the important ¡°Trial Ceremony¡± being held here today. Depending on the outcome of this ceremony, the next ¡°hero among heroes¡± would be born. Those who were allowed to participate in the ceremony were forced to remain silent without exception. They could not even wipe away their pouring sweat, and even hesitated to swallow the spit that had piled up in their mouths. Their eyes were focused on a single point. In the top center of the ceremony where the ¡°Trial Ceremony¡± was being held. There was a dignified young man stood with a sword in his hand. In front of him, there was a huge sphere that seemed to be staring at the young man. It was almost as large as the young man. The material of the sphere was probably some kind of ore. From its position to the young man holding the sword, the huge ore ball looked as if it was saying, ¡°Come on, cut me off!¡± Suddenly¡­¡­ He breathed in. When they think he was about to breathe out, he ran ahead a beat faster¡­¡­ Slash. The giant ore ball cracked in half with a ¡°thump¡± response. ¡°Ohhhhhhhhh!?¡± The cheers and applause erupted at the same time. The participants watching around him began to make noises as if they had been released from the tension they had been forced to feel for so long. ¡°Splendid! Hero-dono¡± The most elderly and distinguished-looking person among the participants walks up to the young man. The young man was very familiar with him. ¡°There is only one way to cut the divine stone ore that the Sword God Athena gave together with the Holy Sword! Only by using one ultimate and supreme sword stroke with the Holy Sword!¡± The old man¨D the director of Holy Sword Academy was elated unbecoming of his age. It was no wonder. Because he had just created another tool to further strengthen his own power. ¡°That is! The ultimate sword skills¡ºIkkeniten¡»! Only with that ultimate skill can you break the divine orb! Everyone, do you know what that means!?¡± The excited spectators suddenly quieted down and the solemn atmosphere was restored. It was an affirmative response to the Director¡¯s call. ¡°It means the young hero Eiji-dono here has just mastered¡ºIkkeniten¡»! Furthermore, with that, it means he has mastered all sword skills! He has mastered all sword skills and is the champion of sword skills¡­¡­ In other words, he is the Supreme Hero!!¡± Soon, however, the cheering began again, as if they could not stand it any longer. The solemn ceremony hall was now a festive place. ¡°Right now, the Hero Eiji has truly surpassed a hero and became the Supreme Hero! Each and every one of you present here is a witness! Please give your generous blessings to the new champion, the new hero!!¡± The applause, which was already loud, became even louder and louder. Among them, there was only one person who remained silence. He was standing there with his sword lowered, saying nothing. ¡°Then, Hero-dono, now that you have successfully completed the trial, let¡¯s move on to the next stage¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± The director spoke politely to him, but he still said nothing. ¡°You have mastered all the sword skills and became a sword champion. Therefore, the Blue Holy Sword that you are holding right now is no longer suitable for you. ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Please return it to us at once¡± An attendant came out modestly from the side. He said nothing and immediately handed over the sword he was holding. He was left empty-handed there. ¡°But do not worry! Because we have a more worthy Holy Sword for you who have become a Supreme Hero! A Holy Sword among the Holy Swords! You are now qualified to possess the Supreme Holy Sword!!¡± From another direction, another attendant came out, also modestly, holding another Holy Sword respectfully in his hand. It was the Supreme Holy Sword, Excalibur. It was completely different from the sword he had been holding before. The brightness of the sword and the divine energy it radiated were far superior to the usual Holy Sword. ¡°The moment you become the owner of this Supreme Holy Sword, you will become the strongest guardian of the human race. You must stand at the forefront of the battle to protect the human race at all times, and you must always triumph over the fearsome demons. Do you have the resolution for that?¡± The Director¡¯s question was a bit threatening. Without waiting for his answer, the director continued speaking. ¡°I don¡¯t need to ask you! This Hero, Eiji-dono has slain millions of demons using the Holy Sword up until now! If Eiji-dono holds the Supreme Holy Sword in his hand, he could slay tens of millions of demons! He is truly the strongest guardian of human race!¡± ¡°Long live the new Supreme Hero!¡± ¡°Long live the new owner of the Supreme Holy Sword!¡± ¡°Glory to the Holy Sword Academy!¡± ¡°Eternal prosperity to the human race!¡± Various kinds of cheers came from the surrounding people. Today was truly a memorable day of celebration for them. The hero would not only be a means of countering monsters, but would also pressure the conflicts with other races and increase the power of the Holy Sword Academy among the human race. At this point, the mayors of the cities and even the Kings cannot complain to the Holy Sword Academy. With the birth of a new young Supreme Hero, the Holy Sword Academy¡¯s reign would continue for a long time. Just when they thought so. ¡°Then, Hero Eiji-dono, please accept the Supreme Holy Sword¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to¡± ¡°What?¡± He opened his mouth for the first time right then and there, and his name was Eiji. The numbness in his hands and shoulders from smashing the divine orb was still remained. However, his whole body still remembered the remnants of the throb, and he felt good about his mastery of the ultimate skills. ¡°Eiji-dono¡­¡­? What did you just say?¡± ¡°I said I don¡¯t need the Supreme Holy Sword¡± The inside of the venue were instantly petrified. What in the world was he going to say? ¡°The reason why I entered the Holy Sword Academy is only to master all the sword skills. Just now I have already mastered ¡ºIkkeniten¡», and my goal has been achieved¡± So he had no more business here. ¡°I will leave the Holy Sword Academy now. Thank you very much for all your help until now¡± ¡°Wait!¡± The director calls out to Eiji in a great hurry. The director was clinging to his departing back. ¡°For those who possess all the sword skills, owning the Supreme Holy Sword is a duty! How can such selfishness be allowed!? A powerful person has a duty! Your duty is to fight to protect humans with the Supreme Holy Sword!!¡± ¡°Not to protect the Holy Sword Academy?¡± The director flinched from the slight sarcasm spewed out by Eiji. ¡°It¡¯s annoying to be told that, so I will answer your question. I also do not intend to neglect my duty as a powerful person. I will use all the power I have cultivated at the Holy Sword Academy to protect this world. I will use it in a different way than you guys did¡± ¡°Another way!? There is no such thing!¡± The Director was now in a state of rage. ¡°Even if you are a hero with a holy sword, no because you are a hero with a holy sword, you cannot do anything without a sword! A hero without a holy sword is just an ordinary person! And there is no other sword that can wield the full power of a Supreme Hero except the Supreme Holy Sword!¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°If you want to help the human race, you have no choice but to grab the Supreme Holy Sword and fight! Come now! Stop saying nonsense and receive the Supreme Holy Sword quickly! And take the oath of allegiance before the God of Swords, Athena!¡± ¡°It is true that there is no other sword that can withstand my full strength except the Supreme Holy Sword¡± At this point in time. ¡°That¡¯s why, that is my next goal¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°With my own hands, I will create a sword greater than the Supreme Holy Sword¡± £ª¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡£ª¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡£ª After saying that, the Hero, Eiji¨D no, the Supreme Hero, Eiji leave behind that title and left the Holy Sword Academy. Naturally, the Holy Sword Academy was in chaos. A large-scale search party was dispatched to bring back the missing Supreme Hero, but none of them brought back satisfactory results. Half a year had passed since then. ¡°I will create a sword greater than the Supreme Holy Sword¡± Where did Eiji go after saying that? To create a sword, he need skill, and if he don¡¯t have skill, he have to learn. The art of sword making. Blacksmithing. If Eiji wants to make a ¡°sword greater than the Supreme Holy Sword¡± by himself, who should he learn blacksmithing from? Chapter 1 The main character, Eiji, apprentices himself to a dwarf to learn blacksmithing skills in order to make his own sword. Eiji made a disturbance and does not want be discovered by the Holy Sword Academy, so he hide his true identity and works. £ª¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡£ª¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡£ª In this wide, wide world, many human species live on separate lands. There are human races, dwarves, elves, dragonians and many others. Each of them lives with their own god. Each race has its own strengths and weaknesses, and in most cases, they decide where to live according to their forte. So to speak, a territory. For example, dwarves are good at blacksmithing. They have thick, strong arms, and blacksmithing skills which were given to them by the Dwarf god Pele. Because of that only dwarves were allowed to create various things from minerals. Therefore, dwarves placed great importance on minerals as materials for blacksmithing. It was so important that they settled in a mine where minerals were produced. Now, most mines are home to dwarves, and are called ¡°Mining Villages¡± by other races. They have a tunnel for digging out minerals, ironworks for smelting iron from the ore and a blacksmith workshop where they turned the refined iron into products. Everything that is required to process what is excavated from nature into finished products is collected in one village, and the dwarves are in charge of all of it. It is said that there are as many mining villages as there are mines in the world. Among them. There was a small mining village that mainly produced and processed iron. Naturally, only dwarves worked there. However, there was only one other race working in the dwarves mine. It was the human race. Half a year had passed since the new Sword Master, the guardian of the human race, disappeared without a trace. £ª¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡£ª¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡£ª ¡°Hey, Eiji! Stop slacking around and carry the ore!!¡± ¡°Yes! Right away!!¡± Today, Eiji was given hell by his senior Dwarves as well. At the bottom of the tunnels, the ore is smashed with hammers and melted in the iron furnaces outside to be refined into iron. For that reason, the ore need to be carried out of the mine. Eiji was pushing a wheelbarrow full of ore as hard as he could. He was the only human in a mine where only dwarves worked. Surrounded by the thick and small dwarves, the human¡¯s slenderness stood out even more. ¡°Eiji! My hammer broke! Get me a new replacement!!¡± ¡°Yes!!¡± ¡°Eiji! I¡¯m thirsty! Bring me water!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Eiji! We dug a tunnel and underground water came out!¡± ¡°We need to evacuate!¡± ¡°Eiji! The tunnel caved in!¡± ¡°Wha!?¡± As a newcomer who just joined a few months ago, Eiji¡¯s position in the village is the lowest. He is engaged in hard work in the tunnels and is treated with contempt by the senior dwarves in the same workplace. The man there seemed to be a completely different person from the one who was praised as a Sword Master in the past by the higher-ups of the pure Holy Sword Academy. Maybe they really are different person. So, talking about cave in. It is when the ceiling or side of a tunnel that has been dug collapses. ¡°Run! Ruuuuuuuuun!!¡± Collapsing tunnels are a common occurrence inside a mine, but if you are buried alive, you will surely die, so on this occasion, regardless of their status or race, everyone will run away together. The tunnels were collapsing. Eiji, for example, ran with two senior dwarves who had been injured when they rush to escape, but they were still able to escape to the safe zone normally. ¡°We should be fine here¡­¡­¡± Working in the tunnels is scary. Not only is there a risk of collapsing, but if you dig underground, toxic gases can erupt, and even underground water can gush out. In either case, die due to poisoning from gas inhalation or drowning from underground water is a common occurrence. The tunnels were a magical world where death was a common occurrence. ¡°Well, is everyone all right?¡± Among those who had escaped from the danger zone, it was Eiji who first had the leeway to check on the safety of everyone. He counted the familiar faces of the dwarves, who must have been out of breath from running at full speed, as they slumped down. ¡°¡­¡­ Good, everyone is here¡± ¡°Thanks to you I¡¯m saved, Eiji¡± The one who said that was senior dwarf who had broken his leg at the start of the escape and had to be carried by Eiji. ¡°If you hadn¡¯t carried me, I wouldn¡¯t have escaped from the collapse and would have been buried alive. You saved my life¡± ¡°I just did the right thing¡± Compared to other races, dwarves have higher muscle strength and endurance skills, but they have lower agility skills. Therefore, they were running faster than their limits to escape from the collapse, so they were exhausted. ¡°In this kind of situation, it is advantageous to human who have average skills in all areas. You can handle any situation¡± ¡°I¡¯m just a jack of all trades. In a situation like this, goblins or elves with high agility skills would have been able to escape more easily¡± ¡°You¡¯re an idiot. Forget about goblins, but there is no way the beautiful elves will come to an underground like this!¡± The sound of laughter echoed through the narrow tunnels. ¡°Is it something you can laugh about!!¡± A proclamation came in to the dwarves group. Moreover, the voice of the proclamation was very high-pitched and sweet-sounding. It wasn¡¯t surprising because the one who made that proclamation was a captivating beautiful woman. She was young enough to be called a girl rather than a woman. ¡°Miss Gyariko¡­¡­!?¡± However, the boorish dwarves froze their body at that girl. The girl¡¯s name was Gyariko, and she was the daughter of the chief who manage this entire mining village. Moreover, she was also in charge of overseeing the tunnels area. In other words, the person in charge had just arrived, and this made them nervous. Naturally, Eiji also stuck his arms to his torso and stood upright. ¡°The cave-in is a major incident, you know!! You can¡¯t just laugh it off because no one died! Who dug the tunnel!?¡± ¡°Hiiiii!?¡± One of the dwarves, who had been exhausted, shrank back. That dwarf must have hit underground water while digging the tunnel and caused the collapse. ¡°I told you to raise your mining skills up on a regular basis to avoid accidents like this, right!?¡± With¡ºDanger Detection¡»which can be learned with a mining skill value of 500 or higher, it is possible to foresee and avoid underground water veins and gas reservoirs that are buried underground. In other words, the dwarf who was digging in the lead this time had not reached 500 in drilling skill. ¡°W-Well, Miss¡­¡­!¡± Eiji, unable to just watch, tried to intercede. ¡°It can¡¯t be helped, because the tunnel area is also short of manpower. It¡¯s impossible to arrange the vanguards with those who have enough skills¡± ¡°After all, they even hire a human like you!¡± Gyariko¡¯s strong sarcasm hit Eiji. Because of that, Eiji was speechless. ¡°¡­¡­ Well, fine¡± With a sigh, Gyariko¡¯s furious facial expression returned to a cute, girlish one. ¡°Anyway, it¡¯s a good thing no one died. The tunnel has been buried by the collapse, so the team here will disperse and help with the other excavation. Anyone can do it until the digging skill value exceeds 500¡å ¡°Y-Yes¡­¡­¡± ¡°Also¡­¡­!¡± Gyariko¡¯s gaze turned to Eiji. ¡°You too, thank you for helping our miners. You¡¯re a great help¡± ¡°Eh©`¡­¡­?¡± Eiji couldn not respond quickly enough to her sudden appreciation and let out a strange sound. ¡°But, don¡¯t be full of yourself, all right. It¡¯s your fault for causing the collapse in the first place. I won¡¯t give you credits just because it turns out well!!¡± Gyariko said that with angry voice and left. Did she think of Eiji as her enemy or something? Chapter 2 The reason why Eiji lives in the dwarven village was to become their disciple. ¡°Please teach me blacksmithing skills¡± Those were the first words he said when he arrived at the mining village. To make a sword, you need a blacksmith. When it comes to blacksmithing, dwarves are the best. There is no race that is better than dwarves at hammering minerals or making tools and weapons. That is why Eiji wanted to visit the dwarves and absorb their skills as his own. All for his own ultimate goal. His wish was granted, and Eiji started from doing dirty work as a blacksmith apprentice. He did not ask for any special treatment. The first workplace he was given to work was in a mine, a place completely unrelated to learning blacksmithing, but he still worked nonetheless. He was not discouraged. With determined effort, a way will open. For he already experienced it once. £ª¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡£ª¡¡¡¡¡¡£ª ¡°¡­¡­ A collapse accident. But no one die?¡± ¡°Yes, father¡± At the dinner table, the incident at the mine was conveyed to the boss, Dardol. As the supervisor of the mine area, it was Gyariko¡¯s duty to report the accident. Dardol, who is in charge of the entire mining village, acts like a village chief and also like a factory manager. He divides the mining village into smaller areas and entrusts each area to his own sons and daughters. He was probably preparing to select the next boss from among them, and Gyariko, as the daughter of the boss, also had been entrusted to be in-charge of the mine area and was in the process of testing her leadership skills. ¡°The damage was contained to a relatively small area and there were no fatalities, so I postponed the reports. The predicted loss of efficiency due to the partial blockage of the tunnel section is¡­¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the problem here¡± The boss, Dardol interrupts the report from his daughter. His beard, which is the thickest among all the dwarves working in the village, swayed quietly. ¡°The important thing is whether the miners are safe or not. Every job in the mines is dangerous. That is why those in charge of the mines must put the lives of those who work there first¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡­¡± ¡°The supervisor who thinks in terms of efficiency and profit can easily let the dwarves who work in the mines die. It is as if the supervisor is killing them. Don¡¯t be such supervisor, Gyariko¡± ¡°Yes, father¡­¡­!¡± Even, Gyariko, who despite being a woman leads the ruffians in the tunnel area, becomes quiet and meek just like a borrowed cat in front of her father, the boss, Dordol. The dwarfs worker who sat at the dining table, were also in awe at the boss after seeing their exchange. ¡°Well, anyway. It¡¯s been a rough day, but good work. Everyone, eat and drink well tonight as well, and get ready for work tomorrow. And don¡¯t forget to groom your beards too¡± This is the dining table for the workers in the tunnel area, but depending on the day, the boss also visits other areas, such as the iron manufacture area and the smithy area, to eat meals with the workers. He did this in order to have direct contact with the workers, to hear about what is happening at the site, and to get a detailed understanding of what is happening at his mine. Even so, it is said that among the many areas, he often shows up at the dining table in the tunnel areas. The reason is¡­¡­ ¡°Eiji¡± ¡°Y-Yes?¡± Eiji sits at the end of the dining table as a lowly member of the tunnel area, and Durdol sits at the head of the table as the boss, it is truly a relationship between the table tops and ends. Naturally, when the two of them talk, their voices reach all the dwarves in between them. ¡°I heard you were very active at the time of the collapse accident. I heard that because of you, there were no fatalities¡± ¡°No, no!¡­¡­ Why are you going into such detail?¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad I hired you. Unlike you humans, many dwarves are stupid even though their muscles are packed. It¡¯s a relief to have someone like you at the front that can make judgments on the spot¡± Durdle said that and stroked his beard, which is the thickest in the village. ¡°Well, I leave it to you if something happen from now on. I¡¯m counting on you¡± ¡­¡­¡­. And so, the table fell into silent. At any rate, the boss of the village himself had expressed his expectations for his underlings. It was unexpected, and for some people it was unpleasant. ¡°Umm¡­¡­ boss. Can I ask something?¡± A young dwarf sitting in the middle of the table raised his hand. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Boss, why do you pay so much attention to Eiji? No, in the first place, hiring a human race in the dwarven mining village is¡­¡­!¡± It is not unheard of, but it is very rare. ¡°It is true that the human race is average and can do anything¡± ¡°As the dwarves specific skills, only humans can learn some blacksmithing skills that other races cannot learn¡± ¡°But in the end, it is only to certain extent¡± Hmm¡­¡­ Dardol was thinking while still caressing his thick beard. ¡°I¡¯m indebted to the human race¡± ¡°?¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m not going to refuse a favor from the humans. I have to repay the favor they have done to me¡± The dwarves were puzzled by his sudden confession. ¡°¡­¡­ So, that¡¯s why you couldn¡¯t refuse Eiji¡¯s request to be an apprentice?¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s it¡± The dwarves at the table were in an uproar, as if they had never heard of this before. The dwarves at the table were not convinced that their boss owed a debt of gratitude to the human race because of their own tribal nationalism. ¡°Well, to be exact, it was Gyariko, who owes a debt of gratitide, not me¡± ¡°Father!?¡± His daughter, Gyariko, was puzzled by the sudden mention of her name. ¡°It¡¯s been, like, five years now? Back then, she was round and cute like a baby tanuki, and not as cheeky as she is now¡± ¡°Eh? What? You¡¯re going to start talking about it in earnest!?¡± Ignoring his daughter, who did not seem to want him to talk too much, Dardol continued his story. ¡°At that time, I had not yet discovered this mine, and I was leading my family to search for an ore vein. We would go from mountain to mountain, looking for buried riches to get rich quickly¡± ¡°Umm¡­¡­ please stop. You really don¡¯t have anything to tell, right?¡± ¡°The journey to find the ore vein is a family trip. I took my wife, sons and daughters with me. Of course, I bring Gyariko here too¡± He patted Gyariko who sat next to him on the shoulder. ¡°Then, we had a problem. She, who was a little girl, got separated from the group and got lost¡± Getting lost in the deep mountains is a disaster. It was extremely difficult for a small child to survive. Moreover, when Gyariko was just a little girl, she was in a greater danger. ¡°A monster came out¡± ¡°Are you serious!?¡± Before long, the miner dwarves were drawn into the story. The main characters of the tale, Gyariko, and for some reason Eiji also turned his head away from the story, looking uncomfortable. ¡°In the deep mountains, if a lone kid is spotted by a monster, she won¡¯t survive even by some chance. As long as there is no hero that has been given a holy weapon by god¡± ¡°Then, what happened? Did the young lady got eaten by the monster?¡± ¡°You idiot. Then who is the cute young lady here? It will become such a talk. Gyariko was saved. She was saved by a guy who wasn¡¯t supposed to be in that place¡± ¡°A hero¡­¡­¡± Gyariko murmured. She sounded embarrassed. ¡°The human race hero¡­¡­¡± Five years ago, a monster was about to attack the young Gyariko. It was a human hero with a holy sword who stopped it just before that happened. ¡°It was not entirely coincidental. The human hero was chasing the monster from the beginning. He caught up with the monster when it was about to attack Gyariko¡± ¡°Because that is the duty of the hero¡± ¡°But, the duty of the hero is to protect his own race. The human hero protects the human race and has no reason to protect a dwarf young girl¡± However, the human hero who appeared at that time was different. Holding Gyariko, who was unable to move due to fear, he wielded his holy sword with only one arm and engaged the monster in a fierce battle. ¡°When I heard the commotion and rushed to the scene, I found my daughter, whom I had been searching for with bloodshot eyes, the human race was holding her, and the corpse of the monster that had been cut in half. I was so worried and relieved at the same time that I thought my beard was going to fall off¡± Dordol was talking about that time nostalgically. Among them, Gyariko just looks down in embarrassment. And for some reason, Eiji, as well. ¡°That¡¯s why I owe a debt of gratitude to the human race for saving my daughter¡¯s life that I cannot repay. In order to repay even a small part of that, if I can¡¯t even listen to an erratic request, that means the dwarves has die out¡± In other words, the human Eiji wants to apprentice himself to a dwarf and learn blacksmithing skills. He would have his wish granted. ¡°Let me tell you though¡± Gyariko got up from her chair and turned to Eiji. ¡°I don¡¯t feel indebted to all humans just because I was saved by them. The human who saved me and you are two different things, Eiji¡± ¡°Y-Yes¡­¡­!¡± Eiji scratched the back of his head with an indescribable expression. ¡°On the contrary, I don¡¯t agree that another human should benefit from the favor of the one who helped me. I will evaluate you fairly as a supervisor, and if you cut corners even a little bit, I will kick you out, so keep that in mind!¡± ¡°Hey, Gyariko. Do you really not realized¡­¡­?¡± ¡°Eh? What?¡± Boss Dardol sighed as his daughter tilted her head. ¡°Oh dear! What an ungrateful lad. Even though I sent you to the Dwarf capital to study, you still came back as a fool¡± ¡°Eh? What!? What do you mean, father!?¡± And so the dwarves¡¯ dinner passed peacefully. Chapter 3 Once the meal is over, the rest of the day is free time until bedtime. The dwarf workers are amusing themselves with gambling among their friends. Some go to bed early, others study to improve their blacksmithing and craftsmanship skills for the future, and so on. And so, the underling Eiji is¡­¡­ ¡°Oi, Eiji, hang out with us for a bit¡± He was caught immediately by the senior dwarves. ¡°What is it this time? If you¡¯re planning to steal liquor from the kitchen, it¡¯s impossible to do that now because they¡¯ve found out and are on guard, you know?¡± ¡°We will challenge it when things cool down! This time, we will go for something else!¡± Something else¡­¡­ Eiji titled his head. ¡°Do you know? The young lady¡¯s secret?¡± ¡°Gyariko-san¡¯s secret?¡± The person who was called ¡°young lady¡± by the dwarf workers is none other than Gyariko, daughter of the boss and supervisor of the tunnels area. Eiji wondered if this was about her past, which was revealed at the dinner table, but then again, it was not. ¡°She disappears somewhere after dinner every night!¡± ¡°Where?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know, that¡¯s why we¡¯re going to check on her!¡± To his dismay, four or five like-minded dwarves had formed a clique. ¡°Young lady is a girl too, right? Unlike us men, I¡¯m sure she takes care of her appearance!¡± ¡°And there are rivers and lakes around the village!¡± ¡°It sweats a lot in the tunnel, and to wash off her sweat, she takes a bath every night! This is our guess!!¡± In short, the Dwarfs men completely exposed their pervert mind. ¡°¡­¡­ Are you trying to peek Gyariko-san when she takes a bath?¡± ¡°Idiot! ¡­¡­ It ain¡¯t like that!¡± ¡°It¡¯s dangerous to leave the village alone at night. We are guarding her secretly from dangerous matter¡­¡­!¡± The young and strong dwarves are not pure. ¡°¡­¡­¡± As far as Eiji remembers, Gyariko is now eighteen years old. Dwarves age about the same as humans, so it is safe to assume that they look their age. For men, there is a striking difference between humans and dwarves. However, for women, there is not much difference. In fact, looking at Gyariko personally, she has a beauty that would make ten out of ten humans who saw her will fall in love with her, with her long and slender limbs and moderately ripe flesh. She usually has a tight expression on her face as a supervisor, but she has a reputation for being very pretty when she smiles. She has no boyfriend, so it is no wonder that the dwarves in the tunnels are nervous about her. ¡°And so, we, a group of volunteer dwarves are going to escort the young lady secretly!¡± ¡°It¡¯s tailing her, right?¡± Eiji was rather a frank person. ¡°And so, Eiji. You go along with us too¡± ¡°Eh? Why? Isn¡¯t it fine to just go with the people who want to go?¡± ¡°Think about it. If the lady finds out that we¡¯re tailing her. She will be really pissed off!¡± ¡°So you¡¯re tailing her after all¡± ¡°But at that time, Eiji! What would happen if you were there!?¡± ¡°?¡± What is going to happen actually? ¡°For some reason, the young lady always sees you as an enemy. All her anger from being followed will be focused on you, and we¡¯ll be saved!¡± ¡°What a horrible idea¡­¡­!¡± ¡°Its fine isn¡¯t it? You can also peek at the scene of young lady taking a bath, what a benefit!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care¡­¡­! I¡¯m more afraid of she getting angry than that! But, it is a sorrow of the lowest. Whether he likes it or not, Eiji was inevitably included in Gyariko¡¯s tailing team. £ª¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡£ª¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡£ª And they were found out immediately. ¡°Sorry!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± The lawless dwarves ran away at the supervisor¡¯s wrath like scattered spiderlings. One second after the start of tailing her. Their concealment skills were too poor to deceive the demon supervisor¡¯s eyes. In the first place, dwarves cannot learn concealment skill. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Gyariko threw a cold voice at Eiji who was left alone. ¡°¡­¡­ Umm¡± Eiji guessed that he would get scolded later even if he ran away, so he immediately gave up the idea of running away. And then, he explained the whole story that led up to this situation. ¡°Haa¡­¡­¡± As soon as she finished listening, Gyariko let out a heavy sigh. ¡°If they have free time to do this kind of thing, they should train and improve their blacksmithing or mining skills¡­¡­ You too, Eiji¡± ¡°Yes¡­..¡± ¡°As a human, the growth of your blacksmithing skill is far worse than the dwarves¡­.. How much has your skills level increased in the six month since you became an apprentice in our village?¡± ¡°I-It¡¯s 12¡­..¡± ¡°Only that much!? Even when I first started training, I reached 300 around the same time!!¡± ¡°That much!?¡± Eiji was frankly surprised at the high skill level he was told. ¡°How amazing! It¡¯s truly amazing to raise more than 300 technical skills and not a basic skill! ¡­¡­ But, if it was six month since your training, does it mean it can go even higher now!?¡± ¡°Eh? Ah, well¡­¡­!¡± Gyariko spoke vaguely, but eventually she cannot resist as Eiji gave her a look filled with expectation. ¡°Uh¡­¡­ wait a minute¡­¡­¡± Gyariko drew a rectangular drawing in the air with her finger. Then, something like a transparent glass board floated along the same frame of the rectangle, and some numbers were lined up on the glass board. Gyariko¡¡Race : Dwarf Blacksmithing Skill : 1100 Decorating Skill : 800 Construction Skill : 530 Strength : 440 Agility : 120 Endurance : 590 It is a skill window. It is one of the miracles given by the gods to the human species living in this world, it¡¯s function is to see the skill levels that you have raised. ¡°¡­¡­ It hasn¡¯t increased since I saw it the other day¡± The skill window displays the top six most frequently used skills among the skills possessed by the concerned person. Gyariko, who is the tunnel area supervisor, should also display her mining skills, but it seems that it has been put out of the margin because she often goes to instruct the workers recently. However, the words ¡ºBlacksmithing skill : 1100¡»stand out prominently in the skill window. ¡°1100!? Blacksmithing skill 1100!?¡± Eiji was greatly surprised to see it. Gyariko was also surprised. ¡°Gyaaaaa!? You! How dare you peek into my skill window as you please!? Dirty! Damn pervert lecher!¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it really amazing! With a skill value of over 1000, if it were a sword skill, you¡¯d be qualified to be a hero!¡± ¡°Eh? Is that so?¡± Gyariko was furious to have her skill window peeked at over her shoulder, but when she was praised, she immediately in a good mood. ¡°¡­¡­ Well, certainly I¡¯m proud of it. In this village, if we don¡¯t include father, onii-san and onee-san, then I¡¯m the top in blacksmithing skill level¡± ¡°So amazing!!¡± After being called amazing repeatedly, Gyariko¡¯s face instantly turned red. But¡­¡­ ¡°It¡¯s no use even if you try to flatter and deceive me! It¡¯s degrading to tail the supervisor and even peek into my skill window!¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not!¡± ¡°Show me your skill window too! I will truly see your blacksmithing level of 12 with my own eyes and ridicule you!¡± ¡°Absolutely no¡± It was an embarrassing thing for Gyariko to say, but she was taken aback that Eiji was more resolute in his refusal more than she had imagined. ¡°T-Then, I¡¯m going to tell father about today¡¯s matter, okay? I¡¯m sure that even if father favor the human race, would fire you if he found out that his daughter was being followed¡± ¡°That¡¯s troubling!! Eiji raised his voice, sounding truly troubled. ¡°I really need to improve my blacksmithing skill here! There is something I have to do to improve my blacksmithing skills. Please let me continue my training here!!¡± He was asking so desperately that Gyariko became more and more overwhelmed. Gyariko was probably just teasing him without much thought. No matter how much Dardol doted on his daughter, he was not so violent as to kick out a miner for merely following her around. Eiji occasionally lets out something ghastly that ordinary people do not have. ¡°¡­¡­¡± Gyariko said nothing and turned back. ¡°Follow me¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°You¡¯re curious, right? What I do after dinner. It¡¯s not like I intend to hide it, so I will show it to you. You already saw my skill window anyway, so if I¡¯m going to show you, I will show you everything¡± Gyariko must have sensed it vaguely as well. The indescribable ferocity that she sometimes glimpsed from the depth of Eiji¡¯s mind. She is interested by things that she does not understand, without distinction between human and dwarf. Gyariko is also a kind of genius with 1100 blacksmithing skills at a young age, so it was inevitable that she would be attracted to Eiji¡¯s hidden abnormality. Chapter 4 ¡°We¡¯re here¡± Following Gyariko, Eiji arrived at the hut. It is located on the outskirts of the mining village, and there was no sign of anyone. And even thought it was a hut, from the exterior it was a solid building. It would be believable to say that it was a detached house built by a rich person as a hobby. ¡°I built it¡± ¡°Eh!? You built it alone!?¡± Eiji was surprised again by her sudden confession. ¡°Dwarves have high level construction skill as well. Except for my blacksmithing skill, I¡¯m not as good as my father, onii-san and the others, but building a workshop like this is easy¡± ¡°Workshop¡­¡­?¡± Gyariko didn¡¯t care about Eiji who could not catch up with his understanding and went inside the hut. Eiji followed after her hastily and was astonished when he entered. ¡°This is¡­¡­!?¡± Inside the hut there was a complete set of blacksmithing tools. The basic equipment of a furnace and an anvil, as well as the necessary tools such as hammers, bellows, and shears, are all there. ¡°A blacksmith workshop¡­¡­!?¡± ¡°This is my private workshop. This is where I spend my free time, hammering and making whatever I like¡± ¡°Wha¡­¡­! That means¡­¡­!¡± It means Gyariko had spent her free time training and increasing her blacksmithing skill. She was super serious. ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to be a blacksmith. For that reason, I asked my father to let me train for three years in the dwarven capital. After I came back, I was told that I needed to learn other skills besides blacksmithing, so I was made a supervisor in the tunnel area¡­¡­¡± ¡°I see¡­¡­ so the seniors prediction that you might be bathing in the water was wrong¡± ¡°Eh, I do bathe, you know? Blacksmith work makes me sweats a lot¡± ¡°Eh!?¡± ¡°Eh!?¡± Somehow, the two of them blushed and became silent. ¡°¡­¡­ And so, Eiji. Although it is called blacksmithing, there are many kinds of things that are made by striking. The main products are farm tools and everyday items such as scissors. Blacksmith make more things than most people can imagine and distribute them to other races besides the dwarves¡± ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± ¡°Among them, what do you think I¡¯m making here?¡± Eiji was bewildered as he felt a faint mystery in her voice. In Gyariko¡¯s private workshop, there were three closets in a row, all of which had tightly closed doors. It seems she even put a lock on it. Gyariko opened the locks one by one. It was as if she were unbuttoning the buttons of her clothes one by one. ¡°I have never shown the inside of this box, not even to my father. You are the first person I show it to¡­¡­¡± And then, Gyariko finally opened the closet door all the way. ¡°Take a look! Look at my painstaking works!¡± ¡°This is¡­¡­!?¡± The thing stored inside the closet was a sword. Sword. Moreover it is not just one, but so many that it almost fill the three closets. ¡°There are so many¡­¡­ swords. Did Gyariko-san made all of these?¡± ¡°Yes! It¡¯s my lifework!¡± Gyariko starts to talk fast. ¡°While training my blacksmithing skill, it¡¯s also because I want to strike a sword! That¡¯s why I asked my father to take me to the Dwarven capital to train! You see, I want to make a great sword! I want to make the greatest sword no one has ever made!¡± ¡°¡­¡­ Umm, but, why a sword?¡± Gyariko¡¯s rapid speech stopped at Eiji¡¯s simple question. ¡°Weapons are unique to each race, right? The dwarves are good with hammers. And swords are used by¡­¡­!?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, humans¡± Gyariko¡¯s voice sank a little. ¡°You heard it at the dinner too, right? That I was saved by the human hero in the past?¡± ¡°Y-Yes¡­¡­¡± ¡°I wonder if it was the so-called toddler experience? I was 13 years old when I was rescued, I¡¯m not at the age to be a toddler anymore, but that experience was still burned into my mind¡± The human hero who saved Gyariko. The sword wielded by that hero. ¡°The sword used by the hero, so of course it must have been a holy sword. The blade was blue and very beautiful¡± ¡°Hahaha¡­¡­!!¡± ¡°At that time, I was fascinated by the beauty of the holy sword. Born as a dwarf who makes a living as a blacksmith, I want to make a sword as good as that holy sword!!¡± ¡°And so, you¡¯ve been hammering so many swords?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! ¡­¡­ Eiji!!¡± Gyariko approach Eiji abruptly. ¡°You are a human, right? Then you must know something about the holy sword, right!?¡± ¡°Ehhh!? Rather than knowing, how should I say it¡­¡­!?¡± It is quite irrational to say that anyone of the human race knows about the holy sword. However, the momentum of a maiden in love with a sword ignores a few logical setbacks. ¡°Please! From your point of view as a human, what do you think of the sword I hammered?¡¡Is it even close to the holy sword?¡± ¡°¡­¡­..!¡± Eiji wrinkled his brow as he selected one of the swords lined up in the closet and grabbed it. At that moment, Gyariko¡¯s expression lit up. The sword that Eiji picked up is probably one of her proudest creation. ¡°Please back away for a bit¡± Standing in the center of the room, Eiji swung the sword with a swish, while being careful not to let the tip hit anywhere. ¡°Wow¡­¡­!¡± Gyariko let out a long breath at the beauty of his sword¡¯s swinging form. ¡°¡­¡­ It¡¯s a good sword. The hilt fits well in my hand¡± Even though it was the first time he held it. ¡°The center of gravity does not shift, and I can see that the blade is straight and extended. I can test it out and split the helmet with no difficulty with this one¡± ¡°Then¡­¡­!¡± ¡°But it is far from a holy sword¡± At Eiji¡¯s frank comment, Gyariko¡¯s face, which was about to cleared up, instantly clouded over. ¡°I think Gyariko-san also aware of it, right?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡­ because the sword here is made from iron taken from our mine¡­..!¡± That¡¯s exactly what Eiji thought. No matter how good the blacksmith¡¯s skill is, no matter if her blacksmithing skill level exceeds 1000. As long as she only uses iron as material, she will never be able to make a sword that surpasses the holy sword. ¡°¡­.. But, I¡¯m extremely happy¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°Because I met someone who has the same goal as me¡± Eiji put the sword away in the closet for a moment and then gripped Gyariko¡¯s hand tightly. ¡°Eh? Huh?¡± ¡°Gyariko-san¡­¡­! The reason I work here is because I want to create a sword that surpasses the holy sword!!¡± Gyariko¡¯s heart beats faster at his sudden confession. ¡°No, I want to make a sword that surpasses the holy sword, a sword that also surpasses the supreme holy sword¡­¡­! I came to the mining village because I thought I had to acquire blacksmithing skills for that purpose. I never thought I would meet someone there who had the skills that I wanted. ¡­¡­!¡± For Gyariko, it was too sudden and confusing. The first stranger she invited into hersecret workshop was Eiji, because he was a human and might have some connection to the holy sword held by the heroes. The sharp abnormality that she could faintly sense in Eiji was another reason for her to be attracted to him. In the tunnels, she didn¡¯t want him to realize this, so she sometimes treated Eiji badly. But she never thought that just letting her guard down for a bit would to such a rapid development¡­¡­! ¡­¡­ The maiden Gyariko were in turmoil. ¡°Please, Gyariko-san, make me your direct disciple! Please teach me how to hammer a sword!!¡± ¡°Eh!? That, umm¡­¡­!? That sort of thing, I need to talk to my father first¡­¡­!? Also to my mother¡­¡­!?¡± At this rate he thought she would be overwhelmed soon and nod with a, ¡°Hmm¡±. ¡°It¡¯s a monster! A monster has appeared!!¡± Such voice reached the secret workshop on the outskirts of the village. Chapter 5 Monster. Both Eiji and Gyariko¡¯s tension rises to the highest as the word jumps into their ears. ¡°¡­¡­!¡± Their conversation was immediately interrupted, and so they ran out of the secret workshop and rush back to the village at full speed. Their actions up to that point were in perfect sync with each other. £ª¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡£ª¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡£ª When they returned to the village, the dwarves were in an uproar as if were during the day, even though it was late at night. Several peoples were running around with bonfire in one hand. ¡°This is¡­¡­!¡± For Eiji, this was the first chaos he had seen since he came to live in this mining village. No matter how terrible a cave-in happened in the tunnel, it wouldn¡¯t cause such a big fuss. ¡°Hey! Hey, wait!!¡± Gyariko stopped one of the dwarves who was running with bloodshot eyes. He didn¡¯t seem to be running with any purpose, but was just moving around in confusion. ¡°Y-Young lady¡­..!?¡± ¡°What happened!? Explain it!¡± That being said, the dwarf was so confused that he just mumbled, ¡°monster, monster¡­¡­!¡± and didn¡¯t know what to do. ¡°Gyariko-san!¡± Eiji called her out. ¡°It seems monsters are running amok at the entrance to the tunnels! Let¡¯s go!!¡± ¡°Are you saying that it already inside the village!?¡± At any rate, the two of them run toward the entrance of the tunnels, which seems to be the center of the turmoil. There, they found an even denser crowd of dwarves. In the center of the crowd, a strange looking thing was posing. ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡­!?¡± In a word, it was a giant ant. It was probably as long as an adult. But its jet black body, six legs, vicious-looking jaws extending from its distorted circular head was exactly ant itself. The dwarves formed a crowd around the giant to surround it. However, they maintain a wide distance. They were not willing to be pounced upon at chance, and so they stabbed at the ant from all directions with several long sticks. Although it doesn¡¯t seems to able to do things beyond restraining it. ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡­ an iron ant!?¡± As soon as she recognized the giant ant, Gyariko let out a despairing cry. ¡°So, it¡¯s just an iron ant¡­¡­¡± In contrast, Eiji sounded as if he was disappointed. ¡°It¡¯s not only, alright!?¡± ¡°Eh!?¡± Eiji was surprised at Gyariko¡¯s angry shouts. ¡°Iron ant is¡­¡­! Iron ant is the worst thing for a mining village¡­¡­! Monsters themselves are the worst, but iron ant is the worst of all!¡± ¡°Umm¡­¡­ Gyariko-san?¡± ¡°Eiji who is a human probably don¡¯t know. Iron ant is an ant monster that eats iron!!¡± Iron ore mixed with iron is the favorite food of this giant ant. Then, mines that mine iron ore is a mountain feast for the giant ant. ¡°Mines managed by dwarves have been attacked by giant ants many times in the past. The tunnels we dig to mine iron resemble ant nest. They take over the mines that we have worked so hard to dig and turn it into their nest!¡± That must be a nightmare for the dwarves. Their previous hardships would go down the drain, and even their livelihoods were stolen. ¡°Iron ants usually work in groups. They send out soldier ants as scouts to find suitable mines to nest in¡± ¡°Right now, there is only one iron ant here¡­¡­!¡± That means it is most likely a scout. ¡°That means, the ant will go back to the way it came from and inform the swarm that there is a tasty mine here. Then the main unit of the swarm will march in. If that happens, the whole village will be wiped out for sure!¡± Eiji finally understood why Gyariko was despairing. He once again understood. Monsters are not only the archenemy of the human race, but the entire human species. It is only one giant ant. It was a messenger of the demon itself, bringing destruction to this village. ¡°Iron ants had destroyed our village before. They took over the mine. That¡¯s why, five years ago, my family was looking for a new mine¡± On the way there, they were attacked by monsters and were saved by a hero of the human race. ¡°After all that hard work, we finally found this place. But they are going to take away from us again¡­¡­!? Even though it¡¯s only been a few years since we opened the mine¡­¡­!?¡± ¡°I understand¡± Eiji put his hand gently on Gyariko¡¯s shoulder who was about to cry. ¡°Then, that means we must kill that ant here. Before it return to inform the swarm about the existence of this mine¡± ¡°¡­¡­ What are you talking about?¡± Gyariko said anxiously. ¡°There is no way we can do that! How can a mere dwarf defeat monsters!? Or are you going to do it!? You, who is just an ordinary person!!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right¡± Eiji said strongly. ¡°I will do it alone. Tell the dwarves to not interfere¡± ¡°Eh? No way¡­¡­!?¡± Gyariko panicked, because she didn¡¯t think that he was really going to fight. ¡°Wait a minute! Are you serious!? How can you fight a monster if you¡¯re not a hero¡­¡­!?¡± ¡°I have a way to fight it¡± Eiji holds up his right hand. There was an imposing and straight iron sword held on it. ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡­!?¡± ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m taking it without permission when we were leaving the workshop. I thought I will have to use it if there is a monster¡± Eiji and a sword. The two things that should be put together is matched now. The crowd of dwarves spontaneously split up naturally, opening the way for the warrior. A path leading to the monster that needs to be defeated. ¡°¡­¡­ Iron ant. How strange. I thought it was already an old friend after slaying thousands of them¡± He gripped tightly the iron sword that Gyariko had made with all her heart. ¡°Just by holding a different weapon, I feel like I¡¯m fighting you for the first time¡± Chapter 6 Different races have different judgments. For the human heroes, iron ants were nothing more than annoying monsters that just pops up in chaos. Their numerous numbers is troublesome, but all you have to do is to kill them all. But for the dwarves, they were the worst kind of monsters, who deliberately targets the mines that they valued as their lives. He didn¡¯t know about this because he is a human. He only learned about it after he befriended the dwarves who have strong ties the mines. And he once again learned that monsters are an evil that should not be allowed to exist. Eiji took a deep breath. ¡°¡­¡­¡ºBreath of the Might¡»¡± The next instant, he leapt without hesitation and swung his iron sword at the giant ant¡¯s face. Clank With a thunderous sound that pierced the eardrums, the iron sword broke cleanly. It was overwhelmed by the hardness of the shells of the ant that was struck. ¡°That¡¯s why I said so!!¡± Gyariko, who was watching from a certain distance, shouted like a shriek. ¡°There is no way you can defeat a monster with just an iron sword! They are special! They are special creatures that deviate from the principles of the gods! That¡¯s why they are not from any races, and not beasts! They are monsters!¡± Special things can only be defeated by special things. Weapons that the gods created and gave to the human species specifically for the sole purpose of killing monsters. Sacred weapons. For example, the holy sword. ¡°Only a sacred weapon can hurt the monsters!!¡± It was common sense that even children in this world knew. So to speak, it was an absolute rule. A sword made of iron that is a mere natural object and is not something special cannot inflict even a scratch on a monster. With it, it was impossible to defeat the monster. ¡°Is that so?¡± With the broken sword in his hand, Eiji backs away and stand beside Gyariko. ¡°Gyariko-san, please look closely. Look at the ant¡¯s head¡± ¡°Eh? What are you talking about?¡± The iron ant was surprised by the sudden attack and stopped moving in fright, even though it had sustained no damage. ¡°What do you mean by look at its head? What am I supposed to do by looking at it?¡± ¡°Look closely. Do you not notice it if you don¡¯t strain your eyes?¡± Although it was midnight, the monster¡¯s surroundings were as bright as noon, because many dwarves had set up bonfires in response to the commotion. Illuminated by the light, she can finally confirm it by squinting her eyes at the head of the giant ant. It was faint. It stretches faintly. A faint streak was carved on the iron ant¡¯s head. ¡°Ah¡± ¡°So you noticed it, Gyariko-san¡± Could it be Eiji¡¯s slash left a sword cut on the iron ant¡¯s shell? It¡¯s too lacking to be called a wound. Or rather, it was just a line. ¡°Just because you made a cut like that, what¡¯s the point? That¡¯s almost the same with no damage!?¡± ¡°No. At least it was proven that the attack of a mere iron sword, which is not a holy sword, is not completely ineffective. Even if it¡¯s just a scratch, if it hurts then I will hit it as many times as I can and make it lethal!¡± Gyariko couldn¡¯t believe her ears when she heard his words. Does it mean that such scratch could be a fatal wound if he hit it many times? ¡°But the sword is¡­¡­ The sword that I hammered is¡­¡­ !¡± Just once. It broke just by hitting that ant. In exchange for such shallow scratch. ¡°It¡¯s impossible to strike it again and again if the sword is broken. Pipe dream is useless for reality¡­¡­!¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s why¡­¡­!¡± Eiji threw away the broken sword and took out a new sword. He took out another unbroken sword. ¡°¡­¡­!?¡± ¡°Sorry, it wasn¡¯t just one sword that I took without permission¡± If Gyariko look closely, she will see that he was carrying two more swords on his back. ¡°This is all that I stole from Gyariko-san¡¯s workshop. With these swords, I will cut that ant again and again¡± ¡°Eiji¡­¡­!?¡± ¡°But, this is not enough at all. Gyariko-san, I¡¯m sorry, but please bring the rest of the swords from the workshop as well. Bring it continuously. At this rate, I don¡¯t know how many swords needed to break that ant¡¯s shell¡± Eiji also thought that it was an absurd demand. He can tell that Gyariko has been hammering these swords with great care by holding them in his hand. The fact that the swords that she made with great care just like her own child are being broken one after another just like disposable items, for the creator it must be as painful as cutting her body. But even so, there was no other way to destroy this calamity. ¡°¡­¡­!¡± Gyariko¡¯s expression became firm with determination. ¡°You guys!¡± She called the surrounding dwarves. ¡°Follow me! There is something that I want you to carry together! ¡­¡­ Eiji. I¡¯m going to empty the workshop and bring it to you, so please hang on for a while!¡± At any rate, he must not let the iron ant¡¯s scout escape. If he let it go, the scout will return to the main unit of the swarm and tell the location of this delicious mine. In that case, the next visit to the mining village will be an attack by the entire swarm. ¡°¡­¡­ It¡¯s going to be a war of attrition¡± Eiji faced the giant ant for the second time, and took another breath. ¡°¡­¡­¡ºBreath of the Might¡»¡± £ª¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡£ª¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡£ª What happened next was beyond imagination to the spectating dwarves. With help, Gyariko brings in a large number of self-made swords from her personal workshop. Eiji who got them, slashes at the giant ant. All the swords, without exception, were smashed and broken in a single clash. Break, throw it away, take the next sword, slash, throw it away, and take the next sword. He repeats it. However Eiji himself, who is executing it does not let his momentum weaken at all. No matter how many times it is broken. Over, over, over, over, over, over, over and over. He grabs a new sword and slashes at the giant ant. If he were an ordinary person, his spirit would have been worn out and dispirited in a flash. Eiji¡¯s spirit did not know exhaustion. Furthermore, the surprising thing is, all of Eiji¡¯s slashes hit the same spot without fail. The head of the ant that he hit first. He stacked many slashes on that area, where the thin and fine scratch was made. Thanks to this, the cut, that at first appeared to be only a faint line, has not become a deep gutter, and has truly been carved into the giant ant¡¯s shell. It was obvious even to the dwarves watching around him. It¡¯s working. Although it was little by little, but Eiji¡¯s attacks were penetrating the monster¡¯s shell thought to be impossible to break. ¡°Hang in there, Eiji!!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t lose! Don¡¯t lose!!¡± ¡°The fate of this village depends on you! I beg you, please kill that ant here!!¡± Their expectations became one, and gathered around Eiji. They all gathered around Eiji who was wielding the sword and fighting. Among them, there was one person who felt uncomfortable. ¡°¡­¡­ Eiji¡± It was Gyariko. Words of doubt leaked out from her mouth along with cold sweat. ¡°Who are you exactly?¡± Chapter 7 At first, the monster threat was more devastating than anything else. After all, that giant ant is a crisis for the village. Anything else alongside it would be overshadowed. However, a human who continued fighting that giant ant gradually increased his presence without taking a step back. Finally, he even surpassed the fact that the village was in crisis. At least in the eyes of the village chief¡¯s daughter, Gyariko, she could no longer see anything but the picture of Eiji¡¯s fighting. ¡°Eiji¡­¡­! Who are you exactly..¡­.!?¡± The other dwarves just put their hopes on Eiji and cheering him to save the village. However, Gyariko was the only who could not help but question Eiji¡¯s identity. She wondered how could he fight the monster so well? Eiji hits the giant ant while avoiding its attack with his beautiful defensive body movement. Each time he did this, the sword would break and he grasp a new one, but this action itself was a divine feat unthinkable in common sense. In the first place, that giant ant wouldn¡¯t just sit still and let him slash it, but also counterattack. Its vicious jaws could easily tear a human, so Eiji must not take even a single bite. And in fact, the iron ant¡¯s jaws never touched Eiji even once. That¡¯s why he keeps fighting until now. It was a situation where if he was hit even once, it would be over, and on the contrary, Eiji had already hit the opponent many times. Moreover, he hit the same spot perfectly with unmatched accuracy. How much skill and mental does it takes to do such a thing? Even at this moment, Eiji was doing something that would make a normal person go insane. Gyariko now had a clear ominous feeling about him. Why is he so strong? Are all the humans like that? No, it shouldn¡¯t be. Various questions were running through her mind, and her spirit was about to burn out before the person who was fighting. Then something rolled down at Gyariko¡¯s feet. ¡°This is¡­..!?¡± The sword¡¯s handle, snapped off at the base. It was Eiji¡¯s price for deepening the giant¡¯s ant wound. Eiji himself has already taken up the next sword and continues to fight resolutely, but Gyariko focused her attention to the wreckage that was thrown away and picked it up. And then, she attempts something. ¡°Blacksmithing skill ¡ºApprehend Status¡»¡± It was a basic blacksmithing skill that could be acquired with a relatively low skill level, The skill was activated on a finished blacksmith product to instantly examines the target¡¯s condition. It was a skill for reading the durability and damaged parts of the item used to perform maintenance. However, this ¡ºApprehend Status¡»had a special trait. The amount of information that can be read increases in proportion to the blacksmithing skill level, and the accuracy also increases. A person with a blacksmithing skill level 1,000 could read a lot more accurately than a person with a blacksmithing skill level 10. In particular, there was a special item that only those with a blacksmithing skill level over 800 could read with ¡ºApprehend Status¡». And that is the user history. The target to be read¨D this time, she could trace back and confirm the people who have used the sword were. Its original purpose was to check who had used the sword with care and who had damaged it by handling it recklessly. However, the one who uses ¡ºApprehend Status¡»right now is Gyariko, who has a blacksmithing skill level 1100. It¡¯s easily exceed 800. Because she has such a high skill level, she may be able to further advance the ¡°user history¡± and extract more detailed information. ¡°¡ºUser History¡»¡­¡­ The most recent user of this sword is Eiji¡± It is a given. Gyariko has seen with her own eyes that he wields this sword and boldly fights the village¡¯s crisis. ¡°The most recent user¡¯s details¡­¡­ the sword skill most closely related to the sword. If it¡¯s only that skill¡¯s level, then¡­¡­!¡± With Gyariko¡¯s blacksmithing skill level 1100, she might be able to take a peek at it. ¡°¡­¡­!?¡± And she succeeded. The broken sword told her. How much skill does the swordsman who wielded it have. ¡°Eiji¡¯s sword skill level is 3700¡­..!?¡± Eiji¡¯s secret was revealed by using ¡ºApprehend Status¡». It was an extremely high number. Gyariko was proud of her own blacksmithing skill level 1100, but Eiji¡¯s sword skill level far exceeded that, even though it was in a different skill system. ¨D¨DWith a skill level of over 1000, if it were a sword skill, you¡¯d be qualified to be a hero! Wasn¡¯t that what Eiji himself said? Then, who exactly Eiji, whose sword skill level exceeds 1000? £ª¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡£ª¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡£ª ¡°Eiji!¡± A young male dwarf shouts out as he throws a new sword. ¡°This is the last sword! There isn¡¯t a single sword left in the young lady¡¯s workshop!!¡± ¡°Is this for real¡­¡­?¡± Eiji wrinkles his brow as he receives according to what he says is the last sword. The wound on the head of the giant ant had deepened considerably with repeated slashes, but even so it was still going to take a lot more to break through the solid shell. And yet, he already ran out of weapon. Eiji and the giant ant. Their feet were already full of the wreckage of the broken swords. ¡°I guess it¡¯s about time to end¡± He intimidates the opponent who should not be able to understand language with words. Even if it was an insect-type monster with no intelligence, it was devoted to its survival instinct and reacted sharply to his intimidation. ¡°I will end it next time. You too, come at me with all your might¡± He held his last sword in the upper position and closed the gap gradually. Eiji was more cautious than ever, perhaps because there is no more chance if broke it. And even the giant ant, which should have no intelligence, was swallowed up by the tension created by its enemy. If it didn¡¯t finish its enemy here, it would die. This was clearly conveyed to the insect¡¯s crude brain. That¡¯s why the iron ant vomited. ¡°Formid acid!?¡± That is the iron ant¡¯s trump card. When it encounters a powerful enemy that it cannot kill with its jaws alone, it attacks with a powerful acid fluid from its mouth. It is a strong acid that melts the skin, flesh, and even bones instantly if it was exposed to human. The acid was shot toward Eiji. ¡°Be careful, Eiji!?¡± Gyariko screamed. However. ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for that!!¡± Eiji swung his sword, not at the ant¡¯s body, but at the acid fluid coming at him. ¡°Sword skill¡ºWater Breaking Slash¡»!¡± It can be learned with a sword skill level 700. It was a skill that created a vacuum rupture by swinging the sword at ultra-speed that could even cut water. Due to its characteristic, the formic acid shot by the iron ant was easily cut in half. ¡°It¡¯s not over yet! Sword skill¡ºEarly-Summer Rain Slash¡»!¡± Next, he uses a sword skill that shoots a series of sword attacks. A dizzying rain of slashing attacks falls. It was a sword skill learned at level 200, which is a relatively basic skill, but each of its slashes has the effect of ¡ºWater Breaking Slash¡». The simultaneous use of the ¡ºWater Breaking Slash¡»and the ¡ºEarly-Summer Rain Slash¡»is an advanced technique. And with that special move, the formic acid was cut into small pieces and turned into mist. ¡°A mere ant with stupid head couldn¡¯t notice it¡­¡­¡± The formic acid, which has become a mist, is easily blown away by the wind. ¡°That you are in the downwind¡± The mist of strong acid, which dissolves anything, hit the iron ant itself, who shot it. ¡°Aryaaaaaaaaaa!?¡± A horrifying scream leaked out from the giant ant. As expected, even the monster seems to be damaged by its own attack, and its strong shell is dissolved by the strong acid and bubbles up. ¡°With this, even the shell that it is proud of must have softened considerably. Especially the wound that have deepened after being hit continuously¡± The iron ant¡¯s head. The sword cut that had deepened at the expense of dozens of iron swords have become even more fragile thanks to the dissolving effect of the formic acid. He was ready for the final blow. ¡°¡­¡­¡ºBreath of Break¡»¡± Eiji raised the last iron sword with one hand. Gyariko saw his figure. The sight of Eiji and his swordsmanship reminded her of a scene in the past. The young human hero who had saved her when she was a child. The sword movement of that hero and the movement of the sword dance in front of her eyes overlapped perfectly. ¡°Sword skill ¡ºIttouryoudan¡»¡± The blade was swung down, causing a huge crack to run through the unbroken shell of the iron ant, and sunk deeply into it. From its head, the giant ant splattered bodily fluid that could not be judged as blood, and fell down while writhing in agony. ¡°Aryaaaaaaaaaaaaa©`©`©`!?¡± Its death¡¯s agony echoed. The slash that cut nearly half of its head was fatal, and the impregnable monster was finally defeated by the iron sword made by the living. The giant ant never moved again with the iron sword stuck in its head. ¡°He did it©`©`©`©`©`©`!!¡± ¡°He won©`©`©`©`©`©`!!¡± The dwarves cheered as the whole surrounding erupted. Everyone rushed to Eiji to rubbed and praised this hero. The crisis was over. The predicament that would ruin the dwarf¡¯s village was solved by a human. Among them, there was only one person who stood there in a daze. Gyariko could not help but be perplexed by the coincidence of the memories that flooded her mind. ¡°Eiji¡­¡­ are you perhaps¡­¡­¡± The one who saved her from monsters five years ago¡­¡­ ¡°¡­¡­ The hero of the human race?¡±