Chapter 6: Sword Bone!
After entering the shop with the crystal ball, the shopkeeper didn't keep Luke waiting long and soon emerged again.
In her hand, she carried a large, deep yellow leather bag.
"These... are the finest quality one-handed swords currently in our shop. And according to your request, customer, every single sword, from blade to hilt, is entirely black."
Somewhat strenuously placing the bag on the floor, the shopkeeper looked up at Luke with a sweet smile full of mature charm, then pulled open the tightly drawn mouth of the bag.
A clanging sound of metal arose as blades collided.
"Well then, esteemed customer, please feel free to choose your beloved sword!"
Within the opened bag, over a dozen pitch-black one-handed swords reflected the light with cold, sharp glints.
Compared to the other swords, spears, axes, pikes, hooks, forks, bows, arrows, and shields displayed in the shop, these indeed appeared more refined.
It was conceivable that these swords were all top-tier weapons, their quality likely having reached some unsurpassable peak.
Staring at the precious swords in the bag for a long time, Luke couldn't help but hesitate.
Although he had indeed received the [Black Swordsman] legacy, this job legacy currently only had the [One-Handed Sword] talent skill activated, and it was at the lowest Lv.1.
How would he know how to discern a good sword from a bad one?
As for relying on a clear and dustless sword heart, listening to his intuition...
Perhaps once he activated all the skills on the [Black Swordsman] skill tree, he might truly possess something as ethereal as a sword heart, but that wasn't something he could comprehend now.
"Luke-kun?"
Seeing Luke hadn't started selecting a sword after so long, Hestia asked with some confusion, "What's wrong? Do none of these swords catch your eye?"
To be able to awaken an exclusive skill like [One-Handed Sword] immediately upon receiving [Falna], Hestia absolutely didn't doubt Luke's talent and attainment in the way of the sword.
So, she thought perhaps the quality of the weapons wasn't good enough, that there wasn't a sword capable of satisfying Luke.
"No, that's not it... I was just thinking about something earlier, got a bit lost in thought."
Waving his hand at Hestia, Luke looked again at the dozen or so pitch-black blades in the bag, still feeling clueless.
Decisively, he stopped hesitating, took two steps forward, bent down, and simply pulled out a sword at random.
The hilt, wrapped in some unknown black leather, felt warm and compliant in his hand.
Even though Luke didn't know how to appraise swords, he knew this was definitely a good sword.
Because it felt very comfortable to hold.
And the body's feedback doesn't lie.
Looks like my luck is good, picked a fine one...
A joyful expression appeared on his face.
Luke said without any hesitation, "This one."
However, just as he gripped the hilt and prepared to stand up...
[Ding! Congratulations Host, obtained One-Handed Straight Sword (Black)]
[Rating 53 (100)]
[Met activation conditions for [Black Swordsman] talent [Sword Bone]]
[Talent activating, [Sword Bone] shaping begins!]
A series of system notification sounds failed to attract Luke's attention in the slightest.
At this moment, in his eyes, the world seemed to consist only of himself and the sword held in his hand.
The sword was a good sword.
A good sword has a spirit, known as a sword spirit.
The sword spirit is born from the sword, yet transcends the sword.
Sometimes it manifests as an intimate friend, sometimes as blood-bonded kin, sometimes as a mortal enemy in a life-or-death struggle, sometimes as a partner holding hands...
The myriad states of life, all its vicissitudes, were condensed into this instant, using sharp sword intent as a brush, stroke by stroke, carving onto his very bones and blood.
Luke was still Luke.
He held the pitch-black longsword single-handedly, slowly straightening his spine.
But the ordinary feeling about him changed, becoming like an immortal wielding a sword.
Just standing there casually, he was like a peerless sword revealing its sharp edge, making it almost impossible to look directly at him, as if mere visual contact could pierce one's eyeballs.
"Cus... Customer..."
Witnessing Luke's transformation, besides Hestia, the shop's receptionists had turned deathly pale, their steps unsteady.
Only the shopkeeper herself, being a Lv.3 high-class adventurer, could withstand this pressure enough to barely speak.
"Customer... If you don't retract your aura soon... my staff... won't be able to take it!"
While reminding Luke, the shopkeeper couldn't help but glance again at his current state.
Instantly, a cold, sharp sensation crawled over her entire body, as if pierced by countless sharp swords.
Her heart began to pound violently. After just a moment, she couldn't help but look away.
Too terrifying... this man...
Just his aura alone can bring such intense pressure.
What is his true level?
Lv.4? Or Lv.5?
No, wait, she had met the Lv.5 adventurer known as the Sword Princess before.
Although that person could also exert strong pressure on her, it was far inferior compared to this one.
Could it be he's the legendary Lv.7...?
As her thoughts reached this point, the shopkeeper suddenly shivered, not daring to think further.
She just looked at Hestia with eyes full of awe.
To be able to cultivate such an outstanding Familia member, truly worthy of being Kami-sama!
And Hestia, revered by the shopkeeper, was currently staring intently at Luke, experiencing that feeling of being bathed in sword blades up close, her bright eyes filled with extraordinary colors.
Indeed, Luke-kun as a swordsman is very strong!
A moment later, the sword bone shaping ended.
Just as Luke opened his eyes, two streams of clear tears suddenly flowed from his eyes without warning.
Ignoring the tear tracks on his face, he directly summoned the system, staring fixedly at the few lines of prompts appearing on the pale blue interface.
[[Sword Bone] shaping complete]
[Rating 53 (100)]
[[Sword Bone]: Condenses sword intent into sword bone. Greatly increases sword sense when holding a sword. Grants permanent talent skill [Sword Pressure]. When used sword rating is lower than sword bone rating, greatly enhances sword quality. When used sword rating is higher than sword bone rating, begins reshaping sword bone.]
[[Sword Pressure] (MAX): Exerts pressure on targets below Sword Master level. Effect reduces the greater the target's strength surpasses the Host's. The state can be turned off.]
On the [Black Swordsman]'s exclusive skill tree, parallel to [One-Handed Sword], two skill icons glowing with bright silver light had prominently appeared: [Sword Bone] and [Sword Pressure].
Staring intently at these two suddenly appearing talent skills, his sword-holding hand trembled slightly.
This time, I've really struck it rich...
"Customer, could you... please retract your aura first..."
Enduring the sword pressure constantly radiating outwards from Luke, the shopkeeper smiled bitterly and pleaded again.
"Ah... oh, sorry!"
Hearing the shopkeeper's reminder, Luke finally noticed that the shop staff all looked terrified of him, like he was a wolf or tiger.
A few girls' legs were even starting to shake.
So he quickly retracted the overflowing sword pressure.
Feeling the sharp, edge-revealing sensation from Luke gradually dissipate, returning him to the harmless appearance he had when first entering the shop, the shopkeeper finally breathed a sigh of relief, raising her hand to wipe the sweat beads forming on her forehead.
"Customer, you really gave us a scare. Suddenly releasing such a strong aura, I thought you were going to demolish my shop."
Getting a shiver from the shopkeeper's resentful gaze, Luke quickly apologized, "Sorry, sorry. Getting such a good sword made me get a little carried away..."
Mm, carried away.
The system got carried away helping him shape a sword bone.
That doesn't count as lying, right?
...
That afternoon.
Dungeon 2nd Floor.
Dressed in a deep black long coat, Luke gently rested his right hand on the hilt of the black sword.
While constantly vigilant of his surroundings, he slowly walked deeper into the passage.
"Listen well, Luke-kun... The Dungeon is no place for games. From the moment you step into the Dungeon, you are already being watched by monsters. They will constantly be born from the Dungeon, fearing neither pain nor death, rushing forward wave after wave just to take the lives of adventurers... Although with your current ability values, you should be able to handle monsters on the first ten floors, you still need to be careful. Absolutely do not get caught in a monster encirclement. Otherwise, at that time, even if I violate the prohibition and use divine power, I won't be able to save you..."
Before entering the Dungeon, the words Hestia spoke to him were still clearly etched in his mind.
It was precisely because of these warnings that Luke didn't rely on his system-enhanced peak human attributes to rush forward recklessly, but instead explored this Dungeon, which he had only seen in anime, step by step, very cautiously.
From the first floor to the second floor, the surrounding cave walls presented a deep, eerie blue hue.
Combined with the slightly dim light inside the Dungeon, it felt somewhat oppressive.
Perhaps due to good luck, up until now, Luke had already reached one-third of the way into the second floor but hadn't encountered a single monster.
Only the sound of his own footsteps echoed alone.
The monsters in this Dungeon don't seem as numerous as Hestia said...
Just as Luke thought this...
"—Gushu!"
The sound of something being squeezed out of a closed, moist cavity echoed not far ahead.
"Luwaaaaaaaah!!!"
Then, an unpleasant cry, like two pieces of sandpaper rubbing vigorously, yet also like the shout of a seven or eight-year-old child.
"Goblin..."
Staring at the dark shadow standing up in the passage ahead, Luke immediately thought of the monster encyclopedia he saw at the Guild before entering the Dungeon.
Appearing on floors 1-4, although individually weak, they often appear in groups.
Troublesome and disgusting little devils, Goblins.
While identifying the monster, Luke tightened his right hand on the hilt, slowly drawing the entirely pitch-black longsword.
"Tsz—"
The blade scraping against the scabbard emitted a cold metallic sound, effectively suppressing his slightly accelerated heartbeat.
Combat... what exactly constitutes real combat?
For Luke, who had rarely even been in a fight growing up, this was undoubtedly a very difficult question to answer.
Although he had inherited the [Black Swordsman] job, possessing skills like [One-Handed Sword], [Sword Bone], and [Sword Pressure], these skills were all just passive skills.
None of them could tell him how he should wield the sword, nor was there any so-called "epiphany."
Even holding the sword at this moment, his mind was still filled with confusion.
The only thing giving Luke courage, preventing him from immediately turning and running upon facing a monster, was his five-dimensional attributes, enhanced by the system to the human limit.
A single Goblin's strength is very weak, its power and speed only slightly better than a ten-year-old child's.
Converted into numerical values, it would probably only be around 3-4.
With Luke's current physical fitness of 10 points, even without understanding combat, he should be able to easily crush these small monsters.
He had originally thought so...
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