Chapter 30

Chapter 30. Ego Weapon (1)

It had already been five days since Balun began staying at Wolf Blade’s guild headquarters, and throughout those five days, he had thrown himself into training with complete focus.

Originally, Balun’s training consisted of four basic disciplines: weapon drills, throwing practice, strength training, and running. But after meeting Calrent, Mana Cultivation had been added to the list, making it five.

Even so, those were only foundational exercises.

What Balun wanted to focus on in this round of training were the applied techniques that used Enhancement Art.

Among them, the one he especially wanted to master was the stomping technique he had used a couple of times before.

It was a technique he had used without meaning to, but Balun had already realized that it was an applied technique derived from Enhancement Art.

Until now, he had not had the time to properly study it, no matter how much he wanted to learn it, so he intended to make it his own this time.

There was a world of difference between using something unconsciously and using it knowingly.

THUD!

Balun stamped the ground. The earth trembled in fine ripples, and the bare dirt shivered visibly. The affected range was roughly a five-meter radius.

‘So when I use less strength, the range of the tremor really does shrink.’

Balun caught his breath. Wiping away the sweat pouring down him like rain, he stomped the ground again. It was the same movement as before, except this time he put more force into his legs.

BOOM!

A much louder sound rang out, and the trembling spread across a noticeably wider area. Judging by eye, it was at least twice the range. About a ten-meter radius, perhaps?

‘So this is the range I get when I use about this much strength.’

After that, Balun continued practicing the stomping technique over and over. The important part of the training was that each time he stomped, he deliberately varied the amount of force he used.

He needed to carefully test what kind of destructive force came out depending on how much strength he applied. Only then would he be able to control and use the technique exactly as he wanted.

That was the point of this training: beginning with a radius of one meter, then gradually increasing the force until he reached a maximum range of around thirty meters, repeating the process again and again.

One could say that the purpose was to consciously learn, through his own body, the different levels of power produced by putting strength in and drawing it out.

It was certainly satisfying that his command of the technique was improving so quickly, but there was one drawback.

He could not practice it at full power.

The reason was simple. The training yard itself had limits.

The reason Balun had capped his stomping practice at roughly a thirty-meter radius was because he believed that was the furthest he could go without becoming a nuisance.

If he did more than that, the entire building would probably shake. And it would be a problem if the building cracked because of it.

‘I want to try it at full power... but that would be too much of a nuisance, wouldn’t it?’

In truth, even a thirty-meter radius was not the full extent of his power.

If that was the case, then just how much wider would the range become if he truly went all out?

And what about the destructive force?

The thought only left him unsatisfied.

‘At this point, I probably need to practice it in real combat. Or maybe I need my own training ground and practice there.’

Even so, he was pleased with the training itself.

He had effectively acquired a new technique, so how could he not be pleased?

And not just any technique, but an area-of-effect stun move.

It was not especially suited for fighting a single opponent, but in a one-against-many situation, it was excellent.

It had no killing power, but simply throwing a large number of enemies off balance would already be a tremendous help.

***

After finishing his training, Balun washed the sweat from his body and thought to himself.

‘I feel like I could create all kinds of techniques using Enhancement Art.’

What Balun had realized through this focused training was that Enhancement Art was a power with endless potential.

It was not merely a technique that made him stronger. It was something that went beyond human limits.

At present, his skill and experience were still shallow, so all he could use were monstrous strength and the stomping technique, just those two. But he felt that once his ability improved, he would be able to develop many more diverse and powerful techniques.

“Hey, barbarian. Are you in there?”

A man’s voice suddenly called from outside. It was not Philip. It was probably one of the Wolf Blade guild members.

“I’m here. What is it?”

“You have a visitor. Go to the reception room.”

“A visitor?”

“I was told to pass it on, so I passed it on. I’m leaving.”

No further voice followed.

Apparently, the man had just delivered the message and left.

Balun hurriedly dried himself, stepped out, and got dressed. When he went straight to the reception room, he found a green-haired woman with pointed ears glaring at him with narrowed eyes.

“Seria?”

“You insane bastard, you’re only showing your face now?”

“What is it? Is the weapon finished already?”

Balun tilted his head.

It made sense for him to be confused. It had only been six days since he parted from Seria.

And as far as he knew, the weapon was supposed to take longer than that.

“The weapon isn’t what matters right now. What matters is that you nearly died!”

“Ah, that did happen.”

Balun nodded.

He had indeed been in mortal danger. He had been very frightened too.

But looking back on it now, it had been easier than he expected. Wolf Blade had been weaker than he expected, and he himself had been stronger than he expected.

That had been the greatest thing he gained from the whole ordeal.

The realization that he was far stronger than he had thought.

“What do you mean, ‘that did happen’? You barbarians really do disregard your lives, don’t you? Do you have two of them or something?”

‘What is she talking about now?’

Who was disregarding his life?

‘No one treasures his life more than I do.’

“Why are you angry?”

“You think I wouldn’t be angry? I nearly became some wretched woman who got her guest killed. And are you just any guest? You’re Calrent’s disciple.”

“Disciple? Me?”

“Of course you are!”

“I’m not.”

“If you weren’t, then why would Calrent send you to me? He does not introduce me to just anyone.”

Seria let out a long sigh, then continued.

“Let me ask you something. If something like that happened, you should have come straight to me and told me. Why did you stay quiet?”

“Should I have told you?”

“Of course! This was my business as much as it was yours. I should have been the one to resolve it.”

“If I had told you, could you have resolved it?”

“Th-that...”

“If you could have, then things would not have stayed like this until now, would they?”

Seria faltered.

Balun’s expression turned serious.

“In the end, you had no solution. So the only answer was to win.”

“......”

“Balun fought. Balun won. Balun solved it. That should be enough.”

Balun had no intention of telling her that, to be honest, he had fully intended to turn tail and run without looking back, regardless of Seria or anyone else.

How could he possibly admit something that embarrassing?

“Philip promised Balun. He said he would not do that kind of thing anymore. Now you can take other customers too. So calm down.”

“...That’s not why.”

“Hm?”

“It’s because I feel sorry!”

Seria shouted at the top of her lungs.

Balun flinched in surprise.

No, why was she yelling?

“I spent six whole days pounding away at my hammer like some useless idiot, without even knowing any of this had happened. I never even realized that my guest might live or die. Do you understand?”

“I more or less guessed that.”

If she had known, there was no way she would have stayed silent for this long.

“If you guessed that, then why didn’t you come find me? You could have come later, at least.”

“You were focused on forging the weapon. If I had come, I would have broken your concentration. The work would have gone slower.”

“All for something like that... ah.”

Seria soon let out a faint laugh.

“You have a rather delicate side for a barbarian.”

“Delicate?”

“Thank you for being considerate. But you didn’t need to do that. I’m not some amateur who lets trivial noise ruin my work.”

Balun’s eyes widened.

Considerate? What nonsense was that supposed to be?

‘I only did it because I wanted my weapon faster. It wasn't a consideration for you.’

But the weapon was still not finished, right?

He wanted to get the completed product in his hands as soon as possible.

Shouldn’t she be off hammering away in the forge instead of wasting time here?

Balun grew restless for no reason.

“Thank you. Truly.”

“Hm?”

“I really wanted to say that.”

Seria continued.

“I spent a long time wondering whether I should leave this place, but thanks to you, I no longer have to. Because of you.”

“Now that you mention it, I was curious about that.”

“About what?”

“Why are you still here? Couldn’t you just relocate somewhere else?”

Balun continued.

“Wolf Blade gave you trouble. If I were you, I would have moved somewhere else long ago. But you didn’t.”

“......”

“Why? If you moved, you could forge weapons and armor as much as you liked.”

“......”

“Were you threatened? Did they say they’d kill you if you left?”

Seria’s mouth closed shut.

It took about ten seconds before she opened it again.

“You’re right. I could have gone somewhere else. Plenty of places would welcome me. But I chose not to leave.”

“Why?”

“Because this smithy belonged to my master.”

Balun’s eyes widened.

Her master?

“My master was like a father to me. He left this smithy to me before he passed away. So how could I possibly leave this place?”

“I see. I understand.”

“You’re not going to ask anything else?”

“What more is there to ask?”

At that, Seria gave a faint smile.

“You really are strange. Other people can’t stop prying, but you don’t even bother asking.”

“You’re protecting your master’s legacy. That explains everything. Nothing more is needed.”

“Right. You’re correct. That really is enough. But humans always keep digging into me. Why did an Elf take a human as a master? Why do I live among humans? Why is an Elf working as a Blacksmith? Ugh, it never ends.”

“I see.”

“But you don’t ask. I like that. I like that about you.”

Seria smiled.

Balun blinked, dumbfounded.

‘No, how am I supposed to ask questions when I don’t know anything?’

To ask questions, one needed at least a basic foundation of common sense.

But Balun lacked even that basic common sense.

He did not even know whether Elves and humans usually lived separately or together, so what else could he do?

Even in games, some Elves lived among humans while others lived apart, did they not?

‘How am I supposed to ask about something I don’t know?’

If Balun had known, he would have asked.

“Here. Take it.”

“What is it?”

“Your weapon.”

Seria pulled something out from the corner.

It was covered in cloth.

“Yes. The weapon... hm?”

Balun jumped in surprise.

What?

The weapon?

“You seemed eager to get it quickly, so I cut the time down as much as I could. I just hope you’ll like it.”

“May I check?”

“Of course.”

With excitement rising in his chest, Balun lifted the cloth.

Three gleaming axes lay beneath it.

One two-handed axe and two one-handed axes.

The hafts were black, as though painted, and the blades were marked with rippling patterns.

Viewed as a whole, the design was very simple.

To some, it might have looked plain, but to Balun, that plainness felt modern instead, which made it all the more appealing.

“It does look a bit too dark, doesn’t it? You’ll just have to accept that. There was no other way to work the True Elfwood according to your request.”

“No! It’s fine! It looks incredible!”

“I-incredible?”

“That’s right!”

“That surprises me. I thought you would dislike it. It’s not exactly ordinary-looking.”

Whatever she said beside him, Balun barely heard any of it.

He could only grin as he ran his hands over the axes.

‘Damn. The grip is unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable.’

A warrior of Balun’s level could tell whether a weapon was good or bad just from holding it.

And this was unquestionably a good weapon.

The grip alone proved it. It clung to his hand as though it were one with him.

‘The finish is perfect. The edge is sharp.’

But above all else, there was its solidity.

He was clearly holding wood, yet it felt as solid as steel in his grasp.

One thing was certain.

Of every weapon Balun had ever touched in his life, this was the best.

“Thank you! I’ll use it well!”

Balun bent his head deeply.

Seria smiled faintly and said,

“Wait. It’s not over yet.”

“There’s more?”

“You haven’t heard how to use it.”

Balun tilted his head.

Was there some special way to use it? An axe was still an axe, after all.

“Did you forget this is an Ego Weapon?”

“Ah, right.”

Balun’s expression turned odd.

Then did that mean these three axes were somehow alive?

‘Do axes move around on their own? Do they use some kind of flying sword technique?’

Though these were not swords, so would that make it... flying axe technique?

“First, draw a little blood.”

“You want me to draw blood?”

“Yes. Prick yourself lightly and let a drop or two fall onto the axes. It’s an Engraving Ritual.”

“An Engraving Ritual.”

“You’re imprinting yourself onto them as their master.”

“Ah. So it’s like a fingerprint registration procedure.”

“Finger... what?”

Balun was impressed.

A Fingerprint-Recognition Weapon—no, a blood-recognition weapon. What an incredibly advanced weapon this was.

He did as she said. Pulling out a dagger, he cut his finger and let a drop or two of blood fall onto each axe.

“I did it. Is that enough now?”

“Wait a little. You’ll understand soon enough.”

“You’ll understand? What does that even—”Balun stopped short.

He suddenly felt something strange.

It was as though three worms had crawled into his body and were wriggling around inside him.

The moment he felt those wormlike things surge upward and settle into his heart, Balun’s vision went black.

A moment later, a silhouette began to take shape before his eyes, like an illusion.