The bde of the sword was altered slowly. First, its size increased slightly, its shine grew brighter, and its beauty improved by more than 100%. The sword's edge, which had previously seemed good, now felt entirely on another level.

  The handle, once simple, had transformed into a bck hah some white detailing. It wasn't particurly beautiful, but it was striking. Holding the sword was enough for me to notice the stark difference from a refined-rank sword.

  Hephaestus, who had been watg the transformation unfold before her eyes, froze momentarily.

  "So, this is your ability?" she asked.

  "That's right. As soon as I finish f a sword, it receives a level."

  "And this sword—what level is it? It feels much strohan those other two."

  [ The skill "Perfect Cut LV2" has been added to the sword ]

  [ The passive skill "Agility Boost LV2" has been added to the sword ]

  "A level 3 sword. And it gaiwo abilities. Both abilities are better than the ones oher two swords," I said to Hephaestus.

  "A sword have two abilities!?"

  "I just found out myself. I think the higher the sword's level, the more abilities it gets."

  "Your ability keeps getting more intriguing." Hephaestus had a bright smile on her face. "What are the abilities?"

  I stood up with the sword in hand. Then, I began running and moving in straterns to test my agility.

  Si's a level two skill, the ges should be signifit.

  "What are you doing?" Hephaestus asked as she watched me dart around the training room.

  There wasn't much space, but it was enough for a quick test.

  "One of the abilities increases the agility of whoever wields the sword," I answered while running and making sharp turns. My body moved with incredible ease, and I ran much faster than I ever had.

  Hephaestus noticed the improvement, too.

  "You've always been so clumsy because of your height and muscles. But now…" She looked mesmerized.

  I finally stopped running.

  Breathing heavily, I walked back to Hephaestus.

  "I think it's w."

  "What about the sed ability? You said there are two."

  "The sed one is called 'Perfect Cut.' I think it probably increases the sword's attack power or something."

  "You use the training dummies to test that."

  "I cut one of them in half even without using the ability. This sword is incredible." I walked toward the training dummies and tried cutting one in half without activating the ability.

  Just as I was about to swing the sword, Hephaestus came up behind me and ed her arms around me.

  "I'm going to help you fix your posture," she whispered, shivering my body.

  "Alright."

  Hephaestus adjusted my feet and waist, positioning me in what she thought was the ideal stance.

  "Okay, try attag now." She crossed her arms and observed.

  I swung the sword, this time with more strength. However, as soon as the bde struck the dummy, it stopped halfrodug a loud sound.

  g!

  "What?"

  "These dummies have a highly resistant material ihem. They aren't easy to cut."

  "Why would you put such tough dummies here? This damage the bde!"

  "Of course not. If the sword is good enough and the wielder strong enough, it'll cut the dummy with ease. Let me show you."

  Hephaestus took the sword from my hand and prepared to strike.

  Without using the ability, she swung the sword.

  Swosh~~

  With a slice, the bde cut the dummy in half effortlessly.

  "See? It's easy."

  "You're embarrassing me."

  "That wasn't my iion. This sword is excellent. But I don't feel much differen my agility."

  "Try running with it in your hand."

  "No, I'd rather not. Here, try cutting the dummy again, this time using the sword's ability."

  "Alright."

  If the ability is as good as it sounds, I should be able to cut through the dummy easily.

  I swung the swain.

  "Hey, your posture is wrong again."

  Before Hephaestus could correct my posture, I had already swung the sword, activating the skill Perfect Cut LV2. I didn't say it aloud this time; it was just in my mind.

  As I had hoped, it worked.

  I swung the sword with little effort this time, yet it cut through the dummy like butter. The slice was so smooth that it left me speechless.

  "That's terrifying," Hephaestus said with a bright smile. "All these abilities are terrifying."

  "Stop calling everything terrifying."

  "But it's true."

  That's when I suddenly felt dizzy.

  "Whoa." Hephaestus caught me as I stumbled. The sword slipped from my hand ao the ground. "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" Hephaestus asked, her expression full of .

  "I think the sword's abilities e a lot of magic. Haha… And I'm also really tired."

  "Alright, we should head back to our room now. I'll ask Nina to prepare something for you. You ain your energy."

  "Fine, but don't fet t the sword. If I hold it any longer, I'll pass out."

  "What do you mean?"

  "The agility boost stays active as long as you hold the sword. There's no way to deactivate it. And it drains a lot of magic."

  "Isn't that a problem?"

  "I'll figure out a solution ter."

  With difficulty, I walked to the room with Hephaestus. She helped me take a shower, and before I could eve anything, I fell asleep.

  When I woke up the day, Hephaestus slept beside me.

  I looked at her face as she slept, and my lips curved into a smile.

  'She's so beautiful. I still 't believe all this is happening.'

  Then Hephaestus opened her eyes.

  "Why are you staring at me?"

  "You're very beautiful, I couldn't help it."

  Hephaestus' face flushed, and she covered it with her b. "What do you want to do today? Are you going to keep training or do you want to rest a bit?"

  "I was thinking of taking a walk around Orario."

  "What!? You've refused every time I've asked you to go out with me. Why have you ged your mind now?"

  "I just want a breath of fresh air."

  "Then I'll go with you!" Hephaestus said, getting up from the bed.

  "Are you sure it's all right? Don't you have work to do?"

  "It's all right! No one will miss me!"

  ####

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  chapters: Chapter 20 - It es a lot of magic. / Chapter 21 - Babel. / Chapter 22 - Adaptation. / Chapter 23 - It's frustrating. / Chapter 24 - Rank G. New probabilities. / Chapter 25 - Excited to explore the dungeon. / Chapter 26 - A mission? / Chapter 27 - F with Mithril. / Chapter 28 - Bell?