"Yes, I went to the dungeon."

  "You didn't get hurt, did you?" Hephaestus came closer. etched on her face. She began toug my arms and torso. "If you are hurt anywhere, I'll get you a potion immediately!"

  "Don't worry, I'm fine. I didn't go very deep into the dungeon. It retty easy. But I did discover something iing."

  "Easy? You're not experienced in battle, are you?"

  "I'm not. I just swung my sword and cut down the monsters. They were weak, so I took care of them easily."

  "You 't keep doing this. What if I ask Tsubaki to train you?"

  "That would be great." I smiled at Hephaestus.

  "You mentioned disc something iing earlier." Hephaestus sat on the bed and removed her shoes. "What did you find? Does it have something to do with your abilities?"

  "That's right. Look at this." I pulled out some orichalcum ores, letting them fall to the floor. Hephaestus's eyes widened as she saw the ores materialize out of nowhere. She got up from the bed and picked them up.

  They were rge and heavy.

  "How did you do this? Is it a skill?"

  "As soon as I ehe dungeon, they started appearing everywhere, but only I could collect them."

  "Ores appeared ihe dungeon?"

  "Yes, randomly. On top of that, many monsters appeared, and they all dropped magic stones and ores. Isn't that strange?"

  "..." Hephaestus stared at me, the out a long sigh. "Your ability is even affeg the dungeon? That's..." She trailed off and walked to the bathroom. "Once I'm doh my bath, I'll update your falna."

  "..."

  Hephaestus ehe bathroom and closed the door.

  I grabbed my dirty clothes, tossed them in the undry basket, and flopped onto the bed to wait for her. After a few long minutes, Hephaestus emerged from the bathroom and climbed onto the bed, still naked.

  "Turn around." She said with a mischievous smile.

  I removed my shirt and y on my stomach.

  ####

  After my falna dated, Hephaestus handed me a piece of paper. It had some information on it. Incredibly, I could read everything written there… and… it retty disappointing, to say the least.

  I know I'm weak, but isn't this a bit much?

  [Level 1]

  Strength: 18

  Endurance: 56

  Dexterity: 25

  Agility: 21

  Magic: 14

  When I saw all my stats, I felt utterly useless. Even my endurance, which I thought would be high, was only 56. All my stats were in rank I! Unbelievable!

  When Hephaestus saw my expression twist, she smiled and took the paper.

  "Your stats have improved," she said, looking satisfied.

  I stared at her for a few seds and sighed in disappoi. "They improved, but just a little. It's disappointing. I'm too weak..."

  "You're not weak."

  "You don't have to try to e. I know I'm weak, and I'll do my best to improve."

  "..." Hephaestus hugged me from behind and kissed my neck. "Alright, but don't overdo it. Oh, and about these ores, I'd like to test them ter, if you don't mind?"

  "Of course not. You take them all if you want."

  "I don't want all of them~~ I just want to see if they're the same as the ones I use. They seem to be of excellent quality. You use the rest te swords for yourself. It'll be good for your training."

  "I 't fe a sword with mithril or orichalcum."

  "Yes, you . You just have to try. I'm sure you'll manage." Hephaestus gave me another kiss on the ned let go. "Now, let's go eat something. Aren't you hungry?"

  "Alright, let's go."

  ####

  The following day, I went straight to the fe without breakfast. I was too excited to try f a sword using Mithril or Orichalcum.

  On the fe, I pulled some mithril ores from my iory ahem on the floor.

  "Let's do this."

  I picked up an ore and pced it in the furnace. I began w o turhe right color and was soft enough to mold.

  G!

  G!

  G!

  The sound of my hammer echoed through the room. The mithril glowed brightly, hot and silvery. It was soft but not overly so.

  I struck it again. And again. The bde's shape began to emerge. It was still just a fttened pieetal, but it would bee a sword.

  After several strikes, I paused to exami. It looked good. I dipped the metal into the oil. A loud hissing sound filled the air, and steam rose.

  Lifting the bde carefully, I ran my fingers over its surface. I could feel the uneven spots, the areas where the hammer hadn't nded perfectly.

  "I hope I'm doing this right. I'm trying to be more careful to see if it affects the probabilities."

  Every sword I fed before was made with the same clumsy teique. Maybe that's why the system always gave me the same probabilities. If I do this more meticulously, perhaps the probabilities would temporarily improve.

  "Alright, let's keep going... carefully..."

  I began grinding the bde to smooth out all the imperfes. Gradually, the edges took shape.

  Hours ter, my hands ached. "Damn, how long have I been at this? It's already been hours, right? Normally, I'd finish a sword in two or three hours." I stopped to stretch my fingers. There was still polishing, tempering, and sharpening to do.

  After a while, I finished polishing.

  The bde reflected a faint light from the fur wasn't an intense shi, but it was a start. I held the sword in my hand, testing its weight. It wasn't perfect, but it was banced. "This will be my best sword so far."

  I returo the furhe step was the most crucial: tempering. It determines how resistant the sword will be.

  I reheated the bde, gripping the improvised haightly as I held the bde in the fmes.

  The mithril's glow ged as it heated. It shifted from a silvery blue to something more vibrant, like the sky before a storm.

  After some time, I removed the bde from the furnad plu into the oil bath. A loud hiss filled the room as smoke billowed upward.

  I pulled the bde out of the oil carefully. No cracks, no fws. It looked perfect.

  [ Points +20 ]

  I received a notification from the system. A sudden gain of points!

  "Should I test it?" I held the improvised handle and tapped the sword lightly against the anvil. The sound was clear and strong. No cracks.

  The edge still needed work. I sat on a bend grabbed the whetstone. Each move had to be precise. Mithril was tough, but everything was going smoothly. After some time, I tested the edge by lightly running my finger along it. It was already sharp.

  "Looks good enough."

  I held the bde up to the light of the furnaow, it reflected like a mirror, with an almost magical gleam. It wasn't just a sword—it was a work of art.

  I stood, tired but proud. There were still details to finalize: attag the guard and the handle. But the hardest part is done.

  I pced the bde oable a out a deep sigh.

  The sword was finally plete after w on the handle for a while. The moment I'd been waiting for arrived. The bde began to ge before my eyes.

  The once beautiful, shiny bde became even more dazzling.

  The handle, which had been simple, transformed into a masterpiece with intricate silver details. I stared at the sword, and my chest swelled with warmth. Pride filled me.

  [ Due to the quality of your f, probabilities have been altered! ]

  [ Failure: 0% / on: 39% / Refined: 38% / Rare: 20% / Legendary: 2% / Aral: 0% / Mythic: 0% ]

  The new probabilities appeared—temporary probabilities.

  [ You have fed a Level 1 Rare Sword ]

  [ The ability "Magic Boost LV2" has been added to the sword ]

  [ The ability "Lightning LV2" has been added to the sword ]

  "It's perfect. My best sword yet."

  Not only had it achieved a rare rank with incredible abilities, but it was also made of mithril.

  "It'll take a long time before I make another sword as good as this."

  ParodyGirl