CH 61

“Is that … Andre?”

I timidly try asking; it’s right after the battle, so my wariness isn’t fading.

“Aa, it’s me, though originally I wasn’t supposed to be able to have time to talk to you now. Since you were able to defeat the Skeleton Knight before my soul disappeared, I obtained just a little bit more time.”

I’m not sure how he’s talking while just the cranium part of the skull, but … what a cheery sounding voice.

“I see, I, was this enough to fulfill your wishes?”

Yes, when I began to ask that, he kerakera cheerfully laughed, and then,

“Aa, more than enough, you’ve fulfilled it more than enough. It is thanks to you twisting my fate that the long years I would spend as a monster won’t be, and above all, you took notice of me, and so, it’s enough.”

From now one he’s going to be vanishing, and yet he responds with such light-hearted words.

“Come to think of it, this way of speaking is how you originally spoke, huh?”

The heavy and awkward image I had of him before this meeting was completely blown away.

“Aa, that’s true, at that time I had given myself to despair; though I couldn’t do anything but entrust my hopes to you, I didn’t have much expectation.”

He said something rather contemptible naa…

“So sorry, I just managed to struggle through, so tough it out.”

Again, the Andre that was only a cranium laughed kerakera. His appearance is ghastly, but you can kind of see his charm.

“I’d like to talk like this some more, but – – that time seems to be drawing near; this will be my last words, so please listen.”

To this I obediently gave a nod in response.

“I am giving you that sword stuck in the ground over there; on top of the long years it has undergone, there are also probably no fragments of magic left in it, but as an antique, if you sell it, then it will become some money. I’m sorry that my expression of gratitude is far too little, but other than that I have nothing I can give you.”

To that, I returned a “I get it, I’ll take it without reserve.”

“And … you said, ‘In this world god doesn’t exist’, but I believe there is a god … I mean, right? I have this kind of appearance, but my both my body and heart were stopped from becoming a monster. And now I can face my old comrades and return to them … Aa, Lola, Gavin, Deckson, Milena, Rock … you’ve been waiting, you’ve really been waiting … I can finally go to the same place everyone else is.”

So saying, like he thought, the skull slowly disappeared.

“Andre, I have a last request too.”

From Andre’s fading skull came a weak voice seeming to respond, “What is it…?”

“A human’s lifespan really passes in the blink of an eye. And so, I’d like you to prepare me the best special spot on that side, and don’t forget good wine. If you say there’s a god, then he should be able to give that much accommodation.”

And then, to the man who heard it, I couldn’t hear his reply; already, Andre’s skull had completely crumbled; it was gone. With this, I assume that man’s long battle had come to an end; I went to the sword he had spoke of and took it in my hand.

—

An Ancient Knight’s Knight Sword

In a distant age, it is a Knight Sword that only a high-ranking knight of a flourishing empire was allowed to bear. However, the long years have taken their toll and it no longer has any value other than being an antique. It has been considerably abused, and many scars and cracks can be seen.

Atk +120, If you attack just once and manage to hit and do damage, it will disappear

—

With the sword in hand, I was lost in deep thought, when all of a sudden “Urgent Information” flooded through the entire server; the contents are as follows:

—

Urgent Information

To all players, at this time, for continuing to enjoy One More * Freelife Online, we thank you very much.

At this moment, we have confirmed that the crushing of one of Secret Bosses from the Challenge from the Dead’s event has been completed.

As a result, at this moment a weapon category, [Knight Sword], has been added; Knight Sword is One-Handed Sword’s advancement; it’s weight is increased greater than one-handed swords, but it’s might and length are the strengths that this weapon carries; for the full details, please wait for our official homepage to be updated.

I repeat …

—

– – In other words, this event’s achievements are to figure out the conditions to give players new weapons. If that’s the case … I bet there has to be others, the defeat a Secret Boss and unlock new categories mechanism; I have expectations.

I’m pretty tired, but I’ll anonymously upload the conditions for meeting the Secret Boss on the forums and log out, and then go to sleep.

―――――――――――――――――――

Several days later I looked at the forums; ‘before meeting the boss it was terrible, but the boss itself was easy’ or ‘the boss was way too weak’ and the like were uploaded in droves; I had that hard of a time defeating him, and everyone else is treating them like grunt mobs … though, the fact that he had an invisible head was a superfluous addition that was conveyed…

―――――――――――――――――――

The beginning of the next day’s log in. Right now I’m in the forge, but …

“No good, huh … this guy was destroyed in place of me too… sorry.”

Both the Secret Light Metal Shield and the Triangle Blade have damage percentages surpassing 90%. Since it was completely damaged, it avoided being destroyed, but repairs have already become impossible for both; for a weapon, it’s already death.

Even though it hasn’t been much time since the Secret Light Metal Shield was born, it took a direct blow from the Skeleton Knight’s Knight Sword, and without using Arts, so … but, if this guy wasn’t able to barely withstand it I would have lost; after giving it my thanks, the shield and whip together entered the forge to be returned back to ingots. After you’ve been changed into a different form, let’s battle together again.

While removing the impurities, I turned them into ingots once again; it’s an amount that’s just enough for 1 portion to somehow make a small shield. With that ingot I made a Small Shield and equipped it to my right hand. There’s no trick or anything, it’s just a small shield, but it can’t be helped at the moment.

Due to the effects of the large amounts of blacksmiths mining in mines, we’re in the middle of a depletion. It will take some time before you can dig out new ores, and even if it it’s restored, I guess you won’t be able to dig out mountains of ore like before.

For the whip, I bought a Rosethorn Whip from an NPC seller; I’ll use this for now.

Felling trees for wood to repair my bow and restock my arrows, leaving my Wolf Leather armor to an armor craftsmen for repairs, putting all my power into making a mound of food after a long time … let’s also try thinking up of new dishes.

And so like this, for the present, fighting all by myself has been put on break.

SKILLS

[Wind-Blown Hunting Bow]Lv7

[Assaulting Kick]Lv21

[Farsight]Lv49

[Craftsmanship]Lv51

[Small Shield]Lv 6

Reserved Skills

[Woodworking]Lv34

[Blacksmithing]Lv39

[Alchemy]Lv40

[Advanced Cooking]Lv3

ExP 4

Titles Possessed:  The One who Charmed Even the Fairy Queen, The One who Defeated a Great Foe Alone

His second name from other players is “The Fairy Queen’s Husband-san”

Status Abnormality: Maximum MP is at 60%

A/N: 2 of the ridiculous weapons have now been eliminated here.

<Whip> is strong, but the backlash from the failure, as well as the shield taking damage without using Arts, can be said to be disastrous.

The story was a little short, but that’s all for today.