Chapter 39 Arriving In The Capital.



In the center of the oval location, the floor was strewn with old and tattered cloths, scattered throughout the environment. The air carried a sense of abandonment and decay, with the worn-out cloths showing the signs of time. Yet, amidst this desolation, a striking contrast emerged. At the heart of the space stood a gleaming, pristine glass dome, impervious and impenetrable. Within the dome, a single glove rested, perfectly positioned and isolated from the surrounding dirt.

"This place reeks," Freytan complained, wrinkling her nose.

"Master, the smell is overwhelming. I'm starting to feel dizzy," added Amanda.

I placed my hand on their shoulders and activated my divine power, creating a golden energy aura that enveloped their lower faces, forming masks that shielded them from the foul odor.

"Can you still sense anything, girls?" I inquired.

Amanda took a deep breath, allowing the foul air to enter her lungs. However, her mask acted as a protective barrier, filtering and purifying the repugnant odor. With each breath, a refreshing sensation filled her senses, eliminating any trace of the nauseating environment around her.

"That's incredible, Dantalian! How many surprises are left?" Freytan exclaimed.

Amanda cast a teary-eyed glance at Freytan, pouting her lips. In a somewhat grumpy tone, she retorted, "Praising the master is my duty. Don't do that."

I smiled, watching Amanda grumble alongside Freytan and thinking, 'Acting like this, I wonder if she would have reached level nine.'

"Just a spontaneous remark, Amanda. Stop clinging to me," Freytan responded, smiling.

Clapping my hands to grab their attention, I said, "Alright, it's great to see that, but let's finish this now."

I pointed towards the glass dome where a pair of intense red leather gloves lay. The gloves were adorned with shiny metal plates strategically positioned for both protection and style. Engraved runes spiraled down the index finger of each glove, emanating a blue hue that created a striking contrast with the vibrant red leather.

"Can I destroy it then?" Amanda asked, placing her hand on her last arrow.

"Amanda, trust me, you don't want to touch that kind of weapon," Freytan warned, recalling her experience with the Sakura sword.

Amanda grew curious and questioned, "What happens if I touch it?"

"Something unpleasant would happen. You would be thrown a considerable distance. That's why I need to conduct this test," I explained.

Creating a small sphere of golden energy at the tip of my finger, I launched it precisely towards the glove. The sphere struck the glove directly, causing a powerful explosion of golden energy upon impact. However, to everyone's surprise, the glove remained unscathed, as if it were indestructible.

"Master, did you spare the glove? If you feel sorry, I can do it for you," Amanda said, unable to believe what she had just witnessed.

"Well, it looks like you'll have to do it, Freytan," I replied, urging her to take action.

Freytan drew the Sakura sword from its sheath. As the sword made contact with the presence of the glove, something peculiar occurred. Unlike before, where only purple rays were emitted, small black rays now intertwined with the purple ones.

"Go for it, Freytan!" Amanda cheered.

'This way, I don't need to risk embarrassing myself,' Amanda thought as she contemplated the possible outcomes of touching the glove.

"It seems stronger than before... and lighter too. How is this possible?" Freytan wondered aloud.

"It evolved with you, so I suppose it's a perfect sword now. Go ahead and cut that glove in half," I instructed.

'Because Drakion must hate me, making it impossible for me to touch that,' I thought to myself.

"Oh, I think I can do it now," Freytan said confidently.

Gripping the sword's hilt firmly, she delivered a powerful diagonal strike from bottom to top, splitting the glass dome and the glove into three distinct parts. The sound of shattering echoed through the air as the fragments fell to the ground, revealing the shattered glove.

'Ghost Blade... the first time she uses it in the game is at the end of chapter five, although this is still an inferior version, being able to use it in chapter one... Wow, I've created a monster,' I thought.

"I thought I was strong, but I need to evolve so as not to be overshadowed," Amanda remarked.

On the ground, the debris of the glove dissipated into black energy particles, flowing towards the blade of the Sakura sword. As the energy merged with the blade, a bright +1 appeared on the sword's guard, marking its strengthening. Soon after, the number vanished into thin air, leaving only the renewed aura of the weapon.

Amanda and Freytan witnessed this surprising scene and fixed their gazes on me, awaiting an explanation.

"Master, what was that?" Amanda asked.

"Dantalian, what just happened?" Freytan inquired.

"I didn't expect such strengthening... I think I need to have a chat with a certain entity" 

[If I'm in a good mood, I might respond now. Figure it out yourself.]I think you should take a look at

"Translating, you meant 'never,' okay, I understood,"

I extended both hands forward, looking at each of them.

"Firstly, what we just witnessed is something called strengthening, but it seems to only work on this type of weapon,"

Freytan looked at the sword, remembering the others she had used.

"But what does it mean? I still don't get it, master,"

"Amanda, I think I understand,"

I looked at Freytan with a smile.

"Really? Well, it's not that complicated, so it should be easy to grasp,"

Amanda pinched me.

"You realize you just called me dumb, right, master?"

Freytan raised the sword up.

"Basically, it follows the logic of the food chain, right? The stronger devours the weaker and strengthens itself with their bodies,"

Amanda placed her hand on her chin.

"Oh, now I get it,"

"I said it, right?" Freytan asked.

"It wasn't the correct explanation, but it was a less boring one,"

'Does this work with the gauntlet too? Technically, it would still be the protagonist's sword,'

"Anyway, now that we know this, let's destroy a few more. But for now, we're done here. Let's head to the capital to visit our friend Marian."

With that in mind, the three of us left the cave, climbing the entire way back, and went to the guild to speak one last time with Miss Dealer. The last thing she said was:

"Don't worry, master, we'll all be waiting for your return, and with the news spreading about what happened here, if anyone is going to be troublesome, it's definitely in the capital. So be careful."

And now we are on our way to the capital in the carriage provided by Jack Hamut. During the journey, several random events related to goblins and bandits occurred. In each of these situations, Freytan got off the moving carriage and eliminated all the adversaries without spilling a drop of blood herself. After each confrontation, she would run back towards the carriage, which never moved more than six hundred meters before everything was completed.

After a journey of five days, we finally arrived in the capital. Our carriage passed directly through the urban area, following its course along the bustling streets of the city. However, our final destination was a mansion located a little distance from the bustling heart of the capital. Situated in a picturesque field of flowers, the mansion stood out magnificently amidst the landscape.

As we approached the entrance of the house, a welcoming sight awaited us. Two impeccably dressed butlers and six neatly aligned maids were ready to receive us. After the intense five-day journey, their presence indicated that our arrival would not go unnoticed. With smiles on our faces, we were warmly welcomed into the mansion.

'Marian, even the reception is being different. You really hated all the players, huh?'

While Amanda was amazed by the whole situation, considering that she would never even come close to the duchess's maid if she hadn't somewhat forced herself to join my group, Freytan was resembling a motionless vampire, staring fixedly at one of the mansion's windows, where a feminine silhouette with a tiara could be seen.

"If you keep up like this, they won't even let you get out of the car," I said.

"What?" Freytan seemed to have awakened, starting to look around.

"Freytan, girl, you were looking like a demon. If I wasn't used to it, I would have jumped out of this carriage," Amanda added.

Freytan shook her head, taking a deep sigh.

"Alright, I'm sorry, both of you. I don't know why, but my mind seemed to go numb when we arrived here."

"As Amanda said, not only her but we are used to it. If it's too heavy for you, you can wait for us here until everything is ready," I suggested.

"No, I need to do this. Otherwise, I won't be able to finish it myself."

The carriage arrived in front of the butlers and maids. One of them seemed to run towards the mansion's entrance door, while another maid walked up to the carriage and opened it. She spoke with a gentle voice.

"Welcome, Mr. Dantalian. Duchess Marian has been waiting for you."