Cause of the Change (1)

Chwaaak!

In an instant, the entire corridor was filled with green liquid, melting everything around it.

The calamity of corrosion that I had thought was brought down by the demonkin.

It hadn’t died and had stubbornly survived, hiding out here all this time.

“Wh-what is this…?!”

“Are you alright?!”

I heard the voices of dwarves shouting from outside the corridor.

I swung Genova again and leapt outside the boundary.

“Gasp!”

Seeing me suddenly appear before them, their eyes went wide like lanterns.

“Hurry, run away!”

The moment I shouted, thick liquid began to ooze out, corroding the corridor.

After seeing that, the dwarves screamed and fled.

‘If it weren’t for the ability of the Sword of Boundary, I’d just be dead now.’

It was only because I reflexively used the Blade’s ability; if I’d been even a little slower, I would’ve been nothing but a smear of blood without a trace left.

[But this thing doesn’t seem all that strong?]

‘Didn’t it get thrashed by a demonkin?’

Although the surprise attack caught me off guard, its movements were extremely slow.

The ability to instantly melt and erase everything was incredible, but as long as I stayed cautious, it didn’t seem like a big problem.

It appeared that it hadn’t fully recovered from the damage sustained at the hands of the demonkin.

==

〈Acid Slime〉

Age: 2 years

Gender: None

Role in the story: Third calamity (villain)

Abilities: Division, super regeneration, Calamityfication [Corrosion]

Special trait: The third calamity born in the Kezmen Mountains.

It continuously hunts those who enter its territory and grows bit by bit.

When the Kingdom of Talua began to decline after losing the war against the Kingdom of Kainzel, Zervisia saw this as an opportunity, led his army toward Shioten, and encountered the acid slime, revealing its existence to the world.

==

After checking its profile, I narrowed my eyes.

‘… There’s no mention of the demonkin.’

The current situation and the original story were completely different.

For one, there was never a mention of the calamity of corrosion having clashed with the demonkin.

With this, I was certain of one thing.

‘There’s a demonkin acting differently from the original storyline.’

Otherwise, there’s no way to explain what was happening now.

‘And the purpose of that action must be….’

The demonkin, who rarely revealed themselves to the world.

In just the short span of a year, I’d become intertwined with them in three different places.

Artuha Mountains.

Eintban.

Lavantara.

And these three places had one thing in common.

‘Calamity—in other words, they must be searching for the Seven Swords Under Heaven.’

The odds of a Seven Swords Under Heaven being where calamities appeared were high, a fact I had learned from experience.

And it was obvious the mysterious demonkin knew it too.

[But is that even possible?]

‘If they have a power like Rutia’s prophetic dreams, it’s not impossible.’

Rutia believed that following a set destiny was right, so she acted in accordance with the original story.

But not everyone would think that way.

If someone had that kind of ability, there would be far more people trying to seize benefits for themselves, like me.

‘I’ll think more on this later—let’s finish what’s in front of me first.’

Ssssssk!

The calamity of corrosion, the acid slime, slid out of the corridor and gathered itself into a rounded form.

But after that, it didn’t move, merely watching me intently.

‘Unlike regular slimes, does it possess intelligence?’

It must have decided that unless it ambushed me, it couldn’t win.

And it was correct.

Of all the calamities I’d met so far… this one was the easiest.

“I’ll end you in one strike while you’re still weak.”

I gripped Genova and slowly approached.

At that, the slime’s body started to writhe and quiver greatly.

[Be careful!]

As Grancesia’s cry rang out, the acid slime literally exploded.

Its bodily fluids scattered everywhere, burning holes as they melted wood and earth.

‘This is…!’

I managed to strike down all the incoming fluids flying my way using my Eye of Insight and Only Mind, but I couldn’t be too pleased.

‘This isn’t an attack!’

It was trying to escape.

All of its scattered bodily fluids were pieces of its true body.

As long as any one piece escaped, it would regenerate with time.

==

〈Division〉

Temporarily splits its body to scatter in all directions.

The more pieces it splits into, the weaker each becomes, but as long as one survives it can reconstitute itself as the “main body.”

Among the split pieces, only one can become the main body, with the rest either naturally absorbed or destroyed.

The more pieces are destroyed, the weaker it becomes.

==

A highly troublesome ability.

Naturally, there was no way I could deal with every piece that burst apart and scattered.

‘So that’s why you need the Sealblade!’

Sealblade Sylphin, said to now be in the demonkin’s possession.

Completely eradicating every single fragment was almost impossible.

‘It would have been simple if I had Sylphin…’

Though I didn’t know the exact ability of Sealblade Sylphin, the synopsis stated that Fabian used Sylphin’s power to defeat the calamity of corrosion for sure.

Most likely, the demonkin who took Sylphin failed to completely subdue the calamity because they couldn’t awaken its ability.

Fwoosh!

The rain-like droplets quickly started escaping every which way.

I managed to eliminate a few pieces with Genova, but I ended up missing the majority.

“Tch.”

As I clicked my tongue and retrieved my sword, Grancesia asked worriedly.

[If the demonkin took the sword, doesn’t that mean we can’t defeat it?]

‘It would’ve been impossible alone, but now….’

I threw a glance toward Riya.

Since she had imprisoned Edward by scattering into smoke, she could likely use the same method to prevent the slime from dividing.

Though the problem was that we were running out of time.

‘I’d hoped to just find the sword and leave, but…’

It seemed I’d have to take care of the problem here, first.

* * *

The calamity of corrosion wasn’t much of a threat just yet, but given time, it was sure to become a huge nuisance.

I needed to find and deal with it before it got any stronger.

‘There’s no way Riya and I can search the entire Kezmen Mountains alone.’

If we were to track it down quickly, I’d need help from the demi-humans.

When I explained this goal, the dwarves suggested they had something to give us and led us to their village.

Upon arrival, the dwarven representative handed me Peerless Sword Deltode.

“So this is Peerless Sword Deltode…”

Deltode felt noticeably heavier than the other swords.

Its form was much too blunt to even be called a sword.

“Can you really break that sword with this?”

“Yes. I am certain I can.”

“Hmmm…”

The dwarves looked very downcast.

The Lightblade Hella was the worst legacy the dwarves had ever created.

Since they hadn’t been able to destroy it, they’d sealed it away in a shrine—understandably so.

“I’ll show you proof.”

“Proof?”

Smiling at the dwarves’ questioning gazes, I gripped Genova and brought Deltode down forcefully.

“Gasp! Wh-what are you doing?!”

Deltode, smashed against Genova, cracked and shattered to pieces.

Of course, the dwarves who watched were shocked, but soon, as the fragments of the sword were absorbed into Genova, their eyes went wide.

“C-could that be the sword’s power?”

“Yes. Genova can absorb the power of any Seven Swords Under Heaven it destroys.”

I responded to their muttered daze, then checked Genova’s profile.

==

〈Sword of Man Genova〉

A sword that grows stronger in response to humanity’s origin and wishes.

Also known as the Sword of Wish Genova.

…

…

〈Ability Added〉

Can cut through all boundaries. However, it cannot defy the laws of the world.

Can maximize the user’s physical capabilities. In addition, as long as one holds this sword, they will gain limitless stamina and never tire.

==

‘Perfect!’

Peerless Sword Deltode’s ability was to enhance the wielder’s physical strength.

Though the description was vague and a bit confusing, I could figure it out slowly going forward.

Once I verified that Deltode’s power had been properly absorbed, I turned to the dwarves and thanked them.

“But when it comes to acquiring one of the Seven Swords Under Heaven, the guardian usually gives a trial. Is there no guardian for this sword?”

“The sword resting in Lavantara has always been managed by the chiefs of each tribe. In a sense, you could say we are its guardians.”

So that was it.

In other words, Peerless Sword Deltode’s guardian was the dwarves, while Sealblade Sylphin’s was the elves.

‘Wait—the beastkin are in Lavantara too, right?’

A question popped into my head and I asked the dwarves.

“Then do the beastkin also guard a Seven Swords Under Heaven?”

“… Well.”

The dwarves glanced at one another, hesitant about whether they should speak.

“It was stolen.”

At last, the words that fell from their lips left me speechless.

“Pardon?”

“There was indeed a relic guarded by the beastkin. But it was stolen overnight.”

“Good grief.”

I was so dumbfounded that I couldn’t even speak.

Really? The Seven Swords Under Heaven got looted?

My head just throbbed.

‘… Now there’s one more place I’ll have to check out later.’

I was certain there’d be a synopsis there, too.

I needed to determine whether this was true to the original story or another change caused by distortion.

“In any case, please do keep searching for the calamity. I have other requests to make elsewhere, so I must hurry back.”

“Hm. Understood. If you ever need anything else, say the word. You are our benefactor, and as long as we can, we will help.”

“No, there’s really no need to…”

But I stopped myself.

Suddenly, something I’d overlooked due to being distracted by the calamity came to mind.

“… Then, could we perhaps do some business together?”

Currently, the Vanhart family’s mine was producing a massive quantity of mithril, not to mention a flood of mana stones.

There’d be no issue just selling it, but if some of it was used for making arms…

‘And made by dwarves, at that!’

I felt like an idiot for having forgotten about this until now.

The dwarves might look sullen about their swords seeming inferior to the Seven Swords Under Heaven, but that was only because the comparison was with “divine swords”.

Dwarves were the race with the best smithing techniques in this world.

Their arms were considered masterpieces and incredibly hard to obtain.

So, if I cultivated ties and established steady trading with them, the future profits would be beyond imagination.

“Come to think of it, you said you’re a lord ruling over humans, right?”

Having had some bad experiences with humans, the dwarves still showed a hint of hesitation.

I quickly spoke up.

“In the future, I promise not only to do my utmost so no human ever covets Lavantara, but also to offer you the best possible treatment.”

“Hm, alright. I can’t refuse a favor for our benefactor.”

There was some hesitation, but thanks to my previous help, securing their consent wasn’t hard.

‘Now I just have to tell Maria…’

Just imagining the future profits made me grin from ear to ear.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep