Chapter 2168: Chapter 2168

"Come to think of it, the ancient hero who passed on [Hero] to me seemed to have mentioned battling a Balrog. His sword was also broken, though not by the Balrog, but by a goat demon."

That happened in a deserted cemetery in a village just outside Nolan, next to the Augustus family's graveyard. Jenkins remembered it clearly (Chapter 1433).

"Does this mean everyone who inherits [Hero] is fated to face a Balrog and have their weapon shattered? Is this some strange curse that comes with the ability?"

Jenkins the mouse hid behind the broken sword, his thoughts wandering. He didn't press against the blade, as it was still incredibly hot.

"That hero said the witches he knew helped him reforge his broken sword, making it even more powerful. I wonder if my sword can be reforged too... I don't know any witches, and they don't exist in this era, but I do know plenty of formidable ladies."

Though turning into a mouse to save his own skin was a rather embarrassing move, Chocolate and the ladies back home weren't here to see it. The Balrog had self-destructed, too, so Jenkins wasn't worried about the potential damage to his reputation.

Even as a mouse, his senses were still human. He could clearly see, hear, and feel the consequences of the ancient Balrog's self-destruction. It was no exaggeration to say that if the Balrog had detonated in downtown Nolan, the entire city and a vast portion of its surroundings would have been wiped from history.

Demons like that were better off staying outside the material world forever. Fortunately, the material world of the 18th Epoch no longer allowed such powerful creatures to come and go as they pleased.

Only when the aftershocks of the explosion subsided and the Balrog's aura had completely vanished did Jenkins the mouse dare to poke his head out from behind the broken sword to survey the scene. Follow current novels on novelFɪre.net

But besides Jenkins the mouse, the diagonally embedded broken sword, and the fiery red doorframe now taking shape, there was one other object on the bridge: the very blade that had shattered Jenkins's White Bone Holy Sword, B-01-1-0006, the [Sin's Eternal Flame Greatsword]. The Balrog's other weapon, a chain forged from demonic alloy, had been melted away, but the sword most certainly remained.

The even better news was that while Jenkins couldn't take anything with him from these past timelines, this sword was definitely not part of the Balrog's original equipment. The old man from the Gear Artisans' Association had been very clear: the Tree House had found this sword in a volcano crater offshore and had given it to the Balrog as a means to deal with Jenkins.

Therefore, the Difference Engine must have somehow delivered this sword to the ancient Balrog.

Without a master's hand to wield it, the spiraling metal sword stood embedded in the stone bridge, which even the Balrog's detonation hadn't been able to mar. The flames on its surface had receded, but the metal of the blade was still fiery red, with faint sparks visible. As Jenkins approached, he could feel the intense heat radiating from it.

His White Bone Holy Sword was broken, but for some reason, it was still classified as a Bestowal, so Jenkins had stored both pieces away. He cautiously approached the spiraling greatsword. It was as tall as a giant tree, clearly not a weapon a creature of his size could wield.

"But the old man from the Gear Artisans' Association said that when they found the sword, it was being held by a withered skeleton. Since he didn't mention anything unusual about the skeleton, it must have been human remains. So why was it a size fit for a human back then?"

An idea struck him. He placed his hand on the sword's body, which felt like a branding iron. The fiery red color was a genuine indicator of its temperature, but at least it didn't scorch his skin. The moment his fingers touched the spiraling blade, the sword's size instantly shrank, until it became what was, in Jenkins's opinion, still a rather long longsword.

He gripped the hilt and pulled the fiery red spiral sword free. As his spirit flowed into it, the fiery color shot from the hilt up the blade, igniting the greatsword once more. A powerful wave of heat then surged back from his palm through his entire body, as if trying to incinerate him, but such heat was nothing he couldn't handle.

By gripping the hilt, he had become the sword's new master. The flames on the blade roared back to life, and the rapid rise in air temperature created a visible distortion in the air around it. Jenkins could even hear the sound of rolling heatwaves, though he wasn't sure if it was just his imagination.

Though B-01-1-0006, the [Sin's Eternal Flame Greatsword], was a Series B Extraordinary item, it also carried a curse. That much was obvious from the name alone; after all, in this world, any item connected to [Sin] was never a simple matter.

Jenkins couldn't grasp the curse's specific meaning, because, like its previous wielder, the ancient Balrog, his body easily immunized him against it.

He tried swinging the spiral greatsword. The slightly-too-long blade immediately sliced through the air, leaving a trail of fire. Even though this sword had destroyed his own weapon, Jenkins wasn't one to blame the tool. He claimed it as his own without any resentment.

Even with his White Bone Holy Sword broken, he still had the Star-forged Magic Sword and now this Sword of Sin. He was unskilled with both, but it was better than fighting bare-handed.

Carrying the sword, he stepped back through the doorframe and returned to the front of the forge. Because he had lingered for too long behind the door after defeating his foe, the flames that the Balrog had become upon death had almost all flowed into the furnace behind the gate. The Balrog had been far stronger than the injured black dragon; they didn't feel like enemies of the same difficulty level at all.

As a result, even more light and heat were now bursting from the cracks in the furnace's massive gate. At this rate, just as Jenkins had estimated, he would only need to defeat one more opponent of the highest difficulty to be able to leave this Mysterious Realm.

The man in the black hunting suit, half-stone and half-metal, was still leaning against the gate with his arms crossed. The gate was immense, more than five times the man's height, so if one hadn't seen the full furnace when the flames were at their brightest, it would be easy to mistake him for leaning against a wall.

"This opponent you chose, while not quite on the level of the other three, was still among the most powerful. The flames are rising. Do you require the services of the fire?"

His gaze fell upon the spiral greatsword in Jenkins's hand, which was also emitting flames:

"Using this weapon as a base and the sword you have beside your pack as material, you can re-temper that sword of yours—the one that's half bone, half wood."

"You know what happened during my fight in there, don't you?"

Jenkins retorted, seeing that the man clearly wanted him to use the two swords in his possession to repair the White Bone Holy Sword.

the man said, a statement Jenkins immediately identified as a lie.

He couldn't repair the White Bone Holy Sword here. Since the Difference Engine had sent in the Greatsword of Sin to break it in the first place, it must have anticipated that Jenkins's sword would be shattered. And if so, it must have also anticipated that he would need to repair it.

Therefore, repairing the weapon was a trap. The Difference Engine had laid this blatant trap right before him, almost as if to mock him.

He waved a hand at the man in the hunting suit, indicating he didn't need anything. Then, instead of setting off again immediately, he sat down to rest, waiting to recover his strength before continuing. Defeating an ancient Balrog bare-handed was an achievement anyone could boast about for a lifetime. Though Jenkins hadn't suffered many injuries, he still needed to rest and recuperate.

His next opponent would most likely be one of the Beasts of Calamity. Even if it was a choice of one out of three, it would be like a card trick—Jenkins was certain he would draw the exact card the magician, the Difference Engine, wanted him to.

Before entering this Mysterious Realm, Jenkins would have been at a loss as to what to do next. But now, with the power of the World Tree further awakened, he understood his own strength. He had, in a very real sense, gone toe-to-toe with an ancient Balrog and won. Because of that, he no longer felt the same trepidation about a direct confrontation with a Beast of Calamity.

This didn't mean he was guaranteed to win, only that victory was now a possibility. The sublimation of his physical body had shored up his final weakness. Even if he failed to achieve pseudo-divinity by saving the world, he was confident he could become a true god within a year.

"Maybe six months, or even just two or three. All I have to do is choose which divine domain will become my core."

He waved his palm through the air, feeling the flow, deepening his understanding of "qi." He was stronger than he had ever been, closer to the world itself. But even so, he wasn't one hundred percent confident he could defeat his opponent, not unless it was a creature like the [Scarlet Ephemera], which was naturally countered by his [World Tree Seedling].

But he couldn't count on being that lucky again.

"No matter what, I have to keep going. For the world, and for myself."

Images of Chocolate and the ladies at home flashed through his mind. The thought of his family waiting for him ignited a flame in his heart. Shaking off his fatigue, he rose to his feet with some effort. He considered his two swords and finally chose the [Star-forged Magic Sword], as its form was more similar to the [White Bone Holy Sword].

In truth, if he wasn't worried that his opponent's form might be impossible to touch directly, he would have preferred to fight with his fists. Unfamiliar weapons carried their own risks, and neither of these swords was as versatile as his broken Holy Sword.

"Which Beast of Calamity will it be?"

He took a deep breath, sword in hand, and stepped through the doorframe.

But at that very moment, the man in the hunting suit suddenly turned his head. He didn't watch Jenkins's back disappear into the fiery doorframe. Instead, he looked toward the spot where Jenkins had first appeared in this Mysterious Realm—

A second intruder had appeared.