Chapter 803: 803: Nadia's Magic Sword

Nadia had emitted the presence of an antidemon for a brief moment. It vanished quickly, but this couldn't be overlooked.

When I asked her about it, Nadia exhaled lightly and put her hand inside her cloak as if she had given up.

Then she pulled out a sword.

However, Nadia showed no sign of swinging her blade. I didn't feel any aggression or hostility either.

She had only pulled out her sword to show it to us.

『That's......』

「Grrr!」

「Mrgh......」

But it wasn't just me, Urushi and Fran immediately braced themselves too.

Because they could feel the strong antidemon power emitted from the sword.

「This is a special magic sword. It absorbs the antidemons it slays, strengthening itself.」

Nadia was right. The sword radiated a dense aura, as if a high level antidemon was right in front of me.

I thought I felt an antidemon presence from Nadia herself earlier, but did I mistake the sword for her?

No, that wasn't it.

The antidemon aura was clearly coming from both her and the sword.

『Can I try to appraise it?』

「You have appraisal, huh? Go ahead, look at me and the sword as much as you like.」

『Then excuse me.』

Let's start with the sword.

『Mrgh......』

I can't see anything but the name. That must mean it's a sword on the same level as me, or even higher.

Next I tried appraising the sword the same way I appraised Sophilia. A terrible pain came over me, but I endured it.

『Gnrgh......』

Name: Overgrowth, the Golden Devourer[1] Sword

Attack: 4417, Magic: 10631, Durability: 6697

Mana Conductivity: S

Skills

Shapeshift, Sword Mastery Boost, Automatic Repair, Abyssal Slayer, Wielder Stat Boost (High), Wielder Recovery Boost (High), Magic Concealment, Mana Recovery (High), Magic Absorption, Magic Control

『Overgrowth...... the Golden...... Devourer Sword...... Such power......!』

What the hell is this!

This thing has more than three times my attack power! I may be winning in terms of mana conductivity, but it's just plain superior as a sword. Overgrowth would be pretty damn close to a divine sword in the released state.

I'm sure I have more skills, but there was one skill I certainly didn't have. "Abyssal Slayer".

This must be what absorbs the power of defeated antidemons to strengthen the sword and user.

In addition, it increased damage to antidemons and reduced damage from antidemons. It even seemed to have a healing effect whenever an antidemon is slain.

This was truly the ultimate weapon against antidemons. No, from the name, it must be an ability targeting the Abyss Eater, the source of the antidemons.

Even so, this was an absolutely ridiculous sword. Isn't it practically at the divine sword level?

What about Nadia herself?

This time I was able to appraise her with only a little bit of resistance. It wasn't nearly as bad as Overgrowth, probably because she accepted the appraisal.

Name: Nadia Age: 41

Race: Black Cat/Unknown

Occupation: Striker Swordsman

Status: Erosion

Stats

Level: 52/99

HP: 641 MP: 301

STR: 689 VIT: 469 AGI: 431

INT: 108 MAG: 407 DEX: 123

Skills

Intimidation: Lv 4, Covert: Lv 9, Covert Action: Lv 6, Wind Magic: Lv 6, Sword Arts: Lv Max, Sword Mastery: Lv Max, Holy Sword Arts: Lv 3, Holy Sword Mastery: Lv 5, Fist Arts: Lv 2, Fist Mastery: Lv 4, Crisis Sense: Lv 7, Super Strength: Lv 6, Hard Power: Lv Max, Regeneration: Lv 6, Blink: Lv 3, Silent Action: Lv 8, Convenience Magic: Lv 6, Cleaning: Lv 2, Elemental Sword: Lv 3, Throwing: Lv 2, Rushing: Lv 4, Fire Magic: Lv 3, Physical Barrier: Lv 4, Cooking: Lv 4, Energy Control, Intuition, Pain Reduction, Sleepless, Magic Manipulation, Ambidextrous

Extra Skills

Golden Devourer

Innate Skills

Strength Enhancement

Title

Transcender of the Ordinary, Avenger, Sleepless Fighter, Match for Thousands

Equipment

Overgrowth the Golden Devourer Sword, Sea Dragon Leather Breastplate, Stealth Spider Battlegarments, Magisteel Gauntlets, Cloak of Silence, Earring of Enhanced Hearing, Ring of Protection

Quite powerful. Though she is a warrior focusing on heavy blows, she can also use magic and is very talented at stealth. That must be the result of living your life on this continent.

Just looking at her stats, she would be more than a match for a Rank A adventurer.

However, the most interesting thing about her was not her abilities, but her race and condition.

『You're a black cat, but also "Unknown"? Also your status is listed as "Erosion"......』

「That's the side effect of Overgrowth. The more antidemons you defeat, the stronger you become, and the more your body is transformed into something similar to an antidemon.」

『What the hell?! Isn't that really bad?』

「You'd be right about that. Look at this.」

『That's......』

「Auntie, your hand!」

「This is the cost of using Overgrowth for so long.」

Nadia said, revealing her left arm that had been hidden under her cloak.

Fran and I could only stare at her arm with bated breath.

At first glance, the arm appeared to be armored. She looked to be wearing a black cloth covered with metallic silver and green pieces.

But she wasn't wearing any armor, that was simply the default appearance now. Black, silver and green. The color scheme was clearly that of an antidemon.

『A-Absorbing the power of antidemons... This is how it works?』

「Yeah.」

『From the way you clutched your hand earlier, it's not just your body that's being mutated into an antidemon, is it?』

「You're very perceptive. I get some mild pain and agitation too. In the first place, you can't use a magic sword on the level of a divine sword and expect it to be free, right?」

「On the level of a divine sword?」

『Could it be that it was made by a divine blacksmith?』

「Heheh. Yeah, it's the same as you, Master. Overgrowth, the Golden Devourer Sword, is a failed divine sword.」

「A failed divine sword!」

I knew it was powerful, but to think it was a failed divine sword!

「It was made by the divine blacksmith, Zechs.」

「I've never heard of Zechs.」

That's not a name we know. But just because he's a blacksmith of the highest order doesn't mean he'll be in the history books.

I wouldn't be surprised if there were blacksmiths who lived in complete seclusion, avoiding the public eye even more than Alistair.

Lumina did show us a list of divine swords and divine blacksmiths, but it wasn't complete. Alistair never mentioned him either...... But it's not like we ever asked her to tell us about all of them.

But apparently, there was another reason why Zechs' name was not widely known.

「Zechs, you see, is a divine blacksmith who never produced a divine sword.」

『Huh? What do you mean?』

「I mean exactly what I said. It seems that the swords he made were all too tricky, so none of them were ever recognized as divine swords. In other words, he was an unfortunate divine blacksmith who produced only failed swords.」

I see. That would certainly explain why he isn't well known.

===== (Translation notes)

[1] Golden Devourer (金喰/konjiki) - Could also be read as "Soul Eater" (魂喰/konjiki)