Chapter 340: Badass
About two hundred thousand years ago, the Mythical Age came to an end.
An age in which the gods descended to the land of mortals and walked freely among them, in which deities were born and fell ceaselessly.
The dragon race was all but wiped out.
The human God-Emperor fell.
And the God of War reduced the divine empire of man to ashes, unleashing the Green skins upon the world and claiming hundreds of millions of human lives in just a few years.
It was an era of unparalleled prosperity, one that ended drowned in bloody wars.
The God-Slayer, the sword of the God-Emperor himself, witnessed every second of that collapse before being buried beneath the rubble of a great empire, forgotten by time.
For two hundred thousand years, it knew only darkness.
For two hundred thousand years, the world forgot its name.
For two hundred thousand years, the gods forgot its terror.
But that was destined to end.
Ethan’s eyes sparkled with anticipation as the God-Slayer emerged from his spatial ring, materializing before him in a beam of golden light.
The first expression to cross his face was one of pleasant surprise.
It wasn’t one of those ridiculously ornate swords, the kind that belonged only in some ceremonial hall. It took the form of a functional longsword.
A beautiful weapon, without a doubt, but above all, practical.
The scabbard was wrapped in obsidian-black leather, with golden engravings forming ancient runes that snaked along its entire length.
Ethan ran his fingers over it. The material was surprisingly soft to the touch, catching a subtle sheen in the light.
The crossguard was forged from pure black steel, its obsidian hue even deeper than the scabbard’s. The hilt was elegant, ending in a heavy metal pommel, perfect for crushing a skull.
He gripped the scabbard in one hand and the hilt in the other.
It was heavy. At least fifty kilograms—an absurd burden for any non-Awakened person.
The blade measured one hundred and five centimeters, with another twenty centimeters of hilt. He had to channel a thread of aura just to hold it as comfortably as an ordinary blade.
For a normal man, wielding a sword of that weight would be sheer folly. But for Ethan, with his monstrously high Strength attributes, it was simply perfect.
Once he reached the Fourth Stage, he probably wouldn’t even feel the weight anymore.
Ethan took a breath, tightened his grip, and pulled.
A sharp metallic whistle echoed through the office as the steel slid free of its sheath.
The long obsidian blade glinted in the sunlight streaming through the large window behind him. Golden runes and intricate designs ran along its length, seeming to pulse in response to his touch.
He studied the weapon for a brief moment before feeding a thread of aura into it.
The runes flared with intense light, and in the next instant, a System notification appeared before his eyes.
[You have successfully awakened the God-Slayer]
[Ego not awakened!]
[Gather enough divinity to awaken the sword’s ego!]
"Sword’s ego?" Ethan repeated, immediately recalling the anime he used to watch back on Earth.
"She’s not going to turn into a loli, is she?" A slight shiver ran down his spine. "For the love of the Three, please don’t let it be a loli!"
[The form of the sword’s ego will be defined based on the user’s mind. I’m sure it’ll be a milf.]
"Ah... that’s much better." Ethan’s shoulders slumped in relief.
He hated it when the hero’s sword ended up turning into a loli. In fact, that was exactly one of his concerns about the beast egg he was carrying.
Any beast powerful enough could take human form. But... what if it turned out to be a loli?
Well, realistically, he’d just end up raising it like a daughter. Still, he much preferred a busty milf.
With a sigh, he closed his eyes and focused his mind, recalling how Evelyn had summoned the armor bound to her axe.
A mere thought was enough and from beneath his feet, a sea of metal plates began to emerge.
The steel, identical in color and style to his sword, molded itself into sturdy greaves that climbed his legs plate by plate, covering every centimeter of flesh up to his waist.
A breastplate closed around his torso next, one that could take a shot from a battle tank as if it were a bean shot. Bracers followed, snapping shut around his forearms with crisp metallic clicks.
Immediately after, an elegant, imposing helmet crowned with a plume of golden threads descended over his head. The visor was already lowered, revealing only his deep blue eyes.
Something resembling a golden crown encircled the top of the helmet.
A black cape cascaded down his back, long and elegant. It could be pulled forward to cover his arms and shoulders when necessary.
Ethan turned to the office mirror and studied his reflection, admiring the imposing armor, the intricate golden details, and the shadowy silhouette of the cape falling behind him.
If he had to choose a single word to describe what he saw, it would simply be: badass.
His soldiers, in their black and gold armor, already looked like they’d stepped straight out of a Souls-like game. And now he truly felt like a boss from Dark Souls.
"Ah... may the goddesses have mercy on my enemies, hahaha." Ethan chuckled, dismissing the armor with a thought. The steel plates dissolved into thin air as if they’d never existed.
Shaking his head, he turned his attention back to the sword.
Now he had a very good sword in his hands. Time to test it.
He secured the blade at his waist and, shortly after, left his office.
He still wanted to finish opening the other seven hundred Premium Gacha Tickets, but that could wait for now.
Ethan quickened his pace toward the arena. Soon enough, the sound of swords cutting through the air reached his ears.
Ysara, Evelyn, and Mireya were already there.
***
Ethan’s armor and sword design can be found in the comments for this Chapter and also on my Discord: https://discord.gg/ZMhMj7Dawz