Chapter 342

Chapter 342: Chapter 342

As for Jeanne and Ryuu, both already had weapons they were comfortable using, so rather than giving them replacements, Kiriya decided it would be more practical to upgrade their defensive equipment instead.

He pointed toward the three-headed flood dragon’s scales and hide membranes and continued, "Make the weapons first. After that, I’d like some of the Familia’s senior smiths to use what’s left for armor and cloaks."

As he spoke, Kiriya wrote down the measurements and preferred styles for himself, Esdeath, Ryuu, and Jeanne.

From how detailed everything was, it was obvious he had been planning this for quite some time.

"You want me to forge the weapons personally?" Hephaestus smiled and gestured toward the mountain of materials.

"My work doesn’t come cheap. If I’m the one handling those two swords, you won’t have much of this left afterward."

As a god-tier smith, Hephaestus rarely forged equipment for mortals herself anymore.

Still, seeing so many unusual, exceptionally high-grade materials had naturally stirred her professional interest, and with Hestia and Kiriya personally asking, making an exception this once did not seem unreasonable.

"That’s fine. If I’m commissioning new equipment, I want the best you can make."

Kiriya waved off the cost without hesitation.

He had grown thoroughly tired of his swords breaking again and again whenever battles became too intense.

Rather than keep replacing inferior weapons, he might as well commission something at the highest possible level and use it for considerably longer.

Hestia stayed silent throughout the discussion.

Weapons and armor could quite literally determine whether Kiriya and the others lived or died in the Dungeon, so as far as she was concerned, this was exactly the sort of thing money should be spent on without hesitation.

"All right, then. We’ll do it your way."

Hephaestus rubbed her chin and thought for a moment before estimating, "Two swords will take me about a week. As for the armor and cloaks, I’ll have my children put in some extra work so everything can be delivered at the same time."

"Thank you, Lady Hephaestus."

Kiriya smiled and gave her a polite gesture of thanks.

Getting a smith of Hephaestus’s caliber to personally forge equipment was anything but easy.

Even with these extraordinary materials as payment, he was still clearly getting an exceptional deal.

"Don’t thank me just yet. I have a request of my own."

Hephaestus went straight to the point.

"Go ahead. If it’s within my ability, I won’t refuse."

"Are you planning another expedition into the Deep Floors anytime soon?"

"Once the new weapons and equipment are finished, yes."

Kiriya answered without hesitation.

Hephaestus sighed. "Tsubaki has been wanting to go into the Deep Floors to properly test some of the weapons she’s forged recently. If you’re heading down there anyway, take her with you and keep an eye on her for me."

Her captain was, strictly speaking, a blacksmith, yet she had somehow been born with the heart of a warrior.

Tsubaki constantly wanted to go into the Dungeon and hack monsters apart simply to see how well her newest creations performed in real combat.

Letting her go alone was obviously out of the question.

The Hephaestus Familia specialized in forging rather than adventuring, so they had relatively few dedicated combatants capable of forming a proper Deep Floor expedition around her.

That meant Hephaestus had little choice but to ask another Familia to take Tsubaki along.

The Freya Familia was immediately out of consideration.

Too many of them were foul-tempered, foul-mouthed battle maniacs, and Tsubaki had never particularly liked dealing with them.

The Loki Familia would normally have been a good option, but they had only recently returned from their own Deep Floor expedition and would clearly be resting for a while. Tsubaki, meanwhile, was already getting impatient.

After considering her options, Hephaestus ultimately decided Kiriya was the most reliable person to entrust her to.

After all, he was currently regarded as the strongest adventurer in Orario.

"No problem."

Kiriya agreed immediately, smiling.

"If anything, I should be thanking you for sending us a master smith with the expedition. That means we won’t have to worry about weapon maintenance on the way."

"If you’re happy to have her, that makes things even easier."

The two sides agreed that the expedition would begin in one week, after which Kiriya and Hestia left the shop.

"I heard Hephaestus hasn’t personally forged weapons for children of the Lower World in a very long time," Hestia said as they walked. "Normally she leaves that to the smiths in her Familia. You really do have a lot of influence now."

"Heh. I’m pretty sure most of that influence came from you."

Kiriya casually buttered her up.

"If I weren’t your child, a goddess of her standing probably wouldn’t even bother with me."

Hestia immediately lifted her chin, delighted.

"Ha! Obviously. Not to brag, but Hephaestus and I were extremely close even back in Heaven. Let me tell you about some of the things we used to—"

Before she could begin recounting the glorious history of her friendship with Hephaestus, nearby pedestrians caught their attention.

"Did you hear? Something huge happened at the Freya Familia."

"Yeah. Apparently somebody actually broke into their headquarters."

"And it was a woman. A complete stranger nobody’s ever seen before."

"That’s insane. Doesn’t she know what the Freya Familia is? They’ve got a whole bunch of Level 6s, and even a Level 7 monster!"

"But that woman is ridiculously strong too. I heard she’s been fighting since early this morning without stopping. Vana Freya, Hildsleif, and Dainsleif have all gotten involved, and they still haven’t brought her down."

"Seriously? She’s that strong?"

"Heh. Since when has the Freya Familia ever gone easy on anyone in a fight?"

"Fair point. Damn, something this big would be a waste to miss."

"Let’s go!"

The conversation quickly drew the attention of everyone nearby, and before long people were hurrying toward the Freya Familia’s headquarters, the Silver Mansion, eager to watch the spectacle.

Kiriya stared after them for a moment before realization struck.

"So that’s where Esdeath disappeared to first thing this morning. She went to kick down the Freya Familia’s door."

He was genuinely impressed.

That woman really did seem physically incapable of going a single day without finding someone to fight.

"Will she be all right?" Hestia asked with some concern. "Freya’s children aren’t exactly easy to get along with."

"Let’s go have a look."

Kiriya rested a hand on Hestia’s shoulder, activated the Flying Thunder God Technique, and the two vanished from the street.

...

Silver Mansion—Folkvangr.

Boom! Boom! Boom—!

A blue figure and a black figure collided repeatedly across the battlefield, and every impact thundered like the beating of a war drum, sending vibrations through everyone watching.

They were Esdeath and Ottar.

Each time their fists or legs met, powerful shockwaves erupted from the point of impact and spread in every direction, tearing open the ground and shattering the glaciers covering the battlefield.

"Gray Ice Giant Horn!"

Esdeath stomped down with one foot, causing several enormous spears of ice to burst from the ground and shoot toward Ottar.

The King did not bother dodging.

He simply drove a fist forward and smashed the massive ice formations apart, then charged straight through the fragments like an unstoppable war chariot.

Gray Ice Giant Horn, falling masses of giant hail, barrages of ice spears—every frozen construct Esdeath created seemed as fragile as sandcastles before Ottar’s body.

Whoosh—!

His next punch tore through the air hard enough to create a sonic boom.

Even Esdeath had no interest in meeting that sort of force head-on.

She ducked beneath the blow, twisted her waist, and whipped one long leg toward Ottar’s side like a steel cable.

BAM—!

Ottar caught the kick without giving so much as a single step, yet his brow tightened slightly.

The strike itself had hurt, but the more troublesome part was the freezing air attached to it.

Inspired by Kiriya, Esdeath had developed Demon’s Extract far beyond the level she had once used it at.

In close combat, she no longer relied solely on raw punches, kicks, and weapon strikes; she now coated them in extreme cold as well.

That forced anyone fighting her at close range to withstand not only her formidable physical power but also freezing temperatures that seeped directly through every point of contact.

Hedin and Hogni had both fallen relatively quickly because they lacked sufficient resistance to that kind of cold.

Against Ottar, however, the effect was much less decisive.

With E-rank Abnormal Resistance, G-rank Strong Body, and S-rank Endurance at Level 7, Ottar possessed an almost absurdly resilient physique.

Even Esdeath’s extreme freezing air could not bring the King down quickly.

’These two are monsters.’

Nearby, Hedin was receiving treatment from Heith while watching the fight with a complicated expression.

Esdeath had already fought Allen, Hogni, and Hedin himself one after another, yet she could still clash with Ottar fiercely enough to create this kind of devastation.

Ottar, meanwhile, possessed a body so durable that he could endure her extreme cold head-on while continuing to overwhelm the battlefield with sheer physical violence.

If that did not qualify them as monsters, Hedin had no idea what would.

"To think we were reduced to such a miserable state before a mere woman... My eternal rival, we have allowed ourselves to grow complacent!"

Hogni spoke with grave solemnity.

Heith’s expression immediately darkened.

"What exactly do you mean by ’mere woman’? Looking down on women, are you?"

Her fingers tightened around Hogni’s injured shoulder.

"AAGH!"

The Black Elf’s dramatic dignity shattered instantly as he cried out in pain.

Satisfied that she had made her point, Heith resumed healing him and asked, "How much longer do you think that woman can last?"

"That depends entirely on when that damn boar decides he wants to end it."

Hedin continued watching Ottar.

It was obvious that Ottar was enjoying himself.

Esdeath’s fighting style was new and unusual enough that he seemed reluctant to bring the battle to a quick conclusion.

Otherwise, someone standing at the very top of Level 7 should not have needed this long against an opponent whose overall ability was still roughly at Level 6.

Unless, of course...that woman still had another trump card waiting to be used.

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