The next morning, Cain casually woke up meeting the next day with a bright smile on his face. Little did he know what transpired just this morning.

The news of a Rank 9 sword being forged wasn’t just limited to Pioneer City. Through numerous scouts and spies within this humble city, they all alerted their superiors of what had transpired. An entirely world-shattering event that would even cause multiple world powers to fight for it.

All of the greatest world powers heard their subordinate’s words and decided, “It’s not worth our full attention. Keep a lookout for any further changes.”

This move seemed to have completely confused all the underlings of these massive world powers. They were all collectively deciding against moving and obtaining a peerless sword. Such decision-making made these world powers look like a bunch of fools.

In reality, they truly weren’t. Everyone knew at least, every single person that was at least Rank 6 had their powers suppressed to an unbelievably weak degree. All they needed was time to regain their previous strength which was well beyond what a mere Rank 9 sword could give them.

Another point that they considered was how much overall combat power it would give their force in total. A mere Rank 9 sword for a single powerhouse sounded really amazing but considering the fact that within the deepest explored dungeon of mankind lay an unknown threat of terrifying power, it wasn’t that much. Without knowing the pros and cons, they weren’t too keen on taking the risk.

As for looking at the other world powers with the intent of war or assimilation? They weren’t looking for death at all. Within the time span of returning to Earth til now, countless guilds, associations, alliances, and networks had risen and fallen. Those who could still stand at the very peak right now showcased that they all had trump cards that they could rely on.

This didn’t mean that they didn’t at least try to covet such a treasure. It only meant that they were going to try and luck to see if they could still obtain it. This caused a small-scale scene within Pioneer City with envoys from their respective affiliations.

They all had the same idea, “A Rank 9 sword is valuable but not that important.”

This was to say, common world powers had this concept… except for one person.

As he lay within his own personal cottage, he felt his heart thump, his sword tremble and crack, his very being resonate with an existence that he felt could finally sword his power. “Ah… something was born ahead of its time.”

This particular man tried to stand up using his sword as a crutch, unintentionally cutting the ground apart. “Ah. I’m getting too old for this.” He started walking lazily as he slowly traversed the vast open lands he sat in. His speed seemed extremely slow as he took subtle small steps but by the time he took his third step, the open plains that he walked on was now changed to the raging ocean.

A fifteen-year-old child brandished his sword, determined to finally have that old coot teach him, “Today is the day I’ll become his apprentice!”

He went over to the same nameless cottage at the top of the hill and knocked on the door, “Old man? Did you kick the bucket yet? Old man?” Realizing no one was there, he opened the door only to be knocked back by the aftermath of his actions.

As the door to the cottage opened, an endless ravine appeared from where he lay. This ravine was so deep that the depths of it even managed to slash right through countless monsters of varying strength. As the child looked at the sudden ravine that appeared he trembled, realizing something unholy from beneath.

The child’s father ran up, fearing for the safety of his child after hearing such a commotion, “Frederick! Are you okay? Did you get hurt?”

Frederick trembled and pointed down, “T-That… is that…”

“A Rank 8 monster… was living right below us this entire time…” The fear in the man’s eyes was evident. As far as he could tell, Rank 7 was the current peak of humanity, he didn’t expect that someone could kill a Rank 8 monster this easily.

“That old man… who has he?” The child looked up into the distance as the ravine that his sword created went beyond further than the eye could see.

A man traversing through the ocean glanced back, “That should let those villagers live easier now. Now… to get my sword. Hashu, my old friend, let me show you how weak I’ve gotten. Sigh.” His destination was one that countless other envoys were getting to, Pioneer City.

Everyone within Pioneer City knew that there was trouble starting to brew inside but no one truly realized that one of the true experts of the world was about to finally show their face. A hidden expert who wasn’t worried about gaining fame or notoriety due to one simple fact, their strength was all they needed to show off.

Arriving at Pioneer City, the old man took slow steady steps forward, “I wonder if anyone still remembers my name, Nensho Miyamoto, from the other world? Hashu would. Sigh, let’s just see if this Rank 9 sword could live up to my standards.”

All over from the side, envoys from the current batch of renowned forces all showed up to try their luck. Although it wasn’t a high priority compared to gaining more resources, it was still a good motivator for talented people to join their forces.

As the world power that managed to secure the Rank 9 sword, it would surely show off to the rest that they were the leading superpower. The prestige of gaining the Rank 9 sword was well beyond what the actual weapon could do.

“Ugh, what’s even the point? Can’t we just steal it?” A nimble girl with neon green hair muttered as she casually took out someone’s spatial ring within the crowd. She threw it up and down then wore it, letting it clang against the other fifteen rings in her hands.

“We don’t want to offend anyone. Especially the blacksmith that created it.” A cloaked man muttered as he sat down, waiting for time to pass. “The real monsters should show up soon, don’t do anything you will regret.”

“Hah! Regret? As if!” This girl then saw an old feeble man, and feeling that her luck was good today she came up and stole the spatial ring he had and immediately came back. “See? Easy as pie.” She proudly showed off her hands which were clearly cleaned of all her rings.

“You should look at your fingers, he already stole them back.” The man muttered. “Don’t bother getting it back. He looks like… no… he is definitely one of the monsters after the sword.”

The thief looked at her hands and was immediately angered. She was about to run up to the old man when her superior warned her. “Ooh… scary. Haha, good thing he didn’t do anything else.”

The cloaked man took off his cloak and covered her, “In 3… 2… 1…”

At once, all her straps of clothing were immediately slashed apart, leaving her entire body bare. She was extremely embarrassed and used the cloak to completely cover herself. She shrieked in shame and immediately ran away.

A feminine figure that could cause the downfall of nations appeared, his eyes and shape was one that captured anyone’s eyes. “Sigh, people are staring again.” He only chalk it up to bad luck.

“Though I wonder, what’s that old monster doing here? A Rank 9 weapon shouldn’t have been able to move him at all. Did something happen?” He sat humbly on the bench, trying to minimize any sort of misunderstandings from taking place.

Unfortunately, luck wasn’t on his side as countless men and women tried to start a conversation with him. All of which was turned down as soon as the question was asked. He could try and divert them away using his backer’s name but it could only do so much.

Eventually, even envoys came, “Ellie, what a surprise that you came here.” A man of questionable motive talked to him.

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“For the last time, it’s Elliot! Not Ellie!” Elliot’s eyes and tone showed an undeniable rage yet in the eyes of everyone around him it looked extremely attractive. “Don’t make me carve your eyes out… again…”

“Haha, Ellie, you and your jokes. Come on, as fellow envoys we should try to converse and form relationships so that the powers behind us become friendly. I think that would be the best, wouldn’t you agree?” This man had made attempts on Elliot before and will continue as had done in the past.

“This isn’t funny. If you’re so keen on forming friendships, my female friend would be more than delighted to talk to you. You know… a female.” Elliot tried to lower his voice only to speak in an adorable tone.

“She’s… aha, a man shouldn’t let a girl like her stay out by herself like that. Don’t get me wrong, she is beautiful it’s just that she might not feel safe hanging around with men.” The man pointed at a bar down the road. “Come on, let’s unwind for a bit before the show stars.”

“She… would be glad to talk to people, especially men.” Elliot was trying to give them the death stare yet only seemed to have even further looked as if he was seducing them. “Now, if you will please excuse me, I have other matters to attend to.”

The man rushed out and grabbed Elliot’s lithe arms, “W-Wait, Ellie-”

“Elliot!”

“Elliot, no need to rush out so fast.”

“Don’t make me carve out your eyes and drain your blood. I’ve done it before and I’ll do it again!” Elliot’s threat was genuine, the bloodlust in his eyes showed just how familiar he truly was with such a punishment.

“That doesn’t sound too bad, hehe.” The man blushed, it was as if anything Elliot said would be put through a filter.

Elliot’s eyes turned red as he unsheathed his weapon, two daggers, and was about to open up the man’s stomach when an ever-righteous noble with a big heart showed up.

Harry’s golden hair and emerald eyes immediately caught everyone’s eye, especially his obviously handsome face, “Picking on people! Have you no shame?”

Elliot’s hands felt weak, questionably so as the daggers in his hands suddenly became unreasonably heavy. He was caught by Harry who stood in front of them.

“Who the hell are you?” The envoy raged, he was so close, well not really. Perhaps closer to death than anything.

“Harry, a noble. Then I shall ask the same question, who are you? Forcing others to do what you want! Who are you if not a lecher? Show some common workplace decency! What would he (your boss) think!”

‘Me?’ Elliot has completely misunderstood the situation.

“Him?” The man further worsened the misunderstanding. “So what if he thinks that way? I’m free to do whatever I want!”

“Disgusting,” Harry recalled just how great of a master Cain was. Even creating their rooms and even giving them something good to eat every day. “Not even appreciating his temper! I’m surprised you’re still alive with how vile your mouth is!”

‘Did he just call me… him?’ Elliot had never had this situation happen before. Everyone kept misunderstanding his gender to the point that even people he had known for an extremely long time, a whole month, still couldn’t get used to it. ‘Someone like him who could tell so easily… He’s such a good person!’

“Dammit! So what? Here I come!” The envoy didn’t think a complete nobody would immediately ruin his chances so quickly. He didn’t even get to touch Ellie… Elliot that much. He didn’t dare use any mana due to certain eyes locking down on him so he just gave out a weak punch to vent his anger.

“Eek!” Harry backed off. His expression remained the same one he had earlier due to fear and shock. Leading others to think that he was a really brave person.

Blatant murder in broad daylight? I already saved the damsel! Now someone save me! Harry felt his entire body lockdown, not even able to move a finger if he wanted.

Elliot acted fast, although he couldn’t use his daggers, he could still easily disarm the envoy in front of him. Crouching out of Harry’s hold, he dashed forward, causing the pavement below him to shatter, creating spiker web-like cracks.

He formed his right hand into a shape, extending two of his fingers to strike at the envoy’s neck. This quick and simple maneuver showed Elliot’s pure mastery of close-quarters combat, a skill he had mastered to an extremely high degree.

The envoy’s neck seemed to have twisted for a tiny bit but it didn’t seem anything fatal. He spun around in the air a few times before falling down on the ground.

Elliot didn’t take it too far, just cutting off the oxygen to the envoy’s brain, knocking him out. He then looked at Harry, a person who could see him for himself. “What’s your name?” Due to that sudden movement, Elliot’s hair fell down covering his face, and forcing him to put it back in place.

“Harry…” Harry was completely feeling divine right now. A beauty beyond his realm of understanding showed up in front of him suddenly. “My name is Harry.”

She’s so cute! Argh! Now I get why he was after her! I would’ve too! Harry’s mind was on overload right now.

“Harry… that’s a good name. I’m Elliot Dagner. If it isn’t too much to ask, will you be my friend?” Elliot had never felt this way before, being seen as the person who he truly was. He was slightly embarrassed.

Harry misinterpreted that blush, “Ahem, why wouldn’t I? Although I’m not the most skilled person around, my Master definitely is!”

“Oh, wow, really?” Elliot felt as if this friendship was finally starting to form well. If Harry was just a normal person then it would be a little difficult but if Harry had some status then it would definitely make their friendship that much smoother. “How amazing is your master? Oh! Don’t take it the wrong way! I was just curious.”

Elliot suddenly hiding his face behind his hands made it really difficult for Harry to think clearly.

“Uh… it’s supposed to be a secret so can I… uh… whisper it to you?” Harry nervously asked. This was going well beyond what he was expecting from such a divine beauty. Although she was a little lacking in a few areas, her face more than makes up for it.

“Haha, I don’t see why not?” Elliot leaned in closer and waited for Harry’s words.

Harry’s heart, was in full honestly, not in a good condition at all. It was beating so fast that even the threat of death last night wasn’t even close to how fast it was beating right now.

“You know the Rank 9 sword that’s been rumored?” Harry confidently said.

Elliot’s eyes widened in pure shock as he thought, ‘This cannot be real…’

“My master owns it.” Harry finished his words which made Elliot completely ecstatic.

Such a coincidence! A friend that’s connected to the greatest blacksmith of the current world! This is heaven! Elliot was completely excited at how well everything was turning out. Well, so was Harry.

But… I still have to do my job. As much as I want to ask him to prove his identity… I don’t want to put a strain on our friendship so early on! Why must god test me like this? Elliot was internally panicking.

“If you want, I could show you. Follow me! If… you wouldn’t mind.” Harry tried to keep his calm as he slowly walked over to the small unnamed store in the commercial district.

“I would love to, Harry.” Elliot smiled which went above what Harry could handle. Elliot’s elegance and looks were too much for Harry. Thus, they quietly walked all over to the shop Cain made with tension in between them.

Hah, Master! I finally managed to invite a girl!

Harry… such a good person. My first friend that has no ulterior motives.

And thus both Harry and Elliot unlocked friendship. What an achievement!

Meanwhile, this was happening, Helena suddenly broke down laughing, “Hahahaha! This cannot be real! Hahaha!”

“Harry, you absolute moron! You dumbass! Hahahaha! Oh, I love what’s happening right now!” Helena continued laughing despite the very tense situation happening in front of her.

Miyamoto narrowed his eyes, “Child, who’s this Harry, you speak of?”

“Harry? Pfft! A moron, don’t worry about him. He’s just… hahahahaha!” Helena was looking over Harry the entire time. More accurately, she was spectating Cain, Nue, and Harry. She was watching over them from time to time but it took a lot of energy to do so. Especially a lot of energy when she tries to peek at Cain.

As for Nue, it was the same old. Nothing ever changes with her.

“Lass, I don’t see what’s so funny.” Miyamoto wasn’t offended at all, in fact, he’s actually prone to laughter. It was just that the current situation was a little tense.

Helena waved her hand, “Don’t worry about it. Hah… that was a good laugh. As I thought, this is fun. The… is so boring in comparison. Oops, you weren’t supposed to hear that.”

Everyone immediately looked at each other as they all tried to reconfirm what they just heard. “Did that little girl just…”

“She did. Stop treating her like a child. She’s a genuine expert.” An envoy from one of the public top three forces said. “To speak of the unspeakable, classify her as a Rank 10.”

“Ugh… so annoying!” Helena scoffed and snapped her fingers. “There, that should be fixed now.”

The light in all of the envoys’ eyes disappeared, leaving an empty husk behind.

As for Miyamoto, he felt an intense disturbance as his entire cognitive ability started to dwindle. He felt as if his entire mind was tearing apart trying to uphold his sanity. Within the depths of his mind, he saw a being of hellfire, even space and time were bending to her will.

The pure chaos and destruction that he had seen seemed to have been caused by her yet not by her at the same time. He could only describe it as the contradiction of fire’s existence. To burn everything, only to consume itself at the end.

“Oh? You’re a little interesting. I guess you can keep your memories.” Helena smirked and snapped her fingers again. “Your name’s… Miyamoto, right? Yeah, keep it a secret for me, alright? I could keep doing this again and again, it’s up to you if you want to die.” Helena looked at her well-done nails and casually brought everyone’s sanity back as if nothing ever happened.

Miyamoto ignored Helena’s warning and still shouted out, “Who the hell are you? You aren’t human! You’re a-”

“Never mind, I’ll just forcefully wipe it. Tch, I already warned you.” Helena burned Miyamoto’s memories without mercy. Reverting everything to how it was before.

As everyone finally regained their memories, they immediately stated their reasons that Helena had already heard before.

“We’re here to acquire the Rank 9 sword. Name your price.” An envoy seriously stated.

Helena tilted her head and waited until a certain someone started to speak.

“Ohohoho, a Rank 9 sword? May I come and see it for myself?” Miyamoto clearly stated as he appeared from right behind them.

The envoys from these supreme forces had already been somewhat acquainted with each other yet a sudden old man appeared in front of them, “A nobody like you should stay clear. Leave when we’re still asking nicely.”

“A nobody, you say… that is true. All I ask is to see the Rank 9 sword.” Miyamoto grabbed the handle of his sword in intimidation.

“And now we’re back.” Helena stretched out her limbs. “Reliving it wasn’t as bad as I thought.”