Chapter 72 - Should I get close to him?

Tsubaki could have killed me, but I didn't care and attacked her anyway. She was startled by my attack and swung her sword, cutting down the ice spears above her head to escape.

She shattered the ice spears into pieces and barely avoided the ice spikes rising from the ground.

Landing a few meters away, she clicked her tongue.

"Tsk! Can you stop using that annoying magic? What is it called?"

"Ice Control. I can control ice."

"What an interesting ability. Can you only use it for attacks like these, or can you do something else?"

"This is my first time testing it, so I don't know."

"All right, then test it on me. Don't worry, I won't be hurt by something like this."

"Okay."

I was sure she wouldn't be harmed, so I could do whatever I wanted. But what exactly could I do? I could create snowballs, ice spears, and ice spikes… I could probably freeze something if I wanted to.

Hmmm…

Maybe I could freeze parts of my enemy's body to limit their movements.

That's what I decided to test.

I ran toward Tsubaki, and she didn't move. When I was close enough, I used my imagination to create a freezing wind that would chill everything it touched. And it worked. The icy wind surged toward Tsubaki.

She didn't notice my attack, and it hit her, starting to freeze her skin.

As soon as she felt something was wrong, she stepped away from me.

"What was that?" She looked at her arms, which were turning white, her skin aching. "Is this ice?"

"It's something new I'm testing."

"This is definitely interesting. Can you freeze anything you want?"

"I think… yes?"

"That's amazing. What else can you do?"

"I don't know… I can't think of anything else."

I remembered an ability from New World where the user could create an ice bow and shoot arrows, but when I tried it here, it didn't work.

I guess I can only do simple things with this ability for now. I'll probably be able to do anything I want when it levels up.

But just because these are simple attacks doesn't mean they're weak. I could definitely kill a weak adventurer with this.

"Oh, right. I was so caught up in this ice stuff that I forgot to ask about that giant hammer that suddenly appeared. What was that? You cracked the training field floor."

"That's another ability of the sword."

I transformed my sword into a small hammer this time, and it worked. I could control the hammer's size and even change its shape. I could even add spikes to the hammer's head if I wanted.

"I've never seen anything like that before. What kind of things are you forging?" Tsubaki gave a bitter smile.

####

After having some fun with Tsubaki, I followed her to her forge to pick up my new armor. As soon as I entered the room and saw my new armor displayed on the table, I immediately noticed its high quality.

"Here it is. What do you think?" Hearing Tsubaki's question, I approached the armor and picked up one of its pieces.

Then, a system message appeared before my eyes, displaying the armor's abilities. Yes, there was only one ability, but—

[ Defense LV5 ]

But it was a level 5 ability! I had never forged a level 5 item before!

This was an incredible armor.

"This is amazing. The quality is outstanding."

"Of course, it is. Do you think I'm like you?"

"Hey, I forged you a really good sword."

"It could have been better, but yeah, it's a decent sword."

Tsk!

I clicked my tongue and picked up the armor to take it with me. But then Tsubaki stepped in my way and held onto it.

"Before you leave, I need to ask you one last question."

"Huh? What is it?"

"You're not normal, are you?"

Hearing Tsubaki's question, I felt my heart stop for a second. What did she mean by that?

"Why do you look so nervous? I'm talking about your forging. It's not normal."

"What do you mean?"

"You're good, but not as skilled as most members of the Familia. Yet, somehow, you can forge incredibly powerful swords. Isn't it because of that strange thing that happened earlier? It looked like magic."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"All right, then." Tsubaki let go of the armor. "If you ever want to talk to me about it in the future, I'd be happy to listen. I'm very curious."

"..."

"Oh, before you leave, I have one more question about training. Are you going to keep training every day?"

"Of course. See you tomorrow."

"All right, see you tomorrow."

I left Tsubaki's forge and went to my room. After that, I took a bath and put on the armor.

'I think I'll head to the dungeon. Just for some fun.'

That mission gave me a lot of ore, so I don't need to collect any for now.

Since I don't have to worry about gathering ore, I can just focus on having fun.

'But I won't try to fight the boss today. I have a feeling that if I do, I'll probably die. I feel like the next boss is much tougher than I imagine.'

####

*Freya's POV*

"Ottar, what have you found out?"

"He frequently meets with the captain of the Hephaestus Familia at a training ground near his home. And he goes to the dungeon often. I haven't discovered much beyond that."

"Hmmm… Do you think it's a good idea for me to get a little closer to him, or should I wait a bit longer?"

"..."

"Answer me."

"I think it's best if you don't approach him for now."

"Why?"

"The Goddess Hephaestus had a jealous outburst recently. I imagine it created some tension between them."

"Isn't that perfect?"

"..."

"The more jealous Hephaestus gets, the better."

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Next chapters: Chapter 73 - I don't have many friends. / Chapter 74 - Preparing to face the boss. / Chapter 75 - My Falna has evolved a lot. / Chapter 76 - Get crushed, motherfucker! / Chapter 77 - You're very naughty. / Chapter 78 - They're making a lot of noise! +18 / Chapter 79 - Hephaestus is a pervert. +18 / Chapter 80 - Rank E