Chapter 55: Ryota the Tryhard King — A Gift for Ais

The mechanical notification cut off abruptly, the voice fading into silence.

But Ryota's fingers stayed frozen on the edge of that commission slip, unmoving for a long while.

His eyes dimmed slightly as he fell into a deep, quiet contemplation.

—Minotaur.

The moment he heard that name, the first thing that came to mind was that famous "bull-headed monster."

This quest in front of him, though, was clearly marked as a Main Branch Quest, and it specifically required him to defeat it alone.

That could only mean one thing, the one trained personally by Ottar —

The Minotaur that, in the original story, drove Bell Cranel to the brink of death.

The one destined to be a stepping stone for forging heroes — a savage, pure warrior of a monster.

Ryota pulled himself out of these thoughts and found Eina still looking quietly at him, a hint of confusion in her eyes.

"Sorry, Miss Eina, I got a little distracted there," he said, finally taking the commission slip from her hand.

He lowered his gaze, reading the neat writing on the page:

[Commission Name]: Rare Monster Infant Dragon Tracking & Resource Collection

[Commission Objective]: Acquire the tooth of a Infant Dragon, a special material.

[Commission Reward]: 80,000–150,000 valis. If you collect other materials, such as the Infant Dragon's hide, additional bonuses will be awarded depending on the results.

[Client]: Anonymous

[Notes]: It is recommended to form a party for this commission. Although the target is on the upper floors, the rare species' movements are extremely unpredictable — proceed with caution.

Ryota's eyes moved steadily down the page.

Clear information, well-defined goals, even a carefully noted reward range.

Far more organized than Lain Hait's "help me" style commission from before.

But Ryota's brow twitched ever so slightly.

Something… wasn't right.

He'd only reached LV.2 this very morning.

Yet this commission had already been registered with the Guild before today — Eina had just "not had time to inform him" and chased him down.

In other words —

This quest had been prepared for him while he was still LV.1.

And the target was a Infant Dragon, a rare species on the upper floors.

Ryota was no stranger to Infant Dragons. The Loki Familia's records described them in detail.

They were among the most dangerous upper-floor monsters, with strength, speed, durability, and resistance all exceeding normal monsters on the same floor — strong enough to rival some LV.2 adventurers.

And this commission didn't just want a kill. It wanted the "tooth" — a special part that was almost impossible to obtain without killing the creature.

That meant he'd have to challenge the creature directly.

The objective was crystal clear, the reward tempting, and they'd even thoughtfully reminded him to bring a team.

But in essence, it was asking an LV.1 to take on a battle fit for an LV.2.

Ryota's mind settled on a conclusion.

This wasn't a coincidence — it was bait.

And whoever posted this commission… seemed to know him very well.

They knew Ryota wouldn't turn it down, or rather, that he couldn't turn it down.

Weird… who could it be…?

Just then, Eina's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Mister Ryota."

"Even though this commission is specifically addressed to you… I really think you should consider turning it down."

She brushed a loose strand of hair behind her pointed ear, paused, then continued,

"This quest — its rank, its objective, and the fact that it involves a rare species… the risk is simply too high for someone who's just reached LV.1."

"And besides…"

She glanced toward the counter with a worried look.

"Misha mentioned earlier… that you haven't formed a party yet, correct?"

"Tracking a rare species alone on floors 11 to 12, without any backup or support… that's just…"

Eina didn't finish the sentence harshly, but the worry in her tone was unmistakable.

Ryota smiled. He knew this half-elf truly cared about him.

"It's fine. I'll take this commission."

Eina froze, like she'd been hit with a paralysis spell.

A moment later, a flurry of question marks practically popped up over her head.

Wait, seriously? After all my warnings… he just… said yes?

An LV.1 going after a rare monster? Are you kidding me?!

Her mouth opened, trying to argue again, but seeing Ryota's calm, reassuring smile…

Eina found herself at a loss for words.

She was about to say, "At least bring a party with you!" when Ryota suddenly raised a hand and waved cheerfully.

"See you next time, Miss Eina. I've got to get moving."

And without giving her a chance to react, he turned and strode quickly toward the Guild doors.

Eina reached out reflexively, but caught nothing but air.

"…Sigh."

She let out a quiet breath, watching Ryota's back as he left, her expression complicated.

After a while, she whispered,

"At least… come back alive, okay?"

Then she turned and returned to the counter.

Misha glanced at her with a grin.

"Didn't work, huh?"

Eina forced a bitter smile and shook her head.

"He wouldn't budge at all."

"I don't know what he's thinking, trying to go after a rare species as an LV.1… especially a terrifying Infant Dragon…"

The more she thought about it, the more absurd it seemed, and the worry in her voice only grew.

But Misha just spread her hands with a "you should know this by now" expression and sighed.

"Mister Ryota's always like that, you know~"

"If he ever actually acted normal, that would be the real surprise."

Still, her eyes couldn't help drifting toward the direction Ryota had left, and she sighed softly.

"I get this feeling… he'll keep giving us surprises for a long time to come."

Eina glanced at her, nodding faintly.

"As long as he doesn't give us a heart attack, I'll be grateful."

"Oh right — do we know who submitted this commission?"

Anonymous, after all, only meant "anonymous to the public." The Guild staff still had access to that information.

When Eina asked, Misha quickly checked and replied,

"Hmm… it's that red-haired boy from before — Lain Hait."

"Huh, I didn't even notice he was with the Freya Familia."

Eina tilted her head thoughtfully but didn't say anything.

—

Ryota hefted his heavy load of materials and left the Guild, striding briskly down the familiar cobbled streets.

Before long, he arrived at the main gates of the Hephaestus Familia headquarters.

The guards had long since recognized him and simply nodded politely, letting him pass without question.

Ryota nodded back courteously, then stepped straight inside.

Passing through the familiar hallways, he headed directly for that all-too-familiar forge and dove right in.

Moments later—

Clang! Bang! Clang! Bang!

A series of sharp, rhythmic hammer strikes rang out across the silent morning forge, carrying a sense of urgency with each blow.

"Whew… let's start with the mithril ingots, check their reaction and fusion rate."

"During that spar with Ais, I realized the Kusanagi Sword has weaknesses besides its poor chakra flow — its durability needs work too… gotta fix that."

Inside the forge, Ryota kept swinging the hammer, moving like a possessed artisan machine, utterly immersed in his work.

The furnace roared back to life, sending waves of magma-like heat rolling through the room, lighting up the three tomoe spinning faintly in his eyes.

Suddenly — bam!

The forge's door was flung wide open.

"Hey! Who the hell is forging at this ungodly hour?!"

Tsubaki, with her hair still in a messy nest, stared at the blazing forge at full blast and Ryota hammering away like a wind-up doll, her eyelid twitching madly.

"I thought a ghost had broken into the workshop!"

"Who pissed you off this time? Lighting the forge at six in the morning?!"

Ryota didn't even look up. He just grinned.

"Good morning, Miss Tsubaki."

"No one pissed me off — I just got inspired."

Tsubaki: "…"

Inspiration? You call this night-raid-level hammering inspiration?!

She yawned a huge yawn, still half-asleep, the corners of her eyes glistening.

"Jeez… you even turned blacksmithing into a grind fest…"

She shook her head in disbelief, but finally surrendered to reality, closing the forge door with a soft clack.

Before she left, she mumbled drowsily under her breath,

"Fine, fine, knock yourself out. You'll figure out rest when you collapse."

Then she shuffled away in her slippers to go catch more sleep.

Inside the forge, Ryota was alone once more.

The fire roared. Sweat evaporated. Chakra threaded through his fingers like silk.

Every strike, every rune etched into the metal was honed with millimeter-perfect precision.

Finally, when the last piece of mithril was inlaid, the chakra-guiding channels completed, and the runes shimmered across the sword's body—

Hummmm—

The forging was finished.

The temperature of the forge gradually fell, the blazing glow fading away.

Ryota didn't rush. He simply stood to the side, eyes fixed on the thin blade cooling in the furnace.

Only when the final metallic ringing quieted and the searing heat fully dispersed, leaving a faint mist above the steel —

did Ryota slowly step forward and reach for the newborn weapon.

The sword was entirely silver-white, long and slender, with faint patterns winding subtly down the spine of the blade.

At a glance, it looked nearly identical to Ais's Desperate — almost indistinguishable.

But this was Ryota's handcrafted masterpiece, polished to perfection with every scrap of skill he possessed.

It had been forged from mithril ingots and mystic crystals, fused with searing flame, guided by his own chakra, and refined with the Sharingan's flawless insight.

And most important of all…

"Huh? Agility?"

Ryota blinked, looking down at the blade and gently running his finger along its surface.

That wasn't something he had consciously added.

It was a property the sword itself had spontaneously awakened after forging, thanks to the effects of Mystery.

He tried swinging it lightly.

Swish—

The moment the blade sliced through the air, there was barely any drag at all. Even the rebound from the strike was smoothed out by the sword's own nature, as if he was slicing through air with nothing but thought.

"So light…"

He murmured, giving his wrist a subtle twist and sending the blade through another flawless cut.

It didn't feel like a sword at all.

More like an extension of his own body, responding without the slightest hesitation.

That "agility" trait had been pushed to the absolute limit in this weapon.

"Perfect — this'll make a great gift for Ais. Otherwise there's no way I could justify that 40 million valis price tag."

"As for the name… I'll let her pick."

Ryota chuckled softly, carefully sliding the blade into a special scabbard and hanging it on the wall.

"Next up… I need to forge a weapon just for me."

He turned his gaze toward the pile of materials stacked on the table, a rough plan already forming in his mind.