23 An eye for an eye

And I'm back. What, did you think I dropped?

I'd never do that to you.

Although there will be no more daily updates from now on. It will be once every two three days to give me time to focus on my other works.

Anyway, Shout-out to my new patron:

Drowz

You are a legend!

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"Why do you want to have a look at my Gale?" I asked her, knowing the answer already.

"You called it Gale?"

"Yes I did."

"Why?"

I picked up Gale by it's handle and lifted it up in my arms, stroking the smooth, dark surface of it's blade.

"Well it just sort of happened really. A thing of the moment if you will. I was sparring with the Sword Princess on the 14th floor when one of her companions complained that I was creating gales of wind every time I swung it. Hence how it got its name."

"Interesting. You were able to spar with the Sword Princess using a heavy blade like that while she uses a lighter longsword?"

"Heavy?" I laughed before grasping the very tip of the handle between my index finger and thumb and held it out lengthways to my side. "It weighs nothing more than a toothpick, to me at least."

She nodded, mildly impressed.

"So can I have a look?"

"Yeah sure."

"Then follow me please."

She stood up from her desk and walked over to the bookshelf. Anticipating her movements, I followed right behind and watched as she seemingly pulled on a random book before the shelf moved aside to reveal a small forge within.

In front of the blazing fire was a relatively large anvil and one one wall was an assortment of different tools such as tongs, hammers, pliers as well as bottle of oils and sandpaper. I was honestly shocked to see the sandpaper, but then again, how did they polish rusty blades in this world?

She walked over to the anvil and slipped on a pair of heavy duty gloves. She turned around to me and held out her arms for my sword. I obliged and held it above her palms.

"Brace yourself." I said before dropping the big weapon in her arms. She wobbled a little bit before straightening herself, straining to hold the giant weapon.

"By the heavens, how are you able to hold this so effortlessly?! It's heavier than some battle-axes I've held in my time."

"You can thank my developmental ability 'Strong Body' for that. Maxed out with my awesome power level, it would be nothing short of strange if I weren't able to swing this thing around like a twig."

She hummed in acceptance of my response before placing Gale on an anvil and walking over to the tool bench. I saw her pick up some oculus magnifying tool that I recognized went on the eye, as well as a small hammer.

She came back to Gale and began inspecting it all over, tapping it in several different places here and there. She would then lift it partially, inspecting it all over with her normal eye before going back to tapping away at it.

As I didn't exactly understand what she was doing, I decided to go and have a look at a display of swords on a further wall. Walking over, I was impressed by their appearances.

I didn't need to cast [APPRAISAL] on them to see that they were good quality with some having magical elements to them. They gleamed in the light cast by the forge.

'If these were in Yggdrasil, they'd probably be classed as Relic grade weapons.' I presumed.

I supposed it was due to her having her true powers sealed away that she could not make anything of a higher grade. Although it kind of made me excited to think what she could make if her powers could be put fully to use when making a weapon.

With the use of her Arcanum would she be able to make Legendary Grade equipment, or Divine Grade equipment? I doubted she could make a World item as those were not crafted but simply formed from the many leaves of the World Tree.

Whatever she could make no doubt kicked the Crozzo masterpieces into the dirt. She was Hephaestus after all. If a woman in this universe, Hephaestus was one of the most famous smithing gods in history back home, capable of forging lightning bolts for Zeus to throw down upon the mortal world from Olympus.

"So tell me Garth. What were you before you came to Orario?" Hephaestus asked me as she continued inspecting my weapon.

"Me? Well I suppose I was just an ordinary citizen before I came here."

"I know that. Who isn't before they come to the dungeon city? But what I meant was what did you do?"

I pondered my answer for a moment.

"Well I was a student, studying Literature and History at an academy. I worked as cleaner when I was not studying, or I was learning different ways of hand-to-hand combat."

"Monk fighting? But you carry a sword?" She looked at me questioningly.

"It's mostly for convenience purposes. When I do fight, I mostly use my fists. Things tend to get done quicker when I fight like that."

"I see. Did you happen to study magic as well when you were a student?" She continued while tapping away at my sword.

"No. All my magic is self-learnt. I've not yet come across anybody that can use magic the way I do. It's rather unique to me it seems."

"Congenital magic?" She asked in amazement.

"I suppose yes."

"Well that is impressive. It's not often that a human is born able to use magic."

"Yes. Riveria did tell me that the first day I got here."

"She's quite an enthusiast about magic, so it would make sense that she'd be the first to tell you something like that. Speaking of..." She paused what she was doing so that she could be heard without the noise of her activities getting in the way. "...that spell you used to protect the entire city with. What was it?"

"It's a spell I made called [Perfect All-Encompassing Sanctuary]. It's an extremely  large area of effect spell. I designed it to be able to protect anything inside it from physical or magical attacks."

"You must possess an unbelievable mind-pool to cast something that large all on your own."

I was not going to tell her that a Super-Tier spell actually didn't consume MP at all, and rather functioned as a skill.

"Well it is one of the highest level spells I can use."

"I don't doubt it. Especially considering that you were channelling Arcanum through it." She stood up straight and folded her arms over the other while looking at me. I looked at her confused.

"What?" I asked, the bewilderment clear in my voice.

She herself became perplexed at the tone.

"Are you saying you didn't know?"

"Y-yes. I didn't...Arcanum? Are you sure?"

She shrugged.

"That's what I and every other deity in Orario felt when you activated it. It was simply brimming with our type of energy non stop. You wouldn't happen to be able to explain that would you?"

I shook my head, seriously confused.

"No. I'm afraid I can't."

Though while I said that, my mind raced through all the Overlord Lore I knew. Super Tier magic was something only Players were able to use as far as I knew. NPC's, the citizens of the new world and everyone else could use it.

Well, it was not entirely impossible for NPC's to do it but even then it was only in extremely limited capacity compared to Players. And it was only possible if their creators bestowed it upon them.

Although I did read somewhere that people within the Slane Theocracy could cast it with rituals and stuff like that but only barely. I wasn't sure how reliable that was, but for an individual person to cast it, they had to be a Player.

And in the New World, Players were regarded as 'Gods'. Demiurge even once referred to Super Tier magic as 'god-level' magic. So could that be the explanation?

The fact that Super-Tier magic was supposed to be a divine ability, was that the reason why it had contained Arcanum?

Hold on...if Hephaestus sensed it as well as every other deity, did that not mean that...

'Damnit Freya! These are not the things you're supposed to keep from me!'

I held my face, suddenly feeling exhausted all of a sudden. For some reason I felt that there was big headache coming my way.

"This is truly a magnificent weapon you have here, Garth. I have not seen many like it. No, correction. I have not seen ANYTHING like it." She said while holding it up. She set it down and turned to me with a fist on her hip.

"Do you not find it strange?"

I blinked, confused.

"What? What do you mean?"

"I mean that I have studied every method of crafting under the sun for millions of years. I am the patron of the biggest group of blacksmiths in the world, and I have forged countless powerful weapons over the years for an untold amount of adventurers.

And yet for all that experience under my belt, never have I ever come across a weapon like this. You understand that our powers are sealed away when we descend to the mortal realm, right?"

I nodded. "Yes, I do know that."

"Well, did you know that even though our Arcanum is sealed away, we still retain some supernatural abilities even after our descent? Take Freya for example." She gestured towards me.

"She still holds the ability to charm people whether they're mortal or immortal. One would think that a power like that would have been sealed away with her Arcanum, but because that ability is so innate within her, she managed to keep it even after signing the pact."

"Yes, I am also aware of that. I have first hand experience with that...ability of hers."

"I'm sure you do." She muttered. "You must be wondering why I am telling you this, correct?"

"I will not lie, I do want to hear your point."

She frowned at me.

"Do you know what my ability is?"

This was something I genuinely did not know so I shook my head, waiting for her to tell me the answer.

"Well then, it is this. My eyes can see the make up of any weapon I see. And using it, I can also decipher exactly how the weapon was made. As I said, I know  every smithing technique under the sun, so it should be reasonable that there isn't a weapon I should be clueless about, correct?"

"It would be an obvious conclusion."

She raised her eye brow and picked Gale off the anvil, placing it down on the floor. She gave me a suspicious look.

"Then why is it that you carry a weapon with you made from such dense quantities of an extremely expensive and durable metal that no conventional forge on earth could possible have made it?

Moreover, why is it that despite deciphering it's made from extremely refined adamantite, I cannot figure out exactly how it was made? Even though from it's appearance, it could not have been made any different from other greatswords.

And finally..." She rubbed a finger down the length of the blade. The blade lit up, revealing glowing letters somehow etched into the blade along with a bunch of numbers. They were moving up and down the blade, like a meme of a hacker's screen. "What is with this strange rune language embedded within it?"

'Is that...game programme coding?' I thought to myself. 

How was she able to make it reveal itself? 

"Tell me something Garth Ragnar, where did you get this weapon?" She asked, the suspicion on her face having deepened even further.

I mentally kicked myself in annoyance. I should've seen this coming. Of course a goddess of smithing would be able to tell that my items were different to that of Danmachi's. They operated on different laws than this world.

In allowing her to inspect my sword, I'd suddenly driven myself into a corner. I didn't want to lie to her, otherwise my secret may be forced out.

On the other hand, I could simply refuse and leave with Gale in hand. It's not like she could do anything...

Except probably bother me for the rest of my life about it. And I hate naggers!

My brain raced to find an answer in the span of milliseconds as time slowed down for me while I was deep in thought. I momentarily looked up at Hephaestus, quicker than she would be able to see when my eyes suddenly settled on her eyepatch.

It took me back to some of my musing from a few days ago, how I'd intended on finding out what that eye of hers looked like, what kind of curse it was, and if I could cure it for her.

Perhaps I could capitalize on this situation. See if I could accomplish the deed as well as have someone powerful like her in my eternal debt. Two birds with one stone.

I folded my arms and smirked at her.

"I didn't get it from anyone. Nobody sold it neither did anybody make it for me."

"Then who did make it? You?"

I nodded. Hephaestus became confused.

"Are you a blacksmith?" 

I shook my head. "Nope."

"Then how did you forge this? Only a talented blacksmith could make a miracle like this exist!"

"It's true that I didn't forge it. But regardless, I did make it."

Hephaestus's brow scrunched up, completely bamboozled at my words. She stared me up and down like I was some sort of crazy person.

"Then...how did you make this, if you didn't forge it?"

I turned away from her, clasped my hands behind my back and looked out of the window.

"In life, we all carry secrets with us." I said. "Sometimes these secrets can be used to monopolize a certain situation, or it could endanger our lives if they came out in the open. Or sometimes, our secrets can become a source of insecurity for us, and we look at ourselves in a self-deprecating manner because of them."

I looked at her and noticed the skin around the eyepatch was subconsciously twitching. I continued.

"Something I've also learned is that...mutual benefits at the very least, can be agreed to upon the exchange of secrets between person to person. How I made that weapon in your hand, the method used is indeed a very controversial secret. If anything, somebody proud of your craft like you would probably be offended by it."

Her brow raised, as she looked completely lost at my words. I carried on.

"I've known you only for an hour now Lady Hephaestus. However, I consider myself to be a good judge of people. And my intuition is telling me that you are a trustworthy person. That being said, I'm not willing to part with my secret for free." I gave her a pointed look.

"Name your price Garth. Tell me what it is you want in exchange for this secret method of yours." She said earnestly. I could feel the thirst in her for new knowledge that could make a high level weapon like that. I walked up to the anvil and leaned on it.

"Tell me Hephaestus. I'm sure you've heard of the phrase 'An eye for an eye'. Right?"

Her hand shot up to her eyepatch.

"No..."

"Yes. In exchange for telling you my secret, I want to know the one you've kept under that eyepatch for as long as anybody has know you. Show me your other eye!"

She backed away, shaking her head.

"No. I can't."

I gave her a soft smile.

"Why ever not?"

She paused and looked down at the floor, sighing and glancing up at me now and again.

"There has only been one person to look at my other eye and not run away in disgust or terror." She said quietly. "It's a very personal thing for me. Which is why I can't show it to you."

I smiled again and walked nearer to her.

"You do know that you're talking to an adventurer right? We fight monsters on a daily basis. What ever is under there cannot possibly be worse than what we see every day."

"Trust me. It is." She looked away from me. "I think you should go now Garth."

"What?"

"I'm sorry I pried too much. I was just curious about the sword. It's my fault for asking you to stay. You only came here to sign a contract, but I kept you behind. It's my fault this conversation went this far."

"Lady Hephaestus..."

"Please just go." Even though her head was turned away from me, I could hear the wobble in her voice. I winced inside. I'd underestimated how bad this affected her.

I stepped closer to her and grabbed her hand. She whipped her head around startled at what I was doing.

"Do you know why I pushed on such a thing?" I asked her.

She didn't reply.

"You are not the only one who has a unique ability pertaining to the eyes. My unique magic also affords me some perks. Like this, [DISCERNING EYE]."

In front of her, she saw the pupils of my eyes turn green, the light spilling out of the black spot onto the coloured bits of my eyes. She stared at me amazed.

"What does it do?" She breathed.

"It tells me the status of whomever I'm directing this ability at. And what it tells me, is that you have a cursed status effect." I blinked and the green pupils disappeared. "What you carry under that eye is a curse isn't it?"

She hesitated before nodding slowly.

"Y-yes. It is."

"How long have you had it?"

"Ever since I can remember." She murmured.

"Did you know that among my many spells are holy ones?" She looked at me when she heard that. "Including ones that nullify curses."

She stuttered. "A-are you s-saying that...that..."

"Yes Hephaestus. I want to see that eye of yours because I want to see if I can cure it."

"How? I've been looking for a way to lift this dastardly thing for millennia, both in heaven and down here! How could you possibly cure this?"

"I don't know if I can. I have to see it first. You never know until you try."

Her other eye started watering a little.

"Are you willing to give it a try? To see if you can cure me?"

"That's what I said didn't I? And once I have my answer, then I will show you how I made this blade."

She looked down at our clasped hands, but I didn't let go. After a minute or so, she looked back up at me.

"If you can cure this, then I will forever be in your debt."

"You trust me."

"I-I don't." She said pointedly, pulling her hand out of mine. "But I am willing to do anything just to be rid of this thing."

I nodded in understanding.

"Very well. Then remove the eyepatch, and let me see."

She took a few heavy breaths before lifting her hands behind her head to grasp at the clasp that held the eyepatch there. I heard a click as she took a few more struggled breaths.

Then it came off. 

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