The New Gate

Shortly after Shin escaped, the lab collapsed. Soldiers who had sensed that something was wrong arrived.

While Shin was still hiding and observing the situation, three soldiers arrived, wearing high-grade equipment in both appearance and performance. From what the soldiers around him said, he could tell that they were the Royal Guard Knights. The three made the other soldiers stand back and talk in front of the rubble that was once a laboratory.

“What’s going on? Is he dead?”

“According to the soldiers on guard, there didn’t seem to be anything wrong. Maybe we should think that they destroyed the evidence and fled.”

“I don’t care about them. The problem is that we won’t be able to lift the curse on those people.”

As Shin approached, he heard some ominous words.

Shin had suspected that the blacksmiths were obediently following the orders because they had been taken hostage, and it seemed he was right.

“(Can you hear me, everyone? A monster has appeared in the area where the weapons are on display. One by one, the weapons on display are turning into monsters and going wild!)”

While Shin was thinking about his next move, Shibaid’s 【Mind Chat】 popped into his head.

Shibaid had gone to one of the weapon exhibition halls when he saw a greatsword transform into a monster.

It was the masterpiece of a master craftsman, and it was said that the monsterization had transformed it into a very powerful monster.

This must be what FunkyFunky was talking about.

“What’s ‘fun’ about it? Are you kidding me?”

Among the exhibits Shin saw, there were even some that reached Mythology-grade. Shibaid said that the weapon had turned into a monster, but looking at similar monsters, the level should easily exceed 600.

“I think I’ll head to the exhibition hall. Can you help deal with the curse, Schnee?”

Even if Shin were to break his 【Hiding】 and show himself there, there’s no guarantee that he would be trusted. In a situation like this, there wouldn’t be the time to check the introduction letter every time. However, if it was Schnee herself, her reputation would be on another level. It’s a bit pathetic to rely on her so heavily in a situation like this, but Shin had no other choice, so he asked Schnee.

“It can’t be helped. However, I can’t use 【Purification】 to remove the curse. Is there an item I can use instead?”

“Of course I have it. I’ve already upgraded it, just like the rest of my equipment. If it doesn’t work, just let me know.”

Shin took out a bracelet decorated with a sunlight motif from his item box.

He usually upgraded his items whenever he had free time, but he’s only started working on this recently. He couldn’t help but smile at the situation that seemed to have been timed, but there was no point in complaining now. Leaving Schnee to take care of things, Shin ran off in the direction of the exhibition hall. 𝐫

Shin ran through the castle, and reached the top of the castle walls in less than five minutes. From the top of the castle walls, he had a good view of the city. It’s obvious where the commotion that Shibaid had reported was happening. Black smoke was rising from a part of the city below the castle.

Thanks to the inspectors who he had followed earlier, Shin had a good idea of ​​where the most important items in the exhibition hall were kept. The black smoke was rising from that very place.

The exhibition hall was close to the royal castle, so after confirming the location, Shin jumped straight from the castle walls towards his destination. No matter how strong Shin’s legs were, he wouldn’t be able to reach the exhibition hall in one leap.

Gravity pulled him down, but Shin quickly activated his skill and jumped again. One way to use 【Flying Shadow】 to form a foothold in the air was to gain distance while falling.

Normally, one could only form a foothold in the air twice, but with no limit on the number of time footholds, Shin could move forward in a straight line without falling, as if there was an invisible path.

It was a power he had unexpectedly gained when he was caught up in the World Tree’s turmoil some time ago, and its effects were something that many players had longed for. In this world where flying magic didn’t exist, it was very reassuring to be able to do something close to it. He could get to the scene much faster than simply moving along the rooftops.

Shin’s line of sight was amidst the black smoke and the ruins of a building, where strange creatures were wriggling about. A translucent slime-like thing appeared around one or more pieces of armament, forming various shapes.

【Analyze】 was activated, and although he could see the HP gauge, the monster’s name was garbled. It must not have been a normal monster.

“Are they using the armament as their core?”

Shapeless monsters often had a core that was their weak point. However, this time it was not that simple. The cores of these types of monsters were small compared to their flesh, but what replaced the cores of the formless monster in front of him were a number of armaments that have been forged by blacksmiths of the past. Depending on the grade, it was not something that could be easily destroyed.

Even in this world, there were weapons that had turned into monsters.

For example, the Living Mail, a moving armor possessed by a vengeful spirit, and the Blood Blade, a sword without a wielder, that flew in search of blood.

However, Shin had never heard of a monster that used armament as its core to form its body like the monster in front of him.

The monsters came in all different sizes and shapes, ranging from small ones about 1 mel large to ones over 5 mel.

Their shapes also varied, from beast-type ones like wolves or tigers, to ones with long necks, tails, and wings like dragons or wyverns. Among them were some that looked like failed chimeras made by jumbling together parts of various creatures. Even though they were half-baked, their original shapes could be roughly discerned, so they were more eerie than strange.

However, no matter what they looked like, they were still high-level monsters. They seemed to have the power to match their size and level, and buildings could collapse with just a single blow from one of their arms or wings. Debris then rained down on the people who had not managed to escape.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Suddenly, a barrier appeared and repelled the debris.

“Shibaid!”

It seemed that Shibaid had been at the scene from the beginning of the commotion. The reason why the monsterized weapons hadn’t scattered too much yet was probably because he had attracted them.

“Please help the people escape from here!”

“Yes!”

Because it had happened so suddenly, there were still many people in and around the exhibition hall.

Some people immediately ran into buildings. Some people ran around in confusion, not knowing where to go. Some people were scared of the intimidating presence of the monsters. If Shin and the others fought with all their might, they would get caught up in it. However, Shibaid, who could use shields and barriers and even manage the monsters’ aggro, would be able to help people escape more accurately. He would have acted even without Shin’s orders.

In terms of attracting attention, Shibaid acting as a decoy would attract more enemies, but the problem was that the enemies themselves were too scattered.

It was unclear how many shapeless monsters there were, or in what area they would appear.  At this point, he decided that it would be more efficient for Shibaid to focus on defending with a barrier, while Shin went around killing enemies.

For now he just had to reduce their numbers. Shin aimed at an enemy with no one around and drew his sword.

A sky-blue blade pattern emerged from its scabbard, which was painted with claw marks. Everything except the blade pattern was very transparent, so much so that you could see through the blade to the other side. Depending on the light, the blade could become quite hard to see.

It had a mysterious appearance, as if only ripples were extending from the hilt; it was a high class Ancient-grade sword, and was called 『Blue Cloud』.

“Is the core formed from 『Rankui』?”

Looking at the core of the shapeless monster he was targeting, Shin could see through to its name. It was a weapon he had knowledge of from his gaming days, so he knew right away.

It looked like a short sword decorated with sharp and spiky patterns. The blade was serrated, and it had the effect of dealing a small amount of additional damage to normal attacks.

The shape of the monster was that of a lizard with spikes all over its body. Its appearance was similar to that of a monster called Stillengar that dropped one of the materials used to make 『Rankui』.

Shin decided to tentatively call the monsters before him as “Weapon Monsters.”

Perhaps the Weapon Monsters were imitating the monsters that were the source of their materials? While thinking, Shin swung his 『Blue Cloud』 at the arm that was stretched out towards him.

He sliced ​​off the arm, which had transformed into a claw-like thing. Its monster level was 429. Its shapeless flesh seemed to have only the appropriate strength, and there was almost no resistance.

The arm that had separated from the main body could no longer maintain its shape, and disappeared as if melting. It was unclear where it was coming from, but a high-pitched metallic scream rang out from the main body.

Shin immediately stepped forward and slashed at it. Dodging the weapon, he sliced off the top of its chest.

『Blue Cloud』 was effective against shapeless monsters such as slimes and elementals. Combined with this effect, Shin felt like he was cutting through mist.

“It doesn’t regenerate.”

Just like the arm he’d cut off earlier, the parts that were separated from the main body disappeared after a while, as if the mist had cleared.

Some monsters of this kind have the ability to regenerate so quickly that they could restore missing parts if their core or weakness wasn’t destroyed, but that didn’t seem to be the case with the monster before him.

Shin didn’t know what the translucent material was that made up its body. However, it seemed to exist as a substance and made a crunching sound when it hit the ground or a wall. Shin decided to call it “Gel” for the time being, and observed the Weapon Monster.

The Weapon Monster in front of him took a few steps forward with the remaining lower half of its body. Its feet were unsteady, perhaps because its vision wasn’t working.

If he wanted to finish it off, he could do it right now. But what should have been easy, Shin couldn’t do right away. Finishing them would mean destroying the weapon that was their core. Even though they had turned into monsters, Shin was reluctant to destroy the weapons that past blacksmiths had put all their effort into creating.

While this was happening, other Weapon Monsters were destroying buildings and attacking people.

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