Astral Online: Cursed by the Demon Lord to Become the Strongest Beautiful Girl, I Rapidly Grow and Dominate with Cheat Skills Despite Being the Weakest Profession - Chapter 63
Chapter 63: Sword of Dawn
Hart carried the sleeping Kuro on his back as the group of four, including Aria and Sora, departed from the temple, heading back to the wind spirits’ base.
On their way back, they encounter a few Leviathan Warriors, but enemies of this level are no match for me now.
Sora fills all 15 slots of her enhancement skill slots with ?Attack Power Boost Enchantment II? and charges ahead alone, cutting down all the enemies.
Without stopping, the four of them reach the base.
At that moment, Kuro, who had been carried on Hart’s back, finally wakes up.
It had been about an hour from the temple to the base, during which Kuro slept soundly, clinging happily to her father’s back.
Sora, who had taken a screenshot of Kuro’s sleeping face and saved it in the image folder, beams with a wide smile.
“Ah, Sleeping Beauty had such a cute sleeping face.”
“Mmm, you shouldn’t take pictures of a girl while she’s sleeping…”
“Forgive me, you are just too cute, so I couldn’t resist.”
“Forgive me, Kurono was just so cute, I couldn’t help but ask him.”
“Dad was the mastermind!?”
Kuro is surprised by her father’s confession.
Seeing Hart’s apologetic face, Kuro sighs.
“…Mmm, I can’t get mad when you make that face, Dad…”
Kuro, with a conflicted expression, watches as both Sora and Hart clasp their hands together in apology.
Aria, meanwhile, silently watches the three of them with a cheerful smile.
The four then enter the base.
As soon as they do, spirits who had heard of their return rush over. Seeing Sora, they all freeze with tense expressions.
They quickly turn around and shout, “This is bad!” causing an uproar within the base.
Why are they suddenly reacting like this?
When asked about the reason, Lucifel responds:
?Master, among the spirits, there’s a long-standing legend about an adventurer with ‘silver hair and golden eyes’ who is considered a hero. Until now, you only had ‘silver hair,’ so you didn’t fulfill the conditions to be recognized as a hero. But by using me, you awakened and gained ‘golden eyes’ as well. Therefore, they now see you as the reincarnation of the ancient hero.?
I see, I understand now.
However, even if they see me as the hero from the legend, it’s a bit troubling if they start treating me with excessive reverence.
It’s true that looking at my MP being infinite and the list of enhanced support skills, I am far beyond the capabilities of a typical adventurer.
But that’s all.
I haven’t gained any special professions like Hero or Brave, and aside from my stats, I’m no different from an ordinary adventurer as a player.
So, I grabbed those who were about to kneel and firmly told them to treat me as they always have.
Even so, the adults still seemed somewhat uneasy.
On the other hand, the children greeted Sora cheerfully as usual when they passed by.
Returning the children’s greetings with a smile, I spoke to the other three about what we needed to do next at the base.
“First, let’s go to the tool shop. We need to do something about Kuro’s main weapon, too.”
“Oh, I don’t have a sword anymore…”
Kuro looked startled, as if she had forgotten due to her exhaustion and subsequent sleep.
After enduring Hart’s relentless assault, her sword finally broke after protecting its master.
Finding a replacement for the custom-made ?Night Cherry? by Kirie will be difficult, but any weapon is better than none.
Luckily, after days of constant battles, I’ve collected a total of 500,000 El in funds.
If I sell the dropped items, the funds will increase to 800,000 El.
No matter how expensive, I’ll get my partner a weapon as good as ?Night Cherry?.
While Sora was determined, Hart, with an apologetic expression, took a sword out of his item box and handed it to Kuro.
Then, he said something surprising.
“This is the sword Arisa and I received when we helped the Spirit Queen and Fairy King with their romance. I’m entrusting it to Kurono.”
“Dad…”
“Arisa used this sword carefully until she reached level 50. It was too precious to melt down into ingots, so after changing her main weapon, I kept it as a keepsake.”
“Mom’s sword…”
She accepted the sword and drew it from its black scabbard.
The blade was a light lavender color, delicate and beautiful.
The three of us—Sora, Kuro, and Aria—were captivated by its brilliance, like a piece of art.
Sora’s ?Insight? skill displayed the sword’s name and specifications.
—– —– —– —– —– —– —– —– —– —–
?Category?: One-Handed Straight Sword
?Weapon Name?: Sword of Dawn
?Rarity?: C+
?Attack Power?: B-
?Durability?: D+
?Required Level?: 28
?Weight?: 110
—– —– —– —– —– —– —– —– —– —–
This is a very fine sword.
Moreover, now that Kuro has reached level 28, she can equip the sword immediately, which is a relief.
As Sora admired the sword that surpassed even ?Night Cherry?, Kuro sheathed the sword and quietly whispered, “Mom…”
Kuro…
We silently watched as she paid her respects. After a moment, she turned to face Hart and me, gripping the sword with a look of determination.
“I want to get stronger. I want to become strong enough to search for Mom, wherever she is in this world.”
“Yeah, as your partner, I’ll be with you every step of the way.”
“As your father, I don’t really want to put you in danger…”
Before coming here, I had already explained to Hart that Kuro was obligated to play ?Astral Online?. In this world, you can’t survive without power.
Caught between his concern for his daughter and the reality of the situation, Hart’s face turned grim. Sora, however, responded confidently.
“Don’t worry, Hart-san. She has the most powerful ?Enchanter? as her partner.”
“…Sora-kun.”
Hart looked apologetic, but then Kuro clung to Sora’s arm and proudly looked at her father.
“Sora and I are the best match.”
“Sora-kun, I accept you as her partner, but I won’t give my daughter to you as a wife that easily.”
Wait, the conversation is taking a weird turn. Sora felt Hart’s intense stare and could feel sweat beading on his forehead.
Father-san, we’re not in that kind of relationship, okay?
“Dad, you still don’t know much about us.”
Yes, that’s right!
Let your father know, Kuro!
“We will prove it to you.”
What did you say, Kuro? You mean proving our compatibility in the game, right? You just made the misunderstanding worse.
And now, your father looked at me fiercely, as if I had taken his beloved daughter away from him.
Sora desperately tried to clear up the misunderstanding, but Hart showed no signs of backing down from his defensive stance.
For now, Sora decided it was best to escape the situation and headed to the blacksmith to have my equipment repaired, including my heavily damaged ?Silver Sword?. I’ll also restock on supplies.
The only disappointing thing was that the ?Elixir? Hart owned wouldn’t appear in the shop’s inventory unless you were level 100 or higher, and he couldn’t even give it to Sora.
Sora was a bit let down by the stringent restrictions on such a well-prepared high-rank item.
On the bright side, at least they found “Spirit Cookies” stocked on the shelves.
The effect is that when consumed, it slightly restores fatigue.
Fatigue is one of the factors in this game that can’t be ignored. If it reaches halfway, your movement abilities and the effectiveness of dash-type skills are halved, and if it maxes out, you become unable to move.
Each of these is a critical debuff if it occurs.
That’s why items that reduce fatigue are essential for a hardcore player like me. Additionally, unlike most food items that have a freshness parameter, this item doesn’t degrade, which is its biggest feature.
Thinking about the future, I bought around 100 of them without hesitation.
The price is 50 El per piece, so the total cost for 100 pieces was about 5,000 El.
Now, with this, I’m fully prepared.
As I was about to leave the shop to say goodbye to Giorl, I found that all the spirits from the base had gathered outside. They knelt down, expressing their gratitude, saying it was an honor to meet me, especially considering the repair of the “Great Barrier”.
As I stood there feeling a bit awkward, a man appeared.
It was Giorl, a spirit with a refined face and one arm. He bowed to Sora and Kuro, a smile on his face.
“Sora-sama, you’ve finished retrieving the rings?”
“Yeah, it’s done.”
“Then, you’re finally leaving?”
“Yes, that’s right. My journey ends at the edge of the world.”
It’s true that I feel comfortable here. The spirits accepted me, a stranger, without a single unpleasant person among them.
But I can’t stay here forever.
To break the curse, I have to defeat the Demon Lord. And I still have to keep moving forward. Along the way, I also need to search for Kuro’s mother. There’s still so much to do.
As I met Giorl’s gaze, he narrowed his eyes with a pleased expression and then bowed deeply.
“Thank you for everything, great adventurers Sora-sama and Kuro-sama. You are our benefactors and irreplaceable friends.”
“Thank you, Giorl. It was a short time, but I appreciate all you’ve done.”
“I had fun too,” Kuro added.
Giorl extended his left hand for a handshake, and Sora responded by shaking it with his left hand.
With powerful words, Giorl sent us off with a blessing.
“May the blessings of the World Tree be with the world’s strongest adventurer and their partner.”