Ron's combat style was unique.
At the very least, in all the years Ryuu had been an adventurer, she had never encountered such a fighting style. If she had to describe it, it would be a lack of sharpness.
Steady?
An extremely formulaic approach—probing attacks, and if they proved ineffective, a rapid retreat to open distance.
Trying, during maneuvering and confrontation, to find an opening in the opponent before delivering a decisive blow. Ryuu could not say that this method was bad. On the contrary, in one-on-one combat, mastering such details was indeed key to victory.
'Doesn't seem like a newbie adventurer…'
Ryuu quickly formed a simple evaluation in her mind.
Whether in speed or striking power, this was absolutely not something a novice adventurer could possess. As for that steady fighting style, it was as if he had once lost something.
She had no intention of holding back.
The sheer stat suppression of a high-level adventurer manifested itself in full in an instant. With a light tap of her toe, the girl's agile figure appeared before Ron.
Even if it was only a simple slash, under the support of her formidable strength, it still carried the sound of air being torn apart.
"First of all..."
"When facing a high-level adventurer, these meaningless rolls will instead give your opponent opportunities to attack you," Ryuu stated calmly.
Yet the training wooden sword held in her right hand did not slow in the slightest.
Although Ron reacted in time and raised his wooden sword to block, the tremendous force produced at the moment of impact still made the web of his hand feel as though it were being torn apart.
Before he could make his next response, the elf lifted her leg, the brown stockings perfectly outlining the curve of her limb.
Under other circumstances, Ron would certainly have taken the time to admire it carefully. But now was obviously not the moment. Feeling the tremendous force transmitted to his abdomen, his body flew straight back into the haystack behind him.
The pain was even comparable to injuries suffered in the Dungeon.
Suppressing the churning in his stomach, just as he was about to pick up the training wooden sword that had fallen beside him, a shadow entered his field of vision, blocking the morning sun.
The elf girl's face was exceptionally cold.
The training wooden sword in Ryuu's hand hovered before Ron's eyes as she spoke without the slightest emotional fluctuation: "When facing an adventurer stronger than you."
"The best course is to give them the most profound lesson—when they underestimate you!"
"Do you want to continue?"
"Of course."
Ron took a sharp breath of cold air, yet his smile was unusually bright. Compared to lessons paid for with one's life, this kind of training was clearly the most cost-effective choice.
Facing the hand Ryuu extended toward him, he did not hesitate, decisively taking it and standing up, fully aware that when someone offered help without asking for anything in return, providing emotional feedback would yield twice the result with half the effort.
"Senior Ryuu is really cool."
"…"
"What kind of gibberish are you muttering?"
Ryuu frowned slightly.
Yet the warmth that kept rising at the tips of her ears caused a rare hint of fluster to disturb the girl's usually calm mind. As a result, she decided to give Ron even harsher special training.
Why did you have to go and say something like that.
…
Although the training wooden sword had been wrapped in cotton cloth, greatly reducing the pain caused by being struck, after the training ended Ron was still sore all over.
Even so, he relished it.
Only this kind of thoroughly exhilarating combat could bring about a qualitative transformation in technique.
Exhilarating!
After finishing lunch at the Hostess of Fertility, Ron thanked Ryuu and then set off toward Hephaestus's weapon shop.
Last night, Hestia had said that the greatsword weapon would be finished forging around noon.
And once he obtained this weapon, the Dungeon exploration that had been temporarily halted would be able to resume as normal, allowing him to face a new challenge—the Dungeon's "Killer Ants."
After arriving at the weapon shop, Ron swept his gaze around, but he only saw Hestia's figure, along with that gigantic weapon planted in its scabbard, impossible to ignore.
It had been fully customized according to his requirements.
Including the hilt, its length was close to two meters. Before Ron's body had fully grown, this greatsword was even half a head taller than he was.
He looked toward the girl with smooth black hair tied into twin tails and greeted her: "Lady Hestia, good afternoon. This greatsword… is this the weapon I commissioned?"
"That's right."
Standing in front of the greatsword, Hestia's short stature made her appear even smaller by comparison. Although Ron was looking at her, the focus of his gaze clearly was not on her.
This wouldn't do—
In a follower's eyes, there should only be their superior god!
She raised a hand and waved it in front of Ron until she saw the boy's slightly apologetic look. Only then did Hestia, satisfied, fold her arms across her chest.
"Take a look first?"
"Okay."
'Do you also wish to dance?'
The greatsword's weight felt extremely solid, but it posed no real burden for Ron. Gripping the hilt with one hand, he drew the greatsword from its scabbard.
The entire blade was dark black, flowing with a sheen unique to metal.
The attached patterns were extremely regular, very similar to the "Damascus" forging technique from his previous life. Under the illumination of the overhead lights, it even shimmered with a mithril-like radiance.
Although its width was not exaggerated to the level of a door panel, purely in terms of visual impact, it was in no way inferior to the oversized swords seen in Soulslike games.
The blade of this greatsword was extremely sharp, and with such thick, solid materials, even using it to cut stone would probably not cause any damage to the weapon's blade.
"This greatsword is truly well suited for Dungeon exploration," Ron evaluated sincerely.
Especially when facing high-defense monsters—existences like the Killer Ants—if he were to encounter them again, it was hard to say who would end up fleeing.
"That's only natural."
Being able to satisfy Ron with the weapon already made Hestia very happy. She let out a light hum, pride impossible to hide in her tone: "This weapon is a genuine second-tier armament."
"It's absolutely enough for you to use for a very long time, Ron."
"Second-tier armament?"
Ron was well aware of equipment prices in the world of DanMachi—after running to weapon shops every day, how could he not be? Even fourth-tier armaments easily cost several million Valis.
Having Hephaestus help with the forging, ending up with a final quality at the level of third-tier would already count as angel investment from Orario's richest woman.
He looked toward Hestia, disbelief filling his eyes. But upon seeing the pride the girl made no effort to conceal, he seemed to gradually understand the answer.
"Lady Hestia, how much does this weapon actually cost?"
"As for the money…"
"You don't need to worry about that, Ron. Ever since you joined my Familia, to be honest—I really haven't given you a gift in the true sense of the word."
A mere four-year labor contract.
Hestia felt it was hardly worth mentioning at all. As long as she could help Ron, at the very least it would prove that she was not a completely useless goddess—one who could provide assistance to her Familia!
"So..."
"Use this weapon to be unstoppable in the Dungeon—cleaving through obstacles and advancing forward!"
Seeing Ron's astonished expression, a sense of accomplishment filled the girl's heart. She changed the subject: "And also, what name do you plan to give this weapon?"
"You're the one using it, so you decide!"
Giving a weapon a name?
Ron really was terrible at naming things. But just as Hestia said—advancing through the Dungeon, cutting through thorns and brambles—was that not itself a form of sheer stat suppression?
Without hesitation, he answered: "Great Fortune."
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