“What, how…” Liberto’s words were obscured by the shining gem,
And then a voice was heard.
[That’s a human weapon! Not a god’s weapon!]
[……A human weapon?]
[Remember the legend! Why did Baldur die? Haven’t you ever thought it was strange? That he died from being pierced by a mistletoe twig? No! The gods have been hiding the truth!]
[Hey, wait a minute. What you’re saying is too dangerous,]
Then came a cacophony of noises. An explosion, a brief scream, a cry mixed with static that was impossible to understand.
And then silence fell.
“…….”
Liberto was speechless.
Meanwhile, Frondier was trying to recall his past memories.
It was a very long time ago. Memories that would have disappeared forever if he hadn’t seen this pendant again.
But this conversation brought them back to life.
‘……Right, the conversation I heard last time was…’
─Mistilteinn wasn’t a twig.
─It wasn’t just some random twig imbued with divine power.
─It was a weapon made from the start! It was…
“……A human weapon.”
Yes, this conversation was about Mistilteinn.
Mistilteinn wasn’t a twig. It was a proper spear. Frondier knew that much.
But it wasn’t a weapon of the gods, but a weapon of humans?
“……A human weapon, made to kill gods.”
“Mr. Frondier, what are you talking about?”
Liberto asked in surprise, Frondier’s words too unsettling.
Frondier shook his head.
“I’m sorry. It was nothing.”
He put the pendant down.
‘This pendant, it’s not the only one. The recorded conversation continues.’
Frondier intended to fight back against the gods. Therefore, this information was valuable.
Especially if it was true that Mistilteinn was a human weapon, made to kill gods.
Moreover, Frondier knew where Mistilteinn was, thanks to his knowledge of the game. He had wielded it countless times as the protagonist, Aster.
However, there was one problem with Mistilteinn.
It wasn’t just lying around anywhere.
‘……Even I would have to risk my life to get it now.’
The reason he hadn’t obtained it yet, despite knowing its power and location, was simple.
Unlike in the game, death in this world was permanent.
Obtaining Mistilteinn was something you did while prepared for dozens of retries. It was a crazy thing he could only do because it was a game, because he was obsessed with the game.
But to do it in reality? It wasn’t even an option.
‘……For now, later.’
Frondier collected his thoughts. He wasn’t looking for Mistilteinn right now. He would have to return to the Falind continent to find it anyway. It was a matter for another time.
And frankly, he was a little scared.
‘An artifact that can detect Eclexis or Pandemonium…’
There were many artifacts in this basement that interested Frondier, but unfortunately, he couldn’t find anything related to Eclexis.
Left with no choice, he chose two suitable artifacts. It wasn’t like he needed them, as they were stored in his workshop, but he had to receive payment.
He hadn’t gotten what he wanted, and he had received information he hadn’t asked for.
Frondier returned home with a troubled mind.
* * *
That night, Frondier’s phone rang at home.
It was Zenita.
As soon as he answered, she told him something he had half-expected.
[My mother, she’s cured.]
“…….”
Zenita spoke without a hint of joy or surprise. It seemed even she couldn’t grasp the sudden turn of events.
Instead, she sensed something suspicious.
Just like Frondier.
[Teacher, you know that glowing ring?]
“Yes, I have a similar thought.”
The golden apple had cured Zenita’s mother’s illness. Or rather, it had absorbed the illness, hadn’t it?
“Did your mother have any other symptoms? Any side effects, or did she feel mentally strange?”
“No. She was perfectly healthy. Not depressed or overly cheerful, just back to how she was before she got sick. It’s so perfectly cured that it’s almost worrying.”
Frondier was relieved by her words. If Zenita’s mother had been strangely elated or energetic, he would have been suspicious.
He took the golden apple out of his pocket and looked at it.
A gift from the gods that restores and heals everything. If, as Evelyn had said, this single ring contained a mixture of various mythical powers, then curing a single person’s illness wouldn’t be a big deal.
…However, that was only if he ‘used’ the ring.
‘I didn’t do anything, but this ring absorbed the illness on its own.’
In other words, it acted on its own, ignoring its owner. It had a ‘will’ of its own.
And the ring wasn’t consumed or worn down, still appearing the same before Frondier.
In other words, it could be used repeatedly.
‘I don’t know how many times it can be used, but it’s a strange object in itself.’
Even if it could cure all the diseases in the world just once, it would be a miracle.
But what if it could be used multiple times? What if it could be used ten times, a hundred times?
‘That’s not a miracle. It’s the rules of the world changing because of this one thing.’
No matter how many mythical powers were mixed in, Frondier’s instincts were screaming that this wasn’t normal.
Moreover, there was a simple and ominous possibility.
‘Black smoke was absorbed into this ring. Then…’
Where did the black smoke go?
Was it inside this?
What if, after continuously inhaling the black smoke, the ring could no longer absorb illnesses?
What would happen to the ring then?
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