Ethan had tied back his long hair and put on a large hood that concealed much of his face. Tsubaki looked at him and said, "I think that's good enough. Let's get going now. Aren't you going to wear any armor?"
"There's no need."
"You might end up regretting that," Tsubaki said, but Ethan didn't care.
The two left the Hephaestus Familia's home, and Ethan took a deep breath.
"It's been a while since I walked around here. It feels nice."
"It's not like you were trapped."
"You're right," Ethan said as he quickened his pace.
He began wandering around, looking at the many shops and greeting a few people along the way. Tsubaki hadn't expected Ethan to behave like this. He looked so excited and happy that he didn't seem like the same person.
Normally, he didn't show much emotion, only offering the occasional smile.
Eventually, they approached the Dungeon. Ethan started looking at the adventurers around him, carefully examining their equipment. Then, a sword hanging from a man's waist caught his attention.
A status window appeared before his eyes.
Sword (Silver) ★★
Attack - 416
Magic Conduction - 367
Skills - Pyrotechnics
"That man is using one of my swords," Ethan said to Tsubaki.
She looked at the man and asked, "How can you tell?"
"Every sword I forge is special to me. I can tell whenever a sword was forged by my hands."
"I see, I see. He must have bought it from Welf's shop, right?"
"Yes, probably."
Ethan continued walking. Then he noticed a girl approaching. It was Ais Wallenstein. He had met her before, so he wasn't nervous in her presence.
Ais was accompanied by her party.
'Tiona, Tione, and Bete, right?' Ethan thought.
Ais walked past Ethan and Tsubaki.
Their eyes met.
'Hm?'
She suddenly stopped walking and looked in Ethan's direction.
The two stared at each other for a few seconds before Tiona asked,
"Ais, is something wrong?"
"Hm? It's nothing," she replied, resuming her walk toward the Dungeon entrance.
Tsubaki, having noticed the strange tension in the air, asked,
"Do you know her?"
"Everyone knows her."
"I'm asking if you've met her before."
"We met on the day I escaped from the Alecto Familia. It's not an important memory."
"I see... But she seemed to care about you. She kept staring at you," Tsubaki said. After thinking for a moment, she added, "Wait a second... Don't the two of you look quite alike?"
She hadn't really thought about it before.
Golden hair, golden eyes, pale and flawless skin.
The two of them looked remarkably alike.
"Don't tell me you're Ais's brother or something..." Tsubaki said.
"Of course not."
"..."
The two continued toward the dungeon while Tsubaki remained lost in thought.
'I never noticed it before. He really does look a lot like Ais. That can't be, can it? I'm overthinking it. Ais doesn't have a brother. I've never heard anything about that.'
####
Ethan and Tsubaki entered the Dungeon, and Ethan looked at his sword to check its abilities once again.
Sword (Gold) ★★★★
Attack - 1,191
Magic Conduction - 999
Skills - Rising Rupture, Reaction
[Rising Rupture] – Each consecutive strike against the same enemy increases the damage dealt by 5%, stacking up to 30%. If the swordsman goes 4 seconds without hitting the target or switches to another enemy, the bonus is lost.
[Reaction] – After performing a perfect block or a precise dodge, the sword's next attack gains:
+20% damage.
30% chance to inflict Bleeding, dealing moderate damage over 5 seconds.
Looking at the sword's status again, Ethan thought,
'This sword isn't good for fighting weak enemies. The first skill is useless. Even against a group, it doesn't do anything.'
Ethan let out a sigh.
The second skill, on the other hand, had some use. But he would have to take risks to make use of it.
'These skills are useless to me. It's better to just swing my sword and kill the monsters in front of me without worrying about the skills.'
Ethan and Tsubaki began walking through the first floor, and Tsubaki was visibly bored.
She rested her sword on her shoulder as she walked, paying little attention to her surroundings. Ethan looked at her and asked,
"What's your level with the sword?"
Tsubaki was surprised by the sudden question.
"Since you said you knew I can fight, I thought you already knew how skilled I am."
"You always carry a sword around and you look tough. I figured you knew how to fight."
Tsubaki held back a laugh and replied,
"My skills are pretty decent."
"Decent? You're Level Five, aren't you?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Then you're probably much more than decent."
Ethan smiled and casually swung his sword as they walked. Before their conversation could continue, the first monsters finally appeared. Ethan had already fought them before.
"I'll kill these guys, and then we'll pick up the pace. I don't want to stay on the first three floors."
"Sure, sure."
Tsubaki watched as Ethan charged at high speed toward the group of four goblins blocking the corridor. She was able to follow the speed of his movements, but she was still surprised by how fast he was.
She hadn't expected him to be that quick.
Ethan's movements were remarkably refined.
The first goblin lost its head in an instant. Ethan spun his body, avoiding every attack from the remaining goblins before sweeping his sword across all three of their necks at once.
Three heads flew through the air, and magic stones fell onto the ground.
They were weak monsters, but Tsubaki thought,
'He moves incredibly well. Impressive.'
Tsubaki began to think that Ethan was a highly skilled swordsman who had been forced to become a blacksmith because of his special ability.
When she asked Ethan about it, he answered,
"The first time I ever used a sword was less than twenty days ago. I guess I have some talent for it," he said indifferently.
"Impressive," Tsubaki said, watching Ethan's back as he quickly walked away.
He had left the magic stones on the ground, so Tsubaki, who had brought a small pouch with her, picked them up.
So, hours passed.