When dawn broke and the door to Ethan's room was opened, he was already awake. He stood up and walked out without saying a word. The guard was already used to his behavior and said nothing.
He was escorted to the dining hall. The food he ate was better than what the other slaves received, but it was still far from good. Ethan ate in silence, keeping his mind focused.
As soon as he arrived at the forge, he stared at his status for a while before beginning to work.
Name: Ethan Walker
Familia: Alectro Familia
Level: 1
Strength (STR): B 736
Endurance (END): G 241
Dexterity (DEX): C 615
Agility (AGI): B 767
Magic (MAG): I 43
Luck (LUK): G 246
Available Points: 0
Ethan felt a slight twinge of regret for not having increased his Endurance, but now was not the time for regrets. He closed his status window, stretched his body—which felt much lighter than before—and began forging.
His mind was clear, and every movement was precise.
The other slaves watched him in admiration. They tried to imitate Ethan's movements in hopes of achieving the same results, but none of them could. With a faint smile on his face, Ethan continued hammering.
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
Since his Strength had increased dramatically, each strike echoed loudly. The hammer Ethan used was of poor quality and was nearly broken, but he didn't care.
He was completely focused.
Today, he wanted to forge a Gold-tier sword.
He could deal with Level 1 guards barehanded, but Level 2 guards? That was out of the question. Ethan knew enough about *DanMachi* to understand the enormous gap between one level and the next.
A high-grade sword could help close that gap.
Then, at last, the gacha appeared.
Ethan touched the blade, and the coin began spinning, changing colors before his eyes. His heart pounded as he noticed the golden color appearing over and over as it spun.
In the end, however, he forged a Silver-tier sword.
He let out a disappointed sigh, finished the sword, and immediately began forging the next one.
After his status had increased, the entire process had become even faster.
It was as if not only his stats had improved, but his knowledge as well.
With the gacha system by his side, the saying *"haste makes waste"* no longer applied. Even a blade forged in just a few minutes could end up becoming a six-star sword.
####
Ethan continued forging one sword after another, leaving everyone stunned. Both the slaves and the guards were shocked by the speed at which he worked. He was forging nearly two swords an hour—something that should have been impossible.
Since none of them knew about the existence of the gacha, they looked at Ethan as though he were a demon.
But perhaps they were right.
Ethan really might be a demon.
Inside his mind, only two words echoed over and over:
Freedom.
Death.
He wanted to escape this place, no matter the cost.
Then it happened.
After finishing yet another sword, the gacha notification appeared. Ethan stared at the spinning coin as he breathed heavily from exhaustion. Gold appeared far more frequently than before.
Then, at last...
He reached his goal.
The coin remained golden.
Ethan stared at it in silence, holding himself back from celebrating. No one around him noticed how happy he truly was.
[Congratulations! You have forged a "★★★" Gold-tier Sword.]
[Bonus Received]
[Random Status Points +30]
[Luck Increased: +3]
After seeing the rewards, Ethan checked the sword's status.
Sword (Gold) ★★★
Attack: 597
Magic Conductivity: 421
Skills: Quick Slash / Accelerated Movement / Tough Skin
When he saw the sword's status, Ethan was satisfied. It was far superior to every Silver-tier sword he had forged, all of which had only two stars. On top of that, this sword had come with three skills.
[Quick Slash – Unleash an attack 200% faster than the user's base attack speed.]
[Accelerated Movement – Increases the user's base movement speed by 20%.]
[Tough Skin – Increases the user's defense by 20%.]
The skills were more than enough to satisfy Ethan.
He looked at the blade, which appeared completely ordinary, and began crafting its hilt. It didn't matter what he forged—whether it was a failure, a Bronze-tier sword, a Silver-tier sword, or a Gold-tier sword.
They all looked nearly identical.
The only noticeable difference was the sword's shine. The metal seemed purer somehow. In addition, the blade's edge—despite never having been sharpened—was flawless.
Even the hilt, hastily made as it was, fit the blade perfectly.
When you held a sword like this in your hands, you could immediately tell it apart from a Bronze- or Silver-tier weapon. But from a distance?
It was impossible to notice.
Ethan gripped the sword tightly and felt his heart ignite for a brief moment.
He remained silent, staring into the furnace. The flames reflected in his empty eyes.
Ethan took a deep breath.
"Hey... what's wrong with him?" one of the nearby slaves asked.
"I don't know. He's acting weird again. He keeps staring into space like he's lost his mind. Do you think he can see things we can't?"
"Hm? Is that even possible? It's probably some kind of mental illness. Better not worry about it."
"Hey! You two! Stop talking and get back to work!" the guard shouted at them.
Then he turned to Ethan, who was standing still with the sword in his hand.
"Hey. Hand that over," the guard ordered.
Ethan, who had remained silent until then, suddenly moved.
He spun with incredible speed, swinging the sword in his hand.
Everything around him slowed.
The sound of hammers vanished.
The voices fell silent.
The entire "world" had changed.