**Here’s my detailed proofreading pass**
Divine Grade
In all of Michael’s past life, he had seen only one Divine-grade weapon, and that was despite being the crowned prince of Maple Kingdom.
That Divine-grade weapon belonged to his father.
The entire kingdom, yet only one man possessed a Divine-grade weapon.
And now, Michael had just acquired one for four bronze coins.
If anyone heard about it, they would likely cough up blood from sheer envy.
Michael worked hard to contain his surging joy.
He refrained from summoning the sword until he entered the dungeon.
Even his own siblings had betrayed him for the throne.
If outsiders learned of a Divine-grade weapon in his hands, he didn’t dare imagine what they would do.
“We are here,” John informed him.
“Alright.
Wait here.
I’ll go in first and finish the job.
Once I’m done, I’ll let you know so you can handle the monster carcasses,” Michael said.
John nodded.
These were exactly the words he wanted to hear.
There was no way he was going to risk his life alongside Michael.
Seeing that everyone agreed, Michael entered the dungeon.
It was a D-rank goblin dungeon, with a Goblin King as the boss monster.
Michael walked through the dim dungeon passage.
Once he reached a sufficiently secluded spot, he accepted the reward.
The moment he did, a sword materialized before him.
It had a dark double-edged blade and a perfectly crafted hilt.
[F-Divine Grade: Void Slayer]
Just like normal weapons, Divine-grade weapons also had ranks.
Michael didn’t know what rank his father’s weapon was, but even an F-rank Divine weapon was many times stronger than an Ex-rank weapon.
Mesmerized by its beauty, Michael grasped the sword.
The blade hummed softly, accepting him as its master.
Thanks to his Sword Heart, it felt as though the sword had synchronized with him.
For a brief moment, he gained a faint understanding of the weapon.
[The Void Slayer has been bound to you and cannot be taken away.]
“Quite the beautiful sword you are,” Michael praised.
“Hmm?”
When he looked again, he noticed the grade had jumped from F-Divine to E-Divine.
“Why did it jump ranks?” Michael muttered in confusion.
After thinking for a moment, he reached a conclusion.
It was because of him — or rather, his Sword Heart.
He suddenly remembered the incident with his father’s sword.
The old man had claimed it was supposed to be D-grade but became C-grade.
“So I was the reason the grade increased,” Michael muttered in understanding.
“Tch.
If I had known, I would have milked that old geezer for way more money.”
“Kikiki.”
While he was still talking to himself, a group of goblins approached, wicked smiles on their faces.
They were E-rank monsters and viewed the seemingly weak (sub-F-rank) human as easy prey.
“You will regret looking down on me,” Michael muttered, refocusing on the fight.
He charged toward the goblins.
The first goblin blew a poison dart at him through a flute-like instrument.
Michael swung Void Slayer to defend himself.
To his surprise — and the goblins’ — a crescent arc of void energy shot out, devouring not only the dart but the entire group of goblins.
It was like a spatial monster swallowing everything in its path.
The goblins vanished without a trace.
“Wow.
This is no— urgh!”
Michael collapsed to the ground, completely drained of energy.
A single casual swing from the Divine-grade weapon had exhausted him entirely.
“Right.
A Divine-grade weapon is still a Divine-grade weapon, after all,” he muttered, still lying on the cold floor.
Void Slayer hummed, seemingly pleased by his acknowledgment.
Michael rested for about ten minutes until his strength returned.
“Alright, buddy.
You’re mighty, but I’m extremely weak right now.
Please hold back more for my sake so I don’t faint again,” Michael said, speaking directly to the sword.
The sword hummed in understanding.
Thanks to his Sword Heart, Michael could sense its approval.
“Alright, let’s go then,” Michael smiled and continued deeper into the dungeon.
He soon encountered another group of goblins.
This time, when he swung Void Slayer, no giant spatial rift appeared.
The blade simply phased through one goblin’s abdomen as if intangible.
The goblin looked at Michael with a mocking grin, thinking he had missed.
But a second later, the goblin collapsed lifelessly.
Michael was surprised but had no time to dwell on it — he was now surrounded.
He moved to the next goblin and stabbed it through the heart, then stepped back just in time to avoid a plunging dagger.
With precise swings, he severed necks and ended the rest of the group in moments.
“Hey buddy.
How did you do that?” Michael asked.
“Hummm!”
Void Slayer vibrated in response.
“Damn.
You’re crazy.
I like that,” Michael smiled.
The sword had explained that it refused to stain its blade with the filthy blood of lowly goblins.
Instead, it chose to attack their life force directly.
The ability to cut through a being’s life force was truly worthy of a Divine-grade weapon.
It meant that when Void Slayer chose, its attacks would deal true damage that could not be defended by armor or shields.
Michael continued deeper into the dungeon.
Every goblin he faced died without visible wounds, as if they had simply dropped dead from natural causes.
After about twenty minutes, he finally reached the boss room.
Pushing the heavy doors open, Michael stepped inside to face the Goblin King.