Chapter 111
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 111
Chapter Title: Praise Makes Even Chains Dance
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[The activation of the second form is restricted.]
...
...
Notifications poured in like an avalanche, leaving my mind in a whirl.
I must have said we'd think about proceeding with the second ordeal. But when I opened my eyes, that wasn't the first thing on my mind.
'She's beautiful.'
I took a moment to admire Rike's lovely face as she focused on her studies, then untucked my legs and stood up from my seat.
As far as I could tell, quite a bit of time had passed in the mental realm, but no time had elapsed here in reality.
Practicing the Breathing Technique in this instantaneous gap where time stood still was utterly absurd. Rike, who rarely ever looked up from her book, glanced at me curiously as I quickly dusted myself off and got to my feet.
"Huh? Where are you going, oppa?"
I stroked Rike's head and gave her a quick peck on the lips before slipping on an outer shirt.
"I'll be moving around a bit in the yard."
"Hehe~ I'll come out once I'm done studying."
Screeech—
As I stepped out into the yard, a cool breeze blew irregularly, a stark contrast to the cozy, sleep-inducing warmth of the room.
I made my way to a patch of bare earth, perfectly flat with not a single blade of grass.
This spot, where I often trained in the yard, had never been weeded by hand, yet no weeds grew. Constantly stomping it down with strong force and circulating mana prevented any plants from taking root.
"Hmm..."
There was a perfectly valid reason I hadn't explained Gleipnir to Rike after emerging from the mental realm and had come straight to the yard.
Should I say Gleipnir was embedded in my body? I definitely felt bound to my mind.
But... what if!
What if Gleipnir didn't respond when I called it? Rike had said Vanitas sometimes answered her inner calls, but I had no sense of that.
The first step had to be calling its name aloud.
Even if I did something bizarre, Rike would watch me with warm eyes, thinking there must be some reason. She could discern the truth from lies with her ability, after all.
But still, the image of me suddenly standing up, full of eager anticipation about acquiring a bound weapon, then extending my hand and shouting "Gleipnir!" only for nothing to happen... I couldn't shake it from my mind.
It'd be like my past-life lover calling me with a serious face and yelling "Status window!!"
'She might think I skipped the Breathing Technique I was supposed to do sitting down and just dozed off...'
She might console me sincerely in the bedroom, mistaking my dream of obtaining my longed-for weapon for reality, complete with baby talk. That wouldn't be so bad, but it'd be embarrassing.
I extended my hand toward empty air and called out to my new limb—now a part of me. Please respond smoothly on the first try.
"Gleipnir."
The moment I spoke its name, space rippled and swallowed my hand. Or perhaps I unconsciously thrust it in myself.
My hand pierced through the air like it was delving into an inventory, reaching somewhere else. I naturally grasped what was inside.
Shhhrrrrk.
I pulled, and chains poured endlessly from the empty space.
Unlike its serpentine, undulating form in the mental realm—waving like a reptile in flight or swimming—each link here was uniform in size, and as I drew it out, it simply flopped toward the ground like ordinary chain.
It didn't swim through the air like during our first meeting, but I could feel a flickering will, like a candle flame. That was enough.
"Ooh—!!"
How long was this thing? Even a weapon from myth couldn't be infinite, right?
Shhh— shhhhk—
I kept pulling, and it seemed endless. Seeing the chains coil neatly on the ground, I was tempted to yank until the end, but I stopped my hand.
"Ah, I see..."
With every extension of Gleipnir's length, the mana in my body dwindled bit by bit.
'How do I shorten it...?'
Squatting down, fiddling with the chain in thought, knowledge naturally flowed into my mind.
A flood of alien information poured in, yet it felt like it had always been mine—no rejection.
'This must be the support from a bound weapon Rike mentioned!'
Today marked my liberation from bound-weapon-less loser status! Each piece of knowledge shed my ignorance like discovering new wonders, filling me with hot excitement.
Shhk— shhk—
'Right... like this, and cut.'
I reversed the piled-up chains—coiled like a snake—and severed them at about 1 meter.
No resistance; severing voluntarily didn't count as damage. The detached fragments returned to the void on their own.
Even in this state, it could extend, but it consumed twice the mana compared to drawing it out. Still, no great strain to reach a practical length.
A normal person would faint from the mana drain after one extension, but my body brimmed with mana.
I coiled about 3 meters in one hand, swinging the dangling chain.
Whoosh—! Swish!
'Fits perfectly in my hand... weight's just right. A bit lighter than Imemangnyang?'
I could shorten or lengthen it mid-swing, enabling variables or exploiting gaps.
Mastering that in combat would demand immense practice, but I could do it.
Talking to a weapon seemed mad, but now I couldn't hold back the praise bubbling inside.
"Insane... you're really something, aren't you?"
Gleipnir twitched in response to my words. This weapon—no, child?—seemed delighted... I should treat it as alive.
In the mental realm, it had reacted to my words, showing uncanny intelligence.
"As your owner, I'll work hard not to disappoint you. Nice to meet you."
Clink—!
Stroking the coiled part in my hand, the chain's left end bobbed on its own.
Expressing its will like in the mental realm might take time, or perhaps I needed to grow stronger—I wasn't sure.
Her offhand remark.
True weapons matched their user's caliber. So maybe the difference between the War God's Gleipnir and mine stemmed from that.
'Not speculation—it's fact. A pure aggregate that shifts infinitely with capacity...'
Truly... perfectly piercing my picky tastes.
Not bragging about my exclusive weapon; Gleipnir's caliber far exceeded Vanitas or Innocence. Definitely.
It wasn't a crafted artifact amalgamating human or otherworldly intelligence like typical bound weapons.
A creation by a god who willed it to assuage fear.
Its current feeble twitches were likely my fault as owner, per her words—something sorely lacking.
'Haven't felt this fired up mentally in ages.'
I'd never slacked on training for survival, but Gleipnir's limp form was tremendous motivation to hone myself.
I didn't know if the shortfall was power, mana, or personality, but for a weapon, raw strength had to factor in.
Having seen its willful form firsthand, my goal was at least that. And if more was possible, I'd aim higher.
"Everything's great, but..."
A reasonable question arose here.
'Why did it choose me?'
As excitement cooled and I gently stroked Gleipnir in my hand, that was my top wonder.
I hadn't sought or chosen it. She, the matchmaker, had said Gleipnir chose me.
"Hmm~ I doubt you'd answer, but... could you tell me why you came to me?"
....
I tossed the question, hoping for a reaction, but nothing.
Occasional tip twitches were all; expecting an answer was hopeless.
What about me had tempted Gleipnir? If a divine artifact could fancy a mere human?
'Maybe my soul or limbs looked tasty...'
I worried about breakage, pondering tests on durability.
My state fit the proverb about maggots fearing the runt that can't hold brine.
Aura slash might snap it, demanding an eye—or limbs—in return. Mythic or not, it might innocently expect as much.
If demands got excessive, I'd stash it unrepaired.
"..."
The more I thought, the darker it got. Anxiety from the unpredictable unknown overwhelmed me.
"Don't take this the wrong way—just be honest. If it breaks or shatters, do I absolutely have to repair it? If conditions are harsh, it might not be easy."
Anyone seeing me earnestly addressing the chain wrapped around my hand would think me insane, but this was serious.
....
It wasn't the visible chain; something fundamental inside flinched.
"If repairs aren't problematic, I promise not to delay and will make the effort."
Jingle—
The part bound to my hand quivered. Timid, but the intent came through.
This child meant me no harm. The small, sure communication oddly matched her description of a shy, modest girl.
"I see. Thanks!"
Could there be a more lovable weapon?
"You're pretty~ So pretty. You're the best."
Stroking the Gleipnir on my hand and praising it, I felt its pure joy.
Absorbed in making it happy, it felt—perhaps delusionally, abstractly—like our bond tightened ever so slightly.
...
As I kept showering it with praise and affection, Rike came out to the yard.
"Oppa. I was watching from the window... what are you doing?"
"...Huh?"
She held a water bottle, probably to bring me a drink while I trained.
Rike's expression, watching me squat and commune with the chain, was gravely serious.