The Hero's Sword (1)

Among the cards I could play, the one suited for hunting strong monsters scattered across the world... was unfortunately humans. Ah, excluding dragons. Those kids have the strength to take down monsters like that, but they're like blades you can't swing recklessly. If they rampage, the terrain itself changes. Can't use them carelessly. It'd turn into a total mess.

Excluding dragons... the race that follows my words best would be the Lizardmen, but they're heavily influenced by their environment. If they could roam the world without environmental constraints... it'd be like releasing one of the restraints holding them back. Lizardmen freed from environmental limits could easily push humans aside and become rulers of the world! Plus, they lay two or more eggs per clutch, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so their numbers are huge, and their physical prowess is just a tad below giants—tough and sturdy Lizardmen. With their shamanistic buffs, they're like tigers with wings. If they weren't basically good-natured, they'd surely be a reptilian threat menacing the world. Terrifying, right? Their main downsides are heavy environmental dependence and preference for obsidian weapons... but weapon preference is a minor flaw. Those kids can kill beasts barehanded anyway.

Anyway, I can't lift the Lizardmen's environmental restrictions... Short-term expeditions might work, but having them roam endlessly smashing monsters? Too risky.

Elves and dwarves are hikikomori who won't leave their bases easily, and no guarantee they'd follow my lead, so exclude them. I could control them through Yggdrasil or Sagarmatha, but second-hand control isn't reliable.

Giants? Giants are muscleheads. Out of the question from the start. They suffer environmental issues like Lizardmen—can't handle cold places. Plus, they eat a ton. Their strength is reliable, but... hard to maneuver. No real way to handle them.

So, beastkin or humans... Humans are the most convenient, able to travel the world without much discrimination. In this loose post-city-state era, merchants and travelers move freely without national restrictions.

So, why not arm humans with powerful weapons to smash tough monsters? Of course, hide the real purpose. Just saying "collect fragments of darkness from mana stones" sounds like reviving some ancient demon king.

Let's see. Forge a good sword, enchant it with various spells for top performance, embed a black diamond to absorb darkness fragments from mana stones when slicing monsters... Hmm. Could make a monster-specialized greatsword?

Ah, but what happens if I extract darkness fragments from living monsters? Hmmm... Needs testing. Later.

And... maybe create a Hero to wield it? No, "create" sounds off—like making a human from scratch. Better: establish the Hero position.

With monsters spawning endlessly and getting stronger... they'll threaten humans big time. So, prepare a Hero to smash them in my stead, protecting humans and other races? Sounds good!

Select a human with great talent and character, bestow the Hero's Sword—a treasure of the Life Goddess Temple—and have them travel the world hunting monsters. Nice scenario! It'll make a heroic legend! When no Hero's chosen, store the sword in the temple to collect darkness fragments from gathered mana stones. Solid plan.

Oh, right—does the Hero need a supporter? Hmm... Assign a good kid from the temple? Or a dragon? I could tag along if needed? No, no. I have enough on my plate as Creator Dragon, Life Goddess, and more. Why add more work? Not that big a deal anyway. Am I an idiot?! After all this hassle, more foolishness?! Snap out of it, me!! Ahem.

Hero support later. Priority: make the Hero's Sword.

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Let's think form. Hero's weapon, so sword... Size? Standard one-hander or grand two-hander? Both appealing. Bastard sword for both? Nah, name sucks. Bastard? Bastard!! Wait, no rule saying one form only. A shape-shifting sword solves it!

That instant, an image flashed in my mind. A massive greatsword that equips armor on the user, then thins to a rapier-like blade—from some manga. Perfect! Catches two birds with one stone: two-hander and one-hander.

Great. Let's make it. Idea flowing, no hesitation!

Materials first! Mana-altered silver? Or mana-altered steel? Mana-silver absorbs mana, mana-steel repels it... Tricky. Needs mana for shape-shifting, so no steel... Silver then? No, other metals work. Test time.

I created various metals, pumped mana into them, and tested changes, but few were usable. Mana-altered gold was decent—its yellow faded to a pale gold, strength slightly below black mana-steel but still very sturdy. Absorbs mana smoothly like mithril, and mixing enhances other metals' traits. Crucially, mana-altered gold has a weird property: remembers shapes and transforms using mana. Like shape-memory, but mana-based, not heat.

After trial and error, confirmed: infuse mana pattern to memorize shape. Made a long rod, memorized pattern, crumpled it, reinfused—back to rod shape!

Downsides: only three patterns max, and transformation force weak—can stop by pressing with hand... but resumes when released! And only weak during shift; toughens after. Can't waste this metal! Gotta make it work. More trials will yield results, right?

……When no Hero is named, it's strictly sealed in the Life Church. The seal breaks when the Dragon Priestess appears amid threats to all life.

Seeing it again means... great crisis for humanity.

The author wants to behold it, but knowing it heralds doom makes it an unwelcome legend.

Even begged the Life Church, but the cardinal says even they don't know its sealed location. Truly regrettable.

— Encyclopedia of Legendary Weapons.